			Home About us Contact

Unusual Behaviour (unusual + behaviour)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Chemistry	33%

Selected Abstracts

Conformational Flexibility in a Carbobicyclic Diphosphinite Ligand

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 20 2007
Ian J. S. Fairlamb
Abstract An unsymmetrical bicyclo[3.2.0]heptanyl diphosphinite ligand, FLEXIphosO, shows flexible coordination modes to palladium centres. The X-ray crystal structure for [Pd02(P,P,)3] has been determined which reveals that the bicyclic backbone of the FLEXIphosO ligand exists in an exo -envelope conformation. The change in conformation stands in stark contrast to that observed in mononuclear neutral and cationic palladium(II) complexes containing the FLEXIphosO ligand, where an endo -envelope is observed in solution and in the solid-state. Theoretical studies provide an insight into the relative stability of palladium(0) complexes containing the FLEXIphosO ligand. Another large spanning angle ligand, SPANphos, does not form a similar palladium(0) dimer complex under identical reaction conditions, highlighting the unusual behaviour of the FLEXIphosO ligand.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007) [source]

Do indicators of financial crises work?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2003
An evaluation of an early warning system
Abstract The object of this paper is to develop an operational early warning system (EWS) that can detect financial crises. To achieve this goal the paper analyses and extends the early warning system developed by Kaminsky, Lizondo and Reinhart (1998) and Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999) that is based on the ,signal' approach. This system monitors several indicators that tend to exhibit an unusual behaviour in the periods preceding a crisis. When an indicator exceeds (or falls below) a threshold, then it is said to issue a ,signal' that a currency crisis may occur within a given period. The model does a fairly good job of anticipating some of the crises in 1997/1998, but several weaknesses to the approach are identified. The paper also evaluates how this system can be applied to an individual country. On balance, the results in this paper are mixed, but the results suggest that an early warning system should be thought of as a useful diagnostic tool. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Spacer layer thickness effects on the photoluminescence properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dot superlattices

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003
B. Ilahi
Abstract InAs/GaAs vertically stacked self-assembled quantum dot (QD) structures with different GaAs spacer layer thicknesses are grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE) and investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. An increase in the polarization anisotropy is observed when the spacer layer thickness decreases. For a 10 monolayer (ML) thick inter-dots GaAs spacer, the TEM image shows an increase in the QD size when moving to the upper layer accompanied by the generation of dislocations. Consequently, the corresponding temperature-dependant PL properties are found to exhibit an unusual behaviour. The main PL peak is quenched at a temperature around 190 K giving rise to a broad background correlated with the formation of a miniband in the growth direction due to the strong interlayer coupling. For a thicker GaAs spacer layer (30 ML), multilayer QDs align vertically in stacks with no apparent structural defects. Over the whole temperature range, the excitonic band energies are governed by the Varshni empirical relation using InAs bulk parameters and the PL line width shows a slight monotonic increase. For a thinner GaAs interlayer, the thermal activation energies of the carrier emission out of the quantum dots are found to be considerably small (about 25 meV) due to the existence of defects. By combining these structural and optical results, we can conclude that a thinner GaAs spacer has a poorer quality. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Structure of interleukin 4 mutant E9A suggests polar steering in receptor-complex formation

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 9 2001
Martin Hülsmeyer
Interleukin 4 (IL-4) is a pleiotropic cytokine which induces T-cell differentiation and class switching of B cells. It therefore plays a central role in the development of allergies and asthma. An IL-4 variant in which Glu9 was mutated to alanine shows an 800-fold drop in binding affinity towards its high-affinity receptor chain. As shown by surface plasmon resonance measurements, this mostly arises from a decreased association rate. Here, the crystal structure of this mutant is reported. It reveals that the protein has a virtually identical structure to the wild type, showing that the unusual behaviour of the mutated protein is not a consequence of misfolding. The possibility that polar interactions in the encounter complex have a steering effect is discussed. [source]

Post-offence characteristics of 19th-century American parricides: An archival exploration

JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND OFFENDER PROFILING, Issue 3 2008
Phillip C. Shon
Abstract Using archival records from the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, 1851,1899, the current project examines the post-offence characteristics of 19th-century American parricides. Post-offence behaviours of 100 parricide offenders were gathered. Results indicate that post-offence behaviours of parricide offenders can be thematically classified into those that reflect a continuity of violence, attempts to cover up the crime, and unusual behaviours. The implications of post-offence behaviours of parricide offenders in the context of law, mental illness, and criminological theory are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Factors for the presence of avian scavengers in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana

AREA, Issue 3 2009
Michael Campbell
Avian scavengers are common and active in the social life of southern Ghana, yet few studies consider both the ecological factors for avian presence and the avian,human interactions from human gender and age perspectives, and compare avian behaviour in both human-dominated and natural landscapes. This paper examines interactions between people, hooded vultures and pied crows in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana using both ecological and social research methods. Land use was classified for species presence into meat and waste production, vegetable marketing, non-food production, residential and central business areas, green spaces and rural areas. One hundred and eighty-four people were interviewed, classified according to age and gender. Hooded vultures and pied crows were more common in urban than rural areas, and their presence was positively correlated with human numbers. Birds were most common in meat and waste production areas, but also foraged for street discards in non-food production and residential areas, and were most rare in rural areas. Bird consumption of waste was viewed positively, while eating of other foods, close proximity and unusual behaviours were viewed negatively. Both species, especially the larger vultures, were feared as spiritual agents, this measured by odd behaviours. Women and older people had stronger beliefs, due to cultural conditioning. These human perspectives and reactions influenced avian presence. This study contributes to urban avian ecology, socio-cultural studies and urban planning. [source]