bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energetic electron bunch generation by laser interaction with xenon clusters
Authors: Venkat Prachi , Holkundkar Amol R.
Published: October 2018

We study the interaction of intense, sub-cycle, and few-cycle laser pulses with xenon clusters for the generation of mono-energetic electron bunches. For this purpose, we used three dimensional, relativistic, molecular dynamics simulations. In this work, we used two mutually perpendicularly polarized (MPP) pulses separated by a finite temporal phase delay. The first pulse is responsible for the generation of electrons by field ionization of atomic clusters. However, the second pulse tends to accelerate the electrons (created by the first pulse) as a bunch. The effect of phase delay, pulse duration, and peak laser intensity on the generation of energetic electron bunches is studied. Under optimum conditions, the electrons are found to be accelerated to energies as high as 2.5 MeV. The feasibility of further acceleration of these electron bunches utilizing laser wakefield acceleration is also explored in this work by treating the accelerated electron bunch by MPP pulses as an initial condition to the nonlinear one-dimensional laser wakefield equations. The rough estimate of the final accelerated electron energies after laser wakefield acceleration has also been made.
Evolution of field dependent carrier trapping during off-state degradation for GaN based metal oxide semiconductor high electron mobility transistors
Authors: Jha Jaya , Upadhyay Bhanu B. , Takhar Kuldeep , Bhardwaj Navneet , Ganguly Swaroop , Saha Dipankar
Published: October 2018

We have shown that the off-state degradation in GaN based metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors has three field dependent regimes. We have considered Al2O3 and AlOxNy as the gate dielectrics. The degradation is dominated by electron trapping near the drain edge at relatively low electric field; hole trapping followed by structural defects tends to dominate at high electric field. The structural defects may potentially be caused by an inverse piezoelectric effect when the AlGaN/GaN interface may relax partially. The hole trapping, in particular, at moderate to high electric field can lead to an anomalous trend. The off-state drain current bears the signature of the degradation. The transistor performance is found to deteriorate for all the cases independent of the degradation mechanism. The trapping contribution toward the degradation is partially recoverable; however, the structural damage is found to be permanent. It is also observed that both the gate dielectrics qualitatively suffer from the same degradation mechanism with oxynitride high electron mobility transistors showing higher resilience than their oxide counterpart.
Hall effect of asymmetric La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrTiO3/SrRuO3 and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/BaTiO3/SrRuO3 superlattices
Authors: Ziese M. , Lindfors-Vrejoiu I.
Published: October 2018

The Hall resistivity and magnetization of high quality asymmetric La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrTiO3/SrRuO3 and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/BaTiO3/SrRuO3 superlattices were investigated. The Hall resistivity hysteresis curves have a complex magnetic field dependence in an intermediate temperature regime that is not reflected in the global magnetization. We interpret this as arising either from the formation of complex magnetization textures that lead to the appearance of a topological Hall effect or from the shift of the Weyl nodes in SrRuO3 by the coupling to the adjacent La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 magnetization.
Selective excitation and control of coherent terahertz Smith-Purcell radiation by high-intensity period-tunable train of electron micro-bunches
Authors: Liang Yifan , Du Yingchao , Wang Dan , Yan Lixin , Tian Qili , Chen Kai , Huang Wenhui , Tang Chuanxiang , Konoplev I. V. , Zhang H. , Doucas G.
Published: October 2018

We report the observation and studies of selective excitation and control of terahertz (THz) coherent Smith-Purcell radiation (cSPr) from a train of sub-picosecond-period electron micro-bunches. The coherence of the radiation from such a train has been demonstrated. The spectrum of cSPr was measured and the selective excitation of the first and the second harmonics was observed, respectively. We also demonstrate experimentally that radiation pulses generated by each electron micro-bunch interfere coherently with the maximum intensity of cSPr observed at the frequency equal to the frequency of the micro-bunch spacing. The experimental results greatly contribute to the understanding of coherent Smith-Purcell radiation from the train of electron micro-bunches, as well as the development of THz diagnostics for accelerators.
TRAF4 binds to the juxtamembrane region of EGFR directly and promotes kinase activation
Authors: Cai Gang , Zhu Liang , Chen Xing , Sun Kevin , Liu Caini , Sen Ganes C. , Stark George R. , Qin Jun , Li Xiaoxia
Published: October 2018

Significance

EGFR is a transmembrane cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinase crucial for regulating diverse physiological and pathological responses, but how protein function is turned on has remained elusive. Our results indicated that EGF stimulation recruits a key scaffold protein called TRAF4, which in turn recognizes the C-terminal half of the juxtamembrane segment of EGFR and promotes EGFR activation. Specific mutations in the TRAF4 binding site of EGFR resulted in significant attenuation of EGF-induced EGFR activation. These findings provide important insight into the mechanism of EGFR activation, and implicate TRAF4 as a potential therapeutic target for treating EGF/EGFR-driven cancers.
Evolutionarily conserved
Tbx5
–
Wnt2/2b
pathway orchestrates cardiopulmonary development
Authors: Steimle Jeffrey D. , Rankin Scott A. , Slagle Christopher E. , Bekeny Jenna , Rydeen Ariel B. , Chan Sunny Sun-Kin , Kweon Junghun , Yang Xinan H. , Ikegami Kohta , Nadadur Rangarajan D. , Rowton Megan , Hoffmann Andrew D. , Lazarevic Sonja , Thomas William , Boyle Anderson Erin A. T. , Horb Marko E. , Luna-Zurita Luis , Ho Robert K. , Kyba Michael , Jensen Bjarke , Zorn Aaron M. , Conlon Frank L. , Moskowitz Ivan P.
Published: October 2018

Codevelopment of the lungs and heart underlies key evolutionary innovations in the transition to terrestrial life. Cardiac specializations that support pulmonary circulation, including the atrial septum, are generated by second heart field (SHF) cardiopulmonary progenitors (CPPs). It has been presumed that transcription factors required in the SHF for cardiac septation, e.g.,
Tbx5
, directly drive a cardiac morphogenesis gene-regulatory network. Here, we report instead that TBX5 directly drives Wnt ligands to initiate a bidirectional signaling loop between cardiopulmonary mesoderm and the foregut endoderm for endodermal pulmonary specification and, subsequently, atrial septation. We show that
Tbx5
is required for pulmonary specification in mice and amphibians but not for swim bladder development in zebrafish. TBX5 is non–cell-autonomously required for pulmonary endoderm specification by directly driving
Wnt2
and
Wnt2b
expression in cardiopulmonary mesoderm. TBX5 ChIP-sequencing identified
cis
-regulatory elements at
Wnt2
sufficient for endogenous
Wnt2
expression domains in vivo and required for
Wnt2
expression in precardiac mesoderm in vitro.
Tbx5
cooperated with Shh signaling to drive
Wnt2b
expression for lung morphogenesis.
Tbx5
haploinsufficiency in mice, a model of Holt–Oram syndrome, caused a quantitative decrement of mesodermal-to-endodermal Wnt signaling and subsequent endodermal-to-mesodermal Shh signaling required for cardiac morphogenesis. Thus,
Tbx5
initiates a mesoderm–endoderm–mesoderm signaling loop in lunged vertebrates that provides a molecular basis for the coevolution of pulmonary and cardiac structures required for terrestrial life.
Eye gaze as a cue for recognizing intention and coordinating joint action
Authors: Amati Franco , Brennan Susan E.
Published: October 2018

People in conversation are highly sensitive to where others are looking. It has been argued that eye gaze is such a compelling social signal that following the gaze of another person is practically reflexive. Others have demonstrated that the role of gaze in interaction is more flexible. The direction of eye gaze can be informative about what a person is searching for, monitoring, orienting toward, referring to, deciding to choose, planning, or intending. But because it can signal all of these things (or none of them, as when attention is captured inadvertently by something sudden or salient), a look is often ambiguous. In this chapter, we consider the contributions of eye gaze to recognizing intentions and coordinating joint action in spatial contexts. To the extent that gazing at an object is instrumental to what the gazer is doing, a look can provide a window for an experimenter into the gazer’s cognitive processing, a cue for an interacting partner about the gazer’s intention, or a hint for a marketer about the gazer’s preference or indecision. Patterns of looks can be interpreted by people engaged in perspective taking, or by automated pattern recognizers engaged in mind-reading. Finally, eye gaze has the potential to be deployed communicatively, as when one person intends that another recognize what she is attending to and use this information to coordinate their behavior. We discuss evidence about how observers use gaze cues (whether interactively or non-interactively) in contexts where they can see the gazer’s face, as well as during remote electronic communication by way of a shared gaze system where each partner’s gaze is represented to the other by a dynamic cursor displayed over a shared screen.
Mobile dual eye-tracking in face-to-face interaction
Authors: Stukenbrock Anja
Published: October 2018

In face-to-face interaction deixis, i.e. (the use of) a particular class of linguistic items that have grammaticalised the space-, time- and person-bound structure of the participants’ subjective orientation in the speech event (Bühler, 1965[1934]), is intricately connected to visible acts of demonstration (prototypically pointing) and joint attention. A growing body of publications within the field of conversation analysis and research on multimodality acknowledges the central role that pointing plays in acts of deictic reference (Eriksson, 2009; Fricke, 2007; Goodwin, 2003; Kendon, 2004; Kita, 2003; Mondada, 2012a; Stukenbrock, 2009, 2014a, 2014b, 2015). Surprisingly, eye gaze has remained an unexplored area although it serves a variety of crucial functions in the participants’ on-line organisation of a joint focus of attention on deictically foregrounded entities in the immediate spatial surroundings (Stukenbrock, 2009, 2010, 2014a, 2014b, 2015). The few existing studies mainly rely on video-recordings that do not allow a precise analysis of eye gaze.

Drawing on innovative mobile eye-tracking technology, my paper explores different forms of gaze behaviour that systematically occur when participants direct their interlocutor’s attention to visible entities in the surroundings by means of deictic pointing. My data consists of mobile eye-tracking recordings undertaken with two pairs of eye-tracking glasses worn by participants in non-laboratory, everyday settings ((1) shopping together at a market, (2) searching for a book in a library, (3) conducting an informal conversation). The analysis is based on frame-precisely synchronised split-screen videos consisting of two complementary eye-tracking videos which allow a moment-by-moment reconstruction of the way in which the participants coordinate talk, body movements and gaze in the emergent interaction.
Teacher adaptations to support students with special education needs in French immersion
Authors: Mady Callie
Published: October 2018

As of late, French immersion (FI) teachers have been encouraged to adapt their instruction to support the inclusion and success of
students with learning difficulties. In particular, pedagogical concepts such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (National
Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2014) and differentiated instruction (Tomlinson,
2004) have been promoted as means to do so. This study used observations of nine FI teachers’ classes with the view to
exploring their adaptations for students with learning difficulties in hopes of identifying future professional development
directions. The observations revealed that the FI teachers were aptly adapting their instruction for the class as a whole whereas
they were less apt to modify for individual students. In order to further their inclusive practices, the FI teachers in this study
would benefit from future professional development opportunities that focus on differentiating instruction for individuals and
conversations about if and how teacher language choices can provide additional means of differentiation.
Unpacking dimensions of immersion teacher educator identity
Authors: Leavy Aisling , Hourigan Mairéad , Ó Ceallaigh T. J.
Published: October 2018

Inadequate teacher preparation for immersion programs remains a challenge. While there is a significant dearth of research on
teacher development in immersion education, research focusing on immersion teacher educators (ITEs) is even more scant. Using
self-study methodology, this study explores the professional learning and experiences of three teacher educators (TEs) as they
construct new professional identities as ITEs as part of engagement in Lesson Study. The paper particularly focuses on two
Mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) who were newcomers to the immersion education setting. A community
of practice (CoP) framework was utilised to provide insights into what Vygotsky (1987) terms the twisting path of all three
TEs as they engaged in the CoP. Critical moments of defending content as priority, negotiating an integrated space, and becoming
immersion-responsive were revealed. CoP played a vital role in facilitating new professional identities and illuminates in
multiple ways the exclusive and complex process of becoming an ITE.
Veridicality and sets of alternative worlds
Authors: Öhl Peter
Published: October 2018

This paper explores three related phenomena. First, not all embedded formal interrogatives (i.e. clauses introduced by if or whether) have the function of an indirect question. Second, the complementizers if and that may occur in identical syntactic contexts. Third, if-clauses may be licensed by certain (discourse) semantic factors, like negation, modality, and also verum focus, where otherwise that-clauses are preferred. The approach taken is based on epistemic logic, especially on the notion of relativized veridicality, the notion of possible worlds and the formal semantics of the complementizers that and if.
On two types of polar interrogatives in Hungarian and their interaction with inside and outside negation
Authors: Gyuris Beáta
Published: October 2018

The paper provides a survey of the form types of Hungarian polar interrogatives containing the negative particle nem ‘not’ and of their interpretational features, and discusses the possibilities of formally modeling the observable distinctions. First a general review of the basic syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of polar interrogatives is provided, with special attention to the differences between two root interrogative form types in Hungarian. It is argued that the distinction between outside and inside negation readings proposed by Ladd (1981) for English can also be detected in Hungarian, with the help of particular morphosyntactic tests. The application of the tests reveals that whereas the intonationally marked negative polar interrogatives have both outside and inside negation readings, those marked by morphological means only possess the former one. The tests are also shown to detect interpretational distinctions having to do with the types of bias that the particular forms are compatible with. Without providing a fully-fledged formal modeling, the paper discusses possible strategies for capturing the above distinctions in terms of the proposals made in Romero & Han (2004), Repp (2013) and Krifka (2017).
Fromthe light of truthtothe dark alleys of tyranny
Authors: Degani Marta
Published: October 2018

The present study aims at exploring the evocative power of metaphor in a number of remarkable American political speeches. The investigation concentrates on the metaphorical framing of political issues in terms of light and darkness. The analysis is carried out on a corpus consisting of the top 100 political speeches in the twentieth century according to a ranking given by American rhetoricians in a national survey (http://www. news.wisc.edu/misc/speeches). Overall, the study shows how the metaphorical uses of the evocative concepts of light and darkness have facilitated the communication of central political ideas, values and beliefs in twentieth century American political rhetoric.
The body politic of independent Scotland
Authors: Engström Robin
Published: October 2018

The creation of national personifications is a political act that informs us about ideological and cognitive strategies underpinning nation-building. Many European nations are associated with national personifications, but Scotland stands out by not having a tradition of representing the nation in this way. The 2014 independence referendum began to change that, and national personifications featured, not only in the main pro-independence campaign material, but in the visual profile of many new, radical organizations. These personifications also raise questions about the use of metaphor in political discourse. By combining multimodal metaphor and metonymy analysis with interviews with artists who have designed Scottish personifications for the independence movement, this article investigates how new Scottish body politic metaphors were constructed during the campaign. This methodology increases our understanding of the wider context of the referendum, and aids the interpretation of national personifications by providing arguments for interpretation. The analysis shows that body politic metaphors used in the campaign draw on traditional Scottish symbols, but traditional body politic metaphor types are subverted, typically concerning gender roles, in order to convey messages that are relevant in a contemporary political landscape.
Where cultural references and lexical cohesion meet
Authors: Tseng Ming-Yu
Published: October 2018

This study investigates creative product descriptions (CPDs) in an intercultural context, especially with respect to cultural
references (CRs) and lexical cohesion. More specifically, it examines (i) how CRs are utilized in CPDs written in English for
intercultural communication, (ii) how lexical cohesion can be described in a culturally meaningful and context-sensitive way, and
(iii) what role cultural reference terms play in shaping the lexical cohesion of such CPDs. By proposing a multi-layer framing
model of cohesion, this paper shows how lexical cohesion results from interactions of four frames activated in the production and
reception of a text: sociocultural, generic, interpersonal and conceptual. The study concludes with some practical implications
for the writing of CPDs in English for intercultural communication.
“Mr Paul, please inform me accordingly”
Authors: Economidou-Kogetsidis Maria
Published: October 2018

The function of students’ email requests to faculty is both transactional and interactional. Students’ emails are not only sent
with the aim of receiving some form of service but they also need to adhere to the interactional function of language in order to
establish and maintain social relationships. Therefore, how to address their lecturers and how much directness is appropriate in
the requests performed through this medium, are some of the most difficult choices that students have to make. This study
investigates how L2 university students’ academic requests are formulated through the medium of email, and examines the
correlation between the forms of address, the degree of (in)directness and the degree of imposition of their email as a way to
express e-politeness.
The effects of English-medium instruction on the use of textual and interpersonal pragmatic markers
Authors: Ament Jennifer , Pérez Vidal Carmen , Barón Parés Júlia
Published: October 2018

This study examines a semi and a full English-medium instruction (EMI) undergraduate program offered at a Catalan university in order to measure its effect on the students’ oral output. Specifically, it tackles the acquisition of pragmatic markers (PMs) by measuring four variables, the overall frequency of use, the variety of types, the use of textual PMs, and the use of interpersonal PMs. Oral data were collected via a monologue and an interaction task. The study is cross-sectional with 39 full-EMI and 33 semi-EMI participants in 2nd and 3rd year of study plus 10 native speakers. PM use was chosen for analysis due to the important role they play in communicative competence. Results show a significant increase in the overall frequency and variety of types of PMs used from year 2 to year 3. The full-EMI group used PMs at a significantly higher frequency and wider variety when compared to the semi-EMI group, neither group reached baseline levels for use of interpersonal PMs, and both groups displayed a higher use of textual PMs compared to the NSs.
The importance of genre in the Greek diglossia of the 20th century
Authors: Fragaki Georgia , Goutsos Dionysis
Published: October 2018

Greek diglossia has been mainly studied so far by focusing on linguistic attitudes rather than
investigating actual use. This paper aims at studying evidence from a number of genres in the Diachronic Corpus of Greek of the 20th Century, including academic texts, public speeches, film scripts,
newsreels, literature, song lyrics and private letters. The frequencies of the high vs. low variants of two pairs of
basic grammatical items are compared across the nine decades of the corpus. It is suggested that recent language
change in Greek largely depends on genre, which can account, among other factors, for the direction and timing of
developments. Dimensions of text production like formality, conventionality, planning and (perceived) spontaneity
contribute to the specificities of each genre.
The colours and the spectrum
Authors: Koenderink Jan J.
Published: October 2018

Colours and spectrum stand in an ambiguous and perhaps awkward relation to each other. There exist formal accounts in phenomenology with non-trivial structure that do not refer to the spectrum at all, whereas in contradistinction, conventional colorimetry is a formal account that focuses fully upon the spectral description of radiation. It describes precisely the basic psychophysical facts of discrimination of radiant beams – threshold psychophysics. These accounts are often conceived of as mutually exclusive. I explore formal relations and identify instances that do or don’t require spectral notions in some essential way. This yields novel insights in colour vision, in the most general sense, from a perspective that acknowledges both phenomenology and colorimetry.
Ensemble perception of colour
Authors: Maule John , Franklin Anna
Published: October 2018

In order to rapidly get the gist of new scenes the brain must have mechanisms to process the large amount of visual information that enters the eye. Previous research has shown that observers can extract the average feature from briefly seen sets of multiple stimuli that vary along a certain dimension (e.g., size), a phenomenon called ensemble perception. This chapter summarizes the research that we have carried out investigating ensemble perception of hue. We have shown that observers can extract and estimate the mean hue of rapidly presented multi-colour ensembles. The ability to average hue may be driven by a subsampling mechanism (i.e. remembering just a few items), but results from autistic adults suggest that it can be modulated by local/global bias.
The role of saturation in colour naming and colour appearance
Authors: Witzel Christoph
Published: October 2018

Saturation is an integral part of colour perception. Yet, this aspect of colour vision has been widely neglected in research on colour naming and colour appearance. Fundamental questions about colour naming and colour appearance need to be reconsidered in the light of the important role of saturation. These questions concern the variation of measurements across studies, the relationship between category prototypes and unique hues, cross-cultural regularities in colour categorization, focal colours and the salience of category prototypes, and the role of unique hues in colour appearance.
Diatopic variation in the referential meaning of the “Italian blues”
Authors: Paramei Galina V. , D’Orsi Mauro , Menegaz Gloria
Published: October 2018

Standard Italian blu is unanimously glossed as “dark blue”. In comparison, azzurro is referred to as either “light blue” or “medium blue” in different studies. We explored diatopic variation (linguistic variation on a geographical level) in the denotata of blu, azzurro and celeste “sky blue” in a psycholinguistic experiment conducted in Verona (Veneto region) and Alghero (Sardinia). Participants named Munsell chips of the BLUE area. For each blue term, a referential volume of naming consensus colours was fitted by a convex hull visualized in CIELAB space. The referential extents of azzurro and celeste were found to differ markedly between the two regions: Verona participants used azzurro to denote “medium-and-light blue”; in contrast, for a similar colour space extent, Alghero participants used predominantly celeste, with azzurro being constrained to darker “medium blue”. The historical factors are discussed behind the more conservative colour naming in Sardinian dialects compared to mainland Standard Italian.
Unifying research on colour and emotion
Authors: Mohr Christine , Jonauskaite Domicele , Dan-Glauser Elise S. , Uusküla Mari , Dael Nele
Published: October 2018

Popular opinions link colours and emotions. Yet, affective connotations of colours are heterogeneous (for example, red represents anger and love) partly because they relate to different contexts. Despite insufficient evidence, colours are used in applied settings (health, marketing, and others) for their supposed effects on cognitive and affective functioning. Summarizing the literature, we recommend systematic research to investigate when and how colours link with affective phenomena. We need to: (1) distinguish between situations in which colours are either physically shown or linguistically treated; (2) specify types of affective processes (for example, emotion, mood, preference); and (3) investigate cross-cultural differences. Having these needs in mind, we initiated an international online survey on semantic colour-emotion associations. We outline theoretical considerations and present the survey’s design.
Does deuteranomaly place children at a disadvantage in educational settings?
Authors: Mehta Beejal , Sowden Paul T. , Grandison Alexandra
Published: October 2018

A review was conducted to explore possible consequences of deuteranomaly, a specific type of congenital colour vision deficiency (CVD), for children in education. Electronic searches of five databases were performed. Key search terms included: child*, colo?r vision, colo?r blind*, colour def*, deuter*, education*, health*, wellbeing, occupation*, to identify empirical studies published in English during the period 1990–2016. Analysis provided evidence of challenges to school students with congenital vision deficiencies, and the impact of deuteranomaly in educational settings. Four themes emerged: (1) requirements for deciphering colour-coding that may affect educational attainment; (2) mental health and wellbeing; (3) implications for future occupational choices, and (4) relation of chromatic discrimination to certain cognitive abilities. The findings prompt recommendation of certain interventions, specifically relating to colour vision screening at early school age, and raising awareness of challenges of school students with deuteranomaly.
Common basis for colour and light studies
Authors: Klarén Ulf
Published: October 2018

Most scientific research about colour and light perception is focused on underlying physical or physiological processes. The contribution of physics to description of human experiences is limited to causal relations. Physical theories can with great precision describe, explain and predict physical and physiological processes, but there is no physical method or physical theory describing the spatio-dynamic and contextual human experience of colour and light. Without a common systematic description of the living experiences of colour and light, teachers are obliged to use a variety of incoherent and competing doctrines and systems. This article argues for a widened interdisciplinary dialogue aiming at a common framework of understanding of colour and light experiences.
The effects of correlated colour temperature on wayfinding performance and emotional reactions
Authors: Suzer Özge Kumoğlu , Olgunturk Nilgun
Published: October 2018

This study investigated travellers’ wayfinding performance according to the correlated colour temperature (CCT) of lighting in a virtual airport environment. In the first phase an experiment was conducted under 3000K (yellowish-white) and 12000K (bluish-white) light. Universal face representations of basic emotions (anger, disgust, neutral, surprise, happiness, fear, sadness) were shown to participants and they were asked to choose a single face. In the second phase, two questionnaires were conducted to identify participants’ level of presence in the virtual environment. Females were significantly more lacking in confidence than males in finding their destination, hesitating more often. The results indicated that participants’ wayfinding performance was better under 12000K, which they also associated with more positive emotion.
Second messenger molecules have a limited spread in olfactory cilia
Authors: Takeuchi Hiroko , Kurahashi Takashi
Published: October 2018

Odorants are detected by olfactory receptors on the sensory cilia of olfactory receptor cells (ORCs). These cylindrical cilia have a diameters of 100–200 nm, within which the components required for signal transduction by the adenylyl cyclase–cAMP system are located. The kinetics of odorant responses are determined by the lifetimes of active proteins as well as the production, diffusion, and extrusion/degradation of second messenger molecules (cAMP and Ca2+). However, there is limited information about the molecular kinetics of ORC responses, mostly because of the technical limitations involved in studying such narrow spaces and fine structures. In this study, using a combination of electrophysiology, photolysis of caged substances, and spot UV laser stimulation, we show that second messenger molecules work only in the vicinity of their site of generation in the olfactory cilia. Such limited spreading clearly explains a unique feature of ORCs, namely, the integer multiple of unitary events that they display in low Ca2+ conditions. Although the small ORC uses cAMP and Ca2+ for various functions in different regions of the cell, these substances seem to operate only in the compartment that has been activated by the appropriate stimulus. We also show that these substances remain in the same vicinity for a long time. This enables the ORC to amplify the odorant signal and extend the lifetime of Ca2+-dependent adaptation. Cytoplasmic buffers and extrusion/degradation systems seem to play a crucial role in limiting molecular spreading. In addition, binding sites on the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane may limit molecular diffusion in such a narrow space because of the high surface/volume ratio. Such efficient energy conversion may also be broadly used in other biological systems that have not yet been subjected to systematic experiments.
The Superficial Temporal Artery: Anatomical Map for Facial Reconstruction and Aesthetic Procedures
Authors: Koziej Mateusz , Trybus Marek , Hołda Mateusz , Wnuk Jakub , Polak Jakub , Brzegowy Paweł , Popiela Tadeusz , Walocha Jerzy , Tomaszewski Krzysztof , Chrapusta Anna
Published: October 2018

Background

The superficial temporal artery (STA), a terminal branch of the external carotid artery, supplies multiple regions of the scalp and face. Knowledge of the STA is important for reconstructive and aesthetic procedures of the head and face.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to map the STA in relation to anatomical landmarks.

Methods

Computed tomographic head angiographies of 215 patients were included in this study; the final analysis comprised 419 STAs. The STA’s main branches and variants were identified. The diameters of the STA and its frontal and occipital branches were measured, and the distance between the STA tree and anatomical landmarks was delineated.

Results

Frontal and parietal branches were recorded in 98.1% and 90.7% of patients, respectively. The mean diameters, measured 1 and 7 cm from the STA bifurcation for the frontal branch, were 0.97 ± 0.32 and 0.81 ± 0.26 mm, respectively, and for the parietal branch, the diameters were 0.96 ± 0.28 and 0.76 ± 0.23 mm, respectively. The STA bifurcation point was located above the zygomatic arch (ZA) in 75.6%, below in 14.7%, and on the ZA in 9.7% of patients. The mean distance from the ZA center to the STA bifurcation was 16.8 ± 16.0 mm.

Conclusions

The STA artery and its main branches follow a conservative course, and serious anatomical variations are relatively rare. The STA and its main branches may be localized using simple anatomical landmarks. An anatomical map showing artery-free zones in the lateral forehead region was presented, which may prove useful for plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgeons.

Level of Evidence: 4
Ultrasound-Guided Corticosteroid Injection in a Patient With Tietze Syndrome Combined With Costochondral Joint Swelling
Authors: Cho Ju Young , Park Donghwi
Published: October 2018

Tietze syndrome is an uncommon disease of unknown etiology that manifests as pain and tenderness of the parasternal joints. To date, however, there has been no report on ultrasonographic findings concerning swelling of the costochondral joint in Tietze syndrome. Moreover, there has been no research investigating images of ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection, although corticosteroid injection is one of the most important treatments for Tietze syndrome. Therefore, we report a case of Tietze syndrome where ultrasound images were used in the diagnostic and therapeutic process. A 70-yr-old man was seen for left chest pain that had lasted for several weeks. Physical examination at our clinic revealed a focal tenderness of the left third costochondral joint, and an ultrasound showed a swelling of the left third costochondral joint. Considering both the radiological and the clinical examination, the patient received a diagnosis of Tietze syndrome with costochondral joint swelling. Then, the patient agreed to an ultrasound-guided left third costochondral corticosteroid injection after receiving a detailed explanation of the disease and treatment. After receiving three ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injections, his chest pain subsided, and the swelling and tenderness also disappeared completely. Collectively, our case suggests that ultrasound is important in the diagnosis and treatment of Tietze syndrome.
PhasomeIt: an ‘omics’ approach to cataloguing the potential breadth of phase variation in the genus Campylobacter
Authors: Aidley Jack , Wanford Joseph J. , Green Luke R. , Sheppard Samuel K. , Bayliss Christopher D.
Published: October 2018

Hypermutable simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are drivers of phase variation (PV) whose stochastic, high-frequency, reversible switches in gene expression are a common feature of several pathogenic bacterial species, including the human pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. Here we examine the distribution and conservation of known and putative SSR-driven phase variable genes – the phasome – in the genus Campylobacter. PhasomeIt, a new program, was specifically designed for rapid identification of SSR-mediated PV. This program detects the location, type and repeat number of every SSR. Each SSR is linked to a specific gene and its putative expression state. Other outputs include conservation of SSR-driven phase-variable genes and the ‘core phasome’ – the minimal set of PV genes in a phylogenetic grouping. Analysis of 77 complete Campylobacter genome sequences detected a ‘core phasome’ of conserved PV genes in each species and a large number of rare PV genes with few, or no, homologues in other genome sequences. Analysis of a set of partial genome sequences, with food-chain-associated metadata, detected evidence of a weak link between phasome and source host for disease-causing isolates of sequence type (ST)-828 but not the ST-21 or ST-45 complexes. Investigation of the phasomes in the genus Campylobacter provided evidence of overlapping but distinctive mechanisms of PV-mediated adaptation to specific niches. This suggests that the phasome could be involved in host adaptation and spread of campylobacters. Finally, this tool is malleable and will have utility for studying the distribution and genic effects of other repetitive elements in diverse bacterial species.
Opposing Influence of Sensory and Motor Cortical Input on Striatal Circuitry and Choice Behavior
Authors: Lee Christian R. , Yonk Alex J. , Wiskerke Joost , Paradiso Kenneth G. , Tepper James M. , Margolis David J.
Published: October 2018

The striatum is the main input nucleus of the basal ganglia and is a key site of sensorimotor integration. While the striatum receives extensive excitatory afferents from the cerebral cortex, the influence of different cortical areas on striatal circuitry and behavior is unknown. Here we find that corticostriatal inputs from whisker-related primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortex differentially innervate projection neurons and interneurons in the dorsal striatum, and exert opposing effects on sensory-guided behavior. Optogenetic stimulation of S1-corticostriatal afferents in ex vivo recordings produced larger postsynaptic potentials in striatal parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons than D1- or D2-expressing spiny projection neurons (SPNs), an effect not observed for M1-corticostriatal afferents. Critically, in vivo optogenetic stimulation of S1-corticostriatal afferents produced task-specific behavioral inhibition, which was bidirectionally modulated by striatal PV interneurons. Optogenetic stimulation of M1 afferents produced the opposite behavioral effect. Thus, our results suggest opposing roles for sensory and motor cortex in behavioral choice via distinct influences on striatal circuitry.
Unilateral relapse of Behcet’s disease-associated uveitis does not appear to cause asymmetric tear protein profiles
Authors: Liang Anyi , Qin Weiwei , Zhao Chan , Gao Youhe
Published: October 2018

Purpose: To explore whether unilateral relapse of Bechet’s disease uveitis (BDU) causes differences in the tear proteome between the diseased and the contralateral quiescent eye.

Experimental design: To minimize interindividual variations, bilateral tear samples were collected from the same patient (n=15) with unilateral relapse of BDU. A data-independent acquisition (DIA) strategy was used to identify proteins that differed between active and quiescent eyes.

Results: A total of 1,797 confident proteins were identified in the tear samples, of which 371 are also highly expressed in various tissues and organs. Sixty-two (3.5%) proteins differed in terms of expression between tears in active and quiescent eyes, similar to the number of differentially expressed proteins (74, 4.1%) identified in a randomized grouping strategy. Furthermore, the intrapair trend of the differentially expressed proteins was not consistent and none of the proteins showed the same trend in more than 9 pairs of eyes.

Conclusions and clinical relevance: Unilateral relapse of BDU does not appear to cause asymmetric changes in the tear proteome between active and contralateral quiescent eyes. Tear fluid is a valuable source for biomarker studies of systemic diseases.

Statement of clinical relevance

Tears are an easily, noninvasively accessible body fluid that is a valuable source of biomarkers for various diseases. Behcet’s disease uveitis (BDU) has high potential to cause blindness and represents the leading cause of morbidity in BD patients, especially in frequently relapsing cases. Here, we adopted a method combining a “dry” method for tear preservation and nano-LC-DIA-MS/MS system to explore whether unilateral relapse of BDU causes differences in the tear proteome between the diseased and the contralateral quiescent eye, with the aim of evaluating tear fluid as a source for biomarker studies of uveitis relapse.
CRISPR/Cas9-based Editing of a Sensitive Transcriptional Regulatory Element to Achieve Cell Type-Specific Knockdown of the NEMO Scaffold Protein
Authors: Babaei Milad , Liu Yuekun , Wuerzberger-Davis Shelly M. , Yeo Alan T. , Kagermazova Larisa , McCaslin Ethan Z. , Miyamoto Shigeki , Gilmorea Thomas D.
Published: October 2018

The use of alternative promoters for the cell type-specific expression of a given mRNA/protein is a common cell strategy. NEMO is a scaffold protein required for canonical NF-κB signaling. Transcription of the NEMO gene is primarily controlled by two promoters: one (promoter B) drives NEMO transcription in most cell types and the second (promoter A) is largely responsible for NEMO transcription in liver cells. Herein, we have used a CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to disrupt a core sequence element of promoter B, and this genetic editing essentially eliminates expression of NEMO mRNA and protein in 293T human kidney cells. By cell subcloning, we have isolated targeted 293T cell lines that express no detectable NEMO protein, have defined genomic alterations at promoter B, and do not support canonical NF-κB signaling in response to treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Nevertheless, non-canonical NF-κB signaling is intact in these NEMO-deficient cells. Expression of ectopic NEMO in the edited cells restores downstream NF-κB signaling in response to TNF. Targeting of the promoter B element does not substantially reduce NEMO expression (from promoter A) in the human SNU-423 liver cancer cell line. We have also used homology directed repair (HDR) to fix the promoter B element in a 293T cell clone. Overall, we have created a strategy for selectively eliminating cell type-specific expression from an alternative promoter and have generated 293T cell lines with a functional knockout of NEMO. The implications of these findings for further studies and for therapeutic approaches to target canonical NF-κB signaling are discussed.
Ring shape Golden Ratio multicellular structures are algebraically afforded by asymmetric mitosis and one to one cell adhesion
Authors: Butler William E. , Kinane T. Bernard
Published: October 2018

Golden Ratio proportions are found throughout the world of multicellular organisms but the underlying mechanisms behind their appearance and their adaptive value if any remain unknown. The Golden Ratio is a real-valued number but cell population counts are whole numbered. Binet's formula connects the Golden Ratio to the whole numbered Fibonacci sequence (fn+1 = fn + fn–1 where f1 = 1 and f2 = 2), so we seek a cellular mechanism that yields Fibonacci cell kinetics. Drawing on Fibonacci’s description of growth patterns in rabbits, we develop a matrix model of Fibonacci cell kinetics based on an asymmetric pause between mitoses by daughter cells. We list candidate molecular mechanisms for asymmetric mitosis such as epigenetically asymmetric chromosomal sorting at anaphase due to cytosine-DNA methylation. A collection of Fibonacci-sized cell groups produced each by mitosis needs to assemble into a larger multicellular structure. We find that the mathematics for this assembly are afforded by a simple molecular cell surface configuration where each cell in each group has four cell to cell adhesion slots. Two slots internally cohere a cell group and two adhere to cells in other cell groups. We provide a notation for expressing each cell’s participation in dual Fibonacci recurrence relations. We find that single class of cell to cell adhesion molecules suffices to hold together a large assembly of chained Fibonacci groups having Golden Ratio patterns. Specialized bindings between components of various sizes are not required. Furthermore, the notation describes circumstances where chained Fibonacci-sized cell groups may leave adhesion slots unoccupied unless the chained groups anneal into a ring. This unexpected result suggests a role for Fibonacci cell kinetics in the formation of multicellular ring forms such as hollow and tubular structures. In this analysis, a complex molecular pattern behind asymmetric mitosis coordinates with a simple molecular cell adhesion pattern to generate useful multicellular assemblies. Furthermore, this reductively unifies two of the hypothesized evolutionary steps: multicellularity and cellular eusociality.
In Vivo Assessments of Minocycline combined Hyaluronic Acid-mediated Ultrasound Therapy of Infected Wound in Rats
Authors: Zhang Hongbo , Zhuang Deshu
Published: October 2018

Objectives

The purpose of our research was to examine the effects of Minocycline combined hyaluronic acid (HA)-mediated Ultrasound therapy of infected wound in wister rats.

Methods

40 female wister rats were made wound on the two side of the backbone, then infected in Staphylococcus aureus at the comic for three times. then, they are divided into four groups: control group, minocycline combined HA alone, ultasound alone, minocycline combined HA-mediated ultasound group, respective. After 3 times of treatments, the rats were killed and made into specimens. Assessments consisted of visual inspection in the change of the skin, scar formation pathological morphology by hematoxylin and eosin(HE) stain with optical microscopy, IL-1B assaying and TNF-a were performed.

Result

Compared with control group, minocycline combined HA alone, ultasound alone, minocycline combined HA-mediated ultasound group all have effect for wound healing, there was a obvious improvement in all parameters over the duration of the experiment(P<0.05). Compared with the control group, minocycline combined HA-mediated ultasound group indicated less inflammation cells (P<0.001) and the reduce of and IL-1B and TNF-a (P<0.001).

Conclusion

Minocycline combined HA-mediated ultrasound can accelerate tissue regrowth, which exert significant benefits in healing the wounds.
Fix your membrane receptor imaging: Actin cytoskeleton and CD4 membrane organization disruption by chemical fixation
Authors: Pedro M. Pereira , Albrecht David , Jacobs Caron , Marsh Mark , Mercer Jason , Henriques Ricardo
Published: October 2018

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) techniques allow near molecular scale resolution (~ 20nm) as well as precise and robust analysis of protein organization at different scales. SMLM hardware, analytics and probes have been the focus of a variety of studies and are now commonly used in laboratories across the world. Protocol reliability and artefact identification are increasingly seen as important aspects of super-resolution microscopy. The reliability of these approaches thus requires in-depth evaluation so that biological findings are based on solid foundations. Here we explore how different fixation approaches that disrupt or preserve the actin cytoskeleton affect membrane protein organization. Using CD4 as a model, we show that fixation-mediated disruption of the actin cytoskeleton correlates with changes in CD4 membrane organization. We highlight how these artefacts are easy to overlook and how careful sample preparation is essential for extracting meaningful results from super-resolution microscopy.