Electronic structure of the muonium center as a shallow donor in ZnO

The electronic structure and the location of muonium centers (Mu) in single-crystalline ZnO were determined for the first time. Two species of Mu centers with extremely small hyperfine parameters have been observed below 40 K. Both Mu centers have an axial-symmetric hyperfine structure along with a [0001] axis, indicating that they are located at the AB_{O,//} and BC_{//} sites. It is inferred from their small ionization energy (~6 meV and 50 meV) and hyperfine parameters (~10^{-4} times the vacuum value) that these centers behave as shallow donors, strongly suggesting that hydrogen is one of the primary origins of n type conductivity in as-grown ZnO.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR

UV Light-Induced Changes to the Surface Conduction in Hydrothermal ZnO

High quality, bulk ZnO crystals grown by Tokyo Denpa using the hydrothermal process typically exhibit a room temperature carrier concentration in the 1013–1014 cm−3 range and a low mobility, conductive surface layer, observed at low temperature, with a sheet concentration on the order of 1012–1013 cm−2. In the sample discussed here, bulk conduction is controlled by two donor levels at 50 and 400 meV with concentrations of 1.2×1016 and 1.5×1016 cm−3, respectively. Temperature-dependent photo-Hall-effect measurements, using blue/UV light, in vacuum show an increase in the surface sheet carrier density to more than 1×1013 cm−2 at low to intermediate temperatures while the two bulk donors continue to dominate the high temperature behavior, up to 400 K. Long-lived persistent photoconductivity (PPC) is observed when the sample is returned to the dark. When the PPC is allowed to fully relax and the sample is exposed to air, there is surprisingly no longer any surface conduction at low temperature, while the two bulk donors remain unaffected. In this state, the 50 meV bulk donor level is observed to control the conduction over five orders of magnitude, down to a carrier concentration of 3.0×108 cm−3. This corresponds to an upper limit for the surface sheet carrier density of 1.6×107 cm−2. This is the lowest surface concentration we have ever observed in any ZnO sample and demonstrates that blue/UV light irradiation, in vacuum, at moderate temperatures is very effective at cleaning the surface. A subsequent 30 min anneal at 600 °C in forming gas (5% H2 in N2) increases the carrier concentration by almost two orders of magnitude. The forming gas anneal produces no changes in the concentrations of the 50 and 400 meV bulk donor levels and no new bulk donors are observed. However, the bulk acceptor concentration decreases from 2×1016 to 1.2×1016 cm−3, most likely as a result of passivation by hydrogen

Misty, Spellbound and the lost Gothic of British girls’ comics.

This article is a case study of the 1970s British girls’ comics Spellbound (DC Thomson, 1976–1977) and Misty (IPC, 1978–1980). These mystery anthology comics followed the more famous American horror comics from publishers like EC Comics - but were aimed at pre-teen girls. The article situates these comics with respect to Gothic critical theory and within the wider landscape of British girls’ comics. Firstly, it closely considers and compares the structure and content of their stories with respect to theories of the terror and horror Gothic. It discovers that both comics offer similar fare, with a subversive streak that undercuts established horror archetypes. The article then looks closely at both titles’ aesthetics and their use of the page to draw comparisons. It uses comics theory and Gothic cinematic theory to demonstrate that the appearance of Misty is more strongly Gothic than the aesthetic of Spellbound. Finally, it considers a selection of stories from both comics and analyses their common themes using Gothic critical theory. It argues that both comics rework Gothic themes into new forms that are relevant to their pre-teen and teenage readers. It concludes by summarising the study’s findings and suggesting that these comics offer a “Gothic for Girls” that is part cautionary tale and part bildungsroman. This article is published as part of a collection on Gothic and horror

Dynamic impedance and compliance surfaces of twin adjacent surface foundations under synchronous and asynchronous loads

The 3D dynamic response of twin rigid massless foundations under concurrent time-harmonic loads in a finite soil region resting on a homogeneous visco-elastic half-space is studied. The mechanical model is based on an efficient approach combining the boundary element method (BEM) for the semi-infinite far-field zone and the finite element method (FEM) for the finite near-field geological region. The accuracy and convergence study of the hybrid computational scheme based on the macro-element concept is presented. A parametric study revealing the sensitivity of the dynamic response to the following key model parameters: (1) Poisson’s ratio of the semi-infinite zone; (2) separation distance between foundations; (3) material damping; (4) the foundations’ geometry; and (5) the phase shift between the acting harmonic loads is presented. The obtained results show resonance patterns as a result of the mutual play between foundations’ geometry, their spatial arrangement, and soil properties. Approximation formulae are proposed to estimate the resonance states. The results also show that the effect of material damping cannot be fully decoupled from the impedance functions using the conventional formula. Further, the presence of a phase between harmonic loads acting on the foundations influences the resonance state, and negligence of it may lead to unexpected responses of the foundations. An efficient optimization of the dynamic design of structures with adjacent foundations, such as bridges, offshore and onshore infrastructures with multiple foundations, machinery, or adjacent structures, could be performed using the obtained results. For better accessibility, the solutions are presented in the form of 3D impedance and compliance surfaces, and they are readily downloadable as interactive figures. A calculation example is given in the appendix

Family-Friendly Management, Organizational Performance and Social Legitimacy

Research on family-friendly practices has concentrated on the predictors of their use, particularly from the perspective of either institutional theory or the high involvement or commitment management vogue. This paper first shows how such perspectives can be used to generate hypotheses about the link between family-friendly management and organizational performance. Second, the paper reports research designed to test these, using data from a national representative sample of workplaces across the British economy, the Workplace Employment Relations Survey of 2004 (WERS2004). The results support the high commitment thesis that family-friendly management will strengthen the relationship between commitment and key economic outcomes, as the relationships between workforce commitment and productivity or quality are stronger in organizations when friendly management is high, which is consistent with social exchange theory. Family-friendly management is not, however, related to the human resource outcomes of labour turnover and absenteeism. Nor does the study find support for the argument that its use in conjunction with high involvement management enhances the performance effects of both. Equally, there is no support for the hypothesis from the institutional thesis that family-friendly management has positive effects on the legitimacy of the organization

Fertility Ideals of Women and Men Across the Life Course

This paper explores the stability of women’s and men’s fertility preferences across the life course. The data come from the first six waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam), which span the period from 2008/2009 until 2013/2014. In our analysis, fertility preferences are measured using the following question: “Under ideal circumstances, how many children would you like to have?” The average number cited by both women and men is 2.2. With rising age, this number declines modestly. Relying on fixed-effects modelling, we find that neither partnership status nor economic circumstances have any causal effect on fertility preferences. However, as the number of children a respondent has increases, his or her ideal number of children is also likely to grow. Thus, fertility ideals appear to undergo changes over time, and are adjusted in line with the size of the respondent’s own family

H3K9me-Independent Gene Silencing in Fission Yeast Heterochromatin by Clr5 and Histone Deacetylases

Nucleosomes in heterochromatic regions bear histone modifications that distinguish them from euchromatic nucleosomes. Among those, histone H3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me) and hypoacetylation have been evolutionarily conserved and are found in both multicellular eukaryotes and single-cell model organisms such as fission yeast. In spite of numerous studies, the relative contributions of the various heterochromatic histone marks to the properties of heterochromatin remain largely undefined. Here, we report that silencing of the fission yeast mating-type cassettes, which are located in a well-characterized heterochromatic region, is hardly affected in cells lacking the H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4. We document the existence of a pathway parallel to H3K9me ensuring gene repression in the absence of Clr4 and identify a silencing factor central to this pathway, Clr5. We find that Clr5 controls gene expression at multiple chromosomal locations in addition to affecting the mating-type region. The histone deacetylase Clr6 acts in the same pathway as Clr5, at least for its effects in the mating-type region, and on a subset of other targets, notably a region recently found to be prone to neo-centromere formation. The genomic targets of Clr5 also include Ste11, a master regulator of sexual differentiation. Hence Clr5, like the multi-functional Atf1 transcription factor which also modulates chromatin structure in the mating-type region, controls sexual differentiation and genome integrity at several levels. Globally, our results point to histone deacetylases as prominent repressors of gene expression in fission yeast heterochromatin. These deacetylases can act in concert with, or independently of, the widely studied H3K9me mark to influence gene silencing at heterochromatic loci

Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy with Sodium Phosphate Solution versus Polyethylene Glycol-Based Lavage: A Multicenter Trial

Background: Adequate bowel preparation is essential for accurate colonoscopy. Both oral sodium phosphate (NaP) and polyethylene glycol-based lavage (PEG-ELS) are used predominantly as bowel cleansing modalities. NaP has gained popularity due to low drinking volume and lower costs. The purpose of this randomized multicenter observer blinded study was to compare three groups of cleansing (NaP, NaP + sennosides, PEG-ELS + sennosides) in reference to tolerability, acceptance, and cleanliness. Patient and Methods: 355 outpatients between 18 and 75 years were randomized into three groups (A, B, C) receiving NaP = A, NaP, and sennosides = B or PEG-ELS and sennosides = C. Gastroenterologists performing colonoscopies were blinded to the type of preparation. All patients documented tolerance and adverse events. Vital signs, premedication, completeness, discomfort, and complications were recorded. A quality score (0–4) of cleanliness was generated. Results: The three groups were similar with regard to age, sex, BMI, indication for colonoscopy, and comorbidity. Drinking volumes (L) (A = 4.33 + 1.2, B = 4.56 + 1.18, C = 4.93 + 1.71) were in favor of NaP (P = .005). Discomfort from ingested fluid was recorded in A = 39.8% (versus C: P = .015), B = 46.6% (versus C: P = .147), and C = 54.6%. Differences in tolerability and acceptance between the three groups were statistically not significant. No differences in adverse events and the cleanliness effects occurred in the three groups (P = .113). The cleanliness quality scores 0–2 were calculated in A: 77.7%, B: 86.7%, and C: 85.2%. Conclusions: These data fail to demonstrate significant differences in tolerability, acceptance, and preparation quality between the three types of bowel preparation for colonoscopy. Cleansing with NaP was not superior to PEG-ELS