bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Connecting Self-Awareness and Error-Awareness in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Dockree Paul M. , Tarleton Yvonne M. , Carton Simone , FitzGerald Mary C.C.
Published: August 2015

Impaired self-awareness after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often seen in stark contrast to the observations of significant-others, who are acutely aware of the difficulties experienced by patients. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between metacognitive knowledge in daily life and emergent awareness of errors during laboratory tasks, since the breakdown of error detection mechanisms may impose limitations on the recovery of metacognitive knowledge after TBI. We also examined the extent to which these measures of awareness can predict dysexecutive behaviors. A sample of TBI patients (n=62) and their significant-others, provided reports of daily functioning post injury. In addition, patients underwent a neuropsychological assessment and were instructed to signal their errors during go/no-go tests. Interrelationships between metacognitive and emergent levels of awareness were examined, after controlling for the influence of secondary cognitive variables. Significant-other ratings correlated with errors made by the patients on neuropsychological tests but not with their premorbid function. Patients who under-reported daily life difficulties or over-reported their competency, compared to significant-other reports, were less likely to show awareness of laboratory errors. Emergent awareness was also identified as the sole predictor of performance on the modified six-element test, an ecologically valid test of multitasking. The online breakdown of error awareness after brain injury is related to difficulties with metacognitive awareness as reported in daily life, and is also predictive of dysexecutive behaviors. These findings are discussed in the context of multidimensional and neural models of awareness and error monitoring. (JINS, 2015,21, 473–482)
Food for thought: obstacles to menu labelling in restaurants and cafeterias
Authors: Thomas Erica
Published: August 2015

Menu labelling is recommended as a policy intervention to reduce obesity and diet-related disease. The present commentary considers the many challenges the restaurant industry faces in providing nutrition information on its menus. Barriers include lack of nutrition expertise, time, cost, availability of nutrition information for exotic ingredients, ability to provide accurate nutrition information, libel risk, customer dissatisfaction, limited space on the menu, menu variations, loss of flexibility in changing the menu, staff training and resistance of employees to change current practice. Health promotion specialists and academics involved in fieldwork must help restaurateurs find solutions to these barriers for menu labelling interventions to be widely implemented and successful. Practical support for small independent restaurants such as free or subsidised nutrition analysis, nutrition training for staff and menu design may also be necessary to encourage voluntary participation.
Sustainable life support on Mars – the potential roles of cyanobacteria
Authors: Verseux Cyprien , Baqué Mickael , Lehto Kirsi , de Vera Jean-Pierre P. , Rothschild Lynn J. , Billi Daniela
Published: August 2015

Even though technological advances could allow humans to reach Mars in the coming decades, launch costs prohibit the establishment of permanent manned outposts for which most consumables would be sent from Earth. This issue can be addressed byin situresource utilization: producing part or all of these consumables on Mars, from local resources. Biological components are needed, among other reasons because various resources could be efficiently produced only by the use of biological systems. But most plants and microorganisms are unable to exploit Martian resources, and sending substrates from Earth to support their metabolism would strongly limit the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of their cultivation. However, resources needed to grow specific cyanobacteria are available on Mars due to their photosynthetic abilities, nitrogen-fixing activities and lithotrophic lifestyles. They could be used directly for various applications, including the production of food, fuel and oxygen, but also indirectly: products from their culture could support the growth of other organisms, opening the way to a wide range of life-support biological processes based on Martian resources. Here we give insights into how and why cyanobacteria could play a role in the development of self-sustainable manned outposts on Mars.
Enabling sense-making for patients receiving outpatient palliative treatment: A participatory action research driven model for person-centered communication
Authors: Öhlén J. , Carlsson G. , Jepsen A. , Lindberg I. , Friberg F.
Published: August 2015

Objectives:

In clinical palliative cancer care, the diversity of patient concerns over time makes information provision a critical issue, the demands of information-seeking patients presenting a challenge to both the communicative and organizational skills of the health provider. This study puts forward a practice model for communication between patients, their family members, and professional health providers during ongoing palliative chemotherapy; a model which supports the providers in enabling person-centered communication.

Method:

A constant comparative analysis adapted to participatory action research was applied. The model was developed step-wise in three interrelated cycles, with results from previous studies from palliative cancer care processed in relation to professional health providers' experience-based clinical knowledge. In doing this, focus group discussions were carried out with providers and patients to develop and revise the model.

Results:

The Enabling Sense Making model for person-centered communication gave rise to three domains (which are also the major communicative actors in palliative care): the patient, the family, and the provider. These actors were placed in the context of a communicative arena. The three respective domains were built up in different layers discriminating between significant aspects of person-centered communication, from the manifest that is most usually explicated in dialogues, to the latent that tends to be implicitly mediated.

Significance of results:

The model intends to facilitate timely reorientation of care from curative treatment or rehabilitation to palliation, as well as the introduction of appropriate palliative interventions over time during palliative phases. In this way the model is to be regarded a frame for directing the awareness of the professionals, which focuses on how to communicate and how to consider the patient’s way of reasoning. The model could be used as a complement to other strategic initiatives for the advancement of palliative care communication. It needs to be further evaluated in regard to practice evidence.
Assessment of discomfort in patients with cognitive failure in palliative care
Authors: Ferraz Gonçalves José António , Costa Elisabete , Edra Natércia , Gil João , Martinho Carla , Neves Emília , Peixoto Vânia , Rodrigues Andreia , Silva Margarida , Teixeira Sara
Published: August 2015

Objective:

When cognitive impairment precludes patients' report of symptoms, it becomes necessary to use other means. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the validity of the method currently in use on our service.

Method:

Two members of the team simultaneously assessed the patient and independently recorded whether the patient showed signs of discomfort, and a third questioned patients with cognitive failure who maintained some ability to respond if something was bothering them.

Results:

Some 200 assessments were made of 116 patients. The kappa coefficient of agreement was 0.615. The sensitivity was 17% and specificity 99%. The positive predictive value was 88%, and the negative predictive value was 73%.

Significance of Results:

Due to the low sensitivity of this method, it cannot be recommended as a screening tool.
Gymnolaemata bryozoans of Bahia State, Brazil
Authors: Almeida Ana Carolina Sousa , Alves Orane , Peso-Aguiar Marlene , Dominguez José , Souza Facelucia
Published: August 2015

A checklist of Gymnolaemata bryozoans from Bahia State, north-east Brazil, is presented. Specimens are lodged in the Bryozoa collection of the Museu de Zoologia at the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). The checklist comprises 135 species in 54 families, the majority belonging to the order Cheilostomata.
The beginning of application of international humanitarian law: A discussion of a few challenges
Authors: Grignon Julia
Published: August 2015

This article discusses some of the challenges related to the beginning of application of international humanitarian law (IHL). It concludes that IHL pertaining to international armed conflicts begins to apply as soon as one State employs force in the territory of another State without the latter's consent, provided that the violence is of a collective nature. In the case of non-international armed conflicts, this article acknowledges that it is now well settled that the two key criteria are the organization of the parties to the conflict and the level of intensity of the violence. This article shows however that some of the challenges inherent to the beginning of application of IHL make it almost impossible to identify a very single point in time at which it begins to become applicable, be it for international armed conflicts, including occupation, or non-international armed conflicts.
Offspring’s hydromineral adaptive responses to maternal undernutrition during lactation
Authors: Nuñez P. , Arguelles J. , Perillan C.
Published: August 2015

Early development, throughout gestation and lactation, represents a period of extreme vulnerability during which susceptibility to later metabolic and cardiovascular injuries increases. Maternal diet is a major determinant of the foetal and newborn developmental environment; maternal undernutrition may result in adaptive responses leading to structural and molecular alterations in various organs and tissues, such as the brain and kidney. New nephron anlages appear in the renal cortex up to postnatal day 4 and the last anlages to be formed develop into functional nephrons by postnatal day 10 in rodents. We used a model of undernutrition in rat dams that were food-restricted during the first half of the lactation period in order to study the long-term effects of maternal diet on renal development, behaviour and neural hydromineral control mechanisms. The study showed that after 40% food restriction in maternal dietary intake, the dipsogenic responses for both water and salt intake were not altered; Fos expression in brain areas investigated involved in hydromineral homeostasis control was always higher in the offspring in response to isoproterenol. This was accompanied by normal plasma osmolality changes and typical renal histology. These results suggest that the mechanisms for the control of hydromineral balance were unaffected in the offspring of these 40% food-restricted mothers. Undernutrition of the pups may not be as drastic as suggested by dams’ restriction.
Considering the Effects of Nonresponse on Correlations Between Surveyed Variables
Authors: Heggestad Eric D. , Rogelberg Steven , Goh Adrian , Oswald Frederick L.
Published: August 2015

Nonresponse to organizational surveys is a vexing problem. Although scholars have a reasonable understanding of how systematic nonresponse influences estimates of population means, they are likely to have less context for understanding how it impacts correlations. We present the results of a simulation study designed to provide a frame of reference for understanding the extent to which systematic nonresponse can bias observed correlations between surveyed variables. Although there were cases where notable levels of bias were observed in the correlations, the majority of situations simulated resulted in mean observed correlations that were within .05 of the true correlation. The variety of situations simulated allows researchers to evaluate the external validity of observed correlations in their data – a critical goal for survey researchers in practice and academics.
Work–Life Imbalance as a Moderator in the Relationship Between Resources and Work Engagement
Authors: Vîrgă Delia , Horga Alexandra , Iliescu Dragoș
Published: August 2015

This study examines the interplay between (a) job resources, (b) personal resources (organizational-based self-esteem, self-efficacy), and personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability), (c) a specific job demand (work–life imbalance), and (d) work engagement, in line with the alternative JD-R model proposed by Bakker (2011) . Data was collected from 223 Romanian employees. Results show that work–life imbalance (WLI) undermines the positive relationship between self-efficacy and work engagement. In a three-way Job resources × Personal resources × Job demands interaction, self-efficacy and job resources had a positive relationship with work engagement when work–life imbalance was low. Also, in a three-way Job resources × Personality × Job demands interaction, the association between emotional stability and job resources was positive when work–life imbalance was low.
mRIN for direct assessment of genome-wide and gene-specific mRNA integrity from large-scale RNA-sequencing data
Authors: Feng Huijuan , Zhang Xuegong , Zhang Chaolin
Published: August 2015

The volume of RNA-Seq data sets in public repositories has been expanding exponentially, providing unprecedented opportunities to study gene expression regulation. Because degraded RNA samples, such as those collected from post-mortem tissues, can result in distinct expression profiles with potential biases, a particularly important step in mining these data is quality control. Here we develop a method named mRIN to directly assess mRNA integrity from RNA-Seq data at the sample and individual gene level. We systematically analyse large-scale RNA-Seq data sets of the human brain transcriptome generated by different consortia. Our analysis demonstrates that 3′ bias resulting from partial RNA fragmentation in post-mortem tissues has a marked impact on global expression profiles, and that mRIN effectively identifies samples with different levels of mRNA degradation. Unexpectedly, this process has a reproducible and gene-specific component, and transcripts with different stabilities are associated with distinct functions and structural features reminiscent of mRNA decay in living cells.
Climate-mediated diversification of turtles in the Cretaceous
Authors: Nicholson David B. , Holroyd Patricia A. , Benson Roger B. J. , Barrett Paul M.
Published: August 2015

Chelonians are ectothermic, with an extensive fossil record preserved in diverse palaeoenvironmental settings: consequently, they represent excellent models for investigating organismal response to long-term environmental change. We present the first Mesozoic chelonian taxic richness curve, subsampled to remove geological/collection biases, and demonstrate that their palaeolatitudinal distributions were climate mediated. At the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition, marine taxa exhibit minimal diversity change, whereas non-marine diversity increases. A Late Cretaceous peak in ‘global’ non-marine subsampled richness coincides with high palaeolatitude occurrences and the Cretaceous thermal maximum (CTM): however, this peak also records increased geographic sampling and is not recovered in continental-scale diversity patterns. Nevertheless, a model-detrended richness series (insensitive to geographic sampling) also recovers a Late Cretaceous peak, suggesting genuine geographic range expansion among non-marine turtles during the CTM. Increased Late Cretaceous diversity derives from intensive North American sampling, but subsampling indicates that Early Cretaceous European/Asian diversity may have exceeded that of Late Cretaceous North America.
Hail formation triggers rapid ash aggregation in volcanic plumes
Authors: Van Eaton Alexa R. , Mastin Larry G. , Herzog Michael , Schwaiger Hans F. , Schneider David J. , Wallace Kristi L. , Clarke Amanda B.
Published: August 2015

During explosive eruptions, airborne particles collide and stick together, accelerating the fallout of volcanic ash and climate-forcing aerosols. This aggregation process remains a major source of uncertainty both in ash dispersal forecasting and interpretation of eruptions from the geological record. Here we illuminate the mechanisms and timescales of particle aggregation from a well-characterized ‘wet’ eruption. The 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, incorporated water from the surface (in this case, a glacier), which is a common occurrence during explosive volcanism worldwide. Observations from C-band weather radar, fall deposits and numerical modelling demonstrate that hail-forming processes in the eruption plume triggered aggregation of ∼95% of the fine ash and stripped much of the erupted mass out of the atmosphere within 30 min. Based on these findings, we propose a mechanism of hail-like ash aggregation that contributes to the anomalously rapid fallout of fine ash and occurrence of concentrically layered aggregates in volcanic deposits.
Flexible lithium–oxygen battery based on a recoverable cathode
Authors: Liu Qing-Chao , Xu Ji-Jing , Xu Dan , Zhang Xin-Bo
Published: August 2015

Although flexible power sources are crucial for the realization next-generation flexible electronics, their application in such devices is hindered by their low theoretical energy density. Rechargeable lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries can provide extremely high specific energies, while the conventional Li–O2 battery is bulky, inflexible and limited by the absence of effective components and an adjustable cell configuration. Here we show that a flexible Li–O2 battery can be fabricated using unique TiO2 nanowire arrays grown onto carbon textiles (NAs/CT) as a free-standing cathode and that superior electrochemical performances can be obtained even under stringent bending and twisting conditions. Furthermore, the TiO2 NAs/CT cathode features excellent recoverability, which significantly extends the cycle life of the Li–O2 battery and lowers its life cycle cost.
Detection of entanglement in asymmetric quantum networks and multipartite quantum steering
Authors: Cavalcanti D. , Skrzypczyk P. , Aguilar G. H. , Nery R. V. , Ribeiro P.H. Souto , Walborn S. P.
Published: August 2015

The future of quantum communication relies on quantum networks composed by observers sharing multipartite quantum states. The certification of multipartite entanglement will be crucial to the usefulness of these networks. In many real situations it is natural to assume that some observers are more trusted than others in the sense that they have more knowledge of their measurement apparatuses. Here we propose a general method to certify all kinds of multipartite entanglement in this asymmetric scenario and experimentally demonstrate it in an optical experiment. Our results, which can be seen as a definition of genuine multipartite quantum steering, give a method to detect entanglement in a scenario in between the standard entanglement and fully device-independent scenarios, and provide a basis for semi-device-independent cryptographic applications in quantum networks.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: An apoptosis-enhancing drug overcomes platinum resistance in a tumour-initiating subpopulation of ovarian cancer
Authors: Janzen D. M. , Tiourin E. , Salehi J. A. , Paik D. Y. , Lu J. , Pellegrini M. , Memarzadeh S.
Published: August 2015

High-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSCs) are deadly malignancies that relapse despite carboplatin chemotherapy. Here we show that 16 independent primary HGSC samples contain a CA125-negative population enriched for carboplatin-resistant cancer initiating cells. Transcriptome analysis reveals upregulation of homologous recombination DNA repair and anti-apoptotic signals in this population. While treatment with carboplatin enriches for CA125-negative cells, co-treatment with carboplatin and birinapant eliminates these cells in HGSCs expressing high levels of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein cIAP in the CA125-negative population. Birinapant sensitizes CA125-negative cells to carboplatin by mediating degradation of cIAP causing cleavage of caspase 8 and restoration of apoptosis. This co-therapy significantly improves disease-free survival in vivo compared with either therapy alone in tumour-bearing mice. These findings suggest that therapeutic strategies that target CA125-negative cells may be useful in the treatment of HGSC.
Field data sets for seagrass biophysical properties for the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay, Australia, 2004–2014
Authors: Roelfsema Chris M. , Kovacs Eva M. , Phinn Stuart R.
Published: August 2015

This paper describes seagrass species and percentage cover point-based field data sets derived from georeferenced photo transects. Annually or biannually over a ten year period (2004–2014) data sets were collected using 30–50 transects, 500–800 m in length distributed across a 142 km2 shallow, clear water seagrass habitat, the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay, Australia. Each of the eight data sets include seagrass property information derived from approximately 3000 georeferenced, downward looking photographs captured at 2–4 m intervals along the transects. Photographs were manually interpreted to estimate seagrass species composition and percentage cover (Coral Point Count excel; CPCe). Understanding seagrass biology, ecology and dynamics for scientific and management purposes requires point-based data on species composition and cover. This data set, and the methods used to derive it are a globally unique example for seagrass ecological applications. It provides the basis for multiple further studies at this site, regional to global comparative studies, and, for the design of similar monitoring programs elsewhere.
Bioluminescent imaging of vaccinia virus infection in immunocompetent and immunodeficient rats as a model for human smallpox
Authors: Liu Qiang , Fan Changfa , Zhou Shuya , Guo Yanan , Zuo Qin , Ma Jian , Liu Susu , Wu Xi , Peng Zexu , Fan Tao , Guo Chaoshe , Shen Yuelei , Huang Weijin , Li Baowen , He Zhengming , Wang Youchun
Published: August 2015

Due to the increasing concern of using smallpox virus as biological weapons for terrorist attack, there is renewed interest in studying the pathogenesis of human smallpox and development of new therapies. Animal models are highly demanded for efficacy and safety examination of new vaccines and therapeutic drugs. Here, we demonstrated that both wild type and immunodeficient rats infected with an engineered vaccinia virus carrying Firefly luciferase reporter gene (rTV-Fluc) could recapitulate infectious and clinical features of human smallpox. Vaccinia viral infection in wild type Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats displayed a diffusible pattern in various organs, including liver, head and limbs. The intensity of bioluminescence generated from rTV-Fluc correlated well with viral loads in tissues. Moreover, neutralizing antibodies had a protective effect against virus reinfection. The recombination activating gene 2 (Rag2) knockout rats generated by transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) technology were further used to examine the infectivity of the rTV-Fluc in immunodeficient populations. Here we demonstrated that Rag2-/- rats were more susceptible to rTV-Fluc than SD rats with a slower virus clearance rate. Therefore, the rTV-Fluc/SD rats and rTV-Fluc/Rag2-/- rats are suitable visualization models, which recapitulate wild type or immunodeficient populations respectively, for testing human smallpox vaccine and antiviral drugs.
Engineering Cyclodextrin Clicked Chiral Stationary Phase for High-Efficiency Enantiomer Separation
Authors: Tang Jian , Zhang Shapopeng , Lin Yuzhou , Zhou Jie , Pang Limin , Nie Xuemei , Zhou Baojing , Tang Weihua
Published: August 2015

The separation of racemic molecules is of crucial significance not only for fundamental research but also for technical application. Enantiomers remain challenging to be separated owing to their identical physical and chemical properties in achiral environments. Chromatographic techniques employing chiral stationary phases (CSPs) have been developed as powerful tools for the chiral analysis and preparation of pure enantiomers, most of which are of biological and pharmaceutical interests. Here we report our efforts in developing high-performance phenylcarbamated cyclodextrin (CD) clicked CSPs. Insights on the impact of CD functionalities in structure design are provided. High-efficiency enantioseparation of a range of aryl alcohols and flavanoids with resolution values (Rs) over 10 were demonstrated by per(3-chloro-4-methyl)phenylcarbamated CD clicked CSP. Comparison study and molecular simulations suggest the improved enantioselectivity was attributed to higher interactions energy difference between the complexes of enantiomers and CSPs with phenylcarbamated CD bearing 3-chloro and 4-methyl functionalities.
Ultra-high-performance core–shell structured Ru@Pt/C catalyst prepared by a facile pulse electrochemical deposition method
Authors: Chen Dan , Li Yuexia , Liao Shijun , Su Dong , Song Huiyu , Li Yingwei , Yang Lijun , Li Can
Published: August 2015

Core–shell structured catalysts, made by placing either a monolayer or a thin layer of a noble metal on relatively cheap core-metal nanoparticles, are fascinating and promising fuel cell catalysts due to their high utilization of noble metals. Here, we report our development of a core–shell structured catalyst, Ru@Pt/C, generated by a novel and facile pulse electrochemical deposition (PED) approach. We demonstrate that compared with a commercial Pt/C catalyst, this novel catalyst achieves over four times higher mass activity towards the anodic oxidation of methanol and 3.6 times higher mass activity towards the cathodic reduction of oxygen. Importantly, we find that the intrinsic activity of Pt in this Ru@Pt/C catalyst is doubled due to the formation of the core–shell structure. The catalyst also shows superior stability: even after 2000 scans, it still retains up to 90% of the peak current. Our findings demonstrate that this novel PED approach is a promising method for preparing high-performance core–shell catalysts for fuel cell applications.
Formulation of Biologically-Inspired Silk-Based Drug Carriers for Pulmonary Delivery Targeted for Lung Cancer
Authors: Kim Sally Yunsun , Naskar Deboki , Kundu Subhas C. , Bishop David P. , Doble Philip A. , Boddy Alan V. , Chan Hak-Kim , Wall Ivan B. , Chrzanowski Wojciech
Published: August 2015

The benefits of using silk fibroin, a major protein in silk, are widely established in many biomedical applications including tissue regeneration, bioactive coating and in vitro tissue models. The properties of silk such as biocompatibility and controlled degradation are utilized in this study to formulate for the first time as carriers for pulmonary drug delivery. Silk fibroin particles are spray dried or spray-freeze-dried to enable the delivery to the airways via dry powder inhalers. The addition of excipients such as mannitol is optimized for both the stabilization of protein during the spray-freezing process as well as for efficient dispersion using an in vitro aerosolisation impactor. Cisplatin is incorporated into the silk-based formulations with or without cross-linking, which show different release profiles. The particles show high aerosolisation performance through the measurement of in vitro lung deposition, which is at the level of commercially available dry powder inhalers. The silk-based particles are shown to be cytocompatible with A549 human lung epithelial cell line. The cytotoxicity of cisplatin is demonstrated to be enhanced when delivered using the cross-linked silk-based particles. These novel inhalable silk-based drug carriers have the potential to be used as anti-cancer drug delivery systems targeted for the lungs.
Lack of Correlation Between Liver Tests Abnormalities and Trabectedin Efficacy in the Treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcoma: a Retrospective Study
Authors: Vincenzi Bruno , Stumbo Luciano , Maltese Giuseppina , Cerbone Linda , Spalato Ceruso Mariella , Badalamenti Giuseppe , Santini Daniele , Tonini Giuseppe , Frezza Anna Maria , De Lisi Delia , Silletta Marianna
Published: August 2015

Elevation in liver transaminases is common in patients treated with the marine antitumor agent trabectedin. However, the impact of trabectedin-related transaminase elevations on treatment outcomes is unclear. This retrospective study investigated the correlation between liver tests abnormalities and treatment outcomes in patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic soft tissue sarcomas (STS) treated with trabectedin 1.5 mg/m2 once every 3 weeks at three reference centers in Italy. The effect of grade 3/4 elevations in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) during the first two cycles and at any time during trabectedin treatment on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Liver tests abnormalities during the first two cycles of chemotherapy or at any time during trabectedin treatment did not significantly affect PFS or OS. Nor were survival outcomes significantly different in the subgroups of patients with or without ALT/AST increases or with ALT/AST elevations ≥15 × the upper limit of normal (ULN) versus those with ALT/AST elevation <15 × ULN. Although liver tests abnormalities are common in patients treated with trabectedin, elevations in ALT and AST are usually transient, occur during the first two cycles of treatment and do not appear to affect survival.
Theory of Kerr and Faraday rotations and linear dichroism in Topological Weyl Semimetals
Authors: Kargarian Mehdi , Randeria Mohit , Trivedi Nandini
Published: August 2015

We consider the electromagnetic response of a topological Weyl semimetal (TWS) with a pair of Weyl nodes in the bulk and corresponding Fermi arcs in the surface Brillouin zone. We compute the frequency-dependent complex conductivities σαβ(ω) and also take into account the modification of Maxwell equations by the topological θ-term to obtain the Kerr and Faraday rotations in a variety of geometries. For TWS films thinner than the wavelength, the Kerr and Faraday rotations, determined by the separation between Weyl nodes, are significantly larger than in topological insulators. In thicker films, the Kerr and Faraday angles can be enhanced by choice of film thickness and substrate refractive index. We show that, for radiation incident on a surface with Fermi arcs, there is no Kerr or Faraday rotation but the electric field develops a longitudinal component inside the TWS and there is linear dichroism signal. Our results have implications for probing the TWS phase in various experimental systems.
Support of positive association in family-based genetic analysis between COL27A1 and Tourette syndrome
Authors: Liu Shiguo , Yu Xiaoxia , Xu Quanchen , Cui Jiajia , Yi Mingji , Zhang Xinhua , Ge Yinlin , Ma Xu
Published: August 2015

Recently, a genome-wide association study has indicated associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the Collagen Type XXVII Alpha 1 gene (COL27A1) and Tourette syndrome in several ethnic populations. To clarify the global relevance of the previously identified SNPs in the development of Tourette syndrome, the associations between polymorphisms in COL27A1and Tourette syndrome were assessed in Chinese trios. PCR-directed sequencing was used to evaluate the genetic contributions of three SNPs in COL27A1(rs4979356, rs4979357 and rs7868992) using haplotype relative risk (HRR) and transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) with a total of 260 Tourette syndrome trios. The family-based association was significant between Tourette syndrome and rs4979356 (TDT: χ2 = 4.804, P = 0.033; HRR = 1.75, P = 0.002; HHRR = 1.32, P = 0.027) and transmission disequilibrium was suspected for rs4979357 (TDT: χ2 = 3.969, P = 0.053; HRR = 1.84, P = 0.001; HHRR = 1.29, P = 0.044). No statistically significant allele transfer was found for rs7868992 (TDT: χ2 = 2.177, P = 0.158). Although the TDT results did not remain significant after applying the conservative Bonferroni correction (p = 0.005), the significant positive HRR analysis confirmed the possibility of showing transmission disequilibrium, which provides evidence for an involvement of COL27A1in the development of TS. However, these results need to be verified with larger datasets from different populations.
Residual Defect Density in Random Disks Deposits
Authors: Topic Nikola , Pöschel Thorsten , Gallas Jason A. C.
Published: August 2015

We investigate the residual distribution of structural defects in very tall packings of disks deposited randomly in large channels. By performing simulations involving the sedimentation of up to 50 × 109 particles we find all deposits to consistently show a non-zero residual density of defects obeying a characteristic power-law as a function of the channel width. This remarkable finding corrects the widespread belief that the density of defects should vanish algebraically with growing height. A non-zero residual density of defects implies a type of long-range spatial order in the packing, as opposed to only local ordering. In addition, we find deposits of particles to involve considerably less randomness than generally presumed.
Reformulating the Quantum Uncertainty Relation
Authors: Li Jun-Li , Qiao Cong-Feng
Published: August 2015

Uncertainty principle is one of the cornerstones of quantum theory. In the literature, there are two types of uncertainty relations, the operator form concerning the variances of physical observables and the entropy form related to entropic quantities. Both these forms are inequalities involving pairwise observables and are found to be nontrivial to incorporate multiple observables. In this work we introduce a new form of uncertainty relation which may give out complete trade-off relations for variances of observables in pure and mixed quantum systems. Unlike the prevailing uncertainty relations, which are either quantum state dependent or not directly measurable, our bounds for variances of observables are quantum state independent and immune from the “triviality” problem of having zero expectation values. Furthermore, the new uncertainty relation may provide a geometric explanation for the reason why there are limitations on the simultaneous determination of different observables in N-dimensional Hilbert space.
The impact of osteopontin on prognosis and clinicopathology of colorectal cancer patients: a systematic meta-analysis
Authors: Zhao Mingfei , Liang Feng , Zhang Buyi , Yan Wei , Zhang Jianmin
Published: August 2015

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent malignant neoplasms worldwide. Up to now, no biomarker has been used to predict the prognosis and surveillance of patients with CRC. Recently, the association between osteopontin (OPN) overexpression and the prognosis of CRC was investigated widely, but the results were inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of present meta-analysis was to assess the prognostic effect of osteopontin in patients with CRC. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus and Chinese Medical Database were systematically searched. A total of 15 studies containing 1698 patients were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled data of studies showed that high OPN expression was significantly associated with high tumor grades (OR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.55–3.23), lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.71–3.26) and tumor distant metastasis (OR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.01–5.60). Moreover, high OPN expression was significantly associated with the 2-year (HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.30–3.00), 3-year (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.24–2.68), 5 year (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.28–1.82) survival rates and overall survival (OS, HR 1.70, 95% CI 1.12–2.60), respectively. These results indicated that OPN could serve as a prognostic biomarker and as a potential therapeutic target for CRC.
Local-scale Partitioning of Functional and Phylogenetic Beta Diversity in a Tropical Tree Assemblage
Authors: Yang Jie , Swenson Nathan G. , Zhang Guocheng , Ci Xiuqin , Cao Min , Sha Liqing , Li Jie , Ferry Slik J. W. , Lin Luxiang
Published: August 2015

The relative degree to which stochastic and deterministic processes underpin community assembly is a central problem in ecology. Quantifying local-scale phylogenetic and functional beta diversity may shed new light on this problem. We used species distribution, soil, trait and phylogenetic data to quantify whether environmental distance, geographic distance or their combination are the strongest predictors of phylogenetic and functional beta diversity on local scales in a 20-ha tropical seasonal rainforest dynamics plot in southwest China. The patterns of phylogenetic and functional beta diversity were generally consistent. The phylogenetic and functional dissimilarity between subplots (10 × 10 m, 20 × 20 m, 50 × 50 m and 100 × 100 m) was often higher than that expected by chance. The turnover of lineages and species function within habitats was generally slower than that across habitats. Partitioning the variation in phylogenetic and functional beta diversity showed that environmental distance was generally a better predictor of beta diversity than geographic distance thereby lending relatively more support for deterministic environmental filtering over stochastic processes. Overall, our results highlight that deterministic processes play a stronger role than stochastic processes in structuring community composition in this diverse assemblage of tropical trees.
Prognostic Role of C-Reactive Protein In Urological Cancers: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhou Liang , Cai Xiang , Liu Qiang , Jian Zhong-Yu , Li Hong , Wang Kun-Jie
Published: August 2015

Growing evidence suggests serum C-reactive protein (CRP) can serve as a prognostic marker in urological cancers. However, some studies yield contradictory results. Our objective was to determine the relationship between baseline serum CRP and survival outcome in urological cancers. We searched PubMed and EMBASE databases until October 2014 without language restrictions. 44 independent studies investigating the association between baseline serum CRP and cancer-specific survival (CSS) or overall survival (OS) were selected. High CRP yielded a worse survival in renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Combined results of meta-analyses indicated that CRP was a prognostic factor in urological cancers (CSS: p < 0.01; OS: p < 0.01). Subgroup analyses confirmed the significant association between CRP and prognosis, regardless of race and cutoff value of CRP. Specifically, prognostic impact of CRP was also noted in patients with localized RCC treated with nephrectomy (CSS: p < 0.01) and metastatic RCC treated with molecular-targeted therapy (OS: p < 0.01). In conclusion, serum CRP is an independent prognostic factor in urological cancers and risk stratification by serum CRP level could be helpful for prognostic assessment.
Simultaneous morphology manipulation and upconversion luminescence enhancement of β-NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ microcrystals by simply tuning the KF dosage
Authors: Ding Mingye , Chen Daqin , Yin Shilong , Ji Zhenguo , Zhong Jiasong , Ni Yaru , Lu Chunhua , Xu Zhongzi
Published: August 2015

A strategy has been adopted for simultaneous morphology manipulation and upconversion luminescence enhancement of β-NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ microcrystals by simply tuning the KF dosage. X-ray power diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence spectra (PL) were used to characterize the samples. The influence of molar ratio of KF to Y3+ on the crystal phase and morphology has been systematically investigated and discussed. It is found that the molar ratio of KF to Y3+ can strongly control the morphology of the as-synthesized β-NaYF4 samples because of the different capping effect of F− ions on the different crystal faces. The possible formation mechanism has been proposed on the basis of a series of time-dependent experiments. More importantly, the upconversion luminescence of β-NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ was greatly enhanced by increasing the molar ratio of KF to RE3+ (RE = Y, Yb, Er), which is attributed to the distortion of local crystal field symmetry around lanthanide ions through K+ ions doping. This synthetic methodology is expected to provide a new strategy for simultaneous morphology control and remarkable upconversion luminescence enhancement of yttrium fluorides, which may be applicable for other rare earth fluorides.
Charge carrier mobility in hybrid halide perovskites
Authors: Motta Carlo , El-Mellouhi Fedwa , Sanvito Stefano
Published: August 2015

The charge transport properties of hybrid halide perovskites are investigated with a combination of density functional theory including van der Waals interaction and the Boltzmann theory for diffusive transport in the relaxation time approximation. We find the mobility of electrons to be in the range 5–10 cm2V−1s−1 and that for holes within 1–5 cm2V−1s−1, where the variations depend on the crystal structure investigated and the level of doping. Such results, in good agreement with recent experiments, set the relaxation time to about 1 ps, which is the time-scale for the molecular rotation at room temperature. For the room temperature tetragonal phase we explore two possible orientations of the organic cations and find that the mobility has a significant asymmetry depending on the direction of the current with respect to the molecular axis. This is due mostly to the way the PbI3 octahedral symmetry is broken. Interestingly we find that substituting I with Cl has minor effects on the mobilities. Our analysis suggests that the carrier mobility is probably not a key factor in determining the high solar-harvesting efficiency of this class of materials.
Pathogenicity of Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia-associated vaccine-induced alloantibodies correlates with Major Histocompatibility Complex class I expression
Authors: Benedictus Lindert , Luteijn Rutger D. , Otten Henny , Jan Lebbink Robert , van Kooten Peter J. S. , Wiertz Emmanuel J. H. J. , Rutten Victor P. M. G. , Koets Ad P.
Published: August 2015

Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia (BNP), a fatal bleeding syndrome of neonatal calves, is caused by maternal alloantibodies absorbed from colostrum and is characterized by lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia and bone marrow hypoplasia. An inactivated viral vaccine is the likely source of alloantigens inducing BNP-associated alloantibodies in the dam. In this study the specificity of BNP alloantibodies was assessed and was linked to the pathology of BNP. We demonstrated that Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC I) and Very Late Antigen-3, an integrin α3/β1 heterodimer, were the major targets of BNP alloantibodies. However, alloantibody binding to various bovine cell types correlated with MHC I expression, rather than integrin β1 or α3 expression. Likewise, alloantibody-dependent complement-mediated cell lysis correlated strongly with MHC I expression. Examination of several tissues of third trimester bovine foetuses revealed that cells, shown to be affected in calves with BNP, were characterized by high MHC class I expression and high levels of alloantibody binding. We conclude that in spite of the heterogeneous specificity of BNP associated maternal alloantibodies, MHC I-specific antibodies mediate the pathogenicity of BNP in the calf and that cells with high MHC I expression were preferentially affected in BNP.
The heat shock response restricts virus infection in Drosophila
Authors: Merkling Sarah H. , Overheul Gijs J. , van Mierlo Joël T. , Arends Daan , Gilissen Christian , van Rij Ronald P.
Published: August 2015

Innate immunity is the first line of defence against pathogens and is essential for survival of the infected host. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an emerging model to study viral pathogenesis, yet antiviral defence responses remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the heat shock response, a cellular mechanism that prevents proteotoxicity, as a component of the antiviral immune response in Drosophila. Transcriptome analyses of Drosophila S2 cells and adult flies revealed strong induction of the heat shock response upon RNA virus infection. Dynamic induction patterns of heat shock pathway components were characterized in vitro and in vivo following infection with different classes of viruses. The heat shock transcription factor (Hsf), as well as active viral replication, were necessary for the induction of the response. Hsf-deficient adult flies were hypersensitive to virus infection, indicating a role of the heat shock response in antiviral defence. In accordance, transgenic activation of the heat shock response prolonged survival time after infection and enabled long-term control of virus replication to undetectable levels. Together, our results establish the heat shock response as an important constituent of innate antiviral immunity in Drosophila.
Coarse-grained molecular dynamics studies of the translocation mechanism of polyarginines across asymmetric membrane under tension
Authors: He XiaoCong , Lin Min , Sha BaoYong , Feng ShangSheng , Shi XingHua , Qu ZhiGuo , Xu Feng
Published: August 2015

Understanding interactions between cell-penetrating peptides and biomembrane under tension can help improve drug delivery and elucidate mechanisms underlying fundamental cellular events. As far as the effect of membrane tension on translocation, it is generally thought that tension should disorder the membrane structure and weaken its strength, thereby facilitating penetration. However, our coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation results showed that membrane tension can restrain polyarginine translocation across the asymmetric membrane and that this effect increases with increasing membrane tension. We also analyzed the structural properties and lipid topology of the tensed membrane to explain the phenomena. Simulation results provide important molecular information on the potential translocation mechanism of peptides across the asymmetric membrane under tension as well as new insights in drug and gene delivery.
Correction: Preparation of a fluorescent silver nanoprism–dye complex for detection of hydrogen peroxide in milk
Authors: Peng Chifang , Liu Chunli , Xie Zhengjun
Published: August 2015

Correction for ‘Preparation of a fluorescent silver nanoprism–dye complex for detection of hydrogen peroxide in milk’ by Chifang Peng et al., Anal. Methods, 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c5ay01261a.
A combination of tri-modal cancer imaging and in vivo drug delivery by metal–organic framework based composite nanoparticles
Authors: Bian Ruixin , Wang Tingting , Zhang Lingyu , Li Lu , Wang Chungang
Published: August 2015

A facile method was developed for the synthesis of multifunctional Fe3O4@PAA/AuNCs/ZIF-8 NPs. Furthermore, the obtained NPs with ultrahigh drug storage capacity and dual pH-responsive drug release properties were applicable in simultaneous tri-modal.
A poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 activity assay based on the FRET between a cationic conjugated polymer and supercharged green fluorescent protein
Authors: Tang Shiyun , Nie Zhou , Li Wang , Li Daiqi , Huang Yan , Yao Shouzhuo
Published: August 2015

A label-free strategy for PARP-1 activity assay and inhibitors assessment has been developed based on the FRET between a cationic conjugated polymer (CCP) and supercharged green fluorescent protein (scGFP).
Total chemical synthesis of the site-selective azide-labeled [I66A]HIV-1 protease
Authors: Qi Yun-Kun , Chang Hao-Nan , Pan Kai-Mai , Tian Chang-Lin , Zheng Ji-Shen
Published: August 2015

The first total chemical synthesis of the site-selective azide-labeled [I66A]HIV-1 protease is described by native chemical ligation.
A novel detection technique of polyamide binding sites by photo-induced electron transfer in BrU substituted DNA
Authors: Saha Abhijit , Hashiya Fumitaka , Kizaki Seiichiro , Asamitsu Sefan , Hashiya Kaori , Bando Toshikazu , Sugiyama Hiroshi
Published: August 2015

We demonstrate a highly sensitive detection technique of polyamide binding sites using the photochemistry of BrU labeled DNA.