bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determination of glutathione based on NiPd nanoparticles mediated with acetaminophen
Authors: Zhang Hanzhi , Zhang Lu , Ding Yu , Zhang Wenqing , Zhang Xin , Shen Yehua , Yang Fengchun
Published: February 2016

A new method for determination of glutathione (GSH) was carried out with acetaminophen (AAP) mediation on a NiPd nanoparticle modified electrode.
Paper-based rapid detection of pork and chicken using LAMP–magnetic bead aggregates
Authors: Roy Sharmili , Rahman Ibrahim Abd , Ahmed Minhaz Uddin
Published: February 2016

Magnetic beads (MBs) have been widely used for DNA quantification.
X-ray structure of a lectin-bound DNA duplex containing an unnatural phenanthrenyl pair
Authors: Roethlisberger P. , Istrate A. , Marcaida Lopez M. J. , Visini R. , Stocker A. , Reymond J.-L. , Leumann C. J.
Published: February 2016

DNA duplexes containing unnatural base-pair surrogates are attractive biomolecular nanomaterials with potentially beneficial photophysical or electronic properties.
Increasing anti-cancer activity with longer tether lengths of group 9 Cp* complexes
Authors: Lucas Stephanie. J. , Lord Rianne M. , Basri Aida M. , Allison Simon J. , Phillips Roger M. , Blacker A. John , McGowan Patrick C.
Published: February 2016

Reporting potent anticancer activity of new functionalised Group 9 dimers.
Intelligent Janus nanoparticles for intracellular real-time monitoring of dual drug release
Authors: Cao Han , Yang Yuhong , Chen Xin , Shao Zhengzhong
Published: February 2016

A novel nanosystem, Janus particle Dox-CMR-MS/Au-6MP with opposing mesoporous silica and gold faces is able to monitor intracellular dual-drug responsive release in real time based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).
Enantioselective cyclopropanation of (Z)-3-substituted-2-(4-pyridyl)-acrylonitriles catalyzed by Cinchona ammonium salts
Authors: Del Fiandra Claudia , Moccia Maria , Adamo Mauro F. A.
Published: February 2016

Cyclopropane esters holding two quaternary centres were prepared in high yields, complete diatereoselection and up to 83% ee, using aChinconaderived phase-tranfer catalyst.
Synthesis of benzo[1,3]oxazines via copper(i)-catalyzed cascade annulation of nitriles, aldehydes and diaryliodonium salts
Authors: Sheng Jinyu , Su Xiang , Cao Chengyao , Chen Chao
Published: February 2016

A copper(i)-catalyzed one-pot [2 + 2 + 2] cascade annulation reaction of diaryliodoniums, nitriles, and aldehydes has been developed for the efficient synthesis of 2,4-substituted benzoxazine derivatives.
Phenolic metabolites from mangrove-associated Penicillium pinophilum fungus with lipid-lowering effects
Authors: Wu Chongming , Zhao Yang , Chen Ran , Liu Dong , Liu Mingyue , Proksch Peter , Guo Peng , Lin Wenhan
Published: February 2016

Chemical examination of the mangrove-associated fungusPenicillium pinophilum(H608) resulted in isolation of 16 phenolic metabolites, including a new metabolite, namely 5′-hydroxypenicillide (1).
Merging supramolecular catalysis and aminocatalysis: amino-appended β-cyclodextrins (ACDs) as efficient and recyclable supramolecular catalysts for the synthesis of tetraketones
Authors: Ren Yufeng , Yang Bo , Liao Xiali
Published: February 2016

Efficient synthesis of tetraketones was established with well-designed amino-appended β-cyclodextrins (ACDs) in water, while possible reaction mechanism merging supramolecular catalysis and aminocatalysis was proposed.
Fluoride additive in epoxide-initiated sol–gel synthesis enables thin-film applications of SnO2 aerogels
Authors: Correa-Baena Juan-Pablo , Kriz David A. , Giotto Marcus , Suib Steven L. , Agrios Alexander G.
Published: February 2016

Aerogels of SnO2 were synthesized by an epoxide-initiated sol–gel method.
A carbon nanotube–epoxy interface improved damping below the glass transition temperature
Authors: Chu Yung-Chi , Weng Ming-Hsiao , Lin Wen-Yi , Tsai Hsin-Jung , Hsu Wen-Kuang
Published: February 2016

Composites made from fibers and epoxy display a low viscous drag and are rarely used as mechanical dampers at room temperature.
Well-defined degradable brush-coil block copolymers for intelligent release of insulin at physiological pH
Authors: Zhang Xuan , Zhao Liyuan , Yang Junjiao , Yang Jing
Published: February 2016

To achieve an intelligent insulin delivery system with minimal long-term side effect, a kind of brush polymer was synthesized through poly[(2-phenylborate esters-1,3-dioxane-5-ethyl)methylacrylate] grafting from the backbone poly(ε-caprolactone).
Zinc-mediated diastereoselective assembly of a trinuclear circular helicate
Authors: Sanmartín-Matalobos Jesus , Fondo Matilde , García-Deibe Ana M. , Amoza Martín , Bermejo Pilar , Domínguez M. Raquel , Mota Antonio J. , Pérez-Lustres J. Luis , Bhowmick Sourav , Das Neeladri
Published: February 2016

We have designed a triptycene-based ditopic ligand H2L, which is able to adopt an adequate topology required for optimal binding to naked Zn2+ leading to a neutral trinuclear circular helicate Zn3L3.
Self-supported three-dimensionally interconnected polypyrrole nanotubes and nanowires for highly sensitive chemiresistive gas sensing
Authors: Piraux Luc , Antohe Vlad-Andrei , Ferain Etienne , Lahem Driss
Published: February 2016

Self-supported three-dimensionally interconnected polypyrrole nanotubes (left) with superior electrical and mechanical properties, susceptible for highly-sensitive chemiresistive detection of gaseous ammonia at concentrations as low as 1 ppm (right).
High visible-light photochemical activity of titania decorated on single-wall carbon nanotube aerogels
Authors: Park Hang-Ah , Liu Siyuan , Salvador Paul A. , Rohrer Gregory S. , Islam Mohammad F.
Published: February 2016

Titania decorated on single-wall carbon nanotube aerogels degraded organic dyes under visible-light irradiation at ultrahigh rates.
“Water-in-Salt” electrolytes enable green and safe Li-ion batteries for large scale electric energy storage applications
Authors: Suo Liumin , Han Fudong , Fan Xiulin , Liu Huili , Xu Kang , Wang Chunsheng
Published: February 2016

A new, safe, green and economical aqueous Li-ion chemistry based on LiFePO4/water-in-salt/Mo6S8 was designed targetedly for large-scale energy electric storage (EES) applications.
Simple technique to determine the Givens‐rotation matrix in the two‐source ICA problem for skewed sources
Authors: Wu Jianwei
Published: February 2016

The estimation of the Givens‐rotation matrix or the Jacobi angle has always been a fundamental problem in independent component analysis. To estimate the angle, many approaches which use the optimal means and statistics of observation data have been presented during the past few decades. It is showed in this Letter that as long as one of two sources is asymmetrical, the Givens‐rotation matrix can be solved from two weighted covariance matrices constructed by observations. Simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Compact magneto‐electric dipole antenna for LTE femtocell base stations
Authors: Idayachandran G. , Nakkeeran R.
Published: February 2016

A compact magneto‐electric dipole antenna for long‐term evolution femtocell base stations is proposed. It consists of horizontal defected semi‐circular patches that act as electric dipole and vertical rectangular patches that work as magnetic dipole shorted to ground plane. By modifying the regular square ground into minimum ground and by choosing an appropriate height between the horizontal patches and ground, the size of the antenna is considerably reduced without compromising the bandwidth. The overall dimension of the proposed antenna is (68 × 56 × 20)mm3, which is 82.4% less than the original antenna of dimension (120 × 120 × 30)mm3. At S11 = −10 dB, the simulated and measured impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 65.7% (2.03–4.02 GHz) and 63.3% (2.05–3.95 GHz), respectively. Stable radiation pattern at both planes and moderate gain of 5 dBi are obtained.
6–18 GHz, 8.1 W size‐efficient GaN distributed amplifier MMIC
Authors: Kim J. , Park H. , Lee S. , Kwon Y.
Published: February 2016

A 6–18 GHz, 8.1 W gallium nitride (GaN) distributed amplifier (DA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is presented with compact size. To accomplish high‐output power density with compact size, the last two sections of the DA consist of small‐sized FETs. This approach improves the output return loss and allows the drain line lengths to be reduced thereby increasing the drain cut‐off frequency and reducing circuit size, which results in increased gain and output power characteristics up to higher frequencies. Source via holes of GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are also shared to reduce chip size. The proposed DA is implemented as a two‐stage DA using a commercial 0.25 µm GaN MMIC process. It shows 8.1 W average continuous wave output power and 6.8 dB average associated gain from 6 to 18 GHz under 36 V drain bias with 6.7 mm2 chip area. The proposed DA obtains 1.21 W/mm2 output power density and 1.02 dB/mm2 gain density.
Full‐duplex and half‐duplex: power efficiency comparison
Authors: Wen Dingzhu , Yu Guanding
Published: February 2016

The feasible power region for co‐channel uplink and downlink users without channel state information is investigated in full‐duplex (FD) communications. A closed‐form expression for minimising the overall transmit power is derived in the high signal‐to‐noise case. It has been shown that FD has a better power efficiency than the traditional half‐duplex communication when the residual self‐interference is weak or the users are located near the base station.
Wide frequency‐tunable resonant tunnelling diode terahertz oscillators using varactor diodes
Authors: Kitagawa S. , Suzuki S. , Asada M.
Published: February 2016

A resonant tunnelling diode terahertz voltage‐controlled oscillator integrated with a varactor diode (RTD VCO) for a wide tuning range was proposed and fabricated. In single RTD VCO, a tuning range of 120 GHz of the centre frequency of 640 GHz was achieved by a good combination of the RTD and varactor capacitances. A multi‐element array of RTD VCOs was fabricated to increase the tuning range. A very wide frequency tuning of 320 GHz (580–900 GHz) was achieved with a four‐element RTD VCO array.
ADC sampling reduction by an efficient implementation of queue application to X‐ray spectrometry imagers
Authors: Rostaing J.‐P. , Sicard G. , Dupret A. , Peizerat A. , Villard P.
Published: February 2016

In a high‐speed digital X‐ray imager, each pixel in the matrix needs an analogue‐to‐digital converter (ADC) in order to assess the energy of the randomly incoming photons. The analogue‐to‐digital (AD) conversion rate is thus highly dependent on the photon flux parameters, i.e. its mean and its standard deviation. In classic designs, this rate is often set to ten times the maximum photon flux mean, which requires high‐speed ADCs. The use of a queue to derandomise the photon flux prior to the AD conversion and so allow the ADC sampling frequency to be decreased to the maximum photon flux mean value instead of ten times that value is proposed. An electronic circuit has been designed and the simulations results show a behaviour close to the theoretical model: at the cost of an additional queue block, reduced speed can be achieved, leading to a lower consumption and an easier integration.
Triple‐resonance RLC‐tank divide‐by‐2 injection‐locked frequency divider
Authors: Jang S.‐L. , Cheng W.‐C. , Hsue C.‐W. , Juang M.‐H.
Published: February 2016

Conventional CMOS injection‐locked frequency dividers (ILFDs) were often designed with a single‐resonance LC resonator and they have a single‐band locking range. Wide‐locking range in these ILFDs was obtained at the cost of lower output power. A triple‐resonance (TR) resistor (R), inductor (L) and capacitor (C)‐tank ILFD is presented to design a wide‐locking range CMOS divide‐by‐2 circuit, which is based on a cross‐coupled n‐core MOS pair. The TR ILFD has three overlapped locking ranges seen as one‐band locking range at high microwave injection power and it has large output power. At the core power consumption of 6.76 mW and at the microwave input power of 0 dBm, the divide‐by‐2 TR ILFD achieve a maximum locking range of 5.77 GHz (105.2%) from 2.6 to 8.37 GHz.
High‐density chipless RFID tag for temperature sensing
Authors: Noor T. , Habib A. , Amin Y. , Loo J. , Tenhunen H.
Published: February 2016

A 30 bit high‐density circular chipless RF identification tag based on C‐shaped open end polarisation independent slots is presented. The encoding capacity of this design is enhanced in a compact size. Patch diameter of the tag is 24 mm. Circularly polarised incident plane waves are used for excitation. Data capacity of 30 bits is achieved in the frequency band of 3.1–11.7 GHz. Spectral signature‐based radar cross‐section results are also measured for flexible and temperature sensor integrated design. The prototype is inkjet printed on Kapton® HN heat resistant conformal sheet.
High‐performance charge plasma based normally OFF GaN MOSFET
Authors: Loan S.A. , Verma S. , Alamoud A.M.
Published: February 2016

A high‐performance enhancement‐mode charge plasma based gallium nitride (CP‐GaN) MOSFET is stimulated. Here, metals of same work functions are used to induce n‐type charge plasma in an undoped GaN film to realise source and drain regions of a GaN MOSFET. The proposed device is not hetrostructure like the conventional GaN/AlGaN devices and is hence free from hetero‐epitaxial defects and inverse piezoelectric effects, and can have reduced leakage and can be more reliable. An extensive simulation study has revealed that the proposed CP‐GaN device exhibits a threshold voltage of 1.4 V, large ION/IOFF ratio of 108 and transconductance (gm) of 308 mS/mm.
Configuring ETSI DCC parameters for better performance and stability
Authors: Yang S. , Kim H.
Published: February 2016

Recently, European Telecommunication Standards Institute decentralised congestion control (DCC) algorithm is criticised for its poor performance and stability, and is even attributed to its reactive control approach itself. However, as long as the DCC control parameters are configured to react with moderate changes, it is claimed that both the performance and stability are no worse than in adaptive control. This with an instance of reactive transmit datarate control is demonstrated.
Multi‐layer tri‐band frequency selective surface using stepped‐ and uniform‐impedance resonators
Authors: Tao Keya , Li Bo , Tang Yiming , Wu Qilei
Published: February 2016

A novel tri‐band frequency selective surface (FSS) is proposed by using multi‐layer printed circuit boards with a number of via holes. Three separate propagation paths with two stepped‐impedance resonators (SIRs) and a uniform‐impedance resonator (UIR) are constructed in each unit cell of the proposed FSS, thus leading to tri‐band bandpass performance. The lowest and the middle frequency bands are achieved by two SIRs, respectively, and the highest frequency band is obtained by the resonance of the UIR. Therefore, these three passbands can be realised independently, which can increase the design freedom. The operating principle is explained by analysing the electric field distributions. To verify the design concept, a prototype of the proposed FSS is simulated and tested. Measured results show that the FSS features stable tri‐band performance under a large variation of incident angle.
Use of adaptive hybrid filtering process in Crohn's disease lesion detection from real capsule endoscopy videos
Authors: Charisis Vasileios S. , Hadjileontiadis Leontios J.
Published: February 2016

The aim of this Letter is to present a new capsule endoscopy (CE) image analysis scheme for the detection of small bowel ulcers that relate to Crohn's disease. More specifically, this scheme is based on: (i) a hybrid adaptive filtering (HAF) process, that utilises genetic algorithms to the curvelet‐based representation of images for efficient extraction of the lesion‐related morphological characteristics, (ii) differential lacunarity (DL) analysis for texture feature extraction from the HAF‐filtered images and (iii) support vector machines for robust classification performance. For the training of the proposed scheme, namely HAF‐DL, an 800‐image database was used and the evaluation was based on ten 30‐second long endoscopic videos. Experimental results, along with comparison with other related efforts, have shown that the HAF‐DL approach evidently outperforms the latter in the field of CE image analysis for automated lesion detection, providing higher classification results. The promising performance of HAF‐DL paves the way for a complete computer‐aided diagnosis system that could support the physicians’ clinical practice.
High‐resolution and low‐complexity dynamic topology estimation for PLC networks assisted by impulsive noise source detection
Authors: Zhang Chao , Zhu Xu , Huang Yi , Liu Gan
Published: February 2016

Power line communication (PLC) network is a promising solution for smart grid and home broadband applications. However, its topology is not always available and is time‐varying due to frequent load changes. The existing topology estimation approaches require installation of a large number of PLC modems or suffer limited resolution. Moreover, they are designed for static PLC networks and need to be repeated at a regular basis to combat topology changes. The authors propose a high‐resolution and low‐complexity dynamic topology estimation scheme for time‐varying indoor PLC networks, which consists of three parts: (i) a time‐frequency domain reflectometry based path length estimation method, which requires measurement at a single PLC modem and achieves a much higher resolution than the frequency domain reflectometry based method; (ii) a node‐by‐node greedy algorithm for topology reconstruction, which is much more computationally efficient than the existing peak‐by‐peak searching algorithm; (iii) an impulsive noise assisted dynamic topology re‐estimation method, which results in a significant complexity reduction over fixed‐frequency re‐estimation.
Stochastic optimal linear control of wireless networked control systems with delays and packet losses
Authors: Wang Zhuwei , Wang Xiaodong , Liu Lihan
Published: February 2016

In this study, the design of the optimal decentralised state‐feedback controllers is considered for a wireless sensor and actuator network (WSAN) with stochastic network‐induced delays and packet losses. In particular, taking advantage of multiple controllers, the authors model the WSAN as a wireless networked control system with decentralised controllers, and then formulate the stochastic optimal state‐feedback control problem as a non‐cooperative linear quadratic game. The optimal control law of each controller is obtained that is a function of the current plant state and past control signals. The performance of the proposed algorithm is investigated by an unstable linearised inverted pendulum and an application of the load frequency control system in power grid.
Controller synthesis for negative imaginary systems: a data driven approach
Authors: Mabrok Mohamed A. , Petersen Ian R.
Published: February 2016

The negative imaginary (NI) property occurs in many important applications. For instance, flexible structure systems with collocated force actuators and position sensors can be modelled as negative imaginary systems. In this study, a data‐driven controller synthesis methodology for NI systems is presented. In this approach, measured frequency response data of the plant is used to construct the controller frequency response at every frequency by minimising a cost function. Then, this controller response is used to identify the controller transfer function using system identification methods.
Design of event conditions in event‐triggered control systems: a non‐fragile control system approach
Authors: Yu Hao , Hao Fei
Published: February 2016

This study investigates the design of event conditions in the event‐triggered control systems. The event‐triggered control systems are formulated as uncertain systems with non‐fragile controllers. Then, a non‐fragile control system approach is used to design the event conditions. Based on this approach, a new type of event conditions is proposed, which depends on the difference between a matrix induced 2‐norm and a vector Euclidian norm. It is shown that the proposed event condition is less conservative and leads to larger inter‐event times than those in some existing works. Furthermore, a method in terms of linear matrix inequality is proposed to design the parameters in the event conditions. Also, the case of non‐zero transmission delays is considered. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the efficiency and feasibility of the obtained results.
Complementary current reuse quadrature voltage‐controlled oscillators
Authors: Jang Sheng‐Lyang
Published: February 2016

This study describes the design and operation principle of quadrature voltage‐controlled oscillator (QVCO) with complementary current‐reuse (CR) voltage‐controlled oscillators (VCOs). One CR complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) VCO consists of a pair of p‐type metal‐oxide semiconductor field‐effect transistors (pMOSFETs) and n‐type metal‐oxide semiconductor field‐effect transistors (nMOSFETs), and an inductor. The other CR VCO consists of a pair of pMOSFET and heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), and one inductor. The two CR VCOs are used to construct differential VCOs, which are subsequently used to build QVCOs coupled via coupling networks. The Bipolar‐CMOS (BiCMOS) VCO and QVCO have been implemented with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited (TSMC) 0.18 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The CMOS QVCOs have been implemented with the TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS process. The quadrature phase generation and oscillation frequency equations are derived based on the block diagram of QVCO circuit.
Effective approach for pattern synthesis of sparse reconfigurable antenna arrays with exact pattern matching
Authors: Shen Hai Ou , Wang Bu Hong , Li Long Jun
Published: February 2016

An effective approach is presented for pattern synthesis of reconfigurable antenna arrays with non‐uniformly spaced arrangements. On the basis of the joint sparse model of multiple reference patterns, the proposed approach can dynamically reconfigure multiple radiation patterns with exactly matched pattern details and minimum number of antenna elements by joint optimisation of element positions and excitations. In this study, the design of sparse reconfigurable arrays is recast as a simultaneous sparse approximation problem and solved with the multi‐task Bayesian compressive sensing. The common element positions and individual element excitations for multiple radiation patterns are obtained simultaneously by searching out multiple weight vectors sharing the same prior probability. Several representative experiments are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method for the design of maximally sparse reconfigurable antenna arrays with exact pattern matching.
Single pole switch leg based multi‐port converter with an energy storage
Authors: Kim Taehyung , Kwak Sangshin
Published: February 2016

This study presents a new multi‐functional control system for a multi‐port energy converter that interfaces one bi‐directional battery port, one dc input port, and three output ports. Only one single‐leg active switching element (a module type can be used) is employed in the system, and hence the single leg requires digital switching signals for a multi‐functional operation to regulate output voltages and to simultaneously manage the battery port. The proposed system has buck–boost conversion capabilities to accommodate wide range, various input sources and output loads. In addition, the single leg requires no dead time due to an integrated impedance network, which will improve the system reliability and performance. Furthermore, the proposed structure can charge a battery even when the input and capacitor voltages are much lower than the battery voltage and hence it significantly improves charging behaviours. The proposed multi‐functional control strategy and the converter structure are explained in detail. Then the feasibility and performance of the converter are verified both by computer simulations and experiments based on the Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 digital signal processor.
Calculated vibrational states of ozone up to dissociation
Authors: Ndengué Steve , Dawes Richard , Wang Xiao-Gang , Carrington Tucker , Sun Zhigang , Guo Hua
Published: February 2016

A new accurate global potential energy surface for the ground electronic state of ozone [R. Dawes et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 201103 (2013)] was published fairly recently. The topography near dissociation differs significantly from previous surfaces, without spurious submerged reefs and corresponding van der Waals wells. This has enabled significantly improved descriptions of scattering processes, capturing the negative temperature dependence and large kinetic isotope effects in exchange reaction rates. The exchange reactivity was found to depend on the character of near-threshold resonances and their overlap with reactant and product wavefunctions, which in turn are sensitive to the potential. Here we present global “three-well” calculations of all bound vibrational states of three isotopic combinations of ozone (48O3, 16O218O, 16O217O) for J = 0 and J = 1 with a focus on the character and density of highly excited states and discuss their impact on the ozone isotopic anomaly. The calculations were done using a parallel symmetry-adapted Lanczos method with the RV3 code. Some comparisons were made with results obtained with the improved relaxation method implemented in the Heidelberg multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree code.
Simulation of fast-ion-driven Alfvén eigenmodes on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak
Authors: Hu Youjun , Todo Y. , Pei Youbin , Li Guoqiang , Qian Jinping , Xiang Nong , Zhou Deng , Ren Qilong , Huang Juan , Xu Liqing
Published: February 2016

Kinetic-MHD hybrid simulations are carried out to investigate possible fast-ion-driven modes on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. Three typical kinds of fast-ion-driven modes, namely, toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes, reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes, and energetic-particle continuum modes, are observed simultaneously in the simulations. The simulation results are compared with the results of an ideal MHD eigenvalue code, which shows agreement with respect to the mode frequency, dominant poloidal mode numbers, and radial location. However, the modes in the hybrid simulations take a twisted structure on the poloidal plane, which is different from the results of the ideal MHD eigenvalue code. The twist is due to the radial phase variation of the eigenfunction, which may be attributed to the non-perturbative kinetic effects of the fast ions. By varying the stored energy of fast ions to change the fast ion drive in the simulations, it is demonstrated that the twist (i.e., the radial phase variation) is positively correlated with the fast ion drive.
The presence of CH3NH2 neutral species in organometal halide perovskite films
Authors: Jung Min-Cherl , Lee Young Mi , Lee Han-Koo , Park Jinwoo , Raga Sonia R. , Ono Luis K. , Wang Shenghao , Leyden Matthew R. , Yu Byung Deok , Hong Suklyun , Qi Yabing
Published: February 2016

We report the presence of CH3NH2 neutral species not only on the surface but also at grain boundaries in the interior of thin polycrystalline films of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 (thickness ∼ 50 nm) that were prepared using a standard solution method. Different chemical states for C K-edge were observed at the surfaces and in the interiors of perovskite films. Salient features of σ*(CH3-NH3+: methylammonium cation) and σ*(CH3-NH2: methylamine neutral species) were observed at 290.3 and 292.8 eV in both partial (surface-sensitive) and total (bulk) electron yield modes by near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. Consistently, two chemical states originated from CH3NH3+ and CH3NH2 in C 1s and N 1s core-level spectra were observed using high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Using density functional theory calculations, we show that CH3NH2 cannot reside stably in the MAPbI3 perovskite crystal structure. Therefore, we propose that these CH3NH2 neutral species are mainly located on the surface or at grain boundaries in the interior of CH3NH3PbI3 films.
Drift–Alfven instabilities of a finite beta plasma shear flow along a magnetic field
Authors: Mikhailenko V. V. , Mikhailenko V. S. , Lee Hae June
Published: February 2016

It was derived that the drift–Alfven instabilities with the shear flow parallel to the magnetic field have significant difference from the drift–Alfven instabilities of a shearless plasma when the ion temperature is comparable with electron temperature for a finite plasma beta. The velocity shear not only modifies the frequency and the growth rate of the known drift–Alfven instability, which develops due to the inverse electron Landau damping, but also triggers a combined effect of the velocity shear and the inverse ion Landau damping, which manifests the development of the ion kinetic shear-flow-driven drift–Alfven instability. The excited unstable waves have the phase velocities along the magnetic field comparable with the ion thermal velocity, and the growth rate is comparable with the frequency. The development of this instability may be the efficient mechanism of the ion energization in shear flows.
Fluorine gas treatment improves surface degradation inhibiting property of alumina-filled epoxy composite
Authors: Li Chuanyang , Hu Jun , Lin Chuanjie , Zhang Boya , Zhang Guixin , He Jinliang
Published: February 2016

Epoxy resins blended with micro-sized alumina show more compact surface condition and exhibit lower light emission after modified in fluorinated atmosphere. Surface morphology reflected by atomic force microscope shows that the fluorinated surface layer can overlap alumina particles inlayed in the original surface and a smoother and more compact surface condition is generated. Thermally stimulated current test exhibits that surface fluorination is able to bring more shallow traps to surface states, and the trap amount increases with the extension of fluorinating time. The photon counting technique illustrates that the fluorinated surface has lower light emission which indicates better aging inhibition properties. Therefore, we believe that the surface fluorination technique may have potential significance in modifying epoxy based insulators used in high voltage applications.
Duration of gonorrhoea and chlamydia infection at the pharynx and rectum among men who have sex with men: a systematic review
Authors: Chow Eric P. F. , Camilleri Shayne , Ward Christopher , Huffam Sarah , Chen Marcus Y. , Bradshaw Catriona S. , Fairley Christopher K.
Published: February 2016

Background
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are the two most common sexually transmissible infections (STI) among men who have sex with men (MSM) worldwide. Infections at the pharynx and rectum are usually asymptomatic; however, the natural history of these infections remains unknown. The aim of this study is to estimate the duration of both infections at the extragenital sites from published epidemiological cohort studies. Methods: English peer-reviewed articles were searched from 1 January 2000 to 12 March 2015 in three electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central). The prevalence-to-incidence ratio from each study was calculated to reflect the duration of each infection. This review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42014007087). Results: There were 2585 records identified, with 1721 abstracts and 52 full-text articles screened, resulting in four studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Pharyngeal gonorrhoea (114–138 days) had a shorter duration of infection than rectal gonorrhoea (346 days). In addition, chlamydia had a longer duration of infection at the pharynx (667 days) and rectum (579 days) compared with gonorrhoea infection. Conclusions: Gonorrhoea has a shorter duration of infection than chlamydia, suggesting that annual STI screening will be more effective at diagnosing chlamydia than gonorrhoea. The current STI guidelines recommend screening gonorrhoea and chlamydia at least once a year in MSM; it would only detect ~30% of incident pharyngeal gonorrhoea cases, with a mean duration of 4 months.
Competition between anthocyanin and flavonol biosynthesis produces spatial pattern variation of floral pigments between
Mimulus
species
Authors: Yuan Yao-Wu , Rebocho Alexandra B. , Sagawa Janelle M. , Stanley Lauren E. , Bradshaw Harvey D.
Published: February 2016

Significance

The incredible diversity of vivid color patterns in natural organisms (e.g., butterfly wings, tropical fish skins, angiosperm flowers) has fascinated generations of biologists. Yet, neither the molecular mechanisms responsible for the color pattern formation nor the genetic bases underlying natural color pattern variation are well understood. In this study we have identified a causal gene underlying spatial pattern variation of floral pigments between two
Mimulus
(monkeyflowers) species: the bumblebee-pollinated
Mimulus lewisii
and the hummingbird-pollinated
Mimulus cardinalis
. We demonstrate that the competition between anthocyanin and flavonol biosynthesis sets a “prepattern” of pigment distribution in
M. lewisii
, producing a white region surrounding the throat of the otherwise pink corolla. This is likely to be a common mechanism underlying flower color patterns.
Single-molecule imaging reveals the mechanism of Exo1 regulation by single-stranded DNA binding proteins
Authors: Myler Logan R. , Gallardo Ignacio F. , Zhou Yi , Gong Fade , Yang Soo-Hyun , Wold Marc S. , Miller Kyle M. , Paull Tanya T. , Finkelstein Ilya J.
Published: February 2016

Significance

Exonuclease 1 (Exo1) is a conserved eukaryotic nuclease that participates in DNA repair and telomere maintenance. Here we use high-throughput single-molecule imaging to examine Exo1 activity on DNA and in the presence of single-stranded DNA binding proteins. We report that both human and yeast Exo1 are processive nucleases but are rapidly turned over by replication protein A (RPA). In the presence of RPA, Exo1 retains limited DNA-processing activity, albeit via a distributive binding mechanism. This rapid turnover by RPA can appear stimulatory or inhibitory in gel-based assays, clarifying conflicting results in the existing literature. RPA-depleted human cells show elevated Exo1 loading but reduced overall DNA resection, underscoring the many roles of RPA in regulating DNA resection in vivo.
Probiotics modulated gut microbiota suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma growth in mice
Authors: Li Jun , Sung Cecilia Ying Ju , Lee Nikki , Ni Yueqiong , Pihlajamäki Jussi , Panagiotou Gianni , El-Nezami Hani
Published: February 2016

Significance

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second most deadly cancer type globally, requiring the development of alternative or complementary therapeutic and prophylactic methods. Here, when feeding a mouse model with a novel probiotic mixture 1 wk before the tumor inoculation, we observed a reduction of the tumor weight and size by 40% compared with the control. Our results revealed that the probiotics’ beneficial effect is closely related with the abundance of certain beneficial bacteria that produce antiinflammatory metabolites, which subsequently regulate the proinflammatory immune cell population via the crosstalk between gut and tumor. We believe that our study highlights the extraordinary potential of probiotics in extraintestine cancers and can be adapted to the study of other cancers.
How structural adaptability exists alongside HLA-A2 bias in the human αβ TCR repertoire
Authors: Blevins Sydney J. , Pierce Brian G. , Singh Nishant K. , Riley Timothy P. , Wang Yuan , Spear Timothy T. , Nishimura Michael I. , Weng Zhiping , Baker Brian M.
Published: February 2016

Significance

T-cell receptor (TCR) recognition of antigenic peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins defines specificity in cellular immunity. Evidence suggests that TCRs are intrinsically biased toward MHC proteins, yet how this bias coexists alongside the considerable structural variability that is necessary for TCRs to engage different ligands has been a longstanding puzzle. By examining structural and sequence data, we found evidence that human αβ TCRs have an inherent compatibility with structural and chemical properties of MHC proteins. This compatibility leads TCRs to an intrinsic MHC bias but does not compel the formation of particular modes of binding, providing a solution to how TCRs can be MHC-biased but still structurally adaptable.
Conserved properties of individual Ca
2+
-binding sites in calmodulin
Authors: Halling D. Brent , Liebeskind Benjamin J. , Hall Amelia W. , Aldrich Richard W.
Published: February 2016

Significance

Calmodulin is essential for sensing intracellular Ca
2+
in eukaryotic cells. Calmodulin modulates hundreds of effectors, and it has a highly conserved protein sequence. Humans have three identical copies, but a change in either the protein sequence or the protein expression level of any one of the three copies can cause life-threatening disease. We analyzed calmodulin sequences across eukaryotes and compared biophysical properties and structures to show that all of calmodulin’s four Ca
2+
-binding sites have conserved properties that distinguish them from one another.
The “Parts and Wholes” of Face Recognition: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Tanaka James W. , Simonyi Diana
Published: February 2016

It has been claimed that faces are recognized as a “whole” rather than by the recognition of individual parts. In a paper published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology in 1993, Martha Farah and I attempted to operationalize the holistic claim using the part/whole task. In this task, participants studied a face and then their memory presented in isolation and in the whole face. Consistent with the holistic view, recognition of the part was superior when tested in the whole-face condition compared to when it was tested in isolation. The “whole face” or holistic advantage was not found for faces that were inverted, or scrambled, nor for non-face objects, suggesting that holistic encoding was specific to normal, intact faces. In this paper, we reflect on the part/whole paradigm and how it has contributed to our understanding of what it means to recognize a face as a “whole” stimulus. We describe the value of part/whole task for developing theories of holistic and non-holistic recognition of faces and objects. We discuss the research that has probed the neural substrates of holistic processing in healthy adults and people with prosopagnosia and autism. Finally, we examine how experience shapes holistic face recognition in children and recognition of own- and other-race faces in adults. The goal of this article is to summarize the research on the part/whole task and speculate on how it has informed our understanding of holistic face processing.
Face Perception and Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Webb Sara Jane , Neuhaus Emily , Faja Susan
Published: February 2016

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairment in social communication and restricted and repetitive interests. While not included in the diagnostic characterization, aspects of face processing and learning have shown disruptions at all stages of development in ASD, although the exact nature and extent of the impairment vary by age and level of functioning of the ASD sample as well as by task demands. In this review, we examine the nature of face attention, perception, and learning in individuals with ASD focusing on three broad age ranges (early development, middle childhood, and adolescence/adulthood). We propose that early delays in basic face processing contribute to the atypical trajectory of social communicative skills in individuals with ASD and contribute to poor social learning throughout development. Face learning is a life-long necessity, as the social world of individual only broadens with age, and thus addressing both the source of the impairment in ASD as well as the trajectory of ability throughout the lifespan, through targeted treatments, may serve to positively impact the lives of individuals who struggle with social information and understanding.
Evaluation of Textural and Structural Properties of Barbari Bread During Storage
Authors: Kamaliroosta Leila , Seyedain Ardebili Mahdi , Asadi Gholam H. , Ghiassi Tarzi Babak , Azizinejad Reza
Published: February 2016

This study was performed using three Barbari flours (strong, medium, and weak) with different physical, chemical, and rheological properties. Determination of texture firmness of Barbari breads (A, B, and C, made of strong, medium, and weak flours, respectively) during storage was carried out with a texture analyzer and evaluating the bread crumb properties and changes during storage with a nondestructive ultrasonic technique. The bread microstructure was assessed with scanning electron microscopy, and the general process of starch gelatinization and retrogradation was evaluated with differential scanning calorimetry. The bread sensory properties were evaluated by 10 trained panelists. Barbari A, made from strong flour, had less firmness, lower transition of ultrasonic wave velocity, lower value of elastic modulus, reduced value of enthalpy, lower average temperature, larger pore diameter and area of images, and higher point total in sensory evaluation than Barbari B and Barbari C, particularly the latter, as storage time progressed. Barbari A's desirable quality characterization and longer shelf life were owing to the qualities of the flour, which enabled the production of dough with the appropriate properties. Eventually, the results of device‐based and sensory tests were significantly correlated. Ultrasonic nondestructive testing is recommended over other methods for assessing the texture, cell structure, and elastic properties of bread after baking and during storage, because it is fast, nondestructive, and less expensive than other methods and can be used during production.
Effects of Processing, Cultivar, and Environment on the Physicochemical Properties of Oat β‐Glucan
Authors: Wang Xin , Storsley Joanne , Thandapilly Sijo Joseph , Ames Nancy
Published: February 2016

Several food regulatory agencies around the world have approved health claims for oat‐derived β‐glucan for cholesterol lowering and glycemic control. The biological efficacy of β‐glucan appears to depend both on daily intake and on physicochemical properties, such as molecular weight and viscosity. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of oat processing, genotype, and growing location on the physicochemical properties of β‐glucan. Five oat genotypes (HiFi, Leggett, CDC Dancer, Marion, and CDC Morrison) grown in two locations (Saskatoon and Kernen) were dehulled (untreated) and processed in a pilot facility through kilning (kilned, not flaked) and subsequent steaming and flaking (kilned, flaked). Untreated groats gave a relatively low Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) apparent viscosity (164 cP) and a low extractable β‐glucan molecular weight (332,440) but exhibited high β‐glucan solubility (90.49%). Compared with untreated groats, the kilned (not flaked) samples had significantly increased RVA apparent viscosity (314 cP) and extractable β‐glucan molecular weight (604,710). Additional processing into kilned and flaked products further increased RVA apparent viscosity (931 cP) and β‐glucan molecular weight (1,221,760), but β‐glucan solubility (63.83%) was significantly reduced. Genotype and growing environment also significantly affected β‐glucan viscosity and molecular weight, but no significant interaction effects between processing, genotype, and environment were found. Results indicate that there is potential for processors to improve the physicochemical and nutritional properties of oat end products through processing of specific oat genotypes from selected growing locations.
Using Rheological Phenotype Phases to Predict Rheological Features of Wheat Hardness and Milling Potential of Durum Wheat
Authors: Haraszi Reka , Sissons Mike , Juhasz Angela , Kadkol Gururaj , Tamas Laszlo , Anderssen Robert S.
Published: February 2016

Predictions about milling, dough making, and baking properties can be made by measuring properties of the wheat grain with different small‐ and medium‐scale equipment. In this study, rheological hardness index (RHI) was shown to separate hexaploid wheats and durums into clearly distinct hardness classes. Earlier work demonstrated the utility of RHI to give new insight about the classification of wheat types, and in this study further use of the rheological phenotype phases (RPPs) to construct combinations of RPPs (cRPPs) is explored. In particular, it is shown how different cRPPs can be used to compare, for various wheat varieties, the elastic, fragmentation, equilibrium, and viscoelastic phases of an average crush response profile. In addition, relationships were obtained, based on selected RPPs from the single‐kernel characterization system, that gave good predictions of the laboratory milling potential of durum wheats. This information could be used as an early generation test to predict milling yield in breeding programs without having to mill the sample. Further validation of these relationships is required by evaluating the prediction across multiple environments.
Effect of Pyraclostrobin Application on Viral and Bacterial Diseases of Tomato
Authors: Skandalis Nicholas , Dimopoulou Anastasia , Beri Despoina , Tzima Aliki , Malandraki Ioanna , Theologidis Ioannis , Bitivanos Stergios , Varveri Christina , Klitsinaris Tassos , Vassilakos Nikon
Published: February 2016

Quinone outside inhibitors (QoI) are powerful fungicides, which have been reported, additionally to their fungicide activity, to increase plant capacity to activate cellular defense responses and to promote plant growth. In this work, the effect of the QoI class fungicide pyraclostrobin was examined against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Potato virus Y (PVY) and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato in tomato plants following artificial inoculation of the plants with the pathogens. Under controlled environmental conditions, pyraclostrobin delayed viral and bacterial disease development, even if P. syringae pv. tomato internal population levels were not affected significantly. In contrast, under field conditions in commercial greenhouses, a reduced CMV disease incidence throughout the tomato cultivation period was recorded. Gene expression analysis indicated an effect of pyraclostrobin application on tomato MAPKs transcript levels and a possible interference with plant stress responses.