bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wave packet dynamics and zitterbewegung of heavy holes in a quantizing magnetic field
Authors: Biswas Tutul , Ghosh Tarun Kanti
Published: June 2014

In this work, we study wave packet dynamics and zitterbewegung, an oscillatory quantum motion, of heavy holes in III-V semiconductor quantum wells in presence of a quantizing magnetic field. It is revealed that a Gaussian wave-packet describing a heavy hole diffuses asymmetrically along the circular orbit while performing cyclotron motion. The wave packet splits into two peaks with unequal amplitudes after a certain time depending on spin-orbit coupling constant. This unequal splitting of the wave packet is attributed to the cubic Rashba interaction for heavy holes. The difference in the peak amplitudes disappears with time. At a certain time, the two peaks diffuse almost along the entire cyclotron orbit. Then tail and head of the diffused wave packet interfere and as a result a completely randomized pattern of the wave packet is observed. The diffusion rate of the wave packet increases with increase of the spin-orbit interaction strength. Also strong spin-orbit coupling expedite the splitting and the randomization of the wave packet. We also study the zitterbewegung in various physical observables such as position, charge current, and spin angular momentum of the heavy hole. The zitterbewegung oscillations are very much sensitive to the initial wave vector of the Gaussian wave packet and the strength of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling.
Compact four-way microwave power combiner for high power applications
Authors: Chang Chao , Xiong Zhengfeng , Guo Letian , Wu Xiaolong , Liu Yansheng , Xing Xiaoyue , Li Zhiguo
Published: June 2014

An ultra compact 4-way high-power microwave (HPM) waveguide combiner to realize coherent microwave combination was theoretically designed and proof-of-principle experimentally tested. The theoretical and experimental S-parameters are basically consistent with each other, and the multi-channels of HPM combiner are effectively isolated with each other to avoid the inter-modulating among the HPM sources. The C-band HPM experiment was carried out, and the power capacity of the HPM combiner was demonstrated to reach multi-gigawatts.
Crystal facet effect on structural stability and electronic properties of wurtzite InP nanowires
Authors: Yang Xiaodong , Shu Haibo , Jin Mengting , Liang Pei , Cao Dan , Li Can , Chen Xiaoshuang
Published: June 2014

The crystal-facet effect on the structural stability and electronic properties of wurtzite InP nanowires (NWs) with different side-facets are investigated by using first-principles calculation within density-function theory. The surface-energy calculation suggests that side-facet structures of InP NWs are unreconstructed due to the fact that the low-index {11¯00} and {112¯0} facets with paired In-P dimers satisfy the electron counting rule. The calculated formation energies indicate that the structural stability of InP NWs strongly depends on their side-facets. Among considered InP NWs with different side-facets, the {11¯00} faceted NWs present the highest stability due to the relative low surface atom ratio, which is in good agreement with experimental observations where wurtzite InP NWs prefer to be surrounded by {11¯00} facets. The size dependence of NW band gap indicates that the band gap (Eg) of uniform-sized InP NWs with different side-facets follows the trend, Eg-{112¯0} > Eg-{11¯00}-{112¯0} > Eg-{11¯00}, when NW diameter is larger than 3 nm and a reverse trend is found in the smaller sized NWs (d < 3 nm). Our result opens the possibility to engineer the band gap of wurtzite InP NWs by controlling their side-facets.
Extreme optical activity and circular dichroism of chiral metal hole arrays
Authors: Gorkunov M. V. , Ezhov A. A. , Artemov V. V. , Rogov O. Y. , Yudin S. G.
Published: June 2014

We report extremely strong optical activity and circular dichroism exhibited by subwavelength arrays of four-start-screw holes fabricated with single-pass focused ion beam milling of freely suspended silver films. Having the fourth order rotational symmetry, the structures exhibit the polarization rotation up to 90° and peaks of full circular dichroism and operate as circular polarizers within certain ranges of wavelengths in the visible. We discuss the observations on the basis of general principles (symmetry, reciprocity, and reversibility) and conclude that the extreme optical chirality is determined by the chiral localized plasmonic resonances.
Brillouin scattering study of ferroelectric transition mechanism in multiferroic metal-organic frameworks of [NH4][Mn(HCOO)3] and [NH4][Zn(HCOO)3]
Authors: Mączka Mirosław , Ptak Maciej , Kojima Seiji
Published: June 2014

Temperature dependence of acoustic properties of [NH4][Mn(HCOO)3] and [NH4][Zn(HCOO)3] metal-organic frameworks was investigated by high-resolution micro-Brillouin scattering. Clear anomalies in the Brillouin shift and damping were observed near the transition temperature Tc upon cooling for the acoustic phonon corresponding to the c11 elastic constant. Analysis of the acoustic anomalies showed that the order parameter exhibits critical slowing down near Tc with the relaxation time of similar order of magnitude as for other order-disorder ferroelectrics.
Continuous controllable amorphization ratio of nanoscale phase change memory cells
Authors: He Q. , Li Z. , Peng J. H. , Deng Y. F. , Zeng B. J. , Zhou W. , Miao X. S.
Published: June 2014

The controllable heat behavior, including heat generation and dissipation, is one of the most important physical problems of nanoscale phase-change memory (PCM). A method based on heat accumulation effect to control heat behavior by synthetically modulating the three parameters of applied double pulses is proposed to achieve any expected amorphization ratio. A compact model of nanoscale PCM cells is used to simulate the thermal behavior and amorphization ratio under the condition of single parameter and multi-parameter change of applied double pulses. The results are in good agreement with the experimental results. Repeated experiments also prove the feasibility of continuous controllable amorphization ratio of nanoscale phase-change materials.
Carbon nanotube field-effect devices with asymmetric electrode configuration by contact geometry
Authors: Yotprayoonsak P. , Talukdar D. , Ahlskog M.
Published: June 2014

We have studied experimentally the conductive properties of single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) based field-effect type devices, with different contact geometries at the connecting electrode. The device designs are asymmetric with one end of the SWNT having the metal electrode deposited on top and immersing it, while at the other end, the SWNT is on top of the electrode. The devices were made with either gold or palladium as electrode materials, of which the latter resulted in different behavior of the different contact types. This is argued to be caused by the existence of a thin insulating layer of surface adsorbents on the palladium, possibly Pd5O4, the effect of which is enhanced by the 1D nature of the contact area in the configuration with SWNT on top of electrode.
Cicada wing decorated by silver nanoparticles as low-cost and active/sensitive substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Authors: Guo Lei , Zhang Chang Xing , Deng Li , Zhang Guo Xin , Xu Hai Jun , Sun Xiao Ming
Published: June 2014

A green, low-cost and highly efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was achieved by a chemical deposition of silver nanoparticles on a cicada wing, which has the large-scale nanosized protrusions on its surface. Employing the already-formed Ag/cicada wing as substrate for SERS detection, the detection limit for rhodamine 6G could reach 10−7M, the Raman enhancement factor of the substrate was as large as 106 and the relative standard deviation remains lower than 7%. The three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation results showed that two types of inter-Ag-nanoparticle nanogaps in the formed geometry created a huge number of SERS “hot spots” where the electromagnetic field is substantially amplified and contributes to the higher SERS sensitivity. Meanwhile, the water contact angle of the SERS substrate is roughly 150°, which indicates the super-hydrophobic surface of the substrate. This feature may be conducive to the gathering of target molecules during the SERS detection, which in turn further improves the detection limit of target molecules. In order to improve the application of the substrate, thiram was used as the probe molecule, and the detection limit also reached 10−7 M. Meanwhile, the calibration of the Raman peak intensities of Rhodamine 6G and thiram allowed their quantitative detection. Therefore, the green and low-cost SERS substrates could be used for fast and quantitative detection of trace organic molecules. Our findings may contribute to the development of the green and low-cost SERS substrates and will allow the fast and quantitative detection of trace organic molecules.
Metal-insulator transition and size dependent electrical percolation in onion-like carbon/polydimethylsiloxane composites
Authors: Macutkevic J. , Kranauskaite I. , Banys J. , Moseenkov S. , Kuznetsov V. , Shenderova O.
Published: June 2014

Dielectric/electric properties of onion-like carbon (OLC)/polydimethylsiloxane composites were investigated over very wide frequency (20 Hz–3 THz) and temperature (26–500 K) ranges. The percolation threshold in these composites strongly dependents on the OLC aggregate sizes and was lowest for the composites with the smallest OLC aggregate sizes (∼40 nm). Interestingly, the transition into the insulator state of the composites occurred at higher temperatures. The transition temperature increases with OLC aggregate concentration. Above the percolation threshold, the electrical conductivity in the composites occurs mainly due to electron tunneling between OLC clusters and quasi-one-dimensional hopping inside the clusters. The hopping almost vanishes at frequencies above 100 GHz where the phonon contribution dominates.
Loaded metamaterial perfect absorber using substrate integrated cavity
Authors: Li Sijia , Gao Jun , Cao Xiangyu , Zhang Zhao
Published: June 2014

By embedding the metal cavity into the substrate, a kind of ultrathin substrate integrated cavity metamaterial perfect absorber (SIC-MPA) is proposed in theory and experiment. The SIC-MPA is constructed of a single-square loop metal patch with four splits, a square metal patch in the center and several SICs loaded into the metamaterial perfect absorber. The electric fields of the resonant structures for the SIC-MPA are separated, and the electromagnetic wave leakage is decreased by the SICs. The simulated results show that the SIC-MPA has the advantage of high quality factors (Q-factors) of the absorptivity and the monostatic radar cross section (RCS) reduction. Experiments are carried out to verify the simulation results, and the measurement results show that the Q-factor of the measured absorptivity is increased by 23% and the Q-factors of the measured RCS reduction with 1.5 dB and 3 dB are increased by 21.5% and 18.7% compared with the conventional MPA.
Thermal and optical properties of freestanding flat and stacked single-layer graphene in aqueous media
Authors: Hong Tu , Cao Yunhao , Ying Da , Xu Ya-Qiong
Published: June 2014

Graphene, a two-dimensional atomic layer of carbon atoms, represents a class of nanostructures whose physical properties are strongly dependent on their morphology as well as the environment in which they exist. Aqueous media is one of the most common environments that play an important role in influencing the performance of these materials. Here, we investigate the thermal and optical properties of suspended flat and stacked graphene ribbons that are typical structures in aqueous media. We demonstrate that stacked graphene structures thermalize much more rapidly than flat graphene and display unequilibrated electron and phonon temperatures upon laser excitation. The interface thermal conductivity between graphene and water of (7.2 + 1.4/−5.5) × 105 W m−2 K−1 is also obtained. We also show that graphene hot electron luminescence not only depends on Fermi energy, but also exhibit dramatic differences between flat and stacked regions. This indicates the morphology of a graphene structure may affect its optical and thermal properties.
Resonant photoactivation of cadmium sulfide and its effect on the surface chemical activity
Authors: Giberti Alessio , Fabbri Barbara , Gaiardo Andrea , Guidi Vincenzo , Malagù Cesare
Published: June 2014

Photo-enhanced surface chemical activity of cadmium sulfide gives rise to a wide class of surface-dependent phenomena, such as heterogeneous photocatalysis, chemoresistivity, and chemiluminescence, which have several technological and scientific applications. In this work, the photochemical properties of nanostructured cadmium sulfide films are investigated by means of electrical conductance measurements in controlled atmosphere, while irradiated by light of wavelengths ranging from 400 to 645 nm. Chemisorption of benzene, carbon monoxide, methane, ethanol, and hydrogen sulfide onto CdS surface has been analyzed as a function of the wavelength, in a gas concentration range of the order of parts per million. It resulted that the increase of photoconductance with gas adsorption is resonant with the bandgap energy. It turns out that this resonant enhancement of the surface chemical activity can be of advantage for all the optical and chemical mechanisms that depend upon it. An interpretation of these results, in terms of electronic optical transitions and Fermi level shift induced by light, is proposed.
Absorption of electromagnetic field energy by the superfluid system of atoms with a dipole moment
Authors: Poluektov Yu. M.
Published: June 2014

Absorption of electromagnetic energy by a superfluid system is considered on the basis of a modified Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which takes into account relaxation and interaction with an alternating electric field, under the assumption that the atoms possess an intrinsic dipole moment. It is shown that the absorption may exhibit a resonance behavior only if the dispersion curve of the electromagnetic wave and that of the excitations in the superfluid system intersect. It is noted that such a situation is possible if the superfluid system has an excitation branch with an energy gap at small momenta. Experiments on the absorption of microwave radiation in superfluid helium are interpreted as evidence for the existence of such gapped excitations. A possible modification of the excitation spectrum of superfluid helium in the presence of an excitation branch with an energy gap is discussed on a qualitative level.
Storylines of institutional responses to climate change as a transformative stressor: the case of regional planning in South East Queensland, Australia
Authors: Matthews Tony
Published: June 2014

Institutional responses to climate change stresses through planning will require new and amended forms of governance. Institutional framing of change imperatives can significantly condition associated governance responses. This paper builds on scholarly conversations concerning the conceptual role of ‘storylines’ in shaping institutional responses to climate change through governance. I draw on conceptual perspectives of climate change as a ‘transformative stressor’, which can compel institutional transformation within planning. The concepts of storylines and transformative stressors are conceptually linked. The conceptual approach is applied to an empirical enquiry focused on the regional planning regime of South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia. In this paper I report on and examine three institutional storylines of responding to climate change through planning governance in SEQ. I conclude that the manifestation of climate change as a transformative stressor in SEQ prompted institutional transformation, leading to a dominant storyline focused on climate adaptation as an important facet of regional planning governance.
The ‘Indigenous Native Peasant’ Trinity: Imagining a Plurinational Community in Evo Morales's Bolivia
Authors: Fontana Lorenza
Published: June 2014

Over the last two decades Latin America has been a laboratory for the implementation of new models of state and citizenship. In Bolivia the (neo)liberal multicultural paradigm dominant in the 1990s has recently been replaced by a plurinational paradigm, which implies a deepening of the decentralization process and the strengthening of rights for traditionally marginalized social sectors. This paper describes the process of construction of a plurinational ‘imagined community’ and, in particular, of one of its core narratives: The ‘indigenous native peasant’. I argue that the negotiation of this collective identity and its inclusion as one of the core ideas in the new constitution is the result of a contingent strategy in response to a highly conflictive scenario, which has not been, however, able to trigger a change in the way people identify themselves. Yet in recent years, social movements’ identities have been shaped by centrifugal forces. These forces should be understood as the result of a process of collective actors’ adaptation to institutional and regulatory reforms and contribute to explaining the increase of new intrasocietal conflicts linked to the redefinition of citizenship and territorial boundaries.
Imaginaries of the Ideal Migrant Worker: A Lacanian Interpretation
Authors: Shubin Sergei , Findlay Allan
Published: June 2014

This paper explores the production of ‘ideal’ migrant workers by recruitment agencies in the context of Latvian labour migration to the UK. The fantasies of the ‘ideal’ worker created by recruiters have a particular hold on migrant subjectivity, but they often hide inconsistencies and slippages implicit within the fabric of recruitment discourse and practice. By drawing on the notions of fantasy and desire as developed by Jacques Lacan, this paper analyses the determination of subjectivity in a migration context and explores both unconscious and conscious processes of identification. On the basis of an analysis of drawings sketched by respondents during qualitative interviews conducted in Latvia, it challenges narrower assumptions about migrants’ search behaviour and stable expectations of labour migration, and exposes the split and contested nature of migrant selfhood. It concludes with conceptual observations about the complex process of identification and the unachievable figure of the ‘ideal’ worker.
Synthesis of Bulky Aryl Group-substituted Chiral Bis(guanidino)iminophosphoranes as Uncharged Chiral Organosuperbase Catalysts
Authors: Takeda Tadahiro , Terada Masahiro
Published: June 2014

Uncharged chiral bis(guanidino)iminophosphorane organosuperbase catalysts substituted by bulky aryl groups were synthesized. The synthetic procedure for the 7,7-membered spiro-cyclization step was modified to enhance the chemical yield of bis(guanidino)iminophosphorane derived from (1S,2S)-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanediamine. In accordance with the amended procedure, bis(guanidino)iminophosphoranes with bulky aryl substituents were newly synthesized and evaluated as chiral organosuperbase catalysts in the enantioselective amination of 2-methyltetralone.
Visual account of protein investment in cellular functions
Authors: Liebermeister Wolfram , Noor Elad , Flamholz Avi , Davidi Dan , Bernhardt Jörg , Milo Ron
Published: June 2014

Significance

Proteins, which constitute roughly half of the cell dry mass, are extremely diverse. By counting the protein copy number of each gene in the genome, we obtain the proteome—a comprehensive picture of a cell's biochemical machinery. The proteome reflects physiology, structure, metabolic capacities, and many other aspects of the cell's lifestyle. Here, we visualize quantitative proteome data using a graphical tool we call proteomaps, where proteins are shown as polygons whose sizes indicate the abundances. Proteins involved in similar cellular functions are arranged in adjacent locations, creating regions whose areas give insight into the relative investment in each functional class. Proteins or protein classes that dominate the proteomap indicate demanding cellular processes and promising targets for further research.
Metabolomics and proteomics reveal impacts of chemically mediated competition on marine plankton
Authors: Poulson-Ellestad Kelsey L. , Jones Christina M. , Roy Jessie , Viant Mark R. , Fernández Facundo M. , Kubanek Julia , Nunn Brook L.
Published: June 2014

Significance

Microscopic marine algae (phytoplankton) are responsible for much of Earth's photosynthesis, serving as the base of a massive food web supporting fisheries. Phytoplankton compete for limiting resources, with some species producing noxious compounds that kill competitors or inhibit their growth. The red-tide dinoflagellate
Karenia brevis
is one such allelopathic species, causing growth suppression of other phytoplankton and negatively impacting coastal ecosystems. Metabolomic and proteomic approaches were used to characterize the sublethal physiological impacts of
K. brevis
allelopathy on two competing phytoplankton, providing insights into the physiological mechanisms by which allelopathy occurs and the metabolic pathways that enable resistance in co-occurring competitors.
Functional exofacially tagged N-type calcium channels elucidate the interaction with auxiliary α
2
δ-1 subunits
Authors: Cassidy John S. , Ferron Laurent , Kadurin Ivan , Pratt Wendy S. , Dolphin Annette C.
Published: June 2014

Significance

The auxiliary α
2
δ-1 subunits of voltage-gated calcium (Ca
V
) channels are important therapeutic targets, representing the receptor for gabapentinoid drugs in neuropathic pain therapy. It is therefore important to understand their function. Because α
2
δ subunits augment calcium currents, it is believed that they increase cell-surface expression of these channels. Here, using exofacially tagged Ca
V
2.2 constructs, we now show this to be the case. However, recent proteomic analysis found that α
2
δ subunits are associated only loosely and nonquantitatively with Ca
V
2 channels, challenging their role as calcium channel subunits. In contrast, we find that Ca
V
2.2 and α
2
δ-1 are intimately and completely associated at the plasma membrane and that this is not disrupted by the α
2
δ-1 ligand gabapentin, which reduces cell-surface expression of both Ca
V
2.2 and α
2
δ-1.
Multiplex genome editing by natural transformation
Authors: Dalia Ankur B. , McDonough EmilyKate , Camilli Andrew
Published: June 2014

Significance

The ability to generate mutants is essential in microbiology research. Although methods have been developed for making defined single mutations in bacterial genomes, methods for simultaneously generating multiple defined mutations (i.e., multiplex genome editing) have been limited to model species such asEscherichia coli. Diverse microbial species have the ability to take up exogenous DNA naturally and integrate it into their genome, a process known as “natural transformation.” Although natural transformation has been exploited for making single mutations, it has not been used previously for multiplex genome editing. Here, we describe multiplex genome editing by natural transformation and demonstrate the utility of this method in two naturally competent microbial species. This method should be broadly applicable for diverse research applications.
Protons are a neurotransmitter that regulates synaptic plasticity in the lateral amygdala
Authors: Du Jianyang , Reznikov Leah R. , Price Margaret P. , Zha Xiang-ming , Lu Yuan , Moninger Thomas O. , Wemmie John A. , Welsh Michael J.
Published: June 2014

Significance

Synaptic transmission involves the release of neurotransmitters that activate receptors on postsynaptic cells. The results reveal that protons fulfill the criteria for a neurotransmitter and that they activate postsynaptic acid-sensing ion channels. This activity facilitates synaptic plasticity, a requirement for learning and memory in the amygdala.
A spatially nonselective baseline signal in parietal cortex reflects the probability of a monkey’s success on the current trial
Authors: Zhang Mingsha , Wang Xiaolan , Goldberg Michael E.
Published: June 2014

Significance

Cortical neurons are often active when they are not participating in sensorimotor processes. Here we show that this baseline activity reflects a modulatory signal predicting the monkey’s success on a difficult task without specifying what the monkey perceives or will do. The activity correlates inversely with the monkey’s recent history of success, so that a period of failure is associated with an increase in the baseline and predicts an increase in the monkey’s likelihood of success. The activity is not related to the spatial locus of the monkey’s visual attention. We suggest that this activity is the cortical manifestation of an arousal or state process that controls the efficiency of an animal’s behavior without specifying the nature of that behavior.
Way-finding in displaced clock-shifted bees proves bees use a cognitive map
Authors: Cheeseman James F. , Millar Craig D. , Greggers Uwe , Lehmann Konstantin , Pawley Matthew D. M. , Gallistel Charles R. , Warman Guy R. , Menzel Randolf
Published: June 2014

Significance

The question of the computational capacities of the brains of widely separated genera of animals is of interest to behavioral biologists, comparative psychologists, computational neuroscientists, philosophers of mind, and—we believe—much of the scientific community. Half a century ago, the claim that any nonhuman animal had a cognitive map was deeply controversial. If true, it greatly favored a computational theory of mind, as opposed to an antirepresentational behaviorist theory. Now that it is well established by behavioral and neurobiological evidence that rodents have a metric cognitive map, the question of whether insects do is a frontier question, the answer to which has broad implications in several disciplines.
Rab18 and a Rab18 GEF complex are required for normal ER structure
Authors: Gerondopoulos Andreas , Bastos Ricardo Nunes , Yoshimura Shin-ichiro , Anderson Rachel , Carpanini Sarah , Aligianis Irene , Handley Mark T. , Barr Francis A.
Published: June 2014

The ancestral Rab GTPase Rab18 and both subunits of the Rab3GAP complex are mutated in the human neurological and developmental disorder Warburg Micro syndrome. Here, we demonstrate that the Rab3GAP complex is a specific Rab18 guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF). The Rab3GAP complex localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is necessary for ER targeting of Rab18. It is also sufficient to promote membrane recruitment of Rab18. Disease-associated point mutations of conserved residues in either the Rab3GAP1 (T18P and E24V) or Rab3GAP2 (R426C) subunits result in loss of the Rab18 GEF and membrane-targeting activities. Supporting the view that Rab18 activity is important for ER structure, in the absence of either Rab3GAP subunit or Rab18 function, ER tubular networks marked by reticulon 4 were disrupted, and ER sheets defined by CLIMP-63 spread out into the cell periphery. Micro syndrome is therefore a disease characterized by direct loss of Rab18 function or loss of Rab18 activation at the ER by its GEF Rab3GAP.
β2 integrin mediates hantavirus-induced release of neutrophil extracellular traps
Authors: Raftery Martin J. , Lalwani Pritesh , Krautkrӓmer Ellen , Peters Thorsten , Scharffetter-Kochanek Karin , Krüger Renate , Hofmann Jörg , Seeger Karl , Krüger Detlev H. , Schönrich Günther
Published: June 2014

Rodent-borne hantaviruses are emerging human pathogens that cause severe human disease. The underlying mechanisms are not well understood, as hantaviruses replicate in endothelial and epithelial cells without causing any cytopathic effect. We demonstrate that hantaviruses strongly stimulated neutrophils to release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Hantavirus infection induced high systemic levels of circulating NETs in patients and this systemic NET overflow was accompanied by production of autoantibodies to nuclear antigens. Analysis of the responsible mechanism using neutrophils from β2 null mice identified β2 integrin receptors as a master switch for NET induction. Further experiments suggested that β2 integrin receptors such as complement receptor 3 (CR3) and 4 (CR4) may act as novel hantavirus entry receptors. Using adenoviruses, we confirmed that viral interaction with β2 integrin induced strong NET formation. Collectively, β2 integrin–mediated systemic NET overflow is a novel viral mechanism of immunopathology that may be responsible for characteristic aspects of hantavirus-associated disease such as kidney and lung damage.
Resolution of Maxwell's fisheye with an optimal active drain
Authors: Tyc Tomáš , Danner Aaron
Published: June 2014

We analyse the resolution of Maxwell's fisheye in terms of the efficiency with which a pulse emitted from one point (source) can be absorbed at another point (drain) that is slightly displaced from the position of the image of the source. The drain is active and is designed to absorb the maximum possible amount of energy emitted by the source. Based on the size of the area where the energy can be absorbed efficiently, we address the question of whether such an active drain can provide subwavelength resolution and show that the answer is negative because this area is diffraction limited. We support our theoretical results with numerical simulations.
The Prince–Sondheim Legacy
Authors: Lundskaer-Nielsen Miranda
Published: June 2014

In the 1960s and 70s, the collaboration between Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince produced a series of Broadway musicals—includingCompany, Follies, Sweeney Todd, andPacific Overtures—that helped to challenge the positioning of musicals on the cultural barometer. This chapter looks at the early theatrical experiences of both Prince and Sondheim, explores the range of influences that helped to shape their collaborative works, examines the combination of tradition and innovation in the shows, highlights the different but crucial roles of both collaborators in the creative process, and evaluates the legacy of the Prince–Sondheim shows in America and beyond.
“Give Us More to See”
Authors: Coleman Bud
Published: June 2014

While ardent fans of musicals by Stephen Sondheim understandably find themselves awed again and again by his brilliantly erudite lyrics and his breathtaking music, most likely few come away from a production extolling what the show looked like, assuming that any praise devoted to the visual elements would somehow diminish Sondheim’s contributions as lyricist and composer. Yet to neglect themise en scèneof a Sondheim musical (at least in its original incarnation) is to deny the significant planning and thought that Sondheim devotes to the visual–kinetic realization of his work. In close collaboration with his directors, choreographers, and designers, Sondheim helped to revolutionize not only what the late twentieth-century musical sounded like, but also how it looked.
Orchestrators in their Own Words
Authors: Matthews Nathan R.
Published: June 2014

This chapter looks closely at the practice of turning Sondheim’s original scores into fully realized orchestrations. Sondheim delivers his scores to his orchestrators with every note composed. While he has close relationships with his orchestrators and reviews every measure of the music with them, he does not involve himself in terms of specific instruments. The orchestras for the original Broadway productions of his shows had more musicians than producers are willing to fund in the twenty-first century. In the new millennium, Sondheim embraces the evolution of theatrical economics and consequently that of his shows’ orchestrations. He mentors and supports the reimagining of his works, thereby giving orchestrators and other theater artists the pleasant opportunity to learn and examine his works within their own more limited financial resources.
“Something Just Broke”
Authors: Gordon Joanne
Published: June 2014

Arguing that all art is political, Joanne Gordon takes a personal approach to her analysis ofAssassins. As a former South African who grew up under the tyranny of the apartheid era, Gordon shares her ideas and experience of directing the musicalAssassinsin the Long Beach Armory under the watchful eye of the men and women of the National Guard, who were on active duty during the invasion of Iraq. The musical proved to be an ideal choice in its dramatization of the themes of power and political mayhem through the form and style of the American musical. Tracing the controversy and insights that surrounded the production, Gordon reveals that the political connotations of Sondheim’s words and music served as a powerful catalyst to stir the conscience of her predominantly young student audience.
Evening Primrose
Authors: Stilwell Robynn J.
Published: June 2014

Stephen Sondheim’s 1966 television musicalEvening Primroseis an intriguing snapshot that captures a number of intersecting impulses: Sondheim’s own predilection toward mystery, fantasy, and the macabre; the shifting ground of mid-century popular culture, both in style and medium; and a yearning for the urban pastoral, an escape from the urbanization, mechanization, and alienation of the modern condition, particularly in New York City. Charles is a poet who escapes into a department store; there, he discovers an aging, alternative society that lives in fear of “the Dark Men,” and a young woman, Ella, who was lost in the store as a child and is now entrapped as a servant. Sondheim’s score both reflects the prose of John Collier’s fantastical epistolary short story and foreshadows Sondheim’s own distinctive text-setting and musical-thematic relationships.
Sondheim’s America; America’s Sondheim
Authors: Knapp Raymond
Published: June 2014

Although Stephen Sondheim has long been considered the leading writer for the American musical stage in his generation, and although many of his shows have become repertory fixtures, their original runs have tended to be relatively short, and his thematic engagements with conventional ideas of “America” have often been querulous. To understand better why “Sondheim” and “America” have thus often seemed not to map easily to each other, this chapter considers one of his famous flops,Anyone Can Whistle, in the context of his earlier collaborations with Arthur Laurents and as a show that set an agenda quite different from that of his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II; this new agenda would sustain the remainder of his career to date.
Climate Change and Agriculture
Authors: Watson Derrill D.
Published: June 2014

Complementarities between improving agricultural production, adapting to climate change, and reducing poverty are likely to increase with climate change. Thus, the worse you believe the effects of climate change will be, the more valuable it will be to invest in sustainable agriculture and poverty reduction. Agriculture will better support climate goals to the extent that externalities are internalized by market participants through a set of policies termed full-costing. Even though global full-costing may be out of reach for technical, practical, and political reasons, this chapter illustrates that numerous options exist to bring agricultural policies closer to socially optimal values.
Introduction
Authors: Haider-Markel Donald P.
Published: June 2014

The chapter provides an overview of this project and the contents of the following chapters on state and local politics and policy. A brief history of the subfield and recent innovations are discussed along with the advantages of studying state and local politics and policy from a comparative perspective.
The Victorians, Sex, and Gender
Authors: Heilmann Ann , Llewellyn Mark
Published: June 2014

This chapter provides an overview of changes and cultural shifts around questions of gender and sexuality in the Victorian period. Against a backdrop of change and dissonance, the Victorians saw considerable upheaval across normative codes of social, sexual, and gendered behaviour. In this chapter, we want to look at some current themes in Victorian studies around the topics of gender and sexuality and place these into the contexts of the multiple cultural frameworks, identities, and discourses on rights that circulated in the period. Tracing the approaches of both the Victorians and contemporary Victorianists, the essay ranges from key issues of contention relating to female sexuality through legal rights for women to new debates around masculinity and male identity. At the end we highlight emerging trends in contemporary Victorian studies and some remaining untapped sources of enquiry.
Emigration in Politics and Imaginations
Authors: Carpenter Kirsty
Published: June 2014

Emigration during the French Revolution has many different layers of historical reality, but the most defining of these was the legislation that condemned émigrés to death in 1793, and that was not altered until after Napoleon came to power. This legislation was not without its critics from its inception, and it is important to challenge the very inflexible notion that all émigrés were automatically traitors. The problems of getting émigré protests heard, and the imaginary aspect of their ideal France—usually a constitutional monarchy—was harder to convey while the legislation was in place. Furthermore the issue of justice for a significant minority group tests the principles of the revolutionaries inside France, and has a context that concerns not only the émigrés, but what the Republicans imagined as well. This chapter deals with the elaboration of the legislation and the difficulties of overcoming a very uncompromising stance on the guilt of the émigrés as a collective. These émigrés were in fact genuine refugees, and like any refugees their plight was the worse for the length of time the conflict lasted.
Theology in the Indian Subcontinent
Authors: Ahmed Asad Q. , Pourjavady Reza
Published: June 2014

This chapter is a first exploratory attempt to sketch a map of Muslim theology in India for the pre-modern and early modern periods. The vast majority of texts in this discipline have remained unpublished and practically no substantive work on their contents has appeared to date. Thus, at this stage of research, it appears suitable that the tradition be gauged in a preliminary fashion from three related angles: socio-intellectual networks of relevant scholars; a tally of the most significant texts; and brief references to prominent debates and to the contribution of certain outstanding personalities. Taken together, it is hoped that the information contained herein will open up some vistas for future research.
Shadows of the Renaissance
Authors: Watson Robert
Published: June 2014

This article suggests that a deeper understanding of contemporary environmental problems can be found in the Renaissance period. It explains that the attitudes toward nature underlying the current conduct of many of the world’s industrial societies took shape hundreds of years ago and cannot be effectively addressed until they are understood. It contends that the arts of the English and Dutch Renaissance reflect an extensive and uneasy meditation on the shadowy boundary between ourselves and our environment and highlights the emergence of such issues as vegetarianism, animal rights, and policy against meat-eating during this period.
Postcolonialism
Authors: DeLoughrey Elizabeth
Published: June 2014

This article examines some of the different mappings of the globe by ecocritics and postcolonalists and the role of militarization as a constitutive part of both globalization and planetary thought. It discusses the historical connection between ecological thought and radioactive militarism and describes how postcolonial approaches can contribute an important critique of universalist modes of globalism. It also explores postcolonial ecocriticism’s emphasis on discourses of alterity and difference.
Are You Serious? A Modest Proposal for Environmental Humor
Authors: Branch Michael P.
Published: June 2014

This article proposes the concept of environmental humor. It discusses David Gessner’s essay about why environmental writers do see more humor in the subject of our studies and why they do not employ more humor in our scholarly and creative work. It explains the scientific evidence of the health benefits of humor and laughter and argues that environmental writers, scholars and activists could present a more powerfully emotive case by embracing humor.
Barrier Beach
Authors: Nixon Rob
Published: June 2014

This article combines personal reflections on the segregation of space in apartheid-era South Africa with a discussion of the place, imagined and real, of African-Americans in the national parks of the United Space.
Introduction
Authors: Garrard Greg
Published: June 2014

Ecocriticism began as an environmentalist literary movement that challenged Marxists and New Historicists over the meaning and significance of British Romanticism. An important component of the environmental humanities, ecocriticism has been characterized using the metaphor of waves. “First-wave” ecocriticism is inclined to celebrate nature rather than query “nature” as a concept and to derive inspiration as directly as possible from wilderness preservation and environmentalist movements. “Second-wave” ecocriticism is linked to social ecological movements and maintains a more skeptical relationship with the natural sciences. The contributions to the book, which encompass both “waves”, are organized in a widening spiral, from critical historicizations of “nature” in predominantly Euro-American literature in the first section to a series of surveys of work in ecocriticism’s “emerging markets” – Japan, China, India and Germany – in the last. The “Theory” section includes essays adopting perspectives from Latourian science studies, queer theory, deconstruction, animal studies, ecofeminism and postcolonialism. The “Genre” section demonstrates the diverse applications of ecocriticism with topics ranging from British literary fiction, Old Time music, environmental humour, climate change nonfiction.
Job Search and the School-to-Work Transition
Authors: Saks Alan M.
Published: June 2014

The school-to-work transition (STWT) is a major life event for those who must leave behind their lives as full-time students and begin new lives as a full-time employees. Although much has been written about the STWT, the role and importance of job search has often been neglected. At the same time, research on job search has tended to treat the job-search process as an independent and isolated activity. In this chapter, I describe an integrated model of job search within the context of the STWT. It shows that job search is preceded by a career-planning and development stage and followed by a work-adjustment stage. A successful STWT requires students to engage in a number of behaviors at each stage which should result in numerous outcomes that are necessary for a successful transition to the next stage. The model shows that job search is a critical part of the STWT that connects the career-planning and development stage to the work-adjustment stage. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of the model for job search and STWT research and practice.
Networking as a Job-Search Behavior and Career Management Strategy
Authors: Forret Monica L.
Published: June 2014

Networking is often cited as a key to job-search success; however, relatively little scholarly research on networking as a job-search behavior exists. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on networking and its relevance for job-search success and career management more broadly. The use of networking for both obtaining new jobs at different employers as well as advancing upward in one’s current organization is considered. This chapter describes the importance of networking for developing career competencies, how networking can enhance a job seeker’s social network, and barriers faced by women and minorities in building their social networks. The multiple ways in which networking has been measured are described, along with the antecedents and outcomes of networking behavior pertinent to job seekers. This chapter discusses the implications of networking as a job-search behavior for job seekers, career counselors, and organizations and concludes with future research suggestions for scholars.
Who Is Searching for Whom? Integrating Recruitment and Job Search Research
Authors: da Motta Veiga Serge P. , Turban Daniel B.
Published: June 2014

We note that organizational recruitment processes and applicant job search processes occur simultaneously; as organizations are attempting to attract qualified applicants, job seekers are searching for potential employers. Whereas the job search literature examines various outcomes within-subjects across organizations, the recruitment literature examines similar outcomes between-subjects within an organization. Thus, although the recruitment and job search literatures have developed relatively independently, we believe that it would be useful to integrate theories and concepts from these literatures. Therefore our goal in this chapter, as we review both literatures, is to integrate relevant concepts that can stimulate future research examining recruitment and job search simultaneously rather than independently. To achieve this goal, we first provide a brief overview of the recruitment and job search literatures. As part of this overview, we review predictors of applicant attraction and job choice and of job search behaviors and outcomes. We also suggest how both literatures have been and could be further integrated. Second, we suggest how three theories (i.e., signaling, expectancy, and the theory of planned behavior) have been (and could be further) used to integrate job search and recruitment research. Finally, we propose directions for future research investigating and theorizing how and when both literatures could be further integrated.
World Englishes and Cognitive Linguistics
Authors: Polzenhagen Frank , Wolf Hans-Georg
Published: June 2014

This chapter presents Cognitive Linguistics as a framework for investigating World Englishes. In particular, it aims to show that the theoretical and methodological apparatus of Cognitive Linguistics provides a suitable handle for analyzing the sociocultural dimension of language and language variation. For this purpose, case studies of first and second language varieties of English are highlighted in which cognitive-linguistic notions have been fruitfully applied in this respect. The focus is on allophone variation from the perspective of the associated sociocultural meaning, the contribution of conceptual-metaphor and cultural-keyword research to the comparative study of varieties of English, and the manifestation of ‘cultural models’ in varieties that are rooted in markedly different cultural contexts.
History of Qualitative Research in American Music Education
Authors: Conway Colleen M. , West Chad
Published: June 2014

This chapter provides a historical backdrop for qualitative research in American music education research publications by exploring how qualitative research has evolved in music education and illustrating the experiences of early qualitative researchers in music education. After a brief discussion of the general history of qualitative research, including mention of key publications contributing to the emergence of qualitative research in general education, the chapter discusses qualitative sightings in the 1992 Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning and the 2002 New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning. It concludes by presenting insights from several early qualitative researchers in the music education field regarding (a) their early experiences conducting and publishing qualitative research, (b) planning and implementation of University of Illinois Qualitative Research Conferences in 1994 and 1996, and (c) experiences of University of Illinois Qualitative Research Conference speakers and participants.