bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Global path-following control of underactuated ships under deterministic and stochastic sea loads
Authors: Do K. D.
Published: March 2015

This paper presents a new method to design global path-following controllers for underactuated ships under both deterministic and stochastic sea loads. The path-following errors are first interpreted in a moving frame attached to the path. These errors are then to be stabilized at the origin by a design of controllers based on backstepping and Lyapunov's direct methods. Weak and strong nonlinear Lyapunov functions are introduced to overcome difficulties caused by underactuation and Hessian terms induced by stochastic differentiation rule, and to guarantee boundedness of the sway velocity. Potential projection functions are introduced to design update laws that provide bounded estimates of the mean values and covariances of the disturbances. Simulations are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
An FMRI-Compatible Symbol Search Task
Authors: Liebel Spencer W. , Clark Uraina S. , Xu Xiaomeng , Riskin-Jones Hannah H. , Hawkshead Brittany E. , Schwarz Nicolette F. , Labbe Donald , Jerskey Beth A. , Sweet Lawrence H.
Published: March 2015

Our objective was to determine whether a Symbol Search paradigm developed for functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) is a reliable and valid measure of cognitive processing speed (CPS) in healthy older adults. As all older adults are expected to experience cognitive declines due to aging, and CPS is one of the domains most affected by age, establishing a reliable and valid measure of CPS that can be administered inside an MR scanner may prove invaluable in future clinical and research settings. We evaluated the reliability and construct validity of a newly developed FMRI Symbol Search task by comparing participants’ performance in and outside of the scanner and to the widely used and standardized Symbol Search subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). A brief battery of neuropsychological measures was also administered to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of the FMRI Symbol Search task. The FMRI Symbol Search task demonstrated high test–retest reliability when compared to performance on the same task administered out of the scanner (r=.791; p<.001). The criterion validity of the new task was supported, as it exhibited a strong positive correlation with the WAIS Symbol Search (r=.717; p<.001). Predicted convergent and discriminant validity patterns of the FMRI Symbol Search task were also observed. The FMRI Symbol Search task is a reliable and valid measure of CPS in healthy older adults and exhibits expected sensitivity to the effects of age on CPS performance. (JINS, 2015, 22, 1–8)
The political determinants of judicial dissent: evidence from the Chilean Constitutional Tribunal
Authors: Tiede Lydia B.
Published: March 2015

Many judicial scholars argue that judicial dissent stems from partisanship or political differences among judges on courts. These arguments are evaluated using the variation in political backgrounds on a constitutional court, Chile’s Constitutional Tribunal, using case-level and vote-level data from 1990 until 2010. The analysis shows that the rate of dissent rises after major reforms to the powers and judicial selection mechanism of the Tribunal in 2005 and that the dissent rate corresponds to periods of greater partisanship on the court. Further, decisions regarding the unconstitutionality of laws intensify the propensity to dissent at both the case and judge level. In further examination of variation across judges’ voting records, judges who have identifiable partisan associations of any kind are generally more likely to dissent than those with limited political backgrounds.
Predictors of personal, perceived and self-stigma towards anxiety and depression
Authors: Busby Grant J. , Bruce C. P. , Batterham P. J.
Published: March 2015

Background

Stigma towards individuals experiencing a mental illness is associated with a range of negative psychological, social and financial outcomes. Factors associated with stigma remain unclear; the relationship between stigma and various personal factors may depend on both the type of disorder being stigmatised and what type of stigma is assessed. Different forms of stigma include personal stigma (negative attitudes towards others), perceived stigma (perceived attitudes of others) and self-stigma (self-attribution of others’ negative attitudes).

Method

Three hundred and fifty university students and members of the general public completed an online survey assessing contact with and knowledge of both depression and anxiety, age, gender, current depression and anxiety symptoms, and personal, perceived and self-stigma for both depression and anxiety.

Results

Greater contact with, and knowledge of that illness predicted lower personal stigma for both anxiety and depression. Participants with greater levels of current depression symptomatology and females, reported higher perceived stigma towards depression. Males reported higher personal stigma for anxiety. For both anxiety and depression, higher current symptomatology was associated with greater levels of self-stigma towards the illness.

Conclusions

Findings confirm the role of contact and knowledge in personal stigma for both disorders, consistent with previous findings. This finding also supports evidence that interventions addressing these factors are associated with a decline in personal stigma. However, lack of relationship between contact with, and knowledge of a mental illness and perceived and self-stigma for either depression or anxiety suggests that these factors may not play a major role in perceived or self-stigma. The identification of symptomatology as a key factor associated with self-stigma for both anxiety and depression is significant, and has implications for community-wide interventions aiming to increase help-seeking behaviour, as well as individual treatment strategies for clinicians. Further research should examine whether these relationships hold for groups with clinically diagnosed depression and anxiety disorders.
Kognition und Motorik
Authors: Bridenbaugh Stephanie A.
Published: March 2015

Es gibt eine starke Assoziation zwischen Kognition und Mobilität. Ältere Erwachsene mit Gangdefiziten haben ein erhöhtes Risiko, kognitive Defizite, sogar eine Demenz, zu entwickeln. Kognitive Defizite wiederum sind mit einer Verschlechterung des Gehens assoziiert. Sowohl kognitive als auch Mobilitätsdefizite sind mit einem erhöhten Sturzrisiko verbunden. Untersuchungen der Kognition, vor allem der Exekutivfunktionen, und die funktionale Mobilität sollen daher ein wesentlicher Bestandteil jedes umfassenden geriatrischen Assessments sein. Einige schnelle Screening-Tests können in der Hausarztpraxis durchgeführt werden, um Mobilitätsprobleme zu erfassen. Falls diese pathologisch ausfallen, sollten genauere Ganguntersuchungen veranlasst werden. Bei Untersuchungen des Ganges sind Dual-Task Paradigmen (Gehen und gleichzeitig eine andere Aufgaben ausführen) besonders aussagekräftig in der Früherkennung von Mobilitäts- und auch Hirnleistungsdefiziten. Die Früherkennung erlaubt eine frühzeitige Implementierung von gezielten Interventionen, um die Gangsicherheit und möglicherweise auch gewisse Hirnleistungen zu verbessern.
Demenz vom Alzheimer-Typ: Nicht-medikamentöse und medikamentöse Therapie
Authors: Kressig Reto W.
Published: March 2015

Die nicht-pharmakologische und pharmakologische symptomatische Therapie der Alzheimer-Demenz ist lediglich ein Bestandteil im multifaktoriellen Management bei Alzheimererkrankung. Nichtmedikamentöse Ansätze zeigen marginale bis nicht nachweisbar kognitive Effekte, sind aber wirksam bei Verhaltensstörungen, psychiatrischen Symptomen und Betreuerbelastung. Bei der pharmakologischen Therapie gilt es, eine vorhandene Polymedikation soweit wie möglich zu reduzieren und potentiell schädliche Substanzen (Priscus-Liste) abzusetzen. Zum heutigen Zeitpunkt gibt es keine rationalen Gründe, die heute zur Verfügung stehenden symptomatisch wirkenden Antidementiva (Cholinesterasehemmer, Memantine und Ginkgo Extrakt EGb761©) nicht einzusetzen. Bei klinisch relativ gering ausfallenden Sofortwirkungen bei Therapiebeginn stehen vor allem Vorteile im Langzeitverlauf (um Jahre verzögerte Institutionalisierung, signifikant weniger Verhaltensstörungen) im Vordergrund. International ist heute die Kombination von Cholinesterasehemmer und Memantin im zugelassenen Bereich sowie eine Ginkgo Biloba-Begleittherapie State of the Art der Alzheimer-Demenz-Therapie. Die Kombination von Cholinesterasehemmer und Memantin ist in der Schweiz off-label mäßig möglich, wird jedoch infolge einer bestehenden Limitation von der Grundversicherung nicht automatisch übernommen.
Fahreignung bei Demenz-Erkrankungen
Authors: Seeger Rolf
Published: March 2015

Demenz-Erkrankungen beeinflussen bereits in einem frühen Stadium die Fahreignung von Motorfahrzeuglenkenden. In der Schweiz erkranken jährlich rund 16'000 Ausweisinhaber neu an Demenz, dabei ist die Fahreignung vor allem aufgrund der eingeschränkten Exekutivfunktionen in Frage gestellt. Personen mit beginnender Demenz zeigen häufig ein gefährliches Fahrverhalten. Eine leichte Demenz schließt jedoch die Fahreignung nicht von vornherein aus, weniger als die Hälfte der betroffenenen Personen können noch 1 – 3 Jahre weiterfahren. Demgegenüber ist die Fahreignung bei Vorliegen einer mittelschweren Demenz nicht mehr gegeben. Bei der Beurteilung der Fahreignung ist immer auch die zugrunde liegende Demenzursache zu berücksichtigen. Kognitive Kurztests wie Mini-Mental-Status, Uhrentest und Trail-Making-Test Kurztests sind nicht geeignet, zuverlässige Aussagen über die Fahreignung zu machen, sie sind aber sehr wichtig für die Erst-Diagnostik in der Grundversorgerpraxis und können wegweisend sein für das weitere Vorgehen bezüglich Fahreignungsabklärung. Die in der Schweiz vorgeschriebene verkehrsmedizinische Kontrolluntersuchung bildet eine ideale Möglichkeit zur Früherfassung einer beginnenden Demenz-Erkrankung. Das praktische Vorgehen für die Fahreignungsbeurteilung in der Grundversorger-Praxis wird vorgestellt. Die ärztlich begleitete Kontrollfahrt stellt in Zweifelsfällen ein aussagekräftiges, praxisnahes und vergleichsweise kostengünstiges Untersuchungsinstrument bei der Fahreignungsabklärung dar.
Behaviorale und psychologische Symptome der Demenz (BPSD): Was tun?
Authors: Savaskan Egemen
Published: March 2015

Die Prävalenz der behavioralen und psychologischen Symptome der Demenz (BPSD) ist sehr hoch bei Betroffenen mit einer Demenz-Erkrankung. In der Pathogenese der BPSD sind Veränderungen in verschiedenen Neurotransmittersystemen involviert. Diese Symptome komplizieren die Therapie und haben schwerwiegende Folgen. Die Therapie der BPSD ist durch Multimorbidität und Polypharmazie erschwert und bedarf kontinuierlicher klinischer Beobachtung der Patienten. Nicht-pharmakologische Interventionen müssen die Therapie der ersten Wahl sein bevor Medikation eingesetzt wird und die medikamentöse Behandlung begleiten. Unterschiedliche nicht-pharmakologische Therapie-Optionen sind vorhanden und werden in den Therapieempfehlungen der Schweizerischen Fachgesellschaften diskutiert. Pharmakologische Interventionen haben bei dementen Patienten oft schwere Nebenwirkungen. Ihr Einsatz muss zeitlich und quantitativ limitiert erfolgen. Eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme der pharmakologischen Therapie-Optionen ist notwendig.
Möglichkeiten moderner Bildgebungstechnologien im Rahmen der Frühdiagnostik von Alzheimererkrankung
Authors: Unschuld Paul G.
Published: March 2015

Moderne Bildgebungstechnologien sind in der Lage, verschiedene Aspekte von Gehirnveränderungen sowohl bei Patienten mit Demenz bei Alzheimererkrankung (AD) als auch Personen mit erhöhtem Risiko für AD abzubilden. Dazu gehören strukturelle, funktionelle sowie metabolische und molekulare Veränderungen, die mit entsprechenden Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT) und Positronenemissionstomographie (PET) Techniken räumlich und auch in ihrer zeitlichen Abfolge erfasst werden können. Die Kombination von MRT und PET hat wesentlich dazubeigetragen, den Verlauf der pathologischen Gehirnveränderungen bei AD und das damit verbundene klinische Bild besser verstehen zu können.
Klassenführung in der Pflegebildung
Authors: Hatziliadis Myrofora
Published: March 2015

Wer führt, sollte wissen, wohin es geht. Was wie selbstverständlich klingt, ist in der pädagogischen Praxis oft nicht präsent. Das Phänomen deutet auf eine unzureichende Passung zwischen dem pädagogischen Auftrag und den organisatorischen Rahmenbedingungen in der Pflegeausbildung hin.
Edukation von Bewohnern und Bewohnerinnen der stationären Altenpflege am Beispiel der Versorgung mit Harninkontinenzmitteln
Authors: Lörken Janine
Published: March 2015

Harninkontinenz ist ein wichtiges, aber tabuisiertes Thema in Alteneinrichtungen. Der Informationsbedarf zur Harninkontinenz wird als hoch eingeschätzt. Zwar gibt es eine Vielzahl an Informationsmaterial über Harninkontinenz, aber der Großteil der Altenheimbewohner ist mit diesen Informationen aufgrund von kognitiven und körperlichen Einschränkungen überfordert. Altenheimbewohner werden kaum als Adressaten edukativer Massnahmen thematisiert.
Optimismus ist zu wenig
Authors: Scharrer Cindy
Published: March 2015

Trotz Gesundheitsfürsorge nehmen Krankheiten zu. Eine Studie zeigt, dass die wichtigsten gesunderhaltenden Faktoren in uns selbst liegen und dass wir Optimismus und Selbstwert lernen können – aber nur gemeinsam.
Observing and Modeling the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
Authors: Thompson LuAnne , Danabasoglu Gokhan , Patterson Michael
Published: March 2015

2014 U.S. AMOC Science Team Meeting; Seattle, Washington, 911 September 2014
Aquatic heterotrophic bacteria have highly flexible phosphorus content and biomass stoichiometry
Authors: Godwin Casey M , Cotner James B
Published: March 2015

Bacteria are central to the cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in every ecosystem, yet our understanding of how tightly these cycles are coupled to bacterial biomass composition is based upon data from only a few species. Bacteria are commonly assumed to have high P content, low biomass C:P and N:P ratios, and inflexible stoichiometry. Here, we show that bacterial assemblages from lakes exhibit unprecedented flexibility in their P content (3% to less than 0.01% of dry mass) and stoichiometry (C:N:P of 28: 7: 1 to more than 8500: 1200: 1). The flexibility in C:P and N:P stoichiometry was greater than any species or assemblage, including terrestrial and aquatic autotrophs, and suggests a highly dynamic role for bacteria in coupling multiple element cycles.
Rearrangement of 1D Conducting Nanomaterials towards Highly Electrically Conducting Nanocomposite Fibres for Electronic Textiles
Authors: Han Joong Tark , Choi Sua , Jang Jeong In , Seol Seung Kwon , Woo Jong Seok , Jeong Hee Jin , Jeong Seung Yol , Baeg Kang-Jun , Lee Geon-Woong
Published: March 2015

Nanocarbon-based conducting fibres have been produced using solution- or dry-spinning techniques. Highly conductive polymer-composite fibres containing large amounts of conducting nanomaterials have not been produced without dispersants, however, because of the severe aggregation of conducting materials in high-concentration colloidal solutions. Here we show that highly conductive (electrical conductivity ~1.5 × 105 S m−1) polymer-composite fibres containing carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires can be fabricated via a conventional solution-spinning process without any other treatment. Spinning dopes were fabricated by a simple mixing of a polyvinyl alcohol solution in dimethylsulfoxide with a paste of long multi-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in organic solvents, assisted by quadruple hydrogen-bonding networks and an aqueous silver nanowire dispersion. The high electrical conductivity of the fibre was achieved by rearrangement of silver nanowires towards the fibre skin during coagulation because of the selective favourable interaction between the silver nanowires and coagulation solvents. The prepared conducting fibres provide applications in electronic textiles such as a textile interconnector of light emitting diodes, flexible textile heaters and touch gloves for capacitive touch sensors.
Synergy between intention recognition and commitments in cooperation dilemmas
Authors: Han The Anh , Santos Francisco C. , Lenaerts Tom , Pereira Luís Moniz
Published: March 2015

Commitments have been shown to promote cooperation if, on the one hand, they can be sufficiently enforced and on the other hand, the cost of arranging them is justified with respect to the benefits of cooperation. When either of these constraints is not met it leads to the prevalence of commitment free-riders, such as those who commit only when someone else pays to arrange the commitments. Here, we show how intention recognition may circumvent such weakness of costly commitments. We describe an evolutionary model, in the context of the one-shot Prisoner's Dilemma, showing that if players first predict the intentions of their co-player and propose a commitment only when they are not confident enough about their prediction, the chances of reaching mutual cooperation are largely enhanced. We find that an advantageous synergy between intention recognition and costly commitments depends strongly on the confidence and accuracy of intention recognition. In general, we observe an intermediate level of confidence threshold leading to the highest evolutionary advantage, showing that neither unconditional use of commitment nor intention recognition can perform optimally. Rather, our results show that arranging commitments is not always desirable, but that they may be also unavoidable depending on the strength of the dilemma.
Clustered Distribution of Natural Product Leads of Drugs in the Chemical Space as Influenced by the Privileged Target-Sites
Authors: Tao Lin , Zhu Feng , Qin Chu , Zhang Cheng , Chen Shangying , Zhang Peng , Zhang Cunlong , Tan Chunyan , Gao Chunmei , Chen Zhe , Jiang Yuyang , Chen Yu Zong
Published: March 2015

Some natural product leads of drugs (NPLDs) have been found to congregate in the chemical space. The extent, detailed patterns and mechanisms of this congregation phenomenon have not been fully investigated and their usefulness for NPLD discovery needs to be more extensively tested. In this work, we generated and evaluated the distribution patterns of 442 NPLDs of 749 pre-2013 approved and 263 clinical trial small molecule drugs in the chemical space represented by the molecular scaffold and fingerprint trees of 137,836 non-redundant natural products. In the molecular scaffold trees, 62.7% approved and 37.4% clinical trial NPLDs congregate in 62 drug-productive scaffolds/scaffold-branches. In the molecular fingerprint tree, 82.5% approved and 63.0% clinical trial NPLDs are clustered in 60 drug-productive clusters (DCs) partly due to their preferential binding to 45 privileged target-site classes. The distribution patterns of the NPLDs are distinguished from those of the bioactive natural products. 11.7% of the NPLDs in these DCs have remote-similarity relationship with the nearest NPLD in their own DC. The majority of the new NPLDs emerge from preexisting DCs. The usefulness of the derived knowledge for NPLD discovery was demonstrated by the recognition of the new NPLDs of 2013–2014 approved drugs.
Highly efficient entanglement swapping and teleportation at telecom wavelength
Authors: Jin Rui-Bo , Takeoka Masahiro , Takagi Utako , Shimizu Ryosuke , Sasaki Masahide
Published: March 2015

Entanglement swapping at telecom wavelengths is at the heart of quantum networking in optical fiber infrastructures. Although entanglement swapping has been demonstrated experimentally so far using various types of entangled photon sources both in near-infrared and telecom wavelength regions, the rate of swapping operation has been too low to be applied to practical quantum protocols, due to limited efficiency of entangled photon sources and photon detectors. Here we demonstrate drastic improvement of the efficiency at telecom wavelength by using two ultra-bright entangled photon sources and four highly efficient superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. We have attained a four-fold coincidence count rate of 108 counts per second, which is three orders higher than the previous experiments at telecom wavelengths. A raw (net) visibility in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between the two independent entangled sources was 73.3 ± 1.0% (85.1 ± 0.8%). We performed the teleportation and entanglement swapping and obtained a fidelity of 76.3% in the swapping test. Our results on the coincidence count rates are comparable with the ones ever recorded in teleportation/swapping and multi-photon entanglement generation experiments at around 800 nm wavelengths. Our setup opens the way to practical implementation of device-independent quantum key distribution and its distance extension by the entanglement swapping as well as multi-photon entangled state generation in telecom band infrastructures with both space and fiber links.
In vitro γ-ray-induced inflammatory response is dominated by culturing conditions rather than radiation exposures
Authors: Babini G. , Morini J. , Baiocco G. , Mariotti L. , Ottolenghi A.
Published: March 2015

The inflammatory pathway has a pivotal role in regulating the fate and functions of cells after a wide range of stimuli, including ionizing radiation. However, the molecular mechanisms governing such responses have not been completely elucidated yet. In particular, the complex activation dynamics of the Nuclear transcription Factor kB (NF-kB), the key molecule governing the inflammatory pathway, still lacks a complete characterization. In this work we focused on the activation dynamics of the NF-kB (subunit p65) pathway following different stimuli. Quantitative measurements of NF-kB were performed and results interpreted within a systems theory approach, based on the negative feedback loop feature of this pathway. Time-series data of nuclear NF-kB concentration showed no evidence of γ-ray induced activation of the pathway for doses up to 5Gy but highlighted important transient effects of common environmental stress (e.g. CO2, temperature) and laboratory procedures, e.g. replacing the culture medium, which dominate the in vitro inflammatory response.
Revealing sub-μm and μm-scale textures in H2O ice at megabar pressures by time-domain Brillouin scattering
Authors: Nikitin Sergey M. , Chigarev Nikolay , Tournat Vincent , Bulou Alain , Gasteau Damien , Castagnede Bernard , Zerr Andreas , Gusev Vitalyi E.
Published: March 2015

The time-domain Brillouin scattering technique, also known as picosecond ultrasonic interferometry, allows monitoring of the propagation of coherent acoustic pulses, having lengths ranging from nanometres to fractions of a micrometre, in samples with dimension of less than a micrometre to tens of micrometres. In this study, we applied this technique to depth-profiling of a polycrystalline aggregate of ice compressed in a diamond anvil cell to megabar pressures. The method allowed examination of the characteristic dimensions of ice texturing in the direction normal to the diamond anvil surfaces with sub-micrometre spatial resolution via time-resolved measurements of the propagation velocity of the acoustic pulses travelling in the compressed sample. The achieved imaging of ice in depth and in one of the lateral directions indicates the feasibility of three-dimensional imaging and quantitative characterisation of the acoustical, optical and acousto-optical properties of transparent polycrystalline aggregates in a diamond anvil cell with tens of nanometres in-depth resolution and a lateral spatial resolution controlled by pump laser pulses focusing, which could approach hundreds of nanometres.
Extreme wettability of nanostructured glass fabricated by non-lithographic, anisotropic etching
Authors: Yu Eusun , Kim Seul-Cham , Lee Heon Ju , Oh Kyu Hwan , Moon Myoung-Woon
Published: March 2015

Functional glass surfaces with the properties of superhydrophobicity/or superhydrohydrophilicity, anti-condensation or low reflectance require nano- or micro-scale roughness, which is difficult to fabricate directly on glass surfaces. Here, we report a novel non-lithographic method for the fabrication of nanostructures on glass; this method introduces a sacrificial SiO2 layer for anisotropic plasma etching. The first step was to form nanopillars on SiO2 layer-coated glass by using preferential CF4 plasma etching. With continuous plasma etching, the SiO2 pillars become etch-resistant masks on the glass; thus, the glass regions covered by the SiO2 pillars are etched slowly and the regions with no SiO2 pillars are etched rapidly, resulting in nanopatterned glass. The glass surface that is etched with CF4 plasma becomes superhydrophilic because of its high surface energy, as well as its nano-scale roughness and high aspect ratio. Upon applying a subsequent hydrophobic coating to the nanostructured glass, a superhydrophobic surface was achieved. The light transmission of the glass was relatively unaffected by the nanostructures, whereas the reflectance was significantly reduced by the increase in nanopattern roughness on the glass.
Functional Diversification and Specialization of Cytosolic 70-kDa Heat Shock Proteins
Authors: McCallister Chelsea , Siracusa Matthew C. , Shirazi Farzaneh , Chalkia Dimitra , Nikolaidis Nikolas
Published: March 2015

A fundamental question in molecular evolution is how protein functional differentiation alters the ability of cells and organisms to cope with stress and survive. To answer this question we used two paralogous Hsp70s from mouse and explored whether these highly similar cytosolic molecular chaperones, which apart their temporal expression have been considered functionally interchangeable, are differentiated with respect to their lipid-binding function. We demonstrate that the two proteins bind to diverse lipids with different affinities and therefore are functionally specialized. The observed lipid-binding patterns may be related with the ability of both Hsp70s to induce cell death by binding to a particular plasma-membrane lipid and the potential of only one of them to promote cell survival by binding to a specific lysosomal-membrane lipid. These observations reveal that two seemingly identical proteins differentially modulate cellular adaptation and survival by having acquired specialized functions via sequence divergence. Therefore, this study provides an evolutionary paradigm, where promiscuity, specificity, sub- and neo-functionalization orchestrate one of the most conserved systems in nature, the cellular stress-response.
The triathlon of magnetic actuation: Rolling, propelling, swimming with a single magnetic material
Authors: Vach Peter J. , Faivre Damien
Published: March 2015

Magnetic actuation of microscopic devices in a liquid environment has been achieved in various ways, which can be grouped into rolling, propelling and swimming. Previous actuators were designed with a focus on one particular type of magnetic actuation. We have shown earlier that efficient magnetic propellers can be selected from randomly shaped magnetic nanostructures synthesized in solution. Here we show that these synthesized nanostructures can be used for all three types of magnetic actuation. Whereas it might not be surprising that single structures can roll in addition to propelling, swimming is unexpectedly also observed using the same material. In this case, however, the magnetically guided self-assembly of several individual particles into chain-like structures is necessary to obtain swimmers, since individual rigid nanostructures cannot swim. Interestingly, the direction of the swimming motion is not necessarily parallel to the long axis of the chain-like assembly, a finding that had been theoretically expected but experimentally not observed so far. Our findings show that the range of structures that can be effectively actuated by external magnetic fields is much broader than assumed until now. This could open up new opportunities for the design of magnetically actuated devices.
Carrier localization in In-rich InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells for green light-emitting diodes
Authors: Jeong Hyun , Jeong Hyeon Jun , Oh Hye Min , Hong Chang-Hee , Suh Eun-Kyung , Lerondel Gilles , Jeong Mun Seok
Published: March 2015

Carrier localization phenomena in indium-rich InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on sapphire and GaN substrates were investigated. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, ultraviolet near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and confocal time-resolved PL (TRPL) spectroscopy were employed to verify the correlation between carrier localization and crystal quality. From the spatially resolved PL measurements, we observed that the distribution and shape of luminescent clusters, which were known as an outcome of the carrier localization, are strongly affected by the crystalline quality. Spectroscopic analysis of the NSOM signal shows that carrier localization of MQWs with low crystalline quality is different from that of MQWs with high crystalline quality. This interrelation between carrier localization and crystal quality is well supported by confocal TRPL results.
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes for the dispersive solid-phase extraction of the phytoestrogen genistein from water samples using high performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Xu Xu , Long Na , Zhang Jing , Zhang Minhui , Qi Xinyu , Zhang Lei
Published: March 2015

Diagram of the mechanism of GEN adsorption on MWCNTs.
Tuning the reactivity of a dissociative force field: proton transfer properties of aqueous H3O+and their dependence on the three-body interaction
Authors: Wiedemair Martin J. , Hitzenberger Manuel , Hofer Thomas S.
Published: March 2015

Selective adjustment of the three-body interaction of a dissociative water potential results in a significant improvement in the description of proton transport properties.
Influence of stearic acid coating of the NaCl surface on the reactivity with NO2 under humidity
Authors: Sobanska S. , Barbillat J. , Moreau M. , Nuns N. , De Waele I. , Petitprez D. , Tobon Y. , Brémard C.
Published: March 2015

In the atmosphere, sea salt aerosols, containing mainly NaCl, can accumulate fatty acids on surface and undergo spatially heterogeneous chemistry with atmospheric nitrogen oxides.
Chemistry of the pheromones of mealybug and scale insects
Authors: Zou Yunfan , Millar Jocelyn G.
Published: March 2015

This article comprehensively reviews the syntheses of all known sex pheromones of scales and mealybugs, describes how they were identified, and how the synthetic pheromones are used in insect management.
Fe-induced morphological transformation of 1-D CuO nanochains to porous nanofibers with enhanced optical, magnetic and ferroelectric properties
Authors: Gaur Umesh Kumar , Kumar Anil , Varma G. D.
Published: March 2015

The doping of Fe to 1-D CuO nanochains induces their morphological transformation to nanofibers with enhanced multifunctional properties, suggesting their potential for application in microelectronics and memory devices.
Enzyme-catalysed deposition of ultrathin silver shells on gold nanorods: a universal and highly efficient signal amplification strategy for translating immunoassay into a litmus-type test
Authors: Yang Xinjian , Gao Zhiqiang
Published: March 2015

A universal and highly efficient signal amplification strategy for use in protein assays is presented in this communication.
Pyrene magic: chiroptical enciphering and deciphering 1,3-dioxolane bearing two wirepullings to drive two remote pyrenes
Authors: Amako Tomoyuki , Nakabayashi Kazuki , Suzuki Nozomu , Guo Sibo , Rahim Nor Azura Abdul , Harada Takunori , Fujiki Michiya , Imai Yoshitane
Published: March 2015

2,2-Dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane connected to two pyrene moieties through flexible wires in chloroform exhibited cryptochirality in the ground state, as proven by the lack of detectable circular dichroism signals.
Interactions of CO2with various functional molecules
Authors: Lee Han Myoung , Youn Il Seung , Saleh Muhammad , Lee Jung Woo , Kim Kwang S.
Published: March 2015

We report the CO2-interactions with diverse functional molecules. Useful functional molecules such as melamine showing very large adsorption enthalpy for CO2are reported.
Designing versatile heterogeneous catalysts based on Ag and Au nanoparticles decorated on chitosan functionalized graphene oxide
Authors: Rajesh Rajendiran , Sujanthi E. , Senthil Kumar S. , Venkatesan Rengarajan
Published: March 2015

Nanocatalysts based on Ag and AuNPs stabilized over chitosan functionalized GO exhibited excellent catalytic activity towards reduction of nitroarenes and dye degradation.
Adsorptive desulfurization with CPO-27/MOF-74: an experimental and computational investigation
Authors: Van de Voorde Ben , Hezinová Markéta , Lannoeye Jeroen , Vandekerkhove Annelies , Marszalek Bartosz , Gil Barbara , Beurroies Isabelle , Nachtigall Petr , De Vos Dirk
Published: March 2015

By combining experimental adsorption isotherms, microcalorimetric data, infrared spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations the adsorption behaviour of the CPO-27/MOF-74 series (Ni, Co, Mg, Cu, and Zn) in the desulfurization of fuels is evaluated.
A theoretical benchmark study of the spectroscopic constants of the very heavy rare gas dimers
Authors: Shee Avijit , Knecht Stefan , Saue Trond
Published: March 2015

The binding energy of the superheavy dimer Uuo2 is considerably larger than that of its lighter homologues, despite a 40% reduction due to spin-other orbit interaction.
Displacement of ethene from the decamethyltitanocene-ethene complex with internal alkynes, substituent-dependent alkyne-to-allene rearrangement, and the electronic transition relevant to the back-bonding interaction
Authors: Pinkas Jiří , Gyepes Róbert , Císařová Ivana , Kubišta Jiří , Horáček Michal , Mach Karel
Published: March 2015

Internal alkyne substituents control the first excitation energy of decamethyltitanocene-η2-alkyne complexes and isomerisation to η2-allene complexes.
High-pressure single crystal X-ray diffraction study of the linear metal chain compound Co3(dpa)4Br2·CH2Cl2
Authors: Madsen S. R. , Overgaard J. , Stalke D. , Iversen B. B.
Published: March 2015

The effects of non-hydrostaticity inn-pentane-isopentane were overcome by annealing, and accurate crystal structures of Co3(dpa)4Cl2·CH2Cl2were determined above 10 GPa.
An unusual three-dimensional Dy–Cd2 framework exhibiting single-ion magnet behavior
Authors: Zhang Xue-Jing , Liu Ke , Bing Yan-min , Xu Na , Shi Wei , Cheng Peng
Published: March 2015

A framework approach was successfully performed to give a three-dimensional heterometallic compound exhibiting single-ion magnet (SIM) behavior.
Correction: Chemistry of group 9 dimetallaborane analogues of octaborane(12)
Authors: Barik Subrat Kumar , Roy Dipak Kumar , Ghosh Sundargopal
Published: March 2015

Correction for ‘Chemistry of group 9 dimetallaborane analogues of octaborane(12)’ by Subrat Kumar Barik, et al., Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 669–676.
Hierarchical tubular structures constructed from ultrathin TiO2(B) nanosheets for highly reversible lithium storage
Authors: Hu Han , Yu Le , Gao Xuehui , Lin Zhan , Lou Xiong Wen (David)
Published: March 2015

Hierarchical tubular structures constructed from ultrathin TiO2(B) nanosheets show excellent electrochemical lithium storage properties with a high capacity, excellent rate capability and cycling stability.
Organohalide-catalyzed dehydrative O-alkylation between alcohols: a facile etherification method for aliphatic ether synthesis
Authors: Xu Qing , Xie Huamei , Chen Pingliang , Yu Lei , Chen Jianhui , Hu Xingen
Published: March 2015

Organohalides effectively catalyzed dehydrative O-alkylation reactions between alcohols, providing selective, practical, green, and easily scalable homo- and cross-etherification methods for the preparation of useful symmetrical and unsymmetrical aliphatic ethers.
Cyanide-free preparation of gold nanowires: controlled crystallinity, crystallographic orientation and enhanced field emission
Authors: Lyu Shuangbao , Lei Dang Yuan , Liu Wenqiang , Yao Huijun , Mo Dan , Chen Yonghui , Hu Peipei , Sun Youmei , Liu Jie , Duan Jing Lai
Published: March 2015

Gold nanowires with controlled crystallinity and preferred crystallographic orientations have been fabricated in ion track-etched templates using a cyanide-free bath.
Gas-sensing and electrical properties of perovskite structure p-type barium-substituted bismuth ferrite
Authors: Dong Guangzhi , Fan Huiqing , Tian Hailin , Fang Jiawen , Li Qiang
Published: March 2015

Schematic diagram of the proposed gas-sensing mechanism for the p-type BiFeO3 based gas sensor: (a) and (c) in air, (b) and (d) in reducing gas, (e) simplified equivalent circuit.
In vitro and in vivo studies of temozolomide loading in zeolite structures as drug delivery systems for glioblastoma
Authors: Martinho Olga , Vilaça Natália , Castro Paulo J. G. , Amorim Ricardo , Fonseca António M. , Baltazar Fátima , Reis Rui M. , Neves Isabel C.
Published: March 2015

Y and MOR zeolites were used as a host for the temozolomide (TMZ). Y presented toxicity to glioblastoma cancer cells in contrast to MOR. Higher potentiation of TMZ was obtained with MOR in comparison to free TMZ bothin vitroandin vivo.
NIS-mediated intramolecular oxidative α-functionalization of tertiary amines: transition metal-free synthesis of 1,2-dihydro-(4H)-3,1-benzoxazin-4-one derivatives
Authors: Liu Le , Du Liang , Zhang-Negrerie Daisy , Du Yunfei
Published: March 2015

A novel method for direct α-functionalization of tertiary aminesviaNIS-mediated oxidative C–O bond formation, where NIS serves as both an oxidant and an iodination reagent, has been developed.
DNA conformational changes induced by cationic gemini surfactants: the key to switching DNA compact structures into elongated forms
Authors: Grueso Elia , Kuliszewska Edyta , Roldan Emilio , Perez-Tejeda Pilar , Prado-Gotor Rafael , Brecker Lothar
Published: March 2015

The extent of DNA decompaction induced bym-s-mgemini surfactants depend on the surfactant's tail length and on spacer's length.
Base-promoted direct and highly selective alkynylation of electron-deficient octafluorotoluene
Authors: Liu Cuibo , Zhao Hui , Zhao Haitao , Wang Zhifang , Zhang Bin
Published: March 2015

Experimental and theoretical studies are reported on the base-promoted direct alkynylation of octafluorotoluene via highly selective C–F bond cleavage.
A novel approach to fabricate zeolite membranes for pervaporation processes
Authors: Alomair Abdulaziz A. , Al-Jubouri Sama M. , Holmes Stuart M.
Published: March 2015

A method has been demonstrated to synthesise effective zeolite membranes from existing crystals without a hydrothermal synthesis step.
Li2FeSiO4 nanorods bonded with graphene for high performance batteries
Authors: Yang Jinlong , Hu Lin , Zheng Jiaxin , He Daping , Tian Leilei , Mu Shichun , Pan Feng
Published: March 2015

We synthesized a novel 2D hybrid material composed of Li2FeSiO4 nanorods (LFSNRs) anchored on graphene.
Crystalline structure-tunable, surface oxidation-suppressed Ni nanoparticles: printable magnetic colloidal fluids for flexible electronics
Authors: Jo Yejin , Oh Sang-Jin , Lee Sun Sook , Seo Yeong-Hui , Ryu Beyong-Hwan , Yoon Dae Ho , Choi Youngmin , Jeong Sunho
Published: March 2015

We provide a chemical methodology toward the potential for the formation of flexible, printed magnetic devices even on cost-effective polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and paper substrates.
New insight into the structure and function of Hfq C-terminus
Authors: Fortas Emilie , Piccirilli Federica , Malabirade Antoine , Militello Valeria , Trépout Sylvain , Marco Sergio , Taghbalout Aziz , Arluison Véronique
Published: March 2015

Accumulating evidence indicates that RNA metabolism components assemble into supramolecular cellular structures to mediate functional compartmentalization within the cytoplasmic membrane of the bacterial cell. This cellular compartmentalization could play important roles in the processes of RNA degradation and maturation. These components include Hfq, the RNA chaperone protein, which is involved in the post-transcriptional control of protein synthesis mainly by the virtue of its interactions with several small regulatory ncRNAs (sRNA). The Escherichia coli Hfq is structurally organized into two domains. An N-terminal domain that folds as strongly bent β-sheets within individual protomers to assemble into a typical toroidal hexameric ring. A C-terminal flexible domain that encompasses approximately one-third of the protein seems intrinsically unstructured. RNA-binding function of Hfq mainly lies within its N-terminal core, whereas the function of the flexible domain remains controversial and largely unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that the Hfq-C-terminal region (CTR) has an intrinsic property to self-assemble into long amyloid-like fibrillar structures in vitro. We show that normal localization of Hfq within membrane-associated coiled structures in vivo requires this C-terminal domain. This finding establishes for the first time a function for the hitherto puzzling CTR, with a plausible central role in RNA transactions.
The regulatory roles of NADPH oxidase, intra- and extra-cellular HSP70 in pancreatic islet function, dysfunction and diabetes
Authors: Krause Mauricio , Bock Patricia Martins , Takahashi Hilton Kenji , Homem De Bittencourt Paulo Ivo , Newsholme Philip
Published: March 2015

The 70 kDa heat-shock protein (HSP70) family is important for a dynamic range of cellular processes that include protection against cell stress, modulation of cell signalling, gene expression, protein synthesis, protein folding and inflammation. Within this family, the inducible 72 kDa and the cognate 73 kDa forms are found at the highest level. HSP70 has dual functions depending on location. For example, intracellular HSP70 (iHSP70) is anti-inflammatory whereas extracellular HSP70 (eHSP70) has a pro-inflammatory function, resulting in local and systemic inflammation. We have recently identified a divergence in the levels of eHSP70 and iHSP70 in subjects with diabetes compared with healthy subjects and also reported that eHSP70 was correlated with insulin resistance and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction/death. In the present review, we describe possible mechanisms by which HSP70 participates in cell function/dysfunction, including the activation of NADPH oxidase isoforms leading to oxidative stress, focusing on the possible role of HSPs and signalling in pancreatic islet α- and β-cell physiological function in health and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Visualization of non-propagating Lamb wave modes for fatigue crack evaluation
Authors: An Yun-Kyu , Sohn Hoon
Published: March 2015

This article develops a non-propagating Lamb wave mode (NPL) imaging technique for fatigue crack visualization. NPL has a great potential for crack evaluation in that it significantly contributes local mode amplitudes in the vicinity of a crack without spatial propagation. Such unique physical phenomenon is theoretically proven and experimentally measured through laser scanning. Although its measurement is a quite challenging work due to the fact that it is quite localized and coexists with complex propagating Lamb wave modes, a NPL filter proposed in this article overcomes the technical challenge by eliminating all propagating Lamb modes from laser scanned full Lamb wavefields. Through the NPL filtering process, only fatigue crack-induced NPLs can be measured and retained. To verify such physical observation and the corresponding NPL filter, a real micro fatigue crack is created by applying repeated tensile loading, and its detectability is tested using a surface-mounted piezoelectric transducer for generating Lamb waves and a laser Doppler vibrometer for measuring the corresponding responses. The experimental results confirm that even an invisible fatigue crack can be instantaneously visualized and effectively evaluated through the proposed NPL measurement and filtering processes.
Efficient block processing of long duration biotelemetric brain data for health care monitoring
Authors: Soumya I. , Zia Ur Rahman M. , Rama Koti Reddy D. V. , Lay-Ekuakille A.
Published: March 2015

In real time clinical environment, the brain signals which doctor need to analyze are usually very long. Such a scenario can be made simple by partitioning the input signal into several blocks and applying signal conditioning. This paper presents various block based adaptive filter structures for obtaining high resolution electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, which estimate the deterministic components of the EEG signal by removing noise. To process these long duration signals, we propose Time domain Block Least Mean Square (TDBLMS) algorithm for brain signal enhancement. In order to improve filtering capability, we introduce normalization in the weight update recursion of TDBLMS, which results TD-B-normalized-least mean square (LMS). To increase accuracy and resolution in the proposed noise cancelers, we implement the time domain cancelers in frequency domain which results frequency domain TDBLMS and FD-B-Normalized-LMS. Finally, we have applied these algorithms on real EEG signals obtained from human using Emotive Epoc EEG recorder and compared their performance with the conventional LMS algorithm. The results show that the performance of the block based algorithms is superior to the LMS counter-parts in terms of signal to noise ratio, convergence rate, excess mean square error, misadjustment, and coherence.
Interface magnetic anisotropy for monatomic layer-controlled Co/Ni epitaxial multilayers
Authors: Shioda A. , Seki T. , Shimada J. , Takanashi K.
Published: March 2015

The magnetic properties for monatomic layer (ML)-controlled Co/Ni epitaxial multilayers were investigated in order to evaluate the interface magnetic anisotropy energy (Ks) between Ni and Co layers. The Co/Ni epitaxial multilayers were prepared on an Al2O3 (11–20) substrate with V/Au buffer layers. The value of Ks was definitely larger than that for the textured Co/Ni grown on a thermally oxidized Si substrate. We consider that the sharp interface for the epitaxial Co/Ni played a role to increase the value of Ks, which also enabled us to obtain perpendicular magnetization even for the 1 ML-Co/1 ML-Ni multilayer.
Ion temperature evolution in an ultracold neutral plasma
Authors: McQuillen P. , Strickler T. , Langin T. , Killian T. C.
Published: March 2015

We study the long-time evolution of the ion temperature in an expanding ultracold neutral plasma using spatially resolved, laser-induced-fluorescence spectroscopy. Adiabatic cooling reduces the ion temperature by an order of magnitude during the plasma expansion, to temperatures as low as 0.2 K. Cooling is limited by heat exchange between ions and the much hotter electrons. We also present evidence for an additional heating mechanism and discuss possible sources. Data are described by a model of the plasma evolution, including the effects of ion-electron heat exchange. We show that for appropriate initial conditions, the degree of Coulomb coupling of ions in the plasma increases during expansion.
Reversibility of (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 electrical properties with the addition and removal of Na: Role of grain boundaries
Authors: Forest Robert V. , Eser Erten , McCandless Brian E. , Chen Jingguang G. , Birkmire Robert W.
Published: March 2015

The Na content of (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 films was cyclically adjusted using a novel method involving cycles of water rinsing at 60 °C followed by heating in air at 200 °C to remove Na and evaporation of NaF to re-introduce Na back into the film. The low temperatures and short heating times ensure that Na is removed only from grain boundaries while leaving grain interiors unaffected. Cross-grain conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured during this removal procedure and both measurements decreased when Na was removed and both recovered upon the re-addition of Na, consistent with an increase in compensating donor defects in the absence of Na. These results demonstrate that Na reversibly affects the electrical properties of grain boundaries. We propose that Na reversibly passivates donor-like defects such as InCu double donors at grain boundaries.