Abstract: We demonstrate that combining standing wave (SW) excitation with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) can lead to depth resolution and interface sensitivity for studying orbital and magnetic excitations in correlated oxide heterostructures. SW-RIXS has been applied to multilayer heterostructures consisting of a superconductor La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO) and a half-metallic ferromagnet La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO). Easily observable SW effects on the RIXS excitations were found in these LSCO/LSMO multilayers. In addition, we observe different depth distribution of the RIXS excitations. The magnetic excitations are found to arise from the LSCO/LSMO interfaces, and there is also a suggestion that one of the dd excitations comes from the interfaces. SW-RIXS measurements of correlated-oxide and other multilayer heterostructures should provide unique layer-resolved insights concerning their orbital and magnetic excitations, as well as a challenge for RIXS theory to specifically deal with interface effects.

Abstract: This work demonstrates the applicability of one-dimensional nitrogen-doped diamond nanorods (N-DNRs) for the simultaneous electrochemical (EC) detection of Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions in an electrolyte solution. Well separated voltammetric peaks are observed for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions using N-DNRs as a working electrode in square wave anodic stripping voltammetry measurements. Moreover, the cyclic voltammetry response of N-DNR electrodes towards the Fe(CN)(6)(/4-)/Fe(CN)(6)(/3-) redox reaction is better as compared to undoped DNR electrodes. This enhancement of EC performance in N-DNR electrodes is accounted by the increased amount of sp(2) bonded nanographitic phases, enhancing the electrical conductivity at the grain boundary (GB) regions. These findings are supported by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy studies. Consequently, the GB defect induced N-DNRs exhibit better adsorption of metal ions, which makes such samples promising candidates for next generation EC sensing devices. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract: Metal-air batteries and fuel cells show a great deal of promise in advancing low-cost, high-energy-density charge storage solutions for sustainable energy applications. To improve the activities and stabilities of electrocatalysts for the critical oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER, respectively), a greater understanding is needed of the catalyst/carbon interactions and carbon stability. Herein, we report how LaNiO3 (LNO) supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) made from a high-yield synthesis lowers the overpotential for both the OER and ORR markedly to enable a low bifunctional window of 0.81 V at only a 51 mu g cm(-2) mass loading. Furthermore, the addition of LNO to the N-CNTs improves the galvanostatic stability for the OER by almost 2 orders of magnitude. The nanoscale geometries of the perovskites and the CNTs enhance the number of metal-support and charge transfer interactions and thus the activity. We use rotating ring disk electrodes (RRDEs) combined with Tafel slope analysis and ICP-OES to quantitatively separate current contributions from the OER, carbon oxidation, and even anodic iron leaching from carbon nanotubes.

Abstract: The electrical asymmetry effect is realized by applying multiple frequency power sources
(13.56 MHz and 27.12 MHz) to a capacitively biased substrate electrode in a specific inductively
coupled plasma reactor. On the one hand, by adjusting the phase angle θ between the multiple
frequency power sources, an almost linear self-bias develops on the substrate electrode, and
consequently the ion energy can be well modulated, while the ion flux stays constant within a
large range of θ. On the other hand, the plasma density and ion flux can be significantly
modulated by tuning the inductive power supply, while only inducing a small change in the self-
bias. Independent control of self-bias/ion energy and ion flux can thus be realized in this specific
inductively coupled plasma reactor.

Abstract: The majority of impact assessments for the biobased economy are primarily focused on the environmental and (techno-)economic aspects, while social aspects are rarely considered. This study proposes a modified systemic approach for a social sustainability impact assessment of the biobased economy, based on a review on the common methodologies for assessing social impacts. Accordingly, the proposed approach follows the four general iterative steps of social life cycle analysis (SLCA) as it considers all life cycle phases of the biobased economy. The systemic approach considers the potential social impacts on local communities, workers, and consumers as the main three groups of the stakeholders. The review showed that the most common social indicators for inventory analysis within the biobased economy include health and safety, food security, income, employment, land- and worker-related concerns, energy security, profitability, and gender issues. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was also highlighted as the broadly utilized methodology for aggregating the results of impact assessments within the biobased economy. Taking a life cycle perspective, this study provides a holistic view of the full sustainability of research, design, and innovation in the biobased economy by suggesting the integration of the social aspects with techno-economic and an environmental life cycle assessment. Our proposed systemic approach makes possible to integrate the social impacts that are highly valued by the affected stakeholders into the existing sustainability models that focus only on environmental and techno-economic aspects. We discuss the steps of the proposed systemic approach in order to identify the challenges of applying them within the biobased economy. These challenges refer mainly to the definition of the functional unit and system boundaries, the selection and the analysis of social indicators (inventory analysis), the aggregation of the inventory to impact categories, and the uncertainties associated with the social sustainability evaluation. The result of this review and the proposed systemic approach serve as a foundation for industry and policy makers to gain a better insight into the importance of social sustainability impacts assessment within the biobased economy.

Abstract: Market power is a complex matter that is approximated with quantitative indicators within economics. However, these indicators may not fully capture market power, or they may fail to identify it, although it may be present. Moreover, a quantitative approach restricts market power as a concept, impeding the ability to discuss its relationship with other concepts, such as sustainability. This paper extends the definition of market power, following Foucaults understanding of power and the associated theoretical discussions of power from different disciplines. We extended Foucaults work by including systems thinking to capture the importance of the prevalent systems paradigm, which is the ultimate initiator of action. Apart from distinguishing different elements of power, we also integrate an instrumental view on the elements of power. The developed frame allows us to understand the dynamic character of power as a force that strives to maintain or ameliorate the position of the paradigm that it serves. Based on this frame, we outline how this extended understanding of power can be used to analyze market power itself, and its relation with sustainability.

Abstract: Although Iran is one of the top 10 countries in the world that produce tomatoes, the level that they are exported into the global market is low. This issue may have resulted from a major problem within tomatoes supply chain management. This paper aims to develop an empirical model of the supply chain management (SCM) of tomato companies. Throughout the reviewed literature, a SCM construct with different six indicators has been developed, including information sharing, long-term relationship, cooperation, quality, flexibility, and delivery. In this study, the influence of the SCM components on tomato export was identified through the use of empirical data that were collected from 20 different tomato companies in Northeast Iran. Using structural equation modeling, the major elements of SCM were found to have significant impacts on the export of tomatoes. The results also showed that information sharing, cooperation, flexibility, quality, and delivery had significant positive effects on the export of tomatoes.

Abstract: Integrated ecosystem management is challenging due to many, often conflicting, targets and limited resources to allocate. A valuable and straightforward approach is to integrate an ecosystem services assessment in a cost-effectiveness analysis as method to evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of several management scenarios to reach one or more objectives and take into account the potential effects on other ecosystem functions and services. Nevertheless, this method is not commonly used in ecosystem management evaluation but can provide an alternative for the frequently used but often contested cost-benefit analysis (which requires the step of assigning a monetary value to each benefit). The aim of this study is to apply the cost-effectiveness analysis in combination with an ecosystem services assessment on a real case-study (comparing alternative management strategies for estuaries) to derive lessons learned to go from theory to practice. The application of this method for the case-study reveals many remaining challenges such as data availability and knowledge to assess ecosystem effects of management measures. Nevertheless, the analysis demonstrates that this method can be used for making a more integrated evaluation and supporting better-informed management decisions.

Abstract: We have investigated the relevance of the notion of “peripheralism” in the Beles basin. In this lowland border area of Ethiopia, important investments require an evaluation of their socio-economic and ecological impacts in the light of Ethiopia's Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy. We contrasted literature of different periods with field observations. In the middle and lower parts of the basin, the Gumuz people traditionally practised shifting cultivation. Resettlement of highlanders is particularly linked to water and land resources. A large irrigation project was initiated in the 1980s, but vegetables and fruits face post-harvest losses. Large water transfers from Lake Tana since 2010 affect the movement of people, the hydrogeomorphology, and ecology of the river. In several parts of the basin, the settlers' economy now dominates. Many Gumuz became sedentary but maintained their agricultural system, particularly in the south of the lower basin. Land titling allowed allocation of “vacant” areas to transnational or domestic investors. As a result, the semi-natural vegetation is frequently replaced by open cropland, leading to decreased carbon storage and increased soil erosion. This and water abstraction for irrigation jeopardise hydropower production, in contradiction with the CRGE objectives. Despite the recent developments, the contrasts in economic activity make the core-periphery dichotomy to remain actual in the Beles basin. The resettlements and permanent cropping tend to make the upper basin part of the core. However, the installation of a transit road and commercial farms in the lower basin do not allow to consider that a non-peripheral integration has taken place.

Abstract: The study analysed the factors that affect the internal governance quality of corporations in Ethiopia. It performed an ordered logistic regression analysis on a randomly selected sample of 76 corporations to analyse the effect of the ownership structure, form of ownership (private or government), leverage, corporate size, and sales growth on the internal governance quality score (IGQS). The governance quality score was measured using 20 indices categorized into four perspectives: disclosure, board characteristics, ethics, and shareholder rights. In this study, a significant positive effect of the corporate size and sales growth on the IGQS was found. In addition, government-owned corporations were found to perform better than privately owned corporations. It is recommended that appropriate authorities and officials should encourage the use of the corporate governance system in privately owned corporations and the convergence of internal governance quality of the two groups of corporations to the highest level.

Abstract: This paper conducts a meta-analysis of 32 electricity demand response programs in the residential sector to understand whether their success is dependent on specific characteristics. The paper analyses several regression models using various combinations of variables that capture the designs of the programs and the socio-economic conditions in which the programs are implemented. The analysis reveals that demand response programs are more likely to succeed in highly urbanized areas, in areas where economic growth rates are high, and in areas where the renewable energy policy is favorable. These findings provide useful guidance in determining where and how to implement future demand response programs.

Abstract: Polymetallic nodules found in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone in the NE Pacific contain more nickel, manganese and cobalt than all terrestrial reserves combined. Following the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and its 1994 Implementing Agreement, the resources of the international seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction will be developed for the benefit of mankind by attracting investment and technology, whilst demanding that necessary measures be taken to ensure effective protection of the marine environment. To date, no single commercial seabed mining activity has taken place in international waters, and the development of balanced and stimulating exploitation regulation is needed, based on accurate economic analysis. This paper presents the first detailed, vertically integrated, stochastic techno-economic assessment from a contractor's perspective, and contributes to the development of the world's first exploitation regulations. The economic performance measured by the internal rate of return was compared using deterministic and probabilistic commodity price forecasting models. Different levels of a financial payment regime, comprising of a royalty payment and a payment to internalize environmental costs, were considered. When real growth was included, the internal rate of return remains above the hurdle rate when a transitional, total-cost, financial payment regime is below 2 per cent during the initial period and below 4 per cent for the remaining tenure period. Following a 10-year moving average of commodity prices, including real growth, a 77.51 per cent probability was calculated of achieving a hurdle rate of 18 per cent.

Abstract: Black phosphorus (BP) has recently triggered an unprecedented interest in the 2D community. However, many of its unique properties are not exploited and the well-known environmental vulnerability is not conquered. Herein, a type-I mixed-dimensional (0D-1D) van der Waals heterojunction is developed, where three-atomic-layer BP quantum dots (QDs) are assembled on a single ZnO nanorod (NR). By adjusting the indium (In) content in ZnO NRs, the degree and even the direction of surface charge transfer doping within the heterojunction can be tuned, which result in selective Raman scattering enhancements between ZnO and BP. The maximal enhancement factor is determined as 4340 for BP QDs with sub-ppm level. Furthermore, an unexpected long-term ambient stability (more than six months) of BP QDs is revealed, which is ascribed to the electron doping from ZnO:In NRs. The first demonstration of selective Raman enhancements between two inorganic semiconductors as well as the improved stability of BP shed light on this emerging 2D material.

Abstract: <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('We show that delaminations in bilayer graphene (BLG) with electrostatically induced interlayer symmetry can provide one with ballistic channels for electrons with energies inside the electrostatically induced BLG gap. These channels are formed by a combination of valley-polarized evanescent states propagating along the delamination edges (which persist in the presence of a strong magnetic field) and standing waves bouncing between them inside the delaminated region (in a strong magnetic field, these transform into Landau levels in the monolayers). For inverted stackings in BLGs on the left and right of the delamination (AB-2ML-BA or BA-2ML-AB, where 2ML indicates two decoupled monolayers of graphene), the lowest-energy ballistic channels are gapless, have linear dispersion, and appear to be weakly topologically protected. When BLG stackings on both sides of the delamination are the same (AB-2ML-AB or BA-2ML-BA), the lowest-energy ballistic channels are gapped, with a gap epsilon(g) scaling as epsilon(g) alpha W-1 with delamination width and epsilon(g) alpha delta(-1) with the on-layer energy difference in the delaminated part of the structure. Depending on the width, delaminations may also support several \u0022higher-energy\u0022 waveguide modes. Our results are based on both the analytical study of the wave matching of Dirac states and tight-binding model calculations, and we analyze in detail the dependence of the delamination spectrum on the electrostatic conditions in the structure, such as the vertical displacement field.'));

Abstract: <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('Quantum electrodynamics predicts that heavy atoms (Z \u003E Z(c) approximate to 170) will undergo the process of atomic collapse where electrons sink into the positron continuum and a new family of so-called collapsing states emerges. The relativistic electrons in graphene exhibit the same physics but at a much lower critical charge (Z(c) approximate to 1) which has made it possible to confirm this phenomenon experimentally. However, there exist conflicting predictions on the effect of a magnetic field on atomic collapse. These theoretical predictions are based on the continuum Dirac-Weyl equation, which does not have an exact analytical solution for the interplay of a supercritical Coulomb potential and the magnetic field. Approximative solutions have been proposed, but because the two effects compete on similar energy scales, the theoretical treatment varies depending on the regime which is being considered. These limitations are overcome here by starting from a tight-binding approach and computing exact numerical results. By avoiding special limit cases, we found a smooth evolution between the different regimes. We predict that the atomic collapse effect persists even after the magnetic field is activated and that the critical charge remains unchanged. We show that the atomic collapse regime is characterized: (1) by a series of Landau level anticrossings and (2) by the absence of root B scaling of the Landau levels with regard to magnetic field strength.'));