Unique Positions Research Articles

Theoretical and computational investigation of meta-phenylene as ferromagnetic coupler in nitronyl nitroxide diradicals

We predict the magnetic exchange coupling constant (J) for 27 m-phenylene-based nitronyl nitroxide (NN) diradicals with nine different substituents in three unique (common ortho, ortho–meta and common meta) positions on the coupler unit by using the broken-symmetry density functional methodology. For all investigated diradicals, J values are computed using B3LYP, B3LYP-D3 and M06-2X functionals with 6–311+G(d,p) basis set. The JM06-2X value is larger than JB3LYP and closer to the observed value for the unsubstituted species. Substitutions at common ortho position always produce a greater angle of twist between the spin source and the coupler units. When the twist angle is very large, the nature of intramolecular magnetic interaction changes from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic. In these cases, the coupler–NN bond order becomes small. Substitution at the common meta position of m-phenylene in the diradical has little steric and hydrogen-bonding effects. Electron-withdrawing groups reveal a specific trend for single-atom substitution. An ortho substitution generally decreases J and a meta substitution always increases J with a decreasing −I effect. Variation of J with planarity as well as Hammett constant is investigated. The nucleus-independent chemical shift value is found to decrease from the corresponding mono-substituted phenyl derivatives. The dependence of J on these factors is explored.

Interaction of Water Molecule with Au(111) and Au(110) Surfaces under the Influence of an External Electric Field

The interaction of water monomers with a gold surface is investigated using density functional theory (DFT) to develop a better understanding of the response of a water molecule to an imposed electric field at the surface. Two gold surface orientations, Au(111) and Au(110), are studied. Multiple unique stable adsorption positions of water molecules are identified for each surface orientation, and the results are validated against existing theoretical and experimental data. The values of the adsorption energies do not vary by more than 0.06 eV, which suggests that the potential energy surface of the water molecule interacting with the gold electrode is relatively smooth. The projected density of states and the difference charge density analyses reveal that the interaction mechanism between the water molecule and the gold electrode is a partial exchange of charge rather than a chemical bonding. A normal electric field of magnitude between ±5.0 × 109 V/m is applied and its effect on the geometry and orientation of the water molecule is analyzed. The change in the geometry of the water molecule in response to the applied electric field shows a strong nonlinearity and asymmetry with respect to the magnitude and direction of the applied field. The interaction between the water monomer and Au electrode with/without the electric field is explained in terms of the interplay of Au–O, Au–OH, and electrostatic interactions. There is a significant difference between the dielectric response of the water molecule on the Au(111) and Au(110) surface that is related to the strength of the adsorption energy of the water monomer to both surfaces.

Young Perspectives on Pastoral Rangeland Privatization: Intimate Exclusions at the Intersection of Youth Identities

The recent privatization of Maasai rangelands in Southern Kenya has not only facilitated land grabbing by outsiders, but, more pervasively, has given rise to intimate exclusions, whereby the young generation’s access to land and land-based resources has changed dramatically. Yet, young people’s views and experiences are neglected in local, academic and policy debates on land tenure reform. On the basis of long-term fieldwork and mixed methods approaches in a community that has recently undergone privatization, this article explores young perspectives on this process, demonstrating the unique positions of youth as compared with adults and the divergent views of youth shaped by other intersecting social dimensions of difference, such as class, gender and ethnicity. Bringing in young perspectives deepens our understanding of the role of tenure change in development and social transformation, providing critical insights.

Consolidation of the genetic and cytogenetic maps of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) using FISH with BAC clones

Bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) have been widely used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping of chromosome landmarks in different organisms, including a few in teleosts. In this study, we used BAC-FISH to consolidate the previous genetic and cytogenetic maps of the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), a commercially important pleuronectiform. The maps consisted of 24 linkage groups (LGs) but only 22 chromosomes. All turbot LGs were assigned to specific chromosomes using BAC probes obtained from a turbot 5× genomic BAC library. It consisted of 46,080 clones with inserts of at least 100kb and <5% empty vectors. These BAC probes contained gene-derived or anonymous markers, most of them linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to productive traits. BAC clones were mapped by FISH to unique marker-specific chromosomal positions, which showed a notable concordance with previous genetic mapping data. The two metacentric pairs were cytogenetically assigned to LG2 and LG16, and the nucleolar organizer region (NOR)-bearing pair was assigned to LG15. Double-color FISH assays enabled the consolidation of the turbot genetic map into 22 linkage groups by merging LG8 with LG18 and LG21 with LG24. In this work, a first-generation probe panel of BAC clones anchored to the turbot linkage and cytogenetical map was developed. It is a useful tool for chromosome traceability in turbot, but also relevant in the context of pleuronectiform karyotypes, which often show small hardly identifiable chromosomes. This panel will also be valuable for further integrative genomics of turbot within Pleuronectiformes and teleosts, especially for fine QTL mapping for aquaculture traits, comparative genomics, and whole-genome assembly.

Moving Forward: Asian Americans in the Discourse of Race and Social Problems

Moving Forward: Asian Americans in the Discourse of Race and Social Problems

A generalized theoretical deterministic particle swarm model

A number of theoretical studies of particle swarm optimization (PSO) have been done to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of the algorithm and the behavior of the particles under different conditions. These theoretical analyses have been performed for both the deterministic PSO model and more recently for the stochastic model. However, all current theoretical analyses of the PSO algorithm were based on the stagnation assumption, in some form or another. The analysis done under the stagnation assumption is one where the personal best and neighborhood best positions are assumed to be non-changing. While analysis under the stagnation assumption is very informative, it could never provide a complete description of a PSO’s behavior. Furthermore, the assumption implicitly removes the notion of a social network structure from the analysis. This paper presents a generalization to the theoretical deterministic PSO model. Under the generalized model, conditions for particle convergence to a point are derived. The model used in this paper greatly weakens the stagnation assumption, by instead assuming that each particle’s personal best and neighborhood best can occupy an arbitrarily large number of unique positions. It was found that the conditions derived in previous theoretical deterministic PSO research could be obtained as a specialization of the new generalized model proposed. Empirical results are presented to support the theoretical findings.

Contacts and Discontinuities: Changing Aspects in Shimon Adaf’s Work

The writings of Shimon Adaf construct a hybrid, multicultural quasi-dialect that is unusual in Israeli literature in general and in the genre known as “Oriental Jewish literature” in particular. While Israeli Hebrew is hybrid by its very nature, there is a difference between hybridity deriving from instinctive use of the spoken language and that arising from an intentional, self-aware act designed to flout literary, and especially sociopolitical, conventions. In this article I shall demonstrate how Adaf’s use of imagery leads to unique, fresh literary and political positions. All Adaf’s protagonists are of Moroccan origin, from a small town on the periphery; they observe Israeli reality “from the outside.” They do not represent the “Oriental” voice that prevails in both fiction and scholarly writing by Jewish authors of non-European origin who delve into issues of discrimination, disenfranchisement, and other socioeconomic tensions. Adaf’s characters “cut loose” from acute current problems and via hybridity re-connect to bygone times. These characters raise universal, existential questions that do not stem from their belonging to a specific time and place, for example, those of relations obtaining between language and reality and of the possibility to change the latter by means of poetic language. Such problems are evoked by quotations from various literatures (Greek, English, German) and by the use of different strands of Hebrew: biblical, rabbinic, and Israeli. By employing metaphoric language, Adaf examines how the cultural norms in which language is steeped dictate modes of behavior and how we can influence the reformulation of these norms by the use of that very language.

Probabilistic Analysis of Plug-In Electric Vehicles Impact on Electrical Grid Through Homes and Parking Lots

Plug-in electric vehicles in the future will possibly emerge widely in city areas. Fleets of such vehicles in large numbers could be regarded as considerable stochastic loads in view of the electrical grid. Moreover, they are not stabled in unique positions to define their impact on the grid. Municipal parking lots could be considered as important aggregators letting these vehicles interact with the utility grid in certain positions. A bidirectional power interface in a parking lot could link electric vehicles with the utility grid or any storage and dispersed generation. Such vehicles, depending on their need, could transact power with parking lots. Considering parking lots equipped with power interfaces, in more general terms, parking-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-parking are propose here instead of conventional grid-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid concepts. Based on statistical data and adopting general regulations on vehicles (dis)charging, a novel stochastic methodology is presented to estimate total daily impact of vehicles aggregated in parking lots on the grid. Different scenarios of plug-in vehicles' penetration are suggested in this paper and finally, the scenarios are simulated on standard grids that include several parking lots. The results show acceptable penetration level margins in terms of bus voltages and grid power loss.

Health Care Workers’ Suggestions for Improving HIV‐Related Maternal Care in South Africa: “Listen to Us”

South Africa has the highest rate of individuals infected with HIV in the world. Women in particular are at increased risk for HIV infection and typically receive care from nurses and midwives who are on the front lines of health care policy and program implementation. The primary objective of this study was to compile and analyze suggestions generated by health care professionals on how to improve HIV-related maternal care in South Africa. This information can then be used to inform the direction of future programs across the country and beyond. Two hundred forty-nine nurses, midwives, and nursing students enrolled in a South African university completed surveys as part of this qualitative cross-sectional study. Responses were transcribed and coded by independent researchers who met frequently to discuss and come to consensus on emerging themes. Four primary strategies to improve HIV-related maternal care emerged from the data. These women's health professionals suggested improving education, increasing grassroots-level participation by government officials, improving resources, and developing strategies aimed at decreasing the risk of secondary transmission of HIV. Nurses and midwives are frontline health care professionals who are in unique positions to offer feedback on how HIV-related maternal care can be improved. The identified strategies should be integrated into future programs, and human rights implications must be examined.

The Political Obligation To Donate Organs

AbstractThe first question I discuss in this paper is whether we have a duty of rescue to make our organs available for transplantation after our death, a duty we owe to patients suffering from organ failure. The second question is whether political obligations, in particular the obligation to obey the law, can be derived from natural duties, possibly duties of beneficence. Such duties are normally seen as merely imperfect duties, not owed to anyone. The duty of rescue, however, is a perfect one, mainly because it applies to us when we are in a unique position to provide urgent help to a person in need. The basic idea of a natural duty account of political obligation is that such unique positions can be artificially created by institutionalized coordination schemes. The remaining problem is how any particular coordination scheme could claim our allegiance rather than any other. This problem can be solved in different ways in the organ donation case, and in respect to a limited set of political obligations, mainly negative ones. A natural duty account is best seen as a constitutive part of a multiple principle theory of political obligation.

ERP to chess stimuli reveal expert‐novice differences in the amplitudes of N2 and P3 components

ERP experiments were conducted to analyze the underlying neural events when chess players make simple judgments of a board position. Fourteen expert players and 14 age-matched novices viewed, for each of four tasks, 128 unique positions on a mini (4 × 4) chess board each presented for 0.5 s. The tasks were to respond: (a) if white king was in check, (b) if black knight was present, (c) if white king was not in check, and (d) if no black knight was present. Experts showed an enhanced N2 with check targets and a larger P3 with knight targets, relative to novices. Expert-novice differences in posterior N2 began as early as 240 ms on check-related searches. Results were consistent with the view that prolonged N2 components reflect matching of current perceptual input to memory, and thus are sensitive to experts' superior pattern recognition and memory retrieval of chunks.

Identification of International Marketing Manager Competencies: A Tri-Country Study

The need to address specific competencies required of unique international marketing positions cannot be overshadowed by the relative difficulty in procuring and analyzing international data. This study identifies competencies required of a growing segment of the international workforce, the domestically-based international marketing manager (D-BIMM), and illustrates how these competencies can be integrated into an international marketing curriculum. Executives from Japan, Germany and the United States provided input that prioritizes skills required if one is to be successful in D-BIMM activities. Subsequently, the paper illustrates how a marketing curriculum can be developed, or modified, utilizing a tri-country model in conjunction with an established cross-cultural training model developed for training within a multinational corporate setting.

Market Quality and Information Known to Market Makers

Market makers often have concentration of information due to their unique positions in securities markets. Whether their information sources should be made accessible to other market participants is a public policy concern. This article provides insights into the issue in theoretical perspective. We show that disclosure of market makers’ information tends to increase market liquidity and decrease the costs of uninformed trading when the competition in market making is intense. When the competition is weak, however, the disclosure will decrease market liquidity and increase the trading losses of uninformed traders. The results have public policy implications for improving the quality of securities markets and promoting the interest of public investors.

X-ray Crystallographic Structures as a Source of Ligand Alignment in 3D-QSAR

Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSAR) analyses are methods correlating a pharmacological property with a mathematical representation of a molecular property distribution around three-dimensional molecular models for a set of congeners. 3D-QSAR methods are known to be highly sensitive to ligand conformation and alignment method. The current study collects 32 unique positions of congeneric ligands co-crystallized with the binding domain of AMPA receptors and aligns them using protein coordinates. Thus, it allows for a unique opportunity to consider a ligands' orientation aligned by their mode of binding in a native molecular target. Comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) models were generated for this alignment and compared with the results of analogous modeling using standard structure-based alignment or obtained in docking simulations of the ligands' molecules. In comparison with classically derived models, the model based on X-ray crystallographic studies showed much better performance and statistical significance. Although the 3D-QSAR methods are mainly employed when crystallographic information is limited, the current study underscores the importance that the selection of inappropriate molecular conformations and alignment methods can lead to generation of erroneous models and false conclusions.

Educational Uses of the Digital World for Human Development

This article discusses several enduring features of the digital world in relation to the dramatically changing global context and visibility of the human condition. Based on the author’s experience as an educator and researcher, she explains that interactivity, multi-modality, and information storage are ripe for advancing students’ creative and critical interactions with diverse others and themselves. With the digital world as a focal point, although by no means the only communication medium, educators are in unique positions to guide contemporary human development, which is increasingly an interdependent individual-societal process, thereby requiring knowledge of realities beyond one’s own.

Commoditization in Food Retailing: Is Differentiation a Futile Strategy?

This article addresses commoditization in food retailing whereby competition has a tendency to lead to a continuous addition of new but similar products in a category. This often results in products that are more homogeneous and may make it more difficult for firms to gain unique market positions. In light of this development, we ask whether product differentiation is a futile strategy in food products marketing. We also address how consumers perceive and react to the seemingly ever-increasing number of similar products. These questions are explored through insights from relevant literature and a small-scale study of a seemingly highly differentiated category—smoked salmon—sold at the flagship store of an upmarket UK supermarket chain. It was concluded that no product attributes could be described as truly innovative, unique, or difficult to imitate. Implications are highlighted and discussed.

Combinatorial Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Graded TiO2–VO2 Mixed-Phase Composites and Their Dual Functional Property as Self-Cleaning and Photochromic Window Coatings

A combinatorial film with a phase gradient from V:TiO₂ (V: Ti ≥ 0.08), through a range of TiO₂-VO₂ composites, to a vanadium-rich composite (V: Ti = 1.81) was grown by combinatorial atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (cAPCVD). The film was grown from the reaction of TiCl₄, VCl₄, ethyl acetate (EtAc), and H₂O at 550 °C on glass. The gradient in gas mixtures across the reactor induced compositional film growth, producing a single film with numerous phases and compositions at different positions. Seventeen unique positions distributed evenly along a central horizontal strip were investigated. The physical properties were characterized by wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDX) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-visible spectroscopy. The functional properties examined included the degree of photoinduced hydrophilicity (PIH), UVC-photocatalysis, and thermochromism. Superhydrophilic contact angles could be achieved at all positions, even within a highly VO₂-rich composite (V: Ti = 1.81). A maximum level of UVC photocatalysis was observed at a position bordering the solubility limit of V:TiO₂ (V: Ti ≈ 0.21) and fragmentation into a mixed-phase composite. Within the mixed-phase TiO₂: VO₂ composition region (V: Ti = 1.09 to 1.81) a decrease in the semiconductor-to-metal transition temperature of VO₂ from 68 to 51 °C was observed.

Prototyping a compact system for active vibration isolation using piezoelectric sensors and actuators

Being small in size and weight, piezoelectric transducers hold unique positions in vibration sensing and control. Here, we explore the possibility of building a compact vibration isolation system using piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The mechanical resonances of a piezoelectric actuator around a few kHz are suppressed by an order of magnitude via electrical damping, which improves the high-frequency response. Working with a strain gauge located on the piezoelectric actuator, an auxiliary control loop eliminates the drift associated with a large servo gain at dc. Following this approach, we design, optimize, and experimentally verify the loop responses using frequency domain analysis. The vibration isolation between 1 Hz and 200 Hz is achieved and the attenuation peaks at 60 near vibration frequency of 20 Hz. Restrictions and potentials for extending the isolation to lower vibration frequencies are discussed.

Molecular and morphological data reveal two new species of Scolecobasidium

Two species of Scolecobasidium were isolated from soil in Hainan and Hebei Provinces, China. The two taxa develop broadly ellipsoid conidia and ellipsoidal to oblong conidia, respectively. Their taxonomic placement in Scolecobasidium was confirmed by morphological similarity and phylogenetic analysis of the RNA polymerase II subunit b (RPB2) sequence data. The two fungi, which are morphologically distinct to previously described species, and occupy unique positions in the phylogenetic tree, are thus introduced as the new species Scolecobasidium terricola and S. ellipsoideum. They are described and illustrated and compared with similar species in the genus.

Abstract 2009: Clinical value of pathogenic mitochondrial mutations in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract Mitochondria appear to have a central role in two of the basic cancer cellular hallmarks made by Hanahan and Weinberg: reprogramming of energy metabolism and glucose-shortage induced apoptosis. Somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been frequently observed in human cancers and proposed as important oncological biomarkers. However, the clinical significance of mtDNA mutations in cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we screened the entire mitochondrial genome of 300 oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) with their matched control tissues by direct sequencing. We found that 240 (80%) OSCC tumor tissues had one or more somatic mutations and 85 % (203/240) of somatic mutation occurs in the control region (D-loop region) of mitochondrial genome, 47.1% (113/240) in the coding region, 13.8% (33/240) in rRNA and 8.3% (20/240) cases with in tRNA. Overall, 645 somatic mutations at 329 unique nucleotide positions were identified and 355 (55.0%) of 645 somatic mutations were located in the D-loop. The relative mutation frequency (mutations/nucleotides) in the D-loop was 15.6-fold higher than in the other regions (355/1121 versus 290/15448). The highest mutation was in the D310 polycytidine stretch region, where 165 (25.6%, 165/645) mutations were found. Among the 10 somatic mtDNA hot mutation sites, 6 are known mono-/di-nucleotide repeat length polymorphic sites, namely nucleotide position 310-317 (D310, also known as hypervariable region 1), 514-523 (CA repeat), 568-576 (C stretch 1), 956-965 (12S RNA), 5895-5899 (C stretch 2) and 16180-16195 (hypervariable region 2. We found that the mutation frequency at these 6 mono-/di-nucleotide repeat length polymorphic sites was strongly associated with the number of the repeat length and status of heteroplasmy. In the total 645 mutations, most common mutation type was base substitution (58.3%, 376/645), and transition mutation (G:C &amp;gt; A:T and A:T &amp;gt; G:C) accounted for the most mutations (94.7%, 356/376). The total and pathogenic mutation load for mitochondrial respiratory complexes was 1.10% and 0.76%, respectively. No significant association was found between somatic mtDNA mutations in whole mitochondrial genome and the clinicopathological features. However, we found that individuals with p53 R allele had higher frequency of pathogenic somatic mtDNA mutation than those with PP genotype. The Kaplan-Meier plot analysis indicated that pathogenic somatic mtDNA mutations was associated with poor disease-free survival (p = 0.02) and this phenomenon still existed after adjusting for tumor stage, differentiation and age at diagnosis (hazard ratio = 1.557; 95% confidence interval = 1.058 - 2.292); while, there was no difference in overall survival. Taken together, these data suggest that pathogenic somatic mtDNA mutations may play important roles in the aggressiveness of OSCCs. Citation Format: Ling-Ling Hsieh, Chih-Hsiung Lai, Shiang-Fu Huang, Chun-Ta Liao, I-How Chen, Hung-Ming Wang. Clinical value of pathogenic mitochondrial mutations in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2009. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2009