bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Three dimensional dust-acoustic solitary waves in an electron depleted dusty plasma with two-superthermal ion-temperature
Authors: Borhanian J. , Shahmansouri M.
Published: January 2013

A theoretical investigation is carried out to study the existence and characteristics of propagation of dust-acoustic (DA) waves in an electron-depleted dusty plasma with two-temperature ions, which are modeled by kappa distribution functions. A three-dimensional cylindrical Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation governing evolution of small but finite amplitude DA waves is derived by means of a reductive perturbation method. The influence of physical parameters on solitary wave structure is examined. Furthermore, the energy integral equation is used to study the existence domains of the localized structures. It is found that the present model can be employed to describe the existence of positive as well as negative polarity DA solitary waves by selecting special values for parameters of the system, e.g., superthermal index of cold and/or hot ions, cold to hot ion density ratio, and hot to cold ion temperature ratio. This model may be useful to understand the excitation of nonlinear DA waves in astrophysical objects.
Fine-tuning of whispering gallery modes in on-chip silica microdisk resonators within a full spectral range
Authors: Henze Rico , Pyrlik Christoph , Thies Andreas , Ward Jonathan M. , Wicht Andreas , Benson Oliver
Published: January 2013

We investigate an efficient method for fine-tuning whispering gallery mode resonances in disk-type silica microresonators to reach an arbitrary frequency within the free spectral range of the system. This method is based on a post-production hydrofluoric acid etching process to precisely resize the radius of such microresonators. We show the effectiveness of this approach by tuning their resonance frequency within 10 GHz of specific hydrogen cyanide reference lines (P16, P18). This technique allows for simple and exact matching of narrow-linewidth lasers or spectroscopic lines with the high-Q resonances of on-chip silica microresonators.
Collapse of triangular channels in a soft elastomer
Authors: Tepáyotl-Ramírez Daniel , Lu Tong , Park Yong-Lae , Majidi Carmel
Published: January 2013

We extend classical solutions in contact mechanics to examine the collapse of channels in a soft elastomer. These channels have triangular cross-section and collapse when pressure is applied to the surrounding elastomer. Treating the walls of the channel as indenters that penetrate the channel base, we derive an algebraic mapping between pressure and cross-sectional area. These theoretical predictions are in strong agreement with results that we obtain through finite element analysis and experimental measurements. This is accomplished without data fitting and suggests that the theoretical approach may be generalized to a broad range of cross-sectional geometries in soft microfluidics.
Local probing of the interaction between intrinsic defects and ferroelectric domain walls in lithium niobate
Authors: Stone Greg , Lee Donghwa , Xu Haixuan , Phillpot Simon R. , Dierolf Volkmar
Published: January 2013

We demonstrate the capability of confocal Raman spectroscopy to characterize nanoscale interactions of defects with ferroelectric domain walls by identifying defect-related frequency shifts in congruent lithium niobate. These shifts resemble those observed for an external field applied anti-parallel to the ferroelectric axis, suggesting a small reduction of the electric polarization. Density functional theory calculations suggest that this reduction results from a change in the intrinsic defect cluster structure and polarization at the domain wall.
Jump conditions for Maxwell equations and their consequences
Authors: Satapathy Sikhanda , Hsieh Kuota
Published: January 2013

We derived the jump conditions for Faraday's induction law at the interface of two contacting bodies in both Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions. An algorithm to implement the jump conditions in the potential formulation of Maxwell equation is presented. Calculations show that the use of the correct jump conditions leads to good agreement with experimental data, whereas the use of incorrect jump conditions can lead to severe inaccuracies in the computational results. Our derivation resolves the jump condition discrepancy found in the literature and is validated with experimental results.
Spatially resolved photocurrents in graphene nanoribbon devices
Authors: Ulrich Stützel Eberhard , Dufaux Thomas , Sagar Adarsh , Rauschenbach Stephan , Balasubramanian Kannan , Burghard Marko , Kern Klaus
Published: January 2013

We present here a scanning photocurrent microscopy study of individual graphene nanoribbons, revealing pronounced photocurrent responses close to the nanoribbon/metal contacts. The magnitude of the corresponding photocurrent signal was found to be directly proportional to the conductance of the devices, suggesting that a local voltage source is generated at the nanoribbon/metal interface by the photo-thermoelectric Seebeck effect. The dominance of this mechanism is attributed to the reduced thermal conduction capability of the nanoribbons in comparison to extended graphene sheets.
Giant energy density in [001]-textured Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbZrO3-PbTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics
Authors: Yan Yongke , Cho Kyung-Hoon , Maurya Deepam , Kumar Amit , Kalinin Sergei , Khachaturyan Armen , Priya Shashank
Published: January 2013

Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) based compositions have been challenging to texture or grow in a single crystal form due to the incongruent melting point of ZrO2. Here we demonstrate the method for achieving 90% textured PZT-based ceramics and further show that it can provide highest known energy density in piezoelectric materials through enhancement of piezoelectric charge and voltage coefficients (d and g). Our method provides more than ∼5× increase in the ratio d(textured)/d(random). A giant magnitude of d·g coefficient with value of 59 000 × 10−15 m2 N−1 (comparable to that of the single crystal counterpart and 359% higher than that of the best commercial compositions) was obtained.
Slow light enhanced sensitivity of resonance modes in photonic crystal biosensors
Authors: Lai Wei-Cheng , Chakravarty Swapnajit , Zou Yi , Guo Yunbo , Chen Ray T.
Published: January 2013

We demonstrate experimentally that in photonic crystal sensors with a side-coupled cavity-waveguide configuration, group velocity of the propagating mode in the coupled waveguide at the frequency of the resonant mode plays an important role in enhancing the sensitivity. In linear L13 photonic crystal microcavities, with nearly same resonance mode quality factors ∼7000 in silicon-on-insulator devices, sensitivity increased from 57 nm/RIU to 66 nm/RIU as group index in the coupled waveguide increased from 10.2 to 13.2. Engineering for highest sensitivity in such planar integrated sensors, thus, requires careful slow light design for optimized sensor sensitivity.
The influence of growth conditions on carrier recombination mechanisms in 1.3 μm GaAsSb/GaAs quantum well lasers
Authors: Hossain N. , Hild K. , Jin S. R. , Yu S.-Q. , Johnson S. R. , Ding D. , Zhang Y.-H. , Sweeney S. J.
Published: January 2013

We investigate the temperature and pressure dependence of the threshold current density of edge-emitting GaAsSb/GaAs quantum well (QW) lasers with different device characteristics. Thermally activated carrier leakage via defects is found to be very sensitive to the growth conditions of GaAsSb QWs. An optimization of the growth conditions reduces the nonradiative recombination mechanisms from 93% to 76% at room temperature. This improvement in carrier recombination mechanisms leads to a large improvement in the threshold current density from 533 Acm−2/QW to 138 Acm−2/QW and the characteristic temperature, T0 (T1), from 51 ± 5 K (104 ± 16 K) to 62 ± 2 K (138 ± 7 K) near room temperature.
A biristor based on a floating-body silicon nanowire for biosensor applications
Authors: Moon Dong-Il , Peycelon Maxime , Kim Jee-Yeon , Ahn Jae-Hyuk , Jung Park Tae , Choi Yang-Kyu
Published: January 2013

A silicon nanowire (SiNW), which has been named “biristor” (bistable resistor), is demonstrated for biosensor applications. The SiNW is composed of three segments: n-type (source), p-type (floating-body), and n-type (drain). Its structure is based on a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor without a gate. The biristor uses the uncovered floating-body as a sensing site, and it is triggered by impact ionization. A charge effect arising from biomolecules influences the triggering voltage, which is a sensing metric and changes the resistance of the SiNW. The biristor can be a promising candidate for biosensors in terms of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatibility, low-cost, and compact density.
Photoferroelectric solar to electrical conversion
Authors: Knežević Miloš , Warner Mark
Published: January 2013

We propose a charge pump which converts solar energy into dc electricity. It is based on cyclic changes in the spontaneous electric polarization of a photoferroelectric material, which allows a transfer of charge from a low to a high voltage. To estimate the power efficiency we use a photoferroelectric liquid crystal as the working substance. For a specific choice of material, an efficiency of 2% is obtained.
Thermally induced porous structures in printed gallium coating to make transparent conductive film
Authors: Mei Shengfu , Gao Yunxia , Li Haiyan , Deng Zhongshan , Liu Jing
Published: January 2013

A directly printable gallium-based film with both optically transmissive and electrically conductive properties was proposed and demonstrated. The structures, electrical, and optical behaviors of the film printed on the substrate were experimentally investigated. It was disclosed that the porous structure induced inside the printed gallium film by thermal treatment is the main reason for the significant improvement of optical transmittance. A visible transmittance of 47% with a sheet resistance of 16.17 Ω/sq was obtained when the thermal treatment temperature and time are maintained at 400 °C and 40 min, respectively.
Altered pregnancy outcomes in mice following treatment with the hyperglycaemia mimetic, glucosamine, during the periconception period
Authors: Schelbach Cheryl J. , Robker Rebecca L. , Bennett Brenton D. , Gauld Ashley D. , Thompson Jeremy G. , Kind Karen L.
Published: January 2013

Exposure of cumulus–oocyte complexes to the hyperglycaemia mimetic, glucosamine, during in vitro maturation impairs embryo development, potentially through upregulation of the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway. This study examined the effects of in vivo periconception glucosamine exposure on reproductive outcomes in young healthy mice, and further assessed the effects in overweight mice fed a high-fat diet. Eight-week-old mice received daily glucosamine injections (20 or 400 mg kg–1) for 3–6 days before and 1 day after mating (periconception). Outcomes were assessed at Day 18 of gestation. Glucosamine treatment reduced litter size independent of dose. A high-fat diet (21% fat) for 11 weeks before and during pregnancy reduced fetal size. No additional effects of periconception glucosamine (20 mg kg–1) on pregnancy outcomes were observed in fat-fed mice. In 16-week-old mice fed the control diet, glucosamine treatment reduced fetal weight and increased congenital abnormalities, but did not alter litter size. As differing effects of glucosamine were observed in 8-week-old and 16-week-old mice, maternal age effects were assessed. Periconception glucosamine at 8 weeks reduced litter size, whereas glucosamine at 16 weeks reduced fetal size. Thus, in vivo periconception glucosamine exposure perturbs reproductive outcomes in mice, with the nature of the outcomes dependent upon maternal age.
ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 enhances the survivability of dissociated buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) embryonic stem cell-like cells
Authors: Sharma Ruchi , George Aman , Chauhan Manmohan S. , Singla Suresh , Manik Radhey S. , Palta Prabhat
Published: January 2013

This study investigated the effects of supplementation of culture medium with 10 μM Y-27632, a specific inhibitor of Rho kinase activity, for 6 days on self-renewal of buffalo embryonic stem (ES) cell-like cells at Passage 50–80. Y-27632 increased mean colony area (P < 0.05) although it did not improve their survival. It decreased OCT4 expression (P < 0.05), increased NANOG expression (P < 0.05), but had no effect on SOX2 expression. It also increased expression of anti-apoptotic gene BCL-2 (P < 0.05) and decreased that of pro-apoptotic genes BAX and BID (P < 0.05). It increased plating efficiency of single-cell suspensions of ES cells (P < 0.05). Following vitrification, the presence of Y-27632 in the vitrification solution or thawing medium or both did not improve ES cell colony survival. However, following seeding of clumps of ES cells transfected with pAcGFP1N1 carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP), Y-27632 increased colony formation rate (P < 0.01). ES cell colonies that formed in all Y-27632-supplemented groups were confirmed for expression of pluripotency markers alkaline phosphatase, SSEA-4 and TRA-1–60, and for their ability to generate embryoid bodies containing cells that expressed markers of ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. In conclusion, Y-27632 improves survival of buffalo ES cells under unfavourable conditions such as enzymatic dissociation to single cells or antibiotic-assisted selection after transfection, without compromising their pluripotency.
Sex determination of porcine embryos using a new developed duplex polymerase chain reaction procedure based on the amplification of repetitive sequences
Authors: Torner Eva , Bussalleu Eva , Briz M. Dolors , Gutiérrez-Adán Alfonso , Bonet Sergi
Published: January 2013

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays have become increasingly prevalent for sexing embryos. The aim of the present study was to develop a suitable duplex PCR procedure based on the amplification of porcine repetitive sequences for sexing porcine tissues, embryos and single cells. Primers were designed targeting the X12696 Y chromosome-specific repeat sequence (SUSYa and SUSYb; sex-related primer sets), the multicopy porcine-specific mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene (SUS12S; control primer set) and the X51555 1 chromosome repeat sequence (SUS1; control primer set). The specificity of the primer sets was established and the technique was optimised by testing combinations of two specific primer sets (SUSYa/SUS12S; SUSYb/SUS12S), different primer concentrations, two sources of DNA polymerase, different melting temperatures and different numbers of amplification cycles using genomic DNA from porcine ovarian and testicular tissue. The optimised SUSYa/SUS12S- and SUSYb/SUS12S-based duplex PCR procedures were applied to porcine in vitro-produced (IVP) blastocysts, cell-stage embryos and oocytes. The SUSYb/SUS12S primer-based procedure successfully sexed porcine single cells and IVP cell-stage embryos (100% efficiency), as well as blastocysts (96.6% accuracy; 96.7% efficiency). This is the first report to demonstrate the applicability of these repetitive sequences for this purpose. In conclusion, the SUSYb/SUS12S primer-based duplex PCR procedure is highly reliable and sensitive for sexing porcine IVP embryos.
Firebrand characteristics of the stringy bark of messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua) investigated using non-tethered samples
Authors: Ellis P. F. M.
Published: January 2013

The fragile, fibrous bark of messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua) has been implicated in Victorian bushfires in which significant loss of life and property occurred. The airflow of a vertical wind tunnel was modified in order to allow the observation of non-tethered samples. The duration of flaming combustion (flameout time) and total combustion time during flight (burnout time), and mass at burnout, were measured for 192 samples between 0.4 and 8.3 g, and impact with the walls subjectively categorised. Of 146 samples not significantly affected by impact, 55 had flameout times between 30 and 70 s (maximum 75 s) and 131 had burnout times ≤180 s (maximum 420 s). Eleven samples had significantly longer burnout times apparently because combustion occurred internally or from one end, and 18 reflamed during their latter, glowing phase, one more than 4 min after ignition. This in-flight combustion behaviour, and the quantities of loosely attached, weathered flakes on long-unburnt trunks, is consistent with the species notoriety for intense spotting to distances of a few kilometres. Modification of wind tunnel airflow in order to study non-tethered firebrands and sample reflaming during flight has not been previously reported.
Wildfire hazard mapping: exploring site conditions in eastern US wildland–urban interfaces
Authors: Peters Matthew P. , Iverson Louis R. , Matthews Stephen N. , Prasad Anantha M.
Published: January 2013

Wildfires are a serious threat for land managers and property owners, and over the last few decades this threat has expanded as a result of increased rural development. Most wildfires in the north-eastern US occur in the wildland–urban interface, those regions of intermingling urban and non-developed vegetated lands, where access to firefighting resources can be limited. We created monthly wildfire ignition probability maps from environmental predictors and wildfires occurring between 2000 and 2009 for the states of New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Predictor variables included a drought index, long-term soil moisture, percentage forest and wildland–urban interface classifications. Probability maps generated from modelled (Maxent) extrapolations were used to create monthly hazard maps to aid agencies and managers with resource allocation and likelihood projections of wildfires across the region. Our results suggest that monthly hazard assessments provide a better indication of potential wildfires than does a single mean annual probability. Our monthly predictions retain information related to long-term seasonal variability associated with environmental variables and the recorded wildfires providing spatial and temporal information for resource allocation.
Catalytic consequences of open and closed grafted Al(III)-calix[4]arene complexes for hydride and oxo transfer reactions
Authors: Nandi Partha , Tang Wenjie , Okrut Alexander , Kong Xueqian , Hwang Son-Jong , Neurock Matthew , Katz Alexander
Published: January 2013

An approach for the control and understanding of supported molecular catalysts is demonstrated with the design and synthesis of open and closed variants of a grafted Lewis acid active site, consisting of Al(III)-calix[4]arene complexes on the surface of silica. The calixarene acts as a molecular template that enforces open and closed resting-state coordination geometries surrounding the metal active sites, due to its lower-rim substituents as well as site isolation by virtue of its steric bulk. These sites are characterized and used to elucidate mechanistic details and connectivity requirements for reactions involving hydride and oxo transfer. The consequence of controlling open versus closed configurations of the grafted Lewis acid site is demonstrated by the complete lack of observed activity of the closed site for Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction; whereas, the open variant of this catalyst has an MPV reduction activity that is virtually identical to previously reported soluble molecular Al(III)-calix[4]arene catalysts. In contrast, for olefin epoxidation usingtert-butyl-hydroperoxide as oxidant, the open and closed catalysts exhibit similar activity. This observation suggests that for olefin epoxidation catalysis using Lewis acids as catalyst and organic hydroperoxide as oxidant, covalent binding of the hydroperoxide is not required, and instead dative coordination to the Lewis acid center is sufficient for catalytic oxo transfer. This latter result is supported by density functional theory calculations of the transition state for olefin epoxidation catalysis, using molecular analogs of the open and closed catalysts.
Leaf-wax
n
-alkanes record the plant–water environment at leaf flush
Authors: Tipple Brett J. , Berke Melissa A. , Doman Christine E. , Khachaturyan Susanna , Ehleringer James R.
Published: January 2013

Leaf-wax
n
-alkanes
2
H/
1
H ratios are widely used as a proxy in climate reconstruction. Although the broad nature of the relationship between
n
-alkanes δ
2
H values and climate is appreciated, the quantitative details of the proxy remain elusive. To examine these details under natural environmental conditions, we studied a riparian broadleaf angiosperm species,
Populus angustifolia
, growing on water with a constant δ
2
H value and monitored the δ
2
H values of leaf-wax
n-
alkanes and of stem, leaf, stream, and atmospheric waters throughout the entire growing season. Here we found the δ
2
H values of leaf-wax
n
-alkanes recorded only a 2-wk period during leaf flush and did not vary for the 19 weeks thereafter when leaves remained active. We found δ
2
H values of leaf-wax
n
-alkanes of
P. angustifolia
record conditions earlier in the season rather than fully integrating the entire growing season. Using these data, we modeled precipitation δ
2
H values during the time of wax synthesis. We observed that the isotope ratios of this precipitation generally were
2
H-enriched compared with mean annual precipitation. This model provides a mechanistic basis of the often-observed
2
H-enrichment from the expected fractionation values in studies of broadleaf angiosperm leaf-wax δ
2
H. In addition, these findings may have implications for the spatial and temporal uses of
n
-alkane δ
2
H values in paleoapplications; when both plant community and growth form are known, this study allows the isolation of the precipitation dynamics of individual periods of the growing season.
Evolution of resistance to satyrization through reproductive character displacement in populations of invasive dengue vectors
Authors: Bargielowski Irka E. , Lounibos L. Philip , Carrasquilla María Cristina
Published: January 2013

Recently, the highly invasive Asian tiger mosquito,Aedes albopictus,rapidly displaced resident populations of the yellow fever mosquito,Aedes aegyptiin the southeastern United States and in Bermuda. Although multiple mechanisms of competitive displacement have been hypothesized, recent evidence of cross-insemination between these species in nature and the sterilizing effects of male accessory gland products asymmetrically favoringA.albopictusin interspecific matings support a role for satyrization (a form of reproductive interference) to explain the rapid displacements. Because of the drastic reproductive loss ofA.aegyptifemales satyrized byA.albopictusmales, we predicted selection for prezygotic isolation in populations ofA.aegyptisympatric withA.albopictus. Exposures in cages demonstrated that femaleA.aegyptifrom populations in Florida sympatric withA.albopictusfor the past 20 y were significantly less likely than nearby allopatric populations to mate with heterospecific males. Cross-inseminations ofA.albopictusfemales byA.aegyptimales were significantly less common, supporting the one-way direction of displacements observed in nature. Our results indicate rapid sexual selection leading to reproductive character displacement and the potential for satyr-resistantA.aegyptito recover from competitive displacements. These results have implications for increased risks of dengue transmission where these vector species meet worldwide.
Involvement of Toso in activation of monocytes, macrophages, and granulocytes
Authors: Lang Karl S. , Lang Philipp A. , Meryk Andreas , Pandyra Aleksandra A. , Boucher Louis-Martin , Pozdeev Vitaly I. , Tusche Michael W. , Göthert Joachim R. , Haight Jillian , Wakeham Andrew , You-Ten Annick J. , McIlwain David R. , Merches Katja , Khairnar Vishal , Recher Mike , Nolan Garry P. , Hitoshi Yasumichi , Funkner Pauline , Navarini Alexander A. , Verschoor Admar , Shaabani Namir , Honke Nadine , Penn Linda Z. , Ohashi Pamela S. , Häussinger Dieter , Lee Kyeong-Hee , Mak Tak W.
Published: January 2013

Rapid activation of immune responses is necessary for antibacterial defense, but excessive immune activation can result in life-threatening septic shock. Understanding how these processes are balanced may provide novel therapeutic potential in treating inflammatory disease. Fc receptors are crucial for innate immune activation. However, the role of the putative Fc receptor for IgM, known as Toso/Faim3, has to this point been unclear. In this study, we generated Toso-deficient mice and used them to uncover a critical regulatory function of Toso in innate immune activation. Development of innate immune cells was intact in the absence of Toso, but Toso-deficient neutrophils exhibited more reactive oxygen species production and reduced phagocytosis of pathogens compared with controls. Cytokine production was also decreased in
Toso

−/−

mice compared with WT animals, rendering them resistant to septic shock induced by lipopolysaccharide. However,
Toso

−/−

mice also displayed limited cytokine production after infection with the bacterium
Listeria monocytogenes
that was correlated with elevated presence of
Listeria
throughout the body. Accordingly,
Toso

−/−

mice succumbed to infections of
L. monocytogenes
, whereas WT mice successfully eliminated the infection. Taken together, our data reveal Toso to be a unique regulator of innate immune responses during bacterial infection and septic shock.
Possible incipient sympatric ecological speciation in blind mole rats (Spalax)
Authors: Hadid Yarin , Tzur Shay , Pavlíček Tomáš , Šumbera Radim , Šklíba Jan , Lövy Matěj , Fragman-Sapir Ori , Beiles Avigdor , Arieli Ran , Raz Shmuel , Nevo Eviatar
Published: January 2013

Sympatric speciation has been controversial since it was first proposed as a mode of speciation. Subterranean blind mole rats (Spalacidae) are considered to speciate allopatrically or peripatrically. Here, we report a possible incipient sympatric adaptive ecological speciation inSpalax galili(2n= 52). The study microsite (0.04 km2) is sharply subdivided geologically, edaphically, and ecologically into abutting barrier-free ecologies divergent in rock, soil, and vegetation types. The Pleistocene Alma basalt abuts the Cretaceous Senonian Kerem Ben Zimra chalk. Only 28% of 112 plant species were shared between the soils. We examined mitochondrial DNA in thecontrol regionandATP6in 28 mole rats from basalt and in 14 from chalk habitats. We also sequenced the complete mtDNA (16,423 bp) of four animals, two from each soil type. Remarkably, the frequency of all major haplotype clusters (HC) was highly soil-biased. HCI and HCII are chalk biased. HC-III was abundant in basalt (36%) but absent in chalk; HC-IV was prevalent in basalt (46.5%) but was low (20%) in chalk. Up to 40% of the mtDNA diversity was edaphically dependent, suggesting constrained gene flow. We identified a homologous recombinant mtDNA in the basalt/chalk studied area. Phenotypically significant divergences differentiate the two populations, inhabiting different soils, in adaptive oxygen consumption and in the amount of outside-nest activity. This identification of a possible incipient sympatric adaptive ecological speciation caused by natural selection indirectly refutes the allopatric alternative. Sympatric ecological speciation may be more prevalent in nature because of abundant and sharply abutting divergent ecologies.
Typological variation in encoding the manner, path, and ground components of a metaphorical motion event
Authors: Özçalışkan Şeyda
Published: January 2013

The paper compares two typologically distinct languages with regard to their lexicalization patterns in encoding metaphorical motion events: (1) verb-framed (V-language, represented by Turkish), in which the preferred pattern for framing motion events is the use of a path verb with an optional manner adjunct (e.g.,enter running), and (2) satellite-framed (S-language, represented by English), in which path is lexicalized in an element associated with the verb, leaving the verb free to encode manner (e.g.,run in). The paper focuses on typological differences in encoding the manner, path, and ground components of metaphorical motion events, using data from novels written originally in English or Turkish, and further extends the applicability of the typological dichotomy to the metaphorical uses of the lexicon.
From relational schemas to subject-specific semantic relations
Authors: Oster Ulrike
Published: January 2013

Compounding is a major word-formation procedure in many languages, and even more so in specialised terminology. The classification of these compound words is a very complex issue due to the large number of semantic relations that can hold between the constituents of the compound. Typologies for different special languages differ considerably from each other and usually combine rather general with highly subject-specific relations. This paper presents a proposal for a two-step classification of these intraterm relations. First, a set of basic relational schemas is worked out, whose purpose is to serve as a tool for the interpretation of semantic relations. These schemas, which are potentially applicable to any domain, are then used to classify the actual compound terms that appear in a corpus of texts from a specific technical field.
Semantic change as a process of conceptual blending
Authors: Grygiel Marcin
Published: January 2013

The purpose of the paper is to present a new approach to semantic change where meaning alteration is perceived as a by-product of conceptual blending processes and diachronic structures are argued to possess the same characteristics as their synchronic counterparts. Thus, traditionally considered a subject of historical linguistics studiesparexcellence – semantic change – can be understood as conventionalisation of context-dependent modification of usage. The paper examines selected cases of changes in meaning pertaining to the semantic domain BOY and seeks the basis for their explanation in the blending operations of meaning construction. From this perspective, semantic change appears as a natural consequence of language usage directly related to cognitive processing.
Tracking referents in discourse
Authors: Lamers Monique , Spooren Wilbert
Published: January 2013

This reading study registered eye movements to investigate the influence of different discourse constructional factors on anaphor resolution in written discourse. More specifically, the study focused on the influence of the possible interplay of proximity between a possible referent and the anaphor and amount of elaboration on the time course of the different processes involved in anaphor resolution. Results at the anaphoric expression and the area immediately following the anaphoric expression reveal an effect of elaboration, but only in total reading times and second pass reading times. No effects were found at the reinstated referent. These results indicate that the difference in saliency between two possible referents almost directly influences anaphor resolution. We discuss these findings in relation to the time course of different processes in anaphor resolution such as bonding and resolution, in combination with a reading strategy that readers are satisfied with a superficial interpretation.
Foreign language attrition
Authors: Schmid Monika S. , Mehotcheva Teodora
Published: January 2013

The present contribution discusses recent developments and future directions in the attrition of instructed foreign languages, arguing for a distinction between this type of attrition and attrition involving second languages acquired implicitly in an immersion setting. An overview of the history of research in the field and the most prominent findings is provided, followed by a discussion of theoretical models and methodologically problematic issues. We conclude by outlining some future directions for the field.
Raadsels van tweedetaalverwerving
Authors: Hulstijn Jan H.
Published: January 2013

This paper predicts that the study of second language acquisition, as a young discipline of scientific inquiry in its own right, faces a bright future, but only if its scholarly community critically re-examines some notions and assumptions that have too long been taken for granted. First, it is time to reconsider familiar dichotomies, such as second versus foreign language and natural versus instructed language learning. Furthermore, it is worth checking whether and to what extent the puzzling phenomena to be explained by language acquisition theories do really exist (such as uniformity and success and fast acquisition rates in first language acquisition and universal developmental sequences in second language acquisition). The paper furthermore pleas for a multidisciplinary approach to the explanation of the fundamental puzzles of first and second language acquisition and bilingualism, including bridging the divide between psycholinguistic and socio-cultural theories.
Native listening
Authors: Cutler Anne
Published: January 2013

The way we listen to spoken language is tailored to the specific benefit of native-language speech input. Listening to speech in non-native languages can be significantly hindered by this native bias. Is it possible to determine the degree to which a listener is listening in a native-like manner? Promising indications of how this question may be tackled are provided by new research findings concerning the great flexibility that characterises listening to the L1, in online adjustment of phonetic category boundaries for adaptation across talkers, and in modulation of lexical dynamics for adjustment across listening conditions. This flexibility pays off in many dimensions, including listening in noise, adaptation across dialects, and identification of voices. These findings further illuminate the robustness and flexibility of native listening, and potentially point to ways in which we might begin to assess degrees of ‘native-likeness’ in this skill.
A dynamic perspective on language processing and development
Authors: de Bot Kees , Chan HuiPing , Lowie Wander , Plat Rika , Verspoor Marjolijn
Published: January 2013

If language processing and development is viewed as a dynamic process in which all subsystems interact over time, then some basic assumptions behind more traditional approaches to language analysis are problematic: new methods of analysis and modeling are needed to supplement and partly replace existing paradigms. This argument is illustrated with two examples from recent studies.

After a brief history of the reasons for a paradigm shift and an explanation of the role of variability in development, the first example study presents a variability-based approach to reaction time measurements in which spectral analyses of variability found during repeated measures of the same experiment may indicate moments of behavioral change. Then the principles of dynamic modeling are explained, illustrated with vocabulary developmental data. The second recent study shows how the vocabulary development of three learners is may be dynamically modeled using a logistic model.
Does semantic tagging identify cultural change in British and American English?
Authors: Potts Amanda , Baker Paul
Published: January 2013

This paper explores the viability of automated semantic tagging as a tool of cultural analysis comparing American and British English using the Brown family of corpora. Pairs of corpora representing written language production from circa 1961, 1991 and 2006 were contrasted by comparing key semantic tags. This method was then evaluated in relation to three earlier studies which attempted to uncover cultural differences via assigning keywords to ad hoc categories. After outlining the differences found, we conclude that computerised semantic tagging can offer a wider reaching and more scientific comparison of language patterns. However, we suggest that this method is most appropriate as a starting point for a more in-depth cultural analysis, rather than as a final or certain indication of cultural change.
Argumentation and informed consent in the doctor–patient relationship
Authors: Bickenbach Jerome
Published: January 2013

Argumentation theory has much to offer our understanding of the doctor-patient relationship as it plays out in the context of seeking and obtaining consent to treatment. In order to harness the power of argumentation theory in this regard, I argue, it is necessary to take into account insights from the legal and bioethical dimensions of informed consent, and in particular to account for features of the interaction that make it psychologically complex: that there is a fundamental asymmetry of authority, power and expertise between doctor and patient; that, given the potential for coercion, it is a challenge to preserve the interactive balance presumed by the requirement of informed consent; and finally that the necessary condition that patients be ‘competent to consent’ may undermine the requirement of respecting patient autonomy. I argue argumentation theory has the resources to deal with these challenges and expand our knowledge, and appreciation, of the informed consent interaction in health care.
Teaching argumentation theory to doctors
Authors: Rubinelli Sara , Zanini Claudia
Published: January 2013

This paper supports the need for health professionals to be trained in argumentation theory, by illustrating the challenges that they face in interacting with patients and according to the different models of consultation that patients prefer. While there is no ideal model of consultation that can be promoted universally, the ability to construct arguments in support of health professionals’ points of view, as well as the ability to engage in critical discussion with patients, translate in essential skills for reaching patients’ agreement when communication develops through the interpretative model or the informed decision model or, eventually, shared decision-making.
The strategic function of variants of pragmatic argumentation in health brochures
Authors: van Poppel Lotte
Published: January 2013

In this paper, I examine the strategic function of four variants of pragmatic argumentation in the context of advisory health brochures. I argue that each variant functions as a strategic manoeuvre that deals with potential countermoves: with variant I and II writers can address anticipated doubt with respect to the standpoint and with variants III and IV they can strategically erase potential criticism of or possible alternatives to the proposed action.
Argumentation and risk communication about genetic testing
Authors: Green Nancy L.
Published: January 2013

As genetic testing for the presence of potentially health-affecting mutations becomes available for more genetic conditions, many people will soon be faced with the decision of whether or not to have a genetic test. Making an informed decision requires an understanding and evaluation of the arguments for and against having the test. As a case in point, this paper considers argumentation involving the decision of whether to have a BRCA gene test, one of the first commercially available genetic tests. First, argumentation in a five-page patient brochure from a for-profit company that provides BRCA gene testing, is analyzed. Next, for comparison, argumentation on BRCA testing in materials for healthcare consumers written by a not-for-profit health plan and a government organization, is analyzed. In view of the challenges identified by considering these examples, this article discusses how argumentation-oriented computer systems may be able to help the healthcare consumer to make informed decisions about genetic testing.
Argumentation in the context of mediation activity
Authors: Vasilyeva Alena L.
Published: January 2013

This study examines 18 transcripts from audio recordings of mediation sessions at a mediation center in the western United States to explore argumentation in the context of mediation activity. The mediation sessions involve divorced or divorcing couples attempting to create or repair a plan for child custody arrangements. The study takes a conversational argument approach and investigates what is the relationship between interaction and reasoning, how disagreement is managed, and how the mediator’s contributions construct an institutionally preferred form of interactivity. The analysis shows that the mediation activity is accomplished through various dialogue activities. The article makes two claims. Firstly, argument and reasoning are constituted through interaction that imposes various constraints on what contributions are appropriate in mediation talk. Secondly, dialogue activities that mediators initiate can be considered as strategic moves that they make to achieve the institutional goal of the meeting.
Elite behaviour and elite communication in a divided society
Authors: Deschouwer Kris , Temmerman Martina
Published: January 2013

Consociational democracy theory attributes an important role to the subgroup elites. They have to build the bridges between the subgroups and govern together in a divided and segmented society. This need for an accommodating elite has been criticized — among others — for its unrealistic expectations. A compromising attitude can hardly be expected when the subgroup leaders need to remain acceptable and legitimate among their rank and file. Post-electoral guarantees for power sharing are not enough to ensure real and functioning power sharing. In this article we focus on Belgium — a textbook example of consociational democracy — and more in particular on the difficult post-election period of 2007. We analyze newspaper interviews with both moderate and radical Belgian political leaders and illustrate how their discourse is torn between loyalty to the rank and file and the necessity of consociational power sharing. A combination of critical discourse and framing analysis shows how this representation is built up linguistically through an interplay of names used to describe oneself, the specific use of the pronouns of the first person plural and consistent metaphors.
Missing the logic of the text
Authors: Boudeau Carole
Published: January 2013

This article focuses on the final report of Lord Butler’s review of British intelligence on weapons of mass destruction (WMD), specifically on its treatment of the accuracy of the use of intelligence on Iraqi WMD in a government dossier published in September 2002 ahead of the 2003 Iraq war. In the report, the demonstration of the accuracy of the “September Dossier” hinges on the insertion of tables that compare side-by-side quotations from this document and from intelligence assessments. The analysis of the textual and visual methods by which the report is written reveals how the logic of the comparative tables is missed in the Butler report: the logic of these tables requires that the comparison between quotations from the two documents should be performed at the level of their details but the Butler report performs its comparison only at a broad and general level.
Reducing ‘case’ to denotational primitives
Authors: Manzini Maria Rita , Savoia Leonardo M.
Published: January 2013

The nominal inflection system of Albanian includes specifications of case, definiteness, number and nominal class (gender). Our analysis recognizes three types of properties as theoretically relevant, namely N(ominal class), Q(quantification), D(efiniteness). Q inflections are responsible for the so-called oblique case - effectively a dyadic operator yielding a ‘zonal inclusion’ (possession) relation between the element to which it attaches and the internal argument of the verb (dative) or the head of a noun phrase (genitive). Q inflections are further responsible for plurality, while N inflections satisfy argument-of contexts (accusative)and D characterizes EPP contexts(nominative). Syncretisms (e.g. of dative and genitive, nominative and accusative) are not the result of morphological rules requiring Late Insertion of exponents (Distributed Morphology). Rather they are instances of ambiguity, resolved in the syntax (different embeddings) or at the interpretive interface. As such they are compatible with projection of the morphosyntax from lexical entries.
Keywords: Case, nominative, accusative, oblique, syncretism, nominal class, plural, definiteness, possessor, locative.
It’s hard being soft
Authors: Sullivan Karen
Published: January 2013

This study compares antonymous relations between lemmata (such as soft/softer/softest and hard/harder/hardest), words (soft and hard) and word senses (for example, the sense of soft indicating a yielding surface and that of hard describing an unyielding surface). In agglomerative cluster analyses of data from the British National Corpus, specific antonymous adjective senses are found to cluster more tightly and neatly than either antonymous words or lemmata. Moreover, when pairs such as soft and hard co-occur in the corpus, the co-occurring senses are typically instances of antonymous senses that cluster together. This evidence from clustering and co-occurrence suggests that antonymy operates primarily at the level of the word sense, rather than the word or the lemma.
The power to subvert?
Authors: Narayanaswamy Lata
Published: January 2013

Increasing support to women’s organisations and networks to facilitate empowerment is a growing strategy amongst a range of Northern agencies, with a particular emphasis on Southern women. This article argues that strategies employed by both Northern and Southern women’s NGOs to promote the ‘empowerment’ of women and subvert hegemonic discourses through information-sharing and privileging Southern voices deny the value-laden nature of ‘information’ and the relative power and universality of dominant gender and development narratives. It will illustrate how these narratives are historically contingent on prevailing power imbalances in social and political spaces and how development discourse and practice tends to privilege both a homogenous Southern narrative as well as a category of Southern woman that simply do not exist.
Fair Trade as narrative
Authors: Le Mare Ann
Published: January 2013

This article considers the different stories within Fair Trade and how they come together as a narrative that informs both the social movement of Fair Trade and the practice of Fair Trade business relationships. The circuit of culture is used to explore the meanings and understandings that are part of Fair Trade, from both a producer and a consumer point of view, and to demonstrate how these narratives are influenced by economic, political and social structures. However, the practice of Fair Trade also allows for the use of power in new ways, challenging some of the dominant modes of production and consumption.
Buried perspectives
Authors: Terry Jennifer
Published: January 2013

In examining representations of engagements with the North American landscape in the fiction of Toni Morrison, this article seeks to explore the author’s revision of dominant discourses about the topography and symbolic spaces of the continent and her exposure thereby of historical structures of power. Focusing on her fourth novel, Song of Solomon (1977), it traces how Morrison attempts to give voice to African American experience and identity and to revisit and contest familiar stories of national belonging and being in the land. In crafting tales of black displacement, dispossession, estrangement, travel, discovery, connection and home, the author is found to excavate buried perspectives and shape her own potent narrative act.
Home as sanctuary
Authors: Barley Alexandra
Published: January 2013

This article explores the idea of home as a space of sanctuary and retreat from the problems of domestic life through the novels of Anita Desai and Raj Kamal Jha. I examine how these novels destabilise discourses of gender, home and family. Both novels demonstrate the relationship between narrative and power by showing how the protagonists overcome their relative powerlessness through narratives which enable them to reconstruct a sense of self that challenges nationalist ideologies. I show through a reading of the novels the problems of privileging the self over the family and communal identities and suggest how the consequences might be imagined and narrated in relation to the spaces of the home, the city and the nation.