bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The new suburban history, New Urbanism and the spaces in-between
Authors: CLAPSON MARK
Published: February 2016

What a word we live in. The existential reality of being ‘suburban’–an unpopular adjective at the best of times – has been subject to some astounding criticisms recently. People who choose to live in a suburban home are still deemed to be contemptible by a self-consciously urbane commentariat who could never live somewhere so vacuous. According to one newspaper journalist, the religious fascists who attacked Paris in November 2015 were at heart suburban, exhibiting contempt for the diversity and heterogeneity of the sophisticated metropolis because it upset their reactionary world view. The transatlantic celebrity-historian Simon Schama, appearing on BBC Television's Question Time in October 2015, denounced a critic of unfettered refugee migration to Europe for turning away his ‘suburban face’ to human tragedy. Can a suburbanite possibly find the wherewithal to bounce back from such criticism? Sadly, there is no great volume of historical literature to give them much inspiration, and more recent scholarship offers little that is truly revisionist.
The Definition of Morality
Authors: Skorupski John
Published: February 2016

We use such terms as good, bad, right, wrong, should, ought, in many ways other than moral: good evidence and bad argument, right answers and wrong notes, novels which should be read and policies which ought not to be adopted. The moral is a sphere of the practical and the practical itself only a sphere or the normative. Norms guide us in all we believe, feel and do. Do these normative words then have a specifically moral sense? If so can it be defined?
Satellites Reveal Dynamics of Suspended Mineral Particles
Authors: Cook Terri
Published: February 2016

A case study of the Irish Sea evaluates the use of ocean color data to measure the optical properties of sedimentary particles in offshore waters.
Resource-dependent attenuation of species interactions during bacterial succession
Authors: Rivett Damian W , Scheuerl Thomas , Culbert Christopher T , Mombrikotb Shorok B , Johnstone Emma , Barraclough Timothy G , Bell Thomas
Published: February 2016

Bacterial communities are vital for many economically and ecologically important processes. The role of bacterial community composition in determining ecosystem functioning depends critically on interactions among bacterial taxa. Several studies have shown that, despite a predominance of negative interactions in communities, bacteria are able to display positive interactions given the appropriate evolutionary or ecological conditions. We were interested in how interspecific interactions develop over time in a naturalistic setting of low resource supply rates. We assembled aquatic bacterial communities in microcosms and assayed the productivity (respiration and growth) and substrate degradation while tracking community composition. The results demonstrated that while bacterial communities displayed strongly negative interactions during the early phase of colonisation and acclimatisation to novel biotic and abiotic factors, this antagonism declined over time towards a more neutral state. This was associated with a shift from use of labile substrates in early succession to use of recalcitrant substrates later in succession, confirming a crucial role of resource dynamics in linking interspecific interactions with ecosystem functioning.
Functional metagenomic screen reveals new and diverse microbial rhodopsins
Authors: Pushkarev Alina , Béjà Oded
Published: February 2016

Ion-translocating retinylidene rhodopsins are widely distributed among marine and freshwater microbes. The translocation is light-driven, contributing to the production of biochemical energy in diverse microbes. Until today, most microbial rhodopsins had been detected using bioinformatics based on homology to other rhodopsins. In the past decade, there has been increased interest in microbial rhodopsins in the field of optogenetics since microbial rhodopsins were found to be most useful in vertebrate neuronal systems. Here we report on a functional metagenomic assay for detecting microbial rhodopsins. Using an array of narrow pH electrodes and light-emitting diode illumination, we were able to screen a metagenomic fosmid library to detect diverse marine proteorhodopsins and an actinorhodopsin based solely on proton-pumping activity. Our assay therefore provides a rather simple phenotypic means to enrich our understanding of microbial rhodopsins without any prior knowledge of the genomic content of the environmental entities screened.
Amplified RLR signaling activation through an interferon-stimulated gene-endoplasmic reticulum stress-mitochondrial calcium uniporter protein loop
Authors: Cheng Jinbo , Liao Yajin , Zhou Lujun , Peng Shengyi , Chen Hong , Yuan Zengqiang
Published: February 2016

Type I interferon (IFN-I) is critical for a host against viral and bacterial infections via induction of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), but the mechanism underlying the regulation of IFN-I remains largely unknown. In this study, we first demonstrate that ISG expression is required for optimal IFN-β levels, an effect that is further enhanced by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Furthermore, we identify mitochondrial calcium uniporter protein (MCU) as a mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS)-interacting protein that is important for ER stress induction and amplified MAVS signaling activation. In addition, by performing an ectopic expression assay to screen a library of 117 human ISGs for effects on IFN-β levels, we found that tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) significantly increases IFN-β levels independent of ER stress. Altogether, our findings suggest that MCU and TNFR1 are involved in the regulation of RIG-I-like receptors (RLR) signaling.
Acoustic resolution photoacoustic Doppler velocimetry in blood-mimicking fluids
Authors: Brunker Joanna , Beard Paul
Published: February 2016

Photoacoustic Doppler velocimetry provides a major opportunity to overcome limitations of existing blood flow measuring methods. By enabling measurements with high spatial resolution several millimetres deep in tissue, it could probe microvascular blood flow abnormalities characteristic of many different diseases. Although previous work has demonstrated feasibility in solid phantoms, measurements in blood have proved significantly more challenging. This difficulty is commonly attributed to the requirement that the absorber spatial distribution is heterogeneous relative to the minimum detectable acoustic wavelength. By undertaking a rigorous study using blood-mimicking fluid suspensions of 3 μm absorbing microspheres, it was discovered that the perceived heterogeneity is not only limited by the intrinsic detector bandwidth; in addition, bandlimiting due to spatial averaging within the detector field-of-view also reduces perceived heterogeneity and compromises velocity measurement accuracy. These detrimental effects were found to be mitigated by high-pass filtering to select photoacoustic signal components associated with high heterogeneity. Measurement under-reading due to limited light penetration into the flow vessel was also observed. Accurate average velocity measurements were recovered using “range-gating”, which furthermore maps the cross-sectional velocity profile. These insights may help pave the way to deep-tissue non-invasive mapping of microvascular blood flow using photoacoustic methods.
Progranulin inhibits expression and release of chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 in a TNFR1 dependent manner
Authors: Mundra Jyoti Joshi , Jian Jinlong , Bhagat Priyal , Liu Chuan-ju
Published: February 2016

Progranulin (PGRN), a pleiotrophic growth factor, is known to play an important role in the maintenance and regulation of the homeostatic dynamics of normal tissue development, proliferation, regeneration and host-defense. PGRN also has potent anti-inflammatory functionality and deregulated PGRN is associated with rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. We have previously reported that PGRN directly binds to TNFR and significantly enhances Treg population and stimulatesIL-10 production. To further investigate PGRN’s function in the immune system we performed a gene array analysis on CD4+ T cells from wild type B6 mice and PGRN −/− mice. We identified many chemokines and their receptors, among which CXCL9 and CXCL10 were most prominent, that were significantly induced in PGRN null mice. Administration of recombinant PGRN protein strongly inhibited TNF and IFN-γ-induced CXCL9 and CXCL10 expression. In addition, CXCL9 expression is strongly upregulated in PGRN KO mice and its level is correlated with severity of inflammation in a dermatitis model. Further, we have demonstrated that PGRN-mediated inhibition of chemokine expression largely depends on TNFR1. Taken together, this study provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying PGRN mediated regulation of various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Risk Prediction Modeling of Sequencing Data Using a Forward Random Field Method
Authors: Wen Yalu , He Zihuai , Li Ming , Lu Qing
Published: February 2016

With the advance in high-throughput sequencing technology, it is feasible to investigate the role of common and rare variants in disease risk prediction. While the new technology holds great promise to improve disease prediction, the massive amount of data and low frequency of rare variants pose great analytical challenges on risk prediction modeling. In this paper, we develop a forward random field method (FRF) for risk prediction modeling using sequencing data. In FRF, subjects’ phenotypes are treated as stochastic realizations of a random field on a genetic space formed by subjects’ genotypes, and an individual’s phenotype can be predicted by adjacent subjects with similar genotypes. The FRF method allows for multiple similarity measures and candidate genes in the model, and adaptively chooses the optimal similarity measure and disease-associated genes to reflect the underlying disease model. It also avoids the specification of the threshold of rare variants and allows for different directions and magnitudes of genetic effects. Through simulations, we demonstrate the FRF method attains higher or comparable accuracy over commonly used support vector machine based methods under various disease models. We further illustrate the FRF method with an application to the sequencing data obtained from the Dallas Heart Study.
Tuning Liposome Membrane Permeability by Competitive Peptide Dimerization and Partitioning-Folding Interactions Regulated by Proteolytic Activity
Authors: Lim Seng Koon , Sandén Camilla , Selegård Robert , Liedberg Bo , Aili Daniel
Published: February 2016

Membrane active peptides are of large interest for development of drug delivery vehicles and therapeutics for treatment of multiple drug resistant infections. Lack of specificity can be detrimental and finding routes to tune specificity and activity of membrane active peptides is vital for improving their therapeutic efficacy and minimize harmful side effects. We describe a de novo designed membrane active peptide that partition into lipid membranes only when specifically and covalently anchored to the membrane, resulting in pore-formation. Dimerization with a complementary peptide efficiently inhibits formation of pores. The effect can be regulated by proteolytic digestion of the inhibitory peptide by the matrix metalloproteinase MMP-7, an enzyme upregulated in many malignant tumors. This system thus provides a precise and specific route for tuning the permeability of lipid membranes and a novel strategy for development of recognition based membrane active peptides and indirect enzymatically controlled release of liposomal cargo.
High frequency of +1 programmed ribosomal frameshifting in Euplotes octocarinatus
Authors: Wang Ruanlin , Xiong Jie , Wang Wei , Miao Wei , Liang Aihua
Published: February 2016

Programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting (−1 PRF) has been identified as a mechanism to regulate the expression of many viral genes and some cellular genes. The slippery site of −1 PRF has been well characterized, whereas the +1 PRF signal and the mechanism involved in +1 PRF remain poorly understood. Previous study confirmed that +1 PRF is required for the synthesis of protein products in several genes of ciliates from the genus Euplotes. To accurately assess the frequency of genes requiring frameshift in Euplotes, the macronuclear genome and transcriptome of Euplotes octocarinatus were analyzed in this study. A total of 3,700 +1 PRF candidate genes were identified from 32,353 transcripts and the gene products of these putative +1 PRFs were mainly identified as protein kinases. Furthermore, we reported a putative suppressor tRNA of UAA which may provide new insights into the mechanism of +1 PRF in euplotids. For the first time, our transcriptome-wide survey of +1 PRF in E. octocarinatus provided a dataset which serves as a valuable resource for the future understanding of the mechanism underlying +1 PRF.
Suicide Gene-Engineered Stromal Cells Reveal a Dynamic Regulation of Cancer Metastasis
Authors: Shen Keyue , Luk Samantha , Elman Jessica , Murray Ryan , Mukundan Shilpaa , Parekkadan Biju
Published: February 2016

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a major cancer-promoting component in the tumor microenvironment (TME). The dynamic role of human CAFs in cancer progression has been ill-defined because human CAFs lack a unique marker needed for a cell-specific, promoter-driven knockout model. Here, we developed an engineered human CAF cell line with an inducible suicide gene to enable selective in vivo elimination of human CAFs at different stages of xenograft tumor development, effectively circumventing the challenge of targeting a cell-specific marker. Suicide-engineered CAFs were highly sensitive to apoptosis induction in vitro and in vivo by the addition of a simple small molecule inducer. Selection of timepoints for targeted CAF apoptosis in vivo during the progression of a human breast cancer xenograft model was guided by a bi-phasic host cytokine response that peaked at early timepoints after tumor implantation. Remarkably, we observed that the selective apoptosis of CAFs at these early timepoints did not affect primary tumor growth, but instead increased the presence of tumor-associated macrophages and the metastatic spread of breast cancer cells to the lung and bone. The study revealed a dynamic relationship between CAFs and cancer metastasis that has counter-intuitive ramifications for CAF-targeted therapy.
Combined strategies for optimal detection of the contact point in AFM force-indentation curves obtained on thin samples and adherent cells
Authors: Gavara Núria
Published: February 2016

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a widely used tool to study cell mechanics. Current AFM setups perform high-throughput probing of living cells, generating large amounts of force-indentations curves that are subsequently analysed using a contact-mechanics model. Here we present several algorithms to detect the contact point in force-indentation curves, a crucial step to achieve fully-automated analysis of AFM-generated data. We quantify and rank the performance of our algorithms by analysing a thousand force-indentation curves obtained on thin soft homogeneous hydrogels, which mimic the stiffness and topographical profile of adherent cells. We take advantage of the fact that all the proposed algorithms are based on sequential search strategies and show that a combination of them yields the most accurate and unbiased results. Finally, we also observe improved performance when force-indentation curves obtained on adherent cells are analysed using our combined strategy, as compared to the classical algorithm used in the majority of previous cell mechanics studies.
A Microstructured Fiber with Defined Borosilicate Regions to Produce a Radial Micronozzle Array for Nanoelectrospray Ionization
Authors: Fu Y. , Morency S. , Bachus K. , Simon D. , Hutama T. , Gibson G. T. T. , Messaddeq Y. , Oleschuk R. D.
Published: February 2016

This work highlights the possibility of using microstructured fibres with predefined doped regions to produce functional microstructures at a fibre facet with differential chemical etching. A specially designed silica microstructured fibre (MSF) that possesses specific boron-doped silica regions was fabricated for the purpose of generating a radial micronozzle array. The MSF was drawn from a preform comprising pure silica capillaries surrounded by boron-doped silica rods. Different etching rates of the boron-doped and silica regions at the fiber facet produces raised nozzles where the silica capillaries were placed. Fabrication parameters were explored in relation to the fidelity and protrusion length of the nozzle. Using etching alone, the nozzle protrusion length was limited and the inner diameter of the channels in the array is expanded. However with the addition of a protective water counter flow, nozzle protrusion is increased to 60 μm with a limited increase in hole diameter. The radial micronozzle array generated nine individual electrosprays which were characterized using spray current measurements and related to theoretical prediction. Signal enhancement for the higher charge state ions for two peptides showed a substantial signal enhancement compared to conventional emitter technology.
Early detection of germinated wheat grains using terahertz image and chemometrics
Authors: Jiang Yuying , Ge Hongyi , Lian Feiyu , Zhang Yuan , Xia Shanhong
Published: February 2016

In this paper, we propose a feasible tool that uses a terahertz (THz) imaging system for identifying wheat grains at different stages of germination. The THz spectra of the main changed components of wheat grains, maltose and starch, which were obtained by THz time spectroscopy, were distinctly different. Used for original data compression and feature extraction, principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the changes that occurred in the inner chemical structure during germination. Two thresholds, one indicating the start of the release of α-amylase and the second when it reaches the steady state, were obtained through the first five score images. Thus, the first five PCs were input for the partial least-squares regression (PLSR), least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) and back-propagation neural network (BPNN) models, which were used to classify seven different germination times between 0 and 48 h, with a prediction accuracy of 92.85%, 93.57% and 90.71%, respectively. The experimental results indicated that the combination of THz imaging technology and chemometrics could be a new effective way to discriminate wheat grains at the early germination stage of approximately 6 h.
Increased risk of hepatic complications in kidney transplantation with chronic virus hepatitis infection: A nationwide population-based cohort study
Authors: Yu Tung-Min , Lin Che-Chen , Shu Kuo-Hsiung , Chuang Ya-Wen , Huang Shih-Ting , Chen Cheng-Hsu , Wu Ming-Ju , Chung Mu-Chi , Chang Chao-Hsiang , Li Chi-Yuan , Chung Chi-Jung
Published: February 2016

Data regarding the risk of various liver diseases among different hepatitis viruses in kidney transplantation have not yet been identified.We selected individuals with kidney transplantation (ICD-9-CM V420 or 996.81) from 2000–2009 from the catastrophic illness registry of National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)as the study cohort. The two end-points in the study included overall death and post-transplant occurrence of hepatic disease. After adjustment for other risk factors, the risk of mortality was increased in patients with HBV infection (N = 352) and with HCV infection (N = 275) compared to those with neither HBV nor HCV infection (N = 3485). In addition,renal transplant recipients with HBV alone,HCV alone and both with HBV and HCVinfectionrespectively had an approximately 10-fold hazard ratio (HR) = 9.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.61–21.0, 4-fold increased risk (HR = 4.40, 95% CI: 1.85–10.5)and 5-fold increased risk (HR = 4.63, 95% CI: 1.06–20.2)of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)compared to those with neither HBV nor HCV infection. Our findings showed a significant risk of de novo liver disease in recipients with hepatitis virus infection. Based on our findings, we reinforce the importance and impact of hepatitis virus in renal transplantation.
An embryonic atrazine exposure results in reproductive dysfunction in adult zebrafish and morphological alterations in their offspring
Authors: Wirbisky Sara E. , Weber Gregory J. , Sepúlveda Maria S. , Lin Tsang-Long , Jannasch Amber S. , Freeman Jennifer L.
Published: February 2016

The herbicide atrazine, a suspected endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), frequently contaminates potable water supplies. Studies suggest alterations in the neuroendocrine system along the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis; however, most studies address either developmental, pubertal, or adulthood exposures, with few investigations regarding a developmental origins hypothesis. In this study, zebrafish were exposed to 0, 0.3, 3, or 30 parts per billion (ppb) atrazine through embryogenesis and then allowed to mature with no additional chemical exposure. Reproductive function, histopathology, hormone levels, offspring morphology, and the ovarian transcriptome were assessed. Embryonic atrazine exposure resulted in a significant increase in progesterone levels in the 3 and 30 ppb groups. A significant decrease in spawning and a significant increase in follicular atresia in the 30 ppb group were observed. In offspring, a decrease in the head length to body ratio in the 30 ppb group, along with a significant increase in head width to body ratio in the 0.3 and 3 ppb groups occurred. Transcriptomic alterations involved genes associated with endocrine system development and function, tissue development, and behavior. This study provides evidence to support atrazine as an EDC causing reproductive dysfunction and molecular alterations in adults exposed only during embryogenesis and morphological alterations in their offspring.
The Critical Criterion on Runaway Shear Banding in Metallic Glasses
Authors: Sun B. A. , Yang Y. , Wang W. H. , Liu C. T.
Published: February 2016

The plastic flow of metallic glasses (MGs) in bulk is mediated by nanoscale shear bands, which is known to proceed in a stick-slip manner until reaching a transition state causing catastrophic failures. Such a slip-to-failure transition controls the plasticity of MGs and resembles many important phenomena in natural science and engineering, such as friction, lubrication and earthquake, therefore has attracted tremendous research interest over past decades. However, despite the fundamental and practical importance, the physical origin of this slip-to-failure transition is still poorly understood. By tracking the behavior of a single shear band, here we discover that the final fracture of various MGs during compression is triggered as the velocity of the dominant shear band rises to a critical value, the magnitude of which is independent of alloy composition, sample size, strain rate and testing frame stiffness. The critical shear band velocity is rationalized with the continuum theory of liquid instability, physically originating from a shear-induced cavitation process inside the shear band. Our current finding sheds a quantitative insight into deformation and fracture in disordered solids and, more importantly, is useful to the design of plastic/tough MG-based materials and structures.
Synthesis of Highly Crystalline Multilayered Boron Niride Microflakes
Authors: Ahmad Pervaiz , Khandaker Mayeen Uddin , Amin Yusoff Mohd , Muhammad Nawshad
Published: February 2016

Boron niride microflakes of 2–5 μm in diameter and greater than 40 μm in length with multilayer structure and highly crystalline nature are synthesized in two states of catalysts and dual role of nitrogen at 1100 °C. Most of the microflakes are flat, smooth and vertically aligned with a wall-like view from the top. Transmission electron microscopy shows overlapped layers of microflakes with an interlayer spacing of 0.34 nm. The h-BN components of the synthesized microflakes are verified from B 1s and N1 s peaks at 190. 7 and 397.9 eV. Raman shift at 1370 (cm−1) and sharp peaks in the XRD pattern further confirm the h-BN phase and crystalline nature of the synthesized microflakes. Microflakes of h-BN with the above characteristics are highly desirable for the development of a solid state neutron detector with higher detection efficiency.
Surface Molecularly Imprinted Polymer of Chitosan Grafted Poly(methyl methacrylate) for 5-Fluorouracil and Controlled Release
Authors: Zheng Xue-Fang , Lian Qi , Yang Hua , Wang Xiuping
Published: February 2016

The molecular surface imprinted graft copolymer of chitosan with methyl methacrylate (MIP-CS-g-PMMA) were prepared by free radical polymerization with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as the template molecule using initiator of ammonium persulfate as adsorption system. MIPs were characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric analysis, 1H NMR and SEM. The mechanism of graft copolymerization and factors affected graft reaction were studied in details and the optimum reaction conditions (to the highest %G and %E as the standard) were obtained at [MMA] 1.2 mol/L, [Chitosan] 16.67 mol/L, [initiator] 0.0062 mol/L, temperature 60 °C and reaction time 7 h. MIPs exhibited high recognition selectivity and excellent combining affinity to template molecular. The in vitro release of the 5-FU was highly pH-dependent and time delayed. The release behavior showed that the drugs did not release in simulated gastric fluid (pH = 1.0) and the drug release was small in the simulated small intestinal fluid (pH = 6.8) and drug abrupt release will be produced in the simulated colon fluid (pH = 7.4), indicating excellent colon-specific drug delivery behavior.
Combining the absorptive and radiative loss in metasurfaces for multi-spectral shaping of the electromagnetic scattering
Authors: Pan Wenbo , Huang Cheng , Pu Mingbo , Ma Xiaoliang , Cui Jianhua , Zhao Bo , Luo Xiangang
Published: February 2016

The absorptive and radiative losses are two fundamental aspects of the electromagnetic responses, which are widely occurring in many different systems such as waveguides, solar cells and antennas. Here we proposed a metasurface to realize the control of the absorptive and radiative loss and to reduce the radar cross section (RCS) in multi-frequency bands. The anti-phase gradient and absorptive metasurfaces were designed that consists of metallic square patch and square loop structure inserted with resistors, acting as an phase gradient material in the X and Ku band, while behaving as an absorber in the S band. The simulation and experiment results verified the double-band, wideband and polarization-independent RCS reduction by the absorptive and anti-phase gradient metasurfaces.
DDX3 promotes tumor invasion in colorectal cancer via the CK1ε/Dvl2 axis
Authors: He Tsung-Ying , Wu De-Wei , Lin Po-Lin , Wang Lee , Huang Chi-Chou , Chou Ming-Chih , Lee Huei
Published: February 2016

DDX3, a subunit of CK1ε, phosphorylates Dvl2 to promote β-catenin activation. Overexpression of the Dvl2 protein results in potent activation of β-catenin/TCF signaling in colorectal cancer. Therefore, we hypothesized that DDX3 might promote tumor invasion via the CK1ε/Dvl2 axis due to β-catenin/TCF activation. Western blotting showed that β-catenin expression was decreased by DDX3 knockdown and increased by DDX3 overexpression in colorectal cancer cells. The TCF promoter activity and invasion capability were concomitantly increased and decreased by DDX3 manipulation in these cells. The invasion capability in colon cancer cells and xenograft lung tumor nodules induced by a DDX3-overexpressing T84 stable clone in tail-vein injection model were nearly suppressed by inhibitors of CK1ε (PF4800567) and β-catenin/TCF signaling (XAV939). Among colorectal cancer patients, DDX3 expression was positively correlated with the expression of pDvl2 and nuclear β-catenin in tumor tissues. The expression of pDvl2 occurred more frequently in high-nuclear than in low-nuclear β-catenin tumors. A prognostic significance of DDX3, pDvl2 and nuclear β-catenin on overall survival and relapse free survival was observed in this study population. We therefore suggest CK1ε or β-catenin/TCF signaling as potential targets for improving tumor regression and outcomes in colorectal cancer, particularly tumors with high-DDX3/high-nuclear β-catenin or high-DDX3/high-pDvl2/high-nuclear β-catenin expression.
Self-arrangement of nanoparticles toward crystalline metal oxides with high surface areas and tunable 3D mesopores
Authors: Lee Hyung Ik , Lee Yoon Yun , Kang Dong-Uk , Lee Kirim , Kwon Young-Uk , Kim Ji Man
Published: February 2016

We demonstrate a new design concept where the interaction between silica nanoparticles (about 1.5 nm in diameter) with titania nanoparticles (anatase, about 4 nm or 6 nm in diameter) guides a successful formation of mesoporous titania with crystalline walls and controllable porosity. At an appropriate solution pH (~1.5, depending on the deprotonation tendencies of two types of nanoparticles), the smaller silica nanoparticles, which attach to the surface of the larger titania nanoparticles and provide a portion of inactive surface and reactive surface of titania nanoparticles, dictate the direction and the degree of condensation of the titania nanoparticles, resulting in a porous 3D framework. Further crystallization by a hydrothermal treatment and subsequent removal of silica nanoparticles result in a mesoporous titania with highly crystalline walls and tunable mesopore sizes. A simple control of the Si/Ti ratio verified the versatility of the present method through the successful control of mean pore diameter in the range of 2–35 nm and specific surface area in the ranges of 180–250 m2 g−1. The present synthesis method is successfully extended to other metal oxides, their mixed oxides and analogues with different particle sizes, regarding as a general method for mesoporous metal (or mixed metal) oxides.
Activation of the TGFβ pathway impairs endothelial to haematopoietic transition
Authors: Vargel Özge , Zhang Yang , Kosim Kinga , Ganter Kerstin , Foehr Sophia , Mardenborough Yannicka , Shvartsman Maya , Enright Anton J. , Krijgsveld Jeroen , Lancrin Christophe
Published: February 2016

The endothelial to haematopoietic transition (EHT) is a key developmental process where a drastic change of endothelial cell morphology leads to the formation of blood stem and progenitor cells during embryogenesis. As TGFβ signalling triggers a similar event during embryonic development called epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), we hypothesised that TGFβ activity could play a similar role in EHT as well. We used the mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation system for in vitro recapitulation of EHT and performed gain and loss of function analyses of the TGFβ pathway. Quantitative proteomics analysis showed that TGFβ treatment during EHT increased the secretion of several proteins linked to the vascular lineage. Live cell imaging showed that TGFβ blocked the formation of round blood cells. Using gene expression profiling we demonstrated that the TGFβ signalling activation decreased haematopoietic genes expression and increased the transcription of endothelial and extracellular matrix genes as well as EMT markers. Finally we found that the expression of the transcription factor Sox17 was up-regulated upon TGFβ signalling activation and showed that its overexpression was enough to block blood cell formation. In conclusion we showed that triggering the TGFβ pathway does not enhance EHT as we hypothesised but instead impairs it.
The nature of hydrogen-bonding interaction in the prototypic hybrid halide perovskite, tetragonal CH3NH3PbI3
Authors: Lee June Ho , Lee Jung-Hoon , Kong Eui-Hyun , Jang Hyun Myung
Published: February 2016

In spite of the key role of hydrogen bonding in the structural stabilization of the prototypic hybrid halide perovskite, CH3NH3PbI3(MAPbI3), little progress has been made in our in-depth understanding of the hydrogen-bonding interaction between the MA+-ion and the iodide ions in the PbI6-octahedron network. Herein, we show that there exist two distinct types of the hydrogen-bonding interaction, namingα- andβ-modes, in the tetragonal MAPbI3on the basis of symmetry argument and density-functional theory calculations. The computed Kohn-Sham (K-S) energy difference between these two interaction modes is 45.14 meV per MA-site with theα-interaction mode being responsible for the stable hydrogen-bonding network. The computed bandgap (Eg) is also affected by the hydrogen-bonding mode, withEgof theα-interaction mode (1.73 eV) being significantly narrower than that of theβ-interaction mode (2.03 eV). We have further estimated the individual bonding strength for the ten relevant hydrogen bonds having a bond critical point.
Relation between detection rate and inappropriate shocks in single versus dual chamber cardioverter-defibrillator – an analysis from the OPTION trial
Authors: Kolb Christof , Sturmer Marcio , Babuty Dominique , Sick Peter , Davy Jean Marc , Molon Giulio , Schwab Jörg Otto , Mantovani Giuseppe , Wickliffe Andrew , Lennerz Carsten , Semmler Verena , Siot Pierre-Henri , Reif Sebastian
Published: February 2016

The programming of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) influences inappropriate shock rates. The aim of the study is to analyse rates of patients with appropriate and inappropriate shocks according to detection zones in the OPTION trial. All patients received dual chamber (DC) ICDs randomly assigned to be programmed either to single chamber (SC) or to DC settings including PARAD+ algorithm. In a post-hoc analysis, rates of patients with inappropriate and appropriate shocks were calculated for shocks triggered at heart rates ≥170 bpm (ventricular tachycardia zone) and at rates ≥200 bpm (ventricular fibrillation zone). In the SC group, higher rates of patients with total and inappropriate shocks were delivered at heart rates ≥170 bpm than at rates ≥200 bpm (total shocks: 21.1% vs. 16.6%; p = 0.002; inappropriate shocks: 7.6% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.016; appropriate shocks: 15.2% vs. 13.5%; p = n.s.). No such differences were observed in the DC group (total shocks: 14.3% vs. 12.6%; p = n.s.; inappropriate shocks: 3.9% vs. 3.6%; p = n.s.; appropriate shocks: 12.2% vs. 10.4%; p = n.s.). The higher frequency of patients with total shocks with SC settings than with DC settings that benefit from PARAD+ was driven by a higher percentage of patients with inappropriate shocks in the VT zone (170–200 bpm) in the SC population.
Design of nanomaterial based systems for novel vaccine development
Authors: Yang Liu , Li Wen , Kirberger Michael , Liao Wenzhen , Ren Jiaoyan
Published: February 2016

Nanomaterials including PLGA,PPS nanoparticles, liposomes,etc.are utilized in vaccine designment to improve delivery efficiency, increase immunogenicity and effectively target tissues, cells with desirable biocompatibility.
Synthesis, cytotoxic and urease inhibitory activities of some novel isatin-derived bis-Schiff bases and their copper(ii) complexes
Authors: Pervez Humayun , Ahmad Maqbool , Zaib Sumera , Yaqub Muhammad , Naseer Muhammad Moazzam , Iqbal Jamshed
Published: February 2016

The putative binding mode of the most active compound3bin the active site of Jack bean urease.
Naked eye sensing of melamine: aggregation induced recognition by sodium d-gluconate stabilised silver nanoparticles
Authors: Kaleeswaran Palanichamy , Nandhini Thanasekaran , Pitchumani Kasi
Published: February 2016

A simple, cost-effective sodium d-gluconate stabilised Ag NP system was developed and its sensing behavior towards melamine was studied.
Credible evidence for the passivation effect of remnant PbI2 in CH3NH3PbI3 films in improving the performance of perovskite solar cells
Authors: Wang Shimao , Dong Weiwei , Fang Xiaodong , Zhang Qingli , Zhou Shu , Deng Zanhong , Tao Ruhua , Shao Jingzhen , Xia Rui , Song Chao , Hu Linhua , Zhu Jun
Published: February 2016

The passivation effects of unreacted and decomposed PbI2 in CH3NH3PbI3 films in improving the performance of perovskite solar cells have been confirmed unquestionably.
Obtaining electrical equivalent circuits of biological tissues using the current interruption method, circuit theory and fractional calculus
Authors: Hernández-Balaguera E. , López-Dolado E. , Polo J. L.
Published: February 2016

The current interruption method allows a real-time estimation of the physiological state of tissues from their electrical properties.
Gas hydrates model for the mechanistic investigation of the Wittig reaction “on water”
Authors: Ayub Khurshid , Ludwig Ralf
Published: February 2016

Water in action! A gas hydrate model consisting of 20 water molecules nicely illustrates acceleration ofcis-Wittig reaction overtrans-Wittig reaction "on water". "Bucky" water is a perfect model for describing chemical reactions "on water".
Inhibition of the key enzyme of sialic acid biosynthesis by C6-Se modified N-acetylmannosamine analogs
Authors: Nieto-Garcia Olaia , Wratil Paul R. , Nguyen Long D. , Böhrsch Verena , Hinderlich Stephan , Reutter Werner , Hackenberger Christian P. R.
Published: February 2016

Synthetically accessible C6-analogs ofN-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) were tested as potential inhibitors of the bifunctional UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE/MNK), the key enzyme of sialic acid biosynthesis.
High performance near-infrared photodetectors based on ultrathin SnS nanobelts grown via physical vapor deposition
Authors: Zhou Xing , Gan Lin , Zhang Qi , Xiong Xing , Li Huiqiao , Zhong Zhiqiang , Han Junbo , Zhai Tianyou
Published: February 2016

High performance near-infrared photodetectors based on ultrathin SnS nanobelts grown via physical vapor deposition, showing a high responsivity of 300 A W−1 and a fast decay time of 7 ms.
1H NMR-based urine metabolomics for the evaluation of kidney injury in Wistar rats by 3-MCPD
Authors: Ji Jian , Zhang Lijuan , Zhang Hongxia , Sun Chao , Sun Jiadi , Jiang Hui , Abdalhai Mandour H. , Zhang YinZhi , Sun Xiulan
Published: February 2016

The cause of toxicity induced by 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) remains under investigation, and progress towards understanding this toxicity has been limited by the lack of sensitive and reliable biomarkers.
Upgraded biofuel from alcohol–acetone feedstocks over a two-stage flow-through catalytic system
Authors: Onyestyák Gy. , Novodárszki Gy. , Farkas Wellisch Á. , Pilbáth A.
Published: February 2016

Over a two-stage flow-through catalytic system an advantageous mixture of various straight and branched alkanes can be obtained. In the second reactor the commercial NiMo/Al2O3 hydrodeoxygenating catalyst shows similar good properties as alkylating Pd-catalysts in the first stage.
Experimental and theoretical studies of Si–Cl and Ge–Cl σ-bond activation reactions by iridium-hydride
Authors: Kameo H. , Ikeda K. , Sakaki S. , Takemoto S. , Nakazawa H. , Matsuzaka H.
Published: February 2016

We report the iridium hydride-mediated Si–Cl and Ge–Cl σ-bond activation in a low-polarity toluene solution owing to diphosphine-chelation, in which the Si–Cl and Ge–Cl σ-bonds are readily cleaved through an SN2-type pathwayviathe formation of a free chloride anion.
Novel aggregation-induced emission and thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials based on thianthrene-9,9′,10,10′-tetraoxide derivatives
Authors: Sun Kaiyong , Jiang Wei , Ban Xinxin , Huang Bin , Zhang Zhaohang , Ye Muyang , Sun Yueming
Published: February 2016

By introducing more proportion of carbazole, the newly designed molecule3tCzDSO2integrates the features of AIE and TADF with extremely small ΔEST.
Control of gradient activation energy on the formation and properties of multiferroic composite thin films
Authors: Tang Yu , Zhang Yi , Wang Zongrong , Ma Ning , Du Piyi
Published: February 2016

Gradient activation energy, caused by stress from the substrate, makes the crystallinity and properties of multiferroic composite thin films be different at each horizontal micro-layer and change continuously along the normal direction.
Continuous action segmentation and recognition using hybrid convolutional neural network‐hidden Markov model model
Authors: Lei Jun , Li Guohui , Zhang Jun , Guo Qiang , Tu Dan
Published: February 2016

Continuous action recognition in video is more complicated compared with traditional isolated action recognition. Besides the high variability of postures and appearances of each action, the complex temporal dynamics of continuous action makes this problem challenging. In this study, the authors propose a hierarchical framework combining convolutional neural network (CNN) and hidden Markov model (HMM), which recognises and segments continuous actions simultaneously. The authors utilise the CNN's powerful capacity of learning high level features directly from raw data, and use it to extract effective and robust action features. The HMM is used to model the statistical dependences over adjacent sub‐actions and infer the action sequences. In order to combine the advantages of these two models, the hybrid architecture of CNN‐HMM is built. The Gaussian mixture model is replaced by CNN to model the emission distribution of HMM. The CNN‐HMM model is trained using embedded Viterbi algorithm, and the data used to train CNN are labelled by forced alignment. The authors test their method on two public action dataset Weizmann and KTH. Experimental results show that the authors’ method achieves improved recognition and segmentation accuracy compared with several other methods. The superior property of features learnt by CNN is also illustrated.
Frequency‐dependent cable modelling for small‐signal stability analysis of VSC‐HVDC systems
Authors: Beerten Jef , D'Arco Salvatore , Suul Jon Are
Published: February 2016

State‐of‐the‐art time‐domain models of power cables account for the frequency dependency of physical parameters to enable accurate transient simulations of high‐voltage transmission schemes. Owing to their formulation, these models cannot be directly converted into a state‐space form as required for small‐signal eigenvalue analysis. Thus, dc cables are commonly represented in high‐voltage direct current (HVDC) power system stability studies by cascaded pi‐section equivalents that neglect the frequency‐dependent effects. This study demonstrates how the conventional cascaded pi‐section model is unable to accurately represent the damping characteristic of the cable and how this can lead to incorrect stability assessments. Furthermore, an alternative model consisting of cascaded pi‐sections with multiple parallel branches is explored, which allows for a state‐space representation while accounting for the frequency dependency of the cable parameters. The performance of the proposed model is benchmarked against state‐of‐the‐art cable models both in the frequency domain and in the time domain. Finally, the study provides a comparative example of the impact of the cable modelling on the small‐signal dynamics of a point‐to‐point voltage‐source converter (VSC) HVDC transmission scheme.
Power‐constrained contrast enhancement for organic light‐emitting diode display using locality‐preserving histogram equalisation
Authors: Shin Jeyong , Park Rae‐Hong
Published: February 2016

Display capabilities of the smart mobile devices are highly developed for the last decade. Thus, it is necessary to consider both quality of the images and the power consumed by the display. In this study, a power‐constrained contrast enhancement method formulated as an optimisation problem (quadratically constrained quadratic programming) is proposed. The proposed locality condition is used to enhance the conventional histogram equalisation, where power constraint is used to specify the power‐consumption ratio of the enhanced image. The experimental results show that the proposed method effectively enhances the quality of single images with designated power reduction achieved. The proposed algorithm is also applied to video sequences with a simple and effective update algorithm in real‐time. The update algorithm gives successful results without flickering artefacts observed in existing methods.
Brushless DC motor drive with power factor regulation using Landsman converter
Authors: Singh Praveen Kumar , Singh Bhim , Bist Vashist
Published: February 2016

This study presents a novel configuration of power factor regulation (PFR)‐based Landsman converter feeding a brushless DC motor (BLDCM) drive for low‐power (400 W) white goods applications. The speed control of the drive is achieved through adjusting the DC bus voltage of voltage source inverter (VSI) feeding to a BLDCM. Moreover, low‐frequency switching signals are used for electronic commutation of BLDCM, which reduces the switching power losses of six solid‐state switches of VSI. This Landsman converter‐based front‐end power factor corrector operating in discontinuous inductor current mode is used to control DC bus voltage and PFR is achieved inherently. The DC bus voltage of the drive is controlled by using a single DC voltage sensor. For evaluating the performance of proposed drive, a prototype is developed in the laboratory. The performance of the BLDCM is also analysed for its operation at varying AC mains voltage (90–265 V). Experiential results for power quality indices are found within the limits of power quality standard IEC 61000‐3‐2.
Lyapunov exponent‐based optimal PMU placement approach with application to transient stability assessment
Authors: Rashidi Mehran , Farjah Ebrahim
Published: February 2016

This study presents a Lyapunov exponent‐based approach for optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) to achieve full network observability and improve real‐time system stability monitoring and assessment. To that end, a new optimisation formulation, which maximises measurement redundancy for critical buses without increasing the minimum number of PMUs required for full network observability, is proposed first. Next, considering the role of each bus in the overall system stability, critical buses are identified using a Lyapunov exponent‐based approach. After that, a method is proposed to determine the significance of each critical bus for measurement redundancy analysis. The significance of critical buses is then incorporated into the proposed optimisation formulation and PMU locations are specified. At the end, system stability assessment following disturbances is performed using the PMUs data at critical buses. The proposed optimal PMU placement method is tested on the IEEE 39 bus test system and the results are presented. The robustness of the proposed method with respect to changes in operating point is verified. The results show that besides full network observability with the least number of PMUs in normal condition, the proposed method facilitates stability monitoring and assessment following disturbances despite limited coverage of PMUs.