bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two novel bacteriophage genera from a groundwater reservoir highlight subsurface environments as underexplored biotopes in bacteriophage ecology
Authors: Hylling Ole , Carstens Alexander B. , Kot Witold , Hansen Martin , Neve Horst , Franz Charles M. A. P. , Johansen Anders , Ellegaard-Jensen Lea , Hansen Lars H.
Published: July 2020

Although bacteriophages are central entities in bacterial ecology and population dynamics, there is currently no literature on the genomes of bacteriophages isolated from groundwater. Using a collection of bacterial isolates from an aquifer as hosts, this study isolated, sequenced and characterised two bacteriophages native to the groundwater reservoir. Host phylogenetic analyses revealed that the phages targeted B. mycoides and a novel Pseudomonas species. These results suggest that both bacteriophages represent new genera, highlighting that groundwater reservoirs, and probably other subsurface environments as well, are underexplored biotopes in terms of the presence and ecology of bacteriophages.
Low-frequency oscillations reflect aberrant tone restoration during the auditory continuity illusion in schizophrenia
Authors: Wooldridge Joseph , Kaiser Mathis , Roa Romero Yadira , Riecke Lars , Keil Julian , Senkowski Daniel
Published: July 2020

Patients with schizophrenia (ScZ) often show impairments in auditory information processing. These impairments have been related to clinical symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations. Some researchers have hypothesized that aberrant low-frequency oscillations contribute to auditory information processing deficits in ScZ. A paradigm for which modulations in low-frequency oscillations are consistently found in healthy individuals is the auditory continuity illusion (ACI), in which restoration processes lead to a perceptual grouping of tone fragments and a mask, so that a physically interrupted sound is perceived as continuous. We used the ACI paradigm to test the hypothesis that low-frequency oscillations play a role in aberrant auditory information processing in patients with ScZ (N = 23). Compared with healthy control participants we found that patients with ScZ show elevated continuity illusions of interrupted, partially-masked tones. Electroencephalography data demonstrate that this elevated continuity perception is reflected by diminished 3 Hz power. This suggests that reduced low-frequency oscillations relate to elevated restoration processes in ScZ. Our findings support the hypothesis that aberrant low-frequency oscillations contribute to altered perception-related auditory information processing in ScZ.
Platelet-primed interactions of coagulation and anticoagulation pathways in flow-dependent thrombus formation
Authors: Brouns Sanne L. N. , van Geffen Johanna P. , Campello Elena , Swieringa Frauke , Spiezia Luca , van Oerle René , Provenzale Isabella , Verdoold Remco , Farndale Richard W. , Clemetson Kenneth J. , Spronk Henri M. H. , van der Meijden Paola E. J. , Cavill Rachel , Kuijpers Marijke J. E. , Castoldi Elisabetta , Simioni Paolo , Heemskerk Johan W. M.
Published: July 2020

In haemostasis and thrombosis, platelet, coagulation and anticoagulation pathways act together to produce fibrin-containing thrombi. We developed a microspot-based technique, in which we assessed platelet adhesion, platelet activation, thrombus structure and fibrin clot formation in real time using flowing whole blood. Microspots were made from distinct platelet-adhesive surfaces in the absence or presence of tissue factor, thrombomodulin or activated protein C. Kinetics of platelet activation, thrombus structure and fibrin formation were assessed by fluorescence microscopy. This work revealed: (1) a priming role of platelet adhesion in thrombus contraction and subsequent fibrin formation; (2) a surface-independent role of tissue factor, independent of the shear rate; (3) a mechanism of tissue factor-enhanced activation of the intrinsic coagulation pathway; (4) a local, suppressive role of the anticoagulant thrombomodulin/protein C pathway under flow. Multiparameter analysis using blood samples from patients with (anti)coagulation disorders indicated characteristic defects in thrombus formation, in cases of factor V, XI or XII deficiency; and in contrast, thrombogenic effects in patients with factor V-Leiden. Taken together, this integrative phenotyping approach of platelet–fibrin thrombus formation has revealed interaction mechanisms of platelet-primed key haemostatic pathways with alterations in patients with (anti)coagulation defects. It can help as an important functional add-on whole-blood phenotyping.
Glycosphingolipid expression at breast cancer stem cells after novel thieno[2,3-b]pyridine anticancer compound treatment
Authors: Marijan Sandra , Markotić Anita , Mastelić Angela , Režić-Mužinić Nikolina , Pilkington Lisa Ivy , Reynisson Johannes , Čulić Vedrana Čikeš
Published: July 2020

Glycosphingolipid expression differs between human breast cancer stem cells (CSC) and cancer non-stem cells (non-CSC). We performed studies of viability, type of cell death, cancer stem cell percent and glycosphingolipid expression on CSC and non-CSC after treatment of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-453 triple-negative breast cancer cells with a newly developed thienopyridine anticancer compound (3-amino-N-(3-chloro-2-methylphenyl)-5-oxo-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrothieno[2,3-b]quinoline-2-carboxamide, 1). Compound 1 was cytotoxic for both breast cancer cell lines and the majority of cells died by treatment-induced apoptosis. The percent of cancer stem cells and number of formed mammospheres was significantly lower. Glycosphingolipids IV6Neu5Ac-nLc4Cer and GalNAc-GM1b (IV3Neu5Ac-Gg5Cer) not reported previously, were identified in both CSCs and non-CSCs. IV6Neu5Ac-nLc4Cer had increased expression in both CSCs and non-CSCs of both cell lines after the treatment with 1, while GM3 (II3Neu5Ac-LacCer) had increased expression only on both cell subpopulations in MDA-MB-231 cell line. GalNAc-GM1b, Gb4Cer (GalNAcβ1-3Galα1-4Galβ1-4Glcβ1-1Cer) and GM2 (II3Neu5Ac-GalNAcβ1-4Galβ1-4Glcβ1-1Cer) were increased only in CSCs of both cell lines while GD3 was decreased in CSC of MDA-MB-231 cell line. Due to its effect in reducing the percentage of cancer stem cells and number of mammospheres, and its influence upon several glycosphingolipid expressions, it can be concluded that compound 1 deserves attention as a potential new drug for triple-negative breast cancer therapy.
Magma diversity reflects recharge regime and thermal structure of the crust
Authors: Weber Gregor , Simpson Guy , Caricchi Luca
Published: July 2020

The chemistry of magmas erupted by volcanoes is a message from deep within the Earth’s crust, which if decrypted, can provide essential information on magmatic processes occurring at inaccessible depths. While some volcanoes are prone to erupt magmas of a wide compositional variety, others sample rather monotonous chemistries through time. Whether such differences are a consequence of physical filtering or reflect intrinsic properties of different magmatic systems remains unclear. Here we show, using thermal and petrological modelling, that magma flux and the thermal structure of the crust modulate diversity and temporal evolution of magma chemistry in mid to deep crustal reservoirs. Our analysis shows that constant rates of magma input leads to extractable magma compositions that tend to evolve from felsic to more mafic in time. Low magma injection rates into hot or deep crust produces less chemical variability of extractable magma compared to the injection of large batches in colder or shallower crust. Our calculations predict a correlation between magma fluxes and compositional diversity that resembles trends observed in volcanic deposits. Our approach allows retrieval of quantitative information about magma input and the thermal architecture of magmatic systems from the chemical diversity and temporal evolution of volcanic products.
Analysis of the “centrosome-ome” identifies MCPH1 deletion as a cause of centrosome amplification in human cancer
Authors: Denu Ryan A. , Burkard Mark E.
Published: July 2020

The centrosome is the microtubule organizing center of human cells and facilitates a myriad of cellular functions including organization of the mitotic spindle to ensure faithful chromosome segregation during mitosis, cell polarization and migration, and primary cilia formation. A numerical increase in centrosomes, or centrosome amplification (CA), is common in cancer and correlates with more aggressive clinical features and worse patient outcomes. However, the causes of CA in human cancer are unclear. Many previous studies have identified mechanisms of CA in cellulo, such as overexpression of PLK4, but it is unclear how often these are the primary mechanism in human disease. To identify a primary cause of CA, we analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) genomic and transcriptomic data for genes encoding the 367 proteins that localize to the centrosome (the “centrosome-ome”). We identified the following candidates for primary causes of CA: gain-of-function alterations of CEP19, CEP72, CTNNB1, PTK2, NDRG1, SPATC1, TBCCD1; and loss-of-function alterations of CEP76, MCPH1, NEURL4, and NPM1. In cellulo analysis of these candidates revealed that loss of MCPH1/microcephalin caused the most robust increase in centriole number. MCPH1 deep gene deletions are seen in 5–15% of human cancers, depending on the anatomic site of the tumor. Mechanistic experiments demonstrated that loss of MCPH1 caused a CDK2-dependent increase in STIL levels at the centrosome to drive CA. We conclude that loss of MCPH1 is common in human cancer and is likely to be a cause of CA.
The potential interruptive effect of tinnitus-related distress on attention
Authors: Leong Sook Ling , Tchen Stephanie , Robertson Ian H. , Alsalman Ola , To Wing Ting , Vanneste Sven
Published: July 2020

The mechanism through which tinnitus affects attention is unclear. This study examines whether distress mediates the relationship(s) between tinnitus and sustained, selective and executive attentions as well as response inhibition. Eighteen participants with tinnitus and fifteen controls completed the Counting Stroop, Vigilance and Stop Signal tasks. Tinnitus distress was assessed using the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), severity of depressive mood states examined using the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and general distress assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Tinnitus participants had significantly slower reactions during the Vigilance task (F = 4.86, p = .035), and incongruent trials of the Cognitive Counting task (F = 3.45, p = .045) compared to controls. Tinnitus-related distress significantly mediated the effect of tinnitus in incongruent trials (TQ: Sobel test t = 1.73, p = .042) of the Cognitive Counting Task. Complaints of distress and concentration difficulties are common amongst tinnitus patients in clinical settings and these afflictions have been shown to negatively impact an individual’s quality of life. If confirmed in future studies, results suggest that distress may be an important factor in the causal mechanism between tinnitus and attention.
PfMAP-2 is essential for male gametogenesis in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Hitz Eva , Balestra Aurélia C. , Brochet Mathieu , Voss Till S.
Published: July 2020

In malaria parasites, male gametogenesis is a proliferative stage essential for parasite transmission to the mosquito vector. It is a rapid process involving three rounds of genome replication alternating with closed endomitoses, and assembly of axonemes to produce eight flagellated motile microgametes. Studies in Plasmodium berghei have highlighted tight regulation of gametogenesis by a network of kinases. The P. berghei MAPK homologue PbMAP-2 is dispensable for asexual development but important at the induction of axoneme motility. However, in P. falciparum, causing the most severe form of human malaria, PfMAP-2 was suggested to be essential for asexual proliferation indicating distinct functions for MAP-2 in these two Plasmodium species. We here show that PfMAP-2 is dispensable for asexual growth but important for male gametogenesis in vitro. Similar to PbMAP-2, PfMAP-2 is required for initiating axonemal beating but not for prior DNA replication or axoneme formation. In addition, single and double null mutants of PfMAP-2 and the second P. falciparum MAPK homologue PfMAP-1 show no defect in asexual proliferation, sexual commitment or gametocytogenesis. Our results suggest that MAPK activity plays no major role in the biology of both asexual and sexual blood stage parasites up until the point of male gametogenesis.
Spectrum of genetic variants in moderate to severe sporadic hearing loss in Pakistan
Authors: Ramzan Memoona , Bashir Rasheeda , Salman Midhat , Mujtaba Ghulam , Sobreira Nara , Witmer P. Dane ,   Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics, Naz Sadaf
Published: July 2020

Hearing loss affects 380 million people worldwide due to environmental or genetic causes. Determining the cause of deafness in individuals without previous family history of hearing loss is challenging and has been relatively unexplored in Pakistan. We investigated the spectrum of genetic variants in hearing loss in a cohort of singleton affected individuals born to consanguineous parents. Twenty-one individuals with moderate to severe hearing loss were recruited. We performed whole-exome sequencing on DNA samples from the participants, which identified seventeen variants in ten known deafness genes and one novel candidate gene. All identified variants were homozygous except for two. Eleven of the variants were novel, including one multi-exonic homozygous deletion inOTOA. A missense variant inESRRBwas implicated for recessively inherited moderate to severe hearing loss. Two individuals were heterozygous for variants inMYO7AandCHD7, respectively, consistent with de novo variants or dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance as the reason for their hearing loss. Our results indicate that similar to familial cases of deafness, variants in a large number of genes are responsible for moderate to severe hearing loss in sporadic individuals born to consanguineous couples.
About lipid metabolism in Hermetia illucens (L. 1758): on the origin of fatty acids in prepupae
Authors: Hoc B. , Genva M. , Fauconnier M.-L. , Lognay G. , Francis F. , Caparros Megido R.
Published: July 2020

Although increasingly targeted in animal nutrition, black soldier fly larvae or prepupae (BSF, Hermetia illucens L. 1758) require the characterization and modulation of their fatty acid profile to become fully integrated within the feed sector. This improvement will only be possible by the understanding of underlaying biochemical pathways of fatty acid synthesis in BSF. In this study, we hypothesized a labelling of de novo synthesized fatty acids in BSF by the incorporation of deuterated water (D2O) in their feed. Three batches of fifty larvae were reared on two diets with different polyunsaturated fatty acid profiles moistened with 40% of H2O or D2O: chicken feed or 40% of chicken feed and 60% of flax cake. Although the occurrence of D2O in insect feed increased the larval development time and decreased prepupal weight, it was possible to track the biosynthesis of fatty acids through deuterium labelling. Some fatty acids (decanoic, lauric or myristic acid) were exclusively present in their deuterated form while others (palmitic, palmitoleic or oleic acid) were found in two forms (deuterated or not) indicating that BSF can partially produce these fatty acids via biosynthesis pathways and not only by bioaccumulation from the diet. These results suggest the importance of carbohydrates as a source of acetyl-CoA in the constitution of the BSF fatty acid profile but also the potential importance of specific enzymes (e.g. thioesterase II or Δ12 fat2 desaturase) in BSF fatty acid metabolism. Finally, nearly no deuterated polyunsaturated fatty acids were found in BSF fed with deuterium confirming that BSF is not able to produce these types of fatty acids. Despite the high levels of linolenic acid in flax-enriched diets, BSF will simply bioaccumulate around 13% of this fatty acid and will metabolize approximately two-thirds of it into saturated fatty acids as lauric or myristic acid.
Subliminal determinants of cue-guided choice
Authors: Garofalo Sara , Sagliano Laura , Starita Francesca , Trojano Luigi , di Pellegrino Giuseppe
Published: July 2020

By anticipating potential rewards, external cues can guide behavior to achieve a goal. Whether the conscious elaboration of these cues is necessary to elicit cue-guided choices is still unknown. The goal of the present study is to test whether the subliminal presentation of a visual cue previously paired with a reward is sufficient to bias responses that can lead to the same or a similar reward. To this aim, three experiments compared the subliminal and supraliminal presentation of reward-associated cues during a Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer task. In line with previous evidence, results showed that the supraliminal presentation of reward-associated Pavlovian cues biased participant’s choice towards motivationally similar rewards (general transfer) as well as towards rewards sharing the precise sensory-specific properties of the cue (outcome-specific transfer). In striking contrast, subliminal cues biased choice only towards motivationally similar rewards (general transfer). Taken together, these findings suggest that cue-guided choices are modulated by the level of perceptual threshold (i.e., subliminal vs supraliminal) of reward-associated cues. Although conscious elaboration of the cue is necessary to guide choice towards a specific reward, subliminal processing is still sufficient to push towards choices sharing the motivational properties of the cue. Implications for everyday life, clinical conditions, and theoretical accounts of cue-guided choices are discussed.
The understanding of congruent and incongruent referential gaze in 17-month-old infants: an eye-tracking study comparing human and robot
Authors: Manzi F. , Ishikawa M. , Di Dio C. , Itakura S. , Kanda T. , Ishiguro H. , Massaro D. , Marchetti A.
Published: July 2020

Several studies have shown that the human gaze, but not the robot gaze, has significant effects on infant social cognition and facilitate social engagement. The present study investigates early understanding of the referential nature of gaze by comparing—through the eye-tracking technique—infants’ response to human and robot’s gaze. Data were acquired on thirty-two 17-month-old infants, watching four video clips, where either a human or a humanoid robot performed an action on a target. The agent’s gaze was either turned to the target (congruent) or opposite to it (incongruent). The results generally showed that, independent of the agent, the infants attended longer at the face area compared to the hand and target. Additionally, the effect of referential gaze on infants’ attention to the target was greater when infants watched the human compared to the robot’s action. These results suggest the presence, in infants, of two distinct levels of gaze-following mechanisms: one recognizing the other as a potential interactive partner, the second recognizing partner's agency. In this study, infants recognized the robot as a potential interactive partner, whereas ascribed agency more readily to the human, thus suggesting that the process of generalizability of gazing behaviour to non-humans is not immediate.
Author Correction: NH4+-N alleviates iron deficiency in rice seedlings under calcareous conditions
Authors: Zhang Xinjiang , Liu Hui , Zhang Shujie , Wang Juan , Wei Changzhou
Published: July 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Author Correction: Combined spatiotemporal and frequency-dependent shear wave elastography enables detection of vulnerable carotid plaques as validated by MRI
Authors: Marlevi David , Mulvagh Sharon L. , Huang Runqing , DeMarco J. Kevin , Ota Hideki , Huston John , Winter Reidar , Macedo Thanila A. , Abdelmoneim Sahar S. , Larsson Matilda , Pellikka Patricia A. , Urban Matthew W.
Published: July 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Deep representation learning of electronic health records to unlock patient stratification at scale
Authors: Landi Isotta , Glicksberg Benjamin S. , Lee Hao-Chih , Cherng Sarah , Landi Giulia , Danieletto Matteo , Dudley Joel T. , Furlanello Cesare , Miotto Riccardo
Published: July 2020

Deriving disease subtypes from electronic health records (EHRs) can guide next-generation personalized medicine. However, challenges in summarizing and representing patient data prevent widespread practice of scalable EHR-based stratification analysis. Here we present an unsupervised framework based on deep learning to process heterogeneous EHRs and derive patient representations that can efficiently and effectively enable patient stratification at scale. We considered EHRs of 1,608,741 patients from a diverse hospital cohort comprising a total of 57,464 clinical concepts. We introduce a representation learning model based on word embeddings, convolutional neural networks, and autoencoders (i.e., ConvAE) to transform patient trajectories into low-dimensional latent vectors. We evaluated these representations as broadly enabling patient stratification by applying hierarchical clustering to different multi-disease and disease-specific patient cohorts. ConvAE significantly outperformed several baselines in a clustering task to identify patients with different complex conditions, with 2.61 entropy and 0.31 purity average scores. When applied to stratify patients within a certain condition, ConvAE led to various clinically relevant subtypes for different disorders, including type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, largely related to comorbidities, disease progression, and symptom severity. With these results, we demonstrate that ConvAE can generate patient representations that lead to clinically meaningful insights. This scalable framework can help better understand varying etiologies in heterogeneous sub-populations and unlock patterns for EHR-based research in the realm of personalized medicine.
A pressure-actuated flow cell for soft X-ray spectromicroscopy in liquid media
Authors: Gosse Charlie , Stanescu Stefan , Frederick Joni , Lefrançois Stéphane , Vecchiola Aymeric , Moskura Mélanie , Swaraj Sufal , Belkhou Rachid , Watts Benjamin , Haltebourg Patrick , Blot Christian , Daillant Jean , Guenoun Patrick , Chevallard Corinne
Published: July 2020

We report on a flow cell that enables soft X-ray spectral imaging in liquid, at the nanoscale, on time-evolving samples.
Evaluation of different direct and indirect SELEX monitoring methods and implementation of melt-curve analysis for rapid discrimination of variant aptamer sequences
Authors: Mohammadinezhad Rezvan , Jalali Seyed Amir Hossein , Farahmand Hamid
Published: July 2020

EMSA is the most cost-beneficial and accurate method for screening SELEX for protein targets and melt curve analysis in colony real-time PCR is a robust and effective method for distingsuishing variant aptamer sequences.
Tannic acid-modified silver nanoparticles for enhancing anti-biofilm activities and modulating biofilm formation
Authors: Liu Lulu , Ge Chuang , Zhang Yu , Ma Wenrui , Su Xi , Chen Li , Li Shunbo , Wang Li , Mu Xiaojing , Xu Yi
Published: July 2020

The formation of bacterial biofilms is a key factor in the emergence of chronic infections due to the strong resistance of biofilms to conventional antibiotics.
Non-canonical lipoproteins with programmable assembly and architecture
Authors: Hossain Md Shahadat , Maller Corina , Dai Yinghui , Nangia Shikha , Mozhdehi Davoud
Published: July 2020

Substrate-promiscuity of post-translational modification machinery is used to prepare lipoproteins with an artificial lipid. Native and non-canonical lipoproteins are 99.4% identical but self-assemble into distinctively different structures.
A large room-temperature entropy change in a new hybrid ferroelastic with an unconventional bond-switching mechanism
Authors: Xu Wei-Jian , Zeng Ying , Yuan Wei , Zhang Wei-Xiong , Chen Xiao-Ming
Published: July 2020

A new organic–inorganic hybrid exhibits a reversible unconventional bond-switching ferroelastic transition with a large entropy change of 146 J K−1kg−1.
Synthesis and characterisation of fifteen-electron dihalo(carbonyl)tungsten(iii) complexes, Tp*WX2(CO) (X = Br, I)
Authors: Thomas Simon , Gable Robert W. , Young Charles G.
Published: July 2020

Open-shell, 15-electron, d3 dihalo(carbonyl)–WIII complexes, Tp*WX2(CO), are reported. These mononuclear, distorted octahedral complexes exhibit single ν(CO) IR bands and magnetic moments and isotropically shifted NMR spectra consistent with low-spin, double ground states.
Same or different – that is the question: identification of crystal forms from crystal structure data
Authors: Sacchi Pietro , Lusi Matteo , Cruz-Cabeza Aurora J. , Nauha Elisa , Bernstein Joel
Published: July 2020

An analysis of the CSD with structural comparison tools shows that differentiating between polymorphism and redeterminations is not always straight forward and requires of complementary tools at the hands of an expert practitioner.
A stable and highly selective metalloporphyrin based framework for the catalytic oxidation of cyclohexene
Authors: Xia Zhinan , Li Fengyan , Xu Lin , Feng Pingyun
Published: July 2020

The first 3D molybdenum-porphyrin framework was synthesized and structurally characterized, showing perfect catalytic activity in the oxidation of cyclohexene.
UV/chlorine vs. UV/H2O2 for water reuse at Orange County Water District, CA: a pilot study
Authors: Kwon Minhwan , Royce Alan , Gong Ying , Ishida Kenneth P. , Stefan Mihaela I.
Published: July 2020

On-site demonstration tests evaluated 1,4-dioxane removal in reverse osmosis permeate (RO permeate) at the Orange County Water District (OCWD) Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF).
Homogeneous polymerization of hydrophobic monomers in a bio-based dl-menthol/1-tetradecanol eutectic mixture by ATRP and RAFT polymerization
Authors: Pereira Vanessa A. , Rezende Talita C. , Mendonça Patrícia V. , Coelho Jorge F. J. , Serra Arménio C.
Published: July 2020

A bio-based eutectic mixture, composed of dl-menthol and 1-tetradecanol, was investigated for the first time as solvent for the homogeneous ATRP and RAFT polymerization of different hydrophobic monomers.
Quantitative design strategies for fine control of oxygen in microfluidic systems
Authors: Shirure Venktesh S. , Lam Sandra F. , Shergill Bhupinder , Chu Yunli E. , Ng Natalie R. , George Steven C.
Published: July 2020

We provide a generalized framework for creating fine control of O2 tension in a microfluidic system and our data emphasize the need to consider mild spatiotemporal changes in O2 as potentially important factors in disease processes such as cancer.
Influence of different bismuth oxyhalides on the photocatalytic activity of graphitic carbon nitride: a comparative study under natural sunlight
Authors: Singh Mahender , Kumar Ashish , Krishnan Venkata
Published: July 2020

The BiOX/g-C3N4 composites showed enhanced photocatalytic performance towards organic pollutant degradation owing to the boosted charge transfer over the binary interfaces.
In situ monitoring of electrical and optoelectronic properties of suspended graphene ribbons during laser-induced morphological changes
Authors: Zhang Xiaosi , Walmsley Thayer S. , Xu Ya-Qiong
Published: July 2020

Exploring ways to tune and improve the performance of graphene is of paramount importance in creating functional graphene-based electronic and optoelectronic devices.
New reflections on hard X-ray photon-in/photon-out spectroscopy
Authors: Lafuerza Sara , Retegan Marius , Detlefs Blanka , Chatterjee Ruchira , Yachandra Vittal , Yano Junko , Glatzel Pieter
Published: July 2020

The combination of X-ray absorption with X-ray emission spectroscopy requires careful consideration of the experimental protocol. The article discusses general aspects with examples for bio-catalysis and colloidal magnetic nanoparticles.
Two-dimensional ferromagnetism in CrTe flakes down to atomically thin layers
Authors: Wang Mingshan , Kang Lixing , Su Jianwei , Zhang Luman , Dai Hongwei , Cheng Hui , Han Xiaotao , Zhai Tianyou , Liu Zheng , Han Junbo
Published: July 2020

Two-dimensional ferromagnet, chromium tellurium (CrTe) was successfully synthesized. The thickness-Curie temperature phase diagram has been obtained and the results demonstrate that CrTe flakes are good hard magnets with the thickness down to 11 nm.
A modified ‘skeleton/skin’ strategy for designing CoNiP nanosheets arrayed on graphene foam for on/off switching of NaBH4 hydrolysis
Authors: Li Jinghua , Hong Xianyong , Wang Yilong , Luo Yumei , Li Bin , Huang Pengru , Zou Yongjin , Chu Hailiang , Zheng Shiyou , Sun Lixian , Xu Fen , Du Yong , Wang Jianchuan , Rosei Federico , Jürgen Seifert Hans , Sven Ulrich , Wu Xiang
Published: July 2020

Schematic diagram of the preparation, cycles and the kinetics of the Ni/GF/CoNiP nanosheet catalyst.
Chitosan nanofiber-catalyzed highly selective Knoevenagel condensation in aqueous methanol
Authors: Hirayama Yusaku , Kanomata Kyohei , Hatakeyama Mayumi , Kitaoka Takuya
Published: July 2020

Chitosan nanofibers bearing abundant and accessible amines exposed on the solid surface catalyze a highly selective Knoevenagel condensation in green solvent, which completely avoids the formation of solvolysis byproducts.
A brief review on solid lipid nanoparticles: part and parcel of contemporary drug delivery systems
Authors: Duan Yongtao , Dhar Abhishek , Patel Chetan , Khimani Mehul , Neogi Swarnali , Sharma Prolay , Siva Kumar Nadavala , Vekariya Rohit L.
Published: July 2020

Drug delivery technology has a wide spectrum, which is continuously being upgraded at a stupendous speed.
Rhodamine B dye is efficiently degraded by polypropylene-based cerium wet catalytic materials
Authors: Zhou Sen , Kong Lin , Yan Chunjie , Zhou Yunfei , Qiu Xiumei , Liu Chen
Published: July 2020

Polypropylene non-woven fabric grafted with polyacrylic acid enriched with cerium ions was used for the degradation of RhB.
Antibacterial properties of main-chain cationic polymers prepared through amine–epoxy ‘Click’ polymerization
Authors: Oh Junki , Kim Seung-Jin , Oh Min-Kyu , Khan Anzar
Published: July 2020

Poly(β-hydroxyl amine)s are shown to be potent antibacterial materials.
Redox and structural properties of accessible actinide(ii) metallocalixarenes (Ac to Pu): a relativistic DFT study
Authors: Niu Shuai , Cai Hong-Xue , Zhao Hong-Bo , Li Li , Pan Qing-Jiang
Published: July 2020

DFT study reveals the trend of reduction potential of [AnL2]+/[AnL2] (An = Ac ∼ Pu), comparable to previously reported ones of AnIII/AnIIand corroborated by calculations of relevant complexes and structural/bonding properties of [AnL2]+/0.
The dark side of disulfide-based dynamic combinatorial chemistry
Authors: Dumartin Mélissa , Septavaux Jean , Donnier-Maréchal Marion , Jeamet Emeric , Dumont Elise , Perret Florent , Vial Laurent , Leclaire Julien
Published: July 2020

We show that multiple analytical tools are necessary in order to describe the different phenomena within disulfide-based dynamic combinatorial libraries in terms of size, stereochemistry, affinity and selectivity.
Tuning molecular aggregation to achieve highly bright AIE dots for NIR-II fluorescence imaging and NIR-I photoacoustic imaging
Authors: Xu Yanzi , Li Chunbin , Xu Ruohan , Zhang Ning , Wang Zhi , Jing Xunan , Yang Zhiwei , Dang Dongfeng , Zhang Pengfei , Meng Lingjie
Published: July 2020

A highly efficient dual-modal imaging platform by using bright AIE dots was constructed to achieve precise cancer diagnostics.
Tapered elasticæ as a route for axisymmetric morphing structures
Authors: Liu Mingchao , Domino Lucie , Vella Dominic
Published: July 2020

Transforming flat two-dimensional (2D) sheets into three-dimensional (3D) structures by a combination of careful cutting and applied loads is an emerging manufacturing paradigm; we study how to design the cut pattern to obtain a desired 3D structure.
Failure of confined granular media due to pullout of an intruder: from force networks to a system wide response
Authors: Shah Srujal , Cheng Chao , Jalali Payman , Kondic Lou
Published: July 2020

We investigate computationally the pullout of a spherical intruder initially buried at the bottom of a granular column.
New frontier in printed thermoelectrics: formation of β-Ag2Se through thermally stimulated dissociative adsorption leads to high ZT
Authors: Mallick Md Mofasser , Rösch Andres Georg , Franke Leonard , Gall Andre , Ahmad Sarfraz , Geßwein Holger , Mazilkin Andrey , Kübel Christian , Lemmer Uli
Published: July 2020

High figure-of-merit achieved in Ag–Se-based n-type printed film due to the formation of the β-Ag2Se phase via thermally stimulated dissociative adsorption.
The Impact of Parkinson's Disease on Breath Pauses and Their Relationship to Speech Impairment: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Darling-White Meghan , Huber Jessica E.
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purposes of this longitudinal study were to (a) examine the impact of Parkinson's disease (PD) progression on breath pause patterns and speech and linguistic errors and (b) determine the extent to which breath pauses and speech and linguistic errors contribute to speech impairment.

Method

Eight individuals with PD and eight age- and sex-matched control participants produced a reading passage on two occasions (Time 1 and Time 2) 3 years and 7 months apart on average. Two speech-language pathologists rated the severity of speech impairment for all participants at each time. Dependent variables included the location of each breath pause relative to syntax and punctuation as well as the number of disfluencies and mazes.

Results

At Time 1, there were no significant differences between the groups regarding breath pause patterns. At Time 2, individuals with PD produced significantly fewer breath pauses at major syntactic boundaries and periods as well as significantly more breath pauses at locations with no punctuation than control participants. Individuals with PD produced a significantly greater number of disfluencies than control participants at both time points. There were no significant differences between the groups in the number of mazes produced at either time point. Together, the number of mazes and the percentage of breath pauses at locations with no punctuation explained 50% of the variance associated with the ratings of severity of speech impairment.

Conclusion

These results highlight the importance of targeting both respiratory physiological and cognitive–linguistic systems in order to improve speech production in individuals with PD.
The XXL Survey
Authors: Ceraj L. , Smolčić V. , Delvecchio I. , Butler A. , Tisanić K. , Delhaize J. , Horellou C. , Kartaltepe J. , Kolokythas K. , Leslie S. , Marchesi S. , Novak M. , Pierre M. , Plionis M. , Vardoulaki E. , Zamorani G.
Published: July 2020

We studied a sample of 274 radio and X-ray selected quasars (XQSOs) detected in the COSMOS and XXL-S radio surveys at 3 GHz and 2.1 GHz, respectively. This sample was identified by adopting a conservative threshold in X-ray luminosity, LX [2−10 keV] ≥ 1044 erg s−1, selecting only the most powerful quasars. A number of previous studies on the origin of radio emission in type-1 quasars have focused on the radio loudness distributions, some claiming to have found evidence for bimodality, pointing toward the existence of two physically different mechanisms for the radio emission. Using available multiwavelength data, we examined various criteria for the selection of radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) XQSOs and found that the number of RL/RQ XQSOs changes significantly depending on the chosen criterion. This discrepancy arises due to the different criteria tracing different physical processes and due to the fact that our sample was selected from flux-limited radio and X-ray surveys. Another approach to study the origin of radio emission in XQSOs is via their radio luminosity functions (RLF). We constructed the XQSO 1.4 GHz RLFs in six redshift bins at 0.5 ≤ z ≤ 3.75. The lower-1.4 GHz luminosity end shows a higher normalization than expected only from AGN contribution in all studied redshift bins. We found that the so-called “bump” is mostly dominated by emission due to star-forming processes within the host galaxies of XQSOs. As expected, AGN-related radio emission is the dominant contribution at the higher-luminosity end of RLF. To study the evolution of the XQSO RLF, we used a combination of analytic forms from the literature to constrain the “bump” due to star formation and the higher-luminosity AGN part of the RLF. We defined two 1.4 GHz luminosity thresholds, Lth, SF and Lth, AGN, below and above which more than 80% of sources contributing to the RLF are dominated by star formation and AGN-related activity, respectively. The two thresholds evolve with redshift, which is most likely driven by the strong evolution of star formation rates of the XQSO host galaxies. We found that both the lower and higher luminosity ends evolve significantly in density, while their luminosity evolution parameters are consistent with being constant. We found that the lower-luminosity end evolves both in density and luminosity, while the higher-luminosity end evolves significantly only in density. Our results expose the dichotomy of the origin of radio emission: while the higher-luminosity end of the XQSO RLF is dominated by AGN activity, the lower-luminosity end is dominated by the star formation-related processes.
Heat transfer analysis of a ventilated room with a porous partition: LB-MRT simulations
Authors: Hireche Zouhira , Nasseri Lyes , Ameziani Djamel Eddine
Published: July 2020

This article presents the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of transfers by forced, mixed and natural convection in a room ventilated by air displacement. The main objective is to study the effect of a porous partition on the heat transfer and therefore the thermal comfort in the room. The fluid flow future in the cavity and the heat transfer rate on the active wall have been analyzed for different permeabilities: 10−6 ≤ Da ≤ 10. The other control parameters are obviously, the Rayleigh number and the Reynolds number varied in the rows: 10 ≤ Ra ≤ 106 and 50 ≤ Re ≤ 500 respectively. The transfer equations write were solved by the Lattice Boltzmann Multiple Relaxation Time method. For flow in porous media an additional term is added in the standard LB equations, to consider the effect of the porous media, based on the generalized model, the Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy model. The most important conclusion is that the Darcian regime start for small Darcy number Da < 10−4. Spatial competition between natural convection cell and forced convection movement is observed as Ra and Re rise. The effect of Darcy number values and the height of the porous layer is barely visible with a maximum deviation less than 7% over the ranges considered. Note that the natural convection regime is never reached for low Reynolds numbers. For this Re values the cooperating natural convection only improves transfers by around 10% while, for the other Reynolds numbers the improvement in transfers due to natural and forced convections cooperation is more significant.
Aerodynamic Optimization Design on Supersonic Transports Considering Sonic Boom Intensity
Authors: Liu Shaowei , Bai Junqiang , Yu Peixun , Chen Bao , Zhou Boxiao
Published: July 2020

It is key points to improve the aerodynamic efficiency and decrease the sonic-boom intensity for the supersonic aircraft design. Sonic-boom prediction method with high precision combining the near-field sonic-boom prediction based on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations and the far-field sonic-boom prediction based on waveform parameter method is firstly established. Then the gradient of sonic boom with respect to the design variables is calculated by the finite difference method and is combined with the gradient of the aerodynamic object by the discrete adjoint technique, acting as the gradient of the weighed object function. Assembling two gradients, the optimization system couples Free Form Deform method、the dynamic mesh technique based on Inverse Distance Weighting interpolation method、the gradient-based optimization algorithm based on the sequential quadratic programming. Using the aerodynamic optimization system considering the sonic boom intensity, the paper conducts a nose angle deflection optimization design and an elaborate aerodynamic optimization including huge design variables and constraints on a supersonic business jet, while the optimization objects are the weighed object and the supersonic cruise drag coefficient. The results show that the nose is deflected downward and the shock wave pattern is changed, leading to a lower far-field maximum overpressure; the drag is decreased by 15.8 counts, and the wing load is moved inboard, also, the pressure drag of the outer wing reduces. Meanwhile, the pressure distribution in the outer wing has a weaker adverse pressure gradient and a more gentle pressure recovery. After optimization, the low-drag and low-sonic boom configuration is obtained, which verified the effectiveness of the optimization system.
A Formation Flight Method with an Improved Deep Neural Network for Multi-UAV System
Authors: Xie Wenguang , Wu Kang , Yan Fang , Shi Haobin , Zhang Xiaocheng
Published: July 2020

It is crucial to develop an effective controller for the multi-UAV system to contribute to the frontier fields, such as the electronic warfare. To address the dilemma of the cooperative formation with the high dimensional data, a deep neural network(NN) controller is developed in this paper. Firstly, a deep NN model is used to tune parameters of PID controller online. Secondly, this paper introduces an improved deep NN model integrating the momentum to improve the performance of the classical NN model and satisfy the condition for the real time cooperative formation. Lastly, the cooperative formation task is achieved by extending the proposed cooperative controller with an improved NN to the complex multi-UAV system. The simulation result of multi-UAV formation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method, which achieves a faster formation than competitors.
Study on the Effect of Oval Tubes on Airflow Turbulence Characteristics in Wind Tunnel
Authors: Zhao Bo , Fu Cheng , Pei Haitao , Liao Daxiong , Zhu Bo
Published: July 2020

The flow Turbulence characteristics of finned oval tube heat exchanger used in wind tunnel were studied by using numerical simulation method. Firstly, the reliability of the numerical method was verified by the experimental results. And then the research was focused on the comparative analysis of the characteristics of turbulent flow downstream of heat exchanger under different inflow conditions, and the influence of the tubes number and fins spacing on the airflow turbulence and the flow field distribution downstream of heat exchanger were obtained too. The results indicate that oval tubes have a significant effect for improving the flow quality when incoming flow is inhomogeneous, and the velocity distribution behind heat exchanger tends to become uniform. Inflow conditions have a slight effect on the turbulence intensity behind heat exchanger, which mainly depends on the structural parameters of heat transfer tubes. The turbulence intensity decays very quickly in the flow direction. The value is reduced to 7.5% at the cross section 600 mm downstream of the heat exchanger inlet, which agrees well with the experimental result.
Underwater Target Noise Recognition and Classification Technology based on Multi-Classes Feature Fusion
Authors: Zhang Shaokang , Wang Chao , Sun Qindong
Published: July 2020

As one of the main signal sources of underwater acoustic target recognition, the target noise signal is difficult to characterize the characteristics of the target from clearly comparing with the multi-sensor detection technology, which may lead to lower recognition rate and higher false alarm rate and seriously restricts the function of underwater acoustic detection system. In order to solve this problem, a multi-layers LSTM underwater acoustic target noise feature extraction model is established by using the long short term memory network. The information features such as time-domain envelope of target noise, Demon line spectrum and Mel frequency cepstrum coefficient are extracted, and a subset of multi-classes features is constructed. On this basis, the feature level fusion recognition and classification model based on the multi-classes features subset and the decision level fusion recognition and classification model based on the D-S evidence theory are established, and the above-mentioned models are tested by using the sample database. The difference of classification result between the multi-classes feature fusion and the single class feature recognition classification is compared, and the above model is tested and verified by using the relevant test data of port basin verification experiment. The correlation results show that the present intelligent recognition and classification method of underwater target noise based on the multi-classes feature fusion is more robust, and the recognition rate and false alarm rate of underwater target are better than those of single category feature discrimination method.
Research on Multi-UAVs’ Sliding Mode Consensus Formation Control with Delay and Disturbance Constraints
Authors: Yan Danghui , Zhang Weiguo , Chen Hang , Shi Jingping
Published: July 2020

A consensus-based sliding mode formation control algorithm for the multi-unmanned-aerial-vehicles'(multi-UAVs') system with delay and disturbance constraints in three dimensional(3D) environment is presented. Firstly, a consensus algorithm is presented by considering the time delay. Secondly, the trajectory tracking and robustness of the formation system to the external disturbance is ensured by using the sliding mode controller(SMC). The effectiveness of the present algorithms is verified by the simulation results.
Time–space conversion spectral analysis for the nanosecond fluorescent processes of organic–inorganic compounds
Authors: Saito Mitsunori , Itai Yusuke
Published: July 2020

Time-resolved spectral measurements were conducted by using a continuous-wave laser and a CCD-based spectrometer. A spinning polygon mirror swung both the excitation laser beam and fluorescent rays, in the process of which a temporal change in the fluorescent spectrum was converted to a spatial distribution. The temporal resolution could be adjusted in the nano- and micro-second ranges by changing the rotation rate of the mirror. In comparison with the conventional pulsed-laser spectrometry, a higher sensitivity is attainable due to the slow features of the devices, i.e., continuous excitation by the laser and a long exposure time (1 s) of the CCD. The usefulness and reliability of the constructed system were demonstrated by spectral measurements of an organic–inorganic hybrid phosphor, which exhibited both a rapid fluorescent decay of organic ligands and a long-lasting afterglow of metal ions.