bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leader-Based Workplace Health Interventions — A Before–After Study in Norwegian and Swedish Small-Scale Enterprises
Authors: Hansen Elisabeth , Landstad Bodil J. , Gundersen Kjell Terje , Vinberg Stig
Published: November 2016

The purpose of this study is to contribute to knowledge about leader-based workplace health interventions by investigating changes in psychosocial working conditions and health in Norwegian and Swedish small-scale enterprises (SSEs). The study also aims to investigate whether there are differences between position, and countries. In total, 30 leaders and 149 coworkers in 34 SSEs participated in two intervention and two reference groups. Leaders and coworkers completed the validated questionnaires (Nordic Questionnaire on Positive Organizational Psychology ([N-POP]), Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS), and Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS), which cover different psychosocial working conditions and health outcomes. The interventions were carried out by advisors from occupational health services (OHSs) over a one-year period and consisted of analyses of health and psychosocial working conditions, company visits, education and networking meetings, including information and tools on issues such as leadership, work environment and health, and leadership support. The statistical methods used included principal component analyses, reliability tests, paired samplettests and three-way ANOVA. The results indicate a significant positive development concerning external job performance in the intervention groups. Regarding internal job performance, both the Norwegian intervention group and the reference group showed positive improvements. However, there were negative or nonsignificant developments for several of the psychosocial working conditions and health outcomes in the intervention groups. With regard to associations and interactions between the studied variables, there were significantly positive developments with regard to external job performance and sickness absences in the total intervention group. The study indicates that more thorough procedures and testing of leader-based interventions in SSEs are required.
A numerical investigation of acceleration-skewed oscillatory flows
Authors: Scandura Pietro , Faraci Carla , Foti Enrico
Published: November 2016

Numerical simulations of wall-bounded acceleration-skewed oscillatory flows are here presented. The relevance of this type of boundary layer arises in connection with coastal hydrodynamics and sediment transport, as it is generated at the bottom of sea waves in shallow water. Because of the acceleration skewness, the bed shear stress during the onshore half-cycle is larger than in the offshore half-cycle. The asymmetry in the bed shear stress increases with increasing acceleration skewness, while an increase of the Reynolds number from the laminar regime causes the asymmetry first to decrease and then increase. Low- and high-speed streaks of fluid elongated in the streamwise direction emerge near the wall, shortly after the beginning of each half-cycle, at a phase that depends on the flow parameters. Such flow structures strengthen during the first part of the accelerating phase, without causing a significant deviation of the streamwise wall shear stress from the laminar values. Before the occurrence of the peak of the free stream velocity, the low-speed streaks break down into small turbulent structures causing a large increase in wall shear stress. The ratio of the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) of the fluctuations to the mean value (relative intensity) of the wall shear stress is approximately 0.4 throughout a relatively wide interval of the flow cycle that begins when breaking down of the streaks has occurred in the entire fluid domain. The acceleration skewness and the Reynolds number determine the phase at which this time interval begins. Both the skewness and the flatness coefficients of the streamwise wall shear stress are large when elongated streaks are present, while values of approximately 1.1 and 5.4 respectively occur just after breaking has occurred. The trend of both the relative intensity and the flatness of the spanwise wall shear stress are qualitatively similar to those of the wall shear in the streamwise direction. As a result of the acceleration skewness, the period-averaged Reynolds stress does not vanish. Consequently, an offshore directed steady streaming is generated which persists into the irrotational region.
On the slow motion of a spheroid in a rotating stratified fluid
Authors: Johnson E. R. , Llewellyn Smith Stefan G.
Published: November 2016

We consider the slow motion generated when a body is set into motion relative to an incompressible, inviscid, non-diffusive rotating stratified fluid, showing that there is generated in general a topographic Rossby wave which leads to non-decaying fluctuations in the lift on the obstacle and a fluctuating non-zero drag. The problem is relevant to the flow patterns and forces excited when slow oceanic flows cross bottom topography, and suggests a mechanism for slow fluctuations observed in laboratory experiments.
Association of placental Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia with maternal and newborn outcomes in the periurban area of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
Authors: CISSE MAMOUDOU , DIALLO A. HAMA , SOMÉ D. ADOLPHE , PODA ARMEL , AWANDARE A. GORDON , GUIGUEMDÉ T. ROBERT
Published: November 2016

The prevalence of placental malaria and its impact on maternal and newborn outcomes have been poorly documented in periurban settings of Burkina Faso. Peripheral and placental blood from 320 mothers, and cord blood from their newborns were collected through a cross-sectional study and used to prepare thick and thin blood films. Maternal haemoglobin concentration and birthweight were also measured. The overall malaria parasitaemia prevalence in peripheral, placental and cord blood was of 17·2, 9·1 and 0·9%, respectively.Plasmodium falciparumwas the sole species found in all cases and the mean parasite density in placental blood was 4·5 ± 0·8 parasitesµL−1. Primigravida (aOR: 3·5; 95% CI (1·1–11·2)) and women who did not use a bed net (aOR: 2·6; 95% CI (1·1–6·3)), were at higher odds of placental malaria infection. Women with placental parasitaemia were at increased odds of maternal anaemia (aOR: 3·1; 95% CI (1·3–7·4)). There was no odds difference for LBW between mothers with placental parasitaemia and those without. Placental malaria parasitaemia resulted in a significant mean birthweight reduction of 200 g. Placental malaria infection is higher in primigravida. Use of insecticide-treated bed nets should be therefore emphasized for primigravida during the first antenatal care visit.
Subsoil 14C Dynamics in Different Types of Tropical and Subtropical Soils under Different Crop Management
Authors: Prastowo Erwin , Grootes Pieter M , Nadeau Marie-Josée , Utami Sri R
Published: November 2016

Radiocarbon has been applied as a tracer to study carbon dynamics in different types of tropical soils, under paddy and non-paddy management on Java, Indonesia. The 14C concentrations were measured in samples of total organic carbon as well as in alkali-soluble humic acids, insoluble humin, and plant remains (roots, seeds, leaves) obtained from three sites with Andosols, Alisols, and Vertisols at different altitudes. In addition, the abundance and distribution of plant macrofossils in the soil column and organic δ13C values were determined. The results obtained so far are compared with those from a chronosequence of Cambisols in China. They indicate the input of fresh plant materials into the subsoil directly via roots and/or by soil cracks and bioturbation of aboveground litter. The total organic C and 14C concentrations show the usual decrease with increasing depth in paddy and non-paddy soils, reflecting the influence of direct input as well as the downward redistribution of organic material as particulates or dissolved organic carbon (DOC) depending on soil type (pedogenesis, plough-pan formation, drying cracks), crop type and management, and climatic factors. A disturbance of the Andosol around 0.4 m depth and a change in profile properties around 0.63 m in the Alisol limit the general conclusions.
A NOTE ON GROUPS WHOSE PROPER LARGE SUBGROUPS HAVE A TRANSITIVE NORMALITY RELATION
Authors: DE GIOVANNI FRANCESCO , TROMBETTI MARCO
Published: November 2016

A group$G$is said to have the$T$-property (or to be a$T$-group) if all its subnormal subgroups are normal, that is, if normality in$G$is a transitive relation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the behaviour of uncountable groups of cardinality $\aleph$whose proper subgroups of cardinality$\aleph$have a transitive normality relation. It is proved that such a group $G$is a$T$-group (and all its subgroups have the same property) provided that$G$has an ascending subnormal series with abelian factors. Moreover, it is shown that if$G$is an uncountable soluble group of cardinality$\aleph$whose proper normal subgroups of cardinality $\aleph$have the$T$-property, then every subnormal subgroup of$G$has only finitely many conjugates.
Effects of soybean resistance on variability in life history traits of the higher trophic level parasitoidMeteorus pulchricornis(Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Authors: Li X. , Li B. , Xing G. , Meng L.
Published: November 2016

To extrapolate the influence of plant cultivars varying in resistance levels to hosts on parasitoid life history traits, we estimated variation in parasitoid developmental and reproductive performances as a function of resistance in soybean cultivars, which were randomly chosen from a line of resistant genotypes. Our study showed that the parasitoidMeteorus pulchricornisvaried widely in offspring survival and lifetime fecundity, but varied slightly in development time and adult body size, in response to the soybean cultivars that varied in resistance to the hostSpodoptera litura. Furthermore, the variability in survival and lifetime fecundity was different between attacking the 2nd and the 4th instar host larvae, varying more in survival but less in lifetime fecundity when attacking the 4th than 2nd instar larvae. Our study provides further evidence supporting that plant resistance to herbivorous hosts have variable effects on different life history traits of higher trophic level parasitoids.
Making the city of nations and nationalities: the politics of ethnicity and roads in Hawassa, Ethiopia
Authors: Mains Daniel , Kinfu Eshetayehu
Published: November 2016

This article examines the relationship between the politics of ethnicity and road construction in Hawassa, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian state has recently invested unprecedented amounts of money in the construction of urban roads. These roads both undermine and reinforce longstanding ethnic hierarchies within Ethiopian cities. Contrary to the image promoted by the state of harmony among residents of different ethnic backgrounds, our research revealed a great deal of tension, particularly concerning the distribution of benefits from state-led infrastructural development. The experiences of residents in rapidly changing neighbourhoods, demonstrate that the benefits of recent road construction are not necessarily distributed according to the policies of the current regime. Instead, historical inequalities interact with contemporary urban development in ways that may actually disrupt the state's vision of unity through diversity. Stratification is built into the city and attempts to reshape the city necessarily interact with recent and long-standing inequalities.
Magnetorotational stability in a self-consistent three dimensional axisymmetric magnetized warm plasma equilibrium with a gravitational field
Authors: Catto Peter J. , Krasheninnikov Sergei I.
Published: November 2016

Magnetorotational stability is revisited for self-consistent three-dimensional magnetized hot plasma equilibria in a gravitational field. The eikonal analysis presented finds that magnetorotational stability analysis must be performed with some care to retain compressibility and density gradient effects, and departures from strict Keplerian motion. Indeed, retaining these effects highlights differences between the magnetorotational instability found in the absence of gravity (Velikhov, Sov. Phys. JETP, vol. 36, 1959, pp. 995–998) and that found the presence of gravity (Balbus & Hawley, Astrophys. J., vol. 376, 1991, pp. 214–222). In the non-gravitational case, compressibility and density variation alter the stability condition, while these effects only enter for departures from strict Keplerian motion in a gravitational field. The conditions for instability are made more precise by employing recent magnetized equilibrium results (Catto et al., J. Plasma Phys., vol. 81, 2015, 515810603), rather than employing a hydrodynamic equilibrium. We focus on the stability of the $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}>1$ limit for which equilibria were found in the absence of a toroidal magnetic field, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}=$ plasma/magnetic pressure.
Chirped resonance dynamics in phase space
Authors: Armon T. , Friedland L.
Published: November 2016

The dynamics of passage and capture into resonance of a distribution of particles driven by a chirped frequency perturbation is discussed. The resonant capture in this case involves crossing of the separatrix by individual particles and, therefore, the adiabatic theorem cannot be used in studying this problem no matter how slow the variation of the driving frequency is. It is shown that, if instead of analysing complicated single particle dynamics in passage through resonance, one considers the slow evolution of a whole distribution of initial conditions in phase space, the adiabaticity and phase space incompressibility arguments yield a solution to the resonant passage problem. This approach is illustrated in the case of an ensemble of electrons driven by a chirped frequency wave passing through Cherenkov resonances with the velocity distribution of electrons.
Identity matters to individuals: Group assessment cannot be reduced to collective performance
Authors: Belzung Catherine , de Villemeur Etienne Billette , Grevin Anouk , Iorio Gennaro
Published: November 2016

Although we agree that both identification and differentiation play a key role in explaining individual behaviour in groups, we suggest that (1) cohesion and differentiation should be better articulated, (2) the proposal carries implicit value choices that are not necessarily universal, and (3) the success of a group in shaping individual behaviour should refer to the values of individual members.
Group and individual as complementary conceptual categories
Authors: Blanton Hart
Published: November 2016

Baumeister et al. depart from self-theories that contrast the psychology of the group with the psychology of the individual by considering how differentiated identities further collective interests. In concert with Deviance Regulation Theory, their framework offers a foundation for predicting the reward and punishment contingencies that will help groups function as more than the sum of their parts.
“BRIGHT GLANCES” OR “CLEVER HANDS”? THE DOMESTIC IMAGE OF WORKING-CLASS WOMEN IN ELIZA COOK'S JOURNAL
Authors: Yan Shu-chuan
Published: November 2016

These lines, taken from the poem “Sweet Home,” were published by Eliza Cook (1818–89) in Once a Week in 1867. Accompanied by Joseph Swain's engraving (Figure 4), the poem presents an idealized portrait of a middle-class family in the nineteenth century. The home is a “blissful, holy place” where “Manhood, Infancy, and Age” can find their “love and peace” as well as “joy and grace.” Of particular interest is that Swain places the female figures – grandmother, mother with a child on her lap, and daughter – at the center of the engraving: their bodies and faces are clearly sketched, whereas father and son, the only two male figures in the engraving, merely show half their faces with their backs turned to the reader. Overall, the poem itself contains some of the striking echoes of the dominant ideology of home at the time. The scene of the family gathered around the hearth illuminates the all-embracing concept of domesticity – coziness, comfort, and intimacy.
POSSESSING DRESSES: FASHION AND FEMALE COMMUNITY INTHE WOMAN IN WHITE
Authors: Sloan Casey
Published: November 2016

Margaret Oliphant much preferredThe Woman in White(published serially 1859–1860) toGreat Expectations(published serially 1860–1861). This partiality emerges in a comparative treatment of the texts in her oft-quoted 1862 treatise on sensation fiction, and it rests on the desirability of authors producing thrills using “modest and subtle means” (“Sensation Novels” 569) instead of “by fantastic eccentricities” and “high-strained oddity” (“Sensation Novels” 574). While the existence of an argument against the allegedly regrettable excesses of fantastical narratives will not shock any reader familiar with contemporary criticism of sensation fiction, or, for that matter, Romantic-era novels or Gothic works in general, the primary evidence Oliphant uses to argue her case might come as a surprise. In order to discredit Charles Dickens's ghostly accounts of Miss Havisham's bridal tomb in favor of Wilkie Collins's eerie images of Anne Catherick appearing on a moonlit moor, Margaret Oliphant turns to clothing.
“THE WORST DREAMS THAT EVER I HAVE”: CAPITALISM AND THE ROMANCE IN R. L. STEVENSON'STREASURE ISLAND
Authors: Sergeant David
Published: November 2016

While in recent years therehas been a slow accumulation of research exploring the links between Robert Louis Stevenson's work and capitalism, there remains a sense that this is still only an interesting byway when reading him, rather than a central route. Partly, this can be explained by this research having tended to focus on individual texts attached to specialised or circumscribed contemporary frames – the gold versus silver standard debate, for instance, or Victorian economic theory. As revealing as these localised contextualisations are, their connection to the rest of Stevenson's oeuvre, and to the wider operation of late Victorian capitalism, can be somewhat opaque. More broadly, the neglect of this aspect of Stevenson's work can be seen as the continuing legacy of his status as writer and theorist of romance, a fictional mode still often associated with a childish escapism and reactionary politics – despite recent work by Julia Reid and Glenda Norquay showing how Stevenson must be distinguished from fellow romance revivalists such as H. Rider Haggard, Andrew Lang, and G. A. Henty, to whom such epithets more properly apply.
TOWARDS A GEOMETRY OF COMFORT: HARRIET MARTINEAU'S “I WAS OUTGROWING MY SHELL” AS POETICS OF SPACE
Authors: Ranghetti Clara
Published: November 2016

We understand little of Harriet Martineau, I am convinced, if we do not see how roots and wings formed the coordinates of both her subjectivity and writing, affecting all the choices she made and all the reasons she gave for those choices. Inextricably bound together like the knot in a rope, her attraction to houses as signs of self must be given equal weight with the experiences of move and travel she wrote of again and again. Emblematic in this sense was perhaps Martineau's own emphatic assessment of herself in a March 1844 letter to Mrs Romilly written during the monotony and impotence of her Tynemouth confinement, in which she described, in terms of a symbolic geography, her sense of being apart and undeniably privileged: “a sort of pioneer in the regions of pain,” this is how she termed herself, “whose mission is to make the way somewhat easier, or at least more direct to those who come after” (Martineau 2007, 2: 262).
Psychometric testing of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale–Mandarin version in Taiwanese cancer patients
Authors: Tang Woung-Ru , Kao Chen-Yi
Published: November 2016

Objective:

The spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients is an important indicator of the quality of their lives and of the quality of hospice care, but no validated tools are available for assessing this indicator in Taiwan.

Method:

The present cross-sectional study validated the Spiritual Well-Being Scale–Mandarin version (SWBS–M) by testing its psychometric properties in 243 cancer patients from five teaching hospitals throughout Taiwan. Construct validity was tested by factor analysis and hypothesis testing. Patients' spiritual well-being and quality of life were assessed using the SWBS–M and the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQoL), respectively.

Results:

Overall, the SWBS–M had an internal consistency/reliability of 0.89. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the SWBS–M had an underlying two-factor structure, explaining 46.94% of the variance. SWBS–M scores correlated moderately with MQoL scores (r= 0.48,p< 0.01). Terminally ill cancer patients' spiritual well-being was inversely related to their average pain level during the previous 24 hours (r= –0.183,p= 0.006). Cancer patients' spiritual well-being also differed significantly with their experience of pain (t= –3.67,p< 0.001); terminally ill cancer patients with pain during the previous 24 hours had a lower sense of spiritual well-being than those without pain.

Significance of results:

Our findings support a two-factor model for the SWBS–M in terminally ill Taiwanese cancer patients. We recommend testing the psychometric properties of the SWBS–M in different patient populations to verify its factorial structure in other Asian countries.
Splanchnic vein thrombosis in myeloproliferative neoplasms: risk factors for recurrences in a cohort of 181 patients
Authors: De Stefano V , Vannucchi A M , Ruggeri M , Cervantes F , Alvarez-Larrán A , Iurlo A , Randi M L , Pieri L , Rossi E , Guglielmelli P , Betti S , Elli E , Finazzi M C , Finazzi G , Zetterberg E , Vianelli N , Gaidano G , Nichele I , Cattaneo D , Palova M , Ellis M H , Cacciola E , Tieghi A , Hernandez-Boluda J C , Pungolino E , Specchia G , Rapezzi D , Forcina A , Musolino C , Carobbio A , Griesshammer M , Barbui T
Published: November 2016

We retrospectively studied 181 patients with polycythaemia vera (n=67), essential thrombocythaemia (n=67) or primary myelofibrosis (n=47), who presented a first episode of splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT). Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) and portal vein thrombosis were diagnosed in 31 (17.1%) and 109 (60.3%) patients, respectively; isolated thrombosis of the mesenteric or splenic veins was detected in 18 and 23 cases, respectively. After this index event, the patients were followed for 735 patient years (pt-years) and experienced 31 recurrences corresponding to an incidence rate of 4.2 per 100 pt-years. Factors associated with a significantly higher risk of recurrence were BCS (hazard ratio (HR): 3.03), history of previous thrombosis (HR: 3.62), splenomegaly (HR: 2.66) and leukocytosis (HR: 2.8). Vitamin K-antagonists (VKA) were prescribed in 85% of patients and the recurrence rate was 3.9 per 100 pt-years, whereas in the small fraction (15%) not receiving VKA more recurrences (7.2 per 100 pt-years) were reported. Intracranial and extracranial major bleeding was recorded mainly in patients on VKA and the corresponding rate was 2.0 per 100 pt-years. In conclusion, despite anticoagulation treatment, the recurrence rate after SVT in myeloproliferative neoplasms is high and suggests the exploration of new avenues of secondary prophylaxis with new antithrombotic drugs and JAK-2 inhibitors.
Transgenic mouse model of IgM+ lymphoproliferative disease mimicking Waldenström macroglobulinemia
Authors: Tompkins V S , Sompallae R , Rosean T R , Walsh S , Acevedo M , Kovalchuk A L , Han S-S , Jing X , Holman C , Rehg J E , Herms S , Sunderland J S , Morse H C , Janz S
Published: November 2016

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a low-grade incurable immunoglobulin M+ (IgM+) lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma for which a genetically engineered mouse model of de novo tumor development is lacking. On the basis of evidence that the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin 6 (IL6), and the survival-enhancing oncoprotein, B cell leukemia 2 (BCL2), have critical roles in the natural history of WM, we hypothesized that the enforced expression of IL6 and BCL2 in mice unable to perform immunoglobulin class switch recombination may result in a lymphoproliferative disease that mimics WM. To evaluate this possibility, we generated compound transgenic BALB/c mice that harbored the human BCL2 and IL6 transgenes, EμSV-BCL2-22 and H2-Ld-hIL6, on the genetic background of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) deficiency. We designated these mice BCL2+IL6+AID− and found that they developed—with full genetic penetrance (100% incidence) and suitably short latency (93 days median survival)—a severe IgM+ lymphoproliferative disorder that recapitulated important features of human WM. However, the BCL2+IL6+AID− model also exhibited shortcomings, such as low serum IgM levels and histopathological changes not seen in patients with WM, collectively indicating that further refinements of the model are required to achieve better correlations with disease characteristics of WM.
Inhibition of MHC‐I by Brucella abortus is an early event during infection and involves EGFR pathway
Authors: Velásquez Lis N , Milillo M Ayelén , Delpino M Victoria , Trotta Aldana , Mercogliano M Florencia , Pozner Roberto G , Schillaci Roxana , Elizalde Patricia V , Giambartolomei Guillermo H , Barrionuevo Paula
Published: November 2016

Brucella abortus is able to persist inside the host despite the development of potent CD8+ T‐cell responses. We have recently reported the ability of B. abortus to inhibit the interferon‐γ‐induced major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐I cell surface expression on human monocytes. This phenomenon was due to the B. abortus‐mediated retention of MHC‐I molecules within the Golgi apparatus and was dependent on bacterial viability. However, the implications of bacterial virulence or replicative capacity and the signaling pathways remained unknown. Here we demonstrated that the B. abortus mutant strains RB51 and virB10− are able to inhibit MHC‐I expression in the same manner as wild‐type B. abortus, even though they are unable to persist inside human monocytes for a long period of time. Consistent with this, the phenomenon was triggered early in time and could be observed at 8 h postinfection. At 24 and 48 h, it was even stronger. Regarding the signaling pathway, targeting epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR), ErbB2 (HER2) or inhibition of tumor necrosis factor‐α‐converting enzyme, one of the enzymes which generates soluble EGF‐like ligands, resulted in partial recovery of MHC‐I surface expression. Moreover, recombinant EGF and transforming growth factor‐α as well as the combination of both were also able to reproduce the B. abortus‐induced MHC‐I downmodulation. Finally, when infection was performed in the presence of an extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) inhibitor, MHC‐I surface expression was significantly recovered. Overall, these results describe how B. abortus evades CD8+ T‐cell responses early during infection and exploits the EGFR‐ERK signaling pathway to escape from the immune system and favor chronicity.
Photoemission-based microelectronic devices
Authors: Forati Ebrahim , Dill Tyler J. , Tao Andrea R. , Sievenpiper Dan
Published: November 2016

The vast majority of modern microelectronic devices rely on carriers within semiconductors due to their integrability. Therefore, the performance of these devices is limited due to natural semiconductor properties such as band gap and electron velocity. Replacing the semiconductor channel in conventional microelectronic devices with a gas or vacuum channel may scale their speed, wavelength and power beyond what is available today. However, liberating electrons into gas/vacuum in a practical microelectronic device is quite challenging. It often requires heating, applying high voltages, or using lasers with short wavelengths or high powers. Here, we show that the interaction between an engineered resonant surface and a low-power infrared laser can cause enough photoemission via electron tunnelling to implement feasible microelectronic devices such as transistors, switches and modulators. The proposed photoemission-based devices benefit from the advantages of gas-plasma/vacuum electronic devices while preserving the integrability of semiconductor-based devices.
A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition
Authors: Gunnarsson Bjarni , Jónsdóttir Guðrún A. , Björnsdóttir Gyða , Konte Bettina , Sulem Patrick , Kristmundsdóttir Snædís , Kehr Birte , Gústafsson Ómar , Helgason Hannes , Iordache Paul D. , Ólafsson Sigurgeir , Frigge Michael L. , Þorleifsson Guðmar , Arnarsdóttir Sunna , Stefánsdóttir Berglind , Giegling Ina , Djurovic Srdjan , Sundet Kjetil S. , Espeseth Thomas , Melle Ingrid , Hartmann Annette M. , Thorsteinsdottir Unnur , Kong Augustine , Guðbjartsson Daníel F. , Ettinger Ulrich , Andreassen Ole A. , Dan Rujescu  , Halldórsson Jónas G. , Stefánsson Hreinn , Halldórsson Bjarni V. , Stefánsson Kári
Published: November 2016

Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P = 4.3 × 10−4, β = 0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P = 8.3 × 10−5, β = 0.12 s.d., combined P = 2.2 x 10−7, β = 0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P = 1.0 × 10−5).
Surveillance for highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in synanthropic wildlife associated with poultry farms during an acute outbreak
Authors: Shriner Susan A. , Root J. Jeffrey , Lutman Mark W. , Kloft Jason M. , VanDalen Kaci K. , Sullivan Heather J. , White Timothy S. , Milleson Michael P. , Hairston Jerry L. , Chandler Shannon C. , Wolf Paul C. , Turnage Clinton T. , McCluskey Brian J. , Vincent Amy L. , Torchetti Mia K. , Gidlewski Thomas , DeLiberto Thomas J.
Published: November 2016

In November 2014, a Eurasian strain H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was detected in poultry in Canada. Introduced viruses were soon detected in the United States and within six months had spread to 21 states with more than 48 million poultry affected. In an effort to study potential mechanisms of spread of the Eurasian H5 virus, the United States Department of Agriculture coordinated several epidemiologic investigations at poultry farms. As part of those efforts, we sampled synanthropic birds and mammals at five infected and five uninfected poultry farms in northwest Iowa for exposure to avian influenza viruses. Across all farms, we collected 2,627 samples from 648 individual birds and mammals. House mice were the most common mammal species captured while house sparrows, European starlings, rock pigeons, swallows, and American robins were the most commonly captured birds. A single European starling was positive for Eurasian H5 viral RNA and seropositive for antibodies reactive to the Eurasian H5 virus. Two American robins were also seropositive. No mammal species showed evidence of infection. These results indicate synanthropic species merit further scrutiny to better understand potential biosecurity risks. We propose a set of management practices aimed at reducing wildlife incursions.
Identification of G8969>A in mitochondrial ATP6 gene that severely compromises ATP synthase function in a patient with IgA nephropathy
Authors: Wen Shuzhen , Niedzwiecka Katarzyna , Zhao Weiwei , Xu Shutian , Liang Shaoshan , Zhu Xiaodong , Xie Honglang , Tribouillard-Tanvier Déborah , Giraud Marie-France , Zeng Caihong , Dautant Alain , Kucharczyk Róża , Liu Zhihong , di Rago Jean-Paul , Chen Huimei
Published: November 2016

Here we elucidated the pathogenesis of a 14-year-old Chinese female who initially developed an isolated nephropathy followed by a complex clinical presentation with brain and muscle problems, which indicated that the disease process was possibly due to a mitochondrial dysfunction. Careful evaluation of renal biopsy samples revealed a decreased staining of cells induced by COX and NADH dehydrogenase activities, and a strong fragmentation of the mitochondrial network. These anomalies were due to the presence of a mutation in the mitochondrialATP6gene, G8969>A. This mutation leads to replacement of a highly conserved serine residue at position 148 of thea-subunit of ATP synthase. Increasing the mutation load in cybrid cell lines was paralleled by the appearance of abnormal mitochondrial morphologies, diminished respiration and enhanced production of reactive oxygen species. An equivalent of the G8969>A mutation in yeast had dramatic consequences on ATP synthase, with a block in proton translocation. The mutation was particularly abundant (89%) in the kidney compared to blood and urine, which is likely the reason why this organ was affected first. Based on these findings, we suggest that nephrologists should pay more attention to the possibility of a mitochondrial dysfunction when evaluating patients suffering from kidney problems.
A critical role of solute carrier 22a14 in sperm motility and male fertility in mice
Authors: Maruyama Shin-ya , Ito Momoe , Ikami Yuusuke , Okitsu Yu , Ito Chizuru , Toshimori Kiyotaka , Fujii Wataru , Yogo Keiichiro
Published: November 2016

We previously identified solute carrier 22a14 (Slc22a14) as a spermatogenesis-associated transmembrane protein in mice. Although Slc22a14 is a member of the organic anion/cation transporter family, its expression profile and physiological role have not been elucidated. Here, we show that Slc22a14 is crucial for sperm motility and male fertility in mice. Slc22a14 is expressed specifically in male germ cells, and mice lacking theSlc22a14gene show severe male infertility. Although the overall differentiation of sperm was normal,Slc22a14−/−cauda epididymal spermatozoa showed reduced motility with abnormal flagellar bending. Further, the ability to migrate into the female reproductive tract and fertilise the oocyte were also impaired inSlc22a14−/−spermatozoa. The abnormal flagellar bending was thought to be partly caused by osmotic cell swelling since osmotic challenge or membrane permeabilisation treatment alleviated the tail abnormality. In addition, we found structural abnormalities inSlc22a14−/−sperm cells: the annulus, a ring-like structure at the mid-piece–principal piece junction, was disorganised, and expression and localisation of septin 4, an annulus component protein that is essential for the annulus formation, was also impaired. Taken together, our results demonstrated that Slc22a14 plays a pivotal role in normal flagellar structure, motility and fertility in mouse spermatozoa.
Fluorescence microscopy reveals molecular localisation at line defects in nematic liquid crystals
Authors: Ohzono Takuya , Katoh Kaoru , Fukuda Jun-ichi
Published: November 2016

Topological defects easily form in liquid crystals (LCs) as a result of frustrations in spatially dependent anisotropic molecular ordering, and have been regarded as promising tools for facilitating manipulation of relatively large non-LC materials such as colloids. However, it remains unclear whether low-molecular-weight (LMW) impurities that do not aggregate or self-assemble in bulk LCs because of the dominance of entropy can localise at LC defects. Here, by fluorescence microscopy, we directly show the localisation of LMW molecules at the topological line defects of a nematic LC. It is theoretically explained that excess free energy density of nematic ordering at the defect core allows LMW solutes to accumulate at a non-negligible level overcoming the entropy leading to their uniform distributions. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of LC defects as a bottom-up field that enables micromanipulation of LMW molecules and realisation of transformable three-dimensional micro-architectures composed of versatile small functional molecules.
Probing the PI3K/Akt/mTor pathway using 31P-NMR spectroscopy: routes to glycogen synthase kinase 3
Authors: Phyu Su M. , Tseng Chih-Chung , Fleming Ian N. , Smith Tim A. D.
Published: November 2016

Akt is an intracellular signalling pathway that serves as an essential link between cell surface receptors and cellular processes including proliferation, development and survival. The pathway has many downstream targets including glycogen synthase kinase3 which is a major regulatory kinase for cell cycle transit as well as controlling glycogen synthase activity. The Akt pathway is frequently up-regulated in cancer due to overexpression of receptors such as the epidermal growth factor receptor, or mutation of signalling pathway kinases resulting in inappropriate survival and proliferation. Consequently anticancer drugs have been developed that target this pathway. MDA-MB-468 breast and HCT8 colorectal cancer cells were treated with inhibitors including LY294002, MK2206, rapamycin, AZD8055 targeting key kinases in/associated with Akt pathway and the consistency of changes in 31P-NMR-detecatable metabolite content of tumour cells was examined. Treatment with the Akt inhibitor MK2206 reduced phosphocholine levels in MDA-MB-468 cells. Treatment with either the phosphoinositide-3-kinase inhibitor, LY294002 and pan-mTOR inhibitor, AZD8055 but not pan-Akt inhibitor MK2206 increased uridine-5′-diphosphate-hexose cell content which was suppressed by co-treatment with glycogen synthase kinase 3 inhibitor SB216763. This suggests that there is an Akt-independent link between phosphoinositol-3-kinase and glycogen synthase kinase3 and demonstrates the potential of 31P-NMR to probe intracellular signalling pathways.
On the validation by inter-laboratory study of ‘procedures’ in chemical measurement
Authors: Thompson Michael
Published: November 2016

This study examines formally the proposition that validation of analytical procedures can be best undertaken by interlaboratory study.
Characterization of the binding of six actinyls AnO22+/+(An = U/Np/Pu) with three expanded porphyrins by density functional theory
Authors: Yang Meixiu , Ding Wanjian , Wang Dongqi
Published: November 2016

Oxasapphyrin has stronger binding affinity than amethyrin and grandephyrin in complexation with six hydrated actinyl cations, AnO2(H2O)52+/+(An = U/Np/Pu).
Spontaneous vesiculation: a mechanistic insight from the study of hybrid peptide molecules
Authors: Sapala Appa Rao , Kundu Jayanta , Chowdhury Pramit , Haridas V.
Published: November 2016

We report a series of hybrid peptide molecules that display spontaneous vesiculation. A closer look at their vesicle formation revealed a toroidal intermediate en route to the final vesicular form.
Stress-sensing thermoset polymer networks via grafted cinnamoyl/cyclobutane mechanophore units in epoxy
Authors: Nofen Elizabeth M. , Zimmer Nicholas , Dasgupta Avi , Gunckel Ryan , Koo Bonsung , Chattopadhyay Aditi , Dai Lenore L.
Published: November 2016

A study of novel direct covalent grafting of photoactive mechanophore units into an epoxy matrix to create self-sensing thermoset network nanocomposites.
Design and preparation of a recyclable microfluidic SERS chip with integrated Au@Ag/TiO2 NTs
Authors: Wang Chunyan , Xu Yi , Deng Conghui , Liu Zhixu , Wang Rong , Zhao Huazhou
Published: November 2016

Design and preparation of a recyclable microfluidic SERS chip with integrated Au@Ag/TiO2 NTs.
A study of the aromaticity and ring currents of azulene and azaazulenes
Authors: Mattohti Rahila , Kerim Ablikim
Published: November 2016

The global aromaticity of azaazulenes has been investigated using topological resonance energy (TRE), percentage topological resonance energy (% TRE), and magnetic resonance energy (MRE) methods.
MoO3@Ni nanowire array hierarchical anode for high capacity and superior longevity all-metal-oxide asymmetric supercapacitors
Authors: Xu Chao , Liao Jie , Wang Ruozheng , Zou Peichao , Wang Ronghe , Kang Feiyu , Yang Cheng
Published: November 2016

An all-metal-oxide asymmetric supercapacitor based on MoO3@Ni nanowire array anode with high mass loading and VO2@NNA nanowire array cathode was constructed, which achieved a real capacity (307 mF cm−2) and cyclability (116.6% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles).
Kinetic consequences of methane combustion on Pd, Pt and Pd–Pt catalysts
Authors: Qi Wenjie , Ran Jingyu , Wang Ruirui , Du Xuesen , Shi Jun , Niu Juntian , Zhang Peng , Ran Mingchu
Published: November 2016

The kinetic consequences of methane combustion on PdxPt1−x oxide surfaces were investigated with kinetic data and density functional theory treatments.
Arsenic speciation analysis in environmental water, sediment and soil samples by magnetic ionic liquid-based air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction
Authors: Wang Xiaojun , Xu Guoliang , Chen Peng , Liu Xueying , Fang Ye , Yang Siyu , Wang Guozhen
Published: November 2016

This highly efficient separation method combines the advantages of magnetic ionic liquid (MIL) and air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction (AALLME) for the first time.
Modification of a porous oxide layer formed on an Al–Zn–Mg alloy via plasma electrolytic oxidation and post treatment using oxalate ions
Authors: Kaseem Mosab , Kwon Jeong Hyeon , Ko Young Gun
Published: November 2016

The effect of oxalate ions as modifiers of the oxide layer produced by PEO is discussed for the first time.
A rapid and sensitive electrochemiluminescent sensor for nitrites based on C3N4 quantum dots on C3N4 nanosheets
Authors: Zhu Xi , Kou Fangxia , Xu Huifeng , Yang Guidi
Published: November 2016

Nitrite, an inorganic anion, is widely applied in various fields.
Preparation of magnetic activated carbon from waste rice husk for the determination of tetracycline antibiotics in water samples
Authors: Lou Jianqiu , Xu Xin , Gao Yunfang , Zheng Dezhou , Wang Jinyang , Li Zuguang
Published: November 2016

Preparation of magnetic activated carbon by a natural template strategy and determination of the pre-concentrations of tetracycline antibiotics in water samples.
Fabrication and effect on regulating vSMC phenotype of a biomimetic tunica media scaffold
Authors: Shen Hong , Hu Xixue , Cui Haiyan , Zhuang Yaping , Huang Da , Yang Fei , Wang Xing , Wang Shenguo , Wu Decheng
Published: November 2016

We constructed a bFGF@TGF-β1 loaded porous film-like PLGA scaffold with dual surface topography of nanofiber and micro-orientation structures for regulating the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC).
Characteristics of a thyroid carcinoma cell line derived from spinal metastasis
Authors: Zhou Zhenhua , Li Yan , Yan Xu , Wang Xudong , Chen Su , Xiao Jianru
Published: November 2016

A thyroid carcinoma cell line named THY28 was established through primary culture of the surgical specimens, which were derived from a Chinese patient with spinal metastasis. The cell morphology, growth kinetics, cell cycle, chromosome number, cell capability of migration, tumorigenicity and cytogenetic features of the cell line were investigated. THY28 cells were subcultured in vitro for more than 50 passages with a human karyotype. The modal number of its chromosomes was mainly from 67 to 85. The doubling time of THY28 cells was 56 hours. The histopathological features of xenograft induced by THY28 cells were consistent with the characteristics of thyroid cancer. The biological and molecular properties of THY28 cells were not entirely consistent with those of other thyroid carcinoma cells such as SW579 and TT cells, indicating biological differences between primary and metastatic thyroid carcinoma cell lines. We have established a novel thyroid carcinoma cell line derived from spinal metastasis, which will provide a useful model for biological or therapeutic studies of thyroid carcinoma metastasis.
Probing the electrical impedance of thin films on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), making use of frequency shifts and piezoelectric stiffening
Authors: Peschel Astrid , Böttcher Andreas , Langhoff Arne , Johannsmann Diethelm
Published: November 2016

Using a temperature-responsive polymer film as an example, it was shown that a conventional quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) can probe a sample’s electrical properties in addition to its thickness and softness. The film’s electrical impedance was accessed by alternating between the driving voltage being applied to the front electrode and the back electrode. The opposing electrode was grounded in both cases. In the first configuration, the electrical properties of the sample do have an influence on the resonance frequency because of piezoelectric stiffening. In the second, they do not. Using this scheme, it was monitored how the electrical impedance of a film composed of a mixture of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide and polyvinylalcohol changes when the film swells and deswells.
Temperature study of Al0.52In0.48P detector photon counting X-ray spectrometer
Authors: Butera S. , Gohil T. , Lioliou G. , Krysa A. B. , Barnett A. M.
Published: November 2016

A prototype 200 μm diameter Al0.52In0.48P p+-i-n+ mesa photodiode (2 μm i-layer) was characterised at temperatures from 100 °C to −20 °C for the development of a temperature tolerant photon counting X-ray spectrometer. At each temperature, X-ray spectra were accumulated with the AlInP detector reverse biased at 0 V, 5 V, 10 V, and 15 V and using different shaping times. The detector was illuminated by an 55Fe radioisotope X-ray source. The best energy resolution, as quantified by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 5.9 keV, was observed at 15 V for all the temperatures studied; at 100 °C, a FWHM of 1.57 keV was achieved, and this value improved to 770 eV FWHM at −20 °C. System noise analysis was also carried out, and the different noise contributions were computed as functions of temperature. The results are the first demonstration of AlInP's suitability for photon counting X-ray spectroscopy at temperatures other than ≈20 °C.
Coupling mechanism of interface-induced generation-recombination current with the floating source in nMOSFET
Authors: Chen Haifeng , Xie Duan , Guo Lixin
Published: November 2016

This paper presents a detailed investigation of the interface trap-induced generation-recombination current IGR in an n-type MOSFET. Under the positive drain bias VD-step–mode measurement, IGR demonstrates some abnormal changes and even transforms from the generation current to the recombination current. These phenomena ascribe to the coupling mechanism of IGR with the floating source. The core of this mechanism is that the floating source leads to the variable ΔEFN, which is the difference of the electron's quasi-Fermi levels between the source and the drain. The plus-minus sign of ΔEFN determines the function of the interface trap serving as the generation or recombination center, and the magnitude of ΔEFN determines the shape of IGR curve. Additionally, the area Ω of IGR curve is introduced to verify and quantitatively describe this coupling mechanism. It is found that Ω has the linear relationship with ΔEFN and the slope is 19 p/eV. This coupling mechanism provides a potential way to control the pA current based on the interface trap.