bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metal-induced fluorescence properties of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous silver inverse opal platforms
Authors: Chae Weon-Sik , Lee Myung-Jin , Kim Kisun , Hyun Jerome K. , Jeon Seokwoo
Published: February 2016

This study examined the metal-induced fluorescence properties of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous silver inverse opal (IO) films. Electrochemically synthesized silver IO films with a micrometer cavity exhibited notable fluorescence enhancement at the silver frame, and a decrease in fluorescence lifetime. Numerical calculations supported the observations of a higher fluorescence efficiency at the frame than in the cavity.
Antireflective indium-tin-oxide nanobranches for efficient organic solar cells
Authors: Ham Juyoung , Park Jae Yong , Dong Wan Jae , Jung Gwan Ho , Yu Hak Ki , Lee Jong-Lam
Published: February 2016

Indium tin oxide (ITO) nanobranched structures with low reflectance have been designed for application to organic solar cells. The ITO nanobranches are deposited on the front surface of glass without damages to organic active layer by using an electron beam deposition. Through a finite-difference time-domain, we find that the field intensity in the glass region is enhanced with ITO nanobranches. Consequently, the number of incident photons induces strong absorption within the PTB7-PC70BM active layer, leading to the enhanced short circuit current density (Jsc). Compared with a flat device (power conversion efficiency (PCE) = 6.53%, Jsc = 13.3 mA/cm2), improved PCE of 7.09% is achieved in an antireflection coating, which is mainly due to the increased Jsc of 14.2 mA/cm2.
Effect of excess PbBr2 on photoluminescence spectra of CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite particles at room temperature
Authors: Fang Xin , Zhang Kun , Li Yanping , Yao Li , Zhang Yinfeng , Wang Yilun , Zhai Wenhao , Tao Li , Du Honglin , Ran Guangzhao
Published: February 2016

The organic-inorganic halide perovskites have promising applications in light-emitting devices besides solar cells. We here prepare CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite particles on SiO2 substrates and find that the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the particles at room temperature has two peaks, locating at 529 and 549 nm, respectively, much different from that of the corresponding films prepared on the oxygen plasma-cleaned SiO2 substrates, which has a single peak. The double peaks have different temperature-dependence behaviors. By the x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analyses, excess PbBr2 is detected inside the particles. We deduce that such excess PbBr2 has introduced shallow level defects. It is concluded that band-to-band recombination and these defects result in the double-peaked feature of the PL spectra of CH3NH3PbBr3 particles at room temperature.
Reflective gradient metasurfaces for polarization-independent light focusing at normal or oblique incidence
Authors: Ma Wei , Jia Delin , Yu Xiaomei , Feng Yun , Zhao Yuejin
Published: February 2016

Reflective gradient metasurfaces are reported as flat, ultra-thin light focusers using a cross-resonator array with spatially varied geometric parameters atop a continuous gold ground plane spaced by a layer of SiO2. The sub-wavelength cross-shaped building element offers polarization-independent performance and full 2π phase tuning range by varying its width and length, which is explained by an analytical model based on harmonically oscillating dipole antenna. With a radial phase gradient, a metasurface is demonstrated to function as a parabolic reflector at 1.47 μm wavelength with the measured efficiency of 44%. In addition, by elaborately engineering the planar distribution of different building elements, another two focusing reflectors are designed and experimentally verified to anomalously reflect and concentrate light along normal direction but with oblique incident angles of 30° and 60°, respectively.
A lightweight low-frequency sound insulation membrane-type acoustic metamaterial
Authors: Lu Kuan , Wu Jiu Hui , Guan Dong , Gao Nansha , Jing Li
Published: February 2016

A novel membrane-type acoustic metamaterial with a high sound transmission loss (STL) at low frequencies (⩽500Hz) was designed and the mechanisms were investigated by using negative mass density theory. This metamaterial’s structure is like a sandwich with a thin (thickness=0.25mm) lightweight flexible rubber material within two layers of honeycomb cell plates. Negative mass density was demonstrated at frequencies below the first natural frequency, which results in the excellent low-frequency sound insulation. The effects of different structural parameters of the membrane on the sound-proofed performance at low frequencies were investigated by using finite element method (FEM). The numerical results show that, the STL can be modulated to higher value by changing the structural parameters, such as the membrane surface density, the unite cell film shape, and the membrane tension. The acoustic metamaterial proposed in this study could provide a potential application in the low-frequency noise insulation.
A high extinction ratio THz polarizer fabricated by double-bilayer wire grid structure
Authors: Lu Bin , Wang Haitao , Shen Jun , Yang Jun , Mao Hongyan , Xia Liangping , Zhang Weiguo , Wang Guodong , Peng Xiao-Yu , Wang Deqiang
Published: February 2016

We designed a new style of broadband terahertz (THz) polarizer with double-bilayer wire grid structure by fabricating them on both sides of silicon substrate. This THz polarizer shows a high average extinction ratio of 60dB in 0.5 to 2.0 THz frequency range and the maximum of 87 dB at 1.06 THz, which is much higher than that of conventional monolayer wire grid polarizers and single-bilayer wire grid ones.
Coercivity and nanostructure of melt-spun Ti-Fe-Co-B-based alloys
Authors: Zhang W. Y. , Skomski R. , Kashyap A. , Valloppilly S. , Li X. Z. , Shield J. E. , Sellmyer D. J.
Published: February 2016

Nanocrystalline Ti-Fe-Co-B-based alloys, prepared by melt spinning and subsequent annealing, have been characterized structurally and magnetically. X-ray diffraction and thermomagnetic measurements show that the ribbons consist of tetragonal Ti3(Fe,Co)5B2, FeCo-rich bcc, and NiAl-rich L21 phases; Ti3(Fe,Co)5B2, is a new substitutional alloy series whose end members Ti3Co5B2 and Ti3Fe5B2 have never been investigated magnetically and may not even exist, respectively. Two compositions are considered, namely Ti11+xFe37.5-0.5xCo37.5−0.5xB14 (x = 0, 4) and alnico-like Ti11Fe26Co26Ni10Al11Cu2B14, the latter also containing an L21-type alloy. The volume fraction of the Ti3(Fe,Co)5B2 phase increases with x, which leads to a coercivity increase from 221 Oe for x = 0 to 452 Oe for x = 4. Since the grains are nearly equiaxed, there is little or no shape anisotropy, and the coercivity is largely due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the tetragonal Ti3(Fe,Co)5B2 phase. The alloy containing Ni, Al, and Cu exhibits a magnetization of 10.6 kG and a remanence ratio of 0.59. Our results indicate that magnetocrystalline anisotropy can be introduced in alnico-like magnets, adding to shape anisotropy that may be induced by field annealing.
Variation of blocking temperatures for exchange biased CoO/Co/Ge(100) films
Authors: Chang Cheng-Hsun-Tony , Chang Shin-Chen , Tsay Jyh-Shen , Yao Yeong-Der
Published: February 2016

Variations of the blocking temperature and related structures for CoO/Co/Ge(100) films are investigated by employing reflection high energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and surface magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements. By increasing the CoO thickness, the blocking temperature is smaller than the Neel temperature of CoO. The monotonous increase of the blocking temperature is mainly attributed to the increasing thermal stability of the antiferromagnetic grains by way of increasing the antiferromagnetic thickness. The deviation of the blocking temperature from the linear relation and the full widths at half maximum of the diffraction spots show a similar trend. The minimums appear around 25 monolayer of CoO and are related to the formation of larger grains.
Homoepitaxial graphene tunnel barriers for spin transport
Authors: Friedman Adam L. , van ‘t Erve Olaf M. J. , Robinson Jeremy T. , Whitener Keith E. , Jonker Berend T.
Published: February 2016

Tunnel barriers are key elements for both charge-and spin-based electronics, offering devices with reduced power consumption and new paradigms for information processing. Such devices require mating dissimilar materials, raising issues of heteroepitaxy, interface stability, and electronic states that severely complicate fabrication and compromise performance. Graphene is the perfect tunnel barrier. It is an insulator out-of-plane, possesses a defect-free, linear habit, and is impervious to interdiffusion. Nonetheless, true tunneling between two stacked graphene layers is not possible in environmental conditions usable for electronics applications. However, two stacked graphene layers can be decoupled using chemical functionalization. Here, we demonstrate that hydrogenation or fluorination of graphene can be used to create a tunnel barrier. We demonstrate successful tunneling by measuring non-linear IV curves and a weakly temperature dependent zero-bias resistance. We demonstrate lateral transport of spin currents in non-local spin-valve structures, and determine spin lifetimes with the non-local Hanle effect. We compare the results for hydrogenated and fluorinated tunnel and we discuss the possibility that ferromagnetic moments in the hydrogenated graphene tunnel barrier affect the spin transport of our devices.
Evidence for improved pollen viability as the mechanism for film antitranspirant mitigation of drought damage to wheat yield
Authors: Weerasinghe Minuka M. , Kettlewell Peter S. , Grove Ivan G. , Hare Martin C.
Published: February 2016

Application of film antitranspirant to wheat during late stem extension reduces drought damage to yield, but the mechanism is unknown. Field experiments under rain shelters were conducted over 3 years to test the hypothesis that film antitranspirant applied before meiosis alleviates drought-induced losses of pollen viability, grain number and yield. The film antitranspirant di-1-p-menthene was applied at third-node stage, and meiosis occurred at the early boot stage, with a range of 11–16 days after spray application in different years. Irrigated, unsprayed plots were included under the rain-shelters, and pollen viability, measured in 2 years in these plots, averaged 95.3%. Drought reduced pollen viability to 80.1% in unirrigated, unsprayed plots, but only to 88.6% in unirrigated plots treated with film antitranspirant. Grain number and yield of irrigated plots, measured in all years, were 16 529 m–2 and 9.55 t ha–1, respectively, on average. These were reduced by drought to 11 410 m–2 and 6.31 t ha–1 in unirrigated, unsprayed plots, but only to 12 878 m–2 and 6.97 t ha–1 in unirrigated plots treated with film antitranspirant. Thus compared with unirrigated, unsprayed plots, antitranspirant gave a grain yield benefit of 0.66 t ha–1. Further work is needed to validate the pollen viability mechanism in different climatic zones and with a wide range of cultivars.
The adventures of an Amsterdam Spaniard
Authors: Pérez Yolanda Rodríguez
Published: February 2016

Translations are not produced in a void, but in a continuum of textual and extra-textual constraints. The history of translation is rich in examples of the ways translation can be used in the service of ideological agendas. Particularly interesting is the genre of pseudo-translations, since they attempt to match the existing images and expectations of their readers, while engaging with contemporary discourses. In the context of the Eighty Years’ War between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish monarchy (1568–1648), it is not a coincidence that translator and pseudo-translator G. De Bay decided to use this recent period of Dutch history in his pseudo-translations (1658, 1671). In his On the Hell and Purgatory of the world or The Life of the Amsterdam Spaniard (1671), De Bay plays with and perpetuates images about a past that were shared by his audience and that were starting to become a ‘national’ past. To attract his readers’ attention, he presented his works as translations from the Spanish to give them an air of mystery, since they were supposed to have been written by the old enemy. His imitation of the successful Spanish genre of the picaresque novel was also a successful narrative strategy since this genre was much liked among the Dutch public and presented – when taken literally – a negative image of the Spaniards and their country. Literary works such as those by De Bay render the origin of collective national identities tangible, since we know that a collective sense of identity is derived from shared historical awareness.
The image of Spain in Flanders as shaped by the translations of Jozef Simons
Authors: Behiels Lieve
Published: February 2016

The image of Spain in Flanders is traditionally considered in terms of the shared history of both countries in the context of the “composite state” under the Habsburg monarchs in the 16th and 17th centuries. Schoolbooks and popular literature such as comics propagated the stereotype of the cruel, reckless, arrogant, tyrannical, courageous Spanish soldier, with the Duke of Alva as the most prominent representative of this prototype, all the way to the end of the twentieth century. Research into the building of an image of a more modern Spain is only just beginning. In this chapter, we propose to examine which image of modern Spain was constructed through translation in Catholic Flanders during the first half of the twentieth century. We take the work of the Flemish nationalist novelist and translator Jozef Simons (1898–1948) as an exemplary case. Our starting point is a brief sketch of Flanders at the start of the twentieth century as a ‘pillarized’ society, where political, social and cultural life was organized vertically along ideological lines. Then we explain how Jozef Simons’ activities as a writer and translator corresponded to the objectives of the Catholic pillar. We then present the Spanish authors whose work he translated: Pedro Antonio de Alarcón and Luis Coloma S.J., two defenders of social conservative, nationalistic values deeply rooted in Romanticism. The Spain presented in their work is decidedly anti-modern: country life prevails over city life, Spaniards are happy in their ignorance, given to the easy life, devote, and love the bullfights; Spanish girls have the looks of Carmen (but not necessarily her ruthlessness). It should be remarked that this image is not ‘genuine’ but derives from the stereotypes that pervaded French and English travel literature on Spain in the nineteenth century and which Spaniards ended up making their own. These stereotypes were carried over in Simons’ translations and run parallel to his own ideal of a traditionalist Flanders, true to its rural and religious roots. The image of Spain thus created can be considered influential, since these translations were reprinted until after World War II.
Bel Paese or Spaghetti noir?
Authors: Jansen Hanne
Published: February 2016

Translations participate in the construction of the images of foreign cultures, and texts that reinforce the national stereotypes are often those selected for translation. Are there recurrent features in Italian literary texts translated into Danish that reveal what is perceived as ‘typically’ Italian in the eyes of Danes? This chapter will examine translations of contemporary Italian narrative, relying primarily on the website of the Danish public libraries, bibliotek.dk, that contains keyword categorizations and evaluations produced by the librarians in order to “mediate” between the foreign texts and the Danish readership. The chapter will draw on the notions of image construction and national stereotypes (cf. Beller & Leerssen 2007) and of the metynomic nature of translation (cf. Tymoczko 1999).
How Algeria’s multilingualism and colonial history are obscured
Authors: Schyns Désirée
Published: February 2016

This chapter focuses on filtering and adaptation in translation into Dutch by taking a closer look at publishers’ paratexts surrounding three translated postcolonial Francophone authors from Algeria. A postcolonial framework will be used to ask whether the “otherness” is blurred in the paratexts and whether the translation of postcolonial literature is “brought home” in a monolingual, monocultural context. In using the concept “paratextual framing” (Watts 2004) an attempt will be made to answer the following question: in what way does this kind of framing shape a new image of the translated author? Translations of Assia Djebar, Malika Mokeddem and Tahar Djaout will be discussed.
Translation as blockage, propagation and recreation of ethnic images
Authors: Dimitriu Rodica
Published: February 2016

This paper draws on insights from Translation Studies and Imagology in order to highlight the specific ways in which ethnic images, which are present in literary texts, travel across ideological and linguistic borderlines through translations. Thus, the analyses of a series of case studies of literary translations from and into Romanian provide evidence in support of the idea that, depending on particular configurations of power relations at particular times in history, such ethnic clichés were carefully negotiated by translators, who faithfully propagated but also blocked or recreated the initial images which were present in the source texts. Secondly, the paper aims to show that the very presence of such images in a number of source texts played a significant part in their selection for translation in view of the political and diplomatic benefits that could be reaped from both positive and negative stereotyping.
The construction of national images through news translation
Authors: Valdeón Roberto A.
Published: February 2016

This paper discusses the construction of a new national image of Spain for an international audience, as presented in the English version of the leading Spanish paper El País. It uses the concept of framing as used in communication studies, on the one hand, and in translation studies, on the other. In the former frames are defined “as organizing principles that are socially shared and persistent over time, that work symbolically to meaningfully structure the social world” (Reese 2001, 11). In Translation Studies, Baker has adopted a similar definition for her adaptation of Somer’s narrative theory to text manipulation.

The paper analyzes a corpus of sixty issues of El País English Edition, a joint venture of El País and The International Herald Tribune. El País English Edition is an unusual publication that combines news and translation in a very visible manner. Spanish news reports are selected and translators render them into English for an international audience. More precisely three sections will be considered: the front page, the features section and the sports section. The selection of these three distinctive parts of the newspaper for the present discussion is based on the understanding that the latter two can reflect the extent to which stereotypes are present or are in conflict with the images of modernity that the medium might be willing to project onto an international audience whereas the front page is the first contact of those readers with Spain’s political, social and economic life.
Images of turmoil
Authors: Caimotto M. Cristina
Published: February 2016

In the 1970s, Italy’s national identity was transformed and re-negotiated consequent to a number of tragic events and radical reforms. The country’s image and self-image were constantly revisited in domestic and foreign news features. To this day, the best-known verbal icon of that period remains the phrase “strategia della tensione” (strategy of tension), from the headline of an article in the British press. This highlights a tendency of the Italian newspapers to “look up” to the British newspapers.

The aim of this chapter is to investigate how this tendency to prioritize British images of the Italian scenario, turning them into tropes, influenced the construction of Italy’s image between 1969 and 1980. A parallel corpus of articles from The Times and La Stampa is explored through a methodological framework combining diachronic News Translation Studies and the strategies of Imagology.

Electronic querying and manual inspection of the corpus revealed cases of textual migration, consisting of textual segments in La Stampa mirroring excerpts from The Times. These migrated texts were identified and labelled according to the translation strategy employed – selective appropriations, permutations, omissions, and additions (Valdeón 2008) – in order to investigate potential agendas, gatekeeping or self-censorship practices. However, rather than display an agenda, this analysis seems to reveal a clash between the British image and Italy’s self-image in the troubled 1970s, the latter being constructed through heavy domestication of the British articles. Translation choices indeed reveal patterns of mitigation of criticism, as well as foregrounding of positive comments, which require a discourse-based approach in order to be fully understood. The strategies of Imagology – notably those applied to Translation Studies in recent work by van Doorslaer (2010) – prove particularly useful in detailing these findings, through close observation of the constructed images of the country.
Images of Italy?
Authors: Filmer Denise
Published: February 2016

This chapter discusses some of the interwoven issues concerning translation, imagology, and ideology in the news. Part of a larger project investigating representations of Silvio Berlusconi’s politically incorrect discourse in the British press, the chapter analyses a small but significant corpus of online news texts that focus on the Italian leader’s alleged use of two taboo expressions. The first is “Forza Gnocca” [“Go Pussy”], a suggested new name for his People of Freedom political party (Kington 2011). Berlusconi’s purported soubriquet, ‘Culona inchiavabile’ [unscrewable big arse – Nicoli 2011] for Angela Merkel is the second discursive event examined. Focusing on the reverberations of linguistic taboos in the process of meaning transfer from Italian into English, the chapter suggests that renderings of these unsubstantiated utterances are ideologically slanted, consciously or unconsciously, to support existing news narratives surrounding Berlusconi.
Nation in translation
Authors: Blažević Zrinka
Published: February 2016

The South Slavic cultural sphere has always been a liminal zone of cultural hybridizations and syncretisms. In this article the complex features and modalities of multilayered and multidirectional cultural translations and transfers within the South Slavic region are illustrated by a comparative analysis of auto-images which were constitutive elements of the most influential early modern Croatian and Serbian mythomoteurs. These points are exemplified on the works of two authors: first, on the historiographical opus of a Croatian polymath Pavao Ritter Vitezović (1652–1713) who was both the discursive creator of the exclusivist Croatian (proto)national ideology and the author of the first history of the Serbs; and second, on Slavo-Serbian chronicles of a Serbian historian Đorđe Branković (1665–1711). Although both of these early modern mythomoteurs displayed many structural similarities as a result of manifold textual, intertextual and contextual translation processes, they paradoxically formed an ideological axis of exclusivist Croatian and Serbian 19th-century national ideologies.
Areal perspectives on total reduplication of verbs in Sinitic
Authors: Arcodia Giorgio F. , Basciano Bianca , Melloni Chiara
Published: February 2016

The topic of reduplication in Sinitic languages has attracted much attention in the literature, but studies adopting a comparative and areal perspective are still lacking. This paper aims to analyse the correlations between form and function in reduplicating constructions in a sample of twenty Sinitic languages, representing eight branches of the family, comparing them to a set of fourteen non-Sinitic languages of the East- and Southeast Asian area. We will show that the various semantic nuances conveyed by reduplicated verbs could be argued to derive from the core meaning of verbal reduplication as iteration of an event, either over a bounded or an unbounded timespan. On the structural level, a pervasive feature of reduplication lies in its compliance to strict requirements on the morphological makeup of the base. This holds especially in the case of the reduplication of disyllabic and bimorphemic verbs with increasing semantics, a consistent pattern across our sample.
Arbitrariness and iconicity in total reduplication
Authors: Kouwenberg Silvia , LaCharité Darlene
Published: February 2016

This article explores the iconicity of Total Reduplication (TR) and considers how iconicity is manifested in the reduplication of object, event, and attribute-denoting forms in Caribbean Creole (CC) languages. We argue that TR naturally lends itself to a “more of the same content” interpretation, but that iconicity is nevertheless compromised by restrictions on the eligibility of simplex forms as input for TR, arbitrary gaps in the interpretations available for reduplicated forms, and in the frequently attested secondary, affective connotations of the process. Additionally, we point out that the view that the presence of TR and other reduplicative processes in CC languages results from substrate transfer is difficult to maintain in light of the failure to find good parallels for these processes in relevant substrate languages. Thus, the presumed simplicity of iconicity disintegrates upon closer scrutiny.
Ideophones and reduplication
Authors: Dingemanse Mark
Published: February 2016

Repetition is one of the most basic operations on talk, often discussed for its iconic meanings. Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery, often identified by their reduplicated forms. Yet not all reduplication is iconic, and not all ideophones are reduplicated. This paper discusses the semantics and pragmatics of repeated talk with special reference to ideophones. To understand these phenomena, it is useful to distinguish two modes of representation in language — description and depiction — along with cues like prosodic foregrounding that help steer listener’s interpretations from one to the other. Reduplication can partake in both modes, which is why it is common in ideophones and other areas of grammar. Using evidence from a range of languages, this paper shows how the study of ideophones sheds light on the interpretation of repeated talk, and argues that both description and depiction are fundamental to understanding how language works.
When some dots turn a different color…
Authors: Stolz Thomas , Urdze Aina , Nintemann Julia , Tsareva Marina
Published: February 2016

This paper examines some of the problems which arise in connection with the question of whether or not reduplication is a language universal. The point of departure of the study is Moravcsik’s (1978) seminal paper on reduplicative constructions in cross-linguistic perspective. In the main body of the paper, the picture of the geo-linguistic distribution of reduplication that is painted in the World Atlas of Language Structures (Haspelmath et al. 2005) is critically evaluated. The results of the evaluation serve as background for the discussion of the current stalemate of opinions in the ongoing discussion of the supposed universality of reduplication. To resolve the impasse, a prototype-based approach is sketched which may allow us to recommence the collection of empirical data on an unprejudiced basis.
Suppression of type-I ELMs with reduced RMP coil set on DIII-D
Authors: Orlov D.M. , Moyer R.A. , Evans T.E. , Paz-Soldan C. , Ferraro N.M. , Nazikian R. , deGrassie J.S. , Grierson B.A. , Eldon D. , Fenstermacher M.E. , King J.D. , Logan N.C. , Lanctot M.J. , Maingi R. , Snyder P.B. , Strait E.J. , Wingen A.
Published: February 2016

Recent experiments on DIII-D have demonstrated that having a toroidally-monochromatic spectral content of edge-resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) is not a necessary condition for suppression of edge localized modes (ELMs). Robust ELM suppression has been reproducibly obtained on DIII-D during experiments in which various non-axisymmetric coil loops were turned off pseudo-randomly producing a variety of

,

, and

spectral contributions. It was shown that RMP ELM suppression could be achieved with as few as 5 out of 12 internal coil loops (I-coils) on DIII-D at similar coil currents and with good plasma confinement. Linear MHD plasma response (m3dc1, ipec, mars) and vacuum (surfmn, trip3d) modelling have been performed in order to understand the effects of the perturbation spectrum on the plasma response and ELM suppression. The results suggest that reduction of the dominant

perturbation field is compensated by increased

field in the plasma that may lead to RMP ELM suppression at lower levels of

perturbative magnetic flux from the I-coils. These results provide additional confidence that ITER may be capable of RMP ELM suppression in the event of multiple internal coil failures.
Modeling and control of plasma rotation for NSTX using neoclassical toroidal viscosity and neutral beam injection
Authors: Goumiri I.R. , Rowley C.W. , Sabbagh S.A. , Gates D.A. , Gerhardt S.P. , Boyer M.D. , Andre R. , Kolemen E. , Taira K.
Published: February 2016

A model-based feedback system is presented to control plasma rotation in a magnetically confined toroidal fusion device, to maintain plasma stability for long-pulse operation. This research uses experimental measurements from the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) and is aimed at controlling plasma rotation using two different types of actuation: momentum from injected neutral beams and neoclassical toroidal viscosity generated by three-dimensional applied magnetic fields. Based on the data-driven model obtained, a feedback controller is designed, and predictive simulations using the TRANSP plasma transport code show that the controller is able to attain desired plasma rotation profiles given practical constraints on the actuators and the available measurements of rotation.
Impact of Ex‐Ante Hypothetical Bias Mitigation Methods on Attribute Non‐Attendance in Choice Experiments
Authors: Bello Muhammad , Abdulai Awudu
Published: February 2016

In this article, we use survey data from Nigeria on consumers' preferences for organic products to investigate the impact of ex‐ante hypothetical bias mitigation methods (Cheap Talk and Honesty Priming) on respondents' attribute non‐attendance. We employ a framework that allows us to jointly examine the response to the stated choice component and the response to the attribute processing questions, while avoiding the potential endogeneity bias and measurement error problems arising from some attribute non‐attendance methods. Our results show that the incidence of attribute non‐attendance varies across the treatments in general, with significant difference in attribute non‐attendance rates between respondents exposed to the mitigation strategies (Honesty Priming and Cheap Talk) and the baseline group. We also find that the low willingness to pay values for the honesty priming task appear to correspond with the lowest attribute non‐attendance rates reported for all the attributes (especially price) and might reflect a more realistic valuation of the attributes.
Acute traumatic posterior fracture dislocation of the elbow in pediatric patients: impact of surgery time and associated fractures on outcome
Authors: Bilgili Fuat , Dikmen Goksel , Baş Ali , Asma Ali , Batibay Sefa G. , Şirikçi Murat , Atalar Ata Can
Published: February 2016

This study assessed the effect of the time interval from initial injury to surgery and the presence of associated fracture on functional outcomes after acute posterior elbow fracture dislocation. Twenty-six pediatric patients were evaluated with respect to operation time point (within 24 h vs. later) and associated fracture retrospectively. The Mayo Elbow Performance Index (MEPI) score was used to assess functional results. The MEPI score was 91 (80–100) in patients with one associated fracture and 83 (75–95) (P=0.02) in patients with more than one associated fracture. The MEPI score in patients treated within 24 h was 90.3 (75–95) and in those treated later than 24 h, it was 88.6 (75–100) (P=0.6). Treatment time (within 24 h vs. later) does not affect outcomes, but increasing numbers of associated injuries affect outcomes negatively. Level of study: Level IV case series.
Quantitative sensory testing in classical trigeminal neuralgia—a blinded study in patients with and without concomitant persistent pain
Authors: Younis Samaira , Maarbjerg Stine , Reimer Maren , Wolfram Frauke , Olesen Jes , Baron Ralf , Bendtsen Lars
Published: February 2016

The diagnostic criteria of the third International Classification of Headache Disorders state that there should be no neurological deficits in patients with classical trigeminal neuralgia (TN) at clinical examination. However, studies demonstrating sensory abnormalities at bedside examination in TN patients have questioned this. Our aim was to examine whether TN patients without sensory abnormalities at neurological examination have sensory abnormalities at quantitative sensory testing (QST) and whether there were any QST differences between TN with and without concomitant persistent pain. Thirty-six TN patients were investigated with the standardized QST protocol by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain. The investigators were blinded to presence of concomitant persistent pain and symptomatic side. Based on comparison to the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain controls, z scores were calculated to process frequency analyses and Z-profiles. We found increased mechanical detection threshold on the symptomatic side (47.2% vs 0%, P = 0.008), asymptomatic side (33.3% vs 0%, P = 0.011), and hand (36% vs 0%, P < 0.001) in TN compared with controls. The Z-profiles demonstrated increased mechanical detection threshold on the symptomatic side compared with the asymptomatic side (−2.980 vs −2.166, P = 0.040). Thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia was detected bilaterally in the face and the hand. Trigeminal neuralgia patients with concomitant persistent pain tended to have higher mean z score values compared to TN with purely paroxysmal pain indicative of decreased detection thresholds. Trigeminal neuralgia patients with no sensory abnormalities at neurological examination had generalized subclinical hypoesthesia, which was more pronounced on the symptomatic side, and thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia. This could indicate pain-induced hypoesthesia and sensitization induced by central mechanisms.
Differential pain modulation properties in central neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury
Authors: Gruener Hila , Zeilig Gabi , Laufer Yocheved , Blumen Nava , Defrin Ruth
Published: February 2016

It seems that central neuropathic pain (CNP) is associated with altered abilities to modulate pain; whereas dysfunction in descending pain inhibition is associated with the extent of chronic pain distribution, enhanced pain excitation is associated with the intensity of chronic pain. We investigated the hypothesis that CNP is associated with decreased descending pain inhibition along with increased neuronal excitability and that both traits are associated with spinothalamic tract (STT) damage. Chronic spinal cord injury subjects with CNP (n = 27) and without CNP (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 20) underwent the measurement of pain adaptation, conditioned pain modulation (CPM), tonic suprathreshold pain (TSP), and spatial summation of pain above injury level. Central neuropathic pain subjects also underwent at and below-lesion STT evaluation and completed the questionnaires. Central neuropathic pain subjects showed decreased CPM and increased enhancement of TSP compared with controls. Among CNP subjects, the dysfunction of CPM and pain adaptation correlated positively with the number of painful body regions. The magnitude of TSP and spatial summation of pain correlated positively with CNP intensity. STT scores correlated with CNP intensity and with TSP, so that the more affected the STT below injury level, the greater the CNP and TSP magnitude. It seems that CNP is associated with altered abilities to modulate pain, whereas dysfunction in descending pain inhibition is associated with the extent of chronic pain distribution and enhanced pain excitation is associated with the intensity of chronic pain. Thus, top–down processes may determine the spread of CNP, whereas bottom–up processes may determine CNP intensity. It also seems that the mechanisms of CNP may involve STT-induced hyperexcitability. Future, longitudinal studies may investigate the timeline of this scenario.
Infliximab Dosing Strategies and Predicted Trough Exposure in Children With Crohn Disease
Authors: Frymoyer Adam , Piester Travis L. , Park K.T.
Published: February 2016

Objectives:

Standard infliximab maintenance dosing of 5 mg/kg every 8 weeks may be inadequate to consistently achieve sufficient drug exposure to minimize loss of response or treatment failure in pediatric Crohn disease (CD). We aimed to determine the predicted infliximab trough concentrations in children with CD during maintenance therapy and the percentage of patients achieving target trough concentration >3 μg/mL.

Methods:

A Monte Carlo simulation analysis was constructed using a published population pharmacokinetic model based on data from 112 children in the REACH trial. We assessed maintenance dosing strategies of 5, 7.5, and 10 mg/kg at dosing intervals of every 4, 6, and 8 weeks for children that differed by age, weight, albumin level, and concomitant immunomodulator therapy.

Results:

Based on the index case of a 10‐year‐old with CD receiving standard infliximab dosing with concomitant immunomodulator therapy, the median (interquartile range) simulated infliximab trough concentration at week 14 was 1.3 (0.5–2.7) μg/mL and 2.4 (1.0–4.8) μg/mL for albumin levels of 3 and 4 g/dL, respectively. Among 1000 simulated children in the model, trough concentration >3 μg/mL at week 14 was achieved 21% and 41% of the time for albumin levels of 3 and 4 g/dL, respectively.

Conclusions:

Standard infliximab maintenance dosing in children with CD is predicted to frequently result in inadequate exposure, especially when albumin levels are low. Optimized dosing strategies for individual patients are needed to achieve sufficient drug exposure during infliximab maintenance therapy.
Reduced RKIP Expression is Associated With Breast Neoplastic Progression and is Correlated With Poor Outcomes and Aberrant Methylation in Breast Carcinoma
Authors: Kim Ga-Eon , Kim Nah Ihm , Lee Ji Shin , Park Min Ho , Yoon Jung Han
Published: February 2016

Raf kinase inhibitor protein’s (RKIP) downregulation can predict poor outcome in patients with various types of malignancy. In this study, we aimed to assess the potential involvement of RKIP in breast carcinogenesis and to evaluate its association with outcome variables and aberrant promoter methylation in breast carcinoma (BC). Tissue microarray sections were immunostained for RKIP in 26 normal breasts, 25 usual ductal hyperplasia, 76 ductal carcinoma in situ, and 198 BC specimens. The methylation status of RKIP was also determined in BC. In addition, the mRNA and protein level of RKIP was analyzed in 8 pairs of BC tissues and surrounding normal tissues by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, respectively. RKIP mRNA and protein expression was significantly downregulated in BC tissues compared with the surrounding normal tissues (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). Reduced RKIP expression seemed to increase progressively from normal breast to BC (P<0.001). Reduced RKIP expression was significantly associated with metastatic relapse (P<0.001) and was identified as an independent adverse prognostic indicator for disease-free survival (P=0.003). Reduced RKIP expression in BC was significantly correlated with its aberrant promoter methylation (P<0.05). In conclusion, downregulation of RKIP plays an important role in the breast neoplastic progression and correlates with poor prognosis in patients with BC. Aberrant RKIP methylation is one of the mechanisms that lead to downregulation of RKIP in BC.
Increased Expression of ALDH1A1 in Prostate Cancer is Correlated With Tumor Aggressiveness: A Tissue Microarray Study of Iranian Patients
Authors: Kalantari Elham , Saadi Faezeh H. , Asgari Mojgan , Shariftabrizi Ahmad , Roudi Raheleh , Madjd Zahra
Published: February 2016

Introduction:

Subpopulations of prostate cancer (PCa) cells expressing putative stem cell markers possess the ability to promote tumor growth, maintenance, and progression. This study aimed to evaluate the expression patterns and clinical significance of putative stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 A1 (ALDH1A1) in prostate tumor tissues.

Materials and Methods:

ALDH1A1 expression was examined in a well-defined series of prostate tissues, including 105 (68%) samples of PCa, 21 (13%) samples of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, and 31 (19%) samples of benign prostate hyperplasia, which were embedded in tissue microarray blocks. The correlation of ALDH1A1 expression with clinicopathologic parameters was also assessed.

Results:

There was a significant difference between the expression level of ALDH1A1 in PCa compared with the high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and benign prostate hyperplasia samples (P<0.001). PCa cells expressing ALDH1A1 were more often seen in samples with advanced Gleason score (P=0.05) and high serum prostate specific antigen level (P=0.02). In addition, a positive correlation was found between ALDH1A1 expression and primary tumor stage and regional lymph node involvement (P=0.04 and 0.03, respectively).

Conclusions:

The significant association between ALDH1A1 expressions with Gleason score indicates the potential role of this protein in PCa tumorigenesis and aggressive behavior; therefore, this cancer stem cell marker can be used as a promising candidate for targeted therapy of PCa, especially those with high Gleason score.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia With Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) Cells: A Potential Diagnostic Pitfall in Lymph Node Biopsies
Authors: Agrawal Parimal , Bal Amanjit , Das Ashim , Sachdeva ManUpdesh , Prakash Gaurav
Published: February 2016

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is known to undergo Richter transformation in a proportion of cases. Transformation into Hodgkin lymphoma has been described in a minority of the cases. However, CLL rarely also shows Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells with a classic morphology and the immunophenotype of Hodgkin lymphoma, even when not in transformation. The presence of these Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells in CLL can cause a diagnostic dilemma.
Management of the Formosa Color Dust Explosion: Lessons Learned from the Treatment of 49 Mass Burn Casualty Patients at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Authors: Cheng Ming-Huei , Mathews Alexandra L. , Chuang Shiow-Shuh , Lark Meghan E. , Hsiao Yen-Chang , Ng Chip-Jin , Chung Kevin C.
Published: February 2016

Background:

This article reports the emergency management of a mass casualty disaster occurring on June 27, 2015, in New Taipei, Taiwan, as a fire erupted over a large crowd, injuring 499 people. Lessons learned in burn care treatment and disaster preparedness are analyzed through following the specific surgical response and patient outcomes of one hospital involved in the disaster response.

Methods:

Information regarding the fire and emergency management was obtained from the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan. Patient-specific data were obtained from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s patient records.

Results:

A mass casualty management system was immediately initiated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which contacted local hospitals to prepare for the influx of patients with severe burn injuries. In response, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital called 336 medical personnel to the emergency room for the management of 49 burn patients and divided emergency management roles among chief physicians. The mean burn total body surface area of patients presenting to this hospital was 44.2 percent (range, 10 to 90 percent). No deaths occurred in the first 48 hours after the explosion. As of 3 months after the incident, only 12 deaths had resulted from this accident, all resulting from sepsis and organ failure.

Conclusions:

Taiwan’s effective mass casualty preparation plans, highly trained medical personnel, and large centers capable of treating burn patients allowed 499 injured patients to be successfully transferred and treated in hospitals across Taiwan. Lessons learned from this disaster response can be integrated into existing disaster management plans to aid in the response to mass casualty tragedies.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Therapeutic, IV.
Actigraphy- and Polysomnography-Measured Sleep Disturbances, Inflammation, and Mortality Among Older Men
Authors: Smagula Stephen F. , Stone Katie L. , Redline Susan , Ancoli-Israel Sonia , Barrett-Connor Elizabeth , Lane Nancy E. , Orwoll Eric S. , Cauley Jane A.
Published: February 2016

Objectives

To evaluate whether objectively measured sleep characteristics are associated with mortality risk independent of inflammatory burden and comorbidity.

Methods

The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Sleep Study (conducted in 2003–2005) included community-dwelling older men (n = 2531; average [standard deviation {SD}] age = 76.3 (5.5) years). Sleep measures from in-home polysomnography and wrist actigraphy and assessments of serum inflammatory markers levels (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α, tumor necrosis factor α soluble receptor II, and interferon-γ) were obtained. Vital status was ascertained over an average (SD) follow-up of 7.4 (1.9 SD) years.

Results

Three of the seven main sleep measures examined were independently associated with greater inflammatory burden. Mortality risk associated with prolonged (≥10% total sleep time) blood oxygen desaturation and short (<5 hours) sleep duration was attenuated to nonsignificance after adjusting for inflammatory burden or medical burden/lifestyle factors. Severe blood oxygen desaturation (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11–2.22), sleep fragmentation (aHR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.12–1.57), and a lower percentage of sleep in rapid eye movement (aHR per SD = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.93–0.97) were independently associated with mortality.

Conclusions

Short sleep duration and prolonged blood oxygen desaturation were independently associated with inflammatory burden, which attenuated associations between these sleep characteristics and mortality. Medical and life-style factors also substantially attenuated most sleep-mortality associations, suggesting complex relations between sleep, inflammation, and disease. Sleep fragmentation, severe blood oxygen desaturation, and the percentage of sleep time in rapid eye movement were independently related to mortality risk. Future studies with repeated measures of mediators/confounds will be necessary to achieve a mechanistic understanding of sleep-related mortality risk.