bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Greybacks
Authors: Hart Keith
Published: January 2018

Based on his first fieldwork in Ghana in the 1960s, the author recounts a story of being offered Confederate US banknotes for conversion, and uses this story to recount how he funded his initial period of anthropological research through money changing and money lending. He made quite a good living this way, so much so that he began to feel guilty about amassing such wealth. So, he spread it around, hiring research assistants. Instead of discharging the debt he felt he owed, however, this only increased it, as he became positioned as a big man who was expected to redistribute wealth to the people. Such grey zones in fieldwork spotlight the ethical quandaries of credit, debt and money in the anthropological encounter as well as in the making of the modern world.
Energy in Prehistory
Authors: Smil Vaclav
Published: January 2018

This chapter discusses the use of energy during prehistoric times. Our direct ancestors spent their lives as simple foragers, and it was only about 10,000 years ago that the first small populations of our species began a sedentary existence based on the domestication of plants and animals. This means that for millions of years, the foraging strategies of hominins resembled those of their primate ancestors, but we now have isotopic evidence from East Africa that by about 3.5 million years ago hominin diets began to diverge from those of extant apes. The chapter first considers how bipedalism started a cascade of enormous evolutionary adjustments such as adaptations underlying tool use and adaptation to high-quality, energy-dense foods (meat, nuts) before providing an overview of foraging societies and the origins of agriculture.
Traditional Farming
Authors: Smil Vaclav
Published: January 2018

This chapter discusses the use of energy in traditional farming. The evolution of agriculture appears to be a continuing effort to increase land productivity (to increase digestible energy yield) in order to accommodate larger populations. Owing to the overwhelmingly vegetarian diets of all traditional peasant societies, it is important to focus on the output of digestible energy produced in staple crops in general and grains in particular. The chapter first provides an overview of the link between food energy and the evolution of peasant societies before considering the commonalities and peculiarities of tools and machines used in agronomic practices. It then examines the dominance of grains in traditional agriculture, with particular emphasis on their energy density and nutritional content. It also analyzes routes to gradual intensification of agriculture, along with the persistence and innovation in traditional farming practices. Finally, it assesses the limits and achievements of traditional agriculture.
Preindustrial Prime Movers and Fuels
Authors: Smil Vaclav
Published: January 2018

This chapter discusses the prime movers and fuels that drove advances in manufacturing techniques, including those in metallurgy, in preindustrial societies. Some of the conversions involving prime movers and fuels helped energize the initial stages of modern industrialization. Two principal roads led to higher outputs and better efficiencies: multiplication of small forces, especially with the application of animate energy, and technical innovation, which introduced new energy conversions or increased the efficiencies of established processes. The chapter first considers the kinds, capacities, and limits of all traditional prime movers—human and animal muscles, wind, and water—as well as the combustion of phytomass fuels, mostly wood and charcoal made from it, before analyzing the uses of prime movers and fuels in critical segments of traditional economies: food preparation, provision of heat and light, land and waterborne transportation, construction, and color and ferrous metallurgy.
Energy in World History
Authors: Smil Vaclav
Published: January 2018

This chapter discusses the place of energy in world history. It examines historical milestones—such as the rise of larger populations organized with greater social complexity into nation-states and supranational collectives, and enjoying a higher quality of life—in terms of dominant energy sources and leading prime movers, as well as the most important socioeconomic consequences of these technical changes. It also considers grand patterns in the consumption of energy throughout history, focusing on the long-term relationship between human accomplishments and dominant energy sources and changing prime movers in terms of energy eras and transitions. Finally, it outlines trends that have accompanied the growth of unit power of inanimate prime movers and the accumulation of their total capacity; transformations of the fossil-fuel era including new structures of social relations; imperatives of energy needs and uses; and the importance of harnessing energies and controlling their conversion to supply.
Imagining
Authors: Hutto Daniel D. , Myin Erik
Published: January 2018

Chapter 8 challenges the standard assumption that all imagination must be representational by showing that it is easier to understand the most fundamental kind of imaginings in terms of perceptual re-enactments that are wholly interactive and non-contentful in character. Combining REC with Material Engagement Theory, MET, it is revealed how basic, non-contentful imaginings might acquire their anticipatory and interactional profiles through embodied engagements with worldly offerings. Building on Langland-Hassan’s analysis of imaginative attitudes, the chapter goes on to develop a REC friendly hybrid account of nonbasic imaginings. Accordingly, the specific content and correctness conditions of nonbasic, hybrid imaginative attitudes arise from a combination of contentless sensory imaginings and the surrounding contentful attitudes of imaginers. It is argued that such hybrid states of mind have the right properties for explaining the many and varied kinds of cognitive work that imaginings do for us in our daily lives.
Animal Tracks: Affect, Aesthetics, Ethics
Authors: Neumark Norie
Published: January 2018

In this chapter the author listens through new materialism to animals’ voices in various art assemblages. Theoretically, ethically, and politically, new materialism opens up a recognition of the specificity, singularity and entanglements of animals voices with others. The author brings a range of works into conversation with theories of affect, attunement, assemblage; becoming-animal and ventriloquism. The chapter traverses an enchanted terrain in which animal voices speak themselves and speak a variety of relationships with people, animals and things, in and out of assemblages. These voices in media and art works speak to and with animal studies and new materialism, bringing forth understandings that are enchanting, engaging, disturbing, and curious.
Response Functions
Authors: Neander Karen
Published: January 2018

Supporters of standard teleosemantics argue that informational teleosemantics turns teleosemantics on its head, because functions are effects but a representation’s information relations concern its causes. In chapter 6, the author responds to this influential objection by explaining that, while functions must involve effects, this is not to the exclusion of triggering causes. According to the etiological theory, which is employed by most proponents of teleosemantics, functions are (roughly speaking) selected effects; however, they can also be selected dispositions or selected causal roles, and so can involve inputs as well as outputs. The author explains that there are response functions (functions to do something in response to something), that sensory-perceptual systems have them, and so can have information-processing functions, at least given a simple causal analysis of information. This clears the path for the causal-informational version of teleosemantics, which ties the contents of (nonconceptual) sensory-perceptual representations to their normal causes, as opposed to the so-called Normal conditions for their use.
Causally Driven Analogs
Authors: Neander Karen
Published: January 2018

In chapter 8, the author brings causal, teleosemantic and resemblance theories of content together by extending CT (as presented in chapter 7) to explain how homomorphism (more specifically, analog relations, or second-order similarity relations) can play a content-constitutive role. While the idea that some systems have the function to model the world might explain why a natural representational system counts as a representational system, it is neutral between iconic mental representation and a more language-like version of Mentalese. The author then addresses traditional objections to resemblance theories of content, to show how they can now be met. She argues that sensory-perceptual systems can have functions to produce inner state changes that are caused by and the analogs of their contents, and that this casts light on the intuitive appeal of resemblance theories of mental representation, and that it permits some sensory-perceptual simples to represent novel and non-existent contents. Chapter 8 also addresses the fourth and fifth content-determinacy challenges: why does R have the content there’s C and not there’s Q, when (iv) C is a determinate of Q, or (v) C is a determinable for Q? In the last few sections, Berkeley’s problem of abstraction and two contemporary strategies for its solution are discussed, insofar as it concerns the representation of perceptible properties (e.g., shape and color).
The Colonizer in the Computer: Stasis and International Control in PA Maps
Authors: Bier Jess
Published: January 2018

Chapter 4, “The Colonizer in the Computer”, is an examination of how the colonial past and present can affect maps. The Palestinian Authority (PA), the provisional Palestinian government, was founded in the mid-1990s, and they were immediately charged with making their own maps. Their efforts roughly coincided with the second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation. As such it was part of the broader political practice of sumud, or steadfastness, an effort to further the ongoing presence of Palestinians in the local landscape. Throughout their early years, however, the PA experienced constant challenges to its stability, including military raids on its offices and data infrastructure. These affected its ability to build stasis, which is here defined as the ability to ‘stay put’. Furthermore, the only existing maps they had to work with were from 60 year-old British colonial sources. These two factors, the Israeli raids and the British colonial maps, fundamentally shaped the state maps made by the PA. As a result, their maps were less useful for purposes of daily governance like elections, utilities, and infrastructure. PA cartography therefore illustrates the both the challenges and innovations of establishing material sovereignty over knowledge in colonial and postcolonial landscapes.
A Dual Economy
Authors: Temin Peter
Published: January 2018

This chapter explains the dual economy model, emphasizing Lewis’ assertion that the richer sector tries to keep down earnings in the poorer sector. The modern richer sector is the FTE (finance, technology and electronics) sector, containing twenty percent of the population whose incomes have risen rapidly since 1970. The low-wage sector is much larger, but has experienced stagnant earnings since 1970. The middle class is vanishing, and the American distribution of income looks like a two-humped camel. Transition from the low-wage sector is by education, which the FTE sector makes increasingly difficult by reducing funding for public schools and universities.
American Cities
Authors: Temin Peter
Published: January 2018

The United States has a dual residential system; the FTE sector lives in wealthy suburbs, and the low-wage sector lives in inner cities. Urban services are old and deteriorating. City schools are old, city planners concentrated poor people in tall buildings, and public transportation is neglected. Insufficiently maintained tall buildings destroy social capital, and poor public transportation keeps low-wage workers from good jobs. Residential segregation has increased, leading to segregated schools and neighborhoods; support for inner cities is presented as helping African Americans and Latinos. The FTE sector has little personal contact with inner city problems, and does not support taxes to solve them.
Frameworks for Technology and Communities of Alterity
Authors: Lingel Jessa
Published: January 2018

This chapter provides the theoretical architecture for the remaining chapters. I start by outlining dominant narratives surrounding the internet as a way of setting up the countercultural narratives to follow. I describe the three-part framework anchoring this book: flexibility, legibility and authenticity.
“Toxic Culture”: The Spectrum and Origins of Resigned Activism
Authors: Lora-Wainwright Anna
Published: January 2018

Chapter 3 begins to flesh out the contours of resigned activism through the case of Baocun village, a major site for phosphorous mining and fertiliser production. It shows how industrialisation deeply diversified the local population, ranging from poor migrants to wealthy business owners and bore unequal effects on them: while some are better positioned to take advantage of opportunities, others suffer a precarious existence affected by socio-economic marginality and the slow violence of environmental health harm. It focuses most closely on unfolding processes of resignation among the migrant population—who stand to suffer the most from pollution—and poor locals. The chapter illustrates how financial dependence on polluting activities is a form of “disaffective labour” (cf. Hardt 1999) which pushes migrant workers and poor locals to take pollution and their precarious position for granted. They regard toxicity as a part of the natural environment and environmental afflictions on the body as “normal”. In this context, the value of life and parameters to define it are slowly but firmly altered.
Conclusion
Authors: Lora-Wainwright Anna
Published: January 2018

The conclusion draws comparisons across the three sites and it highlights common dynamics and processes, such as the normalisation of pollution, moulding of new parameters of health and new expectations for a “good life.” It closes by returning to the main themes of the book and to their implications for the social science study of environmentalism and of contemporary China. It reflects on the wider global responsibility for the forms of pollution and suffering described, and on the importance of looking beyond conventional forms of activism and of taking local contexts seriously. It puts forth some suggestions for how academics might contribute to empowering communities affected by pollution.
Symbols: The Cognitivist Hypothesis
Authors: Varela Francisco J. , Thompson Evan , Rosch Eleanor
Published: January 2018

This chapter explores cognitivism and the cognitivist hypothesis. The central intuition behind cognitivism is that intelligence—human intelligence included—so resembles computation in its essential characteristics that cognition can actually be defined as computations of symbolic representations. The cognitivist argument is that intelligent behavior presupposes the ability to represent the world as being certain ways. Another cognitivist claim is that the only way one can account for intelligence and intentionality is to hypothesize that cognition consists of acting on the basis of representations that are physically realized in the form of a symbolic code in the brain or a machine. Ultimately, the cognitivist hypothesis entails a very strong claim about the relations between syntax and semantics.
Selfless Minds
Authors: Varela Francisco J. , Thompson Evan , Rosch Eleanor
Published: January 2018

This chapter looks at Marvin Minsky's and Seymour Papert's recent proposal to study the mind as a society, which takes the patchwork architecture of cognition as a central element. Minsky and Papert present a view in which minds consist of many “agents” whose abilities are quite circumscribed: each agent taken individually operates only in a microworld of small-scale or “toy” problems. This model of the mind as a society of numerous agents is intended to encompass a multiplicity of approaches to the study of cognition, ranging from distributed, self-organizing networks to the classical, cognitivist conception of localized, serial symbolic processing. The society of mind purports to be, then, something of a middle way in present cognitive science. This middle way challenges a homogenous model of the mind, whether in the form of distributed networks at one extreme or symbolic processers at the other extreme.
The Cartesian Anxiety
Authors: Varela Francisco J. , Thompson Evan , Rosch Eleanor
Published: January 2018

This chapter examines directly the feeling that arises when one senses that one can no longer trust the world as a fixed and stable reference point. The nervousness that one feels is rooted in “the Cartesian anxiety.” The anxiety is best put as a dilemma: either one has a fixed and stable foundation for knowledge, or one cannot escape some sort of darkness, chaos, and confusion. Ultimately, this feeling of anxiety arises from the craving for an absolute ground. When this craving cannot be satisfied, the only other possibility seems to be nihilism or anarchy. The search for a ground can take many forms, but given the basic logic of representationism, the tendency is to search either for an outer ground in the world or an inner ground in the mind. By treating mind and world as opposed subjective and objective poles, the Cartesian anxiety oscillates endlessly between the two in search of a ground.
Targeting RAS-driven human cancer cells with antibodies to upregulated and essential cell-surface proteins
Authors: Martinko Alexander J , Truillet Charles , Julien Olivier , Diaz Juan E , Horlbeck Max A , Whiteley Gordon , Blonder Josip , Weissman Jonathan S , Bandyopadhyay Sourav , Evans Michael J , Wells James A
Published: January 2018

While there have been tremendous efforts to target oncogenic RAS signaling from inside the cell, little effort has focused on the cell-surface. Here, we used quantitative surface proteomics to reveal a signature of proteins that are upregulated on cells transformed with KRASG12V, and driven by MAPK pathway signaling. We next generated a toolkit of recombinant antibodies to seven of these RAS-induced proteins. We found that five of these proteins are broadly distributed on cancer cell lines harboring RAS mutations. In parallel, a cell-surface CRISPRi screen identified integrin and Wnt signaling proteins as critical to RAS-transformed cells. We show that antibodies targeting CDCP1, a protein common to our proteomics and CRISPRi datasets, can be leveraged to deliver cytotoxic and immunotherapeutic payloads to RAS-transformed cancer cells and report for RAS signaling status in vivo. Taken together, this work presents a technological platform for attacking RAS from outside the cell.
Crk proteins transduce FGF signaling to promote lens fiber cell elongation
Authors: Collins Tamica N , Mao Yingyu , Li Hongge , Bouaziz Michael , Hong Angela , Feng Gen-Sheng , Wang Fen , Quilliam Lawrence A , Chen Lin , Park Taeju , Curran Tom , Zhang Xin
Published: January 2018

Specific cell shapes are fundamental to the organization and function of multicellular organisms. Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) signaling induces the elongation of lens fiber cells during vertebrate lens development. Nonetheless, exactly how this extracellular FGF signal is transmitted to the cytoskeletal network has previously not been determined. Here, we show that the Crk family of adaptor proteins, Crk and Crkl, are required for mouse lens morphogenesis but not differentiation. Genetic ablation and epistasis experiments demonstrated that Crk and Crkl play overlapping roles downstream of FGF signaling in order to regulate lens fiber cell elongation. Upon FGF stimulation, Crk proteins were found to interact with Frs2, Shp2 and Grb2. The loss of Crk proteins was partially compensated for by the activation of Ras and Rac signaling. These results reveal that Crk proteins are important partners of the Frs2/Shp2/Grb2 complex in mediating FGF signaling, specifically promoting cell shape changes.
EU protected area network did not prevent a country wide population decline in a threatened grassland bird
Authors: Silva João P. , Correia Ricardo , Alonso Hany , Martins Ricardo C. , D’Amico Marcello , Delgado Ana , Sampaio Hugo , Godinho Carlos , Moreira Francisco
Published: January 2018

Background

Few studies have assessed the effectiveness of the Protected Area networks on the conservation status of target species. Here, we assess the effectiveness of the Portuguese Natura 2000 (the European Union network of protected areas) in maintaining a species included in the Annex I of the Bird Directive, namely the population of a priority farmland bird, the little bustard Tetrax tetrax.

Methods

We measured the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 by comparing population trends across time (2003–2006 and 2016) in 51 areas, 21 of which within 12 Special Protection Areas (SPA) that were mostly designated for farmland bird conservation and another 30 areas without EU protection.

Results

Overall, the national population is estimated to have declined 49% over the last 10–14 years. This loss was found to be proportionally larger outside SPA (64% decline) compared to losses within SPA (25% decline). However, the absolute male density decline was significantly larger within SPA .

Discussion

In spite of holding higher population densities and having prevented habitat loss, we conclude that Natura 2000 was not effective in buffering against the overall bustard population decline. Results show that the mere designation of SPA in farmland is not enough to secure species populations and has to be combined with agricultural policies and investment to maintain not only habitat availability but also habitat quality.
The importance of local settings: within-year variability in seawater temperature at South Bay, Western Antarctic Peninsula
Authors: Cárdenas César A. , González-Aravena Marcelo , Santibañez Pamela A.
Published: January 2018

The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) has undergone significant changes in air and seawater temperatures during the last 50 years. Although highly stenotherm Antarctic organisms are expected to be severely affected by the increase of seawater temperature, high-resolution datasets of seawater temperature within coastal areas of the WAP (where diverse marine communities have been reported) are not commonly available. Here we report on within-year (2016–2017) variation in seawater temperature at three sites on Doumer Island, Palmer Archipelago, WAP. Within a year, Antarctic organisms in South Bay were exposed to water temperatures in excess of 2 °C for more than 25 days and 2.5 °C for more than 10 days. We recorded a temperature range between −1.7° to 3.0 °C. Warming of seawater temperature was 3.75 times faster after October 2016 than it was before October. Results from this study indicate that organisms at South Bay are already exposed to temperatures that are being used in experimental studies to evaluate physiological responses to thermal stress in WAP organisms. Continuous measurements of short to long-term variability in seawater temperature provides important information for parametrizing meaningful experimental treatments that aim to assess the local effects of environmental variation on Antarctic organisms under future climate scenarios.
An Intraseasonal Variability in CO2 Over the Arctic Induced by the Madden‐Julian Oscillation
Authors: Li King‐Fai
Published: January 2018

Variability of atmospheric CO2 must be well understood for us to better characterize the anthropogenic CO2 release from the surface. A previous study revealed the influence of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) to tropical midtropospheric CO2 via convection. In this work, the observations by NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder are used to further examine the MJO impact on the CO2 concentration over the Arctic. A composite analysis shows that the CO2 north of 60°N varies with a peak‐to‐peak amplitude of 1.2 ± 0.2 ppm over the MJO cycle. An empirical correlation analysis is applied to examine possible effects of retrieval bias and dynamics on the MJO‐related CO2 anomalies. It is shown that the spatial pattern of the MJO‐related Arctic CO2 anomalies closely resembles that of the isentropic potential vorticity anomalies at 475 K.
Comment on “Modeling Extreme “Carrington‐Type” Space Weather Events Using Three‐Dimensional Global MHD Simulations” by C. M. Ngwira, A. Pulkkinen, M. M. Kuznetsova, and A. Glocer”
Authors: Tsurutani Bruce T. , Lakhina Gurbax S. , Echer Ezequiel , Hajra Rajkumar , Nayak Chinmaya , Mannucci Anthony J. , Meng Xing
Published: January 2018

An alternative scenario to the Ngwira et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JA019661) high sheath densities is proposed for modeling the Carrington magnetic storm. Typical slow solar wind densities (~5 cm−3) and lower interplanetary magnetic cloud magnetic field intensities (~90 nT) can be used to explain the observed initial and main phase storm features. A second point is that the fast storm recovery may be explained by ring current losses due to electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave scattering.
A Mathematical Model of Melt Lake Development on an Ice Shelf
Authors: Buzzard S. C. , Feltham D. L. , Flocco D.
Published: January 2018

The accumulation of surface meltwater on ice shelves can lead to the formation of melt lakes. Melt lakes have been implicated in ice shelf collapse; Antarctica's Larsen B Ice Shelf was observed to have a large amount of surface melt lakes present preceding its collapse in 2002. Such collapse can affect ocean circulation and temperature, cause habitat loss and contribute to sea level rise through the acceleration of tributary glaciers. We present a mathematical model of a surface melt lake on an idealized ice shelf. The model incorporates a calculation of the ice shelf surface energy balance, heat transfer through the firn, the production and percolation of meltwater into the firn, the formation of ice lenses, and the development and refreezing of surface melt lakes. The model is applied to the Larsen C Ice Shelf, where melt lakes have been observed. This region has warmed several times the global average over the last century and the Larsen C firn layer could become saturated with meltwater by the end of the century. When forced with weather station data, our model produces surface melting, meltwater accumulation, and melt lake development consistent with observations. We examine the sensitivity of lake formation to uncertain parameters and provide evidence of the importance of processes such as lateral meltwater transport. We conclude that melt lakes impact surface melt and firn density and warrant inclusion in dynamic‐thermodynamic models of ice shelf evolution within climate models, of which our model could form the basis for the thermodynamic component.
A Computational Fluid‐Dynamics Assessment of the Improved Performance of Aerodynamic Rain Gauges
Authors: Colli Matteo , Pollock Michael , Stagnaro Mattia , Lanza Luca G. , Dutton Mark , O'Connell Enda
Published: January 2018

The airflow surrounding any catching‐type rain gauge when impacted by wind is deformed by the presence of the gauge body, resulting in the acceleration of wind above the orifice of the gauge, which deflects raindrops and snowflakes away from the collector (the wind‐induced undercatch). The method of mounting a gauge with the collector at or below the level of the ground, or the use of windshields to mitigate this effect, is often not practicable. The physical shape of a gauge has a significant impact on its collection efficiency. In this study, we show that appropriate “aerodynamic” shapes are able to reduce the deformation of the airflow, which can reduce undercatch. We have employed computational fluid‐dynamic simulations to evaluate the time‐averaged airflow realized around “aerodynamic” rain gauge shapes when impacted by wind. Terms of comparison are provided by the results obtained for two standard “conventional” rain gauge shapes. The simulations have been run for different wind speeds and are based on a time‐averaged Reynolds‐Averaged Navier‐Stokes model. The shape of the aerodynamic gauges is shown to have a positive impact on the time‐averaged airflow patterns observed around the orifice compared to the conventional shapes. Furthermore, the turbulent air velocity fields for the aerodynamic shapes present “recirculating” structures, which may improve the particle‐catching capabilities of the gauge collector.
Addressing Spatial Dependence Bias in Climate Model Simulations—An Independent Component Analysis Approach
Authors: Nahar Jannatun , Johnson Fiona , Sharma Ashish
Published: January 2018

Conventional bias correction is usually applied on a grid‐by‐grid basis, meaning that the resulting corrections cannot address biases in the spatial distribution of climate variables. To solve this problem, a two‐step bias correction method is proposed here to correct time series at multiple locations conjointly. The first step transforms the data to a set of statistically independent univariate time series, using a technique known as independent component analysis (ICA). The mutually independent signals can then be bias corrected as univariate time series and back‐transformed to improve the representation of spatial dependence in the data. The spatially corrected data are then bias corrected at the grid scale in the second step. The method has been applied to two CMIP5 General Circulation Model simulations for six different climate regions of Australia for two climate variables—temperature and precipitation. The results demonstrate that the ICA‐based technique leads to considerable improvements in temperature simulations with more modest improvements in precipitation. Overall, the method results in current climate simulations that have greater equivalency in space and time with observational data.
Oxygen‐Generating MnO2 Nanodots‐Anchored Versatile Nanoplatform for Combined Chemo‐Photodynamic Therapy in Hypoxic Cancer
Authors: Zhang Wentao , Li Sihang , Liu Xinnan , Yang Chengyuan , Hu Na , Dou Leina , Zhao Bingxin , Zhang Qinying , Suo Yourui , Wang Jianlong
Published: January 2018

Local hypoxia in tumors results in undesirable impediments for the efficiencies of oxygen‐dependent chemical and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, a versatile oxygen‐generating and pH‐responsive nanoplatform is developed by loading MnO2 nanodots onto the nanosystem that encapsulates g‐C3N4 and doxorubicin hydrochloride to overcome the hypoxia‐caused resistance in cancer therapy. The loaded MnO2 nanodots can react with endogenous acidic H2O2 to elevate the dissolved oxygen concentration, leading to considerably enhanced cancer therapy efficacy. As such, the as‐prepared nanoplatform with excellent dispersibility and satisfactory biocompatibility can sustainably increase the oxygen concentration and rapidly release the encapsulated drugs in acid H2O2 environment. In vitro cytotoxicity experiments show a higher therapy effect by the designed nanoplatform, when compared to therapy without MnO2 nanodots under hypoxia condition, or chemical and photodynamic therapy alone with the presence of MnO2 nanodots. In vivo experiments also demonstrate that 4T1 tumors can be very efficiently eliminated by the designed nanoplatform under light irradiation. These results highlight that the MnO2 nanodots‐based nanoplatform is promising for elevating the oxygen level in tumor microenvironments to overcome hypoxia limitations for high‐performance cancer therapy.
Engineering 3D Hydrogels for Personalized In Vitro Human Tissue Models
Authors: Liaw Chya‐Yan , Ji Shen , Guvendiren Murat
Published: January 2018

There is a growing interest in engineering hydrogels for 3D tissue and disease models. The major motivation is to better mimic the physiological microenvironment of the disease and human condition. 3D tissue models derived from patients' own cells can potentially revolutionize the way treatment and diagnostic alternatives are developed. This requires development of tissue mimetic hydrogels with user defined and tunable properties. In this review article, a recent summary of 3D hydrogel platforms for in vitro tissue and disease modeling is given. Hydrogel design considerations and available hydrogel systems are summarized, followed by the types of currently available hydrogel models, such as bulk hydrogels, porous scaffolds, fibrous scaffolds, hydrogel microspheres, hydrogel sandwich systems, microwells, and 3D bioprinted constructs. Although hydrogels are utilized for a wide range of tissue models, this article focuses on liver and cancer models. This article also provides a detailed section on current challenges and future perspectives of hydrogel‐based tissue models.
Quinoline‐Flanked Diketopyrrolopyrrole Copolymers Breaking through Electron Mobility over 6 cm2 V−1 s−1 in Flexible Thin Film Devices
Authors: Ni Zhenjie , Dong Huanli , Wang Hanlin , Ding Shang , Zou Ye , Zhao Qiang , Zhen Yonggang , Liu Feng , Jiang Lang , Hu Wenping
Published: January 2018

Herein, the design and synthesis of novel π‐extended quinoline‐flanked diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) [abbreviated as QDPP] motifs and corresponding copolymers named PQDPP‐T and PQDPP‐2FT for high performing n‐type organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) in flexible organic thin film devices are reported. Serving as DPP‐flankers in backbones, quinoline is found to effectively tune copolymer optoelectric properties. Compared with TDPP and pyridine‐flanked DPP (PyDPP) analogs, widened bandgaps and strengthened electron deficiency are achieved. Moreover, both hole and electron mobility are improved two orders of magnitude compared to those of PyDPP analogs (PPyDPP‐T and PPyDPP‐2FT). Notably, featuring an all‐acceptor‐incorporated backbone, PQDPP‐2FT exhibits electron mobility of 6.04 cm2 V−1 s−1, among the highest value in OFETs fabricated on flexible substrates to date. Moreover, due to the widened bandgap and strengthened electron deficiency of PQDPP, n‐channel on/off ratio over 105 with suppressed hole transport is first realized in the ambipolar DPP‐based copolymers.
Evaluating Gold and Selenium Chemistry for Selective Transformations of Lignin Model Compounds
Authors: Santos Wagner C. C. , Dias Kevin A. , Santos Leidaiany P. , Kisukuri Camila M. , Rodrigues Thenner S. , Geonmonond Rafael S. , Camargo Pedro H. C. , Andrade Leandro H.
Published: January 2018

Applications of gold and selenium chemistry are reported as novel approaches to promote lignin depolymerization into more valuable chemicals via selective oxidation reactions (alcohol oxidations and Baeyer‐Villiger reactions). In this study, we proposed two different oxidative methodologies using Au/SiO2 and phenylseleninic acid resin (PAR) as stable and reusable catalysts to promote selective transformations of the β‐O‐4 linkage of lignin model compounds. After evaluating the catalytic systems under batch conditions, they were both applied in a packed‐bed reactor for continuous flow operations. By using Au/SiO2 as a catalyst under flow conditions, ketones were efficiently obtained (up to 86% conversion) from the oxidation of alcohols with a residence time (tR) of 30 min. In the case of Baeyer‐Villiger oxidations catalyzed by phenylseleninic acid resin, the corresponding esters were obtained in up to 91% conversion (tR=30 min). Both systems efficiently catalyzed the conversion of the lignin model compounds.

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AIBN‐Initiated Denitrative Cross‐Coupling Reactions of β‐Nitrostyrenes with Sulfonyl Hydrazides/Disulfides: A Metal‐free Approach towards Vinyl Sulfones
Authors: Kumar Saurabh , Singh Rahul , Singh Krishna Nand
Published: January 2018

A practical approach involving denitrative coupling of β‐nitrostyrenes and sulfonyl hydrazides/disulfides by AIBN (azobisisobutyronitrile) has been developed to accomplish the synthesis of vinyl sulfones. The method employs easily accessible starting materials, and is endowed with a broad substrate scope and functional group tolerance.
Relationship between body mass, lean mass, fat mass, and limb bone cross‐sectional geometry: Implications for estimating body mass and physique from the skeleton
Authors: Pomeroy Emma , Macintosh Alison , Wells Jonathan C.K. , Cole Tim J. , Stock Jay T.
Published: January 2018

Objectives

Estimating body mass from skeletal dimensions is widely practiced, but methods for estimating its components (lean and fat mass) are poorly developed. The ability to estimate these characteristics would offer new insights into the evolution of body composition and its variation relative to past and present health. This study investigates the potential of long bone cross‐sectional properties as predictors of body, lean, and fat mass.

Materials and Methods

Humerus, femur and tibia midshaft cross‐sectional properties were measured by peripheral quantitative computed tomography in sample of young adult women (n = 105) characterized by a range of activity levels. Body composition was estimated from bioimpedance analysis.

Results

Lean mass correlated most strongly with both upper and lower limb bone properties (r values up to 0.74), while fat mass showed weak correlations (r ≤ 0.29). Estimation equations generated from tibial midshaft properties indicated that lean mass could be estimated relatively reliably, with some improvement using logged data and including bone length in the models (minimum standard error of estimate = 8.9%). Body mass prediction was less reliable and fat mass only poorly predicted (standard errors of estimate ≥11.9% and >33%, respectively).

Discussion

Lean mass can be predicted more reliably than body mass from limb bone cross‐sectional properties. The results highlight the potential for studying evolutionary trends in lean mass from skeletal remains, and have implications for understanding the relationship between bone morphology and body mass or composition.
Elucidation of the Oxygen Reduction Volcano in Alkaline Media using a Copper–Platinum(111) Alloy
Authors: Jensen Kim D. , Tymoczko Jakub , Rossmeisl Jan , Bandarenka Aliaksandr S. , Chorkendorff Ib , Escudero‐Escribano María , Stephens Ifan E. L.
Published: January 2018

The relationship between the binding of the reaction intermediates and oxygen reduction activity in alkaline media was experimentally explored. By introducing Cu into the 2nd surface layer of a Pt(111) single crystal, the surface reactivity was tuned. In both 0.1 m NaOH and 0.1 m KOH, the optimal catalyst should exhibit OH binding circa 0.1 eV weaker than Pt(111), via a Sabatier volcano; this observation suggests that the reaction is mediated via the same surface bound intermediates as in acid, in contrast to previous reports. In 0.1 m KOH, the alloy catalyst at the peak of the volcano exhibits a maximum activity of 101±8 mA cm−2 at 0.9 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). This activity constitutes a circa 60‐fold increase over Pt(111) in 0.1 m HClO4.
Stable and Highly Efficient Electrochemical Production of Formic Acid from Carbon Dioxide Using Diamond Electrodes
Authors: Natsui Keisuke , Iwakawa Hitomi , Ikemiya Norihito , Nakata Kazuya , Einaga Yasuaki
Published: January 2018

High faradaic efficiencies can be achieved in the production of formic acid (HCOOH) by metal electrodes, such as Sn or Pb, in the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2). However, the stability and environmental load in using them are problematic. The electrochemical reduction of CO2 to HCOOH was investigated in a flow cell using boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. BDD electrodes have superior electrochemical properties to metal electrodes, and, moreover, are highly durable. The faradaic efficiency for the production of HCOOH was as high as 94.7 %. Furthermore, the selectivity for the production of HCOOH was more than 99 %. The rate of the production was increased to 473 μmol m−2 s−1 at a current density of 15 mA cm−2 with a faradaic efficiency of 61 %. The faradaic efficiency and the production rate are almost the same as or larger than those achieved using Sn and Pb electrodes. Furthermore, the stability of the BDD electrodes was confirmed by 24 h operation.
Monitoring of the discoloration on γ‐irradiated PE and EVA films to evaluate antioxidant stability
Authors: Gaston Fanny , Dupuy Nathalie , Marque Sylvain R. A. , Gigmes Didier , Dorey Samuel
Published: January 2018

γ‐Irradiated films could provoke unexpected interaction with proteins for instance just after irradiation and not necessarily after 12 months indicating there is no more reactive species. The optical properties of two multilayer films [polyethylene (PE)/ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)/PE and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/EVOH/EVA] after different γ‐irradiation doses is then studied in this work. The investigation on these films, either non‐irradiated or γ‐irradiated (up to 270 kGy), is performed by colorimetry measurement over time (up to 12 months) to assess the generation of new species inside the materials. The color change is directly correlated with absorbed γ‐doses. Over time, the color decreases and goes back to its initial time level. This discoloration evolution could be therefore used as an indication of the completion of the generated species reactions induced by γ‐irradiation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46114.
Strain rate dependent mechanical properties of a high‐strength poly(methyl methacrylate)
Authors: Fan Jitang
Published: January 2018

Strain rate dependency is an important issue for the mechanical response of materials in impact events. Dynamic mechanical properties of a high‐strength poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were studied by using split Hopkinson pressure bar technology. The maximum stress is enhanced with the increase of strain rate, and then keeps a constant with the further increase of strain rate, which is accompanied with a linear increase of fracture energy density. The critical data of strain rate and maximum stress were determined. Eyring's equation was applied for analyzing the influence factors, which relate to the hardening induced by strain rate and softening caused by adiabatic temperature rise. Inherent physical mechanisms were clarified and the strategies for designing advanced impact‐resistant polymers were proposed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46189.
Efficacy and Safety of Cyclophosphamide Treatment in Severe Juvenile Dermatomyositis Shown by Marginal Structural Modeling
Authors: Deakin Claire T. , Campanilho‐Marques Raquel , Simou Stefania , Moraitis Elena , Wedderburn Lucy R. , Pullenayegum Eleanor , Pilkington Clarissa A. ,   the Juvenile Dermatomyositis Research Group
Published: January 2018

Objective

In patients with severe or refractory juvenile dermatomyositis (DM), second‐line treatments may be required. Cyclophosphamide (CYC) is used to treat some connective tissue diseases, but evidence of its efficacy in juvenile DM is limited. This study was undertaken to describe clinical improvement in juvenile DM patients treated with CYC and model the efficacy of CYC treatment compared to no CYC treatment.

Methods

Clinical data on skin, global, and muscle disease for patients recruited to the Juvenile DM Cohort and Biomarker Study were analyzed. Clinical improvement following CYC treatment was described using unadjusted analysis. Marginal structural models (MSMs) were used to model treatment efficacy and adjust for confounding by indication.

Results

Compared to the start of CYC treatment, there were reductions at 6, 12, and 24 months in skin disease (P = 1.3 × 10‐10), global disease (P = 2.4 × 10‐8), and muscle disease (P = 8.0 × 10‐10) for 56 patients treated with CYC in unadjusted analysis. Limited evidence suggested a reduction in glucocorticoid dose (P = 0.047) in patients treated with CYC. MSM analysis showed reduced global disease and skin disease in patients who started an ~6‐month course of CYC treatment >12 months ago compared to patients never or not yet treated with CYC. In the treated patients, the modified skin Disease Activity Score for juvenile DM was 1.19 units lower (P = 0.0085) and the physician's global assessment was 0.66 units lower (P = 0.027). Minor adverse events were reported in 3 patients within 1 year of stopping CYC.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that CYC is efficacious with no short‐term side effects. Improvements in skin, global, and muscle disease were observed. Further studies are required to evaluate longer‐term side effects.
[CH3NH3]4Ga4SbS9S0.28O0.72H: A Three‐Dimensionally Open‐Framework Heterometallic Chalcogenidoantimonate Exhibiting Ni2+ Ion‐Exchange Property
Authors: Zhang Bo , Li Wei‐An , Liao Yi‐Yu , Zhang Chen , Feng Mei‐Ling , Huang Xiao‐Ying
Published: January 2018

An open‐framework chalcogenidoantimonate, namely, [CH3NH3]4Ga4SbS9S0.28O0.72H (1), has been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Interestingly, 1 showed Ni2+ ion‐exchange properties and wide pH resistance, with a maximum exchange capacity of 76.9 mg g−1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of amine‐directed three‐dimensional (3D) heterometallic chalcogenidometalates for highly selective Ni2+ ion capture with a high distribution coefficient (Kd=1.65×105 mL g−1).
A Self‐Growing Strategy for Large‐Scale Crystal Assembly Tubes
Authors: Li Huizeng , Li Mingzhu , Yang Qiang , Sun Xiaoli , Guan Bo , Song Yanlin
Published: January 2018

Assembled tubular materials have attracted widespread attention due to their potential applications in catalysis, bionics, and optic‐electronics. Many versatile methods, including template assistance and self‐assembly, have been developed for fabrication of tubular materials. Here we demonstrate a self‐growing strategy to prepare large‐scale crystal assembly tubes. Addition of the template and the need for the sophisticated equipment are avoided with this method. The sidewall of the tubes is composed of a layer of polyhedral crystals that are connected together through grain coalescence. We demonstrate that the assembled tubular structure is obtained by the synergetic effect of the passivation layer and the dissolution‐recrystallization process. This facile one‐step strategy and the formation mechanism will offer guidance for fabrication of new superstructures.
A Fluorescence‐Based Sensor Assay that Monitors General Protein Aggregation in Human Cells
Authors: Pereira Marisa , Tomé Diogo , Domingues Ana S. , Varanda Ana S. , Paulo Cristiana , Santos Manuel A. S. , Soares Ana R.
Published: January 2018

Protein conformational disorders are characterized by disruption of protein folding and toxic accumulation of protein aggregates. Here we describe a sensitive and simple method to follow and monitor general protein aggregation in human cells. Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is an oligomeric small heat shock protein that binds and keeps unfolded proteins in a folding competent state. This high specificity of HSP27 for aggregated proteins can be explored to monitor aggregation in living cells by fusing it to a fluorescent protein as Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). We have constructed a HeLa stable cell line expressing a HSP27:GFP chimeric reporter protein and after validation, this stable cell line is exposed to different agents that interfere with proteostasis, namely Arsenite, MG132, and Aβ‐peptide. Exposure to proteome destabilizers lead to re‐localization of HSP27:GFP fluorescence to foci, confirming that our reporter system is functional and can be used to detect and follow protein aggregation in living cells. This reporter is a valuable tool to setup wide‐genetic screens to identify genes and pathways involved in protein misfolding and aggregation.