bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Kabaka Mutesa and Venereal Disease: An Essay on Medical History and Sources in Precolonial Buganda
Authors: Tuck Michael W.
Published: May 2014

In an article in History in Africa about the Ganda monarch Mutesa, Richard Reid argued that Mutesa likely suffered from syphilis. In a chapter on Mutesa in a just published volume, John Rowe concluded that the disease from which Mutesa suffered was gonorrhea. While on the surface similar—both sexually transmitted, neither particularly desirable—the diseases are actually quite different. Popular biographies often offer gossip about individuals' medical histories, but there can be legitimate reasons to investigate the medical history of past leaders, two of which are pertinent here. First, the medical conditions from which they suffered may well have affected their lives and their decisions as leaders. Reid addresses this point, speculating that Mutesa's syphilis may have progressed to an extent that it affected him mentally. Reid suggests that this might help explain Mutesa's erratic behavior toward the latter years of his reign, as he shifted his favor from one court group and foreign delegation to another. Rowe raises a similar point about Mutesa's health and competing groups, although in a different way. Rowe shows how Mutesa's illness became a point of competition between foreign missionaries and indigenous religious specialists as each sought to win his favor by curing his lllness. Reid and Rowe also both mention the effect Mutesa's illness had on the perception of him as Kabaka. The Baganda equated the health and well-being of the Kabaka with the health of the kingdom, and Mutesa's extended illness and bedridden state would not have been a positive attribute.
Further Lessons in Kalahari Ethnography and History
Authors: Wilmsen Edwin N.
Published: May 2014

No event has an autonomous life. It's always limited to things around it.Jean-Luc Godard (1966)

It only takes three generations for personal contact to be lost, and then thememory, if it exists at all, passes on to strangers, us.Peter Greenaway (1994)

In this journal (HA 20:185-235, hereafter 1993), Lee and Guenther attack me personally and my work, particularly my bookLand Filled with Flies, which elsewhere they (1995:298) say has “a density of error and misrepresentation unrivaled in recent anthropology.” This is not the first nor the last such attack, which began in 1989 when, in a symposium at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Lee implied that I was complicit in destroying data that he insinuated I wished not to be available for further inspection. He also then accused me, along with my colleague James Denbow, of pandering to the supposed need of the Government of Botswana to create a homogeneous national identity. We were to have done this by orienting our research toward a subversion of evidence of differences among the various peoples—especially “Bushmen”—of the country. Lee has never retracted this nor his accusation of data forgery, although he (1993:20n6) has elliptically acknowledged that the latter is false. Since then, Lee and Guenther, together and alone, have expanded their litany of alleged malfeasance and intensified their attacks. Most recently, Guenther (1999) continues to accuse me of “doctoring” evidence (this term was first used in 1993:217).
The White Fathers' Archive in Zambia
Authors: Hinfelaar Marja
Published: May 2014

The archive of the Generalate of the White Fathers (WF) in Rome is a well-known “treasure trove for Africanists of all disciplines.” Owing partly to the availability of a series of published catalogues and guides, it attracts a steady flow of external researchers and features prominently in the bibliographies of numerous recent works on sub-Saharan African history. What many Africanists might not be aware of, however, is the existence of regional WF's archives, the holdings of which do not necessarily replicate—and in fact often complement—those of the central Roman deposit. It is to this latter, by and large neglected, category that the archive of the WF's headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia (WFA-Z), belongs. In the summer of 2001 Fr. Hugo Hinfelaar, longstanding missionary in Zambia, renowned scholar and part-time keeper of the WFA-Z, entrusted the authors with the task of updating the in-house catalog of the archive under his charge, in light of fresh acquisitions. This enriching experience provided the initial incentive for the preparation of this paper.

Until not long ago, the WF were the largest missionary society to operate in Zambia. They were also one of the earliest to settle in the country, their first station among the Mambwe, in the Tanganyika-Malawi corridor, having been inaugurated in 1891, before the effective inception of British rule. The Mambwe themselves had long been harassed by the politically and linguistically dominant ethnic group in northern Zambia, the Bemba, towards whom the WF directed their subsequent efforts. The establishment of Chilubula mission by the bishop of the newly constituted Nyasa Vicariate, Joseph Dupont, in 1898 marked the beginning of the WF's colonization of Lubemba.
The Tanzania National Archives
Authors: Schneider Leander
Published: May 2014

This note aims to provide an overview of the Tanzania National Archives (TNA) system and the records it houses. The system comprises a headquarters in Dar es Salaam and six regional branch offices located in Mbeya, Mwanza, Arusha, Dodoma, Tanga, and Singida. Access to the TNA requires a research permit from the Tanzania Commission for Research and Technology. It is best to apply well in advance. Attaching a letter of recommendation from a contact at the University of Dar es Salaam that comments specifically on the value of the proposed research project to the application can expedite its processing tremendously. Computers may be used in the archives and researchers may ask for specific folios to be photocopied. It is advisable to keep detailed records of requests.

The three major groups of materials retained within the TNA system are records from German colonial times (pre-1916/17), the British records (pre-1962), and records from various levels of government and administration of post-independence Tanzania (Tanganyika). Almost all colonial records in the collection are housed at the TNA headquarters, as are most of those post-independence documents that originate from central government and ministerial headquarters. A considerable number of post-1962 records originating from local level government and administration have also been moved to Dar es Salaam.
“We Shall Rejoice to see the Day When Slavery shall Cease to Exist”: TheGold Coast Times, the African Intelligentsia, and Abolition in the Gold Coast
Authors: Akurang-Parry Kwabena O.
Published: May 2014

The articulation of antislavery among Africans remains to be studied. Overall, the staple of animated questions, debates, and conclusions of the vast literature on abolition of slavery in the last two decades or so has neglected African contributions of ideologies of antislavery to the global abolition epoch in the Atlantic world. Charting a new trajectory for the study of abolition in Africa, as well as the global abolition epoch, this study examines the ideologies of antislavery among Africans as expressed in theGold Coast Times(Cape Coast) during the heyday of the British abolition of slavery in the Gold Coast in 1874-75. The study, echoing African agency, reveals the manifest presence of the African intelligentsia abolitionists in the late nineteenth-century Gold Coast. The origin and timing of the African intelligentsia's antislavery attitudes in the Gold Coast are not made known in the sources. However, the sources do reveal that antislavery flowered in the littoral region between Elmina and Accra, the hub of precolonial intellectual activities, political activism, and diffusion of cultures, linked to the larger Atlantic world.

Overall, I argue that antislavery existed among the African intelligentsia and that they articulated their ideologies of antislavery in several ways, both on the eve of the British colonial abolition of slavery and in its immediate aftermath. The study is divided into four main parts. The first section problematizes the sources and addresses some methodological considerations. For its part, the second portion interrogates the comparative historiography on abolition, while the third section conceptualizes the African intelligentsia abolitionists and their association with theGold Coast Times, the main platform for the African intelligentsia's espousal of ideologies of antislavery. Divided into two parts, the final section examines the African intelligentsia's articulation of antislavery both before and after the inauguration of abolition by the colonial state.
Reconstructing the Past Using the British Parliamentary Papers: The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
Authors: Bowman Joye
Published: May 2014

The British Parliamentary Papers continue to be a valuable source of information for historians of the African past. A vast amount of material on African affairs involving British interests can be found in these Papers. This essay deals with the way that the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 was presented in the Parliamentary Papers, specifically volume 13 of the Irish University Reprint Series entitled Colonies—Africa: Southern Africa General, 1878-80. It examines the kind of information presented, as well as the kind of material not presented. It analyzes the function of these Papers in their own time and in secondary sources on the Anglo-Zulu War. Finally, it considers the kinds of questions historians must ask in order to make these documents as useful as possible.

The term “Parliamentary Papers” used in the broadest sense refers to all of the official published records of the British Parliament. This includes the record of its proceedings and various debates; the reports of Parliamentary Committees and non-Parliamentary Committees; and the official documents of various departments that discuss routine business. In a narrower and more precise sense, the term “Parliamentary Papers refers to specific sets of papers that came before the House of Commons, were printed for Parliament's use, and were part of a numbered series of papers.” The papers in this narrower group are considered “Sessional Papers,” popularly called “Blue Books,” a name given them in the nineteenth century because the government printers bound the majority of the papers in blue covers.
Minor Sources? Two Accounts of a 1670–1671 French Voyage to Guinea: Description, Authorship and Context
Authors: Chouin Gérard
Published: May 2014

“La troisiesme partie de ce Recueil est la Relation d'un Voyage fait en la Coste d'Afrique, depuis le treiziéme degré de latitude septentrionale, jusqu'au troisesme du costé du Sud. L'Auteur estoit Officier dans un navire de guerre que Monsieur le Comte d'Estrée détacha de son escadre pour favoriser le commerce que nos François font en cette coste-là de temps immemorial & sur tout depuis qu'il a pieu au Roy de la joindre aux concessions de la Compagnie des Indes Occidentales. Il n'omet aucune chose de ce qui peut rendre son journal accomply. Il est exact en tout, il marque la latitude des lieux, où il a eu le moyen de prendre la hauteur, le gistement des costes, les Nations avec qui l'on peut trafiquer, celles dont il faut se défier. Il remarque enfin leur Religion, leurs moeurs, & tout ce qui peut rendre une Relation parfaite.”

(Justel 1674:2-3)

“J'ai entretenu le chevalier d'Ailly sur son voyage et dans tourtes les choses qu'il m'a dittes, je veoy bien qu'il s'est acquitté ponctuellement de tourtes celles qu'on luy avoit recommandez dans ses instructions. Il aura l'honneur de vous envoyer ses mémoires à la première occasion, et vous verrez, monsieur, par les siens et ceux du sieur de Gémosat, qu'il ne reste rien à désirer de tourtes les conoissances qui peuvent estre nécessaires.”

(D'Estrées à Colbert, MC 156bis, 27 may 1671, 542)
The Anderson-D'Ollone Controversy of 1903–04: Race, Imperialism, and the Reconfiguration of the Liberia-Guinea Border
Authors: Geysbeek Tim
Published: May 2014

The years 2003-04 mark the centennial observance of a debate that emerged in Paris, Freetown, and Monrovia over whether or not the Liberian Benjamin Anderson trekked to the fabled town of Musadu in 1868. Musadu, now situated about five miles northwest of Beyla in Guinea-Conakry, or eighty-five miles northwest of the Liberian border town of Yekepa, represented Liberia's interiormost claim in the nineteenth century. Anderson's challenger was a captain in the French army named Henri d'Ollone, who went to West Africa in the late 1890s and surveyed some of the land that the French had recently conquered. Anderson won the debate, given the fact he was still alive and could prove that he went to Musadu, and because eminent persons such as the French diplomat-scholar Maurice Delafosse, and perhaps even the famed pan-Africanist Edward W. Blyden, came to his defense.

The controversy was set in the context of Britain, France, and Liberia's competing claims for land during the heyday of the western conquest of Africa. This paper examines the main contours of the debate, sets the debate in historical context, and republishes the most important primary sources so readers can examine the case more closely for themselves. While some have mentioned the controversy that emerged between d'Ollone and Anderson, the first detailed examination of what happened has been published in Fairhead et. al. (2003:79-88). This paper is a followup to that study.
A Male-Centric Modification of History; Efunsetan Aniwura Revisited
Authors: Ogunleye Foluke
Published: May 2014

Historical drama can be described as a form of drama which purports to reflect or represent historical proceedings. Since time immemorial writers have combined fiction and history in creative works. Lawrence Langner has ascribed the popularity of historical drama to the desire of the theatergoer to spend an evening in the company of kings, queens, and other historical personages; the opportunity to become familiar with far greater events than those which take place in the lives of ordinary people; and that historical plays recreate great deeds done by great personages in the past. Historical facts are then creatively adapted and made available in play form to the audience. Adaptation has been defined as “the rewriting of a work from its original form to fit it for another medium … The term implies an attempt to retain the characters, actions, and as much as possible of the language and tone of the original…” The history play is also defined as “any drama whose time setting is in some period earlier than that in which it was written. We can also go further to describe the history play as one “that reconstructs a personage, a series of events, a movement, or the spirit of a past age and pays the debt of serious scholarship to the facts of the age being recreated.

Judging from the foregoing, Akinwunmi Isola's play, Efunsetan Aniwura falls into the category of historical drama, treating as it does the story of the eponymous heroine who was the second Iyalode (queen of women) of Ibadan and who died on 30 June 1874. Prominent themes in Yoruba historical plays include war, conflict, and class struggle. Olu Obafemi has declared that the dramatization of the history, myth, and legends of the Yoruba community forms the bulk of the themes of Yoruba drama. These factors are vividly portrayed in Akinwunmi Isola's plays. Akinwunmi Isola is one of the most prolific playwrights who use their mother tongue to write plays in Nigeria. He is a Professor of Yoruba language and he uses the Yoruba language in writing his plays despite the fact that he is proficient in English and French languages.
Writing African Women's History with Male Sources: Possibilities and Limitations
Authors: Schler Lynn
Published: May 2014

Colonial sources can provide historians with a wealth of information about African lives during the colonial period, but they must be read against the grain, filtering out valuable information from the biases and prejudices of European officials. The task of studying African women's history using colonial sources is even more complicated, as women were not often the focus of the colonial agenda, and contact between colonial officials and African women was relatively limited, and often indirect. Particularly in those arenas of African social, cultural, and political life deemed as women's spheres, colonial officials had little incentive to intervene. As a result, historians of later generations are faced with relatively sparse documentation of women-centered social activity during the colonial era. For their part, African women guarded cultural and political spheres under their influence from outside intervention, thus making it difficult for Europeans, and particularly European men, to gain a full and accurate understanding of women's individual and collective experiences under colonial rule.

This paper will examine colonial research and documentation of African women's birthing practices.to illustrate both the potential for using these sources to understand some basic elements of women's experiences, and the limitations of this source material in providing deep and accurate insights into African women's history. Using an example from colonial Cameroon, we will see how European interest in women's birthing practices was motivated by colonial economic and scientific agendas steeped in racism and sexism, preventing European researchers from obtaining a balanced and accurate understanding of this women's sphere of social life. On the other hand, the documents reveal efforts of African women to prevent the colonial infiltration into women's arenas of influence.
Recordings of African Popular Music: A Valuable Source for Historians of Africa
Authors: Arlt Veit , Lichtenhahn Ernst
Published: May 2014

In December 2002 the Swiss Society for Ethnomusicology (CH-EM), in cooperation with the Centre for African Studies of the University of Basel and with mission 21 (formerly Basel Mission), organized a symposium on the theme “Popular Music from Ghana: Historical Records as a Contribution to the Study of African History and Culture.” The conference concluded a week of lectures, workshops, and concerts with Ghanaian “palmwine” and Highlife music, a program which was realized in cooperation with the Basel Academy of Music and the two associations, Ghana Popular Music 1931-1957 and Scientific African e.V. The papers read at the symposium are, in our opinion, of interest to the readers of History in Africa, as they discuss a specific kind of source and the methodological issues pertaining to it, as well as offer insights into possible themes of research, giving some idea of the potential of the recordings as a source. We present the contributions here in a slightly revised form, and, in order to round off the discussion, we have invited the curators of two further sound collections of interest to scholars working on African history, to describe their archives.
Orphans in Highlife: An Anthropological Interpretation
Authors: van der Geest Sjaak
Published: May 2014

In 1971 and 1973 I carried out anthropological fieldwork in Kwahu-Tafo, a rural town of about 5,000 inhabitants on the Kwahu plateau in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The first research project was a case study of the family I was staying with; the second was on ideas and practices concerning sex and birth control. As usual in anthropological research, my attention was drawn to many other things around me. One of these was Highlife. This short essay discusses the texts of some Highlife songs, which intriguingly related to my experiences in the field.

It was impossible not to be struck by the importance of Highlife in the dreariness of daily life in Ghana. In the evenings large groups of young people assembled in front of the local bar to dance and listen to Highlife, the sounds of which resounded over the town. Many of the youngsters sang the texts along with the music. The typically empty interior contrasted strangely with the crowd outside. They were attracted not only by the music but also by the light—the bar was the only place in town with electricity. And, of course, it was the place to meet members of the opposite sex. Women and children were present to sell bread, tea, fried plantains, and other snacks. Around 10 p.m. the bar usually stopped the music; the lights went off, and the people dispersed. I became curious to know what the songs were about. Although I had learned some Twi, I was not able to understand them, so I asked someone to translate one text for me. The content aroused my interest and I decided to collect more Highlife texts. Various people helped me: school pupils, teachers, university students, and others. After recording the songs I had them transcribed in Twi and then translated into English.
Contradictions at the Heart of the Canon: Jan Vansina and the Debate over Oral Historiography in Africa, 1960–1985
Authors: Newbury David
Published: May 2014

Oracy is a hallmark of human society. So too is historical inquiry, as societies seek to identify and transmit those remembrances (or “imaginations”) considered important to defining collective social identity; in the process, they establish meaningful patterns by sifting and culling discrete perceptions through the analysis and critique, the repetition and elaboration, of competing testimonies. Yet, while oral communication and historical sensitivities have been present in all human societies for all time, the western historical profession was slow to mesh the two—slow to accept oral accounts as historical sources. In Africa initiatives to bring them together systematically emerged only in tandem with the growth of nationalism outside the hegemony of colonial constructs and, in particular, with decolonization.

To be sure, many people outside the discipline had considered the relations of oracy and history. But both advocates and adversaries alike saw a turning point when Jan Vansina forced the issue on the historical discipline (most decidedly against its will) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. While others before him had argued for the historical validity of oral sources, Vansina framed his position in broader perspective, as a conceptual bedrock essential to understanding Africa. Historical sources abounded in Africa, he argued. They could be identified and understood, and they were subject to the same critical apparatus as western written sources; therefore Africa not only had a history, but it was knowable in the same terms as history in Europe. This was the reference point that drove his work. Whatever position one takes on his work, Vansina is seen as among the first to challenge the professional discipline, to sustain the argument, to push a broad range of methodological tactics, to master the empirical material, and to produce work based on such methods, in such a way that his innovations could not be dismissed out of hand.
A windy day in a sheep saleyard: an outbreak of Q fever in rural South Australia
Authors: O'CONNOR B. A. , TRIBE I. G. , GIVNEY R.
Published: May 2014

In December 2004, the Department of Human Services investigated an outbreak of Q fever in South Australia. A case-control study tested an association between attending a local saleyard and human illness. A case was defined as a person with clinical illness and evidence of seroconversion or high phase II IgM. Controls were selected from a database of community controls matched on sex, age group and postcode. Matched analysis of the first 15 cases with 45 controls indicated that contracting Q fever was associated with attending the saleyard on one particular day (adjusted odds ratio 15·3, 95% confidence interval 1·7–undefined,P = 0·014). Saleyard conditions were windy and conducive for airborne dispersal of contaminated particles. In total, 25 cases were detected. Of these, 22 cases had attended a local saleyard on the same day. This outbreak suggests cases were probably infected by a single exposure at a saleyard from infected sheep and dust. The investigation resulted in an increase in the local uptake of Q fever vaccination and extension of the Australian national vaccination programme.
Fluctuating temperatures terminate dormancy inCynara cardunculusseeds by turning off ABA synthesis and reducing ABA signalling, but not stimulating GA synthesis or signalling
Authors: Roberto Huarte H. , Luna Virginia , Pagano Eduardo A. , Zavala Jorge A. , Benech-Arnold Roberto L.
Published: May 2014

Fluctuating temperatures terminate seed dormancy in many species, includingCynara cardunculus(L.) var.sylvestris. Termination of physiological dormancy requires low ratios of abscisic acid (ABA)/gibberellins (GA). In a previous paper we have shown that physiological responses to fluctuating temperatures comprise a reduction of abscisic acid (ABA) content and sensitivity. However, a possible stimulation of GA synthesis was also suggested as part of the mechanism. That possible stimulation, as well as the identification of potential regulatory sites for ABA and GA metabolism and signalling involved in the termination of dormancy by fluctuating temperatures, are yet to be determined. In this study, we measured GA content and sensitivity in seeds incubated under constant and fluctuating temperatures. We also assessed the expression of several genes involved in ABA and GA metabolism and signalling. Our results show that fluctuating temperatures reduce ABA/GA ratios through a reduction in ABA accumulation during incubation but without altering GA synthesis as compared to that observed under constant temperatures. On the other hand, fluctuating temperatures did not increase sensitivity to GA. Fluctuating temperatures reduced the expression ofCycaNCEDandCycaABI5(ABA synthesis and signalling genes) with a temporal pattern that coincides with the interruption of ABA accumulation that precedes germination of seeds incubated under fluctuating temperatures. However, fluctuating temperatures did not modify the expression ofCycaCYP707A2(ABA inactivation) as compared to that observed under constant temperatures. Consistent with our determinations of GA content and sensitivity, fluctuating temperatures did not modify the expression of GA synthesis (CycaGA3ox) and signalling genes (CycaRGL2andCycaGAI) in relation to that observed at constant temperatures. These results show that fluctuating temperatures terminate dormancy inCynara cardunculusseeds through an interruption in ABA accumulation and a reduction in ABA signalling exerted at the level ofCycaNCEDandCycaABI5expression.
Seed-coat thickness data clarify seed size–seed-bank persistence trade-offs inAbutilon theophrasti(Malvaceae)
Authors: Schutte Brian J. , Davis Adam S. , Peinado Stephen A. , Ashigh Jamshid
Published: May 2014

Theoretical models predict that seed size and seed-bank persistence evolve interdependently, such that strong selection for one trait corresponds with weak selection for the other. This framework has been supported and rejected by empirical data, and thus, conclusive evidence is lacking. We expanded the seed size–persistence framework to include seed-coat thickness, a defence trait previously correlated with seed survival in soil. To do this, we usedAbutilon theophrastiaccessions with varied evolutionary histories and we quantified associations among seed traits including morphology, size, coat thickness, dormancy (percentage of viable seeds that fail to germinate under optimum conditions) and seed-bank persistence (percentage of viable seeds remaining after 1 year of burial). Statistical models were developed to test the hypothesis that combined measurements of seed-coat thickness and seed size better explain variability in seed-bank persistence than seed-size data alone. Results indicated that measurements of seed size (length, width, mass) were negatively correlated with coat:width ratio (coat thickness relative to seed width) and coat:mass ratio (coat thickness relative to seed mass). Accessions characterized by smaller seeds with proportionally thicker seed coats were more dormant and more persistent in soil than accessions characterized by larger seeds with proportionally thinner seed coats. Seed-coat thickness data improved the explanatory power of logistic regression models for seed-size effects on both seed-bank persistence and dormancy. These results indicate that supplementing seed-size data with seed-defence data may clarify previously reported contradictory results regarding trade-offs between seed size and seed-bank persistence.
TOTAL LOGIC
Authors: LEUENBERGER STEPHAN
Published: May 2014

A typical first stab at explicating the thesis of physicalism is this: physicalism is true iff every fact about the world is entailed by the conjunction of physical facts. The same holds,mutatis mutandis, for other hypotheses about the fundamental nature of our world. But it has been recognized that this would leave such hypotheses without the fighting chance that they deserve: certain negative truths, like the truth (if it is one) that there are no angels, are not entailed by the physical facts, but nonetheless do not threaten physicalism. A plausible remedy that has been suggested by Jackson and Chalmers is that physicalism boils down to the thesis that every truth is entailed by the conjunction of the physical facts prefixed by a “that’s it” or “totality” operator. To evaluate this suggestion, we need to know what that operator means, and—since the truth of physicalism hinges on what is entailed by a totality claim—what its logic is. That is, we need to understand the logic of totality, or total logic. In this paper, I add a totality operator to the language of propositional logic and present a model theory for it, building on a suggestion by Chalmers and Jackson. I then prove determination results for a number of different systems.
Relationships Between Bidirectional Work-Family Interactions and Psychological Well-Being
Authors: Zhang Xi-Chao , Siu Oi Ling , Hu Jing , Zhang Weiwei
Published: May 2014

This study investigated the direct, reversed, and reciprocal relationships between bidirectional work-family conflict/work-family facilitation and psychological well-being (PWB). We administered a three-wave questionnaire survey to 260 married Chinese employees using a time lag of one month. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling analysis was conducted and demonstrated that the direct model was better than the reversed causal or the reciprocal model. Specifically, work-to-family conflict at Time 1 negatively predicted PWB at Time 2, and work-to-family conflict at Time 2 negatively predicted PWB at Time 3; further, work-to-family facilitation at Time 1 positively predicted PWB at Time 2. In addition, family-to-work facilitation at Time 1 positively predicted PWB at Time 2, and family-to-work conflict at Time 2 negatively predicted PWB at Time 3.
Generating optical orbital angular momentum at visible wavelengths using a plasmonic metasurface
Authors: Karimi Ebrahim , Schulz Sebastian A , De Leon Israel , Qassim Hammam , Upham Jeremy , Boyd Robert W
Published: May 2014

Light beams with a helical phase-front possess orbital angular momentum along their direction of propagation in addition to the spin angular momentum that describes their polarisation. Until recently, it was thought that these two ‘rotational’ motions of light were largely independent and could not be coupled during light–matter interactions. However, it is now known that interactions with carefully designed complex media can result in spin-to-orbit coupling, where a change of the spin angular momentum will modify the orbital angular momentum and vice versa. In this work, we propose and demonstrate that the birefringence of plasmonic nanostructures can be wielded to transform circularly polarised light into light carrying orbital angular momentum. A device operating at visible wavelengths is designed from a space-variant array of subwavelength plasmonic nano-antennas. Experiment confirms that circularly polarised light transmitted through the device is imbued with orbital angular momentum of ±2ħ (with conversion efficiency of at least 1%). This technology paves the way towards ultrathin orbital angular momentum generators that could be integrated into applications for spectroscopy, nanoscale sensing and classical or quantum communications using integrated photonic devices.
Infrared spectroscopy with multivariate analysis segregates low-grade cervical cytology based on likelihood to regress, remain static or progress
Authors: Purandare Nikhil C. , Patel Imran I. , Lima Kássio M. G. , Trevisan Júlio , Ma'Ayeh Marwan , McHugh Ann , Von Bünau Günther , Martin Hirsch Pierre L. , Prendiville Walter J. , Martin Francis L.
Published: May 2014

Predicting progressive disease in low-grade cervical cytology.
Development of enantiospecific and chemoselective methods for the determination of praeruptorin A enantiomers and their metabolites in rat plasma using chiral and achiral LC-MS/MS
Authors: Song Yuelin , Jing Wanghui , Tu Pengfei , Wang Yitao
Published: May 2014

Enantioselective pharmacokinetics and metabolism were revealed for (±)-praeruptorin A (PA), the major bioactive component in Peucedani Radix.
Archimedes revisited: computer assisted micro-volumetric modification of the liquid displacement method for porosity measurement of highly porous light materials
Authors: Moradi Ali , Pramanik Sumit , Ataollahi Forough , Kamarul Tunku , Pingguan-Murphy Belinda
Published: May 2014

Archimedes revisited: computer assisted micro-volumetric modification of the liquid displacement method for porosity measurement of highly porous light materials.
A solid phase extraction method for analysis of the iron–humic acid complex in natural water
Authors: Fang Kai , Yuan Dongxing , Zhang Lei , Feng Lifeng , Chen Yaojin , Wang Yuzhou
Published: May 2014

A laboratory synthesized Fe-HA complex was used as a standard to develop a simple SPE method for analysis of Fe-HA complex in natural water.
Trimorphism of N-(3-pyridyl)-benzamide
Authors: Näther Christian , Jess Inke , Bahrenburg Julia , Bank Dennis , Temps Friedrich
Published: May 2014

Three polymorphic modifications of N-(3-pyridyl)-benzamide were structurally characterized and investigated for their transition behavior and thermodynamic relations.
Learning from photobiology how to design molecular devices using a computer
Authors: Gozem S. , Melaccio F. , Luk H. L. , Rinaldi S. , Olivucci M.
Published: May 2014

Learning how to model photo-responsive proteins may open the way to the design of lightpowered biomimetic molecular devices.
Structuring of metal–organic frameworks at the mesoscopic/macroscopic scale
Authors: Furukawa Shuhei , Reboul Julien , Diring Stéphane , Sumida Kenji , Kitagawa Susumu
Published: May 2014

This review conceptually categorizes the available synthetic methodologies for structuring of MOFs in the mesoscopic and macroscopic scales.
Efficient asymmetric hydrogenation of quinolines in neat water catalyzed by chiral cationic Ru-diamine complexes
Authors: Yang Zhusheng , Chen Fei , He Yan-Mei , Yang Nianfa , Fan Qing-Hua
Published: May 2014

The first highly effective and enantioselective hydrogenation of quinolines catalyzed by chiral cationic Ru-diamine complexes in undegassed water was developed.
Colorimetric and luminescent bifunctional Ru(ii) complexes for rapid and highly sensitive recognition of cyanide
Authors: Li Mei-Jin , Lin Zhihong , Chen Xiudan , Chen Guonan
Published: May 2014

Four novel ruthenium(ii) complexes have been characterized for the colorimetric and luminescent bi-functional sensing of cyanide ions. The structure of one complex is also determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.
Low temperature synthesis of ionic phosphates in dimethyl sulfoxide
Authors: Mangstl Martin , Celinski Vinicius R. , Johansson Sebastian , Weber Johannes , An Feng , Schmedt auf der Günne Jörn
Published: May 2014

A new synthesis route for phosphates in an organic solvent at low temperatures is presented.
Nanocasted synthesis of ordered mesoporous cerium iron mixed oxide and its excellent performances for As(v) and Cr(vi) removal from aqueous solutions
Authors: Chen Bo , Zhu Zhiliang , Hong Jun , Wen Zhipan , Ma Jie , Qiu Yanling , Chen Junhong
Published: May 2014

Ordered mesoporous cerium iron mixed oxide shows excellent adsorption performance for As(v) and Cr(vi) in aqueous solutions.
Insights into the catalytic activity and surface modification of MoO3 during the hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived model compounds into aromatic hydrocarbons under low hydrogen pressures
Authors: Prasomsri Teerawit , Shetty Manish , Murugappan Karthick , Román-Leshkov Yuriy
Published: May 2014

MoO3 is an effective catalyst for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived oxygenates to generate high yields of aromatic hydrocarbons without ring-saturated products.
Solvation dynamics monitored by combined X-ray spectroscopies and scattering: photoinduced spin transition in aqueous [Fe(bpy)3]2+
Authors: Bressler C. , Gawelda W. , Galler A. , Nielsen M. M. , Sundström V. , Doumy G. , March A. M. , Southworth S. H. , Young L. , Vankó G.
Published: May 2014

We have studied the photoinduced low spin (LS) to high spin (HS) conversion of aqueous Fe(bpy)3 with pulse-limited time resolution. In a combined setup permitting simultaneous X-ray diffuse scattering (XDS) and spectroscopic measurements at a MHz repetition rate we have unraveled the interplay between intramolecular dynamics and the intermolecular caging solvent response with 100 ps time resolution. On this time scale the ultrafast spin transition including intramolecular geometric structure changes as well as the concomitant bulk solvent heating process due to energy dissipation from the excited HS molecule are long completed. The heating is nevertheless observed to further increase due to the excess energy between HS and LS states released on a subnanosecond time scale. The analysis of the spectroscopic data allows precise determination of the excited population which efficiently reduces the number of free parameters in the XDS analysis, and both combined permit extraction of information about the structural dynamics of the first solvation shell.
Facile fabrication of a near-infrared responsive nanocarrier for spatiotemporally controlled chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy
Authors: Wan Hao , Zhang Yi , Liu Zheyi , Xu Guiju , Huang Guang , Ji Yongsheng , Xiong Zhichao , Zhang Quanqing , Dong Jing , Zhang Weibing , Zou Hanfa
Published: May 2014

A near-infrared controlled nanocarrier with the chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy ability was successfully developed.
Tri-isopropylsilyl thioglycosides as masked glycosyl thiol nucleophiles for the synthesis of S-linked glycosides and glyco-conjugates
Authors: Mandal S. , Nilsson U. J.
Published: May 2014

Tri-isopropylsilyl thio-glycosides (TIPS S-glycosides), readily synthesized from glycosyl halides, glycosyl acetates, orp-methoxyphenyl glycosides, were in one-pot de-silylated and S-alkylated, -acylated, or -glycosylated in high yields and short time.
Thermo-responsive gold/poly(vinyl alcohol)-b-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) core–corona nanoparticles as a drug delivery system
Authors: Liu Ji , Detrembleur Christophe , Hurtgen Marie , Debuigne Antoine , De Pauw-Gillet Marie-Claire , Mornet Stéphane , Duguet Etienne , Jérôme Christine
Published: May 2014

Preparation of thermo-responsive poly(vinyl alcohol)-b-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) copolymer-stabilized gold nanoparticles for drug delivery.
Self-assembled supramolecular structure of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediammonium-bis-(4-nitrophenolate): synthesis, single crystal growth and photo physical properties
Authors: Nagapandiselvi P. , Baby C. , Gopalakrishnan R.
Published: May 2014

The synthesis, growth and structure of a novel organic third order nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal namely, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediammonium-bis(4-nitrophenolate) (TMEDA4NP) is presented.
Cryo-TEM structural analysis of conjugated nonionic engineered-micelles
Authors: Patchornik Guy , Wachtel Ellen , Kesselman Ellina , Danino Dganit
Published: May 2014

Following conjugation with the [(bathophenanthroline)3:Fe2+] complex, engineered-micelles composed of alkyl-saccharide detergents transform into membranes and multilamellar vesicles.
Insight into surface segregation and chromium deposition on La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ cathodes of solid oxide fuel cells
Authors: Zhao Ling , Drennan John , Kong Chun , Amarasinghe Sudath , Jiang San Ping
Published: May 2014

Selective and preferential deposition of Cr on segregated SrO on the surface of LSCF cathodes of solid oxide fuel cells.
On trade‐off between computational efficiency and prediction accuracy in bandwidth traffic estimation
Authors: Loumiotis I. , Adamopoulou E. , Demestichas K. , Stamatiadi T. , Theologou M.E.
Published: May 2014

The increasing demand for wireless broadband services poses the need for efficient utilisation of the backhaul network resources. To this end, schemes that use artificial neural networks in order to predict the forthcoming network traffic demand and proactively request the commitment of the necessary resources have been proposed. However, an up‐to‐date prediction model, required by these schemes, necessitates a regularly held training process, which incurs a high computational cost. This reported work investigates the trade‐off between prediction accuracy and computational efficiency by employing evolutionary game theory and a novel scheme is proposed that can achieve both the aspects.
55 dB DC gain, robust to PVT single‐stage fully differential amplifier on 45 nm SOI‐CMOS technology
Authors: Gómez H. , Espinosa G.
Published: May 2014

The design of a single‐stage operational transconductance amplifier is presented, which uses self‐cascode transistors and current shunt stages to improve its DC gain. The proposed amplifier is implemented in a standard 45 nm silicon on insulator CMOS process. Simulation results show that the amplifier has a DC gain above 50 dB despite physical and environmental variations with a minimum gain bandwidth product of 540 MHZ and more than 55° phase margin. In addition, the simulated transient behaviour is shown to be robust, with a slew rate of 500 V/μs and a settling time of 7 ns with 1% accuracy for a CL of 0.3 pF.
Threshold‐based CSI feedback reduction for time‐varying multiple‐input multiple‐output broadcast channels
Authors: Bashar Manijeh , Eslami Mohsen , Dehghani Mohammad Javad
Published: May 2014

In many modern wireless systems that operate based on availability of channel state information at transmitter (CSIT), one of the main bottlenecks is updating CSIT of the time varying channel. In multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) broadcast channels, CSIT is required for user scheduling and precoding. Most existing CSI feedback reduction techniques reduce the number of feedback terms by allowing only a limited number of users to feedback CSI, or allowing only partial/limited information of user channels to be send back to the transmitter. In this work, CSI is reduced over several time‐slots of transmission, and not in a single snapshot at the beginning of each time‐slot. A time‐varying MIMO broadcast channel with limited‐capacity feedback links is considered. An efficient threshold‐based feedback technique that maximises net‐throughput is proposed. The proposed scheme assigns different CSI feedback rates over several time‐slots to different groups of users proportional to their channel strength. Analysis and simulation results for zero‐forcing beamforming precoding show net‐throughput superiority of the proposed scheme over the case of perfect CSI.
Motion of moving camera from point matches: comparison of two robust estimation methods
Authors: Horemuz Milan , Zhao Yueming
Published: May 2014

A robust estimation method, Balanced Least Absolute Value Estimator (BLAVE), is introduced and compared with the traditional RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) method. The comparison is performed empirically by applying both estimators on the camera motion parameters estimation problem. A linearised model for this estimation problem is derived. The tests were performed on a simulated scene with added random noise and gross errors as well as on actual images taken by a mobile mapping system. The greatest advantage of BLAVE is that it processes all observations at once as well as its median‐like property: the estimated parameters are not influenced by the size of the outliers. It can tolerate up to 50% outliers in data and still produce accurate results. The greatest disadvantage of RANSAC is that the results are not repeatable because of the random sampling of data. Moreover, the results are less accurate, because RANSAC generally does not produce a ‘best‐fit’ parameter estimation. The number of trials, which must be tested by RANSAC to find a reasonable solution, depends on the portion of outliers in data. The computational time for BLAVE does not depend on the portion of outliers in the observations, but it grows with the number of observations, same as RANSAC.
New extraction method for active, reactive and individual harmonic components from distorted current signal
Authors: Dirik Hasan , Özdemir Muammer
Published: May 2014

Quality problems encountered in power systems usually originate from reactive and harmonic current components drawn by non‐linear loads. Therefore the extraction of reactive and harmonic current components from distorted current waveform is a vital issue in the works aiming to monitor and eliminate power quality problems. In this study, a new method that provides the extraction of active, reactive and harmonic current components from distorted current is presented. The method has been based on the differential equation of the single‐phase source‐load system. The proposed method performs computations by using a sliding sampling window that has a width of half of the fundamental cycle. Immunity to noise, being less affected from frequency deviations and being not influenced from dc component that may exist in load currents are some other advantages of the proposed method. The method has been analysed and compared to two commonly used methods, namely discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and dq, by using a series of simulations that have been executed in Matlab/Simulink environment. Simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Ionization photophysics and spectroscopy of cyanoacetylene
Authors: Leach Sydney , Garcia Gustavo A. , Mahjoub Ahmed , Bénilan Yves , Fray Nicolas , Gazeau Marie-Claire , Gaie-Levrel François , Champion Norbert , Schwell Martin
Published: May 2014

Photoionization of cyanoacetylene was studied using synchrotron radiation over the non-dissociative ionization excitation range 11–15.6 eV, with photoelectron-photoion coincidence techniques. The absolute ionization cross-section and spectroscopic aspects of the parent ion were recorded. The adiabatic ionization energy of cyanoacetylene was measured as 11.573 ± 0.010 eV. A detailed analysis of photoelectron spectra of HC3N involves new aspects and new assignments of the vibrational components to excitation of the A2Σ+ and B2Π states of the cation. Some of the structured autoionization features observed in the 11.94 to 15.5 eV region of the total ion yield (TIY) spectrum were assigned to two Rydberg series converging to the B2Π state of HC3N+. A number of the measured TIY features are suggested to be vibrational components of Rydberg series converging to the C2Σ+ state of HC3N+ at ≈17.6 eV and others to valence shell transitions of cyanoacetylene in the 11.6–15 eV region. The results of quantum chemical calculations of the cation electronic state geometries, vibrational frequencies and energies, as well as of the C–H dissociation potential energy profiles of the ground and electronic excited states of the ion, are compared with experimental observations. Ionization quantum yields are evaluated and discussed and the problem of adequate calibration of photoionization cross-sections is raised.