bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rapid autofocusing via 1 bit transform for real‐time system to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Jung C.
Published: March 2014

Autofocusing is a key building block in the modern automated high‐throughput systems for a quantitative analysis of microscopy images. For that reason, it has received great attention, and diverse autofocus algorithms have been proposed in the literature. A fast autofocus algorithm is presented in order to build a real‐time system for diagnosing the sputum smear samples. The method involves transforming the sputum smear fluorescence images from a multibit to a 1 bit/pixel representation. This results in a substantial reduction in the computational cost, while maintaining a good focusing performance. Experimental results are presented to validate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Contour detection based on horizontal interactions in primary visual cortex
Authors: Xiao Jie , Cai Chao
Published: March 2014

Neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) respond differently to a simple visual element presented in isolation from when it is embedded within a cluttered scene. The contextual influences are mediated by horizontal connections within V1. Inspired by these visual cortical mechanisms, a contour detection model is proposed. Different from previous researches, the facilitation and the suppression are unified modulated by surrounding elements in the image without separating regions of excitatory and inhibitory lateral connections specifically. The proposed model can selectively extract object contours while reducing non‐meaningful texture edges and process angular visual features such as corners and T‐junctions effectively. The experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.
Optical‐transparent Wi‐Fi bandpass mesh‐coated frequency selective surface
Authors: Han Y. , Liu Y.M. , Jin P. , Liu B. , Ma J. , Tan J.B.
Published: March 2014

To simultaneously achieve a high optical‐transparency and Wi‐Fi bandpass filtering characteristics for optical windows, a novel mesh‐coated frequency selective surface (FSS) is designed and fabricated using an ultraviolet lithography technique. Simulation and experimental results show that the resonant centre frequency of the proposed mesh‐coated FSS is about 5.3 GHz with a transmittance loss of −2 dB, while its optical transmittance is above 87.5% in the infrared (IR) waveband ranging from 1.35 to 3.3 μm. Moreover, such a FSS has the merits of ameliorable electromagnetic shielding effectiveness and improvable optical transmittance by optimising the thickness of the mesh layer. Both the design procedure and experimental measuring results are presented and discussed.
Effect of chlorine‐containing polymer additive on dielectric performance of polymer dielectric films
Authors: Kim Jin‐Young , Park Shang Hyeun , Yu SeGi
Published: March 2014

A polymer dielectric film with chlorine (Cl)‐containing polymer additives was fabricated to investigate the effect of additives on dielectric performance. Polychlorostyrene or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was used as a polymer additive in the polymer film. At 0.1 V and 10 Hz, the polymer dielectric film with PVC had a dielectric constant of 23.6 with a dielectric loss of 0.04. This film exhibited a 73% increase in dielectric constant compared with the film without additives. The increment in the dielectric constant was attributed to the high polarisability of Cl atoms.
Ultra‐wideband in‐phase power divider using stepped‐impedance three‐line coupled structure and microstrip‐to‐slotline transitions
Authors: Guo L. , Abbosh A. , Zhu H.
Published: March 2014

A compact in‐phase power divider utilising a stepped‐impedance three‐line coupled structure and microstrip‐to‐slotline transitions is presented. The equivalent circuit of the structure is used to predict the required dimensions for ultra‐wideband performance. The length of the structure, excluding the input/output ports needed for the measurements, is around a quarter guided wavelength. The simulated and measured results for the two developed devices indicate equal in‐phase power division with less than 0.1 dB and 2° amplitude and phase imbalances, respectively. The return loss at the three ports is more than 15 dB in one prototype, whereas the isolation is more than 13 dB in the other across the band from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz.
Log‐periodic dipole array antenna as chipless RFID tag
Authors: Gupta S. , Li Gui Jun , Roberts R.C. , Jiang Li Jun
Published: March 2014

A passive chipless radio‐frequency identification (RFID) tag based on a log‐periodic (LP) dipole array is proposed, where the tailorable band‐rejection property of the LP aperture is utilised to realise a large number of codes. The proposed tag principle is successfully validated by measurements, where the absence and presence of the band‐rejection is shown to carry the bit information. Its fabrication simplicity is also demonstrated by its implementation on a flexible substrate. Finally, two different tag formation schemes, based on a specific set of resonance suppressions, are discussed in detail.
Relative permittivity measurements of Et–OH and Mt–OH mixtures for calibration standards in 1–15 GHz range
Authors: Augustine R. , Raman S. , Rydberg A.
Published: March 2014

In open‐ended coaxial dielectric characterisation techniques, intermediate liquid standards between air and water are necessary for precise dielectric measurements of biological samples. Calibration standards with dielectric permittivities much different from those of the measured samples will produce unreliable results. Different intermediate calibration standards are prepared and measurement results are presented. The aim is to obtain various permittivity values between 10 and 80 by diluting methanol and ethanol with distilled water. This technique can also be used for assessing the purity of alcohols.
Comprehensive review of a recently proposed multilevel inverter
Authors: Gupta Krishna Kumar , Jain Shailendra
Published: March 2014

As multilevel inverters are gaining increasing importance, newer topologies are being proposed to reduce part count for large number of levels in output voltage. A simplified five‐level inverter has been recently reported in the literature to reduce component count. The topology comprises of floating input DC sources connected in opposite polarities through power switches. The structure requires lesser active switches as compared with conventional cascaded H‐bridge topology with much reduced switching losses. Available literature present generalisation of the topology with symmetrical sources, but no investigations are made for equal load sharing and asymmetrical configurations. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the aforementioned topology, referred to as cross‐connected sources‐based multilevel inverter (CCS‐MLI). The topology is analysed for both symmetric and asymmetric source configurations. Also, a new algorithm for asymmetric source configuration suitable for CCS‐MLI is proposed. A control scheme is also proposed for equal load sharing in five‐level topology. Investigations are made for possibility of equal load sharing in higher level structures and fundamental frequency switching of switches bearing higher voltage stresses. Various concepts are verified with simulations and experimental studies.
Antibacterial mechanisms of silica/polydopamine/silver nanoparticles against gram positive and gram negative bacteria
Authors: Guo Zhangwei , Xue Junzeng , Liu Tao , Song Xiao , Shen Yuanyuan , Wu Huixian
Published: March 2014

Silica/polydopamine/silver (SiO2/PD/Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) with a core–shell–satellite structure were fabricated and the mechanisms of their antibacterial activity were investigated. In this reported work, the results of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays, the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage assays and a cell morphology observation confirmed that Vibrio natriegens, a gram negative bacterium and Bacillus subtilis, a gram positive bacterium could be inhibited by the NPs. Gram negative bacteria exhibited more sensitivity towards the Ag NPs because these NPs were associated with penetration into the cytoplasm, with the subsequent local interaction of Ag with the cell components; thus, causing damages to the cells. SiO2/PD/Ag NPs produced ROS which caused damage to the DNA leading to the suppression of transcription as detected by a reporter gene assay. Furthermore, ROS induced membrane damage was determined by transmission electron microscopy. Thus, the mechanisms of antibacterial activity were interpreted more precisely by using the aforementioned experiments. The results revealed that the production of ROS and damage to the membrane were the two major mechanisms of the bactericidal action of SiO2/PD/Ag NPs; thus, these NPs could be employed as effective antifouling agents.
Resonances and oscillatory behavior near multi-species plasma equilibria
Authors: Núñez Manuel
Published: March 2014

We consider dynamic multi-species plasma equilibria whose variables depend on a single spatial coordinate and linear perturbations of these. The linearized system may be reduced to a second-order one satisfied by the respective fluid streamfunctions. For the two-species case, the electron mass is a parameter small enough for a WKB asymptotic analysis to be justified. It turns out that the points where either the ion or electron equilibrium velocity equals the ratio between the temporal and transversal frequencies of the perturbation are turning or singular points of the system, connecting exponentially increasing or decreasing solutions to oscillatory ones. The crucial role of singular points in the balance between the different contributions to the electron kinetic energy is explored.
Scale-dependent cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry in a forced rotating turbulence experiment
Authors: Gallet B. , Campagne A. , Cortet P.-P. , Moisy F.
Published: March 2014

We characterize the statistical and geometrical properties of the cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry in a statistically steady forced rotating turbulence experiment. Turbulence is generated by a set of vertical flaps which continuously inject velocity fluctuations towards the center of a tank mounted on a rotating platform. We first characterize the cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry from conventional single-point vorticity statistics. We propose a phenomenological model to explain the emergence of the asymmetry in the experiment, from which we predict scaling laws for the root-mean-square velocity in good agreement with the experimental data. We further quantify the cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry using a set of third-order two-point velocity correlations. We focus on the correlations which are nonzero only if the cyclone-anticyclone symmetry is broken. They offer two advantages over single-point vorticity statistics: first, they are defined from velocity measurements only, so an accurate resolution of the Kolmogorov scale is not required; second, they provide information on the scale-dependence of the cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry. We compute these correlation functions analytically for a random distribution of independent identical vortices. These model correlations describe well the experimental ones, indicating that the cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry is dominated by the large-scale long-lived cyclones.
Dynamic behavior of magnetoelectric coupling of CuFeO2 induced by a high magnetic field
Authors: Xia Nianming , Shi Liran , Xia Zhengcai , Chen Borong , Jin Zhao , Wang Yeshuai , Ouyang Zhongwen , Zuo Huakun , Shen Yining
Published: March 2014

Magnetoelectric effects and their dynamic behavior in a CuFeO2 single crystal grown by the floating zone technique are investigated at low temperature in pulsed high magnetic fields. Experimental results show that the magnetization, dielectric polarization, and magnetoelectric coupling are anisotropic. In the magnetization, a field-induced multi-step-like transition with hysteresis is observed, in which the critical magnetic fields are independent of the field sweep rate. In the dielectric polarization, the field-induced dielectric polarization with hysteresis (or partial irreversible) is only observed in the incommensurate-noncollinear phase. In particular, no obvious spontaneous dielectric polarization is observed in the lower magnetic field regime. Using a pulsed high magnetic field with various magnetic field strength and field sweep rates, the coupling behavior between the magnetic moment and the dielectric polarization is investigated. Experimental results show that the dielectric polarization is weakly related to the field sweep rate. In the field-decreasing branch, the magnetic field is higher, the magnetic field region of the dielectric polarization remains is lower, indicating that the pulsed high magnetic field has an effect on the enhancement of the spontaneous dielectric polarization.
The existence and concentration of positive solutions for a nonlinear Schrödinger-Poisson system with critical growth
Authors: Zhang Jianjun
Published: March 2014

We consider the Schrödinger-Poisson system: −ε2Δu + V(x)u + ϕ(x)u = f(u),−Δϕ = u2 in \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$\mathbb {R}^3$\end{document}R3, where the nonlinear term f is of critical growth. In this paper, we construct a solution (uɛ, ϕɛ) of the above elliptic system, which concentrates at an isolated component of positive locally minimum points of V as ɛ → 0 under certain conditions on f. In particular, the monotonicity of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$\frac{f(s)}{s^3}$\end{document}f(s)s3 and the so-called Ambrosetti-Rabinowitzcondition are not required.
Using Hessian update formulae to construct modified Shepard interpolated potential energy surfaces: Application to vibrating surface atoms
Authors: Frankcombe Terry J.
Published: March 2014

Modified Shepard interpolation based on second order Taylor series expansions has proven to be a flexible tool for constructing potential energy surfaces in a range of situations. Extending this to gas–surface dynamics where surface atoms are allowed to move represents a substantial increase in the dimensionality of the problem, reflected in a dramatic increase in the computational cost of the required Hessian (matrix of second derivatives) evaluations. This work demonstrates that using approximate Hessians derived from well known Hessian update formulae and a single accurate Hessian can provide an effective way to avoid this expensive accurate Hessian determination.
Theoretical performance of solar cell based on mini-bands quantum dots
Authors: Aly Abou El-Maaty M. , Nasr A.
Published: March 2014

The tremendous amount of research in solar energy is directed toward intermediate band solar cell for its advantages compared with the conventional solar cell. The latter has lower efficiency because the photons have lower energy than the bandgap energy and cannot excite mobile carriers from the valence band to the conduction band. On the other hand, if mini intermediate band is introduced between the valence and conduction bands, then the smaller energy photons can be used to promote charge carriers transfer to the conduction band and thereby the total current increases while maintaining a large open circuit voltage. In this article, the influence of the new band on the power conversion efficiency for structure of quantum dots intermediate band solar cell is theoretically investigated and studied. The time-independent Schrödinger equation is used to determine the optimum width and location of the intermediate band. Accordingly, achievement of a maximum efficiency by changing the width of quantum dots and barrier distances is studied. Theoretical determination of the power conversion efficiency under the two different ranges of QD width is presented. From the obtained results, the maximum power conversion efficiency is about 70.42%. It is carried out for simple cubic quantum dot crystal under fully concentrated light. It is strongly dependent on the width of quantum dots and barrier distances.
Fabrication of anisotropic snowman-like magnetic particles and their magnetorheological response
Authors: Dan Liu Ying , Jin Choi Hyoung
Published: March 2014

Snowman-like anisotropic microparticles with a shell of Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized using a two-step process, in which snowman-like poly(methyl methacrylate) particles were first synthesized by seeded polymerization, and then coated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles via an electrostatic interaction between the adsorbed ionic surfactant and Fe3+/Fe2+. The magnetic properties of the particles were examined by vibrating sample magnetometry. Their rheological characteristics when dispersed in silicone oil were observed using a rotational rheometer at a controlled shear rate mode under a range of magnetic field strengths, exhibiting typical magnetorheological characteristics.
Low temperature diffusion process using rare earth-Cu eutectic alloys for hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B bulk magnets
Authors: Akiya T. , Liu J. , Sepehri-Amin H. , Ohkubo T. , Hioki K. , Hattori A. , Hono K.
Published: March 2014

The low temperature grain boundary diffusion process using RE70Cu30 (RE = Pr, Nd) eutectic alloy powders was applied to sintered and hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B bulk magnets. Although only marginal coercivity increase was observed in sintered magnets, a substantial enhancement in coercivity was observed when the process was applied to hot-deformed anisotropic bulk magnets. Using Pr70Cu30 eutectic alloy as a diffusion source, the coercivity was enhanced from 1.65 T to 2.56 T. The hot-deformed sample expanded along c-axis direction only after the diffusion process as RE rich intergranular layers parallel to the broad surface of the Nd2Fe14B are thickened in the c-axis direction.
Thermal stability of partially ordered Fe16N2 film on non-magnetic Ag under layer
Authors: Zhang Xiaowei , Yang Meiyin , Jiang Yanfeng , Allard Lawrence F. , Wang Jian-Ping
Published: March 2014

Partially ordered Fe16N2 thin film with (001) texture is successfully grown on a Ag under layer using a facing target sputtering system. Fe16N2 phase is formed after post-annealing, which is detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). High saturation magnetization (Ms) of Fe16N2 thin films is observed by vibrating sample magnetometry. It is found that Fe16N2 phase can be stable up to 225 °C, which is demonstrated by the Fe16N2 finger print peak (002) in XRD. After heating to 250 °C, the Fe16N2 phase decomposes, which leads to low Ms and soft magnetic behavior. To further study Fe16N2 decomposition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is performed to detect the binding energy of nitrogen atoms. Differences of binding energy corresponding to before and after heat treatment show the variation of nitrogen atom in electronic state with surrounding Fe atoms, indicating nitrogen atomic migration during heat treatment.
Temperature dependent deformation mechanisms in pure amorphous silicon
Authors: Kiran M. S. R. N. , Haberl B. , Williams J. S. , Bradby J. E.
Published: March 2014

High temperature nanoindentation has been performed on pure ion-implanted amorphous silicon (unrelaxed a-Si) and structurally relaxed a-Si to investigate the temperature dependence of mechanical deformation, including pressure-induced phase transformations. Along with the indentation load-depth curves, ex situ measurements such as Raman micro-spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy analysis on the residual indents reveal the mode of deformation under the indenter. While unrelaxed a-Si deforms entirely via plastic flow up to 200 °C, a clear transition in the mode of deformation is observed in relaxed a-Si with increasing temperature. Up to 100 °C, pressure-induced phase transformation and the observation of either crystalline (r8/bc8) end phases or pressure-induced a-Si occurs in relaxed a-Si. However, with further increase of temperature, plastic flow rather than phase transformation is the dominant mode of deformation. It is believed that the elevated temperature and pressure together induce bond softening and “defect” formation in structurally relaxed a-Si, leading to the inhibition of phase transformation due to pressure-releasing plastic flow under the indenter.
Linear nanometric tunnel junction sensors with exchange pinned sensing layer
Authors: Leitao D. C. , Silva A. V. , Ferreira R. , Paz E. , Deepack F. L. , Cardoso S. , Freitas P. P.
Published: March 2014

Highly sensitive nanosensors with high spatial resolution provide the necessary features for high accuracy imaging of isolated magnetic nanoparticles. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of MgO-barrier magnetic tunnel junction nanosensors, with two exchange-pinned electrodes. The perpendicular magnetization configuration for field sensing is set using a two-step annealing process, where the second annealing temperature was optimized to yield patterned sensors responses with improved linearity. The optimized circular nanosensors show sensitivities up to 0.1%/Oe, larger than previously reported for nanometric sensors and comparable to micrometric spin-valves. Our strategy avoids the use of external permanent biasing or demagnetizing fields (large for smaller structures) to achieve a linear response, enabling the control of the linear operation range using only the stack and thus providing a small footprint device.
Manipulation of emission energy in GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires with radial heterostructure
Authors: Barbosa B. G. , Arakaki H. , de Souza C. A. , Pusep Yu. A.
Published: March 2014

Photoluminescence was studied in GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires (NWs) with different radial heterostructures. We demonstrated that manipulation of the emission energy may be achieved by appropriate choice of the shell structure. The emission at highest energy is generated in the NWs with tunneling thin AlGaAs inner shell and thin GaAs outer shell due to recombination of the photoexcited electrons confined in the outer shell with the holes in the core. Lower energy emission was shown to occur in the NWs with thick outer shell grown in the form of a short-period GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structure. In this case, the tunneling probability through the multiple quantum wells controls the energy emitted by the NWs. The doping of core results in dominated low energy emission from the GaAs core.
Mechanism of localized electrical conduction at the onset of electroforming in TiO2 based resistive switching devices
Authors: Noman Mohammad , Sharma Abhishek A. , Meng Lu Yi , Kamaladasa Ranga , Skowronski Marek , Salvador Paul A. , Bain James A.
Published: March 2014

The onset of localized current conduction during electroforming of TiO2-based resistive switching devices is investigated using a pulsed voltage method. The temperature rise at electroforming onset is found to vary from 25 to 300 °C as the pulse amplitude and the width are varied between 3–8 V and 10 ns–100 ms, respectively. The effective activation energy of the forming event is strongly electric field dependent and decreases from 0.7 eV at 3 V to almost zero at 8 V. The functional form of this dependence points toward charge trapping as the mechanism rather than oxygen vacancy motion.
Surface plasmon enhanced third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag nanocomposite film
Authors: Singh Vijender , Aghamkar Praveen
Published: March 2014

We obtain a large third-order optical nonlinearity (χ(3) ≈ 10−10esu) of silver nanoparticles dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol/tetraethyl orthosilicate matrix using single beam z-scan technique at 532 nm by Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. We have shown that mechanisms responsible for third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag nanocomposite film are reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and self-defocusing in the purlieu of surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Optical band-gap and width of SPR band of Ag nanocomposite film decrease with increasing silver concentration, which leads to enhancement of local electric field and hence third-order optical nonlinearity. Optical limiting, due to RSA has also been demonstrated at 532 nm.
Observation of spin-dependent quantum well resonant tunneling in textured CoFeB layers
Authors: Teixeira J. M. , Costa J. D. , Ventura J. , Sousa J. B. , Wisniowski P. , Freitas P. P.
Published: March 2014

We report the observation of spin-dependent quantum well (QW) resonant tunneling in textured CoFeB free layers of single MgO magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). The inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy spectra clearly show the presence of resonant oscillations in the parallel configuration, which are related with the appearance of majority-spin Δ1 QW states in the CoFeB free layer. To gain a quantitative understanding, we calculated QW state positions in the voltage-thickness plane using the so-called phase accumulation model (PAM) and compared the PAM solutions with the experimental resonant voltages observed for a set of MTJs with different CoFeB free layer thicknesses (tfl = 1.55, 1.65, 1.95, and 3.0 nm). An overall good agreement between experiment and theory was obtained. An enhancement of the tunnel magnetoresistance with bias is observed in a bias voltage region corresponding to the resonant oscillations.
Embryonic development of Syagrus inajai (Spruce) Becc. (Arecaceae, Arecoideae), an Amazonian palm
Authors: Genovese-Marcomini Poliana Roversi , Sílvia de Mendonça Maria , Carmello-Guerreiro Sandra Maria
Published: March 2014

Syagrus inajai (‘pupunharana’) is a native palm of Brazil, with phytogeographic prevalence in the Amazon region. A morpho-anatomical analysis was undertaken in order to gain a better knowledge on the embryonic development and germinative process of the S. inajai. Plant material was collected from the Campus of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas – UFAM, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, and processed using standard morphological and anatomical techniques. The development process of the embryo takes ~220 days, and is divided into four stages: proembryo, globular embryo, lateral cordiform and torpedo. The embryo is small, linear, and derived from the terminal cell of the proembryo, arising from mitotic divisions in the apical cell. The embryonic axis is straight, located in the proximal region, aligned parallel to the length of the embryo. The single cotyledon is formed by the ground meristem, procambium and protoderm. The procambium supplies the embryonic axis and the haustorium.
Hydrophyte composition of dune lakes and its relationship to land-use and water physicochemistry in Veracruz, Mexico
Authors: Peralta Pelaez Luis A. , Moreno-Casasola Patricia , López Rosas Hugo
Published: March 2014

Coastal dunes include several habitats, including dune lakes. These habitats are valuable environmental assets. We analysed the impact of the surrounding land use on plant species composition, vegetation structure and water quality of 15 dune lakes in the coast of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico. The physical and chemical characteristics were determined for water during both the dry and rainy seasons, and vegetation was sampled once. Ammonium, nitrate, orthophosphate and total phosphorus varied between seasons and among lakes. Multivariate analysis revealed a gradient from lakes in a good state (water and wetland vegetation) to degraded lakes. These lakes fall into two groups: the first one has five lakes with a higher nutrient content, and surrounded by land where livestock is pastured and sugarcane is grown. The vegetation of these lakes consists of a combination of aquatic plants and flood-tolerant grasses introduced to feed cattle (Cynodon dactylon, Pennisetum purpureum, Setaria geniculata). Oligotrophic and mildly eutrophic lakes are characterised by little human activity, and aquatic species predominate (Cabomba palaeformis, Nymphaea ampla, Acrostichum aureum). Rural activities such as sugarcane cultivation and cattle rearing are likely the main factors causing changes in water enrichment and affecting the composition and structure of wetland vegetation. Management measures should be implemented to recover these areas and prevent further deterioration.
Reading Gandhi in two tongues
Authors: Suhrud Tridip
Published: March 2014

Language was important to Mahatma Gandhi. He wanted to make spoken and written language so simple as to be understood by workers in the field, yet he also wanted to explore the possibility of expressing the most complex philosophical notions through language. Although aware of the limitations of his facility with Gujarati, he wrote his most important works in this language, and also supervised their translations into English. His awareness of the importance of language made him particularly conscious of problems of translation, and this was borne out by his own experiences translating Tolstoy and Ruskin into Gujarati and rendering his own philosophical text Hind Swaraj into English. This paper examines Gandhi’s own translations and the translations of his works that he supervised and authenticated, so as to gain an understanding of the process through which he moved between languages and philosophical discourses to convey the originality of his thought and practice to the world.
An etymological exploration of ‘translation’ in Japan
Authors: Wakabayashi Judy
Published: March 2014

This exploration of the semantic domain of ‘translation’ in Japan focuses on the evolution and interrelationships of selected key terms, as well as on terminological discontinuities, potential terminological insights into Japanese views on translation, and how these terms differ from standard English ‘equivalents’. The paper identifies three layers of translation terminology in Japan and notes the potential for discrepancies and rivalry amongst these layers. The etymologically derived implications of certain terms sometimes run counter to translational reality, a fact that calls into question the validity of relying on historical semantics as a source of theorising.
A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction
Authors: Aranovich Raúl
Published: March 2014

This paper argues that in Spanish negative phrases of the form “ni XP ni XP” 'neither XP nor XP', ni is a polarity-sensitive disjunction. Following the widening/strengthening account of polarity sensitivity in Heim (1984), Kadmon and Landman (1993), and others, it is argued that ni-XPs have a restricted distribution because they can only satisfy their requirement of pragmatic strengthening in the scope of negation. This analysis fulfills a prediction made by Krifka's (1992) Polarity Lattice approach regarding the existence of polarity-sensitive disjunctions.
A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure
Authors: Mari Alda , Tovena Lucia M.
Published: March 2014

In this paper we present a unified analysis of the negative concord item of Italian neppure. This item has an additive and a scalar interpretation corresponding to too and even of English. Our claim is that, under both of these interpretations, neppure presents a class or series as closed. The way to establish this closure is different in these two cases: in the first one the class is closed extensionally by enumeration of its members. Under the second neppure closes the series intensionally by providing a criterion of membership and the closing elements (its associate). To establish this result in relation with the scalar use of neppure, we use Rooth's (1985) theory of presupposition with focus.
Italian Volerci
Authors: Russi Cinzia
Published: March 2014

Based on a detailed reconstruction of the evolution of Old Italian bisogna “must/be necessary”, Benincà and Poletto (1994, 1997) propose that this verb underwent a process of grammaticalization through which it changed from full verb into a functional head expressing deontic necessity. This paper investigates the hypothesis that an analogous process of grammaticalization concerns the verb volerci “take (intr.)/be necessary” (< modal volere “want”). The main goal of the paper is then to determine whether volerci can still be considered a lexical verb or it is more accurately categorized as a functional head á la par with bisogna. A careful comparison between volerci and Modern Italian bisogna reveals that the two verbs do not display similar morphosyntactic behavior; rather, volerci is characterized by the same structural properties as Old Italian bisogna. The strong morphosyntactic parallel between Old Italian bisogna and volerci leads to conclude that, although volerci has undergone grammaticalization to some degree, it has not lost the ability to project arguments, i.e., it has not become (yet) a modal functional element and is still a lexical verb.
Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate
Authors: Toribio Almeida Jacqueline , Nye Carlos
Published: March 2014

The target of investigation in the present study is the class of psychological predicates exemplified by gustar; this class demonstrates unique mapping properties that render it especially problematical and perplexing for English speakers acquiring Spanish as a second language and likewise vulnerable to alteration in contact and contracting varieties of Spanish. In the experiment reported herein, heritage Spanish speakers are shown to accept and produce particular non-target psychological predicate constructions. Their behavior is interpreted as revealing two 'optimization' strategies-Map the animate argument to the structural subject position and the inanimate argument to the structural object; and dedicate the preverbal position to the structural subject-which render the mapping more transparent.
1. Issues in Dutch devoicing: Positional faithfulness, positional markedness, and local conjunction
Authors: Zonneveld Wim
Published: March 2014

The voice phenomena of Dutch are among the most complex and elusive described in the (theoretical) literature of the past few decades (Lombardi 1999, Wetzels & Mascaró 2001). This paper starts by giving a comprehensive overview of the pertinent facts, and then shows how theories such as the rule-based framework and nonlinear Principles and Parameter theory have struggled to come to grips with them. The point of the paper’s second half is a demonstration of how in Optimality Theory, Lombardi’s theory of voice is well equipped to cover Dutch, specifically its awkward language-specific phenomena of fricative devoicing and past tense progressive assimilation, assuming the mechanism of local conjunction (and, in fact, self-conjunction), involving the in itself uncontroversial *LAR (‘no voice (on an obstruent)’) constraint. Pace earlier accounts, the proposed analysis preserves the privativity of the feature [voice], and – within OT – the ‘positional faithfulness’ spirit of Lombardi’s approach to voice.
3. Exceptions to final devoicing
Authors: van Oostendorp Marc
Published: March 2014

Some dialects of Dutch show systematic exceptions to final devoicing in the first person singular of verbs ending in a long or tense vowel and a fricative. This observation raises questions about the morphology – what makes the first person singular of verbs so special? –, and about the phonology – what makes fricatives after long vowels so special? As to the morphological side of things, this paper argues that the first person singular suffix, which used to be a schwa, is still present as an abstract vocalic position. From the phonological point of view, I argue that Dutch fricatives have a phonological length contrast rather than a voicing contrast. Since (empty) syllabic positions and consonant length both are expressed in the phonotactic dimension, it is expected that they interact.
Mechanisms of scope resolution in child Italian
Authors: Gualmini Andrea
Published: March 2014

This paper presents the results of an experiment investigating children’s interpretation of the Italian indefinite qualche and negation in the two arguments of the universal quantifier. The findings show that Italianspeaking children’s interpretation of qualche in sentences containing negation is not limited to surface scope interpretations. The findings presented in the paper, together with the findings from English available in the literature, are used to evaluate alternative models of scope resolution in child language. A critique of the account offered by Musolino and Lidz (2006) is presented and an alternative account proposed by Hulsey et al. (2004) is reviewed.
When scope meets modality: The scope of indefinites in subjunctive environments
Authors: Gutiérrez-Rexach Javier
Published: March 2014

In this paper, the claim that subjunctive mood affects the referential possibilities of Spanish indefinite DPs is reexamined. A host of new data is considered with the goal of framing the issue in the context of current debates on the semantics of these terms. It is also shown that purely-semantic accounts cannot explain why relative clauses seem to behave as stronger blocking environments than other structurally-similar domains. The proper explanation lies at the syntax/semantics interface and explores how restrictions on the derivation of relative clauses prevent certain indexing possibilities.
On the ambiguity of N-words in French
Authors: Kuno Masakazu
Published: March 2014

This paper argues that n-words in French are ambiguous between negative quantifiers and bipolar items, which are a type of polar sensitive items that must occur in the contexts that license both negative and positive polarity items. The ambiguity thesis is basically in line with Herbuger’s (2001) analysis of n-words in Spanish, but diverts from it in that she argues them to be lexically ambiguous between negative quantifiers and negative polarity items. I will show that the difference between n-words in French and n-words in Spanish falls out from the difference with respect to the structural position of sentential negation. Also, I will suggest a way of deriving the semantic ambiguity of n-words from a single underlying lexical entry.
Cross-linguistic influence in bilingual children: The case of dislocation
Authors: Notley Anna , van der Linden Elisabeth , Hulk Aafke
Published: March 2014

Serratrice et al. (2004) propose to extend Hulk & Müller’s (2000, 2001) hypothesis on cross-linguistic influence in early child bilingualism to include cases of influence after instantiation of the C-system (i.e. at a later stage of development). In the present article, we explore whether such an extension can successfully account for the use of dislocation, a topicmarking device, in French-English and French-Dutch bilingual children. On the one hand, our results support the extended formulation of the model: we find cross-linguistic influence in the bilingual data as predicted. On the other hand, certain aspects of our results cannot be sufficiently accounted for under the extended formulation. We discuss several other factors which may interact with those cited in Hulk & Müller’s model, such as input frequency, transparency of syntactic-pragmatic mapping, complexity of syntactic structures, and Chomskyian economy, which may need to be considered in future research on cross-linguistic influence.
Mismatches between phonology and syntax in French DP acquisition
Authors: Pannemann Maren , Weerman Fred
Published: March 2014

Children are known to produce non-adult-like structures, leaving out functional elements as determiners for instance. A number of previous studies account for determiner omission by assuming that the D-layer is not available at the onset of acquisition. However, these models are forced to postulate structures that conflict with the referential properties of bare nouns in child language. The goal of this paper is to account for the non-adult-like omissions in children’s speech while at the same time adhering continuity between child and adult grammar. We argue that the D-layer is available in very early stages. However, the correspondence between phonological items and their syntactic representations is not yet target-like. These mismatches explain the observed differences between child and adult speech. It follows from our approach that DP-structure is acquired item-by-item rather than rule-based. This view is supported by the results of a case study in French L1-acquisition.
Licensing Negative Fragments and the Interpretation of Comparison
Authors: Herdan Simona
Published: March 2014

This paper uses Bošković's feature checking analysis of negative concord to propose a solution to the problem of apparently unlicensed negative concord items in comparative/equative structures in Romanian. I will argue that a PFdeletion analysis of phrasal comparatives and equatives introduced by ca provides the structure against which Bošković's analysis can be successfully applied. Furthermore, the proposed solution also accounts for the impossibility of licensing negative polarity items in the same configuration. The key to the distinction in grammaticality appears to be the feature makeup of the negative concord item niciodată and the negative polarity item vreodată. In the last part of the paper, I also explore possible solutions to the remaining puzzle regarding variability in the NPI licensing properties of sentential and phrasal comparatives.
Developing I-Language in L1 and L2
Authors: Herschensohn Julia
Published: March 2014

This paper reconsiders the nature of second language grammars—whether a language learner’s ability can be characterized as I-language or E-language (Chomsky 1986)—and how the nature of second language compares to that of first language grammars. It responds to these questions by arguing that language learners—both first and second—develop I-language over time in similar and different ways. The first section reviews conceptions of competence, performance and language variation, particularly in terms of first language acquisition. The next section considers these same points in terms of less systematic systems, those of atypical first language development (Specific Language Impairment) and second language acquisition. The third section discusses recent work on endstate interlanguage grammars that will elucidate the nature of second language deficits and the contributing causes for them.
Romance Paths as Cognate Complements: A Lexical-Syntactic Account
Authors: Mateu Jaume , Rigau Gemma
Published: March 2014

In this paper, we analyze some Path constructions that apparently go against Talmy’s (1991, 2000) typological predictions concerning Romance languages. Drawing on Hale & Keyser’s (2000) analysis of so-called ‘P-cognation’, we argue that the formation of Italian phrasal verbs (e.g., mettere giù ‘put down’ orbuttare via ‘throw away’) involves a lexical-syntactic pattern where the directional particle specifies the Path element that has already been conflated in the verb: that is, the verb itself encodes or involves a directional meaning which is further specified through a P(ath) particle. We argue that Romance languages like Italian or Catalan have verb particle constructions involving ‘P-cognation’ but lack those ones involving a lexical-syntactic subordination process whereby an independent root is merged with a null verb (e.g., John worked the night away). As predicted by Talmy’s typology, the latter are found in ‘satelliteframed languages’ like English but not in ‘verb-framed languages’ like Italian or Catalan.
Discriminating Pitch Accent Alignment in Spanish
Authors: Ronquest Rebecca E. , Díaz-Campos Manuel
Published: March 2014

While much acoustic-phonetic evidence has accumulated which proves the existence of two phonetically distinct peak alignments (L+H* and L*+H) in Spanish declaratives, whether or not the two alignments are phonologically distinct remains a topic of debate. The goal of the present paper is to utilize perceptual data, as opposed production data, to establish whether listeners can distinguish between the two pitch accents. Participants took part in a perceptual task in which they were asked to discriminate between the peak alignments. The results indicate that participants had a bias to respond “same” to the majority of the experimental trials, which may explain why performance on “different” trials was poor. Sensitivity (A’) scores, however, indicate that overall, participants could discriminate some differences in the signal. The findings suggest that listeners could not successfully discriminate between the different pitch accent alignments. However, more evidence is needed to rule out the two pitch accent analysis.
Putting in Order the Spanish DP
Authors: Ticio Quesada Emma
Published: March 2014

PP arguments within Spanish DPs can appear in any order to the right of the N. However, PP arguments display a strict hierarchical relation (i.e., possessors ccommand agents and agents c-command objects) well documented in binding relations and extraction possibilities out of Spanish DPs. Previous analyses (Torrego 1987; Ormazabal 1991; Ticio 2003, 2005, among others) have postulated structures displaying their specifiers to the right, stylistic movements, or massive overt movements to capture the divergence between hierarchical and phonological orders. I argue that none of these additional mechanisms are needed to explain the disparity between hierarchical and phonological orders in the Spanish DP. I propose that the different properties of argumental PPs and chain resolution at the phonological interface account for the differences in hierarchical and surface orders. The analysis also makes important predictions borne out by some other less studied data, such as nominal ellipsis and partial cliticization.
Schwa in American English V+/r/ sequences
Authors: Riera María , Romero Joaquín , Parrell Ben
Published: March 2014

This paper presents an acoustic study of word-final V+/r/ sequences in AmericanEnglish. The objectives were (i) to identify the presence of a schwa-like element inthe VC transitions, (ii) to investigate how this presence is related to the phonetic/phonological nature of V, and (iii) to determine whether the spectral anddurational characteristics of this element vary as a function of speaking rate. Twospeakers participated in the experiment. Formant and duration measurementsaccounted for (i) differences between the schwa-like element and canonicalschwa and (ii) variability in the schwa-like element and V. One-way ANOVAstested for formant and duration differences, while two-way ANOVAs tested forthe relationship between formant variability in the schwa-like element and V.The results suggest that the presence of a highly variable schwa-like element inthe V+/r/ sequences is (i) a generalized process affecting all contexts and (ii) theresult of coarticulation rather than epenthesis/insertion.
Perception of word stress in Castilian Spanish
Authors: Ortega-Llebaria Marta , Prieto Pilar
Published: March 2014

We provide evidence for the perception of the stress contrast in unaccented contexts in Spanish. Twenty participants were asked to identify oxytone words which varied orthogonally in two bi-dimensional paroxytone-oxytone continua: one of duration and spectral tilt, and the other of duration and overall intensity. Results indicate that duration and overall intensity were cues to stress, while spectral tilt was not. Moreover, stress detection depended on vowel type: the stress contrast was perceived more consistently in [a] than in [i]. Thus, in spite of lacking vowel reduction, stress in Spanish has its own phonetic material in the absence of pitch accents. However, we cannot speak of cues to stress in general since they depend on the characteristics of the vowel.
Sri Lankan Malay morphosyntax
Authors: Slomanson Peter
Published: March 2014

In this paper the convergence of Sri Lankan Malay on the grammars ofMuslim Tamil and colloquial Sinhala is discussed. This convergence is incomplete and its extent is asymmetrical across syntactic domains. The verbal domain remains closer to the syntax of other contact Malay varieties, as demonstrated by the pre-verbal surface position of major functional elements, including temporal markers, modal elements, and negation. Greater convergence in the nominal domain follows a shift from pre-nominal to post-nominal adpositions. The conservative distribution of functional morphology in the verbal domain (predominantly pre-verbal) is associated with weak verb movement, contra Tamil and Sinhala. This reflects the verbal syntax of contact Malay varieties from Indonesia, from which most lexical material in Sri Lankan Malay has been retained.