bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eco‐friendly composites derived from naturally occurring molecules in promoting dispersion of nanosized silica particulates
Authors: Manoharan Partheban , Naskar Kinsuk
Published: January 2018

The reinforcement of highly dispersible silica (HDS) in Natural rubber was hindered by their high polarity and hydrophilic surface of the filler. We addressed this challenge by developing a Terpene phenolic resin functionalized Natural rubber (TNR) coupled with epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) composites. The loading of the HDS were considered from 40 to 60 phr (parts per hundred rubber). The uniform distribution of the HDS within the rubber blends in the absence of silane coupling agent and process oil was proven by cure characteristics, physico‐mechanical properties, air ageing, dynamic mechanical analyses, Payne effect, contact angle, DeMattia flexing, dielectric properties and transmission electron microscopy. Overall, these newly developed green composites are superior to that of the reference composite, using process oil and TESPT (Bis‐(triethoxysilylpropyl) tetrasulfide) as a coupling agent. Dispersion of HDS in rubber matrix may interfere with the addition of Zinc Oxide Nano particles (Nano‐ZnO) due to the alkali‐acidic reaction. Thus, this study explores the importance of omitting Nano‐ZnO during internal mixing stage but incorporation of the same with the curing additives on a two roll mill. Our findings open up a new avenue to a fundamental understanding of HDS interaction in the novel green composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:871–883, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers
17th Chromosome‐Centric Human Proteome Project Symposium in Tehran
Authors: Meyfour Anna , Pahlavan Sara , Sobhanian Hamid , Salekdeh Ghasem Hosseini
Published: January 2018

This report describes the 17th Chromosome‐Centric Human Proteome Project which was held in Tehran, Iran, April 27 and 28, 2017. A brief summary of the symposium's talks including new technical and computational approaches for the identification of novel proteins from non‐coding genomic regions, physicochemical and biological causes of missing proteins, and the close interactions between Chromosome‐ and Biology/Disease‐driven Human Proteome Project are presented. A synopsis of decisions made on the prospective programs to maintain collaborative works, share resources and information, and establishment of a newly organized working group, the task force for missing protein analysis are discussed.
Circulating microRNAs in plasma as potential biomarkers for the early detection of prostate cancer
Authors: McDonald Alicia C. , Vira Manish , Shen Jing , Sanda Martin , Raman Jay D. , Liao Jason , Patil Dattatraya , Taioli Emanuela
Published: January 2018

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been linked to prostate cancer (PC) risk; however, their role as a screening biomarker for PC has yet to be determined. We examined whether circulating miRNAs in plasma could be potential biomarkers for the early detection of PC among men undergoing prostate needle biopsy.

Methods

Men who had a prostate biopsy due to an abnormal screening test were recruited. Linear regression was used to examine the association between miRNAs in plasma and PC status and to model individual miRNA expression on serum PSA and age to calculate the partial correlation coefficient (r).

Results

There were 134 men, aged 46‐86 years, included, with 66 men with a PC diagnosis (cases), eight men with no PC diagnosis but atypical lesion, and 60 men without a PC diagnosis (controls). The most statistically significant PC circulating miRNAs were miR‐381, miR‐34a, miR‐523, miR‐365, miR‐122, miR‐375, miR‐1255b, miR‐34b, miR‐450b‐5p, and miR‐639 after adjusting for age (P‐values ≤0.05); however, they were no longer statistically significant after P‐value adjustment for multiple comparisons. MiR‐671‐3p was differentially expressed between black and white cases (P‐value = 0.03). Moderate positive correlations with serum PSA were observed for miR‐381 overall and among controls (r = 0.43‐0.60; P‐values ≤0.05) and miR‐34a among cases (r = 0.46; P‐value = 0.02).

Conclusions

There was no miRNA associated with PC diagnosis after adjusting for age and P‐values; however, moderate correlations between miRNAs and serum PSA were observed. Further investigation between miRNAs and PC risk is warranted in a larger population at high risk for PC.
Investigating the effect of key mutations on the conformational dynamics of toll‐like receptor dimers through molecular dynamics simulations and protein structure networks
Authors: Mahita Jarjapu , Sowdhamini Ramanathan
Published: January 2018

The Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) are critical components of the innate immune system due to their ability to detect conserved pathogen‐associated molecular patterns, present in bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. Ligand detection by TLRs leads to a signaling cascade, mediated by interactions among TIR domains present in the receptors, the bridging adaptors and sorting adaptors. The BB loop is a highly conserved region present in the TIR domain and is crucial for mediating interactions among TIR domain‐containing proteins. Mutations in the BB loop of the Toll‐like receptors, such as the A795P mutation in TLR3 and the P712H mutation (Lpsd mutation) in TLR4, have been reported to disrupt or alter downstream signaling. While the phenotypic effect of these mutations is known, the underlying effect of these mutations on the structure, dynamics and interactions with other TIR domain‐containing proteins is not well understood. Here, we have attempted to investigate the effect of the BB loop mutations on the dimer form of TLRs, using TLR2 and TLR3 as case studies. Our results based on molecular dynamics simulations, protein–protein interaction analyses and protein structure network analyses highlight significant differences between the dimer interfaces of the wild‐type and mutant forms and provide a logical reasoning for the effect of these mutations on adaptor binding to TLRs. Furthermore, it also leads us to propose a hypothesis for the differential requirement of signaling and bridging adaptors by TLRs. This could aid in further understanding of the mechanisms governing such signaling pathways.
Effect of oral exposure to the acaricide pirimicarb, a new varroacide candidate, on Apis mellifera feeding rate
Authors: Riva Clémence , Sokolowski Michel BC , Normand Julien , Santos Jana Sopkova‐de Oliveira , Halm‐Lemeille Marie‐Pierre
Published: January 2018

BACKGROUND

The ectoparasitic honey bee mite Varroa destructor is a main cause of the gradual decline in honey bees Apis mellifera. Beekeepers currently utilize a wide range of different synthetic acaricides, organic acids and essential oils to keep mite populations under control. Previous work has indicated that pirimicarb may be a new varroacide candidate. The aim of this study was to observe chronic effects on feeding activity in worker honey bees after oral exposure to 1.05 mm pirimicarb. The long‐term effects of 24 h exposure to pirimicarb were also tested.

RESULTS

After three successive trials, no mortality could be detected at the tested concentration, although oral exposure to pirimicarb had a significant effect on honey bees feeding behavior. Pirimicarb added to a sucrose solution led to a rapid decrease in food intake. These tendencies may be reversed when the pesticide is removed. However, recovery seemed to be trial dependent.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights seasonal variation in honey bee susceptibility, which should be considered in toxicology studies. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
La1−xSrxMnO3 Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia
Authors: Apostolov Angel T. , Apostolova Iliana N. , Wesselinowa Julia M.
Published: January 2018

Using a modified Heisenberg model and a Green's function technique we have studied the influence of size d and concentration x of Sr dopants on the Curie temperature TC, saturation magnetization MS, coercivity HC and specific absorption rate (SAR) of single‐domain La1−xSrxMnO3 nanoparticles. Their magnetic properties are explained based on the “magnetically death” surface layer and the competition between the ferromagnetic double‐exchange and antiferromagnetic super‐exchange interaction. We calculated the specific absorption rate which characterizes the efficiency of the absorption energy when the magnetic hyperthermia is applied as a therapeutic method for the treatment of tumors. A set of nanoparticles appropriate for in vivo and in vitro medical applications, such as magnetic hyperthermia and drug delivery to cancer cells, is determined. The established methodology and microscopic model are suitable to study the magnetic properties of low‐dimensional systems (thin films and nanoparticles) such as La1−xAxMnO3 with A = Ca, Ag, Ba, Na for medical applications.
Adaptive bipartite consensus control of high‐order multiagent systems on coopetition networks
Authors: Hu Jiangping , Wu Yanzhi , Liu Lu , Feng Gang
Published: January 2018

In this paper, a bipartite consensus problem is considered for a high‐order multiagent system with cooperative‐competitive interactions and unknown time‐varying disturbances. A signed graph is used to describe the interaction network associated with the multiagent system. The unknown disturbances are expressed by linearly parameterized models, and distributed adaptive laws are designed to estimate the unknown parameters in the models. For the case that there is no exogenous reference system, a fully distributed adaptive control law is proposed to ensure that all the agents reach a bipartite consensus. For the other case that there exists an exogenous reference system, another fully distributed adaptive control law is also developed to ensure that all the agents achieve bipartite consensus on the state of the exogenous system. The stability of the closed‐loop multiagent systems with the 2 proposed adaptive control laws are analyzed under an assumption that the interaction network is structurally balanced. Moreover, the convergence of the parameter estimation errors is guaranteed with a persistent excitation condition. Finally, simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive bipartite consensus control laws for the concerned multiagent system.
A recursive partitioning approach for subgroup identification in individual patient data meta‐analysis
Authors: Mistry Dipesh , Stallard Nigel , Underwood Martin
Published: January 2018

Background

Motivated by the setting of clinical trials in low back pain, this work investigated statistical methods to identify patient subgroups for which there is a large treatment effect (treatment by subgroup interaction). Statistical tests for interaction are often underpowered. Individual patient data (IPD) meta‐analyses provide a framework with improved statistical power to investigate subgroups. However, conventional approaches to subgroup analyses applied in both a single trial setting and an IPD setting have a number of issues, one of them being that factors used to define subgroups are investigated one at a time. As individuals have multiple characteristics that may be related to response to treatment, alternative exploratory statistical methods are required.

Methods

Tree‐based methods are a promising alternative that systematically searches the covariate space to identify subgroups defined by multiple characteristics. A tree method in particular, SIDES, is described and extended for application in an IPD meta‐analyses setting by incorporating fixed‐effects and random‐effects models to account for between‐trial variation. The performance of the proposed extension was assessed using simulation studies. The proposed method was then applied to an IPD low back pain dataset.

Results

The simulation studies found that the extended IPD‐SIDES method performed well in detecting subgroups especially in the presence of large between‐trial variation. The IPD‐SIDES method identified subgroups with enhanced treatment effect when applied to the low back pain data.

Conclusions

This work proposes an exploratory statistical approach for subgroup analyses applicable in any research discipline where subgroup analyses in an IPD meta‐analysis setting are of interest.
Synthesis of Amides from Aliphatic Acids and Amines by using of I2/TBHP at Room Temperature
Authors: Sirgamalla Rambabu , Kommakula Ashok , Banoth Sonyanaik , Dharavath Ravi , Adem Kurumanna , P Madhu , Boda Sakram
Published: January 2018

A novel metal free system of I2/TBHP for coupling of anilines with various acids leading to amidation has been developed. The reaction possibly proceeds via acetic hypoiodous anhydride formation. Besides, the scope of the method was also extended to thioglycolic acid and phenoxy acetic acids. The reaction is easy to set up, involves mild conditions and proceeds efficiently over a wide range of substrates with excellent functional group tolerance.
Selective Production of γ‐Valerolactone and Valeric Acid in One‐Pot Bifunctional Metal Catalysts
Authors: Wang Anqi , Lu Yiran , Yi Zixiao , Ejaz Ashan , Hu Kang , Zhang Lin , Yan Kai
Published: January 2018

In this work, one‐pot synthesis of biofuel γ‐valerolactone (GVL) and valeric acid (VA) from biomass‐derived levulinic acid (LA) are highly selectively produced on a series of robust Pd‐nanoparticle catalysts. These fine Pd nanoparticles are controllably synthesized and confined in the mesoporous channel of MCM‐41‐derived supports via a green solvent CO2‐assited method. A combination analysis tools are used to study physical properties and elucidate the relationship between the structure and performances. The catalytic results display 5 wt% Pd/AlMCM‐41 exhibits the best performances of 88.5% GVL yield at the perfect conversion of LA. Moreover, without the isolation of GVL intermediate, it can also efficiently catalyze the one‐pot conversion of LA to VA with 45.1% yield. Besides, Pd‐nanoparticle catalysts maintain stable structure and good catalytic performances over several runs.
Core–Shell Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Hollow Spheres/Co3O4 Nanosheets as Advanced Electrode for High‐Performance Supercapacitor
Authors: Liu Tao , Zhang Liuyang , You Wei , Yu Jiaguo
Published: January 2018

Co3O4/nitrogen‐doped carbon hollow spheres (Co3O4/NHCSs) with hierarchical structures are synthesized by virtue of a hydrothermal method and subsequent calcination treatment. NHCSs, as a hard template, can aid the generation of Co3O4 nanosheets on its surface; while SiO2 spheres, as a sacrificed‐template, can be dissolved in the process. The prepared Co3O4/NHCS composites are investigated as the electrode active material. This composite exhibits an enhanced performance than Co3O4 itself. A higher specific capacitance of 581 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a higher rate performance of 91.6% retention at 20 A g−1 are achieved, better than Co3O4 nanorods (318 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and 67.1% retention at 20 A g−1). In addition, the composite is employed as a positive electrode to fabricate an asymmetric supercapacitor. The device can deliver a high energy density of 34.5 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 753 W kg−1 and display a desirable cycling stability. All of these attractive results make the unique hierarchical Co3O4/NHCS core–shell structure a promising electrode material for high‐performance supercapacitors.
A New Insight into Cross‐Sensitivity to Humidity of SnO2 Sensor
Authors: Zhu He , Li Qiang , Ren Yang , Gao Qilong , Chen Jun , Wang Na , Deng Jinxia , Xing Xianran
Published: January 2018

The efficiency of gas sensors varies enormously from fundamental study to practical application. This big gap comes mainly from the complex and unpredictable effect of atmospheric environment, especially in humidity. Here, the cross‐sensitivity to humidity of a SnO2 sensor from local structural and lattice evolutions is studied. The sensing response of ethanol is found to be efficiently activated by adsorbing trace of water but inhibited as humidity increases. By X‐ray diffraction, pair distribution function of synchrotron and ab initio calculations, the independent effect of water and ethanol on lattice and local structure are clearly revealed, which elucidate the intricate sensing reactions. The formation of hydrogen bonds and repulsion of ethoxides play key roles in the structural distortions, and also in adsorption energies that are critical to the sensitive behavior. The results show the sensor performance coupled with local structural evolution, which provides a new insight into the controversial effects of humidity on SnO2 sensors.
Adipose‐derived stem cells decrease cardiomyocyte damage induced by porphyromonas gingivalis endotoxin through suppressing hypertrophy, apoptosis, fibrosis, and MAPK markers
Authors: Chen Tung‐Sheng , Kuo Chia‐Hua , Battsengel Sarnai , Pan Lung‐Fa , Day Cecilia Hsuan , Shen Chia‐Yao , Chung Li‐Chin , Padma V. Vijaya , Yao Chen‐Kai , Lin Yueh‐Min , Huang Chih‐Yang
Published: January 2018

Heart failure is one of the complications related to periodontal disease. In addition to drugs or herbal medicines, stem cell therapy shows potential in the treatment of cardiomyopathy. This study investigates if stem cells exhibit beneficial effects on cardiomyocyte damage induced by porphyromonas gingivalis endotoxin (Pg‐LPS). From the experimental results we find that Pg‐LPS reduce cardiomyocyte viability via the activation of apoptosis, hypertrophy, fibrosis and MAPK signaling. Pg‐LPS damaged cardiomyocytes co‐cultured with adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSC) increases cardiomyocyte viability through suppressing the pathological markers described above. Further evidence implies that survival marker, IGF1, secreted from ADSC, may play an important role in the Pg‐LPS induced protective effect on cardiomyocyte damage.
An active‐set mixed finite element solver for a transient hydrodynamic lubrication problem in the presence of cavitation
Authors: Tber Moulay Hicham
Published: January 2018

In this paper, we study a moving free boundary problem related to the cavitation modeling in lubricated devices. More precisely, a characteristics method combined with a weak formulation in a mixed form is introduced for the Elrod‐Adams model. The formulation is suitable for the use of mixed finite element methods in the numerical approximation. It is proved that the time‐discrete problem and its finite element discretization have unique solutions. Further an efficient primal‐dual active‐set strategy is proposed to solve the resulting algebraic system. The performance of the overall algorithm is illustrated by numerical examples.
Cognitive judgement bias is associated with frequency of anticipatory behavior in bottlenose dolphins
Authors: Clegg Isabella L. K. , Delfour Fabienne
Published: January 2018

Many animals display a suite of increased vigilance and/or activity responses in relation to upcoming events, termed “anticipatory behavior.” Anticipatory behavior toward positive events has been suggested as a cross‐species measure of affective state as it likely reflects the balance of the reward‐sensitivity system: various studies suggest that animals in poorer welfare situations show higher or excessive levels of anticipation for positive events. Another tool for evaluating animals' affective state is cognitive bias testing, and although it has been attempted, a link has not yet been made between cognitive bias and anticipatory behavior levels. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in captivity increase the performance of behaviors such as surface‐looking and spy‐hopping in anticipation of training sessions during which food is provided. In this study we measured anticipatory behavior frequency in bottlenose dolphins prior to positive reinforcement training sessions, and assessed whether frequency of anticipatory behavior correlated with their performance on cognitive bias tasks. We found that higher frequencies of anticipatory behavior for training sessions was significantly associated with more pessimistic judgements in cognitive bias tests, supporting previous findings linking higher reward sensitivity with negative affective states. Anticipatory behavior is an easily measured activity and could represent a welfare indicator in dolphins as well as other animals in captive environments.
Nonoperative Management of Blunt Splenic Trauma in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: Feasibility and Outcomes
Authors: Dhillon Navpreet K. , Barmparas Galinos , Thomsen Gretchen M. , Patel Kavita A. , Linaval Nikhil T. , Gillette Emma , Margulies Daniel R. , Ley Eric J.
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Preventing secondary insult to the brain is imperative following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although TBI does not preclude nonoperative management (NOM) of splenic injuries, development of hypotension in this setting may be detrimental and could therefore lead trauma surgeons to a lower threshold for operative intervention and a potentially higher risk of failure of NOM (FNOM). We hypothesized that the presence of a TBI in patients with blunt splenic injury would lead to a higher risk of FNOM.

Methods

Patients with blunt splenic injury were selected from the National Trauma Data Bank research datasets from 2007 to 2011. TBI was defined as AIS head ≥ 3 and FNOM as patients who underwent a spleen‐related operation after 2 h from admission. TBI patients were compared to those without head injury. The primary outcome was FNOM.

Results

Of 47,713 patients identified, 41,436 (86.8%) underwent a trial of NOM. FNOM was identical (10.6 vs. 10.8%, p = 0.601) among patients with and without TBI. TBI patients had lower adjusted odds for FNOM (AOR 0.66, p < 0.001), even among those with a high‐grade splenic injury (AOR 0.68, p < 0.001). No difference in adjusted mortality was noted when comparing TBI patients with and without FNOM (AOR 1.01, p = 0.95).

Conclusions

NOM of blunt splenic trauma in TBI patients has higher adjusted odds for success. This could be related to interventions targeting prevention of secondary brain injury. Further studies are required to identify those specific practices that lead to a higher success rate of NOM of splenic trauma in TBI patients.
Erroneous sea-ice concentration retrieval in the East Antarctic
Authors: Lam Hoi Ming , Spreen Gunnar , Heygster Georg , Melsheimer Christian , Young Neal W.
Published: January 2018

Large discrepancies have been observed between satellite-derived sea-ice concentrations(IC) from passive microwave remote sensing and those derived from optical images at several locations in the East Antarctic, between February and April 2014. These artefacts, that resemble polynyas in the IC maps, appear in areas where optical satellite data show that there is landfast sea ice. The IC datasets and the corresponding retrieval algorithms are investigated together with microwave brightness temperature, air temperature, snowfall and bathymetry to understand the failure of the IC retrieval. The artefacts are the result of the application of weather filters in retrieval algorithms. These filters use the 37 and 19 GHz channels to correct for atmospheric effects on the retrieval. These channels show significant departures from typical ranges when the artefacts occur. A melt–refreeze cycle with associated snow metamorphism is proposed as the most likely cause. Together, the areas of the artefacts account for up to 0.5% of the Antarctic sea-ice area and thus cause a bias in sea-IC time series. In addition, erroneous sea ICs can adversely affect shipping operations.
The Number of Choice Tasks and Survey Satisficing in Conjoint Experiments
Authors: Bansak Kirk , Hainmueller Jens , Hopkins Daniel J. , Yamamoto Teppei
Published: January 2018

In recent years, political and social scientists have made increasing use of conjoint survey designs to study decision-making. Here, we study a consequential question which researchers confront when implementing conjoint designs: How many choice tasks can respondents perform before survey satisficing degrades response quality? To answer the question, we run a set of experiments where respondents are asked to complete as many as 30 conjoint tasks. Experiments conducted through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Survey Sampling International demonstrate the surprising robustness of conjoint designs, as there are detectable but quite limited increases in survey satisficing as the number of tasks increases. Our evidence suggests that in similar study contexts researchers can assign dozens of tasks without substantial declines in response quality.
Awe Weakens the Desire for Money
Authors: Jiang Libin , Yin Jun , Mei Dongmei , Zhu Hong , Zhou Xinyue
Published: January 2018

This research examined whether feeling awe weakens people's desire for money. Two experiments demonstrated that, as a self-transcendent emotion, awe decreased people's money desire. In Experiment 1, recalling a personal experience of awe makes people place less importance on money, compared with recalling an experience of happiness and recalling a neutral experience. In experiment 2, we examined different variants of awe, such as negative awe and non-nature awe. Viewing images that elicited awe, no matter what kind of awe, can induce people to put less effort into obtaining money. Process evidence suggested that awe's weakening of money desire was due to its power to make people transcend their mundane concerns. Our findings have implications for willingness to donate, price sensitivity, religious practices, and economic utilities.
Analysis of wavefront effects for large-aperture tiled-grating compressor
Authors: Zhang S. , Zhang J. W. , Zhou Y. , Su J. Q. , Wang X. , Deng B. , Hu D. X.
Published: January 2018

Monolithic large-aperture diffraction grating tiling is desired to increase the output capability of multi-kilojoule petawatt laser facilities. However, the wavefront errors of input pulse and gratings will degrade the focal spot quality and the compressibility of the output pulse. In this work, the effects of wavefront error of input pulse, deformation and wave aberration of the grating for the large-aperture tiled-grating compressor are investigated theoretically. A series of numerical simulations are presented to discuss the changing trends of focal spot energy caused by wavefront error of input pulse and obtain the error tolerance for specific goals. The influences of coating stress and the wave aberration of holographic exposure gratings on the diffraction wavefront are also discussed. Some advice is proposed for improving the performance of large-aperture tiled-grating. This work paves the way for the design of practical large-aperture tiled-grating compressor for ultrahigh intensity laser facilities in the future.
The morphophysiological dormancy of Ferula ovina seeds is alleviated by low temperature and hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Fasih Majid , Tavakkol Afshari Reza
Published: January 2018

Ferula ovina is a perennial Apiaceae with great medicinal and economic value. This study was conducted to better understand the dormancy and germination behaviour of its seeds. Experiments included temperature requirements for both embryo growth and germination under field and laboratory conditions, the effects of warm stratification, gibberellic acid (GA3), dry after-ripening, exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) on dormancy, localizing the accumulation of superoxide (O2−) and measuring endogenous contents of H2O2 in embryos during cold and warm stratification. Embryos were under-developed and did not germinate within one month at temperatures higher than 10°C. Among all treatments, cold stratification and exogenous H2O2 could break dormancy. However, the application of DPI reduced growth and the germination of the embryo at 3°C. During cold stratification, the embryonic axes elongated more than the cotyledons, which coincided with earlier production of O2− in the axes. Only these embryos could eventually complete growth and germinate. Moreover, such asymmetric growth between the axes and cotyledons was also observed when seeds were treated with exogenous H2O2. On the other hand, both axes and cotyledons displayed the same growth over treatments with warm stratification and DPI. Overall, seeds of F. ovina exhibit the characteristics of deep complex morphophysiological dormancy. Moreover, the embryos solely require cold to complete growth and to germinate, and this process seems to be mediated by reactive oxygen species. Under natural conditions, seeds germinate during winter in cold soil, and shoots emerge in spring.
Communication barrier in family linked to increased risks for food insecurity among deaf people who use American Sign Language
Authors: Kushalnagar Poorna , Moreland Christopher J , Simons Abbi , Holcomb Tara
Published: January 2018

Objective

Food security is defined as being able to access enough food that will help maintain an active, healthy lifestyle for those living in a household. While there are no studies on food security issues among deaf people, research shows that communication barriers early in life are linked to poor physical and mental health outcomes. Childhood communication barriers may also risk later food insecurity.

Design/Setting/Subjects

A single food security screener question found to have 82 % sensitivity in classifying families who are at risk for food insecurity was taken from the six-item US Household Food Security Survey Module. Questions related to food insecurity screener, depression diagnosis and retrospective communication experience were translated to American Sign Language and then included in an online survey. Over 600 deaf adult signers (18–95 years old) were recruited across the USA.

Results

After adjusting for covariates, deaf adults who reported being able to understand little to none of what their caregiver said during their formative years were about five times more likely to often experience difficulty with making food last or finding money to buy more food, and were about three times more likely to sometimes experience this difficulty, compared with deaf adults who reported to being able to understand some to all of what their caregiver said.

Conclusions

Our results have highlighted a marked risk for food insecurity and related outcomes among deaf people. This should raise serious concern among individuals who have the potential to effect change in deaf children’s access to communication.
Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit im Kontext von Gebundenheit (boundedness). Die Entwicklung einer konzeptuellen Begriffsdefinition auf Grundlage einer integrativen Übersichtsarbeit
Authors: Schirghuber Johannes , Schrems Berta
Published: January 2018

Zusammenfassung.Hintergrund: Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit sind bedeutende Phänomene der Gesundheits- und Krankenpflege. Trotzdem fehlen konzeptuelle Definitionen und entsprechende Pflegediagnosen in den gängigen Pflegeklassifikationssystemen. Ziel: Ziel ist es, die Grundlage für konzeptionelle Definitionen zu schaffen. Dazu wird der aktuelle Stand der deutsch- und englischsprachigen Begriffsverwendungen zu Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit erfasst. Zugleich werden jene englischsprachigen Begriffsdefinitionen herausgearbeitet, die eine breite internationale Anerkennung finden. Darüber hinaus werden die mit Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit im Zusammenhang stehenden Phänomene erfasst und voneinander abgegrenzt. Methode: Die Identifizierung deutsch- und englischsprachiger Begriffsverwendungen erfolgt durch eine integrative Übersichtsarbeit für den Zeitraum von 1990 bis 2016. Ergebnisse: Es gibt eine Vielzahl an englischsprachigen Begriffen zu Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit. Die Begriffe homebound, wheelchairbound und bedridden bilden Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit am häufigsten ab. Instabilität und Immobilität stehen als Ursachen und Inaktivität als Folge in Verbindung. Gegensätzlich zu betrachten ist Bettruhe (bedrest), die angeordnet und zeitlich befristet ist. Schlussfolgerungen: Ortsfixierung und Bettlägerigkeit sind durch die einheitliche Definition der Gebundenheit (boundedness) zu betrachten. Dabei müssen die Ursachen (Instabilität, Immobilität) diagnostiziert werden, um adäquate Interventionen zur Vermeidung bzw. Linderung der Folgen ableiten zu können.
Chrakteristik depressiver Symptome bei psychischen Erkrankungen und Multipler Sklerose – eine retrospektive Datenanalyse
Authors: Brokate Barbara , Reimer Jens , Hildebrandt Helmut
Published: January 2018

Zusammenfassung. In dieser retrospektiven Datenanalyse geht es um die Frage, ob depressiv Erkrankte, alkoholabhängige Patienten, schizophrene Patienten und Multiple-Sklerose-Patienten eine vergleichbare Struktur depressiver Symptome zeigen. Dabei sind die Identifikation spezifischer Symptome und die Möglichkeit der Gruppierung depressiver Symptome von besonderem Interesse. Weiter wird die Informationsverarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit als kognitiver Parameter in die Analysen einbezogen, da eine Verlangsamung bei vielen Erkrankungsgruppen zu erwarten ist. Bei 231 Patienten und 31 Kontrollpersonen zeigen sich signifikante Unterschiede in der Struktur depressiver Symptome zwischen den Gruppen, wobei die Intensität depressiver Symptome bei originär depressiven Patienten ausgesprochen hoch ist. Weiter sind depressive Patienten in der Informationsverarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit erheblich langsamer als alle anderen Gruppen. Die Ergebnisse werden mithilfe neuropsychologischer Konzepte der Depression und Multiple Sklerose erklärt.
Gliedmaßenapraxie bei Patienten mit Multipler Sklerose
Authors: Harscher Kathi Maren , Hirth-Walther Celina , Buchmann Ilka , Dettmers Christian , Randerath Jennifer
Published: January 2018

Zusammenfassung. Gliedmaßenapraxie ist eine Störung der motorischen Kognition, die besonders häufig nach linkshemisphärischem Schlaganfall auftritt. Diese Störung ist bei Patienten mit Multipler Sklerose (MS) noch wenig untersucht. Bisherige MS-Studien indizieren, dass die Leistung in den klassischen Pantomime- und Imitationstests beeinträchtigt sein kann. Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte die Gliedmaßenapraxie bei 26 MS-Patienten und 24 Gesunden mit dem Diagnostic Instrument for Limb Apraxia – Short Version (DILA-S), das zusätzlich zu den klassischen Imitations- und Pantomimetests auch den tatsächlichen Werkzeuggebrauch untersucht. Bei 27 % der MS-Patienten wurden apraktische Symptome in jeweils einzelnen Untertests diagnostiziert. Die Symptomausprägung war jedoch gering, sodass Gruppenvergleiche keine signifikanten Unterschiede zeigten. Insgesamt legen die Studienergebnisse nahe, dass Gliedmaßenapraxie bei MS-Patienten auftreten kann, aber vermutlich selten zu einem klinisch relevanten Symptom wird.
Microkinetics of alcohol reforming for H2 production from a FAIR density functional theory database
Authors: Li Qiang , García-Muelas Rodrigo , López Núria
Published: January 2018

The large-scale production of hydrogen from biomass under industrial conditions is fundamental for a sustainable future. Here we present a multiscale study of the available reforming technologies based on a density functional theory open database that allows the formulation of linear scaling relationships and microkinetics. The database fulfills the FAIR criteria: findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability. Moreover, it contains more than 1000 transition states for the decomposition of C2 alcohols on close-packed Cu, Ru, Pd, and Pt surfaces. The microkinetic results for activity, selectivity toward H2, and stability can be directly mapped to experiments, and the catalytic performance is controlled by various types of poisoning. Linear scaling relationships provide valid quantitative results that allow the extrapolation to larger compounds like glycerol. Our database presents a robust roadmap to investigate the complexity of biomass transformations through the use of small fragments as surrogates when investigated under different reaction conditions.
Unraveling the determinants of microRNA mediated regulation using a massively parallel reporter assay
Authors: Vainberg Slutskin Ilya , Weingarten-Gabbay Shira , Nir Ronit , Weinberger Adina , Segal Eran
Published: January 2018

Despite extensive research, the sequence features affecting microRNA-mediated regulation are not well understood, limiting our ability to predict gene expression levels in both native and synthetic sequences. Here we employed a massively parallel reporter assay to investigate the effect of over 14,000 rationally designed 3′ UTR sequences on reporter construct repression. We found that multiple factors, including microRNA identity, hybridization energy, target accessibility, and target multiplicity, can be manipulated to achieve a predictable, up to 57-fold, change in protein repression. Moreover, we predict protein repression and RNA levels with high accuracy (R = 0.84 and R = 0.80, respectively) using only 3′ UTR sequence, as well as the effect of mutation in native 3′ UTRs on protein repression (R = 0.63). Taken together, our results elucidate the effect of different sequence features on miRNA-mediated regulation and demonstrate the predictability of their effect on gene expression with applications in regulatory genomics and synthetic biology.
SMRT sequencing of full-length transcriptome of flea beetle Agasicles hygrophila (Selman and Vogt)
Authors: Jia Dong , Wang Yuanxin , Liu Yanhong , Hu Jun , Guo Yanqiong , Gao Lingling , Ma Ruiyan
Published: January 2018

This study was aimed at generating the full-length transcriptome of flea beetle Agasicles hygrophila (Selman and Vogt) using single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing. Four developmental stages of A. hygrophila, including eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults were harvested for isolating total RNA. The mixed samples were used for SMRT sequencing to generate the full-length transcriptome. Based on the obtained transcriptome data, alternative splicing event, simple sequence repeat (SSR) analysis, coding sequence prediction, transcript functional annotation, and lncRNA prediction were performed. Total 9.45 Gb of clean reads were generated, including 335,045 reads of insert (ROI) and 158,085 full-length non-chimeric (FLNC) reads. Transcript clustering analysis of FLNC reads identified 40,004 consensus isoforms, including 31,015 high-quality ones. After removing redundant reads, 28,982 transcripts were obtained. Total 145 alternative splicing events were predicted. Additionally, 12,753 SSRs and 16,205 coding sequences were identified based on SSR analysis. Furthermore, 24,031 transcripts were annotated in eight functional databases, and 4,198 lncRNAs were predicted. This is the first study to perform SMRT sequencing of the full-length transcriptome of A. hygrophila. The obtained transcriptome may facilitate further exploration of the genetic data of A. hygrophila and uncover the interactions between this insect and the ecosystem.
Polymerisation force of a rigid filament bundle: diffusive interaction leads to sublinear force-number scaling
Authors: Valiyakath Jemseena , Gopalakrishnan Manoj
Published: January 2018

Polymerising filaments generate force against an obstacle, as in, e.g., microtubule-kinetochore interactions in the eukaryotic cell. Earlier studies of this problem have not included explicit three-dimensional monomer diffusion, and consequently, missed out on two important aspects: (i) the barrier, even when it is far from the polymers, affects free diffusion of monomers and reduces their adsorption at the tips, while (ii) parallel filaments could interact through the monomer density field (“diffusive coupling”), leading to negative interference between them. In our study, both these effects are included and their consequences investigated in detail. A mathematical treatment based on a set of continuum Fokker-Planck equations for combined filament-wall dynamics suggests that the barrier-induced monomer depletion reduces the growth velocity and also the stall force, while the total force produced by many filaments remains additive. However, Brownian dynamics simulations show that the linear force-number scaling holds only when the filaments are far apart; when they are arranged close together, forming a bundle, sublinear scaling of force with number appears, which could be attributed to diffusive interaction between the growing polymer tips.
Unusually warm Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures help to arrest development of El Niño in 2014
Authors: Dong Lu , McPhaden Michael J.
Published: January 2018

In early 2014, strong westerly wind bursts (WWBs) and high heat content in the equatorial Pacific favored development of a major El Niño. However, significant coupling between the Pacific Ocean and atmosphere failed to take hold during boreal summer of 2014 such that only borderline El Niño conditions were evident by the end of the year. Observational analysis suggests that warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Indian Ocean in 2014 weakened westerly wind anomalies in the Pacific and may have helped to arrest the development of the El Niño. We test this hypothesis using an ensemble of coupled numerical experiments in which observed Indian Ocean SST anomalies in 2014–15 are prescribed but the Pacific Ocean-atmosphere system is free to evolve. Results confirm that warm SST anomalies in the Indian Ocean created conditions that would have favored a weakening of El Niño by suppressing the Bjerknes feedback in boreal summer of 2014. This process does not preclude others that have been proposed in the unusual evolution of El Niño SSTs in 2014, but it adds to the list a forcing mechanism external to the Pacific basin.
Effect of Melatonin on the stability and expression of reference genes in Catharanthus roseus
Authors: Sheshadri S. A. , Nishanth M. J. , Yamine V. , Simon Bindu
Published: January 2018

The role of Melatonin in influencing diverse genes in plants has gained momentum in recent years and many reports have employed qRT-PCR for their quantification. Relative quantification of gene expression relies on accurate normalization of qRT-PCR data against a stably-expressing internal reference-gene. Although researchers have been using commonly available reference-genes to assess Melatonin-induced gene expression, but to-date, there have been no attempts to validate the reference-gene stability under Melatonin-supplementationin planta. In this study, we performed stability assessment of common reference-genes under Melatonin-supplementation and abiotic stress in leaves and seedlings ofCatharanthus roseususing geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, ΔCt and RefFinder algorithms. Nine candidate reference-genes were tested for stability inC.roseus(FBOX,CACS,TIP,RSP9,EXP,EXPR,SAND,F17M5,ACT) and our study inferred that whileEXPandEXPRwere the most-stable,F17M5was the lowest-stable gene in the leaf-fed samples. Among seedlings ofC.roseus,F17M5andTIPwere the most, whileACTwas the least-stable gene. The suitability of selected stable reference-gene pairs was demonstrated by assessing the transcript levels of the Melatonin-biosynthesis geneSNATunder same conditions. Our study is the first to comprehensively analyze the stability of commonly-used reference-genes under Melatonin-induced conditions inC.roseus.
Simultaneous electroporation and dielectrophoresis in non-electrolytic micro/nano-electroporation
Authors: Lyu Chenang , Wang Jianping , Powell-Palm Matthew , Rubinsky Boris
Published: January 2018

It was recently shown that electrolysis may play a substantial detrimental role in microfluidic electroporation. To overcome this problem, we have developed a non-electrolytic micro/nano electroporation (NEME) electrode surface, in which the metal electrodes are coated with a dielectric. A COMSOL based numerical scheme was used to simultaneously calculate the excitation frequency and dielectric material properties dependent electric field delivered across the dielectric, fluid flow, electroporation field and Clausius-Mossotti factor for yeast and E. coli cells flowing in a channel flow across a NEME surface. A two-layer model for yeast and a three-layer model for E. coli was used. The numerical analysis shows that in NEME electroporation, the electric fields could induce electroporation and dielectrophoresis simultaneously. The simultaneous occurrence of electroporation and dielectrophoresis gives rise to several interesting phenomena. For example, we found that a certain frequency exists for which an intact yeast cell is drawn to the NEME electrode, and once electroporated, the yeast cell is pushed back in the bulk fluid. The results suggest that developing electroporation technologies that combine, simultaneously, electroporation and dielectrophoresis could lead to new applications. Obviously, this is an early stage numerical study and much more theoretical and experimental research is needed.
Ormeloxifene-induced unfolded protein response contributes to autophagy-associated apoptosis via disruption of Akt/mTOR and activation of JNK
Authors: Bhattacharjee Arindam , Hasanain Mohammad , Kathuria Manoj , Singh Akhilesh , Datta Dipak , Sarkar Jayanta , Mitra Kalyan
Published: January 2018

Autophagy, a regulated nutrient recycling program can affect both cell survival and cell death. Here, we show that Ormeloxifene (ORM), a selective estrogen receptor modulator approved for oral contraceptive use induces autophagic flux in ovarian cancer cells, which is activated by an ER stress response upstream of autophagy. The ER stress response is characterized by activation of IRE1α, PERK and ATF6 and is under regulation of JNK. Pharmacological inhibition of either autophagy or ER stress increased cell survival, as did silencing of autophagy proteins LC3 and Beclin 1, implying that ORM-induced autophagy is pro-death in nature. Ultrastructural observations of treated cells confirmed stages of autophagic maturation. Caspase-dependent apoptosis succeeded these events and was characterized by generation of reactive oxygen species and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. A concomitant inhibition of the Akt/mTOR axis was also observed with possible regulation of Akt by ORM. ORM inhibited tumor growth in ovarian xenograft model and displayed autophagic activity. In summary, in vitro and in vivo results reveal that ORM induces autophagy-associated cell death to attenuate proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that using ORM in combination with ER stress and autophagy modulators could offer better therapeutic outcome in ovarian cancer.
Broadband single-phase hyperbolic elastic metamaterials for super-resolution imaging
Authors: Dong Hao-Wen , Zhao Sheng-Dong , Wang Yue-Sheng , Zhang Chuanzeng
Published: January 2018

Hyperbolic metamaterials, the highly anisotropic subwavelength media, immensely widen the engineering feasibilities for wave manipulation. However, limited by the empirical structural topologies, the reported hyperbolic elastic metamaterials (HEMMs) suffer from the limitations of the relatively narrow frequency width, inflexible adjustable operating subwavelength scale and difficulty to further improve the imaging resolution. Here, we show an inverse-design strategy for HEMMs by topology optimization. We design broadband single-phase HEMMs supporting multipolar resonances at different prescribed deep-subwavelength scales, and demonstrate the super-resolution imaging for longitudinal waves. Benefiting from the extreme enhancement of the evanescent waves, an optimized HEMM at an ultra-low frequency can yield an imaging resolution of ~λ/64, representing the record in the field of elastic metamaterials. The present research provides a novel and general design methodology for exploring the HEMMs with unrevealed mechanisms and guides the ultrasonography and general biomedical applications.