bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Laser-induced fine structures on silicon exposed to THz-FEL
Authors: Irizawa Akinori , Suga Shigemasa , Nagashima Takeshi , Higashiya Atsushi , Hashida Masaki , Sakabe Shuji
Published: December 2017

We found the irradiation of focused linearly polarized terahertz (THz)-waves emitted from THz free-electron laser (THz-FEL) engraved fine periodic stripe structures on the surfaces of single-crystal Si wafers. The experiments were performed at several wavelengths ranging from 50 to 82 μm with a macro-pulse fluence up to 32 J/cm2. The engraved structures are considered equivalent to the laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) produced by the irradiation of a femtosecond (fs)-pulsed laser in the near-infrared (NIR) region. However, the minimum period of ∼1/25 of the wavelength in the present case of THz-FEL is surely much smaller than those reported so far by use of fs-lasers and no more explicable by the so far proposed mechanisms. The finer LIPSS confirmed by longer-wavelength laser excitation by means of THz-FEL motivates investigation into the universal mechanism of LIPSS formation, which has been under a hot debate for decades.
Improved ferroelectric and photovoltaic properties of BiMnO3 modified lead-free K0.5Na0.5NbO3 solid-solution films
Authors: Sun Yizhu , Guo Fei , Chen Jieyu , Zhao Shifeng
Published: December 2017

Lead-free K0.5Na0.5NbO3/BiMnO3 solid-solution films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by solution-gelation methods. The effects of the BiMnO3 addition on the electric, bandgap, and photovoltaic properties were investigated systematically. It is shown that, compared with traditional K0.5Na0.5NbO3 films, BiMnO3 modification obviously enhances the ferroelectric properties due to the depression of the leakage current and the improvement of the domain. More importantly, the ferroelectric photovoltaic effect is observed with a large short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage in the lead-free solution films, which is ascribed to the excellent ferroelectric properties and photovoltaic response in the visible region derived from the narrow bandgap modified by BiMnO3. The present work provides strong candidates to be applied in environmentally friendly lead-free ferroelectric photovoltaic solar cell and information storage devices.
Inorganic nanofilms for surface charge control on polymer surfaces by atmospheric-pressure plasma deposition
Authors: Wang Ruixue , Lin Haofan , Gao Yuan , Ren Chengyan , Ostrikov Kostya (Ken) , Shao Tao
Published: December 2017

An effective surface charge removal is critical to diverse applications of polymer and other soft organic materials in electrical devices and systems. Here, we report on the application of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (AP-DBD) to deposit SiOx thin films to improve the surface charge dissipation on an epoxy resin surface. The SiOx nanofilms are formed at atmospheric pressure, with the replacement of organic groups (C-H, C=O and C=C) with inorganic groups (Si-O-Si and Si-OH) within the thin surface layer. After the plasma deposition, the initial surface charge decreased by 12% and the surface charge dissipation was accelerated. The flashover voltage which characterizes the insulation property of the epoxy resin is increased by 42%. These improvements are attributed to the lower density of shallow charge traps introduced by SiOx film deposition, which also corresponds to the surface conductivity increase. These results suggest that the SiOx deposition by AP-DBD is promising to accelerate surface charge dissipation. This method is generic, applicable for other types of precursors and may open new avenues for the development of next-generation organic-inorganic insulation materials with customized charge dissipation properties.
Note: Pulsed single longitudinal mode optical parametric oscillator for sub-Doppler spectroscopy of jet cooled transient species
Authors: Zhang Qiang , Zhu Boxing , Zhang Deping , Gu Jingwang , Zhao Dongfeng , Chen Yang
Published: December 2017

We present a pulsed single longitudinal mode optical parametric oscillator that was recently constructed for sub-Doppler spectroscopic studies of transient species in a supersonic slit jet expansion environment. The system consists of a Littman-type grazing-incidence-grating resonator and a KTP crystal and is pumped at 532 nm. By spatially filtering the pump laser beam and employing an active cavity-length-stabilization scheme, a frequency down-conversion efficiency up to 18% and generation of Fourier-transform limited pulses with a typical pulse duration of ∼5.5 ns and a bandwidth less than 120 MHz have been achieved. In combination with a slit jet expansion, a sub-Doppler spectrum of SiC2 has been recorded at ∼498 nm, showing a spectral resolution of Δν/ν ≈ 6.2 × 10−7.
Note: A self-calibrating wide range electrometer for in-cloud measurements
Authors: Harrison R. Giles , Marlton Graeme J. , Nicoll Keri A. , Airey Martin W. , Williams Paul D.
Published: December 2017

Charge is observed in clouds of all forms, which may influence their development and properties. In-cloud charge measurements require a wide dynamic range, extending from charge in aerosols and dusts to that present in thunderstorms. Unexpectedly large charge densities (>200 pC m−3) have recently been detected in layer clouds using balloon-carried linear electrometers. These, however, lead to instrument saturation if sufficient sensitivity for aerosol and droplet charge is maintained. Logarithmic electrometers provide an alternative but suffer strong non-linear thermal effects. This is a limitation for balloon-carried instruments that encounter temperature changes up to ∼100 °C, as full thermal compensation requires complexity inappropriate for disposable devices. Here, a novel hybrid system is described, combining linear and logarithmic electrometers to provide extended dynamic range (±50 pA), employing the negligible (±4%) total temperature drift of the linear device to provide in situ calibration of the logarithmic device. This combination opens up new measurement opportunities for charge in clouds, dusts, and aerosols.
Lithography-free resistance thermometry based technique to accurately measure Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity for organic and inorganic thin films
Authors: Kumar Pawan , Repaka D. V. Maheswar , Hippalgaonkar Kedar
Published: December 2017

We have developed a new and accurate technique to measure temperature dependent in-plane Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of organic and inorganic thin films. The measurement device consists of one heater, two thermometers, and a four-probe configuration which is patterned on a substrate of choice using a simple shadow mask. The high resolution in temperature measurements and repeatability of resistance thermometry is leveraged while enabling simple implementation using only a shadow mask for patterning. We calibrate the technique using nickel and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) thin films. The error bar for the Seebeck coefficient is less than 1%, almost 10 times better than complementary techniques for thin films. Moreover, our method enables high-throughput characterization of thermoelectric properties of a variety of different large area inorganic and organic thin films that can be prepared by spin coating, drop casting, evaporation, sputtering, or any other growth technique and hence has potential for wide usage in the thermoelectrics and nanoscale transport community to study thin films.
Mineralisation of soil organic carbon in two Andisols under oil palm: an incubation study into controlling factors
Authors: Goodrick I. , Nelson P. N.
Published: December 2017

Understanding the factors controlling stability against mineralisation of soil organic matter is important for predicting changes in carbon stocks under changed environment or management. Soil carbon dynamics in oil palm plantations are little studied and have some characteristics that are unusual compared with other agricultural soils, such as high management-induced spatial variability and warm moist conditions. The aim of this work was to determine the factors controlling the mineralisability of the intermediate-stability carbon fraction of volcanic ash surface soils (0–5 and 15–20 cm depth) from oil palm plantations in Papua New Guinea. Soils with carbon contents of 2.2–35.2%, from areas with low and high organic matter inputs, were incubated for up to 812 days and soil respiration was measured periodically. Mean carbon turnover rates were 0.18–1.58, 0.07–0.23 and 0.03–0.07 a–1 on Days 54, 379 and 812 respectively. Turnover rate was initially (Day 54) correlated with pre-incubation total carbon content (r = 0.88), the ratio of permanganate-oxidisable carbon to total carbon (r = 0.62) and the ratio of oxalate-extractable Al and Fe to total carbon (r = –0.51 and –0.54 respectively), but the correlations decreased with time, being insignificant on Day 812. In the soils that had changed from C4 grassland 25 years previously, turnover rate was negatively correlated with δ13C, which increased with depth, but δ13C did not change significantly over the course of the incubation. Temperature sensitivity of mineralisation varied little, despite large differences in soil properties and changes in mineralisation rate. This suggested that turnover rates were affected to similar extents by biochemical recalcitrance and physical protection, as these two factors influence temperature sensitivity in opposing directions. Physico-chemical protection of organic matter appeared largely related to interaction with poorly crystalline Al and Fe oxides.
Perennials but not slope aspect affect the diversity of soil bacterial communities in the northern Negev Desert, Israel
Authors: Vonshak Ahuva , Sklarz Menachem Y. , Hirsch Ann M. , Gillor Osnat
Published: December 2017

Underneath the canopy of perennials in arid regions, moderate soil temperature and evaporation, as well as plant litter create islands of higher fertility in the low-productivity landscape, known as ‘resource islands’. The sparse distribution of these resource islands is mirrored by soil microbial communities, which mediate a large number of biogeochemical transformations underneath the plants. We explored the link between the bacterial community composition and two prevalent desert shrubs, Zygophyllum dumosum and Artemisia herba-alba, on northern- and southern-facing slopes in the northern highlands of the Negev Desert (Israel), at the end of a drought winter mild rainy season. We sequenced the bacterial community and analysed the physicochemical properties of the soil under the shrub canopies and from barren soil in replicate slopes. The soil bacterial diversity was independent of slope aspect, but differed according to shrub presence or type. Links between soil bacterial community composition and their associated desert shrubs were found, enabling us to link bacterial diversity with shrub type or barren soils. Our results suggest that plants and their associated bacterial communities are connected to survival and persistence under the harsh desert conditions.
State-space multitaper time-frequency analysis
Authors: Kim Seong-Eun , Behr Michael K. , Ba Demba , Brown Emery N.
Published: December 2017

Significance

Rapid growth in sensor and recording technologies is spurring rapid growth in time series data. Nonstationary and oscillatory structure in time series is commonly analyzed using time-varying spectral methods. These widely used techniques lack a statistical inference framework applicable to the entire time series. We develop a state-space multitaper (SS-MT) framework for time-varying spectral analysis of nonstationary time series. We efficiently implement the SS-MT spectrogram estimation algorithm in the frequency domain as parallel 1D complex Kalman filters. In analyses of human EEGs recorded under general anesthesia, the SS-MT paradigm provides enhanced denoising (>10 dB) and spectral resolution relative to standard multitaper methods, a flexible time-domain decomposition of the time series, and a broadly applicable, empirical Bayes’ framework for statistical inference.
Observational evidence of European summer weather patterns predictable from spring
Authors: Ossó Albert , Sutton Rowan , Shaffrey Len , Dong Buwen
Published: December 2017

Significance

Forecasts of summer weather patterns months in advance would be of great value for a wide range of applications, from tourism to agriculture, water resource management, energy production, construction, and retail. However, dynamical model seasonal forecasts for European summers have very little skill. Here, we analyze atmosphere and ocean observations and identify evidence that a specific pattern of summertime atmospheric circulation over Western Europe is predictable from the previous spring North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures, and identify the mechanism involved. The atmospheric pattern has a particularly strong influence on rainfall in the British Isles and in the north coast of France, which we find can also be predicted months ahead with significant skill.
Atmospheric autoxidation is increasingly important in urban and suburban North America
Authors: Praske Eric , Otkjær Rasmus V. , Crounse John D. , Hethcox J. Caleb , Stoltz Brian M. , Kjaergaard Henrik G. , Wennberg Paul O.
Published: December 2017

Significance

Unimolecular hydrogen shift reactions to peroxy radicals have been shown to be important in the atmospheric photooxidation of isoprene and α-pinene. These studies also report the efficient generation of highly oxidized organic molecules known to contribute to particle formation and growth. Here, we quantify the rate of this oxidation pathway for peroxy radicals produced in the oxidation of
n
-hexane under conditions relevant to the atmosphere. The results suggest that autoxidation pathways are competitive against bimolecular reactions for a broad range of substrates, including many that result from urban emissions. The formation of organic hydroperoxides from atmospheric autoxidation has unknown implications for air quality.
C-terminal modification of the insulin B:11–23 peptide creates superagonists in mouse and human type 1 diabetes
Authors: Wang Yang , Sosinowski Tomasz , Novikov Andrey , Crawford Frances , Neau David B. , Yang Junbao , Kwok William W. , Marrack Philippa , Kappler John W. , Dai Shaodong
Published: December 2017

Significance

Insulin is a target of CD4 T cells in type 1 diabetes in mice and humans. Why the major epitope in the insulin B chain is presented poorly to the diabetogenic CD4 T cells by the disease-associated major histocompatibility class II (MHCII) alleles has been highly debated. Here we present high-resolution mouse and human MHCII structures and T-cell functional data to show that C-terminal modifications of this epitope are required for binding and presentation in the appropriate position in the MHCII binding groove. These results suggest that pancreas-specific posttranslational modifications of this peptide may play a role in the induction of diabetes and explain how the pathogenic T cells escape deletion in the thymus.
Three-dimensional forces exerted by leukocytes and vascular endothelial cells dynamically facilitate diapedesis
Authors: Yeh Yi-Ting , Serrano Ricardo , François Joshua , Chiu Jeng-Jiann , Li Yi-Shuan Julie , del Álamo Juan C. , Chien Shu , Lasheras Juan C.
Published: December 2017

Significance

Diapedesis is a key step in the innate immune response. Emerging evidence suggests that mechanical forces exerted by leukocytes and/or vascular endothelial cells (VECs) could play an important role during diapedesis. However, it is unclear how these forces physically pull the VEC junctions apart and drive the transmigration of the leukocyte. In this study, we quantify the sequence of mechanical events involved in paracellular diapedesis and experimentally demonstrate that the forces exerted by leukocytes can modulate the VEC tensions to open junctional gaps, and subsequently push into the underlying matrix to thrust an invasive protrusion. We also show that diapedesis can be mechanically facilitated by proinflammatory signals that increase VEC contractility, leading to spatial heterogeneities in VEC monolayer tensions.
Enzyme leaps fuel antichemotaxis
Authors: Jee Ah-Young , Dutta Sandipan , Cho Yoon-Kyoung , Tlusty Tsvi , Granick Steve
Published: December 2017

Significance

Challenging the traditional view that enzyme kinetics are only a matter of catalyzing chemical reactions, there is mounting evidence that the enzyme catalysis enhances enzyme mobility. This is significant to programming spatio-temporal patterns of molecular response to chemical stimulus, which is common to living matter as well as to significant chemical technology. This paper shows that the enhanced diffusivity of enzymes is a “run-and-tumble” process analogous to that performed by swimming microorganisms, executed in this situation by molecules that lack the decision-making machinery of microorganisms. The result is that enzymes display “antichemotaxis” when they turn over substrate; they migrate in the direction of lesser reactant concentration.
Climate Change and Justice
Authors: Armstrong Christopher
Published: December 2017

Understanding the complex set of processes collected under the heading of climate change represents a considerable scientific challenge. But it also raises important challenges for our best moral theories. For instance, in assessing the risks that climate change poses, we face profound questions about how to weigh the respective harms it may inflict on current and future generations, as well as on humans and other species. We also face difficult questions about how to act in conditions of uncertainty, in which at least some of the consequences of climate change—and of various human interventions to adapt to or mitigate it—are difficult to predict fully. Even if we agree that mitigating climate change is morally required, there is room for disagreement about the precise extent to which it ought to be mitigated (insofar as there is room for underlying disagreement about the level of temperature rises that are morally permissible). Finally, once we determine which actions to take to reduce or avoid climate change, we face the normative question of who ought to bear the costs of those actions, as well as the costs associated with any climate change that nevertheless comes to pass.
The Stone Age Archaeology of West Africa
Authors: Scerri Eleanor
Published: December 2017

In the early 21st century, understanding West Africa’s Stone Age past has increasingly transcended its colonial legacy to become central to research on human origins. Part of this process has included shedding the methodologies and nomenclatures of narrative approaches to focus on more quantified, scientific descriptions of artifact variability and context. Together with a growing number of chronometric age estimates and environmental information, understanding the West African Stone Age is contributing evolutionary and demographic insights relevant to the entire continent.

Undated Acheulean artifacts are abundant across the region, attesting to the presence of archaic Homo. The emerging chronometric record of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) indicates that core and flake technologies have been present in West Africa since at least the Middle Pleistocene (~780–126 thousand years ago or ka) and that they persisted until the Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene boundary (~12ka)—the youngest examples of such technology anywhere in Africa. Although the presence of MSA populations in forests remains an open question, technological differences may correlate with various ecological zones. Later Stone Age (LSA) populations evidence significant technological diversification, including both microlithic and macrolithic traditions. The limited biological evidence also demonstrates that at least some of these populations manifested a unique mixture of modern and archaic morphological features, drawing West Africa into debates about possible admixture events between late-surviving archaic populations and Homo sapiens. As in other regions of Africa, it is possible that population movements throughout the Stone Age were influenced by ecological bridges and barriers. West Africa evidences a number of refugia and ecological bottlenecks that may have played such a role in human prehistory in the region. By the end of the Stone Age, West African groups became increasingly sedentary, engaging in the construction of durable monuments and intensifying wild food exploitation.
Critical Theory: International Relations’ Engagement With the Frankfurt School and Marxism
Authors: Yalvaç Faruk
Published: December 2017

Critical International Relations theory (CIRT) is not only an academic approach but also an emancipatory project committed to the formation of a more equal and just world. It seeks to explain the reasons why the realization of this goal is difficult to achieve. What is crucial is not only the social explanation, but also politically motivated action to achieve an alternative set of social relations based on justice and equality. Critical theory in International Relations (IR) is part of the post-positivist turn or the so-called “fourth debate,” which followed the inter-paradigm debate of the 1970s. The post-positivist period in IR consists of a plurality of theoretical and epistemological positions that opened up wide-ranging critique of the neorealist “orthodoxy” that has dominated the discipline since the beginning of the 1980s. Critical theory has challenged the mainstream understanding of IR, spurred the development of alternative forms of analysis and approaches, and emergedas the main alternative to mainstream IR. Two traditions of critical thought in IRtrace back to or are based on the views of Karl Marx. The first is the normative Critical Theory (CT) of the Frankfurt School. The second one is a structural critical tradition based on a critique and analysis of the political economy of capitalism. It is argued in the paper that the normative aspects of the critique of International Relations has to be integrated with the structural and historically specific critique of capitalism to make them politically relevant and adequate for a social critique of international relations.
Historical Sociology and International Relations: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Large-Scale Historical Change and Global Order
Authors: Pula Besnik , Stivachtis Yannis A.
Published: December 2017

Historical Sociology (HS) is a subfield of sociology studying the structures and processes that have shaped important features of the modern world, including the development of the rational bureaucratic state, the emergence of capitalism, international institutions and trade, transnational forces, revolutions, and warfare. HS differs from other approaches in sociology given its distinction between routine social activities and transformative moments that fundamentally reshape social structures and institutions. Within international relations, the relevance of history in the field’s study has been highly disputed. In fact, mainstream international relations (IR)—Neorealism and Liberalism—has downplayed the importance of history. Nevertheless, World History (WH) and HS have exercised a significant degree of influence over certain theoretical approaches to the study of international relations. The history of HS can be traced back to the Enlightenment period and the belief that it was possible to improve the human condition by unmaking and remaking human institutions. HS was then taken up by a second wave of historical sociologists who were asking questions about political power and the state, paving the way for greater engagement between IR and sociology. Third wave HS, meanwhile, emerged from a questioning of received theoretical paradigms, and was thus characterized by theoretical and methodological revisions, but only minor and incremental changes to the research agenda of second wave Historical Sociology.
Implications of guidelines for osteoporosis and its treatment
Authors: Tuck Stephen , Little Elizabeth A , Aspray Terry J
Published: December 2017

The development of clinical guidelines is now a more uniform process, with formalised methods to ensure that recommendations are based on current best available evidence from randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews. Over the past 20 years we have seen a growth in guidelines including those relating to osteoporosis, with recommendations varying between and within countries. Some guidelines are concerned with case finding and primary or secondary prevention, such as those produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE CG146, TA-160, -161, -464), while others focus on specific conditions or risk factors associated with osteoporosis, such as the menopause, coeliac disease and eating disorder. Clinicians can be confused as to which to follow in any particular clinical scenario. International guidelines, such as those from North America (NOF, CAROC, AACE) and Scotland (SIGN 142), differ from those of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with recent recommendations from NICE (TA464) shifting the focus of treatment from those at greatest fracture risk to an apparent blanket approach, based on cost-effectiveness, rather than clinical effectiveness.

Osteoporosis treatment should be targeted at those who can benefit most, outweighing the potential for harm. If the low health economic threshold of NICE TA464 were adopted as a clinical threshold, the most important group—older people at greatest risk of fracture, would not be prioritised. We risk overwhelming clinical services, while causing harm to some at low fracture risk from adverse effects of treatment, yet failing to treat the older population at highest fracture risk.
Expanding a radiology lexicon using contextual patterns in radiology reports
Authors: Percha Bethany , Zhang Yuhao , Bozkurt Selen , Rubin Daniel , Altman Russ B , Langlotz Curtis P
Published: December 2017

Objective

Distributional semantics algorithms, which learn vector space representations of words and phrases from large corpora, identify related terms based on contextual usage patterns. We hypothesize that distributional semantics can speed up lexicon expansion in a clinical domain, radiology, by unearthing synonyms from the corpus.

Materials and Methods

We apply word2vec, a distributional semantics software package, to the text of radiology notes to identify synonyms for RadLex, a structured lexicon of radiology terms. We stratify performance by term category, term frequency, number of tokens in the term, vector magnitude, and the context window used in vector building.

Results

Ranking candidates based on distributional similarity to a target term results in high curation efficiency: on a ranked list of 775 249 terms, >50% of synonyms occurred within the first 25 terms. Synonyms are easier to find if the target term is a phrase rather than a single word, if it occurs at least 100× in the corpus, and if its vector magnitude is between 4 and 5. Some RadLex categories, such as anatomical substances, are easier to identify synonyms for than others.

Discussion

The unstructured text of clinical notes contains a wealth of information about human diseases and treatment patterns. However, searching and retrieving information from clinical notes often suffer due to variations in how similar concepts are described in the text. Biomedical lexicons address this challenge, but are expensive to produce and maintain. Distributional semantics algorithms can assist lexicon curation, saving researchers time and money.
Galactic conformity measured in semi-analytic models
Authors: Lacerna I , Contreras S , González R E , Padilla N , Gonzalez-Perez V
Published: December 2017

We study the correlation between the specific star formation rate of central galaxies and neighbour galaxies, also known as ‘galactic conformity’, out to 20 $h^{-1}\,\,\rm {Mpc}$ using three semi-analytic models (SAMs, one from l-galaxies and other two from galform). The aim is to establish whether SAMs are able to show galactic conformity using different models and selection criteria. In all the models, when the selection of primary galaxies is based on an isolation criterion in real space, the mean fraction of quenched (Q) galaxies around Q primary galaxies is higher than that around star-forming primary galaxies of the same stellar mass. The overall signal of conformity decreases when we remove satellites selected as primary galaxies, but the effect is much stronger in galform models compared with the l-galaxies model. We find this difference is partially explained by the fact that in galform once a galaxy becomes a satellite remains as such, whereas satellites can become centrals at a later time in l-galaxies. The signal of conformity decreases down to 60 per cent in the l-galaxies model after removing central galaxies that were ejected from their host halo in the past. Galactic conformity is also influenced by primary galaxies at fixed stellar mass that reside in dark matter haloes of different masses. Finally, we explore a proxy of conformity between distinct haloes. In this case, the conformity is weak beyond ∼3 $h^{-1}\,\,\rm {Mpc}$ (<3 per cent in l-galaxies, <1–2 per cent in galform models). Therefore, it seems difficult that conformity is directly related with a long-range effect.
In-flight calibration of the Hitomi Soft X-ray Spectrometer. (2) Point spread function
Authors: Maeda Yoshitomo , Sato Toshiki , Hayashi Takayuki , Iizuka Ryo , Angelini Lorella , Asai Ryota , Furuzawa Akihiro , Kelley Richard , Koyama Shu , Kurashima Sho , Ishida Manabu , Mori Hideyuki , Nakaniwa Nozomi , Okajima Takashi , Serlemitsos Peter J , Tsujimoto Masahiro , Yaqoob Tahir
Published: December 2017

We present results of inflight calibration of the point spread function of the Soft X-ray Telescope that focuses X-rays onto the pixel array of the Soft X-ray Spectrometer system. We make a full array image of a point-like source by extracting a pulsed component of the Crab nebula emission. Within the limited statistics afforded by an exposure time of only 6.9 ks and limited knowledge of the systematic uncertainties, we find that the raytracing model of 1$ {^{\prime}_{.}} $2 half-power-diameter is consistent with an image of the observed event distributions across pixels. The ratio between the Crab pulsar image and the raytracing shows scatter from pixel to pixel that is 40% or less in all except one pixel. The pixel-to-pixel ratio has a spread of 20%, on average, for the 15 edge pixels, with an averaged statistical error of 17% (1 σ). In the central 16 pixels, the corresponding ratio is 15% with an error of 6%.
Multiple strategies for heat adaptation in rice endosperms revealed by on-site cell-specific analysis
Authors: Wada Hiroshi , Hatakeyama Yuto , Onda Yayoi , Nonami Hiroshi , Nakashima Taiken , Erra-Balsells Rosa , Morita Satoshi , Hiraoka Kenzo , Tanaka Fukuyo , Nakano Hiroshi
Published: December 2017

Plant cells have multiple strategies to adapt to environmental stresses. Rice endosperms form chalkiness in a part of the tissue under heat conditions during the grain-filling stage, although nitrogen supply reduces chalky rice. Air spaces formed in the cells cause an irregular light reflection and create chalkiness, yet what exactly occurs remains unclear at cell level. Through on-site cell-specific analysis, we show that heat-treated cells adjust osmotically and retard protein synthesis to preserve protein storage vacuoles in the cytosol, resulting in air space formation. Application of nitrogen enhances heat tolerance to sustain protein body and amyloplast development during strong osmotic adjustment, which diminishes air spaces to avoid chalkiness. Hence, we conclude that rice endosperm cells could alter organelle compartments spatially during the heat adaptation, depending on the available nitrogen level. Our findings provide new insight into the cellular mechanism of rice chalky formation as a strategy for heat acclimation.
Transcription factor activity rhythms and tissue-specific chromatin interactions explain circadian gene expression across organs
Authors: Yeung Jake , Mermet Jérôme , Jouffe Céline , Marquis Julien , Charpagne Aline , Gachon Frédéric , Naef Felix
Published: December 2017

Temporal control of physiology requires the interplay between gene networks involved in daily timekeeping and tissue function across different organs. How the circadian clock interweaves with tissue-specific transcriptional programs is poorly understood. Here, we dissected temporal and tissue-specific regulation at multiple gene regulatory layers by examining mouse tissues with an intact or disrupted clock over time. Integrated analysis uncovered two distinct regulatory modes underlying tissue-specific rhythms: tissue-specific oscillations in transcription factor (TF) activity, which were linked to feeding-fasting cycles in liver and sodium homeostasis in kidney; and colocalized binding of clock and tissue-specific transcription factors at distal enhancers. Chromosome conformation capture (4C-seq) in liver and kidney identified liver-specific chromatin loops that recruited clock-bound enhancers to promoters to regulate liver-specific transcriptional rhythms. Furthermore, this looping was remarkably promoter-specific on the scale of less than 10 kilobases (kb). Enhancers can contact a rhythmic promoter while looping out nearby nonrhythmic alternative promoters, confining rhythmic enhancer activity to specific promoters. These findings suggest that chromatin folding enables the clock to regulate rhythmic transcription of specific promoters to output temporal transcriptional programs tailored to different tissues.
Transcription rate strongly affects splicing fidelity and cotranscriptionality in budding yeast
Authors: Aslanzadeh Vahid , Huang Yuanhua , Sanguinetti Guido , Beggs Jean D.
Published: December 2017

The functional consequences of alternative splicing on altering the transcription rate have been the subject of intensive study in mammalian cells but less is known about effects of splicing on changing the transcription rate in yeast. We present several lines of evidence showing that slow RNA polymerase II elongation increases both cotranscriptional splicing and splicing efficiency and that faster elongation reduces cotranscriptional splicing and splicing efficiency in budding yeast, suggesting that splicing is more efficient when cotranscriptional. Moreover, we demonstrate that altering the RNA polymerase II elongation rate in either direction compromises splicing fidelity, and we reveal that splicing fidelity depends largely on intron length together with secondary structure and splice site score. These effects are notably stronger for the highly expressed ribosomal protein coding transcripts. We propose that transcription by RNA polymerase II is tuned to optimize the efficiency and accuracy of ribosomal protein gene expression, while allowing flexibility in splice site choice with the nonribosomal protein transcripts.
Work-based learning for enterprise education? The case of Liverpool John Moores University “live” civic engagement projects for students
Authors: Gibson David , Tavlaridis Vasilios
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of using work-based learning (WBL) pedagogy within the curriculum to embed enterprise skills within the Liverpool John Moores University and review the potential relevance of WBL pedagogy to create impactful learning experiences within the curriculum.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used quantitative methodology for this study using a pre- and post-program questionnaire (E-factor) to measure their entrepreneurial competencies. Data were collected from over 500 students over a two-year period.

Findings

The study indicates that WBL can provided transformational learning experiences for students of all disciplines as 85 percent of the students enhanced their entrepreneurial competencies and mindsets.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides significant evidence of the impact WBL pedagogy had on students over a two-year period at the Liverpool John Moores University. However, the data were collected from the student population of a single higher education institution and longitudinal evidence is needed to evaluate the long-term benefits of completing a comparative study with another university.

Practical implications

The WBL pedagogical approach can be applied to all subject areas to allow enterprise education to be embedded throughout the university curriculum. The research also shows that “live” civic engagement projects provides excellent examples of experiential learning and reflection in the assessment process.

Originality/value

The approach is relevant to all universities seeking to embed enterprise within all curriculums in line with the QAA draft guidelines (2012). The student experience should also be significantly enhanced through the provision of transformational learning experience for all students. It provides a clear methodology that can be customized for application to curricular enterprise education in all subject areas in all universities in the UK and indeed internationally.
Proposing a master’s programme on participatory integrated assessment of energy systems to promote energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa
Authors: Kiravu Cheddi , Diaz-Maurin François , Giampietro Mario , Brent Alan C. , Bukkens Sandra G.F. , Chiguvare Zivayi , Gasennelwe-Jeffrey Mandu A. , Gope Gideon , Kovacic Zora , Magole Lapologang , Musango Josephine Kaviti , Ruiz-Rivas Hernando Ulpiano , Smit Suzanne , Vázquez Barquero Antonio , Yunta Mezquita Felipe
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to present a new master’s programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A transdisciplinary approach called “participatory integrated assessment of energy systems” (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of “multi-scale integrated assessment” and “science for governance”, which bring innovative concepts and methods.

Findings

The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes.

Practical implications

Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely critical because such a holistic view cannot be achieved through engineering curricula. Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate methods from “multi-scale integrated assessment” and “science for governance” in higher education curricula to train a new breed of modern-day energy planners in charge of coming up with solutions that are shared by all relevant stakeholders.

Originality/value

This paper presents an innovative higher education curriculum in terms of the attention given to energy access and energy efficiency that affect the southern Africa region and the nature of the methodology adopted to face these issues.
Sustainable farming entrepreneurship in the Sunraysia region
Authors: Ratten Vanessa
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Sustainable entrepreneurship is crucial for the ongoing viability and growth of rural economies. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of farm entrepreneurs in the sustainable development of rural regional areas by focusing on the Sunraysia farming community in Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical framework of evolutionary economics is utilized to understand the process of sustainable entrepreneurship for entrepreneurs in rural areas and a case study design is utilized to build theory linking place attachment, innovation legitimacy, and coopetitive behavior to sustainable farm entrepreneurship. The case studies are analyzed using an inductive approach to make theoretical contributions to rural and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Findings

The key findings are that coopetition is necessary amongst sustainable farm entrepreneurs in order to induce a culture of innovation.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on the Sunraysia region of Australia so might be limited in scope and replication to other geographic areas.

Originality/value

This study focuses on the role of rural regional areas and the special entrepreneurial characteristics of the Sunraysia region due to immigration and location advantages.
The origins of the Jimmy Savile scandal
Authors: Smith Mark , Burnett Ros
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the origins of the Jimmy Savile Scandal in which the former BBC entertainer was accused of a series of sexual offences after his death in 2011. The case has had a massive impact on UK policing and criminal justice policy and on care work, with implications for due process and public expenditure in responding to reports of sexual abuse.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on an Economic and Social Research Council funded project to collate data on the Savile case. It is based, primarily, on interview material from former pupils and staff members from Duncroft School, from whence initial allegations against Savile emanate, contrasting these with media accounts.

Findings

The research provides a very different picture of Duncroft and the contemporary policy context to that presented in media accounts. A questioning account of the origins of the scandal emerges. The findings may lend themselves to a moral panics analysis but also point to the power of dominant stories in influencing public policy.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on only a very small sample of interviews. The material is ethically sensitive in that it may be claimed or used to cast doubt on accounts of abuse.

Social implications

The implications of the wider project from which it draws are potentially profound, casting doubt on the origins and detail of the Savile scandal.

Originality/value

The paper addresses one of the major socio-cultural episodes in recent British history, which has had a profound effect on the workings of the criminal justice system, signalling a shift away from a presumption of innocence. It also offers insight into the cultural context of care work and the possibility, especially for males, of being subject to allegations made against them.
Young adult occupational transition regimes in Europe: does gender matter?
Authors: Goglio Valentina , Rizza Roberto
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to achieve a greater understanding of the transitions young adults experience into and out of the labour market and the influence that gender and married/cohabiting status have on employment careers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper focuses on young adults (25-34 years old) in four European countries – Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Norway – that are representative of different youth transition regimes. Using longitudinal data from EU-SILC survey (for the years 2006-2012) and event history analysis, the authors investigate the effect of the particular set of institutional features of each country, the effect of the cohort of entry and the effect of gender differences in determining transitions across labour market status.

Findings

Findings show that the filter exercised by the national institutions has a selective impact on the careers of young adults, with some institutional contexts more protective than others. In this respect, the condition of inactivity emerges as an interesting finding: on one side, it mainly involves women in a partnership, on the other side it is more common in protective youth regimes, suggesting that it may be a chosen rather than suffered condition.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to existing literature by: focusing on a specific category, young adults from 25 to 34 years old, which is increasingly recognised as a critical stage in the life course though it receives less attention than its younger counterpart (15-24); integrating the importance of family dynamics on work careers by analysing the different effects played by married/cohabiting status for men and women.
Constructing composite indices
Authors: Refaat Eman , Hadi Ali
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct, for the first time, composite index for Egypt that measures the economic and social rights fulfillment (ESRF) based on socioeconomic surveys at the household/individual levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper highlights some of the statistical debatable issues about composite indices and focuses mainly on six of them. Those issues are indicators selection, handling missing data, identification of and dealing with outliers, scale of measurement, computing the margin of error, weights assigned for indicators and domains and aggregation method. Handling these problematic issues gave rise to a rigorous index.

Findings

The quality of economic and social rights fulfillment index (ESRFI) is judged by its bootstrap standard error. Based on these margin of errors, confidence intervals can be computed and rigorous comparisons across all disaggregation levels of the ESRFI can be made. The results shows that the overall index is accurate and representative in measuring the ESRF in Egypt. Comparisons between rural and urban regions indices show that the rural areas are always worse than the urban areas in all levels of dimensions, especially for the Right to Education and Adequate Housing.

Research limitations/implications

The ESRFI is not very current because it is based on the 2010 Egyptian Household Conditions Observatory Survey (EHCOS), which is the latest published version of the survey with complete variables for the index data. When the next EHCOS becomes available, an updated ESRFI can be easily and quickly constructed.

Practical implications

The ESRFI could strengthen policy formulation that takes into account ESRF, especially by highlighting the situation in different regions and disaggregation levels.

Social implications

The proposed ESRFI would strengthen policy formulation that takes into account ESRF, especially by highlighting the situation in different regions and different disaggregation levels.

Originality/value

The paper emphasizes the importance of recognizing and handling of the six problematic issues that arise when constructing composite indices. The paper presents the first ESRFI for Egypt and demonstrates the rigor of its construction.