bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The language-related transcription factor FOXP2 is post-translationally modified with small ubiquitin-like modifiers
Authors: Estruch Sara B. , Graham Sarah A. , Deriziotis Pelagia , Fisher Simon E.
Published: February 2016

Mutations affecting the transcription factor FOXP2 cause a rare form of severe speech and language disorder. Although it is clear that sufficient FOXP2 expression is crucial for normal brain development, little is known about how this transcription factor is regulated. To investigate post-translational mechanisms for FOXP2 regulation, we searched for protein interaction partners of FOXP2 and identified members of the PIAS family as novel FOXP2 interactors. PIAS proteins mediate post-translational modification of a range of target proteins with small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMOs). We found that FOXP2 can be modified with all three human SUMO proteins and that PIAS1 promotes this process. An aetiological FOXP2 mutation found in a family with speech and language disorder markedly reduced FOXP2 SUMOylation. We demonstrate that FOXP2 is SUMOylated at a single major site, which is conserved in all FOXP2 vertebrate orthologues and in the paralogues FOXP1 and FOXP4. Abolishing this site did not lead to detectable changes in FOXP2 subcellular localization, stability, dimerization or transcriptional repression in cellular assays, but the conservation of this site suggests a potential role for SUMOylation in regulating FOXP2 activity in vivo.
Effect of crop plants on fitness costs associated with resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab in cabbage loopers
Authors: Wang Ran , Tetreau Guillaume , Wang Ping
Published: February 2016

Fitness costs associated with resistance toBacillus thuringiensis(Bt) toxins critically impact the development of resistance in insect populations. In this study, the fitness costs inTrichoplusia nistrains associated with two genetically independent resistance mechanisms to Bt toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab, individually and in combination, on four crop plants (cabbage, cotton, tobacco and tomato) were analyzed, in comparison with their near-isogenic susceptible strain. The net reproductive rate (R0) and intrinsic rate of increase (r) of theT. nistrains, regardless of their resistance traits, were strongly affected by the host plants. TheABCC2gene-linked mechanism of Cry1Ac resistance was associated with relatively low fitness costs, while the Cry2Ab resistance mechanism was associated with higher fitness costs. The fitness costs in the presence of both resistance mechanisms inT. niappeared to be non-additive. The relative fitness of Bt-resistantT. nidepended on the specific resistance mechanisms as well as host plants. In addition to difference in survivorship and fecundity, an asynchrony of adult emergence was observed amongT. niwith different resistance mechanisms and on different host plants. Therefore, mechanisms of resistance and host plants available in the field are both important factors affecting development of Bt resistance in insects.
SOHLH2 is essential for synaptonemal complex formation during spermatogenesis in early postnatal mouse testes
Authors: Park Miree , Lee Youngeun , Jang Hoon , Lee Ok-Hee , Park Sung-Won , Kim Jae-Hwan , Hong Kwonho , Song Hyuk , Park Se-Pill , Park Yun-Yong , Ko Jung Jae , Choi Youngsok
Published: February 2016

Spermatogenesis- and oogenesis-specific helix-loop-helix transcription factor 2 (SOHLH2) is exclusively expressed in germ cells of the gonads. Previous studies show that SOHLH2 is critical for spermatogenesis in mouse. However, the regulatory mechanism of SOHLH2 during early spermatogenesis is poorly understood. In the present study, we analyzed the gene expression profile of the Sohlh2-deficient testis and examined the role of SOHLH2 during spermatogenesis. We found 513 genes increased in abundance, while 492 genes decreased in abundance in 14-day-old Sohlh2-deficient mouse testes compared to wildtype mice. Gene ontology analysis revealed that Sohlh2 disruption effects the relative abundance of various meiotic genes during early spermatogenesis, including Spo11, Dmc1, Msh4, Prdm9, Sycp1, Sycp2, Sycp3, Hormad1, and Hormad2. Western blot analysis and immunostaining showed that SYCP3, a component of synaptonemal complex, was significantly less abundant in Sohlh2-deficient spermatocytes. We observed a lack of synaptonemal complex formation during meiosis in Sohlh2-deficient spermatocytes. Furthermore, we found that SOHLH2 interacted with two E-boxes on the mouse Sycp1 promoter and Sycp1 promoter activity increased with ectopically expressed SOHLH2. Taken together, our data suggest that SOHLH2 is critical for the formation of synaptonemal complexes via its regulation of Sycp1 expression during mouse spermatogonial differentiation.
Impacts of manure application on soil environment, rainfall use efficiency and crop biomass under dryland farming
Authors: Wang Xiaojuan , Jia Zhikuan , Liang Lianyou , Yang Baoping , Ding Ruixia , Nie Junfeng , Wang Junpeng
Published: February 2016

Because of inadequate nutrient and water supply, soils are often unproductive in Northwest China. We studied the effects of manure application at low (LM 7.5 t ha–1), medium (MM 15 t ha–1), and high (HM 22.5 t ha–1) rates combined with fixed levels of chemical fertilizers on maize growth and rainfall use efficiency compared with chemical fertilizers (CK) under semi-arid conditions over a three-year period. HM and MM treatments could significantly increase soil water storage (0–120 cm) at tasseling stage of maize compared with LM treatment and CK (P < 0.05). Dry matter accumulation and rainfall use efficiency increased as manure application rate increasing (P < 0.05). HM treatment significantly increased rainfall use efficiency by 6.5–12.7% at big trumpeting – tasseling stage compared with LM and MM treatments. HM and MM treatments increased rainfall use efficiency by 8.6–18.1% at tasseling – grain filling stage compared with CK. There was no significant difference on biomass between HM and MM treatments at grain filling and maturity stages of maize in 2009 and 2010.
Bioelectric modulation of macrophage polarization
Authors: Li Chunmei , Levin Michael , Kaplan David L.
Published: February 2016

Macrophages play a critical role in regulating wound healing and tissue regeneration by changing their polarization state in response to local microenvironmental stimuli. The native roles of polarized macrophages encompass biomaterials and tissue remodeling needs, yet harnessing or directing the polarization response has been largely absent as a potential strategy to exploit in regenerative medicine to date. Recent data have revealed that specific alteration of cells’ resting potential (Vmem) is a powerful tool to direct proliferation and differentiation in a number of complex tissues, such as limb regeneration, craniofacial patterning and tumorigenesis. In this study, we explored the bioelectric modulation of macrophage polarization by targeting ATP sensitive potassium channels (KATP). Glibenclamide (KATP blocker) and pinacidil (KATP opener) treatment not only affect macrophage polarization, but also influence the phenotype of prepolarized macrophages. Furthermore, modulation of cell membrane electrical properties can fine-tune macrophage plasticity. Glibenclamide decreased the secretion and gene expression of selected M1 markers, while pinacidil augmented M1 markers. More interestingly, glibencalmide promoted macrophage alternative activation by enhancing certain M2 markers during M2 polarization. These findings suggest that control of bioelectric properties of macrophages could offer a promising approach to regulate macrophage phenotype as a useful tool in regenerative medicine.
Engineering a Carbohydrate-processing Transglycosidase into Glycosyltransferase for Natural Product Glycodiversification
Authors: Liang Chaoning , Zhang Yi , Jia Yan , Wenzhao Wang  , Li Youhai , Lu Shikun , Jin Jian-Ming , Tang Shuang-Yan
Published: February 2016

Glycodiversification broadens the scope of natural product-derived drug discovery. The acceptor substrate promiscuity of glucosyltransferase-D (GTF-D), a carbohydrate-processing enzyme from Streptococcus mutans, was expanded by protein engineering. Mutants in a site-saturation mutagenesis library were screened on the fluorescent substrate 4-methylumbelliferone to identify derivatives with improved transglycosylation efficiency. In comparison to the wild-type GTF-D enzyme, mutant M4 exhibited increased transglycosylation capabilities on flavonoid substrates including catechin, genistein, daidzein and silybin, using the glucosyl donor sucrose. This study demonstrated the feasibility of developing natural product glycosyltransferases by engineering transglycosidases that use donor substrates cheaper than NDP-sugars, and gave rise to a series of α-glucosylated natural products that are novel to the natural product reservoir. The solubility of the α-glucoside of genistein and the anti-oxidant capability of the α-glucoside of catechin were also studied.
Magnetic field induced motion behavior of gas bubbles in liquid
Authors: Wang Keliang , Pei Pucheng , Pei Yu , Ma Ze , Xu Huachi , Chen Dongfang
Published: February 2016

The oxygen evolution reaction generally exists in electrochemical reactions. It is a ubiquitous problem about how to control the motion of oxygen bubbles released by the reaction. Here we show that oxygen bubbles during oxygen evolution reaction exhibit a variety of movement patterns in the magnetic field, including directional migration and rotational motion of oxygen bubbles when the magnet in parallel with the electrode, and exclusion movement of oxygen bubbles when the magnet perpendicular to the electrode. The results demonstrate that the direction of oxygen bubbles movement is dependent upon the magnet pole near the electrode, and the kinetics of oxygen bubbles is mainly proportional to intensity of the electromagnetic field. The magnetic-field induced rotational motion of oxygen bubbles in a square electrolyzer can increase liquid hydrodynamics, thus solve the problems of oxygen bubbles coalescence, and uneven distribution of electrolyte composition and temperature. These types of oxygen bubbles movement will not only improve energy saving and metal deposition for energy storage and metal refinery, but also propel object motion in application to medical and martial fields.
Limits of Coherency and Strain Transfer in Flexible 2D van der Waals Heterostructures: Formation of Strain Solitons and Interlayer Debonding
Authors: Kumar Hemant , Dong Liang , Shenoy Vivek B.
Published: February 2016

In flexible 2D-devices, strain transfer between different van-der Waals stacked layers is expected to play an important role in determining their optoelectronic performances and mechanical stability. Using a 2D non-linear shear-lag model, we demonstrate that only 1-2% strain can be transferred between adjacent layers of different 2d-materials, depending on the strength of the interlayer vdW interaction and the elastic modulus of the individual layers. Beyond this critical strain, layers begin to slip with respect to each other. We further show that due to the symmetry of the periodic interlayer shear potential, stacked structures form strain solitons with alternating AB/BA or AB/AB stacking which are separated by incommensurate domain walls. The extent and the separation distance of these commensurate domains are found to be determined by the degree of the applied strain and their magnitudes are calculated for several 2D heterostructures and bilayers including MoS2/WS2, MoSe2/WSe2, Graphene/Graphene and MoS2/MoS2 using a multiscale method. As bilayer structures have been shown to exhibit stacking-dependent electronic bandgap and quantum transport properties, the predictions of our study will not only be crucial in determining the mechanical stability of flexible 2D devices but will also help to better understand optoelectronic response of flexible devices.
Cesium adsorption/desorption behavior of clay minerals considering actual contamination conditions in Fukushima
Authors: Mukai Hiroki , Hirose Atsushi , Motai Satoko , Kikuchi Ryosuke , Tanoi Keitaro , Nakanishi Tomoko M. , Yaita Tsuyoshi , Kogure Toshihiro
Published: February 2016

Cesium adsorption/desorption experiments for various clay minerals, considering actual contamination conditions in Fukushima, were conducted using the 137Cs radioisotope and an autoradiography using imaging plates (IPs). A 50 μl solution containing 0.185 ~ 1.85 Bq of 137Cs (10−11 ~ 10−9 molL−1 of 137Cs) was dropped onto a substrate where various mineral particles were arranged. It was found that partially-vermiculitized biotite, which is termed “weathered biotite” (WB) in this study, from Fukushima sorbed 137Cs far more than the other clay minerals (fresh biotite, illite, smectite, kaolinite, halloysite, allophane, imogolite) on the same substrate. When WB was absent on the substrate, the amount of 137Cs sorbed to the other clay minerals was considerably increased, implying that selective sorption to WB caused depletion of radiocesium in the solution and less sorption to the coexisting minerals. Cs-sorption to WB continued for about one day, whereas that to ferruginous smectite was completed within one hour. The sorbed 137Cs in WB was hardly leached with hydrochloric acid at pH 1, particularly in samples with a longer sorption time. The presence/absence of WB sorbing radiocesium is a key factor affecting the dynamics and fate of radiocesium in Fukushima.
The ion microscope as a tool for quantitative measurements in the extreme ultraviolet
Authors: Tsatrafyllis N. , Bergues B. , Schröder H. , Veisz L. , Skantzakis E. , Gray D. , Bodi B. , Kuhn S. , Tsakiris G. D. , Charalambidis D. , Tzallas P.
Published: February 2016

We demonstrate a tool for quantitative measurements in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral region measuring spatially resolved atomic ionization products at the focus of an EUV beam. The ionizing radiation is a comb of the 11th–15th harmonics of a Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser beam produced in a Xenon gas jet. The spatial ion distribution at the focus of the harmonics is recorded using an ion microscope. Spatially resolved single- and two-photon ionization products of Argon and Helium are observed. From such ion distributions single- and two-photon generalized cross sections can be extracted by a self-calibrating method. The observation of spatially resolved two-EUV-photon ionization constitutes an initial step towards future single-shot temporal characterization of attosecond pulses.
Expansion and stress responses of AP2/EREBP superfamily in Brachypodium Distachyon
Authors: Chen Lihong , Han Jiapeng , Deng Xiaomin , Tan Shenglong , Li Lili , Li Lun , Zhou Junfei , Peng Hai , Yang Guangxiao , He Guangyuan , Zhang Weixiong
Published: February 2016

APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding protein (AP2/EREBP) transcription factors constitute one of the largest and most conserved gene families in plant and play essential roles in growth, development and stress response. Except a few members, the AP2/EREBP family has not been characterized in Brachypodium distachyon, a model plant of Poaceae. We performed a genome-wide study of this family in B. distachyon by phylogenetic analyses, transactivation assays and transcript profiling. A total of 149 AP2/EREBP genes were identified and divided into four subfamilies, i.e., ERF (ethylene responsive factor), DREB (dehydration responsive element binding gene), RAV (related to ABI3/VP) and AP2. Tandem duplication was a major force in expanding B. distachyon AP2/EREBP (BdAP2/EREBP) family. Despite a significant expansion, genomic organizations of BdAP2/EREBPs were monotonous as the majority of them, except those of AP2 subfamily, had no intron. An analysis of transcription activities of several closely related and duplicated BdDREB genes showed their functional divergence and redundancy in evolution. The expression of BdAP2/EREBPs in different tissues and the expression of DREB/ERF subfamilies in B. distachyon, wheat and rice under abiotic stresses were investigated by next-generation sequencing and microarray profiling. Our results are valuable for further function analysis of stress tolerant AP2/EREBP genes in B. distachyon.
Electronic structures of greigite (Fe3S4): A hybrid functional study and prediction for a Verwey transition
Authors: Wu Min , Tse John S , Pan Yuanming
Published: February 2016

Greigite (Fe3S4) is a ferrimagnetic mineral with vital functions in both the bio-geochemical cycle and novel technological applications. However, the ground state electronic structure of this material has not been fully characterized by either experiment or theory. In the present study, ab initio calculations using the hybrid functional method have been performed to investigate the electronic structure and magnetic properties. It is found that the cubic structure observed under ambient temperature is a half metal and is metastable. A more stable monoclinic structure slightly distorted from the cubic form is found. The structural distortion is induced by charge ordering and associated with a metal-to-insulator transition, resulting in a semiconductive ground state with a bandgap of ~0.8 eV and a magnetic moment of 4 μB per formula unit. The results predict, similar to the magnetite (Fe3O4), a Verwey transition may exist in greigite, although it has not yet been observed experimentally.
Anomalous magneto-elastic and charge doping effects in thallium-doped BaFe2As2
Authors: Sefat Athena S. , Li Li , Cao Huibo B. , McGuire Michael A. , Sales Brian , Custelcean Radu , Parker David S.
Published: February 2016

Within the BaFe2As2 crystal lattice, we partially substitute thallium for barium and report the effects of interlayer coupling in Ba1-xTlxFe2As2 crystals. We demonstrate the unusual effects of magneto-elastic coupling and charge doping in this iron-arsenide material, whereby Néel temperature rises with small x, and then falls with additional x. Specifically, we find that Néel and structural transitions in BaFe2As2 (TN = Ts = 133 K) increase for x = 0.05 (TN = 138 K, Ts = 140 K) from magnetization, heat capacity, resistivity, and neutron diffraction measurements. Evidence from single crystal X-ray diffraction and first principles calculations attributes the stronger magnetism in x = 0.05 to magneto-elastic coupling related to the shorter intraplanar Fe-Fe bond distance. With further thallium substitution, the transition temperatures decrease for x = 0.09 (TN = Ts = 131 K), and this is due to charge doping. We illustrate that small changes related to 3d transition-metal state can have profound effects on magnetism.
Multiple Imputation for General Missing Data Patterns in the Presence of High-dimensional Data
Authors: Deng Yi , Chang Changgee , Ido Moges Seyoum , Long Qi
Published: February 2016

Multiple imputation (MI) has been widely used for handling missing data in biomedical research. In the presence of high-dimensional data, regularized regression has been used as a natural strategy for building imputation models, but limited research has been conducted for handling general missing data patterns where multiple variables have missing values. Using the idea of multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE), we investigate two approaches of using regularized regression to impute missing values of high-dimensional data that can handle general missing data patterns. We compare our MICE methods with several existing imputation methods in simulation studies. Our simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed MICE approach based on an indirect use of regularized regression in terms of bias. We further illustrate the proposed methods using two data examples.
Gene expression profiling of white adipose tissue reveals paternal transmission of proneness to obesity
Authors: Morita Sumiyo , Nakabayashi Kazuhiko , Kawai Tomoko , Hayashi Keiko , Horii Takuro , Kimura Mika , Kamei Yasutomi , Ogawa Yoshihiro , Hata Kenichiro , Hatada Izuho
Published: February 2016

Previously, we found that C57BL/6J (B6) mice are more prone to develop obesity than PWK mice. In addition, we analyzed reciprocal crosses between these mice and found that (PWK × B6) F1 mice, which have B6 fathers, are more likely to develop dietary obesity than (B6 × PWK) F1 mice, which have B6 mothers. These results suggested that diet-induced obesity is paternally transmitted. In this study, we performed transcriptome analysis of adipose tissues of B6, PWK, (PWK × B6) F1, and (B6 × PWK) F1 mice using next-generation sequencing. We found that paternal transmission of diet-induced obesity was correlated with genes involved in adipose tissue inflammation, metal ion transport, and cilia. Furthermore, we analyzed the imprinted genes expressed in white adipose tissue (WAT) and obesity. Expression of paternally expressed imprinted genes (PEGs) was negatively correlated with body weight, whereas expression of maternally expressed imprinted genes (MEGs) was positively correlated. In the obesity-prone B6 mice, expression of PEGs was down-regulated by a high-fat diet, suggesting that abnormally low expression of PEGs contributes to high-fat diet-induced obesity in B6 mice. In addition, using single-nucleotide polymorphisms that differ between B6 and PWK, we identified candidate imprinted genes in WAT.
Thioxanthone in apolar solvents: ultrafast internal conversion precedes fast intersystem crossing
Authors: Mundt Ramona , Villnow Torben , Ziegenbein Christian Torres , Gilch Peter , Marian Christel , Rai-Constapel Vidisha
Published: February 2016

The photophysics of thioxanthone dissolved in cyclohexane was studied by femtosecond fluorescence and transient absorption spectroscopy.
Interfacial interaction of Ag nanoparticles with graphene oxide supports for improving NH3 and NO adsorption: a first-principles study
Authors: Tang Shaobin , Wu Weihua , Yu Jianping
Published: February 2016

The interfacial interaction of Ag nanoparticles with graphene oxide supports improves NH3 and NO adsorption.
Mechanochemical stability of sub-nm ZnO chains
Authors: Soldano Germán J. , Zanotto Franco M. , Mariscal Marcelo M.
Published: February 2016

Formation of monoatomic chains by axial stretching of zinc oxide nanowires is investigated using molecular dynamics and supported by density functional calculations.
Ellagic acid inhibits non-enzymatic glycation and prevents proteinuria in diabetic rats
Authors: Raghu G. , Jakhotia Sneha , Yadagiri Reddy P. , Anil Kumar P. , Bhanuprakash Reddy G.
Published: February 2016

The formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is a characteristic feature of diabetic tissues and accumulation of AGEs been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Ellagic acid prevented the accumulation of AGEs and in turn ameliorated proteinurea in diabetic rats.
Hydrothermal formation of graphene aerogel for oil sorption: the role of reducing agent, reaction time and temperature
Authors: Wan Wenchao , Zhang Fei , Yu Shan , Zhang Ruiyang , Zhou Ying
Published: February 2016

Different reducing agents including vitamin C, ammonia and ethanediamine can significantly affect the density, strength, morphology and adsorption performance of graphene aerogels.
Spontaneous 2′-deoxyguanosine alkylation by a new generation of topoisomerase I inhibitors of the camptothecin family
Authors: Naumczuk B. , Kawęcki R. , Sitkowski J. , Bocian W. , Bednarek E. , Kozerski L.
Published: February 2016

7-Ethyl-9-(N-morpholino)methyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin spontaneously binds covalently to 2′-deoxyguanosine under near-physiological conditions. This phenomenon may be important in the application of this type of camptothecin derivative in cancer chemotherapy.
Facile synthesis of Mn-doped Fe2O3 nanostructures: enhanced CO catalytic performance induced by manganese doping
Authors: Zhao Genyuan , Li Jing , Niu Xiaoran , Tang Ke , Wang Shuping , Zhu Wenshuang , Ma Xueqin , Ru Miaoyan , Yang Yanzhao
Published: February 2016

A promoting influence of manganese species on the controllable synthesis and catalytic property on CO conversion of the manganese-iron oxide is observed.
Dibenzofurans and derivatives from lichens and ascomycetes
Authors: Millot Marion , Dieu Amandine , Tomasi Sophie
Published: February 2016

This review describes classification, biogenesis and sources as well as physico-chemical and biological properties of dibenzofurans from lichens and ascomycetes.
Synthesis, analysis and biological evaluation of novel indolquinonecryptolepine analogues as potential anti-tumour agents
Authors: Le Gresley A. , Gudivaka V. , Carrington S. , Sinclair A. , Brown J. E.
Published: February 2016

A small library of cryptolepine analogues were synthesised incorporating halogens and/or nitrogen containing side chains to optimise their interaction with the sugar–phosphate backbone of DNA to give improved binding, interfering with topoisomerase II hence enhancing cytotoxicity.
Influence of the season on vitamin D levels and regulatory T cells in patients with polymorphic light eruption
Authors: Schweintzger N. A. , Gruber-Wackernagel A. , Shirsath N. , Quehenberger F. , Obermayer-Pietsch B. , Wolf P.
Published: February 2016

The exact mechanisms of photohardening in polymorphic light eruption (PLE) are still unknown, but medical photohardening was shown to increase regulatory T cell (Treg) numbers in the blood of PLE patients, similar to natural hardening. Furthermore, oral vitamin D supplementation increased peripheral Tregs in healthy individuals. We herein report on a post hoc analysis of 26 screened PLE patients of a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov No. NCT01595893), in which the influence of the progressing season was investigated on baseline CD4+CD25+FoxP3+CD127− Treg numbers by flow cytometry and Treg suppressive function by co-culture assays with T effector cells as a secondary endpoint, together with 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) serum levels at the study’s screening visit, taking place in the period from January to June. The mean 25(OH)D serum level of all patients was 33.2 ng ml−1. Ten of those patients (38.5%) were identified with low 25(OH)D levels (<30 ng ml−1). Significantly higher baseline 25(OH)D serum levels (plus 34.4%; P = 0.0182) as well as higher relative Treg percentages in CD4+ population (plus 62.8%; P = 0.0157) and in total lymphocyte population (plus 59.6%; P = 0.0372) and higher absolute Treg numbers (plus 100.2%; P = 0.0042) were observed in the late spring/early summer period (April to June) compared to the winter period (January to February). No significant relationship was observed when Treg numbers and function were correlated with 25(OH)D levels. These data indicate that in PLE patients Treg numbers and their suppressive function are independent of vitamin D serum levels and suggest that UV light and/or other seasonal factors may affect these cells via the non-vitamin D related pathway(s).
Composition dependent optical, structural and photoluminescence characteristics of cesium tin halide perovskites
Authors: Peedikakkandy Lekha , Bhargava Parag
Published: February 2016

Compositionally tunable photoluminescence from environment friendly tin based inorganic perovskites covering the visible to near-infrared regions of electromagnetic spectrum.
Graphene oxide/vinyl ester resin nanocomposite: the effect of graphene oxide, curing kinetics, modeling, mechanical properties and thermal stability
Authors: Arabli Vahid , Aghili Alireza
Published: February 2016

The Ea value of cure reaction of the GO/VE nanocomposite decreased. It is concluded that the GO acted as catalyst in the reaction of VE/GO nanocomposite.
Significantly enhanced mechanical and electrical properties of epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with low loading of polyaniline nanoparticles
Authors: Guo Jiang , Long Jun , Ding Daowei , Wang Qiang , Shan Yu , Umar Ahmad , Zhang Xin , Weeks Brandon L. , Wei Suying , Guo Zhanhu
Published: February 2016

Enhanced mechanical and electrical properties were observed in the polyaniline–epoxy nanocomposites prepared by three different techniques.
Evidence of a nanosized copper anodic reaction in an anaerobic sulfide aqueous solution
Authors: Zhang Bowei , Hao Shiji , Wu Junsheng , Li Xiaogang , Huang Yizhong
Published: February 2016

The present paper reports the use of TEM to investigate the electrochemical behavior of copper subject to the both free corrosion and polarization in sulfide aqueous solution at nano scale.
A perylene diimide-based non-fullerene acceptor as an electron transporting material for inverted perovskite solar cells
Authors: Kim Shin Sung , Bae Seunghwan , Jo Won Ho
Published: February 2016

Herein we introduce a new perylene diimide dimer (diPDI) as a non-fullerene electron transporting layer (ETL) material for inverted perovskite solar cells.
Thermodynamics of a food macromolecular assembly: the case of okra mucilage
Authors: Dimopoulou Maria , Tsivintzelis Ioannis , Ritzoulis Christos , Panayiotou Costas
Published: February 2016

Isolation steps of okra hydrocolloid and its thermodynamic parameters.
Magnetically driven functionally integrated device for continuous and efficient collection of oil droplets from water
Authors: Ju Guannan , Li Donglin , Zhang Yajun
Published: February 2016

A novel magnetically driven functionally integrated device for continuous oil–water separation with high collecting efficiency was reported.
Synthesis of magnetic core–shell carbon dot@MFe2O4 (M = Mn, Zn and Cu) hybrid materials and their catalytic properties
Authors: Guo Yali , Zhang Lilan , Liu Xiaoyu , Li Bo , Tang Dong , Liu Weisheng , Qin Wenwu
Published: February 2016

Magnetic core–shell carbon dot@MFe2O4 hybrid materials are successfully prepared and used for the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol.
The design of 3D artificial leaves with spatially separated active sites for H2 and O2 generation and their application to water splitting
Authors: Li Haiyan , Han Jian , Guo Na , Yu Hongwen
Published: February 2016

TiO2 artificial leaves with spatially separated CoOx and Pt cocatalysts from biotemplates have been designed and exhibit enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen-production activity.
Dynamic encapsulation and activation of carbonic anhydrase in multivalent dynameric host matrices
Authors: Zhang Yan , Legrand Yves-Marie , Petit Eddy , Supuran Claudiu T. , Barboiu Mihail
Published: February 2016

The encapsulation of carbonic anhydrase by reversible dynamic polymers–dynamers was used to activate enzymatic reactions.
Unique anisotropic optical properties of a highly stable metal–organic framework based on trinuclear iron(iii) secondary building units linked by tetracarboxylic linkers with an anthracene core
Authors: Vinogradov A. V. , Milichko V. A. , Zaake-Hertling H. , Aleksovska A. , Gruschinski S. , Schmorl S. , Kersting B. , Zolnhofer E. M. , Sutter J. , Meyer K. , Lönnecke P. , Hey-Hawkins E.
Published: February 2016

A highly stable metal–organic framework, [{Fe3(ACTBA)2}X·6DEF]n (1; X = monoanion), is reported.
Synthesis of diverse cyclic-brush polymers with cyclic polystyrene as a universal template via a grafting-from approach
Authors: Zhang Shuangshuang , Yin Lu , Zhang Wei , Zhang Zhengbiao , Zhu Xiulin
Published: February 2016

With cyclic poly(styrene) as a universal template, facile synthesis of diverse cyclic-brush polymers via a grafting-from approach was illustrated.
Stability of fractional‐order switched non‐linear systems
Authors: Yang Hao , Jiang Bin
Published: February 2016

This study addresses the stability issue of a class of fractional‐order switched non‐linear systems. A general stability condition is established based on which two new concepts named Mittag–Leffler increment and average Mittag–Leffler increment are proposed and two alternative stability conditions are obtained. These conditions fully reveal the trade‐off between each subsystem's dynamics, and the value of the fractional order. The new results are further applied to a class of fractional‐order multi‐agent systems with switching cooperative control laws.
Further improvement in delay‐dependent finite‐time stability criteria for uncertain continuous‐time systems with time‐varying delays
Authors: Stojanovic Sreten B.
Published: February 2016

The problem of finite‐time stability for uncertain time‐varying delay systems with non‐linear perturbations and parametric uncertainties and switched time‐delay systems is studied. New integral inequality with exponential function is proposed to solve the stability problem. By using a suitable form of Lyapunov–Krasovskii‐like functional (LKLF) with exponential function, the integral inequality and estimations of LKLF in the initial and the current time, new delay‐dependent and less conservative stability criteria have been derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities. The average dwell time approach is used to study the FTS of switched time‐delay systems. Five numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the obtained results.
Filtering‐based iterative identification for multivariable systems
Authors: Wang Yanjiao , Ding Feng
Published: February 2016

This study applies the filtering technique to system identification to study the data filtering‐based parameter estimation methods for multivariable systems, which are corrupted by correlated noise – an autoregressive moving average process. To solve the difficulty that the identification model contains the unmeasurable variables and noise terms in the information matrix, the authors present a hierarchical gradient‐based iterative (HGI) algorithm by using the hierarchical identification principle. To improve the convergence rate, they apply the filtering technique to derive a filtering‐based HGI algorithm and a filtering‐based hierarchical least squares‐based iterative (HLSI) algorithm. The simulation examples indicate that the filtering‐based HLSI algorithm has the highest computational efficiency among these three algorithms.
Networks of Violence in the Production of Young Women's Trajectories and Subjectivities
Authors: Kidd Amanda
Published: February 2016

This paper focuses on the deployment and interdependence of different expressions of gendered and classed violence in shaping the choices, trajectories and subjectivities of young women on vocational beauty therapy courses. It takes as its premise the understanding that, far from simply being an aberrant expression of interpersonal or intergroup aggression, violence is embedded in social life in multiple and complex ways, reverberating through women's lives to reproduce disadvantage and subordination. The paper draws on theoretical and empirical investigations of the interrelationships between structural, direct and symbolic expressions of violence and asks what this literature can offer in challenging normative, often individualised, conceptions of violence. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) beauty therapy courses and the young women undertaking them, I explore the accounts of students and their tutors on becoming and being ‘beauty girls’. I consider what these accounts might tell us about how forms of symbolic and interpersonal violence intersect with, reproduce and legitimise the violence involved in unequal and unjust socio-economic structures. I argue that the ways in which different forms of violence mutually reinforce each other at a micro-level produce an embodied ‘sense of limits’ that ultimately reproduces the structural violence of gendered and classed inequalities. The examples given illustrate both a ‘chronology of violence’ in young women's lives, and the way in which those lives can be understood, at least in part, as embedded in and shaped by networks of violence. Finally, I briefly consider examples of dissent and resistance, the conditions under which they might be possible and the ways in which, through the interplay of different forms of violence, they might also be curtailed.
From Pillar to Post: Understanding the Victimisation of Women and Children who Experience Domestic Violence in an Age of Austerity
Authors: Sanders-McDonagh Erin , Neville Lucy , Nolas Sevasti-Melissa
Published: February 2016

The dismantling of the welfare state across the United Kingdom (and indeed a number of other Western industrialised democracies, such as Canada and the United States) and the reductions to welfare provisions and entitlements are having a detrimental impact on women's equality and safety. Towers and Walby argue that the recent cuts to welfare provision in the United Kingdom, particularly for women's services, could lead to increased levels of violence for women and girls. This paper makes the argument that female victims of domestic abuse experience violence on two levels: first, at the intimate/personal level through their relationship with an abuser and, second, at a structural level, through the state failing to provide adequate protection and provision for women who have experienced violence in intimate relationships. Using a specific example of post-violence community services delivered to both the children of women who have experienced domestic violence and the women themselves, this paper draws on empirical research carried out in 2010–2011 with London-based third-sector and public sector organisations delivering the Against Violence and Abuse Project ‘Community Group Programme’. We argue that the lack of services for women involved in, or exiting, a violent relationship can amount to state-sanctioned violence, if funding is withheld, or indeed, stretched to breaking point.
Special Guest Contribution: Violence against Women as a Barrier to the Realisation of Human Rights and the Effective Exercise of Citizenship
Authors: Manjoo Rashida
Published: February 2016

This article focuses on violence against women as a barrier to the realisation of women's civil, political, economic, social, cultural and developmental rights, as well as the consequences of this for the effective exercise of citizenship. The value of adopting a citizenship lens, identifying the nexus between violence against women and human rights, and adopting an approach that acknowledges the multiplicity, intersectionality and continuity of violence across the public and private spheres serves to assist in identifying and providing an analysis of the continuing challenges in the quest to eliminate violence against women. Owing to the scarcity of literature that explicitly highlights the link between human rights, citizenship and violence against women, the current analysis highlights some of the existing literature on a situated understanding of citizenship through a women's human rights lens, while the discussion on violence against women as a barrier to realising all human rights that enable the exercise of effective citizenship is largely underpinned by the work of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences.
Infrared thermography of transition due to isolated roughness elements in hypersonic flows
Authors: Avallone F. , Schrijer F. F. J. , Cardone G.
Published: February 2016

Boundary layer transition in high-speed flows is a phenomenon that despite extensive research over the years is still extremely hard to predict. The presence of protrusions or gaps can lead to an accelerated laminar-to-turbulent transition enhancing the thermal loads and the skin friction coefficient. In the current investigation, inverse heat transfer measurements using infrared thermography are performed on the flow past different roughness geometries in the form of cylinders and diamond at free stream Mach number equal to 7.5, h/δ ranging between 0.5 and 0.9 (where h is the roughness height and δ is the boundary layer thickness), and Reθ ranging between 1305 and 2450. The roughness elements are positioned on a 5° ramp placed at zero angle of attack. The measurements indicate that the roughness geometry influences the transitional pattern while the frontal area influences both the transition location and the maximum value of the Stanton number along the centreline. Moreover, there is a strong connection between the streamwise centreline Stanton number and the spreading of the wake width. In particular, the transition process is characterized by an approximately constant wake width. Differently, the wake width spreads at the location where the streamwise centreline Stanton number reaches the turbulent level. This point corresponds to a local maximum of the wake amplitude defined as one half of the maximum spanwise variation of the Stanton number.
Novel application of multi dynamic trend analysis as a sensitive tool for detecting the effects of aging and congestive heart failure on heart rate variability
Authors: Lin Yu-Cheng , Lin Yu-Hsuan , Lo Men-Tzung , Peng Chung-Kang , Huang Norden E. , Yang Cheryl C. H. , Kuo Terry B. J.
Published: February 2016

The complex fluctuations in heart rate variability (HRV) reflect cardiac autonomic modulation and are an indicator of congestive heart failure (CHF). This paper proposes a novel nonlinear approach to HRV investigation, the multi dynamic trend analysis (MDTA) method, based on the empirical mode decomposition algorithm of the Hilbert–Huang transform combined with a variable-sized sliding-window method. Electrocardiographic signal data obtained from the PhysioNet database were used. These data were from subjects with CHF (mean age = 59.4 ± 8.4), an age-matched elderly healthy control group (59.3 ± 10.6), and a healthy young group (30.3 ± 4.8); the HRVs of these subjects were processed using the MDTA method, time domain analysis, and frequency domain analysis. Among all HRV parameters, the MDTA absolute value slope (MDTS) and MDTA deviation (MDTD) exhibited the greatest area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics in distinguishing between the CHF group and the healthy controls (AUC = 1.000) and between the healthy elderly subject group and the young subject group (AUC = 0.834 ± 0.067 for MDTS; 0.837 ± 0.066 for MDTD). The CHF subjects presented with lower MDTA indices than those of the healthy elderly subject group. Furthermore, the healthy elderly subjects exhibited lower MDTA indices than those of the young controls. The MDTA method can adaptively and automatically identify the intrinsic fluctuation on variable temporal and spatial scales when investigating complex fluctuations in the cardiac autonomic regulation effects of aging and CHF.
Effects of Mg and Al doping on dislocation slips in GaN
Authors: Chen Cheng , Meng Fanchao , Song Jun
Published: February 2016

First-principles density functional theory calculations were employed to systematically examine the effects of Mg and Al additions to wurtzite GaN on the generalized stacking fault energy (GSFE) curves for (11¯00)[112¯0]  and (11¯00)[0001] dislocations along the glide or shuffle slip planes. It was found that for both slip systems, Mg doping leads to significant reduction of the GSFE while Al doping elevates the GSFE curve. For each dopant, the effect of doping on the GSFE was shown to scale linearly with the dopant concentration, being independent of the slip (i.e., glide or shuffle) plane. The GSFE curves were subsequently combined with the Peierls-Nabarro model to quantitatively analyze the micromechanical characteristics of dislocation slips. The implications of our findings to slip dynamics and dislocation dissociation mechanism were then discussed. Our study provides important insights towards the understanding and control of dislocation dynamics in impurity-doped GaN.
Model of advanced recording media: The angular dependence of the coercivity including the effect of exchange interaction
Authors: Chureemart P. , Chureemart J. , Chantrell R. W.
Published: February 2016

We use a micromagnetic model based on the kinetic Monte-Carlo approach to investigate theoretically the magnetic properties of advanced recording media. The model is employed to examine the impact of the magnetostatic and exchange interaction between grains of realistic perpendicular recording media on the angular-dependent coercivity since the exchange field between grains is an important factor in recording performance. The micromagnetic model allows to take the easy axis distribution and the exchange interaction between grains into account. The results confirm the importance of exchange interaction since the variation of coercivity with angle between the applied field and the orientation of easy axis which is perpendicular to the film plane, (θ) is seen to broaden with decreasing exchange field. We show that a two-stage fitting procedure involving the separate determination of the exchange field and easy axis dispersion provides a useful tool for the characterization of media for perpendicular recording and heat assisted recording. We find excellent agreement between previous experimental results and the simulations including exchange interactions leading to estimate of the exchange coupling and easy axis dispersion.
Resonant attenuation of surface acoustic waves by a disordered monolayer of microspheres
Authors: Eliason J. K. , Vega-Flick A. , Hiraiwa M. , Khanolkar A. , Gan T. , Boechler N. , Fang N. , Nelson K. A. , Maznev A. A.
Published: February 2016

Attenuation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) by a disordered monolayer of polystyrene microspheres is investigated. Surface acoustic wave packets are generated by a pair of crossed laser pulses in a glass substrate coated with a thin aluminum film and detected via the diffraction of a probe laser beam. When a 170 μm-wide strip of micron-sized spheres is placed on the substrate between the excitation and detection spots, strong resonant attenuation of SAWs near 240 MHz is observed. The attenuation is caused by the interaction of SAWs with a contact resonance of the microspheres, as confirmed by acoustic dispersion measurements on the microsphere-coated area. Frequency-selective attenuation of SAWs by such a locally resonant metamaterial may lead to reconfigurable SAW devices and sensors, which can be easily manufactured via self-assembly techniques.
Size-dependent dielectrophoretic crossover frequency of spherical particles
Authors: Weng Ping-You , Chen I-An , Yeh Che-Kai , Chen Pin-Yi , Juang Jia-Yang
Published: February 2016

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been extensively used in lab-on-a-chip systems for trapping, separating, and manipulating of micro particles suspended in a liquid medium. The most widely used analytic model, the dipole model, provides an accurate prediction on the crossover frequency of submicron particles, but cannot explain the significant drop in crossover frequency of larger particles. Here, we present numerical simulations using the Maxwell stress tensor (MST) and finite element method to study the size effect of the DEP crossover frequency of spherical polystyrene particles suspended in de-ionized water. Our results show that the surface conductance due to the electrical double layer plays a key role, and the size dependency of crossover frequency obtained by the MST method agrees reasonably well with published experimental data. The exponents of the power law are approximately −1.0 and −4.3 for smaller (diameter < 4.6 μm) and larger particles (diameter  > 4.6 μm), respectively. The free surface charge distribution reveals that the charge begins accumulating on the particle equator for particle diameters larger than a critical diameter of 4.6 μm, a result not captured by the dipolar approximation. This method may be extended to analyze bioparticles with complex shapes and composition, and provides new insights into the interpretation of dielectrophoresis applications using lab-on-a-chip systems.
Three-dimensional rotating flow of Jeffrey fluid for Cattaneo-Christov heat flux model
Authors: Hayat Tasawar , Qayyum Sumaira , Imtiaz Maria , Alsaedi Ahmed
Published: February 2016

Present study addresses the three dimensional flow of Jeffrey fluid. Flow is induced by a porous stretching sheet. Cattaneo-Christov heat flux model is used to form energy equation. Appropriate transformations are employed to form system of ordinary differential equations. Convergent series solutions are obtained. Impact of pertinent parameters on the velocity and temperature is examined. It is noted that by increasing the ratio of relaxation to retardation times the velocity components are decreased. Temperature distribution also decreases for larger values of thermal relaxation time.