bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Narrating Karma and Rebirth
Authors: Appleton Naomi
Published: February 2014

Buddhism and Jainism share the concepts of karma, rebirth, and the desirability of escaping from rebirth. The literature of both traditions contains many stories about past, and sometimes future, lives which reveal much about these foundational doctrines. Naomi Appleton carefully explores how multi-life stories served to construct, communicate, and challenge ideas about karma and rebirth within early South Asia, examining portrayals of the different realms of rebirth, the potential paths and goals of human beings, and the biographies of ideal religious figures. Appleton also deftly surveys the ability of karma to bind individuals together over multiple lives, and the nature of the supernormal memory that makes multi-life stories available in the first place. This original study not only sheds light on the individual preoccupations of Buddhist and Jain tradition, but contributes to a more complete history of religious thought in South Asia, and brings to the foreground long-neglected narrative sources.
Nearest Star
Authors: Golub Leon , Pasachoff Jay M.
Published: February 2014

How did the Sun evolve, and what will it become? What is the origin of its light and heat? How does solar activity affect the atmospheric conditions that make life on Earth possible? These are the questions at the heart of solar physics, and at the core of this book. The Sun is the only star near enough to study in sufficient detail to provide rigorous tests of our theories and help us understand the more distant and exotic objects throughout the cosmos. Having observed the Sun using both ground-based and spaceborne instruments, the authors bring their extensive personal experience to this story revealing what we have discovered about phenomena from eclipses to neutrinos, space weather, and global warming. This second edition is updated throughout, and features results from the current spacecraft that are aloft, especially NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, for which one of the authors designed some of the telescopes.
Passionate Playgoing in Early Modern England
Authors: Hobgood Allison P.
Published: February 2014

Allison P. Hobgood tells a new story about the emotional experiences of theatregoers in Renaissance England. Through detailed case studies of canonical plays by Shakespeare, Jonson, Kyd and Heywood, the reader will discover what it felt like to be part of performances in English theatre and appreciate the key role theatregoers played in the life of early modern drama. How were spectators moved – by delight, fear or shame, for example – and how did their own reactions in turn make an impact on stage performances? Addressing these questions and many more, this book discerns not just how theatregoers were altered by drama's affective encounters, but how they were undeniable influences upon those encounters. Overall, Hobgood reveals a unique collaboration between the English world and stage, one that significantly reshapes the ways we watch, read and understand early modern drama.
Effects of surface corrugation on the stability of a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer
Authors: Ma’mun Mochamad Dady , Asai Masahito , Inasawa Ayumu
Published: February 2014

The effects of surface corrugation with small amplitude on the growth of Tollmien–Schlichting (T–S) waves were examined experimentally in a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer. Two- and three-dimensional corrugations of sinusoidal geometry with wavelengths of the same order as that of the two-dimensional T–S wave were considered. The corrugation amplitudes were one order of magnitude smaller than the boundary-layer displacement thickness. Streamwise growth of T–S waves on the corrugated walls was compared with that in the boundary layer on the smooth surface. A distinct difference was found in the destabilizing effect between the two- and three-dimensional corrugations. The two-dimensional corrugation significantly enhanced the growth of two-dimensional T–S waves even when the corrugation amplitude was only ∼10% of the displacement thickness. On decreasing the corrugation amplitude, the growth rate of two-dimensional T–S waves asymptotically approached that in the smooth-wall case. On the other hand, the three-dimensional corrugation had only a small influence on the growth of two-dimensional T–S waves even when the corrugation amplitude was as large as 20% of the displacement thickness. For three-dimensional corrugations, however, a pair of oblique waves was generated and developed by an interaction between the two-dimensional T–S wave and the corrugation-induced mean-flow distortion for the corrugation wavelength considered. On increasing the corrugation amplitude, the oblique waves generated were increased in amplitude and thus significantly influenced the secondary instability process.
The puzzle of chaotic neurodynamics
Authors: Borisyuk Roman
Published: February 2014

Experimental evidence and mathematical/computational models show that in many cases chaotic, nonregular oscillations are adequate to describe the dynamical behaviour of neural systems. Further work is needed to understand the meaning of this dynamical regime for modelling information processing in the brain.
IS IT WRONG TO EAT ANIMALS?
Authors: Lomasky Loren
Published: February 2014

Eating meat appeals, but the cost is measured in millions of slaughtered animals. This has convinced many that vegetarianism is morally superior to a carnivorous diet. Increasingly, those who take pleasure in consuming animals find it a guilty pleasure. Are they correct? That depends on the magnitude of harm done to food animals but also on what sort of a good, if any, meat eating affords people. This essay aims to estimate both variables and concludes that standard arguments for moral vegetarianism are significantly misplaced. That is because the contribution of meat eating to lives of excellence is underestimated and overall harms to animals consequent on practices of meat eating are overestimated. The answer to the question posed in the title is, therefore, “No.”
Scattered Pearls: Exploring al-Suyī's Hermeneutics and Use of Sources inal-Durr al-manthūr fī’l-tafsīr bi’l-maʾthūr
Authors: BURGE S. R.
Published: February 2014

Abrstract

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyī'sal-Durr al-manthūr fī’l-tafsīr bi’l-maʾthūris almost unique in presenting an exegesis based entirely onadīthmaterial, takingtafsīr bi’l-maʾthūrto the extreme. Since al-Suyī cites a source, or multiple sources, for every singleadīththat he includes in his collection, it is possible to gain some insight into his compositional method and the way in which he engages with source material. This article presents a statistical analysis of the sources in this exegesis, taking a sample of twenty-threesūras, including over 5,000aādīth. The source data is analysed and shows that there is a discernible pattern in al-Suyī's use of sources and that there is much to learn from studying this source data in detail. Al-Suyī's hermeneutical method is closely aligned with those of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathīr, and this article will also examine the extent to whichal-Durr al-manthūrcan be viewed as the culmination of Ibn Taymmiyya's approach totafsīr.
4DCT radiotherapy for NSCLC: a review of planning methods
Authors: Hutchinson A. , Bridge P.
Published: February 2014

Purpose

To establish whether the use of a passive or active technique of planning target volume (PTV) definition and treatment methods for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) deliver the most effective results. This literature review assesses the advantages and disadvantages in recent studies of each, while assessing the validity of the two approaches for planning and treatment.

Methods

A systematic review of literature focusing on the planning and treatment of radiation therapy to NSCLC tumours. Different approaches which have been published in recent articles are subjected to critical appraisal in order to determine their relative efficacy.

Results

Free-breathing (FB) is the optimal method to perform planning scans for patients and departments, as it involves no significant increase in cost, workload or education. Maximum intensity projection (MIP) is the fastest form of delineation, however it is noted to be less accurate than the ten-phase overlap approach for computed tomography (CT). Although gating has proven to reduce margins and facilitate sparing of organs at risk, treatment times can be longer and planning time can be as much as 15 times higher for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). This raises issues with patient comfort and stabilisation, impacting on the chance of geometric miss. Stereotactic treatments can take up to 3 hours to treat, along with increases in planning and treatment, as well as the additional hardware, software and training required.

Conclusion

Four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) is superior to 3DCT, with the passive FB approach for PTV delineation and treatment optimal. Departments should use a combination of MIP with visual confirmation ensuring coverage for stage 1 disease. Stages 2–3 should be delineated using ten-phases overlaid. Stereotactic and gated treatments for early stage disease should be used accordingly; FB-IMRT is optimal for latter stage disease.
Machines, modernity, and sugar: the Greater Caribbean in a global context, 1812–50
Authors: Ortega José Guadalupe
Published: February 2014

This article examines the diffusion of evaporation technology along multi-centred and overlapping scientific, industrial, and commercial knowledge networks. It follows the circulation of vacuum pan (steam evaporator) technology in the Greater Caribbean, the North Atlantic, and the East Indies in order to understand the dual processes of invention and globalization. The article demonstrates that the tropical sugar plantation served as an experimental laboratory and, as such, vital inventions and engineering developments that took place in this space were subsequently incorporated into manufacturing designs in the North Atlantic, helping to modernize European industries in the process. As transient intermediaries, scientists, industrialists, and engineers modified and adapted vacuum pan technologies to meet the local demands of planters in the Greater Caribbean, thereby integrating this area into an increasingly globalized economy.
Immigration restriction: rethinking period and place from settler colonies to postcolonial nations
Authors: Bashford Alison
Published: February 2014

Immigration acts have long been analysed as instrumental to the working of the modern nation-state. A particular focus has been the racial exclusions and restrictions that were adopted by aspirationally white, new world nation-states: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. This article looks again at the long modern history of immigration restriction in order to connect the history of these settler-colonial race-based exclusions (much studied) with immigration restriction in postcolonial nation-states (little studied). It argues for the need to expand the scope of immigration restriction histories geographically, temporally and substantively: beyond the settler nation, beyond the Second World War, and beyond ‘race’. The article focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, bringing into a single analytical frame the early immigration laws of New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Canada on the one hand and those of Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Fiji on the other.
De-coca-colonizing Egypt: globalization, decolonization, and the Egyptian boycott of Coca-Cola, 1966–68
Authors: Labelle Maurice Jr M.
Published: February 2014

In the middle of the twentieth century, many Egyptians welcomed the arrival of Coca-Cola.Yet the Egyptian embrace of Coke drastically declined when, in April 1966, the firm consented to the opening of a bottling franchise in Israel. This article explores the de-coca-colonization of post-independence Egypt. The Coca-Cola Company's reluctance to revoke its commercial extension into Israel obliged the Egyptian government to reject the multinational corporation's discourse of development, view Coke as a political threat, vote in favour of an Arab League boycott, and ultimately close its borders to Coca-Cola. By doing so, the Cairo government did not reject either cultural globalization or economic modernization, nor was it disconnected from the global flow of capital, people, ideas, and goods, but it chose to concentrate its support on one of these processes: decolonization.
Historiography and narration in transnational history
Authors: Knudsen Ann-Christina L. , Gram-Skjoldager Karen
Published: February 2014

The ‘transnational turn’ has been one of the most widely debated historiographical directions in the past decade or so. This article explores one of its landmark publications: The Palgrave dictionary of transnational history (2009), which presents around 400 entries on transnational history written by around 350 authors from some 25 countries. Drawing on narrative theory and the sociology of knowledge, the article develops an extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the most prominent narrative structures that can be found across the Dictionary, thus piecing together a coherent historiographical portrait of the book's many and multifarious entries. In doing so the article wishes to demonstrate a possible methodology for analysing the growing body of reference works – in the form of dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and handbooks – that are currently mushrooming in expanding research areas across the social sciences and the humanities such as international relations, governance, and globalization studies.
When I Becomes We
Authors: Roth Jenny , Steffens Melanie C.
Published: February 2014

Preference for in-groups over out-groups (intergroup bias) is a general and robust phenomenon. The personal self has been theorized to be a source of intergroup bias. In two studies, participants were categorized randomly without any-not even simulated-trait-based similarity between the personal self and the in-group. Findings demonstrate that the interplay of implicit personal self-esteem and group identification (i.e., associative self-anchoring) relates to implicit intergroup bias. We suggest that associative self-anchoring can be a process that establishes a balance between the concept of the self, the group, and traits.
Late-Onset Epilepsy and Occult Cerebrovascular Disease
Authors: Gibson Lorna M , Hanby Martha F , Al-Bachari Sarah M , Parkes Laura M , Allan Stuart M , Emsley Hedley CA
Published: February 2014

The interface between cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and epilepsy is complex and multifaceted. Late-onset epilepsy (LOE) is increasingly common and is often attributed to CVD, and is indeed associated with an increased risk of stroke. This relationship is easily recognizable where there is a history of stroke, particularly involving the cerebral cortex. However, the relationship with otherwise occult, subcortical CVD is currently less well established yet causality is often invoked. In this review, we consider the diagnosis of LOE in clinical practice—including its behaviour as a potential mimic of acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack; evidence for an association between occult CVD and LOE; and potential mechanisms of epileptogenesis in occult CVD, including potential interrelationships between disordered cerebral metabolism and perfusion, disrupted neurovascular unit integrity, blood–brain barrier dysfunction, and inflammation. We also discuss recently recognized issues concerning antiepileptic drug treatment and vascular risk and consider a variety of less common CVD entities associated with seizures.
Greenhouse conditions induce mineralogical changes and dolomite accumulation in coralline algae on tropical reefs
Authors: Diaz-Pulido Guillermo , Nash Merinda C. , Anthony Kenneth R.N. , Bender Dorothea , Opdyke Bradley N. , Reyes-Nivia Catalina , Troitzsch Ulrike
Published: February 2014

Human-induced ocean acidification and warming alter seawater carbonate chemistry reducing the calcification of reef-building crustose coralline algae (CCA), which has implications for reef stability. However, due to the presence of multiple carbonate minerals with different solubilities in seawater, the algal mineralogical responses to changes in carbonate chemistry are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate a 200% increase in dolomite concentration in living CCA under greenhouse conditions of high pCO2 (1,225 μatm) and warming (30 °C). Aragonite, in contrast, increases with lower pCO2 (296 μatm) and low temperature (28 °C). Mineral changes in the surface pigmented skeleton are minor and dolomite and aragonite formation largely occurs in the white crust beneath. Dissolution of high-Mg-calcite and particularly the erosive activities of endolithic algae living inside skeletons play key roles in concentrating dolomite in greenhouse treatments. As oceans acidify and warm in the future, the relative abundance of dolomite in CCA will increase.
Population Pharmacokinetics of Inhaled Tobramycin Powder in Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Authors: Ting L , Aksenov S , Bhansali SG , Ramakrishna R , Tang P , Geller DE
Published: February 2014

Tobramycin powder for inhalation (TOBI Podhaler or TIP) is approved for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). A population pharmacokinetic model for tobramycin inhalation powder (TIP) in CF patients was developed to characterize the effect of covariates including body mass index (BMI) and lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s as percent of the predicted value (FEV1% predicted) at baseline) on the serum exposure parameters.

A two‐compartment model with first‐order elimination and first‐order absorption was developed. Across a range of baseline demographic values in the study population, the predicted mean values for the maximum (Cmax) and trough (Ctrough) plasma concentrations at steady state were at least 7.5 and 5‐fold lower, respectively, than the recommended thresholds for tobramycin toxicity (12 µg/ml for Cmax and 2 µg/ml for Ctrough). This model adequately described the tobramycin serum concentration–time course in CF patients following inhalation of TIP. The results indicate that no BMI‐ or FEV1‐based dose adjustment is needed for use of TIP in CF patients.

CPT Pharmacometrics Syst. Pharmacol. (2014) 3, e99; doi:10.1038/psp.2013.76; published online 12 February 2014
Direct N9-arylation of purines with aryl halides
Authors: Larsen Anders Foller , Ulven Trond
Published: February 2014

The reported protocol is the first to be demonstrated to efficiently couple aryl halides to purines with predictable selectivity.
Artificial heme-proteins: determination of axial ligand orientations through paramagnetic NMR shifts
Authors: Vicari Claudia , Saraiva Ivo H. , Maglio Ornella , Nastri Flavia , Pavone Vincenzo , Louro Ricardo O. , Lombardi Angela
Published: February 2014

An empirical equation, describing the relationship between paramagnetic shifts and axial ligand orientations has been applied to an artificial bis-histidine ferriheme-protein, in order to determine the geometry of the active site.
A semiconducting microporous framework of Cd6Ag4(SPh)16 clusters interlinked using rigid and conjugated bipyridines
Authors: Xu Chao , Hedin Niklas , Shi Hua-Tian , Zhang Qian-Feng
Published: February 2014

Ternary chalcogenolate clusters were interlinked with bipyridines into a microporous semiconducting framework with good photocatalytic activity for degradation of rhodamine B.
Ln–Cd heterometal organic–inorganic hybrid materials based on diverse Ln–Cd oxo-cluster chains: syntheses, structures and visible luminescence
Authors: Sun Yan-Qiong , Liu Qi , Zhou Liang-Liang , Chen Yi-Ping
Published: February 2014

Two types of luminescent Ln–Cd heterometal complexes,IandII, based on diverse Ln–Cd oxo-clusters have been synthesized and characterized.
Coupled-cluster and density functional theory studies of the electronic 0–0 transitions of the DNA bases
Authors: Ovchinnikov Vasily A. , Sundholm Dage
Published: February 2014

The 0–0 transitions of the electronic excitation spectra of the lowest tautomers of the four nucleotide (DNA) bases have been studied using linear-response approximate coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CC2) calculations.
Diffusion of atomic oxygen relevant to water formation in amorphous interstellar ices
Authors: Lee Myung Won , Meuwly Markus
Published: February 2014

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations together with accurate physics-based force fields are employed to determine the mobility of atomic oxygen in amorphous ice at low temperatures, characteristic for conditions in interstellar ices. From the simulations it is found that the mobility of atomic oxygen ranges from 60 to 480 Å2 ns−1 in amorphous ice at temperatures between 50 and 200 K. Hence, the simulations establish that atomic oxygen is mobile to a certain degree and a chemical mechanism for water formation involving oxygen mobility is a realistic scenario. This is also confirmed by the computed migration barriers for oxygen diffusion by multiple umbrella sampling simulations, which yield barriers for diffusion in the range of 0.7–1.9 kcal mol−1. The physics-based force field – based on a multipolar expansion of the electrostatic interactions – yields more pronounced energetics for oxygen migration pathways compared to the conventional point-charge models employed in typical simulations. Once formed, the computed solvation free energy suggests that atomic oxygen thermodynamically prefers to be localized inside amorphous ice and is available for chemical reaction, which may be relevant to water formation in and on grains.
Recent advances in asymmetric intra- and intermolecular halofunctionalizations of alkenes
Authors: Cheng Yi An , Yu Wesley Zongrong , Yeung Ying-Yeung
Published: February 2014

Recent examples of catalytic and asymmetric intramolecular and intermolecular halofunctionalization reactions are reviewed.
Iron-catalyzed/mediated oxidative transformation of C–H bonds
Authors: Jia Fan , Li Zhiping
Published: February 2014

Iron-catalyzed/mediated C–H bond oxidation has been demonstrated as one of practical and straightforward tools in synthetic chemistry.
New crystal structure and discharge efficiency of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blend films
Authors: Peng Guirong , Zhao Xiaojia , Zhan Zaiji , Ci Shengzong , Wang Qian , Liang Yanjuan , Zhao Mingliang
Published: February 2014

Most researchers proved that adding PMMA in PVDF can reduce the crystal size of β-phase and improve the discharge efficiency. However, we found that PMMA could facilitate the formation of a new crystal variety (γ-2b), which contributes more to the improvement of discharge efficiency.
A pillared–layered zincoborate with an anionic network containing unprecedented zinc oxide chains
Authors: Zhao Pei , Lin Zhi-En , Wei Qi , Cheng Lin , Yang Guo-Yu
Published: February 2014

The first pillared–layered 3D zincoborate framework built by Zn–O–B networks and 1,6-diaminohexane pillars, in which the {Zn2} and {Zn6} clusters linked alternately to form zigzag chains and joined by BO3 units, resulting in 2D networks that were further decorated by B3O7H2 clusters.
Advances in the molecular design of potential anticancer agents via targeting of human telomeric DNA
Authors: Maji Basudeb , Bhattacharya Santanu
Published: February 2014

Telomerase is an attractive drug target to develop new generation drugs against cancer.
An interatomic potential for saturated hydrocarbons based on the modified embedded-atom method
Authors: Nouranian S. , Tschopp M. A. , Gwaltney S. R. , Baskes M. I. , Horstemeyer M. F.
Published: February 2014

Extension of the computationally efficient modified embedded-atom method to hydrocarbons and polymers.
Theoretical insight into chlorine adsorption on the Fe(100) surface
Authors: Altarawneh Mohammednoor , Saraireh Sherin A.
Published: February 2014

These results will help to understand and reduce the emission of iron chlorides from the use of commercial oil lubricants.
A tetrazole-based fluorescence “turn-on” sensor for Al(iii) and Zn(ii) ions and its application in bioimaging
Authors: Ding Wei-Hua , Cao Wei , Zheng Xiang-Jun , Ding Wan-Jian , Qiao Jin-Ping , Jin Lin-Pei
Published: February 2014

A dual fluorescent chemosensor for Al3+and Zn2+ions based on inhibition of ESIPT can be applied in bioimaging.
Mobile phones democratize and cultivate next-generation imaging, diagnostics and measurement tools
Authors: Ozcan Aydogan
Published: February 2014

Some of the emerging applications and the future opportunities and challenges created by the use of mobile phones and their embedded components for the development of next-generation imaging, sensing, diagnostics and measurement tools are discussed.
Synthesis of polystyrene with cyclic, ionized and neutralized end groups and the self-assemblies templated by breath figures
Authors: Zhu Liang-Wei , Yang Wu , Ou Yang , Wan Ling-Shu , Xu Zhi-Kang
Published: February 2014

Polymers with functional end groups are synthesized using a cyclic lactone ATRP initiator for honeycomb-patterned porous films by the breath figure method.
A catalyst-controlled selective synthesis of pyridines and pyrroles
Authors: Jiang Yaojia , Park Cheol-Min
Published: February 2014

We have developed a dual reaction manifold that enables the selective synthesis of both pyridines and pyrroles from the common substrates α-diazo oxime ethers.
Less is more: need to simplify ETSI distributed congestion control algorithm
Authors: Yang Seungnam , Kim Hyogon , Kuk Seungho
Published: February 2014

In the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) framework, the vehicle‐to‐vehicle (V2V) and the vehicle‐to‐roadside (V2R) communications on the 5 GHz frequency band must use the decentralised congestion control (DCC) algorithm standardised by the ETSI. The DCC algorithm distinguishes itself from other methods in that it simultaneously regulates no less than four parameters that all work to the identical effects. However, it is have claimed that this apparently reassuring feature is actually excessive and can lead DCC to perform sub‐optimally. It is shown that it could be simplified to use fewer parameters by demonstrating that a physical layer data rate control, which is only one of the four used by the DCC, achieves a better result.
Design of high port isolation access point MIMO system using centrally located hexahedron
Authors: Wang Shun‐Min , Hwang Lih‐Tyng , Chang Fa‐Shian , Liu Chih‐Fang
Published: February 2014

A novel dual‐band multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna system with diversity polarisation and high port isolation is proposed. The antenna system consists of six antennas (three antennas operate at 2.44 GHz and the others at 5.25 GHz) mounted on a hexagon ground plane and backed by a centrally located hexahedron. The antennas for different bands are arranged in an alternative fashion along the peripheral of the hexagonal ground. From simulation and experimental results, the proposed MIMO system has been shown to perform superbly at both the 2.44 and 5.25 GHz bands, with significant and consistent improvements in sidelobe levels and envelope correlation coefficients at the lower band due to the presence of the hexahedron.
Robust lightweight fingerprint encryption using random block feedback
Authors: Kim Yoonjeong , Yoon Jihye , Joo Jeong‐Hyun , Yi Kang
Published: February 2014

Fingerprint encryption in embedded environments should satisfy both lightweightedness and secureness. Normally, the encryption scheme divides the 8‐bit pixel images into bit planes and then performs full encryption for one bit plane, e.g. least significant bit plane, and simple operations for the remaining bit planes. Thus, the scheme performs better compared with the 8‐bit full encryption, while the security is decreased since only one bit plane is fully encrypted. An innovative fingerprint encryption scheme is proposed which supports better security while maintaining the overall performance. The proposed scheme uses a bit plane encryption and a random block feedback. The encryption schemes are implemented and tested with 320 sample fingerprint images. The result shows that the scheme has superior aspects compared with the existing bit plane encryption and even with the naive full encryption.
Stacked series‐fed linear array antenna with reduced sidelobe
Authors: Zhang X.M. , Huyan J.L. , Gao P.C. , Wang H. , Zheng Y.F.
Published: February 2014

At the C‐band, a double‐layer series‐fed linear array antenna is proposed. T‐shape and interdigital microstrip transmission lines are used to increase the impedance bandwidth and obtain a reduced sidelobe level (SLL). The antenna has a bandwidth (BW) of 28% (VSWR ≤ 2), a SLL of −20 dB and a gain of 13.5 dB across the BW of 23%. Details of the antenna design and the experimental results are presented.
Broadband miniaturised bow‐tie antenna for 3D microwave tomography
Authors: Jalilvand M. , Li X. , Kowalewski J. , Zwick T.
Published: February 2014

A broadband, miniaturised bow‐tie antenna array element designed to be used in three‐dimensional (3D) microwave imaging systems based on the tomographic approach is proposed. Miniaturisation is achieved by adding inductive strips to the capacitive antenna element and thereby lowering the cutoff operational frequency. Furthermore, the broadband directive radiation characteristic of the antenna with the proposed feeding network is equivalent to that of the same antenna being fed by an ideally symmetrical feeding network. This characteristic assists in the modelling of the antenna in the numerical solver. The proposed broadband antenna covering 0.85–3.25 GHz is a compact, directive element with a simple structure having the potential to be implemented in the numerical solver in 3D microwave tomography without imposing a high computational cost on the solver.
Dual‐element folded dipole design for broadband multilayered Yagi antenna for 2G/3G/LTE applications
Authors: Wang Zedong , Liu Xianglong , Yin Yingzeng , Wu Jianjun
Published: February 2014

A vertically multilayered Yagi antenna is presented. The antenna consists of a novel dual‐element folded dipole, three latticed director arrays and a ground plane. The dual‐element folded dipole is composed of a pair of folded dipoles which are fed by an internal feedline. It mainly makes the proposed Yagi have a bandwidth of 70.8% (1.34–2.83 GHz) for a return loss (RL) > 10 dB. The latticed director arrays and the ground plane are utilised to enhance the gain performance of the multilayered Yagi antenna. The measured and the simulated results indicate that a gain better than 10.8 dB and a front‐to‐back ratio (FBR) higher than 20 dB can be obtained in the frequency range 1.7–2.83 GHz which covers the second generation 2G/3G/long‐term evaluation (LTE) application.
Hierarchical tone mapping based on image colour appearance model
Authors: Xiao Jinsheng , Li Wenhao , Liu Guoxiong , Shaw Shih‐Lung , Zhang Yongqin
Published: February 2014

To solve the problem of low efficiency and poor effect of the current tone mapping methods for the high dynamic range images, the authors propose a hierarchical tone mapping algorithm based on colour appearance model. The discrete Gaussian kernel is used to speed up the bilateral filter. The operation of tone compression in RGB colour space is adopted to correct the colour casts. The extreme values of the pixels are also adjusted in the detail layer. Moreover, after the tone mapping, the colour saturation is enhanced in the image regions of rich details and sharp edges. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm with less computational cost reduces the halo effect significantly, and achieves the natural colour and the rich details. It outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art methods in terms of visual quality and objective indicators.
Few micrometers wide, perfectly isolating scribes in transparent conductive oxide layers prepared by femtosecond laser processing
Authors: Krause S. , Miclea P.-T. , Steudel F. , Schweizer S. , Seifert G.
Published: February 2014

Laser ablation for the preparation of isolating trenches in transparent conductive oxide films on glass has been studied comparing the use of nano- and femtosecond pulses at approximately 1 μm wavelength. By a detailed analysis of the obtained ablation craters and grooves, it can be shown that this processing, which is called P1 scribing in the field of thin film photovoltaics, can be considerably optimized with so-called “cold” ablation: Using femtosecond pulses, the P1 scribe can be done with almost rectangular cross section profiles, achieving the required electrical separation already at widths well below 10 μm, without thermal and mechanical stresses in the substrate or adjacent material. Analogous preliminary results for P2 scribes indicate that this technique allows reducing the total scribe region (optically inactive zone) to widths below 50 μm.
Single-layer graphene on silicon nitride micromembrane resonators
Authors: Schmid Silvan , Bagci Tolga , Zeuthen Emil , Taylor Jacob M. , Herring Patrick K. , Cassidy Maja C. , Marcus Charles M. , Guillermo Villanueva Luis , Amato Bartolo , Boisen Anja , Cheol Shin Yong , Kong Jing , Sørensen Anders S. , Usami Koji , Polzik Eugene S.
Published: February 2014

Due to their low mass, high quality factor, and good optical properties, silicon nitride (SiN) micromembrane resonators are widely used in force and mass sensing applications, particularly in optomechanics. The metallization of such membranes would enable an electronic integration with the prospect for exciting new devices, such as optoelectromechanical transducers. Here, we add a single-layer graphene on SiN micromembranes and compare electromechanical coupling and mechanical properties to bare dielectric membranes and to membranes metallized with an aluminium layer. The electrostatic coupling of graphene covered membranes is found to be equal to a perfectly conductive membrane, without significantly adding mass, decreasing the superior mechanical quality factor or affecting the optical properties of pure SiN micromembranes. The concept of graphene-SiN resonators allows a broad range of new experiments both in applied physics and fundamental basic research, e.g., for the mechanical, electrical, or optical characterization of graphene.
A novel single-phase flux-switching permanent magnet linear generator used for free-piston Stirling engine
Authors: Zheng Ping , Sui Yi , Tong Chengde , Bai Jingang , Yu Bin , Lin Fei
Published: February 2014

This paper investigates a novel single-phase flux-switching permanent-magnet (PM) linear machine used for free-piston Stirling engines. The machine topology and operating principle are studied. A flux-switching PM linear machine is designed based on the quasi-sinusoidal speed characteristic of the resonant piston. Considering the performance of back electromotive force and thrust capability, some leading structural parameters, including the air gap length, the PM thickness, the ratio of the outer radius of mover to that of stator, the mover tooth width, the stator tooth width, etc., are optimized by finite element analysis. Compared with conventional three-phase moving-magnet linear machine, the proposed single-phase flux-switching topology shows advantages in less PM use, lighter mover, and higher volume power density.
Kohn-Sham band gaps and potentials of solids from the optimised effective potential method within the random phase approximation
Authors: Klimeš Jiří , Kresse Georg
Published: February 2014

We present an implementation of the optimised effective potential (OEP) scheme for the exact-exchange (EXX) and random phase approximation (RPA) energy functionals and apply these methods to a range of bulk materials. We calculate the Kohn-Sham (KS) potentials and the corresponding band gaps and compare them to the potentials obtained by standard local density approximation (LDA) calculations. The KS gaps increase upon going from the LDA to the OEP in the RPA and finally to the OEP for EXX. This can be explained by the different depth of the potentials in the bonding and interstitial regions. To obtain the true quasi-particle gaps the derivative discontinuities or G0W0 corrections need to be added to the RPA-OEP KS gaps. The predicted G0W0@RPA-OEP quasi-particle gaps are about 5% too large compared to the experimental values. However, compared to G0W0 calculations based on local or semi-local functionals, where the errors vary between different materials, we obtain a rather consistent description among all the materials.
Enhanced ordering of water at hydrophobic surfaces
Authors: Strazdaite Simona , Versluis Jan , Backus Ellen H. G. , Bakker Huib J.
Published: February 2014

We study the properties of water molecules adjacent to a hydrophobic molecular layer with vibrational sum-frequency generation spectroscopy. We find that the water molecules at D2O/hexane, D2O/heptane, and D2O/polydimethylsiloxane interfaces show an enhanced ordering and stronger hydrogen-bond interactions than the water molecules at a D2O/air interface. With increasing temperature (up to 80 °C) the water structure becomes significantly less ordered and the hydrogen bonds become weaker.
Eosin-Y sensitized tin oxide photoelectrode for dye sensitized solar cell application: Effect of dye adsorption time
Authors: Arote Sandeep , Ingle Ravi , Tabhane Vilas , Pathan Habib
Published: February 2014

Metal oxide semiconductor photoanodes with wide band gap and higher electron mobility are essential for efficient charge injection and transportation in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In the present study, tin oxide (SnO2) was used as alternative semiconductor photoanode to the usually used TiO2 in DSSC. The effect of dye adsorption time (DAT) on performance of Eosin-Y sensitized SnO2 DSSC was studied. It was observed that the open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor, and short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc) vary prominently with the DAT. The value of Voc was found to be 363 mV with 24 h DAT even if with low cost Eosin-Y dye and which was comparable to those obtained with costly Ru-based dyes.
Field effect on digestive ripening of thiol-capped gold nanoparticles
Authors: Lin Meng-Lin , Yang Fuqian , Peng J. S. , Lee Sanboh
Published: February 2014

We studied the digestive ripening of thiol-capped gold nanoparticles under simultaneous action of electric field and reflux heating in a silicone oil bath at 130 °C, using transmission electron microscopy. Observation revealed that a polydispersed gold nanoparticle system reached the state of nearly monodispersity under the action of an electric field and the thiol-capped gold nanoparticles carried negative charges. The electric field caused the increase of the particle size for the nearly monodispersed gold nanoparticle system. The self-assembly of the nearly monodisperse gold nanoparticles under the action of an electric field of a high field intensity was observed. The gold nanoparticles tended to form self-assembled nanostructures of six-fold symmetry. This study provides a new route for system engineering to control the particle size of metallic nanoparticles by electric field and digestive ripening.
Simulations of DNA stretching by flow field in microchannels with complex geometry
Authors: Huang Chiou-De , Kang Dun-Yen , Hsieh Chih-Chen
Published: February 2014

Recently, we have reported the experimental results of DNA stretching by flow field in three microchannels (C. H. Lee and C. C. Hsieh, Biomicrofluidics 7(1), 014109 (2013)) designed specifically for the purpose of preconditioning DNA conformation for easier stretching. The experimental results do not only demonstrate the superiority of the new devices but also provides detailed observation of DNA behavior in complex flow field that was not available before. In this study, we use Brownian dynamics-finite element method (BD-FEM) to simulate DNA behavior in these microchannels, and compare the results against the experiments. Although the hydrodynamic interaction (HI) between DNA segments and between DNA and the device boundaries was not included in the simulations, the simulation results are in fairly good agreement with the experimental data from either the aspect of the single molecule behavior or from the aspect of ensemble averaged properties. The discrepancy between the simulation and the experimental results can be explained by the neglect of HI effect in the simulations. Considering the huge savings on the computational cost from neglecting HI, we conclude that BD-FEM can be used as an efficient and economic designing tool for developing new microfluidic device for DNA manipulation.
Core-shell ITO/ZnO/CdS/CdTe nanowire solar cells
Authors: Williams B. L. , Taylor A. A. , Mendis B. G. , Phillips L. , Bowen L. , Major J. D. , Durose K.
Published: February 2014

Radial p-n junction nanowire (NW) solar cells with high densities of CdTe NWs coated with indium tin oxide (ITO)/ZnO/CdS triple shells were grown with excellent heterointerfaces. The optical reflectance of the devices was lower than for equivalent planar films by a factor of 100. The best efficiency for the NW solar cells was η = 2.49%, with current transport being dominated by recombination, and the conversion efficiencies being limited by a back contact barrier (ϕB = 0.52 eV) and low shunt resistances (RSH < 500 Ω·cm2).
Dynamical steering in an electron transfer surface reaction: Oriented NO(v = 3, 0.08 < Ei < 0.89 eV) relaxation in collisions with a Au(111) surface
Authors: Bartels Nils , Golibrzuch Kai , Bartels Christof , Chen Li , Auerbach Daniel J. , Wodtke Alec M. , Schäfer Tim
Published: February 2014

We report measurements of the incidence translational energy dependence of steric effects in collisions of NO(v = 3) molecules with a Au(111) surface using a recently developed technique to orient beams of vibrationally excited NO molecules at incidence energies of translation between 0.08 and 0.89 eV. Incidence orientation dependent vibrational state distributions of scattered molecules are detected by means of resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization spectroscopy. Molecules oriented with the N-end towards the surface exhibit a higher vibrational relaxation probability than those oriented with the O-end towards the surface. This strong orientation dependence arises from the orientation dependence of the underlying electron transfer reaction responsible for the vibrational relaxation. At reduced incidence translational energy, we observe a reduced steric effect. This reflects dynamical steering and re-orientation of the NO molecule upon its approach to the surface.
Combining path-breaking with bidirectional nonequilibrium simulations to improve efficiency in free energy calculations
Authors: Giovannelli Edoardo , Gellini Cristina , Pietraperzia Giangaetano , Cardini Gianni , Chelli Riccardo
Published: February 2014

An important limitation of unidirectional nonequilibrium simulations is the amount of realizations of the process necessary to reach suitable convergence of free energy estimates via Jarzynski's relationship [C. Jarzynski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2690 (1997)]. To this regard, an improvement of the method has been achieved by means of path-breaking schemes [R. Chelli et al., J. Chem. Phys. 138, 214109 (2013)] based on stopping highly dissipative trajectories before their normal end, under the founded assumption that such trajectories contribute marginally to the work exponential averages. Here, we combine the path-breaking scheme, called probability threshold scheme, to bidirectional nonequilibrium methods for free energy calculations [G. E. Crooks, Phys. Rev. E 61, 2361 (2000); R. Chelli and P. Procacci, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 11, 1152 (2009)]. The method is illustrated and tested on a benchmark system, i.e., the helix-coil transition of deca-alanine. By using path-breaking in our test system, the computer time needed to carry out a series of nonequilibrium trajectories can be reduced up to a factor 4, with marginal loss of accuracy in free energy estimates.
Lattice architecture effect on the cooperativity of spin transition coordination polymers
Authors: Chiruta Daniel , Jureschi Catalin-Maricel , Linares Jorge , Garcia Yann , Rotaru Aurelian
Published: February 2014

We have investigated in the framework of the Ising-like model, by means of Monte Carlo Metropolis method with open boundary condition, the architecture effect on the cooperativity of spin transition coordination polymers. We have analyzed the influence of several physical parameters (size, pressure, and edge effects) on different lattice architectures which were in good agreement with reported experimental data. We show that the cooperativity of a spin crossover system, characterized by the same number of molecules and the same short- and long-range interaction parameters, is progressively enhanced when going from a 1D chain to a 1D ladder type lattice and to a 2D square lattice.
Electronic responses of long chains to electrostatic fields: Hartree-Fock vs. density-functional theory: A model study
Authors: Vargas Jorge , Springborg Michael , Kirtman Bernard
Published: February 2014

The response to an electrostatic field is determined through simple model calculations, within both the restricted Hartree-Fock and density functional theory methods, for long, finite as well as infinite, periodic chains. The permanent dipole moment, μ0, the polarizability, α, and the hyperpolarizabilities β and γ, calculated using a finite-field approach, are extensively analyzed. Our simple model allows for treatment of large systems and for separation of the properties into atomic and unit-cell contributions. That part of the response properties attributable to the terminations of the finite system change into delocalized current contributions in the corresponding infinite periodic system. Special emphasis is placed on analyzing the reasons behind the dramatic overestimation of the response properties found with density functional theory methods presently in common use.
Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in epitaxially strained cobalt-ferrite (001) thin films
Authors: Yanagihara H. , Utsumi Y. , Niizeki T. , Inoue J. , Kita Eiji
Published: February 2014

We investigated the dependencies of both the magnetization characteristics and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of CoxFe3–xO4(001) epitaxial films (x = 0.5 and 0.75) on the growth conditions of the reactive magnetron sputtering process. Both saturation magnetization and the magnetic uniaxial anisotropy constant Ku are strongly dependent on the reactive gas (O2) flow rate, although there is little difference in the surface structures for all samples observed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. In addition, certain dead-layer-like regions were observed in the initial stage of the film growth for all films. Our results suggest that the magnetic properties of CoxFe3–xO4 epitaxial films are governed by the oxidation state and the film structure at the vicinity of the interface.