bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tomography of the subducting Pacific slab and the 2015 Bonin deepest earthquake (Mw 7.9)
Authors: Zhao Dapeng , Fujisawa Moeto , Toyokuni Genti
Published: March 2017

On 30 May 2015 an isolated deep earthquake (~670 km, Mw 7.9) occurred to the west of the Bonin Islands. To clarify its causal mechanism and its relationship to the subducting Pacific slab, we determined a detailed P-wave tomography of the deep earthquake source zone using a large number of arrival-time data. Our results show that this large deep event occurred within the subducting Pacific slab which is penetrating into the lower mantle. In the Izu-Bonin region, the Pacific slab is split at ~28° north latitude, i.e., slightly north of the 2015 deep event hypocenter. In the north the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone, whereas in the south the slab is directly penetrating into the lower mantle. This deep earthquake was caused by joint effects of several factors, including the Pacific slab’s fast deep subduction, slab tearing, slab thermal variation, stress changes and phase transformations in the slab, and complex interactions between the slab and the ambient mantle.
Impacts of twenty years of experimental warming on soil carbon, nitrogen, moisture and soil mites across alpine/subarctic tundra communities
Authors: Alatalo Juha M. , Jägerbrand Annika K. , Juhanson Jaanis , Michelsen Anders , Ľuptáčik Peter
Published: March 2017

High-altitude and alpine areas are predicted to experience rapid and substantial increases in future temperature, which may have serious impacts on soil carbon, nutrient and soil fauna. Here we report the impact of 20 years of experimental warming on soil properties and soil mites in three contrasting plant communities in alpine/subarctic Sweden. Long-term warming decreased juvenile oribatid mite density, but had no effect on adult oribatids density, total mite density, any major mite group or the most common species. Long-term warming also caused loss of nitrogen, carbon and moisture from the mineral soil layer in mesic meadow, but not in wet meadow or heath or from the organic soil layer. There was a significant site effect on the density of one mite species,Oppiella neerlandica, and all soil parameters. A significant plot-scale impact on mites suggests that small-scale heterogeneity may be important for buffering mites from global warming. The results indicated that juvenile mites may be more vulnerable to global warming than adult stages. Importantly, the results also indicated that global warming may cause carbon and nitrogen losses in alpine and tundra mineral soils and that its effects may differ at local scale.
Transcriptomic immaturity of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in patients with alcoholism
Authors: Murano Tomoyuki , Koshimizu Hisatsugu , Hagihara Hideo , Miyakawa Tsuyoshi
Published: March 2017

Alcoholism, which is defined as the recurring harmful use of alcohol despite its negative consequences, has a lifetime prevalence of 17.8%. Previous studies have shown that chronic alcohol consumption disrupts various brain functions and behaviours. However, the precise mechanisms that underlie alcoholism are currently unclear. Recently, we discovered “pseudo-immature” brain cell states of the dentate gyrus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in mouse models of psychotic disorders and epileptic seizure. Similar pseudo-immaturity has been observed in patients with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Patients with alcoholism occasionally exhibit similar psychological symptoms, implying shared molecular and cellular mechanisms between these diseases. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to compare microarray data from the hippocampi/PFCs of the patients with alcoholism to data from these regions in developing human brains and mouse developmental data for specific cell types. We identified immature-like gene expression patterns in post-mortem hippocampi/PFCs of alcoholic patients and the dominant contributions of fast-spiking (FS) neurons to their pseudo-immaturity. These results suggested that FS neuron dysfunction and the subsequent imbalance between excitation and inhibition can be associated with pseudo-immaturity in alcoholism. These immaturities in the hippocampi/PFCs and the underlying mechanisms may explain the psychotic symptom generation and pathophysiology of alcoholism.
Diagnostic Application of Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing of 80 Genes Associated with Disorders of Sexual Development
Authors: Fan Yanjie , Zhang Xia , Wang Lili , Wang Ruifang , Huang Zhuo , Sun Yu , Yao Ruen , Huang Xiaodong , Ye Jun , Han Lianshu , Qiu Wenjuan , Zhang Huiwen , Liang Lili , Gu Xuefan , Yu Yongguo
Published: March 2017

Disorders of sexual development (DSD) are estimated to occur in 1 of 4500 births. Since the genetic etiology of DSD is highly heterogeneous, obtaining a definitive molecular diagnosis by single gene test is challenging. Utilizing a high-throughput sequencing upfront is proposed as an efficient approach to aid in the diagnosis. This study aimed to examine the diagnostic yield of next-generation sequencing in DSD. 32 DSD patients that previously received clinical examinations and single gene tests were selected, with or without a diagnosis. Prior single gene tests were masked, and then samples went through targeted next-generation sequencing of 80 genes from which the diagnostic yield was assessed. A likely diagnosis, with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants identified, was obtained from nine of the 32 patients (i.e., 28.1%, versus 10% by single gene tests). In another five patients (15.6%), variants of uncertain significance were found. Among 18 variants identified (i.e., 17 single nucleotide variants and one small deletion), eight had not been previously reported. This study supports the notion that next-generation sequencing can be an efficient tool in the clinical diagnosis and variant discovery in DSD.
The highly synergistic, broad spectrum, antibacterial activity of organic acids and transition metals
Authors: Zhitnitsky Daniel , Rose Jessica , Lewinson Oded
Published: March 2017

For millennia, transition metals have been exploited to inhibit bacterial growth. We report here the potentiation of the anti-bacterial activity of transition metals by organic acids. Strong synergy between low, non-toxic concentrations of transition metals and organic acids was observed with up to ~1000-fold higher inhibitory effect on bacterial growth. We show that organic acids shuttle transition metals through the permeability barrier of the bacterial membrane, leading to increased influx of transition metals into bacterial cells. We demonstrate that this synergy can be effectively used to inhibit the growth of a broad range of plant and human bacterial pathogens, and suggest that a revision of food preservation and crop protection strategies may be in order. These findings bear significant biomedical, agricultural, financial and environmental opportunities.
Efficient digitalization method for dental restorations using micro-CT data
Authors: Kim Changhwan , Baek Seung Hoon , Lee Taewon , Go Jonggun , Kim Sun Young , Cho Seungryong
Published: March 2017

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using micro-CT scan of dental impressions for fabricating dental restorations and to compare the dimensional accuracy of dental models generated from various methods. The key idea of the proposed protocol is that dental impression of patients can be accurately digitized by micro-CT scan and that one can make digital cast model from micro-CT data directly. As air regions of the micro-CT scan data of dental impression are equivalent to the real teeth and surrounding structures, one can segment the air regions and fabricate digital cast model in the STL format out of them. The proposed method was validated by a phantom study using a typodont with prepared teeth. Actual measurement and deviation map analysis were performed after acquiring digital cast models for each restoration methods. Comparisons of the milled restorations were also performed by placing them on the prepared teeth of typodont. The results demonstrated that an efficient fabrication of precise dental restoration is achievable by use of the proposed method.
Composition and temperature-dependent phase transition in miscible Mo1−xWxTe2 single crystals
Authors: Lv Yang-Yang , Cao Lin , Li Xiao , Zhang Bin-Bin , Wang Kang , Bin Pang  , Ma Ligang , Lin Dajun , Yao Shu-Hua , Zhou Jian , Chen Y. B. , Dong Song-Tao , Liu Wenchao , Lu Ming-Hui , Chen Yulin , Chen Yan-Feng
Published: March 2017

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) WTe2 and MoTe2 with orthorhombic Td phase, being potential candidates as type-II Weyl semimetals, are attracted much attention recently. Here we synthesized a series of miscible Mo1−xWxTe2 single crystals by bromine vapor transport method. Composition-dependent X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, as well as composition and temperature-dependent resistivity prove that the tunable crystal structure (from hexagonal (2H), monoclinic (β) to orthorhombic (Td) phase) can be realized by increasing W content in Mo1−xWxTe2. Simultaneously the electrical property gradually evolves from semiconductor to semimetal behavior. Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy proves that temperature also can induce the structural phase transition from β to Td phase in Mo1−xWxTe2 crystals. Based on aforementioned characterizations, we map out the temperature and composition dependent phase diagram of Mo1−xWxTe2 system. In addition, a series of electrical parameters, such as carrier type, carrier concentration and mobility, have also been presented. This work offers a scheme to accurately control structural phase in Mo1−xWxTe2 system, which can be used to explore type-II Weyl semimetal, as well as temperature/composition controlled topological phase transition therein.
Dietary patterns and the risk of rhinitis in primary school children: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Liu Xudong , Wong Claudie Chiu-Yi , Yu Ignatius T. S. , Zhang Zilong , Tan Lixing , Lau Arthur P. S. , Lee Albert , Yeoh Eng Kiong , Lao Xiang Qian
Published: March 2017

This study was to investigate the association between dietary patterns and rhinitis in primary school children. 1,599 students without rhinitis at baseline survey were selected from a primary school children cohort. Information on food consumption, respiratory symptoms, and confounders was collected using questionnaires. Dietary patterns were defined using principal component analysis. Logistic regression was performed to calculate odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The incidence of rhinitis during 12 months follow-up was 21.2%. Three patterns were extracted and labeled as pattern I, II and III. Dietary pattern II which had higher factor loadings of legumes, butter, nuts and potatoes was associated with an increased risk of rhinitis (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.01–1.87) when the highest tertile of pattern score was compared to the lowest tertile, after adjusted for confounders. Besides, every 1-unit increase of score of pattern II was also associated with an increased risk of rhinitis (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.05–1.35). Neither pattern I nor Pattern III was observed to be associated with risk of rhinitis. A diet with higher levels of consumption of legumes, butter, nuts and potatoes may increase the risk of allergic rhinitis in primary school children.
Salvage Liver Transplantation Leads to Poorer Outcome in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Compared with Primary Liver Transplantation
Authors: Shan Yuhua , Huang Lifeng , Xia Qiang
Published: March 2017

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common liver malignancy. Salvage liver transplantation (SLT) is viewed as a feasible cure for recurrence of HCC after resectomy, but the effect is under dispute. A retrospective study examined data at Renji Hospital for 239 transplants from January 2006 to December 2015, including 211 who received primary liver transplantation (PLT) and 28 who underwent SLT. A multivariable cox regression model was employed to pick out relative factors to overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the bias. Both OS and RFS were worse in SLT group than in PLT group, especially for those patients within Milan criteria. Our study demonstrates that SLT bears higher risk of recurrence and death than PLT, indicating that SLT should be given a more careful thought at performance.
Elucidation of major contributors involved in nitrogen removal and transcription level of nitrogen-cycling genes in activated sludge from WWTPs
Authors: Che You , Liang Peixin , Gong Ting , Cao Xiangyu , Zhao Ying , Yang Chao , Song Cunjiang
Published: March 2017

We investigated nitrogen-cycle bacterial communities in activated sludge from 8 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Redundancy analyses (RDA) showed that temperature was the most significant driving force in shaping microbial community structure, followed by influent NH4+ and total nitrogen (TN). The diversity of ammonia oxidizing and nitrite reducing bacteria were investigated by the construction of amoA, nirS and nirK gene clone libraries. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Thauera and Mesorhizobium were the predominant nitrite reducing bacteria, and Nitrosomonas was the only detected ammonia oxidizing bacteria in all samples. Quantification of transcription level of nirS and nirK genes indicated that nirS-type nitrite reducing bacteria played the dominant roles in nitrite reduction process. Transcription level of nirS gene positively correlated with influent NH4+ and TN significantly, whereas inversely linked with hydraulic retention time. Temperature had a strong positive correlation to transcription level of amoA gene. Overall, this study deepened our understanding of the major types of ammonia oxidizing and nitrite reducing bacteria in activated sludge of municipal WWTPs. The relationship between transcription level of nitrogen-cycle genes and operational or environmental variables of WWTPs revealed in this work could provide guidance for optimization of operating parameters and improving the performance of nitrogen removal.
The endoplasmic reticulum stress/autophagy pathway is involved in cholesterol-induced pancreatic β-cell injury
Authors: Kong Fei-Juan , Wu Jia-Hua , Sun Shui-Ya , Zhou Jia-Qiang
Published: March 2017

Lipotoxicity has been implicated in pancreatic β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes, but the exact mechanisms remain unknown. The current study explored the role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway in cholesterol-induced lipotoxicity. Two different insulinoma cell lines were treated with cholesterol with or without inhibitors. ER stress-associated proteins glucose-regulated protein (GRP) 78, activating transcription factor (ATF) 4 and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), as was phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor (EIF) 2α, were all up-regulated by cholesterol. Cholesterol also up-regulated microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II and stimulated the formation of autophagic vacuoles and LC3-II aggregates. Cholesterol-induced autophagy and cell injuries were suppressed by pretreatment with the ER stress inhibitor 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA). Pretreatment with autophagy inhibitors E-64d/pepstatin A increased ER stress-induced cell injuries as indicated by increased cell apoptosis and decreased insulin secretion. These results suggest that cholesterol treatment induces apoptosis and dysfunction of β-cells, and enhances autophagy through activation of the ER stress pathway. More importantly, autophagy induced by cholesterol may protect β-cells against ER stress-associated cell damages.
Nightmares as predictors of suicide: an extension study including war veterans
Authors: Sandman Nils , Valli Katja , Kronholm Erkki , Vartiainen Erkki , Laatikainen Tiina , Paunio Tiina
Published: March 2017

Nightmares are intensive dreams with negative emotional tone. Frequent nightmares can pose a serious clinical problem and in 2001, Tanskanen et al. found that nightmares increase the risk of suicide. However, the dataset used by these authors included war veterans in whom nightmare frequency - and possibly also suicide risk - is elevated. Therefore, re-examination of the association between nightmares and suicide in these data is warranted. We investigated the relationship between nightmares and suicide both in the general population and war veterans in Finnish National FINRISK Study from the years 1972 to 2012, a dataset overlapping with the one used in the study by Tanskanen et al. Our data comprise 71,068 participants of whom 3139 are war veterans. Participants were followed from their survey participation until the end of 2014 or death. Suicides (N = 398) were identified from the National Causes of Death Register. Frequent nightmares increase the risk of suicide: The result of Tanskanen et al. holds even when war experiences are controlled for. Actually nightmares are not significantly associated with suicides among war veterans. These results support the role of nightmares as an independent risk factor for suicide instead of just being proxy for history of traumatic experiences.
1,2-Difunctionalization-type (hetero)arylation of unactivated alkenes triggered by radical addition/remote (hetero)aryl migration
Authors: Li Lei , Gu Qiang-Shuai , Wang Na , Song Ping , Li Zhong-Liang , Li Xiao-Hua , Wang Fu-Li , Liu Xin-Yuan
Published: March 2017

A novel (hetero)arylation of unactivated alkenes has been developedvia1,4(5)-(hetero)aryl migration triggered by radical alkene azidation, trifluoromethylation, or phosphonylation.
Structural and energetic study of cation–π–cation interactions in proteins
Authors: Pinheiro Silvana , Soteras Ignacio , Gelpí Josep Lluis , Dehez François , Chipot Christophe , Luque F. Javier , Curutchet Carles
Published: March 2017

Statistical and energetic analysis of cation–π–cation motifs in protein structures suggests a potential stabilizing role in the protein fold.
Graphene oxide layers modified by light energetic ions
Authors: Malinský Petr , Macková Anna , Mikšová Romana , Kováčiková Helena , Cutroneo Mariapompea , Luxa Jan , Bouša Daniel , Štrochová Beata , Sofer Zdeněk
Published: March 2017

In this paper, the effect of light ion irradiation on graphene oxide foil structure and composition was studied.
A study of asymmetrical mixed-valent Mo2–Mo2complexes in the class III regime
Authors: Mallick Suman , Cheng Tao , Chen Lu , Meng Miao , Zhang Yu Yu , Liu Chun Y.
Published: March 2017

With thiolated oxalato bridging ligands, three strongly coupled, asymmetrical Mo2dimers have been studied. In these strongly mixed-valence systems, the charge is unevenly distributed and electron transfer between the two bridged Mo2centers occurs, as indicated by the LMCT absorption and supported by the DFT calculations.
Formation of surface nanodroplets facing a structured microchannel wall
Authors: Yu Haitao , Maheshwari Shantanu , Zhu Jiuyang , Lohse Detlef , Zhang Xuehua
Published: March 2017

Control of nanodroplet size and spatial organization on a homogeneous surface by microstructures on the opposite channel.
Supported palladium nanoparticles as switchable catalyst for aldehyde conjugate/s and acetate ester syntheses from alcohols
Authors: Kumar Sandeep , Chaudhary Abha , Bandna Bandna , Bhattacherjee Dhananjay , Thakur Vandna , Das Pralay
Published: March 2017

Polymer-supported Pd(0) (Pd@PS) nanoparticles (NPs) were explored as a switchable catalyst for oxidative aldehyde conjugate/s (AC/s) and acetate esters (AEs) syntheses from alcohols.
High lithium anodic performance of N-doped porous biocarbon-integrated indium sulfide thin nanosheets
Authors: Selvamani V. , Suryanarayanan V. , Velayutham D. , Gopukumar S.
Published: March 2017

Mesoporous indium(iii)sulfide grafts with N-doped porous biocarbon via cost effective wet ball milling, and exhibits a stable capacity of around 407 and 241 mA h g−1 (at 4.0 and 10.0 A g−1), making it a promising alternative anode material for lithium ion batteries.
Reproducible and reliable resistive switching behaviors of AlOX/HfOX bilayer structures with Al electrode by atomic layer deposition
Authors: Akbari Masoud , Kim Min-Kyu , Kim Dongshin , Lee Jang-Sik
Published: March 2017

The resistive switching behaviors of AlOX/HfOX bilayer structures were investigated.
Enhanced capacity and cycle life of nitrogen-doped activated charcoal anode for the lithium ion battery: a solvent-free approach
Authors: Subramaniyam Chandrasekar M. , Srinivasan N. R. , Tai Zhixin , Liu Hua Kun , Dou Shi Xue
Published: March 2017

Herein, we investigated the electrochemical performance of nitrogen-doped commercial activated charcoal (R-AC) for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).
Preparation and dispersity of carbon nanospheres by carbonizing polyacrylonitrile microspheres
Authors: Guangzhi Yang , Binbin Yu , Shen Song , Zhihong Tang , Dengguang Yu , Junhe Yang
Published: March 2017

Polyacrylonitrile microspheres of about 240 nm were synthesized and used as a precursor for preparing carbon nanospheres (CNs) by oxidation and sequential carbonization.
Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) enriched polymer network for highly-enhanced electro-optic performance of a liquid crystalline blue phase
Authors: Kim MinSu , Mishra R. K. , Manda Ramesh , Murali G. , Kim Tae-Hyung , Lee Myong-Hoon , Yun Minhee , Kundu Sudarshan , Kim Byoung-Suhk , Lee Seung Hee
Published: March 2017

A reduced graphene oxide enriched polymer network enhances the operation voltage, response time, and hysteresis of a liquid crystalline blue phase.
Continuous flow telescopic oxidation of alcohols via generation of chlorine and hypochlorite
Authors: Sharma Y. , Moolya S. , Joshi R. A. , Kulkarni A. A.
Published: March 2017

A 3-step continuous flow oxidation of alcohols is demonstrated with continuous generation of chlorine as the first step followed by its use for the flow synthesis of high strength sodium hypochlorite.
Capacity retention of lithium sulfur batteries enhanced with nano-sized TiO2-embedded polyethylene oxide
Authors: Lee Felix , Tsai Meng-Che , Lin Ming-Hsien , Ni'mah Yatim Lailun , Hy Sunny , Kuo Chao-Yen , Cheng Ju-Hsiang , Rick John , Su Wei-Nien , Hwang Bing-Joe
Published: March 2017

DFT andin situSERS revealed that the shuttle mechanism and Li anode passivation are suppressed by preferential nano-sized TiO2/polysulfide adsorption.
Self-supported NiMoP2 nanowires on carbon cloth as an efficient and durable electrocatalyst for overall water splitting
Authors: Wang Xu-Dong , Chen Hong-Yan , Xu Yang-Fan , Liao Jin-Feng , Chen Bai-Xue , Rao Hua-Shang , Kuang Dai-Bin , Su Cheng-Yong
Published: March 2017

A NiMoP2 nanowire on carbon cloth enables an impressively high electrocatalytic activity towards the HER and OER in an alkaline electrolyte.
PtCl4-catalyzed skeleton rearrangement–cyclization of tertiary indolyl-3-alkynols
Authors: Zhou Jing , Qiu Youai , Li Junzhao , Fu Chunling , Zhang Xue , Ma Shengming
Published: March 2017

A unique PtCl4-catalyzed cyclization of tertiary indol-2-yl-3-alkynols provides an efficient access to potentially useful poly-substituted carbazoles.
In situ deprotection and dynamic covalent assembly using a dual role catalyst
Authors: Wei T. , Furgal J. C. , Scott T. F.
Published: March 2017

Sc(OTf)3 is employed as a dual role catalyst to effect the in situ deprotection and dynamic covalent assembly of oligo(peptoid)s.
Selective mono-alkylation of N-methoxybenzamides
Authors: Chen Zenghua , Hu Le’an , Zeng Fanyun , Zhu Ranran , Zheng Shasha , Yu Qingzhen , Huang Jianhui
Published: March 2017

We report our latest discovery of norbornene derivative modulated highly mono-selective ortho-C–H activation alkylation reactions on arenes bearing simple mono-dentate coordinating groups.
A chiral cobalt(ii) complex catalyzed asymmetric formal [3+2] cycloaddition for the synthesis of 1,2,4-triazolines
Authors: Ma Baiwei , Luo Weiwei , Lin Lili , Liu Xiaohua , Feng Xiaoming
Published: March 2017

A chiral N,N′-dioxide/Co(BF4)2·6H2O complex catalysed highly efficient asymmetric [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of 5-alkoxyoxazoles with azodicarboxylate compounds.
The mechanism of hydrogen adsorption on transition metal dichalcogenides as hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst
Authors: Wang Jinsong , Liu Jia , Zhang Bao , Ji Xiao , Xu Kui , Chen Chi , Miao Ling , Jiang Jianjun
Published: March 2017

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been widely considered as potential hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts because of their low cost and good electrochemical stability in acid conditions.
A quantum-rovibrational-state-selected study of the reaction in the collision energy range of 0.05–10.00 eV: translational, rotational, and vibrational energy effects
Authors: Xu Yuntao , Xiong Bo , Chang Yih-Chung , Pan Yi , Lo Po Kam , Lau Kai Chung , Ng C. Y.
Published: March 2017

We report detailed integral cross sections and ab initio quantum calculations for the state-selected ion–molecule reaction .
N/O-doped carbon as a “solid ligand” for nano-Pd catalyzed biphenyl- and triphenylamine syntheses
Authors: Pang Shaofeng , Zhang Yujing , Huang Yongji , Yuan Hangkong , Shi Feng
Published: March 2017

A series of N/O-doped porous carbon supported nanopalladium catalysts have been successfully prepared, in which the N/O doped carbons were controllably producedviapolypyrrole/furan synthesis followed by carbonization.
Developing hierarchically porous MnOx/NC hybrid nanorods for oxygen reduction and evolution catalysis
Authors: Pandey Jay , Hua Bin , Ng Wesley , Yang Ying , van der Veen Koen , Chen Jian , Geels Norbert J. , Luo Jing-Li , Rothenberg Gadi , Yan Ning
Published: March 2017

A facile and green synthesis gives hierarchically porous MnOx/nitrogen-doped-carbon nanorods for excellent bifunctional oxygen catalysis.
Facile synthesis of dendron-branched silicone polymers
Authors: Morgan Jennifer , Chen Tong , Hayes Robin , Dickie Tara , Urlich Tomas , Brook Michael A.
Published: March 2017

Monofunctional dendritic silicone branches were created from hydro- and alkoxysilanes using the Piers–Rubinsztajn reaction. Monofunctional dendritic silicone branches were added to linear polymers with varied branch frequency, density and backbone molecular weight. Viscosities of the polymers increased with branch frequency to a maximum beyond which the viscosity decreased.
Aziridine-functionalized polydimethylsiloxanes for tailorable polymeric scaffolds: aziridine as a clickable moiety for structural modification of materials
Authors: Moon Hyun Kyung , Kang Seohyun , Yoon Hyo Jae
Published: March 2017

The utility of aziridine as a clickable moiety for post-modification of polydimethylsiloxane is demonstrated.
The effect of oxygen on the microwave-assisted synthesis of carbon quantum dots from polyethylene glycol
Authors: Zhao Yunyang , Zuo Songlin , Miao Meng
Published: March 2017

Fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as both the carbon source and solvent in various atmospheres including air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen by following a microwave irradiation method.
Highly effective and specific way for the trace analysis of carbaryl insecticides based on Au42Rh58 alloy nanocrystals
Authors: Chen Wei , Liu Yingying , Zhang Yuan , Fang Jianhui , Xu Pengcheng , Xu Jiaqiang , Li Xinxin , Liu Chung-Chiun , Wen Weijia
Published: March 2017

The exploitation of AuxRh1−x alloy nanocrystals for specifically and directly identifying carbamate pesticides is reported for the first time and could be easily further developed to meet the specific needs of emergency intoxication cases.
Facile synthesis of ultrathin NiCo2S4 nano-petals inspired by blooming buds for high-performance supercapacitors
Authors: Wen Yuxiang , Peng Shanglong , Wang Zilei , Hao Jiaxin , Qin Tianfeng , Lu Shuqi , Zhang Jiachi , He Deyan , Fan Xiaoyan , Cao Guozhong
Published: March 2017

3D petal-like NiCo2S4 nanostructures have been fabricated via a simple, mild and efficient hydrothermal strategy and the growth mechanism of NiCo2S4 nano-petals has been investigated.
Selective replacement of mitochondrial DNA increases the cardioprotective effect of chronic continuous hypoxia in spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Neckář Jan , Svatoňová Anna , Weissová Romana , Drahota Zdeněk , Zajíčková Pavlína , Brabcová Iveta , Kolář David , Alánová Petra , Vašinová Jana , Šilhavý Jan , Hlaváčková Markéta , Tauchmannová Kateřina , Milerová Marie , Ošťádal Bohuslav , Červenka Luděk , Žurmanová Jitka , Kalous Martin , Nováková Olga , Novotný Jiří , Pravenec Michal , Kolář František
Published: March 2017

Mitochondria play an essential role in improved cardiac ischaemic tolerance conferred by adaptation to chronic hypoxia. In the present study, we analysed the effects of continuous normobaric hypoxia (CNH) on mitochondrial functions, including the sensitivity of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) to opening, and infarct size (IS) in hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and the conplastic SHR-mtBN strain, characterized by the selective replacement of the mitochondrial genome of SHR with that of the more ischaemia-resistant brown Norway (BN) strain. Rats were adapted to CNH (10% O2, 3 weeks) or kept at room air as normoxic controls. In the left ventricular mitochondria, respiration and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity were measured using an Oxygraph-2k and the sensitivity of MPTP opening was assessed spectrophotometrically as Ca2+-induced swelling. Myocardial infarction was analysed in anaesthetized open-chest rats subjected to 20 min of coronary artery occlusion and 3 h of reperfusion. The IS reached 68±3.0% and 65±5% of the area at risk in normoxic SHR and SHR-mtBN strains, respectively. CNH significantly decreased myocardial infarction to 46±3% in SHR. In hypoxic SHR-mtBN strain, IS reached 33±2% and was significantly smaller compared with hypoxic SHR. Mitochondria isolated from hypoxic hearts of both strains had increased detergent-stimulated COX activity and were less sensitive to MPTP opening. The maximum swelling rate was significantly lower in hypoxic SHR-mtBN strain compared with hypoxic SHR, and positively correlated with myocardial infarction in all experimental groups. In conclusion, the mitochondrial genome of SHR modulates the IS-limiting effect of adaptation to CNH by affecting mitochondrial energetics and MPTP sensitivity to opening.
Screening Bilingual Preschoolers for Language Difficulties: Utility of Teacher and Parent Reports
Authors: Pua Emmanuel Peng Kiat , Lee Mary Lay Choo , Rickard Liow Susan J.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The utility of parent and teacher reports for screening 3 types of bilingual preschoolers (English–first language [L1]/Mandarin–second language[L2], Mandarin-L1/English-L2, or Malay-L1/English-L2) for language difficulty was investigated in Singapore with reference to measures of reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity in an English-medium kindergarten setting.

Method

The index tests were teachers’ ratings of the English language ability of 5-year-olds (
N
= 85) on the Bilingual Language Assessment Battery (BLAB): Preschool Teacher Report (Pua, Lee, & Rickard Liow, 2013) and parents' ratings of their child's home language ability (
N
= 78 English-L1, Mandarin-L1, or Malay-L1) on the BLAB: Preschool Parent Report (Pua, Lee, & Rickard Liow, 2013). The reference standards were objective measures of single-word receptive vocabulary (80 items) and expressive vocabulary (140 items) in the child's L1 and L2, as proxies for language ability.

Results

BLAB Teacher Reports for the English receptive and expressive subscales showed concurrent validity for all 3 bilingual groups, as well as generally high sensitivity and specificity. In contrast, BLAB Parent Reports for L1 receptive ability failed to show significant correlations with the objective measures of receptive vocabulary.

Conclusion

Subjective teacher ratings may be an effective method of screening bilingual preschoolers for language difficulty, thereby prompting referral to clinicians.
Frequency ambiguity free tiered differential‐polyphase codes for GNSS signal design
Authors: Han S.K. , Kim J.‐B. , Kim J.‐K. , Han A. , Kim K.‐J. , Song K.‐W. , Lee S.‐J. , Ahn J.M.
Published: March 2017

To resolve frequency ambiguity of tiered polyphase code (TPC), a differential encoding method to the secondary code of the TPC is proposed. By performing differential decoding, the frequency ambiguity is removed and the code sequence boundary is correctly found. In addition, the correlation results at the receiver can be used as a frequency offset estimator. Analysis on the receiver operations and the simulation results show that the proposed tiered differential‐PC makes the code sequence boundary detection correctly under the frequency offset of up to several hundred hertz. The root mean squared error of the frequency offset estimation is reduced to <10 Hz under operating signal‐to‐noise power ratio which is about −35 dB.
Approach for transient interference detection based on straight line extraction for high‐frequency sky‐wave radar
Authors: Luo Zhongtao , Song Tiecheng , He Zishu , Hu Jinfeng
Published: March 2017

Transient interference cancellation is necessary for high‐frequency sky‐wave radar and usually requires accurate interference detection and localisation which is complicated due to the non‐uniform noise level caused by sea‐clutter mitigation in Doppler domain. A novel approach is proposed by converting the detection of interference into a problem of straight line extraction in the constructed fast‐ and slow‐time images. The line edges are detected by an edge detector, such as Canny method, followed by Hough transform. Then, each edge is classified as a rising, falling or false‐alarm edge based on multi‐threshold segmentation of image sub‐blocks. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Enhancement of LLLIs with improved BCP and matrix completion
Authors: Yang Jie
Published: March 2017

The problem of enhancement of low light level images (LLLIs) with the characteristics of extremely low brightness and low contrast is addressed. A coarse‐to‐fine framework to settle the problem is proposed. First, a point‐wise linear relationship is constructed between an LLLI and its enhancement result, and a prior named bright channel prior (BCP) is introduced to guide the enhancement process. The BCP to avoid over enhancement is improved, and the idea of matrix completion to remove the outlier noises in the enhanced image is used. Experimental results on real images demonstrate that the method is effective for the enhancement of LLLIs.
Butterfly packaged low‐linewidth optical comb source
Authors: Alexander J.K. , Morrissey P.E. , Yang H. , Yang M. , Zhao Y. , Rensing M. , O'Brien P. , Peters F.H.
Published: March 2017

A packaged optical comb source is demonstrated. A low‐linewidth optical comb source is designed and fabricated. The device is packaged in a seven‐pin high‐speed butterfly package with an subminiature version A (SMA) connector for RF modulation and fibre pigtail. Fibre coupling efficiency is estimated at 43%. The packaged comb source is shown to have a linewidth of 300 kHz for the comb line set when modulated at 4 GHz, with eight comb lines within 3 dB of each other. The prototype packaged comb source has applications in high bandwidth telecommunications.
Adaptive finite‐control‐set model predictive current control for IPMSM drives with inductance variation
Authors: Chen Zhuoyi , Qiu Jianqi , Jin Mengjia
Published: March 2017

Finite‐control‐set model predictive control (FCS‐MPC) has many advantages in electric drive control systems but needs the accurate knowledge of the system parameters. The performance of the FCS‐MPC will be deteriorated under parameter mismatches. This study proposes an adaptive FCS‐MPC current control method for interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM) drives subject to the inductance variations. The inductances are identified online by an adaptive observer with a recursive algorithm, which is inherently incorporated into the FCS‐MPC control process to reduce the additional computational cost. Compensation methods are also proposed to improve the identification accuracy. The simulation and experimental results validate that, the IPMSM current control performance, speed‐extension capability and drive efficiency are all improved by the proposed method.
Demand response under real‐time pricing for domestic households with renewable DGs and storage
Authors: Yang Qiang , Fang Xinli
Published: March 2017

With the increasing penetration of small‐scale distributed generators (DGs) and storage units into the domestic areas and the emergence of real‐time pricing (RTP) of electricity, residents have more opportunities to obtain a cost‐effective energy management through the participation of demand side management. Unlike existing online solutions, this paper presents an alternative one‐day‐ahead energy dispatch solution to achieve the economic benefits of meeting the demand with minimised electricity purchase cost by optimising the DG and storage utilisation efficiency in the presence of RTP. The performance of the proposed solution is assessed through a comparative study by carrying out simulation experiments for a set of operational scenarios. The numerical result demonstrates that the proposed energy dispatch solution can well meet the demand requirement with significantly reduced electricity purchase cost. With the recognition that the prediction of RTP and DG output can often be inaccurate, the robustness of the solution is further verified under prediction errors.
Controlling active power of wind farms to participate in load frequency control of power systems
Authors: Zhang Wei , Fang Kailun
Published: March 2017

The high penetration of wind generation into power system may jeopardise the operation of the power system without proper frequency control methodologies. This study proposed a coordinated control strategy to control active power of wind farms to participate in the load frequency control of power systems. In the system level, a coordinated control system is designed to enable the wind farm to participate in the load frequency control of the multi‐area interconnected power systems. The designed control system is proved to be asymptotically stable under parameter uncertainties and load changes. In the component level, the coordinated deloading strategy is applied for each wind generator to track the active power command that is distributed by the system level control. The proposed coordination control strategy can achieve fast response under operating changes while avoiding frequent regulation of pitch angles of wind generators and simulation studies verify its effectiveness.
Adaptive single‐phase reclosure scheme for transmission lines with shunt reactors based on current inner product
Authors: Luo Xunhua , Huang Chun , Jiang Yaqun , Tang Tao
Published: March 2017

In this study, two current inner products have been defined to implement adaptive single‐phase autoreclose for high‐voltage transmission lines with shunt reactors. The inner product of fault phase current in shunt reactor and the current in the neutral point reactor is defined as initialisation inner product, and the inner product of the derivative of fault phase current in shunt reactor and the current in the neutral point reactor is defined as compensation inner product. In case of permanent faults and transient faults in the second arc stage, the initialisation inner product will keep bigger than compensation inner product. As for transient faults after arc extinction, low‐frequency oscillation is observed in both curves of current inner products which have 90° phase differences; and two curves will have points of intersection. According to this phenomenon, the intersection of two current inner product curves is used to identify fault nature and detect the arc extinction. The proposed algorithm needs no threshold and no calculation in frequency domain. The electromagnetic transients program simulations have verified its correctness and effectiveness.
High‐performance control system for grid‐tied ESSs
Authors: Niroomand Mehdi , Feldmann Thomas , Bollin Elmar
Published: March 2017

In this study, a high‐performance controller is proposed for single‐phase grid‐tied energy storage systems (ESSs). To control power factor and current harmonics and manage time‐shifting of energy, the ESS is required to have low steady‐state error and fast transient response. It is well known that fast controllers often lack the required steady‐state accuracy and trade‐off is inevitable. A hybrid control system is therefore presented that combines a simple yet fast proportional derivative controller with a repetitive controller which is a type of learning controller with small steady‐state error, suitable for applications with periodic grid current harmonic waveforms. This results in an improved system with distortion‐free, high power factor grid current. The proposed controller model is developed and design parameters are presented. The stability analysis for the proposed system is provided and the theoretical analysis is verified through stability, transient and steady‐state simulations.
Accurate modelling of discrete AGC controllers for interconnected power systems
Authors: Pathak Nikhil , Bhatti Terlochan Singh , Verma Ashu
Published: March 2017

This paper deals with the modeling of discrete automatic gain control (AGC) controllers for an interconnected power system. The AGC supplementary controllers continuously try to reduce the ACE signal to zero by sending control commands/signals to the speed governor set points. Typically, control signals are sentin the form of discrete control pulses to adjust the generating unit outputs in discrete steps. However, in the preceding AGC studies, ZOH circuit has been misplaced in discrete supplementary controller models. Therefore, control signals feed to the speed governor set points no longer remains in discrete mode or in other words, controller action no longer remains in discrete steps. Therefore, the results and inferences drawn in these studies are erroneous and unrealistic. This paper presents the realistic model of discrete AGC controllers and removes the anomaly in existing works. Furthermore, it is also discovered that inappropriate selection of sampling period of ACE signal degrades the system dynamic performance or even cause system instability. Surprisingly, no proper guidelines/method has been provided yet to select the appropriate sampling period of ACE signals for discrete AGC operation. Here, a maiden attempt has been made to obtain the suitable values of ACE signal&s sampling periods using Shannon&s sampling theorem.
Optimal reliability improvement strategy in radial distribution networks with island operation of distributed generation
Authors: Popović Željko , Knezević Stanko , Brbaklić Branislav
Published: March 2017

This study presents a mixed integer linear programming‐based approach for determining the optimal strategy for reliability improvement in radial distribution networks where island operation of distributed generators (DGs) is allowed. The proposed approach simultaneously defines the optimal number, type, and location of new automation devices (ADs) to be installed in a network, the optimal relocation of the existing ADs and the optimal creation of DG islands. The load curtailment possibility in creating islands is considered along with the multi‐level load model. The presented numerical results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and the importance of simultaneous consideration of the aforementioned individual strategies in determining the best reliability improvement strategy in radial distribution networks with DGs.
Experimental Comparison of High‐Speed Gate Driver Design for 1.2‐kV/120‐A Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET Modules
Authors: Yin Shan , Tseng King Jet , Simanjorang Rejeki , Tu Pengfei
Published: March 2017

Silicon carbide (SiC) metal–oxide–semiconductor field‐effect transistor (MOSFET) is regarded as an attractive replacement for Si insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) in high‐power density applications due to its high switching speed and low switching loss. However, to fully utilise these benefits, the gate driver of the SiC MOSFET needs to be optimised to meet its special driving requirements. Fundamentally, both gate drivers for Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET share similar design methodology since these two power devices have the same MOS‐gated structure. However, one of the major challenges in the gate driver design for SiC MOSFET is overcoming the electromagnetic interference, which is resulted from the much higher dv/dt and di/dt ratios during the switching transition. In this study, high‐speed gate drivers for Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET power modules of similar ratings of 1.2 kV/120 A have been designed. The performances of gate driver have been experimentally evaluated by a double pulse test. The design considerations of gate driver to enable the replacement of Si IGBT by SiC MOSFET have been conclusively investigated and presented in this study.
Candidate regions extraction of intruder airplane under complex background for vision‐based sense and avoid system
Authors: Zhang Zhouyu , Cao Yunfeng , Ding Meng , Zhuang Likui , Yao Weiwen , Zhong Peiyi , Li Haibo
Published: March 2017

Candidate regions extraction is a crucial problem in object detection. In this study, a new algorithm is proposed for extracting candidate regions of intruder airplane to assist with vision‐based sense and avoid system. A key consideration is that the algorithm works well under complex background. The algorithm contains three parts: roughly determining the area of the intruder airplane on the image, segmenting the detected area into image patches and finally extracting candidate regions from the segmented patches. The cycle‐frequency filter is adopted to roughly determine the area of the intruder on the image. The graph‐based image segmentation method is used to further separate the determined area into the image patches of the intruder and the image patches of the background. The sliding window technique is employed to obtain the regions of interest (ROIs), and the candidate regions of the intruder airplane are finally extracted by merging the overlapped ROIs. The performance of the algorithm is analysed using a number of aerial video sequences with complex background and different angles of view. The results of the experiments indicate the superiority of the proposed algorithm.
Performance improvement of magnetic anomaly detector using Karhunen–Loeve expansion
Authors: Wan Chengbiao , Pan Mengchun , Zhang Qi , Chen Dixiang , Pang Hongfeng , Zhu Xuejun
Published: March 2017

In this work, the authors improve the magnetic anomaly detector by using Karhunen–Loeve expansion, for expanding the detection distance of visually obscured ferromagnetic object when the target signal is contaminated by coloured noise. In the detector, the orthonormal basis functions are modified by the autocorrelation function of geomagnetic noise, and the anomaly is detected by matched filtering. Compared with the traditional detector, simulation results show that the modified detector has better performance with coloured Gaussian noise; especially, the improvement is more evident when the noise exponent is bigger. The real geomagnetic noise is proved to be coloured and obey approximate Gaussian distribution by the measurements in experiment. Tests with this noise indicate that the proposed detector achieves an incremental detection probability of 0.1 – 0.2 in the case of low signal‐to‐noise ratio, which makes it more attractive in practice.