bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Independent Predictors of Severity and Hospitalization in Acute Bronchiolitis: Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio and Mean Platelet Volume
Authors: Takçı Şahin , Seyyah Buket , Yılmaz Resul , Gul Ali
Published: June 2018

Background and Aim Acute bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization in the first year of life. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) are readily calculable laboratory markers used to evaluate systemic inflammation. We aim to evaluate the optimal values of these markers for the prediction of severity and hospitalization in infants with acute bronchiolitis.

Materials and Methods A total of 105 patients with acute bronchiolitis and 62 healthy controls aged 1 to 12 months were prospectively enrolled to the study. The patients' group was classified into two groups, namely, outpatient and inpatient, also divided into three groups according to clinical scoring: mild, moderate, and severe. The association of NLR and MPV with clinical severity and hospitalization was investigated.

Results The mean age was 7.75 ± 2.98 months in patients and 7.69 ± 2.87 months in controls. The means of NLR were 0.47 and 0.64 in controls and patients, respectively (p = 0.032) and of MPV were 9.64 and 8.9 (p < 0.001), respectively. The means of NLR were 0.73 and 0.50 in inpatient and outpatient groups, respectively (p = 0.014) and of MPV were 8.65 and 9.32 (p = 0.046), respectively. NLR of 0.64 value was calculated as a cutoff for the prediction of hospitalization with 45% sensitivity and 83% specificity (positive predictive value = 81%, negative predictive value = 19%).

Conclusion We found that blood neutrophil percentage and blood NLR are increased and also weakly predictive—but insufficient to be clinically useful—for the decision of hospitalization in acute bronchiolitis. When the positive predictive value of an NLR of 0.64 is sufficient to decide hospitalization, the negative predictive value is impractical. MPV value was less in infants with acute bronchiolitis than healthy controls and in inpatients than outpatients with acute bronchiolitis. Low MPV might be marker of inflammation in acute bronchiolitis.
Carbamazepine-Induced Pure Red Cell Aplasia
Authors: Mansoor C. , Priya Laksmi
Published: June 2018

Antiepileptic therapy is associated with various hematologic disorders. Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare disease that may be congenital or acquired. Severe normocytic anemia, reticulocytopenia, and absence of erythroblasts from an otherwise normal bone marrow should raise the suspicion of PRCA. A 32-year-old unmarried woman was admitted with fatigue for 4 months. She had been on carbamazepine therapy for 4 years (200 mg twice daily) for seizure disorder. On evaluation, she was diagnosed to have PRCA secondary to carbamazepine. We describe a patient with carbamazepine-induced PRCA that improved after discontinuation of the drug.
Image-Guided Percutaneous Biopsy and Drainage of the Abdomen
Authors: Arellano Ronald
Published: June 2018

Image-guided percutaneous biopsy and abscess drainages are some of the most commonly performed procedures in interventional radiology. With advances in targeted immunotherapies for oncology patients, physicians increasingly depend on the experience and skill of the interventional radiologist to acquire tissue specimens from within the abdomen and pelvis. Furthermore, percutaneous drainage of abdominal and pelvic fluid collections has largely replaced the need for surgical interventions for infected abdominal collections. This review will discuss techniques of image-guided percutaneous abdominal biopsy and drainage.
Infantile Hämangiome im Lid- und Orbitabereich
Authors: Weißer M. , Sterker I.
Published: June 2018

Infantile Hämangiome im Lid- und Orbitabereich können trotz ihres selbstlimitierenden natürlichen Verlaufs zu funktionellen Defiziten infolge einer Amblyopie oder Optikuskompression führen oder ein ästhetisch störendes Erscheinungsbild entwickeln und bedürfen dann einer Therapie.

Seit der „zufälligen” Entdeckung des Effektes von Propranolol auf infantile Hämangiome im Jahr 2008 wird diese Substanz zur Behandlung komplizierter Hämangiome eingesetzt, die ansonsten den Einsatz von Kortikosteroiden, Laser oder operativen Verfahren erfordert hätten. Propranolol systemisch ist derzeit bei komplizierten Hämangiomen der Lider und Orbita aufgrund des raschen und komplikationsarmen Therapieeffektes Therapie der ersten Wahl.

Dargestellt werden Pathogenese, Klassifikation, Indikation zur Therapie, Therapieoptionen sowie deren Effektivität für infantile Hämangiome im Lid- und Orbitabereich.

Weitere klinische Studien zur Optimierung von Dosierung, Behandlungsdauer und Art der Anwendung von Propranolol (lokal oder systemisch) sind jedoch weiterhin erforderlich, um den Regressionseffekt und die Regressionsrate weiter zu verbessern.
Effect of hot carrier stress on device junctions measured by electron holography and scanning capacitance microscopy
Authors: Wang Y. Y. , Nxumalo J. , Ioannou D. P. , Katnani A. , Brown J. , Bandy K. , Macdonald M. , Krishnasamy R. , Bruley J.
Published: June 2018

The effect of hot carrier injection on the FET's junction properties has been investigated for CMOS NFET devices. Junction profiles and carrier concentration of stressed and unstressed devices are measured and compared by dual lens electron holography and scanning capacitance microscopy, respectively. The measurements reveal that the width of the junction on the drain side of the device that undergoes hot carrier stressing decreases, indicating a reduction in active carrier concentration. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of phosphorous dopant passivation by the hot carrier induced release of hydrogen into the drain side extension region.
Reconstruction of concentration profiles in heterostructures with chemically modified interfaces
Authors: Kharlamov V. S. , Kulikov D. V. , Lubov M. N. , Zgheib Ch. , Romanus H. , Trushin Yu. V. , Pezoldt J.
Published: June 2018

An approach for the reconstruction of the composition profiles of heterostructures with chemically modified interfaces is presented. It is based on the comprehensive simulation of the heterostructure growth stages and the compositional changes occurring at the depth profiling stage during sputtering by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Combining simulation of the growth and the concentration measurement process allows the calculation of the real concentration depth profiles of the heterostructure components. Within the framework of the proposed approach, the composition of the SiC:Ge/Ge/Si:Ge/Si heterostructure is analyzed and the real depth profiles were calculated.
The high-energy x-ray diffraction and scattering beamline at the Canadian Light Source
Authors: Gomez A. , Dina G. , Kycia S.
Published: June 2018

The optical design for the high-energy x-ray diffraction and scattering beamline of the Brockhouse sector at the Canadian Light Source is described. The design is based on a single side-bounce silicon focusing monochromator that steers the central part of a high-field permanent magnet wiggler beam into the experimental station. Two different configurations are proposed: a higher energy resolution with vertical focusing and a lower energy resolution with horizontal and vertical focusing. The monochromator will have the possibility of mounting three crystals: one crystal optimized for 35 keV that focuses in the horizontal and vertical directions using reflection (1,1,1) and two other crystals both covering the energies above 40 keV: one with only vertical focusing and another one with horizontal and vertical focusing. The geometry of the last two monochromator crystals was optimized to use reflections (4,2,2) and (5,3,3) to cover the broad energy range from 40 to 95 keV.
Molecular-dynamics simulation of Richtmyer-Meshkov instability on a Li-H2 interface at extreme compressing conditions
Authors: Huang Shenghong , Wang Weirong , Luo Xisheng
Published: June 2018

The new characteristics of Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) under extreme shock conditions are numerically studied by using molecular dynamics simulation incorporated with the electron force field model. The emphasis is placed on the ionization effects caused by different impacting speeds (6–30 km/s) on the microscale RMI on a Li-H2 interface. The linear region of the amplitude growth rate of the shocked interface under extreme shock conditions is observed to be much longer than that at the ordinary impact, which is in good accord with experimental results obtained with a Nova laser. It is also found that the amplitude of the nonlinear region is larger than the ordinary counterpart or the prediction by theory without considering the ionization effect. The two new characteristics are attributed to the ambipolar acceleration induced by the extra electric field due to the electron/ion separation under extreme shock conditions. These new findings may shed new light on the very complex physical process of the inertial confinement fusion on nanoscales.
Integral equation theory based direct and accelerated systematic coarse-graining approaches
Authors: Mashayak S. Y. , Miao Linling , Aluru N. R.
Published: June 2018

Coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have become popular for investigating systems on multiple length and time scales ranging from atomistic to mesoscales. In CGMD, several atoms are mapped onto a single CG bead and the effective interactions between CG beads are determined. Iterative coarse-graining methods, such as iterative Boltzmann inversion (IBI), are computationally expensive and can have convergence issues. In this paper, we present a direct and computationally efficient theoretical procedure for coarse-graining based on the Ornstein-Zernike (OZ) and hypernetted chain (HNC) integral equation theory. We demonstrate the OZ-HNC-based CG method by coarse-graining a bulk water system, a water-methanol mixture system, and an electrolyte system. We show that the accuracy of the CG potentials obtained from the OZ-HNC-based coarse-graining is comparable to iterative systematic coarse-graining methods. Furthermore, we show that the CG potentials from OZ-HNC can be used to reduce the number of iterations and hence the computational cost of the iterative systematic coarse-graining approaches, like IBI and relative entropy minimization.
Frozen-density embedding as a quasi-diabatization tool: Charge-localized states for spin-density calculations
Authors: Artiukhin Denis G. , Neugebauer Johannes
Published: June 2018

We present an effective approach for (spin-)density calculations of open-shell molecular complexes that avoid both an overdelocalization of spin densities as often observed in approximate Kohn–Sham-density functional theory (KS-DFT) calculations and an overlocalization of spin densities as may occur in fragment approaches with non-suitable fragment choices. The method is based on the frozen-density embedding formalism and makes use of non-orthogonal, spin-/charge-localized Slater determinants, which provides a basis for qualitatively correct descriptions of intersystem spin-density delocalization. The reliability of this method is tested on four complexes featuring different molecular sizes and interactions and showing different degrees of spin-density delocalization, ranging from fully localized to fully delocalized. The resulting spin densities are compared to accurate ab initio results. The method is clearly more robust than the corresponding KS-DFT approximations, as it works qualitatively correct in all cases studied.
Comparison of characteristics and downstream uniformity of linear-field and cross-field atmospheric pressure plasma jet array in He
Authors: Zhang Bo , Fang Zhi , Liu Feng , Zhou Renwu , Zhou Ruoyu
Published: June 2018

Using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet array is an effective way for expanding the treatment area of a single jet, and generating arrays with well downstream uniformity is of great interest for its applications. In this paper, a plasma jet array in helium is generated in a linear-field jet array with a ring-ring electrode structure excited by alternating current. The characteristics and downstream uniformity of the array and their dependence on the applied voltage and gas flow rate are investigated through optical, electrical, and Schlieren diagnostics. The results are compared with those of our reported work of a cross-field jet array with a needle-ring electrode structure. The results show that the linear-field jet array can generate relatively large-scale plasma with better uniformity and longer plumes than the cross-field case. The divergences observed in gas channels and the plasma plume trajectories are much less than those of the cross-field one. The deflection angle of lateral plumes is less than 6°, which is independent of the gas flow rate and applied voltage. The maximum downstream plumes of 23 mm can be obtained at 7 kV peak applied voltage and 4 l/min gas flow rate. The better uniformity of linear-field jet arrays is due to the effective suppression of hydrodynamic and electrical interactions among the jets in the arrays with a more uniform electric field distribution. The hydrodynamic interaction induced by the gas heating in the linear-field jet array is less than that of the cross-field one. The more uniform electric field distribution in the linear-field jet arrays can reduce the divergence of the propagation trajectories of the plasma plumes. It will generate less residual charge between the adjacent discharges and thus can reduce the accumulation effect of Coulomb force between the plasma plumes. The reported results can help design controllable and scalable plasma jet arrays with well uniformity for material surface and biomedical treatments.
Magneto-polarons in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides
Authors: Chen Qiao , Wang Weiyang , Peeters F. M.
Published: June 2018

Landau levels (LLs) are modified by the Fröhlich interaction which we investigate within the improved Wigner-Brillouin theory for energies both below and above the longitudinal-optical-continuum in monolayer MoS2, WS2, MoSe2, and WSe2. Polaron corrections to the LLs are enhanced in monolayer MoS2 as compared to WS2. A series of levels are found at ℏωLO+lℏωc, and in addition, the Fröhlich interaction lifts the degeneracy between the levels nℏωc and ℏωLO+lℏωc resulting in an anticrossing. The screening effect due to the environment plays an important role in the polaron energy corrections, which are also affected by the effective thickness reff parameter. The polaron anticrossing energy gap Egap decreases with increasing effective thickness reff.
Experimental research on Ka-band coaxial transit-time oscillator
Authors: Song Lili , He Juntao , Ling Junpu , Zhang Dian
Published: June 2018

In this paper, the simulation and experiment research on a Ka-band coaxial transit-time oscillator is conducted. The asymmetric-mode-competition phenomenon was observed in the experiment, and TE1 1 and TE29 1 modes exist in the output microwaves. Based on the analysis of the mechanism of the asymmetric modes, support posts need to be improved to suppress the asymmetric modes. By using the improved support posts, the effective TEM mode transmission, the small reflection of the TE1 1 mode, and the small excitation of the high order asymmetric modes are expected. In the improved experiment, the output microwaves with the power of 650 MW at the frequency of 26.5 GHz can be obtained with the diode voltage of 450 kV and the beam current of 9.1 kA. The asymmetric modes are effectively suppressed. It should be noted that the power loss caused by the material cannot be ignored in the Ka-band. The corresponding power loss of stainless steel is above 30% compared with the perfect conductor.
Tuning Slonczewski-like torque and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction by inserting a Pt spacer layer in Ta/CoFeB/MgO structures
Authors: Chen Yifei , Zhang Qihan , Jia Junxue , Zheng Yuqiang , Wang Ying , Fan Xiaolong , Cao Jiangwei
Published: June 2018

Slonczewski-like torque and the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) are important factors in current-induced magnetization switching and domain-wall motion seen in ferromagnetic metal (FM)/heavy metal (HM) structures. We demonstrate the tuning of both factors by inserting a thin Pt layer between Ta and CoFeB in the Ta/CoFeB/MgO structures. The results suggest that the Slonczewski-like torque and DMI decreases with increasing Pt thickness (tPt) in the range 0–1 nm. In consequence, the critical switching current density from the induced spin-orbit torque (SOT) increases whereas the required in-plane field for deterministic switching decreases. The sign of the DMI reverses around tPt = 1 nm, confirming that D has the opposite sign at the Ta/CoFeB and Pt/CoFeB interfaces; but its intensity saturates at tPt = 3 nm, suggesting that several interface monolayers may contribute to the DMI. Our results verifies that a thin HM interlayer may be a suitable route to tailor the SOTs and DMI at the HM/FM interface, as well as the current-induced magnetization switching in these structures.
Negative spin Hall magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic Cr2O3/Ta bilayer at low temperature region
Authors: Ji Yang , Miao J. , Zhu Y. M. , Meng K. K. , Xu X. G. , Chen J. K. , Wu Y. , Jiang Y.
Published: June 2018

We demonstrate the negative spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) observed in antiferromagnetic Cr2O3/Ta bilayers at low temperature. The SMR signals are changed from the positive to negative magnitude when monotonously reducing the temperature from 300 K to 50 K. The positive and negative SMR signals are expected to be associated with the two different ways for injection of the spin current, into the boundary ferromagnetic region and the bulk antiferromagnetic region of α-Cr2O3 (0001), respectively. The slopes of the abnormal Hall curves exhibit the same sign with the SMR signal. From the SMR ratio under 3 T, the spin mixing conductance at the Cr2O3/Ta interface is estimated to be 1.12 × 1014 Ω−1·m−2, which is comparable to the one observed in the Y3Fe5O12(YIG)/Pt structure and our early results of the Cr2O3/W structure.
Tomographic imaging of non-local media based on space-fractional diffusion models
Authors: Buonocore Salvatore , Semperlotti Fabio
Published: June 2018

We investigate a generalized tomographic imaging framework applicable to a class of inhomogeneous media characterized by non-local diffusive energy transport. Under these conditions, the transport mechanism is well described by fractional-order continuum models capable of capturing anomalous diffusion that would otherwise remain undetected when using traditional integer-order models. Although the underlying idea of the proposed framework is applicable to any transport mechanism, the case of fractional heat conduction is presented as a specific example to illustrate the methodology. By using numerical simulations, we show how complex inhomogeneous media involving non-local transport can be successfully imaged if fractional order models are used. In particular, results will show that by properly recognizing and accounting for the fractional character of the host medium not only allows achieving increased resolution but, in case of strong and spatially distributed non-locality, it represents the only viable approach to achieve a successful reconstruction.
Molecular dynamics simulation of the solid-liquid interface migration in terbium
Authors: Mendelev M. I. , Zhang F. , Song H. , Sun Y. , Wang C. Z. , Ho K. M.
Published: June 2018

We developed a Tb embedded atom method potential which properly reproduces the liquid structure obtained from the ab initio molecular dynamics simulation, the hexagonal close packed (hcp)-body-centered cubic (bcc) phase transformation, and melting temperatures. At least three crystal phases [hcp, face-centered cubic (fcc), and bcc] described by this potential can coexist with the liquid phase. Thus, the developed potential provides an excellent test bed for studies of the completive phase nucleation and growth in a single component system. The molecular dynamics simulation showed that all crystal phases can grow from the liquid phase close to their melting temperatures. However, in the cases of the hcp and fcc growth from the liquid phase at very large supercoolings, the bcc phase forms at the solid-liquid interface in the close packed orientations in spite of the fact that both hcp and fcc phases are more stable than the bcc phase at these temperatures. This bcc phase closes the hcp and fcc phase from the liquid such that the remaining liquid solidifies into the bcc phase. The initial hcp phase then slowly continues growing in expense of the bcc phase.
A variational method for analyzing limit cycle oscillations in stochastic hybrid systems
Authors: Bressloff Paul C. , MacLaurin James
Published: June 2018

Many systems in biology can be modeled through ordinary differential equations, which are piece-wise continuous, and switch between different states according to a Markov jump process known as a stochastic hybrid system or piecewise deterministic Markov process (PDMP). In the fast switching limit, the dynamics converges to a deterministic ODE. In this paper, we develop a phase reduction method for stochastic hybrid systems that support a stable limit cycle in the deterministic limit. A classic example is the Morris-Lecar model of a neuron, where the switching Markov process is the number of open ion channels and the continuous process is the membrane voltage. We outline a variational principle for the phase reduction, yielding an exact analytic expression for the resulting phase dynamics. We demonstrate that this decomposition is accurate over timescales that are exponential in the switching rate ϵ−1. That is, we show that for a constant C, the probability that the expected time to leave an O(a) neighborhood of the limit cycle is less than T scales as T exp (−Ca/ϵ).
Flexoelectric effect in PVDF-based copolymers and terpolymers
Authors: Liu Jie , Zhou Yang , Hu Xinping , Chu Baojin
Published: June 2018

Compared with their inorganic counterparts, the flexoelectric effect of polymers is much less studied, and the mechanisms underlying this gradient electromechanical coupling effect have rarely been explored. In this work, the temperature dependence of the flexoelectric coefficients of PVDF-based copolymers and terpolymers was measured, and the mechanisms that affect the flexoelectric response of the polymers were investigated. For these polymers, the flexoelectric response decreases abruptly in the temperature range where the peaks of dielectric loss or mechanical loss are observed. These loss peaks originate from the phase transition or polymer chain relaxation processes. Based on this observation, we propose that the temperature dependence of the flexoelectric response of the polymers is closely related to polymer chain mobility and relaxation processes. Our study provides an in-depth understanding of the flexoelectric effect in polymers.
Experimental evidence on microwave induced electron losses from ECRIS plasma
Authors: Sakildien M. , Tarvainen O. , Kronholm R. , Izotov I. , Skalyga V. , Kalvas T. , Jones P. , Koivisto H.
Published: June 2018

The balance between warm and hot (>1 keV) electron density and their losses from the magnetic confinement system of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) plasma is considered to be one of the main factors determining the rate of the high charge state ion production. One of the key loss channels for heated electrons is thought to be induced by the injected microwaves. While this loss mechanism, referred to as rf-induced pitch angle scattering, has been studied theoretically and with computational tools, direct experimental evidence of its significance in minimum-B ECRIS plasmas remains limited. In this work, experimental evidence of microwave induced electron losses in the axial direction is presented in both continuous wave (CW) and pulsed operation of a 14 GHz ECRIS. In the CW mode, the experiment was carried out by comparing the characteristic X-ray emission from the plasma volume and from the surface of the biased disc located in the flux of the escaping electron at the axial magnetic mirror. Parametric sweeps of magnetic field, neutral gas pressure, and microwave power were conducted to determine their effect on electron losses. In the pulsed mode, the experiment was conducted by measuring the flux of escaping electrons through aluminum foils of different thicknesses providing some energy resolution. Both diagnostics support the view that rf-induced losses account for up to 70% of total hot electron losses and their importance depends on the source parameters, especially power and neutral gas pressure.
Observation of the Hanle effect in giant magnetoresistance measurements
Authors: Zahnd G. , Vila L. , Pham V. T. , Rortais F. , Cosset-Cheneau M. , Vergnaud C. , Jamet M. , Noel P. , Gushi T. , Brenac A. , Marty A. , Attané J. P.
Published: June 2018

We report the observation of the Hanle effect in the giant magnetoresistance measurement of metallic lateral nanostructures. By applying magnetic fields perpendicularly to the magnetization of the electrodes, we obtain resistance values lower than that of the parallel magnetization state, due to the extra decoherence provided by the random propagation time of the carriers. An analytical model is developed, enabling us to extract the characteristic transport parameters of CoFe, Al, and Cu from the fitting of the experimental results. We compare the obtained parameters to that of standard non-local Hanle measurements in lateral spin-valves, with the interest that this measurement configuration gives much larger signal variation.
Clustering mechanism of oxocarboxylic acids involving hydration reaction: Implications for the atmospheric models
Authors: Liu Ling , Kupiainen-Määttä Oona , Zhang Haijie , Li Hao , Zhong Jie , Kurtén Theo , Vehkamäki Hanna , Zhang Shaowen , Zhang Yunhong , Ge Maofa , Zhang Xiuhui , Li Zesheng
Published: June 2018

The formation of atmospheric aerosol particles from condensable gases is a dominant source of particulate matter in the boundary layer, but the mechanism is still ambiguous. During the clustering process, precursors with different reactivities can induce various chemical reactions in addition to the formation of hydrogen bonds. However, the clustering mechanism involving chemical reactions is rarely considered in most of the nucleation process models. Oxocarboxylic acids are common compositions of secondary organic aerosol, but the role of oxocarboxylic acids in secondary organic aerosol formation is still not fully understood. In this paper, glyoxylic acid, the simplest and the most abundant atmospheric oxocarboxylic acid, has been selected as a representative example of oxocarboxylic acids in order to study the clustering mechanism involving hydration reactions using density functional theory combined with the Atmospheric Clusters Dynamic Code. The hydration reaction of glyoxylic acid can occur either in the gas phase or during the clustering process. Under atmospheric conditions, the total conversion ratio of glyoxylic acid to its hydration reaction product (2,2-dihydroxyacetic acid) in both gas phase and clusters can be up to 85%, and the product can further participate in the clustering process. The differences in cluster structures and properties induced by the hydration reaction lead to significant differences in cluster formation rates and pathways at relatively low temperatures.
Electroosmotic flow of Phan-Thien–Tanner fluids at high zeta potentials: An exact analytical solution
Authors: Sarma Rajkumar , Deka Nabajit , Sarma Kuldeep , Mondal Pranab Kumar
Published: June 2018

We present a mathematical model to study the electroosmotic flow of a viscoelastic fluid in a parallel plate microchannel with a high zeta potential, taking hydrodynamic slippage at the walls into account in the underlying analysis. We use the simplified Phan-Thien–Tanner (s-PTT) constitutive relationships to describe the rheological behavior of the viscoelastic fluid, while Navier’s slip law is employed to model the interfacial hydrodynamic slip. Here, we derive analytical solutions for the potential distribution, flow velocity, and volumetric flow rate based on the complete Poisson–Boltzmann equation (without considering the frequently used Debye–Hückel linear approximation). For the underlying electrokinetic transport, this investigation primarily reveals the influence of fluid rheology, wall zeta potential as modulated by the interfacial electrochemistry and interfacial slip on the velocity distribution, volumetric flow rate, and fluid stress, as well as the apparent viscosity. We show that combined with the viscoelasticity of the fluid, a higher wall zeta potential and slip coefficient lead to a phenomenal enhancement in the volumetric flow rate. We believe that this analysis, besides providing a deep theoretical insight to interpret the transport process, will also serve as a fundamental design tool for microfluidic devices/systems under electrokinetic influence.
Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction performance under mechanical strain
Authors: Roschewsky Niklas , Schafer Sebastian , Hellman Frances , Nikitin Vladimir
Published: June 2018

In this work, we investigate effect of the mechanical stress on the performance of magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. We developed a 4-point bending setup that allows us to apply a constant stress over a large substrate area with access to electrical measurements and an external magnetic field. This setup enables us to measure key device performance parameters, such as tunnel magnetoresistance, switching current (Ic50%), and thermal stability (Δ), as a function of applied stress. We find that variations in these parameters are negligible: less than 2% over the entire measured range between the zero stress condition and the maximum stress at the point of wafer breakage.
Age and body condition effects on meat quality of camels (Camelus dromedarius) in eastern Ethiopia
Authors: Seid Ali , Kurtu Mohammed Yusuf , Urge Mengistu
Published: June 2018

Meat quality traits of the M. longissimus thoracis of 54 male Issa-Somali dromedary camels in three age groups of 6–10 years (n = 18), 11–17 years (n = 18), and ≥18 years (n = 18), with six camels in each of three body-condition-score groups (poor, medium and good) within each age group were investigated in eastern Ethiopia. Results showed that tenderness and juiciness decreased with age, but increased with body condition (P < 0.0001). Ultimate pH was higher for muscle from the 6- to 10-year-old group (5.62) (P < 0.001), and for the poor body-condition group (5.63) (P < 0.0001). Meat from camels aged 6–10 years old had higher expressed juice (21.21 cm2/g vs 16.67 cm2/g) and cooking loss (42.81% vs 39.86%) than camels aged ≥18 years old. Similarly, meat from camels with poor body condition had higher expressed juice (21.42 cm2/g vs 16.39 cm2/g) and cooking loss (43.99% vs 38.48%) than that from camels with good body condition. The overall L*, a* and b* instrumental colour values were 29.66, 12.17 and 9.69, respectively. It can be concluded that camels aged 11–17 years old with medium body condition can meet the required levels for many quality traits.
Screening wild progenitors of wheat for salinity stress at early stages of plant growth: insight into potential sources of variability for salinity adaptation in wheat
Authors: Ahmadi Jafar , Pour-Aboughadareh Alireza , Fabriki-Ourang Sedigheh , Mehrabi Ali-Ashraf , Siddique Kadambot H. M.
Published: June 2018

Wild relatives of wheat have served as a pool of genetic variation for understanding salinity tolerance mechanisms. Two separate experiments were performed to evaluate the natural diversity in root and shoot Na+ exclusion and K+ accumulation, and the activity of four antioxidant enzymes within an extensive collection of ancestral wheat accessions. In the initial screening experiment, salinity stress (300 mm NaCl) significantly increased Na+ concentration in roots and leaves and led to a significant decline in root and shoot fresh weights, dry weights, and K+ contents. Principal component analysis of the 181 accessions and 12 species identified three first components accounted for 63.47% and 78.55% of the variation under salinity stress. We identified 12 accessions of each species with superior tolerance to salinity for further assessment of their antioxidant defence systems in response to salinity. Both mild (250 mm NaCl) and severe (350 mm NaCl) levels of salinity significantly increased activities of four enzymes, indicating an enhanced antioxidant-scavenging system for minimising the damaging effects of H2O2. Some of the wild relatives—Aegilops speltoides (putative B genome), Ae. caudata (C genome), Ae. cylindrica (DC genome) and Triticum boeoticum (Ab genome)—responded to salinity stress by increasing antioxidants as the dominant mechanism to retain oxidative balance in cells. Further evaluation of salt-tolerance mechanisms in these superior wild relatives will help us to understand the potential of wheat progenitors in the development of more salt-tolerant varieties.
Northward bound: the distribution of white-tailed deer in Ontario under a changing climate
Authors: Kennedy-Slaney Liam , Bowman Jeff , Walpole Aaron A. , Pond Bruce A.
Published: June 2018

Context
Global climatic changes are increasingly producing observable shifts in species distributions. It is widely believed that the northern distribution of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in North America is limited by cold winter temperatures and deep snow. Under all climate change scenarios, it is likely that the adverse effects of winter will diminish, which may result in a northward expansion of the distribution of white-tailed deer.

Aims
The goal of this project was to quantify the drivers of white-tailed deer distribution identified from a set of climate and land cover variables. We wanted to forecast changes to the northern limit on white-tailed deer distribution under several climate change scenarios.

Methods
We used an occupancy-modelling approach to identify the variables or combination of variables that best estimated the occupancy of white-tailed deer across a 140-site camera-observation network operating from 2013 to 2015. We validated our model using data from a mammal atlas from 1993. We used available data from climate change scenarios to predict and map changes to the northern limit of white-tailed deer distribution for three time horizons up to 2100.

Key results
Our models indicated that both climate and land cover had a determining influence on the northern limit of white-tailed deer distribution in our study area. Variables describing winter climate, in particular temperature and snow depth, were most closely associated with the northern edge of white-tailed deer distribution, and land cover variables added explanatory power. Our predictions suggested that white-tailed deer distribution will expand northward, given the retreat of severe winters.

Conclusions
White-tailed deer distribution is controlled by land-based habitat indicators and limited at a northern boundary by the severity of winter climate. Current CO2 emission scenarios indicate that winter conditions will no longer limit the northern distribution of white-tailed deer in our study area by the year 2100.

Implications
Under all climate change scenarios, the influx of white-tailed deer to new northern environments will likely impact the dynamics of other wildlife populations. The management of species such as moose (Alces alces) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in these regions must anticipate the disruptive potential of white-tailed deer.
Comprehensive skin microbiome analysis reveals the uniqueness of human skin and evidence for phylosymbiosis within the class Mammalia
Authors: Ross Ashley A. , Müller Kirsten M. , Weese J. Scott , Neufeld Josh D.
Published: June 2018

Significance

Skin forms a critical protective barrier between a mammal and its external environment. Baseline data on the mammalian skin microbiome elucidates which microorganisms are found on healthy skin and provides insight into mammalian evolutionary history. To our knowledge, this study represents the largest existing mammalian skin microbiome survey. Our findings demonstrate that human skin is distinct, not only from other Primates, but from all 10 mammalian orders sampled. Identifying significant similarities between branching of mammalian phylogenetic trees and relatedness trees for their corresponding microbial communities raises the possibility that mammals have experienced coevolution between skin microbiota and their corresponding host species.
High-resolution μCT of a mouse embryo using a compact laser-driven X-ray betatron source
Authors: Cole Jason M. , Symes Daniel R. , Lopes Nelson C. , Wood Jonathan C. , Poder Kristjan , Alatabi Saleh , Botchway Stanley W. , Foster Peta S. , Gratton Sarah , Johnson Sara , Kamperidis Christos , Kononenko Olena , De Lazzari Michael , Palmer Charlotte A. J. , Rusby Dean , Sanderson Jeremy , Sandholzer Michael , Sarri Gianluca , Szoke-Kovacs Zsombor , Teboul Lydia , Thompson James M. , Warwick Jonathan R. , Westerberg Henrik , Hill Mark A. , Norris Dominic P. , Mangles Stuart P. D. , Najmudin Zulfikar
Published: June 2018

Significance

High-resolution microcomputed tomography with benchtop X-ray sources requires long scan times because of the heat load limitation on the anode. We present an alternative, high-brightness plasma-based X-ray source that does not suffer from this restriction. A demonstration of tomography of a centimeter-scale complex organism achieves equivalent quality to a commercial scanner. We will soon be able to record such scans in minutes, rather than the hours required by conventional X-ray tubes.
Performance of AlTiBN and AlTiTaN coatings during milling of titanium
Authors: Yi J. Y. , Chen K. H. , Xu Y. C. , Zhu C. J.
Published: June 2018

AlTiN, AlTiBN, and AlTiTaN coatings were deposited on cemented carbide substrate by cathodic arc evaporation. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nanohardness testing, and scratch testing were used to examine the coating thickness, microstructure, hardness, adhesion strength, and oxidation resistance. The incorporation of B and Ta into the AlTiN coatings increased their hardness and oxidation resistance. In titanium-milling experiments using these three coatings, AlTiBN-coated carbide tools had the longest lifetime at cutting speed of 60 m/min. This is attributed to less delamination and chipping at the cutting edge, due to the coating's high hardness, good oxidation resistance, and sufficient adhesion strength. The major wear mechanisms of these coated tools are adhesive wear, oxidation, and chipping.
Landscape of the long non-coding RNA transcriptome in human heart
Authors: Jiang Chunjie , Ding Na , Li Junyi , Jin Xiyun , Li Lili , Pan Tao , Huo Caiqin , Li Yongsheng , Xu Juan , Li Xia
Published: June 2018

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been revealed to play essential roles in the human cardiovascular system. However, information about their mechanisms is limited, and a comprehensive view of cardiac lncRNAs is lacking from a multiple tissues perspective to date. Here, the landscape of the lncRNA transcriptome in human heart was summarized. We summarized all lncRNA transcripts from publicly available human transcriptome resources (156 heart samples and 210 samples from 29 other tissues) and systematically analysed all annotated and novel lncRNAs expressed in heart. A total of 7485 lncRNAs whose expression was elevated in heart (HE lncRNAs) and 453 lncRNAs expressed in all 30 analysed tissues (EIA lncRNAs) were extracted. Using various bioinformatics resources, methods and tools, the features of these lncRNAs were discussed from various perspectives, including genomic structure, conservation, dynamic variation during heart development, cis-regulation, differential expression in cardiovascular diseases and cancers as well as regulation at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Afterwards, all the features discussed above were integrated into a user-friendly resource named CARDIO-LNCRNAS (http://bio-bigdata.hrbmu.edu.cn/CARDIO-LNCRNAS/ or http://www.bio-bigdata.net/CARDIO-LNCRNAS/). This study represents the first global view of lncRNAs in the human cardiovascular system based on multiple tissues and sheds light on the role of lncRNAs in developments and heart disorders.
Integrating proteomic or transcriptomic data into metabolic models using linear bound flux balance analysis
Authors: Tian Mingyuan , Reed Jennifer L
Published: June 2018

Motivation

Transcriptomics and proteomics data have been integrated into constraint-based models to influence flux predictions. However, it has been reported recently for Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that model predictions from parsimonious flux balance analysis (pFBA), which does not use expression data, are as good or better than predictions from various algorithms that integrate transcriptomics or proteomics data into constraint-based models.

Results

In this paper, we describe a novel constraint-based method called Linear Bound Flux Balance Analysis (LBFBA), which uses expression data (either transcriptomic or proteomic) to predict metabolic fluxes. The method uses expression data to place soft constraints on individual fluxes, which can be violated. Parameters in the soft constraints are first estimated from a training expression and flux dataset before being used to predict fluxes from expression data in other conditions. We applied LBFBA to E.coli and S.cerevisiae datasets and found that LBFBA predictions were more accurate than pFBA predictions, with average normalized errors roughly half of those from pFBA. For the first time, we demonstrate a computational method that integrates expression data into constraint-based models and improves quantitative flux predictions over pFBA.

Availability and implementation

Code is available in the Supplementary data available at Bioinformatics online.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
snpEnrichR: analyzing co-localization of SNPs and their proxies in genomic regions
Authors: Nousiainen Kari , Kanduri Kartiek , Ricaño-Ponce Isis , Wijmenga Cisca , Lahesmaa Riitta , Kumar Vinod , Lähdesmäki Harri
Published: June 2018

Motivation

Co-localization of trait associated SNPs for specific transcription-factor binding sites or regulatory regions in the genome can yield profound insight into underlying causal mechanisms. Analysis is complicated because the truly causal SNPs are generally unknown and can be either SNPs reported in GWAS studies or other proxy SNPs in their linkage disequilibrium. Hence, a comprehensive pipeline for SNP co-localization analysis that utilizes all relevant information about both the genotyped SNPs and their proxies is needed.

Results

We developed an R package snpEnrichR for SNP co-localization analysis. The software integrates different tools for random SNP generation and genome co-localization analysis to automatize and help users to create custom SNP co-localization analysis. We show via an example that including proxy SNPs in SNP co-localization analysis enhances the sensitivity of co-localization detection.

Availability and implementation

The software is available at https://github.com/kartiek/snpEnrichR.
Development of significant tricuspid regurgitation over time and prognostic implications: new insights into natural history
Authors: Prihadi Edgard A , van der Bijl Pieter , Gursoy Erhan , Abou Rachid , Mara Vollema E , Hahn Rebecca T , Stone Gregg W , Leon Martin B , Ajmone Marsan Nina , Delgado Victoria , Bax Jeroen J
Published: June 2018

Aims

To evaluate the risk factors influencing the development of significant (moderate and severe) tricuspid regurgitation (TR), and its impact on all-cause mortality in large registry of referral centre.

Methods and results

In 1000 patients (mean age 68 ± 13 years; 50.9% male) with documented significant TR, clinical, and echocardiographic data were retrospectively analysed when the echocardiogram showed none/mild TR. Patients with congenital heart disease were excluded. The study population was divided into quartiles according to the time interval between the two echocardiograms: Group 1: ≤1.2 years, n = 251; Group 2: 1.3–4.7 years, n = 248, Group 3: 4.8–8.9 years, n = 251; Group 4: ≥9.0 years, n = 250. Baseline age [odds ratio (OR) 1.02], presence of pacemaker and defibrillator lead (OR 1.59), presence of mild (vs. none) TR (OR 8.96), reduced tricuspid annulus plane systolic excursion (OR 0.86), and tricuspid annulus dilation (OR 1.06) were independently associated with development of significant TR in a short period of time. Any valvular surgery (without concomitant tricuspid surgery) occurring between both echocardiograms was also associated with a higher risk of fast development of significant TR (OR 1.58). During a median follow-up of 2.9 years after the second echocardiogram (with significant TR), 42.1% patients died. Patients with fast development of significant TR showed worse survival than patients with slower significant TR development (log rank P = 0.001). Fast development of significant TR was independently associated with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio per preceding year of development: 0.92, confidence interval 0.90–0.94; P < 0.001).

Conclusion

By identifying patients at increased risk of developing significant TR, close echocardiographic surveillance can be indicated permitting effective therapy at an earlier stage to improve survival.
A new approach for estimating stock status from length frequency data
Authors: Froese Rainer , Winker Henning , Coro Gianpaolo , Demirel Nazli , Tsikliras Athanassios C , Dimarchopoulou Donna , Scarcella Giuseppe , Probst Wolfgang Nikolaus , Dureuil Manuel , Pauly Daniel
Published: June 2018

This study presents a new method (LBB) for the analysis of length frequency data from commercial catches. LBB works for species that grow throughout their lives, such as most commercially-important fish and invertebrates, and requires no input in addition to length frequency data. It estimates asymptotic length, length at first capture, relative natural mortality, and relative fishing mortality. Standard fisheries equations can then be used to approximate current exploited biomass relative to unexploited biomass. In addition, these parameters allow the estimation of length at first capture that would maximize catch and biomass for a given fishing effort, and estimation of a proxy for the relative biomass capable of producing maximum sustainable yields. Relative biomass estimates of LBB were not significantly different from the “true” values in simulated data and were similar to independent estimates from full stock assessments. LBB also presents a new indicator for assessing whether an observed size structure is indicative of a healthy stock. LBB results will obviously be misleading if the length frequency data do not represent the size composition of the exploited size range of the stock or if length frequencies resulting from the interplay of growth and mortality are masked by strong recruitment pulses.