bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementation of repeat HIV testing during pregnancy in southwestern Kenya: progress and missed opportunities
Authors: Rogers Anna J , Akama Eliud , Weke Elly , Blackburn Justin , Owino George , Bukusi Elizabeth A , Oyaro Patrick , Kwena Zachary A , Cohen Craig R , Turan Janet M
Published: December 2017

Introduction

Repeat HIV testing during the late antenatal period is crucial to identify and initiate treatment for pregnant women with incident HIV infection to prevent perinatal HIV transmission and keep mothers alive. In 2012, the Kenya Ministry of Health adopted international guidelines suggesting that pregnant women be offered retesting three months after an initial negative HIV test. Our objectives were to determine the current rate of antenatal repeat HIV testing; identify successes, missed opportunities and factors associated with retesting; and estimate the incidence of HIV during pregnancy.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of longitudinal data was conducted for a cohort of 2145 women attending antenatal care clinic at a large district hospital in southwestern Kenya. Data were abstracted from registers for all women who attended the clinic from the years 2011 to 2014.

Results

Although 90.2% of women first came to clinic prior to their third trimester and 27.5% had at least four clinic visits, 58.0% of all women went to delivery without a retest. Missed opportunities for retesting included not returning to clinic at all, not returning when eligible, or late gestational age (>28 weeks) at first clinic visit making them ineligible for retesting (accounting for 14.2%, 26.8% and 9.6% of all clinic attendees respectively); and failure to be retested even when eligible at one or more visits (accounting for 73.2% of eligible returnees). Being unmarried and aged 20 or younger was associated with an increase in mean gestational age of first visit by 2.52 weeks (95% CI: 1.56, 3.48) and a 2.59 increased odds (95% CI: 1.90, 3.54) of failing to return to clinic, compared to those who were married and over 20 years of age. On retest, two women tested HIV positive, suggesting an incidence rate of 4.4 per 100 person‐years. After adjusting for potential confounders, only later year of last menstrual period (2013 vs. 2012 and 2011) was associated with retesting.

Conclusions

Adoption of retesting guidelines in 2012 appears to have successfully increased retesting rates, but missed opportunities to identify incident HIV infection during pregnancy may contribute to continuing high rates of perinatal HIV transmission in southwestern Kenya.
Free‐electron Optical Nonlinearities in Plasmonic Nanostructures: A Review of the Hydrodynamic Description
Authors: Krasavin Alexey V. , Ginzburg Pavel , Zayats Anatoly V.
Published: December 2017

Requirements of integrated photonics and miniaturisation of optical devices demand efficient nonlinear components not constrained by conventional macroscopic nonlinear crystals. Intrinsic nonlinear response of free carriers in plasmonic materials provides opportunities to design both second‐ and third‐order nonlinear optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures and control light with light using Kerr‐type nonlinearities as well as achieve harmonic generation. This review summarises principles of free‐carrier nonlinearities in the hydrodynamic description in both perturbative and non‐perturbative regimes, considering also contribution of nonlocal effects. Engineering of harmonic generation, solitons, nonlinear refraction and ultrafast all‐optical switching in plasmonic nanostructures and metamaterials are discussed. The full hydrodynamic consideration of nonlinear dynamics of free carriers reveals key contributions to the nonlinear effects defined by the interplay between a topology of the nanostructure and nonlinear response of the fermionic gas at the nanoscale, allowing design of high effective nonlinearities in a desired spectral range. Flexibility and unique features of free‐electron nonlinearities are important for nonlinear plasmonic applications in free‐space as well as integrated and quantum nanophotonic technologies.
Spatio‐temporal‐dependent errors of radar rainfall estimates in flood forecasting for the Nam River Dam basin
Authors: Ko Dasang , Lee Taesam , Lee Dongryul
Published: December 2017

In flood prediction, radar rainfall estimates have been widely used for calculating approximate rainfall amounts and predicting flood risks. However, radar rainfall estimates have a number of errors, such as beam blockage and ground clutter, that hinder their application in hydrological flood forecasting. Even though previous studies have focused on removing radar data error, it is important to evaluate runoff volume, which is primarily influenced by such radar errors. Furthermore, correlation structures including temporal as well as spatially dependent errors have not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, how those radar rainfall estimate errors influence flood forecasting was tested in this paper by using a spatio‐temporal error model (STEM), which is a cross‐correlation model of radar error. Rainfall‐runoff simulations were conducted with radar rainfall events generated using the STEM to investigate the response in a basin. The Nam River basin, South Korea, was the focus of the study. A distributed rainfall runoff model, Vflo™, was used for runoff simulation. The spatial and temporal resolutions were 0.5 km and 10 min, respectively. The results indicated that a strong correlation caused a higher variation in the peak discharge. It is concluded that the STEM effectively represents the radar rainfall profile. The spatio‐temporal error (STE) of the radar rainfall estimates caused much higher uncertainty in rainfall runoff than only spatial error. To reduce uncertainty in flood prediction using radar rainfall estimates, it is important to eliminate the STE from those estimates.
Application of Generative Autoencoder in De Novo Molecular Design
Authors: Blaschke Thomas , Olivecrona Marcus , Engkvist Ola , Bajorath Jürgen , Chen Hongming
Published: December 2017

A major challenge in computational chemistry is the generation of novel molecular structures with desirable pharmacological and physiochemical properties. In this work, we investigate the potential use of autoencoder, a deep learning methodology, for de novo molecular design. Various generative autoencoders were used to map molecule structures into a continuous latent space and vice versa and their performance as structure generator was assessed. Our results show that the latent space preserves chemical similarity principle and thus can be used for the generation of analogue structures. Furthermore, the latent space created by autoencoders were searched systematically to generate novel compounds with predicted activity against dopamine receptor type 2 and compounds similar to known active compounds not included in the trainings set were identified.
Concise Review: Human Pluripotent Stem Cells to Produce Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Zhu Huang , Lai Yi-Shin , Li Ye , Blum Robert H. , Kaufman Dan S.
Published: December 2017

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) provide a promising resource to produce immune cells for adoptive cellular immunotherapy to better treat and potentially cure otherwise lethal cancers. Cytotoxic T cells and natural killer (NK) cells can now be routinely produced from human PSCs. These PSC-derived lymphocytes have phenotype and function similar to primary lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood. PSC-derived T and NK cells have advantages compared with primary immune cells, as they can be precisely engineered to introduce improved anti-tumor activity and produced in essentially unlimited numbers.
The MVP Model as an Organizing Framework for Neuroscience Findings Related to Learning
Authors: Zakrajsek Todd M.
Published: December 2017

This chapter describes the ways in which the MVP model relates to recent research on neuroscience and learning, and demonstrates how those relationships may be used to better understand physiological impacts on motivation, and to facilitate improved learning.
MVP and Instructional Systems Design in Online Courses
Authors: Franklin Jennifer L.
Published: December 2017

This chapter is based on three premises. The first premise is that the use of instructional systems design (ISD) methods is important in online as well as traditional classroom settings. A second premise is that improving the motivational design of instruction brings benefits to teachers and learners alike. The third premise, specific to this chapter, is that new technologies and the online environment offer opportunities for enhancing motivation, volition, and performance (MVP) as described by John M. Keller in Chapter 1 of this issue.
Seeing the Big Picture: Using Scrolls to Help Create Strategic Readers
Authors: Niblack Cassia
Published: December 2017

Voices From the Classroom essays share readers' reflections on teaching experiences, advice for new teachers, and perspectives on current issues.
Tree-Based Unrooted Phylogenetic Networks
Authors: Francis A. , Huber K. T. , Moulton V.
Published: December 2017

Phylogenetic networks are a generalization of phylogenetic trees that are used to represent non-tree-like evolutionary histories that arise in organisms such as plants and bacteria, or uncertainty in evolutionary histories. An unrooted phylogenetic network on a non-empty, finite set X of taxa, or network, is a connected, simple graph in which every vertex has degree 1 or 3 and whose leaf set is X. It is called a phylogenetic tree if the underlying graph is a tree. In this paper we consider properties of tree-based networks, that is, networks that can be constructed by adding edges into a phylogenetic tree. We show that although they have some properties in common with their rooted analogues which have recently drawn much attention in the literature, they have some striking differences in terms of both their structural and computational properties. We expect that our results could eventually have applications to, for example, detecting horizontal gene transfer or hybridization which are important factors in the evolution of many organisms.
Correlation between the clinicopathological features and prognosis in patients with extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma
Authors: Zeng Lin‐Shu , Huang Wen‐Ting , Qiu Tian , Shan Ling , Guo Lei , Ying Jian‐Ming , Lyu Ning , Feng Xiao‐Li
Published: December 2017

Objective

To investigate the correlation between the clinicopathological features and prognosis in patients with extranodal natural killer (NK)/T‐cell lymphoma (ENKTCL).

Methods

One hundred and four patients diagnosed with ENKTCL at the Department of Pathology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China from November 1991 to September 2011 were included in the study. The clinicopathological features and their correlations with disease prognosis were evaluated in these patients.

Results

The number of effective follow‐up cases was 56 (53.8%) by the end of last follow‐up in October 2015. Univariate survival analysis showed that granzyme B, perforin, and Bcl‐2 expression was significantly associated with a poor prognosis in ENKTCL (P = 0.033, 0.004, and 0.034, respectively), whereas platelet‐derived growth factor receptor‐alpha (PDGFRA) expression was significantly associated with a better prognosis (P = 0.034). Ki‐67 overexpression (≥50%) was significantly associated with a poor prognosis (P = 0.017). Different treatment approaches were also associated with prognosis (P = 0.014); specifically, the efficacies of combination treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were significantly better than those involving radiotherapy and chemotherapy alone. Patient gender, age, tumor location, staging, the presence of B symptoms, pretreatment lactate dehydrogenase levels, and β2‐microglobulin levels were not associated with the prognosis of ENKTCL (P > 0.05). However, multivariate analyses showed that the treatment approach and all the immune markers were not independent prognostic factors for ENKTCL.

Conclusion

Granzyme B, perforin, and Bcl‐2 expression and Ki‐67 overexpression (≥50%) might be adverse prognostic factors for ENKTCL, whereas PDGFRA‐positivity suggested a better disease prognosis. In addition, different treatment approaches might be closely related to patient prognosis.
Saving energy made easy: 90% utilization thanks to threefold combination of compressed air dryer, compressor and heat exchanger
Authors: Pokorny Bianca
Published: December 2017

The German Cogeneration Act (KWKG) has been designed to promote the use of self-generated energy. In resin drying, this potential often remains unused, because high energy investment is necessary during plastic processing. With desiccant dryers, for example, drying air is generated by a desiccant which must subsequently be dehumidified again by means of heat. This heat is partly released to the environment, while the remaining part is used to heat up the drying air. During this, the topic of energy recovery or energy saving is excluded. On the contrary, the CARD compressed air dryer series from the FarragTech GmbH functions according to the principle of the tried and tested dual-circuit compressed air principle and can be additionally combined with a compressor as well as a heat exchanger. That way, energy can be efficiently saved and a reduction of operating costs can be achieved.
American Scientists and Their Fictions: Professional Authorship and Intellectual Identity, 1870–1900
Authors: VANDOME ROBIN
Published: December 2017

Writers and critics in the Gilded Age United States frequently debated the relations between literature and science. A common contemporary interpretation of this relationship held that these two ways of knowing and writing were fundamentally opposed and that the advancement of science in American culture came at the expense of literary sensibilities. Nevertheless, and often as an effort to challenge this supposed opposition, many scientists also cultivated reputations as literary figures, and produced or planned diverse works ranging from travel writing and novels to verse drama. Such authors as Clarence King, J. Peter Lesley, Simon Newcomb and Nathaniel Southgate Shaler sustained a hybrid literary–scientific culture in the late nineteenth century. This interdisciplinary cultural zone was fragile and increasingly fractured by around 1900, as the emergence and consolidation of new categories of intellectual labour became increasingly wedded to the images of the “professional author” and the “scientist” as mutually exclusive identities. This article seeks to contribute to recurrent debates about the “two cultures” of literature and science by foregrounding the differentiation of these new forms of professional and intellectual identity as a decisive factor which constrained the possibility of a shared literary–scientific culture by the turn of the twentieth century.
Philosopher's disease and its antidote: Perspectives from prenatal behavior and contagious yawning and laughing
Authors: Provine Robert R.
Published: December 2017

Accounts of behavior, including imitation, often suffer from philosopher's disease: the unnecessary, inappropriate, theoretically driven explanation of behavior in terms of cognition, rationality, and consciousness. Embryos are perversely unphilosophical and unpsychological, starting to move before they receive sensory input. Postnatal contagious yawning and laughing indicate that pseudo-imitative behavior can occur without conscious intent or other higher-order cognitive process.
Beyond sensorimotor imitation in the neonate: Mentalization psychotherapy in adulthood
Authors: Desseilles Martin
Published: December 2017

Despite the persuasiveness of Keven & Akins' (K&A) review, we argue that mentalization, or the ability to interpret the mental states of oneself and others, is required to construct the neonate mind, going far beyond sensorimotor imitation. This concept, informed by certain psychoanalytic and attachment theories, has produced a form of therapy called mentalization-based psychotherapy, which aims to improve emotional regulation. Our aim here is to shed light on a form of neonatal imitation that goes beyond sensorimotor imitation.
“It takes two to know one” – Tongue protrusion-retraction is only one small facet of early intersubjectivity
Authors: Aitken Kenneth J.
Published: December 2017

Tongue protrusion-retraction is critical to early nutrition but is also a gustatory-olfactory aspect of early infant social behaviour that is, in part, reliant on pre-natal exposure and learning. Most early development is necessarily dyadic and intrinsically associated with other aspects of social functioning.
There is no compelling evidence that human neonates imitate
Authors: Kennedy-Costantini Siobhan , Oostenbroek Janine , Suddendorf Thomas , Nielsen Mark , Redshaw Jonathan , Davis Jacqueline , Clark Sally , Slaughter Virginia
Published: December 2017

Keven & Akins (K&A) propose that neonatal “imitation” is a function of newborns' spontaneous oral stereotypies and should be viewed within the context of normal aerodigestive development. Their proposal is in line with the result of our recent large longitudinal study that found no compelling evidence for neonatal imitation. Together, these works prompt reconsideration of the developmental origin of genuine imitation.
“What” matters more than “Why” – Neonatal behaviors initiate social responses
Authors: Libertus Klaus , Libertus Melissa E. , Einspieler Christa , Marschik Peter B.
Published: December 2017

Newborns are born into a social environment that dynamically responds to them. Newborn behaviors may not have explicit social intentions but will nonetheless affect the environment. Parents contingently respond to their child, enabling newborns to learn about the consequences of their behaviors and encouraging the behavior itself. Consequently, newborn behaviors may serve both biological and social-cognitive purposes during development.
Do innate stereotypies serve as a basis for swallowing and learned speech movements?
Authors: Mayer Connor , Roewer-Despres Francois , Stavness Ian , Gick Bryan
Published: December 2017

Keven & Akins suggest that innate stereotypies like TP/R may participate in the acquisition of tongue control. This commentary examines this claim in the context of speech motor learning and biomechanics, proposing that stereotypies could provide a basis for both swallowing and speech movements, and provides biomechanical simulation results to supplement neurological evidence for similarities between the two behaviors.
Beyond aerodigestion: Exaptation of feeding-related mouth movements for social communication in human and nonhuman primates
Authors: Murray Lynne , Sclafani Valentina , Rayson Holly , De Pascalis Leonardo , Bozicevic Laura , Ferrari Pier Francesco
Published: December 2017

Three arguments are advanced from human and nonhuman primate infancy research for the exaptation of ingestive mouth movements (tongue protrusion and lip smacking) for the purposes of social communication: their relation to affiliative behaviours, their sensitivity to social context, and their role in social development. Although these behaviours may have an aerodigestive function, such an account of their occurrence is only partial.
New insights on the interfacial tension of electrochemical interfaces and the Lippmann equation
Authors: DREYER W. , GUHLKE C. , LANDSTORFER M. , MÜLLER R.
Published: December 2017

The Lippmann equation is considered as universal relationship between interfacial tension, double layer charge, and cell potential. Based on the framework of continuum thermo-electrodynamics, we provide some crucial new insights to this relation. For general interfaces such that the local curvature radius is large compared to the Debye length, we apply asymptotic analysis methods to obtain the Lippmann equation. We give precise definitions of the involved quantities and show that the interfacial tension of the Lippmann equation is composed of the surface tension of our general model, and contributions arising from the adjacent space charge layers that can only lower the interfacial tension. Moreover, it turns out that surface reactions can be consistently incorporated into the Lippmann equation, provided that there is no charge transfer from one side of the interface to the other. We apply the model to curved liquid metal electrodes and compare our model to experimental data of several mercury–electrolyte interfaces. We obtain qualitative and quantitative agreement in the 2 V potential range for various salt concentrations.
The dynamic pattern ofPLIN3in pig oocytes and cumulus cells duringin vitromaturation
Authors: Xu Mingzhu , Zeng Yaqiong , Chi Daming , Si Linan , Qu Xiao , Li Juan
Published: December 2017

Lipid droplets (LDs) are the main energy resource for porcine preimplantation embryonic development.PLIN3has been implicated in LD formation and regulation. Therefore, this study aimed to detect the dynamic pattern ofPLIN3in pig oocytes and cumulus cells (CC) duringin vitromaturation (IVM), and to determine the relationship betweenPLIN3and LD content. IVM with cumulus-enclosed oocytes (CEO), cumulus-denuded oocytes (DO) and the CCs denuded from the corresponding oocytes (DCC) was performed in porcine follicular fluid (PFF) or PFF-free optimized medium. DO and the DCC were cultured together under the same conditions as described above, while the DO was named DTO and the DCC was named DTCC in this group. Firstly, our results revealed LDs distributed widely in oocytes and CC, while thePLIN3protein coated these LDs and spread out ubiquitously in the cytoplasm. Secondly, not only the mRNA level but also at protein level ofPLIN3in immature naked oocytes (IO) was higher than that in matured CEO, DO and DTO. AlthoughPLIN3was expressed at lower levels in CC from immature oocytes (ICC), the protein level ofPLIN3was comparably higher in the ECC and DCC groups. The triglyceride (TG) content in CEO and DO was significantly less abundant compared with that in IO. Therefore, our results indicated that co-culturing of oocytes and CC might affectPLIN3expression levels in CC but not in oocytes. Lipid accumulation in pig oocytes during maturation might be affected byPLIN3cross-talk between oocytes and CC.
First Rescue Under the Rubble: The Medical Aid in the First Hours After the Earthquake in Amatrice (Italy) on August 24, 2016
Authors: Blasetti Angelo Geremia , Petrucci Emiliano , Cofini Vincenza , Pizzi Barbara , Scimia Paolo , Pozone Tullio , Necozione Stefano , Fusco Pierfrancesco , Marinangeli Franco
Published: December 2017

Specific Event Identifiers

a. Event Type: Earthquake measuring 6.2 (SD=0.016) on the moment magnitude;

b. Event Onset: August 24, 2016 - 03:36:32 CEST (01:36 UTC);

c. Location of Event: Central Italy, in the town of Amatrice;

d. Geographic Coordinates: latitude (DMS): 42°37′45.77″N; longitude (DMS): 13°17′18.14″E; elevation: 955 meters above sea-level;

e. Dates: August 24, 2016 at 4:48 AM;

f. Response Type: Medical Relief.

On August 24, 2016, an earthquake hit the town of Amatrice (Italy). This study aims to document the first medical aid provided to earthquake victims in Amatrice immediately following the earthquake.

Patient data were collected and recorded during the first clinical evaluation and before definitive hospitalization. Blood gas tests were performed on survivors extricated from the rubble using the iSTAT (Abbott Point of Care Inc.; Princeton, New Jersey USA) handheld blood analyzer.

Performing “victim-side” blood gas tests could provide concrete information to facilitate clinical evaluation and decision making when treating buried victims. After a natural disaster, it is essential to provide effective analgo-sedation to victims.

BlasettiAG, PetrucciE, CofiniV, PizziB, ScimiaP, PozoneT, NecozioneS, FuscoP, MarinangeliF. First rescue under the rubble: the medical aid in the first hours after the earthquake in Amatrice (Italy) on August 24, 2016. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):109–113.
A dual-band rectenna using broadband DRA loaded with slot
Authors: Agrawal Sachin , Parihar Manoj Singh , Kondekar Pravin N.
Published: December 2017

This paper presents a broadband hybrid slot-dielectric resonator antenna for radiofrequency (RF) energy-harvesting application. The antenna geometry consists of a simple pentagon-shaped dielectric resonator antenna (PDRA) excited by a microstrip feed underlying rectangular slot with narrow notch. It is investigated that the bandwidth of the proposed PDRA is improved significantly owing to electromagnetic coupling between feeding slot and the dielectric resonator. The measured results demonstrate that the proposed PDRA achieves an impedance bandwidth of 110.8%, covering the frequency range from 0.86 to 3 GHz in addition of stable radiation pattern with peak gain of 6.8 dBi and more than 90% radiation efficiency throughout the band, showing its suitability for RF energy harvesting application. For this to be feasible, the developed antenna is matched with the rectifier at two public telecommunication bands of GSM-900 and GSM-1800 using a compact dual-band hybrid matching network. The measured result demonstrates that the proposed dual-band rectenna system provides the peak efficiency of 63 and 59% for a load impedance of 4.7 kΩ at 0.9 and 1.8 GHz, respectively.
Hurricanes Expose Vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico Seismic Network
Authors: Wendel JoAnna
Published: December 2017

Could overreliance on cell networks to transmit data leave instruments in the dark after the next storm hits?
The complex resistomes of Paenibacillaceae reflect diverse antibiotic chemical ecologies
Authors: Pawlowski Andrew C , Westman Erin L , Koteva Kalinka , Waglechner Nicholas , Wright Gerard D
Published: December 2017

The ecology of antibiotic resistance involves the interplay of a long natural history of antibiotic production in the environment, and the modern selection of resistance in pathogens through human use of these drugs. Important components of the resistome are intrinsic resistance genes of environmental bacteria, evolved and acquired over millennia, and their mobilization, which drives dissemination in pathogens. Understanding the dynamics and evolution of resistance across bacterial taxa is essential to address the current crisis in drug-resistant infections. Here we report the exploration of antibiotic resistance in the Paenibacillaceae prompted by our discovery of an ancient intrinsic resistome in Paenibacillus sp. LC231, recovered from the isolated Lechuguilla cave environment. Using biochemical and gene expression analysis, we have mined the resistome of the second member of the Paenibacillaceae family, Brevibacillus brevis VM4, which produces several antimicrobial secondary metabolites. Using phylogenomics, we show that Paenibacillaceae resistomes are in flux, evolve mostly independent of secondary metabolite biosynthetic diversity, and are characterized by cryptic, redundant, pseudoparalogous, and orthologous genes. We find that in contrast to pathogens, mobile genetic elements are not significantly responsible for resistome remodeling. This offers divergent modes of resistome development in pathogens and environmental bacteria.
Activation of the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathway by coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus promotes apoptosis independently of c-Jun
Authors: Fung To Sing , Liu Ding Xiang
Published: December 2017

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are conserved protein kinases that regulate a variety of important cellular signaling pathways. Among them, c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) are known to be activated by various environmental stresses including virus infections. Previously, activation of the JNK pathway has been detected in cells infected with several coronaviruses. However, detailed characterization of the pathway as well as its implication in host–virus interactions has not been fully investigated. Here we report that the JNK pathway was activated in cells infected with the avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Of the two known upstream MAPK kinases (MKK), MKK7, but not MKK4, was shown to be responsible for IBV-induced JNK activation. Moreover, knockdown and overexpression experiments demonstrated that JNK served as a pro-apoptotic protein during IBV infection. Interestingly, pro-apoptotic activity of JNK was not mediated via c-Jun, but involved modulation of the anti-apoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2). Taken together, JNK constitutes an important aspect of coronavirus–host interaction, along with other MAPKs.
Silica-grafted ionic liquids for revealing the respective charging behaviors of cations and anions in supercapacitors
Authors: Dou Qingyun , Liu Lingyang , Yang Bingjun , Lang Junwei , Yan Xingbin
Published: December 2017

Supercapacitors based on activated carbon electrodes and ionic liquids as electrolytes are capable of storing charge through the electrosorption of ions on porous carbons and represent important energy storage devices with high power delivery/uptake. Various computational and instrumental methods have been developed to understand the ion storage behavior, however, techniques that can probe various cations and anions of ionic liquids separately remain lacking. Here, we report an approach to monitoring cations and anions independently by using silica nanoparticle-grafted ionic liquids, in which ions attaching to silica nanoparticle cannot access activated carbon pores upon charging, whereas free counter-ions can. Aided by this strategy, conventional electrochemical characterizations allow the direct measurement of the respective capacitance contributions and acting potential windows of different ions. Moreover, coupled with electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, this method can provide unprecedented insight into the underlying electrochemistry.
Catastrophic disassembly of actin filaments via Mical-mediated oxidation
Authors: Grintsevich Elena E. , Ge Peng , Sawaya Michael R. , Yesilyurt Hunkar Gizem , Terman Jonathan R. , Zhou Z. Hong , Reisler Emil
Published: December 2017

Actin filament assembly and disassembly are vital for cell functions. MICAL Redox enzymes are important post-translational effectors of actin that stereo-specifically oxidize actin’s M44 and M47 residues to induce cellular F-actin disassembly. Here we show that Mical-oxidized (Mox) actin can undergo extremely fast (84 subunits/s) disassembly, which depends on F-actin’s nucleotide-bound state. Using near-atomic resolution cryoEM reconstruction and single filament TIRF microscopy we identify two dynamic and structural states of Mox-actin. Modeling actin’s D-loop region based on our 3.9 Å cryoEM reconstruction suggests that oxidation by Mical reorients the side chain of M44 and induces a new intermolecular interaction of actin residue M47 (M47-O-T351). Site-directed mutagenesis reveals that this interaction promotes Mox-actin instability. Moreover, we find that Mical oxidation of actin allows for cofilin-mediated severing even in the presence of inorganic phosphate. Thus, in conjunction with cofilin, Mical oxidation of actin promotes F-actin disassembly independent of the nucleotide-bound state.
Whole exome sequencing identified sixty-five coding mutations in four neuroblastoma tumors
Authors: Miller Aubrey L. , Garcia Patrick L. , Pressey Joseph G. , Beierle Elizabeth A. , Kelly David R. , Crossman David K. , Council Leona N. , Daniel Richard , Watts Raymond G. , Cramer Stuart L. , Yoon Karina J.
Published: December 2017

Neuroblastoma is a pediatric tumor characterized by histologic heterogeneity, and accounts for ~15% of childhood deaths from cancer. The five-year survival for patients with high-risk stage 4 disease has not improved in two decades. We used whole exome sequencing (WES) to identify mutations present in three independent high-risk stage 4 neuroblastoma tumors (COA/UAB-3, COA/UAB -6 and COA/UAB -8) and a stage 3 tumor (COA/UAB-14). Among the four tumors WES analysis identified forty-three mutations that had not been reported previously, one of which was present in two of the four tumors. WES analysis also corroborated twenty-two mutations that were reported previously. No single mutation occurred in all four tumors or in all stage 4 tumors. Three of the four tumors harbored genes with CADD scores ≥20, indicative of mutations associated with human pathologies. The average depth of coverage ranged from 39.68 to 90.27, with >99% sequences mapping to the genome. In summary, WES identified sixty-five coding mutations including forty-three mutations not reported previously in primary neuroblastoma tumors. The three stage 4 tumors contained mutations in genes encoding protein products that regulate immune function or cell adhesion and tumor cell metastasis.
Tailored plasmon-induced transparency in attenuated total reflection response in a metal–insulator–metal structure
Authors: Matsunaga Kouki , Hirai Yusuke , Neo Yoichiro , Matsumoto Takahiro , Tomita Makoto
Published: December 2017

We demonstrated tailored plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) in a metal (Au)–insulator (SiO2)–metal (Ag) (MIM) structure, where the Fano interference between the MIM waveguide mode and the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) resonance mode induced a transparency window in an otherwise opaque wavenumber (k) region. A series of structures with different thicknesses of the Ag layer were prepared and the attenuated total reflection (ATR) response was examined. The height and width of the transparency window, as well as the relevant k-domain dispersion, were controlled by adjusting the Ag layer thickness. To confirm the dependency of PIT on Ag layer thickness, we performed numerical calculations to determine the electric field amplitude inside the layers. The steep k-domain dispersion in the transparency window is capable of creating a lateral beam shift known as the Goos–Hänchen shift, for optical device and sensor applications. We also discuss the Fano interference profiles in a ω − k two-dimensional domain on the basis of Akaike information criteria.
PiT2 regulates neuronal outgrowth through interaction with microtubule-associated protein 1B
Authors: Ma Xi-Xiang , Li Xiangyang , Yi Ping , Wang Cheng , Weng Jun , Zhang Li , Xu Xuan , Sun Hao , Feng Shenglei , Liu Kai , Chen Rui , Du Shiyue , Mao Xiao , Zeng Xiaomei , Zhang Luo-Ying , Liu Mugen , Tang Bei-Sha , Zhu Xiaojuan , Jin Shan , Liu Jing-Yu
Published: December 2017

PiT2 is a member of the inorganic phosphate transporter family, and is extensively expressed in the nervous system. It was found that loop7 domain of PiT2 is not required for retroviral recognition and transport function. The exact functions of loop7 remain poorly understood. Here we show that loop7 of PiT2 is necessary for the transport of PiT2 protein to the cell surface. Further, loop7 is also related to the outgrowth of neurite in Neuro2A cells interacts with the light chain 1 of microtubule-associated protein 1B (MAP1B). PiT2 with mutated MAP1B binding sites affect neurite outgrowth whereas Pi transport function deficient mutants of PiT2 do not. We also show that Drosophila dPiT interacts with microtubule-associated protein Futsch, and dPiT is crucial for the normal development of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). These results indicate that PiT2 might participate in the regulation of neuronal outgrowth by interacting with MAP1B and independently of its Pi transport function in the nervous system.
Correction of a Disease Mutation using CRISPR/Cas9-assisted Genome Editing in Japanese Black Cattle
Authors: Ikeda Mitsumi , Matsuyama Shuichi , Akagi Satoshi , Ohkoshi Katsuhiro , Nakamura Sho , Minabe Shiori , Kimura Koji , Hosoe Misa
Published: December 2017

Isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IARS) syndrome is a recessive disease of Japanese Black cattle caused by a single nucleotide substitution. To repair the mutated IARS gene, we designed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) to create a double-strand break near the mutation site. CRISPR/Cas9 and donor DNA that contained a synonymous codon for the correct amino acid and an Aequorea coerulescens Green Fluorescent Protein (AcGFP) cassette with a piggyBac transposase recognition site at both ends were introduced into bovine fetal fibroblast (BFF) cells isolated from a homozygous mutant calf. Recombinant cells were enriched on the basis of expression of AcGFP, and two cell lines that contained the repaired allele were subcloned. We generated somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos from the repaired cells and transferred 22 blastocysts to recipient cows. In total, five viable fetuses were retrieved at Days 34 and 36. PiggyBac transposase mRNA was introduced into BFF cells isolated from cloned foetuses and AcGFP-negative cells were used for second round of cloning. We transferred nine SCNT embryos to recipient cows and retrieved two fetuses at Day 34. Fetal genomic DNA analysis showed correct repair of the IARS mutation without any additional DNA footprint.
Optical Bloch oscillation and Zener tunneling in the fractional Schrödinger equation
Authors: Zhang Yiqi , Wang Rong , Zhong Hua , Zhang Jingwen , Belić Milivoj R. , Zhang Yanpeng
Published: December 2017

We demonstrate optical Bloch oscillation (OBO) and optical Zener tunneling (OZT) in the fractional Schrödinger equation (FSE) with periodic and linear potentials, numerically and theoretically. We investigate in parallel the regular Schrödinger equation and the FSE, by adjusting the Lévy index, and expound the differences between the two. We find that the spreading of the OBO decreases in the fractional case, due to the diminishing band width. Increasing the transverse force, due to the linear potential, leads to the appearance of OZT, but this process is suppressed in the FSE. Our results indicate that the adjustment of the Lévy index can effectively control the emergence of OBO and OZT, which can inspire new ideas in the design of optical switches and interconnects.
Change in Land Use and Evapotranspiration in the Manas River Basin, China with Long-term Water-saving Measures
Authors: Yang Guang , Xue Lianqing , He Xinlin , Wang Cui , Long Aihua
Published: December 2017

Widespread application of water-saving measures, especially advanced drip irrigation technologies, may significantly impact on the land use, and further potentially alter regional ecological environments in an arid area. In this study, the remote sensing and geographic information system technology were used to analyze the LANDSAT images (1976–2015) and the MOD16 evapotranspiration data (2000–2015) in the Manas River Basin (MRB), China where the water-saving technologies have experienced the past 40 years. Our results show that the area of the cultivated land was approximately doubled from 1976 to 2015 with a dynamic degree of cultivated land ranging from 1.7% to 4%. The reclamation rates were estimated at 9.5% in 1976 and 21.8% in 2015 and the comprehensive index of land use degree shows an increasing trend in the MRB. The evapotranspiration in the MRB suggests that the cultivated land is becoming more humid while the other regions are becoming more arid. Long-term change in the land use is mainly promoted due to the multiple years’ efforts on development of the water-saving technologies. This study greatly improves our understanding of the interactions between change in ecological environments and human activities and may provide policy makers guidance of sustainable development at an arid area.
Skin immunization by microneedle patch overcomes statin-induced suppression of immune responses to influenza vaccine
Authors: Vassilieva Elena V. , Wang Shelly , Li Song , Prausnitz Mark R. , Compans Richard W.
Published: December 2017

Recent studies indicated that in elderly individuals, statin therapy is associated with a reduced response to influenza vaccination. The present study was designed to determine effects on the immune response to influenza vaccination induced by statin administration in a mouse model, and investigate potential approaches to improve the outcome of vaccination on the background of statin therapy. We fed middle aged BALB/c mice a high fat “western” diet (WD) alone or supplemented with atorvastatin (AT) for 14 weeks, and control mice were fed with the regular rodent diet. Mice were immunized with a single dose of subunit A/Brisbane/59/07 (H1N1) vaccine, either systemically or with dissolving microneedle patches (MNPs). We observed that a greater age-dependent decline in the hemagglutinin inhibition titers occurred in systemically-immunized mice than in MNP- immunized mice. AT dampened the antibody response in the animals vaccinated by either route of vaccine delivery. However, the MNP-vaccinated AT-treated animals had ~20 times higher total antibody levels to the influenza vaccine than the systemically vaccinated group one month postvaccination. We propose that microneedle vaccination against influenza provides an approach to ameliorate the immunosuppressive effect of statin therapy observed with systemic immunization.
The role of the strain induced population imbalance in Valley polarization of graphene: Berry curvature perspective
Authors: Farajollahpour Tohid , Phirouznia Arash
Published: December 2017

Real magnetic and lattice deformation gauge fields have been investigated in honeycomb lattice of graphene. The coexistence of these two gauges will induce a gap difference between two valley points (K and K′) of system. This gap difference allows us to study the possible topological valley Hall current and valley polarization in the graphene sheet. In the absence of magnetic field, the strain alone could not generate a valley polarization when the Fermi energy coincides exactly with the Dirac points. Since in this case there is not any imbalance between the population of the valley points. In other words each of these gauges alone could not induce any topological valley-polarized current in the system at zero Fermi energy. Meanwhile at non-zero Fermi energies population imbalance can be generated as a result of the external strain even at zero magnetic field. In the context of Berry curvature within the linear response regime the valley polarization (both magnetic free polarization, Π0, and field dependent response function, χ
α
) in different values of gauge fields of lattice deformation has been obtained.
Lactobacillus plantarumCCFM10 alleviating oxidative stress and restoring the gut microbiota ind-galactose-induced aging mice
Authors: Zhao Jichun , Tian Fengwei , Yan Shuang , Zhai Qixiao , Zhang Hao , Chen Wei
Published: December 2017

The protective effects ofL. plantarumstrains on the host microbiota could be one of the mechanisms of their resistance to oxidative stressin vivo.
A recyclable and reusable K2PtCl4/Xphos-SO3Na/PEG-400/H2O system for highly regio- and stereoselective hydrosilylation of terminal alkynes
Authors: Xu Caifeng , Huang Bin , Yan Tao , Cai Mingzhong
Published: December 2017

A recyclable K2PtCl4/Xphos-SO3Na/PEG-400/H2O system has been developed for highly regio- and stereoselective hydrosilylation of terminal alkynes leading exclusively to β-(E)-vinylsilanes.
Synergetic effects of Fe3+ doped spinel Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide for high surface electrode hybrid supercapacitors
Authors: Repp Sergej , Harputlu Ersan , Gurgen Seda , Castellano Mike , Kremer Nora , Pompe Nils , Wörner Jakob , Hoffmann Anke , Thomann Ralf , Emen Fatih M. , Weber Stefan , Ocakoglu Kasim , Erdem Emre
Published: December 2017

High capacitance (13.2 μA h cm−2) double layer hybrid supercapacitor consisting of reduced graphene oxide/Fe doped Li4Ti5O12 (rGO/LTO) and graphite.
Partial discharge pattern recognition using variable predictive model‐based class discrimination with kernel partial least squares regression
Authors: Jia Yafei , Zhu Yongli
Published: December 2017

The pattern recognition of partial discharge (PD) is critical to evaluate the insulation condition and locate the defect of a power transformer. The existing pattern recognition methods fail to make use of the inter‐relations of the extracted features of PD signals. In fact, the inter‐relations can show distinct dissimilarities between different classes of the signals. To overcome the defect of existing pattern recognition methods, the variable predictive model‐based class discrimination (VPMCD), a new pattern recognition method, is introduced for the pattern recognition of PD in this study. However, the original VPMCD lacks general expression ability of the inter‐relations of extracted features and inherits the shortcomings of least squares (LS) regression. To overcome the above defects, an improved VPMCD based on kernel partial LS (KPLS) regression, which is called as KPLS‐VPMCD, is proposed in this study. Experiments and analyses are implemented using both UCI datasets and the extracted features of PD signals. The experiments show that the performance of the proposed KPLS‐VPMCD is better than those of the existing methods such as VPMCD, back propagation neural networks, and support vector machines. The conclusion is that KPLS‐VPMCD is an efficient supervised learning algorithm with consistency and good performance for PD pattern recognition.
Strong stability of linear parabolic time-optimal control problems
Authors: Bonifacius Lucas , Pieper Konstantin
Published: December 2017

Sufficient conditions for strong stability of a class of linear time-optimal control problems with general convex terminal set are derived. Strong stability in turn guarantees qualified optimality conditions. The theory is based on a characterization of weak invariance of the target set under the controlled equation. An appropriate strengthening of the resulting Hamiltonian condition ensures strong stability and yieldsa prioribounds on the size of multipliers, independent of,e.g., the initial point or the running cost. In particular, the results are applied to the control of the heat equation into anL2-ball around a desired state.
Effect of Population-Specific Birthweight Curves on Disparities in Perinatal Mortality in Small-for-Gestational Age Pregnancies
Authors: Naimi Ashley , Larkin Jacob
Published: December 2017

Objective To determine the effect of adopting sex or race/ethnicity-specific birthweight curves on small-for-gestational age (SGA)-associated mortality rates for specific populations.

Materials and Methods Analyzing 20,095,735 singleton pregnancies, we compared rates of perinatal death associated with SGA in distinct sex and racial/ethnic groups when SGA was defined using nonspecific, sex-specific, and race/ethnicity-specific birthweight curves.

Results With use of a nonspecific birthweight curve, the rate of perinatal death was higher for SGA males (20.4/1,000 [95% confidence interval (CI), 20.1, 20.7]) than SGA females [14.6/1,000 (95% CI, 14.4, 14.8)]. With a sex-specific curve, this disparity was reduced, measuring 17.7/1,000 (95% CI, 17.4, 17.9) for SGA males and 16.3/1,000 (95% CI, 16.1, 16.6) for females. Using a nonspecific birthweight curve, perinatal death rates were higher for non-Hispanic blacks (20.4/1,000 [95% CI, 20.0, 20.8]) than for all other racial/ethnic groups (15.9/1,000 [95% CI, 15.7, 16.1]). This difference increased with use of a race-specific birthweight curve: perinatal mortality was 29.7/1,000 (95% CI, 29.0, 30.3) for SGA blacks and 14.7/1,000 (95% CI, 14.6, 14.9) for all other racial/ethnic groups.

Conclusion Population-based differences in SGA-associated mortality are reduced with adoption of a sex-specific birthweight curve, but widen with use of a race/ethnicity-specific curve. These findings highlight the importance of outcomes analysis in the selection of diagnostic criteria for SGA.