bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Major Mechanisms Contributing to Swarm Intelligence
Authors: Foss Richard A.
Published: July 2016

This article examines some of the major mechanisms that might contribute to the apparent collective intelligence of the honey bee swarm and determines their role in its nest site decision making process. Decentralization of power allowed the swarm to utilize massively parallel information processing during its search for a new home. Various diversity generating mechanisms provided the swarm with a full range of potential nest sites for consideration. Numerous independent evaluations of nest site quality provided a relatively unbiased and noise free assessment of each site's survival worthiness. Differential net recruitment to the better quality sites aggregated evidence in favour of each site. A natural selection type process selected out the best competing sites and the first site to accumulate a quorum level of support was chosen as the swarm's new home. The article discusses the implications of these findings and how they relate to collective decision making by human groups. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modelling and Measuring Group Cohesiveness with Consonance: Intertwining the Sociometric Test with the Picture Apperception Value Test
Authors: Barile Sergio , Riolli Laura , Hysa Xhimi
Published: July 2016

The purpose of this research is to model, measure and explain group cohesiveness through consonance. For this aim, we propose a holistic framework that combines the sociometric test with the novel Picture Apperception Value Test for defining group cohesiveness by assessing interpersonal attraction of group members through categorical values. The research approach is quantitative, classified both as inferential and quasi‐experimental. Findings indicate that the holistic framework serves as an effective model for measuring group cohesiveness, much more that it can be the sociometric test alone. Research originality and value derives from the fact of combining one existing and consolidated tool like the sociometric test, with an innovative tool like Picture Apperception Value Test for the measurement of group cohesiveness. Regarding practical implications, through the first instrument it is possible to create groups; with the second, it is possible to measure in a new way the interpersonal attraction based on individual's value system. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Decennary Journey towards the Efficient Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Highly Functionalized Ketones
Authors: Li Wanfang , Lu Bin , Zhang Zhaoguo
Published: July 2016

Around 2006, our group launched a long‐term project on the asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized ketones by using ruthenium complexes with SunPhos ligands. In this review, we recount the burgeoning and blossoming of this project. At the outset, we attempted some benchmark reactions with an array of monofunctionalized ketones, including α‐ and β‐keto esters/amides, β‐keto sulfones, phosphonates, and α‐hydroxy ketones. For α‐keto esters and amides, we discovered that CeCl3•7H2O was an efficient additive for both activity and enantioselectivity. The element iodine was found to be a valid additive for β‐keto sulfones. β,γ‐Unsaturated α‐keto acids and esters were also hydrogenated to the saturated chiral blocks with good enantioselectivity and a high turnover number. For the α‐substituted β‐keto esters and phosphonates, exceptionally high stereoselectivity was achieved through dynamic kinetic resolution. Based on these incipient successes, we diverted to bifunctionalized ketone substrates, such as γ‐heteroatom‐substituted β‐keto esters and δ‐ketal‐β‐keto esters. For the δ‐ketal‐β‐keto esters, CaCO3 was added to stabilize the δ‐ketal groups, which ensured the formation of δ‐ketal‐β‐hydroxy esters in good yields and high ee values. More interestingly, γ‐halo‐γ,δ‐unsaturated‐β‐keto esters were hydrogenated to afford highly enantiopure chiral allyl alcohols under mild and neutral conditions. The distance effect of the directing groups was investigated in β‐, γ‐, and δ‐keto amides; the last two were hydrogenated with the Ru–SunPhos–diamine system. To implement the pinpoint recognition of two carbonyl groups in similar chemical propinquity, we compared the reaction rates of different β‐keto acid derivatives. THF was found to be a helpful coordinative solvent to control the chemo‐ and enantioselectivity for more challenging polycarbonyl substrates, such as 3‐oxo glutaric acid derivatives, β,δ‐diketo carboxamides, and γ‐heteroatom‐substituted β‐diketones. The effects of solvents and heteroatoms in these substrates were also studied. Applications of these hydrogenation reactions were also exemplified by the employment of the products for important pharmaceutical syntheses.

image
A comparative study on dynamic responses of spar‐type floating horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines
Authors: Cheng Zhengshun , Wang Kai , Gao Zhen , Moan Torgeir
Published: July 2016

Interest in the exploitation of offshore wind resources using floating wind turbines has increased. Commercial development of floating horizontal axis wind turbines (FHAWTs) is emerging because of their commercial success in onshore and near‐shore areas. Floating vertical axis wind turbines (FVAWTs) are also promising because of their low installation and maintenance costs. Therefore, a comparative study on the dynamic responses of FHAWTs and FVAWTs is of great interest. In the present study, a FHAWT employing the 5MW wind turbine developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and a FVAWT employing a Darrieus rotor, both mounted on the OC3 spar buoy, were considered. An improved control strategy was introduced for FVAWTs to achieve an approximately constant mean generator power for the above rated wind speeds. Fully coupled time domain simulations were carried out using identical, directional aligned and correlated wind and wave conditions. Because of different aerodynamic load characteristics and control strategies, the FVAWT results in larger mean tower base bending moments and mooring line tensions above the rated wind speed. Because significant two‐per‐revolution aerodynamic loads act on the FVAWT, the generator power, tower base bending moments and delta line tensions show prominent two‐per‐revolution variation. Consequently, the FVAWT suffers from severe fatigue damage at the tower bottom. However, the dynamic performance of the FVAWT could be improved by increasing the number of blades, using helical blades or employing a more advanced control strategy, which requires additional research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Measurement of Ether Phospholipids in Human Plasma with HPLC–ELSD and LC/ESI–MS After Hydrolysis of Plasma with Phospholipase A1
Authors: Mawatari Shiro , Hazeyama Seira , Fujino Takehiko
Published: July 2016

Ethanolamine ether phospholipid (eEtnGpl) and choline ether phospholipid (eChoGpl) are present in human plasma or serum, but the relative concentration of the ether phospholipids in plasma is very low as compared to those in other tissues. Nowadays, measurement of ether phospholipids in plasma depends on tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), but a system for LC/MS/MS is generally too expensive for usual clinical laboratories. Treatment of plasma with phospholipase A1 (PLA1) causes complete hydrolysis of diacylphospholipids, but ether phospholipids remain intact. After the treatment of plasma with PLA1, both eEtnGpl and eChoGpl are detected as independent peaks by high‐performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC–ELSD). The same sample used for HPLC–ELSD can be applied to detect eEtnGpl and eChoGpl with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Presence of alkylacylphospholipids in both eChoGpl and eEtnGpl in human plasma was indicated by sequential hydrolysis of plasma with PLA1 and hydrochloric acid.
Fatty Acid Composition of Seeds From Wild and Cultivated Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer): Occurrence of a High Level of Petroselinic Acid
Authors: Svetashev Vasily I. , Burundukova Olga L. , Muzarok Tamara I. , Zhuravlev Yuri N.
Published: July 2016

The lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of seeds from the Asian ginseng Panax ginseng growing naturally in taiga forests of the Russian Far East and seeds from cultivated ginseng were studied in this work. The total lipid content of seeds from both wild and cultivated plants was 9–12 % of fresh weight. FA were analyzed as isopropyl esters on a polar capillary column BD‐225, which allows good separation of petroselinic and oleic acids. The structure of FAs was confirmed using GC–MS of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 4,4‐dimethyloxazoline derivatives. In all the seed samples, the major FA was petroselinic acid 18:1(n‐12) which comprised more than 60 %; the contents of oleic and linoleic acids were lower (15–17 and 15–16 %, respectively). Earlier, a higher level (>80 %) of oleic acid had been reported for ginseng seeds. This discrepancy can be explained by an insufficient separation of these acids on standard columns used for GC of FAME. In general, seeds of wild and cultivated ginseng are very similar in lipid content and FA composition.
Diagnosis of pre‐eclampsia and assessment of severity through examination of the placenta with acoustic radiation force impulse elastography
Authors: Alan Bircan , Tunç Senem , Agacayak Elif , Bilici Aslan
Published: July 2016

Objective

To assess the value of placental shear wave velocity (SWV) measurement by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging for the diagnosis of pre‐eclampsia and to determine the relationship between the SWV and the severity of pre‐eclampsia.

Methods

A prospective study was performed at a center in Turkey between August 2014 and March 2015. The study included consecutive pregnant women in the second or third trimester diagnosed with pre‐eclampsia and healthy pregnant women without pre‐eclampsia of similar ages. Patients with pre‐eclampsia were divided into two groups (severe or mild disease) on the basis of revised American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criteria. All patients underwent ARFI, and the SWV was measured at several placental locations.

Results

Overall, 86 women were enrolled (42 with pre‐eclampsia, 44 controls). Minimum, maximum, and mean SWV values were significantly higher in the pre‐eclampsia group than in the control group (P < 0.001 for all). These values were also significantly higher among patients with severe pre‐eclampsia than among patients with mild pre‐eclampsia (P < 0.001 for all).

Conclusion

Measurement of the placental SWV with ARFI imaging is a useful additional method for the diagnosis of pre‐eclampsia and for determination of the disease severity.
Respiratory functions after partial laryngectomy surgery
Authors: Demir Mehmet Gökhan
Published: July 2016

ABSTRACT

Aim:

Larynx cancers are among the smoking-related cancers frequently encountered at the head and neck area. Partial surgeries have been preferred in the early-stage larynx cancers during the recent years. Even though partial surgeries are advantageous in terms of protection of the breathing, swallowing, and voice functions, studies regarding the change in the postoperative respiratory functions are not sufficient. Our objective in this study is the scrutiny of the change in the respiratory functions subsequent to various partial surgeries.

Materials and methods:

Patients who had 34 (10 cordectomy, 7 frontolateral, 9 supraglottic, 8 supracricoid laryngectomy) partial laryngectomy operations and 30 healthy control patients were included in our study. The patients were subject to respiratory function test in the postoperative period and their FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC and FEF25–75 values were examined. Data were compared with the healthy control group.

Results:

Lower FEF25–75 value (p < 0,05) was observed in the supracricoid laryngectomy patients compared to the control group. In three patients of the supracricoid laryngectomy group, various degrees of restrictive and obstructive findings were observed in the respiratory function test. The least respiratory function change was observed in patients with cordectomy.

Conclusions:

In our study, various degrees of restrictive and/or obstructive findings were observed in the respiratory functions after partial surgeries. It was determined that such findings increased as long as the amount of the removed larynx tissue increased. We recommend that patients undergo a respiratory function test after partial laryngectomy and treated according to the findings as restrictive and obstructive findings affect patients' survival.

Highlights
Forty years on
Authors: Marine Simine Waliyar
Published: July 2016

”I feel about art librarianship as I feel about ghosts”. There is simply no other way to start once you've read Antony Croghan's viewpoint on the state of art librarianship published in the spring 1977 edition of the Art Libraries Journal. But perhaps almost 40 years on I have a more positive outlook than Mr. Croghan as I do believe in both and I'm not afraid of either!
The Valleys Project Archive
Authors: Cabuts Paul
Published: July 2016

Ffotogallery's photographic survey and archive The Valleys Project was initiated at a time of significant social and economic upheaval in south east Wales. This article explores the contexts for the establishment of the project in the early 1980s and how it was subsequently shaped by political and institutional advocacy as well as the emerging importance of creative photographic practice as a recognized independent activity in the UK and beyond.
London Centre for Book Arts (LCBA): serving the community
Authors: Sajeva Monica , Montero Gustavo Grandal
Published: July 2016

The London Centre for Book Arts (LCBA) www.londonbookarts.org is an artist-run studio providing education programmes for a wide community of users and access to resources for artists and designers. Its mission is to foster and promote book arts and artist-led publishing in the UK through collaboration, education, and by providing open-access to printing and bindery facilities.

Established at Britannia Works, Fish Island (London E3) in October 2012, LCBA was founded and is run by artists Simon Goode and Ira Yonemura. We met them in 2015 and early 2016 to talk about their experiences over the last three years, current projects and future plans. They are an example of purposeful, pragmatic idealism.
The Centre Does Not Hold: Coalition Politics and Party System Change in the Netherlands, 2002–12
Authors: Pellikaan Huib , de Lange Sarah L. , van der Meer Tom W.G.
Published: July 2016

Like many party systems across Western Europe, the Dutch party system has been in flux since 2002 as a result of a series of related developments, including the decline of mainstream parties which coincided with the emergence of radical right-wing populist parties and the concurrent dimensional transformation of the political space. This article analyses how these challenges to mainstream parties fundamentally affected the structure of party competition. On the basis of content analysis of party programmes, we examine the changing configuration of the Dutch party space since 2002 and investigate the impact of these changes on coalition-formation patterns. We conclude that the Dutch party system has become increasingly unstable. It has gradually lost its core through electoral fragmentation and mainstream parties’ positional shifts. The disappearance of a core party that dominates the coalition-formation process initially transformed the direction of party competition from centripetal to centrifugal. However, since 2012 a theoretically novel configuration has emerged in which no party or coherent group of parties dominates competition.
Understanding Power-Sharing within Political Parties: Stratarchy as Mutual Interdependence between the Party in the Centre and the Party on the Ground
Authors: Cross William
Published: July 2016

Recent literature has renewed interest in the stratarchical model of intraparty decision-making. In this version of party organization, the functions performed by parties are distributed among their discrete levels. The result is a power-sharing arrangement in which no group has control over all aspects of party life. Thus, the model potentially provides an antidote to the hierarchical version of organization. This article examines the principal parties in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand to test whether there is empirical evidence of stratarchy. An examination of candidate nomination, leadership selection and policy development finds strong evidence of shared authority between both levels of the party in key areas of intraparty democracy. Both levels accept that they cannot achieve their goals without the support of the other and so a fine balancing act ensues, resulting in constant recalibration of power relations. There is, however, little evidence of the commonly presented model of stratarchy as mutual autonomy for each level within discrete areas of competency. Instead, both the party on the ground and in the centre share authority within all three areas, resulting in a pattern of mutual interdependence rather than mutual autonomy.
Flow generated by oscillatory uniform heating of a rarefied gas in a channel
Authors: Nassios Jason , Yap Ying Wan , Sader John E.
Published: July 2016

Kinetic theory provides a rigorous foundation to explore the unsteady (oscillatory) flow of a dilute gas, which is often generated by nanomechanical devices. Recently, formal asymptotic analyses of unsteady (oscillatory) flows at small Knudsen numbers have been derived from the linearised Boltzmann–Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (Boltzmann–BGK) equation, in both the low- and high-frequency limits (Nassios & Sader, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 708, 2012, pp. 197–249 and vol. 729, 2013, pp. 1–46; Takata & Hattori, J. Stat. Phys., vol. 147, 2012, pp. 1182–1215). These asymptotic theories predict that unsteadiness can couple strongly with heat transport to dramatically modify the overall gas flow. Here, we study the gas flow generated between two parallel plane walls whose temperatures vary sinusoidally in time. Predictions of the asymptotic theories are compared to direct numerical solutions, which are valid for all Knudsen numbers and normalised frequencies. Excellent agreement is observed, providing the first numerical validation of the asymptotic theories. The asymptotic analyses also provide critical insight into the physical mechanisms underlying these flow phenomena, establishing that mass conservation (not momentum or energy) drives the flows – this explains the identical results obtained using different previous theoretical treatments of these linear thermal flows. This study highlights the unique gas flows that can be generated under oscillatory non-isothermal conditions and the importance of both numerical and asymptotic analyses in explaining the underlying mechanisms.
Acoustic, hydrodynamic and thermal modes in a supersonic cold jet
Authors: Unnikrishnan S. , Gaitonde Datta V.
Published: July 2016

Large-eddy simulation data for a Mach 1.3 round jet are decomposed into acoustic, hydrodynamic and thermal components using Doak’s momentum potential theory. The decomposed fields are then analysed to examine the properties of each mode and their dynamics based on the transport equation for the total fluctuating enthalpy. The solenoidal fluctuations highlight hydrodynamic components of the jet and capture the shear layer growth and breakdown process. The acoustic mode exhibits a jittering coherent wavepacket structure in the turbulent region and consequent highly directional downstream radiation. The expected radial decay rates,$r^{-6}$for hydrodynamic and$r^{-2}$for acoustic, are recovered and closely follow the universal radiation spectra in the sideline and downstream directions. The scalogram of the acoustic mode in the near-acoustic-field region is consistent with that of the pressure perturbation signal in the acoustic-frequency range, but effectively removes the hydrodynamic and thermal content. The time-resolved and mean behaviour of terms in the total fluctuating enthalpy equation is analysed in detail. A large-scale intermittent event in the near-acoustic field is shown to be associated with an intrusion of vortices from the shear layer into the core of the jet. Acoustic sources are created when the resulting negative fluctuations in the solenoidal component interact with positive fluctuations in the Coriolis acceleration term. The latter are associated with regions of high vorticity on the inner side of the shear layer. In contrast, sinks result from the interaction of solenoidal momentum fluctuations with positive entropy gradients along entrainment streaks.
ISLAM IN AND OUT: COSMOPOLITAN PATRIOTISM AND XENOPHOBIA AMONG MUSLIMS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE
Authors: Miran-Guyon Marie
Published: July 2016

The nativist ideology of ivoirité of the 1990s generated brutal discriminatory policies against those labelled as ‘strangers’, especially Muslims. Reversing that perspective, this article focuses on the interface between religion and national identity in twentieth-century Côte d'Ivoire from within Muslim society. The argument is divided into two parts. The first puts forward the counter-hegemonic, patriotic-cum-cosmopolitan narratives that a new Muslim leadership formulated in order to write Islam into national history. The second focuses on grass-roots, demotic, day-to-day realities. It explores Muslim takes on belonging and alienation in practice, paying careful attention to the community's internal diversity. It shows how, over time, Ivorian Muslims have showcased varying degrees of cosmopolitan patriotism but also of their own, local xenophobia. The concluding section returns to the new Muslim leadership and its multifaceted endeavours to reconcile Muslim lived experiences with their cosmopolitan patriotic aspirations. The article ends with a short epilogue surveying the violent armed conflicts of the period 2002 to 2011 and how Muslims were a part of them.
FORGETTING APARTHEID: HISTORY, CULTURE AND THE BODY OF A NUN
Authors: Bank Leslie J. , Carton Benedict
Published: July 2016

In 1952, the African National Congress (ANC) initiated its Defiance Campaign, opposing apartheid laws through organized civil disobedience and African nationalism. On Sunday 9 November, the city of East London became a site of political mobilization when 1,500 Xhosa-speaking ANC sympathizers peacefully protested in Bantu Square, the hub of a township named Duncan Village. Police arrived and fired on the crowd, igniting ‘spontaneous riots’. An Afrikaner salesman and an Irish nun were killed in the ensuing unrest. Rumours circulated that a mob ate the white woman; troop reinforcements then fanned into the township to wage a retaliatory war, shooting and bayoneting their victims. Upwards of 200 Africans may have died but only nine fatalities were recorded. If the revised toll is credible, the bloodshed exceeds that of Sharpeville, the worst one-day massacre in apartheid South Africa. Oral sources explain why the slaughter in Duncan Village is not widely known. Township residents secretly carted the dead to rural graves, fearing to report their losses as people mourned the tragic slaying of the nun named Sister Aidan. Today, ANC rulers of East London seem content to silence the memory of a mass killing reputedly spawned by chaos and cannibalism. At the centre of this incident is Sr Aidan's mutilation for the purpose of makingmuthi, a shocking incident that dominates the story of violence on Black Sunday. Using archival documents and oral histories, and incorporating the methodologies of Jennifer Cole, Donald Donham and Veena Das, this article reconstructs a narrative of ‘critical events’ surrounding the nun'smuthimurder. The scrutinized witness testimonies relay how township residents framed their fierce encounters with a symbolic (white person) and ubiquitous (militarized police) enemy. Oral sources reject the notion that an aimless ‘riot’ occurred on 9 November. Instead, they reflect on cultural enactments of purposeful violence through scripted assaults andmuthiritual. Ultimately, they view the fatal attack on Sr Aidan as an evolving customary act of defensive retribution and symbolic warning, submerging truths in apartheid and hindering reconciliations in democracy.
THE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES AND INFANT MORTALITY IN TURKEY
Authors: Koç İsmet , Eryurt Mehmet Alİ
Published: July 2016

Turkey has high levels of infant mortality and consanguineous marriages. It has had a high level of infant mortality for its economic level for many years. Over recent decades, although adult mortality rates have not been very different from those of other countries with similar socioeconomic structures, its life expectancy at birth has remained low due to its high infant mortality rate. This has been called the Turkish Puzzle. According to the Turkey Family Structure and Population Issues Survey, 27% of women had a consanguineous marriage in 1968. Subsequent Turkish Demographic and Health Surveys (TDHSs) found the rate of consanguineous marriages to be stagnated at 22–24%, with a resistance to reduction. According to the TDHS-2008, 24% of women had a consanguineous marriage. Numerous studies in various countries of the world have indicated that consanguineous marriages, particularly of first-degree, have the effect of increasing infant mortality. The main aim of this study was to assess the causal impact of consanguineous, particularly first-degree consanguineous, marriages on infant mortality, controlling for individual, cultural, bio-demographic and environmental factors. Data were merged from four Turkish DHS data sets (1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008). Multivariate analysis revealed that first-degree consanguineous marriages have increased infant mortality by 45% in Turkey: 57% in urban areas and 39% in rural areas. The results indicate that there is a causal relationship between consanguineous marriages and infant mortality. This finding should be taken into account when planning policies to reduce infant mortality in Turkey, and in other countries with high rates of consanguineous marriage and infant mortality.
Auditory verbal hallucinations: neuroimaging and treatment
Authors: Bohlken M. M. , Hugdahl K. , Sommer I. E. C.
Published: July 2016

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a frequently occurring phenomenon in the general population and are considered a psychotic symptom when presented in the context of a psychiatric disorder. Neuroimaging literature has shown that AVH are subserved by a variety of alterations in brain structure and function, which primarily concentrate around brain regions associated with the processing of auditory verbal stimuli and with executive control functions. However, the direction of association between AVH and brain function remains equivocal in certain research areas and needs to be carefully reviewed and interpreted. When AVH have significant impact on daily functioning, several efficacious treatments can be attempted such as antipsychotic medication, brain stimulation and cognitive–behavioural therapy. Interestingly, the neural correlates of these treatments largely overlap with brain regions involved in AVH. This suggests that the efficacy of treatment corresponds to a normalization of AVH-related brain activity. In this selected review, we give a compact yet comprehensive overview of the structural and functional neuroimaging literature on AVH, with a special focus on the neural correlates of efficacious treatment.
Abnormalities in serum biomarkers correlate with lower cardiac index in the Fontan population
Authors: Marino Bradley S. , Goldberg David J. , Dorfman Adam L. , King Eileen , Kalkwarf Heidi , Zemel Babette S. , Smith Margaret , Pratt Jesse , Fogel Mark A. , Shillingford Amanda J. , Deal Barbara J. , John Anitha S. , Goldberg Caren S. , Hoffman Timothy M. , Jacobs Marshall L. , Lisec Asher , Finan Susan , Kochilas Lazaros K. , Pawlowski Thomas W. , Campbell Kathleen , Joiner Clinton , Goldstein Stuart L. , Stephens Paul , Chin Alvin J.
Published: July 2016

Background

Fontan survivors have depressed cardiac index that worsens over time. Serum biomarker measurement is minimally invasive, rapid, widely available, and may be useful for serial monitoring. The purpose of this study was to identify biomarkers that correlate with lower cardiac index in Fontan patients.

Methods and results

This study was a multi-centre case series assessing the correlations between biomarkers and cardiac magnetic resonance-derived cardiac index in Fontan patients ⩾6 years of age with biochemical and haematopoietic biomarkers obtained ±12 months from cardiac magnetic resonance. Medical history and biomarker values were obtained by chart review. Spearman’s Rank correlation assessed associations between biomarker z-scores and cardiac index. Biomarkers with significant correlations had receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve estimated. In total, 97 cardiac magnetic resonances in 87 patients met inclusion criteria: median age at cardiac magnetic resonance was 15 (6–33) years. Significant correlations were found between cardiac index and total alkaline phosphatase (−0.26, p=0.04), estimated creatinine clearance (0.26, p=0.02), and mean corpuscular volume (−0.32, p<0.01). Area under the curve for the three individual biomarkers was 0.63–0.69. Area under the curve for the three-biomarker panel was 0.75. Comparison of cardiac index above and below the receiver operating characteristic curve-identified cut-off points revealed significant differences for each biomarker (p<0.01) and for the composite panel [median cardiac index for higher-risk group=2.17 L/minute/m2versus lower-risk group=2.96 L/minute/m2, (p<0.01)].

Conclusions

Higher total alkaline phosphatase and mean corpuscular volume as well as lower estimated creatinine clearance identify Fontan patients with lower cardiac index. Using biomarkers to monitor haemodynamics and organ-specific effects warrants prospective investigation.
Vascular function long term after Kawasaki disease: another piece of the puzzle?
Authors: Pinto Fátima F. , Gomes Inês , Loureiro Petra , Laranjo Sérgio , Timóteo Ana T. , Carmo Miguel M.
Published: July 2016

Background

Kawasaki disease is an acute systemic vasculitis. Cardiac complications are frequent and include endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary anomalies. Thus far, endothelial dysfunction in patients with no coronary lesions is poorly understood. Our aim was to access the vascular function in adolescents and young adults long term after Kawasaki disease, but without coronary aneurysms or any other cardiac risk factors.

Methods

We carried out a single-centre prospective study in a Portuguese population. We evaluated two groups of subjects: (1) Kawasaki disease patients over 11 years of age, diagnosed >5 years ago, with no coronary lesions or any other risk factors for cardiovascular disease; (2) control group of individuals without cardiovascular risk factors. Patients and controls were clinically assessed. Endo-PAT and carotid intima-media thickness assessment were performed to determine vascular function.

Results

In total, 43 Kawasaki disease patients were assessed and compared with 43 controls. Kawasaki disease patients presented a decreased reactive hyperaemia index compared with controls (1.59±0.45 versus 1.98±0.41; p<0.001). Augmentation index was similar in both groups (−4.5±7 versus −5±9%; p 0.6). The mean carotid intima-media thickness was not significantly increased in the Kawasaki disease group. There were no statistically significant changes with regard to laboratory data.

Conclusions

Children with Kawasaki disease may have long-term sequelae, even when there is no discernible coronary artery involvement in the acute stage of the disease. Further research is needed to assess whether known strategies to improve endothelial function would bring potential benefits to Kawasaki disease patients.
Percutaneous closure of multiple ventricular septal defects: simultaneous use of muscular ventricular septal defect device and Multi-Fenestrated Septal Occluder – “Cribriform” to close residual ventricular septal defects after complex cardiac surgery in a child
Authors: Maiya Shreesha S. , Patel Smruti V. , Reddy Chinnaswamy , Pujar Suresh V.
Published: July 2016

A male child, with d-transposition of great arteries, a large perimembranous ventricular septal defect, multiple additional ventricular septal defects, small muscle-bound right ventricle, and severe pulmonary stenosis with confluent, moderate-sized branch pulmonary arteries, underwent an emergency right modified Blalock–Taussig shunt on day 15 of life and réparation à l’étageventriculaire procedure with ventricular septal defect closure with takedown of the Blalock–Taussig shunt at 2.5 years of age. On follow-up, he showed a moderate residual upper ventricular septal defect and multiple apical ventricular septal defects, mild mid-right pulmonary artery stenosis, free pulmonary regurgitation, and right ventricular dysfunction. Surgical re-intervention was deemed extremely risky, the upper muscular ventricular septal defect was closed using an 8-mm Amplatzer Muscular Ventricular Septal Defect Occluder Device, and an 18 mm Amplatzer Multi-Fenestrated Septal Occluder – Cribriform was used for the multiple apical muscular ventricular septal defects. After 1 year, his right pulmonary artery stenosis worsened, for which right pulmonary artery angioplasty was carried out using an 8×20 mm cutting balloon followed by a 10×20 mm Tyshak II balloon. This is the only case reported for the paediatric age group using a cribriform septal occluder device for percutaneous closure of multiple apical ventricular septal defects.
Reversal of severe mitral regurgitation by device closure of a large patent ductus arteriosus in a premature infant
Authors: Kheiwa Ahmed , Ross Robert D. , Kobayashi Daisuke
Published: July 2016

We report a critically ill premature infant with severe mitral valve regurgitation associated with pulmonary hypertension and a severely dilated left atrium from a large patent ductus arteriosus. The mitral valve regurgitation improved significantly with normalisation of left atrial size 4 weeks after percutaneous closure of the patent ductus arteriosus. This case highlights the potential reversibility of severe mitral valve regurgitation with treatment of an underlying cardiac shunt.
PUBLIC RESEARCH SPENDING IN AN ENDOGENOUS GROWTH MODEL
Authors: Konishi Kunihiko
Published: July 2016

This study constructs a variety expansion growth model with public research spending. Public researchers financed by taxes on asset income, consumption, and corporate profits raise the productivity of private research and development. We show that the welfare-maximizing level of public research spending is below the growth-maximizing level. With regard to tax policy, a zero-profit tax maximizes the welfare of households. In addition, the study analyzes the dynamics of the economy, showing that equilibrium is indeterminate when the government's revenue source depends on an asset income tax.
THE ONGOING LIVES OF BOOKS AND THEIR LIBRARIES
Authors: McDermott Joseph P.
Published: July 2016

One early spring afternoon in 1982 I happened to find myself ambling along Fuzhou Road in Shanghai and coming by chance upon a small unattractive bookstore. The brown paint on its outer doors was peeling, the stucco surface of its exterior needed a good scrubbing, and more than a few tiles on its floor were broken. If then no different in appearance from the other bookstores I had earlier visited along this famous Shanghai book street, this store nonetheless boasted a strikingly different kind of stock: it specialized in selling second-hand Western books. While novels abounded on its shelves, the pre-war variety in hardback and the more recent in paperback, one thick non-fiction volume caught my eye. Entitled Domesday Book and Beyond, this classic 1887 treatment of early English history by the great English legal historian Frederic W. Maitland had long been on my reading list. Somehow a copy of it had ended up in this unpromising bookshop. When I opened the virtually virgin pages of this copy and noticed that it could be bought for a proverbial song, I readily leapt to the temptation and acquired it with delight.
Fork-shaped planar antenna for Bluetooth, WLAN, and WiMAX applications
Authors: Kunwar Alaknanda , Gautam Anil Kumar
Published: July 2016

A microstrip transmission line fed fork-shaped planar antenna is proposed for Bluetooth, WLAN, and WiMAX applications. The antenna made of a microstrip feed line, fork-shape patch on one side and defected ground plane on the other side of dielectric substrate. A fork-shape is formed by two side circular arms and a rectangular central arm. The inverted T-shaped ground plane with a rectangular slot in the center arm is used to increase the bandwidth with better impedance matching of the lower band. The antenna is practically fabricated to validate the design. The antenna resonate dual band to cover an entire the WLAN and WiMAX bands. The antenna shows the measured bandwidth of 410 MHz (2.26–2.67) and 3.78 GHz (3.0–6.78 GHz) at lower and upper bands, respectively.
Adolescent education: an opportunity to create a Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) circuit breaker
Authors: Bay J. L. , Vickers M. H.
Published: July 2016

Health before conception, and periconceptional nutritional environments, contribute to conditioning of later-life health and disease. Health behaviors developed during adolescence continue into adulthood. Thus, even when the gap between pregnancy and adolescence is substantial, behaviors developed during adolescence influence later-life non-communicable disease (NCD) vulnerability in offspring. Consequently, adolescence is an important life phase where development of positive health behaviors can contribute to disruption of transgenerational cycles of NCD risk. Schooling is a core activity during adolescence. Modern curricula focus on development of capabilities associated with critical, engaged citizenship, empowering learning that supports action-based engagement in complex issues. Contexts relevant to adolescents and their communities, such as the NCD epidemic, are used to facilitate learning. Thus, engaging the education sector as participants in the work of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease community offers an important strategy to capture the potential of adolescence as a life stage for transgenerational primary prevention of obesity and NCD risk.
Mps1 kinase regulates tumor cell viability via its novel role in mitochondria
Authors: Zhang X , Ling Y , Guo Y , Bai Y , Shi X , Gong F , Tan P , Zhang Y , Wei C , He X , Ramirez A , Liu X , Cao C , Zhong H , Xu Q , Ma R Z
Published: July 2016

Targeting mitotic kinase monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) for tumor therapy has been investigated for many years. Although it was suggested that Mps1 regulates cell viability through its role in spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), the underlying mechanism remains less defined. In an endeavor to reveal the role of high levels of mitotic kinase Mps1 in the development of colon cancer, we unexpectedly found the amount of Mps1 required for cell survival far exceeds that of maintaining SAC in aneuploid cell lines. This suggests that other functions of Mps1 besides SAC are also employed to maintain cell viability. Mps1 regulates cell viability independent of its role in cytokinesis as the genetic depletion of Mps1 spanning from metaphase to cytokinesis affects neither cytokinesis nor cell viability. Furthermore, we developed a single-cycle inhibition strategy that allows disruption of Mps1 function only in mitosis. Using this strategy, we found the functions of Mps1 in mitosis are vital for cell viability as short-term treatment of mitotic colon cancer cell lines with Mps1 inhibitors is sufficient to cause cell death. Interestingly, Mps1 inhibitors synergize with microtubule depolymerizing drug in promoting polyploidization but not in tumor cell growth inhibition. Finally, we found that Mps1 can be recruited to mitochondria by binding to voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) via its C-terminal fragment. This interaction is essential for cell viability as Mps1 mutant defective for interaction fails to main cell viability, causing the release of cytochromec. Meanwhile, deprivation of VDAC1 can make tumor cells refractory to loss of Mps1-induced cell death. Collectively, we conclude that inhibition of the novel mitochondrial function Mps1 is sufficient to kill tumor cells.
The mechanical response of talin
Authors: Yao Mingxi , Goult Benjamin T. , Klapholz Benjamin , Hu Xian , Toseland Christopher P. , Guo Yingjian , Cong Peiwen , Sheetz Michael P. , Yan Jie
Published: July 2016

Talin, a force-bearing cytoplasmic adapter essential for integrin-mediated cell adhesion, links the actin cytoskeleton to integrin-based cell–extracellular matrix adhesions at the plasma membrane. Its C-terminal rod domain, which contains 13 helical bundles, plays important roles in mechanosensing during cell adhesion and spreading. However, how the structural stability and transition kinetics of the 13 helical bundles of talin are utilized in the diverse talin-dependent mechanosensing processes remains poorly understood. Here we report the force-dependent unfolding and refolding kinetics of all talin rod domains. Using experimentally determined kinetics parameters, we determined the dynamics of force fluctuation during stretching of talin under physiologically relevant pulling speeds and experimentally measured extension fluctuation trajectories. Our results reveal that force-dependent stochastic unfolding and refolding of talin rod domains make talin a very effective force buffer that sets a physiological force range of only a few pNs in the talin-mediated force transmission pathway.
Analysis of chromosomal aberrations and recombination by allelic bias in RNA-Seq
Authors: Weissbein Uri , Schachter Maya , Egli Dieter , Benvenisty Nissim
Published: July 2016

Genomic instability has profound effects on cellular phenotypes. Studies have shown that pluripotent cells with abnormal karyotypes may grow faster, differentiate less and become more resistance to apoptosis. Previously, we showed that microarray gene expression profiles can be utilized for the analysis of chromosomal aberrations by comparing gene expression levels between normal and aneuploid samples. Here we adopted this method for RNA-Seq data and present eSNP-Karyotyping for the detection of chromosomal aberrations, based on measuring the ratio of expression between the two alleles. We demonstrate its ability to detect chromosomal gains and losses in pluripotent cells and their derivatives, as well as meiotic recombination patterns. This method is advantageous since it does not require matched diploid samples for comparison, is less sensitive to global expression changes caused by the aberration and utilizes already available gene expression profiles to determine chromosomal aberrations.
Van der Waals pressure and its effect on trapped interlayer molecules
Authors: Vasu K. S. , Prestat E. , Abraham J. , Dix J. , Kashtiban R. J. , Beheshtian J. , Sloan J. , Carbone P. , Neek-Amal M. , Haigh S. J. , Geim A. K. , Nair R. R.
Published: July 2016

Van der Waals assembly of two-dimensional crystals continue attract intense interest due to the prospect of designing novel materials with on-demand properties. One of the unique features of this technology is the possibility of trapping molecules between two-dimensional crystals. The trapped molecules are predicted to experience pressures as high as 1 GPa. Here we report measurements of this interfacial pressure by capturing pressure-sensitive molecules and studying their structural and conformational changes. Pressures of 1.2±0.3 GPa are found using Raman spectrometry for molecular layers of 1-nm in thickness. We further show that this pressure can induce chemical reactions, and several trapped salts are found to react with water at room temperature, leading to two-dimensional crystals of the corresponding oxides. This pressure and its effect should be taken into account in studies of van der Waals heterostructures and can also be exploited to modify materials confined at the atomic interfaces.
Erratum: Once daily administration of the SGLT2 inhibitor, empagliflozin, attenuates markers of renal fibrosis without improving albuminuria in diabetic db/db mice
Authors: Gallo Linda A. , Ward Micheal S. , Fotheringham Amelia K. , Zhuang Aowen , Borg Danielle J. , Flemming Nicole B. , Harvie Ben M. , Kinneally Toni L. , Yeh Shang-Ming , McCarthy Domenica A. , Koepsell Hermann , Vallon Volker , Pollock Carol , Panchapakesan Usha , Forbes Josephine M.
Published: July 2016

Scientific Reports 6: Article number: 26428; published online: 26 May 2016; updated: 07 July 2016 This Article contains errors in the Acknowledgements section. “The authors acknowledge funding support from the National Health and Medical Council of Australia (1004926).” should read: “The authors acknowledge funding support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (1004926) and Diabetes Australia.
High-throughput analysis of the satellitome illuminates satellite DNA evolution
Authors: Ruiz-Ruano Francisco J. , López-León María Dolores , Cabrero Josefa , Camacho Juan Pedro M.
Published: July 2016

Satellite DNA (satDNA) is a major component yet the great unknown of eukaryote genomes and clearly underrepresented in genome sequencing projects. Here we show the high-throughput analysis of satellite DNA content in the migratory locust by means of the bioinformatic analysis of Illumina reads with the RepeatExplorer and RepeatMasker programs. This unveiled 62 satDNA families and we propose the term “satellitome” for the whole collection of different satDNA families in a genome. The finding that satDNAs were present in many contigs of the migratory locust draft genome indicates that they show many genomic locations invisible by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The cytological pattern of five satellites showing common descent (belonging to the SF3 superfamily) suggests that non-clustered satDNAs can become into clustered through local amplification at any of the many genomic loci resulting from previous dissemination of short satDNA arrays. The fact that all kinds of satDNA (micro- mini- and satellites) can show the non-clustered and clustered states suggests that all these elements are mostly similar, except for repeat length. Finally, the presence of VNTRs in bacteria, showing similar properties to non-clustered satDNAs in eukaryotes, suggests that this kind of tandem repeats show common properties in all living beings.
Noise filtering of composite pulses for singlet-triplet qubits
Authors: Yang Xu-Chen , Wang Xin
Published: July 2016

Semiconductor quantum dot spin qubits are promising candidates for quantum computing. In these systems, the dynamically corrected gates offer considerable reduction of gate errors and are therefore of great interest both theoretically and experimentally. They are, however, designed under the static-noise model and may be considered as low-frequency filters. In this work, we perform a comprehensive theoretical study of the response of a type of dynamically corrected gates, namely the supcode for singlet-triplet qubits, to realistic 1/f noises with frequency spectra 1/ωα. Through randomized benchmarking, we have found that supcode offers improvement of the gate fidelity for α "Equation missing""Equation missing" 1 and the improvement becomes exponentially more pronounced with the increase of the noise exponent in the range 1 "Equation missing" α ≤ 3 studied. On the other hand, for small α, supcode will not offer any improvement. The δJ-supcode, specifically designed for systems where the nuclear noise is absent, is found to offer additional error reduction than the full supcode for charge noises. The computed filter transfer functions of the supcode gates are also presented.