bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diabetes negatively affects cortical and striatal GABAergic neurons: an effect that is partially counteracted by exendin-4
Authors: Larsson Martin , Lietzau Grazyna , Nathanson David , Östenson Claes-Göran , Mallard Carina , Johansson Maria E. , Nyström Thomas , Patrone Cesare , Darsalia Vladimer
Published: October 2016

Type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients often develop early cognitive and sensorimotor impairments. The pathophysiological mechanisms behind these problems are largely unknown. Recent studies demonstrate that dysfunctional γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) neurons are involved in age-related cognitive decline. We hypothesized that similar, but earlier dysfunction is taking place under T2D in the neocortex and striatum (two brain areas important for cognition and sensorimotor functions). We also hypothesized that the T2D-induced effects are pharmacologically reversible by anti-diabetic drugs targeting the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R). We determined the effect of T2D on cortical and striatal GABAergic neurons positive for glutamic acid decarboxylase-67 (GAD67), calbindin (CB), parvalbumin (PV) and calretinin (CR) by using immunohistochemistry and quantitative microscopy. Young and middle-aged T2D Goto-Kakizaki (GK) (a model of spontaneous T2D) and Wistar rats were used. Furthermore, we determined the therapeutic potential of the GLP1-R agonist exendin-4 (Ex-4) by treating middle-aged GK rats for 6 weeks with 0.1 μg/kg Ex-4 twice daily. We show that T2D reduced the density of GAD67-positive neurons in the striatum and of CB-positive neurons in both striatum and neocortex. T2D also increased the average volume of PV-positive interneurons in the striatum. Ex-4 treatment increased the density of CB-positive neurons in the striatum of GK rats. Our data demonstrate that T2D negatively affects GAD67 and CB-positive GABAergic neurons in the brain during aging, potentially identifying some of the pathophysiological mechanisms to explain the increased prevalence of neurological complications in T2D. We also show a specific, positive effect of Ex-4 on striatal CB-positive neurons, which could be exploited in therapeutic perspective.
Effects of Noise on Speech Recognition and Listening Effort in Children With Normal Hearing and Children With Mild Bilateral or Unilateral Hearing Loss
Authors: Lewis Dawna , Schmid Kendra , O'Leary Samantha , Spalding Jody , Heinrichs-Graham Elizabeth , High Robin
Published: October 2016

Purpose

This study examined the effects of stimulus type and hearing status on speech recognition and listening effort in children with normal hearing (NH) and children with mild bilateral hearing loss (MBHL) or unilateral hearing loss (UHL).

Method

Children (5–12 years of age) with NH (Experiment 1) and children (8–12 years of age) with MBHL, UHL, or NH (Experiment 2) performed consonant identification and word and sentence recognition in background noise. Percentage correct performance and verbal response time (VRT) were assessed (onset time, total duration).

Results

In general, speech recognition improved as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) increased both for children with NH and children with MBHL or UHL. The groups did not differ on measures of VRT. Onset times were longer for incorrect than for correct responses. For correct responses only, there was a general increase in VRT with decreasing SNR.

Conclusions

Findings indicate poorer sentence recognition in children with NH and MBHL or UHL as SNR decreases. VRT results suggest that greater effort was expended when processing stimuli that were incorrectly identified. Increasing VRT with decreasing SNR for correct responses also supports greater effort in poorer acoustic conditions. The absence of significant hearing status differences suggests that VRT was not differentially affected by MBHL, UHL, or NH for children in this study.
Emotional Processing and Non-Auditory Based Interventions in Tinnitus
Authors: Husain Fatima T. , Tai Yihsin , Finnegan Megan K.
Published: October 2016

In this brief review, we describe the latest research on the emotional underpinnings of an individual's reaction to chronic tinnitus. We elucidate evidence for interventions that are beginning to show promise in alleviating the distressing aspects of this reaction. Such therapies do not rely on the traditional sound-based approaches, instead they focus on psychological or mental health by incorporating a “mindfulness” aspect, or by relying on a cognitive-behavior methodology, or indirectly by including an exercise regimen. There is, as yet, no cure for tinnitus, but additional tools that allow an audiologist to guide patients towards better managing their symptoms will go a long way toward providing relief to many.
Clinical Presentation of Tinnitus and a Review of, and Evidence Base for, Tinnitus Applications
Authors: Wise Kim , Ma Elaine
Published: October 2016

A lack of evidence base presently exists, to validate the efficacy of mobile technology applications (apps) for tinnitus—highlighting a need for research. We reviewed tinnitus apps available via two popular smartphone operating systems: the Apple iOS and Google Android platforms. A March (2016) search using platforms available in the Austral-Asia region yielded over 260 tinnitus-related apps. Search parameters required apps to employ an English language format and feature the keyword “tinnitus” in the app name or description. Those apps retained for consideration (257) enabled 4 primary themes to emerge, featuring apps offering: (1) sound therapy approaches, (2) information, tips or assessment, (3) health promotion or alternative approaches, and (4) miscellaneous, non-therapeutic apps. Themes enabled further organization of related app characteristics into sub-groups. Numerous apps (44.3%) presented sound menus, ordered into a virtual library of presumably beneficial listening options. To place tinnitus apps in the context of current therapeutic considerations, an overview of the clinical presentation of tinnitus, and approaches aimed at mediating the perception of tinnitus and affective responses, precedes the review. We suggest future research addresses: the relative benefit(s) of one app over another, efficacy of tinnitus apps as a therapeutic option, long-term outcomes, and generalizability across populations.
Interprofessional Practice and Education Supports Tinnitus Management
Authors: Fagelson Marc
Published: October 2016

Tinnitus has the potential to influence a wide range of routine and important activities in a person's life. It can impair sleep, communication, concentration, and in severe cases can be affected by depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Perhaps more important, tinnitus may influence the patient's psychological state; its bidirectional effects, although well established, often challenge patients and providers across a variety of clinical settings. Management of tinnitus requires audiologists to be adept at communicating and supporting coping strategies that may include, but should not be limited to, patient-centered counseling and delivery of sound therapy or hearing aids. In the short term, patient care may benefit from interprofessional collaborations and effective referral networks. In the long term, the inclusion of tinnitus clinic rotations, classes, and interprofessional opportunities for students in Audiology programs should provide AuD students the experiences and competencies to provide for patients with tinnitus.
6–18 GHz, 26 W GaN HEMT compact power‐combined non‐uniform distributed amplifier
Authors: Kim Jihoon , Park Hongjong , Lee Sangho , Kim Jaeduk , Lee Wangyong , Lee Changhoon , Kwon Youngwoo
Published: October 2016

A 6–18 GHz gallium nitride (GaN) non‐uniform distributed amplifier (NDA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit with high power density is implemented with compact four‐way combined power. The drain lines and gate lines are shared among the combined NDAs. Sharing drain (or gate) lines reduces the drain (or gate) line length by half, while keeping the same characteristic impedances and eliminates bulky and lossy power combiners, such as Wilkinson combiners. The proposed four‐way NDA was fabricated using a commercial 0.25 μm GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) process. It shows average continuous wave output power of 20.8 W and average associated gain of 10.7 dB from 6 to 18 GHz under 33 V drain bias. When pulsed input power and pulsed DC bias are simultaneously supplied to the NDA, the output power increases to 26 W, on average. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the highest RF power and power density among the reported GaN power amplifiers with an octave bandwidth higher than the Ku‐band is represented in this work.
EACO and FABC to multi‐path data transmission in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Kumar Rajeev , Kumar Dilip , Kumar Dinesh
Published: October 2016

Owing to the extensive growth of wireless technology for sending and collecting a variety of information for the different applications, routing is a major challenge to find the optimal path for the data transmission. In this study, the authors have developed a new algorithm called, exponential ant colony optimisation (EACO) to route discovery problem in wireless sensor network after finding the cluster heads (CHs) using fractional artificial bee colony (FABC) algorithm. In the first step, CHs are found out using the FABC algorithm with fitness function considering the distance, energy and delay. In the second phase, ACO algorithm is modified with exponential smoothing model for multi‐path route discovery. This new algorithm called, EACO found the optimal routes among CHs to transmit a data from any source node to base station with multiple objectives including energy, distance, intra‐cluster delay and intercluster delay. These objectives are effectively formulated as new fitness function to find the optimal route path. From the experimentation, the outcome showed that the cumulative energy kept after 2000 round of experiments is 0.2039 for the proposed algorithm but the existing approach (threshold + ACO) kept only 0.0338.
Brand und Notfallevakuierung im Krankenhaus der Maximalversorgung
Authors: Leledakis G.
Published: October 2016

Das Krefelder Modell wurde im Jahr 2002 als alternatives Konzept der Klinikeinsatzleitung vorgestellt. Es zielt auf die interdisziplinäre Bearbeitung der Frühphase einer kritischen und komplexen Situation. Erstmals war es nun möglich, anhand einer bedrohlichen Einsatzlage die Funktion des Modells zu evaluieren. Das Krefelder Modell ist nach dieser Erfahrung sowohl flexibel als auch effizient, um den objektiven Anforderungen zu begegnen. Dieser Beitrag analysiert Ausgangslage und Reaktion der Führungskräfte sowie der Mitarbeiter und zeigt auf, wie sich Theorie und Praxis zueinander verhalten.
A long time low drift integrator with temperature control
Authors: Zhang Donglai , Yan Xiaolan , Zhang Enchao , Pan Shimin
Published: October 2016

The output of an operational amplifier always contains signals that could not have been predicted, even with knowledge of the input and an accurately determined closed-loop transfer function. These signals lead to integrator zero-drift over time. A new type of integrator system with a long-term low-drift characteristic has therefore been designed. The integrator system is composed of a temperature control module and an integrator module. The aluminum printed circuit board of the integrator is glued to a thermoelectric cooler to maintain the electronic components at a stable temperature. The integration drift is automatically compensated using an analog-to-digital converter/proportional integration/digital-to-analog converter control circuit. Performance testing in a standard magnet shows that the proposed integrator, which has an integration time constant of 10 ms, has a low integration drift (<5 mV) over 1000 s after repeated measurements. The integrator can be used for magnetic flux measurements in most tokamaks and in the wire rope nondestructive test.
Charge migration in polycyclic norbornadiene cations: Winning the race against decoherence
Authors: Jenkins Andrew J. , Vacher Morgane , Twidale Rebecca M. , Bearpark Michael J. , Robb Michael A.
Published: October 2016

The observation of electronic motion remains a key target in the development of the field of attoscience. However, systems in which long-lived oscillatory charge migration may be observed must be selected carefully, particularly because it has been shown that nuclear spatial delocalization leads to a loss of coherent electron density oscillations. Here we demonstrate electron dynamics in norbornadiene and extended systems where the hole density migrates between two identical chromophores. By studying the effect of nuclear motion and delocalization in these example systems, we present the physical properties that must be considered in candidate molecules in which to observe electron dynamics. Furthermore, we also show a key contribution to nuclear delocalization arises from motion in the branching plane of the cation. For the systems studied, the dephasing time increases with system size while the energy gap between states, and therefore the frequency of the density oscillation, decreases with size (obeying a simple exponential dependence on the inter-chromophore distance). We present a system that balances these two effects and shows several complete oscillations in the spin density before dephasing occurs.
Density-based cluster algorithms for the identification of core sets
Authors: Lemke Oliver , Keller Bettina G.
Published: October 2016

The core-set approach is a discretization method for Markov state models of complex molecular dynamics. Core sets are disjoint metastable regions in the conformational space, which need to be known prior to the construction of the core-set model. We propose to use density-based cluster algorithms to identify the cores. We compare three different density-based cluster algorithms: the CNN, the DBSCAN, and the Jarvis-Patrick algorithm. While the core-set models based on the CNN and DBSCAN clustering are well-converged, constructing core-set models based on the Jarvis-Patrick clustering cannot be recommended. In a well-converged core-set model, the number of core sets is up to an order of magnitude smaller than the number of states in a conventional Markov state model with comparable approximation error. Moreover, using the density-based clustering one can extend the core-set method to systems which are not strongly metastable. This is important for the practical application of the core-set method because most biologically interesting systems are only marginally metastable. The key point is to perform a hierarchical density-based clustering while monitoring the structure of the metric matrix which appears in the core-set method. We test this approach on a molecular-dynamics simulation of a highly flexible 14-residue peptide. The resulting core-set models have a high spatial resolution and can distinguish between conformationally similar yet chemically different structures, such as register-shifted hairpin structures.
Assessing the network connectivity of modifier ions in metaphosphate glass melts: A dynamic light scattering study of Na-Zn mixtures
Authors: Sidebottom D. L. , Vu D.
Published: October 2016

Photon correlation spectroscopy conducted on polymeric metaphosphate melts [NaPO3]1−y[Zn(PO3)2]y shows a systematic decrease in glass fragility as the more strongly bonding Zn cation replaces the more weakly bonding Na cation as a crosslinking agent between PO3 chains. This decrease is similar to that observed previously in Na–Al melts and the decrease in fragility for both systems is shown to be fully consistent with a recently reported universal pattern of fragility in network forming glasses as a function of network connectivity. Unique to the Na–Zn system is the appearance of an ultraslow relaxation in the dynamic structure factor (slower than the viscoelastic decay) that is not present in either Na–Al or Na–Li metaphosphate mixtures. This relaxation appears to originate from the diffusion of the Zn cation within the melt which is partially coupled to the oxide network. Taken together, these results underscore the need to distinguish between network-forming cations of high ionic bond strength that contribute to the connectivity of the oxide network and those of lower bond strength that do not contribute.
Perturbative universal state-selective correction for state-specific multi-reference coupled cluster methods
Authors: Brabec Jiri , Banik Subrata , Kowalski Karol , Pittner Jiří
Published: October 2016

In this work, we report an extension of our previous development of the universal state-selective (USS) multireference coupled-cluster (MRCC) formalism. It was shown [Brabec et al., J. Chem. Phys. 136, 124102 (2012)] and [Banik et al., J. Chem. Phys. 142, 114106 (2015)] that the USS(2) approach significantly improves the accuracy of Brillouin-Wigner and Mukherjee MRCC formulations, however, the numerical and storage costs associated with calculating highly excited intermediates pose a significant challenge, which can restrict the applicability of the USS(2) method. Therefore, we introduce a perturbative variant of the USS(2) approach (USS(pt)), which substantially reduces numerical overhead of the full USS(2) correction while preserving its accuracy. Since the new USS(pt) implementation calculates the triple and quadruple projections in on-the-fly manner, the memory bottleneck associated with the need of storing expensive recursive intermediates is entirely eliminated. On the example of several benchmark systems, we demonstrate accuracies of USS(pt) and USS(2) approaches and their efficiency in describing quasidegenerate electronic states. It is also shown that the USS(pt) method significantly alleviates problems associated with the lack of invariance of MRCC theories upon the rotation of active orbitals.
Loss of relativistic electrons when magnetic surfaces are broken
Authors: Boozer Allen H. , Punjabi Alkesh
Published: October 2016

Relativistic runaway electrons in ITER could be confined in a broad annulus of stochastic magnetic field lines bounded by an annulus of magnetic surfaces. The outer confining annulus can be broken by either an evolution of the magnetic field or by the drift of the plasma into the walls. Both possibilities are studied, and in both cases, the relativistic electrons in the stochastic region are lost to the walls in a short pulse of length τℓ along a narrow tube, which carries a flux fψst, where f∼10−3 and ψst is the toroidal flux in stochastic annulus. Both τℓ and f are determined by two parameters: the time it takes for a toroidal transit of a relativistic electron τt=2πR/c, which is approximately 0.1 μs in ITER, and the evolution time τev, which is of order 100 ms in most conditions of interest for ITER. The concept of turnstiles in Hamiltonian mechanics is used to obtain the relation between τℓ and f and τt and τev. The turnstile concept is also important in the theory of divertors for stellarators.
An optically pumped 2.5 μm GeSn laser on Si operating at 110 K
Authors: Al-Kabi Sattar , Ghetmiri Seyed Amir , Margetis Joe , Pham Thach , Zhou Yiyin , Dou Wei , Collier Bria , Quinde Randy , Du Wei , Mosleh Aboozar , Liu Jifeng , Sun Greg , Soref Richard A. , Tolle John , Li Baohua , Mortazavi Mansour , Naseem Hameed A. , Yu Shui-Qing
Published: October 2016

This paper reports the demonstration of optically pumped GeSn edge-emitting lasers grown on Si substrates. The whole device structures were grown by an industry standard chemical vapor deposition reactor using the low cost commercially available precursors SnCl4 and GeH4 in a single run epitaxy process. Temperature-dependent characteristics of laser-output versus pumping-laser-input showed lasing operation up to 110 K. The 10 K lasing threshold and wavelength were measured as 68 kW/cm2 and 2476 nm, respectively. Lasing characteristic temperature (T0) was extracted as 65 K.
Polymer loaded microemulsions: Changeover from finite size effects to interfacial interactions
Authors: Kuttich B. , Ivanova O. , Grillo I. , Stühn B.
Published: October 2016

Form fluctuations of microemulsion droplets are observed in experiments using dielectric spectroscopy (DS) and neutron spin echo spectroscopy (NSE). Previous work on dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate based water in oil microemulsions in the droplet phase has shown that adding a water soluble polymer (Polyethylene glycol M = 1500 g mol−1) modifies these fluctuations. While for small droplet sizes (water core radius rc < 37 Å) compared to the size of the polymer both methods consistently showed a reduction in the bending modulus of the surfactant shell as a result of polymer addition, dielectric spectroscopy suggests the opposite behaviour for large droplets. This observation is now confirmed by NSE experiments on large droplets. Structural changes due to polymer addition are qualitatively independent of droplet size. Dynamical properties, however, display a clear variation with the number of polymer chains per droplet, leading to the observed changes in the bending modulus. Furthermore, the contribution of structural and dynamical properties on the changes in bending modulus shifts in weight. With increasing droplet size, we initially find dominating finite size effects and a changeover to a system, where interactions between the confined polymer and the surfactant shell dominate the bending modulus.
Tunneling electroresistance of MgZnO-based tunnel junctions
Authors: Belmoubarik Mohamed , Al-Mahdawi Muftah , Obata Masao , Yoshikawa Daiki , Sato Hideyuki , Nozaki Tomohiro , Oda Tatsuki , Sahashi Masashi
Published: October 2016

We investigated the tunneling electroresistance (TER) in metal/wurtzite-MgZnO/metal junctions for applications in nonvolatile random-access memories. A resistive switching was detected utilizing an electric-field cooling at ±1 V and exhibited a TER ratio of 360%–490% at 2 K. The extracted change in the average barrier height between the two resistance states gave an estimation of the MgZnO electric polarization at 2.5 μC/cm2 for the low-temperature limit. In addition, the temperature-dependent TER ratio and the shift of the localized states energies at the barrier interface supported the ferroelectric behavior of the MgZnO tunnel-barrier. From the first-principles calculations, we found a similar effect of the barrier height change coming from the reversal of ZnO electric polarization. The possibility of using metal electrodes and lower growth temperatures, in addition to the ferroelectric property, make the ZnO-based memory devices suitable for CMOS integration.
Understanding the Rocksalt-to-Wurtzite phase transformation through microstructural analysis of (Al,Sc)N epitaxial thin films
Authors: Saha Bivas , Saber Sammy , Stach Eric A. , Kvam Eric P. , Sands Timothy D.
Published: October 2016

Rocksalt-to-wurtzite structural phase transitions in semiconducting materials (such as III–V nitrides, ZnO, CdSe, and others) have been studied for several decades. Almost all experimental works related to this phase transition involve diamond anvil cells to apply hydrostatic pressure, and as a result, direct observation of the microstructural transformation during the phase transition has not been possible. In this article, we have addressed and uncovered the intimate microstructural details and epitaxial relationships between phases by capturing what is essentially a thin-film snapshot of the transformation after growth of AlxSc1-xN films with a composition chosen to be close to the equilibrium phase boundary between wurtzite and rocksalt. The results support the hypothesis that the transformation is triggered by defects at rs-{01¯1} growth fronts that offer a nearly invariant plane with respect to the parallel w-{21¯1¯0} planes. The intermediate crystal structures and their epitaxial relationships are consistent with theoretical models that predict a transformation pathway involving homogeneous orthorhombic shear strain.
Ranging behaviour and movements of the red fox in remnant forest habitats
Authors: Towerton Alison L. , Kavanagh Rodney P. , Penman Trent D. , Dickman Christopher R.
Published: October 2016

Context The Eurasian red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a widespread pest in mixed agricultural and remnant forest habitats in southern Australia, and is controlled most commonly with baits containing poison (1080) to protect both agricultural and ecological assets. An understanding of fox movements in such habitats should assist in the strategic placement of baits and increase bait encounters by foxes across the landscape, thus improving the success of control efforts. Aims We seek to understand the ranges, movements and habitat use of foxes to aid the development of effective management plans. The fate of tracked animals was examined during a control program. Methods We radio-tracked 10 foxes using VHF transmitters and three foxes using GPS receivers during control operations in a remnant forest area near Dubbo, New South Wales. We used VHF location fixes to estimate fox range areas and GPS fixes to describe temporal and spatial aspects of fox movements and range use, focal points of activity and potential bait encounters. Selection of forest versus cleared areas was assessed, as was the impact of control operations on collared foxes. Key results Range areas (mean ± s.e.; 95% minimum convex polygon) for VHF- and GPS-tracked foxes were 420 ha ± 74 and 4462 ha ± 1799 respectively. Only small parts of range areas were visited on a daily basis, with little overlap. Animals were often within 200 m of roads and crossed or travelled on roads more than expected. At least 75% of collared foxes were probably poisoned in the control program. Conclusions Foxes occupy large ranges and move long distances in the study region, with little daily overlap, so successful defence of range areas is unlikely. Control efforts successfully poisoned foxes but also limited data collection because of reduced tracking periods. Implications The large and variable areas occupied by foxes suggested that control efforts need to be on-going, coordinated across the landscape, and use a minimum bait density of 0.5 baits per 100 ha in remnant forest habitat to ensure that gaps are minimised. Control operations should target roads and forest edges for bait placement, and increase the time that baits are available, to increase fox encounters and maximise the success of control efforts.
Wildfire, climate, and invasive grass interactions negatively impact an indicator species by reshaping sagebrush ecosystems
Authors: Coates Peter S. , Ricca Mark A. , Prochazka Brian G. , Brooks Matthew L. , Doherty Kevin E. , Kroger Travis , Blomberg Erik J. , Hagen Christian A. , Casazza Michael L.
Published: October 2016

Significance

The Great Basin of western North America is larger than 75% of countries worldwide and is comprised mostly of a “sagebrush sea” threatened by a novel disturbance cycle of wildfire and annual grass invasion. The greater sage-grouse is a sagebrush-obligate species whose populations generally track declines in sagebrush, and is highly influential in shaping state and national land-use policy. Using three decades of sage-grouse population count, wildfire, and climate data within a modeling framework that allowed for variable postfire recovery of sagebrush, we provide quantitative evidence that links long-term declines of sage-grouse to chronic effects of wildfire. Projected declines may be slowed or halted by targeting fire suppression in remaining areas of intact sagebrush with high densities of breeding sage-grouse.
High-dimensional regression adjustments in randomized experiments
Authors: Wager Stefan , Du Wenfei , Taylor Jonathan , Tibshirani Robert J.
Published: October 2016

Significance

As datasets get larger and more complex, there is a growing interest in using machine-learning methods to enhance scientific analysis. In many settings, considerable work is required to make standard machine-learning methods useful for specific scientific applications. We find, however, that in the case of treatment effect estimation with randomized experiments, regression adjustments via machine-learning methods designed to minimize test set error directly induce efficient estimates of the average treatment effect. Thus, machine-learning methods can be used out of the box for this task, without any special-case adjustments.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension in the USA: an epidemiological study in a large insured pediatric population
Authors: Li Lin , Jick Susan , Breitenstein Stefanie , Hernandez Gemzel , Michel Alexander , Vizcaya David
Published: October 2016

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is rare in children and few data are available in a pediatric general population. This study aims to calculate the annual incidence and prevalence of PAH and to describe these children in a large US population of patients aged under 18 years. Using the US MarketScan claims database we identified 695 children with PAH in 2010–2013. We calculated annual incidence rates and prevalence overall, by age and PAH type (idiopathic and non‐idiopathic) using Byar’s method. We also described characteristics, co‐morbidities, treatment patterns, and diagnostic procedures for these children. In 2010–2013, the annual incidence rates of PAH per 1,000,000 children‐years was in the range of 4.8–8.1; 0.5–0.9 for idiopathic PAH and 4.3–7.3 for non‐idiopathic PAH. The annual prevalence of PAH was in the range of 25.7–32.6 per 1,000,000 children; 4.4–6.0 for idiopathic PAH and 21.3–27.0 for non‐idiopathic PAH. Incidence rates and prevalence were highest in children under age 2 years. Around 36% of affected children were born prematurely. Most (75%) had some type of congenital heart defect and 13% had Down’s syndrome. Most patients received PAH monotherapy (83%), while 13% received dual therapy. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors were the most commonly used treatments. Around 92% had at least one echocardiogram and 37% a right heart catheterization. PAH is very rare in children especially in the absence of etiological factors such as congenital heart defects. A large proportion of diagnoses in children seem to be based on echocardiography rather than right heart catheterization.
Effects of molecular weight of PVA on formation, stability and deformation of compound droplets for ICF polymer shells
Authors: Liu Meifang , Zheng Yueqing , Li Jie , Chen Sufen , Liu Yiyang , Li Jing , Li Bo , Zhang Zhanwen
Published: October 2016

Sphericity and wall thickness uniformity are some of the hardest specifications to fulfill, as required by inertial confined fusion (ICF) research for polymer shells prepared by the microencapsulation technique. Driven by the need to control the deformation of compound droplets, the effects of the molecular weight of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on the formation and stability of the droplets, as well as the sphericity and wall thickness uniformity of the resulting shells, were investigated. On increasing the molecular weight of the PVA, the densities of the external water phases (W2) are almost the same, but the viscosity of the W2 phase increases more quickly than the interfacial tension. This makes the detaching force increase more quickly than the upward one, causing the formation of compound droplets and detachment from the oil tube. On the other hand, the increase in interfacial tension makes the maximum pressures (
P

max) in the O phase (O) of the compound droplets increase, causing them to rupture easily and decreasing their stability. However, for PVA with the same molecular weight, the viscous shear force in the flowing field reduces the role of gravity and makes the inner water droplet move towards the center of the compound droplet, decreasing its
P

max in the flowing field and improving its stability. Moreover, during the solidifying process, the viscous shear force increases more quickly than the interfacial tension force due to the quicker increase in viscosity with an increase in the molecular weight of the PVA. The increase in the viscous shear force can make the droplets deform, resulting in a decrease in their sphericity. However, the appropriate viscous shear force can also center the compound droplet—although they become decentered when the viscous shear force is too large, leading to the wall thickness uniformity increasing at first before decreasing quickly. The results presented in this work provide a more in-depth understanding of the formation, stability and deformation of compound droplets, to the benefit of preparing polymer shells with the high sphericity and uniform wall thickness needed in ICF experiments.
Hyperbolicity of cyclic covers and complements
Authors: Liu Yuchen
Published: October 2016

We prove that a cyclic cover of a smooth complex projective variety is Brody hyperbolic if its branch divisor is a generic small deformation of a large enough multiple of a Brody hyperbolic base-point-free ample divisor. We also show the hyperbolicity of complements of those branch divisors. As an application, we find new examples of Brody hyperbolic hypersurfaces in

P

n
+
1

\mathbb {P}^{n+1}

that are cyclic covers of

P

n

\mathbb {P}^n

.
Reading Culture and Reading in 19th-Century Australia
Authors: Martin Susan K.
Published: October 2016

Reading practices and tastes were transported to colonial Australia along with European colonists. Access to and circulation of books and newspapers in the colonies were subject to the vagaries of distance, travel, and transport, and these had a concomitant impact on reading patterns and access, as well as on the development of local writing and publishing. Trade routes, and the disjunction of inland versus sea routes, may have had some influence on localized reading and distribution. The early history of libraries and booksellers in the Australian colonies, publication patterns, and marketing give clues to reading patterns. Examining the reading accounts and movements of individual readers, and individual texts, provides further detail and context to the environment and situatedness of reading in the Australian colonies, as well as the impact of transport as an idea, and an influence on texts and reading.
The Reception of African American Literature in Prewar and Postwar Japan
Authors: Nitta Keiko
Published: October 2016

Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s gunboat diplomacy provided the Japanese with the first known opportunity to observe a major American performing art inspired by black culture: the minstrel show. The “Ethiopian entertainment,” held on the USS Powhatan, presented “Colored ‘Gemmen’ of the North” and “Plantation ‘Niggas’ of the South” to shogunate officials four times in 1854. While this performance initiated a binational cultural exchange, the 1878 tour of the Fisk Jubilee Singers was an epoch-making event; the group’s successful concerts, given in three cities, offered Japanese audiences their first opportunity to appreciate genuine African-American artistic pieces—spirituals, distinguished from blackface minstrelsy.

The Japanese attitude toward African Americans at this initial stage was a mixture of pity and wonder. A growing self-awareness of Japan’s inferior status vis‐à‐vis Western nations, however, gave rise to a strong interest in slavery and racial oppression. The popularity of studies focused on American race problems since 1905, including multiple versions of the biography of Booker T. Washington, attests to prewar intellectuals’ attempt to define the position of the Japanese people by both analogy and contrast with African Americans. In the meantime, a partial translation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), serialized from 1897 to 1898 in a liberal paper, the Kokumin, and a translation of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) in 1921 paved the way for Japan’s introduction to the New Negro literature, the first major body of black writings gaining in popularity in the American literary market in the 1920s. Successive publications of works by W. E. B. DuBois, Walter White, Jean Toomer, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes in translation in the 1930s generated a distinctive artistic backdrop comparable to the American Jazz Age. Various authors of the era—from novelists to haiku poets—learned about literary motifs informed by blackness and began to elaborate their own racial representations to delineate the affectional substructure of modernity.

Even though World War II briefly disrupted the expansion of the Japanese literary imagination through the creative inspiration of African Americans, a translation of Richard Wright’s Native Son within the year of the original publication (1940) signifies the persistence of interest throughout the war period. Indeed, defeat in 1945, resentment over the subsequent U.S. occupation, coincident remorse for their country’s imperial aggression, and anger at its eventual rearmament following the Korean War, in conjunction, reoriented postwar authors toward the development of black characters in diverse works over the following four decades. In addition, the civil rights movement facilitated studies in African-American literature in universities from the 1960s onward. Today, African-American literature is one of the most popular areas in English departments in Japan; one can find virtually every subject from the slave narrative to rap music in undergraduate course syllabi.
The Public Life of Contemporary Australian Poetry
Authors: McCooey David
Published: October 2016

Since the late 1990s, complaints about the status of poetry, and the parlous state of poetry publishing, have been commonplace in Australia and other Anglophone nations. Concomitant with this discourse of decline (a transnational discourse with a surprisingly long history) is a discourse of return, in which poetry is presented as returning to public culture (often through the literalized voice of the poet) to reoccupy the place it putatively held in earlier, if not premodern, times. Poetry’s engagement with public themes and the public use of poetry continue to be important, if sometimes overlooked, elements of Australian literary culture. Indeed, despite its apparent marginality, contemporary poetry could be said to have what may be called an “ambiguous vitality” in public life. While other forms of media continue to dominate public culture, poetry nevertheless remains public, in part by occupying or being occupied by those other forms of media. In other words, contemporary poetry’s ambiguously vital presence in public culture can be seen in the ways it figures in extra-poetic contexts. Such contexts are manifold. For instance, poetry—and the figure of the poet—are mobilized as tropes in other media such as films and novels; poetry is used as a form of public/political speech to articulate crisis and loss (such as at annual Anzac ceremonies); and it is used in everyday rituals such as weddings and funerals. Public culture, as this list suggests, is haunted by the marginal discourse of poetry.

In addition, poetry’s traditional function of commenting on the body politic and current political debates continues, regardless of the size of the medium’s putative audience. Recent poetry on the so-called “War on Terror,” the Stolen Generation, and asylum seekers illustrates this. But contemporary Australian poetry engages in public life in ways other than the thematization of current public events. Poets such as Jennifer Maiden, John Forbes, and J. S. Harry exemplify a group of poets who have figured themselves as public poets in a self-consciously ironic fashion; acknowledging poetry’s marginality, they nevertheless write poetry as if it had or may have an extra-poetic efficacy.
Contemporary Southern Literature
Authors: Lloyd Christopher
Published: October 2016

From the colonial period through to the present day, the U.S. South has been seen as aberrant or at least different, as separate from, the rest of the nation. Often thought of as backward and strange, the South has also been figured as the nation’s Other, home to anything that the United States disavows: racism, sexism, religious fundamentalism, poverty, and so on. While a debate rages in the field of southern studies about what and where the South exactly is—even whether the South should be spoken of as a solid geography—contemporary literature from the region continues to present the multiple meanings of place today. Indeed, in the 21st century particularly, southern literature is expanding and diversifying more than ever. Identifiable are three dominant trends in contemporary literature from the South. First, and perhaps most dominant, is the narrative of racial memory; this work explores the impacts and legacies of race relations in the region, from slavery and Native American removal through to Jim Crow and beyond. Second is the narrative of the southern environment; these narratives are stories that contemplate and focus on the region’s diverse landscapes, from mountainous Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta to the swampy Gulf. They are also narratives that engage with the dramatic effects of climate change and ecological disaster, highly pertinent in the contemporary era of the Anthropocene. Third, are narratives of an (un)changing South; this writing reflexively and critically explores the meaning of the region in a time of globalization and migration. When the population of the South—which has always been a diverse one—is changing in both dramatic and incremental ways, the stories and narratives of the region are clearly adapting too. Southern literature continues to ask complex questions about what the South means in today’s United States.
Factory Girl Literature across the World
Authors: Barraclough Ruth
Published: October 2016

Factory girl literature emerged as a powerful critique of the culture of industrialization, delving into mills, canneries and sweatshops to detail the lives of the women and girls who generated industrial development. First appearing in 19th-century Euro-American fiction, from the early 20th century, the form has been dominated by authors writing from Asia. Penned by working women themselves, many of these autobiographies, memoirs, short stories and novels have become literary classics in their own language but their translation and dissemination was impeded by Cold War qualms about sponsoring ‘leftist culture’. Factory girl literature is related to broader categories of industrial and proletarian literature that underline the agency of working-class protagonists. It is unique in highlighting the sexed figure of industrialization and this focus on the gendered experience of rapid development uncovers the costs of the sexual and class violence of industrial life for women. A genealogy of factory girl literature reveals the importance of writing and authorship in labor activism, and feminist politics.
Intercultural Conflict
Authors: Kim Min-Sun
Published: October 2016

Conflict, as part of interpersonal interactions, occurs in specific cultural settings. Viewing conflict as cultural behavior helps explain why disputes over seemingly similar issues can be handled so dissimilarly in different cultures. There have been numerous cross-cultural comparison studies of different conflict management strategies, most of them utilizing a “national culture” approach. The findings reported in the cross-cultural conflict literature point to a picture that collectivists value harmonious interpersonal relationships with others, preferring indirect or avoiding styles of dealing with conflict and showing concern for face-saving. Understanding the range of behavior choices and strategies available to manage conflict as well as differences in preferred styles adds considerably to people’s skills as effective communicators.
Sport and Intergroup Communication
Authors: Billings Andrew C. , Qiao Fei
Published: October 2016

Sports are often the source of our greatest—and clearest—group affiliations; yet, sports are often the most evident examples of outgroup derogation as well through the magnification of differences with rivals and opposing teams. The formation and fusion of sport-based groups explore the core internal issues of leadership and followership as well as issues such as hazing, fanship, and the psychology of difference. The concepts of Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRGing) and Cutting Off Reflected Failure (CORFing), as embodied within sporting circumstances, can be understood using social identity theory and self-categorization as a lens of examination. Moreover, there are many ways in which sport-based groups inform societal structures that are interpersonal, intergroup, and global in nature, along with the theoretical and applied implications of such structures.
Climate Change Communication in Ireland
Authors: Fox Emmet , Rau Henrike
Published: October 2016

Climate change communication research in Ireland has only recently emerged as a distinct field of inquiry. Research to date reveals the marginalization of climate change in the mainstream media, which is further amplified by its segregation from closely related topics of major public concern in Ireland such as extreme weather events, flooding, energy resources, or economic recovery. Content analyses of media coverage from the late 1990s until today show the coexistence of different narratives, with ecological modernization emerging as an increasingly dominant discourse that is supported by powerful actors in Irish society.

In contrast, more radical and alternative perspectives on the subject of climate change, including those associated with class-centered and growth-sceptic views of society and economic development, remain largely absent. Efforts to date by key public figures, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), and environmentalists to promote a more nuanced and citizen-centered climate change debate have concentrated on both traditional and nontraditional news outlets in an attempt to reach diverse audiences. Conventional media such as the national broadcaster RTÉ or the broadsheet newspaper The Irish Times nevertheless continue to fundamentally shape public debate in Ireland, making their future involvement in nuanced and balanced climate change debates central to any effort to shift thinking, policy, and action.
Media, Electoral Accountability, and Issue Voting
Authors: Jerit Jennifer , Barabas Jason
Published: October 2016

Issue voting concerns the extent to which citizens reward or punish elected officials for their actions or inaction on legislative issues. There are debates about styles of issue voting as well as whether it takes place in the United States, but nearly all theoretical models elevate the role of political knowledge. That is, voters must know where politicians stand on policy issues as well as their own positions. While there are a variety of ways citizens could learn about policy positions and actions, the mass media are presumed to play an important role. Yet, demonstrating the empirical linkages has been difficult in the past due to ever-present challenges with data and research designs. More research is needed to understand the various mechanisms underpinning representative democracy.