bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trends in western Ross Sea emperor penguin chick abundances and their relationships to climate
Authors: Barber-Meyer S.M. , Kooyman G.L. , Ponganis P.J.
Published: October 2007

The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is extremely dependent on the extent and stability of sea ice, which may make the species particularly susceptible to environmental change. In order to appraise the stability of the emperor penguin populations at six colonies in the western Ross Sea, we used linear regression analysis to evaluate chick abundance trends (1983–2005) and Pearson's r correlation to assess their relation to two local and two large-scale climate variables. We detected only one significant abundance trend; the Cape Roget colony increased from 1983 to 1996 (n = 6). Higher coefficients of variation in chick abundances at smaller colonies (Cape Crozier, Beaufort Island, Franklin Island) suggest that such colonies occupy marginal habitat, and are more susceptible to environmental change. We determined chick abundance to be most often correlated with local Ross Sea climate variables (sea ice extent and sea surface temperature), but not in consistent patterns across the colonies. We propose that chick abundance is most impacted by fine scale sea ice extent and local weather events, which are best evaluated by on-site assessments. We did not find sufficient evidence to reject the hypothesis that the overall emperor penguin population in the Ross Sea was stable during this period.
Differential impairment in semantic, phonemic, and action fluency performance in Friedreich's ataxia: Possible evidence of prefrontal dysfunction
Authors: DE NÓBREGA ÉRIKA , NIETO ANTONIETA , BARROSO JOSÉ , MONTÓN FERNANDO
Published: October 2007

This study examined phonemic (letters), semantic (animals) and action verbal fluency cues in twenty-four patients with FRDA, and twenty matched healthy control subjects. The Action Fluency Test (AFT) is a newly-developed verbal fluency cue that consists in asking the subject to rapidly generate verbs. Given the high presence of dysarthria and cognitive slowness in FRDA patients, control tasks were administered in order to dissociate motor/articulatory impairment and cognitive slowness from verbal fluency deficit. Results showed that patients and control subjects performed similarly on the semantic fluency task. In contrast, patients performed significantly poorer on phonemic and action fluency tests. Correlational analyses showed that the deficits cannot be attributed to dysarthria or cognitive slowness. Although executive processes are necessary for initiating and monitoring all verbal fluency tasks, phonemic and action fluency may place a greater burden on strategic processes, given that they require a more unusual type of lexicon search. Thus, the deficits found occur in tasks that require greater executive/prefrontal control. This impairment might be the result of an affectation of cerebellum-prefrontal cortex connections, although the possibility of a primary prefrontal dysfunction remains to be investigated. (JINS, 2007,13, 944–952.)
The importance of object similarity in the production and identification of actions associated with objects
Authors: DESMARAIS GENEVIÈVE , PENSA MARIA CRISTINA , DIXON MIKE J. , ROY ERIC A.
Published: October 2007

Past research suggests that the similarity between the objects associated with actions impacts visual action identification and action production. Indeed, people often confuse actions that are visually similar, as well as actions that are associated with visually similar objects. However, because the action errors often involve actions that are visually similar and are associated with visually similar objects, it is difficult to disambiguate between the influences of object similarity and action similarity. In our experiments, healthy participants were asked to learn to associate nonword names and actions with novel objects. Participants were first shown each object and its action and were then asked to visually identify each object. In Experiment 1, participants were then asked to produce the action associated with each object, and in Experiment 2, they were asked to visually identify the action associated with each object. Actions were confused more often when they were associated with similar objects than when they were associated with dissimilar objects. Furthermore, following an object naming error, participants were more likely to produce the action associated with the erroneous name than any other erroneous action. The results suggest that the visual characteristics of the objects influenced action production and action identification. (JINS, 2007, 13, 1021–1034.)
Brain Imaging Revisited
Authors: Grady Cheryl L.
Published: October 2007

Handbook of Functional Neuroimaging of Cognition, Second Edition. 2006. Roberto Cabeza and Alan Kingstone (Eds.), Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press, 480 pp., $65.00 (HB)

The first edition of the Handbook of Functional Neuroimaging of Cognition, edited by Roberto Cabeza and Alan Kingstone, was a welcome addition to the cognitive neuroscience field when it was published in 2001. There were chapters on the history of neuroimaging and analysis, and all the major cognitive areas that had been studied at the time, written by senior people in their respective areas. That a second edition has appeared so soon after the first is a testament to the rapid growth of the cognitive neuroscience field, which is both gratifying and somewhat daunting to those of us who vainly attempt to keep up with this burgeoning literature. The same authors as in the previous edition write some chapters, but many have been penned by different authors, equally well known in the field, which is also a sign that the field is healthy and growing.
The case of the unfamiliar implement: Schema-based over-riding of semantic knowledge from objects in everyday action
Authors: BICKERTON WAI-LING , HUMPHREYS GLYN W. , RIDDOCH M. JANE
Published: October 2007

We examined the role of schema knowledge in everyday action by assessing the use of unfamiliar implements by patients with subcortical and frontal lobe damage. Although the patients were relatively good at naming or showing how the unfamiliar implements could be used outside of the task context, the patients omitted using the objects in everyday life tasks more often than control participants—either omitting the action step involving the objects or performing the action using a familiar object that was not normally used for this purpose. The data suggest that knowledge about objects in the context of a task can play a determining role in how objects are used in everyday action. In patients with reduced attentional resources, the task schema can over-ride weak bottom-up cueing of action from the objects, with the result that unfamiliar implements are not used. (JINS, 2007, 13, 1035–1046.)
EXPLAINING INVENTORIES: A BUSINESS CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE STOCKOUT AVOIDANCE AND (S,s) MOTIVES
Authors: KHAN AUBHIK , THOMAS JULIA K.
Published: October 2007

We evaluate two leading explanations for inventories, the (S,s) and stockout avoidance motives, examining each within dynamic stochastic general equilibrium environments. We find that the (S,s) model is far more consistent with the cyclical behavior of aggregate inventories in the postwar United States when fluctuations arise from technology shocks, rather than preference shocks, whereas the converse is true for the stockout avoidance model. The (S,s) model succeeds in explaining the average magnitude of inventories in the U.S. economy and in reproducing the cyclical regularities involving inventories and other aggregate series. The stockout avoidance model does not. Even with idiosyncratic risk added to strengthen it, the stockout avoidance motive is insufficient to generate stocks near the data without destroying model performance along other important margins. Moreover, it appears incapable of sustaining inventories alongside capital. These findings suggest a fundamental flaw in reduced-form inventory models where stocks are loosely rationalized by this motive.
R&D AND GROWTH: THE MISSING LINK?
Authors: SAMANIEGO ROBERTO M.
Published: October 2007

The presumption that R&D is a key driver of economic growth is difficult to reconcile with empirical evidence. For example, in most studies, which identify technical change with total factor productivity (TFP), the link between TFP and measures of knowledge is found to be weak.

This paper shows that a reconciliation may be possible in a model where R&D contributes to growth throughinvestment-specific technical change. Such a model predicts that the empirical link between knowledge and productivty would be weak even if the generation of knowledge is the predominant factor of economic growth. The paper also shows that estimates of the production function for knowledge using patent data may be biased.
Modeling Amino Acid Metabolism in Mammalian Cells‐Toward the Development of a Model Library
Authors: Kontoravdi Cleo , Wong Danny , Lam Carolyn , Lee Yih Yean , Yap Miranda G. S. , Pistikopoulos Efstratios N. , Mantalaris Athanasios
Published: October 2007

Amino acids are necessary to mammalian cell cultures both for protein synthesis and as an energy source. In this study, we present an unstructured mathematical model describing (i) cell growth and death kinetics and (ii) metabolism of glucose and 19 amino acids for HEK‐293 and CHO IFN‐γ cell cultures. The proposed mathematical framework is in good agreement with experimental data for both cell lines. It accommodates the inclusion of expressions for other cellular activities, such as the production of recombinant viral vectors or proteins, and can be used as the basis for the development of a model library for mammalian cell cultures.
Adapted Ultra Scale‐Down Approach for Predicting the Centrifugal Separation Behavior of High Cell Density Cultures
Authors: Tustian Andrew D. , Salte Heidi , Willoughby Nicholas A. , Hassan Inass , Rose Michael H. , Baganz Frank , Hoare Michael , Titchener‐Hooker Nigel J.
Published: October 2007

The work presented here describes an ultra scale‐down (USD) methodology for predicting centrifugal clarification performance in the case of high cell density fermentation broths. Existing USD approaches generated for dilute systems led to a 5– to 10‐fold overprediction of clarification performance when applied to such high cell density feeds. This is due to increased interparticle forces, leading to effects such as aggregation, flocculation, or even blanket sedimentation, occurring in the low shear environment of a laboratory centrifuge, which will not be apparent in the settling region of a continuous‐flow industrial centrifuge. A USD methodology was created based upon the dilution of high solids feed material to ∼2% wet wt/vol prior to the application of the clarification test. At this level of dilution cell‐cell interactions are minimal. The dilution alters the level of hindered settling in the feed suspensions, and so mathematical corrections are applied to the resultant clarification curves to mimic the original feed accurately. The methodology was successfully verified: corrected USD curves accurately predicted pilot‐scale clarification performance of high cell density broths of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli cells. The USD method allows for the rapid prediction of large‐scale clarification of high solids density material using millilitre quantities of feed. The advantages of this method to the biochemical engineer, such as the enabling of rapid process design and scale‐up, are discussed.
Weibull wind speed distribution: Numerical considerations and use with sodar data
Authors: Pérez Isidro A. , Sánchez M. Luisa , García M. Ángeles
Published: October 2007

Two analyses have been performed of the use of the Weibull distribution to describe wind speed statistics. The first is a combination of theoretical considerations in a common domain of c and k parameters concerning some robust indicators of position, spread, skewness, and kurtosis. The second is a calculation of the Weibull parameters using three differing methods based on a 3‐a sodar database. The modified maximum‐likelihood method is direct, the method of weighted probability moments considers order statistics, and the method based on the minimum RMSE is iterative. As a result of the theoretical analyses, we propose some simple relationships involving Weibull parameters and the range of a fraction of central data, the variation coefficient, and the Yule‐Kendall index, which may be applied practically. The calculation of Weibull parameters has revealed the sharp contrast between day, where the fit was highly satisfactory, and night, mainly below 300 m. Moreover, a seasonal pattern was also observed. The comparison between the methods used also proved satisfactory, particularly during day, whereas a slight disagreement was observed during the night for the method based on the minimum RMSE. Finally, randomly generated samples were used to check the accuracy of the Weibull parameters in the domain analyzed, resulting in small residuals and standard deviations of the values calculated.
A methodology to retrieve self‐consistent aerosol optical properties using common aircraft measurements
Authors: Magi Brian I. , Fu Qiang , Redemann Jens
Published: October 2007

Aerosol optical properties that include the extinction coefficient, single scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor are needed to calculate the radiative effects of aerosols. However, measurements of these properties are typically limited to a few wavelengths, and direct measurements of the asymmetry factor are not available. We describe and evaluate a retrieval methodology that uses commonly collected aircraft‐based measurements to derive self‐consistent aerosol optical properties for the majority of the solar spectrum. Measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption at three wavelengths are required to constrain this retrieval. We apply the retrieval to vertical profiles of biomass burning aerosol data collected by the University of Washington (UW) research aircraft during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative field campaign (SAFARI‐2000) and show that the retrieved (or “optically equivalent”) size distributions and wavelength‐dependent refractive indices reproduce available aerosol optical measurements within their respective uncertainties. The retrieved optically equivalent size distribution characteristics are consistent with past studies, but the wavelength‐dependent refractive indices retrieved using methods presented in this study are ∼14% (∼50%) greater than the real (imaginary) refractive indices retrieved from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) for three cases that were spatially and temporally colocated with the UW research aircraft. The retrieval presented in this study translates measured aerosol optical properties to parameters used directly as input to models and can be applied to any study that uses similar instrumentation. Provided that uncertainties are properly accounted for, self‐consistent aerosol optical properties derived from measurements strengthen the unique contribution of in situ data collection to the modeling community.
Controls on the patterns of topography and erosion rate in a critical orogen
Authors: Stolar Drew , Roe Gerard , Willett Sean
Published: October 2007

We solve for the steady state patterns of erosion rate and topography in a critical wedge to understand the mutual adjustment of tectonics, erosion, and topography in the absence and presence of spatial variations in precipitation rate. We consider steady state systems in which tectonics favors a critical topographic form, assumed to be the mean elevation across the range, and in which surface erosion by rivers and hillslopes operates on a two‐dimensional landscape. We find that (1) a nonuniform critical topographic form implies a nonuniform pattern of ridge‐valley relief and hence a nonuniform pattern of erosion rate, and (2) when the system is forced by local variations in precipitation rate, maintenance of the critical topographic form requires a local response of rock uplift that greatly dampens changes in topography. We apply these concepts to the western side of the Olympic Mountains of Washington State, where mean elevation, ridge‐valley relief, and precipitation rates increase from the coast to the topographic crest of the range. We find that the main control on the erosion rate pattern is the pattern in mean elevation and the amount of precipitation. In contrast, the pattern of precipitation is only a minor control. As a whole, our work demonstrates an approach for developing the theoretical context that is necessary for interpreting spatial associations between patterns in topography, precipitation, and erosion in natural orogens.
Role of isoprene in secondary organic aerosol formation on a regional scale
Authors: Zhang Yang , Huang Jian‐Ping , Henze Daven K. , Seinfeld John H.
Published: October 2007

The role of isoprene as a source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is studied using laboratory‐derived SOA yields and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional‐scale Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system over a domain comprising the contiguous United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. Isoprene is predicted to be a significant source of biogenic SOA, leading to increases up to 3.8 μg m−3 in the planetary boundary layer (PBL, defined as 0–2.85 km) and 0.44 μg m−3 in the free troposphere over that in the absence of isoprene. While the addition of isoprene to the class of SOA‐forming organics in CMAQ increases appreciably predicted fine‐particle organic carbon (OC2.5) in the eastern and southeastern U.S., total OC2.5 is still underpredicted in these regions. SOA formation is highly sensitive to the value of the enthalpy of vaporization of the SOA. The role of isoprene SOA is examined in a sensitivity study at values of 42 and 156 kJ mol−1; both are commonly used in 3‐D aerosol models. Prediction of ambient levels of SOA in atmospheric models remains a challenging problem because of the importance of emissions inventories for SOA‐forming organics, representation of gas phase atmospheric chemistry leading to semivolatile products, and treatment of the physics and chemistry of aerosol formation and removal.
Influence of soil water content on the thermal infrared emissivity of bare soils: Implication for land surface temperature determination
Authors: Mira M. , Valor E. , Boluda R. , Caselles V. , Coll C.
Published: October 2007

The influence of soil water content in thermal infrared emissivity is a known fact but has been poorly studied in the past. A laboratory study for quantifying the dependence of emissivity on soil moisture was carried out. Six samples of surface horizons of different soil types were selected for the experiment. The gravimetric method was chosen for determining the soil moisture, whereas the emissivity was measured at different soil water contents using the two‐lid variant of the box method. As a result, the study showed that emissivity increases from 1.7% to 16% when water content becomes higher, especially in sandy soils in the 8.2–9.2 μm range. Accordingly, a set of equations was derived to obtain emissivity from soil moisture at different spectral bands for the analyzed mineral soils. Moreover, results showed that the spectral ratio decreases with increasing soil water content. Finally, the study showed that systematic errors from 0.1 to 2 K can be caused by soil moisture influence on emissivity.
Parametric excitation of surface plasma waves in an overdense plasma irradiated by an ultrashort laser pulse
Authors: Kumar Naveen , Tripathi V. K.
Published: October 2007

A high power laser, obliquely incident on a vacuum-plasma interface, (x=0), resonantly drives plasma oscillations at the second harmonic when 2ω0=ωp, where ωp is the plasma frequency and ω0 is the frequency of the laser. The plasma oscillations parametrically excite a pair of counterpropagating surface plasma waves (ω,kz) and (ω1,k1z) when ω=ω1−2ω0, kz=k1z−2k0z, where k0z is the component of the incident laser wave vector parallel to the interface. The growth rate is maximum for normal incidence of the laser and decreases with the angle of incidence. In a mildly relativistic case, the relativistic mass variation of plasma electrons and collisions detune the second harmonic resonance, lowering the growth rate.
Nanotube-derived carbon foam for hydrogen sorption
Authors: Ding Feng , Lin Yu , Krasnov Pavel O. , Yakobson Boris I.
Published: October 2007

A new kind of carbon foam, which is based on the welding of single-walled carbon nanotubes, is built in a computer simulation. Its precisely defined architecture and all atomic positions allow one to perform detailed theoretical analysis of the properties. Such foam is as light as 1∕9 of steel, while its stiffness is similar and nearly isotropic, and it represents a strong three-dimensional material with various possible applications. Furthermore, its nanoporous structure is accessible to molecular hydrogen and the potential surface analysis indicates that it should be an excellent hydrogen storage medium. Importantly, such foam is a feasible structure that can be produced based on the known tube/fullerene welding techniques.
The effect of the electric field on the confinement of electron plasmas on magnetic surfaces
Authors: Berkery John W. , Boozer Allen H.
Published: October 2007

The neoclassical confinement of electron plasmas on magnetic surfaces is examined. The large electric field of these plasmas has the beneficial effect of making the diffusion coefficient proportional to E−2, because of the E×B drift within the magnetic surfaces. Diffusion driven by the electron density gradient is expected to give an approximate confinement time τ∝(eΔΦ∕T)2. However, the primary drive for electron transport is not the density gradient, but the radial electric field. This changes the scaling to τ∝eΔΦ∕T. The net effect of the electric field is still beneficial, but it is less than previously thought.
The (1×1)→hexagonal structural transition on Pt(100) studied by high-energy resolution core level photoemission
Authors: Baraldi Alessandro , Vesselli Erik , Bianchettin Laura , Comelli Giovanni , Lizzit Silvano , Petaccia Luca , de Gironcoli Stefano , Locatelli Andrea , Mentes T. Onur , Aballe Lucia , Weissenrieder Jonas , Andersen Jesper N.
Published: October 2007

The (1×1)→quasihexagonal (HEX) phase transition on a clean Pt(100) surface was investigated by monitoring the time evolution of the Pt4f7∕2 core level photoemission spectra. The spectral component originating from the atoms forming the (1×1) metastable unreconstructed surface was found at −570±20meV with respect to the bulk peak. Ab initio calculations based on density functional theory confirmed the experimental assignment. At temperatures above 370K, the (1×1) phase irreversibly reverts to the more stable HEX phase, characterized by a surface core level shifted component at −185±40meV. By analyzing the intensity evolution of the core level components, measured at different temperatures in the range of 393–475K, we determined the activation energy of the phase transformation, E=0.76±0.04eV. This value is considerably lower than the one previously determined by means of low energy electron diffraction. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.
Electronic structure of wurtzite ZnO: Nonlocal pseudopotential and ab initio calculations
Authors: Goano Michele , Bertazzi Francesco , Penna Michele , Bellotti Enrico
Published: October 2007

A nonlocal semiempirical pseudopotential calculation of the electronic structure of wurtzite ZnO is proposed. The local and nonlocal components of the atomic effective potentials have been sequentially optimized and an excellent quantitative agreement has been achieved with a wide range of band features (energy gaps at high symmetry points, valence band ordering, in-plane and perpendicular components of the effective masses for electrons and holes at Γ), selected not only from available experimental and ab initio results, but also from new calculations performed with the code developed by the ABINIT project. The valence band description has been further improved through the inclusion of spin-orbit corrections. The complex dielectric function along the main crystallographic directions corresponding to the optimized electronic structure is also presented, along with extensive comparisons of all the computed quantities with the literature data.
Enhancing piezoelectric d33 coefficient in Li∕Ta-codoped lead-free (Na,K)NbO3 ceramics by compensating Na and K at a fixed ratio
Authors: Zhao Pei , Zhang Bo-Ping , Li Jing-Feng
Published: October 2007

Lead-free alkali niobate piezoelectric ceramics with nominal compositions [(Na0.535K0.480)0.942+xLi0.058](Nb0.90Ta0.10)O3 compensated with Na and K at a fixed and optimized ratio of 0.535:0.480 were prepared by normal sintering. The electrical properties were investigated with a special emphasis on the influence of compensating amount x of Na0.535K0.480. A phase transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic was observed as x was increased from 0 to 0.024, resulting in enhanced piezoelectric coefficient and planar electromechanical coupling coefficient from 216 and 38.1% to 268pC∕N and 46.2%, respectively. Our results indicate the importance of elaborate compositional control for enhancing piezoelectric properties in niobate-based ceramics.
Amplified internal pulsations on a stratified exchange flow excited by interaction between a thin sill and external seiche
Authors: Vincze Miklós , Kozma Péter , Gyüre Balázs , Jánosi Imre M. , Gábor Szabó K. , Tél Tamás
Published: October 2007

Exchange flow over a thin sill is studied in a laboratory tank. Characteristic pulsation in the flow intensity is visualized and measured in the vicinity of the sill. The frequency of pulsation is identified as the first eigenmode of external seiche (sloshing) of the whole water body. Control experiments in a simplified setup unambiguously confirmed that initial configurations with horizontal pressure gradient always generate such oscillations. The almost invisible, small-amplitude vertical vibration is magnified by the sill generating internal waves in the pycnocline. These results can serve to increase awareness, also among researchers analyzing field data, of the potential for external seiching to drive internal flow characteristics.
A high-voltage cardiac stimulator for field shocks of a whole heart in a bath
Authors: Mashburn David N. , Hinkson Stephen J. , Woods Marcella C. , Gilligan Jonathan M. , Holcomb Mark R. , Wikswo John P.
Published: October 2007

Defibrillators are a critical tool for treating heart disease; however, the mechanisms by which they halt fibrillation are still not fully understood and are the subject of ongoing research. Clinical defibrillators do not provide the precise control of shock timing, duration, and voltage or other features needed for detailed scientific inquiry, and there are few, if any, commercially available units designed for research applications. For this reason, we have developed a high-voltage, programmable, capacitive-discharge stimulator optimized to deliver defibrillation shocks with precise timing and voltage control to an isolated animal heart, either in air or in a bath. This stimulator is capable of delivering voltages of up to 500V and energies of nearly 100J with timing accuracy of a few microseconds and with rise and fall times of 5μs or less and is controlled only by two external timing pulses and a control computer that sets the stimulation parameters via a LABVIEW interface. Most importantly, the stimulator has circuits to protect the high-voltage circuitry and the operator from programming and input-output errors. This device has been tested and used successfully in field shock experiments on rabbit hearts as well as other protocols requiring high voltage.
Effects of a Gaussian size distribution on the absorption spectra of III-V semiconductor quantum dots
Authors: Kumar Subindu , Biswas Dipankar
Published: October 2007

The advancement in the fabrication of low-dimensional semiconductor structures has made it possible to grow zero-dimensional electron-hole systems called quantum dots (QDs). In recent years, there have been extensive studies on III-V semiconductor QDs. In this paper, we have formulated the absorption spectra of realistic QD systems with dot size distribution described by a Gaussian function. The dots were approximated as cubic boxes having finite potentials at the boundaries. The effects of size nonuniformity on the optical absorption spectra of few realistic QD systems were analyzed, and the results have been compared with ideal dots having infinite potentials at the boundaries.
Dielectric properties and relaxor behavior of rare-earth (La, Sm, Eu, Dy, Y) substituted barium zirconium titanate ceramics
Authors: Chou Xiujian , Zhai Jiwei , Jiang Haitao , Yao Xi
Published: October 2007

Based on the Ti-vacancy defect compensation model, (Ba1−xLnx)Zr0.2Ti0.8−x∕4O3 (Ln=La,Sm,Eu,Dy,Y) ceramics have been fabricated via the conventional solid-state reaction method. The microstructures, dielectric properties, and ferroelectric relaxor behavior of (Ba1−xLnx)Zr0.2Ti0.8−x∕4O3 ceramics have been investigated. The results indicate that rare-earth ions with various ionic radii enter the unit cell to substitute for A-site Ba2+ ions and inhibit the grain growth. The typical ferroelectric relaxor behavior is induced due to the rare-earth ions substitution. The diffuseness of the phase transition and the degree of ferroelectric relaxor behavior are enhanced, the TC is remarkably shifted to lower temperature, and the tunability is suppressed with the increase of x value and substituted ionic radius for (Ba1−xLnx)Zr0.2Ti0.8−x∕4O3 (x=0.005–0.04, Ln=La,Sm,Eu,Dy,Y) ceramics. Tunable ferroelectric materials with moderate dielectric constant and low dielectric loss can be obtained by manipulating the doping amount of suitable rare-earth ions.
Many-body wave scattering by small bodies and applications
Authors: Ramm A. G.
Published: October 2007

A rigorous reduction of the many-body wave scattering problem to solving a linear algebraic system is given bypassing solving the usual system of integral equation. The limiting case of infinitely many small particles embedded into a medium is considered and the limiting equation for the field in the medium is derived. The impedance boundary conditions are imposed on the boundaries of small bodies. The case of Neumann boundary conditions (acoustically hard particles) is also considered. Applications to creating materials with a desired refraction coefficient are given. It is proved that by embedding a suitable number of small particles per unit volume of the original material with suitable boundary impedances, one can create a new material with any desired refraction coefficient. The governing equation is a scalar Helmholtz equation, which one obtains by Fourier transforming the wave equation.
ephrinB1 signals from the cell surface to the nucleus by recruitment of STAT3
Authors: Bong Yong-Sik , Lee Hyun-Shik , Carim-Todd Laura , Mood Kathleen , Nishanian Tagvor G. , Tessarollo Lino , Daar Ira O.
Published: October 2007

The Eph (erythropoietin-producing hepatoma) family of receptor tyrosine kinases and their membrane-bound ligands, the ephrins, have been implicated in regulating cell adhesion and migration during development by mediating cell-to-cell signaling events. The transmembrane ephrinB (Eph receptor interactor B) protein is a bidirectional signaling molecule that sends a forward signal through the activation of its cognate receptor tyrosine kinase, residing on another cell. A reverse signal can be transduced into the ephrinB-expressing cell via tyrosine phosphorylation of its conserved C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. Although some insight has been gained regarding how ephrinB may send signals affecting cytoskeletal components, little is known about how ephrinB1 reverse signaling affects transcriptional processes. Here we report that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) can interact with ephrinB1 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner that leads to enhanced activation of STAT3 transcriptional activity. This activity depends on the tyrosine kinase Jak2, and two tyrosines within the intracellular domain of ephrinB1 are critical for the association with STAT3 and its activation. The recruitment of STAT3 to ephrinB1, and its resulting Jak2-dependent activation and transcription of reporter targets, reveals a signaling pathway from ephrinB1 to the nucleus.
Antarctic climate signature in the Greenland ice core record
Authors: Barker Stephen , Knorr Gregor
Published: October 2007

A numerical algorithm is applied to the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) dust record from Greenland to remove the abrupt changes in dust flux associated with the Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) oscillations of the last glacial period. The procedure is based on the assumption that the rapid changes in dust are associated with large-scale changes in atmospheric transport and implies that D–O oscillations (in terms of their atmospheric imprint) are more symmetric in form than can be inferred from Greenland temperature records. After removal of the abrupt shifts the residual, dejumped dust record is found to match Antarctic climate variability with a temporal lag of several hundred years. It is argued that such variability may reflect changes in the source region of Greenland dust (thought to be the deserts of eastern Asia). Other records from this region and more globally also reveal Antarctic-style variability and suggest that this signal is globally pervasive. This provides the potential basis for suggesting a more important role for gradual changes in triggering more abrupt transitions in the climate system.
Ukraine, Russia, and the Question of Crimea
Authors: Marples David R. , Duke David F.
Published: October 2007

The Crimean question developed as one of the major crises of the post-Soviet period among the two largest Slavic states of the former Soviet Union. It is an issue with several dimensions: the historical background; the case of the Crimean Tatars as anipso factoaboriginal population deporteden massetoward the end of the Second World War; the military-strategic question, with Crimea as the base for the Black Sea Fleet; economic and social developments; and the legality of the 1954 transfer of the peninsula from the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) to Ukraine in 1954.
Shifting Relations, Shifting Identities: The Russian Minority in Estonia after Independence
Authors: Pettai Vello A.
Published: October 2007

Ever since the advent of perestroika and glasnost in the Baltic states in 1987–88, a heightened awareness of renewed state- and nation-building has prevailed. Regional politics and development acquired new life amid the officially proclaimed imperative of “restructuring.” Yet, it was really not until the re-establishment of independence in August 1991 that restructuring of state and society took on meaning and urgency. To be sure, the trappings required of a nascent state currently include legal frameworks and institutions to carry out basic functions. But, on a more profound level, there is also the question of assessing the societal foundation on which such a new structure would (should) rest. This issue represents a far more serious decision.
The Georgian Language State Program and its Implications
Authors: Jones Stephen F.
Published: October 2007

Minority language rights in Georgia, which are inseparable from economic, social and educational inequalities among the different ethnic groups, run along two axes: Georgian's relation to Russian and Georgian's relation with its own minority languages. Since the late 1980s, Moscow's diminishing power and the republic's internal fragmentation have shifted the emphasis from the first to the second. Newly independent Georgia, which is 70% Georgian, now confronts a problem familiar to many post-colonial states: what status should the multiplicity of languages in the republic have? Should Georgian be the only official language, and if so, in what contexts can non-Georgians use their native language? Such issues are part of larger questions about domination, entitlement and ethnic status, issues which have bedeviled the successive Georgian governments' attempts at state-building. In the last two years, language conflicts in Georgia have been overwhelmed by violent secessionist struggles, and the state language program which was perceived as vital to Georgia's future when it was adopted in August 1989, has become secondary today. But if the ethnically based wars are to end, language relations must be settled. As it stands, the language program is unlikely to help.
The Politics of Language in Kyrgyzstan
Authors: Huskey Eugene
Published: October 2007

Nineteen eighty-nine appeared to be anannus mirabilisin Soviet language policy; during that year, nine of fifteen Soviet republics adopted laws that championed the language of the titular nationality. Among these was Kyrgyzstan, a small Central Asian republic where Russian had increasingly marginalized the language of the Kyrgyz.
Environmentalism in Russia
Authors: Garb Paula
Published: October 2007

The grassroots environmental movement of the late 1980s in the former Soviet Union played a key role in reform politics, making or breaking candidates in the 1989–1990 contested local elections across the nation. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the social and economic crises in its successor states were significant factors in the decline and shifting focus of this mass movement. The purpose of this study is to examine the history, ideology and the current direction of Russian environmentalism in the context of the former Soviet Union, and to see how it is being reshaped in Russia today.
The Turks of Bulgaria: The Struggle for National-Religious Survival of a Muslim Minority
Authors: Karpat Kemal H.
Published: October 2007

In May 1989, two series of demonstrations in Turkish villages of northeast Bulgaria was followed by a massive gathering of more than 50,000 Muslim Turks in the town of Shumnu in the same area. The Turks had converged to Shumnu from the surrounding villages and smaller towns in order to protest the forced changes of names and the bulgarization imposed by the government of Todor Zhivkov, then undisputed ruler of Bulgaria. The demonstration was put down in the usual brutal Bulgarian way; some twenty to thirty-five demonstrators were killed and hundreds were injured. However, the Turks had made their point; they were not going to give up, however fierce the official terror, their Islamic identity and culture.
German Russian Newspapers in Russia and the Soviet Union, 1728–1990
Authors: Heitman Sidney
Published: October 2007

In the fall 1989 issue of Heimatliche Weiten, the semiannual Soviet German literary journal, a bibliographical article by Victor Herdt, “Verzeichnis der russland- und sowjet-deutschen Zeitungen (1728–1989),” lists more than 150 German-language newspapers published in Russia and the Soviet Union. The entries are limited to German Russian newspapers and exclude those of other ethnic Germans, such as the Baltic, Bessarabian, or urban Germans, who differ from the German Russians in origin, culture, and history.
The Eurasian Nationalities Collection in Non-Slavic Languages Held by the Slavic and Baltic Division of the New York Public Library
Authors: Eren Nermin
Published: October 2007

The Slavic and Baltic Division of the New York Public Library (NYPL) possesses a valuable collection of pamphlets, books and journals which numbers approximately three thousand items in various languages of the Eurasian nationalities. Bibliographical records of the collection were completed in the 1960s by Edward Allworth, Sakine Berengian, David Nissman and Azamat Altay. Each record contains bibliographic information in original script or in transliteration and a short annotation in English.
Representative Czech Masters of Science and Technology as Leaders in Czech National Politics: Jan Evangelista Purkyně, František Tilšer, and Josef Hlávka
Authors: Garver Bruce
Published: October 2007

Through scientific inquiry, applied technology, and hard work, the peoples of Europe and North America made the nineteenth century, as Asa Briggs has so aptly indicated, an “age of improvement.” In politics they simultaneously promoted what Alexis de Tocqueville then perspicaciously described as “the inexorable advance of democracy.” Moreover, an unprecedented rapid increase in wealth, knowledge, and speed of travel facilitated a rebirth of national consciousness and the formation of national political communities among the smaller and heretofore oppressed peoples of Europe.
Who are the “Enemies of Russia”? The Question of Russophobia in the Samizdat Debate Before Glasnost'
Authors: Brun-Zejmis Julia
Published: October 2007

The Communist system has forced the Russian people into a state of sulking introspection which seeks outlets in xenophobia, petulant demonstrations of national superiority—or, at the opposite end, maudlin admissions of national inferiority.

Milovan Djilas
The Revival of Polish National Consciousness: A Comparative Study of Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine
Authors: Gordon Ellen J.
Published: October 2007

While it is true that many nations and nationalities have come to be identified with a particular language group, linguistic homogeneity is by no means a sufficient or necessary marker of a nation or nationality. And yet, language is often used as a marker, not only to define a people or a nation, but, perhaps more importantly, is used by a people to set themselves apart from others. “Groups tend to define themselves not by reference to their own characteristics but by exclusion, that is, by comparison to ‘strangers’.” The use of language allows for a clear-cut division between “natives” and “aliens.”
Deutschlands Ukraine-Politik 1918–1926
Authors: Golczewski Frank
Published: October 2007

Die Geschichte der deutsch-ukrainischen Beziehungen seit dem Ersten Weltkrieg ist nicht unkompliziert. Mit der deutschen Unkenntnis über die Ukraine paarten sich vom Militär und dem Auswärtigen Amt vertretene Ausbeutungsabsichten, die nur wenig verstellt eine Kolonisierung der Ukraine anstrebten. Ihnen standen bei denselben Instanzen Pläne zur Revolutionierung (und Ausschaltung) des Russischen Reiches zur Seite. Politische Kreise hofften auf eine Mithilfe der “Randvölker” dabei und gewannen deren Nationalisten als Verbündete. Aber ebensowenig wie Alfred Rosenberg im Zweiten Weltkrieg von altruistischen Erwägungen geleitet war, wurde hier auch nur für einen Augenblick der Primat des Eigennutzes außer acht gelassen. Mit den Parteigängern der ukrainischen Selbständigkeit kämpfte zudem auch die “russische Schule” des Otto Hoetzsch, die gemeinsame Interessen der starken Großmächte Rußland und Deutschland postulierte.
Introduction: Nationality/Ethnic Settlement Patterns and Political Behavior in East Central Europe
Authors: Jokay Charles Z.
Published: October 2007

Western experts claim that the end of the Warsaw Pact and the artificial stability it provided, together with what are routinely called “traditional ethnic animosities,” are the causes of continual and inevitable clashes between states in East Central Europe. This area, a triangle formed by the Adriatic, Baltic, and Black Seas, covers the Western border area of the former Soviet Union, and all of Poland, ex-Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, ex-Czechoslovakia and the eastern territories of Germany. This issue of Nationalities Papers is dedicated to the Hungarian ethnic minorities of East Central Europe, in part to examine the validity of the “traditional ethnic animosity” thesis. Spread among seven states, roughly three and a half to four million souls, they constitute the largest diaspora in Europe, and, in relative terms, are more numerous in states around Hungary than the ethnic Russians outside of the Russian Federation on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Soviet Nationality Policy and East Central Europe: An Overview
Authors: Ludanyi Andrew
Published: October 2007

The Sovietization of East Central Europe between 1945 and 1948 led to a complete reformulation of the “nationalities question” on the basis of Marxist-Leninist theory and the practical experience of the USSR. The changed political and ideological context provided the expanded camp of peoples' democracies with new guidelines for the treatment of their minorities. From this time onward, the ethnic/national minorities of these states were guaranteed an existence which was “national in form,” but “socialist in content.”
A Utopian Vision? A Modest Proposal to Prevent Nations from Causing Future Wars
Authors: Harsanyi Nicolae
Published: October 2007

I certainly find the present times most engaging: I have had the chance to live through events that will not be neglected by historians—the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the subsequent end of the Cold War, the failed Moscow coup and the breathtaking aftermath of undoing “mankind's golden dream” in its very cradle, the Soviet Union. There is so much hope in the air for East Europeans to return to development which was thwarted by decades of imposed socialist dictatorship. The sweet taste of freedom and self-assertion helps people to overcome the economic hardships ravaging the area. From the Baltic to the Balkans, from the Tatra to the Caucasus and beyond, nations, nationalities, and minorities show signs of vitality and righteous affirmation of their own complex existence on territories fragmented by conventional boundaries established with or without their own consent or approval.
Aleksandr Barkashov and Russian National Unity: Blackshirt Friends of the Nation
Authors: Simonsen Sven Gunnar
Published: October 2007

Russian National Unity (Russkoe Natsionalnoe Edinstvo—RNE) is the largest militant fascist group in Russia today. The founder and leader of the RNE, Aleksandr P. Barkashov, speaks of himself as a national-socialist, and praises Hitler's deeds for Germany. The RNE has pledged to establish a system of ethnic segregation in Russia were it to come to power.

This article seeks to analyze the ideology of the RNE as represented by its undisputed leader Barkashov and by the RNE Council which he dominates. Particular attention is paid to RNE's relation to Russian ethnicity. The first part discusses Barkashov and his organization's policies with regard to the russkii (ethnic Russian) nation and to Russian nationalism. Then follows a critical review of the RNE's relation to nazism and fascism. The article then considers the RNE's ideas about how the new Russian state should be shaped, i.e., its political and economic program. Finally, the RNE is placed in the wider Russian political landscape by means of a discussion of its political friends and foes.
Primary Language of Communication as a Secondary Indicator of National Identity: The Ukrainian Parliamentary and Presidential Elections of 1994 and the “Manifesto of the Ukrainian Intelligentsia” of 1995∗
Authors: Bilinsky Yaroslav
Published: October 2007

In a famous article during the Soviet period, Walker Connor once asked, rhetorically:

The Ukrainians, as a method of asserting their non-Russian identity, wage their campaign for national survival largely in terms of their right to employ the Ukrainian, rather than the Russian, tongue in all oral and written matters. But would not the Ukrainian nation (that is, a popular consciousness of being Ukrainian) be likely to persist even if the language were totally replaced by Russian, just as the Irish nation has persisted after the virtual disappearance of Gaelic, despite pre-1920 slogans that described Gaelic and Irish identity as inseparable? Is the language the essential element of the Ukrainian nation, or is it merely a minor element which … has been elevated to the symbol of the nation in its struggle for continued viability? [Emphasis in the original]