bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reversible magnetomechanical collapse: virtual touching and detachment of rigid inclusions in a soft elastic matrix
Authors: Puljiz Mate , Huang Shilin , Kalina Karl A. , Nowak Johannes , Odenbach Stefan , Kästner Markus , Auernhammer Günter K. , Menzel Andreas M.
Published: July 2018

Turning on and off a magnetic field, magnetizable particles in an elastic gel reversibly get into virtual contact and separate.
Understanding the critical chemistry to inhibit lithium consumption in lean lithium metal composite anodes
Authors: Kautz David J. , Tao Lei , Mu Linqin , Nordlund Dennis , Feng Xu , Zheng Zhifeng , Lin Feng
Published: July 2018

Understanding the consumption of active lithium using lean lithium composite anodes.
Octahedral Pd nanocages with porous shells converted from Co(OH)2 nanocages with nanosheet surfaces as robust electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation
Authors: Sheng Jiali , Kang Jiahui , Hu Zhixiong , Yu Yan , Fu Xian-Zhu , Sun Rong , Wong Ching-Ping
Published: July 2018

Octahedral Pd nanocages with porous shells converted from amorphous Co(OH)2 nanocages as highly efficient electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation.
Rational encapsulation of atomically precise nanoclusters into metal–organic frameworks by electrostatic attraction for CO2 conversion
Authors: Sun Lili , Yun Yapei , Sheng Hongting , Du Yuanxin , Ding Yimin , Wu Pei , Li Peng , Zhu Manzhou
Published: July 2018

APNCs@MOF composites have been successfully synthesized by an electrostatic attraction strategy, and served as excellent catalysts for converting CO2.
Codelivery of doxorubicin and sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate using multicompartmentalized vesosomes to enhance synergism and prevent doxorubicin-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis
Authors: Zhang Xunan , Zong Wei , Cheng Wenlong , Han Xiaojun
Published: July 2018

Doxorubicin, one of the most effective antitumor drugs, causes serious adverse cardiac effects.
Repair of osteochondral defects in a rabbit model with artificial cartilage particulates derived from cultured collagen-chondrocyte microspheres
Authors: Yu Cheng , Liu Jun , Lu Gonggong , Xie Yuxing , Sun Yong , Wang Qiguang , Liang Jie , Fan Yujiang , Zhang Xingdong
Published: July 2018

Sketch of fabrication, filling up and repair of rabbit osteochondral defects using artificial cartilage particulates (ACPs) based on collagen I hydrogel microspheres with chondrocytes.
A low background D–A–D type fluorescent probe for imaging of biothiols in living cells
Authors: Chen Dugang , Yang Juliang , Dai Jun , Lou Xiaoding , Zhong Cheng , Yu Xianglin , Xia Fan
Published: July 2018

The design strategy of a bioprobe based on a D–A–D type fluorophore was discussed, and CBFB constructed by this kind of fluorophore showed specific biothiol recognition in living cells.
A cut-and-paste strategy towards liquid crystal elastomers with complex shape morphing
Authors: Chen Ling , Wang Meng , Guo Ling-Xiang , Lin Bao-Ping , Yang Hong
Published: July 2018

In this work, monodomain liquid crystal elastomer films with exchangeable disulfide crosslinkers are cut into pieces and pasted together through dynamic disulfide exchange to form versatile shaped soft actuator materials.
New functionalizaed graphene oxide based on a cobalt complex for black electrophoretic ink applications
Authors: Kholghi Eshkalak Saeideh , Khatibzadeh Marziyeh , Kowsari Elaheh , Chinnappan Amutha , Ramakrishna Seeram
Published: July 2018

Graphene functionalized with a cobalt complex containing 2-methyl-imidazole (GO-2-me-imi-Co) was synthesized for the first time.
On information‐theoretic limits of code‐domain NOMA for 5G
Authors: Le Mai T. P. , Ferrante Guido Carlo , Caso Giuseppe , De Nardis Luca , Di Benedetto Maria‐Gabriella
Published: July 2018

Motivated by recent theoretical challenges for 5G, this study aims to position relevant results in the literature on code‐domain non‐orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) from an information‐theoretic perspective, given that most of the recent intuition of NOMA relies on another domain, that is, the power domain. Theoretical derivations for several code‐domain NOMA schemes are reported and interpreted, adopting a unified framework that focuses on the analysis of the NOMA spreading matrix, in terms of load, sparsity, and regularity features. The comparative analysis shows that it is beneficial to adopt extreme low‐dense code‐domain NOMA in the large system limit, where the number of resource elements and number of users grow unboundedly while their ratio, called load, is kept constant. Particularly, when optimum receivers are used, the adoption of a regular low‐dense spreading matrix is beneficial to the system achievable rates, which are higher than those obtained with either irregular low‐dense or dense formats, for any value of load. For linear receivers, which are more favourable in practice due to lower complexity, the regular low‐dense NOMA still has better performance in the underloaded regime (load ), while the irregular counterpart outperforms all the other schemes in the overloaded scenario (load ).
Experimental demonstration of IDMA‐OFDM for visible light communications
Authors: Lin Bangjiang , Tang Xuan , Shen Xiaohuan , Zhang Haiguang , Wu Yi , Li Hui , Ghassemlooy Zabih
Published: July 2018

We experimentally demonstrate a multicarrier interleave division multiple access (IDMA) scheme for bidirectional visible light communications using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which has the advantages of good tolerance against multi‐path, high spectral efficiency and excellent transmission performance. The generated IDMA signals are modulated on OFDM subcarriers and the different users are separated by the interleavers. When compared with orthogonal frequency domain multiple access, IDMA‐OFDM offers increased transmission spans of 30 and 50 cm at a bit error rate (BER) of 10−3 in the cases of two and four users, respectively.
Tracking the multi‐well surface dynamometer card state for a sucker‐rod pump by using a particle filter
Authors: Wang An , Gong Guoliang , Shen Rongxuan , Mao Wenyu , Lu Huaxiang , Wang Ke , Wang Junping
Published: July 2018

For a non‐linear sucker‐rod pumping system, a surface dynamometer card estimation algorithm based on a particle filter is presented. The dynamometer card is a plot of the polished rod load at various positions of a pump stroke. Since the polished rod load measured by a load sensor is frequently affected by drift problems, a local characteristic correlation method is proposed while building the state‐space model for the pumping unit. The local characteristic correlation method makes the system insensitive to load drift problems. Moreover, the prior data recorded from different wells are used to construct the importance density. To make the k‐time importance density closer to the real posterior distribution, current measurement information is used. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on the actual operating data of a Xinjiang oil field containing typical daily production activities that can cause sudden system state changes. The results show that the proposed algorithm can adapt to sudden changes of the underground environment caused by various human factors, and it can provide robust estimation for multi‐well long‐term state tracking.
Output feedback‐based sliding mode control for disturbed motion control systems via a higher‐order ESO approach
Authors: Mao Jianliang , Yang Jun , Li Shihua , Yan Yunda , Li Qi
Published: July 2018

This study presents an output feedback‐based sliding mode control approach for motion control systems with mismatched/matched disturbances. The key idea of this study is to reconstruct the unmeasured auxiliary states and disturbances synchronously online by constructing a higher‐order extended state observer (HOESO). It is shown that the resulting sliding mode controller based on HOESO can drive the system output to an ultimately bounded region, which can be regulated arbitrarily small by assigning a sufficiently large scaling gain. Different from the existing extended state observer methods, the newly proposed HOESO treats the known dynamics satisfying the Lipschitz condition and the unknown higher‐order disturbances separately. As such, it provides a feasible way for higher‐precision states/disturbance estimation. Thanks to the utilisation of HOESO, the upper bound of disturbances is not necessarily required as a priori and the switching gain is adaptively chosen based on the estimation error such that the chattering effects can be significantly reduced. Experiments for speed regulation of a brushless DC motor are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Human body and limb motion recognition via stacked gated recurrent units network
Authors: Wang Mingyang , Cui Guolong , Yang Xiaobo , Kong Lingjiang
Published: July 2018

This study proposes a new radar‐based human body and limb motion recognition method that exploited the temporal sequentiality of the motions. A stacked gated recurrent units network (SGRUN) is adopted to extract the dynamic sequential human motion patterns. Since the time‐varying Doppler and micro‐Doppler signatures can commendably represent such motion patterns, the spectrogram is utilised as the input sequence of the SGRUN. Numerical experiments verify that an SGRUN with two 34‐neuron gated recurrent unit layers well classifies and recognises six distinct human body and limb motion types.
For Reproductive Justice in an Era of Gates and Modi: The Violence of India's Population Policies
Authors: Wilson Kalpana
Published: July 2018

This article addresses India's contemporary population control policies and practices as a form of gender violence perpetrated by the state and transnational actors against poor, Adivasi and Dalit women. It argues that rather than meeting the needs and demands of these women for access to safe contraception that they can control, the Indian state has targeted them for coercive mass sterilisations and unsafe injectable contraceptives. This is made possible by the long-term construction of particular women's lives as devalued and disposable, and of their bodies as excessively fertile and therefore inimical to development and progress. It further considers how population policy is currently embedded in the neoliberal framework of development being pursued by the Indian state. In particular, it argues that the violence of population policies is being deepened as a result of three central and interrelated aspects of this framework: corporate dispossession and displacement, the intensification and extension of women's labour for global capital, and the discourses and embodied practices of far-right Hindu supremacism. At the same time, India's population policies cannot be understood in isolation from the global population control establishment, which is increasingly corporate-led, and from broader structures of racialised global capital accumulation. The violence of India's contemporary population policies and the practices they produce operate at several different scales, all of which involve the construction of certain bodies as unfit to reproduce and requiring intervention and control.
Special Guest Contribution: Is Love without Borders Possible?
Authors: Sarkar Tanika
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on ‘Love Jihad,’ the neologism that Hindutva, or Hindu Extremism, has invented to incite suspicion and violence against Indian Muslims. I begin with a brief discussion of several characteristics of the Hindutva organisational and ideological apparatus. Then I discuss anti-Love Jihad campaigns as a strategy to assert Hindu extremism in interpersonal relations. I go on to highlight specific episodes of ‘Love Jihad’ attacks by the Hindu Right that have targeted and made a political spectacle of love and marriage across community boundaries. I suggest that Love Jihad campaigns become a mode of producing docile, submissive subjects who will not question regimes of power, be it neoliberalism, religious majoritarianism or social hierarchies and injustice.
Linking Radical Traditions and the Contemporary Dalit Women's Movement: An Intergenerational Lens
Authors: Velayudhan Meera
Published: July 2018

Anti-caste movements in India have a long history. Cultural heritage became and remains a site of political contestation by excluded communities searching for identity and equality, and gender remains at the core of their engagements. The meanings underlying the more homogenous term of ‘Dalit’ used today are part of a historical process of self-definition. Moreover, diverse Dalit countercultures suggest varied social domains in which Dalit communities are located. South Asian historiographies have been critiqued as denying histories and historical agency to Dalits. Yet Dalit studies have developed epistemologies, bringing articulations and ideas from the margins to the centre of writings on history, leading to debates around caste that have transformed notions of politics. This paper draws from one such trajectory through a nonlinear narrative, juxtaposing the intergenerational contexts of engagements: my mother Dakshayani's political and life experiences, as narrated in her autobiography (1912–1978), and my own experience in the Dalit women's and other movements in the 1980s and 1990s. While my experience saw the onset of liberalisation and the emergence and growth of ‘new social movements’, the context of Dakshayani's narrations is the Pulaya (agrestic slave caste) community in the early 1900s in Cochin, a community in the process of transforming itself. Both narratives highlight how radical traditions within the Dalit women's movement over time have consciously and critically addressed anti-caste movements, social reform, the state, peoples’ movements and the nation within a conceptual framework of equality, liberty and non-discrimination.
Laboratory study of interaction of magnetoplasma irregularities produced by several radio-frequency heating sources
Authors: Aidakina N. , Gushchin M. , Zudin I. , Korobkov S. , Strikovskiy A.
Published: July 2018

The dynamics of a group of narrow field-aligned plasma density irregularities is studied using the large-scale KROT plasma device. The chosen experimental conditions are similar to the conditions in the ionosphere of the Earth, where such irregularities develop under the impact of high-power, high-frequency radio waves. In our laboratory experiment, the irregularities are created by a set of rf antennas arranged in a row across the ambient magnetic field due to the heating of electrons and subsequent redistribution of the plasma. Near the heating sources, the irregularities have the form of a set of channels with reduced plasma density, which develop almost independently. At the same time, the relaxation time of a group of neighboring irregularities differs from that of each single irregularity. Evolution of density perturbations at the periphery of the heating region differs for a single irregularity and for a group of irregularities significantly. These effects are probably due to eddy currents excited by each of the irregularities in the background plasma, since narrow irregularities can develop in the “unipolar” thermal diffusion regime. The preliminary experimental results are consistent with the theoretical predictions of unipolar diffusion and excitation of eddy currents.
Preserved cardiac function by vinculin enhances glucose oxidation and extends health- and life-span
Authors: Sessions Ayla O. , Min Peter , Cordes Thekla , Weickert Barry J. , Divakaruni Ajit S. , Murphy Anne N. , Metallo Christian M. , Engler Adam J.
Published: July 2018

Despite limited regenerative capacity as we age, cardiomyocytes maintain their function in part through compensatory mechanisms, e.g., Vinculin reinforcement of intercalated discs in aged organisms. This mechanism, which is conserved from flies to non-human primates, creates a more crystalline sarcomere lattice that extends lifespan, but systemic connections between the cardiac sarcomere structure and lifespan extension are not apparent. Using the rapidly aging fly system, we found that cardiac-specific Vinculin-overexpression [Vinculin heart-enhanced (VincHE)] increases heart contractility, maximal cardiac mitochondrial respiration, and organismal fitness with age. Systemic metabolism also dramatically changed with age and VincHE; steady state sugar concentrations, as well as aerobic glucose metabolism, increase in VincHE and suggest enhanced energy substrate utilization with increased cardiac performance. When cardiac stress was induced with the complex I inhibitor rotenone, VincHE hearts sustain contractions unlike controls. This work establishes a new link between the cardiac cytoskeleton and systemic glucose utilization and protects mitochondrial function from external stress.
Evaluation and regularization of phase-modulated Eisenstein series and application to double Schlömilch-type sums
Authors: Chen Parry Y. , Smith Michael J. A. , McPhedran Ross C.
Published: July 2018

In the study of periodic media, conditionally convergent series are frequently encountered and their regularization is crucial for applications. We derive an identity that regularizes two-dimensional phase-modulated Eisenstein series for all Bravais lattices, yielding physically meaningful values. We also obtain explicit forms for the phase-modulated series in terms of holomorphic Eisenstein series, enabling their closed-form evaluation for important high symmetry lattices. Results are then used to obtain representations for the related double Schlömilch-type sums, which are also given for all Bravais lattices. Finally, we treat displaced lattices of high symmetry, expressing them in terms of origin-centered lattices via geometric multi-set identities. These identities apply to all classes of two-dimensional sums, allowing sums to be evaluated over each constituent of a unit cell that possesses multiple inclusions.
Femtosecond laser-induced melting and shaping of indium nanostructures on silicon wafers
Authors: Azarm A. , Akhoundi F. , Norwood R. A. , Peyghambarian N. , Kieu K.
Published: July 2018

We study the modification of indium semi-spherical nanostructures with radii of around 175 nm on silicon wafers into linear microstructures more than 2 μm long in the direction of polarization of laser pulses (1.56 μm, 150 fs, up to 7.5 nJ and 30 000 laser pulses with 8 MHz repetition rate). The experimental results and a rudimentary analysis confirm that melting occurs from intense laser pulses. In short, we demonstrate that melting of the indium droplet followed by trapping in high spatial frequency laser induced periodic surface structures on a silicon substrate cause nanostructure modification. The understanding of the modification process, melting, and moving in the nano-grating structured field, pave the way to design nanostructures of arbitrary shapes at the sub-wavelength scale.
Dielectric sphere-coupled THz super-resolution imaging
Authors: Yang Yuping , Liu Hailing , Yang Menghan , Cui Bin , Zhang Weili
Published: July 2018

A straightforward terahertz (THz) imaging method, analogous to microsphere optical nanoscope, is proposed and developed with spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit. By attaching a 3 mm Teflon sphere directly onto a free-standing silicon grating, a subwavelength spatial resolution better than the Rayleigh limit is demonstrated. Furthermore, the dielectric sphere-coupled THz microscope not only enables far-field, large-area measurement, but also characterizes high-throughput and broad-bandwidth imaging properties. In addition, a numerical study of the THz pulse propagation through a dielectric sphere agrees well with the experimental results, showing frequency-dependent magnification and focal length.
First point-spread function and x-ray phase-contrast imaging results with an 88-mm diameter single crystal
Authors: Lumpkin Alex H. , Garson Alfred B. , Anastasio Mark A.
Published: July 2018

In this study, we report initial demonstrations of the use of single crystals in indirect x-ray imaging with a benchtop implementation of propagation-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging. Based on single Gaussian peak fits to the x-ray images, we observed a four times smaller system point-spread function (PSF) with the 50-µm thick single crystal scintillators than with the reference polycrystalline phosphor/scintillator. Fiber-optic plate depth-of-focus and Al reflective-coating aspects are also elucidated. Guided by the results from the 25-mm diameter crystal samples, we report additionally the first results with a unique 88-mm diameter single crystal bonded to a fiber optic plate and coupled to the large format CCD. Both PSF and x-ray phase-contrast imaging data are quantified and presented.
A polarizable MARTINI model for monovalent ions in aqueous solution
Authors: Michalowsky Julian , Zeman Johannes , Holm Christian , Smiatek Jens
Published: July 2018

We present a new polarizable coarse-grained martini force field for monovalent ions, called refIon, which is developed mainly for the accurate reproduction of electrostatic properties in aqueous electrolyte solutions. The ion model relies on full long-range Coulomb interactions and introduces satellite charges around the central interaction site in order to model molecular polarization effects. All force field parameters are matched to reproduce the mass density and the static dielectric permittivity of aqueous NaCl solutions, such that experimental values are well-reproduced up to moderate salt concentrations of 2 mol/l. In addition, an improved agreement with experimentally measured ionic conductivities is observed. Our model is validated with regard to analytic solutions for the ion distribution around highly charged rod-like polyelectrolytes in combination with atomistic simulations and experimental results concerning structural properties of lipid bilayers in the presence of distinct salt concentrations. Further results regarding the coordination numbers of counterions around dilute poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium) polyelectrolyte chains also highlight the applicability of our approach. The introduction of our force field allows us to eliminate heuristic scaling factors, as reported for previous martini ion models in terms of effective salt concentrations, and in consequence provides a better agreement between simulation and experimental results. The presented approach is specifically useful for recent martini attempts that focus on highly charged systems—such as models of DNA, polyelectrolytes or polyelectrolyte complexes—where precise studies of electrostatic effects and charge transport processes are essential.
Ab initio calculation of femtosecond-time-resolved photoelectron spectra of NO2 after excitation to the A-band
Authors: Tehlar Andres , von Conta Aaron , Arasaki Yasuki , Takatsuka Kazuo , Wörner Hans Jakob
Published: July 2018

We present calculations of time-dependent photoelectron spectra of NO2 after excitation to the A-band for comparison with extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We employ newly calculated potential energy surfaces of the two lowest-lying coupled 2A′ states obtained from multi-reference configuration-interaction calculations to propagate the photo-excited wave packet using a split-step-operator method. The propagation includes the nonadiabatic coupling of the potential surfaces as well as the explicit interaction with the pump pulse centered at 3.1 eV (400 nm). A semiclassical approach to calculate the time-dependent photoelectron spectrum arising from the ionization to the eight energetically lowest-lying states of the cation allows us to reproduce the static experimental spectrum up to a binding energy of 16 eV and enables direct comparisons with XUV time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.
Study of passive plume mixing due to two line source emission in isotropic turbulence
Authors: Oskouie Shahin N. , Yang Zixuan , Wang Bing-Chen
Published: July 2018

Direct numerical simulations are performed to investigate the mixing and dispersion of passive plumes emitted from two parallel line sources into a homogeneous isotropic turbulent flow. The focus of this study is on the turbulent convective regime of plume mixing, where the bulk meandering of the instantaneous plumes makes the primary contribution to the plume dispersion and concentration fluctuations. The quality of mixing and the interference between the two plumes have been studied in both physical and spectral spaces. It is found that the exceedance probability of high concentrations for the total plume released from dual sources is much smaller than that released from a single line source. The reduction in the exceedance probability across high concentration levels for the total plume is quantified using a reduction factor, whose value approaches unity as the cross correlation coefficient between the two concentration fields becomes increasingly positive. It is observed that the scatterplots of the normalized third- and fourth-order concentration moments against the normalized second-order concentration moment collapse onto a single curve, indicating that higher order concentration moments of the total plume can be determined effectively from the information on lower order concentration moments. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the concentration probability density function for the total plume can be properly evaluated using a clipped-gamma model. In the spectral analysis, the results of the pre-multiplied co-spectra and coherency spectra reveal that the mixing process is the strongest and fastest at large scales for the turbulent convective regime of plume mixing.
Growth of plasma waves of scales longer than 10 km by gradient-drift instability in the E-region of equatorial ionosphere
Authors: Kherani E. A. , Bharuthram R. , Maharaj S. K.
Published: July 2018

In this study, a linear analysis of the Gradient Drift Instability (GDI) applicable for horizontal wavelengths longer than 10 km in the E region is presented. By analytically solving the non-local differential equation for the polarization potential, analytical forms of the dispersion relation and growth rate, hosting new contributions from non-local effects, are obtained. The new growth rate and the amplitude of polarization potential are examined for a wide range of wavelengths that reveal the positive growth of GDI for wavelengths of ∼25 km. These characteristics raise the possibility of the formation of unstable structures of vertical size ∼20–30 km in the upper E region, often observed during twilight hours.
A binary collision Monte Carlo model for temperature relaxation in multicomponent plasmas
Authors: Zhao Yinjian
Published: July 2018

Particle simulations with Monte Carlo collision models have been widely used to efficiently solve Coulomb collisions in plasma systems. A binary collision Monte Carlo model which has been proposed previously provides more accurate results than the commonly used Nanbu’s model for electron-ion temperature relaxation. In the present work, this binary model is generalized to simulate multicomponent plasmas, and its results still show higher accuracy than Nanbu’s model when compared to the baseline results obtained from Particle-Particle simulations. In addition, the binary model is improved to eliminate the time step length limitation occurred in the previous algorithm.
Bitcoin market route to maturity? Evidence from return fluctuations, temporal correlations and multiscaling effects
Authors: Drożdż Stanisław , Gȩbarowski Robert , Minati Ludovico , Oświȩcimka Paweł , Wa̧torek Marcin
Published: July 2018

Based on 1-min price changes recorded since year 2012, the fluctuation properties of the rapidly emerging Bitcoin market are assessed over chosen sub-periods, in terms of return distributions, volatility autocorrelation, Hurst exponents, and multiscaling effects. The findings are compared to the stylized facts of mature world markets. While early trading was affected by system-specific irregularities, it is found that over the months preceding April 2018 all these statistical indicators approach the features hallmarking maturity. This can be taken as an indication that the Bitcoin market, and possibly other cryptocurrencies, carry concrete potential of imminently becoming a regular market, alternative to the foreign exchange. Since high-frequency price data are available since the beginning of trading, the Bitcoin offers a unique window into the statistical characteristics of a market maturation trajectory.
Direct imaging of surface states hidden in the third layer of Si (111)-7 × 7 surface by pz-wave tip
Authors: Wang Jing , Jin Lai , Zhou Hua , Fu Huixia , Song Chuangye , Meng Sheng , Zhang Jinxing
Published: July 2018

The direct visualization of the surface states of dimers in Si (111)-7 × 7 is still challenging although the DAS model has been proposed 33 years ago. In this letter, based on the partial density of states of the atoms in the reconstructed layers examined by the first principles calculations, scanning tunneling spectroscopy images with a pz-wave tip were carried out, which show a skull pattern at ∼0.7 eV, and 9 bright short lines at ∼1.00 eV in each unit cell, exhibiting obviously the electronic states from the third-layer atoms and dimers. The improved sensitivity (intensity and resolution) of scanning tunneling spectroscopy was ascribed to the enhanced tunneling matrix elements for pz-wave tip compared with s-wave tip. This discovery provides us a platform to explore the quantum states hidden in the deep of the materials surface.
On nonequilibrium shrinkage of supercritical CO2 droplets in a water-carrier microflow
Authors: Qin Ning , Wen John Z. , Chen Baixin , Ren Carolyn L.
Published: July 2018

We report an experimental study on the hydrodynamic shrinkage of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) microdroplets during a nonequilibrium process. After scCO2 microdroplets are generated by water shearing upon a scCO2 flow in a micro T-junction, they are further visualized and characterized at the midpoint and the ending point of a straight rectangular microchannel (width × depth × length: 150 μm × 100 μm × 1.5 mm). The measured decreases in droplet size by 8%–36% indicate and simply quantify the droplet shrinkage which results from the interphase mass transfer between the droplet and the neighboring water. Using a mathematical model, the shrinkage of scCO2 droplets is characterized by solvent-side mass transfer coefficients (ks: 1.5 × 10−4–7.5 × 10−4 m/s) and the Sherwood number (Sh: 7–37). In general, ks here is two orders of magnitude larger than that of hydrostatic liquid CO2 droplets in water. The magnitude of Sh numbers highlights the stronger effect of local convections than that of diffusion in the interphase mass transfer. Our results, as reported here, have essential implications for scCO2-based chemical extractions and carbon storage in deep geoformations.
An analytical model for terahertz detection in cylindrical surrounding-gate MOSFETs
Authors: Ma Guangjin , Li Chunlai , Ma Xiaojuan , Zhou Zhiping , He Jin
Published: July 2018

An analytical model for detection of terahertz radiation by plasma wave in cylindrical surrounding-gate (SRG) MOSFETs is presented. In comparison with traditional drain-current models, the rectification response of terahertz signal due to current self-mixing in conducting channel is considered by solving coupled plasma fluid equations using perturbation method. The resulted model is for the first time dipicting detector response in above threshold, near threshold and subthreshold regimes by a single expression valid for both resonant and nonresonant detection schemes. As no fitting parameters is adopted, the model is physical and predicative. Model validity has been extensively verified through numerically solving differential equations with a wide range of incident wave frequencies, channel doping concentrations, device working temperatures, SRG MOSFET geometry parameters as well as incident wave amplitudes. Model applicability to large input terahertz signal has also been discussed. The presented model is convenient for finding the optimum detector design from a multiparameter space. Its great universality will make it a candidate compact model for future terahertz integrated circuit simulation.
Global strong solutions to the 3D incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with large external force
Authors: Yu Haibo
Published: July 2018

This paper is concerned with the 3D incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with large external force. Through piecewise-estimate, the global existence of strong solutions is established for the case when the total mass is small with arbitrary large initial density. The initial vacuum is allowed.
New studies reveal fingerprints of reaction mechanisms for the liberation of methane on copper
Authors: Liebendorfer Adam
Published: July 2018

A direct dynamics theoretical approach allowed researchers to distinguish between the Eley-Rideal and “hot atom” mechanisms for reactions between deuterium atoms and methyl groups adsorbed on copper surfaces.
A lab-made method for extracting DNA from soils
Authors: Anderson Michael
Published: July 2018

Most soil biologists rely on proprietary commercial kits to extract soil DNA for sequencing projects, primarily for their ease of use. However, most of these kits lack procedural transparency which limits comparative long-term standardisation efforts. Here I demonstrate a new procedure that is well defined and yields results similar or superior to the PowerSoil and SoilMaster kits. The Laboratory Technique utilises bead-beating, a well-defined extraction buffer, ammonium acetate precipitation, isopropyl alcohol precipitation and purification through a Sephacryl 300-S HR gel filtration spin column. Based on Sybr Green assays the Laboratory Technique extracted on average 21% and 430% more DNA than the PowerSoil and SoilMaster kits respectively. Purity based on 260/280 nm spectrophotometric ratios averaged 1.94 for the Laboratory Technique and the PowerSoil procedure, and 1.35 for the SoilMaster kit. Correlation between community taxonomic structure analysis from DNA extracted by the Laboratory Technique and the PowerSoil procedure were in near complete agreement yielding an R2 of 0.99 at the level of phyla and 0.97 at the level of genera. Overall, the Laboratory Technique is an attractive alternative in terms of yield, purity, transparency, cost and potential for long-term standardisation.
Stem cell-derived clade F AAVs mediate high-efficiency homologous recombination-based genome editing
Authors: Smith Laura J. , Wright Jason , Clark Gabriella , Ul-Hasan Taihra , Jin Xiangyang , Fong Abigail , Chandra Manasa , St Martin Thia , Rubin Hillard , Knowlton David , Ellsworth Jeff L. , Fong Yuman , Wong Kamehameha K. , Chatterjee Saswati
Published: July 2018

Significance

Precise genomic correction of pathogenic mutations is an attractive therapeutic strategy. Here, we show that a unique class of stem cell-derived nonpathogenic virus, hematopoietic stem cell-derived adeno-associated virus vector (AAVHSC), mediates precise genome editing at unprecedented efficiencies in primary human cells, including postmitotic cells, and in vivo. Unlike the majority of current editing platforms, genome editing by AAVHSC is uniquely based on homologous recombination (HR), requiring no exogenous nucleases. AAVHSC-mediated editing is seamless, with no evidence of on-target insertion/deletion mutations common to nuclease-based platforms. Efficient in vivo editing was achieved by i.v. injection of AAVHSC editing vectors. The combination of efficient and precise HR-based genome editing coupled with the superior in vivo transduction properties of AAV facilitates progress toward in vivo therapeutic gene editing.
Platinum as an electrocatalyst: Effect of morphological aspects of Pt/Pt-based materials
Authors: Akbar Samina , Anwar Aneela , Noon Muhammad Z. , Elliott Joanne M , Squires Adam M
Published: July 2018

Platinum and platinum-based materials with high catalytic performance, and chemical and mechanical stability are vital to electronic devices, biomedical science, optics, petroleum, and automotive industries. Because of the limited supply and high cost of platinum, it is highly desirable to develop new effective methodologies which can decrease the platinum loading by increasing its electrocatalytic properties. Depending upon their size, shape, and morphology, platinum materials have shown significant improvement in the surface catalysed chemical transformation pathways in fuel cell technology. Much research is now focused on the manufacturing and engineering of platinum and platinum-based materials which proffer enhanced catalytic efficiency, and offer chemical and mechanical robustness.
Evaluation of automobile service performance using laboratory testing
Authors: Atrens Andrej , Liu Qinglong , Zhou Qingjun , Venezuela Jeffrey , Zhang Mingxing
Published: July 2018

A methodology is presented to evaluate martensitic advanced high-strength steels in auto service. There was essentially no influence of hydrogen for (i) linearly increasing stress tests of specimens with hydrogen contents much greater than for automobile service, and (ii) for tensile tests with simultaneous hydrogen charging and with a substantial hydrogen content. These results allow evaluation of the hydrogen influence for the tested steels for auto service. In contrast, electrochemically hydrogen charged martensitic advanced high-strength steels showed an influence of hydrogen on mechanical properties, manifest as (i) a decrease in yield strength, by hydrogen enhanced macroscopic ductility, and (ii) a change of the micro-fracture mode, by hydrogen-assisted micro-fracture.
Between party and movement: conceptual and empirical considerations of the radical right’s organizational boundaries and mobilization processes
Authors: Minkenberg Michael
Published: July 2018

The article seeks to contribute to the conceptual and comparative debate with its focus on political parties by approaching the topic through the logic of collective action. Starting from an ideologically centered definition of right-wing radicalism, it conceptualizes the radical right in liberal democracies as a collective actor with different ideological as well as organizational manifestations, the latter most notably in party or movement forms. The article argues that unlike other movement-party linkages, which build on clear typological distinctions between parties and movement, radical right parties almost by definition exhibit movement characteristics in that they continuously engage in ‘contentious politics’. Empirical evidence will be drawn from member states of the EU to illustrate the argument. It will be further argued that in the interaction between radical right parties and movements in Western democracies, movements endure where radical right parties remain marginal. In other words, to the extent that radical right parties maintain their movement qualities and become electorally successful, movement mobilization on the far right is inhibited. This ‘Western’ pattern is contrasted by patterns in Eastern Europe, where more porous borders between radical right parties and movements exist along with symbiotic interactions.
The far right as social movement
Authors: Castelli Gattinara Pietro , Pirro Andrea L. P.
Published: July 2018

The literature on the far right is trying to connect with social movement studies. Scholars from different social scientific backgrounds are increasingly acknowledging that extra-parliamentary grassroots activism is part of the alliance and conflict structure of nativist collective actors. The recent rise in far-right street politics – or, precisely, its re-emergence with seemingly different clothes – should encourage the study of the inter-relations between party and non-party collective actors. As a case in point, the far right not only includes political parties geared towards elections and public office but also social movements or ‘networks of networks’ that aim to mobilise public support, and a conglomeration of subcultural groups and groupuscules. By putting forward a three-part metric to analyse mobilisation factors at the macro, meso, and micro levels, this piece and the Special Issue it introduces bring the (inter-)relations between far-right parties, movements, and subcultures frontstage, and elaborate on nativist collective action across different arenas of contention.
Nutritional intake and body composition changes in a UCI World Tour cycling team during the Tour of Spain
Authors: Muros José Joaquín , Sánchez‐Muñoz Cristóbal , Hoyos Jesús , Zabala Mikel
Published: July 2018

The aim of this study was to quantify the food intake of an International Cyclist Union (UCI) World Tour professional cyclist team and to analyse changes in body composition during the Tour of Spain. Nine male professional road cyclists (31.3 ± 3.0 years) volunteered to participate in the study. Nutritional data were collected each day throughout the 3‐week Tour by two trained investigators who weighed the food ingested by the cyclists. Mean nutritional intake of the cyclists was as follows: carbohydrate, 12.5 ± 1.8 g/kg/day of body weight (BW) (65.0 ± 5.9%); fat, 1.5 ± 0.5 g/kg/day BW (17.9 ± 5.6%); and protein, 3.3 ± 0.3 g/kg/day BW (17.1 ± 1.6%). Intake of all micronutrients, except for folate, vitamin D and potassium (which were 78.7%, 46% and 84% of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), respectively), exceeded the RDA. Height, weight, skinfolds, circumferences and diameters were taken following the guidelines outlined by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry. Body density, body fat percentage, muscle mass, total muscle mass and fat mass of the arms and thighs were calculated. Percentage body fat, fat mass and upper arm fat mass significantly decreased (p <. 05) after the Tour independent of the equation method used in the calculations. Total muscle mass remained unchanged. Generally, this sample of cyclists consumed more protein and less fat than the recommended amount and had low weight, BMI and fat mass. It is suggested that sports nutritionists design personalised diets in order to maintain a correct proportion of nutrients as well as controlling possible anthropometrical changes that could affect performance.
Larger strength losses and muscle activation deficits in plantar flexors induced by backward downhill in reference to distance‐matched forward uphill treadmill walk
Authors: Girard Olivier , Banzet Sébastien , Koulmann Nathalie , Chennaoui Mounir , Drogou Catherine , Chalabi Hakim , Racinais Sébastien
Published: July 2018

We tested the hypothesis that backward downhill walking (eccentric component) impairs both voluntary activation and muscle contractile properties in the plantar flexors and delays recovery as compared to a gradient and distance‐matched uphill walk. Fourteen males performed two 30‐min walking exercises (velocity: 1 m/ s; grade: 25%; load: 12% of body weight), one downhill (DW) and one uphill (UP), in a counterbalanced order, separated by 6 weeks. Neuromuscular test sessions were performed before, after, 24‐, 48‐ and 72‐h post‐exercise, including motor nerve stimulations during brief (5 s) and sustained (1 min) maximal isometric voluntary contractions of the plantar flexors. DW (−18.1 ± 11.1%, P < .001), but not UP (−6.0 ± 7.7%, P =.15), decreased torque production during brief contractions for at least three days post‐exercise (P < .05). Voluntary activation during brief contractions decreased after DW (P < .05), but not UP, and recovered by 24 h. Both UP (−9.3 ± 9.0%, P = .024) and DW (−25.6 ± 10.3%, P < .001) decreased torque production during sustained contractions but voluntary activation (P = .001) was lower in DW than UP. Peak twitch torque and maximum rates of torque development and relaxation were equally reduced after UP and DW (P < .05), and recovered by 24 h. DW induced an increase in muscle soreness with peak values observed 48 h post‐walking (P < .001), whereas post‐UP exercise changes were non‐significant (all P > .05). Using a direct comparison, the capacity to drive the plantar flexors during sustained contractions remains sub‐optimal during the three‐day recovery period in response to non‐exhaustive, downhill backward walking in reference to an uphill exercise matched for distance covered.
War as politics: a reply to Latham
Authors: Artinian Arto
Published: July 2018

This reply speaks to Robert Latham's ‘arc of capitalism’ frame by confronting ideological intransigence as a barrier to Left augmentation. It suggests a focus on ‘warlike relations’ as a way to move past this. Politics as war is a lens that incorporates the everyday, ‘events on the street’, within questions of labor power, more specifically by linking abstract systemic flows of the reproduction of capital and its political apparatuses. The focus on politics as war is a terrain over which to more deeply contemplate the potential for a revolutionary politics against the ‘total liberal-capitalist hegemony’. The prism of war opens up the possibility for confronting the strategic elements of this hegemony, by attending to the mechanisms through which hegemony emerges, forms and asserts itself.
Non-canonical Ret signaling augments p75-mediated cell death in developing sympathetic neurons
Authors: Donnelly Christopher R. , Gabreski Nicole A. , Suh Esther B. , Chowdhury Monzurul , Pierchala Brian A.
Published: July 2018

Programmed cell death (PCD) is an evolutionarily conserved process critical in sculpting many organ systems, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the interactions of pro-survival and pro-apoptotic receptors in PCD using the sympathetic nervous system as a model. We demonstrate that Ret, a receptor tyrosine kinase required for the survival of many neuronal populations, is restricted to a subset of degenerating neurons that rapidly undergo apoptosis. Pro-apoptotic conditions induce Ret to associate with the death receptor p75. Genetic deletion of p75 within Ret+ neurons, and deletion of Ret during PCD, inhibit apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, Ret inhibits nerve growth factor (NGF)–mediated survival of sympathetic neurons. Removal of Ret disrupts NGF-mediated TrkA ubiquitination, leading to increased cell surface levels of TrkA, thereby potentiating survival signaling. Additionally, Ret deletion significantly impairs p75 regulated intramembrane proteolysis cleavage, leading to reduced activation of downstream apoptotic effectors. Collectively, these results indicate that Ret acts non-canonically to augment p75-mediated apoptosis.
Renormalization Group Realism: The Ascent of Pessimism
Authors: Ruetsche Laura
Published: July 2018

One realist response to the pessimistic meta-induction distinguishes idle theoretical wheels from aspects of successful theories we can expect to persist and espouses realism about the latter. Implementing the response requires a strategy for identifying the distinguished aspects. The strategy I will call renormalization group realism has the virtue of directly engaging the gears of our best current physics—perturbative quantum field theories. I argue that the strategy, rather than disarming the skeptical possibilities evinced by the pessimistic meta-induction, forces them to retreat a level. I also suggest that those skeptical possibilities continue to carry force.
Optogenetics, Pluralism, and Progress
Authors: Sullivan Jacqueline Anne
Published: July 2018

Optogenetic techniques are described as “revolutionary” for the unprecedented causal control they allow neuroscientists to exert over neural activity in awake-behaving animals. In this article, I demonstrate by means of a case study that optogenetic techniques will only illuminate causal links between the brain and behavior to the extent that their error characteristics are known and, further, that determining these error characteristics requires (1) comparison of optogenetic techniques with techniques having well-known error characteristics (methodological pluralism) and (2) consideration of the broader neural and behavioral context in which the targets of optogenetic interventions are situated (perspectival pluralism).