bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Direct numerical simulation and analysis of instability enhancing parameters in liquid sheets at moderate Reynolds numbers
Authors: Sander Wolfgang , Weigand Bernhard
Published: May 2008

Direct numerical simulations based on the volume-of-fluid method have been performed in order to identify the influence of the inflow velocity conditions on the sensitivity of primary breakup phenomena. A liquid sheet ejected into a gaseous environment at moderate Reynolds numbers ranging from Re=3000 to 7000 was considered. The numerical setup allows to vary the influencing parameters individually such that numerical simulations can be performed as “numerical experiments” by varying each of the possible parameters separately. The focus of the present study was directed to the identification of those parameters that most strongly enhance primary breakup phenomena. These key parameters are the flow quantities such as the range of the inflow velocity and the inherent character of the mean velocity profile as well as the corresponding dimensionless groups and turbulence quantities of the nozzle flow. The present results show that in addition to these well known quantities the kinetic energy flux, which depends on the character of the mean velocity profile generated by the nozzle geometry, has a drastic influence on the instabilities appearing. Detailed insight into the flow phenomena is given, such as the velocity profile relaxation and the development of shear layers as well as the spreading rates appearing depending on the inflow velocity conditions. In addition, the influence of the spatial resolution as well as the influence of a simplified two-dimensional compared to a three-dimensional setup has been investigated. The outcome of different mean velocity profiles at the inflow is compared by analyzing the typical kinetic energy and spreading rate issued by different nozzle designs.
On the contact conditions for the charge profile in the theory of the electrical double layer for nonsymmetrical electrolytes
Authors: Holovko M. , di Caprio D.
Published: May 2008

In this paper, we generalize a recently derived expression of the contact value of the charge profile for the case of nonsymmetrical electrolytes. For the electrolytes with a single type of cation and anion, this relation can be presented as the sum of three contributions. One of them is the normal component of the Maxwell electrostatic stress tensor. The second one is the surface electrostatic property, which is defined as the integral of the product of the gradient of the electrical potential and the density distribution function of coions. The third term is the bulk contribution, which is defined by the sum for anions and for cations of the product of their charge and their partial pressure. For noncharged surfaces, only the last two terms are present and have the same sign in the case of size asymmetry. In the case of charge asymmetry, the contact value of the charge profile is the result of the competitions of bulk and surface terms in which the bulk term is dominant. Using both the contact theorems for the density and the charge profiles, the exact expressions for the contact values of the profiles of coions and counterions are obtained and some related properties are discussed. A semiempirical expression of the contact value of the charge profile is discussed in relation to our exact result.
The effect of sequence on the conformational stability of a model heteropolymer in explicit water
Authors: Patel Bryan A. , Debenedetti Pablo G. , Stillinger Frank H. , Rossky Peter J.
Published: May 2008

We investigate the properties of a two-dimensional lattice heteropolymer model for a protein in which water is explicitly represented. The model protein distinguishes between hydrophobic and polar monomers through the effect of the hydrophobic monomers on the entropy and enthalpy of the hydrogen bonding of solvation shell water molecules. As experimentally observed, model heteropolymer sequences fold into stable native states characterized by a hydrophobic core to avoid unfavorable interactions with the solvent. These native states undergo cold, pressure, and thermal denaturation into distinct configurations for each type of unfolding transition. However, the heteropolymer sequence is an important element, since not all sequences will fold into stable native states at positive pressures. Simulation of a large collection of sequences indicates that these fall into two general groups, those exhibiting highly stable native structures and those that do not. Statistical analysis of important patterns in sequences shows a strong tendency for observing long blocks of hydrophobic or polar monomers in the most stable sequences. Statistical analysis also shows that alternation of hydrophobic and polar monomers appears infrequently among the most stable sequences. These observations are not absolute design rules and, in practice, these are not sufficient to rationally design very stable heteropolymers. We also study the effect of mutations on improving the stability of the model proteins, and demonstrate that it is possible to obtain a very stable heteropolymer from directed evolution of an initially unstable heteropolymer.
Choosing the best geometries for the linear characterization of lossy piezoceramics: Study of the thickness-poled shear plate
Authors: Pardo L. , Montero de Espinosa F. , García A. , Brebøl K.
Published: May 2008

Resonance modes of a thickness-poled piezoceramic shear plate are studied. When determining material properties from impedance measurements, it is required to obtain an uncoupled shear resonance. The shear resonance, which is electrically excited, results to a series of plate resonances, which is mechanically excited by this, when frequencies match. Thus, the condition of a high aspect ratio of the plate is not valid to eliminate coupling. Instead, the thickness (t) and lateral dimensions (L,w) of the plate must be tailored for each material. This approach was tested for a commercial piezoceramic and plates amenable for characterization obtained for aspect ratios below L:t=15:1 (L=w).
Effect of pressure and light on the spin transition behavior of the dinuclear iron(II) compound [FeII2(PMAT)2](BF4)4⋅DMF
Authors: Bhattacharjee Ashis , Ksenofontov Vadim , Kitchen Jonathan A. , White Nicholas G. , Brooker Sally , Gütlich Philipp
Published: May 2008

We present the results of our investigation into the effects of pressure and light on the high spin⇆low spin transition behavior of the dinuclear iron(II) compound [FeII2(PMAT)2](BF4)4⋅DMF. It is found that increased pressure favors the stabilization of the system through a transition from the (HS-HS) state to the (HS-LS) state. Interestingly, even under the pressure of 10.3kbar and low temperatures, there is no evidence of the (LS-LS) form. Irradiation of the (HS-LS) state with light induces a transition from (HS-LS) to a (HS-HS) metastable state. These results underline the role of intermolecular interactions in the stabilization of the dinuclear lattice system.
Influence of pulse amplitude and rise time on field-induced domain wall propagation in Ni80Fe20 nanowires
Authors: Weerts K. , Neutens P. , Lagae L. , Borghs G.
Published: May 2008

We have studied the field-induced propagation of domain walls (DWs) in magnetic nanowires by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr microscopy. Magnetic field pulses with variable field amplitude lead to a DW velocity up to 500 m/s in 750 nm wide Ni80Fe20 nanowires, exceeding many other previous time-resolved optical measurements. Experiments show a linear relation between DW velocity and magnetic field beyond the Walker breakdown field, in agreement with micromagnetic simulations. In these simulations, the oscillation of DW type between vortex and transverse type, beyond Walker breakdown, is visualized. Furthermore, we experimentally show that the magnetic field pulse rise time is an important parameter for characterizing the DW velocity. Different pulse rise times lead to different injected DW types and DW velocities. These transient effects are especially important in possible future devices, where an ultrafast dynamical response of the DW is desired.
Toward an effective yet reliable many-body computation of magnetic couplings in bisnitronyl nitroxide biradicals
Authors: Barone Vincenzo , Cacelli Ivo , Ferretti Alessandro , Girlanda Michele
Published: May 2008

Configuration interaction calculations have been applied to the study of the magnetic coupling in a series of bisnitronyl nitroxide diradicals. Molecular orbitals obtained with different localization schemes have been considered in the generation of the configuration interaction space, with the aim of investigating the role played by the various fragments in the magnetic interaction. Polyene spacers are found significant, while fragments outside the magnetic-bridge-magnetic moiety can be neglected.
An orthogonal surface phase in semipolar GaN∕r-plane sapphire
Authors: Kusakabe Kazuhide , Terui Daisuke , Yamazaki Takashi , Hashimoto Iwao , Ohkawa Kazuhiro
Published: May 2008

This paper reports structural characterization on semipolar GaN films grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. The polar orientation of semipolar GaN is assigned that the N-polar plane faces the surface side. The epitaxial relationship of the semipolar GaN∕r-plane sapphire is determined as [0001¯]GaN∥[12¯13]sapphire and [11¯00]GaN∥[11¯01¯]sapphire. An anomalous phase orthogonal-twisted around the c-axis is revealed by transmission electron microscope, which is almost localized at the surface.
Impact of mechanical stress on direct and trap-assisted gate leakage currents in p-type silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors
Authors: Choi Youn Sung , Nishida Toshikazu , Thompson Scott E.
Published: May 2008

Uniaxial four point mechanical stress-altered direct and trap-assisted gate leakage currents are measured for (100) p-type silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with TaN gate and SiO2 dielectric. In samples where direct tunneling is dominant, tensile stress along [110] increases the gate to substrate electron tunneling, while it decreases electron tunneling from substrate to gate. An opposing dependence is observed with compressive stress. In samples where trap-assisted tunneling is dominant, gate leakage current is shown to increase for both tensile and compressive stresses, which likely results from a mechanical stress-induced decrease in trap activation energy of the SiO2∕Si interface traps.
Comments on “Gazeau–Klauder coherent states for trigonometric Rosen–Morse potential” [J. Math. Phys. 49, 022104 (2008)]
Authors: Fakhri H. , Dehghani A.
Published: May 2008

In a recently published paper in this journal [A. Cheaghlou and O. Faizy, J. Math. Phys. 49, 022104 (2008)], the authors introduce the Gazeau–Klauder coherent states for the trigonometric Rosen–Morse potential as an infinite superposition of the wavefunctions. It is shown that their proposed measure to realize the resolution of the identity condition is not positive definite. Consequently, the claimed coherencies for the trigonometric Rosen–Morse wavefunctions cannot actually exist.
High resolution probe of spin-orbit coupling and the singlet-triplet gap in chlorocarbene
Authors: Tao Chong , Mukarakate Calvin , Judge Richard H. , Reid Scott A.
Published: May 2008

Among the most important of chemical intermediates are the carbenes, characterized by a divalent carbon that generates low-lying biradical (triplet) and spin-paired (singlet) configurations with unique chemical reactivities. The “holy grail” of carbene chemistry has been determining the singlet-triplet gap and intersystem crossing rates. We report here the first high resolution spectra of singlet-triplet transitions in a prototypical singlet carbene, CHCl, which probe in detail the triplet state structure and spin-orbit coupling with the ground singlet state. Our spectra reveal a pronounced vibrational state dependence of the triplet state spin-spin splitting parameter, which we show is a sensitive probe of spin-orbit coupling with nearby singlet states. The parameters derived from our spectra, including a precise determination of the singlet-triplet energy gap, are in excellent agreement with recent ab initio calculations.
An optical limiter based on ferrofluids
Authors: Nair Swapna S. , Thomas Jinto , Suchand Sandeep C. S. , Anantharaman M. R. , Philip Reji
Published: May 2008

We report an optical limiter based on ferrofluids which has a very high shelf life and remarkable thermal stability, which are important requirements for sustainable use with intense lasers. The colloidal suspensions contain nanosized particles of approximately 80Å diameter, with a number density of the order of 1022∕m3. The nonlinear optical transmission of the samples is studied using nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses. Excited state absorption phenomena contribute to enhanced limiting in the nanosecond excitation regime. An advantageous feature of ferrofluids in terms of device applications is that their optical properties are controllable by an external magnetic field.
A high-k Y2O3 charge trapping layer for nonvolatile memory application
Authors: Pan Tung-Ming , Yeh Wen-Wei
Published: May 2008

In this letter, a silicon-oxide-high-k-oxide-silicon memory structure using a high-k Y2O3 film as the charge trapping layer is reported for nonvolatile memory application. From x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis, we found that the Y2O3 layer formed after annealing at 700°C for 30s. When using channel hot electron injection for charging and band-to-band hot hole for discharging, the high-k Y2O3 memories exhibited large threshold voltage shifting (memory window of 2.3V), excellent data retention (charge loss of 8% at room temperature), and good endurance characteristics (program/erase cycles up to 105) because of the higher probability for trapping the charge carrier due to the formation of a well-crystallized Y2O3 structure.
Transport properties in C60 field-effect transistor with a single Schottky barrier
Authors: Ohta Yohei , Kubozono Yoshihiro , Fujiwara Akihiko
Published: May 2008

C 60 field-effect transistor (FET) has been fabricated with a single Schottky barrier formed by an insertion of 1-dodecanethiol at the interface between the active layer and the gate dielectric. The suppression of drain current is observed at low drain-source voltage, showing a formation of the carrier injection barrier. Furthermore, a clear difference between forward and reverse drain currents is observed in the FET in a high temperature region, showing that this FET device is close to an ideal single Schottky diode. The quantitative analysis for carrier injection barrier has been achieved with thermionic emission model for a single Schottky barrier.
Solution-processed polymer-free photovoltaic devices consisting of PbSe colloidal quantum dots and tetrabenzoporphyrins
Authors: Kikuchi Einosuke , Kitada Seiki , Ohno Akira , Aramaki Shinji , Maenosono Shinya
Published: May 2008

Polymer-free photovoltaic devices were fabricated via a solution process using PbSe colloidal quantum dots and an organic semiconductor, tetrabenzoporphyrin, that can be derived from a soluble precursor. Flat heterojunction (FHJ) and bulk heterojunction (BHJ) devices were fabricated and the current-voltage characteristics of the devices were measured. Consequently, we observed photovoltaic conversion for both devices and found the energy conversion efficiency of the BHJ device (1.8×10−3%) is 40 times that of the FHJ device under 100mWcm−2 illumination at 800nm.
Functional plasticity of a peroxidase allows evolution of diverse disulfide-reducing pathways
Authors: Faulkner Melinda J. , Veeravalli Karthik , Gon Stéphanie , Georgiou George , Beckwith Jon
Published: May 2008

In
Escherichia coli
, the glutathione/glutaredoxin and thioredoxin pathways are essential for the reduction of cytoplasmic protein disulfide bonds, including those formed in the essential enzyme ribonucleotide reductase during its action on substrates. Double mutants lacking thioredoxin reductase (
trxB
) and glutathione reductase (
gor
) or glutathione biosynthesis (
gshA
) cannot grow. Growth of Δ
gor
Δ
trxB
strains is restored by a mutant (
ahpC
*) of the peroxiredoxin AhpC, converting it to a disulfide reductase that generates reduced glutathione. Here, we show that
ahpC
* also restores growth to a Δ
gshB
Δ
trxB
strain, which lacks glutathione and accumulates only its precursor γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-GC). It suppresses this strain by allowing accumulation of reduced γ-GC, which can substitute for glutathione. Surprisingly, new
ahpC
suppressor mutations arose in a Δ
gshA
Δ
trxB
strain lacking both glutathione and γ-GC, a strain that
ahpC
* does not suppress. Some of these mutant AhpC proteins channel electrons into the disulfide-reducing pathways via either the thioredoxins or the glutaredoxins without, evidently, the intermediary of glutathione. Our results provide insights into the physiological functioning of the glutathione pathway and reveal surprising plasticity of a peroxidase because different mutant versions of AhpC can channel electrons into the disulfide-reducing pathways by at least four distinct routes. Despite the reductase activity of mutant AhpCs, these various suppressor strains exhibit an oxidizing cytoplasm and accumulate correctly folded disulfide-bonded proteins in their cytoplasm. Proteins most effectively oxidized vary between strains, potentially providing useful tools for expressing different disulfide-bonded proteins.
Structure of a TrmA–RNA complex: A consensus RNA fold contributes to substrate selectivity and catalysis in m
5
U methyltransferases
Authors: Alian Akram , Lee Tom T. , Griner Sarah L. , Stroud Robert M. , Finer-Moore Janet
Published: May 2008

TrmA catalyzes
S
-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet)-dependent methylation of U54 in most tRNAs. We solved the structure of the
Escherichia coli
5-methyluridine (m
5
U) 54 tRNA methyltransferase (MTase) TrmA in a covalent complex with a 19-nt T arm analog to 2.4-Å resolution. Mutation of the TrmA catalytic base Glu-358 to Gln arrested catalysis and allowed isolation of the covalent TrmA–RNA complex for crystallization. The protein–RNA interface includes 6 nt of the T loop and two proximal base pairs of the stem. U54 is flipped out of the loop into the active site. A58 occupies the space of the everted U54 and is part of a collinear base stack G53–A58–G57–C56–U55. The RNA fold is different from T loop conformations in unbound tRNA or T arm analogs, but nearly identical to the fold of the RNA loop bound at the active site of the m
5
U MTase RumA. In both enzymes, this consensus fold presents the target U and the following two bases to a conserved binding groove on the protein. Outside of this fold, the RumA and TrmA substrates have completely different structures and protein interfaces. Loop residues other than the target U54 make more than half of their hydrogen bonds to the protein via sugar-phosphate moieties, accounting, in part, for the broad consensus sequence for TrmA substrates.
Activation of PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways regulates Myc-mediated transcription by phosphorylating and promoting the degradation of Mad1
Authors: Zhu Jidong , Blenis John , Yuan Junying
Published: May 2008

Mad1, a member of the Myc/Max/Mad family, suppresses Myc-mediated transcriptional activity by competing with Myc for heterodimerization with its obligatory partner, Max. The expression of Mad1 suppresses Myc-mediated cell proliferation and transformation. The levels of Mad1 protein are generally low in many human cancers, and Mad1 protein has a very short half-life. However, the mechanism that regulates the turnover of Mad1 protein is poorly understood. In this study, we showed that Mad1 is a substrate of p90 ribosomal kinase (RSK) and p70 S6 kinase (S6K). Both RSK and S6K phosphorylate serine 145 of Mad1 upon serum or insulin stimulation. Ser-145 phosphorylation of Mad1 accelerates the ubiquitination and degradation of Mad1 through the 26S proteasome pathway, which in turn promotes the transcriptional activity of Myc. Our study provides a direct link between the growth factor signaling pathways regulated by PI3 kinase/Akt and MAP kinases with Myc-mediated transcription.
Suicidality in Opioid‐Dependent Subjects
Authors: Trémeau Fabien , Darreye Angélina , Staner Luc , Corrêa Humberto , Weibel Hubert , Khidichian Frédéric , Macher Jean‐Paul
Published: May 2008

We determined suicide attempt characteristics in 160 opioid‐dependent subjects. Three aspects of suicide vulnerability were also examined: familial aggregation of suicidal behaviors, degree of aggression/impulsivity, and smoking. Forty‐eight percent of subjects had a personal history of suicide attempt. A personal history of suicide attempt was associated with an early onset of heroin use, but not with gender differences. A family history of suicide was a progressive risk factor for suicide attempt. Subjects with a personal history of suicide attempt had a higher degree of aggression/impulsivity and smoked more cigarettes. In conclusion, opioid‐dependent subjects who attempt suicide show familial aggregation and clinical expressions of suicidal liability similar to those described in other psychiatric groups.
The Israeli–Lebanese war of 2006: consequences for Lebanon
Authors: Hafez Ziad
Published: May 2008

This article focuses on the political narrative in Lebanon before and after the Israeli war against Lebanon in 2006. It revolves around the subject of national unity as a sine qua non condition for success for the Lebanese resistance led by Hezbollah. A major consequence of the narrative on national unity is the need to build a modern state and establish a cohesive defence policy. The paper also examines the impact of the war on Lebanon’s economy and on its relations with the rest of the world (the USA, France, Syria, Arab countries, and Iran).
The Israeli-Lebanese war of 2006 and its repercussions: an overview
Authors: Haseeb Khair El-Din
Published: May 2008

This opening article is an overview of the various issues addressed in a symposium held in early September 2006 in the aftermath of the war that took place between Israel and Lebanon in the summer of that year. It analyses the reasons behind the war and its repercussions for both Hezbollah and Israel, probes the reasons advanced by Israel and the real intentions behind the war, and reviews the prosecution of the war by both parties and the reasons behind the success of Hezbollah’s resistance to the Israeli onslaught. The article also addresses the responsibility of Hezbollah for triggering the war and the disproportionality of the Israeli response to Hezbollah’s kidnapping of its soldiers. The losses incurred by both parties are analysed, as are the repercussions on Israel, Lebanon, the region, and the international community especially the United States.
Mireval: a web tool for simple microRNA prediction in genome sequences
Authors: Ritchie William , Théodule François-Xavier , Gautheret Daniel
Published: May 2008

Summary: We have developed an online tool called mirEval which can search sequences of up to 10 000 nt for novel microRNAs in multiple organisms. It is a comprehensive tool, easy to use and very informative. It will allow users with no prior knowledge of in-silico detection of microRNAs to take advantage of the most successful approaches to investigate sequences of interest.

Availability: The mirEval web server is available at http://tagc.univ-mrs.fr/mireval

Contact:  W.Ritchie@centenary.org.au

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Characterization and prediction of residues determining protein functional specificity
Authors: Capra John A. , Singh Mona
Published: May 2008

Motivation: Within a homologous protein family, proteins may be grouped into subtypes that share specific functions that are not common to the entire family. Often, the amino acids present in a small number of sequence positions determine each protein's particular function-al specificity. Knowledge of these specificity determining positions (SDPs) aids in protein function prediction, drug design and experimental analysis. A number of sequence-based computational methods have been introduced for identifying SDPs; however, their further development and evaluation have been hindered by the limited number of known experimentally determined SDPs.

Results: We combine several bioinformatics resources to automate a process, typically undertaken manually, to build a dataset of SDPs. The resulting large dataset, which consists of SDPs in enzymes, enables us to characterize SDPs in terms of their physicochemical and evolution-ary properties. It also facilitates the large-scale evaluation of sequence-based SDP prediction methods. We present a simple sequence-based SDP prediction method, GroupSim, and show that, surprisingly, it is competitive with a representative set of current methods. We also describe ConsWin, a heuristic that considers sequence conservation of neighboring amino acids, and demonstrate that it improves the performance of all methods tested on our large dataset of enzyme SDPs.

Availability: Datasets and GroupSim code are available online at http://compbio.cs.princeton.edu/specificity/

Contact:  msingh@cs.princeton.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Reliability of trawl surveys on cod in Norwegian fjords
Authors: Lunde T. M. , Godø O. R. , Rosland R.
Published: May 2008

Lunde, T. M., Godø, O. R., and Rosland, R. 2008. Reliability of trawl surveys on cod in Norwegian fjords. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 937–945. According to ICES, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, populations of coastal cod (CC) in Norway north of 62°N have been declining since 1994. The estimates are based on analytical assessment in which the most recent estimates are tuned with survey information. We evaluate the quality of bottom-trawl surveys conducted in four North Norwegian fjords during autumn of the years 1995–2004. Surveys tended to be carried out later in autumn in the more recent years than in the earlier years. Consequently, there was a significant decrease in sun's altitude from 1995 to 2004 at the time the surveys were carried out. Further inconsistency among years dominated when comparing catch per unit effort (cpue) by year class and age over time. Often, the observed cpue at age a + 1 in year y + 1 was greater than in year y at age a. Spearman’s rank correlation of cpue vs. year also demonstrated inconsistencies in the data. The problems related to separating CC and northeast Arctic cod are discussed.
Claver Morris, an Early Eighteenth-Century English Physician and Amateur MusicianExtraordinaire
Authors: Johnstone H. Diack
Published: May 2008

Claver Morris (1659–1727) was a West Country physician and keen amateur musician. Based in Wells, he was the moving spirit (and possibly founder) of the local music society. A filleted version of his diaries and account books was published in 1934, but the originals have not been closely examined since. They offer a wealth of information about musical (and social) life in the provinces, and fascinating details of the music he heard, performed, bought and had copied.
The dynamics of threat, fear and intentionality in the conduct disorders: longitudinal findings in the children of women with post-natal depression
Authors: Hill Jonathan , Murray Lynne , Leidecker Vicki , Sharp Helen
Published: May 2008

This paper considers how environmental threat may contribute to the child's use of avoidant strategies to regulate negative emotions, and how this may interact with high emotional reactivity to create vulnerability to conduct disorder symptoms. We report a study based on the hypothesis that interpreting others' behaviours in terms of their motives and emotions—using the intentional stance—promotes effective social action, but may lead to fear in threatful situations, and that inhibiting the intentional stance may reduce fear but promote conduct disorder symptoms. We assessed 5-year-olds' use of the intentional stance with an intentionality scale, contrasting high and low threat doll play scenarios. In a sample of 47 children of mothers with post-natal depression (PND) and 35 controls, children rated as securely attached with their mothers at the age of 18 months were better able to preserve the intentional stance than insecure children in high threat scenarios, but not in low threat scenarios. Girls had higher intentionality scores than boys across all scenarios. Only intentionality in the high threat scenario was associated with teacher-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and only in the children of women with PND. Intentionality mediated the associations between attachment security and gender and conduct disorder symptoms in the PND group.
Integrated access to cultural heritage resources through representation and alignment of controlled vocabularies
Authors: Isaac Antoine , Schlobach Stefan , Matthezing Henk , Zinn Claus
Published: May 2008

Purpose

To show how semantic web techniques can help address semantic interoperability issues in the broad cultural heritage domain, allowing users an integrated and seamless access to heterogeneous collections.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the heterogeneity problems to be solved. It introduces semantic web techniques that can help in solving them, focusing on the representation of controlled vocabularies and their semantic alignment. It gives pointers to some previous projects and experiments that have tried to address the problems discussed.

Findings

Semantic web research provides practical technical and methodological approaches to tackle the different issues. Two contributions of interest are the simple knowledge organisation system model and automatic vocabulary alignment methods and tools. These contributions were demonstrated to be usable for enabling semantic search and navigation across collections.

Research limitations/implications

The research aims at designing different representation and alignment methods for solving interoperability problems in the context of controlled subject vocabularies. Given the variety and technical richness of current research in the semantic web field, it is impossible to provide an in‐depth account or an exhaustive list of references. Every aspect of the paper is, however, given one or several pointers for further reading.

Originality/value

This article provides a general and practical introduction to relevant semantic web techniques. It is of specific value for the practitioners in the cultural heritage and digital library domains who are interested in applying these methods in practice.
A bibliometric study of Embelia ribes
Authors: Singh Gian , Ahmad Moin , Nazim Mohammad
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The study aims to present a bibliometric analysis of scientific output of the plant Embelia ribes, the aim being to offer an overview of research activity in this field and characterize its most important aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 332 articles were collected from following databases: Pub Med, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Abstract, Indian Science Abstract and Biological Abstract. The searches were restricted to published articles and contain the terms Embelia ribes and Vidanga. The various analyses focus on growth of literature, authorship pattern, most prolific authors, core journals of the subject, most productive institutes and countries. Lotka's law and bradford' law of scattering were applied to count the author productivity and core journals in the subject.

Findings

Most articles involved collaboration between two or three authors Author productivity was not found exactly fit to Lotka's law with a value of n  =  2. However, distribution of articles in different journals was found fit to Bradford's law of scattering with the distribution of 1:n: n2.

Originality/value

The paper offers an overview of research activity into the plant Embelia ribes.
US venture capital in robotics
Authors: Pransky Joanne
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to report on the US venture capital (VC) industry's data findings on robotics.

Design/methodology/approach

An analysis of unique reports by the National Venture Capital Association and three interviews with US VC firms are presented.

Findings

Since robotics spreads across many different types of automation and industries, companies looking for venture capitalists may fare better by grouping within the industry category that they serve rather than by classifying themselves under the sole “robotic” industrial product classification.

Originality/value

This paper researches the terminology in‐depth and data surrounding US published reports on robotics and VC. A unique report by the National Venture Capital Association was compiled for the purpose of this paper. The original responses of three interviews with representatives from US VC firms are also published here.
Government goldmine: American Indian materials in government documents
Authors: Burroughs Jennie M. , Major Colleen
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to investigate government document collections to identify subject‐related materials and offer suggestions for making those materials more evident to researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using American Indian‐related materials as a case study, the authors conducted a keyword and subject heading analysis of federal government publications from 1976 through 2006, quantifying the publication patterns of various agencies. The researchers used the data to gain a better understanding of the distribution of subject matter throughout the collection and to identify key series.

Findings

The paper reveals that, in a traditional, Superintendent of Documents‐classified, federal publications collection, materials with a common subject matter are produced by a wide variety of agencies. This dispersed production leads to disconnected pockets of relevant information, which creates more work for information seekers.

Research limitations/implications

The case study analysis does not address materials produced prior to 1976 due to limited local cataloging. Future analyses could draw on catalogs with more extensive historical holdings.

Practical implications

Libraries can consider several means of drawing users' attention to subject‐related materials, including reclassifying collections, creating subject guides, and developing subject portals.

Originality/value

The paper is useful for those working with separate government information collections who are looking for a methodical approach to identifying unexpected sources of relevant information.
Circulation statistics in the evaluation of collection development
Authors: Adams Brian , Noel Bob
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This article aims to describe how circulation statistics may be used to evaluate collection development policies.

Design/methodology/approach

The circulation statistics of books acquired by a science library in a specific year are analyzed by publisher, publication date, and subject.

Findings

The paper finds that older books circulated more than recently published titles purchased at the same time. Circulation averages varied considerably between publishers.

Research limitations/implications

Checkouts are an imprecise measure of value. Number of items not purchase costs is the denominator of all averages used; there is a data bias against inexpensive books.

Originality/value

The procedure outlined can be used generally to evaluate collection development policies.
Making growth make sense for retail and franchise businesses
Authors: Jackson Stuart E.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that most retail and franchise businesses have the goal of rapidly expanding to create a nationwide or even international network of outlets. Achieving that goal requires more than just having an appealing offering that works in one city. Business leaders need to determine a pathway to national presence that takes account of the geographic scale economics for their particular business. Some businesses will benefit from rapidly going national with simultaneous growth in many regions of the country. Others will benefit from a much more measured approach, building strong scale advantages in one region before expanding into the next. In this column, Stuart Jackson considers examples of both business types and offers lessons to help companies decide which type of growth strategy is right for them.

Design/methodology/approach

In this article, Jackson considers the expansion strategies of two different retail businesses, Starbucks coffee shops and Staples office supply stores. Jackson looks at how each business expanded and considers their different sources of competitive advantage and scale economics versus competitors. He then draws lessons that can be applied broadly across multi‐site businesses.

Findings

Just because you have the ultimate goal of being a nationwide or global player in your industry does not mean that the best way to get there is to open outlets as fast as possible across the country. Companies that take care to build competitive advantage at each stage of their expansion will enjoy higher profitability, even if growth may be slower at times. The pay‐off is that they will have the resources to sustain continued growth into new markets and win the struggle to create value for investors.

Originality/value

By looking in detail at local and national benefits of scale in the retail industry, the article provides valuable insights into how to understand and predict which geographic growth strategies will maximize long term success and value creation.
The fast‐multipole method applied to open‐PEC problems with triangular type wire‐to‐surface junctions
Authors: Yu Yiqiang , McCowen Andy
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The paper aims to focus on: implementation of the fast‐multipole method (FMM) to open perfect electric conductors (PEC) problems involving triangular type wire‐to‐surface junctions; investigation and analysis of the effect of wire‐to‐surface junction configuration on the conditioning of the linear systems; application of the preconditioning technique to improve the efficiency of the FMM scheme on such problems.

Design/methodology/approach

A complete set of formulations is proposed to evaluate the far‐field terms of the impedance matrix that represent the couplings between the wire‐to‐surface junction and standard wire and PEC surfaces. The formulations are derived in a convenient form suitable for the application of the FMM. An iterative scheme is adopted to estimate the condition number of the linear systems arising from open‐PEC problems with wire‐to‐surface junctions and to investigate the effect of wire‐to‐surface junction configuration on the conditioning of the linear systems. The Crout version of ILU (ILUC) preconditioning strategy is applied to improve the convergence rate of the iterative solver on such problems.

Findings

The solutions show that the proposed formulations have accurately evaluated the far‐field terms that represent the couplings between the wire‐to‐surface junction and standard wire and PEC surfaces. The investigation of the conditioning of open‐PEC problems with junctions shows that the effect of the wire‐to‐surface junction configuration induced to the conditioning of the linear systems is negligible. The convergence records of several open‐PEC problems involving wire‐to‐surface junctions show that the ILUC preconditioning strategy is suitable to apply to such problems, as it significantly improves the performance of the iterative solver.

Practical implications

The proposed FMM strategy can be applied to many practical large‐scale open‐PEC problems that involve wire‐to‐surface junctions, such as antenna arrays and electromagnetic compatibility problems, to effectively speed up the overall electromagnetic simulation progress and overcome the bottleneck associated with the dense impedance matrix of the method‐of‐moments.

Originality/value

The application of the FMM to open‐PEC problems that involve wire‐to‐surface junctions has yet to be reported, which has been addressed in this work. This work also investigates the conditioning of such problems and analyzes the effect of wire‐to‐surface junction configuration on the conditioning of the linear systems. In addition, the performance of the ILUC preconditioner on such problems has not been reported, which has also been included in this report.
Problem of infinity between predicates and infinite sets
Authors: Zhu Wujia , Lin Yi , Gong Ningsheng , Du Guoping
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The paper's aim is to reconsider the feasibility at both the heights of mathematics and philosophy of the statement that each predicate determines a unique set.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual approach is taken.

Findings

In the naive and the modern axiomatic set theories, it is a well‐known fact that each predicate determines precisely one set. That is to say, for any precisely defined predicate P, there is always A={x|P(x)} or x∈A↔P(x). However, when the authors are influenced by the thinking logic of allowing both kinds of infinities and compare these two kinds of infinities, and potentially infinite and actually infinite intervals and number sets, it is found that the expressions of these number sets are not completely reasonable.

Originality/value

Detailed analyses are given for the introduction of new symbols and representations for either potential or actual infinite sets.
Inciting consumers to buy fairly‐traded products: a field experiment
Authors: d'Astous Alain , Mathieu Suzanne
Published: May 2008

Purpose

Research on fairly‐traded products has shown that changing consumers' attitudes may not be the best strategy to bring consumers to purchase these products. The objective of this study is to examine a different, non‐cognitive approach based on the utilization of behavioral influence strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

A field experiment was conducted involving 168 consumers. The experiment took place in the context of a commercial stand in which fairly‐traded products such as coffee, sugar, chocolate, and so on, were sold. Three factors were manipulated: the concreteness of the information provided to visitors; the provision of information about the popularity of fairly‐traded products among relevant others; and the possibility of receiving concrete feedback from a producer.

Findings

The paper finds that, contrary to what was expected, abstract information led to a greater amount of money spent on average by visitors. In addition, knowing that fairly‐traded products were popular among relevant others had a significant impact on money spent only when feedback was not offered to the participants.

Research limitations/implications

A field experiment does not offer a high degree of control over nuisance variables. The application of the manipulations and the randomization of participants in this study were therefore not optimal.

Practical implications

Managers involved in the marketing of fairly‐traded products who communicate with potential buyers using concrete messages should make sure that consumers are attentive to their messages. These messages should inform consumers that fairly‐traded products are purchased by relevant others.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on how to influence consumers' attitudes to purchasing fairly‐traded products.
Emergent realities of global competition
Authors: Fatehi Kamal , Veliyath Rajaram , Derakhshan Foad
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the new realities of global rivalry which has been elevated to include economic competition between nations, in addition to the more traditional forms of competitive interactions between firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The Introduction section discusses the changes that global geopolitics and the economy have undergone from the end of the Second World War to the present time. The 11 macro‐economic factors that have impacted international business over this time period are then discussed. The next section of the paper discusses the nature of the new relational assets of firms, their locations, and the means of harnessing and utilizing them in knowledge‐based economic competition. A series of propositions relating to the nature of these assets, how managers of corporations can access them, the roles and skill sets required of these managers, and the competitive advantages these assets provide, are then presented. The Conclusion section explores the impacts of these global economic changes for national governments and government bureaucrats, for managers of international firms, for their roles, perspectives, and their skill sets.

Findings

These changes have modified the competitive landscape at the level of competition between nations, across industries as well as between firms. These changes have necessitated modifications in the roles, training and skills required on the part of government bureaucrats and managers of international companies. New roles and skills are needed to meet these challenges.

Practical implications

The paper has implications for competitive advantages of firms as well as nations. Executive education and training programs for managers may need to be restructured to provide these managers the required perspectives, skills and knowledge that will equip them to compete and be effective champions of their companies, and also to some extent, ambassadors of their nation states.

Originality/value

The paper offers a new way of thinking about competition and competitive advantages.
Common understanding as a basis for coordination
Authors: Jaatinen Miia , Lavikka Rita
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop further a theoretical framework of common understanding and explore the role of common understanding in coordination.

Design/methodology/approach

A constructive action research approach was employed applying abductive reasoning to develop new models with practical relevance.

Findings

A new framework of the elements of common understanding and a new theory of communication as a mechanism for coordination.

Research limitations/implications

As a longitudinal case study and part of a multiple case‐study, the findings are generalized to theory which should be further developed.

Practical implications

Presents a framework for developing shared meanings to achieve better coordination in collaborative service provisioning.

Originality/value

Presents a new model of common understanding, a refined approach to coordination.
Critical issues, processes and solutions in ISFET packaging
Authors: Khanna Vinod Kumar
Published: May 2008

Purpose

To provide an insight of the intricacies of ion‐sensitive field‐effect transistor (ISFET) encapsulation and describe the presently available packaging solutions, indicating how the packaging requirements can be complied for various applications.

Design/methodology/approach

ISFET packaging is a complete subject in itself. The paper includes examples of the different packaging strategies that have been offered by literature and company findings over the past few decades.

Findings

ISFET packaging has progressed from the initial epoxy embedding of the wire bonds and contact pads to the more sophisticated techniques capable of automation wherein moulds are made for epoxy coating or the chip is tightened between contacting parts using elastomer gaskets.

Research limitations/implications

The emerging packaging technologies have succeeded in making chip packaging more a science than an art, and the new methods are capable of large‐scale manufacturing with greater precision.

Practical implications

Packaging solutions for demanding applications of ISFETs have been provided by the upcoming technologies.

Originality/value

The information provided in this paper is of immense value to researchers working on ISFET encapsulation.