bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Who needs experts most? Board industry expertise and strategic change—a contingency perspective
Authors: Oehmichen Jana , Schrapp Sebastian , Wolff Michael
Published: March 2016

Research summary: We analyze the effects of board industry expertise on corporate strategic change and the moderating role of institutional quality. We suggest that country‐level contingency factors mitigate the effect of experienced boards on strategy formation by providing alternative sources of information and control in strategic matters. We develop institutional quality as institutional information provision and institutional control provision to test our hypotheses on a sample of firms from MSCI Europe and the S&P 500. Our findings confirm that industry expertise is a salient driver of strategic change across countries. The strength of the effect, however, depends on the institutional quality. We submit that weak institutions require greater board industry expertise as an alternative channel of information and control.

Management summary: This study provides new empirical evidence that experience in the firms' industries enables directors to increase strategic change. Our findings show that this effect is even stronger in countries with weak regulatory environments. We hereby provide guidance for multiple stakeholders. First, shareholders seeking a more active adjustment of their firms' strategies may want to compose boards that leverage such experienced directors. Second, directors can use their industry experience to control and to challenge managers better to move beyond the status quo. Third, managers lacking access to information on potential strategic change can use such experienced directors for strategic advice and as a source of information. Overall, we add to the understanding of the corporate board's role in shaping strategy and the influence of weak regulations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the smallest eigenvalues of covariance matrices of multivariate spatial processes
Authors: Bachoc François , Furrer Reinhard
Published: March 2016

There has been a growing interest in providing models for multivariate spatial processes. A majority of these models specify a parametric matrix covariance function. Based on observations, the parameters are estimated by maximum likelihood or variants thereof. While the asymptotic properties of maximum likelihood estimators for univariate spatial processes have been analyzed in detail, maximum likelihood estimators for multivariate spatial processes have not received their deserved attention yet. In this article, we consider the classical increasing‐domain asymptotic setting restricting the minimum distance between the locations. Then, one of the main components to be studied from a theoretical point of view is the asymptotic positive definiteness of the underlying covariance matrix. Based on very weak assumptions on the matrix covariance function, we show that the smallest eigenvalue of the covariance matrix is asymptotically bounded away from zero. Several practical implications are discussed as well. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Molecular Mechanisms for the Modulation of Selected Inflammatory Markers by Dietary Rice Bran Oil in Rats Fed Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat
Authors: Rao Y. Poorna Chandra , Kumar P. Pavan , Lokesh B. R.
Published: March 2016

Industrially produced partially hydrogenated vegetable fat (PHVF) contains trans fatty acids (TFA) mostly comprising elaidic acid (EA, 18:1∆9t). Though, the harmful effects of TFA on health have been repeatedly publicized, the fat containing TFA have been continued to be used as a cooking medium in many regions of the world. The adverse effects of PHVF on oxidative stress and inflammatory markers and the possible ameliorative action of rice bran oil (RBO) on these markers were evaluated. Weaning rats were fed a AIN‐93 purified diet supplemented with the following lipids: groundnut oil (GNO, 10 wt%), PHVF (10 wt%), RBO (10 wt%), PHVF blended with RBO at 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 wt% levels. The final concentration of the lipids in the diet was maintained at 10 wt%. Rats were fed these diets for 60 days. They were sacrificed and analyzed for oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. The rats fed PHVF showed lower levels of lipid peroxidation and hepatic antioxidant enzymes. The rats fed PHVF‐containing diets showed enhanced levels of interleukin‐1β, C‐reactive proteins and also showed enhanced levels of paw inflammation when injected with carrageenan as compared to rats given GNO, RBO or PHVF blended with incremental amounts of RBO. The macrophages from rats fed diet containing PHVF showed up‐regulation in the expressions of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), nuclear factor‐κB p65, toll like receptor (TLR)‐2, TLR‐4 and down‐regulation in the expressions of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR)γ, adiponectin receptor (AdipoR)‐1 and AdipoR‐2 when compared to rats fed diet containing GNO, RBO and PHVF blended with RBO. It was concluded that dietary PHVF enhance pro‐inflammatory markers which can be reduced by judiciously blending PHVF with RBO.
Tensiones y reconfiguraciones de la práctica docente ante el cambio curricular en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Authors: Hamui Sutton Alicia
Published: March 2016

La Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM inició en 2010 la implementación de un nuevo plan de estudios cuya característica básica fue la de incorporar en las asignaturas el modelo pedagógico de las competencias. El denominado Plan 2010, está centrado en el estudiante y pone énfasis en el autoaprendizaje, lo que de facto transforma los roles que desempeñan los profesores en el proceso educativo. La escasa orientación y capacitación a los docentes provocó tensiones en el interior de los departamentos encargados del diseño curricular de las asignaturas y de coordinar a los alumnos y profesores. Este trabajo analiza, a partir de las siete estrategias de formación docente de Jolly, las variadas  respuestas de los sujetos docentes ante los cambios educativos y los desafíos que enfrentan los profesores en los ciclos básicos (dos primeros años de la licenciatura). También aborda las representaciones y las prácticas que desarrollan los docentes en las interacciones cotidianas en el contexto de la reestructuración del campo de la educación médica. En la discusión se contrastan las propuestas de Jolly con el proceso de transformación docente en la Facultad de Medicina.
Shared dynamical features of smooth- and rough-wall boundary-layer turbulence
Authors: Ebner R. L. , Mehdi Faraz , Klewicki J. C.
Published: March 2016

The structure of smooth- and rough-wall turbulent boundary layers is investigated using existing data and newly acquired measurements derived from a four element spanwise vorticity sensor. Scaling behaviours and structural features are interpreted using the mean momentum equation based framework described for smooth-wall flows by Klewicki (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 718, 2013, pp. 596–621), and its extension to rough-wall flows by Mehdiet al.(J. Fluid Mech., vol. 731, 2013, pp. 682–712). This framework holds potential relative to identifying and characterizing universal attributes shared by smooth- and rough-wall flows. As prescribed by the theory, the present analyses show that a number of statistical features evidence invariance when normalized using the characteristic length associated with the wall-normal transition to inertial leading-order mean dynamics. On the inertial domain, the spatial size of the advective transport contributions to the mean momentum balance attain approximate proportionality with this length over significant ranges of roughness and Reynolds number. The present results support the hypothesis of Mehdiet al., that outer-layer similarity is, in general, only approximately satisfied in rough-wall flows. This is because roughness almost invariably leaves some imprint on the vorticity field; stemming from the process by which roughness influences (generally augments) the near-wall three-dimensionalization of the vorticity field. The present results further indicate that the violation of outer similarity over regularly spaced spanwise oriented bar roughness correlates with the absence of scale separation between the motions associated with the wall-normal velocity and spanwise vorticity on the inertial domain.
Weakly nonlinear stability analysis of subcritical electrohydrodynamic flow subject to strong unipolar injection
Authors: Zhang Mengqi
Published: March 2016

We analyse in detail the weakly nonlinear stability of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow of insulating fluids subject to strong unipolar injection, with and without cross-flow. We first consider the hydrostatic electroconvetion induced by a Coulomb force confined between two infinite flat electrodes, taking into account the charge diffusion effect. The effects of various non-dimensionalized parameters are examined in order to depict in detail and to understand better the subcritical bifurcation of hydrostatic electroconvetion. In addition, electrohydrodynamics with low- or high-$Re$cross-flow is also considered for investigating the combined effect of inertia and the electric field. It is found that the base cross-flow is modified by the electric effect and that, even when the inertia is dominating, the electric field can still strengthen effectively the subcritical characteristics of canonical channel flow. In this process, however, the electric field does not contribute directly to the subcriticality of the resultant flow and the intensified subcritical feature of such flow is thus entirely due to the modified hydrodynamic field as a result of the imposed electric field. This finding might be important for flow control strategies involving an electric field. Theoretically, the above results are obtained from a multiple-scale expansion method, which gives rise to the Ginzburg–Landau equation governing the amplitude of the first-order perturbation. The conclusions are deduced by probing the changes of value of the coefficients in this equation. In particular, the sign of the first Landau coefficient indicates the type of bifurcation, being subcritical or supercritical. Moreover, as a quintic-order Ginzburg–Landau equation is derived, the effects of higher-order nonlinear terms in EHD flow are also discussed.
Combining an obstacle and electrically driven vortices to enhance heat transfer in a quasi-two-dimensional MHD duct flow
Authors: Hamid Ahmad H. A. , Hussam Wisam K. , Sheard Gregory J.
Published: March 2016

The design of vortex promoters in a heated-wall duct is often limited by the considerations of practicality, especially in complex systems such as fusion blankets. The present study investigates the use of current injection to invoke a street of vortices in quasi-two-dimensional high transverse magnetic field magnetohydrodynamic duct flows to enhance instability behind a cylinder. The intent is to generate intensive flow vorticity parallel to a magnetic field downstream of a field-aligned cylinder. Electric current enters the flow through an electrode embedded in one of the Hartmann walls, radiates outward, imparting a rotational forcing around the electrode due to the Lorentz force. The quasi-two-dimensional nature of these flows then promotes a vortical rotation across the interior of the duct with axis aligned to the magnetic field. The hot and cold walls are parallel to the magnetic field. Electric current amplitude and pulse width, excitation frequency and electrode position are systematically varied to explore their influences on the convective heat transport phenomenon. This investigation builds on a recommendation from previous work of Bühler (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 326, 1996, pp. 125–150) dedicated to understanding of the flow stability in a similar configuration. This study provides supportive evidence for the use of current injection as an alternative to the conventional mechanically actuated turbuliser, with heat transfer almost doubled for negligible additional pumping power requirements.
On the reduction of aerofoil–turbulence interaction noise associated with wavy leading edges
Authors: Kim Jae Wook , Haeri Sina , Joseph Phillip F.
Published: March 2016

An aerofoil leading-edge profile based on wavy (sinusoidal) protuberances/tubercles is investigated to understand the mechanisms by which they are able to reduce the noise produced through the interaction with turbulent mean flow. Numerical simulations are performed for non-lifting flat-plate aerofoils with straight and wavy leading edges (denoted by SLE and WLE, respectively) subjected to impinging turbulence that is synthetically generated in the upstream zone (free-stream Mach number of 0.24). Full three-dimensional Euler (inviscid) solutions are computed for this study thereby eliminating self-noise components. A high-order accurate finite-difference method and artefact-free boundary conditions are used in the current simulations. Various statistical analysis methods, including frequency spectra, are implemented to aid the understanding of the noise-reduction mechanisms. It is found with WLEs, unlike the SLE, that the surface pressure fluctuations along the leading edge exhibit a significant source-cutoff effect due to geometric obliqueness which leads to reduced levels of radiated sound pressure. It is also found that there exists a phase interference effect particularly prevalent between the peak and the hill centre of the WLE geometry, which contributes to the noise reduction in the mid- to high-frequency range.
Matteo Renzi: a new leadership style for the Italian Democratic Party and Italian politics
Authors: Salvati Eugenio
Published: March 2016

Matteo Renzi’s eruption on to the Italian political scene is now overcoming the inertia of the Italian political system, with a highly personalised leadership style which is challenging the Democratic Party’s (Partito Democratico, PD) organisational model. Renzi’s great innovation on the Italian left is the enforcement of a post-ideological leadership which is able to attract wide support due to a vigorous style of communication and skill in the use of traditional and new media. This article analyses the rise of this new charismatic leadership and the way in which it challenged the traditional organisational model of the PD, and aims to identify the main elements that define it at national and party level.
Cold-War Trieste: metamorphosing ideas of Italian nationhood, 1945-1975
Authors: Capano Fabio
Published: March 2016

This article explores the Italian government’s attitude towards Trieste and its territory in public discourse and the unique role of the disputed area as a means of reinforcing, challenging or disrupting nationalist rhetoric of Italian nationhood after 1945. It argues that the central government’s projected image of the disputed border vacillated between that of a wall and a bridge at the southern tip of the Iron Curtain and was utilised to either strengthen or weaken past nationalist conceptualisations of Italian identity or ‘italianità’ within and outside the Adriatic city. While producing significant resistance within the Triestine community and its émigrés, this political process also succeeded in transforming this disputed territory from a stronghold of Western democracy into a bridge toward the socialist world within public discourse. This close reading of both political and public views of Italy’s eastern border ultimately reveals the inherent fluidity and constructed meaning of ideas of nationhood in Cold War Italy.
‘Theological Wars’: ‘Socinians’ v. ‘Antinomians’ in Restoration England
Authors: HAIGH CHRISTOPHER
Published: March 2016

This article examines changes in content and tone in some polemical exchanges between Anglican conformists and Nonconformists in the reign of Charlesii. In response to the Dissenters' pleas for comprehension and/or toleration because of shared Protestant beliefs, some conformists accused them of holding an antinomian doctrine of justification that undermined morality and political order – and Dissenters retorted with accusations of Socinianism. The disputes were complicated by divisions over justification within rather than between Anglican and Nonconformist groups, and by the late 1670s the perceived threats from papists brought renewed emphasis on common ground
Molecular identification ofEntamoebaspecies in savanna woodland chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)
Authors: JIRKŮ-POMAJBÍKOVÁ KATEŘINA , ČEPIČKA IVAN , KALOUSOVÁ BARBORA , JIRKŮ MILAN , STEWART FIONA , LEVECKE BRUNO , MODRÝ DAVID , PIEL ALEX K. , PETRŽELKOVÁ KLÁRA J.
Published: March 2016

To address the molecular diversity and occurrence of pathogenic species of the genusEntamoebaspp. in wild non-human primates (NHP) we conducted molecular-phylogenetic analyses onEntamoebafrom wild chimpanzees living in the Issa Valley, Tanzania. We compared the sensitivity of molecular [using a genus-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR)] and coproscopic detection (merthiolate-iodine-formaldehyde concentration) ofEntamoebaspp. We identifiedEntamoebaspp. in 72 chimpanzee fecal samples (79%) subjected to species-specific PCRs for sixEntamoebaspecies/groups (Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba nuttalli, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba moshkovskii, Entamoeba coliandEntamoeba poleckiST2). We recorded threeEntamoebaspecies:E. coli(47%),E. dispar(16%),Entamoeba hartmanni(51%). Coproscopically, we could only distinguish the cysts of complexE. histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii/nuttalliandE. coli. Molecular prevalence of entamoebas was higher than the prevalence based on the coproscopic examination. Our molecular phylogenies showed that sequences ofE. disparandE. colifrom Issa chimpanzees are closely related to sequences from humans and other NHP from GenBank. The results showed that wild chimpanzees harbourEntamoebaspecies similar to those occurring in humans; however, no pathogenic species were detected. Molecular-phylogenetic methods are critical to improve diagnostics of entamoebas in wild NHP and for determining an accurate prevalence ofEntamoebaspecies.
Generalized Lagrange multiplier rule for non-convex vector optimization problems
Authors: Donato Maria Bernadette
Published: March 2016

In this paper a non-convex vector optimization problem among infinite-dimensional spaces is presented. In particular, a generalized Lagrange multiplier rule is formulated as a necessary and sufficient optimality condition for weakly minimal solutions of a constrained vector optimization problem, without requiring that the ordering cone that defines the inequality constraints has non-empty interior. This paper extends the result of Donato (J. Funct. Analysis261 (2011), 2083–2093) to the general setting of vector optimization by introducing a constraint qualification assumption that involves the Fréchet differentiability of the maps and the tangent cone to the image set. Moreover, the constraint qualification is a necessary and sufficient condition for the Lagrange multiplier rule to hold.
A convergence result for the ergodic problem for Hamilton–Jacobi equations with Neumann-type boundary conditions
Authors: Al-Aidarous Eman S. , Alzahrani Ebraheem O. , Ishii Hitoshi , Younas Arshad M. M.
Published: March 2016

We consider the ergodic (or additive eigenvalue) problem for the Neumann-type boundary-value problem for Hamilton–Jacobi equations and the corresponding discounted problems. Denoting by uλ the solution of the discounted problem with discount factor λ > 0, we establish the convergence of the whole family to a solution of the ergodic problem as λ → 0, and give a representation formula for the limit function via the Mather measures and Peierls function. As an interesting by-product, we introduce Mather measures associated with Hamilton–Jacobi equations with the Neumann-type boundary conditions. These results are variants of the main results in a recent paper by Davini et al., who study the same convergence problem on smooth compact manifolds without boundary.
Rapid conservation assessment for endangered species using habitat connectivity models
Authors: SCHAFFER-SMITH DANICA , SWENSON JENNIFER J. , BÓVEDA-PENALBA ANTONIO J.
Published: March 2016

To avoid extinction of rare species in regions of active environmental change, strategic approaches are needed to manage remaining habitat. When observations of dispersal or metapopulation information are not available, habitat connectivity simulations may offer a valuable alternative source of information to assess threats and evaluate conservation options. For the Critically Endangered San Martin titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe) in north central Peru, an updated distribution model was generated and land cover in the heavily deforested northern range of the species was mapped. The value of remaining forest fragments was characterized and threats from future land use change were assessed using complementary connectivity models. It is estimated that the species range is less than 14 000 km2. Remote sensing analysis reveals that at least 34% of lowland forest in the northern range has been lost, while nearly 95% of remaining habitat fragments are likely too small to support viable populations and less than 8% of this habitat lies within conservation areas. Areas with the highest modelled connectivity comprise only 10% of the remaining forest in the northern range and small patches may contribute disproportionately to movement; these lands represent opportunities for conservation and reforestation to prevent potentially significant impacts from future mining and urban development. This study prioritized remaining suitable habitat patches using modelled connectivity and local knowledge to gain insight into the status of an understudied species. This approach offers a relatively rapid method to identify potential land use conflicts, and to further focus research and locally appropriate conservation.
Israel's 1967 Governmental Debate about the Annexation of East Jerusalem: The Nascent Alliance with the United States, Overshadowed by “United Jerusalem”
Authors: Friesel Ofra
Published: March 2016

“No Israeli, dove or hawk, will ever surrender any part of Jerusalem.”

Arthur J. Goldberg, United States Ambassador to the United Nations 1965–68

The main position of modern international law prohibits the annexation of occupied territory. Israel, however, like Jordan two decades earlier, annexed East Jerusalem after its occupation in June 1967, and applied its national laws there. Although the legality of the Israeli move according to international law has been debated extensively ever since, the fact that in doing so Israel chose to act contrary to expressed American objections to this move has not been thoroughly examined, however. This research focuses on the Israeli governmental deliberations and eventual decision to annex East Jerusalem, against the backdrop of the early days of the emergence of a hesitant Israeli–American alliance following the 1967 War. Through an analysis of Israeli government meeting protocols, now released to the public, together with American and United Nations sources and existing scholarship, I aim to uncover what weight the United States objection to Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem held in the Israeli government's deliberations concerning whether or not to annex it.
On Style in Electroacoustic Music
Authors: Hugill Andrew
Published: March 2016

This article argues for the habilitation of a concept of style in electroacoustic music. It surveys the reasons for the neglect of style, looking in particular at the modernist embedding of electroacoustic theory and the consequences of postmodern genre formations. It considers the extent to which academic understanding of the materiality of music has moved from the analysis of sound to the analysis of media. It offers a critique of notions of sonic inclusivity and the differentiation of electroacoustic music from instrumental music. It emphasises the importance of comparative analysis and understanding the elements of style in electroacoustic music. It critically examines a number of techniques and frameworks for stylistic analysis. It concludes by encouraging the electroacoustic music community to engage more fully with notions of style.
Cross-genre Hybridity in Composition: A systematic method
Authors: Mayall Jeremy
Published: March 2016

This article serves as an introduction to the ‘hybridity table’, which is a systematic compositional tool designed to aid in the creation of balanced cross-genre hybrid music. The hybridity table was developed as part of my doctoral research, and has been utilised in my ongoing creative practice-based research. The article will, in a broad sense, discuss the terms ‘genre’ and ‘hybridity’, drawing from the current literature, and will attempt to clarify how an understanding of these terms was utilised in the development of the hybridity table. Also included is a brief example of the table used in the composition of a short piece – Tracking Forward – as well as a discussion of key considerations for composing hybrid music using this table. Through outlining this new compositional tool it is hoped that this method might be utilised by other composers in their own creation of balanced cross-genre hybrid music.
Just Don’t Call it Trip Hop: Reconciling the Bristol sound style with the trip hop genre
Authors: Wragg Jeff
Published: March 2016

Trip hop music emerged in the early 1990s, however, as a label the term ‘trip hop’ has always been problematic. Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky, the artists frequently credited with creating trip hop, have unanimously rejected the label, claiming their music has nothing to do with trip hop. Despite the artists’ objections, music industrialists, fans and academics continually label their music trip hop or its alternate term ‘Bristol sound’, though specifics are never given as to what, if anything, distinguishes the two terms. This article seeks to mediate the discussion between opposing viewpoints by describing the Bristol sound as a style that relates to the trip hop genre. Following the introduction, the second section discusses the controversy surrounding the term ‘trip hop’ and suggests possible reasons behind the artists’ rejection of the label. The third section addresses the terms ‘genre’ and ‘style’ and outlines their similar points of reference while also highlighting their different areas of inquiry. The final section analyses several trip hop songs and identifies common elements that relate to the trip hop genre, before identifying explicit differences that distinguish the Bristol sound style. The analysis of style focuses on the spectral quality of the works and draws from Smalley’s (1997) theory of spectromorphology.
Alkaline ceramidase 3 deficiency aggravates colitis and colitis-associated tumorigenesis in mice by hyperactivating the innate immune system
Authors: Wang K , Xu R , Snider A J , Schrandt J , Li Y , Bialkowska A B , Li M , Zhou J , Hannun Y A , Obeid L M , Yang V W , Mao C
Published: March 2016

Increasing studies suggest that ceramides differing in acyl chain length and/or degree of unsaturation have distinct roles in mediating biological responses. However, still much remains unclear about regulation and role of distinct ceramide species in the immune response. Here, we demonstrate that alkaline ceramidase 3 (Acer3) mediates the immune response by regulating the levels of C18:1-ceramide in cells of the innate immune system and that Acer3 deficiency aggravates colitis in a murine model by augmenting the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in myeloid and colonic epithelial cells (CECs). According to the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, ACER3 is downregulated in immune cells in response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a potent inducer of the innate immune response. Consistent with these data, we demonstrated that LPS downregulated both Acer3 mRNA levels and its enzymatic activity while elevating C18:1-ceramide, a substrate of Acer3, in murine immune cells or CECs. Knocking out Acer3 enhanced the elevation of C18:1-ceramide and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in immune cells and CECs in response to LPS challenge. Similar to Acer3 knockout, treatment with C18:1-ceramide, but not C18:0-ceramide, potentiated LPS-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in immune cells. In the mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis, Acer3 deficiency augmented colitis-associated elevation of colonic C18:1-ceramide and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Acer3 deficiency aggravated diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss and mortality. Pathological analyses revealed that Acer3 deficiency augmented colonic shortening, immune cell infiltration, colonic epithelial damage and systemic inflammation. Acer3 deficiency also aggravated colonic dysplasia in a mouse model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer. Taken together, these results suggest that Acer3 has an important anti-inflammatory role by suppressing cellular or tissue C18:1-ceramide, a potent pro-inflammatory bioactive lipid and that dysregulation of ACER3 and C18:1-ceramide may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases including cancer.
The mPower study, Parkinson disease mobile data collected using ResearchKit
Authors: Bot Brian M. , Suver Christine , Neto Elias Chaibub , Kellen Michael , Klein Arno , Bare Christopher , Doerr Megan , Pratap Abhishek , Wilbanks John , Dorsey E. Ray , Friend Stephen H. , Trister Andrew D.
Published: March 2016

Current measures of health and disease are often insensitive, episodic, and subjective. Further, these measures generally are not designed to provide meaningful feedback to individuals. The impact of high-resolution activity data collected from mobile phones is only beginning to be explored. Here we present data from mPower, a clinical observational study about Parkinson disease conducted purely through an iPhone app interface. The study interrogated aspects of this movement disorder through surveys and frequent sensor-based recordings from participants with and without Parkinson disease. Benefitting from large enrollment and repeated measurements on many individuals, these data may help establish baseline variability of real-world activity measurement collected via mobile phones, and ultimately may lead to quantification of the ebbs-and-flows of Parkinson symptoms. App source code for these data collection modules are available through an open source license for use in studies of other conditions. We hope that releasing data contributed by engaged research participants will seed a new community of analysts working collaboratively on understanding mobile health data to advance human health.
Beyond sodefrin: evidence for a multi-component pheromone system in the model newt Cynops pyrrhogaster (Salamandridae)
Authors: Van Bocxlaer Ines , Maex Margo , Treer Dag , Janssenswillen Sunita , Janssens Rik , Vandebergh Wim , Proost Paul , Bossuyt Franky
Published: March 2016

Sodefrin, a decapeptide isolated from the male dorsal gland of the Japanese fire belly newt Cynops pyrrhogaster, was the first peptide pheromone identified from a vertebrate. The fire belly salamander and sodefrin have become a model for sex pheromone investigation in aquatically courting salamanders ever since. Subsequent studies in other salamanders identified SPF protein courtship pheromones of around 20 kDa belonging to the same gene-family. Although transcripts of these proteins could be PCR-amplified in Cynops, it is currently unknown whether they effectively use full-length SPF pheromones next to sodefrin. Here we combined transcriptomics, proteomics and phylogenetics to investigate SPF pheromone use in Cynops pyrrhogaster. Our data show that not sodefrin transcripts, but multiple SPF transcripts make up the majority of the expression profile in the dorsal gland of this newt. Proteome analyses of water in which a male has been courting confirm that this protein blend is effectively secreted and tail-fanned to the female. By combining phylogenetics and expression data, we show that independent evolutionary lineages of these SPF’s were already expressed in ancestral Cynops species before the origin of sodefrin. Extant Cynops species continue to use this multi-component pheromone system, consisting of various proteins in addition to a lineage-specific peptide.
Magnetoelectric relaxor and reentrant behaviours in multiferroic Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)O3 crystal
Authors: Chen Ling , Bokov Alexei A. , Zhu Weimin , Wu Hua , Zhuang Jian , Zhang Nan , Tailor Hamel N. , Ren Wei , Ye Zuo-Guang
Published: March 2016

Significant quenched disorder in crystal structure can break ferroic (magnetic or electric) long-range order, resulting in the development of ferroic glassy states at low temperatures such as magnetic spin glasses, electric dipolar glasses, relaxor ferroelectrics, etc. These states have been widely studied due to novel physical phenomena they reveal. Much less known are the effects of quenched disorder in multiferroics, i.e. the materials where magnetic and electric correlations coexist. Here we report an unusual behaviour in complex perovskite Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)O3 (PFW) crystals: the coexistence of electric relaxor, magnetic relaxor and antiferromagnetic (AFM) states. The most striking finding is the transformation of the AFM phase into a new reentrant-type magnetic glassy phase below Tg ≅ 10 K. We show that the behaviour at this transformation contrasts the typical behaviour of canonical spin glasses and is similar to the behaviour of relaxor ferroelectrics. Magnetoelectric effect is also observed in the AFM phase in the temperature range of the transition into electric relaxor phase at Tf ≅ 200. The mechanism of magnetic relaxor behaviour is supposed to arise from the frustrated interactions among the spins located at the AFM domain walls. Our results should inspire further studies of multirelaxor behaviour in other multiferroic systems.
Topographic Cues Reveal Two Distinct Spreading Mechanisms in Blood Platelets
Authors: Sandmann Rabea , Köster Sarah
Published: March 2016

Blood platelets are instrumental in blood clotting and are thus heavily involved in early wound closure. After adhering to a substrate they spread by forming protrusions like lamellipodia and filopodia. However, the interaction of these protrusions with the physical environment of platelets while spreading is not fully understood. Here we dynamically image platelets during this spreading process and compare their behavior on smooth and on structured substrates. In particular we analyze the temporal evolution of the spread area, the cell morphology and the dynamics of individual filopodia. Interestingly, the topographic cues enable us to distinguish two spreading mechanisms, one that is based on numerous persistent filopodia and one that rather involves lamellipodia. Filopodia-driven spreading coincides with a strong response of platelet morphology to the substrate topography during spreading, whereas lamellipodia-driven spreading does not. Thus, we quantify different degrees of filopodia formation in platelets and the influence of filopodia in spreading on structured substrates.
Weak antilocalization in Cd3As2 thin films
Authors: Zhao Bo , Cheng Peihong , Pan Haiyang , Zhang Shuai , Wang Baigeng , Wang Guanghou , Xiu Faxian , Song Fengqi
Published: March 2016

Recently, it has been theoretically predicted that Cd3As2 is a three dimensional Dirac material, a new topological phase discovered after topological insulators, which exhibits a linear energy dispersion in the bulk with massless Dirac fermions. Here, we report on the low-temperature magnetoresistance measurements on a ~50 nm-thick Cd3As2 film. The weak antilocalization under perpendicular magnetic field is discussed based on the two-dimensional Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) theory. The electron-electron interaction is addressed as the source of the dephasing based on the temperature-dependent scaling behavior. The weak antilocalization can be also observed while the magnetic field is parallel to the electric field due to the strong interaction between the different conductance channels in this quasi-two-dimensional film.
Predicted molecular signaling guiding photoreceptor cell migration following transplantation into damaged retina
Authors: Unachukwu Uchenna John , Warren Alice , Li Ze , Mishra Shawn , Zhou Jing , Sauane Moira , Lim Hyungsik , Vazquez Maribel , Redenti Stephen
Published: March 2016

To replace photoreceptors lost to disease or trauma and restore vision, laboratories around the world are investigating photoreceptor replacement strategies using subretinal transplantation of photoreceptor precursor cells (PPCs) and retinal progenitor cells (RPCs). Significant obstacles to advancement of photoreceptor cell-replacement include low migration rates of transplanted cells into host retina and an absence of data describing chemotactic signaling guiding migration of transplanted cells in the damaged retinal microenvironment. To elucidate chemotactic signaling guiding transplanted cell migration, bioinformatics modeling of PPC transplantation into light-damaged retina was performed. The bioinformatics modeling analyzed whole-genome expression data and matched PPC chemotactic cell-surface receptors to cognate ligands expressed in the light-damaged retinal microenvironment. A library of significantly predicted chemotactic ligand-receptor pairs, as well as downstream signaling networks was generated. PPC and RPC migration in microfluidic ligand gradients were analyzed using a highly predicted ligand-receptor pair, SDF-1α – CXCR4, and both PPCs and RPCs exhibited significant chemotaxis. This work present a systems level model and begins to elucidate molecular mechanisms involved in PPC and RPC migration within the damaged retinal microenvironment.
Integrated photonic emitter with a wide switching range of orbital angular momentum modes
Authors: Wang Yu , Zhao Peng , Feng Xue , Xu Yuntao , Cui Kaiyu , Liu Fang , Zhang Wei , Huang Yidong
Published: March 2016

Due to the nature of infinite dimensionality, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) has been considered as a new degree of freedom of light and widely expanded the scopes of substantial optical applications such as optical telecommunication, quantum information, particle manipulation and imaging. In recent years, the integrated photonic OAM emitters have been actively investigated due to both compactness and tunability. Essentially, the number of available OAM modes by dynamic switching should be large enough so that the dimensionality of OAM could be explored as much as possible. In this work, an integrated photonic emitter with a wide switching range of OAM modes is theoretically developed, numerically simulated and experimentally verified. The independence of the micro-ring cavity and the scattering unit provides the flexibility to design the device and optimize the performance. Specifically, the dynamic switching of nine OAM modes (l = −4 ~ 4) with azimuthal polarization has been demonstrated by electrically controlled thermo-optic effect.
Population Code Dynamics in Categorical Perception
Authors: Tajima Chihiro I. , Tajima Satohiro , Koida Kowa , Komatsu Hidehiko , Aihara Kazuyuki , Suzuki Hideyuki
Published: March 2016

Categorical perception is a ubiquitous function in sensory information processing and is reported to have important influences on the recognition of presented and/or memorized stimuli. However, such complex interactions among categorical perception and other aspects of sensory processing have not been explained well in a unified manner. Here, we propose a recurrent neural network model to process categorical information of stimuli, which approximately realizes a hierarchical Bayesian estimation on stimuli. The model accounts for a wide variety of neurophysiological and cognitive phenomena in a consistent framework. In particular, the reported complexity of categorical effects, including (i) task-dependent modulation of neural response, (ii) clustering of neural population representation, (iii) temporal evolution of perceptual color memory and (iv) a non-uniform discrimination threshold, are explained as different aspects of a single model. Moreover, we directly examine key model behaviors in the monkey visual cortex by analyzing neural population dynamics during categorization and discrimination of color stimuli. We find that the categorical task causes temporally-evolving biases in the neuronal population representations toward the focal colors, which supports the proposed model. These results suggest that categorical perception can be achieved by recurrent neural dynamics that approximates optimal probabilistic inference in the changing environment.
Antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of auranofin against multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens
Authors: Thangamani Shankar , Mohammad Haroon , Abushahba Mostafa F. N. , Sobreira Tiago J. P. , Hedrick Victoria E. , Paul Lake N. , Seleem Mohamed N.
Published: March 2016

Traditional methods employed to discover new antibiotics are both a time-consuming and financially-taxing venture. This has led researchers to mine existing libraries of clinical molecules in order to repurpose old drugs for new applications (as antimicrobials). Such an effort led to the discovery of auranofin, a drug initially approved as an anti-rheumatic agent, which also possesses potent antibacterial activity in a clinically achievable range. The present study demonstrates auranofin’s antibacterial activity is a complex process that involves inhibition of multiple biosynthetic pathways including cell wall, DNA, and bacterial protein synthesis. We also confirmed that the lack of activity of auranofin observed against Gram-negative bacteria is due to the permeability barrier conferred by the outer membrane. Auranofin’s ability to suppress bacterial protein synthesis leads to significant reduction in the production of key methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) toxins. Additionally, auranofin is capable of eradicating intracellular MRSA present inside infected macrophage cells. Furthermore, auranofin is efficacious in a mouse model of MRSA systemic infection and significantly reduces the bacterial load in murine organs including the spleen and liver. Collectively, this study provides valuable evidence that auranofin has significant promise to be repurposed as a novel antibacterial for treatment of invasive bacterial infections.
Three-dimensionally Ordered Macroporous Structure Enabled Nanothermite Membrane of Mn2O3/Al
Authors: Zheng Guoqiang , Zhang Wenchao , Shen Ruiqi , Ye Jiahai , Qin Zhichun , Chao Yimin
Published: March 2016

Mn2O3 has been selected to realize nanothermite membrane for the first time in the literature. Mn2O3/Al nanothermite has been synthesized by magnetron sputtering a layer of Al film onto three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) Mn2O3 skeleton. The energy release is significantly enhanced owing to the unusual 3DOM structure, which ensures Al and Mn2O3 to integrate compactly in nanoscale and greatly increase effective contact area. The morphology and DSC curve of the nanothermite membrane have been investigated at various aluminizing times. At the optimized aluminizing time of 30 min, energy release reaches a maximum of 2.09 kJ∙g−1, where the Al layer thickness plays a decisive role in the total energy release. This method possesses advantages of high compatibility with MEMS and can be applied to other nanothermite systems easily, which will make great contribution to little-known nanothermite research.
Maternal serum cadmium level during pregnancy and its association with small for gestational age infants: a population-based birth cohort study
Authors: Wang Hua , Liu Lu , Hu Yong-Fang , Hao Jia-Hu , Chen Yuan-Hua , Su Pu-Yu , Fu Lin , Yu Zhen , Zhang Gui-Bin , Wang Lei , Tao Fang-Biao , Xu De-Xiang
Published: March 2016

The association between maternal cadmium (Cd) exposure during pregnancy and the increased risk of fetal growth restriction (FGR) remains controversial. The present study evaluated the association between maternal serum Cd level and risk of small for gestational age (SGA) infants in a Chinese population. The present study analyzed a subsample of the C-ABCS cohort that recruited 3254 eligible mother-and-singleton-offspring pairs. Maternal serum Cd level during pregnancy was measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The rate and odds ratio (OR) for SGA infant were calculated. The rate for SGA infant was 10.6% among subjects with H-Cd (≥1.06 μg/L), significantly higher than 7.5% among subjects with L-Cd (<1.06 μg/L).ORwas 1.45 (95%CI: 1.11, 1.90;P = 0.007) among subjects with H-Cd. AdjustedORfor SGA infants was 1.43 (95%CI: 1.09, 1.88;P = 0.007) among subjects with H-Cd. Taken together, we observe the fact that maternal Cd exposure at middle gestational stage, elevates the risk of SGA in contrast to early gestational stage. The present results might be interesting and worth more discussing, and guarantee to further studies.
Long noncoding RNA MALAT1 promotes hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance by increasing nuclear SREBP-1c protein stability
Authors: Yan Caifeng , Chen Jinfeng , Chen Nuoqi
Published: March 2016

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is implicated in liver cell proliferation. However, its role in hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of MALAT1 on hepatic lipid accumulation and its potential targets. As expected, MALAT1 expression is increased in hepatocytes exposed to palmitate and livers of ob/ob mice. Knockdown of MALAT1 expression dramatically suppressed palmitate-induced lipid accumulation and the increase of nuclear SREBP-1c protein in HepG2 cells. In addition, RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assay confirmed that MALAT1 interacted with SREBP-1c to stabilize nuclear SREBP-1c protein. Finally, injection of si-MALAT1 prevented hepatic lipid accumulation and insulin resistance in ob/ob mice. In conclusion, our observations suggest that MALAT1 promotes hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance by increasing nuclear SREBP-1c protein stability.
A bead-based cleavage method for large-scale identification of protease substrates
Authors: Wang Chunli , Ye Mingliang , Wei Xiaoluan , Bian Yangyang , Cheng Kai , Zou Hanfa
Published: March 2016

Proteolysis is a major form of post translational modification which occurs when a protease cleaves peptide bonds in a target protein to modify its activity. Tracking protease substrates is indispensable for understanding its cellular functions. However, it is difficult to directly identify protease substrates because the end products of proteolysis, the cleaved protein fragments, must be identified among the pool of cellular proteins. Here we present a bead-based cleavage approach using immobilized proteome as the screening library to identify protease substrates. This method enables efficient separation of proteolyzed proteins from background protein mixture. Using caspase-3 as the model protease, we have identified 1159 high confident substrates, among which, strikingly, 43.9% of substrates undergo degradation during apoptosis. The huge number of substrates and positive support of in vivo evidence indicate that the BBC method is a powerful tool for protease substrates identification.
Resonant X-ray emission with a standing wave excitation
Authors: Ruotsalainen Kari O. , Honkanen Ari-Pekka , Collins Stephen P. , Monaco Giulio , Moretti Sala Marco , Krisch Michael , Hämäläinen Keijo , Hakala Mikko , Huotari Simo
Published: March 2016

The Borrmann effect is the anomalous transmission of x-rays in perfect crystals under diffraction conditions. It arises from the interference of the incident and diffracted waves, which creates a standing wave with nodes at strongly absorbing atoms. Dipolar absorption of x-rays is thus diminished, which makes the crystal nearly transparent for certain x-ray wave vectors. Indeed, a relative enhancement of electric quadrupole absorption via the Borrmann effect has been demonstrated recently. Here we show that the Borrmann effect has a significantly larger impact on resonant x-ray emission than is observable in x-ray absorption. Emission from a dipole forbidden intermediate state may even dominate the corresponding x-ray spectra. Our work extends the domain of x-ray standing wave methods to resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy and provides means for novel spectroscopic experiments in d- and f-electron systems.