bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nutritional composition of the diets of South Asian, black African-Caribbean and white European children in the United Kingdom: The Child Heart and Health Study in England (CHASE)
Authors: Donin A. S. , Nightingale C. M. , Owen C. G. , Rudnicka A. R. , McNamara M. C. , Prynne C. J. , Stephen A. M. , Cook D. G. , Whincup P. H.
Published: March 2010

In the UK, South Asian adults have increased risks of CHD, type 2 diabetes and central obesity. Black African-Caribbeans, in contrast, have increased risks of type 2 diabetes and general obesity but lower CHD risk. There is growing evidence that these risk differences emerge in early life and that nutritional factors may be important. We have therefore examined the variations in nutritional composition of the diets of South Asian, black African-Caribbean and white European children, using 24 h recalls of dietary intake collected during a cross-sectional survey of cardiovascular health in eighty-five primary schools in London, Birmingham and Leicester. In all, 2209 children aged 9–10 years took part, including 558 of South Asian, 560 of black African-Caribbean and 543 of white European ethnicity. Compared with white Europeans, South Asian children reported higher mean total energy intake; their intakes of total fat, polyunsaturated fat and protein (both absolute and as proportions of total energy intake) were higher and their intakes of carbohydrate as a proportion of energy (particularly sugars), vitamin C and D, Ca and haem Fe were lower. These differences were especially marked for Bangladeshi children. Black African-Caribbean children had lower intakes of total and saturated fat (both absolute and as proportions of energy intake), NSP, vitamin D and Ca. The lower total and saturated fat intakes were particularly marked among black African children. Appreciable ethnic differences exist in the nutritional composition of children's diets, which may contribute to future differences in chronic disease risk.
Recurrent neck abscess due to a bronchogenic cyst in an adult
Authors: Hazenberg A J C , Pullmann L M , Henke R-P , Hoppe F
Published: March 2010

Background:

Neck abscesses can originate from congenital cervical cysts. Cervical cysts of bronchogenic origin are rare and often asymptomatic. Common symptoms of bronchogenic cysts are stridor, dyspnoea and dysphagia. The reported patient represents the second published case of a bronchogenic cyst causing a neck abscess in an adult.

Case report:

We report a case of a cervical bronchogenic cyst presenting as a recurrent supraclavicular abscess in a middle-aged woman. During extirpation, a fistula was demonstrated to the right upper lobe of the lung, suspected because the cyst inflated synchronously with respiration.

Discussion:

The symptoms of bronchogenic cysts are due to the effects of compression or fistulas. In the majority of these cysts, a thorough investigation involving history, examination and radiological imaging does not clearly demonstrate a fistula. Therefore, extirpation is both diagnostic and therapeutic.

Conclusion:

A bronchogenic cyst is a very rare cause of a recurrent deep neck abscess. Total extirpation is the treatment of choice.
Emotion-modulated startle in anxiety disorders is blunted by co-morbid depressive episodes
Authors: Taylor-Clift A. , Morris B. H. , Rottenberg J. , Kovacs M.
Published: March 2010

Background

While anxiety has been associated with exaggerated emotional reactivity, depression has been associated with blunted, or context insensitive, emotional responding. Although anxiety and depressive disorders are frequently co-morbid, surprisingly little is known about emotional reactivity when the two disorders co-occur.

Method

We utilized the emotion-modulated startle (EMS) paradigm to examine the effects of a concurrent depressive episode on emotional reactivity in young adults with anxiety disorders. Using an archival dataset from a multi-disciplinary project on risk factors in childhood-onset depression, we examined eye-blink startle reactions to late-onset auditory startle probes while participants viewed pictures with affectively pleasant, unpleasant and neutral content. EMS response patterns were analyzed in 33 individuals with a current anxiety (but no depressive) disorder, 24 individuals with a current anxiety disorder and co-morbid depressive episode and 96 healthy controls.

Results

Control participants and those with a current anxiety disorder (but no depression) displayed normative linearity in startle responses, including potentiation by unpleasant pictures. By contrast, individuals with concurrent anxiety and depression displayed blunted EMS.

Conclusions

An anxiety disorder concurrent with a depressive episode is associated with reactivity that more closely resembles the pattern of emotional responding that is typical of depression (i.e. context insensitive) rather than the pattern that is typical for anxiety (i.e. exaggerated).
Relations between Kauffman and Homfly satellite invariants
Authors: MORTON H. R. , RYDER N. D. A.
Published: March 2010

We extend a mod 2 relation between the Kauffman and Homfly polynomials, first observed by Rudolph in 1987, to the general Kauffman and Homfly satellite invariants.
Parity criterion for unstabilized Heegaard splittings
Authors: LEE JUNG HOON
Published: March 2010

We give a parity condition of a Heegaard diagram implying that it is unstabilized. As applications, we show that Heegaard splittings of 2-fold branched coverings of n-component, n-bridge links in S3 are unstabilized, and we also construct unstabilized Heegaard splittings by Dehn twists on any given Heegaard splitting.
Corrections to “Division polynomials and multiplication formulae in dimension 2”
Authors: KANAYAMA NAOKI
Published: March 2010

The following proposition in [2] was found to be incorrect as the result of a mistake in the proof in [2].
Redistributive Nature of the Chinese Social Benefit System: Progressive or Regressive?
Authors: Gao Qin
Published: March 2010

Using nationally representative household survey data and a revealing statistical method, this article investigates the redistributive nature of the Chinese social benefit system within urban and rural areas respectively and in the national context. Like many other dimensions of Chinese society, the redistributive nature of social benefits appeared to be a two-sided story: urban social benefits were much more generous and predominantly progressive, while rural social benefits were minimal and consistently regressive. The national social benefit system was redistributed regressively, but the extent of its regressivity decreased over time, suggesting an equity-oriented policy direction echoed by several recent government initiatives to support rural residents, migrants and the urban poor. The outcomes of these initiatives, especially their redistributive effects, require close observation and await evaluation.
On the Edge between “the People” and “the Population”: Ethnographic Research on the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee
Authors: Cho Mun Young
Published: March 2010

This article examines how local resistance against government attempts to reduce poverty to a technical problem ironically reinforces the precarious state of the poor. It looks at the workings of the minimum livelihood guarantee (dibao) through mundane interactions between street-level officials and poor residents in a workers' village on the periphery of Harbin. As the party-state's primary policy for urban poverty,dibaohas introduced a new rationality that poverty is calculable and flexible. Urban laid-off workers have resisted this by invoking the socialist claim that they are “the people.” I examine how this resistance has led street-level officials to be preoccupied with the old socialist norm of “an ability to work” rather than with “income” asdibao's official criterion. The new local criterion has produced the ironic effect that urban laid-off workers, who were understood to bedibao's main target, have been mostly excluded from the scheme.
What is New in the “New Rural Co-operative Medical System”? An Assessment in One Kazak County of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Authors: Klotzbücher Sascha , Lässig Peter , Jiangmei Qin , Weigelin-Schwiedrzik Susanne
Published: March 2010

In 2002, the Chinese leadership announced a change in national welfare policy: Voluntary medical schemes at county level, called the “New Rural Co-operative Medical System” should cover all counties by 2010. This article addresses the main characteristics of this system, analyses the introduction of local schemes based on our own field studies in one Kazak county of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region since 2006, and argues that the fast progressing of the local scheme and the flexibility shown by local administrators in considering structural and procedural adjustments are not the result of central directives but of local initiatives. Recentralization from the township governments to functional departments in the provincial and the central state administration is only one aspect of current rural governance. Complementary forms of locally embedded responsiveness to the needs of health care recipients are crucial in restructuring the administration and discharge of health care. These new modes of governance are different from the hierarchical control and institutionalized representation of interests of the local population.
Dynamic Statism and Memory Politics: A Case Analysis of the Chinese War Reparations Movement
Authors: Xu Bin , Pu Xiaoyu
Published: March 2010

This study addresses the Chinese Second World War victims' reparations movement (CWRM) against Japan as a case of contemporary Chinese memory politics. While many studies indicate the Chinese government's use of the war memories for political purposes, ours focuses on how official discourses are translated into citizens' political participation and how the state–society interactions lead to variation in the development of the movement sectors within the case of CWRM. Drawing on textual and ethnographic data and a theoretical “dynamic statism,” we argue that the central government's ambivalent attitude towards this ideologically useful yet institutionally troublesome movement created room for local governments and the movement to pursue their own causes. Yet the local and central governments' strong interventions, either facilitation or repression, discouraged civil society's participation and led to the underdevelopment of some movement sectors. In the sectors where the local governments held an attitude of absenteeism or co-operation, the movement was able to mobilize resources from civil society and state institutions and finally developed well.
Final Decentrations
Authors: Brandtstädter Jochen , Rothermund Klaus , Kranz Dirk , Kühn Waldemar
Published: March 2010

We submit that with advancing age and the age-inherent shrinking of life-time reserves, intrinsic-valuerational, that is, ego-transcending goals tend to gain priority over extrinsic-instrumental goals that aim at future personal benefits. This proposition is investigated in four studies that combine questionnaire assessments and experimental analyses. In Study 1, age differences in extrinsic-instrumental and intrinsic-valuerational orientations are analyzed in a cross-sectional study involving 359 participants in the age range from 35 to 84 years. In Study 2, we ask whether the postulated shift in goal orientations could be simulated by inducing a cognitive focus on themes of death and dying (N = 371). Studies 3 and 4 (Ns = 50 and 86) serve to replicate and expand the findings with an experimental setup, paying particular attention to the moderating role of accommodative flexibility and to implicit preferences. Taken together, the results of this research substantiate the assumption that the experience of narrowing life-time reserves activates accommodative processes that enhance the disengagement from egocentric-individualistic concerns.
Adjustment of Couples Following Childbirth
Authors: Velotti Patrizia , Castellano Rosetta , Zavattini Giulio Cesare
Published: March 2010

This study focuses on the changes in perception of dyadic adjustment following childbirth and on the role of attachment (as a risk or protection factor) in the way partners adjust to this stressful event. Four attachment configurations were analyzed which emerged from the concordance or discordance between the “generalized” and the “specific” states of mind in the individual, and a longitudinal and cross-sectional study on N = 206 participants (104 “new-parents” and 102 “nonparents by choice”) was then implemented. These results showed that individuals who became parents had lower dyadic adjustment levels than nonparents (Lrtest = 395.03; p < .001). This decline in values seemed to be more pronounced for the “affectional expression” subscale (b = −3.69) and suggests that in our sample the expression of love toward a partner might be particularly subject to stress due to the arrival of a child. Considering the role played in the attachment configuration of each individual, a significant effect upon InsecureGEN/InsecureSPEC individuals was found (p = .015). This then would seem to indicate that these individuals might be more vulnerable to perceiving worse adjustment levels during the transition to first-time parenthood.
Psychology in Outerspace
Authors: Swami Viren , Chamorro-Premuzic Tomas , Shafi Manal
Published: March 2010

Previous work has shown that is important to consider the disjunction between paranormal and nonparanormal beliefs about extraterrestrial life. The current study examined the association between both such beliefs and individual difference and demographic variables. A total of 555 British participants completed the Extraterrestrial Beliefs Scale, as well as measures of their Big Five personality scores, social conformity, sensation seeking, and demographics. Results showed no sex differences in ratings of paranormal and nonparanormal extraterrestrial beliefs, but participants rated nonparanormal beliefs more positively than paranormal beliefs. Results of structural equation modeling showed that individual difference factors (specifically, Openness, Conscientiousness, and social conformity) explained 21% of the variance in extraterrestrial beliefs, whereas demographic factors (specifically, education level, political orientation, and religiosity) explained 16% of the variance. Limitations and directions for future work are considered.
When 2 is Better Than 1 + 1
Authors: Peter-Wight Melanie , Martin Mike
Published: March 2010

Little is known about older spousal dyads’ collaborative problem solving. Although typically collaborating dyads perform worse than nominal dyads in other dyadic cognition tasks, we assumed that older couples might profit from collaboration in a highly demanding problem-solving task requiring the sequential and complementary use of spatial memory and reasoning abilities. In this paper, we examine whether older couples profit from the dyadic situation on a computer-based problem-solving task that can most likely be optimally solved when dyads manage to distribute responsibilities between the spatial memory demands and the reasoning demands of the task. In 50 married couples consisting of N = 100 older individuals (M = 67.3 years, SD = 4.9), we tested the hypothesis that compared to their own individual performance, compared to repeated individual performance of a control group (N = 41, M = 66.0 years, SD = 3.8), and compared to nominal pairs (same 100 participants as in the experimental group), older couples would show the best performance on the task. The comparison of individual versus dyadic problem-solving performance demonstrates that dyads consisting of old spouses outperform old individuals as well as nominal pairs on the problem-solving task. Our results suggest that older familiar dyads are expert collaborators whose collaborative expertise might be able to overcome individual deficits in problem-solving skills through dyadic cognition.
Penetration of magnetospheric electric fields to the equator and their effects on the low‐latitude ionosphere during intense geomagnetic storms
Authors: Veenadhari B. , Alex S. , Kikuchi T. , Shinbori A. , Singh Rajesh , Chandrasekhar E.
Published: March 2010

The penetration of magnetospheric electric fields to the magnetic equator has been investigated for two intense magnetic storms that occurred on 31 March 2001 and 6 November 2001. The digital ground magnetic data from equatorial station Tirunelveli (TIR, 0.17°S geomagnetic latitude (GML)) and low‐latitude station Alibag (ABG, 10.17°N GML) have been used to identify the storm time electrojet index, EEJ(Dis), which is the difference of the magnetic field variations between TIR and ABG after removing the quiet day variations. The appearance of enhanced DP 2 currents and counterelectrojets (CEJ) during the main and recovery phases of the magnetic storms is possibly due to prompt penetration of electric fields from the high latitudes. These signatures can be interpreted as a clear indicator of the eastward and westward electric fields at the equator. The observed results suggest that the magnitude of the equatorial ionospheric currents driven by the penetrating electric fields is very sensitive to ionospheric conductivity (which depends on local time). Moreover, the intensity of the DP 2 currents started decreasing during the end of the main phase of the storm despite the large negative southward IMF Bz, indicating the dominance of a well‐developed shielding electric field for 1 h. As an effect of penetrating electric fields at the equator, the equatorial ionization anomaly is enhanced during the main phase (because of strong eastward electric field) and is inhibited or reduced due to the strong CEJ (because of westward electric field) during the recovery phase.
Timing and magnitude of shortening within the inner fore arc of the Japan Trench
Authors: Regalla Christine , Fisher Donald , Kirby Eric
Published: March 2010

New structural data and kinematic modeling provide evidence for Plio‐Quaternary, inner fore‐arc shortening inboard of the Japan Trench, northeastern Honshu, accommodated by the Futaba fault, a high‐angle, basement‐involved fault that bounds the Abukuma massif on the east. Significant throw along the Futaba fault associated with exhumation of the massif is implied by a regionally extensive footwall syncline, the absence of Neogene sediments in the hanging wall, and high relief in the hanging wall adjacent to the fault. Kinematic fault‐related fold modeling best reproduces fold geometry with 2.0–3.1 km of dip slip along a 40°–55° west dipping reverse fault. At the southern tip of the fault, tephra horizons of known age within units that predate and postdate deformation bracket the onset of deformation to 3.95–5.6 Ma and are used to calculate an average slip rate of 0.5–0.7 mm/yr, a throw rate of 0.3–0.5 mm/yr, and a shortening rate of 0.3–0.5 mm/yr. The northeastern Japan subduction zone is viewed as a classic example of an erosive margin, where offshore subsidence records have been used to argue for Neogene basal erosion of the upper plate. Tectonic erosion rates have been estimated from reconstructions of the paleomargin that assume no upper plate deformation and temporally constant fore‐arc taper. Evidence presented here for Neogene fore‐arc shortening, however, suggests that the upper plate is deformable and implies that that offshore subsidence records may reflect a combination of tectonic erosion and upper plate shortening.
Inhibition of proteolysis of Delta‐like‐1 does not promote or reduce T‐cell developmental potential
Authors: Gravano David M , Manilay Jennifer O
Published: March 2010

Notch signaling is critical for T‐cell generation in the thymus. Notch signaling is linear in nature and is highly regulated through differential gene expression and post‐translational modification. Upon ligand binding, the Notch receptor is sequentially cleaved, first via extracellular ADAM protease‐mediated cleavage, followed by an intracellular presenilin‐dependent cleavage to release the Notch intracellular domain and activate transcription. Delta‐like‐1 (Dll1) is a Notch ligand that positively regulates T‐cell development. Dll1 is proteolytically processed in a similar manner to the Notch receptor, and it has been speculated to participate in bidirectional signaling. We hypothesized that inhibition of Dll1 processing in Notch signal sending cells would lead to changes in their ability to support thymopoiesis. We used the OP9in vitroco‐culture system, and transduced OP9s with full length, cleavable Dll1 or a non‐cleavable mutant (NC‐Dll1) lacking the ADAM protease cleavage site. OP9‐NC‐Dll1 cells were able to support T‐cell development with similar efficacy to OP9‐Dll1 cells. Interestingly, expression of the Notch target gene Hes5 was more highly induced in T‐cell progenitors by NC‐Dll1, whereas expression of Hes1, Deltex1, and pre‐Tα were similar to controls. Furthermore, a reduced ability of hematopoietic progenitors to assume the granulocyte cell fate in OP9‐NC‐Dll1 cultures was noted. Taken together, these findings show that proteolytic cleavage of Dll1 in Notch signal sending cells is dispensable for murine T‐cell development, differentially affects expression of Notch target genes, and might be a mechanism that regulates myelopoiesis.
Disentangling the complexity of the skin dendritic cell network
Authors: Henri Sandrine , Guilliams Martin , Poulin Lionel Franz , Tamoutounour Samira , Ardouin Laurence , Dalod Marc , Malissen Bernard
Published: March 2010

Using ‘knockin’ mice to track and ablate dendritic cells (DCs) expressing notably the langerin (Cd207) gene, it has been possible to identify five DC subsets within the skin and to assess whether functional specialization exists among them. The present review summarizes recent information concerning the phenotype and the function of these five DC subsets before and after their migration to cutaneous draining lymph nodes. Moreover, it integrates this information into a unifying model that emphasizes the similarities that exist among the mouse DC subsets that are found in both lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues.
On the inelastic Enskog equation near vacuum
Authors: Wu Zhigang
Published: March 2010

The Cauchy problem for the inelastic Enskog equation is considered for near-vacuum data. The global existence of mild and classical solutions of the inelastic Enskog equation is obtained. Then, based on some new functionals, we give the uniform L1(x,v)-stability of solutions for the inelastic Enskog equation.
Sharp thresholds of global existence and blowup for a system of Schrödinger equations with combined power-type nonlinearities
Authors: Song Xianfa
Published: March 2010

In this paper, we consider the Cauchy problem of a nonlinear Schrödinger system. Through establishing a sharp weighted vector-valued Gagliardo–Nirenberg’s inequality, we find that the best constant in this inequality can be regarded as the criterion of blowup and global existence of the solutions when p=4/N. And we prove that the solutions of this system will always exist globally if p<4/N. The sharp thresholds for blowup and global existence are also obtained when 4/N≤p<4/(N−2)+.
Dielectric microwave characterizations of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 film deposited on high resistivity silicon substrate: Analysis by two-dimensional tangential finite element method
Authors: Ponchel F. , Midy J. , Legier J. F. , Soyer C. , Rémiens D. , Lasri T. , Guéguan G.
Published: March 2010

( Ba , Sr ) TiO 3 (BST) thin films were deposited on high resistivity silicon substrates by in situ rf magnetron sputtering. A buffer layer was used to improve the cristallinity of the films, the composition was fixed to Ba/Sr=30/70. The relative permittivity and the losses were measured up to 60 GHz using coplanar strip lines. The dispersion of the permittivity and the losses has been determined with a home made numerical code based on finite elements: ELFI. We show that, with the measurements of the scattering parameters coupled with ELFI, it is possible to know the BST complex permittivity over a very broad frequency band. The BST films deposited by in situ (700 °C) present excellent properties between 1 to 60 GHz. The relative permittivity is in the order of 270 and the losses are very small 0.09 at 60 GHz. These structures BST/silicon high resistivity show good potentialities for devices microwaves applications which need future integration in a silicon environment.
Effects of shear rate and temperature on viscosity of alumina polyalphaolefins nanofluids
Authors: Zhou Sheng-Qi , Ni Rui , Funfschilling Denis
Published: March 2010

In this paper, the shear rate and temperature dependencies of viscosity of alumina nanofluids have been investigated experimentally. The alumina nanofluids are suspensions of alumina nanospheres or nanorods in polyalphaolefins (PAO) lubricant. The base fluid PAO has a Newtonian behavior. To the first approximation, nanofluids of volume fractions ϕ=1% and 3% nanospheres as well as nanofluid of ϕ=1% nanorods can be considered as Newtonian fluids because their viscosity shows very weak shear rate dependence. However, our measurement clearly indicates that these nanofluids demonstrate certain non-Newtonian feature due to the addition of nanoparticles. Moreover, the relative viscosity (the ratio of viscosity of nanofluid to that of PAO) of these nanofluids has been measured to be independent of temperature. Nanofluid of a higher volume fraction ϕ=3% nanorods has an apparent non-Newtonian shear thinning viscosity and a strong temperature dependence of its relative viscosity. By reviewing the previous studies, the approximation that the viscosity is Newtonian and the relative viscosity is independent of temperature seem to hold for most nanofluids of low volume fraction ϕ and low aspect ratio nanoparticles.
Scanning gate microscopy of current-annealed single layer graphene
Authors: Connolly M. R. , Chiou K. L. , Smith C. G. , Anderson D. , Jones G. A. C. , Lombardo A. , Fasoli A. , Ferrari A. C.
Published: March 2010

We have used scanning gate microscopy to explore the local conductivity of a current-annealed graphene flake. A map of the local neutrality point (NP) after annealing at low current density exhibits micron-sized inhomogeneities. Broadening of the local e-h transition is also correlated with the inhomogeneity of the NP. Annealing at higher current density reduces the NP inhomogeneity, but we still observe some asymmetry in the e-h conduction. We attribute this to a hole-doped domain close to one of the metal contacts combined with underlying striations in the local NP.
Double-diamond NaAl via pressure: Understanding structure through Jones zone activation
Authors: Feng Ji , Hoffmann Roald , Ashcroft N. W.
Published: March 2010

Under normal conditions, sodium forms a 1:1 stoichiometric compound with indium, and also with thallium, both in the double-diamond structure. But sodium does not combine with aluminum at all. Could NaAl exist? If so, under what conditions and in which structural types? Instead of beginning with a purely computational and first-principles structure search, we are led to apply the early Brillouin and higher (Jones) zone ideas of the physics determining structural selection. We begin with a brief recapitulation of the higher zone concept as applied to the stability of metals and intermetallic compounds. We then discuss the extension of this concept to problems where density becomes a primary variable, within the second-order band structure approximation. An analysis of the range of applicability of pressure-induced Jones zone activation is presented. The simple NaAl compound serves us as a numerical laboratory for the application of this concept. Higher zone arguments and chemical intuition lead quite naturally to the suggestion that 1:1 compound formation between sodium and aluminum should be favored under pressure and specifically in the double-diamond structure. This is confirmed computationally by density functional theoretic methods within the generalized gradient approximation.
Physical and electrical characteristics of the high-k Ta2O5 (tantalum pentoxide) dielectric deposited on the polycrystalline silicon
Authors: Kao Chyuan-Haur , Chen Hsiang , Chiu Jing Sing , Chen Kung Shao , Pan Yu Tsung
Published: March 2010

The high-k Ta2O5 films deposited on the polycrystalline silicon treated with different postrapid thermal annealing temperatures were formed as high-k interdielectrics. Physical and electrical characteristics of the Ta2O5 dielectrics were investigated with x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electrical analysis. The annealing at 800 °C was found to be the optimal condition to reduce the defects and interface traps existed in the interface between the Ta2O5 dielectric and polysilicon to fabricate a well-crystallized film with higher breakdown field, lower leakage current and smaller charge trapping rate. This Ta2O5 dielectric shows promise for future generation of nonvolatile memory.
n
-alkane adsorption to polar silica surfaces
Authors: Brindza Michael R. , Ding Feng , Fourkas John T. , Walker Robert A.
Published: March 2010

The structures of medium-length n-alkane species (C8–C11) adsorbed to a hydrophilic silica/vapor interface were examined using vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy. Experiments sampling out-of-plane orientation show a clear pattern in vibrational band intensities that implies chains having primarily all-trans conformations lying flat along the interface. Further analysis shows that the methylene groups of the alkane chains have their local symmetry axes directed into and away from the surface. Spectra acquired under different polarization conditions interlock to reinforce this picture of interfacial structure and organization. Variation in signal intensities with chain length suggests that correlation between adsorbed monomers weakens with increasing chain length. This result stands in contrast with alkane behavior at neat liquid/vapor interfaces where longer length alkanes show considerably more surface induced ordering than short chain alkanes.
A direct transfer of layer-area graphene
Authors: Regan William , Alem Nasim , Alemán Benjamín , Geng Baisong , Girit Çağlar , Maserati Lorenzo , Wang Feng , Crommie Michael , Zettl A.
Published: March 2010

A facile method is reported for the direct (polymer-free) transfer of layer-area graphene from metal growth substrates to selected target substrates. The direct route, by avoiding several wet chemical steps and accompanying mechanical stresses and contamination common to all presently reported layer-area graphene transfer methods, enables fabrication of layer-area graphene devices with unprecedented quality. To demonstrate, we directly transfer layer-area graphene from Cu growth substrates to holey amorphous carbon transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids, resulting in robust, clean, full-coverage graphene grids ideal for high resolution TEM.
Mode-coupling theoretical analysis of transport and relaxation properties of liquid dimethylimidazolium chloride
Authors: Yamaguchi T. , Koda S.
Published: March 2010

The mode-coupling theory for molecular liquids based on the interaction-site model is applied to a representative molecular ionic liquid, dimethylimidazolium chloride, and dynamic properties such as shear viscosity, self-diffusion coefficients, reorientational relaxation time, electric conductivity, and dielectric relaxation spectrum are analyzed. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is also performed on the same system for comparison. The theory captures the characteristics of the dynamics of the ionic liquid qualitatively, although theoretical relaxation times are several times larger than those from the MD simulation. Large relaxations are found in the 100 MHz region in the dispersion of the shear viscosity and the dielectric relaxation, in harmony with various experiments. The relaxations of the self-diffusion coefficients are also found in the same frequency region. The dielectric relaxation spectrum is divided into the contributions of the translational and reorientational modes, and it is demonstrated that the relaxation in the 100 MHz region mainly stems from the translational modes. The zero-frequency electric conductivity is close to the value predicted by the Nernst–Einstein equation in both MD simulation and theoretical calculation. However, the frequency dependence of the electric conductivity is different from those of self-diffusion coefficients in that the former is smaller than the latter in the gigahertz-terahertz region, which is compensated by the smaller dispersion of the former in the 100 MHz region. The analysis of the theoretical calculation shows that the difference in their frequency dependence is due to the different contribution of the short- and long-range liquid structures.
Force field of para- and metabenzyne diradicals: A multireference coupled-cluster study
Authors: Li Xiangzhu , Paldus Josef
Published: March 2010

The reduced multireference (RMR) coupled-cluster (CC) method with singles and doubles (RMR CCSD) that exploits a modest size MR CISD wave function as an external source for a small subset of the most important (primary) triples and quadruples to account for quasidegeneracy due to a MR nature of the states considered, as well as its RMR CCSD(T) version corrected for the secondary triples, are employed to compute fundamental vibrational frequencies for the para- and metabenzene diradicals. A comparison is made with the available experimental data and with other methods, namely, the state selective or Mukherjee CCSD and completely renormalized, size-extensive version of CCSD(T), the so-called CR-CC(2,3), methods. Both the restricted Hartree–Fock and multiconfiguration self-consistent-field (MCSCF) molecular orbitals (MOs) are employed. The four-reference RMR CCSD using MCSCF MOs gives particularly satisfactory results. The breakdown of CCSD(T) and shortcomings of some other approaches are pointed out and the role of invariance with respect to MO rotation is analyzed. Correlation with triplet-singlet splittings is also pointed out.
A highly accurate potential energy curve for the mercury dimer
Authors: Pahl Elke , Figgen Detlev , Thierfelder Christian , Peterson Kirk A. , Calvo Florent , Schwerdtfeger Peter
Published: March 2010

The potential energy curve of the electronic ground state of the mercury dimer based on CCSD(T) calculations at the complete basis set (CBS) limit, including corrections for the full triples ΔT and explicit spin-orbit (SO) interactions at the CCSD(T) level of theory, is presented. In the far long-range part, the potential energy curve is complemented by symmetry-adapted perturbation theory calculations. Potential curves of an analytically simple, extended Lennard-Jones form are obtained from very accurate fits to the CBS/CCSD(T)+SO and CBS/CCSD(T)+SO+ΔT data. The Hg2 potential curves yield dissociation energies of De=424/392 cm−1 and equilibrium distances of re=3.650/3.679 Å at the CBS/CCSD(T)+SO and CBS/CCSD(T)+SO+ΔT levels of theory, respectively. By including perturbative quadruple corrections in our coupled-cluster calculations and corrections from correlating the 4f-core, we arrive at a final dissociation energy of De=405 cm−1, in excellent agreement with the experimentally estimated value of 407 cm−1 by Greif and Hensel. In addition, the rotational and vibrational spectroscopic constants as well as the second virial coefficient B(T) in dependence of the temperature T are calculated and validated against available experimental and theoretical data.
Theoretical model for adhesive friction between elastomers and rough solid surfaces
Authors: Momozono Satoshi , Nakamura Kenya , Kyogoku Keiji
Published: March 2010

A theoretical model for the adhesive friction between elastomers and rough solid surfaces is proposed on the basis of opening crack propagation processes at the boundary of the contact interfaces and the rate processes of formation of molecular bonds on the solid surface. This model, which is expressed as a product of the terms related to the two abovementioned processes, requires some measurable and fitted parameters such as the frictional shear strength expressed as a function of viscoelastic dissipation, rate-dependent elasticity, density of bonded molecular chains at a contact junction, critical velocity related to viscoelastic relaxation, and critical velocity related to the rate process of formation of molecular bonds on the solid surface. The friction-velocity relationship exhibits a remarkable fit to previously obtained experimental results for polymers such as engineering rubber, gels, and plastics (glassy polymers), and all fitting parameters are physically reasonable. The viscoelastic index “n” is also related to the “glass-to-rubber transition” of a nanometer-thick polymer layer for frictional behavior. Thus, from a practical viewpoint, this model can be used effectively for fitting the adhesive friction behavior of polymers.
Controlling the thermomechanical response of liquid-crystalline elastomers by influencing their critical behavior
Authors: Rožič B. , Krause S. , Finkelmann H. , Cordoyiannis G. , Kutnjak Z.
Published: March 2010

The profound understanding of the mechanisms that affect the thermomechanical response of liquid-crystalline elastomers is of significant importance for applications. In the vicinity of a phase transition this response is reflected to the thermodynamic critical behavior. We demonstrate that two main-chain liquid-crystalline elastomers of identical composition, crosslinked in temperatures corresponding to different thermodynamic phases, exhibit dramatically different thermal behavior as derived from high-resolution calorimetry. Hence, a previously unexplored parameter for controlling the elastomers critical behavior is revealed, exhibiting a very strong effect. Moreover, the relative strength of various discovered mechanisms that control the critical behavior is discussed.
Polarizer-free and fast response microlens arrays using polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystals
Authors: Lin Yi-Hsin , Chen Hung-Shan , Lin Hung-Chun , Tsou Yu-Shih , Hsu Hsu-Kuan , Li Wang-Yang
Published: March 2010

We demonstrate polarizer-free and fast response microlens arrays based on optical phase modulation of polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal (PSBP-LC). Polarization-independent optical phase shift is because the propagation of an incident light is along the optic axis of PSBP-LC, and birefringence of PSBP-LC induced by Kerr effect results in electrically tunable optical phase shift. The measured optical phase shift of a PSBP-LC phase modulation is around π radian at 150 Vrms for the cell gap of 7 μ. The response time is about 3 ms. The focal length is around 13.1 cm at 100 Vrms.
Modeling and characterization of metal-semiconductor-metal-based source-drain contacts in amorphous InGaZnO thin film transistors
Authors: Lee Sangwon , Park Jun-Hyun , Jeon Kichan , Kim Sungchul , Jeon Yongwoo , Kim Dae Hwan , Kim Dong Myong , Park Jae Chul , Kim Chang Jung
Published: March 2010

Due to the inherent property of large contact and parasitic resistances in amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs), a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structure is a key element in a-IGZO TFTs. Therefore, voltage drops across resistances and MSM structure should be fully considered in the modeling and characterization of a-IGZO TFTs. A physics-based semiempirical model for the current-voltage characteristics of the MSM structure for the source-channel-drain contact in a-IGZO TFTs is proposed and verified with experimental results. The proposed model for the current in a-IGZO MSM structures includes a thermionic field emission [JTFE∝exp(VR,Schottky/Vo)] and trap-assisted generation (Jgen∝VR,Schottky) in addition to the thermionic emission current (JS: Independent of the bias) under reverse bias. Experimental result suggests that electrical characteristics of the MSM structure depend not only on the Schottky barrier but also on the bulk property of the a-IGZO active layer.
Seeking ‘Telos’ in the ‘Transfrontier’? Neoliberalism and the Transcending of Community Conservation in Southern Africa
Authors: Büscher Bram
Published: March 2010

In Southern Africa the last ten years have seen a rather dramatic shift in donor and state interest and funding from ‘community conservation’ to ‘transfrontier conservation’. The new trend broadens the aim of conservation–development interventions to also include interstate cooperation. The article critically analyzes this development within a wider shift in neoliberal politics. It is argued that this broader shift helped create the right ‘enabling environment’ for the transfrontier conservation discourse to be presented as an all-embracing and unifying ideological ‘model of meaning’. Moreover, underlying neoliberalism's contemporary political conduct is a strong reassertion and the actual neo-liberalisation of the state. It is this move that has truly enabled the ‘transfrontier’ to revive the telos of conservation in Southern Africa.
The Transformative Potential of Institutions: How Symbolic Markers Can Institute New Social Meaning in Changing Cities
Authors: Dembski Sebastian , Salet Willem
Published: March 2010

Planners use symbolic markers in order to frame processes of urban change and to mobilise actors. How can we explain the fact that in some cases the symbolisation of new urban spaces manages to enhance and enlarge the meaning of social change while in other cases the symbolic markers remain powerless and might even have a reverse effect? The authors doubt whether the sophistication of symbolic markers as such has much impact. The explanation for the success or failure of symbolic communication is sought within the framework of institutional embedding. This conceptual paper attempts to elaborate institutions' transformative potential through their use of symbols. To this end, it undertakes a reappraisal of institutional thought in order to conceptualise institutional transformation, the establishment of a conceptual linkage between the transformative potential of institutions and symbolic markers, and the design of an operational model of research for the institutional investigation of symbols in the planning of changing cities.
Community participation in rural primary health care: intervention or approach?
Authors: Preston Robyn , Waugh Hilary , Larkins Sarah , Taylor Judy
Published: March 2010

Community participation is considered important in primary health care development and there is some evidence to suggest it results in positive health outcomes. Through a process of synthesising existing evidence for the effectiveness of community participation in terms of health outcomes we identified several conceptual areas of confusion. This paper builds on earlier work to disentangle the conceptual gaps in this area, and clarify our common understanding of community participation. We conducted a research synthesis of 689 empirical studies in the literature linking rural community participation and health outcomes. The 37 final papers were grouped and analysed according to: contextual factors; the conceptual approach to community participation (using a modification of an existing typology); community participation process; level of evidence; and outcomes reported. Although there is some evidence of benefit of community participation in terms of health outcomes, we found only a few studies demonstrating higher levels of evidence. However, it is clear that absence of evidence of effect is not necessarily the same as absence of an effect. We focus on areas of debate and lack of clarity in the literature. Improving our understanding of community participation and its role in rural primary health care service design and delivery will increase the likelihood of genuine community–health sector partnerships and more responsive health services for rural communities.
Molecular components of signal amplification in olfactory sensory cilia
Authors: Hengl Thomas , Kaneko Hiroshi , Dauner Kristin , Vocke Kerstin , Frings Stephan , Möhrlen Frank
Published: March 2010

The mammalian olfactory system detects an unlimited variety of odorants with a limited set of odorant receptors. To cope with the complexity of the odor world, each odorant receptor must detect many different odorants. The demand for low odor selectivity creates problems for the transduction process: the initial transduction step, the synthesis of the second messenger cAMP, operates with low efficiency, mainly because odorants bind only briefly to their receptors. Sensory cilia of olfactory receptor neurons have developed an unusual solution to this problem. They accumulate chloride ions at rest and discharge a chloride current upon odor detection. This chloride current amplifies the receptor potential and promotes electrical excitation. We have studied this amplification process by examining identity, subcellular localization, and regulation of its molecular components. We found that the Na
+
/K
+
/2Cl
−
cotransporter NKCC1 is expressed in the ciliary membrane, where it mediates chloride accumulation into the ciliary lumen. Gene silencing experiments revealed that the activity of this transporter depends on the kinases SPAK and OSR1, which are enriched in the cilia together with their own activating kinases, WNK1 and WNK4. A second Cl
−
transporter, the Cl
−
/HCO
3
−
exchanger SLC4A1, is expressed in the cilia and may support Cl
−
accumulation. The calcium-dependent chloride channel TMEM16B (ANO2) provides a ciliary pathway for the excitatory chloride current. These findings describe a specific set of ciliary proteins involved in anion-based signal amplification. They provide a molecular concept for the unique strategy that allows olfactory sensory neurons to operate as efficient transducers of weak sensory stimuli.
Mechanisms of acute axonal degeneration in the optic nerve in vivo
Authors: Knöferle Johanna , Koch Jan C. , Ostendorf Thomas , Michel Uwe , Planchamp Véronique , Vutova Polya , Tönges Lars , Stadelmann Christine , Brück Wolfgang , Bähr Mathias , Lingor Paul
Published: March 2010

Axonal degeneration is an initial key step in traumatic and neurodegenerative CNS disorders. We established a unique in vivo epifluorescence imaging paradigm to characterize very early events in axonal degeneration in the rat optic nerve. Single retinal ganglion cell axons were visualized by AAV-mediated expression of dsRed and this allowed the quantification of postlesional acute axonal degeneration (AAD). EM analysis revealed severe structural alterations of the cytoskeleton, cytoplasmatic vacuolization, and the appearance of autophagosomes within the first hours after lesion. Inhibition of autophagy resulted in an attenuation of acute axonal degeneration. Furthermore, a rapid increase of intraaxonal calcium levels following crush lesion could be visualized using a calcium-sensitive dye. Application of calcium channel inhibitors prevented crush-induced calcium increase and markedly attenuated axonal degeneration, whereas application of a calcium ionophore aggravated the degenerative phenotype. We finally demonstrate that increased postlesional autophagy is calcium dependent and thus mechanistically link autophagy and intraaxonal calcium levels. Both processes are proposed to be major targets for the manipulation of axonal degeneration in future therapeutic settings.