bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visceral Leishmaniasis in Children: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Authors: Gupta Anil , Singh Amit , Srivastava Saumya , Shankar Prem , Singh Sarman
Published: June 2017

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical parasitic disease caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan of the genus Leishmania. The disease is transmitted by the bite of infected sand flies (Phlebotomus species) and affects all ages and both genders. Nearly half of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases occur in children. The clinical manifestations of pediatric leishmaniasis may be different from the adults associated with host-related factors. In this review, only the visceral form is covered. Confirmation of diagnosis is made by the parasitological, immunological, or by molecular methods. Sodium antimony gluconate (stibogluconate) has been the drug of choice for more than 60 years. However, in last three decades, its efficacy against leishmaniasis has gone significantly down especially in the Indian subcontinent where most cases of VL are seen. Therefore, other drugs, such as pentamidine-isothionate, paromomycin, amphotericin B, and miltefosine, are being used as alternative drugs for VL treatment. In the absence of an effective vaccine for VL, control measures are based on the prevention of disease transmission via vector control and community awareness. The present review focuses on the current state of the leishmaniasis, its diagnosis, treatment, and prevention with emphasis on pediatric leishmaniasis.
Choice of Intra-arterial Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Evidence and Future Horizons
Authors: Ghani Mansur , Thakur Vinayak , Geschwind Jean-François
Published: June 2017

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Along with viral and alcoholic hepatitis, obesity is the leading cause for increasing incidence in the western world, specifically in the United States. As most patients initially present with intermediate to advanced stage disease, curative therapies such as ablation, surgical resection, or liver transplantation cannot usually be applied. Thus, intra-arterial therapies (IATs), such as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), have become a mainstay of treatment. Several variations of transarterial embolotherapy, such as bland transarterial embolization or drug-eluting bead TACE, are currently available and used in clinical practice. Yttrium-90 radioembolization is a distinct IAT that relies on delivery of radiation to surrounding tissue for tumor death. However, no clear guidelines or evidence exist that would favor one of these options over the other, leaving the decision-making process open to influence by local expertise and experience. In addition, combining TACE with systemic antiangiogenic agents, such as the multityrosine kinase inhibitor sorafenib, has been investigated in several prospective clinical trials without clearly demonstrating substantial survival benefits of the combination over TACE alone. This review will summarize and discuss the available clinical evidence and indications for each treatment modality with the goal of facilitating clinical decision-making processes, and provide an overview of the ongoing efforts to compare different IAT modalities.
Das Tele-Therapieprogramm Caspar – Den Therapeuten mit nach Hause nehmen
Authors: Hofstetter Christoph
Published: June 2017

Caspar ist eine webbasierte und interaktive Rehaplattform für Therapeuten und Patienten. Unabhängig von Zeit und Ort können sie Übungs- und Trainingsaufgaben durchführen und anschließend ein direktes Feedback per Video oder Chat zu jeder Übung geben. Dies dient der verstärkten Interaktion zwischen Therapeut und Patient sowie dem Selbstmanagement des Patienten, auch außerhalb des Behandlungsraums.
Erhöhte Leberwerte bei einem Rheumapatienten. Was nun?
Authors: Fiehn Christoph
Published: June 2017

Regelmäßige Kontrollen der Leberwerte sind ein fester Bestandteil der rheumatologischen Routine. Erhöhte Transaminasen sind dabei ein häufiger Befund, für den viele verschiedene Gründe in Frage kommen. Als Erstes muss die Möglichkeit einer unerwünschten Wirkung eines der rheumatologischen Medikamente erwogen werden. Am häufigsten sind dies NSAR, vor allem Diclofenac, gefolgt von den DMARD Methotrexat oder Leflunomid. Die Kombination der letztere beiden verursacht besonders häufig Transaminasenanstiege. Der aktive Metabolit von Leflunomid muss dann unter Umständen mit Colestyramin aus dem enterohepatischen Kreislauf ausgewaschen werden. Leberwerterhöhungen durch Sulfasalazin sind selten, schwere nekrotisierende Hepatitiden als Teil einer systemischen Medikamentenreaktion können jedoch auftreten. Unter den biologischen DMARD sind es v. a. die TNF-alpha-Hemmer Infliximab und Adalimumab welche Hepatitiden verursachen können. Bei Patienten mit ankylosierender Spondylitis waren aber auch unter Etanercept Leberwertanstiege beobachtet worden. Als weitere Substanz kann der Interleukin-6-Rezeptor Antikörper Tocilizumab zu einem Anstieg der Transaminasen führen, selten auch zu schweren Leberreaktionen. Schließlich gibt es noch eine ganze Reihe von anderen Ursachen für Anstiege der Leberwerte bei Rheumapatienten, die von einer Reaktivierung oder Neuinfektion einer Virushepatitis, dem Auftreten einer Autoimmunhepatitis bis zu Begleiterkrankungen der Leber reichen. Dies alles macht ein systematisches differentialdiagnostisches Vorgehen notwendig.
Hypothyreose nach Hemithyreoidektomie − überraschend häufige Komplikation während der Nachsorge
Authors: Elmas Firat , Lauber Fabienne , Linder Thomas , Müller Werner
Published: June 2017

Hintergrund Hemithyreoidektomie ist eine häufige Behandlung einseitiger Schilddrüsenknoten. Postoperative Hypothyreose ist eine häufig
unterschätzte Komplikation. Wir untersuchten Inzidenz, Zeitpunkt, Symptomatik sowie mögliche Risikofaktoren der postoperativen
Hypothyreose.

Material und Methoden 127 Patienten nach Hemithyreoidektomie wurden mit retrospektiver Datenanalyse sowie strukturierter Befragung der
nachbetreuenden Hausärzte und Endokrinologen untersucht. Patienten wurden mit dem postoperativen TSH als hypothyreot (> 4.0 mU/L) oder
euthyreot (0.4–4.0 mU/L) klassifiziert. Schilddrüsenhormone wurden nach 4–6 Wochen, 6 Monaten und 1 Jahr gemessen.

Ergebnisse 55 Patienten (43 %) entwickelten eine postoperative Hypothyreose und 72 (57%) blieben euthyreot. Die Hypothyreose zeigte
sich innerhalb der ersten 2 Monaten bei 39 Patienten (71 %), zwischen 2–6 Monaten bei 13 Patienten (24 %) sowie nach 6–12 Monaten bei 3
Patienten (5 %). 33 Patienten (60 %) waren zum Zeitpunkt der Diagnose asymptomatisch. Nur 16 Patienten (29 %) hatten Symptome. Der
präoperative TSH Wert war signifikant höher in der Gruppe der hypothyreoten Patienten (1.64), verglichen mit der euthyreoten Gruppe (1.13, P
= 0.0017). Die anderen Variablen wie Alter, Geschlecht und präoperativen Werte von T3, T4, Calcium und PTH zeigten keinen signifikanten
Unterschied.

Schlussfolgerung Die postoperative Hypothyreose ist eine häufige Komplikation nach Hemithyreoidektomie, welche nicht verpasst werden
sollte. Präoperativ erhöhter TSH Wert ist ein Risikofaktor für die postoperative Hypothyreose. Alle Patienten nach Hemithyreoidektomie
sollten postoperative TSH Kontrollen nach 4–6 Wochen, 6 Monaten und 12 Monaten haben.
Silicon nanowire based high brightness, pulsed relativistic electron source
Authors: Sarkar Deep , Singh Prashant Kumar , Cristoforetti G. , Adak Amitava , Chatterjee Gourab , Shaikh Moniruzzaman , Lad Amit D. , Londrillo P. , D’Arrigo Giuseppe , Jha J. , Krishnamurthy M. , Gizzi L. A. , Ravindra Kumar G.
Published: June 2017

We demonstrate that silicon nanowire arrays efficiently emit relativistic electron pulses under irradiation by a high-intensity, femtosecond, and near-infrared laser (∼1018 W/cm2, 25 fs, 800 nm). The nanowire array yields fluxes and charge per bunch that are 40 times higher than those emitted by an optically flat surface, in the energy range of 0.2–0.5 MeV. The flux and charge yields for the nanowires are observed to be directional in nature unlike that for planar silicon. Particle-in-cell simulations establish that such large emission is caused by the enhancement of the local electric fields around a nanowire, which consequently leads to an enhanced absorption of laser energy. We show that the high-intensity contrast (ratio of picosecond pedestal to femtosecond peak) of the laser pulse (10−9) is crucial to this large yield. We extend the notion of surface local-field enhancement, normally invoked in low-order nonlinear optical processes like second harmonic generation, optical limiting, etc., to ultrahigh laser intensities. These electron pulses, expectedly femtosecond in duration, have potential application in imaging, material modification, ultrafast dynamics, terahertz generation, and fast ion sources.
Thermoelectric properties of the misfit cobaltate Ca3Co4O9
Authors: Amin Bin , Eckern Ulrich , Schwingenschlögl Udo
Published: June 2017

The layered misfit cobaltate Ca3Co4O9, also known as Ca2CoO3[CoO2]1.62, is a promising p-type thermoelectric oxide. Employing density functional theory, we study its electronic structure and determine, on the basis of Boltzmann theory within the constant-relaxation-time approximation, the thermoelectric transport coefficients. The dependence on strain and temperature is determined. In particular, we find that the xx-component of the thermopower is strongly enhanced, while the yy-component is strongly reduced, when applying 2% tensile strain. A similar anisotropy is also found in the power factor. The temperature dependence of the conductivity in the a-b plane is found to be rather weak above 200 K, which clearly indicates that the experimentally observed transport properties are dominated by inhomogeneities arising during sample growth, i.e., they are not intrinsic.
The free electron gas primary thermometer using an ordinary bipolar junction transistor approaches ppm accuracy
Authors: Mimila-Arroyo J.
Published: June 2017

In this paper, it is demonstrated that the free electron gas primary thermometer based on a bipolar junction transistor is able to provide the temperature with an accuracy of a few parts per million. Its simple functioning principle exploits the behavior of the collector current when properly biased to extract the temperature. Using general purpose silicon transistors at the water triple point (273.16 K) and gallium melting point (302.9146), an accuracy of a few parts per million has been reached, constituting the simplest and the easiest to operate primary thermometer, that might be considered even for the redefinition of Kelvin.
Algebraic formulation of higher gauge theory
Authors: Zucchini Roberto
Published: June 2017

In this paper, we present a purely algebraic formulation of higher gauge theory and gauged sigma models based on the abstract theory of graded commutative algebras and their morphisms. The formulation incorporates naturally Becchi - Rouet -Stora - Tyutin (BRST) symmetry and is also suitable for Alexandrov - Kontsevich - Schwartz-Zaboronsky (AKSZ) type constructions. It is also shown that for a full-fledged Batalin-Vilkovisky formulation including ghost degrees of freedom, higher gauge and gauged sigma model fields must be viewed as internal smooth functions on the shifted tangent bundle of a space-time manifold valued in a shifted L∞-algebroid encoding symmetry. The relationship to other formulations where the L∞-algebroid arises from a higher Lie groupoid by Lie differentiation is highlighted.
Study of Z scaling of runaway electron plateau final loss energy deposition into wall of DIII-D
Authors: Hollmann E. M. , Commaux N. , Eidietis N. W. , Lasnier C. J. , Rudakov D. L. , Shiraki D. , Cooper C. , Martin-Solis J. R. , Parks P. B. , Paz-Soldan C.
Published: June 2017

Controlled runaway electron (RE) plateau-wall strikes with different initial impurity levels are used to study the effect of background plasma ion charge Z (resistivity) on RE-wall loss dynamics. It is found that Joule heating (magnetic to kinetic energy conversion) during the final loss does not go up monotonically with increasing Z but peaks at intermediate Z ∼ 6. Joule heating and overall time scales of the RE final loss are found to be reasonably well-described by a basic 0D coupled-circuit model, with only the loss time as a free parameter. This loss time is found to be fairly well correlated with the avalanche time, possibly suggesting that the RE final loss rate is limited by the avalanche rate. First attempts at measuring total energy deposition to the vessel walls by REs during the final loss are made. At higher plasma impurity levels Z > 5, energy deposition to the wall appears to be consistent with modeling, at least within the large uncertainties of the measurement. At low impurity levels Z < 5, however, local energy deposition appears around 5–20× less than expected, suggesting that the RE energy dissipation at low Z is not fully understood.
Nonadiabatic photodissociation dynamics of the hydroxymethyl radical via the 22A(3s) Rydberg state: A four-dimensional quantum study
Authors: Xie Changjian , Malbon Christopher , Yarkony David R. , Guo Hua
Published: June 2017

The quantum mechanical nonadiabatic photodissociation dynamics of the hydroxymethyl (CH2OH) radical in its lowest absorption band is investigated for the first time on a set of coupled diabatic potential energy surfaces determined by accurately fitting a large set of ab initio data. In this two-state approximation, only the ground and first excited states of CH2OH, which are coupled by conical intersections, are included. The reduced-dimensional dynamical model includes the CO stretch, the COH bend, the HCOH torsion, and the O–H dissociation coordinate. The experimentally measured hydrogen atom kinetic energy distribution is satisfactorily reproduced. The calculated product state distribution of the H2CO(X) fragment indicates strong vibrational excitation in the CO stretching mode, resulting from the relatively large difference in the C–O bond length between the ground and excited electronic states of CH2OH due to the photo-induced promotion of an electron from the half-occupied π*CO antibonding orbital to a Rydberg orbital. In addition, the bimodal kinetic energy distribution is confirmed to originate from nonadiabatic transitions near the conical intersection along the O–H dissociation coordinate.
Propagation of threading dislocations in heteroepitaxial diamond films with (111) orientation and their role in the formation of intrinsic stress
Authors: Gallheber B.-C. , Klein O. , Fischer M. , Schreck M.
Published: June 2017

In the present study, systematic correlations were revealed between the propagation direction of threading dislocations, the off-axis growth conditions, and the stress state of heteroepitaxial diamond on Ir/YSZ/Si(111). Measurements of the strain tensor ε⃡ by X-ray diffraction and the subsequent calculation of the tensor of intrinsic stress σ⃡ showed stress-free samples as well as symmetric biaxial stress states for on-axis samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) lamellas were prepared for plan-view studies along the [1¯1¯1¯] direction and for cross-section investigations along the [112¯] and [11¯0] zone axes. For samples grown on-axis with parameters which avoid the formation of intrinsic stress, the majority of dislocations have line vectors clearly aligned along [111]. A sudden change to conditions that promote stress formation is correlated with an abrupt bending of the dislocations away from [111]. This behaviour is in nice agreement with the predictions of a model that attributes formation of intrinsic stress to an effective climb of dislocations. Further growth experiments under off-axis conditions revealed the generation of stress states with pronounced in-plane anisotropy of several Gigapascal. Their formation is attributed to the combined action of two basic processes, i.e., the step flow driven dislocation tilting and the temperature dependent effective climb of dislocations. Again, our interpretation is supported by the dislocation propagation derived from TEM observations.
Structure and cation distribution of (Mn0.5Zn0.5)Fe2O4 thin films on SrTiO3(001)
Authors: Welke M. , Brachwitz K. , Lorenz M. , Grundmann M. , Schindler K.-M. , Chassé A. , Denecke R.
Published: June 2017

A comprehensive study on growth of ferrimagnetic manganese zinc ferrite (Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) films on single crystalline strontium titanate(001) (SrTiO3) substrates was carried out. Under the optimized conditions, a thin film with a layer thickness of 200 nm was deposited, and the structural properties were investigated. Contrary to data published in literature, no buffer layer was necessary to achieve epitaxial growth of a poorly lattice-matched layer. This was confirmed for Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4(001) on SrTiO3(001) by x-ray diffraction and the adjoined phi scans, which also revealed a lattice compression of 1.2% of the manganese zinc ferrite film in the out-of-plane direction. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the near surface stoichiometry of the film could be shown to agree with the intended one within the uncertainty of the method. X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed an electronic structure close to that published for bulk samples. Additional x-ray magnetic circular dichroism investigations were performed to answer detailed structural questions by a comparison of experimental data with the calculated ones. The calculations took into account ion sites (tetrahedral vs. octahedral coordination) as well as the charge of Fe ions (Fe2+ vs. Fe3+). Contrary to the expectation for a perfect normal spinel that only Fe3+ ions are present in octahedral sites, hints regarding the presence of additional Fe2+ in octahedral sites as well as Fe3+ ions in tetrahedral sites have been obtained. Altogether, the layer could be shown to be mostly in a normal spinel configuration.
Unexpected behavior of transient current in thin PZT films caused by grain-boundary conduction
Authors: Delimova L. A. , Guschina E. V. , Seregin D. S. , Vorotilov K. A. , Sigov A. S.
Published: June 2017

The behavior of the transient current at different preliminary polarizations has been studied in Pb(ZrTi)O3 (PZT) films with various grain structures. To affect the grain structure, PZT films were prepared by chemical solution deposition with a two-step crystallization process using combination of seed layers with a low Pb excess and the main layers with a 30 wt. % Pb excess. Some films were prepared with a fixed Pb excess in all the deposited layers. We found that the lead excess and the seed layer crystalline structure can affect the grain-boundary conduction which, in turn, influences the polarization dependence of the transient current and the appearance of current peaks which look like the so-called negative differential resistance region in the current-voltage curves. We show that the emergence of the current peaks in the PZT films depends on (i) whether the current flows inside the ferroelectric phase (grains) or outside, along grain boundaries and (ii) whether the applied bias direction is parallel or opposite to the polarization vector. A correlation between the grain-boundary conduction and current-polarization dependences is confirmed by the local current distribution measured by conductive atomic force microscopy. Possible mechanisms responsible for specific features of the transient current and appearance of the current peaks are discussed. The effect of grain-boundary conduction on the behavior of the current may be significant and should be taken into account in ferroelectric random access memory whose readout operation assumes registration of the magnitude of the polarization switching current under positive bias.
A rigorous full-dimensional quantum dynamics study of tunneling splitting of rovibrational states of vinyl radical C2H3
Authors: Yu Hua-Gen , Song Hongwei , Yang Minghui
Published: June 2017

We report a rigorous quantum mechanical study of the rovibrational energy levels of vinyl radical C2H3. The calculations are carried out using a real two-component multi-layer Lanczos algorithm in a set of orthogonal polyspherical coordinates based on a recently developed accurate ab initio potential energy surface of C2H3. All well converged 158 vibrational bands up to 3200 cm−1 are determined, together with a comparison to previous calculations and experimental results. Results show a remarkable multi-dimensional tunneling effect on the vibrational spectra of the radical. The vibrational tunneling splitting is substantially different from that of previous reduced dimensional calculations. The rotational constants of the fundamental vibrational bands of C2H3 are also given. It was found that the rovibrational states are strongly coupled, especially among those bending vibrational modes. In addition, the perturbative iteration approach of Gruebele has been extended to assign the rovibrational energy levels of C2H3 without the requirement of explicit wavefunctions.
Optoelectronic properties of phosphorus doped p-type ZnO films grown by dual ion beam sputtering
Authors: Sharma Pankaj , Aaryashree  , Garg Vivek , Mukherjee Shaibal
Published: June 2017

We report highly conductive and stable p-type phosphorus doped ZnO (PZO) thin films fabricated by dual ion beam sputtering and subsequent thermal annealing. Hall measurements established that the annealed PZO films were p-type, which were also confirmed by typical diode-like rectifying current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the p-PZO/n-Si heterojunction. The maximum hole concentration was evaluated to be 8.62 × 1019 cm−3 with a resistivity of 0.066 Ω cm and a mobility of 1.08 cm2/V s at room temperature. The stability of the p-type conduction was verified by Hall measurement performed again after one year of thin film fabrication resulting in a hole concentration of 3.77 × 1019 cm−3. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was employed to determine the complex dielectric function (ε=ε1+iε2) of p-type PZO films in the 1.2–6.4 eV energy range by a parameterized semiconductor oscillator model. Room temperature excitonic features were identified and the critical point energy was determined by second order derivative of imaginary part of dielectric function. The line shape analysis of ε resulted in a red shift of the energy positions of the critical point with an increase in hole concentration.
Sn2Se3: A conducting crystalline mixed valent phase change memory compound
Authors: Xing Guangzong , Li Yuwei , Fan Xiaofeng , Zhang Lijun , Zheng Weitao , Singh David J.
Published: June 2017

Thin film Sn2Se3 is a promising new phase change memory material with a very high resistance contrast between insulating amorphous and conducting crystalline phases. We identify the structure of the Sn2Se3 crystalline phase using ab initio evolutionary structure search and report its properties. We find a structure based on Sn-Se ribbons with clear disproportionation of Sn into Sn(II) and Sn(IV) sites, similar to Sn2S3. The energy is only 9 meV/atom above the tie line between SnSe and SnSe2. Sn charge disproportionation is only marginally favored in this selenide, in contrast to sulfides. This leads to a semimetallic rather than semiconducting behavior. These findings, marginal stability of the crystalline phase and conducting character and close competition of disproportionated and non-disproportionated structures, are important for understanding the behavior of Sn2Se3 as a phase change memory material, specifically the fast low energy, the low temperature switching, and the high resistance contrast.
Focused beams of fast neutral atoms in glow discharge plasma
Authors: Grigoriev S. N. , Melnik Yu. A. , Metel A. S. , Volosova M. A.
Published: June 2017

Glow discharge with electrostatic confinement of electrons in a vacuum chamber allows plasma processing of conductive products in a wide pressure range of p = 0.01 – 5 Pa. To assist processing of a small dielectric product with a concentrated on its surface beam of fast neutral atoms, which do not cause charge effects, ions from the discharge plasma are accelerated towards the product and transformed into fast atoms. The beam is produced using a negatively biased cylindrical or a spherical grid immersed in the plasma. Ions accelerated by the grid turn into fast neutral atoms at p > 0.1 Pa due to charge exchange collisions with gas atoms in the space charge sheaths adjoining the grid. The atoms form a diverging neutral beam and a converging beam propagating from the grid in opposite directions. The beam propagating from the concave surface of a 0.24-m-wide cylindrical grid is focused on a target within a 10-mm-wide stripe, and the beam from the 0.24-m-diameter spherical grid is focused within a 10-mm-diameter circle. At the bias voltage U = 5 kV and p ∼ 0.1 Pa, the energy of fast argon atoms is distributed continuously from zero to eU ∼ 5 keV. The pressure increase to 1 Pa results in the tenfold growth of their equivalent current and a decrease in the mean energy by an order of magnitude, which substantially raises the efficiency of material etching. Sharpening by the beam of ceramic knife-blades proved that the new method for the generation of concentrated fast atom beams can be effectively used for the processing of dielectric materials in vacuum.
Relationships between the distribution of O atoms on partially oxidized metal (Al, Ag, Cu, Ti, Zr, Hf) surfaces and the adsorption energy: A density-functional theory study
Authors: Houska J. , Kozak T.
Published: June 2017

We investigate the oxidation of selected metal (Al, Ag, Cu, Ti, Zr, and Hf) surfaces by the density functional theory. We go through a wide range of (233 per metal) distributions of O atoms on a partially oxidized metal surface. First, we focus on the qualitative information whether the preferred distribution of O atoms is heterogeneous (stoichiometric oxide + metal) or homogeneous (substoichiometric oxide). We find that the former is energetically preferred, e.g., for Al, while the latter is energetically preferred, e.g., for Ti, Zr, and Hf. Second, we provide the quantitative values of adsorption energies corresponding to the energetically preferred O atom distributions for various partial coverages of various metals by O. Third, we discuss and show an example of implications of the aforementioned findings for the understanding and simulations of sputtering.
Surface plasmon enhanced luminescence from organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites
Authors: Xu Lingbo , Qiang Yaping , Xiao Ke , Zhang Yunhai , Xie Jiangsheng , Cui Can , Lin Ping , Wang Peng , Yu Xuegong , Wu Fengmin , Yang Deren
Published: June 2017

The authors observe more than six-fold enhancement of emission from CH3NH3PbI3 by employing surface plasmon (SP) in Au films. The enhancement mainly results from the increased radiative recombination rate via SP-coupling, with a small contribution from the back-reflection of Au. The SP-coupling technique is found to be more effective for CH3NH3PbI3 with relatively low quantum efficiency. This property leads to the homogeneous luminescence from inhomogeneous CH3NH3PbI3 samples. The SP-coupling technique thus provides a promising solution for super bright, high-speed, and large-area perovskite-based light emitting devices.
Doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 for high efficiency integrated supercapacitors
Authors: Lomenzo Patrick D. , Chung Ching-Chang , Zhou Chuanzhen , Jones Jacob L. , Nishida Toshikazu
Published: June 2017

Applications for integrated energy storage and pulse-power devices may have found opportunities in the emergence of the ferroelectric hafnium-zirconium oxide thin film system. To explore the boundaries of this material thin film system, 10 nm thick binary Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin films are doped with Al or Si (Al or Si-doped HZO). The added dopants provide a distinct shift in behavior from ferroelectric to antiferroelectric characteristics. Si-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films exhibited a larger than 50 J/cm3 energy storage density with an efficiency of over 80%. The Si-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films were cycled 109 times up to 125 °C and maintained a robust 35 J/cm3 energy storage density and greater than 80% efficiency. Al-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films exhibited a larger switching field, leading to a smaller energy storage density and less robust cycling properties than Si-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2.
Fast Faraday cup for fast ion beam TOF measurements in deuterium filled plasma focus device and correlation with Lee model
Authors: Damideh Vahid , Ali Jalil , Saw Sor Heoh , Rawat Rajdeep Singh , Lee Paul , Chaudhary Kashif Tufail , Rizvi Zuhaib Haider , Dabagh Shadab , Ismail Fairuz Diyana , Sing Lee
Published: June 2017

In this work, the design and construction of a 50 Ω fast Faraday cup and its results in correlation with the Lee Model Code for fast ion beam and ion time of flight measurements for a Deuterium filled plasma focus device are presented. Fast ion beam properties such as ion flux, fluence, speed, and energy at 2–8 Torr Deuterium are studied. The minimum 34 ns full width at half maximum ion signal at 12 kV, 3 Torr Deuterium in INTI PF was captured by a Faraday cup. The maximum ion energy of 67 ± 5 keV at 4 Torr Deuterium was detected by the Faraday cup. Ion time of flight measurements by the Faraday cup show consistent correlation with Lee Code results for Deuterium especially at near to optimum pressures.
Energy management using volt/var control of end-use appliances without affecting their performances and lives
Authors: Bag Baidyanath , Thakur Tripta
Published: June 2017

Globally, environmental concerns have become the main motive behind energy management to save energy. The compelling rise in security threats due to gradual depletion of conventional energy sources, carbon emissions, global warming, and hikes in global energy prices has increased the global need for energy saving. In this paper, a simple but cost-effective method for energy management through energy saving has been proposed. The proposed method shows that the consumption level of the voltage regulated loads (constant impedance types) can be reduced by a significant amount by reducing input voltage across them while keeping the lowest customer utilization voltage consistent. The reduction in the consumption level also ensures significant reduction in line losses through reduced line flows. The network capacity release due to reduced line flows is also indicative, which prevents investment deferral required for further expansion in network capacity to meet the growing demand. The proposed method is not only beneficial to consumer savings through reduced demand but also enhances appliances' lives, as their operation is at low voltage which again does not affect their performances. On the other hand, although a utility loses revenue due to reduced energy usage among consumers, it is being benefitted indirectly. Indirect benefits include network capacity release, avoided prices for power-purchase during supply-demand gap, net loss reduction including transformers and distribution lines, potential incentives from regulators, fuel preservation, emission reduction, etc. The proposed method is tested on an IEEE 33-bus system, and the results show that an energy saving of 5.91% per year can be achieved.
Optimal control strategy based on neural model of nonlinear systems and evolutionary algorithms for renewable energy production as applied to biofuel generation
Authors: Gurubel K. J. , Osuna-Enciso V. , Coronado-Mendoza A. , Cuevas E.
Published: June 2017

In the renewable energy generation, several processes require the integration of a set of advanced techniques in order to find optimal solutions. Dynamic estimation, stabilizing control for disturbance rejection, optimization for control effort, and parameter tuning are techniques used to address the whole process requirements and obtain optimal results. In this paper, an optimal control strategy for a maximum biofuel production in the presence of disturbances is proposed. First, an integrated optimal control strategy to maximize biofuel production in the presence of disturbances is proposed. Second, due to its high nonlinearity, complex nature, and multiplicity of equilibrium points, a biological process for biofuel generation is described in order to demonstrate the efficiency of the optimal control strategy. A nonlinear discrete-time neural observer for unknown nonlinear systems in the presence of external disturbances and parameter uncertainties is used to estimate unmeasurable variables. An inverse optimal control law for trajectory tracking based on the neural observer is designed such that asymptotic convergence reference trajectory is guaranteed. Differential Evolution and Clonal Selection Algorithms are used to calculate the optimal parameters for neural network training, neural network gains, and feedback control gains. Additionally, a supervisory fuzzy control is proposed in order to select the adequate control action between the closed loop and the open loop and to determine optimal reference trajectories. Simulation results comparison and statistical validation are presented, where it is demonstrated that the optimal control strategy integrated with the Differential Evolution algorithm gives better results to maximize the biofuel production in the presence of disturbances.
Note: Current induced fluctuations in the orientation of the beam diffracted by a liquid crystal spatial light modulator
Authors: Konwar Santanu , Boruah Bosanta R.
Published: June 2017

In this paper, we report a peculiar movement of the beam cross sections associated with both the diffracted and undiffracted laser beams from a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM). The beam movement becomes noticeable when the beam position is monitored continuously for several hours. We perform experiments to show that the beam movement is non-mechanical in nature and is connected with the power on/off instants of the LCSLM as well as the heat conductivity of the mounting slab which acts as the rigid support to the LCSLM panel. We also present a detailed analysis of the experimental findings to ascertain the possible cause of the beam fluctuations.
Free space excitation of coupled Anderson-localized modes in photonic crystal waveguides with polarization tailored beam
Authors: Mahdavi Ali , Roth Paul , Xavier Jolly , Paraïso Taofiq K. , Banzer Peter , Vollmer Frank
Published: June 2017

We experimentally demonstrate free space excitation of coupled Anderson-localized modes in photonic crystal (PhC) line-defect waveguides (W1) with polarization tailored beams. The corresponding light beam is tightly focused on a pristine W1, and out-of-plane scattering is imaged. By integrating the scattering spectra along the guide, at the W1 modal cut-off, Anderson-localized cavities are observed due to residual W1 fabrication-disorder. Their spectral lines exhibit high quality Q factors up to 2 × 105. The incident beam polarization and scattering intensities of the localized modes characterize the efficiency of free-space coupling. The coupling is studied for linearly and radially polarized input beams and for different input coupling locations along the W1 guide. The proposed coupling scheme is particularly attractive for excitation of PhC waveguide modes and Anderson-localized cavities by beam steering and scanning microscopy for sensing applications.
The systematics of land crabs of the genus Gecarcoidea and recognition of a pseudocryptic species, G. humei, from the eastern Indian Ocean (Crustacea : Decapoda : Gecarcinidae)
Authors: Lai Joelle C. Y. , Shih Hsi-Te , Ng Peter K. L.
Published: June 2017

The gecarcinid genus Gecarcoidea H. Milne Edwards, 1837 is currently represented by two species from the Indo-West Pacific – the widely distributed purple land crab, G. lalandii H. Milne Edwards, 1837, and the red crab endemic to Christmas Island, G. natalis (Pocock, 1889). One species, G. humei (Wood-Mason, 1874), described from the Nicobar Islands, has had a confused taxonomic history, but was treated as a junior synonym of G. lalandii by Türkay (1974) in his revision of the family. In this study, using molecular as well as morphological characters, we show that G. humei is a valid species. Gecarcoidea lalandii and G. humei have distinct non-overlapping distributions throughout much of their range, with G. lalandii occurring in most of South-east Asia and the West Pacific, while G. humei is known only from the eastern Indian Ocean. On Christmas Island, in the eastern Indian Ocean, however, all three species are present. As a result, Christmas Island is the only locality where all extant species of Gecarcoidea are found. The three species can also be separated by differences in live colours and patterns, as well as proportions of the carapace, male abdomen, ambulatory legs and third maxillipeds, and details of the orbits and male first gonopods.
Understanding health talk in an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Lakhan Prabha , Askew Deborah , Harris Mark F. , Kirk Corey , Hayman Noel
Published: June 2017

Health literacy is an important determinant of health status. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the prevalence of adequate health literacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients or their carers including parents of sick children attending an urban primary healthcare clinic in Australia, and their experiences of communication with General Practitioners (GPs). A questionnaire, including questions from the Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) and questions from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS): Communication with Provider, was administered to 427 participants. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s Chi-Square test and logistic regression analysis were used to describe the prevalence and risk factors associated with health literacy and any associations between the CAHPS questions and health literacy. In total, 72% of participants had adequate health literacy. An age of ≥50 years was independently associated with inadequate health literacy, and completion of secondary or post-secondary schooling was protective. Communication questions that identified areas for improvement included less use of incomprehensible medical words and more frequent use of visual aids. The study provides useful information on health literacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, or their carers, and their experiences of communication with GPs. Further population-based research is required to investigate the effect of health literacy on health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
Language and citizenship
Authors: Milani Tommaso M.
Published: June 2017

The main argument advanced in this article that frames this special issue is that citizenship is not just a highly polysemic word employed by the media and other political institutions; it is also a set of norms and (linguistic) behaviours that individuals are socialised into, as well as a series of practices that social actors perform through an array of semiotic means including multilingualism, multivoicedness, the body, and affect. In light of this, it is proposed that the linguistic/discursive study of citizenship should be expanded beyond a rather narrow emphasis on political proposals about language testing to include the diverse, more or less mundane, ways in which citizenship is enacted via an array of multivocal, material, and affective semiotic resources.
Sexual cityzenship
Authors: Milani Tommaso M.
Published: June 2017

This article explores an incident that took place in the context of Joburg Pride 2012, where the activist group One in Nine Campaign attempted to temporarily stop the Pride parade through means of a die-in protest, resulting in resistance and violence on the part of the Pride participants. The article argues that Pride and the One in Nine protest are manifestations of two very different types of sexual cityzenship. Whilst Pride is an orderly claim to the urban environment that is founded on an alignment with state-sanctioned, rights-based discourses of gay and lesbian identity, the One in Nine protest is a spatial disruption that problematises the optimistic reliance on sexual identities as catalysts for political action. The article also seeks to offer a queer epistemology that questions the logocentric bias of research on discourse, space and citizenship by encompassing not only the visual but also and most importantly the corporeal.
The acquisition of the weaker language
Authors: Antonova Ünlü Elena , Li Wei
Published: June 2017

This study contributes to the discussion about the status of the weaker language (WL) by investigating whether reduced input in
Russian in a Turkish-dominant environment is sufficient for monolingual-like acquisition of the WL. We focus on the acquisition of
Russian cases by a Turkish-Russian child who has acquired his Russian in the Turkish-dominant environment mainly through
interaction with his multilingual mother. The data were collected via video/audio recordings, covering the period of between two
years and eleven months and four years of the participant. First, the data were examined in terms of the availability of Russian
cases and their functions. Then, we looked into whether the data were marked with deviations from monolingual norms in terms of
error rates and patterns. The findings suggested that despite the reduced input, the acquisition of Russian cases by the
Turkish-Russian participant follows the same pattern as monolingual acquisition does.
Perceptual mapping between Arabic and English consonants
Authors: Lababidi Zafer , Park Hanyong
Published: June 2017

The current study attempts to establish perceptual category mapping between Arabic and English consonants in the minds of native speakers of American English who have no experience or exposure to Arabic. American listeners participated in an identification task and goodness-of-fit rating task to establish perceptual category mappings between the tested Arabic consonants and the English categories. Prosodic location and vowel effects (quality and duration) were considered as factors that might affect the perception of Arabic consonants. The results show no prosodic location effect between the two tested syllable structures, CV and VCV. However, a vowel effect is shown for some of the tested Arabic consonants, which affected the English category selection and the degrees of fit.1
Arabic first conjunct agreement and the interaction between constraints on agree & movement
Authors: Crone Phil
Published: June 2017

I argue that Arabic first conjunct agreement (FCA) is the result of interaction between independently motivated constraints on the operation agree and on movement. This analysis compares favorably to recent proposals of FCA that must stipulate that particular syntactic operations may occur late in syntactic derivation. The current proposal renders such assumptions about late operations unnecessary, while also demonstrating that analyses that rely on such operations fail to account for cases in which FCA and full agreement are realized on distinct inflection-bearing elements within the same clause. The analysis presented here is based primarily on data from Lebanese Arabic, although thoughts are also offered on the applicability of the analysis to Standard Arabic.
Diversity of RNA silencing pathways in plants.
Authors: Elvira-Matelot E. , Martínez de Alba Á. E. , Vaucheret H.
Published: June 2017

This chapter is dedicated to describe the diversity of RNA silencing pathways in plants. Regulatory mechanisms have been put in place to control invading nucleic acids from endogenous (mainly transposons) or exogenous (mainly viruses) origins. Silencing is mediated by siRNAs, and can occur at either transcriptional or post-transcriptional level. From these defence mechanisms, specialized pathways have emerged to control certain endogenous genes through the action of new classes of small RNAs: miRNA, ta-siRNA or nat-siRNA. The development of transformation methods has revealed that transgenes are more prone to silencing than are endogenous genes, suggesting that the position and arrangement of genes within the genome is not random, and that genes cannot be moved around without perturbing expression.
Induction and suppression of silencing by plant viruses.
Authors: Mingot A. , Valli A. , López-Moya J. J. , García J. A.
Published: June 2017

It is a generally accepted view that gene silencing has evolved in plants as a defence mechanism against viruses, therefore this chapter 2 discusses the 'arms race' between plants and viruses, how viruses trigger silencing and also evolved proteins that can suppress it. Evidence of more general crosstalk between RNA silencing and other well-described regulatory networks, not only those involved in defence against pathogens, have started to emerge. It will be exciting to elucidate how these networks are distorted in plants suffering attacks. Future studies will help to provide insights that assist scientists in designing resistant varieties of plants, and reduce economic losses caused by diseases.
Artificial induction and maintenance of epigenetic variations in plants.
Authors: Soumita Das Soumita Das , Singh R. R. , Shivaprasad P. V.
Published: June 2017

Some of the studies initiated a decade ago to understand the behaviour of transgenes have provided the first clear evidence for transgene-mediated induction and subsequent inheritance of epigenetic marks in plants. Now there is enough proof to show that it is possible to induce methylation of DNA and histones and also to maintain them during subsequent generations without the need for the inducer. This chapter brings together recent advances in such artificial induction and suggests ways forward to make this technology an equivalent, if not better, strategy than genetic modification, which is clouded with never-ending controversies.
Gene silencing in fungi: a diversity of pathways and functions.
Authors: Torres-Martínez S. , Ruiz-Vázquez R. M.
Published: June 2017

Although RNAi has been described in many fungal species, most of the knowledge on sRNA and RNAi pathways in fungi is centred in two reference organisms: the ascomycete Neurospora crassa and the opportunistic human pathogen Mucor circinelloides, a basal fungus belonging to the subphylum Mucoromycotina. This chapter focuses on RNAi pathways and their functions in Neurospora and Mucor, and describes the different classes of sRNAs produced by these and other filamentous fungi and yeasts that participate in transcriptional or post-transcriptional gene silencing. It discusses RNAi triggered by integrative and non-integrative transgenes, viruses and transposons, as well as by unpaired DNA, during both vegetative and sexual cycles.
RNA-based control of plant diseases: a case study with Fusarium graminearum.
Authors: Koch A. , Kogel K. H.
Published: June 2017

This chapter discusses recent work conducted to assess the potential of double-stranded (ds)RNA targeting essential fungal ergosterol biosynthesis genes to control the infection of barley by the necrotrophic pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. Regardless of how dsRNA is applied - by transgene expression (host-induced gene silencing, HIGS) or spray application (spray-induced gene silencing, SIGS) - the use of target-specific inhibitory RNA to mediate protection against fungal infection is a potential alternative to conventional chemicals, though many questions concerning field application of the novel technique remain unresolved.