bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Electoral Competition Exacerbate Interethnic or Interpartisan Economic Discrimination? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Market Price Bargaining
Authors: MICHELITCH KRISTIN
Published: March 2015

Does political competition exacerbate economic discrimination between citizens on ethnic or partisan cleavages? Individuals often discriminate on group lines in ordinary economic activities, especially in low-income settings. Political competition, and thus mobilization of partisan and ethnic groups, waxes and wanes over the electoral cycle. This study therefore investigates discrimination over the electoral cycle in a commonplace yet consequential economic activity: market price bargaining. By conducting field experiments on taxi fare bargaining at three points in time around Ghana’s 2008 election, the research reveals that drivers accept lower prices from coethnics regardless of temporal proximity to the election. However,only at election time, drivers accept lower prices from copartisans and demand higher prices from noncopartisans. In sum, political competition affects commonplace economic transactions between citizens on the partisan cleavage. This study is the first to show evidence of interpartisan discrimination in everyday behavior and expands our knowledge of electoral cycle effects.
Public Reason Confucianism: A Construction
Authors: KIM SUNGMOON
Published: March 2015

If perfectionism is understood as the state's non-neutral promotion of a valuable way of life, Confucian political theory, often pursued as a pluralist correction to global monism of liberal democracy, is ineluctably perfectionist. But how can Confucian perfectionism, committed to particular Confucian values, reconcile with the societal fact of value pluralismwithinthe putative Confucian polity? This article argues that a potential tension between Confucian perfectionism and value pluralism can be avoided by making Confucian perfectionist goods the core elements of public reason with which citizens can justify their arguments to one another and by which the state can justifiably exercise its public authority to reasonable citizens who otherwise subscribe to various comprehensive doctrines. By defining a mode of Confucian perfectionism working through Confucian public reason broadly shared by citizens aspublic reason Confucianism, this article attempts to balance the Confucian polity's internal societal pluralism and the people's collective self-determination.
DYNAMICS OF ACCUMULATION AND PARTITIONING OF DRY MATTER AND FRUCTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDES IN PLANT FRACTIONS OF FORAGE CEREALS
Authors: IANNUCCI A. , PIZZILLO M. , ANNICCHIARICO G. , FRAGASSO M. , FEDELE V.
Published: March 2015

During growth, several cereals store significant amounts of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), which have important prebiotic properties. Cereal forage crops are also essential components of many Mediterranean agricultural systems, although little information is available on their dynamics of accumulation and partitioning of dry matter and FOS during growth. Oat (Avena sativaL.,cv. ‘Flavia’ andcv. ‘Genziana’), emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccumSchrank,cv. ‘Giovanni Paolo’), barley (Hordeum vulgareL.,cv. ‘Diomede’) and triticale (xTriticosecaleWittmack,cv. ‘Rigel’) were investigated for their synthesis of FOS, with a view to development of management approaches for harvesting high-quality forage, and to determine whether these species can be used as natural sources of FOS for commercial use. The study was conducted at Foggia (Italy) and Bella (Potenza, Italy) over two growing seasons (2008–2009; 2009–2010). Dry-matter accumulation and FOS contents were determined for plant fractions from heading to kernel-hard stages. There were large variations across these species for dry-matter partitioning and dry-matter yield (greatest for triticale: 1.24 kg m−2), and for FOS levels of total plants and plant fractions. Emmer wheat and triticale showed greater FOS production (52.0, 41.1 g m−2, respectively). Barley, emmer wheat and triticale showed higher FOS levels in total plants (4.11%, 5.93%, 4.33% dry matter, respectively). Barley, emmer wheat and triticale appear to be the most interesting species for production of forage biomass rich in FOS and as natural FOS sources for industrial use.
Determination of total antioxidant capacity of milk by CUPRAC and ABTS methods with separate characterisation of milk protein fractions
Authors: Çekiç Sema Demirci , Demir Aslı , Sözgen Başkan Kevser , Tütem Esma , Apak Reşat
Published: March 2015

Most milk-applied antioxidant assays in literature are based on the isolation and quantification of individual antioxidative compounds, whereas total antioxidant capacity (TAC) gives a more holistic picture due to cooperative action of antioxidants. Recently, the cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) method has been modified to measure the antioxidant capacities of thiol-containing proteins, where the classical ammonium acetate buffer – that may otherwise precipitate proteins– was replaced with concentrated urea buffer (able to expose embedded thiol groups of proteins to oxidative attack) adjusted to pH 7.0. Thus, antioxidant capacity of milk was investigated with two competing TAC assays, namely CUPRAC and ABTS (2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid))/persulphate, because only these assays were capable of evaluating protein contribution to the observed TAC value. As milk fat caused turbidity, experiments were carried out with skim milk or defatted milk samples. To determine TAC, modified CUPRAC method was applied to whole milk, separated and redissolved protein fractions, and the remaining liquid phase after necessary operations. Both TAC methods were investigated for their dilution sensitivity and antioxidant power assessment of separate milk fractions such as casein and whey. Proteins like β-lactoglobulin and casein (but not simple thiols) exhibited enhanced CUPRAC reactivity with surfactant (SDS) addition. Addition of milk protein fractions to whole skim milk produced significant ‘negative-biased’ deviations (up to −26% relative standard error) from TAC absorbance additivity in the application of the ABTS method, as opposed to that of the CUPRAC method less affected by chemical deviations from Beer's law thereby producing much smaller deviations from additivity (i.e. the property of additivity is valid when the measured TAC of a mixture is equal to the sum of individual antioxidant capacities of its constituents).
Analysis of the coplanarity of functional pairs of semicircular canals using three-dimensional images reconstructed from temporal bone magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Kim D-K , Kim D-R , Jeong S H , Kim G J , Chang K-H , Jun B-C
Published: March 2015

Objectives:

This study was conducted to investigate the angles and orientation of semicircular canals, and the coplanarity of functional canal pairs.

Methods:

Fluid signals in semicircular canals were reconstructed with three-dimensional reconstruction software using 20 temporal bone magnetic resonance images of normal subjects. The angles between each pair of semicircular canals were measured.

Results:

The mean angles between the anterior and horizontal semicircular canal plane, the horizontal and posterior semicircular canal plane, and the anterior and posterior semicircular canal plane were 83.7°, 82.5° and 88.4°, respectively. Pairs of contralateral synergistic canal planes were formed 15.1° between the right and left horizontal semicircular canal planes, 21.2° between the right anterior and left posterior semicircular canal, and 21.7° between the left anterior and right posterior semicircular canal.

Conclusion:

Each semicircular canal makes an almost right angle with other canals, but synergistically acting functional canal pairs of both ears do not lie in exactly the same plane.
Electric utilities and American climate policy: lobbying by expected winners and losers
Authors: Kim Sung Eun , Urpelainen Johannes , Yang Joonseok
Published: March 2015

When and why do individual companies lobby on environmental policies? Given the structural strength of business interests, the answer to this question is important for explaining policy. However, evidence on the strategic lobbying behaviour of individual companies remains scarce. We use data from lobbying disclosure reports on all major climate bills introduced during the 111th Congress (2009–2010). We then link the lobbying disclosure reports to detailed data on the fuel choices of all electric utilities in the United States along with socioeconomic, institutional and political data from the states where the utilities operate. The expected winners (renewable energy, natural gas users) from climate policy are much more likely to lobby individually on federal legislation than the expected losers (coal users). We find that expected winners lobby for specific provisions and rents as a private good, whereas expected losers concentrate their efforts on collective action through trade associations and committees to prevent climate legislation. The results suggest that the supporters of climate policy believed the probability of federal climate legislation to be nontrivial.
CONTRACTIONARY EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND WARTIME BRITAIN
Authors: Watanabe Shingo
Published: March 2015

In dynamic general equilibrium models, private output is increased by government spending for goods and services, but decreased by government spending for employment. This paper presents the first evidence for the latter effect by studying the pre-WWII British wartime economy. Britain participated in numerous wars, increasing military employment greatly. British tax-smoothing policy and rare wartime governmental interventions reduce the difficulty of studying the effects of wartime government spending. This paper finds wartime decreases in industrial production, which can be explained by wartime government spending for military employment.
Migration and welfare state spending
Authors: Soroka Stuart N. , Johnston Richard , Kevins Anthony , Banting Keith , Kymlicka Will
Published: March 2015

Is international migration a threat to the redistributive programmes of destination countries? Existing work is divided. This paper examines the manner and extent to which increases in immigration are related to welfare state retrenchment, drawing on data from 1970 to 2007. The paper makes three contributions: (1) it explores the impact of changes in immigration on social welfare policy over both the short and medium term; (2) it examines the possibility that immigration matters for spending not just directly, but indirectly, through changes in demographics and/or the labour force; and (3) by disaggregating data on social expenditure into subdomains (including unemployment, pensions, and the like), it tests the impact of immigration on different elements of the welfare state. Results suggest that increased immigration is indeed associated with smaller increases in spending. The major pathway is through impact on female labour force participation. The policy domains most affected are ones subject to moral hazard, or at least to rhetoric about moral hazard.
Prisoners at ultra-high-risk for psychosis: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Jarrett M. , Valmaggia L. , Parrott J. , Forrester A. , Winton-Brown T. , Maguire H. , Ndegwa D. , McGuire P. , Craig T. K. J.
Published: March 2015

Background.

The definition of ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis was derived from community-based help-seeking populations. Prisoners have high rates of psychosis and other severe mental health (MH) problems. They also have high rates of risk factors for psychiatric morbidity and yet they are among the populations who are less likely to seek help in the community. Despite a policy of equivalence of care for individuals in prison there are no early intervention services for psychosis in prisons in the UK. This was a study exploring feasibility of introducing such a service into a local London prison. This paper discusses the differences in MH profile of prisoners who met criteria for at-risk mental state compared with those who did not.

Method.

A two-stage procedure was used. Participants in a local London prison were routinely screened in the first week of arrival in prison with the Prodrome Questionnaire – Brief Version (PQ-B; Loewyet al.2011). Those that screened positive as well as a small sample of those who screened negative underwent a further semi-structured assessment to see whether they met criteria for UHR state. Data on self-harm and suicide attempt, family psychiatric history, and anxiety and depression was also collected.

Results.

A total of 891 prisoners were screened, 44% of whom screened positive. A total of 354 underwent second stage assessment, 60 of whom had screened negative. Four groups were identified: those that had no MH problems, a group experiencing First Episode Psychosis, those at UHR of psychosis and a group with other MH problems. The UHR state and Psychotic groups had very similar MH profiles of symptoms and distress. Prisoners with no MH problems were at the other end of the spectrum with few symptoms and little distress. The Other group fell in between this group and the psychotic spectrum group in terms of symptomology and distress.

Conclusions.

This study is the first to examine risk for psychosis in an adult male prison population. We identified a broad spectrum of MH disorder for which there is little current service provision in prisons. Screening early in the custodial process has the potential to identify unmet MH need and has implications for keeping individuals safe in custody. A long-term strategic approach is required to address MH need in prisons.
Hillslopes Regulate Sediment Supply to River Channels
Authors: Orwig Jessica
Published: March 2015

New study rethinks dynamics of runoff-driven erosion in response to rainstorms.
John A. Whitehead Receives 2014 Maurice Ewing Medal
Authors:   AGU
Published: March 2015

John A. Whitehead was awarded the 2014 Maurice Ewing Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held on 17 December 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. The medal is awarded for “significant original contributions to the scientific understanding of the processes in the ocean; for the advancement of oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and for outstanding service to the marine sciences.”
D. C. Project Aims to Cut Most Storm Water Runoff Problems
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: March 2015

The Clean Rivers Project aims to dramatically reduce combined sewage overflows into D. C.’s waterways, improving water quality while also promoting resilience to climate change.
A Database of African Precipitation from 1983 Onward
Authors: Schultz Colin
Published: March 2015

Satellite infrared observations are used to reconstruct African precipitation records for the past 30 years in an attempt to infer rainfall variability.
Microbial Activity in Dry Soils
Authors: Minnehan Catherine
Published: March 2015

Researchers investigate how microbes respire in dry conditions.
Honoring AGU Members
Authors:   AGU
Published: March 2015

Appointments and honors for Earth and space scientists.
Two-component dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate in concentrically coupled annular traps
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Fei , Han Wei , Wen Lin , Zhang Peng , Dong Rui-Fang , Chang Hong , Zhang Shou-Gang
Published: March 2015

Dipolar Bosonic atoms confined in external potentials open up new avenues for quantum-state manipulation and will contribute to the design and exploration of novel functional materials. Here we investigate the ground-state and rotational properties of a rotating two-component dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate, which consists of both dipolar bosonic atoms with magnetic dipole moments aligned vertically to the condensate and one without dipole moments, confined in concentrically coupled annular traps. For the nonrotational case, it is found that the tunable dipolar interaction can be used to control the location of each component between the inner and outer rings and to induce the desired ground-state phase. Under finite rotation, it is shown that there exists a critical value of rotational frequency for the nondipolar case, above which vortex state can form at the trap center and the related vortex structures depend strongly on the rotational frequency. For the dipolar case, it is found that various ground-state phases and the related vortex structures, such as polygonal vortex clusters and vortex necklaces, can be obtained via a proper choice of the dipolar interaction and rotational frequency. Finally, we also study and discuss the formation process of such vortex structures.
Vacuum Nanohole Array Embedded Phosphorescent Organic Light Emitting Diodes
Authors: Jeon Sohee , Lee Jeong-Hwan , Jeong Jun-Ho , Song Young Seok , Moon Chang-Ki , Kim Jang-Joo , Youn Jae Ryoun
Published: March 2015

Light extraction from organic light-emitting diodes that utilize phosphorescent materials has an internal efficiency of 100% but is limited by an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 30%. In this study, extremely high-efficiency organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with an EQE of greater than 50% and low roll-off were produced by inserting a vacuum nanohole array (VNHA) into phosphorescent OLEDs (PhOLEDs). The resultant extraction enhancement was quantified in terms of EQE by comparing experimentally measured results with those produced from optical modeling analysis, which assumes the near-perfect electric characteristics of the device. A comparison of the experimental data and optical modeling results indicated that the VNHA extracts the entire waveguide loss into the air. The EQE obtained in this study is the highest value obtained to date for bottom-emitting OLEDs.
Structural stability and energetics of grain boundary triple junctions in face centered cubic materials
Authors: Adlakha I. , Solanki K. N.
Published: March 2015

We present a systematic study to elucidate the role of triple junctions (TJs) and their constituent grain boundaries on the structural stability of nanocrystalline materials. Using atomistic simulations along with the nudge elastic band calculations, we explored the atomic structural and thermodynamic properties of TJs in three different fcc materials. We found that the magnitude of excess energy at a TJ was directly related to the atomic density of the metal. Further, the vacancy binding and migration energetics in the vicinity of the TJ were examined as they play a crucial role in the structural stability of NC materials. The resolved line tension which takes into account the stress buildup at the TJ was found to be a good measure in predicting the vacancy binding tendency near the TJ. The activation energy for vacancy migration along the TJ was directly correlated with the measured excess energy. Finally, we show that the resistance for vacancy diffusion increased for TJs with larger excess stored energy and the defect mobility at some TJs is slower than their constituent GBs. Hence, our results have general implications on the diffusional process in NC materials and provide new insight into stabilizing NC materials with tailored TJs.
Non-perturbative effects in spin glasses
Authors: Castellana Michele , Parisi Giorgio
Published: March 2015

We present a numerical study of an Ising spin glass with hierarchical interactions—the hierarchical Edwards-Anderson model with an external magnetic field (HEA). We study the model with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations in the mean-field (MF) and non-mean-field (NMF) regions corresponding to d ≥ 4 and d < 4 for the d-dimensional ferromagnetic Ising model respectively. We compare the MC results with those of a renormalization-group (RG) study where the critical fixed point is treated as a perturbation of the MF one, along the same lines as in the "Equation missing"-expansion for the Ising model. The MC and the RG method agree in the MF region, predicting the existence of a transition and compatible values of the critical exponents. Conversely, the two approaches markedly disagree in the NMF case, where the MC data indicates a transition, while the RG analysis predicts that no perturbative critical fixed point exists. Also, the MC estimate of the critical exponent ν in the NMF region is about twice as large as its classical value, even if the analog of the system dimension is within only ~2% from its upper-critical-dimension value. Taken together, these results indicate that the transition in the NMF region is governed by strong non-perturbative effects.
Performance comparison of LUR and OK in PM2.5 concentration mapping: a multidimensional perspective
Authors: Zou Bin , Luo Yanqing , Wan Neng , Zheng Zhong , Sternberg Troy , Liao Yilan
Published: March 2015

Methods of Land Use Regression (LUR) modeling and Ordinary Kriging (OK) interpolation have been widely used to offset the shortcomings of PM2.5 data observed at sparse monitoring sites. However, traditional point-based performance evaluation strategy for these methods remains stagnant, which could cause unreasonable mapping results. To address this challenge, this study employs ‘information entropy’, an area-based statistic, along with traditional point-based statistics (e.g. error rate, RMSE) to evaluate the performance of LUR model and OK interpolation in mapping PM2.5 concentrations in Houston from a multidimensional perspective. The point-based validation reveals significant differences between LUR and OK at different test sites despite the similar end-result accuracy (e.g. error rate 6.13% vs. 7.01%). Meanwhile, the area-based validation demonstrates that the PM2.5 concentrations simulated by the LUR model exhibits more detailed variations than those interpolated by the OK method (i.e. information entropy, 7.79 vs. 3.63). Results suggest that LUR modeling could better refine the spatial distribution scenario of PM2.5 concentrations compared to OK interpolation. The significance of this study primarily lies in promoting the integration of point- and area-based statistics for model performance evaluation in air pollution mapping.
C2 rs547154 polymorphism and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy susceptibility: a meta-analysis
Authors: Chen Xue , Kang Xiaoli , Zhao Kanxing , Zhao Chen
Published: March 2015

Previous studies have indicated the association between C2 rs547154 polymorphism and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) risk, while the results are controversial and inconsistent. Herein, we perform a meta-analysis to gain a precise estimation of the association using 5 eligible studies involving 4076 subjects, of which 1220 were PCV cases, 1073 were age-related macular degeneration (AMD) cases and 1783 were controls. Allelic frequencies of C2 rs547154 polymorphism between PCV and AMD were also compared. Both crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were included to assess the strength of the association. The pooled OR in random-effect model for allele T versus G was 0.64 (95% CI, 0.52–0.80; p < 0.0001), for genotype TG versus GG was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.52–0.83; p, 0.0004) and for genotype TT + TG versus GG was 0.64 (95% CI, 0.51–0.80; p, 0.0002). No difference in allelic frequency was observed between PCV and AMD (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.64–1.16; p, 0.32). Sensitivity analysis proved the robustness of our data. No significant ethnic divergence was suggested by subgroup analysis and no publication bias was detected via Egger's test. In conclusion, our data indicate that C2 rs547154 polymorphism plays a protective role in the development of PCV.
Anthracycline-containing chemotherapy causes long-term impairment of mitochondrial respiration and increased reactive oxygen species release in skeletal muscle
Authors: Gouspillou Gilles , Scheede-Bergdahl Celena , Spendiff Sally , Vuda Madhusudanarao , Meehan Brian , Mlynarski Heather , Archer-Lahlou Elodie , Sgarioto Nicolas , Purves-Smith Fennigje M. , Konokhova Yana , Rak Janusz , Chevalier Stéphanie , Taivassalo Tanja , Hepple Russell T. , Jagoe R. Thomas
Published: March 2015

Anticancer treatments for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are highly effective but are now implicated in causing impaired muscle function in long-term survivors. However, no comprehensive assessment of skeletal muscle mitochondrial functions in long-term survivors has been performed and the presence of persistent chemotherapy-induced skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction remains a strong possibility. Non-tumour-bearing mice were treated with two drugs that have been used frequently in ALL treatment (doxorubicin and dexamethasone) for up to 4 cycles at 3-week intervals and euthanized 3 months after the 4th cycle. Treated animals had impaired growth and lower muscle mass as well as reduced mitochondrial respiration and increased reactive oxygen species production per unit oxygen consumption. Mitochondrial DNA content and protein levels of key mitochondrial membrane proteins and markers of mitochondrial biogenesis were unchanged, but protein levels of Parkin were reduced. This suggests a novel pattern of chemotherapy-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle that persists because of an acquired defect in mitophagy signaling. The results could explain the observed functional impairments in adult survivors of childhood ALL and may also be relevant to long-term survivors of other cancers treated with similar regimes.
A quantum protective mechanism in photosynthesis
Authors: Marais Adriana , Sinayskiy Ilya , Petruccione Francesco , van Grondelle Rienk
Published: March 2015

Since the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis, living systems have developed protective mechanisms against reactive oxygen species. During charge separation in photosynthetic reaction centres, triplet states can react with molecular oxygen generating destructive singlet oxygen. The triplet product yield in bacteria is observed to be reduced by weak magnetic fields. Reaction centres from plants' photosystem II share many features with bacterial reaction centres, including a high-spin iron whose function has remained obscure. To explain observations that the magnetic field effect is reduced by the iron, we propose that its fast-relaxing spin plays a protective role in photosynthesis by generating an effective magnetic field. We consider a simple model of the system, derive an analytical expression for the effective magnetic field and analyse the resulting triplet yield reduction. The protective mechanism is robust for realistic parameter ranges, constituting a clear example of a quantum effect playing a macroscopic role vital for life.
Simultaneous determination of eight vitamin E isomers and α-tocopherol acetate in functional foods and nutritional supplements by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry
Authors: Lu Dan , Yang Yi , Wu Xin , Zeng Li , Li Yongxin , Sun Chengjun
Published: March 2015

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been developed for the simultaneous determination of eight VE isomers and α-tocopherol acetate in functional foods.
H+-Assisted fluorescent differentiation of Cu+ and Cu2+: effect of Al3+-induced acidity on chemical sensing and generation of two novel and independent logic gating pathways
Authors: Ha Yonghwang , Murale Dhiraj P. , Yun Changsuk , Manjare Sudesh T. , Kim Hyungjun , Kwak Juhyoun , Lee Yoon Sup , Churchill David G.
Published: March 2015

A novel logic gate containing protecting groups interacts with various species (acetonitrile) with fluorescence responses relating to ligand non innocence.
Formation of 5- and 6-methyl-1H-indene (C10H10) via the reactions of the para-tolyl radical (C6H4CH3) with allene (H2CCCH2) and methylacetylene (HCCCH3) under single collision conditions
Authors: Yang Tao , Parker Dorian S. N. , Dangi Beni B. , Kaiser Ralf I. , Mebel Alexander M.
Published: March 2015

Flux contour map for the reactions of the p-tolyl radical with allene-d4 and methylacetylene-d4 at collision energies of around 48 kJ mol−1.
Structural, elastic and vibrational properties of nanocrystalline lutetium gallium garnet under high pressure
Authors: Monteseguro V. , Rodríguez-Hernández P. , Ortiz H. M. , Venkatramu V. , Manjón F. J. , Jayasankar C. K. , Lavín V. , Muñoz A.
Published: March 2015

An ab initio study of the structural, elastic and vibrational properties of the lutetium gallium garnet (Lu3Ga5O12) under pressure has been performed in the framework of the density functional theory, up to 95 GPa.
Nanodiamonds from coal under ambient conditions
Authors: Xiao J. , Liu P. , Yang G. W.
Published: March 2015

Nanodiamonds with a cubic phase and a mean size of 3 nm are synthesized from various types of coal at atmospheric pressure and room temperature using a novel process involving laser ablation in liquid.
Fabrication of an α-MoO3 nanobelt membrane showing a three-dimensional cross-linked nano-scale network structure for water and oil mixture separation
Authors: Ma Zhong-Chao , Wang Li-Min , Chu De-Qing , Sun Hong-Ming , Wang Ao-Xuan
Published: March 2015

An α-MoO3 nanobelt membrane with amphiphilic properties has been successfully fabricated via a hydrothermal method. The wetted membrane could be applied for the separation of nonpolar liquids and water.
Graphene/cotton composite fabrics as flexible electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors
Authors: Xu Ling-Li , Guo Mei-Xia , Liu Si , Bian Shao-Wei
Published: March 2015

Graphene/cotton composite fabrics were successfully synthesized via a facile “dipping and drying” process followed by a NaBH4 reduction method.
Efficient hydrogen/oxygen evolution and photocatalytic dye degradation and reduction of aqueous Cr(vi) by surfactant free hydrophilic Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles
Authors: Kush Priya , Deori Kalyanjyoti , Kumar Anup , Deka Sasanka
Published: March 2015

Use of hydrophilic Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles as a multifunctional highly active heterogeneous catalyst: electrocatalytic water splitting, photocatalytic dye degradation and reduction of aqueous Cr(vi).
Water-based synthesis of cationic hydrogel particles: effect of the reaction parameters and in vitro cytotoxicity study
Authors: Tang Shuangcheng , Huang Lu , Shi Zengqian , He Wei
Published: March 2015

Simple variation of reaction parameters can provide a library of cationic epoxy–amine hydrogel particles with a diverse collection of physical and chemical characteristics, temperature responsiveness, and cytocompatibility.
A new nitrogen-containing carbon nanoparticle coated stainless steel fiber for selective solid-phase microextraction of ultraviolet filters
Authors: Wang Tian-e , Guo Mei , Song Wen-lan , Zhang Yi-da , Du Xin-zhen
Published: March 2015

A nitrogen-containing carbon nanoparticle (N-CNP) coated fiber was developed for solid phase microextraction (SPME) with direct electrodeposition of a polyaniline coating on etched stainless steel wire using a potentiostatic technique followed by carbonization under a nitrogen atmosphere.
Oxygen vacancy assisted multiferroic property of Cu doped ZnO films
Authors: Liu Hongyan , Wang Yonglin , Wu Jianhua , Zhang Guanli , Yan Yue
Published: March 2015

Exploring multi-functional properties in a single material is the focus for future material design and applications.
Sodium-ion diffusion mechanisms in the low cost high voltage cathode material Na2+δFe2−δ/2(SO4)3
Authors: Wong L. L. , Chen H. M. , Adams S.
Published: March 2015

Bond-valence site energy modelling, molecular dynamics and DFT simulations jointly clarify Na+-ion migration in Na2+δFe2−δ/2(SO4)3, a promising high voltage cathode material for sodium-ion batteries, and the role of Fe2+ vacancies therein.
A practical approach to calculate the time evolutions of magnetic field effects on photochemical reactions in nano-structured materials
Authors: Yago Tomoaki , Wakasa Masanobu
Published: March 2015

A practical method to calculate time evolutions of magnetic field effects (MFEs) on photochemical reactions involving radical pairs is developed on the basis of the theory of the chemically induced dynamic spin polarization proposed by Pedersen and Freed.
Sustainable construction: admicellar catalysed synthesis of pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolines in an aqueous system
Authors: Siddiqui I. R. , Rai Pragati , Rahila Rahila , Sagir Hoezyfa , Singh Prashant
Published: March 2015

A simple and highly efficient strategy has been documented for the rapid and convenient synthesis of pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline from aldehydes, 2-hydroxynaphthalene1,4dione and 6-aminouracil in the presence of nano ZnO under aqueous admicellar system at 80 °C.
Fabrication of a nano-Li+-channel interlayer for high performance Li–S battery application
Authors: Yan Na , Yang Xiaofei , Zhou Wei , Zhang Hongzhang , Li Xianfeng , Zhang Huamin
Published: March 2015

Nano-Li+-channel membranes were first proposed and prepared for a Li–S battery, based on a concept of separating the polysulfide particles via size exclusion. This concept could help overcome the polysulfide permeating problems and provide more options for Li–S development.
A novel method for kinetics analysis of pyrolysis of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin in TGA and macro-TGA
Authors: Zhou Hui , Long Yanqiu , Meng Aihong , Chen Shen , Li Qinghai , Zhang Yanguo
Published: March 2015

A novel peak analysis-least square method to analyze the kinetics is developed. The accuracy of this method is very good.
Synthesis of cross-linked amides and esters as thin film composite membrane materials yields permeable and selective material for water vapor/gas separation
Authors: Yun Sang Hee , Ingole Pravin G. , Choi Won Kil , Kim Jong Hak , Lee Hyung Keun
Published: March 2015

In this work, 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid (BA) was selected to synthesize polyamide as a selective layer because it is considered desirable to fabricate hydrophilic thin film composite (TFC) membranes for water vapor separation.
Magnetic field assisted stem cell differentiation – role of substrate magnetization in osteogenesis
Authors: Boda Sunil Kumar , Thrivikraman Greeshma , Basu Bikramjit
Published: March 2015

Substrate magnetization as a tool for modulating the osteogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells for bone tissue engineering applications.
The self-assembly synthesis of tungsten oxide quantum dots with enhanced optical properties
Authors: Wang Songling , Kershaw Stephen V. , Li Guisheng , Leung Michael K. H.
Published: March 2015

A one-pot microwave-assisted methodology was explored to fabricate ultrafine WO3 quantum dots, with excellent thermal/photonic stabilities favorable for blue photoluminescence emission and photochromic performance.
Protein kinase Snf1 is involved in the proper regulation of the unfolded protein response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Ferrer-Dalmau Jofre , Randez-Gil Francisca , Marquina Maribel , Prieto José A. , Casamayor Antonio
Published: March 2015

Glc7 is the only catalytic subunit of the protein phosphatase type 1 in the yeast S. cerevisiae and, together with its regulatory subunits, is involved in many essential processes. Analysis of the non-essential mutants in the regulatory subunits of Glc7 revealed that the lack of Reg1, and no other subunit, causes hypersensitivity to unfolded protein response (UPR)-inducers, which was concomitant with an augmented UPR element-dependent transcriptional response. The Glc7–Reg1 complex takes part in the regulation of the yeast AMP-activated serine/threonine protein kinase Snf1 in response to glucose. We demonstrate in the present study that the observed phenotypes of reg1 mutant cells are attributable to the inappropriate activation of Snf1. Indeed, growth in the presence of limited concentrations of glucose, where Snf1 is active, or expression of active forms of Snf1 in a wild-type strain increased the sensitivity to the UPR-inducer tunicamycin. Furthermore, reg1 mutant cells showed a sustained HAC1 mRNA splicing and KAR2 mRNA levels during the recovery phase of the UPR, and dysregulation of the Ire1-oligomeric equilibrium. Finally, overexpression of protein phosphatases Ptc2 and Ptc3 alleviated the growth defect of reg1 cells under endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress conditions. Altogether, our results reveal that Snf1 plays an important role in the attenuation of the UPR, as well as identifying the protein kinase and its effectors as possible pharmacological targets for human diseases that are associated with insufficient UPR activation.
The role of the miR-31/FIH1 pathway in TGF-β-induced liver fibrosis
Authors: Hu Jiangfeng , Chen Chao , Liu Qidong , Liu Baohai , Song Chenlin , Zhu Songchen , Wu Chaoqun , Liu Su , Yu Hongyu , Yao Dingkang , Kang Jiuhong , Zhu Liang
Published: March 2015

The miRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate various biological processes, including liver fibrosis. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a central role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. By microarray profiling and real-time PCR, we noted that miR-31 expression in HSCs from rats, mice and humans was significantly increased during HSC activation in culture. Overall, miR-31 expression levels were unchanged in the whole-liver RNA extracts from fibrotic rat and human samples. Nevertheless, we found that miR-31 was particularly up-regulated in HSCs but not in hepatocytes during fibrogenesis. Thus, we hypothesized that miR-31 may mediate liver fibrosis. In the present study, we found that inhibition of miR-31 expression significantly inhibited HSC activation, whereas its over-expression obviously promoted HSC activation. Moreover, over-expression of miR-31 promoted HSC migration by enhancing matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 expression whereas inhibition of miR-31 has an opposite effect. The biological function of miR-31 during HSC activation might be through targeting FIH1, a suppressor of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1), because a knockdown of FIH1 by shRNA could mimic the effects of miR-31. In addition, primary rat HSCs were isolated and treated with different cytokines, such as transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor-BB, to evaluate upstream regulators of miR-31. We found that only TGF-β, a pivotal regulator in liver fibrosis, remarkably increased miR-31 expression in HSCs. And the effects of TGF-β on HSCs can be partially counteracted by inhibition of miR-31. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments and the luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that Smad3, a major TGF-β-downstream transcription factor, stimulated the transcription activity of miR-31 by binding directly to miR-31's promoter. In conclusion, the miR-31/FIH1 pathway associates with liver fibrosis, perhaps by participation in the TGF-β/Smad3 signalling of HSCs.
Impact of carrier dynamics on the photovoltaic performance of quantum dot solar cells
Authors: Gioannini Mariangela , Cedola Ariel P. , Cappelluti Federica
Published: March 2015

The study presents a theoretical investigation of the impact of individual electron and hole dynamics on the photovoltaic characteristics of InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cells. The analysis is carried out by exploiting a model which includes a detailed description of quantum dots (QD) kinetics within a drift‐diffusion formalism. Steady‐state and transient simulations show that hole thermal spreading across the closely spaced QD valence band states allows to extract the maximum achievable photocurrent from the QDs; on the other hand, slow hole dynamics turns QDs into efficient traps, impairing the short circuit current despite the extended light harvesting provided by the QDs.
Nested Helmholtz coil design for producing homogeneous transient rotating magnetic fields
Authors: Podaru George , Moore John , Dani Raj Kumar , Prakash Punit , Chikan Viktor
Published: March 2015

Electromagnets that can produce strong rotating magnetic fields at kHz frequencies are potentially very useful to exert rotating force on magnetic nanoparticles as small as few nanometers in size. In this article, the construction of a pulsed high-voltage rotating electromagnet is demonstrated based on a nested Helmholtz coil design. The energy for the coils is provided by two high-voltage discharge capacitors. The triggered spark gaps used in the experiments show sufficient accuracy to achieve the high frequency rotating magnetic field. The measured strength of the rotating magnetic field is 200 mT. This magnetic field is scalable by increasing the number of turns on the coils, by reducing the dimensions of the coils and by increasing the discharge current/voltage of the capacitors.
Origin of the high open circuit voltage in planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells: Role of the reduced bimolecular recombination
Authors: Yang Wenchao , Yao Yao , Wu Chang-Qin
Published: March 2015

The high open circuit voltage is an attractive feature for the currently popular organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells. In this paper, by employing the macroscopic device model simulation, we investigate its origin for the planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. Based on the calculated current density-voltage characteristics, it is revealed that compared to the excitonic solar cells, the fast thermal-activated exciton dissociation in the bulk due to the small exciton binding energy may improve the short circuit current and the fill factor, but its beneficial role on the open circuit voltage is marginal. The most significant contribution for the open circuit voltage comes from the reduced bimolecular recombination. In the perovskites, with the recombination prefactor many orders of magnitude smaller than that based on the Langevin's theory, the internal charge density level is significantly enhanced and the density gradient is removed, leading to the high quasi-Fermi level splitting and thus the small open circuit voltage loss. For the nonradiative recombination pathway due to the deep trap states, it may induce significant loss of open circuit voltage as the trap density is high, while for the moderately low density its effect on the open circuit voltage is small and negligible.
Purity analyses of high-purity organic compounds with nitroxyl radicals based on the Curie–Weiss law
Authors: Matsumoto Nobuhiro , Shimosaka Takuya
Published: March 2015

This work reports an attempt to quantify the purities of powders of high-purity organic compounds with stable nitroxyl radicals (namely, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO), 1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-hydroxypiperidine (TEMPOL), and 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl benzoate (4-hydroxy-TEMPO benzoate)) in terms of mass fractions by using our “effective magnetic moment method,” which is based on both the Curie–Weiss law and a fundamental equation of electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR). The temperature dependence of the magnetic moment resulting from the radicals was measured with a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The g value for each compound was measured with an X-band ESR spectrometer. The results of the purities were (0.998 ± 0.064) kg kg−1 for TEMPO, (1.019 ± 0.040) kg kg−1 for TEMPOL, and (1.001 ± 0.048) kg kg−1 for 4-hydroxy-TEMPO benzoate. These results demonstrate that this analytical method as a future candidate of potential primary direct method can measure the purities with expanded uncertainties of approximately 5%.
Magnetic-field-induced dielectric anomaly and electric polarization in Mn4Nb2O9
Authors: Fang Y. , Zhou W. P. , Yan S. M. , Bai R. , Qian Z. H. , Xu Q. Y. , Wang D. H. , Du Y. W.
Published: March 2015

Magnetic, dielectric, and magnetoelectric properties have been investigated in the polycrystalline Mn4Nb2O9. Under zero magnetic fields, no dielectric anomaly and electric polarization are observed in this compound. When the sample is exposed in magnetic field, finite dielectric peaks and electric polarization are induced, which increase with increasing magnetic field, showing magneto-dielectric and magnetoelectric effects. The origin of magnetoelectric coupling of this compound has been discussed.
Relationship between dislocation density and contact angle of dendrite crystals in practical size silicon ingot
Authors: Takahashi Isao , Joonwichien Supawan , Matsushima Satoru , Usami Noritaka
Published: March 2015

We suggested the possibility to suppress dislocation generation by controlling the microstructure of dendrite crystals in practical size Si wafers grown by the floating cast method. With the floating cast method, the contact angle between adjacent dendrite crystals can be used as a structural parameter to define grain boundaries (GBs). We fabricated a practical size silicon ingot fully covered with dendrite crystals and investigated dislocation density near the GBs as a function of the contact angle. The dislocation density was found to decrease with decreasing contact angle. This result can be explained by differences in shear stress on {111} slip surface around the GBs, as supported by numerical calculations considering various structural parameters in multicrystalline Si. These results confirm our previous results with laboratory-scale ingots, and we believe this concept can be applied to commercial growth processes.
Large time-dependent coercivity and resistivity modification under sustained voltage application in a Pt/Co/AlOx/Pt junction
Authors: van den Brink A. , van der Heijden M. A. J. , Swagten H. J. M. , Koopmans B.
Published: March 2015

The coercivity and resistivity of a Pt/Co/AlOx/Pt junction are measured under sustained voltage application. High bias voltages of either polarity are determined to cause a strongly enhanced, reversible coercivity modification compared to low voltages. Time-resolved measurements show a logarithmic development of the coercive field in this regime, which continues over a period as long as 30 min. Furthermore, the resistance of the dielectric barrier is found to change strongly and reversibly on the same time scale, suggesting an electrochemical process is taking place within the dielectric. It is argued that the migration of oxygen vacancies at the magnet/oxide interface could explain both the resistance variation and the enhanced electric field effect at high voltages. A thermal fluctuation aftereffect model is applied to account for the observed logarithmic dependence.
Comparison of plasma temperature and electron density on nanosecond laser ablation of Cu and nano-Cu
Authors: Chen Anmin , Jiang Yuanfei , Wang Tingfeng , Shao Junfeng , Jin Mingxing
Published: March 2015

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is performed through the collection of spectra by spectral detection equipment at different delay times and distances from targets composed of Cu and nano-Cu, which are ablated using a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, 10 ns, 10 Hz) in our experiments. The measured wavelength range is from 475 nm to 525 nm. Using the local thermodynamic equilibrium model, we analyze the characteristics of the plasma temperature and the electron number density for different distances between the target surface and the lens. The results show that when compared with the nano-Cu plasma case, the temperature of the Cu plasma is higher, while its electron number density is lower.
Tunable directivity in metamaterials with reconfigurable cell symmetry
Authors: Celli Paolo , Gonella Stefano
Published: March 2015

We introduce a strategy to attain reconfigurable, highly focused, subwavelength wave patterns in cellular metamaterials via electromechanical tuning of their microstructures. The metamaterial cells feature a population of auxiliary microstructural elements instrumented with piezoelectric patches connected to negative capacitance shunting circuits. By tuning the circuital characteristics of selected subsets of shunts, we relax the symmetry of the cell material property landscape, thus affecting the global directivity and enabling a plethora of wave manipulation capabilities. The acoustic reconfiguration is decoupled from other mechanical functions and is carried out without affecting the shape or the static properties of the host cellular structure.