Nationhood and muslims in Britain

These are difficult times to be British,” Andrew Gamble and Tony Wright maintain. Their assessment centers on how “the state which underpinned British identity is no longer the confident structure of earlier times.” They are not alone in coming to this view, and at least two implications follow from their observation. One is that the political unity of the administrative and bureaucratic components of the state is related to cultural features of British nationhood, including the ways in which people express feeling and being British. This is perhaps a familiar assessment of the configuration of all nation-states, though it could also imply that the state has been one—though not necessarily the most important—touchstone in the historical cultivation of British as a national identity

Spatial imaging of modifications to fluorescence lifetime and intensity by individual Ag nanoparticles

Highly ordered periodic arrays of silver nanoparticles have been fabricated which exhibit surface plasmon resonances in the visible spectrum. We demonstrate the ability of these structures to alter the fluorescence properties of vicinal dye molecules by providing an additional radiative decay channel. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), we have created high resolution spatial maps of the molecular lifetime components; these show an order of magnitude increase in decay rate from a localized volume around the nanoparticles, resulting in a commensurate enhancement in the fluorescence emission intensity.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, submitted Applied Physics Letter

Plasmonic engineering of metal nanoparticles for enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering

We have investigated the effects of tuning the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of silver nanoparticles on the fluorescence intensity, lifetime, and Raman signal from nearby fluorophores. The presence of a metallic structure can alter the optical properties of a molecule by increasing the excitation field, and by modifying radiative and non-radiative decay mechanisms. By careful choice of experimental parameters we have been able to decouple these effects. We observe a four-fold increase in fluorescence enhancement and an almost 30-fold increase in decay rate from arrays of Ag nanoparticles, when the LSPR is tuned to the emission wavelength of a locally situated fluorophore. This is consistent with a greatly increased efficiency for energy transfer from fluorescence to surface plasmons. Additionally, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements show a maximum enhancement occurs when both the incident laser light and the Raman signal are near resonance with the plasmon energy. Spatial mapping of the SERS signal from a nanoparticle array reveals highly localized differences in the excitation field resulting from small differences in the LSPR energy.Comment: Submitted to Plasmonics (Springer

Poly (Ionic Liquid) Based Electrolyte for Lithium Battery Application

The demand for electric vehicles is increasing rapidly as the world is preparing for a fossil fuel-free future in the automotive field. Lithium battery technologies are the most effective options to replace fossil fuels due to their higher energy densities. However, safety remains a major concern in using lithium as the anode, and the development of non-volatile, non-flammable, high conductivity electrolytes is of great importance. In this dissertation, a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) consisting of ionic liquid, lithium salt, and a polymer has been developed for their application in lithium batteries. A comparative study between GPE and ionic liquid electrolyte (ILE) containing batteries shows a superior cyclic performance up to 5C rate and a better rate capability for 40 cycles for cells with GPE at room temperature. The improvement is attributed to GPE’s improved stability voltage window against lithium as well as higher lithium transference number. The performance of the GPE in lithium-sulfur battery system using sulfur-CNT cathodes shows superior rate capability for the GPE versus ILE for up to 1C rates. Also, GPE containing batteries had higher capacity retention versus ILE when cycled for 500 cycles vii at C/2 rate. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies reveal interfacial impedances for ILE containing batteries grew faster than in GPE batteries. The accumulation of insoluble Li2S2/Li2S on the electrodes decreases the active material thus contributes to capacity fading. SEM imaging of cycled cathodes reveals cracks on the surface of cathode recovered from ILE batteries. On the other hand, the improved electrochemical performance of GPE batteries indicates better and more stable passivation layer formation on the surface of the electrodes. Composite GPE (cGPE) containing micro glass fillers were studied to determine their electrochemical performance in Li batteries. GPE with 1 wt% micro fillers show superior rate capability for up to 7C and also cyclic stability for 300 cycles at C/2 rate. In situ, EIS also reveals a rapid increase in charge transfer resistance in GPE batteries, responsible for lowering the capacity during cycling. Improved ion transport properties due to ion-complex formations in the presence of the micro fillers, is evidenced by improved lithium transference number, ionic conduction, and ion-pair dissociation detected using Raman spectroscopy

Concrescence in Primary Dentition: A Case Report

Concrescence is the connection of two or more teeth by root cementum alone after the tooth crown has been formed. The incidence of concrescent teeth is reported to be highest in the posterior maxilla. The presence of concrescent teeth may influence teeth extraction as well as periodontal, endodontic, orthodontic and even prosthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. Unexpected complications arising from this condition may lead to legal complications. Therefore, consideration should be given to the possible occurrence, recognition, and implications of this anomaly in diagnosis and treatment planning. The purpose of this article is to report a case of teeth concrescence between upper primary incisors with grade II mobility as it was near exfoliation

News media coverage and initial public offerings in Germany: Explaining flotation performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships of news media coverage and the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Germany. The aim is to find out how media attention, media sentiment, corporate information, and recency of news are related to the flotation performance of firms that go public. Design/methodology/approach 50 IPOs that went public in Germany between January 2011 and December 2015 were investigated. In total, 3,644 German speaking articles dealing with the IPOs were manually analyzed. Hierarchical OLS regressions were performed to find out how news media variables relate with the flotation performance of German IPOs (cf. underpricing, share price percentage gain after second day of trading). It was furthermore distinguished between news media coverage six days prior to the IPO and coverage on the day of the IPO itself. Findings While more media attention devoted to the IPOs on the day of their flotation might lead to a share price percentage gain after the second day of trading, negativity in the news media and information about new products and products of the IPO firm might be negatively related with their flotation performance. However, information about the strategy change of the IPO firms seems to be positively related with the underpricing of IPOs. Furthermore, news media coverage on the day of the IPO itself seems to be more influential for the flotation performance with regard to negative sentiment and information about new products. Practical implications Financial communication professionals should manage media representations of IPO firms before and on the day of the IPO itself. In this vein, negative media coverage should be prevented and information about new products and products of the IPO firm should be considered with caution. Instead, talking about the strategy of the IPO firm might be advantageous for the flotation performance. Originality/value This study evolved from a lack of empirical research on the interrelationships between news media and stock market prices in communication science, particularly with regard to IPOs. The study contributes to previous research in paying attention to corporate information and the recency of news when trying to explain IPO performances. The findings of this study provide implications for strategic financial communication and the role of managing news media of firms that go public

New Urbanism and the City Planning (Implications of the Application of the New Urbanism Principles on the Land Uses in Al-Karkh in Baghdad City)

Over the past 60 years, towns and cities were under a great transformation. The city has become less defined through its physical boundaries with a development 0f suburban area with a huge number 0f separate houses. The City is the essence 0f our civilization and it provides a frame for social life. Gardens, streets planner, and yard brings people together well and gives them a chance 0f social encounters, which have economic also. Friendly and beautiful cities can bring life insurance to people in urban areas. The ”New Urbanism” is the most influential planning movements since the late twentieth century. The planning ideas and successful projects 0f new urbanism lead us to better living conditions. Under the influence 0f globalization, the urban construction0f cities inevitably influenced by the impact 0f new ideas and at the same time, during the process 0f construction emerged some urban problems. Activities in the city need a particular place or space that can be done by the coordinate 0f that space. The place or the land is the most important factor in shaping the physicalenvironment and the context 0f urban activities. It has always been regarded as a base for urban construction by planners. Planning 0f land use ”as the core 0f urban planning” plays an important role in the spatial and temporal organization 0f cities. The study 0f new urbanism principles in land use planning in urban areas is based on its benefits on planning at all levels 0f the study 0f human communities 0f mass and streets inthe regions and cities. Over the past decades, the city 0f Baghdad has grown rapidly in a random and uncontrolled way and a kind 0f unsustainable urbanization has taken place

Potential impacts of genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) on agrobiodiversity and agricultural production systems

Development and application of GURT as an appropriation mechanism may potentially have considerable impact on agriculture, the environment and the food security of rural areas in developing countries. Positive impacts may include increased investments in breeding as a result of increased intellectual property protection. Increased investments may contribute to higher yields and more advanced varieties, and thus to increased food production, a more sustainable production, and better consumer products. Potential negative impacts have been identified as well. These may require further discussion and close attention by regulatory authorities