bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Video chat technology to remotely quantify dietary, supplement and medication adherence in clinical trials
Authors: Peterson Courtney M. , Apolzan John W. , Wright Courtney , Martin Corby K.
Published: October 2016

We conducted two studies to test the validity, reliability, feasibility and acceptability of using video chat technology to quantify dietary and pill-taking (i.e. supplement and medication) adherence. In study 1, we investigated whether video chat technology can accurately quantify adherence to dietary and pill-taking interventions. Mock study participants ate food items and swallowed pills, while performing randomised scripted ‘cheating’ behaviours to mimic non-adherence. Monitoring was conducted in a cross-over design, with two monitors watching in-person and two watching remotely by Skype on a smartphone. For study 2, a twenty-two-item online survey was sent to a listserv with more than 20 000 unique email addresses of past and present study participants to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the technology. For the dietary adherence tests, monitors detected 86 % of non-adherent events (sensitivity) in-person v. 78 % of events via video chat monitoring (P=0·12), with comparable inter-rater agreement (0·88 v. 0·85; P=0·62). However, for pill-taking, non-adherence trended towards being more easily detected in-person than by video chat (77 v. 60 %; P=0·08), with non-significantly higher inter-rater agreement (0·85 v. 0·69; P=0·21). Survey results from study 2 (n 1076 respondents; ≥5 % response rate) indicated that 86·4 % of study participants had video chatting hardware, 73·3 % were comfortable using the technology and 79·8 % were willing to use it for clinical research. Given the capability of video chat technology to reduce participant burden and outperform other adherence monitoring methods such as dietary self-report and pill counts, video chatting is a novel and promising platform to quantify dietary and pill-taking adherence.
Energy density of meals and snacks in the British diet in relation to overall diet quality, BMI and waist circumference: findings from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey
Authors: Murakami Kentaro , Livingstone M. Barbara E.
Published: October 2016

This cross-sectional study examined how energy density (ED) in meals and snacks is associated with overall diet quality, BMI and waist circumference (WC). On the basis of the data from 7-d weighed dietary record, all eating occasions were divided into meals or snacks based on time (meals: 06.00–10.00, 12.00–15.00 and 18.00–21.00 hours; snacks: others) or contribution to energy intake (EI) (meals: ≥15; snacks: <15%) in 1451 British adults aged 19–64 years. Irrespective of the definition of meals and snacks, both meal ED and snack ED (kJ/g; calculated on the basis of solid food only) were inversely associated with overall diet quality assessed by the healthy diet indicator (regression coefficient (β)=−0·29 to −0·21 and −0·07 to −0·04, respectively) and Mediterranean diet score (β=−0·43 to −0·30 and −0·13 to −0·06, respectively) in both sexes (P≤0·002), although the associations were stronger for meal ED. After adjustment for potential confounders, in both men and women, meal ED based on EI contribution showed positive associations with BMI (β=0·34; 95% CI 0·06, 0·62 andβ=0·31; 95% CI 0·01, 0·61, respectively) and WC (β=0·96; 95% CI 0·27, 1·66 andβ=0·67; 95% CI 0·04, 1·30, respectively). In addition, meal ED based on time was positively associated with WC in men (β=0·59; 95% CI 0·07, 1·10) and snack ED based on time was positively associated with BMI in women (β=0·15; 95% CI 0·04, 0·27). In analyses in which only acceptable EI reporters were included, similar results were obtained. In conclusion, the findings suggest stronger associations of meal ED with overall diet quality, BMI and WC compared with snack ED.
Why Women Avoid the Radical Right: Internalized Norms and Party Reputations
Authors: Harteveld Eelco , Ivarsflaten Elisabeth
Published: October 2016

Radical Right Parties (RRPs) consistently attract more male than female voters. Puzzlingly, there is no equally consistent gender difference in policy preferences on the main issues of these parties – immigration and minority integration policies. Indeed, in some countries, for instance the UK, women have as restrictive immigration policy preferences as men, but are still less likely to vote for RRPs. This article proposes a novel answer to this gender gap puzzle that emphasizes the normative conflicts about prejudice and discrimination that surround RRPs across Europe. It uses representative survey data to show, for the first time, that women are more likely than men to be motivated to control prejudice, and that this difference in motivations has political consequences. More specifically, the study demonstrates that the higher prevalence of internal motivation to control prejudice among women accounts for the gender gap in voting for RRPs that become trapped in conflicts over discrimination and prejudice. Voting patterns for RPPs that have been able to defuse normative concerns about prejudice, such as the Progress Party currently in government in Norway, are different.
The League of Nations Mandate System and the Palestine Mandate: What Did and Does It Say about International Law and What Did and Does It Say about Palestine?
Authors: Shaw Malcolm
Published: October 2016

This article examines the essential characteristics of the Palestine Mandate in the context of the League of Nations mandate system as a whole, pointing out its particular nature. It commences with a brief look at the Versailles environment and the relevance of the principle of self-determination, with an emphasis upon the development of the mandate system. The article then turns to consider the Palestine Mandate in its historical framework and the exceptionality of this Mandate. The distinction between the international allocation of the status of a territory and the determination of its boundaries is posited.
Why Islamic ‘Traditionalists’ and ‘Rationalists’ both ought to accept Rational Objectivism
Authors: BALDWIN ERIK
Published: October 2016

Islamic ‘Traditionalists’ and ‘Rationalists’ have much in common. They agree that theQur'anis divine revelation and acknowledge the authority of theSunna, accept the value of logical reasoning and argumentation, recognizing the validity of basic logical principles and laws, and affirm that basic empirical and historical facts ought to be taken into consideration when interpreting theQur'an. They disagree in that Rationalists accept but Traditionalists deny that human reason can discern objective moral truths independent of divine revelation. I present an argument for Rationalism that makes use of premises that are equally acceptable to Traditionalists and Rationalists alike.
Resolving referential ambiguity across ambiguous situations in young foreign language learners
Authors: HU CHIEH-FANG
Published: October 2016

First language learners can track word-referent co-occurrence information across situations and evaluate co-occurrence probabilities across situations to determine the best-of-fit mappings. However, cross-situational word learning can be difficult to foreign language learners, because in addition to aggregating information across situations, they have to build robust representations for foreign-sounding words. In Experiment 1, third-grade Mandarin-speaking children learned four English word-referent pairs in two conditions, varying in within-trial ambiguity. In one condition, information about word-referent association was determinable across trials but not within a trial. In the other, word-referent association within a trial was inferable. In Experiment 2, participants learned words in a condition where referential ambiguity across trials, though not within a trial, was reduced by successive presentation of certain word-referent pairs. The results revealed that participants learned more word-referent pairs than expected by chance. Reducing ambiguity within a trial facilitated word mapping and word retention (Experiment 1), but reducing ambiguity across trials did not (Experiment 2). Across two experiments, word mapping and retention performance was associated with phonological awareness, whether measured in children's first language or a foreign language, but not with digit span, suggesting that success in cross-situational word learning in a foreign language rests on specification of word forms.
With Love and Kisses: Nothing Lasts Forever: An Examination of the Social and Artistic Antiquation of Moral Rights
Authors: Lewis Jessica
Published: October 2016

This article examines the social and artistic antiquation of moral rights law. Moral rights law developed, and was implemented, under the heavy influence of the French preference to put the rights of the author at the center of intellectual property protection (with Victor Hugo leading this charge). However, as artistic practice evolves in a continually rapid fashion, it is becoming increasingly clear that moral rights are unable to properly accord with modern art forms. An examination of the social construction of authorship, the emergence of unique contemporary art forms, and the role of technology as a catalyst to intellectual property law, reveals that the Western world’s legal moral rights scheme cannot survive its current form. Moral rights’ endurance hinges on its ability to reconcile with a social and artistic climate alien to its origins. Artistic expression does not exist in a vacuum and is inextricably linked to, and reflective of, the social climate it is born out of. As society evolves and shifts, so too does its art and so must the law.
Goats with aspartic acid or serine at codon 146 of the PRNP gene remain scrapie-negative after lifetime exposure in affected herds in Cyprus
Authors: GEORGIADOU S. , ORTIZ-PELAEZ A. , SIMMONS M. M. , WINDL O. , DAWSON M. , NEOCLEOUS P. , PAPASAVVA-STYLIANOU P.
Published: October 2016

The results of the study reported here are part of an ongoing integrated research programme aimed at producing additional, robust, evidence on the genetic resistance to classical scrapie in goats, with particular reference to codon 146. The study targeted animals aged ⩾6 years, which were born and raised in infected herds and were being culled for management reasons. A total of 556 animals were tested, and all positive animals (n = 117) were of the susceptible NN genotype. A total of 246 goats heterozygous or homozygous for putatively resistant alleles (S146 and D146) were screened with no positive results. The outcome of this study supports the hypothesis that the D146 and S146 alleles could be used as the basis for a nationwide strategy for breeding for resistance in the Cypriot goat population.
Longitudinal Executive Function and Episodic Memory Profiles in Behavioral-Variant Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Ramanan Siddharth , Bertoux Maxime , Flanagan Emma , Irish Muireann , Piguet Olivier , Hodges John R. , Hornberger Michael
Published: October 2016

Objectives:With comparable baseline performance on executive functions (EF) and memory between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), it is currently unclear if both diseases can be distinguished longitudinally on these measures reliably.Methods:A total of 111 participants (33 AD, 31 bvFTD, and 47 controls) were followed-up annually over a 4-year period and tested on measures of EF, memory, and orientation. Linear mixed-effect models were constructed using disease severity as a nuisance variable to examine profiles of neuropsychological performance decline.Results:At baseline, overlap in terms of cognitive impairment between bvFTD and AD on multiple EF, memory, and orientation measures was present. Longitudinally, only disinhibition (Hayling total errors) appeared sensitive to discriminating AD from bvFTD; however, only after the first annual follow-up. Subgroup analyses on smaller samples revealed comparable profiles on EF tasks at baseline and over time between bvFTD and AD who presented with impaired EF at presentation, and on memory and orientation tasks between AD and bvFTD who presented with severe amnesia.Conclusions:Our results replicate previous findings showing only moderate discriminability between AD and bvFTD at clinical presentation on EF and memory measures. More importantly, we also show that longitudinal trajectories strongly overlap for both dementias on these measures. Disinhibition emerged as the sole measure that in the long run was significantly more impaired in bvFTD. Future studies should use tests designed to target cortical regions that are specifically impaired in bvFTD, such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, to improve the accurate discrimination of these diseases. (JINS, 2017,23, 34–43)
The ICRC in the First World War: Unwavering belief in the power of law?
Authors: Cameron Lindsey
Published: October 2016

This article provides insight into how, during the First World War, the ICRC handled the oversight of the respect of the 1906 Convention on the Wounded and Sick and the 1907 Hague Convention on Maritime Warfare, steadfastly working to uphold the law. It examines the ICRC's view on the applicability of the Conventions, describes its handling of accusations of violations of international humanitarian law and, finally, shows how the ICRC engaged in a legal dialogue with States on the interpretation of various provisions in the 1906 Convention.
Multidimensional Attitudes toward Preschool Inclusive Education Scale (MATPIES)
Authors: Lohmann Anne , Wiedebusch Silvia , Hensen Gregor , Mahat Marian
Published: October 2016

Zusammenfassung. Die Einstellung zu Inklusiver Bildung wird in Forschungskontexten als ein wesentlicher Prädiktor für deren gelingende Realisierung im Bildungssystem beschrieben. Nationale und internationale Studien beziehen sich jedoch vorrangig auf Einstellungen von Personen, die im schulischen Kontext tätig sind. Ein deutschsprachiges Instrument zur Erhebung der Einstellungen frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte liegt bislang nicht vor. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde ein Instrument zur Erhebung der Einstellung von Lehrkräften zu Inklusiver Bildung von Kindern mit Beeinträchtigungen ( Mahat, 2008 ) für den deutschsprachigen Raum und den Einsatz bei pädagogisch tätigen Fachkräften in Kindertageseinrichtungen adaptiert („Multidimensional Attitudes toward Preschool Inclusive Education Scale“, MATPIES). In einer Stichprobe von 1030 Fachkräften in Kindertageseinrichtungen liegen die Werte zur internen Konsistenz der Subskalen zwischen .73 bis .83; dies entspricht weitgehend den Reliabilitätskennwerten der Originalversion. Wie beim Original korrelieren die Subskalen auf einem mittleren bis hohen Niveau (r = .57 bis r = .66). Signifikante Gruppenunterschiede in der Einstellung zu Inklusiver Bildung zwischen Fachkräften, die sich in ihren Erfahrungen im Umgang mit Kindern mit Beeinträchtigungen unterscheiden, liefern erste Hinweise auf die kriteriumsbezogene Validität der MATPIES. Durch den Einsatz des Instrumentes können Effekte von Maßnahmen zur Personalentwicklung in Kindertageseinrichtungen (z.B. Fortbildungen zum Thema Inklusion) auf die Einstellungen frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte erhoben werden.
A pulse of mid-Pleistocene rift volcanism in Ethiopia at the dawn of modern humans
Authors: Hutchison William , Fusillo Raffaella , Pyle David M. , Mather Tamsin A. , Blundy Jon D. , Biggs Juliet , Yirgu Gezahegn , Cohen Benjamin E. , Brooker Richard A. , Barfod Dan N. , Calvert Andrew T.
Published: October 2016

The Ethiopian Rift Valley hosts the longest record of human co-existence with volcanoes on Earth, however, current understanding of the magnitude and timing of large explosive eruptions in this region is poor. Detailed records of volcanism are essential for interpreting the palaeoenvironments occupied by our hominin ancestors; and also for evaluating the volcanic hazards posed to the 10 million people currently living within this active rift zone. Here we use new geochronological evidence to suggest that a 200 km-long segment of rift experienced a major pulse of explosive volcanic activity between 320 and 170 ka. During this period, at least four distinct volcanic centres underwent large-volume (>10 km3) caldera-forming eruptions, and eruptive fluxes were elevated five times above the average eruption rate for the past 700 ka. We propose that such pulses of episodic silicic volcanism would have drastically remodelled landscapes and ecosystems occupied by early hominin populations.
Visible quantum plasmonics from metallic nanodimers
Authors: Alpeggiani F. , D’Agostino S. , Sanvitto D. , Gerace D.
Published: October 2016

We report theoretical evidence that bulk nonlinear materials weakly interacting with highly localized plasmonic modes in ultra-sub-wavelength metallic nanostructures can lead to nonlinear effects at the single plasmon level in the visible range. In particular, the two-plasmon interaction energy in such systems is numerically estimated to be comparable with the typical plasmon linewidths. Localized surface plasmons are thus predicted to exhibit a purely nonclassical behavior, which can be clearly identified by a sub-Poissonian second-order correlation in the signal scattered from the quantized plasmonic field under coherent electromagnetic excitation. We explicitly show that systems sensitive to single-plasmon scattering can be experimentally realized by combining electromagnetic confinement in the interstitial region of gold nanodimers with local infiltration or deposition of ordinary nonlinear materials. We also propose configurations that could allow to realistically detect such an effect with state-of-the-art technology, overcoming the limitations imposed by the short plasmonic lifetime.
Metallomic Biomarkers in Cerebrospinal fluid and Serum in patients with Parkinson’s disease in Indian population
Authors: Sanyal Jaya , Ahmed Shiek S. S. J. , Ng Hon Keung Tony , Naiya Tufan , Ghosh Epsita , Banerjee Tapas Kumar , Lakshmi Jaya , Guha Gautam , Rao Vadlamudi Raghavendra
Published: October 2016

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease with the absence of markers for diagnosis. Several studies on PD reported the elements imbalance in biofluids as biomarkers. However, their results remained inconclusive. This study integrates metallomics, multivariate and artificial neural network (ANN) to understand element variations in CSF and serum of PD patients from the largest cohort of Indian population to solve the inconsistent results of previous studies. Also, this study is aimed to (1) ascertain a common element signature between CSF and serum. (2) Assess cross sectional element variation with clinical symptoms. (3) Develop ANN models for rapid diagnosis. A metallomic profile of 110 CSF and 530 serum samples showed significant variations in 10 elements of CSF and six in serum of patients compared to controls. Consistent variations in elements pattern were noticed for Calcium, Magnesium and Iron in both the fluids of PD, which provides feasible diagnosis from serum. Furthermore, implementing multivariate analyses showed clear classification between normal and PD in both the fluids. Also, ANN provides 99% accuracy in detection of disease from CSF and serum. Overall, our analyses demonstrate that elements profile in biofluids of PD will be useful in development of diagnostic markers for PD.
On the possibility of many-body localization in a doped Mott insulator
Authors: He Rong-Qiang , Weng Zheng-Yu
Published: October 2016

Many-body localization (MBL) is currently a hot issue of interacting systems, in which quantum mechanics overcomes thermalization of statistical mechanics. Like Anderson localization of non-interacting electrons, disorders are usually crucial in engineering the quantum interference in MBL. For translation invariant systems, however, the breakdown of eigenstate thermalization hypothesis due to a pure many-body quantum effect is still unclear. Here we demonstrate a possible MBL phenomenon without disorder, which emerges in a lightly doped Hubbard model with very strong interaction. By means of density matrix renormalization group numerical calculation on a two-leg ladder, we show that whereas a single hole can induce a very heavy Nagaoka polaron, two or more holes will form bound pair/droplets which are all localized excitations with flat bands at low energy densities. Consequently, MBL eigenstates of finite energy density can be constructed as composed of these localized droplets spatially separated. We further identify the underlying mechanism for this MBL as due to a novel ‘Berry phase’ of the doped Mott insulator, and show that by turning off this Berry phase either by increasing the anisotropy of the model or by hand, an eigenstate transition from the MBL to a conventional quasiparticle phase can be realized.
Interactome-transcriptome analysis discovers signatures complementary to GWAS Loci of Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Li Jing-Woei , Lee Heung-Man , Wang Ying , Tong Amy Hin-Yan , Yip Kevin Y. , Tsui Stephen Kwok-Wing , Lok Si , Ozaki Risa , Luk Andrea O , Kong Alice P. S. , So Wing-Yee , Ma Ronald C. W. , Chan Juliana C. N. , Chan Ting-Fung
Published: October 2016

Protein interactions play significant roles in complex diseases. We analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) transcriptome using a multi-method strategy. We constructed a tissue-specific interactome (T2Di) and identified 420 molecular signatures associated with T2D-related comorbidity and symptoms, mainly implicated in inflammation, adipogenesis, protein phosphorylation and hormonal secretion. Apart from explaining the residual associations within the DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) study, the T2Di signatures were enriched in pathogenic cell type-specific regulatory elements related to fetal development, immunity and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). The T2Di revealed a novel locus near a well-established GWAS loci AChE, in which SRRT interacts with JAZF1, a T2D-GWAS gene implicated in pancreatic function. The T2Di also included known anti-diabetic drug targets (e.g. PPARD, MAOB) and identified possible druggable targets (e.g. NCOR2, PDGFR). These T2Di signatures were validated by an independent computational method, and by expression data of pancreatic islet, muscle and liver with some of the signatures (CEBPB, SREBF1, MLST8, SRF, SRRT and SLC12A9) confirmed in PBMC from an independent cohort of 66 T2D and 66 control subjects. By combining prior knowledge and transcriptome analysis, we have constructed an interactome to explain the multi-layered regulatory pathways in T2D.
Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B targets PITX1/p120RasGAP thus showing therapeutic potential in colorectal carcinoma
Authors: Teng Hao-Wei , Hung Man-Hsin , Chen Li-Ju , Chang Mao-Ju , Hsieh Feng-Shu , Tsai Ming-Hsien , Huang Jui-Wen , Lin Chih-Lung , Tseng Hsiang-Wen , Kuo Zong-Keng , Jiang Jeng-Kai , Yang Shung-Haur , Shiau Chung-Wai , Chen Kuen-Feng
Published: October 2016

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is known to promote the pathogenesis of diabetes and obesity by negatively regulating insulin and leptin pathways, but its role associated with colon carcinogenesis is still under debate. In this study, we demonstrated the oncogenic role of PTP1B in promoting colon carcinogenesis and predicting worse clinical outcomes in CRC patients. By co-immunoprecipitation, we showed that PITX1 was a novel substrate of PTP1B. Through direct dephosphorylation at Y160, Y175 and Y179, PTP1B destabilized PITX1, which resulted in downregulation of the PITX1/p120RasGAP axis. Interestingly, we found that regorafenib, the approved target agent for advanced CRC patients, exerted a novel property against PTP1B. By inhibiting PTP1B activity, regorafenib treatment augmented the stability of PITX1 protein and upregulated the expression of p120RasGAP in CRC. Importantly, we found that this PTP1B-dependant PITX1/p120RasGAP axis determines the in vitro anti-CRC effects of regorafenib. The above-mentioned effects of regorafenib were confirmed by the HT-29 xenograft tumor model. In conclusion, we demonstrated a novel oncogenic mechanism of PTP1B on affecting PITX1/p120RasGAP in CRC. Regorafenib inhibited CRC survival through reserving PTP1B-dependant PITX1/p120RasGAP downregulation. PTP1B may be a potential biomarker predicting regorafenib effectiveness, and a potential solution for CRC.
Altered T cell phenotypes associated with clinical relapse of multiple sclerosis patients receiving fingolimod therapy
Authors: Fujii Chihiro , Kondo Takayuki , Ochi Hirofumi , Okada Yoichiro , Hashi Yuichiro , Adachi Tetsuya , Shin-Ya Masaharu , Matsumoto Sadayuki , Takahashi Ryosuke , Nakagawa Masanori , Mizuno Toshiki
Published: October 2016

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Fingolimod, a highly effective disease-modifying drug for MS, retains CCR7+ central memory T cells in which autoaggressive T cells putatively exist, in secondary lymphoid organs, although relapse may still occur in some patients. Here, we analyzed the T cell phenotypes of fingolimod-treated, fingolimod-untreated patients, and healthy subjects. The frequency of CD56+ T cells and granzyme B-, perforin-, and Fas ligand-positive T cells significantly increased during fingolimod treatment. Each T cell subpopulation further increased during relapse. Interestingly, T cells from fingolimod-treated patients exhibited interferon-γ biased production, and more myelin basic protein-reactive cells was noted in CD56+ than in CD56− T cells. It is likely that the altered T cell phenotypes play a role in MS relapse in fingolimod-treated patients. Further clinical studies are necessary to investigate whether altered T cell phenotypes are a biomarker for relapse under fingolimod therapy.
Myc overexpression enhances epicardial contribution to the developing heart and promotes extensive expansion of the cardiomyocyte population
Authors: Villa del Campo Cristina , Lioux Ghislaine , Carmona Rita , Sierra Rocío , Muñoz-Chápuli Ramón , Clavería Cristina , Torres Miguel
Published: October 2016

Myc is an essential regulator of cell growth and proliferation. Myc overexpression promotes the homeostatic expansion of cardiomyocyte populations by cell competition, however whether this applies to other cardiac lineages remains unknown. The epicardium contributes signals and cells to the developing and adult injured heart and exploring strategies for modulating its activity is of great interest. Using inducible genetic mosaics, we overexpressed Myc in the epicardium and determined the differential expansion of Myc-overexpressing cells with respect to their wild type counterparts. Myc-overexpressing cells overcolonized all epicardial-derived lineages and showed increased ability to invade the myocardium and populate the vasculature. We also found massive colonization of the myocardium by Wt1Cre-derived Myc-overexpressing cells, with preservation of cardiac development. Detailed analyses showed that this contribution is unlikely to derive from Cre activity in early cardiomyocytes but does not either derive from established epicardial cells, suggesting that early precursors expressing Wt1Cre originate the recombined cardiomyocytes. Myc overexpression does not modify the initial distribution of Wt1Cre-recombined cardiomyocytes, indicating that it does not stimulate the incorporation of early expressing Wt1Cre lineages to the myocardium, but differentially expands this initial population. We propose that strategies using epicardial lineages for heart repair may benefit from promoting cell competitive ability.
DNA damage precedes apoptosis during the regression of the interdigital tissue in vertebrate embryos
Authors: Montero Juan A. , Sanchez-Fernandez Cristina , Lorda-Diez Carlos I. , Garcia-Porrero Juan A. , Hurle Juan M.
Published: October 2016

DNA damage independent of caspase activation accompanies programmed cell death in different vertebrate embryonic organs. We analyzed the significance of DNA damage during the regression of the interdigital tissue, which sculpts the digits in the embryonic limb. Interdigit remodeling involves oxidative stress, massive apoptosis and cell senescence. Phosphorylation of H2AX mediated by ATM precedes caspase dependent apoptosis and cell senescence during interdigit regression. The association of γH2AX with other downstream DNA repair factors, including MDC1, Rad50 and 53BP1 suggests a defensive response of cells against DNA damage. The relative distribution of cells γH2AX-only positive, TUNEL-only positive, and cells double positive for both markers is consistent with a sequence of degenerative events starting by damage of the DNA. In support of this interpretation, the relative number of γH2AX-only cells increases after caspase inhibition while the relative number of TUNEL-only cells increases after inhibition of ATM. Furthermore, cultured interdigits survived and maintained intense chondrogenic potential, even at advanced stages of degeneration, discarding a previous commitment to die. Our findings support a new biological paradigm considering embryonic cell death secondary to genotoxic stimuli, challenging the idea that considers physiological cell death a cell suicide regulated by an internal death clock that pre-programmes degeneration.
Targeted Downregulation of s36 Protein Unearths its Cardinal Role in Chorion Biogenesis and Architecture during Drosophila melanogaster Oogenesis
Authors: Velentzas Athanassios D. , Velentzas Panagiotis D. , Sagioglou Niki E. , Konstantakou Eumorphia G. , Anagnostopoulos Athanasios K. , Tsioka Maria M. , Mpakou Vassiliki E. , Kollia Zoe , Consoulas Christos , Margaritis Lukas H. , Papassideri Issidora S. , Tsangaris George Th. , Sarantopoulou Evangelia , Cefalas Alkiviadis-Constantinos , Stravopodis Dimitrios J.
Published: October 2016

Drosophila chorion represents a model biological system for the in vivo study of gene activity, epithelial development, extracellular-matrix assembly and morphogenetic-patterning control. It is produced during the late stages of oogenesis by epithelial follicle cells and develops into a highly organized multi-layered structure that exhibits regional specialization and radial complexity. Among the six major proteins involved in chorion’s formation, the s36 and s38 ones are synthesized first and regulated in a cell type-specific and developmental stage-dependent manner. In our study, an RNAi-mediated silencing of s36 chorionic-gene expression specifically in the follicle-cell compartment of Drosophila ovary unearths the essential, and far from redundant, role of s36 protein in patterning establishment of chorion’s regional specialization and radial complexity. Without perturbing the developmental courses of follicle- and nurse-cell clusters, the absence of s36 not only promotes chorion’s fragility but also induces severe structural irregularities on chorion’s surface and entirely impairs fly’s fertility. Moreover, we herein unveil a novel function of s36 chorionic protein in the regulation of number and morphogenetic integrity of dorsal appendages in follicles sporadically undergoing aged fly-dependent stress.
Lithium-Decorated Borospherene B40: A Promising Hydrogen Storage Medium
Authors: Bai Hui , Bai Bing , Zhang Lin , Huang Wei , Mu Yue-Wen , Zhai Hua-Jin , Li Si-Dian
Published: October 2016

The recent discovery of borospherene B40 marks the onset of a new kind of boron-based nanostructures akin to the C60 buckyball, offering opportunities to explore materials applications of nanoboron. Here we report on the feasibility of Li-decorated B40 for hydrogen storage using the DFT calculations. The B40 cluster has an overall shape of cube-like cage with six hexagonal and heptagonal holes and eight close-packing B6 triangles. Our computational data show that Lim&B40(1–3) complexes bound up to three H2 molecules per Li site with an adsorption energy (AE) of 0.11–0.25 eV/H2, ideal for reversible hydrogen storage and release. The bonding features charge transfer from Li to B40. The first 18 H2 in Li6&B40(3) possess an AE of 0.11–0.18 eV, corresponding to a gravimetric density of 7.1 wt%. The eight triangular B6 corners are shown as well to be good sites for Li-decoration and H2 adsorption. In a desirable case of Li14&B40-42 H2(8), a total of 42 H2 molecules are adsorbed with an AE of 0.32 eV/H2 for the first 14 H2 and 0.12 eV/H2 for the third 14 H2. A maximum gravimetric density of 13.8 wt% is achieved in 8. The Li-B40-nH2 system differs markedly from the previous Li-C60-nH2 and Ti-B40-nH2 complexes.
Uniting Superhydrophobic, Superoleophobic and Lubricant Infused Slippery Behavior on Copper Oxide Nano-structured Substrates
Authors: Ujjain Sanjeev Kumar , Roy Pritam Kumar , Kumar Sumana , Singha Subhash , Khare Krishnacharya
Published: October 2016

Alloys, specifically steel, are considered as the workhorse of our society and are inimitable engineering materials in the field of infrastructure, industry and possesses significant applications in our daily life. However, creating a robust synthetic metallic surface that repels various liquids has remained extremely challenging. The wettability of a solid surface is known to be governed by its geometric nano-/micro structure and the chemical composition. Here, we are demonstrating a facile and economical way to generate copper oxide micro-nano structures with spherical (0D), needle (1D) and hierarchical cauliflower (3D) morphologies on galvanized steel substrates using a simple chemical bath deposition method. These nano/micro textured steel surfaces, on subsequent coating of a low surface energy material display excellent superhydrophobic, superoleophobic and slippery behavior. Polydimethylsiloxane coated textured surfaces illustrate superhydrophobicity with water contact angle about 160°(2) and critical sliding angle ~2°. When functionalized with low-surface energy perfluoroalkylsilane, these surfaces display high repellency for low surface tension oils as well as hydrocarbons. Among them, the hierarchical cauliflower morphology exhibits re-entrant structure thereby showing the best superoleophobicity with contact angle 149° for dodecane. Once infused with a lubricant like silicone oil, they show excellent slippery behavior with low contact angle hysteresis (~ 2°) for water drops.
Small RNA-mediated responses to low- and high-temperature stresses in cotton
Authors: Wang Qiongshan , Liu Nian , Yang Xiyan , Tu Lili , Zhang Xianlong
Published: October 2016

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one class of endogenous non-coding RNAs modulating the expression of target genes involved in plant development and stress tolerance, by degrading mRNA or repressing translation. In this study, small RNA and mRNA degradome sequencing were used to identify low- and high-temperature stress-responsive miRNAs and their targets in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). Cotton seedlings were treated under different temperature conditions (4, 12, 25, 35, and 42 °C) and then the effects were investigated. In total, 319 known miRNAs and 800 novel miRNAs were identified, and 168 miRNAs were differentially expressed between different treatments. The targets of these miRNAs were further analysed by degradome sequencing. Based on studies from Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, the majority of the miRNAs are from genes that are likely involved in response to hormone stimulus, oxidation-reduction reaction, photosynthesis, plant–pathogen interaction and plant hormone signal transduction pathways. This study provides new insight into the molecular mechanisms of plant response to extreme temperature stresses, and especially the roles of miRNAs under extreme temperatures.
Acute and chronic gregarisation are associated with distinct DNA methylation fingerprints in desert locusts
Authors: Mallon Eamonn B. , Amarasinghe Harindra E. , Ott Swidbert R.
Published: October 2016

Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) show a dramatic form of socially induced phenotypic plasticity known as phase polyphenism. In the absence of conspecifics, locusts occur in a shy and cryptic solitarious phase. Crowding with conspecifics drives a behavioural transformation towards gregariousness that occurs within hours and is followed by changes in physiology, colouration and morphology, resulting in the full gregarious phase syndrome. We analysed methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphisms (MS-AFLP) to compare the effect of acute and chronic crowding on DNA methylation in the central nervous system. We find that crowd-reared and solitary-reared locusts show markedly different neural MS-AFLP fingerprints. However, crowding for a day resulted in neural MS-AFLP fingerprints that were clearly distinct from both crowd-reared and uncrowded solitary-reared locusts. Our results indicate that changes in DNA methylation associated with behavioural gregarisation proceed through intermediate states that are not simply partial realisations of the endpoint states.
HER2-encoded mir-4728 forms a receptor-independent circuit with miR-21-5p through the non-canonical poly(A) polymerase PAPD5
Authors: Newie Inga , Søkilde Rolf , Persson Helena , Jacomasso Thiago , Gorbatenko Andrej , Borg Åke , de Hoon Michiel , Pedersen Stine F. , Rovira Carlos
Published: October 2016

We previously reported that the human HER2 gene encodes the intronic microRNA mir-4728, which is overexpressed together with its oncogenic host gene and may act independently of the HER2 receptor. More recently, we also reported that the oncogenic miR-21-5p is regulated by 3′ tailing and trimming by the non-canonical poly(A) polymerase PAPD5 and the ribonuclease PARN. Here we demonstrate a dual function for the HER2 locus in upregulation of miR-21-5p; while HER2 signalling activates transcription of mir-21, miR-4728-3p specifically stabilises miR-21-5p through inhibition of PAPD5. Our results establish a new and unexpected oncogenic role for the HER2 locus that is not currently being targeted by any anti-HER2 therapy.
Current driven transition from Abrikosov-Josephson to Josephson-like vortex in mesoscopic lateral S/S’/S superconducting weak links
Authors: Carapella G. , Sabatino P. , Barone C. , Pagano S. , Gombos M.
Published: October 2016

Vortices are topological defects accounting for many important effects in superconductivity, superfluidity, and magnetism. Here we address the stability of a small number of such excitations driven by strong external forces. We focus on Abrikosov-Josephson vortex that appears in lateral superconducting S/S’/S weak links with suppressed superconductivity in S’. In such a system the vortex is nucleated and confined in the narrow S’ region by means of a small magnetic field and moves under the effect of a force proportional to an applied electrical current with a velocity proportional to the measured voltage. Our numerical simulations show that when a slow moving Abrikosov-Josephson vortex is driven by a strong constant current it becomes unstable with respect to a faster moving excitation: the Josephon-like vortex. Such a current-driven transition explains the structured dissipative branches that we observe in the voltage-current curve of the weak link. When vortex matter is strongly confined phenomena as magnetoresistance oscillations and reentrance of superconductivity can possibly occur. We experimentally observe these phenomena in our weak links.
Modulation of motor inhibition by subthalamic stimulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder
Authors: Kibleur A , Gras-Combe G , Benis D , Bastin J , Bougerol T , Chabardès S , Polosan M , David O
Published: October 2016

High-frequency deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus can be used to treat severe obsessive-compulsive disorders that are refractory to conventional treatments. The mechanisms of action of this approach possibly rely on the modulation of associative-limbic subcortical–cortical loops, but remain to be fully elucidated. Here in 12 patients, we report the effects of high-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on behavior, and on electroencephalographic responses and inferred effective connectivity during motor inhibition processes involved in the stop signal task. First, we found that patients were faster to respond and had slower motor inhibition processes when stimulated. Second, the subthalamic stimulation modulated the amplitude and delayed inhibition-related electroencephalographic responses. The power of reconstructed cortical current densities decreased in the stimulation condition in a parietal–frontal network including cortical regions of the inhibition network such as the superior parts of the inferior frontal gyri and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Finally, dynamic causal modeling revealed that the subthalamic stimulation was more likely to modulate efferent connections from the basal ganglia, modeled as a hidden source, to the cortex. The connection from the basal ganglia to the right inferior frontal gyrus was significantly decreased by subthalamic stimulation. Beyond motor inhibition, our study thus strongly suggests that the mechanisms of action of high-frequency subthalamic stimulation are not restricted to the subthalamic nucleus, but also involve the modulation of distributed subcortical–cortical networks.
Cannabidiol is a partial agonist at dopamine D2High receptors, predicting its antipsychotic clinical dose
Authors: Seeman P
Published: October 2016

Although all current antipsychotics act by interfering with the action of dopamine at dopamine D2 receptors, two recent reports showed that 800 to 1000 mg of cannabidiol per day alleviated the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia, although cannabidiol is not known to act on dopamine receptors. Because these recent clinical findings may indicate an important exception to the general rule that all antipsychotics interfere with dopamine at dopamine D2 receptors, the present study examined whether cannabidiol acted directly on D2 receptors, using tritiated domperidone to label rat brain striatal D2 receptors. It was found that cannabidiol inhibited the binding of radio-domperidone with dissociation constants of 11 nm at dopamine D2High receptors and 2800 nm at dopamine D2Low receptors, in the same biphasic manner as a dopamine partial agonist antipsychotic drug such as aripiprazole. The clinical doses of cannabidiol are sufficient to occupy the functional D2High sites. it is concluded that the dopamine partial agonist action of cannabidiol may account for its clinical antipsychotic effects.
Basic Principles of Metal Chelation and Chelator Design
Authors: Hider Robert C. , Ma Yongmin
Published: October 2016

In this chapter we have outlined the basic properties of metal complexes, describing selectivity of ligands, denticity of ligands and thermodynamic and kinetic stability of complexes. We have discussed the redox activity of some complexes, in particular those of iron and copper. The chapter also describes the range of biological properties associated with metal complexes and their composite ligands. The influence of lipophilicity and molecular weight on the ability to permeate membranes is described. The metabolism of ligands is introduced. The pharmacokinetics of ligands and their complexes is described. How such properties are influenced by albumin binding and ligand metabolism is discussed. The main cause of toxicity of ligands and complexes is presented including the various modes of enzyme inhibition.
Electrochemical detection and quantification of gingerol species in ginger (Zingiber officinale) using multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrodes
Authors: Chaisiwamongkhol Korbua , Ngamchuea Kamonwad , Batchelor-McAuley Christopher , Compton Richard G.
Published: October 2016

Electrochemical determination and quantification of gingerol species by adsorptive stripping voltammetry.
A DFT kinetic study on 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions in solution
Authors: Li Shi-Jun , Fang De-Cai
Published: October 2016

Several popular density functional theory (DFT) methods have been employed to characterize a series of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, including the exploration of reaction mechanisms and the calculations of kinetic parameters.
Calculations of the active mode and energetic barrier to electron attachment to CF3 and comparison with kinetic modeling of experimental results
Authors: Han Huixian , Alday Benjamin , Shuman Nicholas S. , Wiens Justin P. , Troe Jürgen , Viggiano Albert A. , Guo Hua
Published: October 2016

Six-dimensional potential energy surfaces of both CF3 and CF3− were developed by fitting ∼3000 ab initio points using the permutation invariant polynomial-neural network (PIP-NN) approach.
Correction: Ion collision cross section analyses in quadrupole ion traps using the filter diagonalization method: a theoretical study
Authors: Jiang Ting , He Muyi , Guo Dan , Zhai Yanbing , Xu Wei
Published: October 2016

Correction for ‘Ion collision cross section analyses in quadrupole ion traps using the filter diagonalization method: a theoretical study’ by Ting Jiang et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 12058–12064.
Correction: Facile solvothermal synthesis of a high-efficiency CNNs/Ag/AgCl plasmonic photocatalyst
Authors: Wang Youliang , Xia Mingzhu , Li Kebin , Shen Xinlin , Muhmood Tahir , Wang Fengyun
Published: October 2016

Correction for ‘Facile solvothermal synthesis of a high-efficiency CNNs/Ag/AgCl plasmonic photocatalyst’ by Youliang Wang et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c6cp04655j.
Synthesis of biaryls using aryne intermediates
Authors: García-López José-Antonio , Greaney Michael F.
Published: October 2016

The synthesis of biaryls from benzyne intermediates offers an alternative strategy to conventional metal-catalyzed cross-coupling approaches.
Systematic XAS study on the reduction and uptake of Tc by magnetite and mackinawite
Authors: Yalçıntaş Ezgi , Scheinost Andreas C. , Gaona Xavier , Altmaier Marcus
Published: October 2016

The mechanisms for the reduction and uptake of Tc by magnetite (Fe3O4) and mackinawite (FeS) are investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS), in combination with thermodynamic calculations of the Tc/Fe systems and accurate characterization of the solution properties (pHm, pe, [Tc]).
A lipophilic copper(ii) complex as an optical probe for intracellular detection of NO
Authors: Wilson Neil , Mak Lok Hang , Cilibrizzi Agostino , Gee Antony D. , Long Nicholas J. , Woscholski Rudiger , Vilar Ramon
Published: October 2016

A new copper(ii) complex has been prepared and used as chemical sensor for the optical imaging of NO in cells.
Phosphorus and silicon-bridged stilbenes: synthesis and optoelectronic properties
Authors: Zhou Yang , Yang Shuai , Li Jun , He Gufeng , Duan Zheng , Mathey Francois
Published: October 2016

Blue light-emitting phosphorus and silicon-bridged stilbenes have been synthesized and characterized.
Probing ultrafast dynamics of chiral molecules using time-resolved photoelectron circular dichroism
Authors: Beaulieu Samuel , Comby Antoine , Fabre Baptiste , Descamps Dominique , Ferré Amélie , Garcia Gustavo , Géneaux Romain , Légaré Francois , Nahon Laurent , Petit Stéphane , Ruchon Thierry , Pons Bernard , Blanchet Valérie , Mairesse Yann
Published: October 2016

Measuring the ultrafast dynamics of chiral molecules in the gas phase has been a long standing and challenging quest of molecular physics. The main limitation to reach that goal has been the lack of highly sensitive chiroptical measurement. By enabling chiral discrimination with up to several 10% of sensitivity, photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) offers a solution to this issue. However, tracking ultrafast processes requires measuring PECD with ultrashort light pulses. Here we compare the PECD obtained with different light sources, from the extreme ultraviolet to the mid-infrared range, leading to different ionization regimes: single-photon, resonance-enhanced multiphoton, above-threshold and tunnel ionization. We use single and multiphoton ionization to probe the ultrafast relaxation of fenchone molecules photoexcited in their first Rydberg states. We show that time-resolved PECD enables revealing dynamics much faster than the population decay of the Rydberg states, demonstrating the high sensitivity of this technique to vibronic relaxation.