bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Re-thinking the Incrementalist Thesis in China: A Reflection on the Development of the Minimum Standard of Living Scheme in Urban and Rural Areas
Authors: CHAN CHAK KWAN
Published: May 2010

Many commentators contend that the Chinese government adopted an incremental approach to welfare policy reform because its leaders lacked an overall blueprint for it, allowing initiatives to be implemented only after lengthy experimentation. While this perspective has provided an essential account of the implementation and changes of some welfare programmes, it has inadequately addressed the slow progress in rural areas' welfare programmes and the different welfare entitlements for rural and urban residents. Further investigation is therefore required to resolve these anomalies. Using the minimum standard of living scheme (MSLS) as a case example, this article illustrates how the Chinese government's legitimacy needs, during different stages of its economic reforms, have been the principal motivation for the implementation of such schemes. The introduction of an urban MSLS in 1997 aimed to reduce laid-off workers' dissatisfaction following the government's reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The implementation of a rural MSLS in 2007 was intended principally to minimise conflicts between land-losing farmers and local officials after widespread rural riots. These MSLSs are also minimal and stigmatising public-assistance schemes that fulfil the dual objective of securing a stable political environment for economic reform and maintaining poor people's work ethic for China's mixed economy.
Antioxidant treatment during preservation of bovine ovaries increased the development potential of embryos
Authors: Nagao Yoshikazu , Harada Yumiko , Yamaguchi Mari , Igarashi Akane , Ooshima Yuki , Kato Yoku
Published: May 2010

The overnight preservation of bovine ovaries would be highly useful in the subsequent harvest of viable oocytes for reproductive study. The present study aimed to optimize conditions for overnight preservation of bovine ovaries by examining the effects of temperature, solution and supplementation. In Experiment 1, the rate of development to the blastocyst stage of oocytes derived from ovaries preserved at 15°C was higher than that at either 5 or 25°C (p < 0.05). In Experiment 2, the rate of development to the blastocyst stage of oocytes derived from ovaries preserved in University of Wisconsin solution was higher than when PBS or saline was used (p < 0.05). In Experiment 3, oocytes preserved in saline supplemented with 0.3 mM glutathione (GSH) exhibited an increase in the rate of blastocyst formation compared with oocytes supplemented with 0 or 3 mM GSH (p < 0.05). In Experiment 4, supplementation with 10 μM epigallocatechin gallate during ovary preservation increased the rate of blastocyst formation (p < 0.05). The blastocysts derived from ovaries stored in saline supplemented with GSH at 15°C for 24 h were shown to develop into normal offsprings following transfer to recipient heifers. Our studies indicate that bovine IVM/IVF embryos derived from ovaries preserved in saline supplemented with an antioxidant at 15°C for 24 h can successfully develop to the blastocyst stage and result in offspring.
MATTHEW ARNOLD AND RELIGION'S COSMOPOLITAN HISTORIES
Authors: Lecourt Sebastian
Published: May 2010

Matthew Arnold cuts a familiarfigure in narratives of Victorian secularization, although commentators often cast him in contradictory roles. In some accounts we meet him as an elegiac liberal who laments the loss of a no-longer-tenable faith but feels powerless to produce an alternative – “Wandering,” in a famous couplet, “between two worlds, one dead, / The other powerless to be born” (Arnold, “Stanzas from the Grand Chartreuse” 85–86; see Miller 212–69). Meanwhile other studies portray Arnold as a cautionary example of aggressive counter-secularization, a humanist whose vaunted ideal of “Culture” becomes as absolutist as the religion it is designed to replace (Williams,Culture and Society125–26). What both accounts share, however, is an understanding of secularization as the process whereby a definite thing called religion lost its hold upon European public life, leaving worried intellectuals to search for substitutes. Since the Second World War this view of secularization has come under increased scrutiny from sociologists, historians, anthropologists, and lately some literary critics; yet it remains difficult to imagine nineteenth-century literary history without it, largely because it is a narrative that was first developed by major Victorian writers like Arnold himself. Perhaps the best way, then, to engage Victorian crisis-of-faith writers is to follow the lead of recent commentators like Talal Asad and Michael Kaufmann and reframe the problem in discursive terms. Rather than retrace the rise and fall of two definite things called religion and secularity, Kaufmann argues, we should instead assume from the outset that “[t]here is no idea, person, experience, text, institution, or historical project that could be categorized as essentially . . . secular or religious” and mark how the significance of this opposition gets reordered in “varying discursive contexts” (Kaufmann 608; see Asad 25–26). We can see such thinking at work in recent scholarship that effectively replaces “secularization” with the conceptual emergence of religion as such – that is, the modern redescription of religion as a specific and limited sphere of human life, marked by certain energies (the irrational, the affective), whose role within the public is considered problematic. Anthropologist Timothy Fitzgerald, for instance, suggests that the Enlightenment turn toward regarding religion as the arena of strong personal belief was instrumental in establishing the space of the secular in the first place, insofar as it helped to define by contrast the new public sphere of “this-worldly . . . freedoms, laws, and markets” (Fitzgerald 5). Similarly, historian Callum Brown argues that late eighteenth-century Evangelicalism produced, as a sort of necessary pair, both the sociological idea of religion as an empirically discrete thing and our popular notion of religion as under threat or in decline (C. Brown 1–34).
MEDICAL COSMOPOLITANISM:MIDDLEMARCH, CHOLERA, AND THE PATHOLOGIES OF ENGLISH MASCULINITY
Authors: Carpenter Mary Wilson
Published: May 2010

In 1831 the first epidemic ofwhat came to be known as “Asiatic cholera” bloomed in Britain. The disease, which in previous centuries had been known only in India, was to appear again in Britain in 1848–49, 1853–54, and 1866–67 as pandemics swept around the globe. But it was cholera's first arrival on the shores of Britain in 1831 that struck terror into British hearts. No one knew what disastrous consequences might ensue from this alien plague. Striking down perfectly healthy people, sometimes as they walked in the streets, it could kill within a few hours. So severe was the rapid dehydration caused by violent diarrhea and vomiting, and accompanied by hideously painful cramps, that victims rapidly became semi-comatose and turned blue-white. TheQuarterly Reviewcalled it “one of the most terrible pestilences which have ever desolated the earth,” and claimed that it had killed fifty million in fourteen years (Morris 14).
THE COSMOPOLITAN NATIONALISM OF SAROJINI NAIDU, NIGHTINGALE OF INDIA
Authors: Reddy Sheshalatha
Published: May 2010

Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949), the English-language Indian poetess and politician, appears before the viewer in the frontispieces to her first two collections of poetry,The Golden Threshold(1905) andThe Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death and the Spring(1912). She presents herself in print, as in her oratory, as both a figure of nineteenth-century verse culture and a cosmopolitan nationalist.The Golden Thresholdincludes a now well-known introduction by Arthur Symons and a sketch of a young Naidu by J. B. Yeats (father of W. B. Yeats). [See Figure 1.] Arrayed in a voluminous and ruffled white dress, distinctly “Western” in style, with hands clasped together, Naidu's youthful yet grave face stares directly at the viewer. She appears here as a precocious, prepubescent Victorian poetess captured within a private setting. Yet when this volume was published in 1905, the picture, drawn during Naidu's sojourn in England in the mid-1890s when much of the poetry included in the collection was composed, must have been almost a decade old. The only sign of racial difference in the sketch is her lightly shaded skin and dark hair. The blurred sketch echoes Naidu's own ambiguous position at this time: she is neither wholly Indian nor wholly English, and she navigates uneasily between the roles of naïve student of poetry and accomplished poetess.
Long-term sustainability of a worksite canteen intervention of serving more fruit and vegetables
Authors: Thorsen Anne V , Lassen Anne D , Tetens Inge , Hels Ole , Mikkelsen Bent E
Published: May 2010

Objective

To analyse the 5-year sustainability of a worksite canteen intervention of serving more fruit and vegetables (F&V).

Design

Average F&V consumption per customer per meal per day was assessed in five worksite canteens by weighing F&V served and subtracting waste. Data were collected by the canteen staff during a 3-week continuous period and compared to data from the same five canteens measured at baseline, at end point and at 1-year follow-up. The intervention used a participatory and empowering approach, self-monitoring and networking among the canteen staff, management and a consultant. The method focused on providing ideas for increased F&V for lunch, making environmental changes in the canteens by giving access to tasteful and healthy food choices and reducing the availability of unhealthy options.

Setting

Five Danish worksites serving from 50 to 500 meals a day: a military base, an electronic component distributor, a bank, a town hall and a waste-handling facility.

Subjects

Worksite canteen managers, canteen staff.

Results

Four of the five worksite canteens were able to either maintain the intervention or even increase the consumption of F&V. The average increase from baseline to 5-year follow-up was 95 g per customer per meal per day (18, 144, 66, 105 and 141 g, respectively). On average, the five canteens at the long-term follow-up had an F&V consumption of 208 g/meal per customer.

Conclusions

The present study indicates that sustainability of F&V is possible in worksites where the participatory and empowering approach, self-monitoring, environmental change, dialogue with suppliers and networking among worksite canteens are applied.
Hayek on tacit knowledge
Authors: OĞUZ FUAT
Published: May 2010

This paper discusses the place of ‘tacit knowledge’ in Hayek's writings. How did Hayek understand tacit knowledge? How did his understanding change through time? I address these questions and follow the change in Hayek's works from skills and techniques of thought in the 1930s to the use of ‘tacit knowledge’ in the1960s. Hayek uses Polanyi's concept in many writings, but remains short of approving its implications. The paper emphasizes that while Hayek was quite aware of the differences between tacit knowing and knowing-how, he was not keen to stress the divergence. In the end, I offer some potential explanations for this preference.
Constraining the state's ability to employ force: the standing army debates, 1697–99
Authors: HUMPHREY SHAWN , HANSEN BRADLEY A.
Published: May 2010

Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688 is one of the most widely studied cases of institutional change. Recent institutional analyses of the Glorious Revolution, however, have failed to address one of the central issues in political science: control of the state's comparative advantage in violence. This paper examines this issue through analysis of the standing army debates of the late 1690s. Participants in the debates disputed whether a standing army or a militia would be the most effective institutional arrangement to guard against threats from abroad and tyranny at home. Both sides of the debate analyzed the effects of a standing army in terms of the incentives that it created for soldiers, citizens, the monarch, and foreign governments.
Ownership structure and incentives to invest: dual-structured irrigation cooperatives in Australia
Authors: PLUNKETT BRADLEY , CHADDAD FABIO R. , COOK MICHAEL L.
Published: May 2010

In the past decade, Australia has begun to privatize its irrigation system. Two general models have emerged: a single and a dual ownership structure. This paper examines the trade-offs, costs and benefits, and the attendant efficiencies regarding costs of ownership. In particular, we examine member capital investment incentives and resultant risk-bearing costs related to capital formation. The paper concludes that the dual ownership structure system has significant economic advantages relative to its single-structured counterpart.
UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820: constructing gender in armed conflict and international humanitarian law
Authors: Barrow Amy
Published: May 2010

While the Geneva Conventions contain gender-specific provisions, the reality of women's and men's experiences of armed conflict have highlighted gender limitations and conceptual constraints within international humanitarian law. Judgements at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) ad hoc tribunals have gone some way towards expanding the scope of definitions of sexual violence and rape in conflict. More recent developments in public international law, including the adoption of Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 focused on women, peace and security, have sought to increase the visibility of gender in situations of armed conflict. This paper highlights important developing norms on women, peace and security. Although these norms are significant, they may not be radical enough to expand constructions of gender within international humanitarian law. This leaves existing provisions open to continued scrutiny.
Precise mass determination and the nature of Phobos
Authors: Andert T. P. , Rosenblatt P. , Pätzold M. , Häusler B. , Dehant V. , Tyler G. L. , Marty J. C.
Published: May 2010

We report independent results from two subgroups of the Mars Express Radio Science (MaRS) team who independently analyzed Mars Express (MEX) radio tracking data for the purpose of determining consistently the gravitational attraction of the moon Phobos on the MEX spacecraft, and hence the mass of Phobos. New values for the gravitational parameter (GM = 0.7127 ± 0.0021 × 10−3 km3/s2) and density of Phobos (1876 ± 20 kg/m3) provide meaningful new constraints on the corresponding range of the body's porosity (30% ± 5%), provide a basis for improved interpretation of the internal structure. We conclude that the interior of Phobos likely contains large voids. When applied to various hypotheses bearing on the origin of Phobos, these results are inconsistent with the proposition that Phobos is a captured asteroid.
On the origin of lower‐ and upper‐frequency cutoffs on wedge‐like spectrograms observed by DEMETER in the midlatitude ionosphere
Authors: Shklyar D. R. , Parrot M. , Chum J. , Santolik O. , Titova E. E.
Published: May 2010

We report observations of unusual lower and upper cutoff frequencies on VLF spectrograms recorded by the DEMETER satellite (orbiting at ∼700 km) during thunderstorm activity. The upper cutoff frequencies in the spectrograms under discussion vary rapidly, approximately in proportion to L−3, where L is the McIlwain parameter on the satellite orbit. On the contrary, the lower cutoff frequencies in the spectrograms are almost constant, so that the cutoffs cross at larger L. Between these cutoffs, which thus form a wedge, intense whistlers are observed, whereas only 0+ whistlers, and probably, ducted whistlers are present outside the cutoffs. Using a model of lower hybrid resonance (LHR) frequency and local measurements of plasma density and ion composition in the ionosphere, we show that during the events under consideration, the satellite is located at altitudes where the height‐dependent variation of the LHR frequency presents a trough. We explain the observed spectrograms on the basis of the features of whistler‐mode wave propagation in the inner magnetosphere. Then the upper cutoff frequency is determined by the limiting trajectories that confine the waves of a given frequency propagating obliquely from a source located in the opposite hemisphere. Since the waves close to the limiting ones propagate in the quasiresonance regime, the intensity and time delay at the upper cutoff should increase, which is the case in observations. As for the lower frequency cutoff, it is determined by the LHR maximum, since quasiresonant waves with lower frequencies originating in the opposite hemisphere do not reach the satellite due to the LHR reflection above it.
Radar, lidar, and optical observations in the polar summer mesosphere shortly after a space shuttle launch
Authors: Kelley M. C. , Nicolls M. J. , Varney R. H. , Collins R. L. , Doe R. , Plane J. M. C. , Thayer J. , Taylor M. , Thurairajah B. , Mizutani K.
Published: May 2010

In the summer of 2007, a noctilucent cloud (NLC) campaign was organized in Alaska. Radar, lidar, and photographic methods were used. Due to lighting conditions, the campaign was carried out near the end of the NLC season. Sporadic radar and lidar echoes were obtained until the very end of the campaign, when an exceptionally intense event occurred on the local time night of 10–11 August. This late‐season event followed the launch of the space shuttle on 8 August. At least twice before, solstice launches of the shuttle have been followed by unique observations of NLC and sporadic iron layers in the polar regions. This was the case here as well. The iron layer increased in altitude and density, the latter by a factor of 20, compared to the previous night. And, for the first time, (1) polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE) were recorded by a radar in an event of this nature and (2) an intense sporadic E layer was collocated with the iron atom layer. At the UHF radar frequency used, very large Schmidt numbers are required for PMSE. Indeed, the PMSE was found at and just above the particles responsible for Mie scatter. Such large particles are likely needed to yield large Schmidt numbers. Additionally, similar lidar and sporadic E layers were detected over Greenland on the previous night. Here we consider the ion chemistry that could lead to the collocated atom and iron layers and conclude that considerably enhanced water vapor content was required.
The rotational stability of a triaxial ice‐age Earth
Authors: Matsuyama I. , Mitrovica J. X. , Daradich A. , Gomez N.
Published: May 2010

Mitrovica et al. (2005), following calculations by Nakada (2002), demonstrated that the traditional approach for computing rotation perturbations driven by glacial isostatic adjustment significantly overestimates present‐day true polar wander (TPW) speeds by underestimating the background oblateness on which the ice‐age loading is superimposed. The underestimation has two contributions: the first originates from the treatment of the hydrostatic form and the second from the neglect of the Earth's excess ellipticity supported by mantle convection. In Mitrovica et al. (2005), the second of these two contributions was computed assuming a biaxial nonhydrostatic form (i.e., the principal equatorial moments of inertia were assumed to be equal to their mean value). In this article we outline an extended approach that accounts for a triaxial planetary form. We show that differences in the TPW speed predicted using the Mitrovica et al. (2005) approach and our triaxial theory are relatively minor (∼0.1°/Myr) and are limited to Earth models with lower mantle viscosity less than ∼5 × 1021 Pa s. However, for this same class of Earth models, the angle of TPW predicted for a triaxial Earth is rotated westward (toward the axis of maximum equatorial inertia) by as much as ∼20° relative to the biaxial case. We demonstrate that these effects are a consequence of the geometry of the ice‐age forcing, which has a dominant equatorial direction that is intermediate to the axes defining the principal equatorial moments of inertia of the planet. We complete the study by computing updated Frechet kernels for the TPW speed datum, which provide a measure of the detailed depth‐dependent sensitivity of the predictions to variations in mantle viscosity. We show, in contrast to earlier efforts to explore this sensitivity based on the traditional rotation theory, that the datum does not generally have a sensitivity to viscosity that peaks near the base of the mantle.
Relative humidity changes in a warmer climate
Authors: Sherwood Steven C. , Ingram William , Tsushima Yoko , Satoh Masaki , Roberts Malcolm , Vidale Pier Luigi , O'Gorman Paul A.
Published: May 2010

Key climate feedback due to water vapor and clouds rest largely on how relative humidity ℛ changes in a warmer climate, yet this has not been extensively analyzed in models. General circulation models (GCMs) from the CMIP3 archive and several higher‐resolution atmospheric GCMs examined here generally predict a characteristic pattern of ℛ trend with global temperature that has been reported previously in individual models, including increase around the tropopause, decrease in the tropical upper troposphere, and decrease in midlatitudes. This pattern is very similar to that previously reported for cloud cover in the same GCMs, confirming the role of ℛ in controlling changes in simulated cloud. Comparing different models, the trend in each part of the troposphere is approximately proportional to the upward and/or poleward gradient of ℛ in the present climate. While this suggests that the changes simply reflect a shift of the ℛ pattern upward with the tropopause and poleward with the zonal jets, the drying trend in the subtropics is roughly 3 times too large to be attributable to shifts of subtropical features, and the subtropical ℛ minima deepen in most models. ℛ trends are correlated with horizontal model resolution, especially outside the tropics, where they show signs of convergence and latitudinal gradients become close to available observations for GCM resolutions near T85 and higher. We argue that much of the systematic change in ℛ can be explained by the local specific humidity having been set (by condensation) in remote regions with different temperature changes, hence the gradients and trends each depend on a model's ability to resolve moisture transport. Finally, subtropical drying trends predicted from the warming alone fall well short of those observed in recent decades. While this discrepancy supports previous reports of GCMs underestimating Hadley cell expansion, our results imply that shifts alone are not a sufficient interpretation of changes.
Meteorology and surface energy fluxes in the 2005–2007 ablation seasons at the Miage debris‐covered glacier, Mont Blanc Massif, Italian Alps
Authors: Brock Ben W. , Mihalcea Claudia , Kirkbride Martin P. , Diolaiuti Guglielmina , Cutler Mark E. J. , Smiraglia Claudio
Published: May 2010

During the 2005–2007 June–September ablation seasons, meteorological conditions were recorded on the lower and upper parts of the debris‐covered ablation zone of Miage Glacier, Italy. In 2005, debris temperature and subdebris ice melt were also monitored at 25 points with debris thickness of 0.04–0.55 m, spread over 5 km2 of the glacier. The radiative fluxes were directly measured, and near‐closure of the surface energy balance is achieved, providing support for the bulk aerodynamic calculation of the turbulent fluxes. Surface‐layer meteorology and energy fluxes are dominated by the pattern of incoming solar radiation which heats the debris, driving strong convection. Mean measured subdebris ice melt rates are 6–33 mm d−1, and mean debris thermal conductivity is 0.96 W m−1 K−1, displaying a weak positive relationship with debris thickness. Mean seasonal values of the net shortwave, net longwave, and debris heat fluxes show little variation between years, despite contrasting meteorological conditions, while the turbulent latent (evaporative) heat flux was more than twice as large in the wet summer of 2007 compared with 2005. The increase in energy output from the debris surface in response to increasing surface temperature means that subdebris ice melt rates are fairly insensitive to atmospheric temperature variations in contrast to debris‐free glaciers. Improved knowledge of spatial patterns of debris thickness distribution and 2 m air temperature, and the controls on evaporation of rainwater from the surface, are needed for distributed physically based melt modeling of debris‐covered glaciers.
Effects of single d‐amino acid substitutions on disruption of β‐sheet structure and hydrophobicity in cyclic 14‐residue antimicrobial peptide analogs related to gramicidin S
Authors: Lee D.L. , Powers J.P.S. , Pflegerl K. , Vasil M.L. , Hancock R.E.W , Hodges R.S.
Published: May 2010

Abstract:  Gramicidin S (GS) is a 10‐residue cyclic β‐sheet peptide with lytic activity against the membranes of both microbial and human cells, i.e. it possesses little to no biologic specificity for either cell type. Structure–activity studies of de novo‐designed 14‐residue cyclic peptides based on GS have previously shown that higher specificity against microbial membranes, i.e. a high therapeutic index (TI), can be achieved by the replacement of a single l‐amino acid with its corresponding d‐enantiomer [Kondejewski, L.H. et al. (1999) J. Biol. Chem.274, 13181]. The diastereomer with a d‐Lys substituted at position 4 caused the greatest improvement in specificity vs. other l to d substitutions within the cyclic 14‐residue peptide GS14, through a combination of decreased peptide amphipathicity and disrupted β‐sheet structure in aqueous conditions [McInnes, C. et al. (2000) J. Biol. Chem.275, 14287]. Based on this information, we have created a series of peptide diastereomers substituted only at position 4 by a d‐ or l‐amino acid (Leu, Phe, Tyr, Asn, Lys, and achiral Gly). The amino acids chosen in this study represent a range of hydrophobicities/hydrophilicities as a subset of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids. While the d‐ and l‐substitutions of Leu, Phe, and Tyr all resulted in strong hemolytic activity, the substitutions of hydrophilic d‐amino acids d‐Lys and d‐Asn in GS14 at position 4 resulted in weaker hemolytic activity than in the l‐diastereomers, which demonstrated strong hemolysis. All of the l‐substitutions also resulted in poor antimicrobial activity and an extremely low TI, while the antimicrobial activity of the d‐substituted peptides tended to improve based on the hydrophilicity of the residue. d‐Lys was the most polar and most efficacious substitution, resulting in the highest TI. Interestingly, the hydrophobic d‐amino acid substitutions had superior antimicrobial activity vs. the l‐enantiomers although substitution of a hydrophobic d‐amino acid increases the nonpolar face hydrophobicity. These results further support the role of hydrophobicity of the nonpolar face as a major influence on microbial specificity, but also highlights the importance of a disrupted β‐sheet structure on antimicrobial activity.
Nucleation of fullerenes as a model for examining the formation of soot
Authors: Chung Seung Hyun , Violi Angela
Published: May 2010

The formation of soot begins with the nucleation of nanoparticles, a process difficult to model due to the complexity of the constituent particles. Fullerenes have characteristics resembling the particles found in soot, but their simpler structure makes simulations more tractable. We propose that the nucleation of fullerenes may serve as a window to the formation of soot nuclei. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we analyze the nucleation rates of homomolecular systems of C60, C80, C180, and C240 fullerenes as function of temperature and molecular mass. For temperatures lower than 1000 K, the four systems show similar characteristics, with significant nucleation rates, due to the low energy that favors binding. At higher temperatures, the high kinetic energy limits the binding probability between fullerenes, and molecular clusters are only detected in systems composed of C180 and C240. The analysis shows that particles with molecular masses between those of C80 and C180 could be critical for the transition from monomers to clusters. The computational findings are then related to experimental data of combustion-generated particles present in the literature to assess the feasibility of a physical nucleation pathway in high temperature regimes. The results obtained using molecular dynamics simulations highlight the importance of a physical nucleation pathway to describe the formation of molecular clusters when the particle concentration exceeds a critical value. These results represent the first step toward a more complete description of nanoparticle formation and soot nucleation in high temperature regimes.
Rotational spectra of methane and deuterated methane in helium
Authors: Zillich Robert E. , Whaley K. Birgitta
Published: May 2010

We present calculations of the rotational excitations of CH4 and CD4 in helium using correlated basis function theory for excited states of spherical top molecules, together with ground state helium density distributions computed by diffusion Monte Carlo simulations. We derive the rotational self-energy for symmetric top molecules, generalizing the previous analysis for linear molecules. The analysis of the self-energy shows that in helium the symmetry of a rigid spherical rotor is lost. In particular, rotational levels with J=2 split into states of E and of F2 symmetry. This splitting can be analyzed in terms of an effective tetrahedral distortion that is induced by coupling of the molecular rotation to density fluctuations of the helium. Additional splitting occurs within each symmetry group as a result of rotational coupling to the high density of states between the roton and maxon excitations of H4e, which also results in broad bands in the corresponding rotational absorption spectra. Connecting these pure rotational dynamics of methane to experimental rovibrational spectra, our results imply that the R(1) line of CH4 is significantly broadened, while the P(2) is not broadened by rotational relaxation, which is consistent with experiment. Comparison of our results for CH4 and CD4 shows that the reduction in the moment of inertia in H4e scales approximately quadratically with the gas phase moment of inertia, as has also been observed experimentally.
Dielectric properties of Er−doped HfO2 (Er∼15%) grown by atomic layer deposition for high-κ gate stacks
Authors: Wiemer C. , Lamagna L. , Baldovino S. , Perego M. , Schamm-Chardon S. , Coulon P. E. , Salicio O. , Congedo G. , Spiga S. , Fanciulli M.
Published: May 2010

Er − doped HfO2 (Er∼15%) films are grown by atomic layer deposition on Si(100). The characteristics of the doped oxide are compared with those of HfO2. In Er−doped HfO2, the stabilization of the cubic structure, together with the effect of the high polarizability of Er3+, allow to obtain a dielectric constant of ∼33 after annealing at 900 °C. The insertion of Er within the metallic sublattice of HfO2 reduces the net density of fixed charges, due to the creation of oxygen vacancies. For similar equivalent oxide thickness, lower leakage currents are measured for Er−doped HfO2 than for HfO2.
Note: Development of a small maglev-type antirolling system
Authors: Park Cheol Hoon , Park Hee Chang , Cho Han Wook , Moon Seok Jun , Chung Tae Young
Published: May 2010

Various passive and/or active antirolling devices have been used for suppressing the rolling motion of ships in the ocean. In this study, a maglev-type active mass driver (AMD) is developed for controlling the rolling motion of a shiplike structure. No friction is generated during the motion of this maglev-type AMD, as the moving mass is floated by the magnetic levitation force and displaced by the propulsion force generated by the linear motor. For verifying the feasibility of the proposed method, a small AMD having a moving mass of approximately 4.0 kg is constructed and used in a small-scale model of a catamaran. This paper presents the detailed design procedures and obtained experimental results. Our results show that the developed maglev-type AMD has the potential for use in controlling the rolling motion of ships and other oceanographic vessels.
Approaching chemical accuracy using full configuration-interaction quantum Monte Carlo: A study of ionization potentials
Authors: Booth George H. , Alavi Ali
Published: May 2010

A new quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method is used to calculate exact, full configuration-interaction (FCI) energies of the neutral and cationic elements from Li to Mg, in a family of commonly used basis sets. Annihilation processes between positive and negative walkers enable the exact N-electron wave function to emerge as a linear superposition of the (factorially large) space of Slater determinants, with individual determinants being stochastically sampled. As a result, extremely large spaces (exceeding 1015 determinants) become accessible for FCI calculations. No fixed-node approximation is necessary, and the only remaining source of error is the one-electron basis set, which can be systematically reduced by enlargement of the basis set. We have investigated the family of aug-cc-pVXZ Dunning basis sets up to X=5. The resulting ionization potentials are—with one exception (Na)—consistently accurate to within chemical accuracy. The anomalous case of Na suggests that its basis set may be improvable. Extrapolation schemes are examined as a way of further improving the values obtained, and although an improvement is seen in the mean-absolute error, the results of extrapolation are not uniformly better than the largest basis set calculations reported. More generally, these results demonstrate the utility of the QMC method to provide FCI energies for realistic systems and basis sets.
Slip due to surface roughness for a Newtonian liquid in a viscous microscale disk pump
Authors: Ligrani Phil , Blanchard Danny , Gale Bruce
Published: May 2010

In the present study, hydrophobic roughness is used to induce near-wall slip in a single rotating-disk micropump operating with Newtonian water. The amount of induced slip is altered by employing different sizes of surface roughness on the rotating disk. The magnitudes of slip length and slip velocities increase as the average size of the surface roughness becomes larger. In the present study, increased slip magnitudes from roughness are then associated with reduced pressure rise through the pump and lower radial-line-averaged shear stress magnitudes (determined within slip planes). Such shear stress and pressure rise variations are similar to those which would be present if the slip is induced by the intermolecular interactions which are associated with near-wall microscale effects. The present slip-roughness effects are quantified experimentally over rotational speeds from 50 to 1200 rpm, pressure increases from 0 to 312 kPa, net flow rates of 0–100 μl/min, and fluid chamber heights from 6.85 to 29.2 μm. Verification is provided by comparisons with analytic results determined from the rotating Couette flow forms of the Navier–Stokes equations, with different disk rotational speeds, disk roughness levels, and fluid chamber heights. These data show that slip length magnitudes show significant dependence on radial-line-averaged shear stress for average disk roughness heights of 404 and 770 nm. These slip length data additionally show a high degree of organization when normalized using by either the average roughness height or the fluid chamber height. For the latter case, such behavior provides evidence that the flow over a significant portion of the passage height is affected by the roughness, and near-wall slip velocities, especially when the average roughness height amounts to 11% of the h=6.86 μm passage height of the channel. Such scaling of the disk slip length bdisk with fluid chamber height h is consistent with d-type roughness scaling in macroscale flows.
Efficient charge injection from a high work function metal in high mobility n-type polymer field-effect transistors
Authors: Caironi M. , Newman C. , Moore J. R. , Natali D. , Yan H. , Facchetti A. , Sirringhaus H.
Published: May 2010

We demonstrate efficient electron injection from a high work function metal in staggered transistors based on the high mobility poly{[N,N′-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl]-alt-5,5′-(2,2′-bithiophene)}. Channel length scaling shows that the linear mobility for electrons remains higher than 0.1 cm2/V s when reducing the channel length to a few micrometers. Field-enhanced injection favors downscaling at a fixed lateral voltage and reduces the contact resistance to 11 kΩ cm at high gate voltages for channels of only a few micrometers. The contacts are asymmetric, with the source contribution dominating the overall resistance, consistent with an injection limited regime rather than bulk-limited as generally found in staggered transistors.
Printed energy storage devices by integration of electrodes and separators into single sheets of paper
Authors: Hu Liangbing , Wu Hui , Cui Yi
Published: May 2010

We report carbon nanotube thin film-based supercapacitors fabricated with printing methods, where electrodes and separators are integrated into single sheets of commercial paper. Carbon nanotube films are easily printed with Meyer rod coating or ink-jet printing onto a paper substrate due to the excellent ink absorption of paper. A specific capacity of 33 F/g at a high specific power of 250 000 W/kg is achieved with an organic electrolyte. Such a lightweight paper-based supercapacitor could be used to power paper electronics such as transistors or displays.
Effect of total pressure on the formation and size evolution of silicon quantum dots in silicon nitride films
Authors: Rezgui B. , Sibai A. , Nychyporuk T. , Lemiti M. , Bremond G. , Maestre D. , Palais O.
Published: May 2010

The size of silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) embedded in silicon nitride (SiNx) has been controlled by varying the total pressure in the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. This is evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and results in a shift in the light emission peak of the quantum dots. We show that the luminescence in our structures is attributed to the quantum confinement effect. These findings give a strong indication that the quality (density and size distribution) of Si QDs can be improved by optimizing the deposition parameters which opens a route to the fabrication of an all-Si tandem solar cell.
Anthony Edward Perry 1937 - 2001
Authors: Marusic Ivan , Smits Alexander J.
Published: May 2010

Tony Perry was one of Australia's most outstanding researchers in fluid mechanics, particularly in the study of turbulent fluid motion. He was a gifted experimentalist who advanced the techniques of hot-wire anemometry and quantitative flow visualization to make measurements of unparalleled accuracy to answer fundamental scaling questions. He also made seminal theoretical contributions to the physical modelling of wall-bounded turbulence, and pioneered flow topology approaches for the classification and description of fluid motions. He was a gifted lecturer, devoted supervisor to twenty PhD students, and a passionate and enthusiastic influence on numerous colleagues around the world.
Changes in Cu, Ni, and Zn availability following simulated conversion of biosolids-amended forest soils back to agricultural use
Authors: McLaren R. G. , Black A. , Clucas L. M.
Published: May 2010

In this study we examined the bioavailability and chemistry of Cu, Ni, and Zn in metal-spiked, biosolids-amended forest (Pinus radiata) soils that had undergone a simulated conversion back to agricultural use. Mixing of the biosolids-treated forest litter into the underlying mineral soil resulted in high concentrations of each metal in easily extractable and soil solution forms. There was also very little change in these concentrations during a subsequent 2-year incubation period of the samples. Chemical speciation of the soil solutions using WHAM 6 showed that Cu was dominated by organic complexes, whereas most Ni and Zn was present as Ni2+ and Zn2+, with generally <5% of these elements present as organic complexes. Addition of lime to the soils substantially decreased both readily extractable and soil solution metal concentrations. However, even in their unlimed state, although plant metal concentrations were increased by the original biosolids treatments, there were no adverse effects due to the metals on plant growth as determined in a wheat germination and seedling growth test. In this study, the DGT technique showed considerable promise for assessing metal availability to plants. However, the study suggests that conversion of biosolids-treated forest soils back for agricultural use is unlikely to result in any substantial problems related to the metal loadings built up in the forest litter layer.
Induction of regulatory T cells decreases adipose inflammation and alleviates insulin resistance in ob/ob mice
Authors: Ilan Yaron , Maron Ruth , Tukpah Ann-Marcia , Maioli Tatiani Uceli , Murugaiyan Gopal , Yang Kaiyong , Wu Henry Yim , Weiner Howard L.
Published: May 2010

Leptin-deficient ob/ob mice are overweight, develop insulin resistance, and serve as a model for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies suggest that inflammatory pathways are linked to the development of insulin resistance and T2D both in animals and humans. We asked whether the induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs) could alleviate the pathological and metabolic abnormalities in ob/ob mice. We induced TGF-β-dependent CD4
+
latency-associated peptide (LAP)-positive Tregs by oral administration of anti-CD3 antibody plus β-glucosylceramide. We found a decrease in pancreatic islet cell hyperplasia, fat accumulation in the liver, and inflammation in adipose tissue, accompanied by lower blood glucose and liver enzymes. In addition, treated animals had decreased CD11b
+
F4/80
+
macrophages and TNF-α in adipose tissue. Adoptive transfer of orally induced CD4
+
LAP
+
Tregs ameliorated metabolic and cytokine abnormalities. Our results demonstrate the importance of inflammation in T2D and identify a unique immunological approach for treatment of T2D by the induction of Tregs.
Euler integration over definable functions
Authors: Baryshnikov Yuliy , Ghrist Robert
Published: May 2010

We extend the theory of Euler integration from the class of constructible functions to that of “tame”
R
-valued functions (definable with respect to an o-minimal structure). The corresponding integral operator has some unusual defects (it is not a linear operator); however, it has a compelling Morse-theoretic interpretation. In addition, it is an advantageous setting in which to integrate in applications to diffused and noisy data in sensor networks.
Footprints of nonsentient design inside the human genome
Authors: Avise John C.
Published: May 2010

Intelligent design (ID)—the latest incarnation of religious creationism—posits that complex biological features did not accrue gradually via natural evolutionary forces but, instead, were crafted
ex nihilo
by a cognitive agent. Yet, many complex biological traits are gratuitously complicated, function poorly, and debilitate their bearers. Furthermore, such dysfunctional traits abound not only in the phenotypes but inside the genomes of eukaryotic species. Here, I highlight several outlandish features of the human genome that defy notions of ID by a caring cognitive agent. These range from de novo mutational glitches that collectively kill or maim countless individuals (including embryos and fetuses) to pervasive architectural flaws (including pseudogenes, parasitic mobile elements, and needlessly baroque regulatory pathways) that are endogenous in every human genome. Gross imperfection at the molecular level presents a conundrum for the traditional paradigms of natural theology as well as for recent assertions of ID, but it is consistent with the notion of nonsentient contrivance by evolutionary forces. In this important philosophical sense, the science of evolutionary genetics should rightly be viewed as an ally (not an adversary) of mainstream religions because it helps the latter to escape the profound theological enigmas posed by notions of ID.
Terrestrial apes and phylogenetic trees
Authors: Arsuaga Juan Luis
Published: May 2010

The image that best expresses Darwin’s thinking is the tree of life. However, Darwin’s human evolutionary tree lacked almost everything because only the Neanderthals were known at the time and they were considered one extreme expression of our own species. Darwin believed that the root of the human tree was very deep and in Africa. It was not until 1962 that the root was shown to be much more recent in time and definitively in Africa. On the other hand, some neo-Darwinians believed that our family tree was not a tree, because there were no branches, but, rather, a straight stem. The recent years have witnessed spectacular discoveries in Africa that take us close to the origin of the human tree and in Spain at Atapuerca that help us better understand the origin of the Neanderthals as well as our own species. The final form of the tree, and the number of branches, remains an object of passionate debate.
How grandmother effects plus individual variation in frailty shape fertility and mortality: Guidance from human–chimpanzee comparisons
Authors: Hawkes Kristen
Published: May 2010

In the first paper to present formal theory explaining that senescence is a consequence of natural selection, W. D. Hamilton concluded that human postmenopausal longevity results from the contributions of ancestral grandmothers to the reproduction of their relatives. A grandmother hypothesis, subsequently elaborated with additional lines of evidence, helps explain both exceptional longevity and additional features of life history that distinguish humans from the other great apes. However, some of the variation observed in aging rates seems inconsistent with the tradeoffs between current and future reproduction identified by theory. In humans and chimpanzees, our nearest living relatives, individuals who bear offspring at faster rates do not cease bearing sooner. They continue to be fertile longer instead. Furthermore, within both species, groups with lower overall mortality rates have faster rates of increase in death risk with advancing age. These apparent contradictions to the expected life history tradeoffs likely result from heterogeneity in frailty among individuals. Whereas robust and frail alike must allocate investments between current and future reproduction, the more robust can afford more of both. This heterogeneity, combined with evolutionary tradeoffs and the key role of ancestral grandmothers they identify, helps explain aspects of human aging that increasingly concern us all.