bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cardioprotective Effect of Hydroxysafflor Yellow A via the Cardiac Permeability Transition Pore
Authors: Huber Gavin , Priest Sydney , Geisbuhler Timothy
Published: November 2017

Myocardial ischemia damages cardiac myocytes in part via opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Preventing this poreʼs opening is therefore a useful therapeutic goal in treating cardiovascular disease. Hydroxysafflor yellow A has been proposed as a nontoxic alternative to other agents that modulate mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening. In this study, we proposed that hydroxysafflor yellow A prevents mitochondrial permeability transition pore formation in anoxic cardiac myocytes, and thus protects the cell from damage seen during reoxygenation of the cardiac myocytes. Experiments with hydroxysafflor yellow A transport in aerobic myocytes show that roughly 50% of the extracellular dye concentration crosses the cell membrane in a 2-h incubation. In our anoxia/reoxygenation protocol, hydroxysafflor yellow A modulated both the reduction of viability and the loss of rod-shaped cells that attend anoxia and reoxygenation. Hydroxysafflor yellow Aʼs protective effect was similar to that of cyclosporin A, an agent known to inhibit mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening. In additional experiments, plated myocytes were loaded with calcein/MitoTracker Red, then examined for intracellular dye distribution/morphology after anoxia/reoxygenation. Hydroxysafflor yellow A-containing cells showed a cardioprotective pattern similar to that of cyclosporin A (an agent known to close the mitochondrial permeability transition pore). We conclude that hydroxysafflor yellow A can enter the cardiac myocyte and is able to modulate anoxia/reoxygenation-induced damage by interacting with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.
Ferroelastic behavior across the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition region of NKN-based lead-free ferroelectrics
Authors: Martin Alexander , Kakimoto Ken-ichi , Hatano Keiichi , Doshida Yutaka , Webber Kyle G.
Published: November 2017

In this study, the macroscopic mechanical behavior was characterized as a function of temperature (−150 °C to 400 °C) for polycrystalline (Na0.5K0.5)NbO3 with three dopant concentrations. Dopants can improve certain electromechanical properties and, in the case of NKN and Li+, shift the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition temperature to lower temperatures. In this study, the mechanical behavior of undoped NKN, LNKN6 with 6 mol. % Li+, and LNKN6 with additional dopants was characterized and compared with the temperature dependent dielectric response and crystal structure. During mechanical loading, the samples showed a nonlinear hysteretic response. At low temperatures, this is understood to be due to ferroelasticity. At temperatures in the vicinity of the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transition temperature, a closed hysteresis behavior was observed, corresponding to a local maximum of the critical ferroelastic stress and a minimum in the remanent strain. The observed closed hysteresis behavior is suggested to be due to a stress-induced structural phase transformation.
Mixed quantum-classical simulation of the hydride transfer reaction catalyzed by dihydrofolate reductase based on a mapped system-harmonic bath model
Authors: Xu Yang , Song Kai , Shi Qiang
Published: November 2017

The hydride transfer reaction catalyzed by dihydrofolate reductase is studied using a recently developed mixed quantum-classical method to investigate the nuclear quantum effects on the reaction. Molecular dynamics simulation is first performed based on a two-state empirical valence bond potential to map the atomistic model to an effective double-well potential coupled to a harmonic bath. In the mixed quantum-classical simulation, the hydride degree of freedom is quantized, and the effective harmonic oscillator modes are treated classically. It is shown that the hydride transfer reaction rate using the mapped effective double-well/harmonic-bath model is dominated by the contribution from the ground vibrational state. Further comparison with the adiabatic reaction rate constant based on the Kramers theory confirms that the reaction is primarily vibrationally adiabatic, which agrees well with the high transmission coefficients found in previous theoretical studies. The calculated kinetic isotope effect is also consistent with the experimental and recent theoretical results.
Effects of crystallization interfaces on irradiated ferroelectric thin films
Authors: Brewer S. J. , Williams S. C. , Cress C. D. , Bassiri-Gharb N.
Published: November 2017

This work investigates the role of crystallization interfaces and chemical heterogeneity in the radiation tolerance of chemical solution-deposited lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films. Two sets of PZT thin films were fabricated with crystallization performed at (i) every deposited layer or (ii) every three layers. The films were exposed to a range of 60Co gamma radiation doses, between 0.2 and 20 Mrad, and their functional response was compared before and after irradiation. The observed trends indicate enhancements of dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric responses at low radiation doses and degradation of the same at higher doses. Response enhancements are expected to result from low-dose (≤2 Mrad), ionizing radiation-induced charging of internal interfaces—an effect that results in neutralization of pre-existing internal bias in the samples. At higher radiation doses (>2 Mrad), accumulation and self-ordering of radiation-modified, mobile, oxygen vacancy-related defects contribute to degradation of dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties, exacerbated in the samples with more crystallization layers, potentially due to increased defect accumulation at these internal interfaces. These results suggest that the interaction between radiation and crystallization interfaces is multifaceted—the effects of ionization, domain wall motion, point defect mobility, and microstructure are considered.
Planar incompressible Navier-Stokes and Euler equations: A geometric formulation
Authors: Dimitriou Ioannis
Published: November 2017

In this paper, a novel geometric approach for studying steady, two-dimensional, incompressible flows has been thoroughly developed. The continuity and momentum equations were expressed in the flow’s intrinsic coordinate system in order to “accommodate” the geometric parameters characterizing it, namely, the local curvatures of the streamlines and their orthogonal trajectories. As a result, a new description of the governing equations was obtained, in which the concerned variables are the velocity magnitude v and a new quantity which was named geometric vorticity, Γ. The latter is defined by the curl of the global curvature vector KG and can be interpreted as the geometric signature of the known vorticity Ω. This approach leads to a new formulation of the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations, the so-called “velocity-curvature” formulation. In this framework, an expression for the flow velocity as a function of geometric parameters only was developed. This reveals that the physical information of a steady incompressible flow is imprinted in its geometry. It is this insight that makes the aforementioned formulation not only conceptually different to the existing classical descriptions, traditionally employed in both analytical and numerical applications, but also attractive, due to the advantages that it could provide at a theoretical and an experimental level. Finally, the derived results are briefly discussed, while emphasizing the implications that the identified geometry-physics interface might have in the future for planar flow analysis.
Stress management on underlying GaN-based epitaxial films: A new vision for achieving high-performance LEDs on Si substrates
Authors: Lin Zhiting , Wang Haiyan , Lin Yunhao , Wang Wenliang , Li Guoqiang
Published: November 2017

High-performance blue GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on Si substrates have been achieved by applying a suitable tensile stress in the underlying n-GaN. It is demonstrated by simulation that tensile stress in the underlying n-GaN alleviates the negative effect from polarization electric fields on multiple quantum wells but an excessively large tensile stress severely bends the band profile of the electron blocking layer, resulting in carrier loss and large electric resistance. A medium level of tensile stress, which ranges from 4 to 5 GPa, can maximally improve the luminous intensity and decrease forward voltage of LEDs on Si substrates. The LED with the optimal tensile stress shows the largest simulated luminous intensity and the smallest simulated voltage at 35 A/cm2. Compared to the LEDs with a compressive stress of −3 GPa and a large tensile stress of 8 GPa, the improvement of luminous intensity can reach 102% and 28.34%, respectively. Subsequent experimental results provide evidence of the superiority of applying tensile stress in n-GaN. The experimental light output power of the LEDs with a tensile stress of 1.03 GPa is 528 mW, achieving a significant improvement of 19.4% at 35 A/cm2 in comparison to the reference LED with a compressive stress of −0.63 GPa. The forward voltage of this LED is 3.08 V, which is smaller than 3.11 V for the reference LED. This methodology of stress management on underlying GaN-based epitaxial films shows a bright feature for achieving high-performance LED devices on Si substrates.
Characterization of laser-generated aluminum plasma using ion time-of-flight and optical emission spectroscopy
Authors: Shaim Md. Haider A. , Elsayed-Ali Hani E.
Published: November 2017

Laser plasma generated by ablation of an Al target in vacuum is characterized by ion time-of-flight combined with optical emission spectroscopy. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (wavelength λ = 1064 nm, pulse width τ ∼ 7 ns, and fluence F ≤ 38 J/cm2) is used to ablate the Al target. Ion yield and energy distribution of each charge state are measured. Ions are accelerated according to their charge state by the double-layer potential developed at the plasma-vacuum interface. The ion energy distribution follows a shifted Coulomb-Boltzmann distribution. Optical emission spectroscopy of the Al plasma gives significantly lower plasma temperature than the ion temperature obtained from the ion time-of-flight, due to the difference in the temporal and spatial regions of the plasma plume probed by the two methods. Applying an external electric field in the plasma expansion region in a direction parallel to the plume expansion increases the line emission intensity. However, the plasma temperature and density, as measured by optical emission spectroscopy, remain unchanged.
Numerical MHD study for plasmoid instability in uniform resistivity
Authors: Shimizu Tohru , Kondoh Koji , Zenitani Seiji
Published: November 2017

The plasmoid instability (PI) caused in uniform resistivity is numerically studied with a MHD numerical code of HLLD scheme. It is shown that the PI observed in numerical studies may often include numerical (non-physical) tearing instability caused by the numerical dissipations. By increasing the numerical resolutions, the numerical tearing instability gradually disappears and the physical tearing instability remains. Hence, the convergence of the numerical results is observed. Note that the reconnection rate observed in the numerical tearing instability can be higher than that of the physical tearing instability. On the other hand, regardless of the numerical and physical tearing instabilities, the tearing instability can be classified into symmetric and asymmetric tearing instability. The symmetric tearing instability tends to occur when the thinning of current sheet is stopped by the physical or numerical dissipations, often resulting in the drastic changes in plasmoid chain's structure and its activity. In this paper, by eliminating the numerical tearing instability, we could not specify the critical Lundquist number Sc beyond which PI is fully developed. It suggests that Sc does not exist, at least around S = 105.
An analysis of PN junctions in piezoelectric semiconductors
Authors: Luo Yixun , Zhang Chunli , Chen Weiqiu , Yang Jiashi
Published: November 2017

We present a theoretical study on the equilibrium state of a PN junction, which is created by two piezoelectric semiconductor half spaces doped oppositely, based on the equations of linear piezoelectricity and the conservation of charge for holes and electrons. The nonlinearity associated with the drift currents of electrons and holes, which appears as products of the unknown carrier concentrations and the unknown electric field, is linearized for small carrier concentration perturbations. An analytical solution is rigorously derived, which is able to show the shaping of the PN junction near the interface. The electromechanical fields and concentrations of electrons and holes near the interface of the PN junction, and the forward-bias current-voltage characteristics of the PN junction under different applied stresses, are calculated and discussed. The effects of a few physical parameters on the properties of the PN junction are investigated as well.
Mechanically tunable integrated beamsplitters on a flexible polymer platform
Authors: Grieve James A. , Ng Kian Fong , Rodrigues Manuel J. L. F. , Viana-Gomes José , Ling Alexander
Published: November 2017

We report the development of a monolithic, mechanically tunable waveguide platform based on the flexible polymer polydimethyl siloxane. Such devices preserve single mode guiding across a wide range of linear geometric distortions. This enables the realization of directional couplers with tunable splitting ratios via elastic deformation of the host chip. We fabricated several devices of this type and verified their operation over a range of wavelengths, with access to the full range of input/output ratios. The low cost and relative ease of fabrication of these devices via a modified imprint lithographic technique make them an attractive platform for investigation of large scale optical random walks and related optical phenomena.
Localization switching of a large object in a crowded cavity: A rigid/soft object prefers surface/inner positioning
Authors: Shew Chwen-Yang , Oda Soutaro , Yoshikawa Kenichi
Published: November 2017

For living cells in the real world, a large organelle is commonly positioned in the inner region away from membranes, such as the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, the nucleolus of nuclei, mitochondria, chloroplast, Golgi body, etc. It contradicts the expectation by the current depletion-force theory in that the larger particle should be excluded from the inner cell space onto cell boundaries in a crowding media. Here we simply model a sizable organelle as a soft-boundary large particle allowing crowders, which are smaller hard spheres in the model, to intrude across its boundary. The results of Monte Carlo simulation indicate that the preferential location of the larger particle switches from the periphery into the inner region of the cavity by increasing its softness. An integral equation theory is further developed to account for the structural features of the model, and the theoretical predictions are found consistent with our simulation results.
Nonlinear saturation of Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a finite-thickness fluid layer
Authors: Guo H. Y. , Wang L. F. , Ye W. H. , Wu J. F. , Zhang J. , Ding Y. K. , Zhang W. Y. , He X. T.
Published: November 2017

Nonlinear amplitude saturation (NAS) of the fundamental mode of Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) in a finite-thickness incompressible fluid layer is investigated analytically by considering high-order corrections (HOCs) up to the ninth order. The results of classical RTI [Liu et al., Phys. Plasmas 19, 042705 (2012)] can be recovered for the normalized fluid thickness kd→∞. It is found that the NAS of the fundamental mode on the lower and upper interfaces is clearly larger than its third-order counterpart [Wang et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 122710 (2014)] when the HOCs are considered, especially for the lower (linearly unstable) interface. Furthermore, the NAS on both interfaces exhibits the trend of convergence with increasing order of corrections.
A tapered multi-gap multi-aperture pseudospark-sourced electron gun based X-band slow wave oscillator
Authors: Kumar N. , Lamba R. P. , Hossain A. M. , Pal U. N. , Phelps A. D. R. , Prakash R.
Published: November 2017

The experimental study of a tapered, multi-gap, multi-aperture pseudospark-sourced electron gun based X-band plasma assisted slow wave oscillator is presented. The designed electron gun is based on the pseudospark discharge concept and has been used to generate a high current density and high energy electron beam simultaneously. The distribution of apertures has been arranged such that the field penetration potency inside the backspace of the hollow-cathode is different while passing through the tapered gap region. This leads to non-concurrent ignition of the discharge through all the channels which is, in general, quite challenging in the case of multi-aperture plasma cathode electron gun geometries. Multiple and successive hollow cathode phases are reported from this electron gun geometry, which have been confirmed using simulations. This geometry also has led to the achievement of ∼71% fill factor inside the slow wave oscillator for an electron beam of energy of 20 keV and a beam current density in the range of 115–190 A/cm2 at a working argon gas pressure of 18 Pa. The oscillator has generated broadband microwave output in the frequency range of 10–11.7 GHz with a peak power of ∼10 kW for ∼50 ns.
Continuous-wave lasing from InP/InGaAs nanoridges at telecommunication wavelengths
Authors: Han Yu , Li Qiang , Zhu Si , Ng Kar Wei , Lau Kei May
Published: November 2017

We report continuous-wave lasing from InP/InGaAs nanoridges grown on a patterned (001) Si substrate by aspect ratio trapping. Multi-InGaAs ridge quantum wells inside InP nanoridges are designed as active gain materials for emission in the 1500 nm band. The good crystalline quality and optical property of the InGaAs quantum wells are attested by transmission electron microscopy and microphotoluminescence measurements. After transfer of the InP/InGaAs nanoridges onto a SiO2/Si substrate, amplified Fabry-Perot resonant modes at room temperature and multi-mode lasing behavior in the 1400 nm band under continuous-wave optical pumping at 4.5 K are observed. This result thus marks an important step towards integrating InP/InGaAs nanolasers directly grown on microelectronic standard (001) Si substrates.
A robust dual-membrane dielectric elastomer actuator for large volume fluid pumping via snap-through
Authors: Li Zhe , Zhu Jian , Foo Choon Chiang , Yap Choon Hwai
Published: November 2017

A pressurized dielectric elastomer (DE) diaphragm under electrical actuation can experience snap-through large deformation due to electromechanical instability, which was shown to be a promising mechanism for large volume fluid pumping. However, snap-through actuation in a DE fluid pump will not occur when the inlet pressure to the pump is small and cannot be robustly utilized for different applications. To solve this problem, in this study, we proposed a dual-membrane DE pump design featuring an active DE membrane interacting with a passive elastic membrane. This design enabled snap-through of the DE membrane over a wide range of inlet pressures, making it feasible for large volume fluid pumping even at low pressures. Merits of this dual-membrane DE actuator design were experimentally verified; for example, the pumping volume of the dual-membrane DE pump could be as large as 3944% of the pumping volume of the conventional single-membrane DE pump. We further proposed an analytical framework to describe the mechanism of the dual-membrane DE fluid pump, involving the superimposition of the pressure-volume curves of the active and passive membranes. The theoretically predicted equilibrium states agreed well with experimental observations. Findings in this study will broaden the applications of the DE actuator in scenarios where a large pumping volume is needed over a wide range of pressures.
Ab initio molecular dynamics study of fluid H2O-CO2 mixture in broad pressure-temperature range
Authors: Fu Jie , Zhao Jijun , Plyasunov Andrey V. , Belonoshko Anatoly B.
Published: November 2017

Properties of H2O and CO2 fluid and their mixtures under extreme pressures and temperatures are poorly known yet critically important in a number of applications. Several hundreds of first-principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) runs have been performed to obtain the pressure-volume-temperature (P-V-T) data on supercritical H2O, CO2, and H2O-CO2 mixtures. The pressure-temperature (P-T) range are from 0.5 GPa to 104 GPa (48.5 GPa for CO2) and from 600 K to 4000 K. Based on these data, we evaluate several existing equations of state (EOS) for the fluid H2O, CO2, and H2O-CO2 mixture. The results show that the EOS for H2O from Belonoshko et al. [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55, 381–387; Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55, 3191–3208; Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 3611–3626; Comput. Geosci. 18, 1267–1269] not only can be used in the studied P-T range but also is accurate enough to be used for prediction of P-V-T data. In addition, IAPWS-95 EOS for H2O shows excellent extrapolation behavior beyond 1.0 GPa and 1273 K. However, for the case of CO2, none of the existing EOS produces data in agreement with the FPMD results. We created new EOS for CO2. The precision of the new EOS is tested by comparison to the calculated P-V-T data, fugacity coefficient of the CO2 fluid derived from high P-T experimental data as well as to the (very scarce) experimental volumetric data in the high P-T range. On the basis of our FPMD data we created a new EOS for H2O-CO2 mixture. The new EOS for the mixture is in reasonable agreement with experimental data.
An optically referenced inclinometer with sub-microradian repeatability
Authors: Bruns Donald G.
Published: November 2017

A pendulum inclinometer has been built and tested, suitable for measuring the deflection of the gravitational vertical to an accuracy of 1 μrad. The design is based on measuring the differential capacitance between a pendulum bob and two closely spaced parallel electrodes. Two independent pendulums are oriented orthogonally to measure both coordinates. A collimated optical beam is stably attached to the inclinometer pair and provides a means for making stellar measurements relative to the gravitational vertical. For optimum performance, the inclinometer is operated at its null position by supporting the entire assembly on a rigid tilting plate. Good repeatability is a key feature of this inclinometer.
Simultaneous measurement of temperature, stress, and electric field in GaN HEMTs with micro-Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Bagnall Kevin R. , Moore Elizabeth A. , Badescu Stefan C. , Zhang Lenan , Wang Evelyn N.
Published: November 2017

As semiconductor devices based on silicon reach their intrinsic material limits, compound semiconductors, such as gallium nitride (GaN), are gaining increasing interest for high performance, solid-state transistor applications. Unfortunately, higher voltage, current, and/or power levels in GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) often result in elevated device temperatures, degraded performance, and shorter lifetimes. Although micro-Raman spectroscopy has become one of the most popular techniques for measuring localized temperature rise in GaN HEMTs for reliability assessment, decoupling the effects of temperature, mechanical stress, and electric field on the optical phonon frequencies measured by micro-Raman spectroscopy is challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the simultaneous measurement of temperature rise, inverse piezoelectric stress, thermoelastic stress, and vertical electric field via micro-Raman spectroscopy from the shifts of the E2 (high), A1 longitudinal optical (LO), and E2 (low) optical phonon frequencies in wurtzite GaN. We also validate experimentally that the pinched OFF state as the unpowered reference accurately measures the temperature rise by removing the effect of the vertical electric field on the Raman spectrum and that the vertical electric field is approximately the same whether the channel is open or closed. Our experimental results are in good quantitative agreement with a 3D electro-thermo-mechanical model of the HEMT we tested and indicate that the GaN buffer acts as a semi-insulating, p-type material due to the presence of deep acceptors in the lower half of the bandgap. This implementation of micro-Raman spectroscopy offers an exciting opportunity to simultaneously probe thermal, mechanical, and electrical phenomena in semiconductor devices under bias, providing unique insight into the complex physics that describes device behavior and reliability. Although GaN HEMTs have been specifically used in this study to demonstrate its viability, this technique is applicable to any solid-state material with a suitable Raman response and will likely enable new measurement capabilities in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications.
Presence of a monoclinic (Cc) phase in the (1−x)BiFeO3-xCaTiO3 solid solution nanoparticles: A Rietveld study
Authors: Kumar Vijay , Singh Akhilesh Kumar , Singh Satyendra
Published: November 2017

We present here the results of structural investigations on magnetoelectric multiferroic (1 − x)BiFeO3-xCaTiO3 (BF-xCT) solid solution nanoparticles, synthesized by the sol–gel method, using Rietveld analysis on powder x-ray diffraction data in the compositional range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.60. The stability of various crystallographic phases in BF-xCT solid solution nanoparticles at room temperature is determined accurately. The structure of BF-xCT solid solution nanoparticles is monoclinic (Cc) for 0.10 ≤ x ≤ 0.22 and orthorhombic (Pbnm) for x ≥ 0.28, whereas the two phases coexist in the morphotropic phase boundary region of 0.23 ≤ x ≤ 0.27 as confirmed by Rietveld analysis. We have established the phase diagram at room temperature for BF-xCT solid solution nanoparticles as a function of composition. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the morphology, microstructure, and the crystallinity of the nanoparticles, and the average particle size is found to be in the range of 30–50 nm.
Deformations and generalized derivations of Lie conformal superalgebras
Authors: Zhao Jun , Chen Liangyun , Yuan Lamei
Published: November 2017

In this paper, we study deformations and generalized derivations of Lie conformal superalgebras. First, we study conformal derivations of the semidirect product of a Lie conformal superalgebra and its conformal module. Second, we extend the cohomology theory of Lie conformal algebras to the super case and discuss some applications to deformations of Lie conformal superalgebras. Finally, we introduce generalized derivations of Lie conformal superalgebras and study their properties.
Catalytic Performance of Carbon Materials Supported Pd Nanoparticles in Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene
Authors: Yao Fan-fan , Huo Yu-jia , Ma Yun-sheng
Published: November 2017

Pd/C catalysts were prepared by deposited Pd nanoparticles (NPs) on different carbon supports including activated carbon (AC), graphite oxide (GO), and reduced graphite oxide (rGO) using sol-immobilization method. Through transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the role of the carbon supports for the catalytic performances of Pd/C catalysts was examined in selective hydrogenation of acetylene. The results indicate that Pd/AC exhibited higher activity and selectivity than Pd/GO and Pd/rGO in the gas phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Thermal and chemical treatment of AC supports also have some effect on the catalytic performance of Pd/AC catalysts. The differences in the activity and selectivity of various Pd/C catalysts were partly attributed to the metal-support interaction.
Role of strategic human resource management in crisis management in Australian greenfield hospital sites: a crisis management theory perspective
Authors: Kendrick Madeleine Iris , Bartram Timothy , Cavanagh Jillian , Burgess John
Published: November 2017

Objective
This study examined strategic human resource management (SHRM) activities in two case hospitals relative to their approach to greenfield site success.

Methods
A comparative case study analysis approach was used, with documents sourced from public, open-access sites. The theoretical framework of crisis management theory’s (CMT) proactive management and open communication channels was used to examine the documents, which were annual reports addressing both hospitals’ first year of performance, union publications and transcripts of relevant parliamentary inquiries.

Results
The hospital that effectively used CMT in its first 12 months was demonstratively more ‘successful’ than the hospital that reported to not have effectively used CMT. ‘Success’ in this project was articulated as the hospital’s ability to consolidate operations, without ongoing negative media attention, after 12 months.

Conclusion
This study provided an identification of how the use of CMT in a hospital’s greenfield stage can increase the hospital’s chances of ‘success’.

What is known about the topic?
Journal and media articles illustrated a gap in greenfield human resource management (HRM) regarding successful consolidation, especially the healthcare context. Although manufacturing firms are addressed in academic literature in a greenfield context, there is a lack of knowledge concerning successful greenfield HRM in a healthcare context.

What does this paper add?
This study is among the first to identify the role of CMT in successful greenfield site establishment by identifying its presence in management activities.

What are the implications for practitioners?
The findings of this study suggest a potential link between the implementation of CMT and greenfield site success. This could allow future greenfield healthcare sites to operate with less cost and risk. The lack of stakeholder participation in the present study limits the applicability of its findings. However, archival document analysis provides a strong foundation for future studies.
Maternal prolactin during late pregnancy is important in generating nurturing behavior in the offspring
Authors: Sairenji Taku James , Ikezawa Jun , Kaneko Ryosuke , Masuda Shinnosuke , Uchida Kaoru , Takanashi Yurie , Masuda Hiroko , Sairenji Tomoko , Amano Izuki , Takatsuru Yusuke , Sayama Kazutoshi , Haglund Kaisa , Dikic Ivan , Koibuchi Noriyuki , Shimokawa Noriaki
Published: November 2017

Significance

Maternal child neglect is an increasingly prevalent public health issue, but the underlying biologic processes causing this phenomenon are still largely unknown. This study examines the prenatal environment of mice that later exhibit neglectful behavior. We have found that, in mice, factors determining the neglect phenotype in a mother are present during her own fetal period. We present evidence that maternal prolactin (PRL) could be a key factor for generating nurturing behavior in offspring by activating neural circuits required for the expression of nurturing behaviors. Although PRL is known as a trigger for maternal behavior in dams, this is a function of PRL that has a transgenerational impact.
FMRFamide-like peptides expand the behavioral repertoire of a densely connected nervous system
Authors: Lee James Siho , Shih Pei-Yin , Schaedel Oren N. , Quintero-Cadena Porfirio , Rogers Alicia K. , Sternberg Paul W.
Published: November 2017

Significance

Under environmental stress, animals can adopt different forms and behaviors through phenotypic plasticity. The roundwormCaenorhabditis eleganscan exit reproductive growth and enter the stress-resistant dauer larval stage. We investigated phenotypic plasticity in a whole organism by comparing gene expression during dauer and reproductive development using RNA sequencing. As animals entered dauer, we observed striking up-regulation of neuronal signaling peptides, which promote the dauer-entry decision instead of reproductive growth. These neuropeptides also enable new behaviors in dauers for exploiting carrier animals for dispersal. Neuropeptides are similarly up-regulated in the infective, dauer-like stages of parasitic roundworms, indicating dauer as a strong model for studying parasitic behaviors. Our investigation reveals that neuropeptides can alter developmental decision-making and behavior in stressedC. elegans.
Anti-SIRPα antibody immunotherapy enhances neutrophil and macrophage antitumor activity
Authors: Ring Nan Guo , Herndler-Brandstetter Dietmar , Weiskopf Kipp , Shan Liang , Volkmer Jens-Peter , George Benson M. , Lietzenmayer Melanie , McKenna Kelly M. , Naik Tejaswitha J. , McCarty Aaron , Zheng Yunjiang , Ring Aaron M. , Flavell Richard A. , Weissman Irving L.
Published: November 2017

Significance

Cancer immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic intervention. However, complete and durable responses are only seen in a fraction of patients who have cancer. Although cells of the myeloid lineage frequently infiltrate tumors and limit therapeutic success, currently approved immunotherapies primarily target tumor-infiltrating T and natural killer lymphocytes. The inhibitory receptor signal regulatory protein-α (SIRPα) represents a myeloid-specific immune checkpoint that engages the “don’t eat me” signal CD47. Here, we developed an anti-human SIRPα antibody, KWAR23, which in combination with tumor-opsonizing antibodies, greatly augmented neutrophil and macrophage antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo. Thus, KWAR23 may represent a promising candidate for combination therapies and may achieve durable responses in a greater number of patients with cancer.
Kinesin-dependent mechanism for controlling triglyceride secretion from the liver
Authors: Rai Priyanka , Kumar Mukesh , Sharma Geetika , Barak Pradeep , Das Saumitra , Kamat Siddhesh S. , Mallik Roop
Published: November 2017

Significance

The liver secretes lipids in a controlled manner despite vast changes in its internal lipid content. This buffering function of the liver is essential for lipid/energy homeostasis, but its molecular and cellular mechanism is unknown. We show that motor protein kinesin transports lipid droplets (LDs) to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in liver cells, engineering ER−droplet contacts and supplying lipids to the ER for secretion as lipoprotein. However, when fasting induces massive lipid accumulation in liver, kinesin is removed from LDs, inhibiting lipid supply to the ER and homeostatically tempering lipid secretion from liver in a fasted state. Interestingly, reducing kinesin also blocks propagation of hepatitis-C virus inside liver cells, possibly because viral proteins cannot transfer from the ER to LDs.
Retrograde inhibition by a specific subset of interpeduncular α5 nicotinic neurons regulates nicotine preference
Authors: Ables Jessica L. , Görlich Andreas , Antolin-Fontes Beatriz , Wang Cuidong , Lipford Sylvia M. , Riad Michael H. , Ren Jing , Hu Fei , Luo Minmin , Kenny Paul J. , Heintz Nathaniel , Ibañez-Tallon Ines
Published: November 2017

Significance

The
CHRNA5-A3-B4
gene cluster, which encodes the α5, α3, and β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits, has been genetically associated with high risk of developing nicotine dependence. Here we show that a specific α5 nicotinic receptor population in the midbrain interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) responds to chronic nicotine by increasing the expression of genes that regulate feedback inhibition of the medial habenula, the major source of input to the IPN. Inhibiting neurotransmitter release from this population of α5
+
neurons or reducing expression of one of these genes,
Nos1
, blocks the rewarding effects of nicotine. Our data identify molecular mechanisms that may explain the genetic link between
CHRNA5
and smoking predisposition in humans.
International media framing
Authors: Jang Won Yong , Frederick Edward
Published: November 2017

The relationship between Japan and South Korea has been particularly tumultuous in recent years. One of the major sources of unrest is the unresolved Dokdo (a.k.a. Takeshima) issue. This study examines the framing of the issue by four international news agencies. It explores whether international news agencies from different countries would frame the issue differently. Results suggest that the news agencies frame the issue differently depending on the agencies’ country of origin.
Spelling reformers and artificial language advocates
Authors: Garvía Roberto
Published: November 2017

This article explores the shifting relations that took place from the last decades of the 19th to the first years of the 20th century between two of the most innovative language movements of the time: the spelling reform and the artificial language movements. The article focuses on the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Although both movements shared a similar language ideology which run counter to the organicist perception of language and emphasized its democratic function, the article shows how the shifting political environment in which they operated affected their relation. The article identifies three stages. In a first stage, and convinced that the reform of the spelling and the promotion of an artificial, neutral language were not mutually exclusive projects, the spelling reformers were favorably inclined towards artificial language projects. In a second stage relations began to skew when some reformers advocated for the “natural Esperanto” solution, which implied the promotion of a small language to the status of the international lingua franca. In the last stage, when nationalist sentiments and international rivalries mounted, the spelling reformers broke ties with the artificial language movement and worked to improve as much as possible the international standing of their own languages.
The Association Between Serum Activin A Levels and Hypertension in the Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study
Authors: Tsai Yi-Lin , Chang Chun-Chin , Liu Li-Kuo , Huang Po-Hsun , Chen Liang-Kung , Lin Shing-Jong
Published: November 2017

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor-β cytokine family, has been shown to regulate blood pressure through the renin–angiotensin system. However, the relationship between activin A and blood pressure remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to determine whether serum activin A levels are associated with blood pressure.

METHOD

A total of 470 participants of I-Lan longitudinal Aging Study (ILAS) were eligible for this study. Serum levels of activin A were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cross-sectional analyses were performed, including comparisons of demographic characteristics, hypertensive status, and activin A levels.

RESULTS

Among the study participants (50% men, mean age, 69 years), 236 (50.2%) were hypertensive and 234 (49.8%) were normotensive. Hypertensive patients had significantly higher serum activin A levels than normotensives (normotensive vs. hypertensive: 507 ± 169 vs. 554 ± 176 pg/ml, mean ± SD, P < 0.001). All subjects were divided into 3 tertiles on the basis of serum activin A levels. Increasing tertiles of activin A were associated with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure (PP) (all P < 0.001). After adjusting for all the potential confounding factors, serum activin A concentration was still significantly associated with SBP (P = 0.02) and PP (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Serum activin A level was associated with SBP and PP. Further studies are required to assess their causal relationship and the clinical relevance.
Unsweetening the Heart: Possible Pleiotropic Effects of SGLT2 Inhibitors on Cardio and Cerebrovascular Alterations in Resistant Hypertensive Subjects
Authors: Pioli Mariana R , Ritter Alessandra M V , Modolo Rodrigo
Published: November 2017

Resistant hypertension (RH) is a multifactorial disease associated with several target organ damage, such as microalbuminuria, left ventricular hypertrophy, and arterial stiffness. These subjects have high cardiovascular complications, especially when associated with diabetes condition. Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors represent a new class of oral antidiabetic drugs that have shown positive effects in diabetics and even hypertensives subjects. Several studies demonstrated positive outcomes related to blood pressure levels, body weight, and glycemic control. Also found a reduction on microalbuminuria, cardiac and arterial remodeling process, and decrease in hospitalization care due heart failure. Despite these positive effects, the outcomes found for stroke were conflicted and tend neutral effect. Based on this, we sought to assess the pleiotropic effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors and the possible impact in RH subjects. In order to analyze the prospects of SGLT-2 inhibitors as a possible medication to complement the therapy manage of this high-risk class of patients.
ASElux: an ultra-fast and accurate allelic reads counter
Authors: Miao Zong , Alvarez Marcus , Pajukanta Päivi , Ko Arthur
Published: November 2017

Motivation

Mapping bias causes preferential alignment to the reference allele, forming a major obstacle in allele-specific expression (ASE) analysis. The existing methods, such as simulation and SNP-aware alignment, are either inaccurate or relatively slow. To fast and accurately count allelic reads for ASE analysis, we developed a novel approach, ASElux, which utilizes the personal SNP information and counts allelic reads directly from unmapped RNA-sequence (RNA-seq) data. ASElux significantly reduces runtime by disregarding reads outside single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) during the alignment.

Results

When compared to other tools on simulated and experimental data, ASElux achieves a higher accuracy on ASE estimation than non-SNP-aware aligners and requires a much shorter time than the benchmark SNP-aware aligner, GSNAP with just a slight loss in performance. ASElux can process 40 million read-pairs from an RNA-sequence (RNA-seq) sample and count allelic reads within 10 min, which is comparable to directly counting the allelic reads from alignments based on other tools. Furthermore, processing an RNA-seq sample using ASElux in conjunction with a general aligner, such as STAR, is more accurate and still ∼4× faster than STAR + WASP, and ∼33× faster than the lead SNP-aware aligner, GSNAP, making ASElux ideal for ASE analysis of large-scale transcriptomic studies. We applied ASElux to 273 lung RNA-seq samples from GTEx and identified a splice-QTL rs11078928 in lung which explains the mechanism underlying an asthma GWAS SNP rs11078927. Thus, our analysis demonstrated ASE as a highly powerful complementary tool to cis-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis.

Availability and implementation

The software can be downloaded from https://github.com/abl0719/ASElux.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Adolescent and Adult Outcomes of Childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Cherkasova Mariya V. , Weiss Gabrielle , Hechtman Lily
Published: November 2017

The Montreal study was the first to conduct a long-term follow-up for children with ADHD into adolescence and adulthood. Contrary to the conventional belief at the time, the study found that the children did not generally outgrow ADHD as they entered adolescence. Many continued to have symptoms of the disorder and to show functional impairments, such as academic underachievement, employment instability, antisocial behavior, and increased rates of psychiatric comorbidity. Outcomes in adulthood fell into three general categories: (1) ~30% had fairly normal functioning; (2) ~60% had continuing problems with ADHD symptoms, as well as work, family, interpersonal, social, and emotional difficulties; (3) ~10% had serious psychiatric and antisocial pathology, problematic substance use, and criminality. Outcome predictors were identified, including personal characteristics (e.g., symptom severity, IQ), family characteristics (e.g., parenting styles), and social context (e.g., peer relationships).
Long-Term Outcomes of Childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Houssais Sylviane , Hechtman Lily , Klein Rachel G.
Published: November 2017

This chapter summarizes the long-term clinical and functional outcomes of children diagnosed with ADHD at a mean age of eight years (probands), followed prospectively for 33 years. Outcomes are summarized in adolescence, early adulthood, and mid-adulthood. Compared with matched controls, probands showed greater persistence of ADHD and greater prevalence of Conduct Disorder (CD), Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in late adolescence. These dysfunctions continued into early adulthood, even when ADHD remitted for the majority of the sample, and were associated with deficits in educational and occupational attainment. The disproportionally high rate of CD, APD, and SUD translated to significantly higher rates of criminality, risk-taking behavior, risk-related medical outcomes, and elevated obesity rates in adulthood. The study’s findings suggest that childhood ADHD predisposes to maladjustment in adolescence and adulthood, particularly in a subset of individuals who develop CD/APD early on.
The Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS)
Authors: Molina Brooke S. G. , Sibley Margaret H. , Pedersen Sarah L. , Pelham William E.
Published: November 2017

The Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS) is a prospective study of children diagnosed with ADHD and a comparison group of demographically similar youth without ADHD. The study tested hypotheses regarding the development of alcohol and other substance use in children with ADHD. Assessments offered comprehensive coverage of theoretically important variables, including frequency and quantity of alcohol and drug consumption, age at first substance use, ADHD symptom persistence, conduct problems and delinquency, social functioning, stress and coping, risky behaviors, depression and anxiety, academic and vocational outcomes, and cost. Findings revealed differences in developmental pathways and outcomes between the ADHD and comparison groups. Childhood ADHD increased the risk of developing alcohol and substance use disorders by adulthood, particularly when ADHD symptoms persisted past childhood and conduct/antisocial tendencies developed. Children with ADHD also demonstrated susceptibility to stressors, weaker coping skills, unfavorable cognitive patterns, risky behaviors, and impaired functioning across a range of domains.
Young Adult Outcome of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Uchida Mai , Biederman Joseph
Published: November 2017

The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Longitudinal Studies of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) evaluated and followed a large sample of both boys and girls with ADHD and controls without ADHD, along with their families, ascertained from psychiatric and pediatric sources. These studies documented that ADHD in both sexes is associated with high levels of persistence onto adulthood; high levels of familiality with ADHD and other psychiatric disorders; a wide range of comorbid psychiatric and cognitive disorders including mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders; learning disabilities with reading and math; executive function deficits; emotional dysregulation and autistic traits; as well as educational, social, and occupational dysfunctions. The MGH studies also suggested that stimulant treatment significantly decreased the risk of developing comorbid psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and impaired functional outcomes. The studies also documented the neural basis of the persistence of ADHD using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).