bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Defect interactions with stepped CeO2/SrTiO3 interfaces: Implications for radiation damage evolution and fast ion conduction
Authors: Dholabhai Pratik P. , Aguiar Jeffery A. , Misra Amit , Uberuaga Blas P.
Published: May 2014

Due to reduced dimensions and increased interfacial content, nanocomposite oxides offer improved functionalities in a wide variety of advanced technological applications, including their potential use as radiation tolerant materials. To better understand the role of interface structures in influencing the radiation damage tolerance of oxides, we have conducted atomistic calculations to elucidate the behavior of radiation-induced point defects (vacancies and interstitials) at interface steps in a model CeO2/SrTiO3 system. We find that atomic-scale steps at the interface have substantial influence on the defect behavior, which ultimately dictate the material performance in hostile irradiation environments. Distinctive steps react dissimilarly to cation and anion defects, effectively becoming biased sinks for different types of defects. Steps also attract cation interstitials, leaving behind an excess of immobile vacancies. Further, defects introduce significant structural and chemical distortions primarily at the steps. These two factors are plausible origins for the enhanced amorphization at steps seen in our recent experiments. The present work indicates that comprehensive examination of the interaction of radiation-induced point defects with the atomic-scale topology and defect structure of heterointerfaces is essential to evaluate the radiation tolerance of nanocomposites. Finally, our results have implications for other applications, such as fast ion conduction.
Effects of inter-resonator coupling in split ring resonator loaded metamaterial transmission lines
Authors: Naqui J. , Fernández-Prieto A. , Mesa F. , Medina F. , Martín F.
Published: May 2014

This paper investigates the effects of inter-resonator coupling in metamaterial transmission lines loaded with split ring resonators (SRRs). The study is performed from Bloch mode theory applied to the multiport equivalent circuit model of the unit cell of such artificial lines. From this analysis, it follows that the stopband bandwidth, inherent to SRR-loaded lines, is enhanced as inter-resonator coupling strengthens, and this enhancement is attributed to the presence of complex modes. The theoretical results are corroborated through calculation of the dispersion relation using a full-wave eigenmode solver, and also by measuring the frequency response of SRR-loaded lines with different inter-resonator distance and, hence, coupling.
Estimation of the internal electric field inside (11-22) semipolar GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N nanostructures and the radiative efficiency at low temperature
Authors: Kahouli Abdelkarim , Kriouche Nasser
Published: May 2014

We report on time-integrated and resolved photoluminescence data on self-assembled semipolar (11-22) GaN nanostructures embedded in Al0.5Ga0.5N. It is confirmed that the internal electric field is reduced for semipolar (11-22) orientation. It is shown in particular that the value of the electric field is 450–500 kV/cm for this orientation. The photoluminescence decay time of excitons is used as a probe of the reduction of the internal electric field in the case of semipolar GaN nanostructures. The measured decays are not only controlled by radiative lifetimes, which depend on the fields inside GaN nanostructures, but also on the nonradiative escape of carriers through barriers. The correspondent decay time is found equal to 330 ps. By the study of the decay time as a function of the emission energy, we can determine the evolution of the internal quantum efficiency as a function of the nanostructures height (energy) and to have access to the nonradiative lifetime at low temperature.
Thermocyclic stability of candidate Seebeck coefficient standard reference materials at high temperature
Authors: Martin Joshua , Wong-Ng Winnie , Caillat Thierry , Yonenaga I. , Green Martin L.
Published: May 2014

The Seebeck coefficient is the most widely measured property specific to thermoelectric materials. There is currently no consensus on measurement protocols, and researchers employ a variety of techniques to measure the Seebeck coefficient. The implementation of standardized measurement protocols and the use of reliable Seebeck Coefficient Standard Reference Materials (SRMs®) will allow the accurate interlaboratory comparison and validation of materials data, thereby accelerating the development and commercialization of more efficient thermoelectric materials and devices. To enable members of the thermoelectric materials community the means to calibrate Seebeck coefficient measurement equipment, NIST certified SRM® 3451 “Low Temperature Seebeck Coefficient Standard (10 K to 390 K)”. Due to different practical requirements in instrumentation, sample contact methodology, and thermal stability, a complementary SRM® is required for the high temperature regime (300 K to 900 K). The principal requirement of a SRM® for the Seebeck coefficient at high temperature is thermocyclic stability. We therefore characterized the thermocyclic behavior of the Seebeck coefficient for a series of candidate materials: constantan, p-type single crystal SiGe, and p-type polycrystalline SiGe, by measuring the temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient as a function of 10 sequential thermal cycles, between 300 K and 900 K. We employed multiple regression analysis to interpolate and analyze the thermocyclic variability in the measurement curves.
Chemical and electronic passivation of 4H-SiC surface by hydrogen-nitrogen mixed plasma
Authors: Liu Bingbing , Huang Lingqin , Zhu Qiaozhi , Qin Fuwen , Wang Dejun
Published: May 2014

We propose a low-temperature electron cyclotron resonance microwave hydrogen-nitrogen mixed plasma treatment method for passivating 4H-SiC surface and investigate the effects of treatment on the structural, chemical, and electronic properties of the surface. The results indicate that the method is highly controllable and could result in an atomically ordered, unreconstructed, smooth, and clean SiC surface. The absence of surface band bending is indicative of an electronically passivated SiC surface with a surface state density as low as 5.47 × 1010 cm−2. This effect could be attributed to the simultaneous effects of H and N passivating on SiC surface.
Physalopterine nematodes in Australian reptiles: interactions and patterns of infection
Authors: Jones Hugh I.
Published: May 2014

Spirurid nematodes (family Physalopteridae) are widespread as adults or as encysted larvae in many species of Australian reptiles. Fifteen species of physalopterine nematodes (subfamily Physalopterinae) in the genera Kreisiella, Abbreviata and Skrjabinoptera infect more than 40 species of reptile in the five families Agamidae, Varanidae, Gekkonidae, Scincidae and Elapidae. Four species of nematode are host-species specific, six are host-family specific to varanid lizards, and three to agamid lizards. Larger species of reptile support a higher prevalence and abundance of nematodes, and often support multiple infections with more than one species, with the potential for interspecific competition. Geographic distribution of nematodes is partially limited by host distribution, and by climatic factors, mainly precipitation and temperature. There are strong positive and negative associations between several pairs of nematodes. Two species of nematode with the most pronounced muscular development at the anterior end, Abbreviata tumidocapitis and Abbreviata glebopalmae, only occur concurrently, and in low numbers, with species of nematode without these morphological features, suggesting differences in feeding in the hosts’ stomachs. A combination of host specificity, geographic distribution and habitat, climatic factors and feeding organ morphology are factors that probably reduce the potential for interspecific competition. There is no evidence that concurrent infections affect either prevalence or abundance of nematodes, or cause discernible pathological changes to their hosts.
Effector MiSSP7 of the mutualistic fungus
Laccaria bicolor
stabilizes the
Populus
JAZ6 protein and represses jasmonic acid (JA) responsive genes
Authors: Plett Jonathan M. , Daguerre Yohann , Wittulsky Sebastian , Vayssières Alice , Deveau Aurelie , Melton Sarah J. , Kohler Annegret , Morrell-Falvey Jennifer L. , Brun Annick , Veneault-Fourrey Claire , Martin Francis
Published: May 2014

Significance

Plants use the hormone jasmonic acid (JA) to modulate plant:microbe interactions. Disease-causing microbes use proteins to alter host JA signaling to aid their growth in plant tissues. Beneficial symbiotic fungi, which colonize plant tissues and provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and plant fertilization, can also alter JA signaling in plant cells to promote colonization. Here, we demonstrate that the MiSSP7 (Mycorrhiza-induced small secreted protein-7) protein of the beneficial fungus
Laccaria bicolor
interacts with host plant JA signaling repressors and, in contrast to biotrophic pathogens, promotes symbiosis by blocking JA action. These results shed new light on how beneficial and pathogenic microbes have evolutionarily diverged in the mechanisms by which they overcome plant defenses.
Square function/non-tangential maximal function estimates and the Dirichlet problem for non-symmetric elliptic operators
Authors: Hofmann Steve , Kenig Carlos , Mayboroda Svitlana , Pipher Jill
Published: May 2014

We consider divergence form elliptic operators

L
=

−

d
i
v

A
(
x
)
∇

L= {-}\mathrm {div}\, A(x) \nabla

, defined in the half space

R

+

n
+
1

\mathbb {R}^{n+1}_+

,

n
≥
2

n\geq 2

, where the coefficient matrix

A
(
x
)

A(x)

is bounded, measurable, uniformly elliptic,

t
t

-independent, and not necessarily symmetric. We establish square function/non-tangential maximal function estimates for solutions of the homogeneous equation

L
u
=
0

Lu=0

, and we then combine these estimates with the method of “

ϵ
\epsilon

-approximability” to show that

L
L

-harmonic measure is absolutely continuous with respect to surface measure (i.e., n-dimensional Lebesgue measure) on the boundary, in a scale-invariant sense: more precisely, that it belongs to the class

A
∞

A_\infty

with respect to surface measure (equivalently, that the Dirichlet problem is solvable with data in

L
p

L^p

, for some

p
>
∞

p>\infty

). Previously, these results had been known only in the case

n
=
1

n=1

.
A conformational change of C-reactive protein in burn wounds unmasks its proinflammatory properties
Authors: Braig David , Kaiser Benedict , Thiele Jan R. , Bannasch Holger , Peter Karlheinz , Stark G. Björn , Koch Hans-Georg , Eisenhardt Steffen U.
Published: May 2014

Tissue damage in burn injury leads to a rapid increase of leukocytes and acute phase reactants. Plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) rise within hours after the insult. No deficiency of this protein has been reported in humans, suggesting it plays a pivotal role in innate immunity. CRP in circulation is composed of five identical subunits [pentameric CRP (pCRP)]. Recently, deposits of structurally modified CRP (mCRP) have been found in inflammatory diseases. Little is known about this structural change and how it affects CRP functions. We analyzed CRP deposits in burn wounds and serum by immunohistochemistry, western blot and dot blot analysis. CRP was deposited in necrotic and inflamed tissue, but not in adjacent healthy tissue. Tissue deposited CRP was detected by mCRP-specific antibodies and structurally different from serum pCRP. mCRP but not pCRP induced reactive oxygen species production by monocytes and facilitated uptake of necrotic Jurkat cells by macrophages. In addition, it accelerated migration of keratinocytes in a scratch wound assay. The structural changes that occur in pCRP upon localization to damaged and inflamed tissue in burn wounds result in a functionally altered protein with distinct functions. mCRP exhibits opsonic, proinflammatory and promigratory properties which modulate wound healing.
Bacterial Leaf Scorch in the District of Columbia: Distribution, Host Range, and Presence ofXylella fastidiosaAmong Urban Trees
Authors: Harris Jordan L. , Di Bello Patrick L. , Lear Monica , Balci Yilmaz
Published: May 2014

A survey of urban trees affected by bacterial leaf scorch (BLS) caused by Xylella fastidiosa was conducted in the District of Columbia during 2011 and 2012. Over 20 species of urban trees were evaluated at 95 sites. Symptomatic and asymptomatic foliage from trees with BLS symptoms and foliage from neighboring asymptomatic trees were sampled. An X. fastidiosa-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a polymerase chain reaction assay were used to detect and identify the strains from environmental samples. Symptomatic trees testing ELISA-positive for X. fastidiosa occurred most frequently with Quercus palustris, Q. rubra, Ulmus americana, and Platanus occidentalis. The bacterium was also less frequently identified on eight other symptomatic and five asymptomatic tree species. On infected trees, the bacterium was also detected on the asymptomatic portion of seven tree species. All strains were identified as the X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex genotype ALSII except on Morus alba, where the genotype ALSI and the subsp. sandyi were detected. The occurrence of crown dieback was found significantly associated with X. fastidiosa-infection on Q. palustris, Q. rubra, U. americana, and P. occidentalis. Because this pathogen continues to perpetuate uncontrolled in urban environments, there is a pressing need to identify long-term management strategies that abate disease.
Fusarium Wilt of Lettuce Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae in Argentina
Authors: Malbrán I. , Mourelos C. A. , Mitidieri M. S. , Ronco B. L. , Lori G. A.
Published: May 2014

The green belt area surrounding the city of La Plata, Argentina, produces more than 70% (around 280 ha) of the lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivated under greenhouse for fresh consumption in the country. In February 2011, April 2012, and December 2013, butterhead lettuce plants from cv. Lores showing wilt and stunted growth symptoms, red-to-brown discoloration of vascular tissues, and yellow leaves were found in greenhouses in La Plata. Sections of tap root, crown and stem from symptomatic plants showing dark-brown streaking of the vascular tissue were surface sterilized and isolations were made. A total of 21 monosporic isolates obtained from different lettuce production fields were identified as Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl. based on morphological characteristics (2). Vegetative compatibility group (VCG) analysis (1) was conducted on 11 of these isolates and all isolates belonged to the same VCG. To fulfil Koch's postulates, two pathogenicity tests were conducted with these 11 isolates in winter (July 2012) and summer (December 2013). Healthy 20-day-old butterhead lettuce seedlings of two cultivars (Reina de Mayo and Lores in the winter and summer tests, respectively) were inoculated by dipping the roots of each plant in a spore suspension (~3 × 105 CFU ml−1), planted in 1-liter pots containing autoclaved soil and grown in a greenhouse with only natural daylight. Control treatments were prepared by dipping the seedling roots in sterilized distilled water. All inoculated plants showed wilt symptoms 15 to 20 days after inoculation (dai) and 45 to 50 dai in the summer and winter pathogenicity tests, respectively. The delay in the appearance of symptoms observed during the winter test is consistent with the effect of planting date on the development and final incidence of Fusarium wilt of lettuce reported by Matheron et al. (3). No symptoms were observed in control treatments. F. oxysporum was re-isolated from vascular tissues of the stems of symptomatic plants and the formae speciales lactucae J.C. Hubb. & Gerik was confirmed by PCR using the specific primer pair GYCF1 and R943 (4). The identification of only one VCG for the tested isolates agrees with the hypothesis of seed transmission of the pathogen, which might explain the dissemination of Fusarium wilt of lettuce in geographically distant areas (2). Studies are being carried out to determine the race of these Argentinian isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae infecting lettuce in Argentina.

References: (1) J. C. Correll et al. Phytopathology 77:1640, 1987. (2) J. F. Leslie and B. A. Summerell. The Fusarium Laboratory Manual. Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA, 2006. (3) M. E. Matheron et al. Plant Dis. 89:565, 2005. (4) G. C. Y. Mbofung and B. M. Pryor. Plant Dis. 94:860, 2010.
First glimpse into Lower Jurassic deep-sea biodiversity:
in situ
diversification and resilience against extinction
Authors: Thuy Ben , Kiel Steffen , Dulai Alfréd , Gale Andy S. , Kroh Andreas , Lord Alan R. , Numberger-Thuy Lea D. , Stöhr Sabine , Wisshak Max
Published: May 2014

Owing to the assumed lack of deep-sea macrofossils older than the Late Cretaceous, very little is known about the geological history of deep-sea communities, and most inference-based hypotheses argue for repeated recolonizations of the deep sea from shelf habitats following major palaeoceanographic perturbations. We present a fossil deep-sea assemblage of echinoderms, gastropods, brachiopods and ostracods, from the Early Jurassic of the Glasenbach Gorge, Austria, which includes the oldest known representatives of a number of extant deep-sea groups, and thus implies that
in situ
diversification, in contrast to immigration from shelf habitats, played a much greater role in shaping modern deep-sea biodiversity than previously thought. A comparison with coeval shelf assemblages reveals that, at least in some of the analysed groups, significantly more extant families/superfamilies have endured in the deep sea since the Early Jurassic than in the shelf seas, which suggests that deep-sea biota are more resilient against extinction than shallow-water ones. In addition, a number of extant deep-sea families/superfamilies found in the Glasenbach assemblage lack post-Jurassic shelf occurrences, implying that if there was a complete extinction of the deep-sea fauna followed by replacement from the shelf, it must have happened before the Late Jurassic.
Neurospora crassa 1,3-α-glucan synthase, AGS-1, is required for cell wall biosynthesis during macroconidia development
Authors: Fu Ci , Tanaka Asuma , Free Stephen J.
Published: May 2014

TheNeurospora crassagenome encodes two 1,3-α-glucan synthases. One of these 1,3-α-glucan synthase genes,ags-1, was shown to be required for the synthesis of 1,3-α-glucan in the aerial hyphae and macroconidia cell walls. 1,3-α-Glucan was found in the conidia cell wall, but was absent from the vegetative hyphae cell wall. Deletion ofags-1affected conidial development. Δags-1produced only 5 % as many conidia as the WT and most of the conidia produced by Δags-1were not viable. Theags-1upstream regulatory elements were shown to direct cell-type-specific expression of red fluorescent protein in conidia and aerial hyphae. A haemagglutinin-tagged AGS-1 was found to be expressed in aerial hyphae and conidia. The research showed that 1,3-α-glucan is an aerial hyphae and conidia cell wall component, and is required for normal conidial differentiation.
Identifying risks inherent in farmer cooperatives in China
Authors: Zhang Ying , Hui Huang Zu
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate risks faced by farmer cooperatives in China, using farmer cooperatives in Zhejiang province as a case. Specifically, the authors identify risks inherent in two primary types of farmer cooperatives in China (traditional and modern ones) when the external environment changes, the cooperative size expands and heterogeneity in membership widens.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors assume that the “uncertainty of the external environment” and the “deviation of organisational adaptation” constitute the two dynamic factors that generated risks for farmer cooperatives. A survey of 158 farmer cooperatives is obtained in Zhejiang province in 2010, and factor analysis is employed to identify the risks and their critical degrees of traditional and modern cooperatives.

Findings

– The results indicate that two types of cooperatives in China face drastically different sets of risks. Traditional cooperatives face larger competitive and human resources risks, whereas modern cooperatives face larger decision-making and behavioural risks. Product market risk, macroeconomic policy risk and financial risk are common critical risks faced by both types of cooperatives.

Originality/value

– In this paper, risks in China's farmer cooperatives were empirically studied and systematically discussed. The paper offers a typology to identify risks inherent in two primary types of farmer cooperatives in China (traditional and modern ones) according to property rights arrangements and governance structure.
Minimum energy control of descriptor positive discrete-time linear systems
Authors: Kaczorek Tadeusz
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to formulate and solve the minimum energy control problem of descriptor positive discrete-time linear systems.

Design/methodology/approach

– A procedure for computation of the optimal input sequences and the minimal value of the performance index is proposed.

Findings

– Necessary and sufficient conditions for the positivity and reachability of descriptor positive discrete-time linear systems and sufficient conditions for the existence of solution to the minimum energy control problem are given.

Originality/value

– A method for solving of the minimum energy control problem of descriptor positive discrete-time linear systems is proposed.
Topology optimization of magnetostatic shielding using multistep evolutionary algorithms with additional searches in a restricted design space
Authors: Okamoto Yoshifumi , Tominaga Yusuke , Wakao Shinji , Sato Shuji
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to improve the multistep algorithm using evolutionary algorithm (EA) for the topology optimization of magnetostatic shielding, and the paper reveals the effectiveness of methodology by comparison with conventional optimization method. Furthermore, the design target is to obtain the novel shape of magnetostatic shielding.

Design/methodology/approach

– The EAs based on random search allow engineers to define general-purpose objects with various constraint conditions; however, many iterations are required in the FEA for the evaluation of the objective function, and it is difficult to realize a practical solution without island and void distribution. Then, the authors proposed the multistep algorithm with design space restriction, and improved the multistep algorithm in order to get better solution than the previous one.

Findings

– The variant model of optimized topology derived from improved multistep algorithm is defined to clarify the effectiveness of the optimized topology. The upper curvature of the inner shielding contributed to the reduction of magnetic flux density in the target domain.

Research limitations/implications

– Because the converged topology has many pixel element unevenness, the special smoother to remove the unevenness will play an important role for the realization of practical magnetostatic shielding.

Practical implications

– The optimized topology will give us useful detailed structure of magnetostatic shielding.

Originality/value

– First, while the conventional algorithm could not find the reasonable shape, the improved multistep optimization can capture the reasonable shape. Second, An additional search is attached to the multistep optimization procedure. It is shown that the performance of improved multistep algorithm is better than that of conventional algorithm.
High-speed functionality optimization of five-phase PM machine using third harmonic current
Authors: Gong Jinlin , Aslan Bassel , Gillon Frédéric , Semail Eric
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to apply some surrogate-assisted optimization techniques in order to improve the performances of a five-phase permanent magnet machine in the context of a complex model requiring computation time.

Design/methodology/approach

– An optimal control of four independent currents is proposed in order to minimize the total losses with the respect of functioning constraints. Moreover, some geometrical parameters are added to the optimization process allowing a co-design between control and dimensioning.

Findings

– The optimization results prove the remarkable effect of using the freedom degree offered by a five-phase structure on iron and magnets losses. The performances of the five-phase machine with concentrated windings are notably improved at high speed (16,000 rpm).

Originality/value

– The effectiveness of the method allows solving the challenge which consists in taking into account inside the control strategy the eddy-current losses in magnets and iron. In fact, magnet losses are a critical point to protect the machine from demagnetization in flux-weakening region.
MHD nanofluid flow analysis in divergent and convergent channels using WRMs and numerical method
Authors: Hatami M. , Ganji D.D.
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the eligibility of the Weighted Residual Methods (WRMs) applied to magneto hydro dynamic (MHD) nanofluid flow in divergent and convergent channels. Selecting the most appropriate method among the WRMs and discussing about Jeffery-Hamel flow's treatment in divergent and convergent channels are the other important purposes of the present research.

Design/methodology/approach

– Three analytical methods (Collocation, Galerkin and Least Square Method) and numerical method have been applied to solve the governing equations. The reliability of the methods is also approved by a comparison made between the fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical method.

Findings

– The obtained solutions revealed that WRMs can be simple, powerful and efficient techniques for finding analytical solutions in science and engineering non-linear differential equations.

Originality/value

– It could be considered as a first endeavor to use the solution of the MHD nanofluid flow in divergent and convergent channels using these kinds of analytical methods along with the numerical approach.
A new algorithm for internal heat generation in nanofluid flow due to a stretching sheet in a porous medium
Authors: Kameswaran P.K. , Makukula Z.G. , Sibanda P. , Motsa S.S. , Murthy P.V.S.N.
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study heat and mass transfer in copper-water and silver-water nanofluid flow over stretching sheet placed in saturated porous medium with internal heat generation or absorption. The authors further introduce a new algorithm for solving heat transfer problems in fluid mechanics. The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the nanoparticle volume fraction parameter and a consideration of the chemical reaction effects among other features.

Design/methodology/approach

– The partial differential equations for heat and mass transfer in copper-water and silver-water nanofluid flow over stretching sheet were transformed into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Exact solutions for the boundary layer equations were obtained in terms of a confluent hypergeometric series. A novel spectral relaxation method (SRM) is used to obtain numerical approximations of the governing differential equations. The exact solutions are used to test the convergence and accuracy of the SRM.

Findings

– Results were obtained for the fluid properties as well as the skin friction, and the heat and mass transfer rates. The results are compared with limiting cases from previous studies and they show that the proposed technique is an efficient numerical algorithm with assured convergence that serves as an alternative to numerical methods for solving nonlinear boundary value problems.

Originality/value

– A new algorithm is used for the first time in this paper. In addition, new exact solutions for the energy and mass transport equations have been obtained in terms of a confluent hypergeometric series.
Education-based occupational segregation and the gender wage gap: evidence from France
Authors: Couppié Thomas , Dupray Arnaud , Moullet Stéphanie
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test whether the gender wage gap at the beginning of the working life in France varies with the gender composition of occupations (male-dominated, female-dominated or mixed) and its main determinant (educational pre-sorting or labour market sorting).

Design/methodology/approach

– The first stage of the methodology is to decompose segregation indexes at occupation level into the two components of determination noted above. The occupations are then divided into five groups on the basis of their gender composition and the weight of the educational segregation. Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions are then applied to each group.

Findings

– Among 54 strongly gendered occupations, the segregation in 26 stems mainly from educational pre-sorting. This context is favourable to reduction of the gender wage gap. However, a modest wage differential is not proof of convergence towards equity, as it may conceal the existence of a significant discrimination component, as in male occupations.

Research limitations/implications

– The results relate to a cohort of French youth. The earnings-equalizing impact of education-based occupational segregation should be tested in other national contexts.

Social implications

– Public authorities should put in place incentives to encourage women's participation in a greater range of education and training courses and to improve the matching between education and the skill content of jobs.

Originality/value

– The originality lies in the suggestion that a strong connection between education and skill requirements helps to narrow the occupational gender wage gap.
A study using a graphical syntax for actor-network theory
Authors: Silvis Emile , M. Alexander Patricia
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– Actor-network theory (ANT) is considered to be both a theoretical position and a methodology. ANT has been the centre of vigorous debates regarding its ontological viewpoint but has also been found to have some drawbacks as a methodology. The purpose of this paper is to use a graphical syntax for ANT to describe the development and implementation of a health information system (IS) in order to assess whether the graphical syntax improves the use of ANT as a methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

– An extensive example derived from a case study, describing the development and implementation of an electronic patients’ records system, is illustrated using this graphical syntax. This serves to makes the actors, translations and black boxes in the case visible.

Findings

– The syntax is found to help the researcher to conceptualise the research, to highlight assumptions as black boxes and to follow the actor but above all it encourages the researcher to understand the translations being made between actors and to make them explicit. Hence the syntax is found to assist at the analytical phases of a research project. The graphic syntax found to address the criticisms identified for ANT as an IS research methodology.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposed graphical syntax assists researchers who use ANT as a methodology. Use of the syntax in education is also foreseen to be practical. The evaluation of ANT-gs in the paper provides an argument for its use but a more reliable argument would be made by collating and analysing feedback from independent modellers who actually use the graphical syntax. This is an important part of future research.

Practical implications

– The visualisation of the actor-network provided by ANT-gs provides a relatively simple representation while at the same time it makes key ANT concepts explicit. This is expected to address the issue of superficial understanding of ANT and selective use of its constructs; it makes the actor-network boundaries immediately visible. Thus the paper proposes that ANT-gs will be useful both by IS researchers and as an educational tool but future research is required to verify both these practical implications. The development of a computer-based modelling tool based on this syntax is proposed to facilitate effective and efficient modelling.

Originality/value

– This paper proposes a unique tool to support ANT as a methodology. Its use encourages the researcher to focus on constructs that are essential elements of ANT and, by making each of the translation instances explicit, it strengthens the analysis in a way that is true to the view of ANT as a sociology of translation.
Green IT beliefs and pro-environmental IT practices among IT professionals
Authors: Molla Alemayehu , Abareshi Ahmad , Cooper Vanessa
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the beliefs and attitudinal factors that affect the private sphere pro-environmental behavior of information technology (IT) professionals in using personal computers.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research framework that draws from the belief-action-outcome (BAO) framework and that consisted of 11 hypotheses was developed. Data were collected from a sample of 322 IT professionals and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The results identify the pro-environmental personal computing actions that IT professionals are taking and how their Green IT beliefs, attitudes, information acquisition capability, and organizational fields influence their behavior.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample was limited to Australian respondents. The measurement of IT-specific environmental practices was not exhaustive nor were the measures of macro- and micro-antecedents of Green IT belief and attitude.

Practical implications

– National, regional, and international professional associations such as the Association of Information Systems can influence pro-environmental behavior among IT professionals through the creation and dissemination of information that shape both general and IT-specific environmental beliefs.

Originality/value

– The novelty of this work lies in: first, proposing and testing a research framework that can be leveraged in future studies; second, establishing how organizational fields and availability of information contribute to the formation of IT professionals’ environmental beliefs and attitudes; third, applying and suggesting potential extension to the BAO framework to evaluate the association between IT practices and environmental sustainability among IT professionals.
Kernel density estimation and hotspot mapping
Authors: Hart Timothy , Zandbergen Paul
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of user-defined parameters settings (e.g. interpolation method, grid cell size, and bandwidth) on the predictive accuracy of crime hotspot maps produced from kernel density estimation (KDE).

Design/methodology/approach

– The influence of variations in parameter settings on prospective KDE maps is examined across two types of interpersonal violence (e.g. aggravated assault and robbery) and two types of property crime (e.g. commercial burglary and motor vehicle theft).

Findings

– Results show that interpolation method has a considerable effect on predictive accuracy, grid cell size has little to no effect, and bandwidth as some effect.

Originality/value

– The current study advances the knowledge and understanding of prospective hotspot crime mapping as it answers the calls by Chainey et al. (2008) and others to further investigate the methods used to predict crime.
Risk assessment and risk management in policing
Authors: E. Worden Robert , Harris Christopher , J. McLean Sarah
Published: May 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to critique contemporary tools for assessing and managing the risk of police misconduct and suggest directions for their improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on extant literature, synthesizing several lines of inquiry to summarize what the authors know about patterns of police misconduct, and what the authors know about assessing and managing police misconduct. Then the paper draws from the literature on offender risk assessment in criminal justice to draw lessons for assessing and managing the risk of police misconduct.

Findings

– The authors found that there is good reason to believe that the tools used to assess the risk of misconduct make suboptimal predictions about officer performance because they rely on limited information of dubious value, but also that the predictive models on which the tools are based could be improved by better emulating procedures for assessing offenders’ risk of recidivism.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research should examine cross-sectional and longitudinal patterns of misconduct and associations between risk-related outputs and enforcement activity, develop better measures of criterion variables, and evaluate the predictive accuracy of risk assessment tools.

Practical implications

– Police managers should make better use of the information available to them, improve the quantity and quality of information if feasible, and cooperate in the necessary research.

Originality/value

– This paper offers a new synthesis of extant research to demonstrate the limitations of contemporary provisions for assessing the risk of police misconduct, and potential avenues for useful research and improved practice.
Election Campaigns, Issue Focus and Voting Intentions: Survey Experiments of Norwegian Voters
Authors: Beyer Audun , Knutsen Carl Henrik , Rasch Bjørn Erik
Published: May 2014

This article investigates whether and how changes in issue focus in election campaigns affect voting intention, even if no preference change takes place, and whether such effects vary systematically across different groups of voters. Evidence is reported from two survey experiments of Norwegian voters, where respondents were treated with information drawing their attention towards issues pertaining either to immigration or the environment. Although irrelevant for policy learning or persuasion, this information strongly increased the support of particular parties. More specifically, parties with ‘ownership’ of the issues involved gained votes. Certain types of voters were more likely to change voting intentions post‐treatment than others, but which types crucially depended on the issue area under focus. Nevertheless, the results indicate that the issue focus of campaigns is very important for vote choice. Hence, one should expect that, for instance, even ‘neutral’ political news coverage at or close to election day could affect voters in predictable ways. Furthermore, one should expect different parties to fight hard to steer the focus of campaigns towards issues where they have ownership.
‘Our Late Pious Queen Whose Love to Gard'ning Was Not a Little’: Queen Anne in Her Parks and Gardens
Authors: JACQUES DAVID
Published: May 2014

Queen Anne initially took against William III's expenditure in the Royal Gardens, and appointed Henry Wise, who promised to reduce costs, as Royal Gardener. However Anne soon began to join the garden‐making elite herself. Furthermore, her liking for driving a chaise at speed led to extensive rides in the parks at Windsor and Hampton Court. From 1708 Anne's former reluctance to be extravagant, and her distrust of the Office of Works, had been overcome, and she embarked on some significant projects. In retrospect these are among the formative influences on garden designers of the 1720s and 1730s.
Queen Anne, Court Culture and the Construction of Blenheim Palace
Authors: LEGARD JAMES
Published: May 2014

Conceived both as a personal gift from Queen Anne to her most enduring favourite, the duke of Marlborough, and as a ‘public monument’ to the military victories attained under her aegis, Blenheim Palace has long been recognised as the most ambitious architectural embodiment of her reign. Yet in spite of her crucial role in its genesis, Anne's relationship to the palace remains obscure. Seeking to remedy this omission, this essay re‐examines the major sources to show how Marlborough's complex, and increasingly conflicted, relationship with the queen and her court profoundly shaped the palace's formal development and symbolic purposes.
A Glass Quite Empty: Issue Groups' Influence in the Global Trade Regime
Authors: De Bièvre Dirk
Published: May 2014

Nongovernmental actors with a focus on environmental, social and development concerns have been credited with influence over the global trade regime. Referring to such issue groups as ‘social movements’ or ‘global civil society’, some have considered the influence of civil‐society organizations (CSOs) over outcomes to be a glass half full. A more sober assessment is that inclusion and self‐proclaimed success should not be confused with increased influence. Issue groups have had little to no influence on the day‐to‐day grind of trade policy in the WTO and in bilateral agreements. Moreover, activism againstanyWTO agreement has foreclosed a multilateral disarmament agreement on agricultural subsidies, causing these to continue to undercut producer power in developing countries. Rather than organizing flash fires at global negotiations, issue groups would exert more influence if they redirected their expertise and advice to their parliamentary representatives, facilitating these actors' control and sway over trade policy making.
The Other Red Line: The Use of Rape as an Unlawful Tactic of Warfare
Authors: Benshoof Janet
Published: May 2014

The Security Council has found that the endemic use of rape in war for military advantage – which is primarily targeted against women and girls – is a military tactic that presents a threat to global peace and security. Despite concerted global efforts over the last two decades to end its use, rape as a tool of war continues undeterred. This article links the intransigent use of strategic rape with states' failure to treat it as an unlawful tactic of war under the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) that regulate the ‘means and methods of war’. Embedding strategic rape under IHL's weapons framework will increase its stigmatization, a critical factor in stopping the use of abhorrent weapons or tactics in war. Other potential benefits include the opening up of civil and criminal accountability frameworks and others which provide restitution and reparations for war rape victims. This article focuses on the role of all states in enforcing the weapons framework and it calls for states to undertake an impact and injuries assessment of strategic rape under the Article 36 weapons review process.
A randomised controlled trial comparing incentive spirometry with the Acapella® device for physiotherapy after thoracoscopic lung resection surgery
Authors: Cho Y. J. , Ryu H. , Lee J. , Park I. K. , Kim Y. T. , Lee Y. H. , Lee H. , Hong D. M. , Seo J. H. , Bahk J. H. , Jeon Y.
Published: May 2014

Lung resection surgery has been associated with numerous postoperative complications. Seventy‐eight patients scheduled for elective video‐assisted thoracoscopic lung resection were randomly assigned to receive standard postoperative care with incentive spirometry or standard care plus positive vibratory expiratory pressure treatment using the Acapella® device. There was no significant difference between incentive spirometry and the Acapella device in the primary outcome, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, on the third postoperative day, mean (SD) 53% (16%) vs 59% (18%) respectively, p = 0.113. Patients treated with both devices simultaneously found incentive spirometry to be less comfortable compared with the Acapella device, using a numeric rating scale from 1 to 5 with lower scores indicating higher comfort, median (IQR [range]) 3 (2–3 [2–4]) vs 1 (1–2 [1–3]) respectively, p < 0.001. In addition, 37/39 patients (95%) stated a clear preference for the Acapella device. Postoperative treatment with the Acapella device did not improve pulmonary function after thoracoscopic lung resection surgery compared with incentive spirometry, but it may be more comfortable to use.
Multimodal antidepressant vortioxetine increases frontal cortical oscillations unlike escitalopram and duloxetine – a quantitative EEG study in rats
Authors: Leiser S C , Pehrson A L , Robichaud P J , Sanchez C
Published: May 2014

Background and Purpose

EEG studies show that 5‐HT is involved in regulation of sleep–wake state and modulates cortical oscillations. Vortioxetine is a 5‐HT3, 5‐HT7, and 5‐HT1D receptor antagonist, 5‐HT1B partial agonist, 5‐HT1A agonist, and 5‐HT transporter inhibitor. Preclinical (animal) and clinical studies with vortioxetine show positive impact on cognitive metrics involving cortical function. Here we assess vortioxetine's effect on cortical neuronal oscillations in actively awake rats.

Experimental Approach

Telemetric EEG recordings were obtained with the following treatments (mg·kg−1, s.c.): vehicle, vortioxetine (0.1, 1.0, 3.0, 10), 5‐HT1A agonist flesinoxan (2.5), 5‐HT3 antagonist ondansetron (0.30), 5‐HT7 antagonist SB‐269970‐A (10), escitalopram (2.0), duloxetine (10) and vortioxetine plus flesinoxan. Target occupancies were determined by ex vivo autoradiography.

Key Results

Vortioxetine dose‐dependently increased wakefulness. Flesinoxan, duloxetine, ondansetron, but not escitalopram or SB‐269970‐A increased wakefulness. Quantitative spectral analyses showed vortioxetine alone and with flesinoxan increased θ (4–8 Hz), α (8–12 Hz) and γ (30–50 Hz) power. Duloxetine had no effect on θ and γ, but decreased α power, while escitalopram produced no changes. Ondansetron and SB‐269970 (≈31–35% occupancy) increased θ power. Flesinoxan (≈41% occupancy) increased θ and γ power.

Conclusions and Implications

Vortioxetine increased wakefulness and increased frontal cortical activity, most likely because of its 5‐HT7 and 5‐HT3 antagonism and 5‐HT1A agonism. Vortioxetine differs from escitalopram and duloxetine by increasing cortical θ, α and γ oscillations. These preclinical findings suggest a role of vortioxetine in modulating cortical circuits known to be recruited during cognitive behaviours and warrant further investigation as to their clinical impact.
Orexin A activates hypoglossal motoneurons and enhances genioglossus muscle activity in rats
Authors: Zhang G H , Liu Z L , Zhang B J , Geng W Y , Song N N , Zhou W , Cao Y X , Li S Q , Huang Z L , Shen L L
Published: May 2014

Background and Purpose

Orexins have been demonstrated to play important roles in many physiological processes. However, it is not known how orexin A affects the activity of the hypoglossal motoneuron (HMN) and genioglossus (GG) muscle.

Experimental Approach

GG muscle electromyograms (GG‐EMG) were recorded in anaesthetized adult rats after orexin A or orexin receptor antagonists were applied to the hypoglossal nucleus, and in adult rats in which orexin neurons were lesioned with the neurotoxin orexin‐saporin (orexin‐SAP). HMN membrane potential and firing were recorded from neonatal rat brain slices using whole‐cell patch clamp after an infusion of orexin A or orexin receptor antagonists.

Key Results

Unilateral micro‐injection of orexin A (50, 100 or 200 μM) into the hypoglossal nucleus significantly enhanced ipsilateral GG activity in adult rats. Orexin A (4, 20, 100 or 500 nM) depolarized the resting membrane potential and increased the firing rate of HMNs in a dose‐dependent manner in the medullary slices of neonatal rats. Both SB 334867, a specific OX1 receptor antagonist and TCS OX2 29, a specific OX2 receptor antagonist not only blocked the depolarized membrane potential and the increased firing rate of HMNs by orexin A in the neonatal model but also attenuated GG‐EMG in the adult model. A significant decrease in GG‐EMG was observed in adult orexin neuron‐lesioned rats compared with sham animals.

Conclusion and Implications

Orexin A activates OX1 and OX2 receptors within the hypoglossal motor pool and promotes GG activity, indicating that orexin A is involved in controlling respiratory motor activity.