bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mild Pyrolysis of Manually Pressed and Liquid Nitrogen Treated De‐Lipid Cake of Nannochloropsis Oculata for Bioenergy Utilisation
Authors: Ali Mehmood , Watson Ian A.
Published: December 2017

Due to the damaging impacts of continued use of fossil fuels, there is global interest in developing sustainable biofuel production to reduce society's dependency on carbon based energy resources. Microalgae cultivation can contribute to CO2 fixation from the atmosphere, while simultaneously producing a source of lipids from the biomass for third generation biodiesel fuel production. The residual de‐lipid cake left after lipid extraction can be treated with thermochemical techniques (such as mild pyrolysis) to produce solid biochar as an end product with a higher energy density and lower moisture content offering advantages for downstream processing or carbon sequestration. De‐lipid cake was produced by solvent extraction from Nannochloropsis oculata that had been manually pressed and/or treated with liquid nitrogen (LN2). The de‐lipid cake was thermally treated at 200 °C or 300 °C under partial vacuum in an oxygen free atmosphere. The solid biochar produced had a reduced moisture content (MC) resulting in a mass reduction of 25 and 66 wt % of de‐lipid cake without LN2 and treatment at 200 °C and 300 °C, respectively, while with LN2 treated cake the mass reduction was 23 and 67 wt % at 200 °C and 300 °C. The higher heating value of the control sample (without any manual pressing or LN2 treatment) was 23.35 MJ kg−1, while for the control sample it was enhanced to 26.82 and 30.56 MJ kg−1 with treatment at 200 °C and 300 °C, respectively. With LN2 treated samples with pressing the HHV was 21.98 MJ kg−1 for control sample as compared to 25.90 and 28.72 MJ kg−1 at 200 and 300 °C respectively, where the lower values were observed because of the lipid removal. The measured gas pressure developed, likely due to the production of CO2 and CH4 as major gases,, was 0.19 and 0.53 bars without LN2 treatment samples, while it was 0.13 and 0.58 bars with LN2. The torrefaction process (mild pyrolysis) energy analysis showed that the ER (energy ratio) without LN2 treatment sample with 0.485 at 200 °C was the highest and the lowest 0.407 energy ratio was found with LN2 treated sample at the higher treatment temperature (300 °C).
A mechanism study on the hydrogen evolution reaction catalyzed by molybdenum disulfide complexes
Authors: Yang Ti-Long , Ni Shao-Fei , Qin Peng , Dang Li
Published: December 2017

Water-mediated intermolecular H+/H− coupling between two- or three-electron reduced sulfur hydride complexes with a hydrated proton is preferred to produce H2 rather than intramolecular couplings between sulfur hydride and metal hydride complexes.
Selective visible-light-driven oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide using BODIPY photosensitizers
Authors: Guo Xiaojun , Li Xialiang , Liu Xiao-Chen , Li Ping , Yao Zhen , Li Jianfeng , Zhang Wei , Zhang Jian-Ping , Xue Dong , Cao Rui
Published: December 2017

Selective visible-light-driven O2 reduction to H2O2 is realized using BODIPY photosensitizers, and mechanistic studies provide insights into the reaction pathways leading to O2 activation.
Flare or strobe: a tunable chlorine-free pyrotechnic system based on lithium nitrate
Authors: Glück Johann , Klapötke Thomas M. , Sabatini Jesse J.
Published: December 2017

A tunable lithium-based red light pyrotechnical system which can serve as either a flare or a strobe is reported.
Three-dimensional modeling of the Ca II H and K lines in the solar atmosphere
Authors: Bjørgen Johan P. , Sukhorukov Andrii V. , Leenaarts Jorrit , Carlsson Mats , de la Cruz Rodríguez Jaime , Scharmer Göran B. , Hansteen Viggo H.
Published: December 2017

Context. CHROMIS, a new imaging spectrometer at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST), can observe the chromosphere in the H and K lines of Ca II at high spatial and spectral resolution. Accurate modeling as well as an understanding of the formation of these lines are needed to interpret the SST/CHROMIS observations. Such modeling is computationally challenging because these lines are influenced by strong departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium, three-dimensional radiative transfer, and partially coherent resonance scattering of photons.

Aim. We aim to model the Ca II H and K lines in 3D model atmospheres to understand their formation and to investigate their diagnostic potential for probing the chromosphere.

Methods. We model the synthetic spectrum of Ca II using the radiative transfer code Multi3D in three different radiation-magnetohydrodynamic model atmospheres computed with the Bifrost code. We classify synthetic intensity profiles according to their shapes and study how their features are related to the physical properties in the model atmospheres. We investigate whether the synthetic data reproduce the observed spatially-averaged line shapes, center-to-limb variation and compare this data with SST/CHROMIS images.

Results. The spatially-averaged synthetic line profiles show too low central emission peaks, and too small separation between the peaks. The trends of the observed center-to-limb variation of the profiles properties are reproduced by the models. The Ca II H and K line profiles provide a temperature diagnostic of the temperature minimum and the temperature at the formation height of the emission peaks. The Doppler shift of the central depression is an excellent probe of the velocity in the upper chromosphere.
MEG sensor patterns reflect perceptual but not categorical similarity of animate and inanimate objects
Authors: Proklova Daria , Kaiser Daniel , Peelen Marius V.
Published: December 2017

Human high-level visual cortex shows a distinction between animate and inanimate objects, as revealed by fMRI. Recent studies have shown that object animacy can similarly be decoded from MEG sensor patterns. Which object properties drive this decoding? Here, we disentangled the influence of perceptual and categorical object properties by presenting perceptually matched objects (e.g., snake and rope) that were nonetheless easily recognizable as being animate or inanimate. In a series of behavioral experiments, three aspects of perceptual dissimilarity of these objects were quantified: overall dissimilarity, outline dissimilarity, and texture dissimilarity. Neural dissimilarity of MEG sensor patterns was modeled using regression analysis, in which perceptual dissimilarity (from the behavioral experiments) and categorical dissimilarity served as predictors of neural dissimilarity. We found that perceptual dissimilarity was strongly reflected in MEG sensor patterns from 80ms after stimulus onset, with separable contributions of outline and texture dissimilarity. Surprisingly, when controlling for perceptual dissimilarity, MEG patterns did not carry information about object category (animate vs inanimate) at any time point. Nearly identical results were found in a second MEG experiment that required basic-level object recognition. These results suggest that MEG sensor patterns do not capture object animacy independently of perceptual differences between animate and inanimate objects. This is in contrast to results observed in fMRI using the same stimuli, task, and analysis approach: fMRI showed a highly reliable categorical distinction in visual cortex even when controlling for perceptual dissimilarity. Results thus point to a discrepancy in the information contained in multivariate fMRI and MEG patterns.
FarmCPUpp: Efficient Large-Scale GWAS
Authors: Kusmec Aaron , Schnable Patrick S.
Published: December 2017

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are computationally demanding analyses that use large sample sizes and dense marker sets to discover associations between quantitative trait variation and genetic variants. FarmCPU is a powerful new method for performing GWAS. However, its performance is hampered by details of its implementation and its reliance on the R programming language. In this paper we present an efficient implementation of FarmCPU, called FarmCPUpp, that retains the R user interface but improves memory management and speed through the use of C++ code and parallel computing.
A primate specific loss of function polymorphism in TLR2 gene decreases inflammation and protects humans from organ dysfunction in Malaria
Authors: K Panda Aditya , Mukherjee Ratnadeep , K Das Bidyut , Tripathy Rina , K Satapathy Ashok , Sharma Shobhona , Ravindran Balachandran
Published: December 2017

Polymorphisms of TLR genes could regulate and contribute functionally to innate immunity and inflammation. TLR2, a promiscous receptor recognizes Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns from several microbes, bacterial, viral, protozoan and helminths. We demonstrate that monocytes of humans with deletion polymorphism in TLR2 gene (a 23 bp deletion in 5’ UTR region) respond more vigorously in vitro to several TLR2 ligands in comparison to those with insertion allele. Lower primates such as Rhesus monkeys and Baboon display ‘deletion’ genotype while insertion is found in higher primates viz., Orangutan, Chimpanzees and Gorilla. Enhanced inflammation is a hallmark of pathogenesis in human severe malaria leading to bad prognosis and odds ratio of patients prone to develop severe malaira such as multi organ failure with del/del genotype was found to be very high. Based on induction of inflammatory cytokines by normal human PBMCs in vitro and circulating cytokine levels in cohorts of patients with severe P. falciparum malaria, we propose that ‘insertion’ of a 23bp sequence in 5’UTR region of TLR2 gene could have led to moderated TLR2 induced inflammation thus offering survival advantage to higher primates by rendering them relatively refractory to multi-organ dysfunction in severe malaria.

One Sentence Summary

A 23bp deletion in TLR2 gene is associated with high inflammation and susceptibility to organ dysfunction in Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Rotary jet-spun porous microfibers as scaffolds for stem cells delivery to central nervous system injury
Authors: Zamproni Laura N. , Grinet Marco A.V.M. , Mundim Mayara T.V.V. , Reis Marcella B.C. , Galindo Layla T. , Marciano Fernanda R. , Lobo Anderson O. , Porcionatto Marimelia
Published: December 2017

Transplanting stem cells into the central nervous system is a promising therapeutic strategy. However, preclinical trials of cell-based therapies are limited by poor local cell engraftment and survival. Here, we present a polylactic acid (PLA) scaffold to support delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a mouse model of stroke. We isolated bone marrow MSCs from adult C57/Bl6 mice, cultured them on PLA polymeric rough microfibrous (PLA-PRM) scaffolds obtained by rotary jet spinning, and transplanted into the brains of adult C57/Bl6 mice, carrying thermocoagulation-induced cortical stroke. Interleukins (IL4, IL6 and IL10) and tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNFα) expression levels in the brain of mice that received PRM were similar to untreated. MSCs transplantation significantly reduced the area of the lesion and PRM delivery increased MSCs retention at the injury site. We conclude that PLA-PRM scaffolds offer a promising new system to deliver stem cells to injured areas of the brain.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Synthetic scaffolds offer an alternative to optimize stem cell transplantation at sites of brain injury. Here, we present a rotary jet spun polylactic acid (PLA) polymer used as a scaffold to support delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a mouse model of stroke. Transplantation of MSCs isolated or cultured on PRM significantly reduced the area of the lesion and PRM delivery increased MSCs retention at the injury site.
DeepMHC: Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for High-performance peptide-MHC Binding Affinity Prediction
Authors: Hu Jianjun , Liu Zhonghao
Published: December 2017

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been shown to outperform conventional methods in DNA-protien binding specificity prediction. However, whether we can transfer this success to protien-peptide binding affinity prediction depends on appropriate design of the CNN architectue that calls for thorough understanding how to match the architecture to the problem. Here we propose DeepMHC, a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) based protein-peptide binding prediction algorithm for achieving better performance in MHC-I peptide binding affinity prediction than conventional algorithms. Our model takes only raw binding peptide sequences as input without needing any human-designed features and othe physichochemical or evolutionary information of the amino acids. Our CNN models are shown to be able to learn non-linear relationships among the amino acid positions of the peptides to achieve highly competitive performance on most of the IEDB benchmark datasets with a single model architecture and without using any consensus or composite ensemble classifier models. By systematically exploring the best CNN architecture, we identified critical design considerations in CNN architecture development for peptide-MHC binding prediction.
Competitive release from native range does not predict invasive success of a globally dominant exotic ant species
Authors: Yitbarek Senay , Perfecto Ivette , Vandermeer John H.
Published: December 2017

A major goal of invasion biology is to understand under what conditions exotic species thrive in the introduced range. High competitive abilities are thought to be an important characteristic of exotic species. Most invasion studies focus on the competitive ability of exotic species in the introduced range and attribute their ecological success to competitive release, but fewer studies have compared the relative competitive differences within the native range. These comparative studies are important in order to determine if competitive abilities of exotic species are strong predictors of invasion success. The little fire ant Wasmmnia auropunctata is a highly invasive species that has spread from its original range (Central and South America) to becoming a globally distributed exotic species in recent decades. It is generally accepted that island ecosystems offer weak biotic resistance to exotic species as compared to their native range. Here, we examined this empirically by comparing the relative competitive difference of W. auropunctata and locally dominant ants, between its native range of Mexico and introduced range of Puerto Rico. Resource competition was assessed between W. auropunctata and native ants under field conditions and in the laboratory. Furthermore, we compared resource competition at different temporal intervals ranging from short-term (< 2 hours) to long-term (14-days) dynamics. Our results are in contrast to common invasion predictions on island communities because we show that native species were resistant to W. auropunctata in its introduced range of Puerto Rico. We observed that the ground-foraging ant Solenopsis invicta competitive displaced W. auropunctata in Puerto Rico during short-term experiments. Meanwhile, the native arboreal ant Linepithema iniquum withstood competitive pressure from W. auropunctata. In the native range of Mexico, W. auropunctata was superior against Solenopsis Picea and Pheidole protensa species, but was outcompeted by dominant ants Solenopsis geminata and Pheidole synanthropica. This study challenges the relative importance of competitive ability in predicting invasion success. This is one of the few detailed comparative studies that examines exotic species performance between native and introduced habitats.
Caring for parents: an evolutionary rationale
Authors: Garay J. , Számadó S. , Varga Z. , Szathmáry E.
Published: December 2017

The evolutionary roots of human moral behavior are a key precondition to understand human nature. Here we investigate whether a biological version of Fifth Commandment (“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long”), respected in different variants across cultures, can spread through Darwinian competition. We show by a novel demographic model that a corresponding Fifth Rule (“During your reproductive period, give away from your resources to your post-fertile parents”) will spread even if the cost of support to post-fertile grandmothers considerably decreases the demographic parameters of fertile parents but radically increases the survival rate of grandchildren. Teaching vital cultural content is likely to have been critical for the value of grandparental service. Selection on such behavior may have produced an innate moral tendency to honor parents even in situations, such as experienced today, when the quantitative conditions would not necessarily favor the maintenance of this trait.
Brain, immune system and selenium: a starting point for a new diagnostic marker for Alzheimer’s disease?
Authors: Achilli Cesare , Ciana Annarita , Minetti Giampaolo
Published: December 2017

The clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is based primarily on neuropsychological tests, which assess the involutive damage, and imaging techniques that evaluate morphologic changes in the brain. The currently available diagnostic tests do not show complete specificity and do not permit an accurate differentiation between AD and other forms of senile dementia. The correlation of these tests with laboratory investigations based on biochemical parameters could increase the certainty of the diagnosis. In recent years, several biochemical markers for the diagnosis of AD have been proposed, but in most cases they show a limited specificity and their application is invasive, because it generally requires the sampling of cerebrospinal fluid. Therefore, the use of a peripheral biochemical marker could represent a valuable complement for the diagnosis of this disease.

Several studies have shown a relationship between the neurodegenerative disorders typical of the ageing process, the weakening of the immune system, alterations in the levels of selenium and of the antioxidant selenoenzymes in brain tissues and blood cells, particularly in neutrophil granulocytes. The levels of peripheral selenoenzymes may reveal a promising clinical parameter for helping in the assessment of the pathological condition in AD.

Highlights

MsrBl is one of the 25 selenoenzymes expressed in the humans

MsrBl is highly expressed in human circulating neutrophils

The diagnostic markers for Alzheimer’s disease are still insufficiently validated

The impairment of some selenoenzymes is associated with Alzheimer’s disease

Neutrophil MsrBl can be a peripheral marker for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Chromatin interaction data visualization in the WashU Epigenome Browser
Authors: Li Daofeng , Hsu Silas , Purushotham Deepak , Wang Ting
Published: December 2017

Motivation

Long-range chromatin interactions are critical for gene regulations and genome maintenance. HiC and Cool are the two most common data formats used by the community, including the 4D Nucleome Consortium (4DN), to represent chromatin interaction data from a variety of chromatin conformation capture experiments, and specialized tools were developed for their analysis, visualization, and conversion. However, there does not exist a tool that can support visualization of both data formats simultaneously.

Results

The WashU Epigenome Browser has integrated both HiC and Cool data formats into its visualization platform. Investigators can seamlessly explore chromatin interaction data regardless of their underlying data format. For developers it is straightforward to benchmark the differences in rendering speed and computational resource usage between the two data formats.

Availability

http://epigenomegateway.wustl.edu/browser/.
Modeling Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Chromatin Marks
Authors: Fiziev Petko , Ernst Jason
Published: December 2017

To model spatial changes of chromatin mark peaks over time we developed and applied ChromTime, a computational method that predicts regions for which peaks either expand or contract significantly or hold steady between time points. Predicted expanding and contracting peaks can mark regulatory regions associated with transcription factor binding and gene expression changes. Spatial dynamics of peaks provided information about gene expression changes beyond localized signal density changes. ChromTime detected asymmetric expansions and contractions, which for some marks associated with the direction of transcription. ChromTime facilitates the analysis of time course chromatin data in a range of biological systems.
MAPLE: a Modular Automated Platform for Large-scale Experiments, a low-cost robot for integrated animal-handling and phenotyping
Authors: Alisch Tom , Crall James D. , Zucker Dave , de Bivort Ben
Published: December 2017

Genetic model system animals have significant scientific value in part because of large-scale experiments like screens, but performing such experiments over long time periods by hand is arduous and risks errors. Thus the field is poised to benefit from automation, just as molecular biology did from liquid-handling robots. We developed a Modular Automated Platform for Large-scale Experiments (MAPLE), a Drosophila-handling robot capable of conducting lab tasks and experiments. We demonstrate MAPLE’s ability to accelerate the collection of virgin female flies (a pervasive experimental chore in fly genetics) and assist high-throughput phenotyping assays. Using MAPLE to autonomously run a novel social interaction experiment, we found that 1) pairs of flies exhibit persistent idiosyncrasies in affiliative behavior, 2) these dyad-specific interactions require olfactory and visual cues, and 3) social interaction network structure is topologically stable over time. These diverse examples demonstrate MAPLE’s versatility as a general platform for conducting fly science automatically.
Smoothing properties of the Friedrichs operator on Lp spaces
Authors: Chen Liwei , Zeytuncu Yunus E.
Published: December 2017

We show that the Friedrichs operator exhibits smoothing properties in the [Formula: see text] scale. In particular, we prove that on any smoothly bounded pseudoconvex domain the Friedrichs operator maps [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] for some [Formula: see text].
On the inherent competition between valid and spurious inductive inferences in Boolean data
Authors: Andrecut M.
Published: December 2017

Inductive inference is the process of extracting general rules from specific observations. This problem also arises in the analysis of biological networks, such as genetic regulatory networks, where the interactions are complex and the observations are incomplete. A typical task in these problems is to extract general interaction rules as combinations of Boolean covariates, that explain a measured response variable. The inductive inference process can be considered as an incompletely specified Boolean function synthesis problem. This incompleteness of the problem will also generate spurious inferences, which are a serious threat to valid inductive inference rules. Using random Boolean data as a null model, here we attempt to measure the competition between valid and spurious inductive inference rules from a given data set. We formulate two greedy search algorithms, which synthesize a given Boolean response variable in a sparse disjunct normal form, and respectively a sparse generalized algebraic normal form of the variables from the observation data, and we evaluate numerically their performance.
Research on FAE Cloud Image Processing Method Based on Background Subtraction and Region Growing
Authors: Wang Fang , Li Yi-Zhao , Li Li-Ping , Kong De-Ren
Published: December 2017

After the first initiation, the Fuel Air Explosive (FAE) cloud formed through fuel explosion dispersal and it will generate tremendous damaging power after being detonated the second time. As the damaging power is closely related to the determination of reinitiation time, it is of great significance to study the growth principle of FAE cloud by means of analyzing FAE cloud images. Combining with background subtraction and region growing, an improved region growing image processing method was proposed, in which the seeds of region growing abstracted through background subtraction method and the growing criterion was modified. With this method, the integrate area of cloud can be obtained for extracting geometric parameters. Experiments were carried out on both cloudy and sunny days, and image overlap score was used to quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of images segmentation. The result indicated that this image processing method has advantages of high precision and robustness. In addition, the computation burden is reduced significantly compared with traditional region growing method.
Infinitely many knots with the trivial (2,1)-cable Γ-polynomial
Authors: Takioka Hideo
Published: December 2017

For coprime integers [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the [Formula: see text]-cable [Formula: see text]-polynomial of a knot is the [Formula: see text]-polynomial of the [Formula: see text]-cable knot of the knot, where the [Formula: see text]-polynomial is the common zeroth coefficient polynomial of the HOMFLYPT and Kauffman polynomials. In this paper, we show that there exist infinitely many knots with the trivial [Formula: see text]-cable [Formula: see text]-polynomial, that is, the [Formula: see text]-cable [Formula: see text]-polynomial of the trivial knot. Moreover, we see that the knots have the trivial [Formula: see text]-polynomial, the trivial first coefficient HOMFLYPT and Kauffman polynomials.
On the generalization of Conway algebra
Authors: Kim Seongjeong
Published: December 2017

In [Przytyski and Traczyk, Invariants of links of Conway type, Kobe J. Math. 4 (1989) 115–139], Przytyski and Traczyk introduced an algebraic structure, called a Conway algebra, and constructed an invariant of oriented links, which is a generalization of the Homflypt polynomial invariant. On the other hand, in [Kauffman and Lambropoulou, New invariants of links and their state sum models, arXiv:1703.03655v2 [math.GT] 15 Mar 2017], Kauffman and Lambropoulou introduced new 4-variable invariants of oriented links, which are obtained by two computational steps: in the first step, we apply a skein relation on every mixed crossing to produce unions of unlinked knots. In the second step, we apply another skein relation on crossings of the unions of unlinked knots, which introduces a new variable. In this paper, we will introduce a generalization of the Conway algebra [Formula: see text] with two binary operations and we construct an invariant valued in [Formula: see text] by applying those two binary operations to mixed crossings and pure crossing, respectively. The 4-variable invariant of Kauffman and Lambropoulou with a specific condition is derived from the invariant valued in [Formula: see text]. Moreover, the generalized Conway algebra gives us an invariant of oriented links, which satisfies nonlinear skein relations.
CADMIUM-DOPED Co3O4 THIN FILMS: SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION
Authors: DALACHE CHERIFA , BENHEBAL HADJ , BENRABAH BEDHIAF , AMMARI AEK , KHARROUBI ABDELMALEK , LAKHAL ABDELHAK
Published: December 2017

This paper contains the results of the structural and spectroscopic characterizations of undoped and Cadmium-doped cobalt oxide thin films with different Co/Cd molar ratios (3%, 5%, 7% and 9%). The nanosized undoped and cadmium-doped Co3O4 thin layers were prepared using sol–gel process and deposited on glass substrates by dip coating. The changes caused by the incorporation of cadmium at different levels of doping have been highlighted by the techniques UV–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, SEM coupled EDX and impedance spectroscopy. From the UV–Vis spectroscopy analysis, it was found that all the films are two direct bandgap energies. The optical transmittance and the bandgap energy decrease with increase in Cd concentration. The XRD spectra confirm the films were polycrystalline with a cubic spinel structure. The results of the impedance spectroscopy show that the equivalent circuit of the synthesized samples is an RC parallel circuit.
EFFECT OF SUBSTRATE TEMPERATURE ON TANTALUM CARBIDES INTERLAYERS SYNTHESIZED ONTO WC-Co SUBSTRATES FOR ADHERENT DIAMOND DEPOSITION
Authors: YU SHENGWANG , GAO JIE , LI XIAOJING , MA DANDAN , HEI HONGJUN , SHEN YANYAN , RONG WOLONG , LIU XIAOPING , HE ZHIYONG , TANG BIN
Published: December 2017

Tantalum carbides (TaXC) interlayers have been synthesized by double glow plasma surface alloying (DG-PSA) method at different temperature for subsequent deposition of diamond coatings. The evolution of the microstructures, phase composition and adhesion of the interlayers dependent on substrate temperature has been discussed. The results show that the layers are composed of TaXC (i.e. Ta2C, TaC) with nanocrystalline microstructure and small amounts of CoTa2. The layer produced at 700∘C is formed of specific flower-shaped rings embedded in smooth structures. As the temperature increases to 800∘C, interacted rings are covered the full surface, and the surface roughness is increased. As the temperature increases further, the rings are replaced by irregular-shaped pits, caused a decreasing surface roughness. Besides the special microstructure with interactional rings and relatively high roughness, the layer prepared at 800∘C possesses higher adhesion, better wear performance and higher hardness than those of other layers. The coating obtained on the interlayer pretreated at 800∘C exhibits the best adhesion. Thus, the TaXC interlayers synthesized at 800∘C are demonstrated as a suitable option for adherent diamond coatings deposited onto WC-Co substrates.
Facile Fabrication of Hollow Li3PO4 Catalyst via Ostwald Ripening
Authors: Zhang Jihai , Wang Dongyu , Ma Weihua
Published: December 2017

Hollow inorganic nanostructures are important due to their applications in energy storage and conversion, catalysis, gas sensing, and biomedicine. Li3PO4 is used as an isomerization catalyst for propylene oxide to selectively give allyl alcohol. We used a facile template-free method to synthesize hollow Li3PO4 nanoparticles with size range of 500[Formula: see text]nm to 1500[Formula: see text]nm. The effect of concentration, agitation, ripening temperature and the ratio of starting reagents on the hollowing process is investigated. The most important factor to influence the hollowness was found to be the ratio of lithium ion to phosphate ion; as the ratio increases, the hollowness of the particles increases. When this ratio reached 3, the hollow nanostructures become dominant. As an isomerization catalyst for propylene oxide, 4-Li3PO4 exhibited the highest conversion and best selectivity of allyl alcohol. The hydroxide ion of the precursor is adsorbed on the surface of the Li3PO4 particles which results in different surface basicity.
Carbon Paper-Supported NiCo/C–N Catalysts Synthesized by Directly Pyrolyzing NiCo-Doped Polyaniline for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
Authors: Deng Zhongliang , Yi Qingfeng , Zhang Yuanyuan , Nie Huidong , Li Guang , Yu Liang , Zhou Xiulin
Published: December 2017

In this study, we report the findings that the C–N composites containing Ni and Co (Ni1Co1/C–N, Ni3Co1/C–N, Ni6Co1/C–N, Ni9Co1/C–N, Ni[Formula: see text]Co0/C–N and Ni0Co[Formula: see text]/C–N) can be produced by direct pyrolysis of the NiCo-doped polyaniline (PANI) precursors in N2 atmosphere at 800[Formula: see text]C and show efficient electroactivity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. Distribution and compositions of the catalysts were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS and XRD techniques. The catalysts were loaded on carbon paper to prepare gas diffusion electrodes, in which electrocatalytic activity for ORR in alkaline media was investigated by voltammetric techniques. The ORR current density on these carbon paper-supported NiCo/C–N catalysts exhibits a linear increase with the negative shift of ORR potential. The ORR onset potential is around [Formula: see text]0.2[Formula: see text]V (versus Ag/AgCl) in alkaline media. Among the prepared catalysts, the catalyst Ni6Co1/C–N presents the largest ORR current density, which is 68.5[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text]@[Formula: see text]0.8[Formula: see text]V (versus Ag/AgCl) in alkaline media. Moreover, Ni6Co1/C–N catalyst also presents good electrocatalytic activity stability for ORR.
Enhanced dielectric properties of conductive-dielectric composites by reducing particle size and core@shell method
Authors: Guo Yuqiang , Wang Yifei , Ren Yaxuan , Fu Mingzhu , Ma Hongmei , Liu Gang , Zhang Hui , Sun Yubao
Published: December 2017

Based on the percolation threshold theory of conductive-dielectric composites, the dielectric constant can be improved more by adding a certain mass fraction of conductive particle into polymer matrix. However, the dielectric loss increases with the increasing mass fraction of conductive particle. In this paper, conductive Polyaniline (PANI) with different particle sizes is utilized to illustrate that reducing particle size can improve the dielectric properties. The dielectric constant is increased from 319 to 540, and dielectric loss is decreased from 2.34 to 0.85 when PANI with smaller particle size is used. Moreover, PANI coated with an insulating surfactant layer can further improve the dielectric properties, the experimental results show that the dielectric constant of the composite could be more than 1000, while the dielectric loss is 0.35 at 1[Formula: see text]KHz.
Half-Metallic Ferromagnetism in Double Perovskite Ca2CoMoO6 Compound: DFT+U Calculations
Authors: Djefal A. , Amari S. , Obodo K. O. , Beldi L. , Bendaoud H. , Evans R. F. L. , Bouhafs B.
Published: December 2017

A systematic investigation on magnetism and spin-resolved electronic properties in double perovskite Ca2CoMoO6 compound was performed by using the full-potential augmented plane wave plus local orbitals (APW[Formula: see text]) method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA-PBE) and GGA-PBE[Formula: see text] scheme. The stability of monoclinic phase ([Formula: see text] #14) relative to the tetragonal ([Formula: see text]#87) and cubic ([Formula: see text] #225) phase is evaluated. We investigate the effect of Hubbard parameter [Formula: see text]on the ground-state structural and electronic properties of Ca2CoMoO6 compound. We found that the ferromagnetic ground state is the most stable magnetic configuration. The calculated spin-polarized band structures and densities of states indicate that the Ca2CoMoO6 compound is half-metallic (HM) and half-semiconductor (HSC) ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor with a total magnetic moment of 6.0 using GGA-PBE and GGA-PBE[Formula: see text], respectively. The Hubbard [Formula: see text] parameter provides better description of the electronic structure. Using the Vampire code, an estimation of exchange couplings and magnetic Curie temperature is calculated. Further, our results regarding the magnetic properties of this compound reveal their ferromagnetic nature. The GGA-PBE[Formula: see text] approach provides better band gap results as compared to GGA-PBE approximation. These results imply that Ca2CoMoO6 could be a promising magnetic semiconductor for application in spintronic devices.
Basic medical physiology: the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Authors: Rosenberg E , Brown H , Jackson D , Cooper K
Published: December 2017

In this article we examine the role of basic medical physiology in medical school education. We discuss the historical background, courses in this subject, and methods of teaching it. We conclude that the teaching of medical physiology should emphasize the study of organ systems and of the intact body. The techniques should emphasize meticulous observation, the posing of hypotheses, and the subsequent testing of the hypotheses, i.e., the use of the method used successfully in research. Students should learn the power of the experimental approach and to appreciate the immense variability possible in responses in complex organisms. They should also learn that principles of statistical probability applied logically can detect important differences in data that may be obscured by this variability. They should learn that there are no rigid answers when studying an individual and that they must continue to learn throughout their lives.
Physiology course for secondary school biology teachers.
Authors: Poland J L
Published: December 2017

The Department of Physiology at the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University offered a human physiology course to middle school and high school science teachers in the Richmond, VA, area. It was a three-credit course, team taught, and given at a location convenient to many area teachers. This course served the community by contributing to the continuing education efforts of teachers and concurrently enhanced our recruitment program by advertising "physiology" to teachers who will influence college-bound students for years to come. In addition, we established ties between teachers and physiology faculty such that continuing interactions (e.g., collaborative research during the summer) should be facilitated. The success of the course suggests that this is an effective way to serve local communities, enhance efforts to recruit graduate students into the basic sciences, and at the same time help reverse the educational crisis in the US by bolstering the backgrounds of secondary school teachers.
A student apparatus for recording action potentials in cockroach legs.
Authors: Linder T M , Palka J
Published: December 2017

A comparatively simple apparatus allows even beginning students to observe action potentials in the cockroach leg. The recordings are made extracellularly by impaling the leg on two insect pins. Deflection of large spines on the leg, which are each innervated by one sensory neuron, initiates the action potentials. Using this technique, students observe the all-or-nothing nature of action potentials, their coding of information by frequency, and sensory adaptation.
Electroencephalography and evoked potentials: a PC-based analysis program for laboratory courses in physiology.
Authors: Illert M , Wiese H , Wolfram U
Published: December 2017

A computer program (EEG Analysis) was developed for the preclinical laboratory course in physiology held for medical and dental students. It offers an off-line analysis of a set of typical and frequently occurring physiological and pathological electroencephalogram (EEG) and evoked potential (EP) recordings, which are stored in an IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) system. The users are requested to measure and analyze the data sets and to work through a base of questions relevant in the frame of the particular topic. The program is structured in several exercises: calibration, pickup of non-EEG signals (eye movements, chewing), waveforms in EEG recordings from awake subjects (alpha-waves, beta-waves), desynchronization of cerebral activity (visual activation, acoustic activation, mental activation), habituation of cerebral activity upon acoustic stimuli, EEG recordings from asleep subjects (different sleep stages, sleep-specific EEG signals), epileptic seizures, and EPs (principle of averaging, visually evoked potentials in different cortical areas). The program runs under MS-DOS and is network capable. The software structure ensures maximal flexibility for rapid changes and adaptations of the program to specific needs of a particular EEG course. The program has been used for three years, and the response from > 800 students has been consistently positive.
Experiences with a science hotline.
Authors: Evans L J , Frazier D T
Published: December 2017

Scientific literacy of the population may be enhanced by outreach programs conducted by universities. One such program, the University of Kentucky Science Hotline, has been successful in attracting and answering many inquiries from students, teachers, and others. The authors describe the organization and management of this hotline. The operation is inexpensive and efficient, with 35 faculty and staff members in 21 departments responding to 515 calls during the first year of operation. Fifty-four outreach visits were arranged through the hotline. Other benefits have included a more positive public image of scientists and the creation of links between academic scientists and precollege teachers.
"Virtual rat": a tool for understanding hormonal regulation of gastrointestinal function.
Authors: Hsu C T , Bailey C M , DiCarlo S E
Published: December 2017

This manuscript describes a "dry laboratory" using the "virtual rat" to help students understand the hormonal regulation of gastrointestinal function. The laboratory was modeled after a recent exercise that used the virtual rat to teach basic endocrine physiology. The virtual rat concept avoids the many obstacles associated with animal experimentation (for example, lack of adequate animal facilities, expense, equipment, and limited teacher experience). Our goal was to create a fun and educational experience while avoiding the complications associated with laboratory experimentation. No additional materials are required to complete this exercise. After finishing this laboratory, the students should have a greater understanding and appreciation for experimental design and the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
Telemedical education: teaching spirometry on the Internet.
Authors: Lum E H , Gross T J
Published: December 2017

Advances in portable equipment have led to routine spirometry testing outside of formal pulmonary function laboratories. Practitioners ordering these tests are not formally trained in spirometry interpretation. Providing effective off-site training can be challenging. Our objective was to develop a remotely accessible computer-based tutorial for teaching spirometry interpretation to nonpulmonologists. We designed an educational module that was accessible via the Internet and tested by 65 medical trainees at a major university medical center. In addition, the module was posted within the Virtual Hospital on the World Wide Web. Increases in spirometry interpretative skills were assessed using pre- and post-tests submitted electronically. The spirometry module significantly improved spirometry interpretation by nonspecialist trainees. This improvement included a broad increase in knowledge base and was observed independent of training level and prior spirometry reading experience. We conclude that computer-based tutorials can effectively train off-site practitioners in spirometry interpretation. This technology allows for the dissemination of educational material from a central site of expertise and provides a valuable adjunct to limited teaching resources.
Peer tutoring improves student performance in an advanced physiology course.
Authors: Lake D A
Published: December 2017

Effectiveness of a peer tutoring system developed for an advanced physiology course was assessed in terms of academic performance and perceived value. Forty-five students took the course without the peer tutoring system, and sixty-nine students took the course with peer tutoring. Grades from both groups of students were compared with grades earned in an introductory physiology course. Tutored students were asked how much they valued the peer tutoring. There was a decline in grades received by the students in the advanced physiology course compared with their scores in the introductory physiology course in both tutored and untutored groups. However, the decline in the tutored group was significantly (P = 0.015) less than that in the untutored group of students. Tutored students reacted very favorably to the tutoring sessions and expressed a desire to see tutoring expanded to other courses. This was the first demonstration of the effectiveness of peer tutoring in college science teaching. Peer tutoring appears to be effective in enhancing student performance as well as being perceived as beneficial by the students.
Remembrance of things past and concerns for the future.
Authors: Schultz S G
Published: December 2017

Stanley G. Schultz received the seventh annual Arthur C. Guyton Physiology Teacher of the Year Award. The following is a speech he delivered as he was presented the award at Experimental Biology '99 in Washington, DC, in April 1999.
Predictors of success in undergraduate human physiology.
Authors: McCleary V L , Aasen G , Slotnick H B
Published: December 2017

This study tested the hypothesis that measurable attributes in students' backgrounds are related to their successful completion of an undergraduate human physiology course. Demographic, general academic performance, and science achievement data were obtained from student records for students enrolled during the 1995-1996 academic year, and additional demographic data were obtained from students enrolled during the 1996-1998 academic years. A hierarchical logistic regression analysis explored the relationship fo these variables to the percentage of students passing the human physiology course. Predicted passing versus failing showed a sensitivity of 85.5% and specificity of 69.7%. Two independent validations of the logistical regression equation correctly predicted the performance of subsequent groups of students 75.9% and 77.6% of the time.
Challenges of teaching physiology in a PBL school.
Authors: Abdul-Ghaffar T A , Lukowiak K , Nayar U
Published: December 2017

A problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum was introduced at McMaster University more than three decades ago. Not many schools have adopted the system despite its distinct advantages. The present paper examines the challenges of teaching physiology in a PBL curriculum and gleans through the literature supporting PBL. It appears that one of the reasons why PBL is not becoming readily acceptable is the lack of concrete reports evaluating the curricular outcomes. The suggestion (R.E. Thomas. Med Educ. 31:320-329, 1997) to standardize and internationalize all components of validated PBL curricula is quite valid. A database needs to be generated that can be easily accessed by traditional institutions to see the rationality and easy implementation of the PBL curriculum.
An inquiry-based teaching tool for understanding arterial blood pressure regulation and cardiovascular function.
Authors: Collins H L , Rodenbaugh D W , Murphy T P , Kulics J M , Bailey C M , DiCarlo S E
Published: December 2017

Educators are placing a greater emphasis on the development of cooperative laboratory experiences that supplement the traditional lecture format. The new laboratory materials should encourage active learning, problem-solving, and inquiry-based approaches. To address these goals, we developed a laboratory exercise designed to introduce students to the hemodynamic variables (heart rate, stroke volume, total peripheral resistance, and compliance) that alter arterial pressure. For this experience, students are presented with "unknown" chart recordings illustrating pulsatile arterial pressure before and in response to several interventions. Students must analyze and interpret these unknown recordings and match each recording with the appropriate intervention. These active learning procedures help students understand and apply basic science concepts in a challenging and interactive format. Furthermore, laboratory experiences may enhance the students' level of understanding and ability to synthesize and apply information. In conducting this exercise, students are introduced to the joys and excitement of inquiry-based learning through experimentation.