bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychiatric comorbidity in new daily persistent headache: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Uniyal R. , Paliwal V. K. , Tripathi A.
Published: February 2017

Background

New daily persistent headache (NDPH) is a type of chronic daily headache. NDPH can have migrainous (NDPH‐CM) or tension‐type character (NDPH‐CTTH). Recently, NDPH patients have shown to have associated anxiety and depression. We compared anxiety, depressive symptoms, somatization and pain catastrophization among NDPH, healthy controls and patients with chronic low‐back pain and between NDPH‐CM and NDPH‐CTTH.

Methods

We assessed the study population for depressive symptoms by Patient Health Questionnaire‐9, anxiety by Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale – 7, somatoform disorder using DSM IV (TR) criteria and pain catastrophizing by using Pain Catastrophizing Scale.

Results

Fifty‐five patients each with NDPH (mean age 28.24 ± 12.05 years, 45.5% females) and age/sex matched healthy individuals and patients with chronic low‐back pain were enrolled. Among NDPH patients, somatoform disorder was seen in 32.7%, severe anxiety in 65.5%, severe depressive symptoms in 40%, significant pain catastrophization in 85.5%. NDPH patients had significantly higher frequency of all psychiatric co‐morbidities as compared to healthy controls and patients with chronic low‐back pain. NDPH‐CM patients had significantly higher frequency of depression and pain catastrophizing behaviour as compared to NDPH‐CTTH.

Conclusion

Anxiety, depressive symptoms, somatization and pain catastrophizing were significantly more prevalent in NDPH when compared to healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain. Such effects should be sought for, as they might contribute to refractoriness to treatment.

Significance

Anxiety, depressive symptoms, somatization and pain catastrophizing were significantly more prevalent in new daily persistent headache when compared to healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain. Such effects should be sought for, as they might contribute to refractoriness to treatment.
Axially equilibrated displacement‐based beam element for simulating the cyclic inelastic behaviour of RC members
Authors: Tarquini Danilo , Almeida João P. , Beyer Katrin
Published: February 2017

Distributed plasticity beam elements are commonly used to evaluate limit state demands for performance‐based analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Strain limits are often preferred to drift limits because they directly relate to damage and are therefore less dependent on member geometry and boundary conditions. However, predicting accurately strain demands still represents a major simulation challenge. Tension shift effects, which induce a linear curvature profile in the plastic hinge region of RC columns and walls, are one of the main causes for the mismatch between experimental and numerical estimates of local level quantities obtained through force‐based formulations. Classical displacement‐based approaches are instead suitable to simulate such linear curvature profile. Unfortunately, they verify equilibrium only on an average sense due to the wrong assumption on the axial displacement field, leading to poor deformation and force predictions. This paper presents a displacement‐based element in which axial equilibrium is strictly verified along the element length. The assumed transversal displacement field ensures a linear curvature profile, connecting accurately global displacement and local strain demands. The proposed finite element is validated against two sets of quasi‐static cyclic tests on RC bridge piers and walls. The results show that curvature and strain profiles for increasing ductility demands are significantly improved when axially equilibrated rather than classical displacement‐based or force‐based elements are used to model the structural members. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Human olfactory mesenchymal stromal cell transplants promote remyelination and earlier improvement in gait co‐ordination after spinal cord injury
Authors: Lindsay Susan L. , Toft Andrew , Griffin Jacob , M. M. Emraja Ahmed , Barnett Susan Carol , Riddell John S.
Published: February 2017

Autologous cell transplantation is a promising strategy for repair of the injured spinal cord. Here we have studied the repair potential of mesenchymal stromal cells isolated from the human olfactory mucosa after transplantation into a rodent model of incomplete spinal cord injury. Investigation of peripheral type remyelination at the injury site using immunocytochemistry for P0, showed a more extensive distribution in transplanted compared with control animals. In addition to the typical distribution in the dorsal columns (common to all animals), in transplanted animals only, P0 immunolabelling was consistently detected in white matter lateral and ventral to the injury site. Transplanted animals also showed reduced cavitation. Several functional outcome measures including end‐point electrophysiological testing of dorsal column conduction and weekly behavioural testing of BBB, weight bearing and pain, showed no difference between transplanted and control animals. However, gait analysis revealed an earlier recovery of co‐ordination between forelimb and hindlimb stepping in transplanted animals. This improvement in gait may be associated with the enhanced myelination in ventral and lateral white matter, where fibre tracts important for locomotion reside. Autologous transplantation of mesenchymal stromal cells from the olfactory mucosa may therefore be therapeutically beneficial in the treatment of spinal cord injury. GLIA 2017 GLIA 2017;65:639–656
Serum Clara cell protein and atopic phenotype in children up to 2 years of age
Authors: Ilic Nevenka , Mihailovic Natasa
Published: February 2017

Background

Low value of serum Clara cell protein (CC16) is associated with bronchial hyperreactivity in children.

Objective

To evaluate the serum CC16 in relation to atopy and previously manifested LRTD.

Methods

In the population of 163 healthy 5‐ to 24‐month‐old children, atopy was determined by Phadiatop‐infant (serum‐specific IgE≥0.35 kUA/L), serum CC16 by ELISA, while data on previously manifested low respiratory tract diseases (LRTD) were collected from the Health Care Center database.

Results

In atopic children, serum CC16 negatively correlated with age (r −.281, P=.041, n=53), while in nonatopic children, this correlation was positive (r .200, P=.036, n=110). Atopic ≥8‐month‐old children with previously manifested LRTD had lower level of CC16 (3.07 ng/mL) in relation to atopic children without LRTD at the same age (6.51 ng/mL), P=.029 (value of serum CC16≥4.8 ng/mL indicates atopic phenotype without LRTD 75% sensitivity, 87.5% specificity). In 8‐ to 24‐month‐old children with previously manifested pneumonia, serum CC16 was lower in atopic (2.9 ng/mL) in relation to nonatopic children (3.7 ng/mL), P=.029 (serum CC16 ≤3.4 ng/mL indicating atopy in the group of children with pneumonia, sensitivity 100%, and specificity 77%). Atopic 8‐ to 24‐month‐old children with previously manifested pneumonia had lower CC16 in relation to other atopic children in this age (P=.021) (for cutoff CC16≤3.4 ng/mL sensitivity 100%, specificity 77%), and also often chronic wheezing (atopic with pneumonia 83.3%, n=5/6 vs atopic without pneumonia 21.4%, n=3/14), P=.018.

Conclusion

Low serum CC16 is associated with previously expressed pneumonia and chronic wheezing in atopic children.
Good's buffer ionic liquids as relevant phase‐forming components of self‐buffered aqueous biphasic systems
Authors: Taha Mohamed , Quental Maria V , e Silva Francisca A , Capela Emanuel V , Freire Mara G , Ventura Sónia PM , Coutinho João AP
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND

Self‐buffered aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) are prepared with ionic liquids (ILs) based on Good's buffers (GB‐ILs) and used to purify proteins.

RESULTS

A set of new GB‐ILs based on the tetrabutylphosphonium cation ([P4444]+) was here synthesized and characterized. The self‐buffering behaviour of the GB‐ILs was asserted by measuring their protonation constants by potentiometry. These ionic liquids display self‐buffering characteristics as well as a low toxicity towards the luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri. The ability of the GB‐ILs to form ABS with the potassium citrate salt was investigated. These systems were then evaluated to extract and purify BSA from bovine serum samples. Extraction efficiencies of 100 ± 5% of BSA to the GB‐IL‐rich phase were obtained in a single step. In addition, good recovery yields (59.4 ± 0.8% to 80.1 ± 0.7%), and purity levels of BSA (75.0 ± 0.3% to 92 ± 1%) were also achieved. The BSA secondary structure in the aqueous IL‐rich solutions was evaluated through infrared spectroscopic studies revealing the protein‐friendly nature of the synthesized GB‐ILs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), ‘Conductor‐like Screening Model for Real Solvents’ (COSMO‐RS), and molecular docking studies were carried out to better understand the main driving forces of the extraction process.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained show that GB‐IL based ABS can be prepared and used for protein purifications, with the GB‐ILs showing a stabilizing effect on the protein. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Performance analysis of the ultra weak variational formulation to compute electromagnetic fields on nonuniform meshes
Authors: Gimpel Alfred , Silva Elson J. , Afonso Marcio M.
Published: February 2017

The purpose of this work is to apply a previously developed ultra weak variational formulation (UWVF) to the solution of the Helmholtz equation in electromagnetic scattering problems. The variational form is based on discontinuous Galerkin with plane wave basis functions in 2‐dimensional finite element mesh. We present a general strategy, which allows to adjust the number of wave directions based on both the element size and the local conditioning number. This provides a cost‐effective mechanism for application of UWVF using nonuniform meshes. Through simulation of scattering of a dielectric‐coated circular cylinder, it is shown that the process significantly improves the UWVF performance.
Global smooth solution to the 2D Boussinesq equations with fractional dissipation
Authors: Ye Zhuan
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we consider the 2D incompressible Boussinesq system with fractional Laplacian dissipation and thermal diffusion. On the basis of the previous works and some new observations, we show that the condition
with
suffices in order for the solution pair of velocity and temperature to remain smooth for all time. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Simulation of liquefaction of unsaturated soil using critical state soil model
Authors: Komolvilas Veerayut , Kikumoto Mamoru
Published: February 2017

Several researchers have reported that the mean effective stress of unsaturated soils having a relatively high degree of saturation gradually decreases under fully undrained cyclic loading conditions, and such soils can be finally liquefied like saturated soils. This paper describes a series of simulations of fully undrained cyclic loading on unsaturated soils, conducted using an elastoplastic model for unsaturated soils. This model is a critical state soil model formulated using effective stress tensor for unsaturated soils, which incorporates the following concepts: (a) the volumetric movement of the state boundary surface containing the critical state line owing to the variation in the degree of saturation; (b) the soil water characteristic curve considering the effects of specific volume and hydraulic hysteresis; and (c) the subloading surface concept for considering the effect of density. Void air is assumed to be an ideal gas obeying Boyle's law. The proposed model is validated through comparisons with past results. The simulation results show that the proposed model properly describes the fully undrained cyclic behavior of unsaturated soils, such as liquefaction, compression, and an increase in the degree of saturation. Finally, the effects of the degree of saturation, void ratio, and confining pressure on the cyclic strength of unsaturated soils are described by the simulation results. The liquefaction resistance of unsaturated soils increases as the degree of saturation and the void ratio decrease, and as the confining pressure increases. Furthermore, the degree of saturation has a greater effect on the liquefaction resistance than the confining pressure and void ratio. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
CATENAE: A scalable service function chaining system for legacy mobile networks
Authors: Bifulco Roberto , Matsiuk Anton , Silvestro Alessio
Published: February 2017

Service function chaining promises to ease the introduction of new services in mobile networks by enabling the dynamic composition of virtualized network functions. However, current implementations rely on new tunneling protocols and on network infrastructure changes, which make deployments in legacy networks difficult. In this paper, we present a system for service function chaining that can be readily deployed in mobile networks, without requiring any protocols or network modifications. Our system, named CATENAE, exploits the specific properties of the targeted deployment environment to overcome scalability issues and efficiently implement traffic steering. Using a centralized controller, CATENAE coordinates software‐defined networking software switches to implement a steering method based on MAC address rewriting. Furthermore, we present the design of a hybrid hardware‐software software‐defined networking switch to realize a scalable network traffic classifiers, which CATENAE employs to assign network flows to corresponding function chains. Using experimental evaluations based on physical testbeds, emulated environments, and simulations, we demonstrate that our approach is ready to be deployed in mobile networks, scales to handle expected mobile networks' workloads, introduces no overhead in the (virtual) network functions, and integrates seamlessly with legacy network management systems.
A novel blind traffic analysis technique for detection of WhatsApp VoIP calls
Authors: Cuadra‐Sanchez Antonio , Aracil Javier
Published: February 2017

Nowadays social media plays a key role in interpersonal communication. Instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, are used by billions of users every day. Such application has recently been upgraded to support voice calls, whose traffic is transported over the top of network operators, as many other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. In this work, we have characterized WhatsApp voice calls through blind traffic detection, which allows to differentiate WhatsApp calls from other applications, such as sharing video, photo, or messaging. Traditional techniques for detection of VoIP calls cannot be applied to the WhatsApp case because the traffic is obfuscated. Actually, our proposal only takes into account the WhatsApp traffic stream statistical features, and not the packet content. From the operators' point of view, the benefits of such a tool are manifold: from traffic prioritization to bespoke marketing campaigns to users that heavily produce WhatsApp voice calls.
Improvement of pressure distribution to arbitrary geometry with boundary condition represented by polygons in particle method
Authors: Zhang Tiangang , Koshizuka Seiichi , Murotani Kohei , Shibata Kazuya , Ishii Eiji
Published: February 2017

The boundary condition represented by polygons in the moving particle semi‐implicit method can accurately represent geometries and treat complex geometry with high efficiency. However, inaccurate wall contribution to the Poisson's equation leads to drastic numerical oscillation. To address this issue, in this research, we analyzed the problems of the Poisson's equation used in the boundary condition represented by polygons. The new Poisson's equation is proposed based on the improved source term (Tanaka and Masunaga, Trans Jpn Soc Comput Eng Sci, 2008). The asymmetric gradient model (Khayyer and Gotoh, Coastal Engineering Journal, 2008) is also adopted to further suppress the numerical oscillation of fluid particles. The proposed method can dramatically improve the pressure distribution to arbitrary geometry in three dimensions and keep the efficiency. Four examples including the hydrostatic simulation, dam break simulation, and two complex geometries are verified to show the general applicability of the proposed method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Targeted Metabolomics of the Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana using Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Jaini Rohit , Wang Peng , Dudareva Natalia , Chapple Clint , Morgan John A.
Published: February 2017

Introduction

The phenylpropanoid pathway is a source of a diverse group of compounds derived from phenylalanine, many of which are involved in lignin biosynthesis and serve as precursors for the production of valuable compounds, such as coumarins, flavonoids, and lignans. Consequently, recent efforts have been invested in mechanistically understanding monolignol biosynthesis, making the quantification of these metabolites vital.

Objective

To develop an improved and comprehensive analytical method for (i) extensively profiling, and (ii) accurately quantifiying intermediates of the monolignol biosynthetic network, using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system.

Method

A liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization was developed to quantify phenylpropanoid metabolites in Arabidopsis wildtype and cinnamoyl CoA reductase1 (CCR1) deficient lines (ccr1).

Results

Vortexing at high temperatures (65°C) enhanced release of phenylpropanoids, specifically the more hydrophobic compounds. A pH of 5.3 and ammonium acetate buffer concentration of 2.5 mM resulted in an optimal analyte response across standards. Ion suppression was estimated using standard spike recovery studies for accurate quantitation. The optimized method was used to profile Arabidopsis wildtype and ccr1 stems. An increase in hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and a decrease in the hydroxycinnamyl aldehydes and alcohols in ccr1 lines, supports a shift of flux from lignin synthesis to other secondary metabolites and phenylpropanoid derivatives.

Conclusions

Compared to existing targeted profiling techniques, our method is capable of quantifying a wider range of intermediates (15 out of 22 in WT Arabidopsis stems) at low in vivo concentrations (~50 pmol/g‐FW for certain compounds), while requiring minimal sample preparation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance of 1 eV GaNAsSb‐based photovoltaic cell on Si substrate at different growth temperatures
Authors: Yurong Nelvin Leong , Tan Kian Hua , Loke Wan Kai , Wicaksono Satrio , Li Daosheng , Yoon Soon Fatt , Sharma Prithu , Milakovich Tim , Bulsara Mayank T. , Fitzgerald Eugene A.
Published: February 2017

We report the performance of a 1 eV GaNAsSb photovoltaic cell grown on Si/Si–Ge substrate using molecular beam epitaxy at different growth temperatures. The sample grown at 420°C showed the highest energy conversion efficiency, with a short circuit current of 18 mA/cm2 and open circuit voltage of 0.53 V. With different growth temperature, performance of the cells degrade, which is attributed to the increase of nitrogen‐related defects and the decrease of antimony incorporation at higher growth temperature. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Latest generation of halogen‐containing pesticides
Authors: Jeschke Peter
Published: February 2017

Agriculture is confronted with enormous challenges, from production of enough high‐quality food to water use, environmental impacts and issues combined with a continually growing world population. Modern agricultural chemistry has to support farmers by providing innovative agrichemicals, used in applied agriculture. In this context, the introduction of halogen atoms into an active ingredient is still an important tool to modulate the properties of new crop protection compounds. Since 2010, around 96% of the launched products (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides/acaricides and nematicides) contain halogen atoms. The launched nematicides contain the largest number of halogen atoms, followed by insecticides/acaricides, herbicides and fungicides. In this context, fungicides and herbicides contain in most cases fluorine atoms, whereas nematicides and insecticides contain in most cases ‘mixed’ halogen atoms, for example chlorine and fluorine. This review gives an overview of the latest generation of halogen‐containing pesticides launched over the past 6 years and describes current halogen‐containing development candidates. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Discrete‐time global leader‐following consensus of a group of general linear systems using bounded controls
Authors: Zhao Zhiyun , Lin Zongli
Published: February 2017

This paper deals with the problem of global leader‐following consensus of a group of discrete‐time general linear systems with bounded controls. For each follower agent in the group, we construct both a bounded state feedback control law and a bounded output feedback control law. The feedback laws for each input of an agent use a multi‐hop relay protocol, in which the agent obtains the information of other agents through multi‐hop paths in the communication network. The number of hops each agent uses to obtain its information about other agents for an input is less than or equal to the sum of the number of real eigenvalues on the unit circle and the number of pairs of complex eigenvalues on the unit circle of the subsystem corresponding to the input, and the feedback gains are constructed from the adjacency matrix of the communication network. We show that these control laws achieve global leader‐following consensus when the communication topology among follower agents forms a strongly connected and detailed balanced directed graph and the leader is a neighbor of at least one follower agent. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spatial and Temporal Relationships Between the Invasive Snail Bithynia tentaculata and Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River
Authors: Weeks A. M. , De Jager N. R. , Haro R. J. , Sandland G. J.
Published: February 2017

Bithynia tentaculata is an invasive snail that was first reported in Lake Michigan in 1871 and has since spread throughout a number of freshwater systems of the USA. This invasion has been extremely problematic in the Upper Mississippi River as the snails serve as intermediate hosts for several trematode parasites that have been associated with waterfowl mortality in the region. This study was designed to assess the abundance and distribution of B. tentaculata relative to submersed aquatic vegetation as macrophytes provide important nesting and food resources for migrating waterfowl. Temporal changes in both vegetation and snail densities were compared between 2007 and 2015. Between these years, B. tentaculata densities have nearly quadrupled despite minor changes in vegetation abundance, distribution and composition. Understanding the spatial distribution of B. tentaculata in relation to other habitat features, including submersed vegetation, and quantifying any further changes in the abundance and distribution of B. tentaculata over time will be important for better identifying areas of risk for disease transmission to waterfowl. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Serelaxin in acute heart failure patients with and without atrial fibrillation: a secondary analysis of the RELAX-AHF trial
Authors: Filippatos Gerasimos , Farmakis Dimitrios , Metra Marco , Cotter Gad , Davison Beth A. , Felker G. Michael , Greenberg Barry H. , Hua Tsushung A. , Pang Peter S. , Ponikowski Piotr , Qian Min , Severin Thomas A. , Voors Adriaan A. , Teerlink John R.
Published: February 2017

Background

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a common comorbidity in HF and affects patients’ outcome. We sought to assess the effects of serelaxin in patients with and without AFib.

Methods

In a post hoc analysis of the RELAX-AHF trial, we compared the effects of serelaxin on efficacy end points, safety end points and biomarkers in 1161 patients with and without AFib on admission electrocardiogram.

Results

AFib was present in 41.3% of patients. Serelaxin had a similar effect in patients with and without AFib, including dyspnea relief by visual analog scale through day 5 [mean change in area under the curve, 541.11 (33.79, 1048.44), p = 0.0366 in AFib versus 361.80 (−63.30, 786.90), p = 0.0953 in non-AFib, interaction p = 0.5954] and all-cause death through day 180 [HR = 0.42 (0.23, 0.77), p = 0.0051 in AFib versus 0.90 (0.53, 1.52), p = 0.6888 in non-AFib, interaction p = 0.0643]. Serelaxin was similarly safe in the two groups and induced similar reductions in biomarkers of cardiac, renal and hepatic damage. Stroke occurred more frequently in AFib patients (2.8 vs. 0.8%, p = 0.0116) and there was a trend for lower stroke incidence in the serelaxin arm in AFib patients (odds ratios, 0.31, p = 0.0759 versus 3.88, p = 0.2255 in non-AFib, interaction p = 0.0518).

Conclusions

Serelaxin was similarly safe and efficacious in improving short- and long-term outcomes and inducing organ protection in acute HF patients with and without AFib.
ProCAID: a phase I clinical trial to combine the AKT inhibitor AZD5363 with docetaxel and prednisolone chemotherapy for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Crabb Simon J. , Birtle Alison J. , Martin Karen , Downs Nichola , Ratcliffe Ian , Maishman Tom , Ellis Mary , Griffiths Gareth , Thompson Stuart , Ksiazek Lidia , Khoo Vincent , Jones Robert J.
Published: February 2017

Background Docetaxel and prednisolone chemotherapy (DP) extends survival in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, emergent clinical resistance is almost inevitable. AKT pathway activation is highly prevalent in mCRPC contributing to disease progression and DP resistance. AZD5363 is a potent oral pan-AKT inhibitor with pre-clinical data indicating activity in mCRPC and synergy with docetaxel. Methods This phase I trial was to determine an AZD5363 recommended phase II dose (RP2D) for combination with DP. Eligibility criteria included chemotherapy naive mCRPC, PSA or radiographic disease progression and ECOG performance status 0 or 1. Treatment comprised DP (75 mg/m2, IV, day 1 and 5 mg BID, PO, day 1–21 respectively for ten cycles) and AZD5363 to disease progression for all patients. We utilised a 3 + 3 dose escalation design to determine a maximum tolerated dose according to defined dose limiting toxicity criteria assessed using CTCAE version 4.03. Planned AZD5363 dose levels were 320 mg (DL1), 400 mg (DL2) and 480 mg (DL3), BID, PO, 4 days on/3 days off, from day 2 of each cycle. Results 10 patients were treated. Dose limiting toxicities affected 2 patients (grade 3 rash ≥5 days; grade 3 diarrhoea) in DL2. The commonest grade 3 or 4, AZD5363 related, symptomatic adverse events were rash and diarrhoea. Hyperglycaemia affected all patients but was self-limiting. PSA reduction to <50% at 12 weeks occurred in 7 patients. Conclusions The RP2D for AZD5363 is 320 mg BID, 4 days on/3 days off, in combination with full dose DP for mCRPC.
The Many Faces of Vulnerability
Authors: Brown Kate , Ecclestone Kathryn , Emmel Nick
Published: February 2017

Social injustices, structural and personal crises as well as intensifying stress on some citizens seem increasing preoccupations in contemporary society and social policy. In this context, the concept of vulnerability has come to play a prominent role in academic, governmental and everyday accounts of the human condition. Policy makers and practitioners are now concerned with addressing vulnerability through an expansive range of interventions. As this special issue draws attention to, a vulnerability zeitgeist or ‘spirit of the time’ has been traced in contemporary welfare and disciplinary arrangements (Brown, 2014, 2015), which now informs a range of interventions and approaches to social problems, both in the UK and internationally. As prominent examples, ‘vulnerable’ people are legally entitled to ‘priority need’ in English social housing allocations (Carr and Hunter, 2008), vulnerable victims of crime are seen as requiring special responses in the UK criminal justice system (see Roulstoneet al., 2011; Walkgate, 2011), ‘vulnerable adults’ have designated ‘protections’ under British law (Dunnet al., 2008; Clough, 2014) and vulnerable migrants and refugees are increasingly prioritised within international immigration processes (Peroni and Timmer, 2013). There is a long tradition in the field of social policy of critiquing the implications of particular concepts as mechanisms of governance, from poverty (Townsend, 1979; Lister, 2004) and social exclusion (Levitas, 1998; Young 1999) to risk (Beck, 1992; Kemshall, 2002) and resilience (Ecclestone and Lewis, 2014; Wright, 2016). Yet while vulnerability seems to be one of the latest buzzwords gathering political and cultural momentum, critiques and empirical studies of how it is operationalised in different policy and practice contexts are less well elaborated.
“NOTHING IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE”: GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE TIME REGIME IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Authors: CONRAD SEBASTIAN
Published: February 2017

When European clocks first arrived in seventeenth-century Japan they generated a commotion. The highly complex but also very precise instruments had been brought to Nagasaki by the Dutch East India Company that monopolized the sparse and highly regulated trade between Japan and Europe for more than two centuries. As an expression of the technological sophistication achieved in early modern Europe, mechanical clocks were hi-tech products of their time. They operated with a spring to store the energy, and their making required highly developed skills in casting and metalwork. The new technology made it possible to emancipate the measurement of time from sunshine and to achieve an evenness of temporal rhythms, not only during the day, but also at night.
Ellipsoidal analysis of coordination polyhedra
Authors: Cumby James , Attfield J. Paul
Published: February 2017

The idea of the coordination polyhedron is essential to understanding chemical structure. Simple polyhedra in crystalline compounds are often deformed due to structural complexity or electronic instabilities so distortion analysis methods are useful. Here we demonstrate that analysis of the minimum bounding ellipsoid of a coordination polyhedron provides a general method for studying distortion, yielding parameters that are sensitive to various orders in metal oxide examples. Ellipsoidal analysis leads to discovery of a general switching of polyhedral distortions at symmetry-disallowed transitions in perovskites that may evidence underlying coordination bistability, and reveals a weak off-centre ‘d5 effect’ for Fe3+ ions that could be exploited in multiferroics. Separating electronic distortions from intrinsic deformations within the low temperature superstructure of magnetite provides new insights into the charge and trimeron orders. Ellipsoidal analysis can be useful for exploring local structure in many materials such as coordination complexes and frameworks, organometallics and organic molecules.
Phase transformation mechanism in lithium manganese nickel oxide revealed by single-crystal hard X-ray microscopy
Authors: Kuppan Saravanan , Xu Yahong , Liu Yijin , Chen Guoying
Published: February 2017

Understanding the reaction pathway and kinetics of solid-state phase transformation is critical in designing advanced electrode materials with better performance and stability. Despite the first-order phase transition with a large lattice mismatch between the involved phases, spinel LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 is capable of fast rate even at large particle size, presenting an enigma yet to be understood. The present study uses advanced two-dimensional and three-dimensional nano-tomography on a series of well-formed LixMn1.5Ni0.5O4 (0≤x≤1) crystals to visualize the mesoscale phase distribution, as a function of Li content at the sub-particle level. Inhomogeneity along with the coexistence of Li-rich and Li-poor phases are broadly observed on partially delithiated crystals, providing direct evidence for a concurrent nucleation and growth process instead of a shrinking-core or a particle-by-particle process. Superior kinetics of (100) facets at the vertices of truncated octahedral particles promote preferential delithiation, whereas the observation of strain-induced cracking suggests mechanical degradation in the material.
Neutrophils dominate the immune cell composition in non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Kargl Julia , Busch Stephanie E. , Yang Grace H. Y. , Kim Kyoung-Hee , Hanke Mark L. , Metz Heather E. , Hubbard Jesse J. , Lee Sylvia M. , Madtes David K. , McIntosh Martin W. , Houghton A. McGarry
Published: February 2017

The response rate to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is just 20%. To improve this figure, several early phase clinical trials combining novel immunotherapeutics with immune checkpoint blockade have been initiated. Unfortunately, these trials have been designed without a strong foundational knowledge of the immune landscape present in NSCLC. Here, we use a flow cytometry panel capable of measuring 51 immune cell populations to comprehensively identify the immune cell composition and function in NSCLC. The results show that the immune cell composition is fundamentally different in lung adenocarcinoma as compared with lung squamous cell carcinoma, and that neutrophils are the most prevalent immune cell type. Using T-cell receptor-β sequencing and tumour reactivity assays, we predict that tumour reactive T cells are frequently present in NSCLC. These results should help to guide the design of clinical trials and the direction of future research in this area.
Reference genes for gene expression studies in the mouse heart
Authors: Ruiz-Villalba Adrián , Mattiotti Andrea , Gunst Quinn D. , Cano-Ballesteros Sara , van den Hoff Maurice J. B. , Ruijter Jan M.
Published: February 2017

To be accurate, quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) studies require a set of stable reference genes for normalization. This is especially critical in cardiac research because of the diversity of the clinical and experimental conditions in the field. We analyzed the stability of previously described as potential reference genes in different subsets of cardiac tissues, each representing a different field in cardiac research. The qPCR dataset was based on 119 different tissue samples derived from cardiac development to pathology in mouse adult hearts. These samples were grouped into 47 tissue types. The stability of 9 candidate genes was analyzed in each of 12 experimental conditions comprising different groupings of these tissue types. Expression stability was determined with the geNorm module ofqbase+. This analysis showed that different sets of two or three reference genes are required for analysis of qPCR data in different experimental conditions in murine cardiac research.
Dealloying-based interpenetrating-phase nanocomposites matching the elastic behavior of human bone
Authors: Okulov I. V. , Weissmüller J. , Markmann J.
Published: February 2017

The long-term performance of orthopedic implants depends crucially on a close match between the mechanical behavior of bone and of the implant material. Yet, the present man-made materials with the required biocompatibility and strength are substantially stiffer than bone. This mismatch results in stress shielding, which can lead to the loss of bone mass and may even lead to a revision surgery. Here we report a new materials design strategy towards metal-polymer composites that are based on constituents with established biocompatibility and that can be matched to bone. Ti-based nanoporous alloys, prepared by liquid-metal dealloying, are infiltrated with epoxy to form interpenetrating-phase nanocomposites. At up to 260 MPa, their yield strength is technologically interesting for a deformable light-weight material. More importantly, Young’s modulus can be adjusted between 4.4 and 24 GPa, which affords matching to bone. As another parallel to bone, the strength of the composite materials is strain-rate dependent. These findings suggest that the novel composite materials may provide the basis for promising future implant materials.
Impact of salt stress, cell death, and autophagy on peroxisomes: quantitative and morphological analyses using small fluorescent probe N-BODIPY
Authors: Fahy Deirdre , Sanad Marwa N. M. E. , Duscha Kerstin , Lyons Madison , Liu Fuquan , Bozhkov Peter , Kunz Hans-Henning , Hu Jianping , Neuhaus H. Ekkehard , Steel Patrick G. , Smertenko Andrei
Published: February 2017

Plant peroxisomes maintain a plethora of key life processes including fatty acid β-oxidation, photorespiration, synthesis of hormones, and homeostasis of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Abundance of peroxisomes in cells is dynamic; however mechanisms controlling peroxisome proliferation remain poorly understood because measuring peroxisome abundance is technically challenging. Counting peroxisomes in individual cells of complex organs by electron or fluorescence microscopy is expensive and time consuming. Here we present a simple technique for quantifying peroxisome abundance using the small probe Nitro-BODIPY, which in vivo fluoresces selectively inside peroxisomes. The physiological relevance of our technique was demonstrated using salinity as a known inducer of peroxisome proliferation. While significant peroxisome proliferation was observed in wild-type Arabidopsis leaves following 5-hour exposure to NaCl, no proliferation was detected in the salt-susceptible mutants fry1-6, sos1-14, and sos1-15. We also found that N-BODIPY detects aggregation of peroxisomes during final stages of programmed cell death and can be used as a marker of this stage. Furthermore, accumulation of peroxisomes in an autophagy-deficient Arabidopsis mutant atg5 correlated with N-BODIPY labeling. In conclusion, the technique reported here enables quantification of peroxisomes in plant material at various physiological settings. Its potential applications encompass identification of genes controlling peroxisome homeostasis and capturing stress-tolerant genotypes.
Exploration quantum steering, nonlocality and entanglement of two-qubit X-state in structured reservoirs
Authors: Sun Wen-Yang , Wang Dong , Shi Jia-Dong , Ye Liu
Published: February 2017

In this work, there are two parties, Alice on Earth and Bob on the satellite, which initially share an entangled state, and some open problems, which emerge during quantum steering that Alice remotely steers Bob, are investigated. Our analytical results indicate that all entangled pure states and maximally entangled evolution states (EESs) are steerable, and not every entangled evolution state is steerable and some steerable states are only locally correlated. Besides, quantum steering from Alice to Bob experiences a “sudden death” with increasing decoherence strength. However, shortly after that, quantum steering experiences a recovery with the increase of decoherence strength in bit flip (BF) and phase flip (PF) channels. Interestingly, while they initially share an entangled pure state, all EESs are steerable and obey Bell nonlocality in PF and phase damping channels. In BF channels, all steerable states can violate Bell-CHSH inequality, but some EESs are unable to be employed to realize steering. However, when they initially share an entangled mixed state, the outcome is different from that of the pure state. Furthermore, the steerability of entangled mixed states is weaker than that of entangled pure states. Thereby, decoherence can induce the degradation of quantum steering, and the steerability of state is associated with the interaction between quantum systems and reservoirs.
Chloroplastic biosynthesis of melatonin and its involvement in protection of plants from salt stress
Authors: Zheng Xiaodong , Tan Dun X. , Allan Andrew C. , Zuo Bixiao , Zhao Yu , Reiter Russel J. , Wang Lin , Wang Zhi , Guo Yan , Zhou Jingzhe , Shan Dongqian , Li Qingtian , Han Zhenhai , Kong Jin
Published: February 2017

Within the chloroplasts reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated during photosynthesis and stressful conditions. Excessive ROS damages chloroplasts and reduces photosynthesis if not properly detoxified. In this current study, we document that chloroplasts produce melatonin, a recently-discovered plant antioxidant molecule. When N-acetylserotonin, a substrate for melatonin synthesis, was fed to purified chloroplasts, they produced melatonin in a dose-response manner. To further confirm this function of chloroplasts, the terminal enzyme for melatonin synthesis, N-acetylserotonin-O-methyltransferase (ASMT), was cloned from apple rootstock, Malus zumi. The in vivo fluorescence observations and Western blots confirmed MzASMT9 was localized in the chloroplasts. A study of enzyme kinetics revealed that the Km and Vmax of the purified recombinant MzASMT9 protein for melatonin synthesis were 500 μM and 12 pmol/min·mg protein, respectively. Arabidopsis ectopically-expressing MzASMT9 possessed improved melatonin level. Importantly, the MzASMT9 gene was found to be upregulated by high light intensity and salt stress. Increased melatonin due to the highly-expressed MzASMT9 resulted in Arabidopsis lines with enhanced salt tolerance than wild type plants, as indicated by reduced ROS, lowered lipid peroxidation and enhanced photosynthesis. These findings have agricultural applications for the genetic enhancement of melatonin-enriched plants for increasing crop production under a variety of unfavorable environmental conditions.
Improving polygenic risk prediction from summary statistics by an empirical Bayes approach
Authors: So Hon-Cheong , Sham Pak C.
Published: February 2017

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are increasingly used to predict disease risks. However some included variants could be false positives and the raw estimates of effect sizes from them may be subject to selection bias. In addition, the standard PRS approach requires testing over a range ofp-value thresholds, which are often chosen arbitrarily. The prediction error estimated from the optimized threshold may also be subject to an optimistic bias. To improve genomic risk prediction, we proposed new empirical Bayes approaches to recover the underlying effect sizes and used them as weights to construct PRS. We applied the new PRS to twelve cardio-metabolic traits in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort and demonstrated improvements in predictive power (inR2) when compared to standard PRS at the bestp-value threshold. Importantly, for eleven out of the twelve traits studied, the predictive performance from theentireset of genome-wide markers outperformed the bestR2from standard PRS at optimalp-value thresholds. Our proposed methodology essentially enables an automatic PRS weighting scheme without the need of choosing tuning parameters. The new method also performed satisfactorily in simulations. It is computationally simple and does not require assumptions on the effect size distributions.
Enhanced performance of the microalga Chlorella sorokiniana remotely induced by the plant growth-promoting bacteria Azospirillum brasilense and Bacillus pumilus
Authors: Amavizca Edgar , Bashan Yoav , Ryu Choong-Min , Farag Mohamed A. , Bebout Brad M. , de-Bashan Luz E.
Published: February 2017

Remote effects (occurring without physical contact) of two plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) Azospirillum brasilense Cd and Bacilus pumilus ES4 on growth of the green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana UTEX 2714 were studied. The two PGPB remotely enhanced the growth of the microalga, up to six-fold, and its cell volume by about three-fold. In addition to phenotypic changes, both bacteria remotely induced increases in the amounts of total lipids, total carbohydrates, and chlorophyll a in the cells of the microalga, indicating an alteration of the microalga’s physiology. The two bacteria produced large amounts of volatile compounds, including CO2, and the known plant growth-promoting volatile 2,3-butanediol and acetoin. Several other volatiles having biological functions in other organisms, as well as numerous volatile compounds with undefined biological roles, were detected. Together, these bacteria-derived volatiles can positively affect growth and metabolic parameters in green microalgae without physical attachment of the bacteria to the microalgae. This is a new paradigm on how PGPB promote growth of microalgae which may serve to improve performance of Chlorella spp. for biotechnological applications.
Neural Correlates of Sexual Orientation in Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Homosexual Men
Authors: Safron Adam , Sylva David , Klimaj Victoria , Rosenthal A. M. , Li Meng , Walter Martin , Bailey J. Michael
Published: February 2017

Studies of subjective and genital sexual arousal in monosexual (i.e. heterosexual and homosexual) men have repeatedly found that erotic stimuli depicting men’s preferred sex produce strong responses, whereas erotic stimuli depicting the other sex produce much weaker responses. Inconsistent results have previously been obtained in bisexual men, who have sometimes demonstrated distinctly bisexual responses, but other times demonstrated patterns more similar to those observed in monosexual men. We used fMRI to investigate neural correlates of responses to erotic pictures and videos in heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men, ages 25–50. Sixty participants were included in video analyses, and 62 were included in picture analyses. We focused on the ventral striatum (VS), due to its association with incentive motivation. Patterns were consistent with sexual orientation, with heterosexual and homosexual men showing female-favoring and male-favoring responses, respectively. Bisexual men tended to show less differentiation between male and female stimuli. Consistent patterns were observed in the whole brain, including the VS, and also in additional regions such as occipitotemporal, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortices. This study extends previous findings of gender-specific neural responses in monosexual men, and provides initial evidence for distinct brain activity patterns in bisexual men.
Improving the diagnostic accuracy of acute myocardial infarction with the use of high-sensitive cardiac troponin T in different chronic kidney disease stages
Authors: Yang Hongliu , Liu Jing , Luo Han , Zeng Xiaoxi , Tang Xi , Ma Liang , Mai Hongxia , Gou Shenju , Liu Fang , Fu Ping
Published: February 2017

High-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-TnT) is a critical biomarker in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, CKD individuals usually have elevated hs-TnT even in the absence of AMI. Our study aimed to explore the optimal cutoff-value of hs-TnT and further to improve diagnostic accuracy of AMI in CKD patients. Clinical data of 489 patients were collected from the maintained database between September 2010 and June 2014. CKD patients with AMI were assigned to CKD+AMI group and CKD patients without AMI were assigned to CKD group. Receiver operating characteristic curves were utilized to derive the optimal cutoff-value. In CKD+STEMI and CKD group, hs-TnT was increased with descending eGFR. In CKD+NSTEMI group, hs-TnT showed an upward trend with increasing SYNTAX Score. In patients with CKD+STEMI, hs-TnT was significantly correlated with SYNTAX Score in CKD stage 2, stage 4 and in total. In CKD patients, the optimal cutoff-value of hs-TnT for diagnosis of AMI was 129.45 ng/l with 75.2% sensitivity and 83.2% specificity. The cutoff-value appeared to be hs-TnT level of 99.55ng/l in CKD stage 3, 129.45 ng/l in CKD stage 4, 105.50 ng/l in CKD stage 5 and 149.35 ng/l in dialysis patients, respectively. In different stages of CKD, eGFR-range-specific optimal cutoff-values should be considered.