bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of interface oxygen content on magnetoelectric effect of epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/BaTiO3 bilayer
Authors: Tingxian Li , Kuoshe Li
Published: February 2014

The epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/BaTiO3 (LSMO/BTO) bilayer films are grown on (001) oriented LaAlO3 substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. The oxygen-rich interface is obtained through in-situ annealing process in oxygen, and the oxygen-deficient interface is obtained without the annealing process. The results show that the ferromagnetic properties of the LSMO film and the magnetoelectric effect (ME) of the bilayer films strongly correlate to the oxygen content at the interface of LSMO/BTO. The saturated magnetization and the ME voltage coefficient of the oxygen-rich bilayer film are higher than that of oxygen-deficient one. It suggests a more effective ME coupling at the LSMO/BTO interface, which are generated through not only the interface strain but also the spin polarized carriers.
Flow strength of tantalum under ramp compression to 250 GPa
Authors: Brown J. L. , Alexander C. S. , Asay J. R. , Vogler T. J. , Dolan D. H. , Belof J. L.
Published: February 2014

A magnetic loading technique was used to study the strength of polycrystalline tantalum ramp compressed to peak stresses between 60 and 250 GPa. Velocimetry was used to monitor the planar ramp compression and release of various tantalum samples. A wave profile analysis was then employed to determine the pressure-dependence of the average shear stress upon unloading at strain rates on the order of 105 s−1. Experimental uncertainties were quantified using a Monte Carlo approach, where values of 5% in the estimated pressure and 9–17% in the shear stress were calculated. The measured deviatoric response was found to be in good agreement with existing lower pressure strength data as well as several strength models. Significant deviations between the experiments and models, however, were observed at higher pressures where shear stresses of up to 5 GPa were measured. Additionally, these data suggest a significant effect of the initial material processing on the high pressure strength. Heavily worked or sputtered samples were found to support up to a 30% higher shear stress upon release than an annealed material.
Influence of damping constant on inverse spin hall voltage of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3(x)/platinum bilayers
Authors: Luo G. Y. , Chang C. R. , Lin J. G.
Published: February 2014

Pure spin transport via spin pumping in the condition of ferromagnetic resonance can be transformed to charge current in the ferromagnetic/paramagnetic bilayer systems, based on inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). Here, we explore La0.7Sr0.3MnO(x)/Pt(5.5 nm) [x = 10 to 65 nm] bilayers to investigate the influence of damping constant on spin pumping efficiency. The results show that the ISHE voltage depend on the damping constant of magnetic moment, suggesting that the precession energy tansferred to lattice/electron of normal metal is a key parameter to control the magnitude of spin current.
Epitaxial growth of γ-Al2O3 on Ti2AlC(0001) by reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering
Authors: Eklund Per , Frodelius Jenny , Hultman Lars , Lu Jun , Magnfält Daniel
Published: February 2014

Al2O3 was deposited by reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering at 600 °C onto pre-deposited Ti2AlC(0001) thin films on α-Al2O3(0001) substrates. The Al2O3 was deposited to a thickness of 65 nm and formed an adherent layer of epitaxial γ-Al2O3(111) as shown by transmission electron microscopy. The demonstration of epitaxial growth of γ-Al2O3 on Ti2AlC(0001) open prospects for growth of crystalline alumina as protective coatings on Ti2AlC and related nanolaminated materials. The crystallographic orientation relationships are γ-Al2O3(111)//Ti2AlC(0001) (out-of-plane) and ${{\rm\gamma {\hbox{-}} \rm Al}_{2} \rm{O}_{3} {(2\bar 20)\text{//}Ti}_{2} {{\rm AlC}(11\bar 20)}}$γ- Al 2O3(22¯0)// Ti 2 AlC (112¯0) (in-plane) as determined by electron diffraction. Annealing in vacuum at 900 °C resulted in partial decomposition of the Ti2AlC by depletion of Al and diffusion into and through the γ-Al2O3 layer.
Electronic structure of Al- and Ga-doped ZnO films studied by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Authors: Gabás M. , Torelli P. , Barrett N. T. , Sacchi M. , Ramos Barrado José R.
Published: February 2014

Al- and Ga-doped sputtered ZnO films (AZO, GZO) are semiconducting and metallic, respectively, despite the same electronic valence structure of the dopants. Using hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy we observe that both dopants induce a band in the electronic structure near the Fermi level, accompanied by a narrowing of the Zn 3d/O 2p gap in the valence band and, in the case of GZO, a substantial shift in the Zn 3d. Ga occupies substitutional sites, whereas Al dopants are in both substitutional and interstitial sites. The latter could induce O and Zn defects, which act as acceptors explaining the semiconducting character of AZO and the lack of variation in the optical gap. By contrast, mainly substitutional doping is consistent with the metallic-like behavior of GZO.
Note: Significant increase to the temporal resolution of 2D X-ray detectors using a novel beam chopper system
Authors: Küchemann Stefan , Mahn Carsten , Samwer Konrad
Published: February 2014

The investigation of short time dynamics using X-ray scattering techniques is commonly limited either by the read out frequency of the detector or by a low intensity. In this paper, we present a chopper system, which can increase the temporal resolution of 2D X-ray detectors by a factor of 13. This technique only applies to amorphous or polycrystalline samples due to their circular diffraction patterns. Using the chopper, we successfully increased the temporal resolution up to 5.1 ms during synchrotron experiments. For the construction, we provide a mathematical formalism, which, in principle, allows an even higher increase of the temporal resolution.
Micromagnetic study of auto-oscillation modes in spin-Hall nano-oscillators
Authors: Ulrichs H. , Demidov V. E. , Demokritov S. O.
Published: February 2014

We present a numerical study of magnetization dynamics in a recently introduced spin torque nano-oscillator, whose operational principle relies on the spin-Hall effect—spin-Hall nano-oscillators. Our numerical results show good agreement with the experimentally observed behaviors and provide detailed information about the features of the primary auto-oscillation mode observed in the experiments. They also clarify the physical nature of the secondary auto-oscillation mode, which was experimentally observed under certain conditions only.
Phase-slip lines as a resistance mechanism in transition-edge sensors
Authors: Bennett Douglas A. , Schmidt Daniel R. , Swetz Daniel S. , Ullom Joel N.
Published: February 2014

The fundamental mechanism of resistance in voltage-biased superconducting films is poorly understood despite its importance as the basis of transition-edge sensors (TESs). TESs are utilized in state-of-the-art microbolometers and microcalorimeters covering a wide range of energies and applications. We present a model for the resistance of a TES based on phase-slip lines (PSLs) and compare the model to data. One of the model's predictions, discrete changes in the number of PSLs, is a possible explanation for the observed switching between discrete current states in localized regions of bias.
Ni-Mn-Ga shape memory nanoactuation
Authors: Kohl M. , Schmitt M. , Backen A. , Schultz L. , Krevet B. , Fähler S.
Published: February 2014

To probe finite size effects in ferromagnetic shape memory nanoactuators, double-beam structures with minimum dimensions down to 100 nm are designed, fabricated, and characterized in-situ in a scanning electron microscope with respect to their coupled thermo-elastic and electro-thermal properties. Electrical resistance and mechanical beam bending tests demonstrate a reversible thermal shape memory effect down to 100 nm. Electro-thermal actuation involves large temperature gradients along the nanobeam in the order of 100 K/μm. We discuss the influence of surface and twin boundary energies and explain why free-standing nanoactuators behave differently compared to constrained geometries like films and nanocrystalline shape memory alloys.
The effect of domain patterns on 180° domain switching in BaTiO3 crystals during antiparallel electric field loading
Authors: Li Y. W. , Li F. X.
Published: February 2014

In this Letter, the effect of domain pattern on 180° domain switching behavior in BaTiO3 crystals was investigated by using polarized light microscopy during antiparallel electric field loading. Results show that for nearly perfectly in-plane poled specimen, 180° domain switching is accomplished by successive antiparallel domain nucleation and forward domain wall motion; whereas for specimen with in-plane a-a domain pattern, 180° domain switching is achieved by two-step 90° ferroelastic domain switching. This discrepancy is explained by combined effects of the depolarization field and the mechanical constraint from the adjacent domains during 90° ferroelastic domain switching.
Effect of rapid thermal annealing on recombination centres in boron-doped Czochralski-grown silicon
Authors: Walter D. C. , Lim B. , Bothe K. , Voronkov V. V. , Falster R. , Schmidt J.
Published: February 2014

Rapid thermal annealing in a belt furnace results in a dramatic change of the recombination properties of boron-doped Czochralski silicon: (1) the lifetime degraded by applying a prolonged illumination at room temperature was significantly improved, (2) after subsequent dark recovery, the lifetime has a remarkably high value, and (3) the permanent recovery, by annealing at 185 °C under illumination, is enormously accelerated, and the finally achieved stable lifetime acquires a record value of 1.5 ms, as compared to 110 μs after permanent recovery of not-annealed reference samples.
A photosynthetic-plasmonic-voltaic cell: Excitation of photosynthetic bacteria and current collection through a plasmonic substrate
Authors: Samsonoff Nathan , Ooms Matthew D. , Sinton David
Published: February 2014

Excitation of photosynthetic biofilms using surface-confined evanescent light fields enables energy dense photobioreactors, while electrode-adhered biofilms can provide electricity directly. Here, we demonstrate concurrent light delivery and electron transport through a plasmonically excited metal film. Biofilms of cyanobacterium Synechococcus bacillaris on 50-nm gold films are excited via the Kretschmann configuration at λ = 670 nm. Cells show light/dark response to plasmonic excitation and grow denser biofilms, closer to the electrode surface, as compared to the direct irradiated case. Directly irradiated biofilms produced average electrical powers of 5.7 μW/m2 and plasmonically excited biofilms produced average electrical powers of 5.8 μW/m2, with individual biofilms producing as much as 12 μW/m2.
Understanding the role of electron and hole trions on current transport in aluminium tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) using organic magnetoresistance
Authors: Zhang Sijie , Willis M. , Gotto R. , Roy K. A. , Rolfe N. J. , Kreouzis T. , Gillin W. P.
Published: February 2014

The change in current through an organic light emitting diode (OLED) when it is placed in a magnetic field has been dubbed organic magnetoresistance and provides a means to understand the spin interactions that are occurring in working devices. Whilst there are a wide range of interactions that have been proposed to be the cause of the measured effects, there is still a need to identify their individual roles and in particular how they respond to an applied magnetic field. In this work, we investigate the effect of changing the balance of electron and hole injection in a simple aluminium tris(8-hydroxyqinoline) based OLED and demonstrate that the triplet polaron interaction appears to be much stronger for electrons than for holes in this material.
A low-temperature order-disorder transition in Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films
Authors: Scragg Jonathan J. S. , Choubrac Léo , Lafond Alain , Ericson Tove , Platzer-Björkman Charlotte
Published: February 2014

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is an interesting material for sustainable photovoltaics, but efficiencies are limited by the low open-circuit voltage. A possible cause of this is disorder among the Cu and Zn cations, a phenomenon which is difficult to detect by standard techniques. We show that this issue can be overcome using near-resonant Raman scattering, which lets us estimate a critical temperature of 533 ± 10 K for the transition between ordered and disordered CZTS. These findings have deep significance for the synthesis of high-quality material, and pave the way for quantitative investigation of the impact of disorder on the performance of CZTS-based solar cells.
Impact of particle size of solid desiccant mould on moisture absorption and regeneration time
Authors: Mohan Ram P. , Shanmugam V. , Senthilkumar P.
Published: February 2014

This work presents the impact of particle size of desiccant material on moisture absorption and regeneration time. To study the absorption and regeneration time, a solid desiccant mould which consists of 60% of bentonite, 10% of calcium chloride, 20% of vermiculite, and 10% of cement with varying vermiculite particle size is selected. Four different types of mould are prepared by varying the vermiculite particle size and tested experimentally in the desiccant drying chamber under uniform conditions. The result shows that the moisture absorption capacity of the mould is increased by 33% for the vermiculite particle size of 5 mm and above than the vermiculite particle size without varying. Uniform air flow in the drying chamber is also verified by using Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis. The mould attains equilibrium moisture level after 6 h and it has to be regenerated for effective moisture absorption.
Highly sensitive bovine serum albumin biosensor based on liquid crystal
Authors: Sharma Vikash , Kumar Ajay , Ganguly Prasun , Biradar A. M.
Published: February 2014

A highly sensitive liquid crystal (LC) based bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein biosensor is designed. A uniform homeotropic alignment of nematic LC was observed in BSA free substrate which changed into homogeneous in presence of BSA. The change in the LC orientation is found to depend strongly on BSA concentration. This change in the LC alignment is attributed to the modification in the surface conditions which is verified by contact angle measurements. We have detected an ultra low concentration (0.5 μg/ml) of BSA. The present study demonstrates the utilization of LC in the realization of high sensitivity biosensors.
Coexistence of four resistance states and exchange bias in La0.6Sr0.4MnO3/BiFeO3/La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 multiferroic tunnel junction
Authors: Liu Y. K. , Yin Y. W. , Dong S. N. , Yang S. W. , Jiang T. , Li X. G.
Published: February 2014

The ferroelectric and tunnel electro- and magnetoresistance properties in La0.6Sr0.4MnO3/BiFeO3/La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 multiferroic tunnel junctions sandwiched with the antiferromagnetic-ferroelectric BiFeO3 as a tunnel barrier were reported. Besides the four non-volatile resistance states and the interfacial magnetoelectric coupling effect with the tunnel magnetoresistance manipulated by ferroelectric polarizations, one of the most important results is that the exchange bias effect on the tunnel magnetoresistance is observed in this junction due to the magnetic interaction between antiferromagnetic BiFeO3 and ferromagnetic La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 layers. These finds may be helpful for designing exchange bias based multiferroic tunnel junction in next generation random access memory devices.
Quantum corrections to temperature dependent electrical conductivity of ZnO thin films degenerately doped with Si
Authors: Das Amit K. , Ajimsha R. S. , Kukreja L. M.
Published: February 2014

ZnO thin films degenerately doped with Si (SixZn1−xO) in the concentrations range of ∼0.5% to 5.8% were grown by sequential pulsed laser deposition on sapphire substrates at 400 °C. The temperature dependent resistivity measurements in the range from 300 to 4.2 K revealed negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) for the 0.5%, 3.8%, and 5.8% doped SixZn1−xO films in the entire temperature range. On the contrary, the SixZn1−xO films with Si concentrations of 1.0%, 1.7%, and 2.0% showed a transition from negative to positive TCR with increasing temperature. These observations were explained using weak localization based quantum corrections to conductivity.
Stabilizing resistive switching performances of TiN/MgZnO/ZnO/Pt heterostructure memory devices by programming the proper compliance current
Authors: Chen Xinman , Hu Wei , Wu Shuxiang , Bao Dinghua
Published: February 2014

In this work, amorphous MgZnO/ZnO heterostructure films were deposited on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si at room temperature. By programming the proper compliance current, bipolar resistive switching performances of TiN/MgZnO/ZnO/Pt devices were stabilized; the dispersion of switching voltages and resistance states of devices were suppressed simultaneously. In view of filamentary model, the elimination of secondary and multiple nanofilaments in higher compliance current was suggested to be responsible for the observed improvement. Furthermore, the good endurance and retention behaviors of the optimized TiN/MgZnO/ZnO/Pt devices were confirmed, ensuring its potential application for resistive random access memory. This simple optimizing method by programming proper compliance current is promising for resistive switching devices required avoiding damage.
Reaction tubes: A new platform for silicon nanophotonic ring resonator sensors
Authors: Lerma Arce C. , Van Put S. , Goes A. , Hallynck E. , Dubruel P. , Komorowska K. , Bienstman P.
Published: February 2014

Label-free biosensing with silicon nanophotonic ring resonator sensors has proven to be an excellent sensing technique for achieving high throughput and high sensitivity, comparing favorably with other labeled and label-free sensing techniques. However, as in any biosensing platform, silicon nanophotonic ring resonator sensors require a fluidic component that allows the continuous delivery of the sample to the sensor surface. This is the big disadvantage of this platform since this type of microfluidic system is very much removed from the daily practice in, e.g., hospital labs, which still relies to a large degree on platforms like 96-well microtiter plates or reaction tubes. To address this major drawback, we propose the combination of a simple and lab-compatible reaction tube platform, with label-free nanophotonic biosensors with a special microfluidic system imbedded into the same chip, where the flow is through the chip rather than over the chip as in more traditional approaches. This shows that label-free nanophotonic ring resonators can be also used in the user-friendly platform like reaction tubes or well microtiter plates, conserving their excellent performance.
“Conductive” yttria-stabilized zirconia as an epitaxial template for oxide heterostructures
Authors: Caspers C. , Gloskovskii A. , Drube W. , Schneider C. M. , Müller M.
Published: February 2014

We report an in situ thermochemical treatment that significantly increases the macroscopic electrical conductivity of insulating yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) (001) single-crystalline substrates. We demonstrate the high-quality surface crystalline structure of the resulting “conductive” cYSZ (001) by low- and high-energy electron diffraction. Soft- and hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements reveal a sizable reduction of Zr cations to a metallic state and their homogeneous distribution within the cYSZ. We discuss the correlation between the microscopic chemical processes leading to the increased macroscopic metallicity. Finally, the heteroepitaxial growth of a functional magnetic oxide model system, ultrathin EuO on cYSZ (001), was demonstrated. cYSZ (001) thereby enables both high quality oxide heteroepitaxy and the advanced sample characterization by high electron-fluence characterization techniques.
Magnetization reversal in asymmetric Co rings studied by micromagnetic simulation
Authors: Xu Feng , Wei Jun , Tan Weishi , Li Shandong
Published: February 2014

Previous simulation reports have shown that the magnetization reversal mechanism in the asymmetric rings with the global vortex state is dominated by domain wall movement. This work investigates the asymmetric Co rings with relatively large sizes and thick arms with simulation. Results show that the magnetization reversal processes are dominated by the formation, movement, and annihilation of localized vortex states. 90° decenter of the inner core is favorable for a stable global vortex state with controllable chirality. Either a larger 90° decenter distance or a thicker thickness brings about a higher stability of global vortex state. However, the global vortex state cannot be obtained at remanence in these rings. In the smaller rings, with the global vortex state obtained at remanence, the stability of global vortex state is enhanced when the inner core size grows larger, and it is due to the reduced possibility of the formation of localized vortex state.
Signal crossing in perpendicular nanomagnetic logic
Authors: Eichwald Irina , Breitkreutz Stephan , Kiermaier Josef , Csaba Gyorgy , Schmitt-Landsiedel Doris , Becherer Markus
Published: February 2014

In this paper, for the first time, a magnetic signal crossing device in field-coupled logic with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is demonstrated experimentally. A 3D arrangement is used to cross magnetic signals. One of the signals to be crossed is routed through a second functional layer and lead back to its original layer by field-interaction of magnets lying above each other. As input signals, the magnetization states “up” or “down” corresponding to the logic states “1” or “0” are injected into the crossing device and unimpeded, directed signal flow is proven by magnetic force microscopy. The field-coupling between overlying magnets is measured by magneto-optical microscopy, and the results are compared to numerical simulations being in very good agreement. The presented crossing structure will enable a flexible design of compact logic blocks and a high integration density in perpendicular nanomagnetic logic.
Graphene-based textured surface by pulsed laser deposition as a robust platform for surface enhanced Raman scattering applications
Authors: Tite T. , Donnet C. , Loir A.-S. , Reynaud S. , Michalon J.-Y. , Vocanson F. , Garrelie F.
Published: February 2014

We have developed a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrate based on gold nanoparticles-decorated few-layer (fl) graphene grown by pulsed laser deposition. Diamond-Like Carbon film has been converted to fl-graphene after thermal annealing at low temperature. The formation of fl-graphene was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, and surface morphology was highlighted by scanning electron microscopy. We found that textured fl-graphene film with nanoscale roughness was highly beneficial for SERS detection. Rhodamine 6G and p-aminothiophenol proposed as test molecules were detected with high sensitivity. The detection at low concentration of deltamethrin, an active molecule of a commercial pesticide was further demonstrated.
Electrochemical synthesis of graphene oxide and its application as counter electrode in dye sensitized solar cell
Authors: Singh Pramod K. , Singh Upasana , Bhattacharya B. , Rhee Hee-Woo
Published: February 2014

Graphene oxide sheets were prepared by simple electrochemical method for its application as counter electrode in Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). To develop counter electrode, graphene oxide sheet is coated on the Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) glass and is characterized using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and solid state C-13 NMR. The XRD pattern as well as C-13 NMR confirms the formation of grapheme oxide while FTIR confirms the oxidation of the graphite. SEM was used to study about surface morphology of grapheme oxide. The graphene oxide thus obtained is tested as counter electrode in DSSC. The DSSC using graphene oxide as a counter electrode and solid polymer electrolyte shows an overall efficiency of 0.27% with a fill factor of 0.66 at 1 sun condition. The present study shows that graphene oxide can be obtained using simple, economic, and eco-friendly method and further apply in DSSC application.
Impact of graphene polycrystallinity on the performance of graphene field-effect transistors
Authors: Jiménez David , Cummings Aron W. , Chaves Ferney , Van Tuan Dinh , Kotakoski Jani , Roche Stephan
Published: February 2014

We have used a multi-scale physics-based model to predict how the grain size and different grain boundary morphologies of polycrystalline graphene will impact the performance metrics of graphene field-effect transistors. We show that polycrystallinity has a negative impact on the transconductance, which translates to a severe degradation of the maximum and cutoff frequencies. On the other hand, polycrystallinity has a positive impact on current saturation, and a negligible effect on the intrinsic gain. These results reveal the complex role played by graphene grain boundaries and can be used to guide the further development and optimization of graphene-based electronic devices.
Iron doped silver halide crystals and their potential as middle infrared solid state lasers
Authors: Tsur Yuval , Katzir Abraham
Published: February 2014

The spectroscopic properties of Fe2+:AgClxBr1−x crystals were investigated in the near and the middle infrared. Broad absorption bands were observed at low temperatures in the 1.3–2.5 μm range, and broad emission bands were observed in the 2.5–4.4 μm range. Luminescence lifetimes of up to 160 μs were measured at 3.6 μm. These results indicate that Fe2+:AgClxBr1−x crystals can be used as gain media for middle infrared solid-state lasers, operating continuously at 80 K. These doped silver halide crystals can be extruded to form optical fibers, possibly introducing another family of fiber lasers for this spectral range.
Seismic response of large-scale prestressed concrete bucket foundation for offshore wind turbines
Authors: Zhang Puyang , Ding Hongyan , Le Conghuan
Published: February 2014

Sandy ocean soil is vulnerable to liquefaction under seismic action. This paper describes the structural design of a new large-scale prestressed concrete bucket foundation (LSPCBF) for offshore wind turbines that take the seismic response of the foundation into consideration. Using an integrated finite element model of the soil, bucket foundation, and upper structure that incorporates infinite elements for the soil boundary, the dynamic responses of the upper structure, the bucket foundation, and the soil surrounding the bucket foundation to three types of seismic wave acceleration time histories were determined using time history analysis. The Shanghai artificial seismic wave was used as an example. This wave causes the most intense seismic response of the seismic waves considered, based on the anti-liquefaction shear stress approach to estimating the area of soil liquefaction. The results showed that 88% of the soil outside the bucket in the range of the bucket depth is liquefied. In contrast, only 9% of the soil inside the bucket is liquefied. As the soil depth increases, the liquefaction range decreases substantially. The simulation results show that the LSPCBF can improve the liquefaction resistance of soil inside and directly below the bucket under seismic loading. Finally, the foundation stabilities under an ultimate load before and after an earthquake were compared. The horizontal displacement of the liquefied foundation increased by 41.1% and the vertical differential settlement increased by 6.2% after the earthquake. A large plastic zone was not formed, which means that an LSPCBF subjected to seismic action is still able to support the ultimate load.
Quantitative assessment of biodiesel production: A model-based scenarios of sustainable development
Authors: Chatterjee Rajeshwari , Sharma Vinay , Mukherjee Samrat , Kumar Surender
Published: February 2014

The paper discusses the “Clean Production” concept in which anthropogenic activities are compatible with ecosystems and essentially same as that of sustainable development. It is important for the eco-compatible biodiesel manufacturing that the production processes, product cycles, and consumption patterns contribute for human development and fulfils basic needs without degrading and disrupting the ecosystems. A Quantitative Assessment Model is proposed in this study to quantitatively assess the biodiesel production considering the scenarios of environmental, economic, and social aspects. The paper also suggests planning strategy so as to minimize the environmental, economic, and social degradation, and steps for implementing environmentally conscious design and manufacturing procedure.
Population genomics of the honey bee reveals strong signatures of positive selection on worker traits
Authors: Harpur Brock A. , Kent Clement F. , Molodtsova Daria , Lebon Jonathan M. D. , Alqarni Abdulaziz S. , Owayss Ayman A. , Zayed Amro
Published: February 2014

Significance

Most hypotheses explaining the evolution of sociality in insects assume that positive selection drives the evolution of worker traits. Yet we know little about the extent of natural selection acting on social insects. We produced a map of positive selection for the honey bee through analysis of 40 individual genomes. We found strong evidence of positive selection acting on genes and regulatory sequences, and we discovered that mutations in worker-biased proteins tend to have greater fitness effects than mutations in queen-biased proteins. We also found many instances of positive selection acting on genes that influence worker traits, suggesting that worker phenotypes represent a major vector for adaptation in social insects.
Interactions of cultural identity and turn-taking organisation
Authors: Hui Huang , Lu Yanying
Published: February 2014

Conversation Analysis (CA) has been used to reveal cultural groups with which an individual identifies him- or herself as interactants are found to practice identity group categories in discourse. In this study, a CA approach — the organisation of turn-taking in particular — was adopted to explore how a senior Chinese immigrant in Australia perceived her own identity through naturally occurring conversations with two local secondary school students, one being a non-Chinese-background English monolingual and the other a Chinese-background Cantonese-English bilingual. How the senior initiated and allocated her turns in four conversations is taken to reflect the way in which she perceived herself and her relationship with her interlocutor(s). The findings suggest that the senior’s cultural identity is not static but emerging and constructed in the conversations with her interlocutors over interactive activities. As such, this study contributes to our understanding of the nature of identity and the role of conversational interaction in negotiating cultural identities.
Planning units in speech production
Authors: Tang Chihsia
Published: February 2014

Previous studies based on observations of different languages have shown that phrase is the integral unit of speech formulation and articulation. Evidence from Mandarin Chinese, however, is scant. This research, therefore, sets out to explore whether the speech processing unit of Chinese spoken communication resembles that of other languages by examining its anticipatory retracing configurations in repair-related discourse. Results show that when doing repairs with the initiation strategy of speech retracing, speakers consistently return to various phrasal unit boundaries in the original utterances to restore their suspended articulations, showing that Mandarin speakers indeed organize narrative discourse on the basis of phrasal constituents. Based on the results of the present research, mental capacities of the speakers are deemed to have an impact on the syntactic scopes of anticipatory retracings in reconstructed speeches. This study thus contributes to the literature on units of speech planning from a typologically different language and raises questions about the status of the phrase in Mandarin grammar.
Variation in the use of sentence final particles in Macau Cantonese
Authors: Botha Werner , Barnes Lawrie A.
Published: February 2014

This paper considers how meaningful social information is conveyed with the use of sentence final particles in Macau Cantonese. The purpose in this research is to provide a general sociolinguistic account of sentence final particles in Macau Cantonese, and specifically to illustrate that social meanings of SFPs are variable, and do not constitute rigid or fixed meanings and interpretations. These social meanings, this paper argues, are a potential for indicating speaker identity at the individual level, and constitute a rich resource for communicating speaker identity in Macau Cantonese. This study uses an eclectic sociolinguistic approach, and combines elements of distributionist analyses, social network theory and constructionist approaches with a view to accounting for the dynamics underlying sentence final particle variation. Finally, this research considers constraints such as conversation topic, the affective relations between interlocutors, and gender as impinging on the distribution and use of SFPs in Macau Cantonese.
Bantu-Ubangi language contact and the origin of labial-velar stops in Lingombe (Bantu, C41, DRC)
Authors: Bostoen Koen , Donzo Jean-Pierre
Published: February 2014

We examine the origin of labial-velar stops in Lingombe, a language from the northern Bantu borderland. Labial-velar stops are uncommon in Bantu. It is generally believed that they were acquired through contact with neighbouring non-Bantu speakers, in casu Ubangi languages. We show that the introduction of labial-velar stops in Lingombe is indeed a contact-induced change, but one which could not happen through superficial contact. It involved advanced bilingualism, whereby Ubangi speakers left a phonological substrate in the Bantu language to which they shifted. Once adopted, these loan phonemes underwent a further language-internal extension to native vocabulary, a process known as ‘hyperadaptation’. Both conventional sound symbolism and the deliberate attempt to differentiate the speech of one’s own social group were important for the further proliferation of labial-velar stops in Lingombe. This type of conscious analogical sound change is at odds with Neogrammarian principles of regular sound change.
Null referential subjects in the history of Swedish
Authors: Håkansson David
Published: February 2014

This article is concerned with null referential subjects in Old Swedish (ca. 1225–1526), and addresses the problem of why the scope for such subjects has been reduced during the history of Swedish. Within diachronic syntax it has been a common assumption that syntactic change is caused by changes in morphology. However, this study shows that deflexion only to a limited extent can explain the loss of null referential subjects in Old Swedish, since the most striking change in their use seems to take place during Early Old Swedish (ca. 1225–1375) before the loss of person agreement: whereas referential subjects could be omitted from verb-second main clauses and subordinate clauses in Early Old Swedish, in Late Old Swedish corresponding subjectless clauses are uncommon. Within the framework of generative grammar it is argued that this is an effect of changes in movement strategies to the subject position, [Spec, IP]: whereas movement to the subject position is syntactically determined in Modern Swedish, in Early Old Swedish the corresponding move is pragmatically determined. The study is based on a corpus of approximately 193,400 words, collected from 12 Old Swedish texts.
The emergence of the Romanian supine
Authors: Hill Virginia
Published: February 2014

The supine starts to occur in Early Modern Romanian (EMR) by the late 16th century, during the general process of replacement of infinitives in subordinated clauses. The supine replaces the infinitive in non-finite relative clauses. In this article, I argue that EMR, but not other languages (e.g., Balkan Slavic) provided ambiguity in the primary linguistic data in the context of infinitival de-relatives, because of the underspecification of de for grammatical category (i.e., either preposition or relativizing complementizer). The ambiguity led to two parallel derivations — a PP-de and a CP-de — each of them being an alternative to the infinitive relative. The latter configuration preserves the relativizing status of de, while the former reanalyzes de as a preposition.
Mapping meaning with distributional methods
Authors: Jenset Gard B.
Published: February 2014

The semantics of existential there is discussed in a diachronic, corpus-based perspective. While previous studies of there have been qualitative or relied on interpreting relative frequencies directly, the present study combines multivariate statistical techniques with linguistic theory through distributional semantics. It is argued that existential uses of there in earlier stages of English were not semantically empty, and that the original meaning was primarily deictic rather than locative. This analysis combines key insights from previous studies of existential there with a Construction Grammar perspective, and discusses some methodological concerns regarding statistical methods for creating computational semantic maps from diachronic corpus data.
The discoursal construction of candidates in the tenth Iranian presidential elections
Authors: Abasi Ali R. , Akbari Nahal
Published: February 2014

This qualitative case study investigates dissent in the news discourse of a major pro-reform newspaper covering the Iranian presidential election debates that took place in June 2009. Drawing on appraisal theory as its analytical lens, the article examines the evaluation of the three major candidates in the paper’s coverage of the debates. The article begins with the broader sociopolitical context situating the watershed debates and a description of the legal framework within which the Iranian press operate. The analysis next details the function of attitudinal resources in the discursive representation of the political actors. As central to an ideologically invested strategy, evaluative linguistic resources are found to sharply dichotomize the political actors along a range of positive and negative value positions that dissent from those advanced in the narratives of the dominant power.
Despierten, Latinos(‘Wake up, Latinos’)
Authors: Garcés -Conejos Blitvich Pilar , Bou-Franch Patricia , Lorenzo-Dus Nuria
Published: February 2014

This study examines the schemata underlying the social dimensions and relationships associated with the processes of Latino identity construction in 500 YouTube postings in response to the Obama Reggaeton video. According to Van Dijk (1998), such schemata allow members of a given group to provide answers to questions such as who they are, what criteria need to be met for membership in their group, and what kinds of relationships are established among their group and other social groups. Along the lines of Wodak et al. (1999), our study unveils six main thematic contents or categories that discursively realize the social dimensions and relationships associated with the Latino identity, and tests them in a corpus of unsolicited data in a deindividuated environment, YouTube, in which social identity, such as the Latino identity, is salient. The analysis lends validity to these categories, as they were found to be highly relevant to the corpus. We argue that the Latino identity is essentially political, both in the narrow and the broad senses of the word (see Gee 2005; Joseph 2006). Furthermore, the Latino identity can only be properly understood within the identity politics climate of the US.
Representational Discourses on the Erased of Slovenia
Authors: Vezovnik Andreja
Published: February 2014

In 1992, the Slovenian Ministry of Interior Affairs deprived 25,000 ex-Yugoslavians of their citizenship. This symbolic act of violence is the most severe symptom of the Slovenian transition towards democracy. Since 1995 this group of erased citizens is known as the Erased of Slovenia. This contribution is a critical analysis of political discourses on the issue of the Erased that appeared in the Slovenian printed press between 1995 and 2008. The presented qualitative analysis explores 312 units of op-ed articles, mainly commentaries and editorials, which have been selected on the basis of two keywords: erased, erasure. The contribution aims to show that the notion of the Erased functioned as the “nodal point” around which two antagonistic political discourses were formed. The aim of the analysis is to find out which empty or hegemonic signifiers are produced in this antagonistic relation and how this affects the political desubjectivation of the Erased.
Le mokša ancien, une langue sans adverbes ?
Authors: Fournet Arnaud
Published: February 2014

The paper first presents a little-known language, Mokša, belonging to the Uralic family, and investigates adverbs as they were listed in the first linguistic description of Mokša published by Ahlquist in 1861. It is shown that originally all adverbial forms in Mokša were motivated and transparent derivatives of deictics, adjectives and nouns. There apparently did not exist primary adverbs, unanalyzable in the synchronic system of Proto-Mokša. The unanalyzable adverbs stem from recent borrowings taken from Russian and Turkic languages. This situation opens the way toward a kind of lexical utopia where there would exist no primary unanalyzable adverbial form in a language.
A classification of French adverbs based on distributional, syntactic and prosodic criteria
Authors: Mertens Piet
Published: February 2014

This study explores formal criteria for the classification of adverbs in French. Distributional analysis tests whether adverbs appear in particular morpho-syntactic contexts, including syntactic constructions. It analyses combinations of adverbs, and their relative order in particular syntactic contexts. Finally it tests whether using adverbs in these positions imposes prosodic restrictions. These criteria result in a classification which is compatible with those found in major studies on this topic.
Italian Verb-Adverbial Particle Constructions
Authors: Guglielmo Daniela
Published: February 2014

This paper uses both a Predication Theory and syntactic-semantic analysis in an examination of the Italian Verb-Adverbial Particle Constructions (referred to as V-AdvPCs) of the idiomatic type such as buttare giù una lettera “to write down a letter” and mandare avanti un’azienda “to carry on a business”. I provided here — within the Lexicon-Grammar framework (Gross M., 1981, 1996, 1998; Elia, A. 2013) and Operator-Arguments Grammar (Harris Z., 1976, 1978, 1988) — a new reading of the predicative structure of Italian idiomatic V-AdvPCs arguing that they can be split into different syntactic types on the basis of two main issues: the predicative element of the constructions (the so-called ‘operator’ in Harris’s theory) and the pattern of variation which they exhibit. The descriptive study carried out here is based on a lexicon-grammar database of 300 idiomatic V-AdvPCs with N0 V AdvPart N1 sentence structure.
Délimitation des ADV(Instr) figés en polonais
Authors: Kaliska Agnieszka K.
Published: February 2014

The main objective of this study is to provide criteria for the delimitation of lexicalized instrumental manner adverbs in Polish. The ADV(Instr) figés have to be distinguished from the typical instrumentally-marked phrases and the syntactic complements of the verb, both in idiomatic as in ordinary sentences, in which they appear also in the Instrumental case. Objects, instrumental adjuncts and lexicalized instrumental manner adverbs will overlap with the usual nomenclature of semantic roles : objects, tools and manners. We will examin the criteria for the distinction between these concepts.
Connecteurs de discours adverbiaux
Authors: Danlos Laurence
Published: February 2014

This article focuses on the following question: does the only syntactic argument of an adverbial discourse connective correspond to its second semantic argument? We will see that this is not always the case, which is a problem for the syntax-semantics interface. This interface brings us to distinguish two classes of adverbial connectives we sketch the study of.
L’adverbial en X temps, est-il vraiment un test de télicité ?
Authors: Sikora Dorota
Published: February 2014

The French adverbial PP en X temps is often considered telicity test. The present paper address the question of its reliability : how can we be sure that a VP is telic as long as it is compatible with en X temps ? Corpus data investigated in the article provide evidence that the supposed telicity test often appears in clearly atelic contexts. Further investigation of the linguistic features of the PP under analysis in such contexts leads to the conclusion that there is no reason to rise the adverbial clause en X temps to the rank of telicity test.
Autrement
Authors: Isambert Paul
Published: February 2014

The French manner adverb autrement, as indicated by its morphology, derives a representation of manner from another (autre = other) representation ; the latter may be retrieved either in a subordinate clause following the adverb (autrement que P) or in the context preceding autrement. In the latter case, studied here, an anaphor is performed, and this paper, based on a corpus study, shows how identifying the antecedent is guided by clues, ranging from the verb phrase where autrement occurs to the environing discourse structure. In some cases, those clues are so frequent that one can talk about ‘discourse strategies’ or even collocations. It is thus shown that the adverb’s interpretation obtains not so much from compositional semantics (even helped by context) than from the properties of the constructions where it occurs.
Two Patterns of Cannabis Use among Adolescents: Results of a 10-Year Prospective Study Using a Growth Mixture Model
Authors: Grevenstein Dennis , Kröninger-Jungaberle Henrik
Published: February 2014

Background

The present study aimed to distinguish cannabis consumption patterns among adolescents and to relate these to life satisfaction, academic achievement, and the use of other psychoactive substances.

Methods

This study used a prospective design. Cannabis use was measured 14 times over the course of 10 years. Participants were 318 adolescents aged 14 to 15 at the beginning of the study.

Results

Growth mixture modeling identified 2 latent classes. Class 1 was defined by phases of high-frequency cannabis use, and Class 2 was defined by low-frequency use or nonuse. Class 1 reported decreased satisfaction with life and one's own academic and professional achievement at the age of 24 as well as higher use of tobacco and illicit substances.

Conclusions

High-frequency use of cannabis predicts a decreased satisfaction with life and one's own academic and professional achievement as well as an increased use of other substances.