bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular dynamics simulations of Si etching in Cl- and Br-based plasmas: Cl+ and Br+ ion incidence in the presence of Cl and Br neutrals
Authors: Nakazaki Nobuya , Takao Yoshinori , Eriguchi Koji , Ono Kouichi
Published: December 2015

Classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed for Cl+ and Br+ ions incident on Si(100) surfaces with Cl and Br neutrals, respectively, to gain a better understanding of the ion-enhanced surface reaction kinetics during Si etching in Cl- and Br-based plasmas. The ions were incident normally on surfaces with translational energies in the range Ei = 20–500 eV, and low-energy neutrals of En = 0.01 eV were also incident normally thereon with the neutral-to-ion flux ratio in the range Γn0/Γi0 = 0–100, where an improved Stillinger--Weber potential form was employed for the interatomic potential concerned. The etch yields and thresholds presently simulated were in agreement with the experimental results previously reported for Si etching in Cl2 and Br2 plasmas as well as in Cl+, Cl2+, and Br+ beams, and the product stoichiometry simulated was consistent with that observed during Ar+ beam incidence on Si in Cl2. Moreover, the surface coverage of halogen atoms, halogenated layer thickness, surface stoichiometry, and depth profile of surface products simulated for Γn0/Γi0 = 100 were in excellent agreement with the observations depending on Ei reported for Si etching in Cl2 plasmas. The MD also indicated that the yield, coverage, and surface layer thickness are smaller in Si/Br than in Si/Cl system, while the percentage of higher halogenated species in product and surface stoichiometries is larger in Si/Br. The MD further indicated that in both systems, the translational energy distributions of products and halogen adsorbates desorbed from surfaces are approximated by two Maxwellians of temperature T1 ≈ 2500 K and T2 ≈ 7000–40 000 K. These energy distributions are discussed in terms of the desorption or evaporation from hot spots formed through chemically enhanced physical sputtering and physically enhanced chemical sputtering, which have so far been speculated to both occur in the ion-enhanced surface reaction kinetics of plasma etching.
Hybrid stochastic simulation of reaction-diffusion systems with slow and fast dynamics
Authors: Strehl Robert , Ilie Silvana
Published: December 2015

In this paper, we present a novel hybrid method to simulate discrete stochastic reaction-diffusion models arising in biochemical signaling pathways. We study moderately stiff systems, for which we can partition each reaction or diffusion channel into either a slow or fast subset, based on its propensity. Numerical approaches missing this distinction are often limited with respect to computational run time or approximation quality. We design an approximate scheme that remedies these pitfalls by using a new blending strategy of the well-established inhomogeneous stochastic simulation algorithm and the tau-leaping simulation method. The advantages of our hybrid simulation algorithm are demonstrated on three benchmarking systems, with special focus on approximation accuracy and efficiency.
Lie symmetries and group classification of a class of time fractional evolution systems
Authors: Huang Qing , Shen Shoufeng
Published: December 2015

In this paper, the Lie group method is developed to study a class of time fractional evolution systems. As an application, the complete group classification of a system of two component fractional evolution equations with an arbitrary function is performed. The admitted symmetries of all inequivalent systems belonging to the class under study are determined. What is more, all reduced fractional systems of ordinary differential equations and even explicit exact solutions are presented.
Enzyme efficiency: An open reaction system perspective
Authors: Banerjee Kinshuk , Bhattacharyya Kamal
Published: December 2015

A measure of enzyme efficiency is proposed for an open reaction network that, in suitable form, applies to closed systems as well. The idea originates from the description of classical enzyme kinetics in terms of cycles. We derive analytical expressions for the efficiency measure by treating the network not only deterministically but also stochastically. The latter accounts for any significant amount of noise that can be present in biological systems and hence reveals its impact on efficiency. Numerical verification of the results is also performed. It is found that the deterministic equation overestimates the efficiency, the more so for very small system sizes. Roles of various kinetics parameters and system sizes on the efficiency are thoroughly explored and compared with the standard definition k2/KM. Study of substrate fluctuation also indicates an interesting efficiency-accuracy balance.
Enhanced resistive switching and multilevel behavior in bilayered HfAlO/HfAlOx structures for non-volatile memory applications
Authors: Faita F. L. , Silva J. P. B. , Pereira M. , Gomes M. J. M.
Published: December 2015

In this work, hafnium aluminum oxide (HfAlO) thin films were deposited by ion beam sputtering deposition technique on Si substrate. The presence of oxygen vacancies in the HfAlOx layer deposited in oxygen deficient environment is evidenced from the photoluminescence spectra. Furthermore, HfAlO(oxygen rich)/HfAlOx(oxygen poor) bilayer structures exhibit multilevel resistive switching (RS), and the switching ratio becomes more prominent with increasing the HfAlO layer thickness. The bilayer structure with HfAlO/HfAlOx thickness of 30/40 nm displays the enhanced multilevel resistive switching characteristics, where the high resistance state/intermediate resistance state (IRS) and IRS/low resistance state resistance ratios are ≈102 and ≈5 × 105, respectively. The switching mechanisms in the bilayer structures were investigated by the temperature dependence of the three resistance states. This study revealed that the multilevel RS is attributed to the coupling of ionic conduction and the metallic conduction, being the first associated to the formation and rupture of conductive filaments related to oxygen vacancies and the second with the formation of a metallic filament. Moreover, the bilayer structures exhibit good endurance and stability in time.
Electrical excitation of superradiant intersubband plasmons
Authors: Laurent Thibault , Todorov Yanko , Vasanelli Angela , Sagnes Isabelle , Beaudoin Grégoire , Sirtori Carlo
Published: December 2015

We present a detailed experimental analysis on mid-infrared superradiant emission from highly doped quantum wells. The emission originates from the radiative decay of intersubband plasmon excitations, which are electrically injected by directly contacting the two-dimensional electron gas. For the experiment, we processed an InGaAs/AlInAs quantum well into a three terminal field effect transistor with a leaky gate. Depending on the current pathway, we observe either a purely thermal excitation (source to drain injection) or a combination between thermal and resonant excitations (gate to source and drain injection). The scaling of the optical power with the density of electrons in the channel is in excellent agreement with the superradiant nature of the plasmon decay.
Modulational instability and higher-order rogue waves with parameters modulation in a coupled integrable AB system via the generalized Darboux transformation
Authors: Wen Xiao-Yong , Yan Zhenya
Published: December 2015

We study higher-order rogue wave (RW) solutions of the coupled integrable dispersive AB system (also called Pedlosky system), which describes the evolution of wave-packets in a marginally stable or unstable baroclinic shear flow in geophysical fluids. We propose its continuous-wave (CW) solutions and existent conditions for their modulation instability to form the rogue waves. A new generalized N-fold Darboux transformation (DT) is proposed in terms of the Taylor series expansion for the spectral parameter in the Darboux matrix and its limit procedure and applied to the CW solutions to generate multi-rogue wave solutions of the coupled AB system, which satisfy the general compatibility condition. The dynamical behaviors of these higher-order rogue wave solutions demonstrate both strong and weak interactions by modulating parameters, in which some weak interactions can generate the abundant triangle, pentagon structures, etc. Particularly, the trajectories of motion of peaks and depressions of profiles of the first-order RWs are explicitly analyzed. The generalized DT method used in this paper can be extended to other nonlinear integrable systems. These results may be useful for understanding the corresponding rogue-wave phenomena in fluid mechanics and related fields.
Role of structural defects in the ultraviolet luminescence of multiwall boron nitride nanotubes
Authors: Pierret Aurélie , Nong Hanond , Fossard Frédéric , Attal-Trétout Brigitte , Xue Yanming , Golberg Dmitri , Barjon Julien , Loiseau Annick
Published: December 2015

BN nanotubes (BNNTs) are structurally similar to their carbon counterparts, though much less investigated. New synthesis methods have been recently reported, enabling the production of industrial quantities and stimulating the search of new applications for the BNNTs. In this paper, we investigate the luminescence of multiwall BNNTs. By performing cathodoluminescence experiments on single tubes at 10 K, we show that the tube luminescence is highly heterogeneous (i) from tube to tube and (ii) spatially along a single tube. By combining cathodoluminescence measurements with a nanometer excitation and transmission electron microscopy on the same tube, we correlate luminescence and structural features. We conclude that the near-band-edge luminescence of BNNTs (≈5.4 eV) is related to the presence of extended structural defects, such as dislocations or ruptures in the wall stacking.
High-performance ultraviolet detection and visible-blind photodetector based on Cu2O/ZnO nanorods with poly-(N-vinylcarbazole) intermediate layer
Authors: Perng Dung-Ching , Lin Hsueh-Pin , Hong Min-Hao
Published: December 2015

This study reports a high-performance hybrid ultraviolet (UV) photodetector with visible-blind sensitivity fabricated by inserting a poly-(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) intermediate layer between low-cost processed Cu2O film and ZnO nanorods (NRs). The PVK layer acts as an electron-blocking/hole-transporting layer between the n-ZnO and p-Cu2O films. The Cu2O/PVK/ZnO NR photodetector exhibited a responsivity of 13.28 A/W at 360 nm, a high detectivity of 1.03 × 1013 Jones at a low bias of −0.1 V under a low UV light intensity of 24.9 μW/cm2. The photo-to-dark current ratios of the photodetector with and without the PVK intermediate layer at a bias of −0.5 V are 1.34 × 102 and 3.99, respectively. The UV-to-visible rejection ratios (R360 nm/R450 nm) are 350 and 1.735, respectively. Several features are demonstrated: (a) UV photo-generated holes at the ZnO NRs can effectively be transported through the PVK layer to the p-Cu2O layer; (b) the insertion of a PVK buffer layer significantly minimizes the reverse-bias leakage current, which leads to a larger amplification of the photocurrent; and (c) the PVK buffer layer greatly improves the UV-to-visible responsivity ratio, allowing the device to achieve high UV detection sensitivity at a low bias voltage using a very low light intensity.
Effects of Ag addition on FePt L1 ordering transition: A direct observation of ordering transition and Ag segregation in FePtAg alloy films
Authors: Wang Lei , Gao Tenghua , Yu Youxing
Published: December 2015

FePt and (FePt)91.2Ag8.8 alloy films were deposited by magnetron sputtering. The average coercivity of (FePt)91.2Ag8.8 films reaches 8.51 × 105 A/m, which is 0.63 × 105 A/m higher than that of the corresponding FePt films. Ag addition effectively promotes the FePt L10 ordering transition at a relatively low annealing temperature of 400 °C. The promotion mechanism was investigated by using in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and ex situ X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). The concurrence of ordering transition and Ag segregation in FePtAg alloy films was first observed by using in situ heating HRTEM. The time-resolved evolution reveals more details on the role of Ag addition in FePt low-temperature ordering. Ex situ XAFS results further confirm that Ag replaces Fe sites in the as-deposited films and segregates from FePt-Ag solid solution phase through annealing at elevated temperatures. The segregation of Ag atoms leaves vacancies in the grain. The vacancy formation is believed to accelerate the diffusion of Fe and Pt atoms, which is critical for the L10 ordering transition.
Hamiltonian time integrators for Vlasov-Maxwell equations
Authors: He Yang , Qin Hong , Sun Yajuan , Xiao Jianyuan , Zhang Ruili , Liu Jian
Published: December 2015

Hamiltonian time integrators for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations are developed by a Hamiltonian splitting technique. The Hamiltonian functional is split into five parts, which produces five exactly solvable subsystems. Each subsystem is a Hamiltonian system equipped with the Morrison-Marsden-Weinstein Poisson bracket. Compositions of the exact solutions provide Poisson structure preserving/Hamiltonian methods of arbitrary high order for the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. They are then accurate and conservative over a long time because of the Poisson-preserving nature.
Small scale coherent vortex generation in drift wave-zonal flow turbulence
Authors: Guo Z. B. , Hahm T. S. , Diamond P. H.
Published: December 2015

We present a paradigm for the generation of small scale coherent vortex (SSCV) in drift wave-zonal flow (DW-ZF) turbulence. We demonstrate that phases of DWs can couple coherently, mediated by the ZF shearing. A SSCV is formed when the phases of the DWs are “attracted” to form a stable “phase cluster.” We show that the ZF shearing induces asymmetry between “attractive” and “repulsive” phase couplings, so that a net attractive phase coupling results. The turbulent DWs will (partially)synchronize into a stable SSCV at locations, where the attractive phase coupling induced by the ZF shearing exceeds the “detuning” effects by the DW dispersion and random phase scattering. We also discuss the “self-binding” effect of the newly formed SSCV.
The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of BiTl9Te6 and SbTl9Te6: First-principles calculations
Authors: Guo Li Bin , Ye Lingyun , Wang Yuan Xu , Yang Jue Ming , Yan Yu Li , Ren Feng Zhu
Published: December 2015

The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of MTl9Te6 (M = Bi, Sb) were studied using density functional theory and the semiclassical Boltzmann theory. It is found that the band gaps of BiTl9Te6 and SbTl9Te6 are equal to 0.59 eV and 0.72 eV, respectively. The relative large band gap and strong coupling between Sb s and Te p are helpful to the thermoelectric properties of SbTl9Te6. Near the bottom of the conduction bands, the number of band valleys of SbTl9Te6 is four and is larger than that of BiTl9Te6 (two band valleys), which will increase its Seebeck coefficient. Although BiTl9Te6 has a larger electrical conductivity relative to relaxation time (σ/τ) along the z-direction than that of SbTl9Te6, the results show that the transport properties of SbTl9Te6 are better than those of BiTl9Te6 possibly due to its large Seebeck coefficient. The maximum value of power factor relative to relaxation time (S2σ/τ) for SbTl9Te6 reaches 4.30 × 1011 W/K2 m s at 900 K, that is, originated from its relatively large Seebeck coefficient, suggesting its promising thermoelectric performance at high temperature.
A two-dimensional model for magnetic-field-direction dependent magnetoelectric effect in laminated composites
Authors: Yao Hong , Shi Yang , Gao Yuan-Wen
Published: December 2015

Experiments have shown that the direction of magnetic field plays an important role in magnetoelectric (ME) effect in laminated composites. In this paper, based on the average field method, a two-dimensional magnetic-field-direction dependent ME model is introduced. The numerical results were compared with previous experimental data with excellent correlation. Especially, the existence of an optimal angle is theoretically proved, which is changed with the value of DC magnetic field and can drive ME response to the best. Meanwhile, we found that the optimal magnetic field presents an obvious nonlinear variation with the angle. The prediction is closer to the experimental data than that given in previous work. Furthermore, the predictions show that the resonance magnetoelectric effect has the same trend with that at low frequency. ME coefficients are increased by about 100 times at resonance frequency.
Onset of surface stimulated emission at 260 nm from AlGaN multiple quantum wells
Authors: Li Xiaohang , Xie Hongen , Ponce Fernando A. , Ryou Jae-Hyun , Detchprohm Theeradetch , Dupuis Russell D.
Published: December 2015

We demonstrated onset of deep-ultraviolet (DUV) surface stimulated emission (SE) from c-plane AlGaN multiple-quantum well (MQW) heterostructures grown on a sapphire substrate by optical pumping at room temperature. The onset of SE became observable at a pumping power density of 630 kW/cm2. Spectral deconvolution revealed superposition of a linearly amplified spontaneous emission peak at λ ∼ 257.0 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ∼12 nm and a superlinearly amplified SE peak at λ ∼ 260 nm with a narrow FWHM of less than 2 nm. In particular, the wavelength of ∼260 nm is the shortest wavelength of surface SE from III-nitride MQW heterostructures to date. Atomic force microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements were employed to investigate the material and structural quality of the AlGaN heterostructures, showing smooth surface and sharp layer interfaces. This study offers promising results for AlGaN heterostructures grown on sapphire substrates for the development of DUV vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs).
The relation between doses or post-plasma time points and apoptosis of leukemia cells induced by dielectric barrier discharge plasma
Authors: Wang Chao , Zhang Haixia , Xue Zhixiao , Yin Huijuan , Niu Qing , Chen Hongli
Published: December 2015

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was applied to induce apoptosis of LT-12 leukemia cells. Plasma effects on cell death was evaluated by MTT assay and FCM apoptosis assay with Annexin V/PI double staining, suggesting that plasma killing cells rate and inducing cell apoptosis rate both positively were related to the plasma doses or the post-plasma time points. The cell death rates increased from 15.2% to 33.1% and the apoptosis rate raise from 23.8% to 28% when the dose raise from 60s to 120 s at 8 h post-plasma, while they increased from 15.4% to 34.9% and from 48% to 55.3% respectively at the same doses at 12 h post-plasma. Furthermore, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), gene and protein expression for Caspases and Bcl-2 family members were measured for exploring the related apoptotic mechanisms phenomenon. We found ROS immediately increased to 1.24 times of the original amount, then increasing to 5.39-fold at 20 h after treatment. The gene and protein expression for Caspases and Bcl-2 family members are very active at 8-12 h post-plasma. Our results demonstrate that DBD plasma can effectively induce tumor cell death through primarily related apoptotic mechanisms.
Threshold switching behavior of Ag-Si based selector device and hydrogen doping effect on its characteristics
Authors: Yoo Jongmyung , Woo Jiyong , Song Jeonghwan , Hwang Hyunsang
Published: December 2015

The effect of hydrogen treatment on the threshold switching property in a Ag/amorphous Si based programmable metallization cells was investigated for selector device applications. Using the Ag filament formed during motion of Ag ions, a steep-slope (5 mV/dec.) for threshold switching with higher selectivity (∼105) could be achieved. Because of the faster diffusivity of Ag atoms, which are inside solid-electrolytes, the resulting Ag filament could easily be dissolved under low current regime, where the Ag filament possesses weak stability. We found that the dissolution process could be further enhanced by hydrogen treatment that facilitated the movement of the Ag atoms.
Thermoelectric properties of p-type PbTe/Ag2Te bulk composites by extrinsic phase mixing
Authors: Lee Min Ho , Rhyee Jong-Soo
Published: December 2015

We investigated the thermoelectric properties of PbTe/Ag2Te bulk composites, synthesized by hand milling, mixing, and hot press sintering. From x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy measurements, we observed Ag2Te phase separation in the PbTe matrix without Ag atom diffusion. In comparison with previously reported pseudo-binary (PbTe)1−x(Ag2Te)x composites, synthesized by high temperature phase separation, the PbTe/Ag2Te bulk composites fabricated with a low temperature phase mixing process give rise to p-type conduction of carriers with significantly decreased electrical conductivity. This indicates that Ag atom diffusion in the PbTe matrix changes the sign of the Seebeck coefficient to n-type and also increases the carrier concentration. Effective p-type doping with low temperature phase separation by mixing and hot press sintering can enhance the thermoelectric performance of PbTe/Ag2Te bulk composites, which can be used as a p-type counterpart of n-type (PbTe)1−x(Ag2Te)x bulk composites.
Alcohol industry and governmental revenue from young Australians
Authors: Li Ian W. , Si Jiawei
Published: December 2015

Objective The aim of the present study was to estimate the revenues collected by government and industry from alcohol consumption by young Australians in 2010. Methods Statistical analyses were performed on data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2010 and alcohol data collected from an online retailer to calculate the proportion, frequency, quantity and revenues from alcohol consumption by young Australians. Results One-third of adolescents (12–17 years old) and 85% of young adults (18–25 years old) consume alcohol. More than half the adolescents’ alcohol consumption is from ready-to-drink spirits. Revenue generated from alcohol consumption by 12–25 year olds is estimated at $4.8 billion in 2010 (2014 Australian dollars): $2.8 billion to industry (sales) and $2.0 billion to government (taxes). Conclusions Alcohol consumption by young Australians is prevalent, and young Australian drinkers consume alcohol in substantial amounts. The industry and taxation revenue from young drinkers is also considerable. It would be in the public interest to divert some of this revenue towards health initiatives to reduce drinking by young people, especially given the high societal costs of alcohol consumption. What is known about the topic? Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years consume substantial amounts of alcohol, and substantial amounts of revenue are generated from alcohol sales to them. What does this paper add? This paper provides recent estimates of alcohol consumption and revenue generated by Australian adolescents, and extends estimates to young adults aged 18–25 years. What are the implications for practitioners? A substantial proportion of Australian young people consume alcohol. The sales and taxation revenue generated from young people’s drinking is substantial at A$4.8 billion in 2010 and is higher in real terms than estimates from previous studies. Some of the alcohol taxation revenue could be diverted to health promotion and education for young people, because the costs of alcohol consumption in terms of health outcomes and productivity losses for these age groups are expected to be especially high.
Final report, on-going key comparison BIPM.QM-K1: ozone at ambient level, comparison with DMDM, July 2015
Authors: Viallon J , Moussay P , Wielgosz R , Bebic J , Norris J E , Guenther F
Published: December 2015

As part of the on-going key comparison BIPM.QM-K1, a comparison has been performed between the ozone national standard of the Directorate of Measures and Precious Metals (DMDM) and the common reference standard of the key comparison, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), via a transfer standard maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The instruments have been compared over a nominal ozone amount-of-substance fraction range of 0 nmol/mol to 500 nmol/mol

Main text

To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.

The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).
Munc13-4 interacts with syntaxin 7 and regulates late endosomal maturation, endosomal signaling, and TLR9-initiated cellular responses
Authors: He Jing , Johnson Jennifer L. , Monfregola Jlenia , Ramadass Mahalakshmi , Pestonjamasp Kersi , Napolitano Gennaro , Zhang Jinzhong , Catz Sergio D.
Published: December 2015

The molecular mechanisms that regulate late endosomal maturation and function are not completely elucidated, and direct evidence of a calcium sensor is lacking. Here we identify a novel mechanism of late endosomal maturation that involves a new molecular interaction between the tethering factor Munc13-4, syntaxin 7, and VAMP8. Munc13-4 binding to syntaxin 7 was significantly increased by calcium. Colocalization of Munc13-4 and syntaxin 7 at late endosomes was demonstrated by high-resolution and live-cell microscopy. Munc13-4–deficient cells show increased numbers of significantly enlarged late endosomes, a phenotype that was mimicked by the fusion inhibitor chloroquine in wild-type cells and rescued by expression of Munc13-4 but not by a syntaxin 7–binding–deficient mutant. Late endosomes from Munc13-4-KO neutrophils show decreased degradative capacity. Munc13-4–knockout neutrophils show impaired endosomal-initiated, TLR9-dependent signaling and deficient TLR9-specific CD11b up-regulation. Thus we present a novel mechanism of late endosomal maturation and propose that Munc13-4 regulates the late endocytic machinery and late endosomal–associated innate immune cellular functions.
Long noncoding RNA SPRY4-IT1 regulates intestinal epithelial barrier function by modulating the expression levels of tight junction proteins
Authors: Xiao Lan , Rao Jaladanki N. , Cao Shan , Liu Lan , Chung Hee Kyoung , Zhang Yun , Zhang Jennifer , Liu Yulan , Gorospe Myriam , Wang Jian-Ying
Published: December 2015

Epithelial cells line the intestinal mucosa and form an important barrier to a wide array of noxious substances in the lumen. Disruption of the barrier integrity occurs commonly in various pathologies. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) control diverse biological processes, but little is known about the role of lncRNAs in regulation of the gut permeability. Here we show that the lncRNA SPRY4-IT1 regulates the intestinal epithelial barrier function by altering expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins. SPRY4-IT1 silencing led to dysfunction of the epithelial barrier in cultured cells by decreasing the stability of mRNAs encoding TJ proteins claudin-1, claudin-3, occludin, and JAM-1 and repressing their translation. In contrast, increasing the levels of SPRY4-IT1 in the intestinal mucosa protected the gut barrier in mice exposed to septic stress by increasing the abundance of TJ proteins. SPRY4-IT1 directly interacted with TJ mRNAs, and this process was enhanced through the association with the RNA-binding protein HuR. Of interest, the intestinal mucosa from patients with increased gut permeability exhibited a decrease in the levels of SPRY4-IT1. These findings highlight a novel role for SPRY4-IT1 in controlling the intestinal epithelial barrier and define a mechanism by which SPRY4-IT1 modulates TJ expression by altering the stability and translation of TJ mRNAs.
The Peterborough Pilot Social Impact Bond
Authors: Nicholls Alex , Tomkinson Emma
Published: December 2015

This is a detailed case analysis of the world’s first SIB, based at Her Majesty’s Prison in Peterborough, UK. This chapter starts by defining the SIB model and its key constituent parts. Next, the chapter sketches in the historical context that provides the background to the emergence of the SIB. The third section examines the Peterborough Pilot SIB in some detail. After this, the evolution of SIBs globally is discussed. Conclusions consider some of the issues that have emerged as the first SIB has been implemented. The chapter closes with a postscript reflecting on key issues that developed in 2014.
Perfect puzzles in discourse
Authors: Asher Nicholas , Guéron Jacqueline
Published: December 2015

This chapter examines two puzzles concerning perfect structures. Pancheva and von Stechow offer solutions to these puzzles based on semantic constraints on the overlap between event time, reference time, and the perfect time span of a perfect. Asher and Guéron argue that neither puzzle requires semantic contraints on tenses. The (parametrized) Present Perfect puzzle reduces to the presence/absence of aspect morphemes in the functional repertory of a language. The more general Past Perfect puzzle depends not on sentence grammar but on information structure, more precisely, on discourse relations implied by focused material in successive sentences. The discourse relations defined in the SDRT model of Asher and Lascarides account for all the data presented by the earlier chapters and for more extensive data beyond the span of earlier proposals.
The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology
Authors: Bauer Laurie , Lieber Rochelle , Plag Ingo
Published: December 2015

This volume presents a data-rich description of English inflection and word-formation. Based on large corpora including the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the British National Corpus, it provides a comprehensive treatment of contemporary English morphology that includes both inflection and word-formation. It covers not only well-studied topics such as compounding, conversion, and the inflection and derivation of nouns and verbs, but also areas that have received less scholarly attention, such as the formation of adjectives, locatives, negatives, evaluatives, neoclassical compounds and blends, among many other topics. Equal weight is given to form and meaning. The volume also contains sections devoted to phonological and orthographic aspects of morphology and to combinatorial and paradigmatic properties of English morphology. It ends with a series of chapters that assess the implications of English morphology for morphological theory, discussing topics such as stratification, blocking, and competition, the analysis of conversion, and the relationship between inflection and derivation.
The harmonic oscillator
Authors: Manousakis Efstratios
Published: December 2015

This chapter discusses the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator. It begins by discussing under what conditions the harmonic approximation can be used. It then transforms the Hamiltonian of the harmonic oscillator in terms of rising and lowering operators and then it finds its spectrum of eigenvalues and eigenstates.
The Three Types of Fire Sacrifice According to Kāṇha’s Śrīcakrasaṃvara-homavidhi
Authors: Gray David B.
Published: December 2015

This chapter examines a manual for the performance of homa, part of the Cakrasaṃvara-tantra textual cycle. Three of the mahāsiddhas are considered the most important exegetes of the Cakarasaṃvara cycle: Lūi-pa, Ghaṇṭa-pa, and Kā ṇha-pa. This text, the Śrīcakrasaṃvarahomavidhi is attributed to the Kā ṇha, also known as Kṛ ṣ ṇ ācarya. After a short description of the chief deity, Saṃvara, the manual opens with an explanation of the necessity of performing homa. The manual includes directions for internalization and uses a list of three kinds of fire offerings, as distinct from the more common four.
The Cultural Defense of Nations
Authors: Orgad Liav
Published: December 2015

The changing patterns of contemporary immigration have initiated a new form of majority nationalism. In recent years, liberal democracies have introduced immigration and citizenship policies that are designed to defend the majority culture. This trend is fed by fears of immigration—some justified, some paranoid—which explain the rise of extreme right—wing parties in the West. Liberal theory and human rights law seem to be out of sync with these developments. While they recognize the rights of minority groups to maintain their cultural identity, it is typically assumed that majority groups have neither a need for similar rights nor a moral basis for defending them. The majority culture, so the argument goes, “can take care of itself.” This singular book shifts the focus from the prevailing discussion of minority rights and, for the first time, directly addresses the cultural rights of majorities. The findings reveal a troubling trend in liberal democracies, which, ironically, in order to protect liberal values, violate the very same values. The book criticizes this state of affairs and presents a liberal theory of cultural defense that distinguishes between justifiable and unjustifiable attempts by majorities to protect their cultural essentials. It formulates liberal standards by which liberal states can welcome immigrants without fundamentally changing their cultural heritage, forsaking their liberal traditions, or slipping into extreme nationalism.
Illiberal Liberalism
Authors: Orgad Liav
Published: December 2015

Cultural defense policies create a Paradox of Liberalism. Liberal democracies, in order to protect what they perceive as a liberal regime, resort to illiberal means that violate the same values they seek to protect. Herein lies the paradox. Either the liberal should tolerate illiberal practices, or turn to illiberal means in order to “liberate” the illiberal. Either choice undermines liberalism. The idea that one should adopt a liberal way of life as a prerequisite for living in a liberal society is, in itself, illiberal. This is because liberalism contains the freedom to choose not to hold liberal beliefs or live a liberal way of life as long as a person’s way of life complies with law and order. Overall, the chapter illustrates risks involved in immigration and citizenship policies which, in order to protect liberal values, embrace illiberal means that violate those very same values.
Majority Rights
Authors: Orgad Liav
Published: December 2015

This chapter advocates the recognition of a new concept, “majority groups”; claims that, under certain circumstances, majorities have an interest in protecting their “cultural rights”; and provides liberal justifications for defending the majority culture in the immigration context. The chapter examines three concepts of majorities—an ethno—cultural majority, a sociological majority, and an idea—based majority. It presents four paradigmatic cases in which majorities may need protection in the immigration context—diminishing majorities, regional—minority majorities, victimized majorities, and minoritized majorities; and offers two justifications for cultural majority rights—personal autonomy and the right to identity. On the whole, the purpose of the chapter is to bring to the fore a few cases in which majorities may be in need of protection in the immigration context and provide a primary framework for analyzing them.
Persistent shift of Calanus spp. in the southwestern Norwegian Sea since 2003, linked to ocean climate
Authors: Kristiansen Inga , Gaard Eilif , Hátún Hjálmar , Jónasdóttir Sigrún , Ferreira A. Sofia A.
Published: December 2015

The southwestern Norwegian Sea is characterized by an inflow of warm and saline Atlantic water from the southwest and cold and less saline East Icelandic Water (EIW), of Arctic origin, from the northwest. These two water masses meet and form the Iceland-Faroe Front (IFF). In this region, the copepod Calanus finmarchicus plays a key role in the pelagic ecosystem. Time-series of C. finmarchicus and Calanus hyperboreus in May and September, extending back to the early 1990s, were studied in relation to phytoplankton bloom dynamics and hydrography. The main reproductive period of C. finmarchicus started consistently earlier south of the IFF, resulting in different life cycles and stage compositions in the two water masses. In 2003, a sudden shift occurred north of the IFF, resulting in a similar phenology pattern to south of the IFF. Before this, only one generation of C. finmarchicus was produced in the Arctic water, but the earlier reproduction enabled the species to produce two generations after 2003. Simultaneously, C. hyperboreus, an expatriate in the EIW, largely disappeared. Food availability is unlikely the reason for the phenological differences observed across the front, as the typical pattern of the phytoplankton spring bloom showed an earlier onset north of the IFF. Temperature and salinity peaked at record high values in 2003 and 2004, and therefore possible links to oceanography are discussed. The dominant role of Calanus spp. and the potential linkages to water mass exchanges may herald strong effects on the ecosystem and pelagic fish in this subpolar Atlantic region under expected climate change.
Reducing the Incidence of Cast-related Skin Complications in Children Treated With Cast Immobilization
Authors: Difazio Rachel L. , Harris Marie , Feldman Lanna , Mahan Susan T.
Published: December 2015

Background:

Cast immobilization remains the mainstay of pediatric orthopaedic care, yet little is known about the incidence of cast-related skin complications in children treated with cast immobilization. The purposes of this quality improvement project were to: (1) establish a baseline rate of cast-related skin complications in children treated with cast immobilization, (2) identify trends in children who experienced cast-related skin complications, (3) design an intervention aimed at decreasing the rate of cast-related skin complications, and (4) determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

Methods:

A prospective interrupted time-series design was used to determine the incidence of cast-related skin complications overtime and compare the rates of skin complications before and after an intervention designed to decrease the incidence of cast-related heel complications. All consecutive patients who were treated with cast immobilization from September 2012 to September 2014 were included. A cast-related skin complications data collection tool was used to capture all cast-related skin complications. A high rate of heel events was noted in our preliminary analysis and an intervention was designed to decrease the rate of cast-related skin complications, including the addition of padding during casting and respective provider education.

Results:

The estimated cast-related skin events rate for all patients was 8.9 per 1000 casts applied. The rate for the total preintervention sample was 13.6 per 1000 casts which decreased to 6.6 in the postintervention sample. When examining the heel-only group, the rate was 17.1 per 1000 lower extremity casts applied in the preintervention group and 6.8 in the postintervention group.

Conclusions:

Incorporating padding to the heel of lower extremity cast was an effective intervention in decreasing the incidence of cast-related skin complications in patients treated with cast immobilization.

Level of Evidence:

Level II.
Modelling approaches for evaluating multiscale tendon mechanics
Authors: Fang Fei , Lake Spencer P.
Published: December 2015

Tendon exhibits anisotropic, inhomogeneous and viscoelastic mechanical properties that are determined by its complicated hierarchical structure and varying amounts/organization of different tissue constituents. Although extensive research has been conducted to use modelling approaches to interpret tendon structure–function relationships in combination with experimental data, many issues remain unclear (i.e. the role of minor components such as decorin, aggrecan and elastin), and the integration of mechanical analysis across different length scales has not been well applied to explore stress or strain transfer from macro- to microscale. This review outlines mathematical and computational models that have been used to understand tendon mechanics at different scales of the hierarchical organization. Model representations at the molecular, fibril and tissue levels are discussed, including formulations that follow phenomenological and microstructural approaches (which include evaluations of crimp, helical structure and the interaction between collagen fibrils and proteoglycans). Multiscale modelling approaches incorporating tendon features are suggested to be an advantageous methodology to understand further the physiological mechanical response of tendon and corresponding adaptation of properties owing to uniquein vivoloading environments.
Cell and nanoparticle transport in tumour microvasculature: the role of size, shape and surface functionality of nanoparticles
Authors: Li Ying , Lian Yanping , Zhang Lucy T. , Aldousari Saad M. , Hedia Hassan S. , Asiri Saeed A. , Liu Wing Kam
Published: December 2015

Through nanomedicine, game-changing methods are emerging to deliver drug molecules directly to diseased areas. One of the most promising of these is the targeted delivery of drugs and imaging agents via drug carrier-based platforms. Such drug delivery systems can now be synthesized from a wide range of different materials, made in a number of different shapes, and coated with an array of different organic molecules, including ligands. If optimized, these systems can enhance the efficacy and specificity of delivery compared with those of non-targeted systems. Emerging integrated multiscale experiments, models and simulations have opened the door for endless medical applications. Current bottlenecks in design of the drug-carrying particles are the lack of knowledge about the dispersion of these particles in the microvasculature and of their subsequent internalization by diseased cells (Bao
et al
. 2014
J. R. Soc. Interface
11
, 20140301 (
doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.0301
)). We describe multiscale modelling techniques that study how drug carriers disperse within the microvasculature. The immersed molecular finite-element method is adopted to simulate whole blood including blood plasma, red blood cells and nanoparticles. With a novel dissipative particle dynamics method, the beginning stages of receptor-driven endocytosis of nanoparticles can be understood in detail. Using this multiscale modelling method, we elucidate how the size, shape and surface functionality of nanoparticles will affect their dispersion in the microvasculature and subsequent internalization by targeted cells.
A novel fibre-ensemble level constitutive model for exogenous cross-linked collagenous tissues
Authors: Sacks Michael S. , Zhang Will , Wognum Silvia
Published: December 2015

Exogenous cross-linking of soft collagenous tissues is a common method for biomaterial development and medical therapies. To enable improved applications through computational methods, physically realistic constitutive models are required. Yet, despite decades of research, development and clinical use, no such model exists. In this study, we develop the first rigorous full structural model (i.e. explicitly incorporating various features of the collagen fibre architecture) for exogenously cross-linked soft tissues. This was made possible, in-part, with the use of native to cross-linked matched experimental datasets and an extension to the collagenous structural constitutive model so that the uncross-linked collagen fibre responses could be mapped to the cross-linked configuration. This allowed us to separate the effects of cross-linking from kinematic changes induced in the cross-linking process, which in turn allowed the non-fibrous tissue matrix component and the interaction effects to be identified. It was determined that the matrix could be modelled as an isotropic material using a modified Yeoh model. The most novel findings of this study were that: (i) the effective collagen fibre modulus was unaffected by cross-linking and (ii) fibre-ensemble interactions played a large role in stress development, often dominating the total tissue response (depending on the stress component and loading path considered). An important utility of the present model is its ability to separate the effects of exogenous cross-linking on the fibres from changes due to the matrix. Applications of this approach include the utilization in the design of novel chemical treatments to produce specific mechanical responses and the study of fatigue damage in bioprosthetic heart valve biomaterials.
Real-time, whole-brain, temporally resolved pressure responses in translational head impact
Authors: Zhao Wei , Ji Songbai
Published: December 2015

Theoretical debate still exists on the role of linear acceleration (

a

lin
) on the risk of brain injury. Recent injury metrics only consider head rotational acceleration (

a

rot
) but not

a

lin
, despite that real-world on-field head impacts suggesting

a

lin
significantly improves a concussion risk function. These controversial findings suggest a practical challenge in integrating theory and real-world experiment. Focusing on tissue-level mechanical responses estimated from finite-element (FE) models of the human head, rather than impact kinematics alone, may help address this debate. However, the substantial computational cost incurred (runtime and hardware) poses a significant barrier for their practical use. In this study, we established a real-time technique to estimate whole-brain

a

lin
-induced pressures. Three hydrostatic atlas pressures corresponding to translational impacts (referred to as ‘brain print’) along the three major axes were pre-computed. For an arbitrary

a

lin
profile at any instance in time, the atlas pressures were linearly scaled and then superimposed to estimate whole-brain responses. Using 12 publically available, independently measured or reconstructed real-world

a

lin
profiles representative of a range of impact/injury scenarios, the technique was successfully validated (except for one case with an extremely short impulse of approx. 1 ms). The computational cost to estimate whole-brain pressure responses for an entire

a

lin
profile was less than 0.1 s on a laptop versus typically hours on a high-end multicore computer. These findings suggest the potential of the simple, yet effective technique to enable future studies to focus on tissue-level brain responses, rather than solely relying on global head impact kinematics that have plagued early and contemporary brain injury research to date.
Tissue constructs: platforms for basic research and drug discovery
Authors: Elson Elliot L. , Genin Guy M.
Published: December 2015

The functions, form and mechanical properties of cells are inextricably linked to their extracellular environment. Cells from solid tissues change fundamentally when, isolated from this environment, they are cultured on rigid two-dimensional substrata. These changes limit the significance of mechanical measurements on cells in two-dimensional culture and motivate the development of constructs with cells embedded in three-dimensional matrices that mimic the natural tissue. While measurements of cell mechanics are difficult in natural tissues, they have proven effective in engineered tissue constructs, especially constructs that emphasize specific cell types and their functions, e.g. engineered heart tissues. Tissue constructs developed as models of disease also have been useful as platforms for drug discovery. Underlying the use of tissue constructs as platforms for basic research and drug discovery is integration of multiscale biomaterials measurement and computational modelling to dissect the distinguishable mechanical responses separately of cells and extracellular matrix from measurements on tissue constructs and to quantify the effects of drug treatment on these responses. These methods and their application are the main subjects of this review.