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Objectives: Down syndrome (DS) is a population with known hippocampal impairment, with studies showing that individuals with DS display difficulties in spatial navigation and remembering arbitrary bindings. Recent research has also demonstrated the importance of the hippocampus for novel word-learning. Based on these data, we aimed to determine whether individuals with DS show deficits in learning new labels and if they may benefit from encoding conditions thought to be less reliant on hippocampal function (i.e., through fast mapping). Methods: In the current study, we examined immediate, 5-min, and 1-week delayed word-learning across two learning conditions (e.g., explicit encoding vs. fast mapping). These conditions were examined across groups (twenty-six 3- to 5-year-old typically developing children and twenty-six 11- to 28-year-old individuals with DS with comparable verbal and nonverbal scores on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test – second edition) and in reference to sleep quality. Results: Both individuals with and without DS showed retention after a 1-week delay, and the current study found no benefit of the fast mapping condition in either group contrary to our expectations. Eye tracking data showed that preferential eye movements to target words were not present immediately but emerged after 1-week in both groups. Furthermore, sleep measures collected via actigraphy did not relate to retention in either group. Conclusions: This study presents novel data on long-term knowledge retention in reference to sleep patterns in DS and adds to a body of knowledge helping us to understand the processes of word-learning in typical and atypically developing populations. (JINS, 2018, 24, 955–965)

Background: The prevalence of mental health difficulties in Northern Ireland (NI) is significantly higher than in England. In recent years, there have been extensive consultations, and subsequent recommendations made in NI in an effort to address this. Aims: The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) stepped care service model using low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (LI-CBT) in primary and community care settings. Method: A pilot intervention trial design utilized two standardized outcome measures (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) before treatment (at baseline), during treatment (in every session) and at discharge (at final session). Results: Preliminary reliable change outcomes for the pilot cohorts showed a recovery rate of 47.9%, improvement rate of 76.7% and deterioration rate of 6%. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the IAPT service model is clinically effective in the NI population. Data collection for the larger study was completed in December 2017. Future analyses will include follow-up data collected at 4 months post-treatment, and will also aim to identify individual and service level factors that potentially impact treatment effectiveness.

Significant new opportunities for astrophysics and cosmology have been identified at low radio frequencies. The Murchison Widefield Array is the first telescope in the southern hemisphere designed specifically to explore the low-frequency astronomical sky between 80 and 300 MHz with arcminute angular resolution and high survey efficiency. The telescope will enable new advances along four key science themes, including searching for redshifted 21-cm emission from the EoR in the early Universe; Galactic and extragalactic all-sky southern hemisphere surveys; time-domain astrophysics; and solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric science and space weather. The Murchison Widefield Array is located in Western Australia at the site of the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA) low-band telescope and is the only low-frequency SKA precursor facility. In this paper, we review the performance properties of the Murchison Widefield Array and describe its primary scientific objectives.

This work addresses the need for thick layers of ferroelectric thin films on semiconductors for integrated optics applications. The deposition of BaTiO3 thin films with MgO buffers on patterned GaAs substrates is presented as an approach to achieve crack-free optical waveguiding structures. Cracking and peeling of the thin films are observed on patterns with lateral dimensions exceeding 60 microns and nearly crack-free thin films for patterns with lateral dimensions of a few microns. The cracking and peeling of the thin films is attributed to thermal expansion mismatch during the heating and cooling steps of the deposition process. A thin film stress and fracture model is used to analyze the phenomenon. Reduced cracking and peeling on the patterned features are attributed to strain relief on the patterned features. The inclusion of thick AlxOy buffer layers obtained through wet-oxidation of AlGaAs prior to BaTiO3/MgO deposition are presented as a means of obtaining electro-optic waveguide structures on GaAs.