bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early Postoperative Fasting Serum Glucose Levels are Useful in
Depicting Future Diabetes Mellitus in Patients with Curative Insulinoma
Surgery
Authors: Akca Aycan , Starke Achim A. R. , Dobek Anna , Ulrich Alexis , Goretzki Peter E.
Published: April 2019

Background Hyperglycemia has been reported in some patients after
curative insulinoma resection but no systematic investigation of glucose
metabolism has been shown in a larger cohort of these patients. Therefore,
it is still unknown, whether long lasting hyperinsulinism in insulinoma
patients induces insulin resistance, which may jeopardize the postoperative
health status of these patients.

Methods Early postoperative fasting serum glucose levels were
measured in all insulinoma patients after curative tumor resection during
the first 48 h, being operated between 2011 and 2018,
retrospectively.

Results Of 77 (100%) patients with benign, spontaneous
occuring insulinoma 51 (66.2%) patients were operated on by tumor
enucleation. In 15 (19.5%) patients a left pancreatic resection was
performed and in 11 (14.3%) patients the pancreatic head or the
middle console of pancreatic corpus were excised. In 32 (41.6%)
cases the highest fasting postoperative glucose levels were measured between
140–200 mg/dl. In 16 (20.8%) patients the
glucose serum levels reached values above 200 mg/dl and in 4
(5.2%) patients short term substitution with insulin was indicated.
Only one (1.3%) of these patients developed diabetes mellitus with
the need of ongoing insulin treatment. Major postoperative complications
were registered in 31 of all 77 patients (40.3%) and in 9 of 16
patients (56.3%) with postoperative glucose levels above
200 mg/dl. This difference was not statistically
significant.

Conclusions Early postoperative (first 48 h) fasting serum
glucose levels in insulinoma patients showed significant hyperglycemia above
200 mg/dl in only few patients (20.8%) and chronic
postoperative Diabetes mellitus developed in only one of 77 patients
(<2%). Therefore, recovery of glucose metabolism after
insulinoma resection is fast and medical intervention is not mandatory in
most of these patients.
Genetic and Molecular Testing in Thrombosis and Hemostasis: Informing Surveillance, Treatment, and Prognosis
Authors: Crispin Philip , Koo Ray Mun
Published: April 2019

The understanding of molecular mechanisms brought about by the rapid expansion of gene sequencing has helped to characterize molecular interactions underpinning normal hemostasis and identify inherited and acquired risks for thrombosis and hemorrhage. The widespread availability of molecular testing may serve to replace some currently available investigations with more precise diagnostic tools and add to phenotypic tests. Molecular studies will increasingly enable prenatal diagnosis, confirm difficult diagnostic challenges, early intervention, and assist in prognostication. This approach facilitates specific individualization of treatment options, with personally targeted therapy expected to increase. There remain many challenges, however, in the clinic. Prior to any test there should be consideration of how the results may influence treatment, and also how they may affect the patient within their familial and social environments. Massive parallel sequencing has the capacity to produce results that create uncertainty that needs to be considered prior to testing. In this context, the potential benefits of adding phenotypic and genotypic personal data to large databases should be discussed with patients. There is a paradox in that personalized medicine is dependent on large datasets to interpret the significance of genetic variation. This review will provide an outline of specific current and emerging roles for molecular testing for the personalization of care in the practice of thrombosis and hemostasis and highlight principles that can be implemented as new opportunities inevitably arise with the rapid expansion of knowledge from genomics.
What leisure? Surfeminism in an era of Trump
Authors: Comer Krista
Published: April 2019

Powerful new feminisms are challenging the rise of the Global Right through mass mobilization, demands for accountability, and innovative opposition, such as #MeToo, the Global Women’s Marches, and #Feminism4the99. The international forum Signs: A Journal of Women and Culture has urged feminist scholars to meet the moment by bridging academic and larger feminist publics and attending to creative, new feminist movements. This paper showcases one such example, surfeminism, a theory and action project working between publics of academia and global surfing. Surfeminism is a worldwide network connecting people, ideas, particular coastal geographies, online and real-time communities and microeconomies in surf industry, with activisms focused on protests of sexism in surf media, access to ocean spaces, environmental health, and women’s racial, economic, and reproductive justice. The paper lays out surfeminist publics through discussion of the Institute for Women Surfers (IWS), a public humanities project in grassroots political education emphasizing relationships, cross-geography alliances, and critical thought. One of the more important and complex claims of surfeminism is for women and girls’ leisure as a feminist political need. A discussion of leisure and its relation to authoritarianisms, as well as ideologies of so-called postfeminism closes the paper.
Stagnation layer development from two colliding Sn plasmas for an efficient EUV source
Authors: Oliver John , Sizyuk Tatyana
Published: April 2019

The collision of two laser-produced plasmas (LPP), individually generated from the opposing faces of a tin wedge, was studied experimentally and through the HEIGHTS computer simulation package to explore onset and development of the stagnation layer and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoemission. The colliding Sn plasma offers promise for a powerful source of 13.5 nm light, the industry-identified wavelength being targeted for commercial EUV lithography light sources. A second laser pulse could efficiently couple with the material accumulated along the collision midplane to produce EUV with high power. Imaging of the LPP configuration is accomplished using an ICCD camera while electron temperature and density of the stagnation layer were determined using spectroscopic methods—both were verified using HEIGHTS which was also used to show the potential of an EUV source with 700 W power at the intermediate focus for efficient high-volume manufacturing.
Large aperture and non-critical phase-matched fourth harmonic generation of Nd:Glass lasers
Authors: Wang Fang , Li Fuquan , Han Wei , Wang Wei , Li Ping , Zhou Lidan , Xiang Yong , Feng Bin , Deng Xuewei , Su Jingqin , Zhu Qihua
Published: April 2019

A fourth harmonic generation (FHG) scheme in focusing beams is proposed and demonstrated for large aperture Nd:glass laser facilities. By placing the focusing lens before the FHG crystal, the problem of ultraviolet damage can be overcome, largely without affecting FHG conversion efficiency owing to the large angular acceptance of the non-critical phase matching technique. A numerical simulation of the FHG process indicates that angular acceptance can be appropriately increased by lowering the working temperature and jointing the two adjacent compensating angles, so that FHG in focusing beams with relatively small F numbers becomes feasible. With a 170 mm × 170 mm × 7 mm and 65% deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystal mounted in a high-precision, temperature-controlled system, high-efficiency FHG has been demonstrated in the focusing beam with a full beam convergence angle of 36 mrad. When driven with a 223 J, second harmonic radiation (2ω), 1 ns flat-top pulse with a beam area of 130 cm2, corresponding to 1.7 GW/cm2 2ω input intensity, 182 J of fourth harmonic radiation (4ω) were generated.
MOCVD grown low dislocation density GaAs-on-V-groove patterned (001) Si for 1.3
μ
m quantum dot laser applications
Authors: Shi Bei , Wang Lei , Taylor Aidan A. , Suran Brunelli Simone , Zhao Hongwei , Song Bowen , Klamkin Jonathan
Published: April 2019

We report the development of gallium arsenide (GaAs) films grown on V-groove patterned (001) silicon (Si) by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. This technique can provide an advanced virtual substrate platform for photonic integrated circuits on Si. A low defect density of 9.1 × 106 cm−2 was achieved with the aspect ratio trapping capability of the V-grooved Si and dislocation filtering approaches including thermal cycle annealing and dislocation filter layers. The efficiencies of these dislocation reduction methods are quantified by statistical electron channeling contrast imaging characterization. Meanwhile, different sets of dislocation filtering layers are evaluated and optimized. To further demonstrate the suitability of GaAs on the V-grooved Si technique for Si-based photonic devices, especially for the appealing 1.3 μm quantum dot (QD) lasers, a 7-layer indium arsenide QD structure was grown on both GaAs-on-V-grooved Si and native GaAs substrates. The same photoluminescence intensity and full-width at half-maximum values were observed for both structures. The optimization methodology in this work therefore offers a feasible approach to realize high quality III–V materials on Si for large-scale integration.
Polarity conversion of GaN nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy
Authors: Concordel Alexandre , Jacopin Gwénolé , Gayral Bruno , Garro Núria , Cros Ana , Rouvière Jean-Luc , Daudin Bruno
Published: April 2019

It is demonstrated that the N-polarity of GaN nanowires (NWs) spontaneously nucleated on Si (111) by molecular beam epitaxy can be reversed by intercalation of an Al- or a Ga-oxynitride thin layer. The polarity change has been assessed by a combination of chemical etching, Kelvin probe force microscopy, cathodo- and photoluminescence spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy experiments. Cathodoluminescence of the Ga-polar NW section exhibits a higher intensity in the band edge region, consistent with a reduced incorporation of chemical impurities. The polarity reversal method we propose opens the path to the integration of optimized metal-polar NW devices on any kind of substrate.
Numerical study of Darcy-Forchheimer model with activation energy subject to chemically reactive species and momentum slip of order two
Authors: Majeed A. , Zeeshan A. , Noori F. M.
Published: April 2019

This paper addresses the impact of Darcy-Forchheimer flow of MHD viscous fluid over a linear stretchable surface. Inspection has been accomplished in the presence of Arrhenius activation energy, second order slip and chemical reaction which has not been considered earlier. Flow in the porous media is categorized by taking Darcy-Forchheimer model. In addition we considered electrically conducting flow which is induced by stretching sheet. Suitable similarity variables are employed to get the ordinary differential equations (ODE’s). The obtained mathematical expression are now solved numerically with the aid of bvp4c Matlab package which instigated three-stage Lobatto IIIa finite difference collocation procedure. Graphs are developed against convergence parameters like porosity parameter (Kp), local inertia coefficient (Fr) activation energy (E), chemical reaction rate constant (σ), Schmidt number (Sc), temperature difference ratio (Γ), exponentially fitted constant (m), magnetic parameter (M), radiation parameter (R), 1st-order (γ) and 2nd-order (δ) slip parameter, suction or injection parameter (S), Prandtl number (Pr). It is found that Sherwood number decreases in the presence of activation energy while opposite behaviour is seen for temperature difference ratio parameter, whereas temperature profile enhances for large value of inertia parameter and porosity parameter.
The underlying physics of interfacial phase change memory
Authors: Kim Meeri
Published: April 2019

A new article looks at how the switching mechanism works in interfacial phase change memory, an emerging technology with advantages over current memory standards.
Effects of continuous nitrogen application on seed yield, yield components and nitrogen-use efficiency of Leymus chinensis in two different saline-sodic soils of Northeast China
Authors: Huang Lihua , Liang Zhengwei , Suarez Donald L. , Wang Zhichun , Wang Mingming
Published: April 2019

The effect of nitrogen (N) application on seed yields and yield components in Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel., a perennial rhizomatous grass, was measured in a field experiment with two saline-sodic soils at Da’an Sodic Land Experiment Station during 2010–11. Two grassland field sites were classified as moderately saline–sodic (MSSL) and severely saline–sodic (SSSL). Application rates of N at each site were 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 and 210 kg ha–1. Application of N significantly improved seed yield mainly through increased spike number (R2 = 0.96, P ≤ 0.001). Compared with nil N, seed yield increased 7.4–10.9 times with N application of 150 kg ha–1 at MSSL, and 5.3–7.5 times with N application of 120 kg ha–1 at SSSL. However, absolute increases at SSSL were relatively small. Some significant differences (P ≤ 0.01) in seed yield occurred between 2010 and 2011 with different N application rates in the same soil, and between MSSL and SSSL in the same year. Increasing N application rate significantly decreased N physiological efficiency (NPE) but increased N apparent-recovery fraction (NRF) and N partial-factor productivity (NPP) at both sites. Seed yield and NPP indicated that the optimal N application rates to increase yield were 150 kg ha–1 at MSSL and 120 kg ha–1 at SSSL. High soil pH was the major factor adversely impacting seed yield, and pH and soil salinity were major factors negative affecting NPE, NRF and NPP as well as decreasing the positive effect of N application. Nitrogen application is a practical and effective method to increase seed yield of L. chinensis in saline-sodic grasslands of Northeast China, particularly when soil pH and salinity are not limiting.
Ecological and hydroclimate responses to strengthening of the Hadley circulation in South America during the Late Miocene cooling
Authors: Carrapa Barbara , Clementz Mark , Feng Ran
Published: April 2019

Significance

This paper analyzes the Late Miocene continental record of hydroclimate from the central Andes and subsequent ecological response to climatic change during this interval. The Late Miocene cooling (LMC) is characterized by a sharp decrease (up to 6 °C) of sea-surface temperatures and has been shown to have driven ecosystem reorganization, leading to conditions similar to Quaternary. We use the stable isotopic record preserved in pedogenic carbonate nodules as a proxy for hydroclimate changes during the LMC. This, combined with general circulation simulations, shows that strengthening of the Hadley circulation in South America during the LMC enhanced subtropical aridification and in turn promoted expansion of C
4
grasses and evolution of high-crowned teeth in mammals.
Preventing harassment and increasing group participation through social norms in 2,190 online science discussions
Authors: Matias J. Nathan
Published: April 2019

Theories of human behavior suggest that people’s decisions to join a group and their subsequent behavior are influenced by perceptions of what is socially normative. In online discussions, where unruly, harassing behavior is common, displaying community rules could reduce concerns about harassment that prevent people from joining while also influencing the behavior of those who do participate. An experiment tested these theories by randomizing announcements of community rules to large-scale online conversations in a science-discussion community with 13 million subscribers. Compared with discussions with no mention of community expectations, displaying the rules increased newcomer rule compliance by >8 percentage points and increased the participation rate of newcomers in discussions by 70% on average. Making community norms visible prevented unruly and harassing conversations by influencing how people behaved within the conversation and also by influencing who chose to join.
Germline-restricted chromosome (GRC) is widespread among songbirds
Authors: Torgasheva Anna A. , Malinovskaya Lyubov P. , Zadesenets Kira S. , Karamysheva Tatyana V. , Kizilova Elena A. , Akberdina Ekaterina A. , Pristyazhnyuk Inna E. , Shnaider Elena P. , Volodkina Valeria A. , Saifitdinova Alsu F. , Galkina Svetlana A. , Larkin Denis M. , Rubtsov Nikolai B. , Borodin Pavel M.
Published: April 2019

Significance

We discovered that contrary to other bird species and most other animals, all examined songbird lineages contain a different number of chromosomes in the somatic and germline genomes. Their germ cells have an additional germline-restricted chromosome (GRC). GRCs contain highly duplicated genetic material represented by repetitive elements and sequences homologous to unique regions of the somatic genome. Surprisingly, GRCs even in very closely related species, vary drastically in size and show little homology. We hypothesize that the GRC was formed as an additional parasitic microchromosome in the songbird ancestor about 35 million years ago and subsequently underwent significant changes in size and genetic content, becoming an important component of the germline genome.
Productivity, prominence, and the effects of academic environment
Authors: Way Samuel F. , Morgan Allison C. , Larremore Daniel B. , Clauset Aaron
Published: April 2019

Significance

Past studies have shown that faculty at prestigious universities tend to be more productive and prominent than faculty at less prestigious universities. This pattern is usually attributed to a competitive job market that selects inherently productive faculty into prestigious positions. Here, we test the extent to which, instead, faculty’s work environments drive their productivity. Using comprehensive data on an entire field of research, we use a matched-pair experimental design to isolate the effects of training at, versus working in, prestigious environments. We find that faculty’s work environments, not selection effects, drive their productivity and prominence, establishing that where a researcher works serves as a mechanism for cumulative advantage, locking in past success via job placement and thereby facilitating future success.
Dynamic cluster formation determines viscosity and diffusion in dense protein solutions
Authors: von Bülow Sören , Siggel Marc , Linke Max , Hummer Gerhard
Published: April 2019

Significance

For living cells to function, proteins must efficiently navigate the densely packed cytosol. Protein diffusion is slowed down by high viscosity and can come to a complete halt because of nonspecific binding and aggregation. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we develop a detailed description of protein diffusion in concentrated protein solution. We confirm that soluble proteins in concentrated solutions diffuse not as isolated particles, but as members of transient clusters between which they constantly exchange. Nonspecific protein binding and the formation of dynamic clusters nearly quantitatively account for the high viscosity and slow diffusivity in concentrated protein solutions, consistent with the Stokes–Einstein relations.
Mutations in
MAGT1
lead to a glycosylation disorder with a variable phenotype
Authors: Blommaert Eline , Péanne Romain , Cherepanova Natalia A. , Rymen Daisy , Staels Frederik , Jaeken Jaak , Race Valérie , Keldermans Liesbeth , Souche Erika , Corveleyn Anniek , Sparkes Rebecca , Bhattacharya Kaustuv , Devalck Christine , Schrijvers Rik , Foulquier François , Gilmore Reid , Matthijs Gert
Published: April 2019

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of rare metabolic diseases, due to impaired protein and lipid glycosylation. We identified two patients with defective serum transferrin glycosylation and mutations in the
MAGT1
gene. These patients present with a phenotype that is mainly characterized by intellectual and developmental disability. MAGT1 has been described to be a subunit of the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex and more specifically of the STT3B complex. However, it was also claimed that MAGT1 is a magnesium (Mg
2+
) transporter. So far, patients with mutations in
MAGT1
were linked to a primary immunodeficiency, characterized by chronic EBV infections attributed to a Mg
2+
homeostasis defect (XMEN). We compared the clinical and cellular phenotype of our two patients to that of an XMEN patient that we recently identified. All three patients have an
N
-glycosylation defect, as was shown by the study of different substrates, such as GLUT1 and SHBG, demonstrating that the posttranslational glycosylation carried out by the STT3B complex is dysfunctional in all three patients. Moreover, MAGT1 deficiency is associated with an enhanced expression of TUSC3, the homolog protein of MAGT1, pointing toward a compensatory mechanism. Hence, we delineate MAGT1-CDG as a disorder associated with two different clinical phenotypes caused by defects in glycosylation.
Economic resilience of Carthage during the Punic Wars: Insights from sediments of the Medjerda delta around Utica (Tunisia)
Authors: Delile Hugo , Pleuger Elisa , Blichert-Toft Janne , Goiran Jean-Philippe , Fagel Nathalie , Gadhoum Ahmed , Abichou Abdelhakim , Ben Jerbania Imed , Fentress Elizabeth , Wilson Andrew I.
Published: April 2019

Significance

How do we explain the exceptional economic resilience for more than a century and a half of the Carthaginian civilization during the Punic Wars? Based on eight deep cores taken in the Medjerda delta around the city of Utica in Tunisia, we show that the sustainable retreat of Carthage into its hinterland during this period of warfare provided the metal resources whose exploitation by the Carthaginians was sufficient to resist the Romans for so long. The earliest phase of mining activity recorded in the Utica sediments occurred during the Greco-Punic Wars (480–307 BC) and is coeval with the first minting of Punic coins at Carthage, from which point on the Carthaginian economy became increasingly monetized.
Gene expression in oligodendrocytes during remyelination reveals cholesterol homeostasis as a therapeutic target in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Voskuhl Rhonda R. , Itoh Noriko , Tassoni Alessia , Matsukawa Macy Akiyo , Ren Emily , Tse Vincent , Jang Ellis , Suen Timothy Takazo , Itoh Yuichiro
Published: April 2019

Regional differences in neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia exist in the brain during health, and regional differences in the transcriptome may occur for each cell type during neurodegeneration. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is multifocal, and regional differences in the astrocyte transcriptome occur in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an MS model. MS and EAE are characterized by inflammation, demyelination, and axonal damage, with minimal remyelination. Here, RNA-sequencing analysis of MS tissues from six brain regions suggested a focus on oligodendrocyte lineage cells (OLCs) in corpus callosum. Olig1-RiboTag mice were used to determine the translatome of OLCs in vivo in corpus callosum during the remyelination phase of a chronic cuprizone model with axonal damage. Cholesterol-synthesis gene pathways dominated as the top up-regulated pathways in OLCs during remyelination. In EAE, remyelination was induced with estrogen receptor-β (ERβ) ligand treatment, and up-regulation of cholesterol-synthesis gene expression was again observed in OLCs. ERβ-ligand treatment in the cuprizone model further increased cholesterol synthesis gene expression and enhanced remyelination. Conditional KOs of ERβ in OLCs demonstrated that increased cholesterol-synthesis gene expression in OLCs was mediated by direct effects in both models. To address this direct effect, ChIP assays showed binding of ERβ to the putative estrogen-response element of a key cholesterol-synthesis gene (Fdps). As fetal OLCs are exposed in utero to high levels of estrogens in maternal blood, we discuss how remyelinating properties of estrogen treatment in adults during injury may recapitulate normal developmental myelination through targeting cholesterol homeostasis in OLCs.
Highly conductive and chemically stable alkaline anion exchange membranes via ROMP of
trans
-cyclooctene derivatives
Authors: You Wei , Padgett Elliot , MacMillan Samantha N. , Muller David A. , Coates Geoffrey W.
Published: April 2019

Alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEMs) are an important component of alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs), which facilitate the efficient conversion of fuels to electricity using nonplatinum electrode catalysts. However, low hydroxide conductivity and poor long-term alkaline stability of AAEMs are the major limitations for the widespread application of AEMFCs. In this paper, we report the synthesis of highly conductive and chemically stable AAEMs from the living polymerization of
trans
-cyclooctenes. A
trans
-cyclooctene–fused imidazolium monomer was designed and synthesized on gram scale. Using these highly ring-strained monomers, we produced a range of block and random copolymers. Surprisingly, AAEMs made from the random copolymer exhibited much higher conductivities than their block copolymer analogs. Investigation by transmission electron microscopy showed that the block copolymers had a disordered microphase segregation which likely impeded ion conduction. A cross-linked random copolymer demonstrated a high level of hydroxide conductivity (134 mS/cm at 80 °C). More importantly, the membranes exhibited excellent chemical stability due to the incorporation of highly alkaline-stable multisubstituted imidazolium cations. No chemical degradation was detected by
1
H NMR spectroscopy when the polymers were treated with 2 M KOH in CD
3
OH at 80 °C for 30 d.
Soluble CX3CL1 gene therapy improves cone survival and function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa
Authors: Wang Sean K. , Xue Yunlu , Rana Parimal , Hong Christin M. , Cepko Constance L.
Published: April 2019

Significance

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetically heterogenous disease that lacks effective treatment. In RP, there is degeneration of cone photoreceptors in the eye, often leading to complete blindness. The reasons for cone degeneration remain largely unknown. Development of therapies that preserve cones and vision in patients with RP, particularly in a mutation-independent manner, would benefit from a greater understanding of the underlying pathological mechanisms. We examined immune responses in RP mice during the period of cone degeneration and identified soluble CX3CL1 (sCX3CL1) as a promising therapy for cones. Viral-mediated expression of sCX3CL1 prolonged cone survival in different RP models and improved visual function. These results establish viral delivery of sCX3CL1 as a potential treatment for RP and other retinal disorders.
Archaic human remains from Hualongdong, China, and Middle Pleistocene human continuity and variation
Authors: Wu Xiu-Jie , Pei Shu-Wen , Cai Yan-Jun , Tong Hao-Wen , Li Qiang , Dong Zhe , Sheng Jin-Chao , Jin Ze-Tian , Ma Dong-Dong , Xing Song , Li Xiao-Li , Cheng Xing , Cheng Hai , de la Torre Ignacio , Edwards R. Lawrence , Gong Xi-Cheng , An Zhi-Sheng , Trinkaus Erik , Liu Wu
Published: April 2019

Significance

Human evolution through the Middle to the Late Pleistocene in East Asia has been seen as reflecting diverse groups and discontinuities vs. a continuity of form reflecting an evolving population. New Middle Pleistocene (∼300,000 y old) human remains from Hualongdong (HLD), China, provide further evidence for regional variation and the continuity of human biology through East Asian archaic humans. The HLD 6 skull is notable for its low and wide neurocranial vault and pronounced brow ridge, but less projecting face and modest chin. Along with the isolated teeth, the skull provides morphologically simple teeth with reduced or absent third molars. The remains foreshadow changes evident with modern human emergence, but primarily reinforce Old World continuity through Middle to Late Pleistocene humans.
Improvement of NbOx-based threshold switching devices by implementing multilayer stacks
Authors: Herzig Melanie , Weiher Martin , Ascoli Alon , Tetzlaff Ronald , Mikolajick Thomas , Slesazeck Stefan
Published: April 2019

In this work the I–V characteristics of a niobium oxide-based threshold switching device were optimized to match the requirements for its application in neuromorphic circuits. Those neuromorphic circuits rely on coupled oscillators utilizing the volatile resistive switching effect of the memristor. A large voltage extension of the negative differential resistance region of the threshold switch enables enhanced signal amplification, and, furthermore, can lead to a better tolerance to device variability. A symmetric switching behavior as well as a high device stability for the operation in both voltage polarities is mandatory to allow the integration in circuits that utilize the connection of several threshold switching devices operated in different polarities. These properties are similarly important for the adoption of the threshold switches as selector devices in bipolar resistive memory arrays. Furthermore, a low forming voltage is desirable because it leads to a better control during the forming step. To meet all those requirements the application of multilayer stacks consisting of niobium and niobium oxide layers is proposed and their optimization is investigated in detail.
The Postcolonial
Authors: Layoun Mary N.
Published: April 2019

First used in post–World War II historical accounts as a designation for the period that followed the independence of successful anti-colonial struggles in Asia and Africa, the origins of the postcolonial as a category of thought are multiple and diversely located: in anti-colonial movements such as Pan-Africanism and the Négritude movement and thinkers and writers including Amilcar Cabral, Aimé Césaire, W. E. B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah, and Léopold Sédar Senghor; in the work of Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham, founded and directed by Richard Hoggart in 1964 and subsequently directed by Stuart Hall; in the analysis of colonial discourse introduced to the Anglophone world by Edward Said’s Orientalism; in the work of a generation of well-known scholars of the postcolonial (and, often, of literary studies) that include Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, Aijaz Ahmad, Ranajit Guha, and Robert J. C. Young and drawing from the Central and South American intellectual and political traditions of anti-colonial and postcolonial struggles that began over a century earlier, Mary Louise Pratt, Walter Mignolo, and John Beverly; and in the colonial historiography and history of anti-colonial resistances in South Asia of the Subaltern Studies group.

After some three decades as a category of thought in and beyond the academy, a capacious and diversely defined postcolonial has produced a plethora of studies, academic and otherwise, as well as a marketing category, and a now-conventional use as a journalistic descriptor. Broadly, however, the postcolonial as a category of thought can be understood as a situated response to shifting apprehension and efforts at comprehension of the complex inequities of the late 20th and 21st centuries in the wake of European colonialism. And as important as the what of the postcolonial is the when; where; and by-, to-, and with-whom.
An Asian American Epistemology of Reading: Aiiieeeee! and Ekphrasis
Authors: Tsou Elda E.
Published: April 2019

The contested category of Asian American literature presents a rich opportunity to explore questions of epistemology. At the start of the 21st century, a formal turn in literary study further illuminates shifts in structures of knowledge and ways of knowing. Asian American literature emerged in the 1970s as a critical response to a history of exclusion and misrepresentation. As the field established itself, literary knowledge was defined quite narrowly: it is produced by Asian Americans and the subject of knowledge is Asian America itself. The reading practices that arise from this central paradigm have been called “instrumental” or “sociological,” insofar as they conceive of literary language, with varying degrees of formal interest, as an instrument or expression of Asian America. From the 2000s onward, scholarship on Asian American form and poetics has grown steadily, and what distinguishes this particular movement is its privileging of form as its primary object of investigation. Correspondingly the subject of knowledge also shifts from Asian America as the default referent to Asian American literature and the literary tradition. Critics note that one consequence of making form the prime objective is a potential tendency to drift away from the ambit of Asian America altogether. Those literary texts featuring conspicuous formal experimentation have garnered a lot of attention; less has been paid to the early texts, like the anthology Aiiieeeee!: An Anthology of Asian-American Writers (1974), where formal concerns are not as explicit. Yet upon closer examination of Aiiieeeee! one discovers another type of figurative activity that can help redefine Asian American literary knowledge, offering us new ways of reading and looking at race.
Anxiety, Uncertainty, and Intercultural Communication
Authors: Neuliep Jim
Published: April 2019

The effects of uncertainty and anxiety are profiled in association with intercultural communication and the initiation and development of intercultural relationships. Uncertainty is cognitive and refers to what one knows about another and one’s level of predictability about another. Anxiety is the affective equivalent of uncertainty and refers to the level of discomfort associated with interacting with a stranger. Two major theories are associated with this process, including uncertainty reduction theory and anxiety/uncertainty management theory. Other communicative factors also affect uncertainty and anxiety reduction and management during intercultural communication.
Crowdsourcing in Journalism
Authors: Aitamurto Tanja
Published: April 2019

Advances in digital technologies and participatory culture have enabled the efficient use of crowdsourcing in a broad range of contexts, including journalism. Journalism is increasingly deploying crowdsourcing as a knowledge-search method and a means of engaging readers. Through crowdsourcing, journalists can tap into the collective intelligence of large online crowds. The knowledge-search mechanism is based on access to the information held by the crowd.

Using crowdsourcing, journalists can find otherwise inaccessible information that contributes to their investigations. In several countries, crowdsourced investigations have uncovered important news, including lawbreaking and corruption. Crowdsourcing can also unveil a broader range of perspectives about a story topic, leading to more inclusive and objective journalism. As a result, crowdsourcing can support the journalistic norms of accurate, objective, and transparent reporting. Moreover, it engages participants and fosters a stronger relationship between readers and journalists. Finally, in its use of crowdsourcing journalism can enact more efficiently in its monitorial role in society.

At the same time, however, crowdsourcing may compromise the journalistic goals of accuracy and objectivity. A crowd is a self-selected group, so its input reflects a participant bias. If this fact is overlooked, crowdsourcing can lead to biased reporting. Moreover, a direct connection with the crowd can increase pressure on journalists to conform to the crowd’s wishes instead of pursuing journalistic norms and news values. This pressure can be especially strong in crowdfunding, a subtype of crowdsourcing.
News Startups
Authors: Usher Nikki , Kammer Aske
Published: April 2019

The rise of news startups in their modern incarnation has taken place on a global scale, and needs consideration as a phenomenon. First, a brief history of news startups is provided, followed by a theoretical framing that explores how they both differ from and normalize existing aspects of professional journalism. News startups stretch the boundaries of the profession through discursive claims about iteration and innovation, but nonetheless draw on the longstanding aspirations of legacy journalists for inspiration. The types of funding models are overviewed (philanthropic/nonprofit, government-funded, venture-backed for-profit, for-profit, and ideological-advocacy) and are posited against a matrix of types of news startups (original-content creators, aggregators/curators, platforms, and business-to-business). News startups face future challenges to their survival and a discussion is needed on their fragility in the context of flexible and venture labor.
Baltic Sea Level: Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Weisse Ralf , Hünicke Birgit
Published: April 2019

A multitude of geophysical processes contribute to and determine variations and changes in the height of the Baltic Sea water surface. These processes act on a broad range of characteristic spatial and timescales ranging from a few seconds to millennia. On very long timescales, the northern parts of the Baltic are uplifting due to the still ongoing visco-elastic response of the Earth to the last deglaciation, and mean sea level is decreasing in these regions. Over centuries, the Baltic Sea responds to changes in global and North Atlantic mean sea level. Processes affecting global mean sea level, such as warming of the world ocean or melting of glaciers and of polar ice sheets, do have an imprint on Baltic Sea levels. Over decades, variations and changes in atmospheric circulation affect transport through the Danish Straits connecting the Baltic and North seas. As a result, the amount of water in the Baltic Sea and the height of the sea level vary. Similarly, atmospheric variability on shorter timescales down to a few days cause shorter period variations of transport through the Danish Straits and Baltic Sea level. On even shorter timescales, the Danish Straits act as a low pass filter, and high frequency variations of the water surface within the Baltic Sea such as storm surges, wind waves, or seiches are solely caused internally. All such processes have undergone considerable variations and changes in the past. Similarly, they are expected to show variations and changes in the future and across a broad range of scales, leaving their imprint on observed and potential future Baltic Sea level and its variability.
Alpine Ice Cores as Climate and Environmental Archives
Authors: Bohleber Pascal
Published: April 2019

The European Alps feature a unique situation with the densest network of long-term instrumental climate observations and anthropogenic emission sources located in the immediate vicinity of glaciers suitable for ice core studies. To archive atmospheric changes in an undisturbed sequence of firn and ice layers, ice core drilling sites require temperatures low enough to minimize meltwater percolation. In the Alps, this implies a restriction to the highest summit glaciers of comparatively small horizontal and vertical extension (i.e., with typical ice thickness not much exceeding 100 m). As a result, Alpine ice cores offer either high-resolution or long-term records, depending on the net snow accumulation regime of the drilling site. High-accumulation Alpine ice cores have been used with great success to study the anthropogenic influence on aerosol-related atmospheric impurities over the last 100 years or so. However, respective long-term reconstructions (i.e., substantially exceeding the instrumental era) from low-accumulation sites remain comparatively sparse. Accordingly, deciphering Alpine ice cores as long-term climate records deserves special emphasis. Certain conditions must exist for Alpine ice cores to serve as climate archives, and this is important in particular regarding the challenges and achievements that have significance for ice cores from other mountain areas: (a) a reliable chronology is the fundamental prerequisite for interpreting any ice core proxy time series. Advances in radiometric ice dating and annual layer counting offer the tools to crucially increase dating precision in the preinstrumental era. (b) Glacier flow effects and spatio-seasonal snow deposition variability challenge linking the ice core proxy signals to the respective atmospheric variability (e.g., of temperature, mineral dust, and impurity concentrations). Here, assistance comes from combining multiple ice cores from one site and from complementary meteorological, glaciological, and geophysical surveys. (c) As Alpine ice cores continue to advance their contribution to Holocene climate science, exploring the link to instrumental, historical, and other natural climate archives gains increasing importance.
Political Parties in the European Union
Authors: Johansson Karl Magnus , Raunio Tapio
Published: April 2019

Media often portrays European Union (EU) decision-making as a battleground for national governments that defend the interests of their member states. Yet even the most powerful individuals, such as the German chancellor, the French president, or the Commission president, are party politicians. At the same time the consistent empowerment of the European Parliament (EP) means that the party groups of European-level “Europarties”—political parties at European level—are in a key position to shape EU legislation. The Parliament has also become more directly involved in the appointment of the Commission, with the results of EP elections thus influencing the composition of the Commission.

Examining the “partyness” of European integration, this article argues that scholarly understanding of the role of parties in the EU political system has taken great strides forward since the turn of the millennium. This applies especially to the EP party groups, with research focusing particularly on voting patterns in the plenary. This body of work has become considerably more sophisticated and detailed over the years; it shows that the main EP groups do achieve even surprisingly high levels of cohesion and that the left–right dimension is the primary axis of contestation in the chamber. It nonetheless also emphasizes the continuing relevance of national parties that control candidate selection in EP elections. Considering that most votes in the Parliament are based on cooperation between the two largest groups, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Party of the European Socialists (PES), future research should analyze in more detail how these groups build compromises.

Actual Europarties, however, remain relatively unexplored. Case studies of treaty reforms or particular policy sectors reveal how individual Europarties have often wielded decisive influence on key integration decisions or key appointments to EU institutions. The Europarty meetings held in conjunction with European Council summits are particularly important in this respect. The regular, day-to-day activities of Europarties deserve more attention, both regarding decision-making and vertical links between national parties and their Europarties. Overall, it is probably more accurate to characterize Europarties as networks of like-minded national parties or as loose federations of member parties, especially when compared with the often centralized and strongly disciplined parties found in the member states.
Interest Organizations and European Union Politics
Authors: Greenwood Justin
Published: April 2019

Interest representation plays a systemic role in European Union (EU) policymaking and integration, recognized as such in the Treaty on European Union. Interest organizations supply technical and political information to the EU institutions, and EU institutions use interest organizations as agents of political communication. Interest organizations act as a proxy for an otherwise largely absent civil society, with a teeming population of groups advocating for every imaginable cause. Where groups are absent, so EU institutions have stimulated their formation. The result is a pluralist system of checks and balances, although the literature includes findings of “islands” resembling corporatist practice.

EU institutions have designed a range of procedures in support of “an open and structured dialogue between the Commission and special interest groups,” now largely packaged as a “Better Regulation” program. Measures include funding for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), consultation procedures accompanied by impact assessments, a Transparency Register to provide lobbying transparency, and measures for access to documents that enable civil society organizations to keep EU institutions accountable. A multilevel governance system further strengthens pluralist design, making it impossible for any one type of interest to routinely capture the diversity of EU decision-making. A key controversy in the literature is how to assess influence and whether lobbying success varies across interest group type. EU public policymaking is regulatory, making for competitive interest group politics, often between different branches of business whose interests are affected differently by regulatory proposals. There are striking findings from the literature, including that NGOs are more successful than business organizations in getting what they want from EU public policymaking, particularly where issues reach the status of high salience where they attract the attention of the European Parliament. A key innovation of the Lisbon Treaty involves a European Citizens’ Initiative, which takes dialogue between civil society and EU institutions outside the ecosystem inhabited by civil society organizations and EU institutions known as the “Brussels bubble” and into the member states.
Hegemonic Political Regimes in Africa
Authors: Rubongoya Joshua B.
Published: April 2019

Hegemonic political regimes in Africa reflect the continent’s political history, in particular, its colonial past and postcolonial present. Hegemony is primarily a reference to the nature and character of specific modes of power. Political hegemony denotes prolonged, unchecked dominance and control, often by a dominant political party that comprises a section of the ruling coalition. On the continent, regime hegemony is embedded in neo-patrimonial structures of power. It is the outcome of (a) African patrimonial logics and Western bureaucratic institutions and (b) complex networks of patron–client relationships along with resource allocations which form the basis of political legitimacy. As well, the struggles for independence bequeathed a “movement legacy” that continues to frame political organization.

African discourses regarding the exercise of power address hegemony in the context of statist–corporatist regimes which, by definition, concentrate power in the state by closing political spaces and promulgating self-serving ideologies, both of which produce unchallenged social realities. Paradoxically, the state is deinstitutionalized, power is personalized, and informality underpins decision making.

In deconstructing hegemony in Africa, emphasis is placed on how three key tensions that distinguish hegemony from democracy are resolved. Hegemonies diminish consent in favor of effectiveness, opt for consensus at the expense of participation and competition, and subordinate representation to governability. The consequence of all this is that African polities struggle in sustaining a governance realm that is rooted in consent, competition, and representation. Finally, the nature and character of political hegemony among African polities vary and mutate over time, from independence to the late second decade of the 21st century.