bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Imaging of Microtubule Arrays in Intact Arabidopsis thaliana Seedling Roots
Authors: Dong Bin , Yang Xiaochen , Zhu Shaobin , Bassham Diane C. , Fang Ning
Published: October 2015

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy has generated tremendous success in revealing detailed subcellular structures in animal cells. However, its application to plant cell biology remains extremely limited due to numerous technical challenges, including the generally high fluorescence background of plant cells and the presence of the cell wall. In the current study, stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) imaging of intact Arabidopsis thaliana seedling roots with a spatial resolution of 20–40 nm was demonstrated. Using the super-resolution images, the spatial organization of cortical microtubules in different parts of a whole Arabidopsis root tip was analyzed quantitatively and the results show the dramatic differences in the density and spatial organization of cortical microtubules in cells of different differentiation stages or types. The method developed can be applied to plant cell biological processes, including imaging of additional elements of the cytoskeleton, organelle substructure and membrane domains.
Plasmodium berghei ANKA causes intestinal malaria associated with dysbiosis
Authors: Taniguchi Tomoyo , Miyauchi Eiji , Nakamura Shota , Hirai Makoto , Suzue Kazutomo , Imai Takashi , Nomura Takahiro , Handa Tadashi , Okada Hiroko , Shimokawa Chikako , Onishi Risa , Olia Alex , Hirata Jun , Tomita Haruyoshi , Ohno Hiroshi , Horii Toshihiro , Hisaeda Hajime
Published: October 2015

Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal pain and diarrhea, are frequently observed in patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria. However, the correlation between malaria intestinal pathology and intestinal microbiota has not been investigated. In the present study, infection of C57BL/6 mice with P. berghei ANKA (PbA) caused intestinal pathological changes, such as detachment of epithelia in the small intestines and increased intestinal permeability, which correlated with development with experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). Notably, an apparent dysbiosis occurred, characterized by a reduction of Firmicutes and an increase in Proteobacteria. Furthermore, some genera of microbiota correlated with parasite growth and/or ECM development. By contrast, BALB/c mice are resistant to ECM and exhibit milder intestinal pathology and dysbiosis. These results indicate that the severity of cerebral and intestinal pathology coincides with the degree of alteration in microbiota. This is the first report demonstrating that malaria affects intestinal microbiota and causes dysbiosis.
Abnormalities of plasma cytokines and spleen in senile APP/PS1/Tau transgenic mouse model
Authors: Yang Seung-Hoon , Kim Jiyoon , Lee Michael Jisoo , Kim YoungSoo
Published: October 2015

The blood-based diagnosis has a potential to provide an alternative approach for easy diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with less invasiveness and low-cost. However, present blood-based AD diagnosis mainly focuses on measuring the plasma Aβ level because no other biomarkers are found to possess evident transport mechanisms to pass the blood-brain barrier. In order to avoid diagnosing non-demented individuals with Aβ abnormality, finding additional biomarkers to supplement plasma Aβ is essential. In this study, we introduce potential neurodegenerative biomarkers for blood-based diagnosis. We observed severe splenomegaly and structural destruction in the spleen with significantly decreased B lymphocytes in senile APPswe, PS1M146V and TauP301L transgenic mice. We also found that inflammatory cytokines associated with splenic dysfunction were altered in the plasma of these mice. These findings suggest potential involvement of the splenic dysfunction in AD and the importance of biomarker level alterations in the plasma as putative diagnostic targets for AD.
Generation of integration-free induced hepatocyte-like cells from mouse fibroblasts
Authors: Kim Jonghun , Kim Kee-Pyo , Lim Kyung Tae , Lee Seung Chan , Yoon Juyong , Song Guangqi , Hwang Seon In , Schöler Hans R. , Cantz Tobias , Han Dong Wook
Published: October 2015

The ability to generate integration-free induced hepatocyte-like cells (iHeps) from somatic fibroblasts has the potential to advance their clinical application. Here, we have generated integration-free, functional and expandable iHeps from mouse somatic fibroblasts. To elicit this direct conversion, we took advantage of an oriP/EBNA1-based episomal system to deliver a set of transcription factors, Gata4, Hnf1a and Foxa3, to the fibroblasts. The established iHeps exhibit similar morphology, marker expression and functional properties to primary hepatocytes. Furthermore, integration-free iHeps prolong the survival of fumarylacetoacetate-hydrolase-deficient (Fah−/−) mice after cell transplantation. Our study provides a novel concept for generating functional and expandable iHeps using a non-viral, non-integrating, plasmid-based system that could facilitate their pharmaceutical and biomedical application.
Conscientiousness increases efficiency of multicomponent behavior
Authors: Stock Ann-Kathrin , Beste Christian
Published: October 2015

Many everyday situations require the flexible interruption and changing of different actions to achieve a goal. Several strategies can be applied to do so, but those requiring high levels of cognitive control seem to confer an efficiency (speed) advantage in situations requiring multi-component behavior. However, it is elusive in how far personality traits affect performance in such situations. Given that top-down control is an important aspect of personality and furthermore correlates with conscientiousness, N = 163 participants completed the NEO-FFI and performed an experimental (stop-change) paradigm assessing multicomponent behavior. Applying mathematical constraints to the behavioral data, we estimated the processing strategy of each individual. The results show that multicomponent behavior is selectively affected by conscientiousness which explained approximately 19% of the measured inter-individual behavioral variance. Conscientiousness should hence be seen as a major personality dimension modulating multicomponent behavior. Highly conscientious people showed a more effective, step-by-step processing strategy of different actions necessary to achieve a goal. In situations with simultaneous requirements, this strategy equipped them with an efficiency (speed) advantage towards individuals with lower conscientiousness. In sum, the results show that strategies and the efficiency with which people cope with situations requiring multicomponent behavior are strongly influenced by their personality.
Impurity channels of the long-lived Mossbauer effect
Authors: Liu Yao-Yuan , Cheng Yao
Published: October 2015

Recent reports have suggested that the nuclear resonant absorption of a long-lived Mossbauer state e.g., 93mNb is mediated by an entangled photon pair (biphoton) rather than by a single photon. Multipolar nuclear excitation in crystals of a single isotope with a natural abundance of 100% spreads in a region containing billions of identical nuclei. As a consequence of the delocalisation, additional decay channels via the impurities, the crystal defects and the sample boundary, give rise to a density- and temperature-dependent decay. In this letter we report our discovery of impurity channels, the intensity of which is proportional to the square of the 93mNb density.
Reconstruction of two-dimensional molecular structure with laser-induced electron diffraction from laser-aligned polyatomic molecules
Authors: Yu Chao , Wei Hui , Wang Xu , Le Anh-Thu , Lu Ruifeng , Lin C. D.
Published: October 2015

Imaging the transient process of molecules has been a basic way to investigate photochemical reactions and dynamics. Based on laser-induced electron diffraction and partial one-dimensional molecular alignment, here we provide two effective methods for reconstructing two-dimensional structure of polyatomic molecules. We demonstrate that electron diffraction images in both scattering angles and broadband energy can be utilized to retrieve complementary structure information, including positions of light atoms. With picometre spatial resolution and the inherent femtosecond temporal resolution of lasers, laser-induced electron diffraction method offers significant opportunities for probing atomic motion in a large molecule in a typical pump-probe measurement.
Molecular characterisation of phenylketonuria in a Chinese mainland population using next-generation sequencing
Authors: Li Nana , Jia Haitao , Liu Zhen , Tao Jing , Chen Song , Li Xiaohong , Deng Ying , Jin Xi , Song Jiaping , Zhang Liangtao , Liang Yu , Wang Wei , Zhu Jun
Published: October 2015

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inherited autosomal recessive disorder of phenylalanine metabolism, mainly caused by a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). The incidence of various PAH mutations differs among race and ethnicity. Here we report a spectrum of PAH mutations complied from 796 PKU patients from mainland China. The all 13 exons and adjacent intronic regions of the PAH gene were determined by next-generation sequencing. We identified 194 different mutations, of which 41 are not reported before. Several mutations reoccurred with high frequency including p.R243Q, p.EX6-96A > G, p.V399V, p.R241C, p.R111*, p.Y356*, p.R413P and IVS4-1G > A. 76.33% of mutations were localized in exons 3, 6, 7, 11, 12. We further compared the frequency of each mutation between populations in northern and southern China and found significant differences in 19 mutations. Furthermore, we identified 101 mutations that are not reported before in Chinese population, our study thus broadens the mutational spectrum of Chinese PKU patients. Additionally, 41 novel mutations will expand and improve PAH mutation database. Finally, our study offers proof that NGS is effective, reduces screening times and costs and facilitates the provision of appropriate genetic counseling for PKU patients.
Multispectral optical metasurfaces enabled by achromatic phase transition
Authors: Zhao Zeyu , Pu Mingbo , Gao Hui , Jin Jinjin , Li Xiong , Ma Xiaoliang , Wang Yanqin , Gao Ping , Luo Xiangang
Published: October 2015

The independent control of electromagnetic waves with different oscillating frequencies is critical in the modern electromagnetic techniques, such as wireless communications and multispectral imaging. To obtain complete control of different light waves with optical materials, the chromatic dispersion should be carefully controlled, which is however extremely difficult. In this paper, we propose a method to control the behaviors of different light waves through a metasurface which is able to generate achromatic geometric phase. Using this approach, a doughnut-shaped and a solid light spot were achieved at the same focal plane using two light sources with different wavelengths as used in the stimulation emission depletion (STED) microscope system. In order to reveal the full capacity of such method, tight focusing at multiple wavelengths is also represented, where the focal spots of different wavelengths are located at the same position. The results provided here may open a new door to the design of subminiature optical components and integrated optical system operating at multiple wavelengths.
Transcriptomic and genetic studies identify NFAT5 as a candidate gene for cocaine dependence
Authors: Fernàndez-Castillo N , Cabana-Domínguez J , Soriano J , Sànchez-Mora C , Roncero C , Grau-López L , Ros-Cucurull E , Daigre C , van Donkelaar M M J , Franke B , Casas M , Ribasés M , Cormand B
Published: October 2015

Cocaine reward and reinforcing effects are mediated mainly by dopaminergic neurotransmission. In this study, we aimed at evaluating gene expression changes induced by acute cocaine exposure on SH-SY5Y-differentiated cells, which have been widely used as a dopaminergic neuronal model. Expression changes and a concomitant increase in neuronal activity were observed after a 5 μM cocaine exposure, whereas no changes in gene expression or in neuronal activity took place at 1 μM cocaine. Changes in gene expression were identified in a total of 756 genes, mainly related to regulation of transcription and gene expression, cell cycle, adhesion and cell projection, as well as mitogen-activeated protein kinase (MAPK), CREB, neurotrophin and neuregulin signaling pathways. Some genes displaying altered expression were subsequently targeted with predicted functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a case–control association study in a sample of 806 cocaine-dependent patients and 817 controls. This study highlighted associations between cocaine dependence and five SNPs predicted to alter microRNA binding at the 3′-untranslated region of the NFAT5 gene. The association of SNP rs1437134 with cocaine dependence survived the Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. A functional effect was confirmed for this variant by a luciferase reporter assay, with lower expression observed for the rs1437134G allele, which was more pronounced in the presence of hsa-miR-509. However, brain volumes in regions of relevance to addiction, as assessed with magnetic resonance imaging, did not correlate with NFAT5 variation. These results suggest that the NFAT5 gene, which is upregulated a few hours after cocaine exposure, may be involved in the genetic predisposition to cocaine dependence.
Genetic modulation of oxytocin sensitivity: a pharmacogenetic approach
Authors: Chen F S , Kumsta R , Dvorak F , Domes G , Yim O S , Ebstein R P , Heinrichs M
Published: October 2015

Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin has been shown to influence a range of complex social cognitions and social behaviors, and it holds therapeutic potential for the treatment of mental disorders characterized by social functioning deficits such as autism, social phobia and borderline personality disorder. However, considerable variability exists in individual responses to oxytocin administration. Here, we undertook a study to investigate the role of genetic variation in sensitivity to exogenous oxytocin using a socioemotional task. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment with a repeated-measures (crossover) design, we assessed the performance of 203 men on an emotion recognition task under oxytocin and placebo. We took a haplotype-based approach to investigate the association between oxytocin receptor gene variation and oxytocin sensitivity. We identified a six-marker haplotype block spanning the promoter region and intron 3 that was significantly associated with our measure of oxytocin sensitivity. Specifically, the TTCGGG haplotype comprising single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs237917–rs2268498–rs4564970–rs237897–rs2268495–rs53576 is associated with increased emotion recognition performance under oxytocin versus placebo, and the CCGAGA haplotype with the opposite pattern. These results on the genetic modulation of sensitivity to oxytocin document a significant source of individual differences with implications for personalized treatment approaches using oxytocin administration.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of novel psychoactive substances using polymer-stabilized Ag nanoparticle aggregates
Authors: Lee W. W. Y. , Silverson V. A. D. , Jones L. E. , Ho Y. C. , Fletcher N. C. , McNaul M. , Peters K. L. , Speers S. J. , Bell S. E. J.
Published: October 2015

A set of seized “legal high” samples and pure novel psychoactive substances have been examined by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using polymer-stabilized Ag nanoparticle (Poly-SERS) films.
Rapid acquisition of high-affinity DNA aptamer motifs recognizing microbial cell surfaces using polymer-enhanced capillary transient isotachophoresis
Authors: Saito Shingo , Hirose Kazuki , Tsuchida Maho , Wakui Koji , Yoshimoto Keitaro , Nishiyama Yoshitaka , Shibukawa Masami
Published: October 2015

A polymer-enhanced capillary transient isotachophoresis selection methodology was developed for rapid acquisition of high affinity DNA aptamers recognizing microbial cell surfaces.
Single nanoporous gold nanowire as a tunable one-dimensional platform for plasmon-enhanced fluorescence
Authors: Yuan Hang , Lu Yuexiang , Wang Zhe , Ren Zhonghua , Wang Yulan , Zhang Sichun , Zhang Xinrong , Chen Jing
Published: October 2015

Up to ∼62-fold enhancement of fluorescence can be obtained on individual nanoporous Au nanowires, ∼8-fold higher than that of smooth Au nanowires.
3D ordered silver nanoshells silica photonic crystal beads for multiplex encoded SERS bioassay
Authors: Li Juan , Dong Shujun , Tong Jingjing , Zhu Peizhi , Diao Guowang , Yang Zhanjun
Published: October 2015

3D ordered silver nanoshell silica photonic crystal beads as a novel encoded surface enhanced Raman scattering substrate are proposed for the development of highly efficient multiplex bioassays.
A one-pot amidation of primary nitroalkanes
Authors: Schwieter Kenneth E. , Johnston Jeffrey N.
Published: October 2015

A two-step, one-pot oxidative amidation of primary nitroalkanes involving tandem halogenation/umpolung amide synthesis (UmAS) is described.
Fabrication of transparent SERS platform via interface self-assembly of gold nanorods and gel trapping technique for on-site real time detection
Authors: Lin Xiang , Hasi Wu-Li-Ji , Han Si-Qin-Gao-Wa , Lou Xiu-Tao , Lin Dian-Yang , Lu Zhi-Wei
Published: October 2015

A Au nanorod PDMS SERS platform has been developed for the on-site detection of contaminants in water and on real-world surfaces.
Accelerated nanoparticles synthesis in alcohol–water-mixture-based solution plasma
Authors: Sudare Tomohito , Ueno Tomonaga , Watthanaphanit Anyarat , Saito Nagahiro
Published: October 2015

An extraordinary high-speed synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was discovered by synthesizing the AuNPs in ethanol–water mixtures using a solution plasma process (SPP).
Interfacial zippering-up of coiled-coil protein filaments
Authors: Santis Emiliana De , Castelletto Valeria , Ryadnov Maxim G.
Published: October 2015

A de novo self-assembly topology for engineering protein nanostructures under morphological control is reported.
Excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT)-inspired solid state emitters
Authors: Padalkar Vikas S. , Seki Shu
Published: October 2015

The state-of-the-art of ESIPT-inspired solid state emitters and their photophysical properties and applications in recent 5 years were systematically reviewed.
Elucidating the structure of the magnesium aluminum chloride complex electrolyte for magnesium-ion batteries
Authors: Canepa Pieremanuele , Jayaraman Saivenkataraman , Cheng Lei , Rajput Nav Nidhi , Richards William D. , Gautam Gopalakrishnan Sai , Curtiss Larry A. , Persson Kristin A. , Ceder Gerbrand
Published: October 2015

Non-aqueous Mg-ion batteries offer a promising way to overcome safety, costs, and energy density limitations of state-of-the-art Li-ion battery technology.
Monolithic perovskite/silicon-heterojunction tandem solar cells processed at low temperature
Authors: Albrecht Steve , Saliba Michael , Correa Baena Juan Pablo , Lang Felix , Kegelmann Lukas , Mews Mathias , Steier Ludmilla , Abate Antonio , Rappich Jörg , Korte Lars , Schlatmann Rutger , Nazeeruddin Mohammad Khaja , Hagfeldt Anders , Grätzel Michael , Rech Bernd
Published: October 2015

We present a monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem cell enabling a high Voc and a stabilized power output of 18%.
Physiologically based modeling of lead kinetics: a pilot study using data from a Canadian population
Authors: MacMillan John W. , Behinaein Sepideh , Chettle David R. , Inskip Mike , McNeill Fiona E. , Manton William I. , Healey Norm , Fisher Mandy , Arbuckle Tye E. , Fleming David E. B.
Published: October 2015

The Canadian population is currently subject to low, chronic lead exposure and an understanding of its effects is of great significance to the population's health.
Lewis acid zeolites for tandem Diels–Alder cycloaddition and dehydration of biomass-derived dimethylfuran and ethylene to renewable p-xylene
Authors: Chang Chun-Chih , Je Cho Hong , Yu Jingye , Gorte Ray J. , Gulbinski Jason , Dauenhauer Paul , Fan Wei
Published: October 2015

p-Xylene was synthesized by [4 + 2] cycloaddition of biomass-derived ethylene and dimethylfuran over Lewis acid zeolite catalyst, Zr-BEA, with 90% selectivity in products.
Active droplet generation in microfluidics
Authors: Chong Zhuang Zhi , Tan Say Hwa , Gañán-Calvo Alfonso M. , Tor Shu Beng , Loh Ngiap Hiang , Nguyen Nam-Trung
Published: October 2015

This review presents the state of the art of active microfluidic droplet generation concepts.
Rapid and inexpensive blood typing on thermoplastic chips
Authors: Chen Jun-You , Huang Yi-Ting , Chou Hsin-Hao , Wang Cheng-Po , Chen Chien-Fu
Published: October 2015

A portable and cost-effective colorimetric diagnostic device for rapid ABO and Rh blood typing.
A catalyst free, multicomponent-tandem, facile synthesis of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines using glycerol as a recyclable promoting medium
Authors: Singh Swastika , Saquib Mohammad , Singh Mandavi , Tiwari Jyoti , Tufail Fatima , Singh Jaya , Singh Jagdamba
Published: October 2015

An efficient and green, one-pot synthesis of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines, a biologically important heterocyclic scaffold, using glycerol as a promoter cum solvent.
Preparation of disordered carbon from rice husks for lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Li Yi , Wang Fengying , Liang Jicai , Hu Xiaoying , Yu Kaifeng
Published: October 2015

RH-derived carbon exhibits stable electrochemical performance. Moreover, the preparation process is very simple and low cost.
Synthesis and optical–electrochemical gas sensing applications of Ni-doped LiFePO4 nano-particles
Authors: Patima N. , Abliz Y. , Kiminori I.
Published: October 2015

A semiconductor material (LiFeNiPO4) was prepared using a one-step hydrothermal method and then its gas sensing performances at room temperature were investigated.
A universal strategy for the facile synthesis of a sandwich-structured Pt–graphene–Pt nanocomposite for salbutamol sensing
Authors: Zhu Xiaofei , Duan Xuemin , Xu Jingkun , Lu Limin , Zhang Kaixin , Xing Huakun , Gao Yansha , Yang Taotao , Wang Wenmin
Published: October 2015

A sandwich-structured Pt–graphene–Pt nanocomposite was prepared by a two step method includingin situgrowth and an electrochemical reduction process.
Novel 3D flower-like CoNi2S4/carbon nanotube composites as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors
Authors: Ai Zhihong , Hu Zhonghua , Liu Yafei , Fan Mengxuan , Liu Peipei
Published: October 2015

Novel flower-like CoNi2S4/CNT composites are prepared by the precursor transformation method. Ultrahigh specific capacitance and good rate capability are achieved. The desirable mesoporous structure and high conductivity give the superior performance.
Convenient preparation of Pd/RGO catalyst for the efficient hydrodechlorination of various chlorophenols
Authors: Jiang Weidong , Xiang Zhen , Xu Bin , Li Xiaojing , Liu Fuan , Fan Guangyin
Published: October 2015

Highly active Pd/RGO (RGO, reduced graphene oxide) was easily prepared by a one pot co-reduction of Pd ions and GO using NaBH4. The as-prepared catalyst exhibited excellent reactivity towards the degradation of chlorophenols under mild conditions without additives.
Surface coating of siRNA–peptidomimetic nano-self-assemblies with anionic lipid bilayers: enhanced gene silencing and reduced adverse effects in vitro
Authors: Zeng Xianghui , de Groot Anne Marit , Sijts Alice J. A. M. , Broere Femke , Oude Blenke Erik , Colombo Stefano , van Eden Willem , Franzyk Henrik , Nielsen Hanne Mørck , Foged Camilla
Published: October 2015

Improved cellular uptake and endosomal escape of siRNA via surface coating of siRNA–peptidomimetic nanocomplexes with anionic lipid bilayers.
Wafer-scale metamaterials for polarization-insensitive and dual-band perfect absorption
Authors: Liu Jia , Zhu Maoxia , Zhang Nan , Zhang Haitao , Zhou Yu , Sun Shang , Yi Ningbo , Gao Shang , Song Qinghai , Xiao Shumin
Published: October 2015

A wafer-scale metamaterial fabricated by a standard optical lithography method allowed polarization-insensitive and dual-band perfect absorption.
Study on the treatment of simulated coking wastewater by O3 and O3/Fenton processes in a rotating packed bed
Authors: Wei Qing , Qiao Shufeng , Sun Baochang , Zou Haikui , Chen Jianfeng , Shao Lei
Published: October 2015

A rotating packed bed was used to intensify the O3 and O3/Fenton processes for coking wastewater treatment.
Hydroxyapatite conjugated graphene oxide nanocomposite: a new sight for significant applications in adsorption
Authors: Mahto Triveni Kumar , Chandra Pandey Subhash , Chandra Soumen , Kumar Amit , Sahu Sumanta kumar
Published: October 2015

Hydroxyapatite was conjugated with GO to synthesized GO/HAP nanocomposite which demonstrated an enhanced adsorption efficiency for removal of cationic dye from aqueous phase through electrostatic interaction.
Synthesis of cationic chitosan hydrogel with long chain alkyl and its controlled glucose-responsive drug delivery behavior
Authors: Zou Xue , Zhao Xiaowen , Ye Lin
Published: October 2015

A novel glucose-sensitive system based on cationic chitosan hydrogel with a long chain alkyl (HDCC) was synthesized, which demonstrated distinct pH- and glucose-sensitivity with an improved slow-release effect.
Towards the understanding of the effect of oxygen on the electrocatalytic activity of microbial biofilms: a spectroelectrochemical study
Authors: Millo D. , Ly H. K.
Published: October 2015

Metal-respiring bacteria oxidize an organic substrate and transfer the liberated electrons to the electrode. Molecular oxygen interrupts the current flow by cutting the electrical circuit wiring the cell metabolism to the electrode.
A new heterocyclic skeleton with highly tunable absorption/emission wavelength via H-bonding
Authors: Tomashenko Olesya A. , Khlebnikov Alexander F. , Mosiagin Ivan P. , Novikov Mikhail S. , Grachova Elena V. , Shakirova Julia R. , Tunik Sergey P.
Published: October 2015

A new heterocyclic system, pyrido[2,1-a]pyrrolo[3,2-c]isoquinoline, showing stimuli responsive fluorescence, was synthesized via Pd-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization of 1-[1-benzyl-2-(2-bromophenyl)-1H-pyrrol-3-yl]pyridin-1-ium bromides.
Magnetically separable Fe2O3/g-C3N4 catalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity
Authors: Xu Yuanguo , Huang Shuquan , Xie Meng , Li Yeping , Xu Hui , Huang Liying , Zhang Qi , Li Huaming
Published: October 2015

Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composites possess enhanced photoactivity and can be magnetically separated after photoreaction.
Effect of alkyl groups on emission properties of aggregation induced emission active N-alkyl arylaminomaleimide dyes
Authors: Imoto Hiroaki , Nohmi Katsuya , Kizaki Kohei , Watase Seiji , Matsukawa Kimihiro , Yamamoto Shunsuke , Mitsuishi Masaya , Naka Kensuke
Published: October 2015

Aggregation induced emission (AIE) active N-alkyl aminomaleimide dyes with various kinds of N-alkyl groups were synthesized in a one pot process.
Monitoring crosslinking inhomogeneities in ethylene vinyl acetate photovoltaic encapsulants using Raman microscopy
Authors: Sanoria Abhishek , Ulbricht Daniel , Schuster Tobias , Brüll Robert
Published: October 2015

Raman microscopy has been used to develop a method to analyze and spatially profile the variation in crosslinking in EVA used for encapsulation of PV modules.
High-mobility flexible pentacene-based organic field-effect transistors with PMMA/PVP double gate insulator layers and the investigation on their mechanical flexibility and thermal stability
Authors: Yi Mingdong , Guo Jialin , Li Wen , Xie Linghai , Fan Quli , Huang Wei
Published: October 2015

High performance pentacene-based OFETs with excellent mechanical flexibility and high thermal stability were fabricated with PMMA/PVP double dielectric films as double gate insulator layers on a PET plastic substrate. The μ increased from 0.66 to 1.51 cm2 V−1 s−1.
Copper(i) catalyzed Sonogashira reactions promoted by monobenzyl nicotinium chloride, a N-donor quaternary ammonium salt
Authors: Hajipour Abdol Reza , Boostani Elaheh , Mohammadsaleh Fatemeh
Published: October 2015

The new catalytic complex [MBNT][Cu4Cl5] having a synergistic effect of coordination and electrostatic interactions was found to be efficient in palladium-free copper-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling.
Protoporphyrin incorporated alginate hydrogel: preparation, characterization and fluorescence imaging in vivo
Authors: Dong Xia , Wei Chang , Liu Tianjun , Lv Feng
Published: October 2015

A protoporphyrin incorporated alginate hydrogel exhibits the fluorescence ability to locate a drug and carrier with multispectral fluorescence imaging in vivo.
Benzofuran: an emerging scaffold for antimicrobial agents
Authors: Hiremathad Asha , Patil Mahadeo R. , K. R. Chethana , Chand Karam , Santos M. Amelia , Keri Rangappa S.
Published: October 2015

The present article systematically gives a comprehensive review of current development of benzofuran-based compounds as antimicrobial agents and the perspectives that they hold for future research.
A ratiometric two-photon probe for quantitative imaging of mitochondrial pH values
Authors: Sarkar Avik Ranjan , Heo Cheol Ho , Xu Lei , Lee Hyo Won , Si Ho Young , Byun Ji Won , Kim Hwan Myung
Published: October 2015

A ratiometric two-photon fluorescent probe for quantitative imaging of mitochondrial pH values in live cells and tissues was reported.
Nanotribological and wetting performance of hierarchical patterns
Authors: Grewal H. S. , Piao Shuxue , Cho Il-Joo , Jhang Kyung-Young , Yoon Eui-Sung
Published: October 2015

Schematic showing the contact between the nano-pillars of the patterned surface and the indenter. The retarded van der Walls and capillary forces transform the single-asperity condition to the multi-asperity contact.
Two different mechanisms of CH3NH3PbI3film formation in one-step deposition and its effect on photovoltaic properties of OPV-type perovskite solar cells
Authors: Bae Seunghwan , Han Seung Jin , Shin Tae Joo , Jo Won Ho
Published: October 2015

Two different morphologies of perovskite, tree-like and flower-like morphologies, are developed depending upon the spin-coating time and post-heat treatment temperature.
Approach for home appliance recognition using vector projection length and Stockwell transform
Authors: Borin V.P. , Barriquello C.H. , Campos A.
Published: October 2015

Recognition of residential electrical appliances has been a highlighted area of research in recent years due to increasing energy consumption in residential sectors around the world. The use of instant current from 17 commonly presented electrical appliances in homes is proposed. The Stockwell transform, a time–frequency‐domain transform, is applied to current collected data to be used as a load signature. Then, a novel method for identification of electrical appliances was employed to analyse the data. This method is an image pattern recognition technique, called vector projection length (VPC). In this case, the idea is to recognise patterns in appliances transformed into a 2D image. An extensive analysis is presented, analysing the trade‐off between the training set database, the number of current cycles used and the variable k from the VPC projection equation, searching for optimal parameters for this application. Results have shown successful identification employing VPC, close to 90% of devices being identified.
Current‐mode‐based programming interpolation circuit
Authors: Li Hongge , Wang Xiang
Published: October 2015

The current‐mode‐based programming interpolation circuit is presented. The proposed circuit can be configured so that any arbitrary number of currents can be generated and independently programmed. The programming circuit is verified by a polynomial interpolation current‐modulation sub‐DAC. The polynomial interpolation method provides highly accurate grey‐level voltages because of the programming source. The DAC including the programming interpolation cell was implemented in 0.35 μm CMOS process with DNL and INL of 0.43 and 0.40 LSB, respectively.
Parallel algorithm implementation for multi‐object tracking and surveillance
Authors: Elbahri Mohamed , Taleb Nasreddine , Kpalma Kidiyo , Ronsin Joseph
Published: October 2015

A recently developed sparse representation algorithm, has been proved to be useful for multi‐object tracking and this study is a proposal for developing its parallelisation. An online dictionary learning is used for object recognition. After detection, each moving object is represented by a descriptor containing its appearance features and its position feature. Any detected object is classified and indexed according to the sparse solution obtained by an orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm. For a real‐time tracking, the visual information needs to be processed very fast without reducing the results accuracy. However, both the large size of the descriptor and the growth of the dictionary after each detection, slow down the system process. In this work, a novel accelerating OMP algorithm implementation on a graphics processing unit is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the parallel implementation of the used algorithm by significantly reducing the computation time.
L1‐regularised joint iterative optimisation space‐time adaptive processing algorithm
Authors: Zhiqi Gao , Haihong Tao , Shengqi Zhu , Jichao Zhao
Published: October 2015

In this study, two novel joint iterative optimisation space‐time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithms are proposed based on L1‐regularised for airborne radar. Both of them are implemented in generalised sidelobe canceller (GSC) architecture. When the rank of the interference covariance matrix is far fewer than the system degrees of freedom, the STAP filter weight will be sparse. In this case, a sparse constraint is further imposed to the minimum variance criterion of GSC. To solve this optimisation problem, a joint iterative recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm (L1‐JI‐RLS) and a joint iterative least mean square (LMS) algorithm (L1‐JI‐LMS), both of which are based on L1‐regularised, are proposed. The L1‐JI‐RLS algorithm achieves the minimum output power by adjusting the penalty parameter and filter weight adaptively, while the L1‐JI‐LMS algorithm does it by adjusting the penalty parameter, step and filter weight adaptively. The computational complexity of the L1‐JI‐LMS algorithm is far lower than the conventional and some sparse STAP algorithms. Monte Carlo experiments validate that both the L1‐JI‐RLS and L1‐JI‐LMS algorithms outperform other L1‐based and reduced‐rank STAP algorithms, such as a faster convergence rate, improved output signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise‐ratio and target detection performance.
Efficient exfoliation of molybdenum disulphide nanosheets by a high‐pressure homogeniser
Authors: Shang Jingqi , Xue Feng , Ding Enyong
Published: October 2015

A facile and fast approach is demonstrated for the production of well‐dispersed molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) nanosheets through the exfoliation of MoS2 bulk using a high‐pressure homogeniser in pure solvents. The MoS2 bulk was infiltrated in dimethylformamide for several hours, then homogenised at 100 MPa for 10 min, followed by centrifugation to obtain few‐layer MoS2 nanosheets. The structure and morphology of the nanosheets were examined by atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The bulk also had an exfoliation in water and alcohol, but the suspension was unstable. It can be concluded that the energy as well as solvents plays a critical role in the liquid–phase exfoliation. These results provide a physical perspective for understanding the exfoliation of other layered materials in aqueous and ethanol dispersions.
Optical micro‐electro‐mechanical‐system pressure sensor based on light intensity modulation
Authors: Zhao Yulong , Li Cun , Hao Mengmeng , Cheng Rongjun , Fan Xiaole , Chen Pei
Published: October 2015

An optical micro‐electro‐mechanical‐system pressure sensor based on light intensity modulation is described. The idea is to use light for signal transmission to replace electrical signal, which isolates the sensor from electrical signals, so that it is quite suitable in flammable and combustible areas such as petrochemical and oil well. The sensor is composed of silicon diaphragm and optical system. The silicon diaphragm is fabricated from bulk micromachining technology and Si3N4 film is deposited on diaphragm for reflecting light. In the optical cable, one fibre conducts source light to the diaphragm and the other fibres conduct the reflected light back to photoelectric detection circuit. When pressure is applied on the sensor, the diaphragm will deform causing the intensity shift of reflected light. Photoelectric detection circuit converts the intensity of reflected light to voltage. The voltage is proportional to reflected light intensity and, in turn, to the deformation of silicon diaphragm, so that pressure can be measured. Deformation of silicon diaphragm is acquired by finite element method. Sensor's optical features are also analysed. Sensor prototype has been fabricated and encapsulated. The measurement range is 0–20 MPa and experimental sensitivity is −7.2 mV/MPa.
Micro‐spectrometer based on 64‐pixel high‐sensitivity quantum dot detector array
Authors: Zhang S.H. , Wang M.J. , Jin X.B. , Wang W. , Lu H.D. , Ning Wenguo , Guo F.M. , Shen J.H.
Published: October 2015

A high photoexcited carrier multiplication photodetector operating at room temperature is reported. The device is a GaAs n‐i‐n photodetector with double‐barrier AlAs in which a thin quantum well contains a mixture of quantum dot (QD) structures. This special structure makes the proposed photoelectric detector have high sensitivity to light under an operating temperature of 300 k. Its current responsivity can reach about 7 × 1011A/W with 0.01 picowatts 633 nm light power and −0.5 V bias. The response voltage is 7 mV at an integration time of 80 μs. The voltage responsivity reached about 2.7 × 109V/W. An embedded micro‐spectrometer based on the high‐sensitivity features of the photodetector has also been designed. By means of QD fluorescent sample testing and comparison, the proposed spectrometer is found to have higher sensitivity and a shorter integration time than the ‘NOVA’ spectrometer (product model of the spectrometer of ideaoptics, China) based on a backside‐illuminated CCD (Hamamatsu, S7031–1006S). The QD spectrometer was mounded in a hyperspectral microscopy imaging system with an optical path switcher. The system has been used to analyse and to make a comparative study of the biological section. This kind of spectrometer with highly sensitive linear QD detectors has good application prospects in the fields of biological science, medical diagnosis and environmental detection.
Simulation and experiment of capillary‐driven planar baffle micromixers
Authors: Chung Chen‐Kuei , Liang B.T. , Lai C.C.
Published: October 2015

Different capillary‐driven planar baffle micromixers with a trigger valve which were fabricated on polymethylmethacrylate sheets using CO2 laser ablation and thermal bonding are investigated. Two main modified staggered and meander baffle structures were used to compare the mixing efficiency. The modified staggered baffle structure has lower capillary flow resistance and faster speed compared with the meander one. Conversely, the meander baffle structure has higher mixing efficiency at lower flow speed with enough diffusion time than the modified staggered one. The effective channel height of the trigger valve was simulated to be between 220 and 434 μm for merging two fluids at negative capillary pressure. The experiments also verified the trigger value worked at the channel height of 351 μm for two fluids merged together to flow forward but it failed at 169 μm height for only one fluid flow without merging. The mixer with the meander baffle structure performed wiht the best mixing efficiency of 94% among the design structures because of the long flow time and short average diffusion length in the mixing zone.
High‐accuracy silicon‐on‐insulator accelerometer with an increased yield rate
Authors: Li Enfu , Li Pengcheng , Shen Qiang , Chang Honglong
Published: October 2015

This Letter presents a high accuracy silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) capacitive accelerometer using a backside dry release process. To increase the yield rate of the process, the deep reactive iron etching (DRIE) process was improved using a grooved accompany wafer to balance the pressure inside the back cavity of the SOI devices. By using this method, almost all the devices after the DRIE will not crack. Thus, the yield rate is significantly increased. Furthermore, the DRIE process was improved by dividing the DRIE process into four stages to decrease the tilt angle of DRIE. It is experimentally demonstrated that the tilt angle of the side wall was decreased from 0.81° to 0.27° and the loss of the capacitive sensitivity caused by the error was decreased from 28 to 8%. Test results show that sensitivity, bias stability, and noise floor of the accelerometer is 3.1 V/g, 16 μg, and 3.1 μg/√Hz, respectively.
Linear and nonlinear wave propagation in booming sand dunes
Authors: Vriend N. M. , Hunt M. L. , Clayton R. W.
Published: October 2015

The current field study examines linear and non-linear acoustic waves found in large desert sand dunes using field measurements of wave speed, frequency content, dispersion, and polarization. At the dune fields visited, an avalanching of sand can trigger a loud booming or rumbling sound with narrow peak frequencies centered between 70 and 105 Hz with higher harmonics. Prior to the onset of the nearly monotone booming, the emission consists of short bursts or burps of sound of smaller amplitude and over a significantly broader range of frequencies. These burps created at dune sites have similar frequency content to sounds generated by small-scale shearing in laboratory-scale experiments. By investigating the wave characteristics of both burping and booming emissions, this manuscript demonstrates that booming and burping correspond with the transmission of different waves within the dune. The burping sounds correspond to a surface Rayleigh wave with nonlinear and dispersive properties. The booming emission results from a linear, non-dispersive P-wave, which supports an earlier analysis where booming is modeled as the trapping of the body waves in the dune’s surficial layer. Besides characterizing the booming and burping emissions, this manuscript illustrates the effect of scale in the wave propagation of granular materials, when non-linear, dispersive waves across small scales transition to linear, non-dispersive waves across larger scales.
On the hydrodynamics of swimming enzymes
Authors: Bai Xiaoyu , Wolynes Peter G.
Published: October 2015

Several recent experiments suggest that rather generally the diffusion of enzymes may be augmented through their activity. We demonstrate that such swimming motility can emerge from the interplay between the enzyme energy landscape and the hydrodynamic coupling of the enzyme to its environment. Swimming thus occurs during the transit time of a transient allosteric change. We estimate the velocity during the transition. The analysis of such a swimming motion suggests the final stroke size is limited by the hydrodynamic size of the enzyme. This limit is quite a bit smaller than the values that can be inferred from the recent experiments. We also show that one proposed explanation of the experiments based on reaction heat effects can be ruled out using an extended hydrodynamic analysis. These results lead us to propose an alternate explanation of the fluorescence correlation measurements.
A comparative study of ibuprofen and ketoprofen glass-forming liquids by molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Ottou Abe M. T. , Correia N. T. , Ndjaka J. M. B. , Affouard F.
Published: October 2015

In this paper, structural and dynamical properties of ibuprofen and ketoprofen glass-forming liquids have been investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. Molecular mobility of both materials is analyzed with respect to the different inter-molecular linear/cyclic hydrogen bonding associations. For ibuprofen, the dominant organization is found to be composed of small hydrogen bonding aggregates corresponding to cyclic dimers through the carboxyl group. For ketoprofen, the propensity of cyclic dimers is significantly reduced by the formation of hydrogen bonds with the ketone oxygen of the molecule altering the hydrogen bond (HB) associating structures that can be formed and thus molecular dynamics. The issue of the presence/absence of the peculiar low frequency Debye-type process in dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) data in these materials is addressed. Results obtained from simulations confirm that the Debye process originates from the internal cis–trans conversion of the —COOH carboxyl group. It is shown that the specific intermolecular HB structures associated to a given profen control the main dynamical features of this conversion, in particular its separation from the α-process, which make it detectable or not from DRS. For ibuprofen, the possible role of the —CCCO torsion motion, more “local” than the —COOH motion since it is less influenced by the intermolecular HBs, is suggested in the microscopic origin of the quite intense secondary γ-relaxation process detected from DRS.
Pair interactions in polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle systems: Influence of dielectric inhomogeneities and the partial dissociation of polymers and nanoparticles
Authors: Pryamitsyn Victor , Ganesan Venkat
Published: October 2015

We study the effective pair interactions between two charged spherical particles in polyelectrolyte solutions using polymer self-consistent field theory. In a recent study [V. Pryamitsyn and V. Ganesan, Macromolecules 47, 6095 (2015)], we considered a model in which the particles possess fixed charge density, the polymers contain a prespecified amount of dissociated charges and, the dielectric constant of the solution was assumed to be homogeneous in space and independent of the polymer concentration. In this article, we present results extending our earlier model to study situations in which either or both the particle and the polymers possess partially dissociable groups. Additionally, we also consider the case when the dielectric constant of the solution depends on the local concentration of the polymers and when the particle’s dielectric constant is lower than that of the solvent. For each case, we quantify the polymer-mediated interactions between the particles as a function of the polymer concentrations and the degree of dissociation of the polymer and particles. Consistent with the results of our previous study, we observe that the polymer-mediated interparticle interactions consist of a short-range attraction and a long-range repulsion. The partial dissociablity of the polymer and particles was seen to have a strong influence on the strength of the repulsive portion of the interactions. Rendering the dielectric permittivity to be inhomogeneous has an even stronger effect on the repulsive interactions and results in changes to the qualitative nature of interactions in some parametric ranges.