bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Glial type specific regulation of CNS angiogenesis by HIFα-activated different signaling pathways
Authors: Zhang Sheng , Kim Bokyung , Zhu Xiaoqing , Gui Xuehong , Wang Yan , Lan Zhaohui , Prabhu Preeti , Fond Kenneth , Wang Aijun , Guo Fuzheng
Published: April 2020

The mechanisms by which oligodendroglia modulate CNS angiogenesis remain elusive. Previous in vitro data suggest that oligodendroglia regulate CNS endothelial cell proliferation and blood vessel formation through hypoxia inducible factor alpha (HIFα)-activated Wnt (but not VEGF) signaling. Using in vivo genetic models, we show that HIFα in oligodendroglia is necessary and sufficient for angiogenesis independent of CNS regions. At the molecular level, HIFα stabilization in oligodendroglia does not perturb Wnt signaling but rather activates VEGF. At the functional level, genetically blocking oligodendroglia-derived VEGF but not Wnt significantly decreases oligodendroglial HIFα-regulated CNS angiogenesis. Blocking astroglia-derived Wnt signaling reduces astroglial HIFα-regulated CNS angiogenesis. Together, our in vivo data demonstrate that oligodendroglial HIFα regulates CNS angiogenesis through Wnt-independent and VEGF-dependent signaling. These findings suggest an alternative mechanistic understanding of CNS angiogenesis by postnatal glial cells and unveil a glial cell type-dependent HIFα-Wnt axis in regulating CNS vessel formation.
Single-shot link discovery for terahertz wireless networks
Authors: Ghasempour Yasaman , Shrestha Rabi , Charous Aaron , Knightly Edward , Mittleman Daniel M.
Published: April 2020

Of the many challenges in building a wireless network at terahertz frequencies, link discovery remains one of the most critical and least explored. In a network of mobile receivers using narrow directional beams, how do the nodes rapidly locate each other? This direction information is crucial for beam forming and steering, which are fundamental operations for maintaining link quality. As the carrier frequency increases into the terahertz range, the conventional methods used by existing networks become prohibitively time-consuming, so an alternative strategy is required. Using a leaky-wave antenna with a broadband transmitter, we demonstrate a single-shot approach for link discovery which can be accomplished much more rapidly. Our method relies on measurements of the width of a broad spectrum, and does not require any information about the phase of the received signal. This protocol, which relies on a detailed understanding of the radiation from leaky-wave devices, offers a realistic approach for enabling mobility in directional networks.
The UPR sensor IRE1α and the adenovirus E3-19K glycoprotein sustain persistent and lytic infections
Authors: Prasad Vibhu , Suomalainen Maarit , Jasiqi Yllza , Hemmi Silvio , Hearing Patrick , Hosie Louise , Burgert Hans-Gerhard , Greber Urs F.
Published: April 2020

Persistent viruses cause chronic disease, and threaten the lives of immunosuppressed individuals. Here, we elucidate a mechanism supporting the persistence of human adenovirus (AdV), a virus that can kill immunosuppressed patients. Cell biological analyses, genetics and chemical interference demonstrate that one of five AdV membrane proteins, the E3-19K glycoprotein specifically triggers the unfolded protein response (UPR) sensor IRE1α in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but not other UPR sensors, such as protein kinase R-like ER kinase (PERK) and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6). The E3-19K lumenal domain activates the IRE1α nuclease, which initiates mRNA splicing of X-box binding protein-1 (XBP1). XBP1s binds to the viral E1A-enhancer/promoter sequence, and boosts E1A transcription, E3-19K levels and lytic infection. Inhibition of IRE1α nuclease interrupts the five components feedforward loop, E1A, E3-19K, IRE1α, XBP1s, E1A enhancer/promoter. This loop sustains persistent infection in the presence of the immune activator interferon, and lytic infection in the absence of interferon.
Solid solution for catalytic ammonia synthesis from nitrogen and hydrogen gases at 50 °C
Authors: Hattori Masashi , Iijima Shinya , Nakao Takuya , Hosono Hideo , Hara Michikazu
Published: April 2020

The lack of efficient catalysts for ammonia synthesis from N2 and H2 gases at the lower temperature of ca. 50 °C has been a problem not only for the Haber–Bosch process, but also for ammonia production toward zero CO2 emissions. Here, we report a new approach for low temperature ammonia synthesis that uses a stable electron-donating heterogeneous catalyst, cubic CaFH, a solid solution of CaF2 and CaH2 formed at low temperatures. The catalyst produced ammonia from N2 and H2 gases at 50 °C with an extremely small activation energy of 20 kJ mol−1, which is less than half that for conventional catalysts reported. The catalytic performance can be attributed to the weak ionic bonds between Ca2+ and H− ions in the solid solution and the facile release of hydrogen atoms from H− sites.
Molecular basis for assembly of the shieldin complex and its implications for NHEJ
Authors: Liang Ling , Feng Jiawen , Zuo Peng , Yang Juan , Lu Yishuo , Yin Yuxin
Published: April 2020

Shieldin, including SHLD1, SHLD2, SHLD3 and REV7, functions as a bridge linking 53BP1-RIF1 and single-strand DNA to suppress the DNA termini nucleolytic resection during non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). However, the mechanism of shieldin assembly remains unclear. Here we present the crystal structure of the SHLD3-REV7-SHLD2 ternary complex and reveal an unexpected C (closed)-REV7-O (open)-REV7 conformational dimer mediated by SHLD3. We show that SHLD2 interacts with O-REV7 and the N-terminus of SHLD3 by forming β sheet sandwich. Disruption of the REV7 conformational dimer abolishes the assembly of shieldin and impairs NHEJ efficiency. The conserved FXPWFP motif of SHLD3 binds to C-REV7 and blocks its binding to REV1, which excludes shieldin from the REV1/Pol ζ translesion synthesis (TLS) complex. Our study reveals the molecular architecture of shieldin assembly, elucidates the structural basis of the REV7 conformational dimer, and provides mechanistic insight into orchestration between TLS and NHEJ.
Methylglyoxal couples metabolic and translational control of Notch signalling in mammalian neural stem cells
Authors: Rodrigues Deivid Carvalho , Harvey Emily M. , Suraj Rejitha , Erickson Sarah L. , Mohammad Lamees , Ren Mengli , Liu Hongrui , He Guiqiong , Kaplan David R. , Ellis James , Yang Guang
Published: April 2020

Gene regulation and metabolism are two fundamental processes that coordinate the self-renewal and differentiation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) in the developing mammalian brain. However, little is known about how metabolic signals instruct gene expression to control NPC homeostasis. Here, we show that methylglyoxal, a glycolytic intermediate metabolite, modulates Notch signalling to regulate NPC fate decision. We find that increased methylglyoxal suppresses the translation of Notch1 receptor mRNA in mouse and human NPCs, which is mediated by binding of the glycolytic enzyme GAPDH to an AU-rich region within Notch1 3ʹUTR. Interestingly, methylglyoxal inhibits the enzymatic activity of GAPDH and engages it as an RNA-binding protein to suppress Notch1 translation. Reducing GAPDH levels or restoring Notch signalling rescues methylglyoxal-induced NPC depletion and premature differentiation in the developing mouse cortex. Taken together, our data indicates that methylglyoxal couples the metabolic and translational control of Notch signalling to control NPC homeostasis.
Loss of MBNL1 induces RNA misprocessing in the thymus and peripheral blood
Authors: Sznajder Łukasz J. , Scotti Marina M. , Shin Jihae , Taylor Katarzyna , Ivankovic Franjo , Nutter Curtis A. , Aslam Faaiq N. , Subramony S. H. , Ranum Laura P. W. , Swanson Maurice S.
Published: April 2020

The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ that plays an essential role in T lymphocyte maturation and selection during development of one arm of the mammalian adaptive immune response. Although transcriptional mechanisms have been well documented in thymocyte development, co-/post-transcriptional modifications are also important but have received less attention. Here we demonstrate that the RNA alternative splicing factor MBNL1, which is sequestered in nuclear RNA foci by C(C)UG microsatellite expansions in myotonic dystrophy (DM), is essential for normal thymus development and function.Mbnl1129S1 knockout mice develop postnatal thymic hyperplasia with thymocyte accumulation. Transcriptome analysis indicates numerous gene expression and RNA mis-splicing events, including transcription factors from the TCF/LEF family.CNBP, the gene containing an intronic CCTG microsatellite expansion in DM type 2 (DM2), is coordinately expressed withMBNL1in the developing thymus and DM2 CCTG expansions induce similar transcriptome alterations in DM2 blood, which thus serve as disease-specific biomarkers.
Associations of drinking rainwater with macro-mineral intake and cardiometabolic health: a pooled cohort analysis in Bangladesh, 2016–2019
Authors: Naser Abu Mohd , Rahman Mahbubur , Unicomb Leanne , Parvez Sarker Masud , Islam Shariful , Doza Solaiman , Khan Golam Kibria , Ahmed Kazi Matin , Anand Shuchi , Luby Stephen P. , Shamsudduha Mohammad , Gribble Matthew O. , Narayan K. M. Venkat , Clasen Thomas F.
Published: April 2020

This study explores the associations of drinking rainwater with mineral intake and cardiometabolic health in the Bangladeshi population. We pooled 10030 person-visit data on drinking water sources, blood pressure (BP) and 24-h urine minerals. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured in 3724 person-visits, and lipids in 1118 person-visits. We measured concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in 253 rainwater, 935 groundwater and 130 pond water samples. We used multilevel linear or gamma regression models with participant-, household- and community-level random intercepts to estimate the associations of rainwater consumption with urine minerals and cardiometabolic biomarkers. Rainwater samples had the lowest concentrations of Na, K, Ca and Mg. Rainwater drinkers had lower urine minerals than coastal groundwater drinkers: −13.42 (95% CI: −18.27, −8.57) mmol Na/24 h, −2.00 (95% CI: −3.16, −0.85) mmol K/24 h and −0.57 (95% CI: −1.02, −0.16) mmol Mg/24 h. The ratio of median 24-hour urinary Ca for rainwater versus coastal groundwater drinkers was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.80). Rainwater drinkers had 2.15 (95% CI: 1.02, 3.27) mm Hg higher systolic BP, 1.82 (95% CI: 1.19, 2.54) mm Hg higher diastolic BP, 0.59 (95% CI: 0.17, 1.01) mmol/L higher FBG and −2.02 (95% CI: −5.85, 0.81) mg/dl change in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol compared with the coastal groundwater drinkers. Drinking rainwater was associated with worse cardiometabolic health measures, which may be due to the lower intake of salubrious Ca, Mg and K.
In situ observation of helium and argon release during fluid-pressure-triggered rock deformation
Authors: Roques Clément , Weber Ulrich W. , Brixel Bernard , Krietsch Hannes , Dutler Nathan , Brennwald Matthias S. , Villiger Linus , Doetsch Joseph , Jalali Mohammadreza , Gischig Valentin , Amann Florian , Valley Benoît , Klepikova Maria , Kipfer Rolf
Published: April 2020

Temporal changes in groundwater chemistry can reveal information about the evolution of flow path connectivity during crustal deformation. Here, we report transient helium and argon concentration anomalies monitored during a series of hydraulic reservoir stimulation experiments measured with an in situ gas equilibrium membrane inlet mass spectrometer. Geodetic and seismic analyses revealed that the applied stimulation treatments led to the formation of new fractures (hydraulic fracturing) and the reactivation of natural fractures (hydraulic shearing), both of which remobilized (He, Ar)-enriched fluids trapped in the rock mass. Our results demonstrate that integrating geochemical information with geodetic and seismic data provides critical insights to understanding dynamic changes in fracture network connectivity during reservoir stimulation. The results of this study also shed light on the linkages between fluid migration, rock deformation and seismicity at the decameter scale.
Intra-striatal AAV2.retro administration leads to extensive retrograde transport in the rhesus macaque brain: implications for disease modeling and therapeutic development
Authors: Weiss Alison R. , Liguore William A. , Domire Jacqueline S. , Button Dana , McBride Jodi L.
Published: April 2020

Recently, AAV2.retro, a new capsid variant capable of efficient retrograde transport in brain, was generated in mice using a directed evolution approach. However, it remains unclear to what degree transport will be recapitulated in the substantially larger and more complex nonhuman primate (NHP) brain. Here, we compared the biodistribution of AAV2.retro with its parent serotype, AAV2, in adult macaques following delivery into the caudate and putamen, brain regions which comprise the striatum. While AAV2 transduction was primarily limited to the injected brain regions, AAV2.retro transduced cells in the striatum and in dozens of cortical and subcortical regions with known striatal afferents. We then evaluated the capability of AAV2.retro to deliver disease-related gene cargo to biologically-relevant NHP brain circuits by packaging a fragment of human mutant HTT, the causative gene mutation in Huntington’s disease. Following intra-striatal delivery, pathological mHTT-positive protein aggregates were distributed widely among cognitive, motor, and limbic cortico-basal ganglia circuits. Together, these studies demonstrate strong retrograde transport of AAV2.retro in NHP brain, highlight its utility in developing novel NHP models of brain disease and suggest its potential for querying circuit function and delivering therapeutic genes in the brain, particularly where treating dysfunctional circuits, versus single brain regions, is warranted.
The interplay of top-down focal attention and the cortical tracking of speech
Authors: Lesenfants D. , Francart T.
Published: April 2020

Many active neuroimaging paradigms rely on the assumption that the participant sustains attention to a task. However, in practice, there will be momentary distractions, potentially influencing the results. We investigated the effect of focal attention, objectively quantified using a measure of brain signal entropy, on cortical tracking of the speech envelope. The latter is a measure of neural processing of naturalistic speech. We let participants listen to 44 minutes of natural speech, while their electroencephalogram was recorded, and quantified both entropy and cortical envelope tracking. Focal attention affected the later brain responses to speech, between 100 and 300 ms latency. By only taking into account periods with higher attention, the measured cortical speech tracking improved by 47%. This illustrates the impact of the participant’s active engagement in the modeling of the brain-speech response and the importance of accounting for it. Our results suggest a cortico-cortical loop that initiates during the early-stages of the auditory processing, then propagates through the parieto-occipital and frontal areas, and finally impacts the later-latency auditory processes in a top-down fashion. The proposed framework could be transposed to other active electrophysiological paradigms (visual, somatosensory, etc) and help to control the impact of participants’ engagement on the results.
Velocity storage mechanism drives a cerebellar clock for predictive eye velocity control
Authors: Miki Shuntaro , Urase Kohei , Baker Robert , Hirata Yutaka
Published: April 2020

Predictive motor control is ubiquitously employed in animal kingdom to achieve rapid and precise motor action. In most vertebrates large, moving visual scenes induce an optokinetic response (OKR) control of eye movements to stabilize vision. In goldfish, the OKR was found to be predictive after a prolonged exposure to temporally periodic visual motion. A recent study showed the cerebellum necessary to acquire this predictive OKR (pOKR), but it remained unclear as to whether the cerebellum alone was sufficient. Herein we examined different fish species known to share the basic architecture of cerebellar neuronal circuitry for their ability to acquire pOKR. Carps were shown to acquire pOKR like goldfish while zebrafish and medaka did not, demonstrating the cerebellum alone not to be sufficient. Interestingly, those fish that acquired pOKR were found to exhibit long-lasting optokinetic after nystagmus (OKAN) as opposed to those that didn’t. To directly manipulate OKAN vestibular-neurectomy was performed in goldfish that severely shortened OKAN, but pOKR was acquired comparable to normal animals. These results suggest that the neuronal circuitry producing OKAN, known as the velocity storage mechanism (VSM), is required to acquire pOKR irrespective of OKAN duration. Taken together, we conclude that pOKR is acquired through recurrent cerebellum-brainstem parallel loops in which the cerebellum adjusts VSM signal flow and, in turn, receives appropriately timed eye velocity information to clock visual world motion.
Interleukin-1α associates with the tumor suppressor p53 following DNA damage
Authors: Novak J. , Zamostna B. , Vopalensky V. , Buryskova M. , Burysek L. , Doleckova D. , Pospisek M.
Published: April 2020

Interleukin-1α (IL-1α) is a dual-function proinflammatory mediator. In addition to its role in the canonical IL-1 signaling pathway, which employs membrane-bound receptors, a growing body of evidence shows that IL-1α has some additional intracellular functions. We identified the interaction of IL-1α with the tumor suppressor p53 in the nuclei and cytoplasm of both malignant and noncancerous mammalian cell lines using immunoprecipitation and the in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA). This interaction was enhanced by treatment with the antineoplastic drug etoposide, which suggests a role for the IL-1α•p53 interaction in genotoxic stress.
How Monitor Characteristics Affect Human Perception in Visual Computer Experiments: CRT vs. LCD Monitors in Millisecond Precise Timing Research
Authors: Rohr Michaela , Wagner Alexander
Published: April 2020

Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors are nowadays standard in computerized visual presentation. However, when millisecond precise presentation is concerned, they have often yielded imprecise and unreliable presentation times, with substantial variation across specific models, making it difficult to know whether they can be used for precise vision experiments or not. The present paper intends to act as hands-on guide to set up an experiment requiring millisecond precise visual presentation with LCD monitors. It summarizes important characteristics relating to precise visual stimulus presentation, enabling researchers to transfer parameters reported for cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors to LCD monitors. More importantly, we provide empirical evidence from a preregistered study showing the suitability of LCD monitors for millisecond precise timing research. Using sequential testing, we conducted a masked number priming experiment using CRT and LCD monitors. Both monitor types yielded comparable results as indicated by Bayes factor favoring the null hypothesis of no difference between display types. More specifically, we found masked number priming under conditions of zero awareness with both types of monitor. Thus, the present study highlights the importance of hardware settings for empirical psychological research; inadequate settings might lead to more “noise” in results thereby concealing potentially existing effects.
Social Structure Predicts Eye Contact Tolerance in Nonhuman Primates: Evidence from a Crowd-Sourcing Approach
Authors: Harrod Ethan G. , Coe Christopher L. , Niedenthal Paula M.
Published: April 2020

In most primates, eye contact is an implicit signal of threat, and often connotes social status and imminent physical aggression. However, in humans and some of the gregarious nonhuman primates, eye contact is tolerated more and may be used to communicate other emotional and mental states. What accounts for the variation in this critical social cue across primate species? We crowd-sourced primatologists and found a strong linear relationship between eye contact tolerance and primate social structure such that eye contact tolerance increased as social structures become more egalitarian. In addition to constituting the first generalizable demonstration of this relationship, our findings serve to inform the related question of why eye contact is deferentially avoided in some human cultures, while eye contact is both frequent and even encouraged in others.
Automated measurement of hydrops ratio from MRI in patients with Ménière’s disease using CNN-based segmentation
Authors: Cho Young Sang , Cho Kyeongwon , Park Chae Jung , Chung Myung Jin , Kim Jong Hyuk , Kim Kyunga , Kim Yi-Kyung , Kim Hyung-Jin , Ko Jae-Wook , Cho Baek Hwan , Chung Won-Ho
Published: April 2020

Ménière’s Disease (MD) is difficult to diagnose and evaluate objectively over the course of treatment. Recently, several studies have reported MD diagnoses by MRI-based endolymphatic hydrops (EH) analysis. However, this method is time-consuming and complicated. Therefore, a fast, objective, and accurate evaluation tool is necessary. The purpose of this study was to develop an algorithm that can accurately analyze EH on intravenous (IV) gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced inner-ear MRI using artificial intelligence (AI) with deep learning. In this study, we developed a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deep-learning model named INHEARIT (INner ear Hydrops Estimation via ARtificial InTelligence) for the automatic segmentation of the cochlea and vestibule, and calculation of the EH ratio in the segmented region. Measurement of the EH ratio was performed manually by a neuro-otologist and neuro-radiologist and by estimation with the INHEARIT model and were highly consistent (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.971). This is the first study to demonstrate that automated EH ratio measurements are possible, which is important in the current clinical context where the usefulness of IV-Gd inner-ear MRI for MD diagnosis is increasing.
Accumulation mechanism of biofilm under different water shear forces along the networked pipelines in a drip irrigation system
Authors: Wang Tianzhi , Guo Zucheng , Shen Yaojie , Cui Zhimei , Goodwin Alex
Published: April 2020

The behavior of clogging has a close relationship with the biofilm attached on inner surface of the pipeline in a drip irrigation system using reclaimed water. Therefore, inhibiting biofilm growth is the key to completely addressing the clogging problem. Water shear forces play a vital role in the formation, development and detachment of biofilm. In order to find out the accumulation mechanism of biofilm under different water shear forces, this paper considered 8 different shear forces with a range of [0, 0.7]Pa on the inner surface of pipelines in drip irrigation systems using three kinds of reclaimed water. The results indicate that dry weight (DW), phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of biofilms show a S-type trend, the maximum contents were observed when τ was 0.2 Pa or 0. 35 Pa. Besides, the influence of water shear forces on biofilms is dual. The formation of biofilm is a dynamic stabilization process. When there is a relatively large shear force, it is favorable to the transport and renewal of microorganisms and nutrients. Meantime, the renewal speed of biofilms is also relatively fast. It is easy to form the biofilms with large surface and small thickness due to relatively high possibility of detachment. When the shear force is small, the transport speed of microorganisms and nutrients are limited, and the ability of microorganisms to secrete polysaccharides is reduced, which makes the nutrients needed for microbial growth insufficient and the adhesion between particles is also reduced, resulting in loose, unstable and an easily removed biofilm structure. After a comprehensive consideration of the dual influence, the critical controlling threshold of internal water shear force was obtained as [0, 0.20] ∪ [0.35, +∞] Pa. In addition, the growth model established in this paper can well describe the growth kinetics of attached biofilms, and provide theoretical reference for monitoring the occurrence of bio-clogging process in drip irrigation systems.
Cortical source localization of sleep-stage specific oscillatory activity
Authors: Brancaccio Arianna , Tabarelli Davide , Bigica Marco , Baldauf Daniel
Published: April 2020

The oscillatory features of non-REM sleep states have been a subject of intense research over many decades. However, a systematic spatial characterization of the spectral features of cortical activity in each sleep state is not available yet. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings during night sleep. We performed source reconstruction based on the individual subject’s anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and spectral analysis on each non-REM sleep epoch in eight standard frequency bands, spanning the complete spectrum, and computed cortical source reconstructions of the spectral contrasts between each sleep state in comparison to the resting wakefulness. Despite not distinguishing periods of high and low activity within each sleep stage, our results provide new information about relative overall spectral changes in the non-REM sleep stages.
Author Correction: MiRNA-target network analysis identifies potential biomarkers for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome development evaluation in hepatitis B caused liver cirrhosis
Authors: Liu Yamin , Wang Mei , Luo Yunquan , Chen Jian , Lu Yiyu , Shi Yulin , Tang Chenchen , Zhou Qianmei , Zhang Hui , Hu Yuanjia , Su Shibing , Chen Qilong
Published: April 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Baroreceptor denervation reduces inflammatory status but worsens cardiovascular collapse during systemic inflammation
Authors: Amorim Mateus R. , de Deus Júnia L. , Pereira Camila A. , da Silva Luiz E. V. , Borges Gabriela S. , Ferreira Nathanne S. , Batalhão Marcelo E. , Antunes-Rodrigues José , Carnio Evelin C. , Tostes Rita C. , Branco Luiz G. S.
Published: April 2020

Beyond the regulation of cardiovascular function, baroreceptor afferents play polymodal roles in health and disease. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition characterized by systemic inflammation (SI) and hemodynamic dysfunction. We hypothesized that baroreceptor denervation worsens lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced-hemodynamic collapse and SI in conscious rats. We combined: (a) hemodynamic and thermoregulatory recordings after LPS administration at a septic-like non-lethal dose (b) analysis of the cardiovascular complexity, (c) evaluation of vascular function in mesenteric resistance vessels, and (d) measurements of inflammatory cytokines (plasma and spleen). LPS-induced drop in blood pressure was higher in sino-aortic denervated (SAD) rats. LPS-induced hemodynamic collapse was associated with SAD-dependent autonomic disbalance. LPS-induced vascular dysfunction was not affected by SAD. Surprisingly, SAD blunted LPS-induced surges of plasma and spleen cytokines. These data indicate that baroreceptor afferents are key to alleviate LPS-induced hemodynamic collapse, affecting the autonomic control of cardiovascular function, without affecting resistance blood vessels. Moreover, baroreflex modulation of the LPS-induced SI and hemodynamic collapse are not dependent of each other given that baroreceptor denervation worsened hypotension and reduced SI.
Optimizing the Structural, Electrical and Thermoelectric Properties of Antimony Telluride Thin Films Deposited on Aluminum Nitride-coated Stainless Steel Foil
Authors: Ahmed Aziz , Han Seungwoo
Published: April 2020

In this study, we examined the thermoelectric (TE) properties of co-evaporated p-type antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films on aluminum nitride (AlN)-coated stainless steel foil substrates. We investigated the influence of composition and substrate temperature on the thin-film microstructure and transport properties, by varying the tellurium (Te) concentration in the thin films as well as the substrate temperature during deposition (room temperature (RT) and 300 °C). Thin films prepared with an RT substrate were further annealed at 264 °C to obtain crystallized thin films with high phase purity. Columnar thin films with large grains and a standard multi-oriented crystal structure were obtained when thin films were deposited on substrates heated to 300 °C. Thin films deposited at RT and subsequently annealed at 264 °C had a dense, layered microstructure, with a preferential c-axis or (00 l) texture as the compositions approached phase stoichiometry. The temperature dependence of the thermoelectric properties was measured, and variations were interpreted in terms of the deviation from stoichiometry and the obtained microstructure. A maximum power factor (PF) of 0.87 mW/m ∙ K2 was obtained for off-stoichiometric 65.0 at% Te thin film, which was the highest among the samples deposited at high substrate temperatures. A higher PF of 1.0 mW/m ∙ K2 was found for off-stoichiometric thin films with 64.5 at% Te, which was deposited at RT and subsequently annealed. The improvement of thermoelectric power in films containing excess Te could be related to energy dependent carrier scattering at the Sb2Te3/Te interface.
Analogies can speed up the motor learning process
Authors: Zacks Oryan , Friedman Jason
Published: April 2020

Analogies have been shown to improve motor learning in various tasks and settings. In this study we tested whether applying analogies can shorten the motor learning process and induce insight and skill improvement in tasks that usually demand many hours of practice. Kinematic measures were used to quantify participant’s skill and learning dynamics. For this purpose, we used a drawing task, in which subjects drew lines to connect dots, and a mirror game, in which subjects tracked a moving stimulus. After establishing a baseline, subjects were given an analogy, explicit instructions or no further instruction. We compared their improvement in skill (quantified by coarticulation or smoothness), accuracy and movement duration. Subjects in the analogy and explicit groups improved their coarticulation in the target task, while significant differences were found in the mirror game only at a slow movement frequency between analogy and controls.

We conclude that a verbal analogy can be a useful tool for rapidly changing motor kinematics and movement strategy in some circumstances, although in the tasks selected it did not produce better performance in most measurements than explicit guidance. Furthermore, we observed that different movement facets may improve independently from others, and may be selectively affected by verbal instructions. These results suggest an important role for the type of instruction in motor learning.
Premelting of ice adsorbed on a rock surface
Authors: Esteso V. , Carretero-Palacios S. , MacDowell L. G. , Fiedler Johannes , Parsons D. F. , Spallek F. , Míguez H. , Persson C. , Buhmann Stefan Yoshi , Brevik I. , Boström M.
Published: April 2020

Considering ice-premelting on a quartz rock surface (i.e. silica) we calculate the Lifshitz excess pressures in a four layer system with rock–ice–water–air.
Deep imaging for visualizing nitric oxide in lipid droplets: discovering the relationship between nitric oxide and resistance to cancer chemotherapy drugs
Authors: Ye Miantai , Hu Wei , He Meng , Li Chenchen , Zhai Shuyang , Liu Zhihong , Wang Yanying , Zhang Huijuan , Li Chunya
Published: April 2020

A near-infrared two-photon fluorescent probe for selective detection and deep-depth imaging of NO helps to discover the relationship between NO and resistance to antitumor drugs.
Gold nanorod-assisted near-infrared light-mediated regulation of membrane ion channels activates apoptotic pathways
Authors: Song Juan , Pan Jian-Bin , Zhao Wei , Chen Hong-Yuan , Xu Jing-Juan
Published: April 2020

We report a GNR-assisted NIR-activated tool that could open TRPV1 ion channels and regulate apoptotic protein expression, thereby inducing cell apoptosis.
Harnessing chemical exchange: 19F magnetic resonance OFF/ON zinc sensing with a Tm(iii) complex
Authors: Yu Meng , Xie Da , Kadakia Rahul T. , Wang Weiran , Que Emily L.
Published: April 2020

A Tm(iii) complex displays an “off–on” 19F NMR/MRI response to Zn(ii) upon tuning the chemical exchange rate.
Nickel-catalyzed hydrogen-borrowing strategy: chemo-selective alkylation of nitriles with alcohols
Authors: Bera Sourajit , Bera Atanu , Banerjee Debasis
Published: April 2020

A simple nickel-catalyst for the chemo-selective alkylation of acetonitrile derivatives with primary alcohols is reported. This sustainable process resulted in up to 90% yield and generates water as the by-product.
Atroposelective synthesis of configurationally stable nonbiaryl N–C atropisomers through direct asymmetric aminations of 1,3-benzenediamines
Authors: Wang Donglei , Jiang Qianwen , Yang Xiaoyu
Published: April 2020

An atroposelective synthesis of configurationally stable nonbiaryl N–C atropisomers through direct asymmetric aminations of 1,3-benzenediamines has been developed.
A novel sustainable metal organic framework as the ultimate aqueous phase sensor for natural hazards: detection of nitrobenzene and F− at the ppb level and rapid and selective adsorption of methylene blue
Authors: I. Mantasha , Shahid M. , Saleh Hatem A. M. , Qasem Khalil M. A. , Ahmad Musheer
Published: April 2020

A novel metal organic framework (MOF) exhibits good aqueous phase sensing properties towards nitrobenzene and fluoride anions and selective adsorption/separation ability for methylene blue.
Disorder-driven doping activation in organic semiconductors
Authors: Fediai Artem , Emering Anne , Symalla Franz , Wenzel Wolfgang
Published: April 2020

We have demonstrated that the ionization of weak dopants in organic semiconductors is a disorder-rather than a temperature-activated process.
Strain induced spin-splitting and half-metallicity in antiferromagnetic bilayer silicene under bending
Authors: Shi Jin-Lei , Wang Yunhua , Zhao Xing-Ju , Zhang Yu-Zhong , Yuan Shengjun , Wei Su-Huai , Zhang Dong-Bo
Published: April 2020

We propose a new approach to achieve half-metallicity in antiferromagnetic bilayer silicene through a new mechanism based on strain engineering, such as simple out-plane bending.
Theoretical rationalization for the equilibrium between (μ–η2:η2-peroxido)CuIICuII and bis(μ-oxido)CuIIICuIII complexes: perturbational effects from ligand frameworks
Authors: Abe Tsukasa , Shiota Yoshihito , Itoh Shinobu , Yoshizawa Kazunari
Published: April 2020

DFT calculations are carried out to investigate the geometric effects of the supporting ligands in the relative energies of the (μ–η2:η2-peroxido)CuIICuII complex 1 and the bis(μ-oxido)CuIIICuIII complex 2.
Thermophilic bio-electro CO2 recycling into organic compounds
Authors: Rovira-Alsina Laura , Perona-Vico Elisabet , Bañeras Lluís , Colprim Jesús , Balaguer M. Dolors , Puig Sebastià
Published: April 2020

Many industrial combustion processes produce carbon dioxide (CO2) at high temperature, which may be electrically recycled into valuable chemicals using microorganisms as catalysts.
CO2-switchable non-Newtonian fluids
Authors: Hao Xiang , Leng Zejian , Wang Hairong , Peng Feng , Yan Qiang
Published: April 2020

We report a new class of CO2-regulated non-Newtonian polymeric fluids that can switch between shear thinning and shear thickening states.
Bioinspired reconfiguration of 3D printed microfluidic hydrogels via automated manipulation of magnetic inks
Authors: Mansoorifar Amin , Tahayeri Anthony , Bertassoni Luiz E.
Published: April 2020

We proposed a novel concept for reconfiguration of hydrogel microfluidic devices, where multiple fluidic pathways could be generated via reversible manipulation of magnetic inks.
An NIR-II/MR dual modal nanoprobe for liver cancer imaging
Authors: Ren Ying , He Shuqing , Huttad Lakshmi , Chua Mei-Sze , So Samuel K. , Guo Qiyong , Cheng Zhen
Published: April 2020

We developed a dual-modality nanoprobe that can serve as a negative contrast agent for both MRI and NIR-II imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Multiple targeting strategies achieve novel protein drug delivery into proapoptosis lung cancer cells by precisely inhibiting survivin
Authors: Hu Fabiao , Yan Ting , Guo Wei , Liu Qiuli , Han Myong Hun , Liu Chang , Liu Yuping , Zheng Wenyun , You Fang , Yang Yi , Zhang Wenliang , Ma Xingyuan
Published: April 2020

Therapeutic recombinant proteins have numerous advantages and benefits over chemical drugs, particularly high specificity and good biocompatibility.
Blue emissive dimethylmethylene-bridged triphenylamine derivatives appending cross-linkable groups
Authors: Zhou Kangyu , Pan Hongfei , Zhang Yongjie , Wang Houchen , Dong Xiaofei , Ren Xiangkui , Li Xianggao , Wang Shirong , Chen Zhijian
Published: April 2020

Blue-emissive and cross-linkable dimethylmethylene-bridged triphenylamine derivatives were synthesized and their optical and electrochemical properties were investigated.
Controlling the liberation rate of the in situ release of a chemical fuel for the operationally autonomous motions of molecular machines
Authors: Biagini Chiara , Capocasa Giorgio , Del Giudice Daniele , Cataldi Valerio , Mandolini Luigi , Di Stefano Stefano
Published: April 2020

Aminolysis of the anhydride of 2-cyano-2-phenylpropanoic acid can be employed to conveniently regulate the liberation rate of the related acid which, in turn, can be used as a fuel for acid–base operated molecular machines.
Nitric oxide monooxygenation (NOM) reaction of cobalt-nitrosyl {Co(NO)}8to CoII-nitrito {CoII(NO2−)}: base induced hydrogen gas (H2) evolution
Authors: Das Sandip , Kulbir  , Ghosh Somnath , Chandra Sahoo Subash , Kumar Pankaj
Published: April 2020

Base-induced hydrogen (H2) gas evolution in the nitric oxide monoxygenation reaction.
Correction: Effect of molecular weight on the EUV-printability of main chain scission type polymers
Authors: Rathore Ashish , Pollentier Ivan , Singh Harpreet , Fallica Roberto , De Simone Danilo , De Gendt Stefan
Published: April 2020

Correction for ‘Effect of molecular weight on the EUV-printability of main chain scission type polymers’ by Ashish Rathore et al., J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020, DOI: 10.1039/c9tc06482f.
Biochemical and functional characterization of a mitochondrial citrate carrier in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Brito Danielle S. , Agrimi Gennaro , Charton Lennart , Brilhaus Dominik , Bitetto Maria Gabriella , Lana-Costa Jaciara , Messina Eugenia , Nascimento Carolina P. , Feitosa-Araújo Elias , Pires Marcel Viana , Pérez-Díaz Jorge Luis , Obata Toshihiro , Porcelli Vito , Palmieri Luigi , Araújo Wagner L. , Weber Andreas P.M. , Linka Nicole , Fernie Alisdair R. , Palmieri Ferdinando , Nunes-Nesi Adriano
Published: April 2020

A homolog of the mitochondrial succinate/fumarate carrier from yeast (Sfc1p) has been found in the Arabidopsis genome, named AtSFC1. The AtSFC1 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the gene product was purified and reconstituted in liposomes. Its transport properties and kinetic parameters demonstrated that AtSFC1 transports citrate, isocitrate and aconitate and, to a lesser extent, succinate and fumarate. This carrier catalyzes a fast counter-exchange transport as well as a low uniport of substrates, exhibits a higher transport affinity for tricarboxylates than dicarboxylates, and is inhibited by pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and other inhibitors of mitochondrial carriers to various degrees. Gene expression analysis indicated that the AtSFC1 transcript is mainly present in heterotrophic tissues, and fusion with a green-fluorescent protein localized AtSFC1 to the mitochondria. Furthermore, 35S-AtSFC1 antisense lines were generated and characterized at metabolic and physiological levels in different organs and at various developmental stages. Lower expression of AtSFC1 reduced seed germination and impaired radicle growth, a phenotype that was related to reduced respiration rate. These findings demonstrate that AtSFC1 might be involved in storage oil mobilization at the early stages of seedling growth and in nitrogen assimilation in root tissue by catalyzing citrate/isocitrate or citrate/succinate exchanges.
Effect of lysine acetylation on the regulation of Trypanosoma brucei glycosomal aldolase activity
Authors: Barbosa Leite Ariely , Severo Gomes Antoniel Augusto , de Castro Nascimento Sousa Ana Caroline , Roberto de Mattos Fontes Marcos , Schenkman Sergio , Silvio Moretti Nilmar
Published: April 2020

Post-translational modifications provide suitable mechanisms for cellular adaptation to environmental changes. Lysine acetylation is one of these modifications and occurs with the addition of an acetyl group to Nε-amino chain of this residue, eliminating its positive charge. Recently, we found distinct acetylation profiles of procyclic and bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei, the agent of African Trypanosomiasis. Interestingly, glycolytic enzymes were more acetylated in the procyclic, which develops in insects and uses oxidative phosphorylation to obtain energy, compared with the bloodstream form, whose main source of energy is glycolysis. Here, we investigated whether acetylation regulates the T. brucei fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. We found that aldolase activity was reduced in procyclic parasites cultivated in the absence of glucose and partial recovered by in vitro deacetylation. Similarly, acetylation of protein extracts from procyclics cultivated in glucose-rich medium, caused a reduction in the aldolase activity. In addition, aldolase acetylation levels were higher in procyclics cultivated in the absence of glucose compared with those cultivated in the presence of glucose. To further confirm the role of acetylation, lysine residues near the catalytic site were substituted by glutamine in recombinant T. brucei aldolase. These replacements, especially K157, inhibited enzymatic activity, changed the electrostatic surface potential, decrease substrate binding and modify the catalytic pocket structure of the enzyme, as predicted by in silico analysis. Taken together, these data confirm the role of acetylation in regulating the activity of an enzyme from the glycolytic pathway of T. brucei, expanding the factors responsible for regulating important pathways in this parasite.
Secondary‐side phase‐shifted full‐bridge converter with reset winding
Authors: Liu Wei , Zhao Qinglin , Wang Deyu , Li Kunlun , Wang Yujie
Published: April 2020

A resonant inductor and two clamping diodes are introduced into the secondary phase shift full‐bridge converter (SPS‐FBC), which can well suppress voltage spike across the rectifiers. However, the resonant inductor and two clamping diodes will bring some other problems. In this study, an auxiliary winding in series with the resonant inductor is added to the SPS‐FBC to reset the clamp diode current rapidly. The auxiliary winding not only reduces the circulation losses of the switches and the clamping diodes, but also makes the clamping diodes naturally turn‐off and avoids the reverse recovery even when the output filter inductance and magnetising inductance are relatively large. The principle of operation and performance are illustrated and verified on a 1.5 kW experimental circuit. In addition, the efficiency and losses of the converters with/without reset winding are compared and analysed. The efficiency of the converter with reset winding is significantly improved over the entire operating range and the peak efficiency is 96.60% at full load.
SISAR imaging for space debris based on nanosatellites
Authors: Theodorou Ilias , Ilioudis Christos , Clemente Carmine , Vasile Massimiliano , Soraghan John
Published: April 2020

The increasing amount of space debris poses a growing challenge in the development of space travel. In previous work, a proposed system comprising of a low budget space‐borne passive radar based on CubeSAT, flying in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), demonstrated promising results in terms of space debris detection performance. In this work, a novel shadow inverse synthetic aperture radar (SISAR) model for space debris imaging based on nanosatellite is presented. An analysis of the received forward scattering signal is provided along with a novel model for moving transmitters and receivers SISAR imaging. Using simulated data and assuming different scenarios, the performance of the new algorithm is assessed; wherein, a classification scheme is applied using the output of the SISAR algorithm for classification between simple target shapes.
Atomic clock modelling augmenting time and frequency transfer using carrier phase observation
Authors: Zhang Pengfei , Tu Rui , Gao Yuping , Zhang Rui
Published: April 2020

The carrier phase (CP) technique based on the global positioning system is a widely applied spatial tool for precise time and frequency transfer. However, the traditional CP technique considers the receiver clock offset to be a white noise stochastic process, which introduces unknown errors into the model and thereby compromises time and frequency transfer performance. To improve the performance of the traditional CP technique, an atomic clock modelling CP time transfer (AMCP) method is proposed. A first‐order, one variable grey model is employed to establish the receiver clock offset forecast model for the formation of prior information. The results show that the AMCP approach, which uses an atomic clock correlation between nearby epochs, outperformed the traditional CP technique. The noise level of the AMCP solution was improved by 7.7% for the NTSC–PT11 link, and the improvement for the other three time links were all ∼2.0%. The average improvement of the absolute jumps in the day‐boundary discontinuities was ∼13.1%. Additionally, the frequency stability of the AMCP solution was improved, and the mean improvement was 10.2, 12.0, 10.7, and 8.3% for TLT4–PT11, USN9–PT11, WAB2–PT11, and NTSC–PT11, respectively.
Feature extraction from multifractal spectrum of electromyograms for diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders
Authors: Chatterjee Soumya , Singha Roy Sayanjit , Bose Rohit , Pratiher Sawon
Published: April 2020

In this contribution, a novel technique for discrimination of myopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and healthy electromyograms is proposed using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Electromyograms are aperiodic and non‐stationary electrical signals which represent the complex dynamics of skeletal muscle tissues and nerve cells activities within the human body. In this study, non‐linear and dynamic fluctuations of noisy and chaotic electromyograms are analysed using fractal geometry. Electromyography (EMG) signals of myopathy, ALS and healthy disorders were collected from an online existing database and the non‐linear dynamics were initially characterised using multifractal DFA. Following this, five novel feature parameters were extracted from the multifractal spectrum of respective EMG signals. Analysis of variance test was conducted on the selected features to examine their statistical significance. Finally, classification of myopathy, ALS and healthy electromyograms was done using support vector machine and k‐nearest neighbour classifiers. In this study, four classification tasks are reported and it was observed that the performance of the proposed method is reasonably satisfactory in discriminating different categories of electromyograms. In addition, the proposed method is also found to deliver comparable and even better results in comparison with the existing methods, studied on the same data set.