Data curation standards and the messy world of social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources – data about the characteristics of different occupational positions – play a unique role in social science research. They are of relevance across diverse research disciplines and in numerous disparate contexts. They are also very widely available, typically freely downloadable from research-oriented academic web-pages. But they are also one of the most uncoordinated types of information resource that social scientists routinely come across. In this paper we describe issues in curating occupational information resources during the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http:/www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardised framework electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data-indexing service, premised upon eScience middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

Data curation standards and social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources - data about the characteristics of different occupational positions - are widely used in the social sciences, across a range of disciplines and international contexts. They are available in many formats, most often constituting small electronic files that are made freely downloadable from academic web-pages. However there are several challenges associated with how occupational information resources are distributed to, and exploited by, social researchers. In this paper we describe features of occupational information resources, and indicate the role digital curation can play in exploiting them. We report upon the strategies used in the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http://www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardized framework-based electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data indexing service, based on e-Science middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

Retarded Postimplantation Development of X0 Mouse Embryos: Impact of the Parental Origin of the Monosomic X Chromosome

AbstractAbout 12–17% of the embryos obtained by mating mice carrying the In(X)1H orPafmutations are of the 39,X (X0) genotype. Depending on the mutant mice used for mating, the monosomic X chromosome can be inherited from the paternal (XP) or the maternal (XM) parent. The XP0 embryos display developmental retardation at gastrulation and early organogenesis. XP0 embryos also display poor development of the ectoplacental cone, which is significantly smaller in size and contains fewer trophoblasts than XX siblings. In contrast, XM0 embryos develop normally and are indistinguishable from XX littermates. In both types of X0 embryos, an X-linkedlacZtransgene is expressed in nearly all cells in both the embryonic and the extraembryonic tissues, suggesting that X inactivation does not occur when only one X is present. Of particular significance is the maintenance of an active XPchromosome in the extraembryonic tissues where normally the paternal X chromosome is preferentially inactivated in XX embryos. The differential impact of the inheritance of X chromosomes from different parents on the development of the X0 embryos raises the possibility that the XPis less capable than the XMin providing the appropriate dosage of X-linked activity that is necessary to support normal development of the embryo and the ectoplacental cone. Alternatively, the development of the XP0 embryo may be compromised by the lack of activity of one or several X-linked genes which are expressed only from the maternal X chromosome. Without the activity of these genes, embryonic development may be curtailed even though all other loci on the XPchromosome are actively transcribed

Characterization of deep level traps responsible for isolation of proton implanted GaAs

Deep level transient spectroscopy was employed to determine the electrical properties of defects induced in metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition grown n-type and p-type GaAs during proton bombardment. Thermal stability of these defects was investigated and correlation with defects responsible for isolation of GaAs by ion bombardment was discussed. The annealing temperature region (220–250 °C) is similar to proton isolated GaAs below the threshold dose for complete isolation. At least four of the five traps observed in n-type GaAs are not simple interstitial-vacancy pairs. For p-type GaAs we have observed an unknown level with apparent energy of ~0.64 eV

Excitons and singlet fission at hybrid inorganic-organic semiconductor interfaces

Excitons in organic crystalline semiconductors play a crucial role in the operation of optoelectronic devices such as organic solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and photodetectors. The excitonic properties of materials are dramatically affected by the presence of surfaces and interfaces. In this work, we investigate the influence of a neutral hydrogen-passivated 1x2 reconstructed (100) silicon substrate on excitons within the crystalline tetracene layer deposited on the top of it. Our findings reveal that singlet excitons in the contact tetracene layer are situated within the continuum of unbound Wannier-Mott excitonic states in silicon, with noteworthy hybridization between these states. Consequently, in the contact tetracene layer, all singlet excitons exhibit a pronounced interlayer charge transfer character, while the triplet exciton remains confined to the tetracene layer. This makes the singlet fission effect highly improbable for the contact tetracene layer. Additionally, the presence of the silicon substrate results in a modification of the singlet-triplet gap by 144 meV. This change is solely attributed to the hybridization with excitons in silicon, which influences the exchange energy. Our results show that the dynamic dielectric screening caused by the substrate does not impact the singlet-triplet gap but alters the exciton binding energies.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figure

Metallothionein 1E mRNA is highly expressed in oestrogen receptor-negative human invasive ductal breast cancer

Metallothioneins (MTs), a group of ubiquitous metalloproteins, comprise isoforms encoded by ten functional genes in humans. Different MT isoforms possibly play different functional roles during development or under various physiological conditions. The MT-1E isoform mRNA has been recently shown to be differentially expressed in oestrogen receptor (OR)-positive and OR-negative breast cancer cell lines. In this study, we evaluated MT-1E mRNA expression via semi-quantitative RT-PCR in 51 primary invasive ductal breast cancer tissues, concurrently with OR-positive and progesterone receptor (PR)-positive MCF7 cells, OR-negative and PR-negative MDA-MB-231 cells and PR-transfected MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (ABC28). We demonstrated significantly higher MT-1E mRNA expression in OR-negative compared with OR-positive breast cancer tissues (P= 0.026). MCF7 cells lacked MT-1E mRNA expression, while both OR- and PR-negative MDA-MD-231 cells exhibited a high level of MT-1E mRNA expression. The level of MT-1E mRNA expression in progesterone-treated and -untreated ABC28 cells remained similar as the parental cell line MDA-MB-231-C2 cells. The results suggest that MT-1E may have specific and functional roles in OR-negative invasive ductal breast cancers, possibly mediated via effector genes downstream of the oestrogen receptor, but not through the PR pathway. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Formation of semivolatile inorganic aerosols in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area during the MILAGRO campaign

One of the most challenging tasks for chemical transport models (CTMs) is the prediction of the formation and partitioning of the major semi-volatile inorganic aerosol components (nitrate, chloride, ammonium) between the gas and particulate phases. In this work the PMCAMx-2008 CTM, which includes the recently developed aerosol thermodynamic model ISORROPIA-II, is applied in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area in order to simulate the formation of the major inorganic aerosol components. The main sources of SO2 (such as the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery and the Francisco Perez Rios Power Plant) in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) are located in Tula, resulting in high predicted PM1 (particulate matter with diameter less than 1 µm) sulfate concentrations (over 25 µg m-3) in that area. The average predicted PM1 nitrate concentrations are up to 3 µg m-3 (with maxima up to 11 µg m-3) in and around the urban center, mostly produced from local photochemistry. The presence of calcium coming from the Tolteca area (7 µg m-3) as well as the rest of the mineral cations (1 µg m-3 potassium, 1 µg m-3 magnesium, 2 µg m-3 sodium, and 3 µg m-3 calcium) from the Texcoco Lake resulted in the formation of a significant amount of aerosol nitrate in the coarse mode with concentrations up to 3 µg m-3 over these areas. PM1-10 (particulate matter with diameter between 1 and 10 µm) chloride is also high and its concentration exceeds 2 µg m-3 in Texcoco Lake. PM1 ammonium concentrations peak at the center of Mexico City (2 µg m-3) and the Tula vicinity (2.5 µg m-3). The performance of the model for the major inorganic PM components (sulfate, ammonium, nitrate, chloride, sodium, calcium, and magnesium) is encouraging. At the T0 measurement site, located in the Mexico City urban center, the average measured values of PM1 sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and chloride are 3.5 µg m-3, 3.5 µg m-3, 2.1 µg m-3, and 0.36 µg m-3, respectively. The corresponding predicted values are 3.7 µg m-3, 2.7 µg m-3, 1.7 µg m-3, and 0.25 µg m-3. High sulfate concentrations are associated with the transport of sulfate from the Tula vicinity, while in periods where southerly winds are dominant; the concentrations of sulfate are low. The underprediction of nitrate can be attributed to the underestimation of OH levels by the model during the early morning. Ammonium is sensitive to the predicted sulfate concentrations and the nitrate levels. The performance of the model is also evaluated against measurements taken from a suburban background site (T1) located north of Mexico City. The average predicted PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm) sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, chloride, sodium, calcium, and magnesium are 3.3, 3.2, 1.4, 0.5, 0.3, 1.2, and 0.15 µg m-3, respectively. The corresponding measured concentrations are 3.7, 2.9, 1.5, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.15 µg m-3. The overprediction of calcium indicates a possible overestimation of its emissions and affects the partitioning of nitric acid to the aerosol phase resulting occasionally in an overprediction of nitrate. Additional improvements are possible by improving the performance of the model regarding the oxidant levels, and revising the emissions and the chemical composition of the fugitive dust. The hybrid approach in which the mass transfer to the fine aerosol is simulated using the bulk equilibrium assumption and to the remaining aerosol sections using a dynamic approach, is needed in order to accurately simulate the size distribution of the inorganic aerosols. The bulk equilibrium approach fails to reproduce the observed coarse nitrate and overpredicts the fine nitrate. Sensitivity tests indicate that sulfate concentration in Tula decreases by up to 0.5 µg m-3 after a 50% reduction of SO2 emissions while it can increase by up to 0.3 µg m-3 when NOx emissions are reduced by 50%. Nitrate concentration decreases by up to 1 µg m-3 after the 50% reduction of NOx or NH3 emissions. Ammonium concentration decreases by up to 1 µg m-3, 0.3 µg m-3, and 0.1 µg m-3 after the 50% reduction of NH3, NOx, and SO2 emissions, respectively.Seventh Framework Programme (European Commission) (MEGAPOLI Grant agreement no.: 212520)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NSF (ATM-0528227