We report on an experience with impostor research participants, people who misrepresent themselves, and identify characteristics that can be used by investigators to screen out such participants. We compare the responses of impostor and valid participants, showing that impostors meaningfully change qualitative study findings with implications for policy interventions or follow-on research informed by the study. It is important for investigators to be alert to the potential for impostor participants and plan their research accordingly.

In mammals, DNA methylation (DNAme) erasure and reinstatement during embryo development and germline establishment are sensitive to the intrauterine environment. Maternal intake of a high-fat diet (HFD), associated with excessive gestational weight gain, has transgenerational effects on offspring health, which may be mediated by changes in DNAme in the germline. Here, we tested the impact of a maternal HFD on embryonic germline DNAme erasure using a rat strain that expresses green fluorescent protein specifically in germ cells. DNAme was analysed by methyl-seq capture in germ cells collected from male and female F1 gonads at gestational day 16. Our data show that although HFD induced global hypomethylation in both sexes, DNAme erasure in female germ cells was more advanced compared to male germ cells. The delay in DNAme erasure in males and the greater impact of HFD suggest that male germ cells are more vulnerable to alterations by exogenous factors.

New experimental and theoretical studies of low-density amorphous solid water (H2O(as)) and of polycrystalline ice lh are reported and integrated with other available data. A variety of evidence is put forward to support the conclusion that low-density H20(as) is derived from ice lh by slightly increasing the dispersion in the O—O separation and by introducing a distribution O—O—O angles (width c. 8°). Our theoretical analysis focusses attention on the consequences of strong intermolecular coupling of OH oscillators. The vibrational modes of both ice lh and H20(as) are found to be complex mixtures of molecular motions, so the identification of regions of the Raman or infrared spectra of these materials with particular isolated molecule modes is not useful. The theory developed gives a good, but not perfect, account of the OH stretching regions of the observed Raman and infrared spectra of ice lh and, to a lesser degree of low-density H20(as).

This article identifies factors that influence agricultural economics professionals' job choice between academic and government employment. Respondents agreed that job responsibilities were the most important factor in choosing their current position. They also agreed that having a positive work environment, good salary, family time, adequate resources, and professional and social interaction were important job attributes. Proportionally more women than men regarded partner opportunities, nondiscrimination, time for child care, and supportive colleagues as very important attributes influencing their decisions. A binomial probit of respondents' current job sector indicates significant job choice determinants include sector preference (academic or government), previous professional experience, a positive work environment, and advancement opportunities.

The Supernova Working Group was re-established at the IAU XXV General Assembly in Sydney, 21 July 2003, sponsored by Commissions 28 (Galaxies) and 47 (Cosmology). Here we report on some of its activities since 2005.

We have found that by varying only the substrate temperature and oxygen pressure five different crystallographic orientations of V2O5 thin films can be grown, ranging from amorphous to highly textured crystalline. Dense, phase-pure V2O5 thin films were grown on SnO2/glass substrates and amorphous quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition over a wide range of temperatures and oxygen pressures. The films' microstructure, crystallinity, and texturing were characterized by electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Temperature and oxygen pressure appeared to play more significant roles in the resulting crystallographic texture than did the choice of substrate. A growth map summarizes the results and delineates the temperature and O2 pressure window for growing dense, uniform, phase-pure V2O5 films.

Highly crystalline, textured thin films of LiCox Al1-x O2 (x=0, 0.5) have been grown by pulsed laser deposition. Films of both stoichiometries were dense and uniaxially textured with Li, Co (or Co, A1) layers parallel to the substrate. It was found that crystal quality depended strongly on oxygen partial pressure, substrate temperature, and substrate material. The deposition of LiCo0.5Al0.5O2 is also highly dependent upon laser fluence, requiring at least 12.8 J/cm2 for high quality films. Chemical diffusion measurements were performed over a wide range of lithium contents using the potentiostatic intermittent titration technique. Maximum and minimum effective for LiCoO2 were 4.0 × 10−11 and 1.2 × 10−2 cm2/s, respectively, and for LiCo0.5A10.5O2, 2.2 × 10−12 and 8.0 × 10−17 cm2/s, respectively.

Thin films of crystalline and amorphous V2O5 were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and the chemical diffusion coefficients, , were measured by the potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT). In crystalline V2O5 films, the maximum and minimum were found to be 1.7 × 10−2 cm2/s and 5.8 × 10−15 cm2/s respectively, with a general trend for to rise in single-phase regions. The changes in correlated well to the known phases in LiV2O5. In amorphous V2O5 films, exhibited a smooth, continuous decrease as the Li concentration increased.

We report on the use of pulsed laser depositon (PLD) to grow thin films of LiCoO2 on a number of low cost substrates including SnO2 coated Upilex, stainless steel and SnO2 coated glass. Highly textured (001) films grown on CVD deposited SnO2 films on 7059 glass, were obtained at 200 to 500 mTorr O2 and a temperature of 500 C. Similar texture was not obtained on the stainless or Upilex however dense films from crystalline to amorphous were obtained. The films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.

We report Raman scattering measurements for uniaxially textured and randomly oriented polycrystalline LiCoO2 min films as well as for LiCoO2 and LiCo0.4Al0.6O2 single crystals. For both the crystalline LiCoO2 thin film samples and the single crystal LiCoO2 samples, well defined phonon modes are observed at Raman shifts of 486 cm−1 and 596 cm−1corresponding to the expected Eg and Alg modes of the layered LiCoO2 crystal structure with R 3 m symmetry. Upon Al substitution for Co in LiCoO2, the two phonon modes appear to shift to higher energy, but further work is needed to clarify this point.

We report on investigations of V2O5 thin film cathodes prepared by pulsed laser deposition and the phase transformations which occur during electrochemical cycling. Our experimental results on PLD-grown, textured V2O5 crystalline films concur with reports in the literature that there is a voltage threshold above which, cycling appears to be completely reversible and below which, cycling appears to be irreversible. Crystalline films discharged beyond the threshold to 2.0 V vs. Li exhibited an immediate and continuous fade in capacity as well as a ∼90% decrease in XRD peak intensity and a similar decrease in Raman signal intensity in as few as 10 cycles. We have made co-phase material by both electrochemically discharging virgin, crystalline V2O5 and by further discharging previously cycled films which showed irreversible structural changes.

We present the first report of the synthesis of Cd2SnO4 films by pulsed laser deposition. Controlling the substrate temperature and the ambient atmosphere allowed for the synthesis of films ranging from amorphous to crystalline with some crystalline films exhibiting strong texture. Highly transparent films with large mobilities were obtained for both the amorphous and crystalline films. Sheet resistances of 15.5 Ω/square and mobilities of up to 44.7 cm2/V.s were observed. Typical carrier concentrations showed the crystalline films to be degenerate with carrier concentrations of 5 х 1020cm-3 while amorphous films had carrier concentrations lower by about half. Band gaps for the films ranged between 3.1-3.8 eV. these films are attractive candidates for TCO applications in thin film photovoltaic devices, flat panel displays, electrochromic windows, and as plasma filters for thermophotovoltaic devices.

PG1159-035 was originally detected as a 14.5 mag. blue object in a survey for QSO candidates (Green 1977), An SIT spectrogram obtained at the Hale 5m telescope at 6Å resolution showed this star to have a very blue continuum with absorption features near λ4686 and λ4650 which were tentatively attributed to Hell and the CIII/CIV complex, respectively. Possible narrow emission components to these lines appear in Figure 1 which shows confirming spectra obtained with the IIDS (at 2.5Å resolution) on the Kitt Peak 2.1m telescope. The blue continuum and possible presence of Hell in emission suggested that this star was perhaps similar to the helium mass-transfer binary AM CVn (HZ 29). For this reason, we put PG1159-035 on our program of high-speed photometry, expecting the star to show “flickering” associated with mass transfer into an accretion disk and possible orbital modulation or eclipses in the period range 10-20 minutes—photometric characteristics similar to those observed in AM CVn.