bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The politics of law enforcement in Nigeria: lessons from the war on drugs
Authors: Klantschnig Gernot
Published: November 2009

This article examines the institutional politics of law enforcement in Nigeria by focusing on illegal drug control since the mid 1980s. It assesses the available academic research on law enforcement governance, and contrasts it with an in-depth case study of drug law enforcement. The case study confirms views of the politicised nature of law enforcement. However, it goes beyond the patron–client centred approach to politics prevalent in the literature on African policing. The article adds an institutional dimension to the study of law enforcement governance, highlighting processes of centralisation, exclusion and shifting bureaucratic interests that have been central to the development of Nigerian drug law enforcement. It is based on previously inaccessible data from inside Nigerian drug law enforcement.
Becoming abwanaand burley tobacco in the Central Region of Malawi
Authors: Prowse Martin
Published: November 2009

Smallholders now grow most of Malawi's main export crop – burley tobacco. Based on nineteen months' fieldwork in the Central Region, this article offers a sociological interpretation of why some smallholder growers spend a proportion of burley income on conspicuous consumption in rural towns and trading centres. This practice can be seen as a form of inculcated behaviour whereby smallholders reproduce elements of one model of success in this region: that of the Malawian tobaccobwana(boss/master). The article discusses implications from this form of potlatch behaviour by describing the contrasting fortunes of two non-farm rural enterprises, examining data on how tobacco production and ‘cooling off’ is viewed by wives, and comparing the crop preferences of husbands and wives. It concludes by suggesting that the concept of conspicuous consumption may provide an alternative prism to the instrumental lens of neo-patrimonialism through which to view apparently unintelligible investment decisions in African economies.
Liberal outcomes through undemocratic means: the reform of theCode de statut personnelin Morocco
Authors: Cavatorta Francesco , Dalmasso Emanuela
Published: November 2009

The 2004 reform of the family code in Morocco has been held as one of the most significant liberal reforms undertaken in the country, and has led scholars and policy makers to argue that this demonstrates the democratic progress Morocco and the King are making. At the same time, the role of the women's movement in getting the reform approved has seemingly confirmed that associational life is crucial in promoting democratisation. This paper, building on theoretical work questioning the linkage between a strong civil society and democratic outcomes, argues that civil society activism does not necessarily lead to democratisation, and may reinforce authoritarian practices. Far from demonstrating the centrality of civil society, the process through which the new family code was passed highlights the crucial institutional role of the monarch, whose individual decision-making power has driven the whole process. Authoritarianism finds itself strengthened in Morocco despite the liberal nature and outcome of the reform.
Study of the asymmetric magnetic field confining the plasma in an experimental ECR set-up
Authors: BARBARINO S. , CONSOLI F.
Published: November 2009

The detailed description of the asymmetric magnetostatic field, used to confine a plasma in a typical electron cyclotron resonance set-up, and of the related resonance surface, associated with an electromagnetic wave feeding the source, has been obtained by means of exact expressions, employing complete elliptic integrals. This field representation is necessary in the studies regarding particles magnetically confined in these apparatuses.
Variation in stop consonant voicing in two regional varieties of American English
Authors: Jacewicz Ewa , Fox Robert Allen , Lyle Samantha
Published: November 2009

This study is an acoustic investigation of the nature and extent of consonant voicing of the stop /b/ in two dialectal varieties of American English spoken in south-central Wisconsin and western North Carolina. The stop /b/ occurred at the juncture of two words such assmall bids, in a position between two voiced sonorants, i.e. the liquid /l/ and a vowel. Twenty women participated, ten representing the Wisconsin and ten the North Carolina variety, respectively. Significant dialectal differences were found in the voicing patterns. The Wisconsin stop closures were usually not fully voiced and terminated in a complete silence followed by a closure release whereas North Carolina speakers produced mostly fully voiced closures. Further dialectal differences included the proportion of closure voicing as a function of word emphasis. For Wisconsin speakers, the proportion of closure voicing was smallest when the word was emphasized and it was greatest in non-emphatic positions. For North Carolina speakers, the degree of word emphasis did not have an effect on the proportion of closure voicing. The results suggest different mechanisms by which closure voicing is maintained in these two dialects, pointing to active articulatory maneuvers in North Carolina speakers and passive in Wisconsin speakers.
Do we need a symbol for a central open vowel? The discussion so far and a reply to Daniel Recasens and Martin Ball
Authors: Barry William J. , Trouvain Jürgen
Published: November 2009

In the weeks following the publication, of our article ‘Do we need a symbol for a central open vowel?’ (Barry & Trouvain 2008), we received 12 personal communications commenting on and discussing the points we had made. Martin Ball has since published his discussion points in JIPA (Ball 2009), as has Daniel Recasens (Recasens 2009), who was not among the 12 who contacted us directly. Thus it would be fitting for us to summarize the points made by the 11 members whose opinions have not yet been made known to the rest of the IPA community and to refine our standpoint in the light of Recasens’ and Ball's comments.
HUMANISM AND REFORM IN PRE-REFORMATION ENGLISH MONASTERIES
Authors: Clark James G.
Published: November 2009

It is commonly understood the old monastic order in England confronted the King's Reformation unreformed: the houses of the Benedictines, Cistercians and Cluniacs were seemingly untouched by the spirit of renewal that charged continental congregations in the conciliar era, and their conventional patterns of observant life persisted in the face of a fast-changing world beyond the precinct walls. This paper reexamines this view. There was no formal process of congregational reform in England and the effectiveness of the order's governing bodies faltered over the course of the fifteenth century. Yet the responsiveness of the monks to contemporary trends in learning and teaching and in patterns of personal and corporate devotion may be traced in many of their manuscript records. This is indicative, certainly, of the lively engagement of individual brethren but in a number of instances it can be read as part of a collective impulse for reform that animated the house as a whole, and perhaps even networks of houses. It was an impulse that owed much to a generation of (generally, graduate) monks that rose to prominence against the background of the great church councils; their influence allowed it to flourish, albeit briefly, in the triennial sessions of the Benedictine chapters. Their interest in humanism passed to the next generation of superiors, some of whom appear to have transformed their conventualcurricula. Their pioneering work perhaps also stimulated a refined conception of the monastic profession which blossomed in the half-century before the suppressions, one suffused with a sharp, one might say, antiquarian sense of the heritage of early English monasticism, and the scholarly calibre and spiritual purity of its celebrated fathers. The energy that emanated from a number of these houses in the reigns of Henry VII and his son attracted like-minded seculars into collaborations that were not necessarily claustral in focus but certainly reformist in tone. Of course, such extra-mural interest and interaction did little to defend the monastic redoubt from the assault of the Cromwellian commissioners.
LORD BURGHLEY ANDIL CORTEGIANO: CIVIL AND MARTIAL MODELS OF COURTLINESS IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND
Authors: Partridge Mary
Published: November 2009

William Cecil, Lord Burghley, is not usually characterised as a courtier. He has traditionally been cast as a grave, hard-working statesman. Historians today recognise that almost every Elizabethan politician of national stature was, to a certain extent, a courtier. However, the epithet ‘courtly’ is still largely reserved for the self-styled chevaliers of Elizabeth's entourage. The courtliness of men such as Burghley, whose public persona was based predominantly on ‘civil’ rather than chivalric values, is rarely acknowledged. Yet Balthazar Castiglione's celebrated dialogue,Il libro del cortegiano, explored civil and martial ideals of courtly conduct. Burghley can be (and was) depicted as a model Castiglionean courtier. His friends and early biographers credited him withil Cortegiano's signature characteristic,sprezzatura. They also emphasised his social versatility – another attribute associated withil Cortegiano. Moreover, Burghley shared Castiglione's monarchocentric political agenda. He served his commonwealth by cultivating a personal relationship with his prince. This relationship licensed him to counsel Elizabeth, encouraging her to rule wisely and virtuously. He thus embraced the Castiglionean paradigm whereby public service was identified with personal service to a particular monarch. Burghley's adoption of this paradigm has arguably been overlooked as a result of the historiographical climate of the past twenty years. Patrick Collinson's enormously influential concept of monarchical republicanism has encouraged historians to conceptualise Burghley as a republican who happened to live in a monarchy. This may have obscured his approximation to Castiglione's ideal courtier, who was specifically designed to operate in a monarchical context.
COMMUNICATING EMPIRE: THE HABSBURGS AND THEIR CRITICS, 1700–1919
Authors: Evans R. J. W.
Published: November 2009

In the vibrant current debate about European empires and their ideologies, one basic dichotomy still tends to be overlooked: that between, on the one hand, the plurality of modern empires of colonisation, commerce and settlement; and, on the other, the traditional claim to single and undividedimperiumso long embodied in the Roman Empire and its successor, the Holy Roman Empire, or (First) Reich. This paper examines the tensions between the two, as manifested in the theory and practice of Habsburg imperial rule. The Habsburgs, emperors of the Reich almost continuously through its last centuries, sought to build their own power-base within and beyond it. The first half of the paper examines how by the eighteenth century their ‘Monarchy’, subsisting alongside the Reich, dealt with the associated legacy of empire. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 the Habsburgs could pursue a free-standing Austrian ‘imperialism’, but it rested on an uneasy combination of old and new elements and was correspondingly vulnerable to challenge from abroad and censure at home. The second half of the article charts this aspect of Habsburg government through an age of international imperialism and its contribution to the collapse of the Dual Monarchy in 1918.
THE SLAVE TRADE, ABOLITION AND PUBLIC MEMORY
Authors: Walvin James
Published: November 2009

The bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807 prompted a remarkable wave of public commemorations across Britain. In contrast to the low-key events of 1907, 2007 saw a sustained and nation-wide urge to commemorate, publicise and discuss the Atlantic slave trade and its abolition. Government interest proved an important influence, and was reflected in a lively educational debate (resulting in changes to the National Curriculum.) This political interest may have stemmed from the parallel debate about modern human trafficking, and contemporary slave systems. Equally, the availability of funding (from the Heritage Lottery Fund) may have persuaded a host of institutions to devise exhibitions, displays and debates about events of 1807. Perhaps the most striking forms of commemoration were in broadcasting and publishing: the BBC was especially active. There were few regions or localities which remained unaffected by the year's commemorations.

But why was there such interest? Was 1807, with the outlawing of an unquestioned evil, seen as a moment of national virtue? But if so, how are we to recall the role played by the British in theperfectionof Atlantic slavery and the slave trade? The lively debates in 2007, from major national institutions to small local gatherings, revealed the problematic nature of abolition itself. After all, slavery survived, and even the slave trade continued after 1807. So what was important about 1807? The commemorations of 2007 raised public awareness about an important transformation in the British past; it also exposed those intellectual and political complexities about the ending of the Atlantic slave trade which have proved so fascinating to academic historians.
Pop Regionalism
Authors: Dye Wanda
Published: November 2009

‘As it stands, the concept of popular culture is virtually useless, a melting pot of confused and contradictory meanings capable of misdirecting inquiry up any number of theoretical blind alleys’ […] popular culture is in effect an empty conceptual category, one which can be filled in a wide variety of often conflicting ways, depending on the context of use.

Tony Bennett [quoted] and John Storey in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture
‘Building Initiative’ in Belfast
Authors: Sheridan Dougal
Published: November 2009

‘Building Initiative’ is both the name adopted by a collaborative group of architects, urbanists and artists, and also the term they use to describe the ‘mode of agency’ chosen to inform and realise citizen-led urban regeneration in Belfast [1]. The necessity and forms of this praxis evolved in response to the city's spatial, social and policy environment, and the inability of conventional mechanisms of architectural practice to engage adequately with this context. Building Initiative explored and pursued specific modes of agency, which it termed ‘initiatives’, within a variety of sectors including architectural, planning, educational, academic and media, and at a range of scales from local to international. This created the opportunity to work with a diversity of partner organisations and to develop a correspondingly wide range of strategies. We will look briefly at the context of Belfast and Building Initiative's response to it, focusing specifically on the methods of working that were developed, before concentrating on one project to illustrate these methodologies and processes in application.
Orhan Pamuk's ‘Museum of Innocence’: on architecture, narrative and the art of collecting
Authors: Allmer Açalya
Published: November 2009

‘It was the happiest moment of my life, I didn't know’, begins Orhan Pamuk in his novel The Museum of Innocence, translated into English in October 2009. The Museum of Innocence is the most recent novel by Pamuk, Turkish novelist and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature (its Turkish title is Masumiyet Müzesi, 2008) [1].
Introduction: 40 Years of EDS
Authors: Newbury Dale E. , Gauvin Raynald
Published: November 2009

2008 marked the 40th anniversary of the seminal paper “Solid-State Energy-Dispersion Spectrometer for Electron-Microprobe X-ray Analysis” by Ray Fitzgerald, Klaus Kiel, and Kurt Heinrich [Science (1968), 159, 528] that introduced the Si(Li) energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) detector as a practical analytical tool to the electron microscope community. In recognition of that anniversary, the Microscopy Society of America and the Microbeam Analysis Society organized a symposium at the 2008 Microscopy and Microanalysis Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico to review the remarkable progress in Si(Li) EDS that has made elemental analysis available on virtually any electron beam platform.
Three‐dimensional dynamics of hydrous thermal‐chemical plumes in oceanic subduction zones
Authors: Zhu Guizhi , Gerya Taras V. , Yuen David A. , Honda Satoru , Yoshida Takeyoshi , Connolly James A. D.
Published: November 2009

Hydration and partial melting along subducting slabs can trigger Rayleigh‐Taylor‐like instabilities. We use 3‐D petrological‐thermomechanical numerical simulations to investigate small‐scale convection and hydrous, partially molten, cold plumes formed in the mantle wedge in response to slab dehydration. The simulations were carried out with the I3ELVIS code, which is based on a multigrid approach combined with marker‐in‐cell methods and conservative finite difference schemes. Our numerical simulations show that three types of plumes occur above the slab‐mantle interface: (1) finger‐like plumes that form sheet‐like structure parallel to the trench, (2) ridge‐like structures perpendicular to the trench, and (3) flattened wave‐like instabilities propagating upward along the upper surface of the slab and forming zigzag patterns parallel to the trench. The viscosity of the plume material is the main factor controlling the geometry of the plumes. Our results show that lower viscosity of the partially molten rocks facilitates the Rayleigh‐Taylor‐like instabilities with small wavelengths. In particular, in low‐viscosity models (1018–1019 Pa s) the typical spacing of finger‐like plumes is about 30–45 km, while in high‐viscosity models (1020–1021 Pa s) plumes become rather sheet‐like, and the spacing between them increases to 70–100 km. Water released from the slab forms a low‐viscosity wedge with complex 3‐D geometries. The computed spatial and temporal pattern of melt generation intensity above the slab is compared to the distribution and ages of volcanoes in the northeast Japan. Based on the similarity of the patterns we suggest that specific clustering of volcanic activity in this region could be potentially related to the activity of thermal‐chemical plumes.
Measurement Site and the Association Between Visceral and Abdominal Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue With Metabolic Risk in Women
Authors: Kuk Jennifer L. , Church Timothy S. , Blair Steven N. , Ross Robert
Published: November 2009

The associations between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and metabolic risk may be influenced by measurement site. The aim of this study was to compare the strength of the associations between VAT and ASAT, as assessed by a cross‐sectional image (area) or total volume, and prevalent metabolic syndrome (MetS). We also examined the association between changes in abdominal AT area and volume with concomitant changes in metabolic risk. Abdominal AT volume and areas were derived using ∼35 continuous computed tomography (CT) images from T10–T11 to L5–S1 in overweight or obese postmenopausal women before (n= 67) and after (n= 39) a 6‐month exercise intervention. At baseline, measurement site did not influence the inter‐relationship between ASAT area and total volume, and between ASAT and MetS. Conversely, VAT areas at L1–L2 and L2–L3 were stronger correlates of VAT volume at baseline (L1–L2 (r= 0.94), L2–L3 (r= 0.95), L4–L5 (r= 0.89)) and changes therein (L1–L2 (r= 0.77), L2–L3 (r= 0.75), L4–L5 (r= 0.55)) as compared to L4–L5, but were not significantly better predictors of MetS as compared to L4–L5 or the total volume (L2–L3: odds ratio (OR) = 2.68 (1.6–4.4), L1–L2: OR = 1.88 (1.2–3.0), L4–L5: OR = 2.56 (1.6–4.1), volume: OR = 2.07 (1.1–3.8)). Changes in VAT and ASAT were not associated with changes in MetS (P> 0.10). Although measurement site has an impact on the prediction of VAT volume, this does not translate into an improved prediction for the MetS. Thus, there is not enough evidence to support changing the current research practice of assessing VAT volume or at L4–L5 for the prediction of metabolic risk.
Decreased Npc1 Gene Dosage in Mice Is Associated With Weight Gain
Authors: Jelinek David , Heidenreich Randall A. , Erickson Robert P. , Garver William S.
Published: November 2009

A recent genome‐wide association study has determined that the Niemann‐Pick C1 (NPC1) gene is associated with early‐onset and morbid adult obesity. However, what effects of the nonsynonymous variation in NPC1 on protein function result in weight gain remains unknown. The NPC1 heterozygous mouse model (Npc1+/−), which expresses one‐half the normal amounts of functional Npc1 protein compared to the homozygous normal (Npc1+/+) mouse, was used to determine whether decreased Npc1 gene dosage was associated with weight gain when fed either a low‐fat (10% kcal fat) or high‐fat (45% kcal fat) diet beginning at 4 weeks of age until 20 weeks of age. The results indicated that Npc1+/− mice had significantly increased weight gain beginning at 13 weeks of age when fed a high‐fat diet, but not when fed a low‐fat diet, compared to the Npc1+/+ mice fed the same diet. With respect to mice fed a high‐fat diet, the Npc1+/− mice continued to have significantly increased weight gain to 30 weeks of age. At this age, the Npc1+/− mice were found to have increased liver and inguinal adipose weights compared to the Npc1+/+ mice. Therefore, decreased Npc1 gene dosage resulting in decreased Npc1 protein function, promoted weight gain in mice fed a high‐fat diet consistent with a gene–diet interaction.
Genetic Effects on Postprandial Variations of Inflammatory Markers in Healthy Individuals
Authors: Cheng Yu‐Ching , Kao Wen‐Hong L. , Mitchell Braxton D. , Sharrett A. Richey , Ryan Kathleen A. , Vogel Robert A. , Shuldiner Alan R. , Pollin Toni I.
Published: November 2009

Circulating levels of inflammatory markers predict the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), mediated perhaps in part by dietary fat intake, through mechanisms only partially understood. To evaluate post‐fat load changes in inflammatory markers and genetic influences on these changes, we administered a standardized high‐fat meal to 838 related Amish subjects as part of the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention (HAPI) Heart Study and measured a panel of inflammatory markers, including C‐reactive protein (CRP), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), matrix metalloproteinase‐1 and ‐9 (MMP‐1 and MMP‐9), and white blood cell (WBC) count, before and 4 h after fat challenge (CRP prechallenge only). Heritabilities (h2 ± s.d.) of basal inflammatory levels ranged from 16 ± 8% for MMP‐9 (P = 0.02) to 90 ± 7% for MMP‐1 (P < 0.0001). Post‐fat load, circulating levels of WBC, MMP‐1, and MMP‐9 increased by 16, 32, and 43% (all P < 0.0001), with no significant changes in IL‐1β. Postprandial changes over the 4‐h period were modestly heritable for WBC (age‐ and sex‐adjusted h2 = 14 ± 9%, P = 0.04), but the larger MMP‐1 and MMP‐9 changes appeared to be independent of additive genetic effects. These results reveal that a high‐fat meal induces a considerable inflammatory response. Genetic factors appear to play a significant role influencing basal inflammatory levels but to have minimal influence on post‐fat intake inflammatory changes.
Obesity in China: The Differential Impacts of Covariates Along the BMI Distribution
Authors: Shankar Bhavani
Published: November 2009

Growing prosperity and changing diets have contributed to a surge in obesity prevalence in China. Previous research has investigated the relationships between BMI and several socioeconomic, diet‐related, and health‐related variables in China. This study proposes that such relationships are likely to differ along the conditional BMI distribution, and seeks to investigate such quantile‐dependent variation in effects. Special attention is paid to how variables affect the upper tail of the conditional BMI distribution where overweight and obesity concerns are more acute. Quantile regressions (QRs) and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions are estimated. The sample consists of 3,407 adult individuals aged 20–45 who participated in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), 2006. Substantial cross quantile variation is observed in the relationships between several key variables and BMI. The QR shows that the relationship between energy intake and BMI is largely insignificant in the lower and middle quantiles, whereas the upper quantiles show a positive and significant effect substantially larger than predicted by the least squares regression and by previous studies. This implies that a food‐based strategy aimed at limiting energy intake can be an effective way to fight obesity in China. The negative association between smoking and BMI, on the other hand, is found largely to hold only in the lower and middle quantiles, with the upper tail relatively unaffected by smoking status. Thus, smoking cessation policies may not exacerbate obesity.
Characterization of partial positive transposition states and measures of entanglement
Authors: Majewski Władysław A. , Matsuoka Takashi , Ohya Masanori
Published: November 2009

A detailed characterization of partial positive transposition (PPT) states, both in the Heisenberg and in the Schrödinger picture, is given. Measures of entanglement are defined and discussed in details. Illustrative examples are provided.
Magnetic-field transfer of water molecules
Authors: Osuga Toshiaki , Tatsuoka Hozumi
Published: November 2009

Thermal agitation induces the rotational motion of the two positively charged hydrogens around the oxygen nucleus in a water molecule, which forms an electric current with a short duration, generating a Lorentz force in a uniform static magnetic field. Since the center of gravity of a water molecule is approximately located at the oxygen nucleus, the Lorentz force has two components that rotate the hydrogens and push the oxygen nucleus. The component of the Lorentz force that pushes the oxygen nucleus parallel to the magnetic field has a strength that is half that of the component that pushes the oxygen nucleus perpendicular to the magnetic field. Since the Lorentz force causes water molecules to carry out a random walk, magnetic-field transfer, that is, a cumulative effect of random walks, is expected. The ratio of the diffusional coefficient for the magnetic-field transfer of D2O to that of H2O is 4:1 because the ratio of the interval between each random walk of D2O to that of H2O, which is also the ratio of the duration of one rotation, is 2:1. The diffusional displacement of the magnetic-field transfer is proportional to the magnetic field and reaches 0.62 Å/day for liquid water at 37 °C in a magnetic field of 2.0 T. Magnetic-field transfer is predicted to occur in polarized molecules with rotational freedom and restricted translational freedom.
Reliability assessment and degradation analysis of 1.3 μm GaInNAs lasers
Authors: Lu W. , Bull S. , Lim J. J. , MacKenzie R. , Sujecki S. , Andrianov A. V. , Sadeghi M. , Wang S. M. , Larsson A. , Melanen P. , Sipilä P. , Uusimaa P. , Foxon C. T. , Larkins E. C.
Published: November 2009

The degradation of 1.3 μm GaInNAs lasers was investigated using accelerated aging tests. This was followed by comprehensive characterization, including standard light-current-voltage (L-I-V) characterization, capacitance measurements, photoluminescence microscopy (PLM), on-axis amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectra measurements, and photocurrent (PC) and electroluminescence (EL) spectroscopies. The slope efficiency of the device dropped by 50% with a 300% increase in the threshold current after the accelerated aging test. The ideality factors of the aged devices are higher than those of the unaged devices. PLM images showed no evidence of catastrophic optical mirror damage. The measured capacitances of the aged devices are all similar to those of the unaged devices, indicating that there was no significant dopant diffusion in the junction region. Fourier transforms of the ASE spectra showed that no intracavity defects were present in the aged lasers, suggesting that intracavity defects are not responsible for the rapid degradation of the aged devices. Although the PC measurements showed defects at 0.88–0.95 eV and at ∼0.76 eV, these defect signatures did not increase with aging. On the other hand, EL measurements revealed that radiative deep level defects were generated during the aging tests, which may be related to the degradation of the devices. Based on the above measurement results, we identify the generation of radiative deep level defects as the main causes of degradation of these devices.
Optical properties and switching behavior in Gd2O3:Er3+ nanophosphor
Authors: Singh S. K. , Kumar K. , Rai S. B.
Published: November 2009

The upconversion (UC) efficient Gd2O3:Er3+ nanophosphor powder has been synthesized through the combustion route using urea as a reducing agent. The UC studies have been carried out using 532 nm excitation, and the samples show intense emission bands in ultraviolet (340 and 383 nm), blue (411, 458, 472, and 491 nm), and green (523 nm) regions of spectrum. Downconversion emission bands are also observed in green (550 nm) and red (672 nm) regions. The pump power dependence of the emission intensity shows that two photons are involved in creating one upconverted photon and that excited state absorption is the excitation mechanism. The excitation intensity stimulated switchinglike behavior has been observed in the intensities of some emission bands. Phonon assisted energy migration from the H211/2 (S43/2) level to the upper F45/2 and F47/2 levels, opening up a new channel for emission at a certain level of input power, is thought to be the probable cause of a switchinglike mechanism. The plasmalike continuum emission has also been observed at elevated excitation powers.
Size effect on the lattice parameters of nanocrystalline anatase
Authors: Ahmad Md. Imteyaz , Bhattacharya S. S.
Published: November 2009

Crystallite size dependence on the lattice parameters of nanocrystalline anatase was examined by x-ray diffraction pattern analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. The lattice parameter a increased while the parameter c decreased with reducing crystallite sizes. However, the cell volume increased with decreasing crystallite size indicating an overall expansion due to confinement effect. The observed shift in Eg Raman mode (at 144 cm−1) was in accordance with an empirical phonon confinement model while no substoichiometric titania could be detected by XPS. It was concluded that the lattice expansion was purely due to electrostatic relaxation as a result of size confinement.
Large-strain, rigid-to-rigid deformation of bistable electroactive polymers
Authors: Yu Zhibin , Yuan Wei , Brochu Paul , Chen Bin , Liu Zhitian , Pei Qibing
Published: November 2009

Thermoplastic poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PTBA) is reported as an electroactive polymer that is rigid at ambient conditions and turns into a dielectric elastomer above a transition temperature. In the rubbery state, a PTBA thin film can be electrically actuated to strains up to 335% in area expansion. The calculated actuation pressure is 3.2 MPa. The actuation is made bistable by cooling to below glass transition temperature. The PTBA represents the bistable electroactive polymer (BSEP) that can be actuated to various largely strained, rigid shapes. The application of the BSEP for refreshable Braille display, an active tactile display, is also demonstrated.
Incidence dependence of negative index in asymmetric cut wire pairs metamaterials
Authors: Burokur Shah Nawaz , Lepetit Thomas , Lustrac André de
Published: November 2009

Metamaterials made of asymmetric cut wire pairs have experimentally demonstrated a negative refractive index at microwave frequencies. In this letter, we begin by presenting the analogy between asymmetric cut wire pairs and S-shaped metamaterials by a simple unifying approach. Then, using simulations and experiments in the microwave domain, we investigate the dependence of resonances and retrieved effective index on the incident angle in asymmetric cut wire pairs. While it is found that resonances shift in frequency with increasing oblique incidence in the E-plane, it is shown that the structure is angle-independent in the H-plane.
Fermi-level pinning at the interface between metals and nitrogen-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 examined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Authors: Fang Lina Wei-Wei , Zhao Rong , Pan Jisheng , Zhang Zheng , Shi Luping , Chong Tow-Chong , Yeo Yee-Chia
Published: November 2009

The metal/α-Ge2Sb2Te5 interface was examined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Doping Ge2Sb2Te5 with nitrogen leads to an increase in hole barrier height at the interface between metals and nitrogen-doped Ge2Sb2Te5. Hole barrier height at metal/α-Ge2Sb2Te5 interface is reduced slightly by increasing the work function of the metal. We observed significant pinning of metal Fermi level toward the valence band energy of undoped or nitrogen-doped Ge2Sb2Te5. This leads to low hole barrier height and good Ohmic contact formed between metals and α-Ge2Sb2Te5.
Optimization of the residence time of a Brownian particle in a spherical subdomain
Authors: Bénichou O. , Voituriez R.
Published: November 2009

In this communication, we show that the residence time of a Brownian particle, defined as the cumulative time spent in a given region of space, can be optimized as a function of the diffusion coefficient. We discuss the relevance of this effect to several schematic experimental situations classified in nature—random or deterministic—both of the observation time and of the starting position of the Brownian particle.
Feasibility of creation of ceramic disk laser pumped by concentrated solar flux of big solar furnace
Authors: Bakhramov S. , Payziyev Sh. , Kasimov A.
Published: November 2009

The feasibility of creation of a powerful ceramic Nd:Cr:YAG (YAG denotes yttrium aluminum garnet) disk laser, pumped by the concentrated solar flux of 1 MW big solar furnace, is considered. A new design for highly doped ceramic Nd:Cr:YAG disk laser is proposed and a conversion efficiency of 25% is predicted.
The Chemistry of Pyrrolic Compounds. LXXI. Synthesis of the Ring C and the Ring D Demethyl Analogues of Deoxophylloerythroetioporphyrin (dpep)
Authors: Clezy PS , Salek A
Published: November 2009

The demethyl analogues (1d,e) of dpep have been prepared by utilizing in each case an oxidative cyclization of an intermediate biladiene -ac to assemble the porphyrin macrocycle.
Carbohydrate Reactivity in Hydrogen Fluoride. XX. Di-L-erythro-2-pentulose Dianhydrides
Authors: Fernandez JMG , Schnelle RR , Defaye J
Published: November 2009

Protonic activation of L-erythro-2-pentulose (L- ribulose ) with pyridinium poly(hydrogen fluoride) afforded di-L-erythro-2-pentulofuranose dianhydrides in almost quantitative yield. The outcome of the reaction was found to depend strongly on reaction conditions and appears to be governed by stereoelectronic factors, mainly the anomeric effect, which maintains axially disposed the O5 substituents in the dioxan ring in a chair conformation or in a seven- membered twist-chair arrangement. Thus, the dispirodioxan α,β-1,2':2,1'-dianhydride structure was found to be kinetically favoured at a low HF-to-pyridine ratio, and it readily isomerized into its di-β-1,2?:2,3' isomer under slightly more acidic conditions. Under thermodynamic reaction conditions, the previously unknown di-β-L 1,2':2,4'-dianhydride bridged structure was the major entity present in the reaction mixture, besides its 3'-O-α-L-erythro-2-pentulofuranosyl derivative. The differences observed in the protonic reactivity of this pentulose as compared to hexuloses can be rationalized in terms of a higher flexibility of the C5 unsubstituted furanose ring.
Hydration Studies of Carbohydrates. IV. N.M.R. Studies of Carbohydrate Hydration
Authors: Cheetham NWH , Lam K
Published: November 2009

Measurement of water oxygen-17 relaxation times has been used to provide information about the hydration behaviour of some carbohydrates in aqueous solution. While a solvent water molecule is 'bound' to the solute, its reduced rotation is reflected in the solvent n.m.r. relaxation. The experimental data are consistent with a fast-exchange two-state model of carbohydrate hydration Such a model allows calculation of the activation energies for the molecular processes involved in spin relaxation of bound water. The activation energies provide information about the specific hydration properties of individual sugars. Dynamic hydration numbers of five aldohexoses and two methyl glucopyranosides have been determined. These hydration numbers correlate well with hydration parameters derived from a number of techniques. Overall, the results provide additional support for a stereospecific model of monosaccharide hydration.
A Reinvestigation of the Alkaline Degradation of Octa-O-acetylcellobiononitrile
Authors: Stevens JD
Published: November 2009

Treatment of cellobiononitrile octaacetate (1) with sodium methoxide followed by acetylation has been shown to give the C2 isomer of (1) as well as the four heptaacetates of O-β-D-glucopyranosyl -(1→3)-D-arabinose.
Saturated and Unsaturated Cyclic Isourea Derivatives of D-Glucofuranosylamine
Authors: Meszaros P , Pinter I , Toth G
Published: November 2009

New saturated and unsaturated substituted 1,2-cyclic isourea ethers [2-amino-4,5-dihydro(gluco)oxazoles ] have been prepared. Formation of the unsaturated compounds from the saturated ones is a base- catalysed process.
MEG demonstrates a supra-additive response to facial and vocal emotion in the right superior temporal sulcus
Authors: Hagan Cindy C. , Woods Will , Johnson Sam , Calder Andrew J. , Green Gary G. R. , Young Andrew W.
Published: November 2009

An influential neural model of face perception suggests that the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is sensitive to those aspects of faces that produce transient visual changes, including facial expression. Other researchers note that recognition of expression involves multiple sensory modalities and suggest that the STS also may respond to crossmodal facial signals that change transiently. Indeed, many studies of audiovisual (AV) speech perception show STS involvement in AV speech integration. Here we examine whether these findings extend to AV emotion. We used magnetoencephalography to measure the neural responses of participants as they viewed and heard emotionally congruent fear and minimally congruent neutral face and voice stimuli. We demonstrate significant supra-additive responses (i.e., where AV > [unimodal auditory + unimodal visual]) in the posterior STS within the first 250 ms for emotionally congruent AV stimuli. These findings show a role for the STS in processing crossmodal emotive signals.
Single molecule measurement of the “speed limit” of DNA polymerase
Authors: Schwartz Jerrod J. , Quake Stephen R.
Published: November 2009

Although DNA replication is often imagined as a regular and continuous process, the DNA polymerase enzyme is a complicated machine and can pause upon encountering physical and chemical barriers. We used single molecule measurements to make a detailed characterization of this behavior as a function of the template's secondary structure and the sequence context. Strand displacement replication through a DNA hairpin by single DNA polymerase molecules was measured in real time with near single base resolution and physiological concentrations of nucleotides. These data enabled the measurement of the intrinsic “speed limit” of DNA polymerase by separating the burst synthesis rate from pausing events. The strand displacement burst synthesis rate for
Escherichia coli
DNA Polymerase I (KF) was found to be an order of magnitude faster than the reported bulk strand displacement rate, a discrepancy that can be accounted for by to sequence specific pausing. The ability to follow trajectories of single molecules revealed that the burst synthesis rate is also highly stochastic and varies up to 50-fold from molecule to molecule. Surprisingly, our results allow a unified explanation of strand displacement and single strand primer extension synthesis rates.
Movement and equipositioning of plasmids by ParA filament disassembly
Authors: Ringgaard Simon , van Zon Jeroen , Howard Martin , Gerdes Kenn
Published: November 2009

Bacterial plasmids encode partitioning (
par
) loci that confer stable plasmid inheritance. We showed previously that, in the presence of ParB and
parC
encoded by the
par2
locus of plasmid pB171, ParA formed cytoskeletal-like structures that dynamically relocated over the nucleoid. Simultaneously, the
par2
locus distributed plasmids regularly over the nucleoid. We show here that the dynamic ParA patterns are not simple oscillations. Rather, ParA nucleates and polymerizes in between plasmids. When a ParA assembly reaches a plasmid, the assembly reaction reverses into disassembly. Strikingly, plasmids consistently migrate behind disassembling ParA cytoskeletal structures, suggesting that ParA filaments pull plasmids by depolymerization. The perpetual cycles of ParA assembly and disassembly result in continuous relocation of plasmids, which, on time averaging, results in equidistribution of the plasmids. Mathematical modeling of ParA and plasmid dynamics support these interpretations. Mutational analysis supports a molecular mechanism in which the ParB/
parC
complex controls ParA filament depolymerization.
Molecular basis of pyoverdine siderophore recycling in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Imperi Francesco , Tiburzi Federica , Visca Paolo
Published: November 2009

The siderophore pyoverdine (PVD) is a primary virulence factor of the human pathogenic bacterium
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, acting as both an iron carrier and a virulence-related signal molecule. By exploring a number of
P. aeruginosa
candidate systems for PVD secretion, we identified a tripartite ATP-binding cassette efflux transporter, here named PvdRT-OpmQ, which translocates PVD from the periplasmic space to the extracellular milieu. We show this system to be responsible for recycling of PVD upon internalization by the cognate outer-membrane receptor FpvA, thus making PVD virtually available for new cycles of iron uptake. Our data exclude the involvement of PvdRT-OpmQ in secretion of de novo synthesized PVD, indicating alternative pathways for PVD export and recycling. The PvdRT-OpmQ transporter is one of the few secretion systems for which substrate recognition and extrusion occur in the periplasm. Homologs of the PvdRT-OpmQ system are present in genomes of all fluorescent pseudomonads sequenced so far, suggesting that PVD recycling represents a general energy-saving strategy adopted by natural
Pseudomonas
populations.
Spontaneous dispersion of particles on liquid surfaces
Authors: Singh Pushpendra , Joseph Daniel D. , Gurupatham Sathish K. , Dalal Bhavin , Nudurupati Sai
Published: November 2009

When small particles (e.g., flour, pollen, etc.) come in contact with a liquid surface, they immediately disperse. The dispersion can occur so quickly that it appears explosive, especially for small particles on the surface of mobile liquids like water. This explosive dispersion is the consequence of capillary force pulling particles into the interface causing them to accelerate to a relatively large velocity. The maximum velocity increases with decreasing particle size; for nanometer-sized particles (e.g., viruses and proteins), the velocity on an air-water interface can be as large as ≈47 m/s. We also show that particles oscillate at a relatively high frequency about their floating equilibrium before coming to stop under viscous drag. The observed dispersion is a result of strong repulsive hydrodynamic forces that arise because of these oscillations.
STIM1-induced precortical and cortical subdomains of the endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Orci Lelio , Ravazzola Mariella , Le Coadic Marion , Shen Wei-wei , Demaurex Nicolas , Cosson Pierre
Published: November 2009

Store-operated calcium entry relies on the formation of a specialized compartment derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and closely apposed to the plasma membrane. In this study, detailed ultrastructural analysis revealed the existence of three distinct structures derived from conventional ER: precortical ER, cortical ER, and thin cortical ER. Precortical subdomains of the ER enriched in STIM1 can form without contacting the plasma membrane. Upon ER calcium depletion, these subdomains are translocated to the plasma membrane to form cortical ER, which is still connected to the conventional ER. Thin cortical ER, depleted of BiP and deprived of attached ribosomes, may represent a specialized region dedicated to calcium regulation and not engaged in protein translocation and folding. These observations form the basis for future structure-function analysis of cortical ER.
Actin-binding Protein-1 Interacts with WASp-interacting Protein to Regulate Growth Factor-induced Dorsal Ruffle Formation
Authors: Cortesio Christa L. , Perrin Benjamin J. , Bennin David A. , Huttenlocher Anna
Published: November 2009

Growth factor stimulation induces the formation of dynamic actin structures known as dorsal ruffles. Mammalian actin-binding protein-1 (mAbp1) is an actin-binding protein that has been implicated in regulating clathrin-mediated endocytosis; however, a role for mAbp1 in regulating the dynamics of growth factor–induced actin-based structures has not been defined. Here we show that mAbp1 localizes to dorsal ruffles and is necessary for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-mediated dorsal ruffle formation. Despite their structural similarity, we find that mAbp1 and cortactin have nonredundant functions in the regulation of dorsal ruffle formation. mAbp1, like cortactin, is a calpain 2 substrate and the preferred cleavage site occurs between the actin-binding domain and the proline-rich region, generating a C-terminal mAbp1 fragment that inhibits dorsal ruffle formation. Furthermore, mAbp1 directly interacts with the actin regulatory protein WASp-interacting protein (WIP) through its SH3 domain. Finally, we demonstrate that the interaction between mAbp1 and WIP is important in regulating dorsal ruffle formation and that WIP-mediated effects on dorsal ruffle formation require mAbp1. Taken together, these findings identify a novel role for mAbp1 in growth factor–induced dorsal ruffle formation through its interaction with WIP.
Safety of Herbal Medicinal Products: Echinacea and Selected Alkylamides Do Not Induce CYP3A4 mRNA Expression
Authors: Modarai Maryam , Silva Elisabete , Suter Andy , Heinrich Michael , Kortenkamp Andreas
Published: November 2009

A major safety concern with the use of herbal medicinal products (HMP) is their interactions with conventional medicines, which are often mediated via the cytochrome P450 (CYP) system. Echinacea is a widely used over‐the‐counter HMP, with proven immunomodulatory properties. Its increasing use makes research into its safety an urgent concern. Previously, we showed that Echinacea extracts and its alkylamides (thought to be important for Echinacea′s immunomodulatory activity) mildly inhibit the enzymatic activity of the main drug metabolising CYP isoforms, but to this date, there is insufficient work on its ability to alter CYP expression levels. We now report for the first time the effect of a commercial Echinacea extract (Echinaforce) and four Echinacea alkylamides on the transcription of the major drug metabolizing enzyme CYP3A4. HepG2 cells were exposed for 96 h to clinically relevant concentrations of Echinaforce (22, 11.6 and 1.16 μg mL−1) or the alkylamides (1.62 and 44 nM). CYP3A4 mRNA levels were quantified using real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Neither Echinaforce nor the alkylamides produced any significant changes in the steady‐state CYP3A4 mRNA levels, under these conditions. In contrast, treatment with 50 μM rifampicin resulted in a 3.8‐fold up‐regulation over the vehicle control. We conclude that Echinaforce is unlikely to affect CYP3A4 transcriptional levels, even at concentrations which can inhibit the enzymatic activity of CYP3A4. Overall, our data provides further evidence for the lack of interactions between Echinacea and conventional drugs.