bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Use of Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Pediatric Cervical Spine Fusion Surgery: Case Reports and Review of the Literature
Authors: Molinari Robert W. , Molinari Christine
Published: June 2015

Study Design

Case report.

Objective

There is a paucity of literature describing the use of bone graft substitutes to achieve fusion in the pediatric cervical spine. The outcomes and complications involving the off-label use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 in the pediatric cervical spine are not clearly defined. The purpose of this article is to report successful fusion without complications in two pediatric patients who had instrumented occipitocervical fusion using low-dose BMP-2.

Methods

A retrospective review of the medical records was performed, and the patients were followed for 5 years. Two patients under 10 years of age with upper cervical instability were treated with occipitocervical instrumented fusion using rigid occipitocervical fixation techniques along with conventionally available low-dose BMP-2. A Medline and PubMed literature search was conducted using the terms “bone morphogenetic protein,” “BMP,” “rh-BMP2,” “bone graft substitutes,” and “pediatric cervical spine.”

Results

Solid occipitocervical fusion was achieved in both pediatric patients. There were no reported perioperative or follow-up complications. At 5-year follow-up, radiographs in both patients showed successful occipital cervical fusion without evidence of instrumentation failure or changes in the occipitocervical alignment. To date, there are few published reports on this topic. Complications and the appropriate dosage application in the pediatric posterior cervical spine remain unknown.

Conclusions

We describe two pediatric patients with upper cervical instability who achieved successful occipital cervical fusion without complication using off-label BMP-2. This report underscores the potential for BMP-2 to achieve successful arthrodesis of the posterior occipitocervical junction in pediatric patients. Use should be judicious as complications and long-term outcomes of pediatric BMP-2 use remain undefined in the existing literature.
Vendor Opportunism in it Outsourcing: A TCE and Social Capital Perspective
Authors: Lioliou Eleni , Zimmermann Angelika
Published: June 2015

Academic researchers have paid significant attention to the drivers of opportunistic behavior, yet our understanding of how opportunistic behavior can be mitigated remains relatively fragmented. Our investigation will focus on the social context and more specifically on the role of social capital in the deterrence of opportunistic behavior. On the basis of two qualitative case studies in the financial sector, we will illustrate how the structural, cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital can reduce internal and behavioral uncertainty between the outsourcing partners, thereby facilitating the mitigation of opportunistic behavior. In our study we combine the theory of transaction costs with social capital theory and demonstrate how they can usefully complement each other to enhance our understanding of mechanisms that can deter opportunistic behavior.
Diamond contact-less micrometric temperature sensors
Authors: Homeyer E. , Pailhès S. , Debord R. , Jary V. , Dujardin C. , Ledoux G.
Published: June 2015

An alternative approach for high-speed temperature measurement with micrometer-scale spatial resolution based on the luminescence of Ni-doped diamond micro-particles is described. Under picosecond pulsed laser excitation, these particles exhibit intense green luminescence; the lifetime of this luminescence decreases by several orders of magnitude upon heating from 120 K up to 900 K. The intensity of the luminescence remains constant over this temperature range. Real-time measurements were performed with repetition rates of up to 100 Hz with a temperature resolution of better than 1 °C.
Hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using an environmental cell with silicon nitride membrane windows
Authors: Tsunemi Eika , Watanabe Yoshio , Oji Hiroshi , Cui Yi-Tao , Son Jin-Young , Nakajima Atsushi
Published: June 2015

We applied hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) to a sample under ambient pressure conditions using an environmental cell with an approximately 24 nm-thick SiNx membrane window. As a model chemical substance, europium (II) iodide (EuI2) sealed in the cell with argon gas was investigated with HAXPES to identify the chemical species present inside the cell. The optical and morphological properties of the sample within the cell were measured with optical and fluorescent microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence, and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry. We confirmed the effectiveness of the gas barrier properties of the cell with the SiNx window and demonstrated its applicability to various other optical and electron measurements as well as HAXPES.
Efficient second- and third-harmonic radiation generation from relativistic laser-plasma interactions
Authors: Singh Mamta , Gupta D. N. , Suk H.
Published: June 2015

We propose an idea to enhance the efficiency of second- and third-harmonic generation by considering the amplitude-modulation of the fundamental laser pulse. A short-pulse laser of finite spot size is modeled as amplitude modulated in time. Amplitude-modulation of fundamental laser contributes in quiver velocity of the plasma electrons and produces the strong plasma-density perturbations, thereby increase in current density at second- and third-harmonic frequency. In a result, the conversion efficiency of harmonic generation increases significantly. Power conversion efficiency of harmonic generation process is the increasing function of the amplitude-modulation parameter of the fundamental laser beam. Harmonic power generated by an amplitude modulated laser is many folds higher than the power obtained in an ordinary case.
Bilocal current densities and mean trajectories in a Young interferometer with two Gaussian slits and two detectors
Authors: Withers L. P. , Narducci F. A.
Published: June 2015

The recent single-photon double-slit experiment of Steinberg et al., based on a weak measurement method proposed by Wiseman, showed that, by encoding the photon’s transverse momentum behind the slits into its polarization state, the momentum profile can subsequently be measured on average, from a difference of the separated fringe intensities for the two circular polarization components. They then integrated the measured average velocity field, to obtain the average trajectories of the photons enroute to the detector array. In this paper, we propose a modification of their experiment, to demonstrate that the average particle velocities and trajectories change when the mode of detection changes. The proposed experiment replaces a single detector by a pair of detectors with a given spacing between them. The pair of detectors is configured so that it is impossible to distinguish which detector received the particle. The pair of detectors is then analogous to the simple pair of slits, in that it is impossible to distinguish which slit the particle passed through. To establish the paradoxical outcome of the modified experiment, the theory and explicit three-dimensional formulas are developed for the bilocal probability and current densities, and for the average velocity field and trajectories as the particle wavefunction propagates in the volume of space behind the Gaussian slits. Examples of these predicted results are plotted. Implementation details of the proposed experiment are discussed.
Examination of electronic structure differences between CIGSSe and CZTSSe by photoluminescence study
Authors: Tai Kong Fai , Gershon Talia , Gunawan Oki , Huan Cheng Hon Alfred
Published: June 2015

In this paper, we elaborate on the interpretation and use of photoluminescence (PL) measurements as they relate to the “donor/acceptor” and “electrostatic potential fluctuations” models for compensated semiconductors. Low-temperature (7 K) PL measurements were performed on high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 and two Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells with high- and low-S/(S + Se) ratio, all fabricated by a hydrazine solution-processing method. From excitation-dependent PL, the total defect density (which include radiative and non-radiative defects) within the band gap (Eg) was estimated for each material and the consequent depth of the electrostatic potential fluctuation (γ) was calculated. The quasi-donor-acceptor pair (QDAP) density was estimated from the blue-shift magnitude of the QDAP PL peak position in power-dependent PL spectra. As a further verification, we show that the slope of the lifetime as a function of photon energies (dτ/dE) is consistent with our estimate for the magnitude of γ. Lastly, the energetic depth of the QDAP defects is examined by studying the spectral evolution of the PL as a function of temperature. The shallow defect levels in CIGSSe resulted in a significant blue-shift of the PL peak with temperature, whereas no obvious shift was observed for either CZTSSe sample, indicating an increase in the depth of the defects. Further improvement on Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cell should focus on reducing the sub-Eg defect density and avoiding the formation of deep defects.
A quasi-static continuum model describing interactions between plasmons and non-absorbing biomolecules
Authors: Salary Mohammad Mahdi , Mosallaei Hossein
Published: June 2015

Interactions between the plasmons of noble metal nanoparticles and non-absorbing biomolecules forms the basis of the plasmonic sensors, which have received much attention. Studying these interactions can help to exploit the full potentials of plasmonic sensors in quantification and analysis of biomolecules. Here, a quasi-static continuum model is adopted for this purpose. We present a boundary-element method for computing the optical response of plasmonic particles to the molecular binding events by solving the Poisson equation. The model represents biomolecules with their molecular surfaces, thus accurately accounting for the influence of exact binding conformations as well as structural differences between different proteins on the response of plasmonic nanoparticles. The linear systems arising in the method are solved iteratively with Krylov generalized minimum residual algorithm, and the acceleration is achieved by applying precorrected-Fast Fourier Transformation technique. We apply the developed method to investigate interactions of biotinylated gold nanoparticles (nanosphere and nanorod) with four different types of biotin-binding proteins. The interactions are studied at both ensemble and single-molecule level. Computational results demonstrate the ability of presented model for analyzing realistic nanoparticle-biomolecule configurations. The method can provide comprehensive study for wide variety of applications, including protein structures, monitoring structural and conformational transitions, and quantification of protein concentrations. In addition, it is suitable for design and optimization of the nano-plasmonic sensors.
Heavy atom vibrational modes and low-energy vibrational autodetachment in nitromethane anions
Authors: Thompson Michael C. , Baraban Joshua H. , Matthews Devin A. , Stanton John F. , Weber J. Mathias
Published: June 2015

We report infrared spectra of nitromethane anion, CH3NO2−, in the region 700–2150 cm−1, obtained by Ar predissociation spectroscopy and electron detachment spectroscopy. The data are interpreted in the framework of second-order vibrational perturbation theory based on coupled-cluster electronic structure calculations. The modes in the spectroscopic region studied here are mainly based on vibrations involving the heavier atoms; this work complements earlier studies on nitromethane anion that focused on the CH stretching region of the spectrum. Electron detachment begins at photon energies far below the adiabatic electron affinity due to thermal population of excited vibrational states.
Stochastic regimes in the driven oscillator with a step-like nonlinearity
Authors: Bulanov S. V. , Yogo A. , Esirkepov T. Zh. , Koga J. K. , Bulanov S. S. , Kondo K. , Kando M.
Published: June 2015

A nonlinear oscillator with an abruptly inhomogeneous restoring force driven by an uniform oscillating force exhibits stochastic properties under specific resonance conditions. This behaviour elucidates the elementary mechanism of the electron energization in the strong electromagnetic wave interaction with thin targets.
Simultaneous enhancement of carrier mobility and concentration via tailoring of Al-chemical states in Al-ZnO thin films
Authors: Kumar Manish , Wen Long , Sahu Bibhuti B. , Han Jeon Geon
Published: June 2015

Simultaneously achieving higher carriers concentration and mobility is a technical challenge against up-scaling the transparent-conductive performances of transparent-conductive oxides. Utilizing one order higher dense (∼1 × 1011 cm−3) plasmas (in comparison to the conventional direct current plasmas), highly c-axis oriented Al-doped ZnO films have been prepared with precise control over relative composition and chemical states of constituting elements. Tailoring of intrinsic (O vacancies) and extrinsic (ionic Al and zero-valent Al) dopants provide simultaneous enhancement in mobility and concentration of charge carriers. Room-temperature resistivity as low as 4.89 × 10−4 Ω cm along the carrier concentration 5.6 × 1020 cm−3 is obtained in 200 nm thick transparent films. Here, the control of atomic Al reduces the charge trapping at grain boundaries and subdues the effects of grain boundary scattering. A mechanism based on the correlation between electron-hole interaction and carrier mobility is proposed for degenerately doped wide band-gap semiconductors.
Tuning the tunneling probability between low-dimensional electron systems by momentum matching
Authors: Zhou Daming , Beckel Andreas , Ludwig Arne , Wieck Andreas. D. , Geller Martin , Lorke Axel
Published: June 2015

We demonstrate the possibility to tune the tunneling probability between an array of self- assembled quantum dots and a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) by changing the energy imbalance between the dot states and the 2DEG. Contrary to the expectation from Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, the tunneling rate decreases with increasing injection energy. This can be explained by an increasing momentum mismatch between the dot states and the Fermi-circle in the 2DEG. Our findings demonstrate momentum matching as a useful mechanism (in addition to energy conservation, density of states, and transmission probability) to electrically control the charge transfer between quantum dots and an electron reservoir.
Patterns of milk production, blood metabolite profile and enzyme activities of two fat-tailed sheep breeds
Authors: Payandeh Shahab , Kafilzadeh Farokh , Angel de la Fuente Miguel , Ghadimi Darab , Marín Andrés L. Martínez
Published: June 2015

This study was conducted to compare milk yield and composition, blood parameters and enzyme activities between two fat-tailed Iranian breeds of sheep (Mehraban and Sanjabi). Two groups of eight ewes per breed were kept indoors and fed a diet based on alfalfa hay (60%) and concentrates (40%). Milk production of the individual ewes was measured and sampled weekly for 11 weeks and blood samples were obtained at 28, 56 and 77 days of lactation. No significant differences between the breeds were evident in average daily milk production and fat and lactose contents, but average milk protein content tended to be higher (P = 0.05) in Mehraban than in Sanjabi ewes. However, milk and protein yields were higher (P < 0.05) in Mehraban ewes in the last two-thirds of lactation. Plasma lipid profile (triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol) was not different between the two breeds at any time of study. At the end of lactation, plasma urea contents and alanine amino transferase activities were higher (P < 0.05) either before or after feeding in Mehraban than in Sanjabi ewes, which suggests a more intense metabolic activity in the former probably related to their higher milk and protein production at that stage of lactation.
Effect of cut type and post-mortem ageing on the technological quality, textural profile and sensory characteristics of horse meat
Authors: Seong PilNam , Park Kuyng Mi , Cho SooHyun , Kang Geun Ho , Chae Hyun Seok , Park Beom Young , Van Ba Hoa
Published: June 2015

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of cut type and ageing period on the technological quality, colour, texture and sensory characteristics of horse meat. Nine different cuts: loin, shoulder chuck roll, shank, outside round, tenderloin, shoulder clod, brisket, top round and striploin from 28-month-old female horses were used in the present investigation. The cuts were randomly assigned into 2, 10, 20 and 30 days’ ageing groups and ageing was carried out in a chilling room (2 ± 2°C). The results showed that there were significant (P < 0.05) differences among the cuts for the drip loss, pH and cooking loss at all ageing days; particularly, striploin had the lowest pH and highest drip loss whereas shoulder chuck roll had the highest pH value. Ageing significantly (P < 0.05) increased in pH and drip loss in most cuts with the highest drip loss ~5.17% in striploin and the highest cooking loss ~9.27% in shoulder chuck roll after 30 days of ageing. At Day 2 of ageing, no differences in Warner–Bratzler shear force values occurred between the cuts (P > 0.05). Ageing only decreased Warner–Bratzler shear force in the loin and outside round (P < 0.05). Colour parameters also revealed differences between cuts and ageing periods, particularly the L* (lightness) values ranged between the cuts from 34.38 to 37.14, 34.0 to 37.24, 33.24 to 37.07, and 34.7 to 38.92 at Days 2, 10, 20 and 30 of ageing, respectively; similarly the a* (redness) values ranged between the cuts from 16.76 to 17.81, 16.61 to 17.85, 17.46 to 19.46, and 17.72 to 20.47 at Days 2, 10, 20 and 30 of ageing, respectively. For the compression, the lowest hardness values (4.41–5.73 kg) were found in tenderloin at all ageing days. Furthermore, the scores for tenderness, flavour, juiciness and acceptability were different (P < 0.05) among the cuts at all ageing days. Ageing improved flavour of loin, shank and striploin, and juiciness of tenderloin and striploin whereas it decreased the juiciness and acceptability scores of some cuts (e.g. shoulder chuck roll). Thus, the present data provide not only useful information for horse meat producers but also important databases for further investigations.
Deer antler: a unique model for studying mammalian organ morphogenesis
Authors: Haiping Zhao , Wenhui Chu , Zhen Liu , Chunyi Li
Published: June 2015

It is now widely accepted that organ morphogenesis in the lower animals, such as amphibians, is encoded by bioelectricity. Whether this finding applies to mammals is not known, a situation which is at least partially caused by the lack of suitable models. Deer antlers are complex mammalian organs, and their morphogenetic information resides in a primordium, the periosteum overlying the frontal crest of a prepubertal deer. The present paper reviews (1) the influence of morphogenetic information on antler formation and regeneration, and proposes that antlers are an appropriate organ for studying mammalian organ morphogenesis and (2) the storage, duplication and transferring pathways of morphogenetic information for deer antlers, and outlines a preliminary idea about how to understand the morphogenesis of mammalian organs through an involvement of bioelectricity. We believe that findings made using the deer antler model will benefit human health and wellbeing.
Transfer of aflatoxins from naturally contaminated feed to milk of Nili-Ravi buffaloes fed a mycotoxin binder
Authors: Aslam N. , Rodrigues I. , McGill D. M. , Warriach H. M. , Cowling A. , Haque A. , Wynn P. C.
Published: June 2015

The objectives of this study were to observe the extent of transfer of aflatoxin B1 in feed to the aflatoxin M1 metabolite in milk in Nili-Ravi buffaloes and to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial mycotoxin binder (Mycofix, Biomin Singapore) incorporated into feed to minimise this transfer. Multiparous animals (n = 28) were randomly distributed to four groups corresponding to two treatments each with two levels of aflatoxin B1. Individual animals were exposed to naturally contaminated feed providing a total of 1475 µg/day (Groups A and B) or 2950 µg/day (Groups C and D) of aflatoxin B1. Groups B and D were given 50 g of mycotoxin binder daily mixed with feed whereas Groups A and C were kept as controls. Feed samples were analysed by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography for aflatoxin B1 and milk samples were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the liver metabolite aflatoxin M1. The mean value of total daily aflatoxin M1 excretion for animals fed 2950 µg/day of aflatoxin B1 (112.6 µg/day) was almost double (P < 0.001) than the excretion in buffaloes fed 1475 µg/day (62.2 µg/day). The mean daily concentration of aflatoxin M1 in milk of animals from both treatment groups supplemented with 50 g/day of mycotoxin binder was 76.5 µg/day, nearly 22 µg lower than those without binder at 98.3 µg/day (s.e.d. = 5.99: P < 0.01). The interaction of binder and treatment was not significant i.e. the 50 g/day of binder was able to sequester aflatoxin B1 with the same efficiency in groups fed with high and low concentrations of aflatoxin B1. Carry over was (3.44%) lower (P = 0.001) in animals supplemented with 50 g/day of mycotoxin binder than those fed no binder (4.60%). Thus buffaloes are highly efficient at transferring aflatoxins in feed to the aflatoxin M1 metabolite in milk, whereas mycotoxin binder is capable of alleviating without preventing this contamination risk.
Electrochemical Restructuring of Copper Surfaces Using Organic Additives and Its Effect on the Electrocatalytic Reduction of Nitrate Ions
Authors: Balkis Ali , O'Mullane Anthony P.
Published: June 2015

This work describes the fabrication of nanostructured copper electrodes using a simple potential cycling protocol that involves oxidation and reduction of the surface in an alkaline solution. It was found that the inclusion of additives, such as benzyl alcohol and phenylacetic acid, has a profound effect on the surface oxidation process and the subsequent reduction of these oxides. This results in not only a morphology change, but also affects the electrocatalytic performance of the electrode for the reduction of nitrate ions. In all cases, the electrocatalytic performance of the restructured electrodes was significantly enhanced compared with the unmodified electrode. The most promising material was formed when phenylacetic acid was used as the additive. In addition, the reduction of residual oxides on the surface after the modification procedure to expose freshly active reaction sites on the surface before nitrate reduction was found to be a significant factor in dictating the overall electrocatalytic activity. It is envisaged that this approach offers an interesting way to fabricate other nanostructured electrode surfaces.
The UK Government agrees to create the world's largest marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Pacific
Authors: Dawson Terence P.
Published: June 2015

In March 2015, the UK Government announced their intention to create the World’s largest marine reserve in the territorial waters of the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean. This achievement followed a concerted effort by a consortium of scientists, environmental campaigners and Members of Parliament, who engaged cooperatively in the building of the scientific evidence base and advocacy campaigns.
Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature
Authors: Arkema Katie K. , Verutes Gregory M. , Wood Spencer A. , Clarke-Samuels Chantalle , Rosado Samir , Canto Maritza , Rosenthal Amy , Ruckelshaus Mary , Guannel Gregory , Toft Jodie , Faries Joe , Silver Jessica M. , Griffin Robert , Guerry Anne D.
Published: June 2015

Significance

Oceans and coasts provide people with diverse benefits, from fisheries that sustain lives and livelihoods to recreational opportunities that generate tourism. However, translating appreciation of these benefits into changes in management and policy is not trivial. We report on a ground-breaking effort to use ecosystem-service values and models within a coastal planning process. By accounting for spatial variation in the influence of human activities on services, our results allowed stakeholders and policymakers to refine zones of human use, reduce risk to ecosystems, and enhance delivery of multiple ocean and coastal benefits. Application of our approaches and tools will enable planners worldwide to bring ecosystem-service science to bear on real-world decisions, thus directing actions that protect ecosystems and their benefits for people.
Conserving tropical biodiversity via market forces and spatial targeting
Authors: Bateman Ian J. , Coombes Emma , Fitzherbert Emily , Binner Amy , Bad’ura Tomáš , Carbone Chris , Fisher Brendan , Naidoo Robin , Watkinson Andrew R.
Published: June 2015

Significance

Protected public lands are insufficient to halt the loss of global biodiversity. However, most commercial landowners need incentives to engage in conservation. Through an interdisciplinary study examining palm-oil plantations in Sumatra, we demonstrate that (
i
) joint consideration of both biodiversity and economic relationships permits the spatial targeting of areas that enhance conservation of International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Listed species at relatively low cost to the landowner and (
ii
) the potential exists for funding such private costs of conservation through a price premium on a conservation-certified good. Such an approach avoids the need to assume intervention from an international social planner, while establishing the potential for profitable conservation on private lands, providing an important additional route for sustaining endangered species.
Impacts of conservation and human development policy across stakeholders and scales
Authors: Li Cong , Zheng Hua , Li Shuzhuo , Chen Xiaoshu , Li Jie , Zeng Weihong , Liang Yicheng , Polasky Stephen , Feldman Marcus W. , Ruckelshaus Mary , Ouyang Zhiyun , Daily Gretchen C.
Published: June 2015

Significance

Understanding costs and benefits to multiple stakeholders, and how they change through time, is essential to designing effective conservation and human development policies. Where, when, and to whom benefits are delivered are rarely analyzed, however. We examine one of China’s conservation–development policies—the Relocation and Settlement Program of Shaanxi Province (RSP)—drawing insights of broad relevance. Although the RSP benefits the municipal government, downstream water consumers, and global beneficiaries, the short-run costs to local households and the municipal government greatly exceed these benefits. Moreover, poor households are unable to pay the upfront costs and have difficulty participating. The RSP is well designed to reduce local ecological pressure and enhance human development, but its effectiveness could be strengthened in key ways.
Setting the bar: Standards for ecosystem services
Authors: Polasky Stephen , Tallis Heather , Reyers Belinda
Published: June 2015

Progress in ecosystem service science has been rapid, and there is now a healthy appetite among key public and private sector decision makers for this science. However, changing policy and management is a long-term project, one that raises a number of specific practical challenges. One impediment to broad adoption of ecosystem service information is the lack of standards that define terminology, acceptable data and methods, and reporting requirements. Ecosystem service standards should be tailored to specific use contexts, such as national income and wealth accounts, corporate sustainability reporting, land-use planning, and environmental impact assessments. Many standard-setting organizations already exist, and the research community will make the most headway toward rapid uptake of ecosystem service science by working directly with these organizations. Progress has been made in aligning with existing organizations in areas such as product certification and sustainability reporting, but a major challenge remains in mainstreaming ecosystem service information into core public and private use contexts, such as agricultural and energy subsidy design, national income accounts, and corporate accounts.
Political influences on greenhouse gas emissions from US states
Authors: Dietz Thomas , Frank Kenneth A. , Whitley Cameron T. , Kelly Jennifer , Kelly Rachel
Published: June 2015

Significance

Population and affluence have long been seen as major drivers of environmental stress. A substantial empirical literature now substantiates their role in anthropogenic environmental change. Using data on greenhouse gas emission from US states, we show that the effects of population and affluence can be substantially moderated by political factors and in particular support for environmentalism. Our results indicate the potential of politics to ameliorate the effects of the scale of economic activity on the environment and our methods provide a vehicle for testing the influence of diverse hypothesized human drivers of environmental change.
Parental care buffers against inbreeding depression in burying beetles
Authors: Pilakouta Natalie , Jamieson Seonaidh , Moorad Jacob A. , Smiseth Per T.
Published: June 2015

Significance

When relatives mate, their inbred offspring often suffer a reduction in fitness-related traits known as “inbreeding depression.” Environmental stresses such as starvation and competition can exacerbate these fitness costs of inbreeding. However, caring parents could mitigate the fitness costs of inbreeding by neutralizing the effects of these environmental stresses. We tested the hypothesis that maternal care can buffer against inbreeding depression in the offspring in burying beetles. Indeed, the female's presence led to a higher increase in larval survival in inbred than in outbred broods, and it increased the lifespan of inbred but not outbred adults. Our findings suggest that parental care can moderate the severity of inbreeding depression, possibly affecting how parental care strategies and inbreeding avoidance mechanisms evolve.
Cells transplanted onto the surface of the glial scar reveal hidden potential for functional neural regeneration
Authors: Sekiya Tetsuji , Holley Matthew C. , Hashido Kento , Ono Kazuya , Shimomura Koichiro , Horie Rie T. , Hamaguchi Kiyomi , Yoshida Atsuhiro , Sakamoto Tatsunori , Ito Juichi
Published: June 2015

Significance

Cell transplantation can restore function in neurodegenerative disorders, but the low rate of functional integration of donor cells into host is a major limiting factor for clinical application. This problem is closely related to the long-standing view that donor cells must be transplanted intraneurally. We show that glial scar, which is common in neurodegenerative conditions, inhibits the survival of intraneurally transplanted cells in our rat glial scar model in the auditory system. However, cells placed on the surface of scar tissue autonomously enter the nerve and become functionally integrated into the host. The glial scar, normally considered to be a barrier to cell transplantation, includes important structural and chemical cues that are disrupted by intraneural delivery but preserved by surface transplantation.
Mx1 and Mx2 key antiviral proteins are surprisingly lost in toothed whales
Authors: Braun Benjamin A. , Marcovitz Amir , Camp J. Gray , Jia Robin , Bejerano Gill
Published: June 2015

Significance

Everybody loves dolphins. And orcas. And
Mx
(Myxovirus) genes.
Mx
genes are important immune genes that help mammals fight many RNA and DNA viruses, including HIV, measles, and flu. We make a surprising discovery: dolphins, orcas, and likely all toothed whales lost both
Mx
genes soon after they diverged from baleen whales and ungulates, which preserve these important genes intact. Because both genes were likely lost simultaneously, we speculate that a viral outbreak exploiting the
Mx
genes may have forced the toothed whale’s ancestor to sacrifice both. Because the
Mx
genes are so important, and because all 56 nontoothed whale sequenced mammals carry
Mx
genes, our discovery makes an important contribution to help preserve these magnificent mammals.
Three cyanobacteriochromes work together to form a light color-sensitive input system for c-di-GMP signaling of cell aggregation
Authors: Enomoto Gen , Ni-Ni-Win  , Narikawa Rei , Ikeuchi Masahiko
Published: June 2015

Significance

Cyanobacteria have sophisticated photosensory systems to adapt to ambient-light conditions to improve oxygenic photosynthesis efficiency. Their genomes contain many genes encoding cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs), which are the photoreceptors of light-signaling pathways. Although the photochemical properties of many CBCRs have been characterized, whether and how multiple photoreceptors work together are unknown. Herein we describe how three CBCRs work together in a light color-sensitive manner to regulate cyanobacterial cell aggregation. The three CBCRs have distinguishable, but congruent, light color-dependent c-di-GMP synthetic and/or degrading activities. Ours is the first report, to our knowledge, concerning synchronization of distinctive CBCR activities, which emphasizes the underlying need for CBCR photoreceptors with diverse activities.
A set of NF-κB–regulated microRNAs induces acquired TRAIL resistance in Lung cancer
Authors: Jeon Young-Jun , Middleton Justin , Kim Taewan , Laganà Alessandro , Piovan Claudia , Secchiero Paola , Nuovo Gerard J. , Cui Ri , Joshi Pooja , Romano Giulia , Di Leva Gianpiero , Lee Bum-Kyu , Sun Hui-Lung , Kim Yonghwan , Fadda Paolo , Alder Hansjuerg , Garofalo Michela , Croce Carlo M.
Published: June 2015

Significance

TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a promising antitumor agent effective in a very small subset of lung cancer patients with low toxicity. However, the majority of lung tumors are TRAIL-resistant and very little is known about how tumor cells acquire resistance to TRAIL. Here, we show that continuous exposure to subtoxic concentrations of TRAIL induces NF-κB–dependent up-regulation of miR-21, miR-30c, and miR-100, which by silencing caspase-8, caspase-3, TRAF7, and FoxO3a further strengthens the NF-κB signaling, inducing acquired TRAIL resistance. Our findings imply that combinatory therapies of NF-κB inhibitors and TRAIL might be a useful therapy to improve the response of lung cancer to TRAIL.
Extreme ecosystem instability suppressed tropical dinosaur dominance for 30 million years
Authors: Whiteside Jessica H. , Lindström Sofie , Irmis Randall B. , Glasspool Ian J. , Schaller Morgan F. , Dunlavey Maria , Nesbitt Sterling J. , Smith Nathan D. , Turner Alan H.
Published: June 2015

Significance

This is, to our knowledge, the first multiproxy study of climate and associated faunal change for an early Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystem containing an extensive vertebrate fossil record, including early dinosaurs. Our detailed and coupled high-resolution records allow us to sensitively examine the interplay between climate change and ecosystem evolution at low paleolatitudes during this critical interval of Earth's history when modern terrestrial ecosystems first evolved against a backdrop of high CO
2
in a hothouse world. We demonstrate that these terrestrial ecosystems evolved within a generally arid but strongly fluctuating paleoclimate that was subject to pervasive wildfires, and that these environmental conditions in the early Mesozoic prevented large active warm-blooded herbivorous dinosaurs from becoming established in subtropical low latitudes until later in the Mesozoic.
Building height matters: nesting activity of bees and wasps on vegetated roofs
Authors: Maclvor J. Scott
Published: June 2015

Vegetated, “green” infrastructure, including terraces, balconies, and vegetated roofs and walls are increasingly common in urban landscapes, elevating habitat into novel contexts above ground. Highly mobile species, like bees and wasps, are often seen foraging on green infrastructure, but whether nesting opportunities are facilitated is not known. Cavity-nesting bees and wasps that provision brood in human-made trap nests were monitored over three years on 29 vegetated and non-vegetated roofs in Toronto, Canada. The study identified 27 species nesting on rooftops but found that building height was negatively correlated with the abundance of brood cells provisioned in trap nests, and positively correlated with the number of unfinished nests. A decline in green space area within a 600 m radius around each rooftop resulted in decreasing species richness and abundance. Although the introduced bee, Megachile rotundata (Fabricius) occupied more sites than any other bee or wasp (27.6%) and was the most abundant species, amounting to half (48.9%) of all brood reared, native bees were 73% of all bee species reared. The most abundant wasp was the native spider-collecting Trypoxylon collinum Smith (11.4%), but the introduced aphid-collecting Psenulus pallipes (Panzer) occurred at more sites (24.1%). For the pollination and pest controlling services they provide, bees and wasps should be considered in the design of vegetated roofs. Evidence here suggests that building height and surrounding green space at ground level impact bee and wasp diversity on vegetated roofs. Efforts supporting their populations using trap nests should target low- and mid-rise buildings (<5 building levels).
Autoimmunity-associated protein tyrosine phosphatase PEP negatively regulates IFN-α receptor signaling
Authors: Holmes Derek A. , Suto Eric , Lee Wyne P. , Ou Qinglin , Gong Qian , Smith Hamish R.C. , Caplazi Patrick , Chan Andrew C.
Published: June 2015

The protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPN22(C1858T) allelic polymorphism is associated with increased susceptibility for development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases. PTPN22 (also known as LYP) and its mouse orthologue PEP play important roles in antigen and Toll-like receptor signaling in immune cell functions. We demonstrate here that PEP also plays an important inhibitory role in interferon-α receptor (IFNAR) signaling in mice. PEP co-immunoprecipitates with components of the IFNAR signaling complex. Pep−/− hematopoietic progenitors demonstrate increased IFNAR signaling, increased IFN-inducible gene expression, and enhanced proliferation and activation compared to Pep+/+ progenitors in response to IFN-α. In addition, Pep−/− mice treated with IFN-α display a profound defect in hematopoiesis, resulting in anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia when compared to IFN-α–treated Pep+/+ mice. As SLE patients carrying the PTPN22(C1858T) risk variant have higher serum IFN-α activity, these data provide a molecular basis for how type I IFNs and PTPN22 may cooperate to contribute to lupus-associated cytopenias.
c-Myb is required for plasma cell migration to bone marrow after immunization or infection
Authors: Good-Jacobson Kim L. , O’Donnell Kristy , Belz Gabrielle T. , Nutt Stephen L. , Tarlinton David M.
Published: June 2015

Plasma cell migration is crucial to immunity, but little is known about the molecular regulators of their migratory programs. Here, we detail the critical role of the transcription factor c-Myb in determining plasma cell location. In the absence of c-Myb, no IgG+ antigen-specific plasma cells were detected in the bone marrow after immunization or virus infection. This was correlated with a dramatic reduction of plasma cells in peripheral blood, mislocalization in spleen, and an inability of c-Myb–deficient plasma cells to migrate along a CXCL12 gradient. Therefore, c-Myb plays an essential, novel role in establishing the long-lived plasma cell population in the BM via responsiveness to chemokine migration cues.
Rem uncouples excitation–contraction coupling in adult skeletal muscle fibers
Authors: Beqollari Donald , Romberg Christin F. , Filipova Dilyana , Meza Ulises , Papadopoulos Symeon , Bannister Roger A.
Published: June 2015

In skeletal muscle, excitation–contraction (EC) coupling requires depolarization-induced conformational rearrangements in L-type Ca2+ channel (CaV1.1) to be communicated to the type 1 ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ release channel (RYR1) of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) via transient protein–protein interactions. Although the molecular mechanism that underlies conformational coupling between CaV1.1 and RYR1 has been investigated intensely for more than 25 years, the question of whether such signaling occurs via a direct interaction between the principal, voltage-sensing α1S subunit of CaV1.1 and RYR1 or through an intermediary protein persists. A substantial body of evidence supports the idea that the auxiliary β1a subunit of CaV1.1 is a conduit for this intermolecular communication. However, a direct role for β1a has been difficult to test because β1a serves two other functions that are prerequisite for conformational coupling between CaV1.1 and RYR1. Specifically, β1a promotes efficient membrane expression of CaV1.1 and facilitates the tetradic ultrastructural arrangement of CaV1.1 channels within plasma membrane–SR junctions. In this paper, we demonstrate that overexpression of the RGK protein Rem, an established β subunit–interacting protein, in adult mouse flexor digitorum brevis fibers markedly reduces voltage-induced myoplasmic Ca2+ transients without greatly affecting CaV1.1 targeting, intramembrane gating charge movement, or releasable SR Ca2+ store content. In contrast, a β1a-binding–deficient Rem triple mutant (R200A/L227A/H229A) has little effect on myoplasmic Ca2+ release in response to membrane depolarization. Thus, Rem effectively uncouples the voltage sensors of CaV1.1 from RYR1-mediated SR Ca2+ release via its ability to interact with β1a. Our findings reveal Rem-expressing adult muscle as an experimental system that may prove useful in the definition of the precise role of the β1a subunit in skeletal-type EC coupling.
The atypical cation-conduction and gating properties of ELIC underscore the marked functional versatility of the pentameric ligand-gated ion-channel fold
Authors: Gonzalez-Gutierrez Giovanni , Grosman Claudio
Published: June 2015

The superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) is unique among ionotropic receptors in that the same overall structure has evolved to generate multiple members with different combinations of agonist specificities and permeant-ion charge selectivities. However, aside from these differences, pLGICs have been typically regarded as having several invariant functional properties. These include pore blockade by extracellular quaternary-ammonium cations in the micromolar-to-millimolar concentration range (in the case of the cation-selective members), and a gain-of-function phenotype, which manifests as a slower deactivation time course, as a result of mutations that reduce the hydrophobicity of the transmembrane pore lining. Here, we tested this notion on three distantly related cation-selective members of the pLGIC superfamily: the mouse muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), and the bacterial GLIC and ELIC channels. Remarkably, we found that, whereas low millimolar concentrations of TMA+ and TEA+ block the nAChR and GLIC, neither of these two quaternary-ammonium cations blocks ELIC at such concentrations; instead, both carry measurable inward currents when present as the only cations on the extracellular side. Also, we found that, whereas lidocaine binding speeds up the current-decay time courses of the nAChR and GLIC in the presence of saturating concentrations of agonists, the binding of lidocaine to ELIC slows this time course down. Furthermore, whereas mutations that reduce the hydrophobicity of the side chains at position 9′ of the M2 α-helices greatly slowed the deactivation time course of the nAChR and GLIC, these mutations had little effect—or even sped up deactivation—when engineered in ELIC. Our data indicate that caution should be exercised when generalizing results obtained with ELIC to the rest of the pLGICs, but more intriguingly, they hint at the possibility that ELIC is a representative of a novel branch of the superfamily with markedly divergent pore properties despite a well-conserved three-dimensional architecture.
Determinants of cation transport selectivity: Equilibrium binding and transport kinetics
Authors: Lockless Steve W.
Published: June 2015

The crystal structures of channels and transporters reveal the chemical nature of ion-binding sites and, thereby, constrain mechanistic models for their transport processes. However, these structures, in and of themselves, do not reveal equilibrium selectivity or transport preferences, which can be discerned only from various functional assays. In this Review, I explore the relationship between cation transport protein structures, equilibrium binding measurements, and ion transport selectivity. The primary focus is on K+-selective channels and nonselective cation channels because they have been extensively studied both functionally and structurally, but the principles discussed are relevant to other transport proteins and molecules.
The behavior of the Chern scalar curvature under the Chern-Ricci flow
Authors: Gill Matthew , Smith Daniel
Published: June 2015

In this paper we study finite-time singularities in the Chern-Ricci flow. We show that finite-time singularities are characterized by the blow-up of the scalar curvature of the Chern connection.
Quadratic differential equations in the complex domain I
Authors: Hopkins Nora
Published: June 2015

By complexifying all of the variables of an ordinary real quadratic vector differential equation to get a differential equation over

C

\mathbb {C}

, it is shown that the solution to the complex differential equation can be uniquely defined on an open star-shaped subset of

C

\mathbb {C}

, dependent on the initial point, containing the maximum interval of existence of the real differential equation. Complex conjugation is shown to commute with solving the differential equation on this complex domain, and well-known algebraic properties of the solutions to the real differential equation are generalized to the equation over

C

\mathbb {C}

.
A note on the false discovery rate of novel peptides in proteogenomics
Authors: Zhang Kun , Fu Yan , Zeng Wen-Feng , He Kun , Chi Hao , Liu Chao , Li Yan-Chang , Gao Yuan , Xu Ping , He Si-Min
Published: June 2015

Motivation: Proteogenomics has been well accepted as a tool to discover novel genes. In most conventional proteogenomic studies, a global false discovery rate is used to filter out false positives for identifying credible novel peptides. However, it has been found that the actual level of false positives in novel peptides is often out of control and behaves differently for different genomes.

Results: To quantitatively model this problem, we theoretically analyze the subgroup false discovery rates of annotated and novel peptides. Our analysis shows that the annotation completeness ratio of a genome is the dominant factor influencing the subgroup FDR of novel peptides. Experimental results on two real datasets of Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis support our conjecture.

Contact:  yfu@amss.ac.cn or xupingghy@gmail.com or smhe@ict.ac.cn

Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.