bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The sonic hedgehog signaling pathway is suppressed following PCB1254exposure during retinal development
Authors: Wei Ning , Zhang Xin , Hong Qin , Jiang Yue , Zhang Qingyu , Guo Xirong , Chi Xia , Tong Meiling , Liu Qinghuai
Published: December 2018

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) has been reported to have detrimental effects on retinal development. In order to explore the role of Shh signaling in retinal development after PCB1254exposure in vivo and in vitro, zebrafish and RGC‐5 retinal cell line were used. Compared with the controls, PCB exposure inhibited proliferation and increased the apoptosis levels. The expression of Shh mRNA decreased in the PCB1254‐treated groups both in vivo and in vitro compared with that of the controls. Theptch2mRNA expression increased in the experimental groups. The expression ofgli2mRNA decreased in the PCB1254‐treated groups. Immunofluorescence and western blotting assays confirmed that the expression of Shh proteins decreased in PCB1254‐treated groups compared with control groups. Moreover, ptch2 protein levels increased in the PCB1254‐treated groups as well as the decreased protein expressions of gli1 and gli2. These results demonstrated that Shh signaling pathway may participate in the damage of retinal development caused by PCB1254exposure, providing evidence that eye diseases could be caused by environmental pollutants.
Potential anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Citrus aurantium essential oil against carbon tetrachloride‐mediated hepatotoxicity: A biochemical, molecular and histopathological changes in adult rats
Authors: Ben Hsouna Anis , Gargouri Manel , Dhifi Wissal , Ben Saad Rania , Sayahi Naima , Mnif Wissem , Saibi Walid
Published: December 2018

The present study aimed (1) to investigate the chemical composition as well as the anti‐inflammatory properties and in vitro antioxidant activity of Citrus aurantium peel essential oil (pEOCa) and (2) to evaluate its potential effect in vivo. The main results showed that the major components of pEOCa are Limonene and Linalool. Additionally, DPPH scavenging ability and β‐carotene bleaching inhibition tests confirmed the antioxidant capacity of pEOCa. Our oil reduced the production of NO by LPS‐stimulated RAW264,7 macrophages in a concentration‐dependent. This inhibition occurred at a transcriptional level. pEOCa in CCl4 treated rats alleviated hepatotoxicity as monitored by the improvement of hepatic oxidative stress biomarkers levels plasma biochemical parameters, and DNA molecule aspect. Furthermore, the mRNA gene expression of Cu‐Zn SOD, CAT, and GPx increased under CCl4+ pEOCa exposure to reach the same value to the control. Similarly, antioxidant activities of these three enzymes changed in accordance with the mRNA levels. These results were confirmed by the histological results. It seems obvious that the treatment with pEOCa prevented liver damage induced by CCl4, thus preventing the harmful effects of free radicals.
Long-term clinical and functional course of borderline personality disorder: A meta-analysis of prospective studies
Authors: Álvarez-Tomás Irene , Ruiz José , Guilera Georgina , Bados Arturo
Published: December 2018

Background:

This meta-analytic review is the first to synthesise findings from prospective research on the long-term course of borderline personality disorder in adult clinical populations.

Methods:

Systematic searches were conducted in Medline, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, PubMed and Scopus within the period 1990-2017. Inclusion criteria were: (1) adult BPD sample diagnosed by a validated, semi-structured interview; (2) at least two prospective assessments of outcomes; and (3) follow-up period ≥ 5 years. Quality of evidence was rated with the Systematic Assessment of Quality in Observational Research (SAQOR). Four outcomes were meta-analysed using mixed-effect methods: remission from BPD diagnosis, completed suicide, depressive symptoms, and functioning. Potential moderators regarding the natural course and the initial treatment received were studied.

Results:

Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria, with 837 participants from nine countries being followed. Between 50% and 70% of the BPD patients achieved remission in the long-term. Significant reductions in depression and functional impairment were also found. Mean suicide rate ranged from 2% to 5%. Younger age was associated with higher likelihood for remission. Being female was correlated with lower functional improvement. Despite some positive trends, there were no significant associations between treatment moderators and the long-term outcome.

Conclusions:

Findings suggest that the course of BPD is characterised by symptomatic amelioration and a slight functional improvement in the long-term. Age and gender modulate the long-term prognosis and should be considered to adapt treatment resources. Further research is required to draw robust conclusions on the long-term effects of psychotherapeutic interventions.
RGAAT: A Reference-Based Genome Assembly and Annotation Tool for New Genomes and Upgrade of Known Genomes
Authors: Liu Wanfei , Wu Shuangyang , Lin Qiang , Gao Shenghan , Ding Feng , Zhang Xiaowei , Aljohi Hasan Awad , Yu Jun , Hu Songnian
Published: December 2018

The rapid development of high-throughput sequencing technologies has led to a dramatic decrease in the money and time required for de novo genome sequencing or genome resequencing projects, with new genome sequences constantly released every week. Among such projects, the plethora of updated genome assemblies induces the requirement of version-dependent annotation files and other compatible public dataset for downstream analysis. To handle these tasks in an efficient manner, we developed the reference-based genome assembly and annotation tool (RGAAT), a flexible toolkit for resequencing-based consensus building and annotation update. RGAAT can detect sequence variants with comparable precision, specificity, and sensitivity to GATK and with higher precision and specificity than Freebayes and SAMtools on four DNA-seq datasets tested in this study. RGAAT can also identify sequence variants based on cross-cultivar or cross-version genomic alignments. Unlike GATK and SAMtools/BCFtools, RGAAT builds the consensus sequence by taking into account the true allele frequency. Finally, RGAAT generates a coordinate conversion file between the reference and query genomes using sequence variants and supports annotation file transfer. Compared to the rapid annotation transfer tool (RATT), RGAAT displays better performance characteristics for annotation transfer between different genome assemblies, strains, and species. In addition, RGAAT can be used for genome modification, genome comparison, and coordinate conversion. RGAAT is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/rgaat/ and https://github.com/wushyer/RGAAT_v2 at no cost.
A rare case of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast that could be diagnosed with preoperative core needle biopsy and the improbability of skin invasion
Authors: Takahashi Keiichi
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT

Background:

Metaplastic carcinoma of the breast (MCB) is a rare type of breast cancer that accounts for 1% of all cases of invasive breast cancer. This MCB is categorized into special types of breast cancers.

MCB is characterized by the presence of multiple components and transitional cells between two tissue types, because the tumor cells differentiate in different directions and degrees into a variety of cells other than glandular cells. However, MCB is often misdiagnosed preoperatively as ordinary breast cancer based on several tissue imaging findings. The diagnosis of MCB is highly difficult with cytology and even with core needle biopsy (CNB). The diagnostic rate of MCB with CNB is as low as 40%, with the remaining 60% diagnosed as ordinary mammary duct carcinoma.

MCB is unlikely to respond to anticancer drugs, surgery as the initial treatment is prioritized over preoperative anticancer drug therapy. Therefore, accurate preoperative diagnosis is important.

To date, no report has described the likelihood of skin invasion in a patient with MCB.

Case presentation:

This case report describes a 67-year-old woman with an unremarkable past or family history, who visited the author's clinic after noticing a swelling of her right nipple and a lump located around her right nipple 2 months previously. CNB was performed.

Results:

The pathological findings of the CNB specimen indicated metaplastic carcinoma. Metaplastic carcinoma with sarcomatoid changes, i.e., spindle cell carcinoma or matrix-producing carcinoma, was suspected. There was no skin invasion despite the presence of both a large mass and large swelling of the nipple in this patient.

Conclusions:

For MCB, preoperative anticancer drug therapy could be avoided and surgery may be considered the initial treatment.

Despite the presence of a large mass, MCB may be less likely to cause skin invasion than ordinary breast cancer of the same size.

Highlights:
Mucocele of the vermiform appendix: diagnostic challenges and therapeutic approach
Authors: Cunha Carlos Magno Queiroz da , Lima Douglas Marques Ferreira de , Neto Giovanni Troiani , Lima Francisco Fernando Pimenta , Pimenta Caio Regis de Oliveira Medeiros , Gomes José Walter Feitosa
Published: December 2018

Introduction Mucocele of the appendix is defined as the obstructive dilatation of the vermiform appendix by the abnormal accumulation of mucinous substance in its lumen. Imaging tests may be useful, but they commonly fail to evidence the etiology in question. Regarding the therapeutic approach, there are different options for treatment. Appendectomy was routinely used in simple cystadenomas, with good results. However, in cases of neoplasias, more aggressive resection is necessary, and the therapeutic course of choice is the right hemicolectomy.

Case report Patient presented to the surgery outpatient clinic with magnetic resonance imaging presenting an adnexal cyst of about 11.0 × 4.5 cm on the right. The patient had pain in the right iliac fossa for 6 months. Due to the radiological finding and persistence of the clinical picture, videolaparoscopy was performed, and an appendicular mass suggestive of mucocele was identified. A laparoscopic appendectomy was performed, with no signs of mucus extravasation. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis.

Discussion Mucocele is rarely diagnosed effectively in the preoperatively. In this context, imaging tests do rarely evidence such etiology. Given the importance of preoperative diagnosis for the definition of conduct, it is essential that this condition be always taken into account as a diagnostic hypothesis.
ERGODYNAMICS AND A SEMIOTICS OF INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION
Authors: Magnusson Thor
Published: December 2018

This article examines the techno-philosophical aspects of how we create and understand musical systems in twenty-first century computational media. Arguing that processor-based media have exploded the compositional language of new music, the article proposes a set of concepts that might help us navigate this new space of instrumental possibilities. The term ‘ergodynamics’ – and related concepts – is proposed as a useful concept when describing the phenomenological, historical and aesthetic aspects of musical instruments, as well as a lens for looking at new compositional practices that can be defined as being either ‘idiomatic’ or ‘supra-instrumental’. The article explores the difference in composing for acoustic, electronic and digital instruments, and suggests that new musical practice can be characterised by a move from composing work to inventing systems.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD: TOUCH AND THE VINYL RESURGENCE
Authors: Harper Adam
Published: December 2018

This article reviews a recent wave of literature on the resurgence of vinyl records, examining what it has claimed about vinyl's capacity for tangibility and the contrast to digital media, associated with intangibility. These claims are explained with reference to other literatures on touch, and it is suggested that vinyl's haptics mediates and embodies the emotionally rewarding production of a sense of self. The apparent contrast of vinyl aesthetics with classical music aesthetics is also discussed, and the presence of contemporary classical music within the vinyl resurgence is considered.
THE TOUCH OF THE STETHOSCOPE: SHAPING CONTEXT IN INTIMATE PERFORMANCE
Authors: Naccarato Teoma , MacCallum John
Published: December 2018

When tools like the stethoscope and electrocardiogram are appropriated for use beyond their intended purpose – for example in music and dance performance – how does the training of foreign users shift the framing of sound, and therefore what types of sounds from the body and apparatus come to be analysed or considered? Can we qualify the difference between a doctor and a composer listening to the heart through a stethoscope? How do the motives and methods of practitioners inform what they hear, and how they touch – to the exclusion of sensory processes beyond their frame of reference? As a choreographer and composer working with heart rate sensors, we do not seek to reveal or represent the invisible workings of the heart. Rather, in our performances and installations, the sonification and haptification of heart rhythms – along with the noise produced by the apparatus and its use – are a means to compose a context for intimate listening and touch between performers and visitors at the edges of appropriateness.
POETRY'S PLAYGROUND: TRANSFORMING THE WRITTEN WORD INTO AN INTEGRAL SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Authors: Priestley Amber
Published: December 2018

For the Touch Symposium in September 2017, I presented my installation,World to escape to, salty seas to float, based on a poem by Sarah Kelly. I took as the starting point a hidden space behind the words, which through feeling, I converted into a structure combining words and sound, where the audience could create their own work through touching and interfering with items inspired by the sensations the poem gave me.
The Social Origins of Institutional Weakness and Change: Preferences, Power, and Police Reform in Latin America
Authors: González Yanilda
Published: December 2018

Despite historic increases in crime and violence, Latin America’s police forces are characterized by long periods of institutional weakness punctuated by rare, sweeping reforms. To understand these patterns of institutional continuity and change, the author applies the concept of structural power, demonstrating how police leverage their control of coercion to constrain the policy options available to politicians. Within this constrained policy space, politicians choosing between continuity and reform assess societal preferences for police reform and patterns of political competition. Under fragmented societal preferences, irrespective of political competition, reform brings little electoral gain and risks alienating a powerful bureaucracy. Preference fragmentation thus favors the persistence of institutional weakness. When societal preferences converge and a robust political opposition threatens incumbents, politicians face an electoral counterweight to the structural power of police, making reform likely. Using evidence from periods of continuity and reform in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, the author traces both outcomes to shifts in societal preferences and political opposition. Despite the imperative to address citizens’ demands by building state capacity in security provision, these cases show that police reform is often rendered electorally disadvantageous.
The Choice between Intergovernmentalism and Nongovernmentalism: Projecting Domestic Preferences to Global Governance
Authors: Grigorescu Alexandru , Başer Çağlayan
Published: December 2018

This article seeks to explain when governments are more likely to take an intergovernmental approach to resolving global collective problems rather than step back and encourage (or simply allow) nongovernmental actors to become the main global governors. The authors suggest that an important factor driving this choice is the domestic ideological leanings of powerful states toward greater or lesser government activism. Such ideologies connect domestic preferences to international ones. They also lead to the establishment of domestic institutions that, in turn, facilitate the emergence of international organizations. Using these arguments, the authors develop a set of inferences regarding the likelihood that governments will establish and join intergovernmental organizations. The authors test their hypotheses through a study of global governance in the education realm, and also apply a series of statistical analyses covering developments in all issue-areas over the last century and a half.
Historical Contingencies in the Evolution of States and Their Militaries
Authors: Bendor Jonathan , Shapiro Jacob N.
Published: December 2018

Historians and some scholars of international relations have long argued that historical contingencies play a critical role in the evolution of the international system, but have not explained whether they do so to a greater extent than in other domains or why such differences may exist. The authors address these lacunae by identifying stable differences between war and other policy domains that render the evolution of the international system more subject to chance events than those other domains. The selection environment of international politics has produced tightly integrated organizations (militaries) as the domain’s key players to a much greater degree than other policy domains. Because there are few players, no law of large numbers holds, and because militaries are tightly integrated, microshocks can reverberate up to macro-organizational levels. The anarchic character of the international system amplifies the impact of these shocks. The authors explore these phenomena in a range of historical examples.
Nicklas G. Pisias Receives 2018 Maurice Ewing Medal
Authors:   AGU
Published: December 2018

Nicklas G. Pisias was awarded the 2018 Maurice Ewing Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held on 12 December 2018 in Washington, D. C. The medal is for “significant original contributions to the ocean sciences.”
Radiative Heating Rates Computed With Clouds Derived From Satellite‐Based Passive and Active Sensors and their Effects on Generation of Available Potential Energy
Authors: Kato Seiji , Rose Fred G. , Ham Seung Hee , Rutan David A. , Radkevich Alexander , Caldwell Thomas E. , Sun‐Mack Sunny , Miller Walter F. , Chen Yan
Published: December 2018

Radiative heating rates computed with cloud properties derived from passive and active sensors are investigated. Zonal monthly radiative heating rate anomalies computed using both active and passive sensors show that larger variability in longwave cooling exists near the tropical tropopause and near the top of the boundary layer between ~50°N to ~50°S. Aerosol variability contributes to increases in shortwave heating rate variability. When zonal monthly mean cloud effects on the radiative heating rate computed with both active and passive sensors and those computed with passive sensor only are compared, the latter shows cooling and heating peaks corresponding to cloud top and base height ranges used for separating cloud types. The difference of these two sets of cloud radiative effect on heating rates in the middle to upper troposphere is larger than the radiative heating rate uncertainty estimated based on the difference of two active sensor radiative heating rate profile data products. In addition, radiative heating rate contribution to generation of eddy available potential energy is also investigated. Although radiation contribution to generation of eddy available potential energy averaged over a year and the entire globe is small, radiation increases the eddy available potential energy in the northern hemisphere during summer. Two key elements that longwave radiation contribute to the generation of eddy potential energy are (1) longitudinal temperature gradient in the atmosphere associated with land and ocean surface temperatures contrasts and absorption of longwave radiation emitted by the surface and (2) cooling near the cloud top of stratocumulus clouds.
On the Interpretation of the ENSO Signal Embedded in the Stable Isotopic Composition of Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru
Authors: Hurley J. V. , Vuille Mathias , Hardy Douglas R.
Published: December 2018

The δ18O signal in ice cores from the Quelccaya Ice Cap (QIC), Peru, corresponds with and has been used to reconstruct Niño region sea surface temperatures (SSTs), but the physical mechanisms that tie El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)‐related equatorial Pacific SSTs to snow δ18O at 5,680 m in the Andes have not been fully established. We use a proxy system model to simulate how QIC snow δ18O varies by ENSO phase. The model accurately simulates higher and lower δ18O values during El Niño and La Niña, respectively. We then explore the relative roles of ENSO forcing on different components of the forward model: (i) the seasonality and amount of snow gain and loss at the QIC, (ii) the initial water vapor δ18O values, and (iii) regional temperature. Most (more than two thirds) of the ENSO‐related variability in the QIC δ18O can be accounted for by ENSO's influence on South American summer monsoon (SASM) activity and the resulting change in the initial water vapor isotopic composition. The initial water vapor δ18O values are affected by the strength of upstream convection associated with the SASM. Since convection over the Amazon is enhanced during La Niña, the water vapor over the western Amazon Basin—which serves as moisture source for snowfall on QIC—is characterized by more negative δ18O values. In the forward model, higher initial water vapor δ‐values during El Niño yield higher snow δ18O at the QIC. Our results clarify that the ENSO‐related isotope signal on Quelccaya should not be interpreted as a simple temperature response.
Evaluation of WRF Modeling in Relation to Different Land Surface Schemes and Initial and Boundary Conditions: A Snow Event Simulation Over the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Liu Lian , Ma Yaoming , Menenti Massimo , Zhang Xinzhong , Ma Weiqiang
Published: December 2018

Snowfall and the subsequent evolution of the snowpack play important roles in the cryospheric and hydrospheric processes that occur on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Current literature provides scarce evidence covering the sensitivity of solid precipitation to land surface physics schemes and initial and boundary conditions on the TP. Six numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model were conducted to simulate a snow event over the TP in March 2017. Different land surface physics schemes, that is, Community Land Model (CLM), Noah, and Noah‐MP, and initial and boundary conditions provided by atmospheric reanalysis data sets, that is, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction‐FNL and ERA‐Interim data sets, were applied in sensitivity analyses. The observed near‐surface air temperature, snow depth, and snow water equivalent (SWE) values were used to evaluate each model's performance. The results demonstrate that (1) the sensitivity of the near‐surface air temperature to land surface physics schemes is greater than it is to both the initial and boundary conditions; (2) the best performance is achieved when applying WRF + CLM with a root‐mean‐square error of 8.4 °C, a mean absolute deviation of 7.3 °C, a correlation coefficient of 0.75, and a spatial correlation coefficient of ~0.5 to air temperature estimates. A potentially important factor appears to be the advanced parametrization of albedo in the CLM scheme; (3) the advanced land surface schemes in the WRF model describes the physics of cryospheric and hydrospheric processes in detail, and the land surface response is determined by multiple variables and parameters in such schemes. The spatial patterns in such variables and parameters determined the detailed spatial variabilities observed in snow cover and amount and its temporal evolution. The WRF model overestimates, however, the intensity and extent of snow depth and SWE; (4) simulations of solid precipitation are more accurate when applying CLM or Noah‐MP + ERA‐Interim in WRF; and (5) WRF performance with regard to SWE estimates clearly depends upon the discrimination of lighter from heavier snowfall.
Synchronized Two‐Station Optical and Electric Field Observations of Multiple Upward Lightning Flashes Triggered by a 310‐kA +CG Flash
Authors: Wu Bin , Lyu Weitao , Qi Qi , Ma Ying , Chen Lyuwen , Zhang Yijun , Zhu Yanan , Rakov V. A.
Published: December 2018

A positive cloud‐to‐ground (+CG) lightning flash containing a single stroke with a peak current of approximately +310 kA followed by a long continuing current triggered seven upward lightning flashes from tall structures. The flashes were observed on 4 June 2016 at the Tall Object Lightning Observatory in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. The optical and electric field characteristics of these flashes were analyzed using synchronized two‐station data from two high‐speed video cameras, one total‐sky lightning channel imager, two lightning channel imagers, and two sets of slow and fast electric field measuring systems. Three upward flashes were initiated sequentially in the field of view of high‐speed video cameras. One of them was initiated approximately 0.35 ms after the return stroke of +CG flash from the Canton Tower, the tallest structure within a 12‐km radius of the +CG flash, while the other two upward flashes were initiated from two other, more distant tall objects, approximately 18 ms after the +CG flash stroke. The initiation of the latter two upward flashes could be caused by the combined effect of the return stroke of +CG flash, its associated continuing current, and K process in the cloud. Each of these three upward flashes contained multiple downward leader/upward return stroke sequences, with the first leader/return stroke sequence of the second and third flashes occurring only after the completion of the last leader/return stroke sequence of the preceding flash. The total number of strokes in the three upward flashes was 13, and they occurred over approximately 1.5 s.
A New Stochastic Model for the Boundary Layer Clouds and Stratocumulus Phase Transition Regimes: Open Cells, Closed Cells, and Convective Rolls
Authors: Khouider Boualem , Bihlo Alexander
Published: December 2018

Adequate forecasting, nowcasting, and parameterization of fog and low clouds is still challenging despite being the focus of intensive research for a long time. Stratocumulus clouds have the ability to self‐organize into a variety of topological structures, including closed and open convection cells, convection rolls, and scattered cumulus. A lot is known about the large‐scale conditions in which shallow clouds and fog develop and decay. However, because of the various complex interactions with the environment, transitions between these various cloud regimes are hard to capture in numerical models. Recent work viewed these cloud regimes as the equilibrium states of phase transition in a stochastic model. Here we build on this idea to propose a new stochastic model based on the lattice particles‐Ising model of statistical mechanics, bringing in important improvements by allowing, for example, multiple equilibria and for direct feedback onto the large‐scale dynamics. Idealized numerical simulations demonstrate that the new model reproduces qualitatively the observed regimes of stratocumulus when the external forcing is varied. The new model forms a metastable dynamical system where transitions between extreme regimes occur dynamically, that is, within the same numerical simulation, for a large range of fixed parameter values, and sometimes lead to the co‐occurrence of mixed states with pockets of closed cells and open cells intercepted by regions of scattered cloudiness, resembling the emergence of convection rolls in nature. This is believed to be a step forward in improving the parameterization of shallow clouds in climate models.
3‐D Structure of the Northern Oman‐UAE Ophiolite: Widespread, Short‐Lived, Suprasubduction Zone Magmatism
Authors: Ambrose Tyler K. , Searle Michael P.
Published: December 2018

The Oman‐United Arab Emirates (UAE) ophiolite is the most intensely studied ophiolite on Earth, is commonly used as a template for other poorly exposed and structurally complex ophiolites, and is often used as an analog for fast‐spreading mid‐ocean ridges like the East Pacific Rise. Several recent studies, including the largest ever focused on the UAE, have suggested that the pseudostratigraphy of the ophiolite in the UAE is distinct from Oman. Such interpretations have led researchers to propose that the UAE portion of the ophiolite underwent a separate magmatic and tectonic evolution. We present a profile along a new road section in the UAE that reveals continuous exposure of the entire ophiolite section and places key constraints on the internal architecture. We infer the geometry of the ophiolite thrust sheet and propose a model for the structure, pseudostratigraphy, and evolution of the ophiolite in the UAE that is simplified yet more consistent with geochemical and geochronological data. Our results indicate that (1) the architecture of ophiolite in the UAE is similar to Oman, and there is no reason to infer a different tectonic history, (2) the ophiolite is gently folded but largely intact, (3) extension and magmatism during formation of the ophiolite was broadly distributed, (4) there are no large gabbro bodies in the mantle sequence; they are all above the petrological Moho, and (5) the entire magmatic sequence was generated in a short time (~1 million years), and thus, the ophiolite cannot be compared to the long‐lasting (>100 million years) fast‐spreading East Pacific Rise.
Boosting the performance of energetic materials through thermally-induced conformational transition
Authors: Liu Yang , Shen Cheng , Lu Ming
Published: December 2018

We presented an effective strategy to improve the performance of energetic materials through thermally-induced conformational transition.
Promoted water splitting by efficient electron transfer between Au nanoparticles and hematite nanoplates: a theoretical and experimental study
Authors: Lei Fengcai , Liu Huimin , Yu Jing , Tang Zhao , Xie Junfeng , Hao Pin , Cui Guanwei , Tang Bo
Published: December 2018

Au/Fe2O3 nanoplates can lead to efficient electron transfer at the interface and thus improve the efficiency of the generation/separation of carriers.
Theoretical insight into the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 with different metal ratios and reaction mechanisms on palladium–copper alloys
Authors: Xing Minmin , Guo Ling , Hao Zijun
Published: December 2018

Environmental impacts of continued CO2 production have led to an increased need for new methods of CO2 removal and energy development.
Coordination geometry-induced optical imaging of l-cysteine in cancer cells using imidazopyridine-based copper(ii) complexes
Authors: Priyanga Selvarasu , Khamrang Themmila , Velusamy Marappan , Karthi Sellamuthu , Ashokkumar Balasubramaniem , Mayilmurugan Ramasamy
Published: December 2018

Imidazopyridine-based copper(ii)-complex is studied as an optical probe for imaging l-cysteine in cancer cells at pH 7.34.
Cadmium in plants: uptake, toxicity, and its interactions with selenium fertilizers
Authors: Ismael Marwa A. , Elyamine Ali Mohamed , Moussa Mohamed G. , Cai Miaomiao , Zhao Xiaohu , Hu Chengxiao
Published: December 2018

Cd is the third major contaminant of greatest hazard to the environment after mercury and lead and is considered as the only metal that poses health risks to both humans and animals at plant tissue concentrations that are generally not phytotoxic.
Bacterial biofilm destruction by size/surface charge-adaptive micelles
Authors: Chen Maohua , Wei Jiaojun , Xie Songzhi , Tao Xinyan , Zhang Zhanlin , Ran Pan , Li Xiaohong
Published: December 2018

Biofilms formed by pathogenic bacteria are one of the most important reasons for multidrug resistance.
Antireflective structures on highly flexible and large area elastomer membrane for tunable liquid-filled endoscopic lens
Authors: Bae Sang-In , Lee Youngseop , Seo Yeong-Hyeon , Jeong Ki-Hun
Published: December 2018

A highly flexible elastomeric membrane with antireflective structures, which enhances light transmittance over the visible range, is successfully integrated into tunable deformable lens for endoscopic application.
Enhancing the photocatalytic properties of PbS QD solids: the ligand exchange approach
Authors: Abargues Rafael , Navarro Juan , Rodríguez-Cantó Pedro J. , Maulu Alberto , Sánchez-Royo Juan F. , Martínez-Pastor Juan P.
Published: December 2018

Surface engineering of nanomaterials is a promising tool towards the design of new materials for conversion of solar energy into chemical energy.
A general strategy for facile synthesis of ultrathin transition metal hydroxide nanosheets
Authors: Dong Bing , Ju Yanmin , Huang Xiaoxiao , Li Wei , Ali Zeeshan , Yin Hui , Sheng Fugeng , Hou Yanglong
Published: December 2018

A general strategy toward the preparation of 2D transition metal hydroxide nanosheets is proposed, which is a ‘green chemistry’ approach with low demand for equipment, simple operation and low cost.
Design, modelling, and application of a low void-volumein situdiffuse reflectance spectroscopic reaction cell for transient catalytic studies
Authors: Patil Bhagyesha S. , Srinivasan Priya D. , Atchison Ed , Zhu Hongda , Bravo-Suárez Juan J.
Published: December 2018

A new low void-volumein situreaction cell enables application of modulation excitation-phase sensitive detection-diffuse reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy (ME-PSD-DRIFTS).
Hydrotreating of Hydrofaction™ biocrude in the presence of presulfided commercial catalysts
Authors: Haghighat Parsa , Montanez Anderson , Aguilera Gonzalo Rocha , Rodriguez Guerrero Julie Katerine , Karatzos Sergios , Clarke Matthew A. , McCaffrey William
Published: December 2018

High quality oil is produced from catalytic hydrotreating of HTL biocrude, which can be further converted into biofuel.
Phase boundary-enhanced Ni3N–Co3N@CNT composite materials for lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Zhou Han , Li Zhaoyang , Wang Ke , Gao Mengqiu , Ding Shujiang
Published: December 2018

Metal nitride materials are considered as promising candidates for next-generation lithium-ion secondary battery anode materials owing to their high electrical conductivity and attractive theoretical capacity.
Electron regulation enabled selective lithium deposition for stable anodes of lithium-metal batteries
Authors: Guo Junling , Zhao Shupeng , Yang He , Zhang Fengxiang , Liu Jinping
Published: December 2018

An SEI wrapped tubular carbon array architecture is developed to allow electron transport from the current collector to the inner tubular carbon without passing through the high-resistance SEI. Therefore, lithium plating occurs mainly inside the tubular carbon, suppressing the dendrite growth.
Robust negative differential resistance and abnormal magnetoresistance effects in heteroatom-substituted zigzag γ-graphyne nanoribbon homojunctions
Authors: Li Jin , Yang Zhi , Xu Li-Chun , Yang Yongzhen , Liu Xuguang
Published: December 2018

By using O atoms to substitute H atoms while B or N atoms to substitute edge C atoms to obtain chemically modified ZγGYNRs, then coupling two ZγGYNRs by the interface to build corresponding homojunctions, the transport properties of spintronic devices can be dramatically enhanced.
Cosmic-ray propagation in the bi-stable interstellar medium
Authors: Commerçon Benoît , Marcowith Alexandre , Dubois Yohan
Published: December 2018

Context. Cosmic rays propagate through the galactic scales down to the smaller scales at which stars form. Cosmic rays are close to energy equipartition with the other components of the interstellar medium and can provide a support against gravity if pressure gradients develop.

Aims. We study the propagation of cosmic rays within the turbulent and magnetised bi-stable interstellar gas. The conditions necessary for cosmic-ray trapping and cosmic-ray pressure gradient development are investigated.

Methods. We derived an analytical value of the critical diffusion coefficient for cosmic-ray trapping within a turbulent medium, which follows the observed scaling relations. We then presented a numerical study using 3D simulations of the evolution of a mixture of interstellar gas and cosmic rays, in which turbulence is driven at varying scales by stochastic forcing within a box of 40 pc. We explored a large parameter space in which the cosmic-ray diffusion coefficient, the magnetisation, the driving scale, and the amplitude of the turbulence forcing, as well as the initial cosmic-ray energy density, vary.

Results. We identify a clear transition in the interstellar dynamics for cosmic-ray diffusion coefficients below a critical value deduced from observed scaling relations. This critical diffusion depends on the characteristic length scale L of Dcrit ≃ 3.1 × 1023 cm2 s−1(L/1 pc)q+1, where the exponent q relates the turbulent velocity dispersion σ to the length scale as σ ~ Lq. Hence, in our simulations this transition occurs around Dcrit ≃ 1024–1025 cm2 s−1. The transition is recovered in all cases of our parameter study and is in very good agreement with our simple analytical estimate. In the trapped cosmic-ray regime, the induced cosmic-ray pressure gradients can modify the gas flow and provide a support against the thermal instability development. We discuss possible mechanisms that can significantly reduce the cosmic-ray diffusion coefficients within the interstellar medium.

Conclusions. Cosmic-ray pressure gradients can develop and modify the evolution of thermally bi-stable gas for diffusion coefficients D0 ≤ 1025 cm2 s−1 or in regions where the cosmic-ray pressure exceeds the thermal one by more than a factor of ten. This study provides the basis for further works including more realistic cosmic-ray diffusion coefficients, as well as local cosmic-ray sources.
Rotational rest frequencies of the low lying vibrational states of n-propyl cyanide from extensive laboratory measurements up to 506 GHz
Authors: Liu Delong , Walters Adam , Wehres Nadine , Lewen Frank , Schlemmer Stephan , Müller Holger S. P.
Published: December 2018

Context. The spectra of four low-lying vibrational states of both anti and gauche conformers of normal-propyl cyanide were previously measured and analyzed in two spectral windows between 36 and 127 GHz. All states were then identified in a spectral line survey called Exploring Molecular Complexity with ALMA (EMoCA) toward Sagittarius B2(N) between 84.1 and 114.4 GHz with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in its Cycles 0 and 1.

Aims. We wanted to extend the measurements and analysis up to 506 GHz to provide accurate predictions over a much wider range of frequencies, quantum numbers and energies.

Methods. We carried out measurements in two additional frequency windows up to 506 GHz.

Results. For the gauche conformer, a large number of both a- and b-type transitions were identified. For the anti conformer, transitions were predominantly, but not exclusively, a-type. We hence improved molecular parameters for the ground states of both anti- and gauche-n-propyl cyanide and for excited vibrational states of the gauche conformer (v30 = 1, v29 = 1, v30 = 2, v28 = 1) and anti conformer (v30 = 1, v18 = 1, v30 = 2, v29 = 1) with high order coupling parameters determined between v18 = 1 and v30 = 2. Parameters are published for the first time for v18 = v30 = 1 of the anti conformer and for v29 = v30 = 1 of the gauche conformer.

Conclusions. In total 15385 lines have been incorporated in the fits and should allow good predictions for unperturbed lines over the whole operating range of radio-telescopes. Evidence is found for vibrational coupling for some levels above 380 GHz. The coupling between v18 = 1 and v30 = 2 of the anti conformer has been well characterized. An additional list of 740 lines showing potential but as yet unidentified coupling has been provided for astrophysical identification.
Therapie von Vorhofflimmern bei Herzinsuffizienz – sind die Leitlinien noch aktuell?
Authors: Willy Kevin , Dechering Dirk , Eckardt Lars
Published: December 2018

Das Verhältnis von Vorhofflimmern und Herzinsuffizienz geht über eine Koinzidenz hinaus. Vielmehr bedingen sich beide Erkrankungen pathogenetisch wechselseitig. In der jüngeren Vergangenheit hat es einige Studien gegeben, die den direkten Effekt einer Behandlung von Vorhofflimmern auf eine begleitend vorliegende Herzinsuffizienz untersucht haben. Die CASTLE-AF-Studie konnte kürzlich zeigen, dass eine katheterinterventionelle Behandlung des Vorhofflimmerns die Prognose und Symptomatik herzinsuffizienter Patienten verbessert. Deshalb könnte diese Therapie zukünftig ein effektiver Pfeiler der Herzinsuffizienztherapie sein und wird vermutlich in zukünftigen Leitlinien einen größeren Raum einnehmen. Zudem hat mit Sacubitril/Valsartan ein neuer und jetzt schon bedeutsamer Baustein der Herzinsuffizienzmedikation möglicherweise ein antiarrhythmisches Potenzial, dessen Einfluss auf Vorhofflimmern interessant zu beobachten sein wird. Insgesamt ist damit die Interaktion von Vorhofflimmern und Herzinsuffizienz nicht nur pathogenetisch relevant, sondern wahrscheinlich auch therapeutisch von großer Bedeutung.
Der tragbare Defibrillator – für wen und wie lange?
Authors: Veltmann Christian , Duncker David
Published: December 2018

Die Verhinderung des plötzlichen Herztodes stellt weiterhin eine große und relevante klinische Herausforderung dar. Implantierbare Kardioverter/Defibrillatoren (ICD) verhindern den plötzlichen Herztod, allerdings besteht die Indikation zur primärprophylaktischen Implantation eines ICDs erst nach mindestens 3-monatiger optimierter Herzinsuffizienztherapie. Nach neu diagnostizierter Herzinsuffizienz mit schwer reduzierter linksventrikulärer Funktion besteht ein erhöhtes Risiko für den plötzlichen Herztod. In der Phase der Etablierung und Optimierung der Herzinsuffizienzmedikation und Evaluation des Risikos für einen plötzlichen Herztod kann der tragbare Defibrillator (WCD) zum Schutz vor dem plötzlichen Herztod sicher eingesetzt werden. Neben diesem klinischen Szenario kann der WCD auch bei Patienten mit etablierter ICD-Indikation zum Einsatz kommen. Sollte die Implantation eines ICDs aufgrund von Komorbiditäten oder anderen Umständen nicht möglich sein, kann der WCD zur Überbrückung der Zeit bis zur Implantation des ICD zum Schutz vor dem plötzlichen Herztod erwogen werden. Diese Übersichtsarbeit bietet eine Zusammenfassung der aktuellen Daten zur Indikation des WCDs bei Patienten mit und ohne etablierte ICD-Indikation.
Obesity and Lower Extremity Reconstruction: Evaluating Body Mass Index as an Independent Risk Factor for Early Complications
Authors: Rifkin William , Kantar Rami , Daar David , Alfonso Allyson , Cammarata Michael , Wilson Stelios , Diaz-Siso J. , Levine Jamie , Stranix John , Ceradini Daniel
Published: December 2018

Background The prevalence of obesity in the United States continues to grow and is estimated to affect over a quarter of the working-age population. Some studies have identified obesity as a risk factor for flap failure and complications in free flap-based breast reconstruction, but its clinical significance is less clear in nonbreast reconstruction. The role of obesity as a risk factor for failure and complications following lower extremity reconstruction has not been well described, and the limited existing literature demonstrates conflicting results.

Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was reviewed to identify patients undergoing local- or free-flap reconstruction of the lower extremity between 2010 and 2015. Preoperative variables and outcomes were compared between obese (body mass index ≥ 30) and nonobese patients. Chi-square analysis and Fisher's exact test were used for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. Multivariate regression was performed to control for confounders.

Results Univariate analysis of medical and surgical outcomes revealed that obese patients undergoing local flaps of the lower extremity required a significantly longer operative time (187.7 ± 123.2 vs. 166.2 ± 111.7 minutes; p = 0.003) and had significantly higher rates of superficial surgical site infection (SSI; 7.2% vs. 4.5%; p = 0.04). On univariate analysis, there were no significant differences in any postoperative outcomes between obese and nonobese patients undergoing microvascular free flaps of the lower extremity.

On multivariate regression analysis, obesity was not an independent risk factor for superficial SSI (odds ratio = 1.01, p = 0.98) or increased operative time (β  = 16.01, p = 0.14) for local flaps of the lower extremity.

Conclusion Evaluation of a large, multicenter, validated and risk-adjusted nationwide cohort demonstrated that obesity is not an independent risk factor for early complications following lower extremity reconstruction, suggesting that these procedures may be performed safely in the obese patient population.
Predictors of Long-Term Pulmonary Morbidity in Children with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
Authors: Wigen Robin , Duan Wenming , Moraes Theo , Chiu Priscilla
Published: December 2018

Purpose The aim is to identify prognostic markers of long-term pulmonary morbidity among congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors.

Methods A single-institution, retrospective review was performed on all CDH patients from 2000 and 2012 (REB#1000053383). Liver position, patch use, and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) (forced expiratory volume at 1 second [FEV1] and forced vital capacity [FVC] expressed as mean % predicted + SD) were recorded. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance.

Results Patients with acceptable and reproducible PFT (n = 72 for 202 total PFT) with patch repair and liver up (n = 28) had significantly lower FEV1 (72.4 + 17.6) than those with no patch and liver down (n = 98, FEV1= 86.3 + 15.9, p = 0.002). Patients with patch repair and liver down (n = 40) also had significantly lower FEV1 (76.6 + 14.4) than those with liver down and no patch (p = 0.0463). Patients with liver up and patch repair had PFT results consistent with moderate reduction of lung function, while the remainder had mild to no decrease in lung function. All CDH patients older than 14 years had a reduction in FEV1/FVC consistent with obstructive phenotype, with a mean FEV1/FVC = 62.3 for patch repair group and FEV1/FVC = 76.1 in the no patch group.

Conclusion Decreased pulmonary function of CDH survivors correlated with the use of patch repair and liver position. CDH lung disease should be monitored in adulthood.
Predicting growth rate from gene expression
Authors: Wytock Thomas P. , Motter Adilson E.
Published: December 2018

Growth rate is one of the most important and most complex phenotypic characteristics of unicellular microorganisms, which determines the genetic mutations that dominate at the population level, and ultimately whether the population will survive. Translating changes at the genetic level to their growth-rate consequences remains a subject of intense interest, since such a mapping could rationally direct experiments to optimize antibiotic efficacy or bioreactor productivity. In this work, we directly map transcriptional profiles to growth rates by gathering published gene-expression data fromEscherichia coliandSaccharomyces cerevisiaewith corresponding growth-rate measurements. Using a machine-learning technique calledk-nearest-neighbors regression, we build a model which predicts growth rate from gene expression. By exploiting the correlated nature of gene expression and sparsifying the model, we capture 81% of the variance in growth rate of theE. colidataset, while reducing the number of features from >4,000 to 9. InS. cerevisiae, we account for 89% of the variance in growth rate, while reducing from >5,500 dimensions to 18. Such a model provides a basis for selecting successful strategies from among the combinatorial number of experimental possibilities when attempting to optimize complex phenotypic traits like growth rate.