bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the spatial risk of Avian Influenza introduction into British poultry by wild birds
Authors: Hill Andrew , Gillings Simon , Berriman Alexander , Brouwer Adam , Breed Andrew C. , Snow Lucy , Ashton Adam , Byrne Charles , Irvine Richard M.
Published: December 2019

The transmission of pathogens across the interface between wildlife and livestock presents a challenge to the development of effective surveillance and control measures. Wild birds, especially waterbirds such as the Anseriformes and Charadriiformes are considered to be the natural hosts of Avian Influenza (AI), and are presumed to pose one of the most likely vectors for incursion of AI into European poultry flocks. We have developed a generic quantitative risk map, derived from the classical epidemiological risk equation, to describe the relative, spatial risk of disease incursion into poultry flocks via wild birds. We then assessed the risk for AI incursion into British flocks. The risk map suggests that the majority of AI incursion risk is highly clustered within certain areas of Britain, including in the east, the south west and the coastal north-west of England. The clustering of high risk areas concentrates total risk in a relatively small land area; the top 33% of cells contribute over 80% of total incursion risk. This suggests that targeted risk-based sampling in a relatively small geographical area could be a much more effective and cost-efficient approach than representative sampling. The generic nature of the risk map method, allows rapid updating and application to other diseases transmissible between wild birds and poultry.
The effect of mindfulness training on extinction retention
Authors: Björkstrand Johannes , Schiller Daniela , Li Jian , Davidson Per , Rosén Jörgen , Mårtensson Johan , Kirk Ulrich
Published: December 2019

Anxiety and trauma related disorders are highly prevalent, causing suffering and high costs for society. Current treatment strategies, although effective, only show moderate effect-sizes when compared to adequate control groups demonstrating a need to develop new forms of treatment or optimize existing ones. In order to achieve this, an increased understanding of what mechanisms are involved is needed. An emerging literature indicates that mindfulness training (MFT) can be used to treat fear and anxiety related disorders, but the treatment mechanisms are unclear. One hypothesis, largely based on findings from neuroimaging studies, states that MFT may improve extinction retention, but this has not been demonstrated empirically. To investigate this question healthy subjects either completed a 4-week MFT- intervention delivered through a smart-phone app (n = 14) or were assigned to a waitlist (n = 15). Subsequently, subjects participated in a two-day experimental protocol using pavlovian aversive conditioning, evaluating acquisition and extinction of threat-related responses on day 1, and extinction retention on day 2. Results showed that the MFT group displayed reduced spontaneous recovery of threat related arousal responses, as compared to the waitlist control group, on day 2. MFT did not however, have an effect on either the acquisition or extinction of conditioned responses day 1. This clarifies the positive effect of MFT on emotional functioning and could have implications for the treatment of anxiety and trauma related disorders.
Optimization of tunable guided-mode resonance filter based on refractive index modulation of graphene
Authors: Lee Hwa-Seub , Kwak Joon Young , Seong Tae-Yeon , Hwang Gyu Weon , Kim Won Mok , Kim Inho , Lee Kyeong-Seok
Published: December 2019

To fabricate a tunable optical filter with a fast response in the near infrared region, a tunable guided-mode resonance (GMR) filter using graphene was proposed and its performance was optimized. In this study, a rigorous coupled wave analysis method was employed to systematically investigate the effects of geometrical configuration of graphene-integrated GMR filters and the optical properties of constituent materials including graphene on their spectral response in terms of tunability and extinction ratio. It was found that as the graphene is located close to the waveguide and the evanescent-field strength at the interface increases, the GMR filter exhibits better tunability. The bandwidth of the filter could be drastically reduced by adopting a low-index contrast grating layer, so that the extinction ratio of an optical signal could be greatly improved from 0.91 dB to 27.99 dB as the index contrast decreased from 0.99 to 0.47, respectively. Furthermore, new practical device designs, that is easy to fabricate and effectively implement the electric-field doping of graphene at low gate voltage, were also suggested and theoretically validated. These results demonstrate not only the excellent potential of a graphene-based tunable GMR filter but also provide practical design guidelines for optimizing the device performance.
The effect of chemical erosion on mechanical properties and fracture of sandstone under shear loading: an experimental study
Authors: Chen Cancan , Peng Shoujian , Wu Shankang , Xu Jiang
Published: December 2019

In order to study the effect of water-rock interactions on shear strength characteristics, we performed shearing tests under varying hydrochemical environments. Moreover, a custom meso-shear test equipment for coal rock was used for the tests. Through 3D scanning of the shear fractures and scanning electron microscope imaging, we studied the effect of different pH chemical solutions on the shear strength and fracture characteristics of sandstones. We obtained three main results. With increasing solution acidity or alkalinity, water-hemical solution corrosivity increases. Moreover, the shear strength of sandstones reduces almost linearly and the fracture surfaces become smoother. The erosive effect is evidenced by the decrease in fracture surface fluctuations, roughness and the high-order microbulges, and scaling of the grain structure. A collection of characteristic parameters, including the maximum height Sh, the root mean square deviation Sq, the area ratio SA, and the slope root mean square S∆q, can be used to quantitatively describe the rough and irregular texture of the fracture surface.
Cardiac interaction between mother and infant: enhancement of heart rate variability
Authors: Suga Ayami , Uraguchi Maki , Tange Akiko , Ishikawa Hiroki , Ohira Hideki
Published: December 2019

The vagal activity of infants is represented by heart rate variability (HRV) and associated with both growth and socioemotional development. The enhancement of an infant’s vagal tone activity might be beneficial for development. This study explored whether HRV in infants aged 3–8 months can be enhanced by influencing HRV in mothers (40 dyads). The power of the low frequency (LF) component of maternal HRV was facilitated using slow-paced breathing. We investigated whether the change in maternal HRV affected the LF component in infants held by their mothers. In older infants (N = 14, 6–8 months) the LF power showed an increase during maternal paced breathing, whereas a delayed increase occurred after termination of maternal paced breathing in younger infants (N = 16, 3–5 months). These results show that the effects of maternal cardiac activity on the infant’s HRV are age-dependent. This age-dependent reactivity of the infant’s HRV could be due to the development of the inner model in infants which regulates physiological functions, including cardiac activity. This finding might help develop efficient methods for enhancing vagal nerve activity in infants.
Electrokinetic Mixing for Improving the Kinetics of an HbA1c Immunoassay
Authors: Yasun Emir , Trusty Travis , Abolhosn Rania W. , Clarke Nigel J. , Mezić Igor
Published: December 2019

The efficiency of the diagnostic platforms utilizing ELISA technique or immunoassays depends highly on incubation times of the recognition elements or signaling molecules and volume of the patient samples. In conventional immunoassays, long incubation times and excess amounts of the recognition and signaling molecules are used. The technology proposed here uses electrokinetic mixing of the reagents involved in a sandwich immunoassay based diagnostic assay in electrode-enabled microwell plates in such a way that the incubation times and volumes can be reduced substantially. The integration of the electrodes at the bottom of the conventional microwell plates ensures that the motions of the liquid flows in the wells can be controlled through the application of high frequency AC current along these electrodes. The strategy to generate chaotic mixing by modification of standard multiwell plates, enables its use in high throughput screening, in contrast to microfluidic channel-based technologies that are difficult to incorporate into conventional plates. An immunoassay for detection of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) that can reveal a patient’s average level of blood sugar from the past 2–3 months instead of just measuring the current levels and thereby constitutes a reliable diabetes monitoring platform was chosen as a pilot assay for technology demonstration. The overall incubation time for the assay was reduced by approximately a factor of five when electrokinetic mixing was employed. Furthermore, when the quantity of the reagents was reduced by half, almost no distinguishable signals could be obtained with conventional immunoassay, while electrokinetic mixing still facilitated acquisition of signals while varying concentration of the glycated hemoglobin. There was also a substantial difference in the signal intensities especially for the low concentrations of the HbA1c obtained from electrokinetic mixing assisted and conventional immunoassay when the quantity of the reagents and incubation times were kept constant, which is also an indication of the increase in bioassay efficiency. The electrokinetic mixing technique has the potential to improve the efficiency of immunoassay based diagnostic platforms with reduced assay time and reagent amounts, leading to higher throughput analysis of clinical samples. It may also open new avenues in point of care diagnostic devices, where kinetics and sampling size/volume play a critical role.
Rectosigmoidal manifestations of venous malformations: MR imaging findings and interdisciplinary therapeutic modalities
Authors: Brill Richard , Brill Eva , Uller Wibke , Teusch Veronika , Gufler Hubert , Hammer Simone , Fellner Claudia , Evert Katja , Goldann Constantin , Helm Maximilian , Rosendahl Jonas , Wohlgemuth Walter A.
Published: December 2019

The aim of this study was to identify the frequency of rectosigmoidal involvement in patients with venous malformations (VM) of the lower extremities and to demonstrate multidisciplinary therapeutic options. The medical records and magnetic resonance images (MRI) of patients with VM of the lower extremities, over a six-year period, were reviewed retrospectively in order to determine the occurrence of rectosigmoidal involvement. Vascular interventions, surgical treatments, percutaneous and hybrid (endoscopy-guided angiography) sclerotherapy and procedural complications (according to Clavien-Dindo classification) were also noted. Of the 378 patients with vascular malformation of the lower limbs, 19 patients (5%) had documented venous rectosigmoidal malformation. All of these 19 patients reported episodes of rectal bleeding, while seven patients (36.8%) also had anemia. All patients underwent endoscopy. By endoscopy, seven patients (36.8%) showed discreet changes, and 12 patients (63.2%) showed pronounced signs of submucosal VM with active (47.3%) or previous (15.7%) bleeding. Treatment was performed in all patients with pronounced findings. Six patients underwent endoscopy-guided hybrid sclerotherapy, one patient underwent endoscopic tissue removal, one patient received percutaneous sclerotherapy and one patient received a combination of transvenous embolization and hybrid sclerotherapy. Three patients required open surgery. No complications occurred after conservative treatments; however, one complication was reported after open surgery. None of the treated patients reported further bleeding and anemia at the end of the follow-up period. In this cohort, rectosigmoidal VM occurred in 5% of patients presenting with a high incidence of rectal bleeding. Percutaneous or endoscopy-guided hybrid sclerotherapy appeared to be a safe and effective alternative to surgery.
Magnetization dynamics of weakly interacting sub-100 nm square artificial spin ices
Authors: Porro Jose M. , Morley Sophie A. , Venero Diego Alba , Macêdo Rair , Rosamond Mark C. , Linfield Edmund H. , Stamps Robert L. , Marrows Christopher H. , Langridge Sean
Published: December 2019

Artificial Spin Ice (ASI), consisting of a two dimensional array of nanoscale magnetic elements, provides a fascinating opportunity to observe the physics of out-of-equilibrium systems. Initial studies concentrated on the static, frozen state, whilst more recent studies have accessed the out-of-equilibrium dynamic, fluctuating state. This opens up exciting possibilities such as the observation of systems exploring their energy landscape through monopole quasiparticle creation, potentially leading to ASI magnetricity, and to directly observe unconventional phase transitions. In this work we have measured and analysed the magnetic relaxation of thermally active ASI systems by means of SQUID magnetometry. We have investigated the effect of the interaction strength on the magnetization dynamics at different temperatures in the range where the nanomagnets are thermally active. We have observed that they follow an Arrhenius-type Néel-Brown behaviour. An unexpected negative correlation of the average blocking temperature with the interaction strength is also observed, which is supported by Monte Carlo simulations. The magnetization relaxation measurements show faster relaxation for more strongly coupled nanoelements with similar dimensions. The analysis of the stretching exponents obtained from the measurements suggest 1-D chain-like magnetization dynamics. This indicates that the nature of the interactions between nanoelements lowers the dimensionality of the ASI from 2-D to 1-D. Finally, we present a way to quantify the effective interaction energy of a square ASI system, and compare it to the interaction energy computed with micromagnetic simulations.
Temporal phase unwrapping using deep learning
Authors: Yin Wei , Chen Qian , Feng Shijie , Tao Tianyang , Huang Lei , Trusiak Maciej , Asundi Anand , Zuo Chao
Published: December 2019

The multi-frequency temporal phase unwrapping (MF-TPU) method, as a classical phase unwrapping algorithm for fringe projection techniques, has the ability to eliminate the phase ambiguities even while measuring spatially isolated scenes or the objects with discontinuous surfaces. For the simplest and most efficient case in MF-TPU, two groups of phase-shifting fringe patterns with different frequencies are used: the high-frequency one is applied for 3D reconstruction of the tested object and the unit-frequency one is used to assist phase unwrapping for the wrapped phase with high frequency. The final measurement precision or sensitivity is determined by the number of fringes used within the high-frequency pattern, under the precondition that its absolute phase can be successfully recovered without any fringe order errors. However, due to the non-negligible noises and other error sources in actual measurement, the frequency of the high-frequency fringes is generally restricted to about 16, resulting in limited measurement accuracy. On the other hand, using additional intermediate sets of fringe patterns can unwrap the phase with higher frequency, but at the expense of a prolonged pattern sequence. With recent developments and advancements of machine learning for computer vision and computational imaging, it can be demonstrated in this work that deep learning techniques can automatically realize TPU through supervised learning, as called deep learning-based temporal phase unwrapping (DL-TPU), which can substantially improve the unwrapping reliability compared with MF-TPU even under different types of error sources, e.g., intensity noise, low fringe modulation, projector nonlinearity, and motion artifacts. Furthermore, as far as we know, our method was demonstrated experimentally that the high-frequency phase with 64 periods can be directly and reliably unwrapped from one unit-frequency phase using DL-TPU. These results highlight that challenging issues in optical metrology can be potentially overcome through machine learning, opening new avenues to design powerful and extremely accurate high-speed 3D imaging systems ubiquitous in nowadays science, industry, and multimedia.
CALR mutations in a cohort of JAK2 V617F negative patients with suspected myeloproliferative neoplasms
Authors: Belcic Mikic Tanja , Pajic Tadej , Sever Matjaz
Published: December 2019

Suspicion of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and especially essential thrombocythemia (ET) in primary care is often based solely on blood counts, with patients referred to a haematologist without a thorough evaluation. We retrospectively assessed the role of calreticulin gene (CALR) mutations in the diagnosis of MPN in this population. We studied CALR mutations in 524 JAK2 V617F-negative patients with suspected MPN. Uncommon CALR mutations were confirmed by Sanger sequencing and searched for in the COSMIC or HGMD database. Mutations were defined as frameshift or non-frameshift mutations. CALR mutations were detected in 23 patients (23/524 = 4.4%). Four mutations detected in our study were newly identified mutations. Non-frameshift mutations were detected in two patients. Most patients (380/524 = 72.5%) were diagnosed with secondary conditions leading to blood count abnormalities such as iron deficiency, inflammatory and infectious diseases, malignancy and hyposplenism. Nine patients (9/23 = 39%) were retrospectively diagnosed with ET based on CALR mutation confirmation. Two patients with non-frameshift CALR mutations were diagnosed with reactive thrombocytosis and MPN unclassifiable, respectively. Our study showed that CALR mutations are important, non-invasive diagnostic indicators of ET and can aid in its diagnosis. Moreover, the type of CALR mutation must be accurately defined, as non-frameshift mutations may not be associated with ET. Finally, CALR mutation detection should be reserved for patients with high suspicion of clonal haematological disease.
Measurement of Retinal Microvascular Blood Velocity Using Erythrocyte Mediated Velocimetry
Authors: Tracey Breanna M. , Mayo Lakyn N. , Le Christopher T. , Chen Victoria Y. , Weichsel Julian , Renner Corinne Y. , Li Jiaqi , Tsai Joby J. , Kalarn Sachin P. , Ou Michael T. , Chang Luke Y. , Mohammed Taariq K. , Mohammed Isa S. K. , Shah Khelly A. , Thompson Ginger M. , Jones Anja M. K. , Im Lily T. , Kaleem Mona A. , Saeedi Osamah J.
Published: December 2019

Changes in retinal blood flow may be involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma and other ocular diseases. Erythrocyte mediated velocimetry (EMV) is a novel technique where indocyanine green (ICG) dye is sequestered in erythrocyte ghosts and autologously re-injected to allow direct visualization of erythrocytes for in vivo measurement of speed. The purpose of this study is to determine the mean erythrocyte speed in the retinal microvasculature, as well as the intravisit and intervisit variability of EMV. Data from 23 EMV sessions from control, glaucoma suspect, and glaucoma patients were included in this study. In arteries with an average diameter of 43.11 µm ± 6.62 µm, the mean speed was 7.17 mm/s ± 2.35 mm/s. In veins with an average diameter of 45.87 µm ± 12.04 µm, the mean speed was 6.05 mm/s ± 1.96 mm/s. Intravisit variability, as measured by the mean coefficient of variation, was 3.57% (range 0.44–9.68%). Intervisit variability was 4.85% (range 0.15–8.43%). EMV may represent reliable method for determination of retinal blood speed, potentially allowing insights into the effects of pharmacologic agents or pathogenesis of ocular diseases.
Role of climate variability in the potential predictability of tropical cyclone formation in tropical and subtropical western North Pacific Ocean
Authors: Chang Yu-Lin K. , Miyazawa Yasumasa , Behera Swadhin
Published: December 2019

The out of phase tropical cyclone (TC) formation in the subtropical and tropical western North Pacific associated with local low-level wind vorticity anomaly, driven by the remote central and eastern equatorial Pacific warming/cooling, is investigated based on the reanalysis and observational data in the period of 1979−2017. TC frequencies in the subtropical and tropical western North Pacific appear to be connected to different remote heating/cooling sources and are linked to eastern and central Pacific warming/cooling, which are in turn related to canonical El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and ENSO Modoki, respectively. TCs formed in subtropics (SfTC) are generally found to be associated with a dipole in wind vorticity anomaly, which is driven by the tropical eastern Pacific warming/cooling. Tropically formed TCs (TfTC) are seen to be triggered by the single-core of wind vorticity anomaly locally associated with the warming/cooling of central and eastern Pacific. The predicted ENSOs and ENSO Modokis, therefore, provide a potential source of seasonal predictability for SfTC and TfTC frequencies.
Comparative antibacterial activities of neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water and other chlorine-based sanitizers
Authors: Ogunniyi Abiodun D. , Dandie Catherine E. , Ferro Sergio , Hall Barbara , Drigo Barbara , Brunetti Gianluca , Venter Henrietta , Myers Baden , Deo Permal , Donner Erica , Lombi Enzo
Published: December 2019

There is increasing demand for safe and effective sanitizers for irrigation water disinfection to prevent transmission of foodborne pathogens to fresh produce. Here we compared the efficacy of pH-neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water (EOW), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) against single and mixed populations of E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella under a range of pH and organic matter content. EOW treatment of the mixed bacterial suspension resulted in a dose-dependent (<1 mg/L free chlorine), rapid (<2 min) and effective (4–6 Log10) reduction of the microbial load in water devoid of organic matter under the range of pH conditions tested (pH, 6.0, 7.0, 8.4 and 9.2). The efficacy of EOW containing 5 mg/L free chlorine was unaffected by increasing organic matter, and compared favourably with equivalent concentrations of NaClO and ClO2. EOW at 20 mg/L free chlorine was more effective than NaClO and ClO2 in reducing bacterial populations in the presence of high (20–100 mg/L) dissolved organic carbon, and no regrowth or metabolic activity was observed for EOW-treated bacteria at this concentration upon reculturing in rich media. Thus, EOW is as effective or more effective than other common chlorine-based sanitizers for pathogen reduction in contaminated water. EOW’s other characteristics, such as neutral pH and ease of handling, indicate its suitability for fresh produce sanitation.
Genome-wide identification, phylogeny and expression analysis of the PME and PMEI gene families in maize
Authors: Zhang Panpan , Wang Hao , Qin Xiner , Chen Kuan , Zhao Jiuran , Zhao Yanxin , Yue Bing
Published: December 2019

Pectins, the major components of cell walls in plants, are synthesized and secreted to cell walls as highly methyl-esterified polymers and then demethyl-esterified by pectin methylesterases (PMEs). The PMEs are spatially regulated by pectin methylesterase inhibitors (PMEIs). In this study, 43 and 49 putativePMEandPMEIgenes were identified in maize, respectively. Gene structure and motif analysis revealed that members in the same paralogous pairs or in the same subgroup generally had common motif compositions and gene structure patterns, which indicates functional similarity between the closely relatedZmPME/PMEIgenes. Gene ontology annotation analysis showed that most of theZmPME/PMEIgenes are involved in cell wall modification and pectin catabolic process with molecular functions of pectinesterase or pectinesterase inhibitor activities. There are 35ZmPME/PMEIgenes expressed higher in anthers than in other tissues from the NimbleGen maize microarray data, and the semiq-RT-PCR assay revealed most of these ZmPME/PMEIs specially expressed in anthers and pollens, indicating they possibly had role in anther and pollen development. In addition, theseZmPME/PMEIgenes were highly expressed in the fertile anthers, while lowly or no expressed in sterile anthers. This further indicated these genes might be involved in the development of anther and pollen.
A new primate from the late Eocene of Vietnam illuminates unexpected strepsirrhine diversity and evolution in Southeast Asia
Authors: Chavasseau Olivier , Chaimanee Yaowalak , Ducrocq Stéphane , Lazzari Vincent , Pha Phan Dong , Rugbumrung Mana , Surault Jérôme , Tuan Dang Minh , Jaeger Jean-Jacques
Published: December 2019

Sivaladapidae is a poorly known Asian strepsirrhine family originally discovered in Miocene sediments of the Indian subcontinent. Subsequent research has considerably increased the diversity, temporal range, and geographical distribution of this group, now documented from China, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, and India and whose earliest representatives date back to the Middle Eocene. We present here a new taxon of sivaladapid from the Na Duong coal mine in the Latest Middle Eocene-Late Eocene of Vietnam. It represents the first Eocene primate from Vietnam and the first medium-sized mammal recovered from this locality, thus documenting a completely new part of the Na Duong paleobiodiversity. This taxon is the largest sivaladapid ever found with an estimated body weight of 5.3 kg and it represents a new subfamily of sivaladapids in exhibiting a very peculiar combination of dental features yet unknown in the fossil record of the family (e.g., retention of four premolars, high-crowned molars with accentuated bunodonty and extreme crest reduction). Besides documenting a complete new part of sivaladapid evolution, its primitive dental formula and derived features shared with the Early Eocene Asiadapidae reinforce the hypothesis of a basal branching of sivaladapids among strepsirrhines.
A topology-dynamics-based control strategy for multi-dimensional complex networked dynamical systems
Authors: Bahadorian Mohammadreza , Alimohammadi Hamidreza , Mozaffari Tahereh , Tabar Mohammad Reza Rahimi , Peinke Joachim , Lehnertz Klaus
Published: December 2019

Complex systems are omnipresent and play a vital role in in our every-day lives. Adverse behavior of such systems has generated considerable interest in being able to control complex systems modeled as networks. Here, we propose a topology-dynamics-based approach for controlling complex systems modeled as networks of coupled multi-dimensional dynamical entities. For given dynamics and topology, we introduce an efficient scheme to identify in polynomial time a finite set of driver nodes, which – when endowed with the control function – steer the network to the desired behavior. We demonstrate the high suitability of our approach by controlling various networked multi-dimensional dynamics, coupled onto different topologies.
Topography of emotional valence and arousal within the motor part of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Serranová Tereza , Sieger Tomáš , Růžička Filip , Bakštein Eduard , Dušek Petr , Vostatek Pavel , Novák Daniel , Růžička Evžen , Urgošík Dušan , Jech Robert
Published: December 2019

Clinical motor and non-motor effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in Parkinson's disease (PD) seem to depend on the stimulation site within the STN. We analysed the effects of the position of the stimulation electrode within the motor STN on subjective emotional experience, expressed as emotional valence and arousal ratings to pictures representing primary rewards and aversive fearful stimuli in 20 PD patients. Patients’ ratings from both aversive and erotic stimuli matched the mean ratings from a group of 20 control subjects at similar position within the STN. Patients with electrodes located more posteriorly reported both valence and arousal ratings from both the rewarding and aversive pictures as more extreme. Moreover, posterior electrode positions were associated with a higher occurrence of depression at a long-term follow-up. This brain–behavior relationship suggests a complex emotion topography in the motor part of the STN. Both valence and arousal representations overlapped and were uniformly arranged anterior-posteriorly in a gradient-like manner, suggesting a specific spatial organization needed for the coding of the motivational salience of the stimuli. This finding is relevant for our understanding of neuropsychiatric side effects in STN DBS and potentially for optimal electrode placement.
Determining the effect of exogenous organic materials on spatial distribution of maize yield
Authors: Usowicz Bogusław , Lipiec Jerzy
Published: December 2019

Knowledge on spatial distribution of crop yield in relation to fixed soil fertilisation with exogenous organic materials is essential for improving precise crop and soil management practices within a field. This study assessed the effect of various application rates and types of exogenous (recycled) organic materials (EOMs) containing different organic matter and nitrogen contents vs. mineral nitrogen on the yield of maize by means of linear regressions (trends), spatial kriging-interpolated maps, and Bland-Altman statistics. The experiments were conducted in 2013 and 2014 on two soils, i.e. loam silt in Braszowice (Poland) and clay silt loam in Pusté Jakartice (Czech Republic) under a cross-border cooperation project. The organic materials included compost from manure, slurry, and straw (Ag), industrial organic compost from sewage sludge (Ra), animal meal from animal by-products (Mb), and digestate from a biogas fries factory (Dg). The following 3 application rates of each EOM were adjusted according to the reference 100% = 200 kg N ha−1: 50 (50% N from EOM and 50% mineral N), 75 (75% N from EOM and 25% mineral N), and 100 (100% N from EOM). 100% mineral N was applied on control plots. All treatments were carried out in 4 replicates. The linear regressions between the EOM application rates and the maize yield were in general ascending in the Braszowice soil and descending in the more productive Pusté Jakartice soil. The spatial kriging-interpolated maps allowed separating zones of lower and higher yields with EOMs compared to the control. They were attributed in part to the different EOM application rates and soil water contents. The Bland-Altaman statistics showed that addition of 50% of N from EOMs in 2013 caused a decrease and an increase in the maize grain yield in Braszowice and Pusté Jakartice, respectively, whereas the inverse was true with the 75 and 100% EOM additions. In 2014, the yield of maize for silage increased with the increasing EOM application rate in Braszowice and decreased in Pusté Jakartice, but it was smaller on all EOM-amended plots than in the control. As shown by the limits of agreement lines, the maize yields were more even in Pusté Jakartice than Braszowice. These results provide helpful information for selection of the most yield-producing EOM rates depending on the site soil conditions and prevalent weather conditions.
Distribution, Interaction and Functional Profiles of Epiphytic Bacterial Communities from the Rocky Intertidal Seaweeds, South Africa
Authors: Selvarajan Ramganesh , Sibanda Timothy , Venkatachalam Siddarthan , Ogola Henry J. O. , Christopher Obieze Chinedu , Msagati Titus A.
Published: December 2019

Interrelations between epiphytic bacteria and macroalgae are multifaceted and complicated, though little is known about the community structure, interaction and functions of those epiphytic bacteria. This study comprehensively characterized the epiphytic bacterial communities associated with eight different common seaweeds collected from a rocky intertidal zone on the Indian Ocean at Cape Vidal, South Africa. High-throughput sequencing analyses indicated that seaweed-associated bacterial communities were dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis showed the presence of elemental composition in the surface of examined seaweeds, in varying concentrations. Cluster analysis showed that bacterial communities of brown seaweeds (SW2 and SW4) were closely resembled those of green seaweeds (SW1) and red seaweeds (SW7) while those of brown seaweeds formed a separate branch. Predicted functional capabilities of epiphytic bacteria using PICRUSt analysis revealed abundance of genes related to metabolic and biosynthetic activities. Further important identified functional interactions included genes for bacterial chemotaxis, which could be responsible for the observed association and network of elemental-microbes interaction. The study concludes that the diversity of epiphytic bacteria on seaweed surfaces is greatly influenced by algal organic exudates as well as elemental deposits on their surfaces, which triggers chemotaxis responses from epiphytic bacteria with the requisite genes to metabolise those substrates.
Identification of an AgS2 Complex on Ag(110)
Authors: Spurgeon Peter M. , Liu Da-Jiang , Oh Junepyo , Kim Yousoo , Thiel Patricia A.
Published: December 2019

Adsorbed sulfur has been investigated on the Ag(110) surface at two different coverages, 0.02 and 0.25 monolayers. At the lower coverage, only sulfur adatoms are present. At the higher coverage, there are additional bright features which we identify as linear, independent AgS2complexes. This identification is based upon density functional theory (DFT) and its comparison with experimental observations including bias dependence and separation between complexes. DFT also predicts the absence of AgS2complexes at low coverage, and the development of AgS2complexes around a coverage of 0.25 monolayers of sulfur, as is experimentally observed. To our knowledge, this is the first example of an isolated linear sulfur-metal-sulfur complex.
ONECUT2 overexpression promotes RAS-driven lung adenocarcinoma progression
Authors: Ma Qingyang , Wu Kai , Li Hui , Li Huichun , Zhu Yufei , Hu Guohong , Hu Landian , Kong Xiangyin
Published: December 2019

Aberrant differentiation, driven by activation of normally silent tissue-specific genes, results in a switch of cell identity and often leads to cancer progression. The underlying genetic and epigenetic events are largely unexplored. Here, we report ectopic activation of the hepatobiliary-, intestinal- and neural-specific gene one cut homeobox 2 (ONECUT2) in various subtypes of lung cancer. ONECUT2 expression was associated with poor prognosis of RAS-driven lung adenocarcinoma. ONECUT2 overexpression promoted the malignant growth and invasion of A549 lung cancer cells in vitro, as well as xenograft tumorigenesis and bone metastases of these cells in vivo. Integrative transcriptomics and epigenomics analyses suggested that ONECUT2 promoted the trans-differentiation of lung cancer cells by preferentially targeting and regulating the activity of bivalent chromatin domains through modulating Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) occupancy. Our findings demonstrate that ONECUT2 is a lineage-specific and context-dependent oncogene in lung adenocarcinoma and suggest that ONECUT2 is a potential therapeutic target for these tumors.
Rheumatoid arthritis patients display B-cell dysregulation already in the naïve repertoire consistent with defects in B-cell tolerance
Authors: Wang Yan , Lloyd Katy A. , Melas Ioannis , Zhou Diana , Thyagarajan Radha , Lindqvist Joakim , Hansson Monika , Svärd Anna , Mathsson-Alm Linda , Kastbom Alf , Lundberg Karin , Klareskog Lars , Catrina Anca I. , Rapecki Stephen , Malmström Vivianne , Grönwall Caroline
Published: December 2019

B cells are postulated to be central in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we use exploratory mass cytometry (n = 23) and next-generation sequencing (n = 19) to study B-cell repertoire shifts in RA patients. Expression of several B-cell markers were significantly different in ACPA+ RA compared to healthy controls, including an increase in HLA-DR across subsets, CD22 in clusters of IgM+ B cells and CD11c in IgA+ memory. Moreover, both IgA+ and IgG+ double negative (IgD− CD27−) CD11c+ B cells were increased in ACPA+ RA, and there was a trend for elevation in a CXCR5/CCR6high transitional B-cell cluster. In the RA BCR repertoire, there were significant differences in subclass distribution and, notably, the frequency of VH with low somatic hypermutation (SHM) was strikingly higher, especially in IgG1 (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, both ACPA+ and ACPA− RA patients had significantly higher total serum IgA and IgM compared to controls, based on serology of larger cohorts (n = 3494 IgA; n = 397 IgM). The observed elevated Ig-levels, distortion in IgM+ B cells, increase in double negative B cells, change in B-cell markers, and elevation of unmutated IgG+ B cells suggests defects in B-cell tolerance in RA. This may represent an underlying cause of increased polyreactivity and autoimmunity in RA.
Wind Power Persistence Characterized by Superstatistics
Authors: Weber Juliane , Reyers Mark , Beck Christian , Timme Marc , Pinto Joaquim G. , Witthaut Dirk , Schäfer Benjamin
Published: December 2019

Mitigating climate change demands a transition towards renewable electricity generation, with wind power being a particularly promising technology. Long periods either of high or of low wind therefore essentially define the necessary amount of storage to balance the power system. While the general statistics of wind velocities have been studied extensively, persistence (waiting) time statistics of wind is far from well understood. Here, we investigate the statistics of both high- and low-wind persistence. We find heavy tails and explain them as a superposition of different wind conditions, requiringq-exponential distributions instead of exponential distributions. Persistent wind conditions are not necessarily caused by stationary atmospheric circulation patterns nor by recurring individual weather types but may emerge as a combination of multiple weather types and circulation patterns. This also leads to Fréchet instead of Gumbel extreme value statistics. Understanding wind persistence statistically and synoptically may help to ensure a reliable and economically feasible future energy system, which uses a high share of wind generation.
Interactions with humans are jointly influenced by life history stage and social network factors and reduce group cohesion in moor macaques (Macaca maura)
Authors: Morrow Kristen S. , Glanz Hunter , Ngakan Putu Oka , Riley Erin P.
Published: December 2019

Human-wildlife encounters are becoming increasingly frequent across the globe, often leading people to interact with and feed wild animals and impacting animal behaviour and ecology. Although the nature of human-wildlife interactions has been well documented across a number of species, we still have limited understanding as to why some individual animals interact more frequently with humans than others. Additionally, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how these interactions influence animal social networks. Using behavioural data from a group of moor macaque monkeys (Macaca maura), we used permutation-based linear regression analyses to understand how life history and social network factors jointly explain interindividual variation in tendency to interact with humans along a provincial road in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. As our study group spent only a portion of their time in proximity to humans, we also examined how social network structure changes in response to human presence by comparing social networks in the forest to those along the road. We found that sex, individual network position, and associate network position interact in complex ways to influence individual behaviour. Individual variation in tendency to be along the road caused social networks to become less cohesive when in proximity to humans. This study demonstrates that nuanced intragroup analyses are necessary to fully understand and address conservation issues relating to human-wildlife interactions.
Sol-gel synthesis of α-Al2O3 with enhanced porosity via dicarboxylic acid templating
Authors: Carstens Simon , Splith Christian , Enke Dirk
Published: December 2019

One of the major routes to synthesize macroporous α-Al2O3 is the sol-gel process in presence of templates. Templates include polymers as well as carboxylic acids, such as citric acid. By careful choice of the template, pore diameters can be adjusted between 110 nm and several µm. We report the successful establishment of plain short-chain dicarboxylic acids (DCA) as porogenes in the sol-gel synthesis of macroporous α-Al2O3. By this extension of the recently developed synthesis route, a very precise control of pore diameters is achieved, in addition to enhanced macropore volumes in α-Al2O3. The formation mechanism thereof is closely related to the one postulated for citric acid, as thermal analyses show. However, since branching in the DCA-linked alumina nuclei is not possible, close monomodal pore width distributions are attained, which are accompanied by enhanced pore volumes. This is a significant improvement in terms of controlled enhanced porosity in the synthesis of macroporous α-Al2O3.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates of the Beijing and East-African Indian lineage induce fundamentally different host responses in mice compared to H37Rv
Authors: Mourik Bas C. , de Steenwinkel Jurriaan E. M. , de Knegt Gerjo J. , Huizinga Ruth , Verbon Annelies , Ottenhoff Tom H. M. , van Soolingen Dick , Leenen Pieter J. M.
Published: December 2019

Substantial differences exist in virulence amongMycobacterium tuberculosisstrains in preclinical TB models. In this study we show how virulence affects host responses in mice during the first four weeks of infection with a mycobacterial strain belonging to the Beijing, East-African-Indian or Euro-American lineage. BALB/c mice were infected with clinical isolates of the Beijing-1585 strain or the East-African Indian (EAI)-1627 strain and host responses were compared to mice infected with the non-clinical H37Rv strain of the Euro-American lineage. We found that H37Rv induced a ‘classical’ T-cell influx with high IFN-γ levels, while Beijing-1585 and EAI-1627 induced an influx of B-cells into the lungs together with elevated pulmonary IL-4 protein levels. Myeloid cells in the lungs appeared functionally impaired upon infection with Beijing-1585 and EAI-1627 with reduced iNOS and IL-12 expression levels compared to H37Rv infection. This impairment might be related to significantly reduced expression in the bone marrow of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IFN-β in mice infected with Beijing-1585 and EAI-1627, which could be detected from the third day post infection onwards. Our findings suggest that increased virulence of two clinical isolates compared to H37Rv is associated with a fundamentally different systemic immune response, which already can be detected early during infection.
β-catenin signaling inhibitors ICG-001 and C-82 improve fibrosis in preclinical models of endometriosis
Authors: Hirakawa Tomoko , Nasu Kaei , Miyabe Saori , Kouji Hiroyuki , Katoh Akira , Uemura Naoto , Narahara Hisashi
Published: December 2019

Endometriosis exhibits unique characteristics, such as fibrosis, resistance to apoptosis, and promotion of cell proliferation; however, its pathophysiology is not fully understood. Recurrence rates after treatment are high, and the progression risk continues until menopause; hence, more effective therapy for endometriosis is needed. CREB-binding protein (CBP)/β-catenin signaling inhibitors have demonstrated antifibrogenetic effects in liver, lung, and skin diseases. The present study evaluated the effects of two CBP/β-catenin signaling inhibitors, ICG-001 and C-82, on the progression of endometriosis using endometriotic cyst stromal cells from the ovary and normal endometrial stromal cells from the uterus. ICG-001 was also evaluated in a mouse model. ICG-001 and C-82 inhibited cell proliferation, fibrogenesis, and cell migration, and promoted apoptosis in vitro. ICG-001 inhibited the growth of endometriotic lesions in the mouse model. CBP/β-catenin signaling plays an important role in the pathophysiology of endometriosis. Inhibiting the CBP/β-catenin signal can be a therapeutic target for endometriosis.
Higher-order statistics based multifractal predictability measures for anisotropic turbulence and the theoretical limits of aviation weather forecasting
Authors: Ramanathan Arun , Satyanarayana A. N. V.
Published: December 2019

Theoretical predictability measures of turbulent atmospheric flows are essential in estimating how realistic the current storm-scale strategic forecast skill expectations are. Atmospheric predictability studies in the past have usually neglected intermittency and anisotropy, which are typical features of atmospheric flows, rendering their application to the storm-scale weather regime ineffective. Furthermore, these studies are frequently limited to second-order statistical measures, which do not contain information about the rarer, more severe, and, therefore, more important (from a forecasting and mitigation perspective) weather events. Here we overcome these rather severe limitations by proposing an analytical expression for the theoretical predictability limits of anisotropic multifractal fields based on higher-order autocorrelation functions. The predictability limits are dependent on the order of statistical moment (q) and are smaller for larger q. Since higher-order statistical measures take into account rarer events, such more extreme phenomena are less predictable. While spatial anisotropy of the fields seems to increase their predictability limits (making them larger than the commonly expected eddy turnover times), the ratio of anisotropic to isotropic predictability limits is independent of q. Our results indicate that reliable storm-scale weather forecasting with around 3 to 5 hours lead time is theoretically possible.
Differential immune response modulation in early Leishmania amazonensis infection of BALB/c and C57BL/6 macrophages based on transcriptome profiles
Authors: Aoki Juliana Ide , Muxel Sandra Marcia , Zampieri Ricardo Andrade , Müller Karl Erik , Nerland Audun Helge , Floeter-Winter Lucile Maria
Published: December 2019

The fate ofLeishmaniainfection can be strongly influenced by the host genetic background. In this work, we describe gene expression modulation of the immune system based on dual global transcriptome profiles of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice infected withLeishmania amazonensis. A total of 12,641 host transcripts were identified according to the alignment to theMus musculusgenome. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) profiling revealed a differential modulation of the basal genetic background between the two hosts independent ofL. amazonensisinfection. In addition, in response to earlyL. amazonensisinfection, 10 genes were modulated in infected BALB/cvs. non-infected BALB/c macrophages; and 127 genes were modulated in infected C57BL/6vs. non-infected C57BL/6 macrophages. These modulated genes appeared to be related to the main immune response processes, such as recognition, antigen presentation, costimulation and proliferation. The distinct gene expression was correlated with the susceptibility and resistance to infection of each host. Furthermore, upon comparing the DEGs in BMDMsvs. peritoneal macrophages, we observed no differences in the gene expression patterns ofJun,Fcgr1andIl1b, suggesting a similar activation trends of transcription factor binding, recognition and phagocytosis, as well as the proinflammatory cytokine production in response to earlyL. amazonensisinfection. Analysis of the DEG profile of the parasite revealed only one DEG among the 8,282 transcripts, indicating that parasite gene expression in early infection does not depend on the host genetic background.