bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Note: O-ring stack system for electron gun alignment
Authors: Park In-Yong , Cho Boklae , Han Cheolsu , Shin Seungmin , Lee Dongjun , Ahn Sang Jung
Published: January 2015

We present a reliable method for aligning an electron gun which consists of an electron source and lenses by controlling a stack of rubber O-rings in a vacuum condition. The beam direction angle is precisely tilted along two axes by adjusting the height difference of a stack of O-rings. In addition, the source position is shifted in each of three orthogonal directions. We show that the tilting angle and linear shift along the x and y axes as obtained from ten stacked O-rings are ±2.55° and ±2 mm, respectively. This study can easily be adapted to charged particle gun alignment and adjustments of the flange position in a vacuum, ensuring that its results can be useful with regard to electrical insulation between flanges with slight modifications.
Eigenvalues variations for Aharonov-Bohm operators
Authors: Léna Corentin
Published: January 2015

We study how the eigenvalues of a magnetic Schrödinger operator of Aharonov-Bohm type depend on the singularities of its magnetic potential. We consider a magnetic potential defined everywhere in ℝ2 except at a finite number of singularities, so that the associated magnetic field is zero. On a fixed planar domain, we define the corresponding magnetic Hamiltonian with Dirichlet boundary conditions and study its eigenvalues as functions of the singularities. We prove that these functions are continuous, and in some cases even analytic. We sketch the connection of this eigenvalue problem to the problem of finding spectral minimal partitions of the domain.
Consumption of the electric power inside silent discharge reactors
Authors: Yehia Ashraf
Published: January 2015

An experimental study was made in this paper to investigate the relation between the places of the dielectric barriers, which cover the surfaces of the electrodes in the coaxial cylindrical reactors, and the rate of change of the electric power that is consumed in forming silent discharges. Therefore, silent discharges have been formed inside three coaxial cylindrical reactors. The dielectric barriers in these reactors were pasted on both the internal surface of the outer electrode in the first reactor and the external surface of the inner electrode in the second reactor as well as the surfaces of the two electrodes in the third reactor. The reactor under study has been fed by atmospheric air that flowed inside it with a constant rate at normal temperature and pressure, in parallel with the application of a sinusoidal ac voltage between the electrodes of the reactor. The electric power consumed in forming the silent discharges inside the three reactors was measured as a function of the ac peak voltage. The validity of the experimental results was investigated by applying Manley's equation on the same discharge conditions. The results have shown that the rate of consumption of the electric power relative to the ac peak voltage per unit width of the discharge gap improves by a ratio of either 26.8% or 80% or 128% depending on the places of the dielectric barriers that cover the surfaces of the electrodes inside the three reactors.
Impact of three-dimensional geometry on the performance of isolated electron-injection infrared detectors
Authors: Fathipour Vala , Jang Sung Jun , Nia Iman Hassani , Mohseni Hooman
Published: January 2015

We present a quantitative study of the influence of three-dimensional geometry of the isolated electron–injection detectors on their characteristics. Significant improvements in the device performance are obtained as a result of scaling the injector diameter with respect to the trapping/absorbing layer diameters. Devices with about ten times smaller injector area with respect to the trapping/absorbing layer areas show more than an order of magnitude lower dark current, as well as an order of magnitude higher optical gain compared with devices of same size injector and trapping/absorbing layer areas. Devices with 10 μm injector diameter and 30 μm trapping/absorbing layer diameter show an optical gain of ∼2000 at bias voltage of −3 V with a cutoff wavelength of 1700 nm. Analytical expressions are derived for the electron-injection detector optical gain to qualitatively explain the significance of scaling the injector with respect to the absorber.
High temperature-dependent imprint and switching mechanism of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer ultrathin films with electroactive interlayers
Authors: Zhang Xiuli , Du Xiaoli , Liu Changli , Ji Xin , Xu Haisheng
Published: January 2015

The imprint and switching behaviors at high temperature have been systematically investigated through the study on the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) films without and with in-situ synthesized poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonic) acid, poly(vinyl phosphonic) acid (PVPA), and copper-phthalocyanine as interlayers. The lower imprint rate and the faster switching speed are observed for the sample with PVPA as interlayer even after 107 cycles at 60 °C. Combined with the results for the imprint and switching behaviors at room temperature, the temperature-dependent imprint and switching mechanisms for different electroactive interlayers in this system are proposed. Therefore, the optimum protocol could be designed for FeRAM based on P(VDF-TrFE) film, which would be in favor of the performance and the service life of the related ferroelectric devices even at high temperature.
Experimental evidence of warm electron populations in magnetron sputtering plasmas
Authors: Sahu B. B. , Han Jeon G. , Kim Hye R. , Ishikawa K. , Hori M.
Published: January 2015

This work report on the results obtained using the Langmuir probe (LP) measurements in high-power dc magnetron sputtering discharges. Data show clear evidence of two electron components, such as warm and bulk electrons, in the sputtering plasma in a magnetic trap. We have also used optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic method along with LP to investigate the plasma production. Data show that there is a presence of low-frequency oscillations in the 2–3 MHz range, which are expected to be generated by high-frequency waves. Analysis also suggests that the warm electrons, in the plasmas, can be formed due to the collisionless Landau damping of the bulk electrons.
Energy band alignment and electronic states of amorphous carbon surfaces in vacuo and in aqueous environment
Authors: Caro Miguel A. , Määttä Jukka , Lopez-Acevedo Olga , Laurila Tomi
Published: January 2015

In this paper, we obtain the energy band positions of amorphous carbon (a–C) surfaces in vacuum and in aqueous environment. The calculations are performed using a combination of (i) classical molecular dynamics (MD), (ii) Kohn-Sham density functional theory with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange-correlation functional, and (iii) the screened-exchange hybrid functional of Heyd, Scuseria, and Ernzerhof (HSE). PBE allows an accurate generation of a-C and the evaluation of the local electrostatic potential in the a-C/water system, HSE yields an improved description of energetic positions which is critical in this case, and classical MD enables a computationally affordable description of water. Our explicit calculation shows that, both in vacuo and in aqueous environment, the a-C electronic states available in the region comprised between the H2/H2O and O2/H2O levels of water correspond to both occupied and unoccupied states within the a-C pseudogap region. These are localized states associated to sp2 sites in a-C. The band realignment induces a shift of approximately 300 meV of the a-C energy band positions with respect to the redox levels of water.
Band gap estimation from temperature dependent Seebeck measurement—Deviations from the 2e|S|maxTmax relation
Authors: Gibbs Zachary M. , Kim Hyun-Sik , Wang Heng , Snyder G. Jeffrey
Published: January 2015

In characterizing thermoelectric materials, electrical and thermal transport measurements are often used to estimate electronic band structure properties such as the effective mass and band gap. The Goldsmid-Sharp band gap, Eg = 2e|S|maxTmax, is a tool widely employed to estimate the band gap from temperature dependent Seebeck coefficient measurements. However, significant deviations of more than a factor of two are now known to occur. We find that this is when either the majority-to-minority weighted mobility ratio (A) becomes very different from 1.0 or as the band gap (Eg) becomes significantly smaller than 10 kBT. For narrow gaps (Eg ≲ 6 kBT), the Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics applied by Goldsmid-Sharp break down and Fermi-Dirac statistics are required. We generate a chart that can be used to quickly estimate the expected correction to the Goldsmid-Sharp band gap depending on A and Smax; however, additional errors can occur for S < 150 μV/K due to degenerate behavior.
Charge trapping of Ge-nanocrystals embedded in TaZrOx dielectric films
Authors: Lehninger D. , Seidel P. , Geyer M. , Schneider F. , Klemm V. , Rafaja D. , von Borany J. , Heitmann J.
Published: January 2015

Ge-nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized in amorphous TaZrOx by thermal annealing of co-sputtered Ge-TaZrOx layers. Formation of spherical shaped Ge-NCs with small variation of size, areal density, and depth distribution was confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The charge storage characteristics of the Ge-NCs were investigated by capacitance-voltage and constant-capacity measurements using metal-insulator-semiconductor structures. Samples with Ge-NCs exhibit a maximum memory window of 5 V by sweeping the bias voltage from −7 V to 7 V and back. Below this maximum, the width of the memory window can be controlled by the bias voltage. The fitted slope of the memory window versus bias voltage characteristics is very close to 1 for samples with one layer Ge-NCs. A second layer Ge-NCs does not result in a second flat stair in the memory window characteristics. Constant-capacity measurements indicate charge storage in trapping centers at the interfaces between the Ge-NCs and the surrounding materials (amorphous matrix/tunneling oxide). Charge loss occurs by thermal detrapping and subsequent band-to-band tunneling. Reference samples without Ge-NCs do not show any memory window.
Crystallographically uniform arrays of ordered (In)GaN nanocolumns
Authors: Gačević Ž. , Bengoechea-Encabo A. , Albert S. , Torres-Pardo A. , González-Calbet J. M. , Calleja E.
Published: January 2015

In this work, through a comparative study of self-assembled (SA) and selective area grown (SAG) (In)GaN nanocolumn (NC) ensembles, we first give a detailed insight into improved crystallographic uniformity (homogeneity of crystallographic tilts and twists) of the latter ones. The study, performed making use of: reflective high energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, reveals that unlike their SA counterparts, the ensembles of SAG NCs show single epitaxial relationship to both sapphire(0001) and Si(111) underlying substrates. In the second part of the article, making use of X-ray diffraction, we directly show that the selective area growth leads to improved compositional uniformity of InGaN NC ensembles. This further leads to improved spectral purity of their luminescence, as confirmed by comparative macro-photoluminescence measurements performed on SA and SAG InGaN NC ensembles. An improved crystallographic uniformity of NC ensembles facilitates their integration into optoelectronic devices, whereas their improved compositional uniformity allows for their employment in single-color optoelectronic applications.
Adsorption of a metalorganic complex at a metal surface: A density functional theory study vs. model description
Authors: Kostyrko T. , Ślusarski T.
Published: January 2015

A modification of the electronic and magnetic structure of a metalorganic complex by chemisorption at a metallic surface is addressed. The density functional theory (DFT) is applied to investigate a simplified form of a copper-dioxolene complex in a free state and connected to Au(111) surface with alkanethiol linkers. A systematic study of the dependence of the system electronic structure on the linker length is performed. It is found that the electronic structure of the complex is well preserved during the adsorption process. The magnetic moment of the Cu-dioxolene functional group is shown to be strictly correlated with the amount of the charge residing at the complex. On the basis of the DFT results, a model Hamiltonian of the adsorbed metalorganic system is proposed. The model is an extension of the Sandorfy's model of the alkanes and includes explicitly Coulomb interaction between electrons both within the alkane's backbone and the end group. We show that the latter feature is necessary to understand the evolution of the system's properties with the length of the linkers. The advantage of this approach is that it not only reproduces the main results of our DFT analysis but also provides a simple common basis to analyse a wide class of metal complexes bound to metal surfaces with alkanethiol linkers.
Plasmoid instability in double current sheets
Authors: Nemati M. J. , Wang Z. X. , Wei L. , Selim B. I.
Published: January 2015

The linear behavior of plasmoid instability in double current sheet configurations, namely, double plasmoid mode (DPM), is analytically and numerically investigated within the framework of a reduced magnetohydrodynamic model. Analytical analysis shows that if the separation of double current sheets is sufficiently small [κxs≪κ2/9SL1/3], the growth rate of DPMs scales as κ2/3SL0 in the non-constant-ψ regime, where κ=kLCS/2 is the wave vector measured by the half length of the system LCS/2, 2xs is the separation between two resonant surfaces, and SL=LCSVA/2η is Lundquist number with VA and η being Alfven velocity and resistivity, respectively. If the separation is very large [κxs≫κ2/9SL1/3], the growth rate scales as κ−2/5SL2/5 in the constant-ψ regime. Furthermore, it is also analytically found that the maximum wave number scales as xs−9/7SL3/7 at the transition position between these two regimes, and the corresponding maximum growth rate scales as xs−6/7SL2/7 there. The analytically predicted scalings are verified in some limits through direct numerical calculations.
Barrier reduction via implementation of InGaN interlayer in wafer-bonded current aperture vertical electron transistors consisting of InGaAs channel and N-polar GaN drain
Authors: Kim Jeonghee , Laurent Matthew A. , Li Haoran , Lal Shalini , Mishra Umesh K.
Published: January 2015

This letter reports the influence of the added InGaN interlayer on reducing the inherent interfacial barrier and hence improving the electrical characteristics of wafer-bonded current aperture vertical electron transistors consisting of an InGaAs channel and N-polar GaN drain. The current-voltage characteristics of the transistors show that the implementation of N-polar InGaN interlayer effectively reduces the barrier to electron transport across the wafer-bonded interface most likely due to its polarization induced downward band bending, which increases the electron tunneling probability. Fully functional wafer-bonded transistors with nearly 600 mA/mm of drain current at VGS = 0 V and Lgo = 2 μm have been achieved, and thus demonstrate the feasibility of using wafer-bonded heterostructures for applications that require active carrier transport through both materials.
Strain modulated large magnetocaloric effect in Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 epitaxial films
Authors: Giri S. K. , Dasgupta Papri , Poddar A. , Sahoo R. C. , Paladhi D. , Nath T. K.
Published: January 2015

Epitaxial Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 thin films were deposited on LAO (001), LSAT (001), and STO (001) single crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique to investigate the correlation between the substrate induced film lattice strain and magnetocaloric effect (MCE). The film on LAO substrate (S_LAO), which is under compressive strain, undergoes ferromagnetic → paramagnetic transition at TC ∼ 165 K. The films on STO (S_STO) and LSAT (S_LSAT) substrates are under tensile strain and have TC ∼ 120 K and 130 K, respectively. At T < TC, the zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization curves of all the films show huge bifurcation. In case of S_STO and S_LSAT films, hysteresis is also observed between field cooled cooling and warming cycle in magnetization versus temperature measurement at low magnetic field similar to first order-like magnetic phase transition. No signature of first order magnetic phase transition has been observed in the case of S_LAO film. Most interestingly, both normal (i.e., negative ΔSM) and inverse (i.e., positive ΔSM) MCE around TC and above Tp, respectively, for S_STO and S_LSAT films have been observed with maximum value of MCE ∼ 10 J kg−1 K−1. The S_STO film also exhibits a large relative cooling power of 142 J/kg for a magnetic field change of 1 T. Our findings of substrate-induced strain modulated large MCE in epitaxial Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 films have been well explained through the substrate induced film lattice strain, and it may be useful for active magnetic refrigerant materials.
Super-resolution experiments on Lamb waves using a single emitter
Authors: Rupin Matthieu , Catheline Stefan , Roux Philippe
Published: January 2015

In this letter, we present super-resolution experiments from a single emission channel located in the far-field of an elastic metamaterial for Lamb waves. The experiment is performed in the kHz regime, with centimetric waves that are refocused numerically through cross-correlation computations. The originality of this approach lies in the direct link established between super-resolution results and the wavefield dispersion induced by a metamaterial made of long rods that are attached to a plate, and that behave as sub-wavelength resonators. We believe that such a clear origin of a far-field super-resolution experiment is of major interest for the design of a meta-lens for waves in plates.
The giant magnetoelectric effect in Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9/PZT thick film composites
Authors: Qiu Jing , Wen Yumei , Li Ping , Chen Hengjia
Published: January 2015

The Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9/PZT thick film composites with excellent magnetoelectric (ME) coupling effect were synthesized by electrostatic spray depositing. The ME coupling characteristics of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9/PZT thick film composites were investigated. It is found that the appropriate thickness ratio between magnetostrictive layers and piezoelectric layers (tm/tp) will be favorable to raise the resonance ME field output performance. The resonance frequency of ME field coefficient can be tuned by controlling tm/tp. The optimum resonance ME field coefficient of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9/PZT thick film composites achieves 259.2 V/cm Oe at mechanical resonance frequency at 11.5 kHz with the dc bias magnetic field is 60 Oe. Remarkably, the proposed composites exhibit a giant ME effect and a higher ME voltage coefficient than the previous Terfenol-D/PZT laminated composites. It indicates that the mentioned Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9/PZT thick film composites have great potential for the application of highly sensitive magnetic field sensing and vibration energy harvesting.
Stacking order dependence of inverse spin Hall effect and anomalous Hall effect in spin pumping experiments
Authors: Kim Sang-Il , Kim Dong-Jun , Seo Min-Su , Park Byong-Guk , Park Seung-Young
Published: January 2015

The dependence of the measured DC voltage on the non-magnetic material (NM) in NM/CoFeB and CoFeB/NM bilayers is studied under ferromagnetic resonance conditions in a TE011 resonant cavity. The directional change of the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) voltage VISHE for the stacking order of the bilayer can separate the pure VISHE and the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) voltage VAHE utilizing the method of addition and subtraction. The Ta and Ti NMs show a broad deviation of the spin Hall angle θISH, which originates from the AHE in accordance with the high resistivity of NMs. However, the Pt and Pd NMs show that the kinds of NMs with low resistivity are consistent with the previously reported θISH values. Therefore, the characteristics that NM should simultaneously satisfy to obtain a reasonable VISHE value in bilayer systems are large θISH and low resistivity.
Remote surface roughness scattering in fully depleted silicon-on-insulator devices with high-κ/SiO2 gate stacks
Authors: Niquet Y. M. , Duchemin I. , Nguyen V.-H. , Triozon F. , Rideau D.
Published: January 2015

We investigate remote surface roughness (RSR) scattering by the SiO2/HfO2 interface in Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator devices using Non-Equilibrium Green's Functions. We show that the RSR mobility is controlled by cross-correlations between the surface roughness profiles at the Si/SiO2 and SiO2/HfO2 interfaces. Therefore, surface roughness and remote surface roughness cannot be modeled as two independent mechanisms. RSR tends to enhance the total mobility when the Si/SiO2 interface and SiO2 thickness profiles are correlated, and to decrease the total mobility when they are anti-correlated. We discuss the implications for the high-κ/Metal gate technologies.
Antisite disorder-induced exchange bias effect in multiferroic Y2CoMnO6
Authors: Nair Harikrishnan S. , Chatterji Tapan , Strydom André M.
Published: January 2015

Exchange bias effect in the ferromagnetic double perovskite compound Y2CoMnO6, which is also a multiferroic, is reported. The exchange bias, observed below 8 K, is explained as arising due to the interface effect between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic clusters created by antisite disorder in this material. Below 8 K, prominent ferromagnetic hysteresis with metamagnetic “steps” and significant coercive field, Hc ≈ 10 kOe are observed in this compound which has a Tc ≈ 75 K. A model based on growth of ferromagnetic domains overcoming the elastic energy of structurally pinned magnetic interfaces, which closely resembles martensitic-like transitions, is adapted to explain the observed effects. The role of antisite disorder in creating the domain structure leading to exchange bias effect is highlighted in the present work.
Knowledge in communicative planning practice: a different perspective for planning support systems
Authors: Pelzer Peter , Geertman Stan , van der Heijden Rob
Published: January 2015

Although planning support systems (PSS) have now undergone more than two decades of research and development, this is not reflected in their practical application. In this paper we argue that one of the reasons for this is that too much emphasis is put on the instrument rather than the usage and planning context. A better understanding of the relationship between planning practice and PSS is needed in order to improve the role of the latter. We argue that communicative and analytic approaches to planning should be combined. A key to this is a more careful conceptualization of the concepts of knowledge and planning support. Therefore, we have developed a conceptual framework in which the characteristics and evaluation of knowledge and the role of planning support are central. Combined with the notion of storytelling, we believe that this results in a perspective for PSS that has potential for future applications. We conclude the paper with recommendations for future research.
The Problems of Addressing Microclimate Factors in Urban Planning of the Subarctic Regions
Authors: Ebrahimabadi Saeed , Nilsson Kristina L , Johansson Charlotta
Published: January 2015

Urban life in the towns of the subarctic regions is affected by the severity of the local climate, which must be taken into account in urban planning. Previous studies show that the use of climate knowledge in urban planning is hindered by different constraints. In this study we focus specifically on the problems of incorporating microclimate factors into the urban planning practices in northern Sweden. We rely on a literature study and focus on interviews as our study methods. Some of the major problems identified are the lack of design knowledge relevant to a cold climate, lack of user-friendly tools to analyze microclimate, overlooking the potential uses of local climate, and lack of support from politicians. The problems related to knowledge development and the lack of tools for microclimate analysis are discussed further. In terms of knowledge issues, the planners' awareness of climate objectives achievable at different planning scales needs to be improved. There should be further research into the effect of urban form on the use of snow and on snow-removal activities. Tools for microclimate analysis should become more user friendly for planners. More importantly, planners need methods that combine different microclimate analyses and offer a complete assessment of a given design scheme.
Change Magnitude Does Not Guide Attention in an Object Change Detection Task
Authors: Favelle Simone K , Palmisano Stephen
Published: January 2015

Investigations of change detection consistently reveal an effect of change magnitude: changes involving more object parts are detected more easily than those involving fewer parts. Whether large changes improve detection by providing stronger preattentive signals to the change location is subject to debate. We report a cued object change detection experiment that tested this hypothesis while controlling for stimulus familiarity, semantic knowledge, and change type (addition versus deletion). We found strong magnitude effects regardless of whether trials were validly or invalidly cued. The size of the cueing effects, which were exhibited for all the change magnitudes examined, did not decrease with the number of parts changing. These findings provide little support for a preattentive guidance hypothesis and instead support the thesis that change detection requires attention.
Postural Responses to Various Frequencies of Vibration of the Triceps Surae and Forefoot Sole during Quiet Standing
Authors: Naka Masami , Fujiwara Katsuo , Kiyota Naoe
Published: January 2015

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of somatosensory input to the sensory reference system in quiet standing. We applied vibration (0.5 mm amplitude, 1–60 Hz) to the triceps surae and the forefoot sole to stimulate the muscle spindles and the mechanoreceptors, respectively, and evaluated postural responses. Thirteen young healthy adults who showed backward-lean and forward-lean responses to vibration at high and low frequencies, respectively, participated in the full experiment. The lowest vibration frequencies inducing backward-lean responses (B-LF) were 15–55 Hz for the triceps surae and 16–60 Hz for the forefoot sole. The highest frequencies inducing forward-lean responses (F-HF) were 3–18 Hz for the triceps surae and 1–20 Hz for the forefoot sole. When vibration was simultaneously applied to the triceps surae and forefoot sole at F-HF, no response was induced in 70% of trials. A forward-lean response was induced in the remaining 30% of trials. Simultaneous vibration of the triceps surae and forefoot sole at B-LF induced backward-lean responses in all trials. All postural responses occurred 0.5–4.3 s after vibration onset. Postural responses to highfrequency vibration conceivably occur as a compensatory movement to the illusionary perception that standing position is deviating forward from quiet standing, which must be a reference position. Postural responses to low-frequency vibration possibly occur to equalize the positional information that is received from the triceps surae and the forefoot sole. Both postural responses are likely to involve the sensory reference system, which is located in the supraspinal nervous system.
Carcass and meat quality of organic lambs compared with lambs reared under traditional and intensive production systems
Authors: Kocak Omur , Ekiz Bulent , Yalcintan Hulya , Yakan Akin , Yilmaz Alper
Published: January 2015

The aim of the study was to compare the meat quality characteristics of male lambs reared under organic (n = 9), intensive (n = 10) and traditional (n = 10) production systems. The average daily gain of organic lambs (121.4 g) was lower than lambs of intensive (161 g) and traditional (157.8 g) systems. Production system had no significant effect on carcass weight and dressing percentage. Differences among production systems for meat pH, drip loss, cooking loss, shear force value and colour characteristics were not significant. Traditional lambs had a higher percentage of total polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acid : saturated fatty acid ratio, whereas organic lambs had the highest percentage of total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and the lowest n-6 : n-3 ratio. In accordance with the meat fatty acid composition, meat from the organic and traditional systems used here was healthier than meat from intensive system. But the results of sensory assessment indicate that meat from traditional system was found more acceptable by panellists in terms of flavour intensity, flavour acceptability and overall acceptability when compared with that of organic meat.
Environmental variation and breed sensitivity for growth rate and backfat depth in pigs
Authors: Li L. , Hermesch S.
Published: January 2015

This study investigated the magnitude of environmental variation and compared the environmental sensitivity of Large White, Landrace and Duroc pigs based on reaction norms analyses for lifetime average daily gain (ADG) and backfat depth (BF). Data comprised 265 165 records collected between 2000 and 2010 on pigs from nine herds in Australia. Four environmental descriptors [the phenotypic mean and three least-squares means of contemporary groups (CG) of linear mixed models fitting fixed effects only or fitting sire or animal as additional random effects] were compared in order to quantify the environmental variation based on herd-by-birth month (HBM) and herd-by-birth week (HBW) CG for ADG and BF. Similar levels of variation were found for environmental descriptors based on HBM or HBW CG definitions for both traits but the accuracy of estimates for environmental descriptors was higher for HBM than HBW. The standard deviations of environmental descriptors were 31 (35) g/day for ADG and 1.0 (1.1) mm for BF based on the animal model fitting HBM (HBW), which are similar to the genetic standard deviations usually observed for these traits. Most of this variation in environmental conditions was also observed within years and within herds. Landrace had the highest ADG and Large White had the lowest BF across the environmental range. Significant breed-by-environment interaction was found for ADG but not for BF. Duroc was least sensitive and Large White was most sensitive indicating that the leaner breed was less able to perform consistently across the observed range of environmental conditions in this study.
Evaluating vitamin D with graded levels of strontium supplementation on broiler chicken performance and mineral composition
Authors: Browning L. C. , Cowieson A. J.
Published: January 2015

In order to examine the interactive effects of strontium and cholecalciferol in broiler nutrition a total of 288 male broiler chickens were fed over 28 days, eight different diets with six replicates comprising of two levels of vitamin D (5000 and 10 000 IU/kg) and four levels of strontium (0, 400, 800 and 1200 mg/kg) provided as strontium carbonate. Vitamin D and strontium produced a significant interaction on growth and feed efficiency with the addition of higher levels of vitamin D ameliorating the negative effects of strontium at 1200 mg/kg. The higher level of vitamin D also improved bodyweight gain (P < 0.05), had no effect on tibia bone composition but reduced calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium retention (P < 0.05). Strontium supplementation produced no advantage to chicken performance but changed tibia bone composition. It was found that calcium and sodium maintained a ratio of ~30 : 1 in tibia bone. Vitamin D and strontium produced a significant physiological interaction and further research is required to elucidate optimum levels of supplementation for commercial broiler chicken production.
Effect of soil pH and crop sequence on the response of wheat (Triticum aestivum) to phosphorus fertiliser
Authors: Scanlan Craig , Brennan Ross , Sarre Gavin A.
Published: January 2015

Changes in soil fertility following long periods of crop production in the south-west of Western Australia (WA) may have implications for phosphorus (P) fertiliser recommendations for wheat production. When the sandy soils of the region were first cleared for agricultural production, they were typically marginally acidic to neutral, with soil extractable-P levels inadequate for crop production. Recent surveys have shown that 87% of soils in south-west WA exceed the critical soil extractable-P level required for 90% of maximum grain yield, and ~70% of soils have a surface-soil pHCa <5.5. There has also been a shift towards a high frequency of wheat in the crop sequence. We conducted a field experiment to begin to quantify the importance of the interactions between soil pH and crop sequence on wheat response to P fertiliser. For grain yield, the magnitude of the response was greatest for rate of P applied, followed by lime treatment and then crop sequence. There were no interactions between these treatments. Our analysis of the grain-yield response to rates of P fertiliser showed no significant difference between the shape of the grain-yield response curve for treatments with and without lime. However, we did find a significant interaction between lime treatment and rate of P fertiliser applied for shoot P concentration and that soil P was more plant-available in the +lime than the –lime treatment. There is justification for making realistic adjustments to yield potential based on soil pH or crop sequence, although further work is required to determine whether the shape of the grain-yield response curve varies with these two factors.
Reversible catalytic dehydrogenation of alcohols for energy storage
Authors: Bonitatibus Peter J. , Chakraborty Sumit , Doherty Mark D. , Siclovan Oltea , Jones William D. , Soloveichik Grigorii L.
Published: January 2015

Significance

Catalytic hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions are extremely important in organic chemistry and recently for energy storage in the form of chemical bonds. Although catalysts are known which catalyze both reactions, the rates and conditions required for the two are frequently very different due to the differences associated with the bonds to be activated (C–H/O–H/N–H and C = O/C = N/H–H). The use of a bifunctional catalyst would substantially simplify the design of processes related to energy storage. In this work, organometallic complexes of iron and iridium are shown to act as catalysts for reversible dehydrogenation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds. This finding opens a pathway to the development of catalysts for direct reversible electrochemical dehydrogenation of organic fuels in energy generation and storage reactions.
Pollen analysis as evidence for Herods Royal Garden at the Promontory Palace, Caesarea
Authors: Langgut Dafna , Gleason Kathryn , Burrell Barbara
Published: January 2015

This study is the first to successfully address the identification of the botanical components of a garden in the 2000-year-old palatial courtyard of Herod the Great's Promontory Palace in Caesarea Maritima. Based on the extraction and identification of fossil pollen grains, we were able to reconstruct at least part of the garden's flora, which, we argue, could only have grown within the confines of a garden of this splendid seaside palace which was protected architecturally from salty sea spray. The palynological spectrum included, among other taxa, high percentages of Cupressaceae pollen (cypress) as well as pollen of the non-local treeCorylussp. (hazelnut), which was most probably introduced as an ornamental from the northeast Mediterranean or from Italy. These trees appear to have been accompanied by other ornamental plants (e.g.Salviaand various Rosaceae plants). The choice of flora to be planted in the garden is consistent with our knowledge of prestige Roman gardens dated to Herod's time. This exceptional and magnificent palace, with its luxurious architectural features and its impressive, well-maintained garden, symbolized the power and the abilities of King Herod, the greatest builder in ancient Jewish history.
Feature Confirmation in Object Perception: Feature Integration Theory 26 Years on from the Treisman Bartlett Lecture
Authors: Humphreys Glyn W.
Published: January 2015

The Treisman Bartlett lecture, reported in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology in 1988, provided a major overview of the feature integration theory of attention. This has continued to be a dominant account of human visual attention to this day. The current paper provides a summary of the work reported in the lecture and an update on critical aspects of the theory as applied to visual object perception. The paper highlights the emergence of findings that pose significant challenges to the theory and which suggest that revisions are required that allow for (a) several rather than a single form of feature integration, (b) some forms of feature integration to operate preattentively, (c) stored knowledge about single objects and interactions between objects to modulate perceptual integration, (d) the application of feature-based inhibition to object files where visual features are specified, which generates feature-based spreading suppression and scene segmentation, and (e) a role for attention in feature confirmation rather than feature integration in visual selection. A feature confirmation account of attention in object perception is outlined.
Concentric 360° domain wall nesting in magnetic tunnel junction films: a Lorentz TEM study
Authors: O’Shea K J , Rode K , Kurt H , McGrouther D , MacLaren D A
Published: January 2015

We describe the formation of an unusual concentric magnetic domain wall pattern in the free layer of a bottom pinned magnetic tunnel junction. Lorentz microscopy reveals that repeated switching of the free layer with a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the exchange bias direction can produce a series of concentric 360° domain wall loops, a phenomenon we refer to as domain wall nesting. We propose two necessary ingredients for the behaviour: (i) inhomogeneities in the grain-by-grain magnetic dispersion that break local symmetry to produce a preferential sense of magnetic rotation upon field switching; and (ii) structural defects that act to pin 360° domain walls. Further control of this behaviour may provide new functionality for future device applications.
Highly responsive core-shell microactuator arrays for use in viscous and viscoelastic fluids
Authors: Fiser Briana L , Shields Adam R , Falvo M R , Superfine R
Published: January 2015

We present a new fabrication method to produce arrays of highly responsive polymer-metal core-shell magnetic microactuators. The core-shell fabrication method decouples the elastic and magnetic structural components such that the actuator response can be optimized by adjusting the core-shell geometry. Our microstructures are 10 µm long, 550 nm in diameter, and electrochemically fabricated in particle track-etched membranes, comprising a poly(dimethylsiloxane) core with a 100 nm Ni shell surrounding the upper 3–8 µm. The structures can achieve deflections of nearly 90° with moderate magnetic fields and are capable of driving fluid flow in a fluid 550 times more viscous than water.
Correction to “Combinatorics and geometry of power ideals”: Two counterexamples for power ideals of hyperplane arrangements
Authors: Ardila Federico , Postnikov Alexander
Published: January 2015

We disprove Holtz and Ron’s conjecture that the power ideal

C

A

,
−
2

C_{\mathcal {A},-2}

of a hyperplane arrangement

A

\mathcal {A}

(also called the internal zonotopal space) is generated by

A

\mathcal {A}

-monomials. We also show that, in contrast with the case

k
≥
−
2

k \geq -2

, the Hilbert series of

C

A

,
k

C_{\mathcal {A},k}

is not determined by the matroid of

A

\mathcal {A}

for

k
≤
−
6

k \leq -6

.
Schröder’s problems and scaling limits of random trees
Authors: Pitman Jim , Rizzolo Douglas
Published: January 2015

In his now classic paper of 1870, Schröder posed four combinatorial problems about the number of certain types of bracketings of words and sets. Here we address what these bracketings look like on average. For each of the four problems we prove that a uniform pick from the appropriate set of bracketings, when considered as a tree, has the Brownian continuum random tree as its scaling limit as the size of the word or set goes to infinity.
CLASP2-dependent microtubule capture at the neuromuscular junction membrane requires LL5β and actin for focal delivery of acetylcholine receptor vesicles
Authors: Basu Sreya , Sladecek Stefan , Martinez de la Peña y Valenzuela Isabel , Akaaboune Mohammed , Smal Ihor , Martin Katrin , Galjart Niels , Brenner Hans Rudolf
Published: January 2015

A novel mechanism is described for the agrin-mediated focal delivery of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) to the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction. Microtubule capture mediated by CLASP2 and its interaction partner, LL5β, and an intact subsynaptic actin cytoskeleton are both required for focal AChR transport to the synaptic membrane.
Concentration Indices of Income‐Related Self‐Reported Health: A Meta‐Regression Analysis
Authors: Costa‐Font Joan , Hernández‐Quevedo Cristina
Published: January 2015

Proliferating evidence reporting on standardized cross‐country concentration indexes of income‐related self‐reported health is increasingly being used for policy evaluation. Nonetheless, limited efforts have been put forward to examine the extent to which such evidence is subject to any specific methodological and publication biases, given that studies rely upon survey data from different samples, heterogeneous health system institutions and empirical strategies. We conduct the first study drawing upon appropriate statistical methods to examine the presence of publication bias in the health economics literature measuring health inequalities of self‐reported health. We test for other biases including the effect of precision estimates based on meta‐regression analysis (MRA). We account for a set of biases in estimates of income‐related health inequalities that rely on concentration index‐related methods and self‐reported health measures. Our findings suggest evidence of publication bias that primarily depends on the cardinalization of self‐reported health and some evidence of study‐specific precision.
Strategic Interactions Among Private and Public Efforts When Preventing and Stamping Out a Highly Infectious Animal Disease
Authors: Wang Tong , Hennessy David A.
Published: January 2015

Upon the outbreak of a contagious animal disease, a primary motive for restoring disease‐free status is often to regain access to international product markets. Efforts applied toward continuing or regaining such access generate a public good—all growers benefit regardless of the extent of private effort taken, while exclusion is impractical. Private incentives to take preventive measures and stamp‐out effort interact in complex ways. There are intra‐farm temporal interactions and also inter‐farm contemporaneous interactions. Public effort also takes place and interacts with private effort. This paper provides a succinct multi‐agent model to explore these interactions in social optimum and in Nash equilibrium, and also to explore how socially optimal and Nash behavior differ. Comparative statics under social optimality are more straightforward than under Nash equilibrium. Whether it is in social optimum or Nash equilibrium, public prevention effort complements both private prevention and private stamp‐out efforts. However, public stamp‐out effort substitutes for both private stamp‐out and private prevention efforts. Reasonable conditions are identified under which Nash levels of private prevention and stamp‐out efforts are both below socially optimal levels. Concerning policy prescriptions, secure property rights and low property transfer costs should promote prevention and eradication efforts. Other things being equal, public prevention effort should be more effective at improving welfare than comparable public stamp‐out effort. Subsidies on private effort should favor prevention because subsidies on eradication effort may discourage prevention effort. Even if products from diseased animals are safe to consume and acceptable to consumers, it may be optimal to destroy them.
Is Pulse Pressure an Independent Risk Factor for Incident Stroke, REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke
Authors: Glasser Stephen P. , Halberg Daniel L. , Sands Charles D. , Mosher Aleena , Muntner Paul M. , Howard George
Published: January 2015

BACKGROUND

Pulse pressure (PP) is a potential risk factor of stroke. The relationship of incident stroke with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and PP was examined.

METHODS

Data were from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke national cohort study of 30,239 black and white participants aged ≥45 years, enrolled between 2003 and 2007. PP (SBP−DBP) and MAP (MAP = DBP + 1/3*PP) were calculated. Telephone follow-up occurred every six months for self or proxy-reported suspected stroke events, confirmed using expert adjudication. Cox-proportional hazards models examined the association of incident stroke for the different BP measurements with multivariable adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical risk factors including gender and race.

RESULTS

Men and women without prevalent stroke at baseline were analyzed (n = 25,462). During follow-up (mean 6.3±2.3 years, maximum 10 years), 916 strokes occurred. Unadjusted PP (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24–1.35), SBP (HR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.18–1.32), MAP (HR = 1.24; 95% CI 1.16–1.32), and DBP (HR = 1.09; 95% CI 1.01–1.17) were associated with stroke risk; however, after adjustment for SBP and other risk factors, the association with PP was attenuated (HR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.90–1.07), whereas SBP persisted as a predictor (HR = 1.14; 95% CI 1.06–1.23). These associations were consistent across age (younger vs. older >70 years) and race (black vs. white).

CONCLUSIONS

PP is positively associated with incident stroke, but not independently from SBP; and, there were no significant gender, racial, or regional differences in that association.