Mode Of Accommodation Research Articles

Grit and its associated factors among final year pharmacy students in public universities in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Background: Assessing grit among pharmacy students provides insights into the students' experiences as well as the importance of implementing interventions to increase their levels of grit. The purpose of this study was to assess students' grit in Nigerian pharmacy schools and to identify factors that predict the amount of grit among pharmacy students. Methods: This study utilised a nine-item questionnaire-based cross-sectional design among final-year pharmacy students from one public university, in each of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria for a month. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. Results: A total of 590 pharmacy students responded to the questionnaire (response rate = 66.89%). Most students 409 (69.32%) were between the ages of 20 - 25 years. A majority, 573 (97.1%) reported being free from any chronic diseases and 427 (72.37%) reported being engaged in extracurricular activities. A group mean grit score of 37.091 ± 0.253 was observed. Students from all the schools reported ‘Not Like me’ 14 (2.37%) to ‘I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge’, while 275 (46.61%) chose ‘Very much like me’. Predictors of high grit level were institution (Beta, p-value), mode of accommodation (ꞵ = 1.494, p = .039), and sponsorship (ꞵ = 4.207, p = .047). Conclusion: Pharmacy students in Nigeria have a high grit level and the institution of study had an impact on the level of grit.

The Mojave Section of the San Andreas Fault (California), 2: Pleistocene Records of Near‐Field Transpression Illuminate the Atypical Evolution of the Restraining “Big Bend”

AbstractWith an obliquity of ∼30° relative to plate motion direction, the ∼300‐km‐long Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault is one of the world's largest restraining bends. The 5–6 Ma (∼160 km of total displacement) longevity of this mechanically inefficient structure and the lack of evidence for associated widespread uplift both challenge existing models of transpression and bend evolution. We focus on the structurally simplest section of the Big Bend (the Mojave section of the San Andreas: MSAF) to characterize the pattern of near‐field (<5 km from the San Andreas trace) uplift over two different timescales. The topography of vertically deformed alluvial surfaces is used to demonstrate that near‐field uplift along the least oblique segment of the MSAF has been significant over the last ∼40 ka (∼1–2 mm/yr), and driven by slip on two oppositely dipping blind reverse faults. Topographic and structural analyses of the MSAF near‐field are conducted at the scale of the entire fault to show that, at least on the NE side of the MSAF, these blind structures coincide with the front of a fault‐parallel bedrock ridge with clear characteristics of a young transpressive ridge. Structural, sedimentary, and geomorphic arguments converge to suggest that these blind structures were activated ∼315 ka ago and record a Mid‐Pleistocene kinematic reorganization of the MSAF fault‐zone. This reorganization is tentatively interpreted as a shift in the mode of accommodation of the transpressive component of plate motion, in turn driven by the strike‐slip advection of crustal strength gradients along the Big Bend.

Consumer behaviour in e-Tourism: Exploring new applications of machine learning in tourism studies

Digital markets have altered how economic agents interact and have changed the behaviour of tourists. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that it is necessary to constantly monitor the evolution of digital consumer behaviour and the factors that influence it, as they are dynamic elements that evolve over time. This paper analyses digital inequalities and validates the main factors influencing tourists to book online tourism services. This research uses a set of microdata with 69,752 and 23,779 observations to analyse the booking mode of accommodation and transportation services, respectively, obtained from the Resident Travel Survey of the National Statistics Institute of Spain during the period 2016-2021. The article confirms variations in the online consumer profile and in the trip's characteristics. One of the most relevant findings is the narrowing of the generational gap in the online contracting of tourist services. However, there are remaining digital inequalities, such as regional inequalities and others based on the education level and income of tourists. It is also highlighted that different types of trips, depending on the destination, the type of accommodation or transport have a different propensity to be booked through digital purchase channels. The accessibility to big data sources and recent advances in machine learning models have also made the methodologies for analysing digital consumer behaviour evolve and must be incorporated into tourism studies. This study compares the predictive performance of different methodologies in the context of e Tourism. In particular, we evaluate the potential predictive power that could be obtained using machine learning techniques to explain consumer behaviour in e-Tourism and use it as a benchmark to compare it with the results obtained using traditional statistical methods. The selected predictive evaluation metrics show that the logistic regression statistical model outperforms the predictive power of the Multilayer Perceptron neural network and presents values very close to the maximum predictive power achieved by the Random Forest algorithm.

Subduction initiation at an oceanic transform fault experiencing compression: Role of the fault structure and of the brittle-ductile transition depth

It has recently been shown that among the subduction zones initiated in the Cenozoic era, the subducting oceanic lithosphere could have any age, and was as often older than the overriding plate as younger than it. To try to explain this observation, we consider the simple setup of an oceanic transform fault and perform 2D thermomechanical experiments by applying the same convergence velocity on the two adjacent plates. We combine a non-Newtonian viscous rheology and a pseudo-brittle behavior. We focus on the influence of the fault structure at convergence onset, by testing the effects of the fault gouge depth, zwz, and of the width of the thermal transition between the lithospheres, which allows for mimicking the settings of a transform fault as well as of an old fracture zone. We investigate large ranges of plate age and of plate age offset. In most of our experiments, the mode of convergence accommodation is basically a function of the gouge depth, zwz, that we compare to the mean of the 2 plate thicknesses. We observe three main behaviors: (1) failure of subduction initiation if zwz is shallow, i.e., ≲15% of the mean depth of the 2 plate bottoms if the age offset scaled by the younger age is very low (≲1) or ≲30% otherwise, (2) old plate subduction, that is best favored for ratios zwz/zTT∼0.25 and for low offsets in relative plate ages, and (3) young plate subduction if zwz is quite deep (≳40%), whatever the age offset. The thermal transition width only has a second-order effect, that facilitates subduction initiation when the transition is wide. Compressive forces are overshooting reasonable thresholds (≳1013 N/m) if at least one of the two plates is older than ∼30 Myr. The success of a young plate subduction and, to a lesser extent, of an old plate subduction, can be predicted by comparing zwz at convergence onset to the depth of the brittle-ductile transition inside the future upper plate. The subduction success and polarity depend on the possibility to form a low shear stress plane. We predict that only the young plate subduction can initiate at an active transform fault, while the old plate subduction is restricted to the setup of an old fracture zone separating two lithospheres with a small age offset scaled by the younger age. The significant predominance in our modeling of the thin plate underthrusting results from the strong influence of the plate strength contrast when lithospheres are stiff. Our experimental results are consistent with the recent records of subduction initiation at the Mussau and Hjort Trenches, as well as at the Gagua ridge (W Pacific).

Fitting fangs in a finite face: A novel fang accommodation strategy in a 280-million-year-old ray-finned fish.

Though Paleozoic ray-finned fishes are considered to be morphologically conservative, we report a novel mode of fang accommodation (i.e., the fitting of fangs inside the jaw) in the Permian actinopterygian †Brazilichthys macrognathus, whereby the teeth of the lower jaw insert into fenestrae of the upper jaw. To better understand how fishes have accommodated lower jaw fangs through geologic time, we synthesize the multitude of ways living and extinct osteichthyans have housed large mandibular dentition. While the precise structure of fang accommodation seen in †Brazilichthys has not been reported in any other osteichthyans, alternate strategies of upper jaw fenestration to fit mandibular fangs are present in some extant ray-finned fishes-the needlejaws Acestrorhynchus and the gars of the genus Lepisosteus. Notably, out of our survey, only the two aforementioned neopterygians bear upper jaw fenestration for the accommodation of mandibular fangs. We implicate the kinetic jaws of neopterygians in this trend, whereby large mandibular fangs are more easily fit between the multitude of upper jaw and palatal bones. The restricted space available in early osteichthyan jaws may have led to a proliferation of novel ways to accommodate large dentition. We recommend a greater survey of Paleozoic actinopterygian jaw morphology, in light of these results and other recent reevaluations of jaw structure in early fossil ray-fins.

Issues Regarding the Welfare of Assistance Dogs

While the roles and efficacy of assistance animals have received attention in the literature, there has been less research focused on animal welfare issues regarding assistance animals. This is a pertinent area, given the burgeoning of types of assistance animals, situations in which they are employed, and access issues arising from increased assistance animal engagement. Animal welfare as pertains to assistance animals is discussed in this paper with respect to overall research on animal welfare concerns in a variety of contexts, training and access issues, and legal and regulatory concerns. Relevant examples from global contexts, as well as the specific Australian context, are offered. Conclusions include that while human quality of life is often considered and protected in laws and policies, this is much less true for assistance animals. Additional attention is required to ensure that the quality of life of both persons with disabilities and their assistance animals can be ensured. Support for a person to meet the needs of an assistance animal, as well as considerations for keeping such working dyads together in changed circumstances (e.g., following a move to an assisted living mode of accommodation), are recommended.

Filling critical gaps in the space-time record of High Lava Plains and co-Columbia River Basalt Group rhyolite volcanism

Miocene rhyolitic volcanism of eastern Oregon, USA, can be divided into two main episodes. Mantle plume upwelling is thought to have generated Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) lavas and coeval >16.5−15 Ma silicic volcanism trending north−south from northeast Oregon to northern Nevada. Rhyolite volcanism of the 12−0 Ma High Lava Plains province has been ascribed to either buoyancy-driven westward plume spreading or to slab rollback and mantle convection spanning from southeast Oregon to Newberry Volcano to the west. The apparent ca. 15−12 Ma eruptive hiatus suggests that rhyolites of these provinces were a product of separate processes, yet this gap was based on incomplete data. The lack of data on ∼33 of the total ∼50 rhyolitic eruptive centers in the area where the two provinces overlap (117−119°W, 43−44°N) yields only tenuous relationships between these two provinces. We acquired 40Ar/39Ar ages for 29 previously unanalyzed rhyolite centers that confirm the existence of a rhyolitic eruptive episode concurrent with CRBG flood basalt volcanism. Rhyolite eruptions gradually initiated at ca. 17.5 Ma, and our new ages indicate that peak intensity of the first eruptive episode occurred between 16.3 Ma and 14.4 Ma. We refine the ca. 15−12 Ma rhyolitic eruptive hiatus to 14.4−12.1 Ma, where strong recommencement of rhyolite eruptions began with Beatys Butte at 12.05 Ma. We find two prominent fluxes in rhyolitic eruptive activity after 12.1 Ma as opposed to one continuous, age-progressive trend, at 12.1−9.6 Ma and 7.7−5.1 Ma, which are separated by an ∼2 m.y. period of decreased rhyolite volcanism. Rhyolite eruptions were scarce after 5.1 Ma, at which point most eruptions were associated with Newberry Volcano. Periodicity of rhyolite volcanism along the High Lava Plains demands more punctuated basalt inputs than what continuous partial melting from west-spreading plume material should generate. Our new data suggest that regional rhyolite eruptions are a series of episodic events related to the arrival and storage of mafic mantle magmas. Paucity in rhyolite eruptions from 14.4 Ma to 12.1 Ma is related to decreased flux of CRBG flood basalt magmas at ca. 15 Ma. Strong recommencement of rhyolite volcanism at 12.1 Ma is related to continued Northwest Basin and Range extension and a peak rotation rate of Siletzia affecting regional lithosphere weakened by CRBG volcanism. Waning rhyolitic eruptive activity from ca. 9.6 Ma to 7.7 Ma reflects a regional transition in the primary mode of accommodation of extension from Northwest Basin and Range normal faulting to extension and shearing of the Brothers Fault Zone. Rhyolite volcanism between 7.7 Ma and 5.1 Ma was driven by continued regional extension in an area less affected by CRBG magmatism. Post-5.1 Ma rhyolite eruptions occurred within crust not influenced by CRBG magmatism but impacted by both regional extension and the Cascadia subduction zone.

The mixology of precursory strain partitioning approaching brittle failure in rocks

SUMMARYWe examine the strain accumulation and localization process throughout 12 triaxial compression experiments on six rock types deformed in an X-ray transparent apparatus. In each experiment, we acquire 50–100 tomograms of rock samples at differential stress steps during loading, revealing the evolving 3-D distribution of X-ray absorption contrasts, indicative of density. Using digital volume correlation (DVC) of pairs of tomograms, we build time-series of 3-D incremental strain tensor fields as the rocks are deformed towards failure. The Pearson correlation coefficients between components of the local incremental strain tensor at each stress step indicate that the correlation strength between pairs of local strain components, including dilation, contraction and shear strain, are moderate-strong in 11 of 12 experiments. In addition, changes in the local strain components from one DVC calculation to the next show differences in the correlations between pairs of strain components. In particular, the correlation of the local changes in dilation and shear strain tends to be stronger than the correlation of changes in dilation-contraction and contraction-shear strain. In 11 of 12 experiments, the most volumetrically frequent mode of strain accommodation includes a synchronized increase in multiple strain components. Early in loading, under lower differential stress, the most frequent strain accumulation mode involves the paired increase in dilation and contraction at neighbouring locations. Under higher differential stress, the most frequent mode is the paired increase in dilation and shear strain. This mode is also the first or second most frequent throughout each complete experiment. Tracking the mean values of the strain components in the sample and the volume of rock that each component occupies reveals fundamental differences in the nature of strain accumulation and localization between the volumetric and shear strain modes. As the dilative strain increases in magnitude throughout loading, it tends to occupy larger volumes within the rock sample and thus delocalizes. In contrast, the increasing shear strain components (left- or right-lateral) do not necessarily occupy larger volumes and so involve localization. Consistent with these evolutions, the correlation length of the dilatational strains tends to increase by the largest amounts of the strain components from lower to higher differential stress. In contrast, the correlation length of the shear strains does not consistently increase or decrease with increasing differential stress.

Morphotectonic Kinematic Indicators along the Vigan-Aggao Fault: The Western Deformation Front of the Philippine Fault Zone in Northern Luzon, the Philippines

The Vigan-Aggao Fault is a 140-km-long complex active fault system consisting of multiple traces in the westernmost part of the Philippine Fault Zone (PFZ) in northern Luzon, the Philippines. In this paper, its traces, segmentation, and oblique left-lateral strike-slip motion are determined from horizontal and vertical displacements measured from over a thousand piercing points pricked from displaced spurs and streams observed from Google Earth Pro satellite images. This work marks the first instance of the extensive use of Google Earth as a tool in mapping and determining the kinematics of active faults. Complete 3D image coverage of a major thoroughgoing active fault system is freely and easily accessible on the Google Earth Pro platform. It provides a great advantage to researchers collecting morphotectonic displacement data, especially where access to aerial photos covering the entire fault system is next to impossible. This tool has not been applied in the past due to apprehensions on the positional measurement accuracy (mainly of the vertical component). The new method outlined in this paper demonstrates the applicability of this tool in the detailed mapping of active fault traces through a neotectonic analysis of fault-zone features. From the sense of motion of the active faults in northern Luzon and of the major bounding faults in central Luzon, the nature of deformation in these regions can be inferred. An understanding of the kinematics is critical in appreciating the distribution and the preferred mode of accommodation of deformation by faulting in central and northern Luzon resulting from oblique convergence of the Sunda Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The location, extent, segmentation patterns, and sense of motion of active faults are critical in coming up with reasonable estimates of the hazards involved and identifying areas prone to these hazards. The magnitude of earthquakes is also partly dependent on the type and nature of fault movement. With a proper evaluation of these parameters, earthquake hazards and their effects in different tectonic settings worldwide can be estimated more accurately.

Risk Perceptions of Airbnb Hosts: Evidence from a Mediterranean Island

In the context of the sharing economy, Airbnb has become a formidable mode of accommodation in the tourism industry worldwide, with a presence in over 34,000 cities in 191 countries. However, the risks associated with online bookings are significant dimensions of this e-market domain. This study assesses Airbnb hosts’ perceived risks and investigates the effects of service, financial, safety and security, psychological and political risks on the host’s satisfaction and intention to continue and recommend this business to potential hosts. A survey was administered to 221 Airbnb hosts located in Northern Cyprus. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed conceptual model. The results revealed that host satisfaction is negatively influenced by financial and safety and security risks; continuance intention is negatively affected by financial, safety and security, and political risks; intention to recommend this business is negatively affected by political risk; and psychological risk increases satisfaction and intention to continue and recommend. By highlighting the theoretical and managerial implications, this study informs Airbnb management of the potential risks associated with this peer-to-peer (P2P) business in order to minimize the associated risks, enhance host satisfaction and the quality of their services, and encourage hosts to recommend Airbnb to their peers.

Influence of mesoscale properties on the mechanisms of plastic strain accommodation in plane strain dynamic deformation of concentric Ni-Al laminates

The paper presents results on the mechanisms of plastic strain accommodation of Ni-Al laminates composed of concentrically aligned thin foils processed at different conditions undergoing a high strain radial collapse in thick walled cylinder experiments. Numerical simulations were conducted to examine the influence of mesoscale parameters (layer size, defects in mesostructure, and ductility) on the mechanisms of large plastic strain accommodation (high amplitude cooperative buckling; high frequency, low amplitude buckling; and kinking) at high strain rates in pure shear (plane strain) conditions. These mechanisms are dramatically different than observed in solid ductile and brittle homogeneous materials where a pattern of shear bands is the major mode of strain accommodation. It was observed that the layer thickness and ductility greatly influenced the dominant mode of plastic strain accommodation. The number of apices was related to the layer thickness. The presence of defects mainly had a localized area of influence. Numerical simulations showed good qualitative agreement with the experiments and provided the ability to simulate additional mesoscale and material dependencies: the role of friction/bonding, relative layer sizes, and sample thickness.

Ethnofederalism Discourse: Understanding Boundaries between the Centre and the State in Indian State

While a great deal about India's federal system has been said in terms of Centre-state relation based on the devolution of power to subunits and accommodation of different ethnic groups base on non-territorial autonomy, but there has been less attention given to the concept and characterization of ethnofederalism, given its experience about federal system. Ethnofederalism is understood as a concept that includes both federalism and ethnic dimension, which manages the inter-ethnic relation in ethnically divided societies by sharing power between the central government and the territorial define subunits. Simultaneously, ethnofederal system is generally seen to have a relative risk of developing ethnic conflict or prone for secession, given the opportunity of power sharing within the existing state. Based on this understand on ethnofederalism, the article discusses whether there can be some kind of institutional characteristic, which would facilitate the construction of Indian federal system near to the image of ethnofederalism. To address this process of construction and gap in the Indian federal studies, the article illustrate India's federal mode of accommodation as a point of discussion. An accommodation provided both territorial and non-territorial autonomy to different ethnic groups by retaining their distinctiveness within the ambit of Indian Constitution. By providing such an accommodation to various ethnic groups, they are simultaneously subject to commonly shared political space. Bearing such space, the article illustrates that the experience of Indian federal systems does not seem to represent the character of ethnofederalism truly, given its overlap boundaries between the Centre and the State relationship.

From Camp Life to Suburbia: Aboriginal Housing in Perth

Until the 1960s, camps provided the primary mode of accommodation for Aborigines living in Perth. This article charts relations between government, white residents and Aborigines who identified as ‘campies’ and outlines the shift from camp life to suburbia that occurred in Perth during the second half of the twentieth century. It shows that the state appropriated the right to administer and manage Aboriginal welfare, but squandered opportunities to do so adequately. It demonstrates how sanitation and inspections were used as mechanisms of control that limited the autonomy of the campies by confining their movements and visibility. The article argues that campies were routinely treated as a ‘nuisance’ and quite invisible in terms of housing policy until 1953. Moreover, implementation of Aboriginal housing in the 1970s failed because urban Aboriginal culture was profoundly misunderstood.

Effects of Static Accommodation Versus Repeated Accommodation on Intraocular Pressure

To compare the influences of static and repeated accommodation on the intraocular pressure (IOP). A randomized, single-blind study was carried out on 33 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 29 years. Baseline IOP was measured after 10 minutes of viewing a distant target. Static accommodation was achieved by letting the volunteers focus for 3 minutes on a near target, which was individually adjusted to induce a 3 D accommodative demand. For the repeated accommodation, the volunteers were instructed to alternately focus on the near and distant target for 3 minutes. The accommodative responses were continuously monitored by an infrared photorefractor (PowerRef II), and Goldmann tonometry was performed immediately after the accommodative procedures. The IOP values (mean±SD) measured after static and repeated accommodation were 13.4±2.4 mm Hg and 12.7±2.3 mm Hg, respectively (P=0.04). The IOP decreased significantly from baseline after both the static and repeated mode of accommodation with a mean change of -1.76±1.17 mm Hg (range, 0 to 4 mm Hg) and -2.06±1.48 mm Hg (range, 0 to 5 mm Hg), respectively. The IOP drop seemed to be greater after repeated accommodation compared with static accommodation; however, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.35). The IOP was significantly reduced after both static and repeated accommodation. Compared with static accommodation, the repetitive mode of accommodation did not induce a statistically significant additional IOP drop, indicating that aqueous humor outflow is relatively unaffected by frequent ciliary muscle contractions.

Effects of the Val211Gly substitution on molecular dynamics of the CMY‐2 cephalosporinase: Implications on hydrolysis of expanded‐spectrum cephalosporins

CMY-30, a naturally occurring class C β-lactamase differing from the Citrobacter freundii-derived CMY-2 by a Val211Gly substitution in the Ω-loop, exhibits increased hydrolytic efficiency against ceftazidime and cefotaxime. Kinetic constants of CMY-2 and CMY-30 against the latter substrates suggested that the improved efficiency of the Gly211 variant was due to an increase in k(cat). The structural basis of the increased turn-over rates of oxyimino-cephalosporins caused by Val211Gly was studied using 5 ns molecular dynamics simulations of CMY-2 and CMY-30 in their free forms and in covalent complexes with ceftazidime (acyl-enzyme) as well as a boronic acid analogue of ceftazidime (deacylation transition state). Analysis of thermal factors indicated that Val211Gly increased the flexibility of the Ω-loop/H7-helix and the Q120-loop formed by amino acids 112-125, and also altered the vibrations of the H10-helix/R2-loop. Structural elements containing the catalytic residues remained relatively rigid except Tyr150 in acyl-enzyme species. Regions exhibiting altered flexibility due to the substitution appear to move in a concerted manner in both enzymes. This movement was more intense in CMY-30 and also at directions different to those observed for CMY-2. Additionally, it appeared that the Val211Gly increased the available space for the accommodation of the R1 side chain of ceftazidime. These findings are likely associated with the significantly increased vibrations of the bound compounds observed in CMY-30 complexes. Therefore, the extended spectrum properties of CMY-30 seem to arise through a complex process implicating changes in protein movement and in the mode of substrate accommodation.

Observation of a surface alloying-to-dealloying transition during growth of Bi on Ag(111)

The atomic structures that develop as a function of coverage during deposition of Bi on Ag(111) have been studied using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, and ab initio calculations. The growth process involves two sequential stages. At low coverage, Bi atoms are incorporated into the topmost layer of Ag(111), resulting in the formation of an Ag${}_{2}$Bi alloy confined to the surface and ordered ($\sqrt{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{3}$)$R$30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} Ag${}_{2}$Bi islands supported on Ag(111). This mode of accommodation of Bi was found to be energetically favorable based on ab initio total-energy calculations. At coverage above a critical value of 0.55 monolayers, the Ag${}_{2}$Bi alloy phase gradually converts into an ordered Bi ($p\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{3}$) overlayer structure supported on Ag(111). We postulate that the dealloying transition is likely driven by compressive strain induced by incorporation of large-size Bi atoms into Ag at a high coverage and the subsequent lack of miscibility of Ag and Bi bulk phases. After completion of the dealloying process, Bi(110) thin films can be grown epitaxially on top of Ag(111) with a chemically abrupt interface.

A computer simulation study of the accommodation and diffusion of He in uranium- and plutonium-doped zircon (ZrSiO 4)

We report the results of an atomistic computational study of He accommodation and diffusion in the Pu 4+- and U 4+-doped zircon (ZrSiO 4). The He–cation potentials derived for this work give results of comparable accuracy to DFT calculations. We have calculated the structural features of doped lattices as well as He solution energies in interstitial sites in the perfect and doped zircon and its diffusion in these lattices. The mode of He accommodation in the perfect zircon is influenced mainly by the topological features of the lattice, promoting site preference of He towards accommodation in the interstitial sites present in the middle of c cylinder channels, whereas the presence of Pu 4+ and U 4+ dopants in the zircon lattice significantly affects the energetics of He accommodation and diffusion in the lattice. Doping causes strong local structural distortions, extending to next nearest-neighbour atoms of the dopants to a radius of up to ∼4 Å, in agreement with experimental results. The presence of dopants in the vicinity of He enhances the solubility of He in the lattice compared to the perfect lattice. The mechanism of diffusion is also affected, where the dopants can create a He trap along the most energetically favourable pathway in the (0 0 1) direction, which may slow down the movement of He along the c direction. The dopants also lower the energy barriers by ∼50% in the octahedral sites.

The Political Economy of Social Housing Reform—A Framework for Considering Decentralised Ownership, Management and Service Delivery in Australia

Several State Housing Authorities in Australia are currently examining models of devolved management and ownership of social housing stock and addressing reduced Commonwealth State Housing Agreement funding (or have already done so). These changes in the provision and mode of below-market accommodation are reflective of two broad trends: firstly, a greater reliance on market and not-for-profit provision of public services; and, secondly, a change in the role and mode of bureaucratic intervention at various levels of government. In this article we illustrate a framework for analysing these changes by focusing on the transfer of some 86 000 properties from the Glasgow City Council to the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) in 2003 and also provide an interpretation of how the restructuring of social housing in the UK reflects the political economy of property rights, and the governance and incentive structure through which the restructuring of advanced economies is implemented. We conclude by briefly drawing implications from the British case for Australia. The analysis is conducted in a new institutional tradition that assesses property rights and the provision of social housing, and associated policy goals, under comparative institutional arrangements or governance structures. We argue that stock transfer in essence is a policy of delineating ownership of different attributes of the housing stock and that such a delineation is crucial to the functioning of the emerging governance structure and the ability of stakeholders to extract value from ownership. We draw on a series of interviews conducted by the authors as part of research into the 2003 GHA transfer. These interviews were conducted with policy makers and politicians (past and present), the regulator in Scotland, GHA staff and representatives of the community-based housing association sector in Glasgow.

Structural Basis of Spirolactone Recognition by the Mineralocorticoid Receptor

Spirolactones are potent antagonists of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), a ligand-induced transcription factor belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. Spirolactones are synthetic molecules characterized by the presence of a C17 gamma-lactone, which is responsible for their antagonist character. They harbor various substituents at several positions of the steroid skeleton that modulate their potency in ways that remain to be determined. This is particularly obvious for C7 substituents. The instability of antagonist-MR complexes makes them difficult to crystallize. We took advantage of the S810L activating mutation in MR (MR(S810L)), which increases the stability of ligand-MR complexes to crystallize the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of MR(S810L) associated with 7alpha-acetylthio-17beta-hydroxy-3-oxopregn-4-en-21-carboxylic acid gamma-lactone (SC9420), a spirolactone with a C7 thioacetyl group. The crystal structure makes it possible to identify the contacts between SC9420 and MR and to elucidate the role of Met852 in the mode of accommodation of the C7 substituent of SC9420. The transactivation activities of MR(S810L/Q776A), MR(S810L/R817A), and MR(S810L/N770A) reveal that the contacts between SC9420 and the Gln776 and Arg817 residues are crucial to maintaining MR(S810L) in its active state, whereas the contact between SC9420 and the Asn770 residue contributes only to the high affinity of SC9420 for MR. Moreover, docking experiments with other C7-substituted spirolactones revealed that the MR(S810L)-activating potency of spirolactones is linked to the ability of their C7 substituent to be accommodated in LBD. It is remarkable that the MR(S810L)-activating and MR(WT)-inactivating potencies of the C7-substituted spirolactones follow the same order, suggesting that the C7 substituent is accommodated in the same way in MR(S810L) and MR(WT). Thus, the MR(S810L) structure may provide a powerful tool for designing new, more effective, MR antagonists.

Domain structures and nonlinear mechanical deformation of soft Pb(Zr xTi 1− x)O 3 (PZT) piezoelectric ceramic fibers

The nonlinear mechanical deformation of two tetragonal variants of soft, morphotropic lead zirconate–titanate Pb(Zr x Ti 1− x )O 3 (PZT) piezoelectric ceramic fiber was correlated with studies of the crystal structure, domain structure, and microstructure. Fibers with dense hierarchical microtwin structures having spatial dimensions of ∼10 nm showed an additional mode of stress accommodation as evidenced by a larger strain accumulation and greater anelastic response relative to fibers with conventional twin structures consisting primarily of 90° and 180° tetragonal ferroelectric–ferroelastic domains. The differing natures of the domain structures in the two variants of soft PZT materials were associated with differences in the defect chemistry. The observed sensitivity of the nonlinear mechanical deformation to the presence of spatially inhomogeneous microtwin structures is expected to be of particular importance in the engineering of flexible fiber composites and other transducers based on soft PZT piezoelectric materials intended for use under conditions of high amplitude dynamic deformation.