bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of spatial separation of type‐II GaSb quantum dots from the depletion region on the conversion efficiency limit of GaAs solar cells
Authors: Kechiantz Ara , Afanasev Andrei , Lazzari Jean‐Louis
Published: June 2014

The purpose of this work is to look for a practical structure for application of quantum dots (QDs) in solar cells. We focus on a stack of strain‐compensated GaSb/GaAs type‐II QDs. We propose a novel structure with GaSb/GaAs type‐II QD absorber embedded in the p‐doped region of ideal solar cell but spatially separated from the depletion region. We developed the model and used the detailed balance principle along with Poisson and continuity equations for calculating of the energy band bending and photovoltaic characteristics of the proposed solar cell. Our model takes into account both single‐photon and two‐photon absorption as well as non‐radiative processes in QDs and predicts that concentration from 1‐sun to 500‐sun increases the efficiency from 30% to 50%. We showed that accumulation of charge in the QD absorber is the clue to understanding of potentially superior performance of the proposed solar cell. An attractive feature of the proposed solar cell is that QDs do not reduce the open‐circuit voltage but facilitate generation of the additional photocurrent to the extent that photovoltaic characteristics reduce to that of ideal solar cell while the efficiency meets the Luque‐Marti limit. It should be noted that although non‐radiative processes like relaxation in QDs and recombination through QDs degrade photovoltaic characteristics of the proposed solar cell, its conversion efficiency is still predicted to be above the Shockley‐Queisser limit by 5% to 10%. This study is an important step toward producing practical solar cells that benefit from additional photocurrent generated by sub‐band gap photons. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A concept for the assimilation of satellite cloud information in an Ensemble Kalman Filter: single‐observation experiments
Authors: Schomburg A. , Schraff C. , Potthast R.
Published: June 2014

A new approach is introduced to assimilate cloud information into a convection‐permitting numerical weather prediction model with an ensemble Kalman filter. Cloud information is obtained from a satellite cloud‐top height product based on Meteosat SEVIRI data. To assure quality and specify the observation error based on data reliability, the satellite cloud‐top height is merged with cloud‐top height derived from radiosonde humidity soundings. For that purpose, the radiosonde cloud‐top information is assumed to be representative not only for the location of the ascent itself but also in spatially and temporally nearby areas which have the same cloud type according to a satellite cloud‐type classification.

From the cloud‐top height information, different variables are derived to be used as ‘pseudo observations’ within the ensemble Kalman filter. At cloudy locations these are cloud‐top height and 100% relative humidity at that cloud‐top height. Also zero cloud cover amounts at up to three heights are assimilated at cloud‐free observation locations and above low‐ and mid‐level cloud observations.

The approach has been applied in a number of single‐observation experiments to assess the effect in detail of assimilating these variables on the atmospheric column. Three examples are shown of single‐observation experiments for a stable wintertime high‐pressure synoptic situation with low stratus clouds, where model background and observation have large discrepancies. The ensemble Kalman filter is able to draw the ensemble closer to the observations. The analysis shows improved cloud variables in both cloudy and cloud‐free scenes. A reasonable effect on the temperature profiles through cross‐correlations in the background ensemble is obtained.

The approach represents a method to exploit high‐resolution remote‐sensing data for short‐range meso‐γ‐scale weather forecast models with a view to applying this method in a rapid‐update cycle, particularly useful for local‐scale weather phenomena.
Effects of Impoundment on Macroinvertebrate Community Assemblages in Upland Streams
Authors: Gillespie B. R. , Brown L. E. , Kay P.
Published: June 2014

Approximately 15% of the world's river flow is regulated, but evidence for the impacts of regulation on macroinvertebrate communities remains contradictory. Sound understanding of this topic is now required to meet legislative targets (e.g. EU Water Framework Directive good ecological potential). In the UK, research has either been undertaken at large (national) or small (reach) scales, and typically, researchers have made comparisons between sites classed simply as either regulated or unregulated. We present an alternative, medium (regional) scale study and contrast three methods of defining the extent to which a site is regulated (ER): (i) regulated or unregulated (ERLOW); (ii) fully‐regulated, semi‐regulated or unregulated (ERMED); and (iii) a continuous score reflecting the relative regulated and unregulated river influence on a site (ERHIGH). The potential for highlighting the impacts of regulation of two recently developed pressure‐specific biotic indices [Lotic Invertebrate index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE) and Proportion of Sediment‐sensitive Invertebrates] is also assessed. We found that (i) regulation was associated with reduced relative abundance of Coleoptera and Ephemeroptera and enhanced relative abundance of Trichoptera, Chironomidae and Oligochaeta; (ii) Potamopyrgus antipodarum and Amphinemura sulcicollis were both positively associated with regulation; this observation is novel for the UK; (iii) ERHIGH was superior to both ERLOW and MED as a means of detecting an impact; and (iv) of all indices tested, only LIFE was significantly associated with regulation. The use of LIFE and ERHIGH should be tested further to understand the extent to which they can provide clearer insights into the effects of river regulation on macroinvertebrate communities. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
XPS study of the surface properties and Ni particle size determination of Ni‐supported catalysts
Authors: Tarditi Ana M. , Barroso Noelia , Galetti Agustín E. , Arrúa Luis A. , Cornaglia Laura , Abello María C.
Published: June 2014

The surface properties of Ni/MgAl2O4 catalysts doped with Ce or Pr were analyzed by XPS after treatment in an inert and reductive atmosphere at 400 °C. The Ce‐promoted solids presented the Ce3+/Ce4+ couple on the surface even after treatment in a reductive atmosphere, H2(5%)/Ar. The promotion effect of Ce on these solids could be associated with their participation on the carbon deposition‐removal mechanism. Pr‐doped catalysts showed a very high concentration of Pr3+ under a reductive atmosphere and the redox behavior associated with the carbon removal could be partially inhibited or become slower. The size of the Ni0 particles after both an inert and a reductive atmosphere was estimated by XPS intensity ratio using the model proposed by Davis. The results obtained from the Davis model showed that an important increase occurred in Ni particle size after treatment in H2(5%)/Ar for the Pr‐promoted solids. The metal sintering under reductive atmosphere could be the reason for the higher loss of activity of the Pr‐doped solids under reforming conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantifying cell division with deuterated water and multi‐isotope imaging mass spectrometry (MIMS)
Authors: Steinhauser Matthew L. , Guillermier Christelle , Wang Mei , Lechene Claude P.
Published: June 2014

Cell division is commonly quantified by the administration of nucleotide labels that are incorporated by the nucleotide salvage pathway. A new approach uses precursors of the de novo nucleotide synthesis pathway, such as labeled water or glucose. Because such precursors are not specific for DNA synthesis, studies utilizing this approach have analyzed isolated genomic DNA to exclude nonspecific background labeling. We hypothesized that pulse‐chase administration of stable isotope labeled water would result in sufficient nuclear labeling to enable discrimination of recently divided cells by quantitative ion microscopy. We administered deuterated (D)‐water and 15N‐thymidine to mice concurrently, guided by the rationale that 15N‐thymidine incorporation would serve as a ‘gold standard’ to identify dividing cells. We show both qualitatively and quantitatively that dividing cells in the small intestine (15N‐labeled) demonstrate a discernable D‐signal in the nucleus not observed in undivided cells (15N‐unlabled). Correlation with 31P− and 12C15N−:12C14N− images demonstrate preferential localization of 2H labeling in regions of the nucleus with high DNA content as expected of labeling being incorporated during DNA synthesis and cell division. These data support the concept that stable isotope tagged precursors of the de novo nucleotide synthesis pathway can be used in concert with NanoSIMS to study cell division in vivo. A major implication of this study then is the possibility of using stable isotope tagged water and MIMS to study human cell turnover. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new approach for determining accurate chemical distributions using in‐situ GCIB cross‐section imaging
Authors: Iida Shin‐ichi , Miyayama Takuya , Fisher Gregory L. , Hammond John S. , Bryan Scott R. , Sanada Noriaki
Published: June 2014

Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SIMS) has become widely used to characterize various kinds of materials, especially organic materials. It has recently become possible to investigate the molecular distributions underneath the surface using Ar‐GCIB (gas cluster ion beam) depth profiling. It is an important new capability for practical use of TOF‐SIMS because the subsurface and interface chemistry plays an important role in the performance of many products. However, it is difficult to obtain accurate chemical depth distributions using sputter depth profiling when the sample has a significant surface roughness and/or inhomogeneous structure. In order to resolve this problem, we proposed an approach to determine the accurate chemical distributions using GCIB cross‐section imaging method. In this study, this approach was demonstrated for practical organic samples, and accurate chemical depth distributions were determined. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Autocrine Interleukin-6 Drives Skin-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Trafficking via Regulating Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channels
Authors: Ke Fang , Zhang Lingyun , Liu Zhaoyuan , Liu Jinlin , Yan Sha , Xu Zhenyao , Bai Jing , Zhu Huiyuan , Lou Fangzhou , Wang Hong , Shi Yufang , Jiang Yong , Su Bing , Wang Honglin
Published: June 2014

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have demonstrated promising therapeutic potential for a variety of diseases including autoimmune disorders. A fundamental requirement for MSC-mediated in vivo immunosuppression is their effective trafficking. However the mechanism underlying MSC trafficking remains elusive. Here we report that skin-derived MSCs (S-MSCs) secrete high levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in inflammatory conditions. Disruption of the il6 or its signaling transducer gp130 blocks voltage-gated calcium (Ca2+) channels (VGCC) critically required for cell contraction involved in the sequential adhesion and de-adhesion events during S-MSC migration. Deletion of il6 gene leads to a severe defect in S-MSC's trafficking and immunosuppressive function in vivo. Thus, this unexpected requirement of autocrine IL-6 for activating Ca2+ channels uncovers a previously unrecognized link between the IL-6 signaling and the VGCC and provides novel mechanistic insights for the trafficking and immunomodulatory activities of S-MSCs. Stem Cells  2014;32:2799–2810
Exploring the influence of learning progressions in two teacher communities
Authors: Furtak Erin Marie , Heredia Sara C.
Published: June 2014

Learning progressions, or sequences of how ideas and practices develop within domains, are increasingly a focus of science education research. Recently, researchers have called for these progressions to be used as interpretive frameworks for teachers' instructional planning and assessment practices. In this study, we explore data from two high schools collected in two studies. In the first study, we engaged with teachers to develop and refine a learning progression for natural selection alongside formative assessments. In the second study, we took this learning progression to teachers at a different school, and used it to co‐develop formative assessments and plan units. We adopt a communities of practice perspective to frame two case studies of these schools, taking the learning progression as a boundary object that not only maintained its meaning across the two different communities, but also took up different meanings within each community. We found that the learning community that helped to develop the learning progression used it as an opportunity to bring previously disparate units into sync, and to develop and enact a common sequence of formative assessments within their unit. In contrast, at the second school, teachers struggled to make sense of the learning progression within the accountability context of their school, as well as other tools provided them by the school and district. These results indicate that teachers could potentially benefit from the opportunity to co‐develop learning progressions with researchers that capture their ideas that are shared within the community; however, if learning progressions are not in sync with other tools provided to teachers to structure their planning, they will not be taken up in the same way. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 51: 982–1020, 2014
Multiobjective optimum design method with anti‐demagnetization of high‐density permanent magnet synchronous motor
Authors: Wei Shi , Zhouyun Zhang
Published: June 2014

This paper presents a method of multiobjective optimization design with anti‐demagnetization aiming at the problem of irreversible demagnetization in high‐density permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) due to temperature and external magnetic field, at the same time considering the volume of permanent magnets and cost, torque ripple, and core loss. In the first step, a two‐dimensional magnetic network model is used to rapidly assess the basic design parameters and its ability to avenge the anti‐demagnetization of the PMSM. In the second step, the finite element method (FEM) is used to design the key parts of motor, and regression models that solve the model of the multiobjective problem are built based on the simulation experiment data. On this basis, multiobjective optimization result using genetic algorithm is used that can achieve a fast and efficiently global optimal solution. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Barriers, exit time and survival probability for unimodal Lévy processes
Authors: Bogdan Krzysztof , Grzywny Tomasz , Ryznar Michał
Published: June 2014

We give superharmonic functions and derive sharp bounds for the expected exit time and probability of survival for isotropic unimodal Lévy processes in smooth domains.
Clinical utility of multielectrode contact mapping for scar‐related ventricular tachycardia ablation: A prospective single‐center experience
Authors: Nakahara Shiro , Hori Yuichi , Kamijima Tohru , Tsukada Naofumi , Nishiyama Naoki , Yamada Kohta , Hayashi Akiko , Komatsu Takaaki , Kobayashi Sayuki , Sakai Yoshihiko , Taguchi Isao , Takayanagi Kan
Published: June 2014

Background

As with the use of circular catheters for pulmonary vein antral ablation, it may be favorable to use multipolar catheters for substrate mapping of the left ventricle (LV). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical feasibility of using multielectrode mapping combined with an impedance‐based electroanatomic mapping system for scar‐mediated ventricular tachycardia (VT).

Methods

By using the multielectrode catheter in conjunction with the Velocity system, we obtained both geometric and electrogram data simultaneously, through transseptal and transsubxiphoid approaches. Higher‐density mapping was performed in areas of dense scar (<0.5 mV) and border zones (0.5–1.5 mV). All late potentials (LPs) observed on the multipoles were tagged, and pace mapping was performed at those sites for comparison with the targeted VT morphology. Ablation was performed at target sites on the multipolar catheter that were identified by pace mapping, as well as at sites identified to have LPs and to be the origin of the premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) that triggered the VT.

Results

Sixteen patients (8/8: ischemic/nonischemic cardiomyopathy) underwent endocardial (n=16) and epicardial (n=8) mapping. The mean number of endocardial and epicardial mapping points was 504±136 and 670±211, respectively, with an average mapping time of 21±6 min. LPs were seen in 13 patients (81%), and good (56%) and perfect (31%) pace maps were seen in 14 patients (88%). In two patients, sites with the earliest activation of PVCs that triggered VT were successfully identified with multipolar catheter mapping. A distinct geometric distortion of the endocardial LV was confirmed in two patients, and those were modified by dividing the LV into two chambers. After 10.0±3.7 months, 71% of the patients have remained free of VT episodes.

Conclusion

Multipolar catheter mapping combined with the Velocity system results in a high‐density delineation of the LV substrates in a relatively short time, suggesting that this is a feasible alternative mapping strategy for scar‐related VT.
Development of a Self-Administered Questionnaire to Assess the Psychological Competencies for Surviving a Disaster
Authors: Feng Danjun , Ji Linqin
Published: June 2014

Objective

To find the psychological competencies for surviving a disaster and develop a self-report questionnaire to assess them.

Methods

Interviews with 16 earthquake survivors and 16 fire fighters followed by qualitative analysis were used to find psychological competencies. Formation of the item pool, a pilot study among 20 college teachers and students, a series of principal component analyses for the data from 345 college students, and a confirmatory factor analysis for the data from 307 participants with various occupations were used to develop the Psychological Competencies for Surviving a Disaster Questionnaire (PCSDQ).

Results

We found 4 psychological competencies: risk perception of a disaster, disaster knowledge and self-relief skills, low fear in a disaster, and sense of control over a disaster. The 24-item PCSDQ assessed these psychological competencies. The Cronbach alpha of PCSDQ subscales ranged from .75 to .87.

Conclusions

The psychological competencies for surviving a disaster were found to be risk perception of a disaster, disaster knowledge and self-relief skills, low fear in a disaster, and sense of control over a disaster. Using the PCSDQ to assess a person’s psychological competencies for disaster survival will make it possible to provide that person with an individualized and targeted disaster self-relief education and/or training program. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-9)
IS KNOWLEDGE THE ABILITY TO ϕ FOR THE REASON THAT P?
Authors: Hughes Nick
Published: June 2014

Hyman (1999, 2006) argues that knowledge is best conceived as a kind of ability: S knows thatpiff S can ϕ for the reason thatp. Hyman motivates this thesis by appealing to Gettier cases. I argue that it is counterexampled by a certain kind of Gettier case where the fact thatpis a cause of the subject's belief thatp. One can ϕ for the reason thatpeven if one does not know thatp. So knowledge is not best conceived as an ability of this kind.
Analytical Simulations of the Steel-Laminated Elastomeric Bridge Bearing
Authors: Wang R.-Z. , Chen S.-K. , Liu K.-Y. , Wang C.-Y. , Chang K.-C. , Chen S.-H.
Published: June 2014

In this paper, analytical simulations of the steel-laminated elastomeric bearing (SLEB) using a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model incorporating material, geometric nonlinearities, and a frictional contact algorithm in LS-DYNA code is conducted. In order to simulate the nonlinear responses of the elastomeric bearing under the compression and shear, a hyperviscoelastic rubber model such as The MAT_77_H (MAT_HYPERVISCOELASTIC_RUBBER) in LS- DYNA code is adopted. Based on the proposed material model for the SLEB, the interaction effects of the SLEB under compression, bending, and torsion are analyzed. Analytical results are compared with the test results of the SLEBs. A set of material parameters is proposed for 3D FEM analysis of SLEBs. The proposed material model demonstrates its accuracy.
Analyzing gaze allocation during language planning: a cross-linguistic study on dynamic events1
Authors: FLECKEN MONIQUE , GERWIEN JOHANNES , CARROLL MARY , STUTTERHEIM CHRISTIANE VON
Published: June 2014

abstract

Studies on gaze allocation during sentence production have recently begun to implement cross-linguistic analyses in the investigation of visual and linguistic processing. The underlying assumption is that the aspects of a scene that attract attention prior to articulation are, in part, linked to the specific linguistic system and means used for expression. The present study concerns naturalistic, dynamic scenes (video clips) showing causative events (agent acting on an object) and exploits grammatical differences in the domain of verbal aspect, and the way in which the status of an event (a specific vs. habitual instance of an event) is encoded in English and German. Fixations in agent and action areas of interest were timelocked to utterance onset, and we focused on the pre-articulatory time span to shed light on sentence planning processes, involving message generation and scene conceptualization. Findings are threefold: (i) English speakers mark the status of an event as specific in relation to the action, with progressive aspect marking on the verb in each utterance. German speakers do so by elaborating specific characteristics of the agent; (ii) participants display significantly different gaze allocation patterns to agent and action regions although the sentences produced in both languages follow the same subject−verb word order; and (iii) the analysis of gaze patterns during sentence production given dynamic scenes provide complementary results from a more naturalistic paradigm, to those obtained in studies with still images.
The Emperor Has No Clothes: The Limits of OPEC in the Global Oil Market
Authors: Colgan Jeff D.
Published: June 2014

Scholars have long debated the causal impact of international institutions such as the World Trade Organization or the International Monetary Fund. This study investigates Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an organization that purports to have significant influence over the market for the world's most important commodity–petroleum. Using four empirical tests, I find that OPEC has little or no impact on its members' production levels. These findings prompt the question of why so many people, including scholars, believe in OPEC's influence over the world's oil supply. The idea of OPEC as a cartel is a “rational myth” that supports the organization's true principal function, which is to generate political benefits for its members. One benefit it generates is international prestige. I test this idea using data on diplomatic representation and find that OPEC membership is associated with increased international recognition by other states. Overall, these findings help one to better understand international regimes and the process of ideational change in world politics.
Challenges to Humanitarian Action in Contemporary Conflicts: Israel, the Middle East and Beyond
Authors: Maurer Peter
Published: June 2014

The latest developments in the Middle East region are of great concern to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The current level of violence, displacement and destruction in and around Syria is unprecedented in a region that has already suffered conflict and instability for most of its modern history. According to recent figures released by the United Nations (UN), over 100,000 people have died from the fighting in Syria; more than six million have been forced to flee their homes, including two million who have found refuge in neighbouring countries. This is putting an immense strain on host communities and governments.
Endolymphatic sac surgical anatomy and transmastoid decompression of the sac for the management of Ménière's disease
Authors: Locke R R , Shaw-Dunn J , O'Reilly B F
Published: June 2014

Background:

Decompression of the endolymphatic sac for Ménière's disease gives unpredictable results. This may be because the sac is difficult to identify and decompress accurately without causing surgical trauma.

Methods:

In order to test this idea, transmastoid decompression was simulated in 5 cadaver half heads and the anatomy of the endolymphatic sac was reviewed in a further 14 specimens.

Results:

The endolymphatic sac was found and confirmed by histology in all five simulated decompressions. A newly described feature, a trapezoid thickening of dura, was a useful guide. The review showed that the sac was constant proximally, but variable distally. The posterior semicircular canal, posterior fossa dura and sigmoid sinus are at risk during dissection.

Conclusion:

The endolymphatic sac may be identified on inspection by an overlying patch of dura, thereby reducing exploratory dissection. It is best to decompress the sac as far proximally as possible, whilst protecting the posterior semicircular canal.
The Supposed Election of Officers in 1 Cor 11.19: A Response to Richard Last
Authors: Brookins Timothy A.
Published: June 2014

This article responds to a recent proposal by Richard Last that 1 Cor 11.19 speaks of the necessity of holding regular ‘elections’ (αἱρέσεις) for the appointment of church officers who would assist in the administration of the Lord's Supper (11.17–34). In addition to exaggerating difficulties inherent in traditional explanations, Last's proposal introduces a number of insurmountable discourse problems, rendering his interpretation more problematic than those he intends to replace. A traditional reading should be retained, in support of which further arguments are here added.
Ethnic Fluidity in Ephesians
Authors: Harrill J. Albert
Published: June 2014

This essay examines Ephesians in light of current research in ethnic studies. The methodological advance of such an approach is twofold: first, it moves the exegesis of the domestic codes to the wider frame of the letter; and, second, it goes beyond the limited hermeneutical framework of the ‘origins’ of the reconciliation language to the more productive examination of its function in the text. The concept of ‘one new humanity’ provides evidence for the author's ethnic reasoning, which participated in ancient cultural affirmations of the essential fluidity and changeability of all ethnicity. The author of Ephesians domesticates the mythical language of baptism by making it fit the conventional morality of a household economy, thus presenting the letter's most important ecclesiological concept, that of ‘the body of Christ’, as a unity that is more moral than mythic.
Paul's κοινωνία with the Philippians:Societasas a Missionary Funding Strategy
Authors: Ogereau Julien M.
Published: June 2014

This article endeavours to illuminate the socio-economic dimension of Paul's κοινωνία with the Philippians. It initially adduces a representative sample of philological evidence which demonstrates that κοινωνία and its cognates (κοινωνός, κοινωνέω) frequently convey the sense of partnership in some economic enterprise, and establishes a semantic equivalence between κοινωνία andsocietas(partnership). It is then argued that, from a Roman socio-economic and legal perspective, Paul's κοινωνία consisted of asocietas unius rei(i.e.societas evangelii), whereby Paul supplied thearsandopera(skill and labour), while the Philippians contributed thepecunia(funds) to ensure the progress of his mission.
Dementia and migration: Pakistani immigrants in the Norwegian welfare state
Authors: NÆSS ANDERS , MOEN BJØRG
Published: June 2014

This article is about dementia disease in the context of transnational migration. Focusing on the example of Pakistani immigrants in Norway, the article explores response processes surrounding signs and symptoms of dementia. Particular attention is lent to understanding how Norwegian-Pakistani families ‘negotiate dementia’ in the space between their own imported, culturally defined system of cure and care, and the Norwegian health-care culture, which is characterised by an inclination towards public care and biomedical intervention. Based on field observations and in-depth interviews with Norwegian-Pakistani families and hospital professionals working with dementia, we show that the centrality of the traditional family in Norwegian-Pakistanis' identity claims has significant implications for how Norwegian-Pakistanis relate to the Norwegian health-care culture, and for how signs and symptoms of cognitive decline are read and responded to in a migratory context.
Langmuir probe studies of laser ablated ruby plasma and correlation with pulsed laser deposited ruby thin film properties
Authors: Kumari Satchi , Khare Alika
Published: June 2014

In the present paper, measurement of various plasma parameters during pulsed laser deposition of ruby thin film on quartz substrate is reported. The variation of electron temperature and ion density with laser fluence and ambient pressure is recorded via Langmuir probe technique. The structural and optical properties of ruby thin films were analyzed using photo-luminescence and atomic force microscopy, and then correlated with the plasma parameters to find optimum conditions for deposition of high quality ruby thin film.
Optimized boron fusion with magnetic trapping by laser driven plasma block initiation at nonlinear forced driven ultrahigh acceleration
Authors: Lalousis P. , Hora H. , Moustaizis S.
Published: June 2014

Fusion reactions of solid density boron-11 with protons after initiation of a fusion flame by very powerful picosecond laser pulses were derived for plane geometry. The problem of lateral energy losses with laser beams was solved by using spherical geometry, where however the gains are limited. The other elimination of losses now available by cylinder-axis symmetric 10 kilotesla magnetic fields is possible needing laser powers in the exawatt range. Estimations are presented by varying parameters for reducing the necessary laser pulse powers to lower values by up to a factor 100.
EFFICIENT REGRESSIONS VIA OPTIMALLY COMBINING QUANTILE INFORMATION
Authors: Zhao Zhibiao , Xiao Zhijie
Published: June 2014

We develop a generally applicable framework for constructing efficient estimators of regression models via quantile regressions. The proposed method is based on optimally combining information over multiple quantiles and can be applied to a broad range of parametric and nonparametric settings. When combining information over a fixed number of quantiles, we derive an upper bound on the distance between the efficiency of the proposed estimator and the Fisher information. As the number of quantiles increases, this upper bound decreases and the asymptotic variance of the proposed estimator approaches the Cramér–Rao lower bound under appropriate conditions. In the case of nonregular statistical estimation, the proposed estimator leads to super-efficient estimation. We illustrate the proposed method for several widely used regression models. Both asymptotic theory and Monte Carlo experiments show the superior performance over existing methods.
Use of triple ultra-high-pressure balloons for obstructed right ventricular outflow conduits in adults can be safe and effective
Authors: Fujimoto Kazuto , Sugiyama Hisashi , Yazaki Satoshi
Published: June 2014

To date, no transcatheter valve has been approved for placement in the pulmonary position in Japan. Consequently, percutaneous balloon dilatation may be advised for stenotic right ventricular outflow lesions; however, technical difficulties persist, particularly in adults. We describe the acute haemodynamic changes and outcome of balloon dilatation of right ventricular outflow obstruction using triple ultra-high pressure balloons. This is the first report of such a technical development, which seems to be safe and effective. A total of three adult patients, aged 25, 29, and 37 years, with severe conduit obstruction were referred for balloon dilatation. A triple ultra-high-pressure balloon technique was used in the three patients after unsuccessful double-balloon dilatation, or for highly calcified lesions, which were expected to require ultra-high pressure for effective relief. Following balloon dilatation, the pressure gradient decreased from 24, 30, 65 to 3, 25, 30 mmHg, respectively. There were no procedural complications except slightly increased pulmonary regurgitation. Balloon dilatation using a triple ultra-high pressure balloon technique can be a safe and effective palliative procedure for conduit obstruction in adult patients.
Incidence and clinical features of acute rheumatic fever in Kayseri, Central Anatolia, 1998–2011
Authors: Narin Nazmi , Mutlu Fatma , Argun Mustafa , Ozyurt Abdullah , Pamukcu Ozge , Baykan Ali , Baykan Zeynep , Uzum Kazım
Published: June 2014

Background

In developing countries, acute rheumatic fever is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in the paediatric and adolescent population. It is believed that vulnerability to developing acute rheumatic fever is associated with several factors such as socio-economic and living conditions.

Aim

Determine the incidence and clinical characteristics of acute rheumatic fever in the Central Anatolia region of Kayseri within the last 14 years, and to make a comparison of two 7-year periods.

Material and methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of 624 patients who were diagnosed with acute rheumatic fever at the Department of Pediatric Cardiology in the Medical Faculty of Erciyes University between January, 1998 and December, 2011.

Results

The mean age of patients was 10.9±2.7 years. The female/male ratio was 1.4. When patients were categorised according to age groups, the largest group represented 376 patients (60.3%) aged between 10 and 14 years. The estimated incidence rate of acute rheumatic fever was 7.4/100,000 in the Central Anatolia region of Kayseri. Among the major findings, the most common included carditis at 54%, arthritis at 35%, Sydenham’s chorea at 25%, and subcutaneous nodules at 0.5%, respectively. No significant difference was found between the first 7-year period and second 7-year period in distributions of age, gender, and major findings.

Conclusion

Although there has been socio-economic development in Turkey in the recent years, the incidence of acute rheumatic fever is still high in the Central Anatolia region of Kayseri.
Scimitar syndrome in a case with VACTERL association
Authors: Fritz Christian J. , Reutter Heiko M. , Herberg Ulrike
Published: June 2014

VACTERL association and Scimitar syndrome are rare congenital diseases. In this study, we report on a neonate with prenatal suspicion of VACTERL association and small left-sided cardiac structures, which, only on postnatal angiography, could be revealed to be part of a Scimitar syndrome. As this is the second reported case of VACTERL association and Scimitar syndrome, the presence of Scimitar syndrome should be considered in the prenatal and postnatal evaluation of VACTERL association.
PICTURING THE INDIAN TIGER: IMPERIAL ICONOGRAPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Authors: Crane Ralph , Fletcher Lisa
Published: June 2014

In The Empire of Nature John M. MacKenzie suggests there were “three animals in India with which the British had a special hunting relationship, the tiger, the elephant and the pig” (179). Of these, the tiger is the one most closely associated with Britain's imperial relationship with India. By the mid nineteenth century, as Joseph Sramek explains, “tigers . . . had become invested with several potent meanings” (659). Several critics including Sramek and Annu Jalais demonstrate how tigers were closely associated with Indian rulers, and, at the same time, with all that was wild and untamed about the subcontinent. Thus “[o]nly by successfully vanquishing tigers would Britons prove their manliness and their fitness to rule over Indians” (Sramek 659). Through close readings of selected tiger images from the second half of the nineteenth century, this paper considers the way tigers were consistently used as visual signifiers of India in a series of stock-in-trade images which depict tiger hunts, white men protecting white women from tigers, and tigers menacing Indians.
WHEN DITCHERS AND JACK TARS COLLIDE: BENEFIT THEATRICALS AT THE CALCUTTA LYRIC THEATRE IN THE WAKE OF THE INDIAN MUTINY
Authors: Isbell Mary
Published: June 2014

The collision I explore in this essay is not a physical one, though it does emerge from a performance event that brought Ditchers (European residents in Calcutta) and Jack Tars (sailors in the Royal Navy) to the Calcutta Lyric Theatre on February 25, 1858. The collision actually manifests in print, as conflicting reviews of this event. Announced in the silk playbill pictured in Figure 19, the sailor amateurs of HMS Chesapeake offered a benefit theatrical to raise money for the Indian Relief Fund, a charity offering support to “widows, orphans, or other representatives of those who perished in the mutiny” (“Indian Relief”) (Figure 19).
INDIAN MUTINY/ENGLISH MUTINY: NATIONAL GOVERNANCE IN CHARLOTTE YONGE'STHE CLEVER WOMAN OF THE FAMILY
Authors: Lawson Kate
Published: June 2014

In the opening chapterof Charlotte Mary Yonge'sThe Clever Woman of the Family, six-year-old Francis Temple, on first having “the pebbly beach, bathing machines and fishing boats” of the English seaside pointed out to him, judges it all to be “ugly and cold.” “I shall go home to Melbourne when I am a man,” he declares (53; ch. 1). This early and unfavourable contrast between England and one of its colonies exemplifies the novel's larger project of judging England and English society through values established in colonial locales, a project that reaches its apogee when Francis and his older brother Conrade judge the conduct of a cruel and duplicitous Englishwoman to be “as bad as the Sepoys” and thus hope that she will be “blown from the mouth of a cannon” (340, 342; ch. 18). While the narrator comments that here the children exhibit “some confusion between mutineers and Englishwomen,” the narrative in its entirety suggests that such “confusion” is founded on a reasonably astute appraisal of colonial history and contemporary English society (342; ch. 18). Published in 1865, with memories of the Indian “Mutiny” of 1857–59 fresh in the public's mind,The Clever Woman of the Familyis a critique of contemporary England and English values viewed through a colonial and military lens. More particularly, the novel records the after effects of the “Mutiny” – when sepoys were indeed “blown from the mouth of a cannon” – on early 1860s England, as characters shaped by the “Indian war” and bearing scars both physical and emotional flock home to the small English seaside town of Avonmouth (120; ch. 5). These characters, all associated with the British Army, were involved in some of the key events of the “Mutiny,” such as the siege of Delhi, and include in their number a young wounded war hero, Captain Alick Keith, winner of the Victoria Cross. The novel's older hero is Colonel Colin Keith, also recovering from wounds sustained in India. Under his protection is Lady Fanny Temple, widow of General Sir Stephen Temple, with her seven young children born, severally, in the Cape Colony, India and Australia. Together these characters – shaped by their experiences in the empire and the army – confront and then transform the England to which they return.
COLLEGE ENGLISH IN INDIA: THE FIRST TEXTBOOK
Authors: Hancher Michael
Published: June 2014

In her groundbreaking bookMasks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India (1989), Guari Viswanathan established that “the discipline of English came into its own” not in England but in India, as an instrument of cultural colonization: “As early as the 1820s, when the classical curriculum reigned supreme in England despite the strenuous efforts of some concerned critics to loosen its hold, English as the study of culture and not simply the study of language had already found a secure place in the British Indian curriculum” (2, 3). Pausing to summarize the English literary curriculum fostered by “government schools in midcentury India,” she lists the following poetical works, gleaned from a report reprinted for the House of Lords in 1853: “Richardson's Poetical Selections (Goldsmith, Gray, Addison, Pope, and Shakespeare), Otway's Venice Preserved, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth, Pope's Iliad by Homer, [and] Milton's Paradise Lost (the first four books)” (54). Although Viswanathan does not identify Richardson or his Poetical Selections, she is right to head the list with that textbook, which is mentioned in many other government reports of the period, and which was instrumental in establishing a classroom canon of British poetry in India before any such curriculum had been determined in Great Britain.
INTERNATIONALISING THE SONNET: TORU DUTT'S “SONNET – BAUGMAREE”
Authors: Chapman Alison
Published: June 2014

“When the history of theliterature of our country comes to be written, there is sure to be a page in it dedicated to this fragile exotic blossom of song” (Dutt xxvii). This sentence is Edmund Gosse's famous final flourish to his memoir of Toru Dutt, which introduced her posthumous volumeAncient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan, published in 1882, five years after her death from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-one. But what would Dutt's page look like in the history of “our country,” by which Gosse means of course England? This question is a tricky one, because placing a late nineteenth-century Bengali who was a Europhile, a Christian convert, and an English-language woman poet within a British Victorian tradition is a simplistic, if not a problematic appropriation of a colonial subject into the centre of the British Empire. Where Dutt belongs has long preoccupied critics who try to recuperate her poetry for an Indian national poetic tradition, or for a transnational, cosmopolitan poetics. The issue of placing Dutt allows us also to press questions about the conception of Victorian poetry studies, its geographical, cultural, and national boundaries, not just in the nineteenth-century creation of a canon but in our current conception of the symbolic map of Victorian poetry. But, while recent critics have celebrated her poetry's embrace of global poetry as a challenge to the parochialism of national literary boundaries, Dutt's original English-language poetry also suggests an uneven, uncomfortable hybridity, and a wry, ironic interplay between distance and proximity that unfolds through her use of poetic form. This essay investigates what it means to “make something” of Toru Dutt, in the nineteenth century and in the twenty-first century, what is at stake for Victorian poetry studies in privileging Dutt and her multi-lingual writing, and whether her celebrated transnationalism might not also include a discomfort with hybridity that reveals itself through the relation between space and literary form in her poetry.
Negative Cognitive Errors in Youth: Specificity to Anxious and Depressive Symptoms and Age Differences
Authors: Schwartz Judith S. , Maric Marija
Published: June 2014

Background: Negative cognitive errors are important in the etiology and treatment of youth internalizing problems, but less is known about their unique relations with anxiety and depression. Aims: The major purpose of this study was to examine associations between distinct negative cognitive errors and anxiety and depression in youth. Method: In a community sample of children and adolescents (aged 9–17; N = 278) negative cognitive errors were assessed using the revised version of the Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CNCEQ-R). Anxiety and depression were assessed with the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children and Children's Depression Inventory, respectively. Results: The strongest predictors of anxiety were the negative cognitive errors “underestimation of the ability to cope” and “mind reading”. The strongest predictors of depression were the errors “selective abstraction” and “overgeneralizing”, with the first error explaining most variance. Analyses of age effects showed that, in comparison to adolescents, children reported higher scores on the total CNCEQ-R score, and on the errors “overgeneralizing”, “personalizing”, and “mind reading”. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of researching the role of distinct cognitive processing in youth with anxiety and depression and further development of the CNCEQ-R. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
OPTIMAL MONETARY POLICY FOR THE EMU ACCESSION COUNTRIES. A NEW KEYNESIAN APPROACH
Authors: Lipińska Anna
Published: June 2014

This paper uses a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a two-sector small open economy to analyze how the Maastricht criteria modify a fully credible optimal monetary policy in the Economic and Monetary Union accession countries. We show that if the country is not constrained by the criteria, optimal policy should stabilize fluctuations in PPI inflation, in the aggregate output gap, and in the domestic and international terms of trade. The optimal policy constrained permanently by the Maastricht criteria is characterized by reduced variability of the nominal exchange rate, CPI inflation, and the nominal interest rate and by lower optimal targets for CPI inflation and nominal interest rate. This policy results in higher variability and nonzero means for both PPI inflation and output gap, thus leading to additional, but small, welfare costs compared with the unconstrained policy.
The dynamics of organizational structures and performances under diverging distributions of knowledge and different power structures
Authors: DOSI GIOVANNI , MARENGO LUIGI
Published: June 2014

In this work we analyze the characteristics and dynamics of organizations wherein members diverge in terms of capabilities and visions they hold, and interests which they pursue. In particular we examine how different forms of power can achieve coordination among such diverse capabilities, visions, and interests while at the same time ensuring control and allowing mutual learning. By means of a simple simulation model of collective decisions by heterogeneous agents, we will examine three different forms of power, ranging from the power to design the organization, to the power to overrule byvetoorfiatthe others’ decisions, to the power to shape the very preferences of the members of the organization. We study the efficiency of different balances between the three foregoing mechanisms, within a framework in which indeed organizations ‘aggregate’ and make compatible different pieces of distributed knowledge, but the causation arrow goes also the other way round: organizations shape the characteristics and distribution of knowledge itself, and of the micro ‘visions’ and judgements.