bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermophysical properties of multi-shock compressed dense argon
Authors: Chen Q. F. , Zheng J. , Gu Y. J. , Chen Y. L. , Cai L. C. , Shen Z. J.
Published: February 2014

In contrast to the single shock compression state that can be obtained directly via experimental measurements, the multi-shock compression states, however, have to be calculated with the aid of theoretical models. In order to determine experimentally the multiple shock states, a diagnostic approach with the Doppler pins system (DPS) and the pyrometer was used to probe multiple shocks in dense argon plasmas. Plasma was generated by a shock reverberation technique. The shock was produced using the flyer plate impact accelerated up to ∼6.1 km/s by a two-stage light gas gun and introduced into the plenum argon gas sample, which was pre-compressed from the environmental pressure to about 20 MPa. The time-resolved optical radiation histories were determined using a multi-wavelength channel optical transience radiance pyrometer. Simultaneously, the particle velocity profiles of the LiF window was measured with multi-DPS. The states of multi-shock compression argon plasma were determined from the measured shock velocities combining the particle velocity profiles. We performed the experiments on dense argon plasmas to determine the principal Hugonoit up to 21 GPa, the re-shock pressure up to 73 GPa, and the maximum measure pressure of the fourth shock up to 158 GPa. The results are used to validate the existing self-consistent variational theory model in the partial ionization region and create new theoretical models.
Invited Article: Radon and thoron intercomparison experiments for integrated monitors at NIRS, Japan
Authors: Janik M. , Ishikawa T. , Omori Y. , Kavasi N.
Published: February 2014

Inhalation of radon (222Rn) and its short-lived decay products and of products of the thoron (220Rn) series accounts for more than half of the effective dose from natural radiation sources. At this time, many countries have begun large-scale radon and thoron surveys and many different measurement methods and instruments are used in these studies. Consequently, it is necessary to improve and standardize technical methods of measurements and to verify quality assurance by intercomparisons between laboratories. Four international intercomparisons for passive integrating radon and thoron monitors were conducted at the NIRS (National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan). Radon exercises were carried out in the 24.4 m3 inner volume walk-in radon chamber that has systems to control radon concentration, temperature, and humidity. Moreover, the NIRS thoron chamber with a 150 dm3 inner volume was utilized to provide three thoron intercomparisons. At present, the NIRS is the only laboratory world-wide that has carried out periodic thoron intercomparison of passive monitors. Fifty laboratories from 26 countries participated in the radon intercomparison, using six types of detectors (charcoal, CR-39, LR 115, polycarbonate film, electret plate, and silicon photodiode). Eighteen laboratories from 12 countries participated in the thoron intercomparisons, using two etch-track types (CR-39 and polycarbonate) detectors. The tests were made under one to three different exposures to radon and thoron. The data presented in this paper indicated that the performance quality of laboratories for radon measurement has been gradually increasing. Results of thoron exercises showed that the quality for thoron measurements still needs further development and additional studies are needed to improve its measuring methods. The present paper provides a summary of all radon and thoron international intercomparisons done at NIRS from 2007 to date and it describes the present status on radon and thoron passive, one-time cycle monitors.
On the determination of the diagonal components of the optical activity tensor in chiral molecules
Authors: Pelloni Stefano , Lazzeretti Paolo
Published: February 2014

It is shown that the diagonal components of the mixed electric-magnetic dipole polarizability tensor, used to rationalize the optical rotatory power of chiral molecules, are origin independent, if they are referred to the coordinate system defined by the eigenvectors of the dynamic electric dipole polarizability, for a given value ω of the frequency of a monochromatic wave impinging on an ordered sample. Within this reference frame, the individual diagonal components of the mixed electric-magnetic dipole polarizability are separately measurable properties. The theoretical method is applied via a test calculation to the cyclic 1,2-M enantiomer of the dioxin molecule, using a large Gaussian basis set to estimate near Hartree-Fock values within a series of dipole length, velocity, and acceleration representations.
Molecular dynamics analysis of multiphase interfaces based on in situ extraction of the pressure distribution of a liquid droplet on a solid surface
Authors: Nishida S. , Surblys D. , Yamaguchi Y. , Kuroda K. , Kagawa M. , Nakajima T. , Fujimura H.
Published: February 2014

Molecular dynamics simulations of a nanoscale liquid droplet on a solid surface are carried out in order to examine the pressure tensor field around the multiphase interfaces, and to explore the validity of Young's equation. By applying the virial theorem to a hemicylindrical droplet consisting of argon molecules on a solid surface, two-dimensional distribution of the pressure tensor is obtained. Tensile principal pressure tangential to the interface is observed around the liquid-vapor transition layer, while both tensile and compressive principal pressure tangential to the interface exists around the solid-liquid transition layer due to the inhomogeneous density distribution. The two features intermix inside the overlap region between the transition layers at the contact line. The contact angle is evaluated by using a contour line of the maximum principal pressure difference. The interfacial tensions are calculated by using Bakker's equation and Young-Laplace equation to the pressure tensor distribution. The relation between measured contact angle and calculated interfacial tensions turns out to be consistent with Young's equation, which is known as the description of the force balance at the three-phase interface.
Properties of liquid clusters in large-scale molecular dynamics nucleation simulations
Authors: Angélil Raymond , Diemand Jürg , Tanaka Kyoko K. , Tanaka Hidekazu
Published: February 2014

We have performed large-scale Lennard-Jones molecular dynamics simulations of homogeneous vapor-to-liquid nucleation, with 109 atoms. This large number allows us to resolve extremely low nucleation rates, and also provides excellent statistics for cluster properties over a wide range of cluster sizes. The nucleation rates, cluster growth rates, and size distributions are presented in Diemand et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 139, 74309 (2013)], while this paper analyses the properties of the clusters. We explore the cluster temperatures, density profiles, potential energies, and shapes. A thorough understanding of the properties of the clusters is crucial to the formulation of nucleation models. Significant latent heat is retained by stable clusters, by as much as ΔkT = 0.1ε for clusters with size i = 100. We find that the clusters deviate remarkably from spherical—with ellipsoidal axis ratios for critical cluster sizes typically within b/c = 0.7 ± 0.05 and a/c = 0.5 ± 0.05. We examine cluster spin angular momentum, and find that it plays a negligible role in the cluster dynamics. The interfaces of large, stable clusters are thinner than planar equilibrium interfaces by 10%−30%. At the critical cluster size, the cluster central densities are between 5% and 30% lower than the bulk liquid expectations. These lower densities imply larger-than-expected surface areas, which increase the energy cost to form a surface, which lowers nucleation rates.
Mechanism of tailored magnetic anisotropy in amorphous Co68Fe24Zr8 thin films
Authors: Fu Yu , Barsukov I. , Meckenstock R. , Lindner J. , Raanaei H. , Hjörvarsson B. , Farle M.
Published: February 2014

The mechanism of tailored magnetic anisotropy in amorphous Co68Fe24Zr8 thin films was investigated by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) on samples deposited without an applied magnetic field, with an out-of-plane field and an in-plane field. Analysis of FMR spectra profiles, high frequency susceptibility calculations, and statistical simulations using a distribution of local uniaxial magnetic anisotropy reveal the presence of atomic configurations with local uniaxial anisotropy, of which the direction can be tailored while the magnitude remains at an intrinsically constant value of 3.0(2) kJ/m3. The in-plane growth field remarkably sharpens the anisotropy distribution and increases the sample homogeneity. The results benefit designing multilayer spintronic devices based on highly homogeneous amorphous layers with tailored magnetic anisotropy.
Phase equilibrium in argon films stabilized by homogeneous surfaces and thermodynamics of two-stage melting transition
Authors: Ustinov E. A.
Published: February 2014

Freezing of gases adsorbed on open surfaces (e.g., graphite) and in narrow pores is a widespread phenomenon which is a subject of a large number of publications. Modeling of the gas/liquid–solid transition is usually accomplished with a molecular simulation technique. However, quantitative analysis of the gas/liquid–solid coexistence and thermodynamic properties of the solid layer still encounters serious difficulties. This is mainly due to the effect of simulation box size on the lattice constant. Since the lattice constant is a function of loading and temperature, once the ordering transition has occurred, the simulation box size must be corrected in the course of simulation according to the Gibbs–Duhem equation. A significant problem is also associated with accurate prediction of the two-dimensional liquid–solid coexistence because of a small difference in densities of coexisting phases. The aim of this study is thermodynamic analysis of the two-dimensional phase coexistence in systems involving crystal-like free of defects layers in narrow slit pores. A special attention was paid to the determination of triple point temperatures. It is shown that intrinsic properties of argon monolayer adsorbed on the graphite surface are similar to those of isolated monolayer accommodated in the slit pore having width of two argon collision diameters. Analysis of the latter system is shown to be clearer and less time-consuming than the former one, which has allowed for explanation of the experimentally observed two-stage melting transition of argon monolayer on graphite without invoking the periodic surface potential modulation and orientational transition.
Numerical two-dimensional modeling of grain oriented steel
Authors: Cardelli E. , Faba A.
Published: February 2014

In this paper, we discuss a phenomenological approach for the numerical modeling of static hysteresis of grain oriented (GO) steels at macro-magnetic scale. The modeling is inspired to a generalization in 2-d of the Preisach model (this generalization can be easily extended in 3-d, but it is not necessary here), and the magnetization dependent state of the model parameters is represented by two distinct vectors, named the interaction field and the operative field, suitably defined. In this way, the very complex behavior of the GO steel circularly or linearly polarized is reproduced with accuracy, as shown in the numerical tests reported in the paper.
Microstructure effects on shock-induced surface jetting
Authors: Li B. , Zhao F. P. , Wu H. A. , Luo S. N.
Published: February 2014

We investigate with large-scale molecular dynamics simulations shock-induced surface jetting from grooved Cu as regards microstructure effects, including jetting mass/velocity ratios, directionality, jetting phase diagram, secondary jetting, and underlying mechanisms. The grooves are of wedged, cylindrical, and rectangular shapes. Other microstructure features explored are half angles, crystal structure asymmetry as represented by grain boundaries, geometrical asymmetry, and deformation heterogeneity. The common fundamental mechanism is that jetting is driven by stress gradients due to transverse mass collision. For symmetrical wedged grooves, the velocity ratio (maximum jet head velocity/free surface velocity of flat surface) increases linearly with decreasing half angle, with a slope similar for different materials and at nano- to macroscales, as indicated by our simulations and previous experiments. However, the jetting factor or mass ratio reaches the maximum at certain intermediate half angle. An impact strength vs. half angle phase diagram is established for a typical case of wedged grooves, useful for predicting the critical parameters for jetting (e.g., the critical impact velocity for a given half angle, as well as deducing yield strength). Small asymmetries, including crystal structure and geometrical asymmetries as well as deformation inhomogeneities, may induce considerable deviation of the jetting direction. Wedged, cylindrical, and rectangular grooves form a geometrical hierarchy. Primary jetting can be well described with wedged grooves, and secondary jetting is a result of collision of primary jets. Rectangular grooves may yield pronounced, velocity-enhanced, secondary jetting.
Acoustic investigation of pressure-dependent resonance and shell elasticity of lipid-coated monodisperse microbubbles
Authors: Gong Yanjun , Cabodi Mario , Porter Tyrone M.
Published: February 2014

In this study, frequency-dependent attenuation was measured acoustically for monodisperse lipid-coated microbubble suspensions as a function of excitation pressure and radius. The resonance frequency was identified from the attenuation spectra and had an inverse relationship with mean microbubble diameter and excitation pressure. A reduction in the estimated shell elasticity constant from 0.50 N/m to 0.29 N/m was observed as the excitation pressure was increased from 25 kPa to 100 kPa, respectively, which suggests a nonlinear relationship exists between lipid shell stiffness and applied strain. These findings support the viewpoint that lipid shells coating microbubbles exist as heterogeneous mixtures that undergo dynamic and rapid variations in mechanical properties under applied strains.
Transmittance enhancement and optical band gap widening of Cu2O thin films after air annealing
Authors: Wang Y. , Miska P. , Pilloud D. , Horwat D. , Mücklich F. , Pierson J. F.
Published: February 2014

Cu2O thin films have been grown on glass substrates at room temperature by reactive magnetron sputtering. As-deposited films exhibit high electrical resistivity and low optical transmittance. To improve the film properties, post annealing treatments in air at various temperatures have been performed. Low temperature annealing (<300 °C) avoids the film oxidation into CuO and the films remain single-phased. In this temperature range, the annealing in air enhances the transmittance in the visible region due to the decrease of the defect scattering. Moreover, the optical band gap of Cu2O thin films is enlarged from 2.38 to 2.51 eV with increasing annealing temperature. The increase of optical band gap accompanying the reduction of Urbach energy indicates that the widening of optical band gap may result from the partial elimination of defect band tail after thermal annealing in air. Combining experimental results with recent reported calculations, the peak at about 1.7 eV in photoluminescence spectra is assigned to the recombination of first conduction band minimum to copper vacancy.
Optical amplification in disordered electrooptic Tm3+ and Ho3+ codoped lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate ceramics and study of spectroscopy and communication between cations
Authors: Zhao Hua , Zhang Kun , Xu Long , Sun Fankui , Chen Xuesheng , Li Kewen K. , Zhang Jingwen
Published: February 2014

Rare earth doped electro-optic (EO) ceramics of lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) are promising in building multifunctional optical devices, by taking advantage of both EO effect and optical activity. In this work, the combination of the measured spectra of absorption and photoluminescence, the fluorescent decay, the calculated Judd-Ofelt parameters, and measured single pass gain in Tm3+, Ho3+ codoped PLZT ceramics have marked them out as promising gain media in building electrically controllable lasers/optical amplifiers and other multifunctional devices. Optical energy storage was also observed in the optical amplification dynamics.
Dielectrophoretic bending of directly printed free-standing ultra-soft nanowires
Authors: Galliker P. , Schneider J. , Poulikakos D.
Published: February 2014

Electrohydrodynamic printing has shown superior resolution compared to conventional ink-jet printing, but the use of electrically charged liquid commonly leads to unwanted repulsion effects posing a threshold to resolution capabilities. However, a recently demonstrated controlled dripping process of nanoscale, particle-laden droplets, could circumvent such resolution obstacles even on insulating substrates. Here, we show that so-printed free-standing nanostructures can be autonomously deformed, and mechanically characterized due to the presence of the electrified nozzle, or, after voltage termination, due to transient charge residuals on the structures themselves. Dielectrophoretic forces, arising between two subsequently printed nanopillars lead to their contactless bending and to the formation of out-of-plane arc structures arising from the connection of the pillar apexes. Once connected, the ultra-soft nanopillars are found to be tightly merged and could, for example, serve in electronics as out of plane nanobonds.
Multilayered gold/silica nanoparticulate bilayer devices using layer-by-layer self organisation for flexible bending and pressure sensing applications
Authors: Shah Alam Md. , Mohammed Waleed S. , Dutta Joydeep
Published: February 2014

A pressure and bending sensor was fabricated using multilayer thin films fabricated on a flexible substrate based on layer-by-layer self-organization of 18 nm gold nanoparticles separated by a dielectric layer of 30 nm silica nanoparticles. 50, 75, and 100 gold-silica bi-layered films were deposited and the device characteristics were studied. A threshold voltage was required for electron conduction which increases from 2.4 V for 50 bi-layers to 3.3 V for 100 bi-layers. Upon bending of the device up to about 52°, the threshold voltage and slope of the I-V curves change linearly. Electrical characterization of the multilayer films was carried out under ambient conditions with different pressures and bending angles in the direct current mode. This study demonstrates that the developed multilayer thin films can be used as pressure as well as bending sensing applications.
Efficient long wavelength interband photoluminescence from HgCdTe epitaxial films at wavelengths up to 26 μm
Authors: Morozov S. V. , Rumyantsev V. V. , Antonov A. V. , Maremyanin K. V. , Kudryavtsev K. E. , Krasilnikova L. V. , Mikhailov N. N. , Dvoretskii S. A. , Gavrilenko V. I.
Published: February 2014

Photoluminescence (PL) and photoconductivity (PC) studies of Hg1−xCdxTe (0.19 ≤ x ≤ 0.23) epitaxial films are presented. Interband PL is observed at wavelengths from 26 to 6 μm and in the temperature range 18 K–200 K. The PL line full width at half maximum is about 6 meV (4kT) at 18 K and approaches its theoretical limit of 1.8kT at higher temperatures. Carrier recombination process is also investigated by time resolved studies of PL and PC at pulsed excitation. Radiative transitions are shown to be the dominating mechanism of carrier recombination at high excitation levels.
Ultra-thin nanocrystalline diamond membranes as pressure sensors for harsh environments
Authors: Janssens S. D. , Drijkoningen S. , Haenen K.
Published: February 2014

Glass and diamond are suitable materials for harsh environments. Here, a procedure for fabricating ultra-thin nanocrystalline diamond membranes on glass, acting as an electrically insulating substrate, is presented. In order to investigate the pressure sensing properties of such membranes, a circular, highly conductive boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond membrane with a resistivity of 38 mΩ cm, a thickness of 150 nm, and a diameter of 555 μm is fabricated in the middle of a Hall bar structure. During the application of a positive differential pressure under the membrane (0–0.7 bar), four point piezoresistive effect measurements are performed. From these measurements, it can be concluded that the resistance response of the membrane, as a function of differential pressure, is highly linear and sensitive.
Fine wavelength control in 1.3 μm Nd:YAG lasers by electro-optical crystal lens
Authors: Lü Yanfei , Zhang Jing , Liu Huilong , Xia Jing , Fu Xihong , Zhang Anfeng
Published: February 2014

A diode-pumped tunable and multi-wavelength continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser based on the 4F3/2−4I13/2 transition has been demonstrated for the first time. The combination of the glass plane positioned at the Brewster angle and the electro-optical crystal KH2PO4 (KDP) lens formed a Lyot filter in the cavity and compressed the available gain bandwidth. With an adjustable voltage applied to the KDP crystal lens, the laser wavelength could be tuned from 1333.8 to 1338.2 nm. Moreover, we can also realize cw dual-wavelength and triple-wavelength lasers with smaller wavelength separation by adjusting the free spectral range of the Lyot filter.
Dielectric long time relaxation of domains walls in PbZrTiO3 thin films
Authors: Borderon Caroline , Renoud Raphaël , Ragheb Mostafa , Gundel Hartmut W.
Published: February 2014

Ferroelectric materials subjected to a DC electric field have their dielectric permittivity which decreases with time. This is connected to the reorganization of the domain walls to achieve a more stable configuration. We propose here to study the domain walls motion when the material is subjected to an electrical field. We use the hyperbolic law (generalized Rayleigh law) for contributions related to the walls. This allows to clearly identifying the domain walls as responsible for the time decay of the permittivity.
The effect of pH decline rate on the meat and eating quality of beef carcasses
Authors: Hopkins D. L. , Ponnampalam E. N. , van de Ven R. J. , Warner R. D.
Published: February 2014

An experiment was undertaken to examine the effect of rapid pH fall at a high muscle temperature on meat and eating quality of two beef cuts (striploin and cube roll). From 115 beef steer carcasses of which the right side of each carcass was subjected to electrical stimulation, 25 carcasses which exhibited the largest difference in the rate of pH fall in the M. longissimus between sides were selected for subsequent sampling. All of the stimulated sides missed the ‘ideal’ pH/temperature window (defined as temperature at pH 6 in the M. longissimus <35°C and >12°C) at the upper end, as did several of the non-stimulated sides. The mean temperature at pH 6 for stimulated sides from modelling was 40.9 versus 33.3°C for non-stimulated sides. Despite the significant effect of stimulation on pH decline there was no statistically significant impact on shear force or sensory traits of the M. longissimus, but there was a significant effect of aging on these traits. There was no effect of stimulation or pH decline on drip loss of the striploin. After 14 days of aging there was no effect of stimulation or ultimate pH on striploin purge, but there was a significant effect of pH decline. This was not, however, evident for purge of the cube roll aged for either 4 or 42 days. The redness of the cube rolls as reflected by a* values declined with days of display, with the decline more rapid for samples aged for 42 days compared with those aged for 4 days. For meat aged and displayed identically, the a* values were on average significantly lower for meat from non-stimulated carcasses, but apart from aging there was no effect on the wavelength ratio 630/580 nm, an indicator of the formation of metmyoglobin. There was also evidence that a rapid decline in pH increased the onset of lipid oxidation.
Improving beef meat colour scores at carcass grading
Authors: Hughes J. M. , Kearney G. , Warner R. D.
Published: February 2014

Unacceptable meat colour scores at the time of carcass grading are associated with reduced meat quality and consumer rejection. We hypothesised that the meat colour at carcass grading would be influenced by the pH and temperature decline post slaughter, as these would be determined by animal and processing factors. Beef carcasses (n = 1512) at seven Australian processing plants were assessed, at grading, for the meat colour of the M. longissimus thoracis. Statistical modelling determined the animal, carcass and processing factors contributing to the meat colour score at carcass grading. The occurrence of unacceptably dark meat dropped from 8 to 3% when the time of grading was increased from 14 to 31 h post slaughter (P < 0.01). A high temperature at pH 6 (rigor temperature), high final pH (pHF), pasture feeding and older animals were associated with dark M. longissimus thoracis at carcass grading (P < 0.05 for all). Less than 30% of carcasses with non-compliant pHF displayed a dark non-compliant meat colour >3, indicative of an opportunity to determine the mechanism behind this pH-induced colour development and thus reduce the incidence of non-compliance. It is recommended that when there is a high occurrence of carcasses with a dark meat colour >3 that the time from slaughter to grading is checked to ensure carcasses are in full rigor at the grading point. This will assist in minimising economic penalties due to dark-coloured carcasses. Finally, animal factors, such as maturity and feeding regime also had a considerable impact on the meat colour at carcass grading.
Comparison of the meat quality, post-mortem muscle energy metabolism, and the expression of glycogen synthesis-related genes in three pig crossbreeds
Authors: Lei H. G. , Shen L. Y. , Zhang S. H. , Wu Z. H. , Shen J. , Tang G. Q. , Jiang Y. Z. , Li M. Z. , Bai L. , Li X. W. , Zhu L.
Published: February 2014

Post-mortem muscle energy metabolism plays an important role in pork quality. To analyse the differences of meat quality and energy metabolism, three commercial pig crossbreeds frequently used in China were studied, they were DT (Duroc × Taihu; n = 16), PIC (five-way crossbreed from Pig Improvement Co., UK; n = 29) and DLY (Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire); n = 19) pigs. The results showed that DT pigs had a higher post-mortem pH45 min and pH24 h, lower shear force and drip loss, higher muscle free-glucose and glycogen contents, and lower lactic acid content than did PIC and DLY pigs. Post-mortem muscle free-glucose content of these three pig crossbreeds changed little, from 45 min to 96 h post-mortem. The expression levels of PRKAG3 (encoding a regulatory subunit of the AMP-activated protein kinase) and GYS1 (encoding muscle glycogen synthase) genes of DT pigs were significantly lower than those of PIC and DLY pigs. DT pigs had a higher expression level of glycogenin-1-like (encoding glycogenin) gene than did PIC and DLY pigs. In conclusion, DT pigs had better meat quality than did the other two pig crossbreeds. We deduced that the post-mortem muscle energy status and metabolism of DT pigs might be an important reason for their good meat quality, and future research should focus on the molecular and physiological mechanism of post-mortem muscle energy metabolism to find ways to improve meat quality.
The emergence of axiology as a key parameter in modern linguistics
Authors: Felices-Lago Ángel
Published: February 2014

This article sets out to provide a summarized historical survey of some relevant contributions to axiological semantics from linguists included in the two most influential linguistic traditions from the 50s to the late 70s: structural linguistics and transformational-generative grammar. In fact, even if their representative opinions at that time could now be regarded as incidental, it would be unfair to claim that some of their intuitions and principles have not been crucial in illuminating essential aspects of the parameter of axiological evaluation in modern linguistics. In this respect, it is worth highlighting the ideas disseminated by key figures of the Saussurean or Chomskyan traditions from the perspective given by half a century of evolution in the field. For that purpose contributions are included from authors such as Apresjan, Bally, Coseriu, Ducháček, Fodor, Grzegorek, Guiraud, Katz, Klima, Pottier, Stati, and Ullmann, among others.
Appraising Appraisal
Authors: Macken-Horarik Mary , Isaac Anne R.
Published: February 2014

Appraisal is a term referring to systems within Systemic Functional Linguistics that map evaluative language. This chapter reviews two Appraisal systems (Attitude and Graduation) and assesses their viability for analysing evaluation in narratives and students’ written responses to these. Within this context, a crucial affordance of Appraisal is its semantic orientation, which allows analysts to capture the delicate interweaving of explicit and implicit attitudes that powerfully positions readers of narratives. However, the sprawling, cumulative and context-sensitive nature of evaluation requires a rigorous methodology for using Appraisal for coding purposes. We address this challenge, proposing a cline of implicitness that relates degrees of reliability to instances of evaluation depending on their textual and/or cultural/institutional environments.
The implementation of the axiological parameter in a verbal subontology for natural language processing
Authors: Felices-Lago Ángel , Cortés-de-los-Ríos María Enriqueta
Published: February 2014

FunGramKB (FGKB), on the one hand, is a multipurpose lexico-conceptual knowledge base for natural language processing (NLP) systems and comprises three major interrelated knowledge level modules: lexical, grammatical and conceptual. At the conceptual level the core ontology is presented as a hierarchical catalogue of the concepts that a person has in mind and a repository where semantic knowledge is stored. Axiology, on the other hand, is widely considered to be a primitive, basic or key parameter, among others, in the architecture of meaning construction at different levels. This parameter can be traced back to the three subontologies into which FunGramKB can be split: #ENTITY for nouns, # EVENT for verbs, and #QUALITY for adjectives. Even if most of the specific research conducted so far has been devoted to the category #QUALITY, there is no reason to consider verbs as less of an axiological category. Consequently, in this chapter we shall concentrate on the subontology # EVENT and explore how the main categories and features of the axiological parameter (good-bad or positive-negative [+/−]) are represented and encoded within FunGramKB ontology, particularly inside semantic properties such as basic or terminal concepts and meaning postulates, or syntactic operators, such as modality or polarity.
The evaluation of intonation: pitch range differences in English and in Spanish
Authors: Estebas-Vilaplana Eva
Published: February 2014

This chapter investigates evaluation with respect to the hearer and it shows how evaluation permeates the phonological level of linguistic description. In particular, it examines how interlocutors of different cultural backgrounds, namely, English and Spanish, perceive and evaluate certain utterances as polite or rude based on their pitch range. A perception test was designed by means of which 15 native hearers of each language evaluated different productions of the word mandarins/mandarinas which only differed with respect to their F0 scaling. The results confirmed that pitch range differences have an effect on the evaluation of sentences cross-linguistically. Whereas low pitch range productions were interpreted as “polite” in Spanish and as “rude” in English, utterances with a high pitch displacement were judged as “over-excited” in Spanish and as “polite” in English. The results corroborate the status of intonation as an off-record strategy used to signal attitude.
Register diversification in evaluative language: the case of scientific writing
Authors: Degaetano-Ortlieb Stefania , Teich Elke
Published: February 2014

In this chapter, we investigate register diversification in evaluative language focusing on scientific writing. For this purpose, we explore selected epistemic and attitudinal variants of evaluative expressions. We consider (1) the situational context of these expressions according to Systemic Functional Linguistics and register theory (cf. Halliday and Hasan 1985; Biber 2006) and (2) selected aspects of their syntagmatic contexts (cf. Hunston 2011). The research questions we pose are (a) which typical evaluative expressions occur in scientific research articles and (b) whether the usage of particular evaluative expressions is rather discipline-specific or discipline-neutral. To answer these questions, we carry out a corpus-based analysis on a corpus of scientific research articles from nine scientific disciplines, combining quantitative and qualitative analytic methods.
The role of negative-modal synergies in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species
Authors: Hidalgo-Downing Laura
Published: February 2014

This chapter explores the role of negative-modal synergies in the expression of authorial stance and intersubjective positioning in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. As markers of stance, both negation and modality contribute to the expression of evaluation in discourse, though little attention has been paid to the co-occurrence of both types of markers. Drawing on corpus-based methods, I first identify the recurrent discourse pattern which gives rise to a semantic prosody of negative-modal meaning throughout The Origin of Species as compared to Voyage of the Beagle. Second, I discuss how this discourse pattern reflects Darwin’s positioning in the presentation of his Theory of Natural Selection. An analysis of the resources which express intersubjective positioning reveals the tension between conflicting goals in Darwin’s presentation of his new theory, namely, the expression of certainty regarding his insights and discoveries and the need to be cautious in communicating them. Thus, the various patterns of (co)-occurrence of negation, modality and personal pronouns construe specific authorial positions against the backdrop of competing scientific theories and in anticipation of readers’ potential disagreement.
Exploring academic argumentation in course-related blogs through ENGAGEMENT
Authors: Ryshina-Pankova Marianna
Published: February 2014

This study uses a functional linguistic framework, the system of ENGAGEMENT (Martin and White 2005), to explore academic argumentation in course-related blogs from the standpoint of the ways in which blog writers make space for new knowledge against the background of other knowers’ ideas and ways they support their claims with evidence. The results reveal a significant presence of strategies typical of academic reasoning and suggest that it is a pattern of alternation between expanding and contracting options that lies behind more successful arguments. These findings tentatively confirm the conduciveness of the blog medium for practicing academic argumentation and point out the significance of the ENGAGEMENT framework as an analytical approach to academic argumentation and its usefulness for scaffolding learner argumentative writing.
Evaluative phraseological choice and speaker party/gender
Authors: Miller Donna R. , Johnson Jane H.
Published: February 2014

This chapter continues investigation into register-idiosyncratic features of evaluation in parliamentary debate (Miller 2007; Miller and Johnson 2009, to appear), reporting findings regarding the phraseology it is * time to/for/that in a corpus of US congressional speech on the Iraq war. Quantitative data are tested for saliency against both general and political corpora. Qualitative analysis focuses on the enactment of APPRAISAL systems (Martin and White 2005). Methodology involves “shunting” (Halliday 2002 [1961]: 45), and a focus on “coupling” (Martin 2000: 163–164) which affords attitude (Martin and White 2005: 62 ff.; Miller and Johnson, to appear). The chapter examines how appraisers’ choices are affected by party/gender, recognizing that choice may transcend register boundaries due to both the ‘repertoire’ of the individual and his/her ideologically saturated ‘reservoir’ of culturally specific ways of meaning
(Martin 2010: 23).
Phonological aspects of Arandic baby talk
Authors: Turpin Myfany , Demuth Katherine , Campbell April Ngampart
Published: February 2014

Baby Talk (BT), also known as child-directed speech, is a non-standard form of speech used by adults when talking to infants. In Arandic languages BT involves the use of a small set of unique but widely known words, onomatopoeic-derived words, as well as phonological modifications to standard vocabulary. As in neighboring Warlpiri (Laughren 1984), Arandic BT contains a simplified phonology that conflates coronal contrasts and avoids rhotics and consonant clusters. Whilst standard Arandic words are mostly vowel-initial, this weak initial syllable is omitted in BT and the preferred CVCV(C) word structure is achieved through patterns of reduplication and truncation. The BT phonology becomes more complex with the perceived development of the child’s phonological competence, a case of fine-tuning over time.
Prestopping of nasals and laterals is only partly parallel
Authors: Round Erich
Published: February 2014

Pre-stopped nasals and laterals occur in several Australian languages, but why? Nasal pre-stopping likely enhances cues to place of articulation contrasts (Butcher 1999, 2006). Though recent work proposes that lateral pre-stopping does likewise (Keyser & Stevens 2006: footnote 7; Loakes et al. 2008), the supporting argumentation appears unconvincing upon scrutiny. With reference to enhancement theory, articulatory phonology, and articulatory and acoustic phonetics, I speculate on: plausible diachronic sources of pre-stopped nasals via stochastic and functional processes; the extension of pre-stopping to laterals through a drive for regularity in the organisation of gesturally complex segments (Browman & Goldstein 1995; inter alia); and explanations for the asymmetrical prevalence of pre-stopping across places of articulation (Hercus 1972). Both language use and innate universals are crucial.
Liminal pronoun systems
Authors: Mushin Ilana
Published: February 2014

Pronoun systems are often described as a single linguistic category consisting of a paradigm of forms that serve as referential indices, or as “dual” systems consisting of more than one paradigm. In dual systems, a paradigm of “bound” pronouns serves the basic referential functions usually for core grammatical functions, with a paradigm of free pronouns used in contexts of emphasis or contrast, and in oblique grammatical roles (Bresnan 2001; Mushin & Simpson 2008). The same kinds of pragmatic splits can be systematically signalled in single pronoun system for example by means of prosody. Bresnan (2001: 4) claims that a system is only dual when there is a divergence in both form and syntactic distribution. In this chapter I examine the usefulness of this claim in defining pronoun systems as dual (or not dual) using evidence from Garrwa (Northern Australia). Here I argue that Garrwa pronouns function as a liminal system, neither single nor dual. This analysis raises questions about the degree to which categorical distinctions can be made in language description. I also consider implications this has for understanding the typology of pronouns more generally.
Marking Definiteness or Specificity, not necessarily both
Authors: Guillemin Diana
Published: February 2014

Definiteness and Specificity are assumed to be universal semantic categories, but they are not marked in all languages. Languages with only two articles mark either Definiteness or Specificity, not both (Ionin 2003). I apply Chomsky’s theory of Derivation by Phase (2001a, 2001b) to the analysis of the specificity marker la in Mauritian Creole to argue that this morpheme must surface as a “last resort” to license the null definite article in some syntactic environments. Building on Chierchia’s (1998) Nominal Mapping Parameter – according to which nouns vary with respect to the features “argumental” or “predicative” – I propose that languages whose nouns are argumental lack a definite article and mark the specific vs. non-specific contrast. Languages whose nouns are predicative require an overt definite article and mark the definite vs. indefinite contrast.
Theory and experiment in parametric minimalism
Authors: Longobardi Giuseppe
Published: February 2014

This chapter examines the syntax and semantics of negative elements across Romance languages and proposes that there are three basic parameters that are encoded in the morphemes used to express sentential negation and negative determiners. These parameters define whether simple negation occurs pre- or post-inflection, whether the negation morpheme has a substantive meaning (e.g. Spanish no, Italian non, French pas) or expletive (e.g. French ne) value or else is ambiguous between the two (e.g. Catalan no), and finally whether negative phrases are ambiguous between “negative operator” and “polarity item” status. The proposal stresses typological implications between having post-inflection negation and post-inflection negative phrases that do not require co-occurrence with a sentential negation. It also tries to explain long puzzling cross-linguistic differences in locality constraints on negative dependencies. The theoretical focus of the work is on exploring how minimalist research on syntactic diversity should be conducted and in which formats its results could be formulated in a rigorous explanatory way.
Serial verbs in Wambaya
Authors: Nordlinger Rachel
Published: February 2014

Australian languages are traditionally not thought of as having serial verb constructions (although cf. Goddard 1988; Wilkins 1988), and are therefore rarely discussed in the extensive typological and theoretical literature on verb serialization. However, in recent work Laughren (2009, 2012) has reported on the existence of serial verb constructions in Waanyi, a non–Pama-Nyungan language of northern Australia. In this paper I show that serial verb constructions are also present in Wambaya, another non–Pama-Nyungan language which shares some areal and lexical similarities with Waanyi. I show that the serial verbs in Wambaya exhibit many of the key morphosyntactic and semantic properties described as characteristic for serial verb constructions in the literature (e.g. Sebba 1987; Durie 1997; Aikhenvald 2006a). A particularly interesting property of Wambaya serial verb constructions, and one that is highly unusual cross-linguistically, is that the verbs need not be ordered iconically. I suggest that this anti-iconic ordering may be related to Wambaya’s nonconfigurational clausal structure and its free word order possibilities, highlighting the need for consideration of the full typological range of language structures in the analysis of verb serialization cross-linguistically.
Manner and result
Authors: Levin Beth , Hovav Malka Rappaport
Published: February 2014

As a deadjectival verb, English clean should be a clear-cut result verb, yet it often shows hallmarks of a manner verb. This paper investigates this dual behavior in light of manner/result complementarity: the proposal that verbs lexicalize either manner or result meaning components, but not both. We demonstrate that once lexicalized and contextually determined meaning components are distinguished, clean conforms to manner/result complementarity. It can be a result verb, not entailing a particular manner. However, given its strong association with cleaning routines, some uses simply lexicalize manner. Crucially, in manner uses the result drops out, consistent with manner/result complementarity. The manner-only and result-only uses of clean, then, instantiate related senses, each conforming to manner/result complementarity.
Transcription of theGeminingene is regulated by a negative-feedback loop
Authors: Ohno Yoshinori , Saeki Keita , Yasunaga Shin'ichiro , Kurogi Toshiaki , Suzuki-Takedachi Kyoko , Shirai Manabu , Mihara Keichiro , Yoshida Kenichi , Voncken J. Willem , Ohtsubo Motoaki , Takihara Yoshihiro
Published: February 2014

Geminin performs a central function in regulating cellular proliferation and differentiation in development and also in stem cells. Of interest, down-regulation of Geminin induces gene transcription regulated by E2F, indicating that Geminin is involved in regulation of E2F-mediated transcriptional activity. Because transcription of the Geminin gene is reportedly regulated via an E2F-responsive region (E2F-R) located in the first intron, we first used a reporter vector to examine the effect of Geminin on E2F-mediated transcriptional regulation. We found that Geminin transfection suppressed E2F1- and E2F2-mediated transcriptional activation and also mildly suppressed such activity in synergy with E2F5, 6, and 7, suggesting that Geminin constitutes a negative-feedback loop for the Geminin promoter. Of interest, Geminin also suppressed nuclease accessibility, acetylation of histone H3, and trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4, which were induced by E2F1 overexpression, and enhanced tri­methylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 and monoubiquitination of histone H2A at lysine 119 in E2F-R. However, Geminin5EQ, which does not interact with Brahma or Brg1, did not suppress accessibility to nuclease digestion or transcription but had an overall dominant-negative effect. These findings suggest that E2F-mediated activation of Geminin transcription is negatively regulated by Geminin through the inhibition of chromatin remodeling.
Slt2p phosphorylation induces cyclin C nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation in response to oxidative stress
Authors: Jin Chunyan , Strich Randy , Cooper Katrina F.
Published: February 2014

The yeast C-type cyclin represses the transcription of genes required for the stress response and meiosis. To relieve this repression, cyclin C undergoes nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation in response to many stressors, including hydrogen peroxide, where it is destroyed by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Before its destruction, cyclin C promotes stress-induced mitochondrial fission and programmed cell death, indicating that relocalization is an important cell fate regulator. Here we show that cyclin C cytoplasmic translocation requires the cell wall integrity (CWI) mitogen-activated protein kinase Slt2p, its pseudokinase paralogue, Kdx1p, and an associating transcription factor, Ask10p. Furthermore, Slt2p and Kdx1p regulate cyclin C stability through different but required mechanisms. Slt2p associates with, and directly phosphorylates, cyclin C at Ser-266. Eliminating or mimicking phosphorylation at this site restricts or enhances cyclin C cytoplasmic translocation and degradation, respectively. Conversely, Kdx1p does not bind cyclin C but instead coimmunoprecipitates with Ask10p, a transcription factor previously identified as a regulator of cyclin C destruction. These results reveal a complex regulatory circuitry involving both downstream effectors of the CWI mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway to target the relocalization and consequent destruction of a single transcriptional repressor.