Epitaxial Y1Ba2Cu3O7 thin films on CeO2 buffer layers on sapphire substrates

Pulsed laser deposition has been used to deposit Y1Ba2Cu3O7 layer on CeO2 buffer layers on (1102) sapphire. Both layers are epitaxial with the (110) direction of the CeO2 layer aligned with the direction of the sapphire substrate. The c-axis Y1Ba2Cu3O7 layer has its direction aligned with the direction of the CeO2. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows the epitaxy to be coherent and the interfaces to be abrupt at an atomic level. The best films have a critical current of 9 e6 A/cm2 at 4.2 K and lower microwave surface resistance than copper at 77 K and at a frequency of 31 GHz.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, journal articl

Conducting Hermeneutic Research: The Address of the Topic

The conduct of research as guided by philosophical tenets of hermeneutics, in particular the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer, is a complex and sophisticated endeavor. In this paper, we offer that one of the things that guides the inquiry is the topic and that most often topics for discovery arrive with the experience of an address. We discuss the notion of the address of the topic, how a researcher discerns a topic to be studied and, from this address, develops appropriate research questions that help to inform how the study will be conducted

"Isn't All of Oncology Hermeneutic?"

In this paper, we describe an event during a pediatric oncology research meeting that prompted the discussion of the ways in which hermeneutics brings a different kind of understanding to both research and practice. We claim that oncology is the practical science of handling natural science research and as such practice in oncology is deeply hermeneutic in character in its recognition of the importance, vitality, and generativity of the “individual case†even in the face of amassed, verified, and aggregate knowledge that is given from the natural science research. Oncology is always contingent, next case handling, and is not identifiable simply as something determined and guided by natural sciences alone. In the face of this, we propose that there is an obvious, profound, and natural fit of hermeneutic research in understanding the lives, relationships, suffering, and experiences that are affected by cancer.   Keywords: childhood cancer, Gadamer, hermeneutics, pediatric oncology, Robert Buckman Â

The Policy Implications of Interactions Among Financial Aid Programs

Various gift-aid, loan, and work-study programs help college students fill the gap between educational costs and their financial resources. Previous research generally has examined the effects of a given program by itself. What is missing are studies that investigate interactions among programs, such as how state or university grants reinforce or offset the targeting policies that are embedded in the Pell program. This article draws on research conducted on colleges in Indiana to describe how federal, state, private, and college-based financial aid programs and practices interact with each other to determine the total amount of gift-aid a student receives. It discusses how these relationships can dilute or enhance a program\u27s implicit targeting policies. The lessons learned from this experience provide important insights for developing a fuller appreciation of how current and future gift-aid programs may affect each other

COMPARING ESTIMATION PROCEDURES FOR DOSE-RESPONSE FUNCTIONS

The dose-response design is often used in agricultural research when it is necessary to measure a biological response at various levels of an experimental factor. This type of problem is common in chemical and pesticide research, however, it can also occur in other disciplines such as plant, animal, soil, and environmental sciences. While the analysis of dose-response data usually involves fitting a regression curve, the primary objective often centers on the estimation of dose related percentiles such as the LD50 or LC50. These measures are useful for comparing the relative efficacy of various treatments, however, the estimation of the specified percentiles is not always straightforward. Traditional methodology has relied on inverted solutions or asymptotic theory for statistical inference. More recently, computer intensive methods have been used to model dose-response relationships and can be more appropriate than traditional methods in some situations. This paper examines both the traditional and modem approaches to estimating doseresponse functions as they apply to binomial data. The techniques will be demonstrated using mortality data collected on black vine weevil eggs exposed to an organic pesticide treatment

GNSS Differential Code Bias Determination Using Rao‐Blackwellized Particle Filtering

The Assimilative Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Model (A-CHAIM) is a near-real-time data assimilation model of the high latitude ionosphere, incorporating measurements from many instruments, including slant Total Electron Content measurements from ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. These measurements have receiver-specific Differential Code Biases (DCB) which must be resolved to produce an absolute measurement, which are resolved simultaneously with the ionospheric state using Rao-Blackwellized particle filtering. These DCBs are compared to published values and to DCBs determined using eight different Global Ionospheric Maps (GIM), which show small but consistent systematic differences. The potential cause of these systematic biases is investigated using multiple experimental A-CHAIM test runs, including the effect of plasmaspheric electron content. By running tests using the GIM-derived DCBs, it is shown that using A-CHAIM DCBs produces the lowest overall error, and that using GIM DCBs causes an overestimation of the topside electron density which can exceed 100% when compared to in situ measurements from DMSP