bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application of Sex Aids in Men with Sexual Dysfunction: A Review
Authors: Miranda Eduardo P. , Taniguchi Hisanori , Cao David L. , Hald Gert M. , Jannini Emmanuele A. , Mulhall John P.
Published: April 2019

Background

Although sex aids have been used in clinical practice for ages, the scientific literature assessing their application in men with sexual dysfunction is limited.

Aim

To summarize medical literature regarding scientific uses of the most common sex aids in men with sexual dysfunction and assess their clinical applicability.

Methods

An extensive literature review was performed with regard to the use of sex aids in sexual medicine. Our search included journal articles, books, and guidelines in different databases: Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane. The key words were “sex aids,” “sex toys,” “pornography,” “lubricants,” “constriction bands,” “dildos,” “vibrators,” “vacuum devices,” “external penile devices,” and “sex swings” were searched. Date of last search was December 4, 2018.

Main Outcome Measures

We assessed the utility of sex aids in men with sexual dysfunction and formulated recommendations for clinicians.

Results

Various sex aids are available for men with sexual dysfunction. We present a comprehensive review of the most common sex aids currently available: pornography, lubricants, constriction bands, dildos, vibrators, vacuum devices, external erectile support devices, and aids to positioning. We discuss their indications, outcomes, precautions, and complications.

Clinical implications

This review is intended to provide sexual medicine practitioners and academics an overview of sex aids for men with sexual dysfunction for use in both clinical practice and research.

Strengths & Limitations

This is a compilation of scientific data for a topic that has broad application in sexual medicine and yet has been poorly addressed in the scientific literature. Because of the lack of sufficient data and the heterogeneous nature of different sex aids, a systematic review could not be performed.

Conclusion

Having a comprehensive understanding of the sexual dynamics of individuals and couples combined with the appropriate integration of sex aids may have a positive effect in the treatment of male sexual dysfunctions.
When Artists Fall: Honoring and Admiring the Immoral
Authors: ARCHER ALFRED , MATHESON BENJAMIN
Published: April 2019

Is it appropriate to honor artists who have created great works but who have also acted immorally? In this article, after arguing that honoring involves identifying a person as someone we ought to admire, we present three moral reasons against honoring immoral artists. First, we argue that honoring can serve to condone their behavior, through the mediums of emotional prioritization and exemplar identification. Second, we argue that honoring immoral artists can generate undue epistemic credibility for the artists, which can lead to an indirect form of testimonial injustice for the artists’ victims. Third, we argue, building on the first two reasons, that honoring immoral artists can also serve to silence their victims. We end by considering how we might respond to these reasons.
Phyloblattidae and Compsoblattidae (Insecta, Blattodea) from the late Carboniferous Souss basin, Morocco
Authors: Belahmira Abouchouaib , Schneider Joerg W. , Scholze Frank , Saber Hafid
Published: April 2019

The Late Pennsylvanian (Kasimovian, early Stephanian) sub- to perimontaneous Souss basin, situated in the present-day southwestern High Atlas mountains of Morocco, contains the hitherto only known late Paleozoic entomofauna from North Africa, which is simultaneously also the southernmost Euramerican entomofauna. The present study provides descriptions, identifications, and revisions of several species belonging to the generaPhyloblattaandAnthracoblattina(family Phyloblattidae) and of the genusCompsoblatta(family Compsoblattidae). A relatively large number of well-preservedPhyloblattaforewings, compared with congeneric species from several insect localities in Europe and North America, permits insights into the individual, intraspecific, and interspecific variability of the venation pattern as indispensable base for the description of the new specimens and the revision of several older species. The Souss insect beds cover a wide range of potential habitats. They are situated in different paleogeographical positions within the Souss basin and scattered across a 900 m thick succession of sediments. The single insect beds represent different sedimentary and biotic subenvironments from swamps and mires to shallow and deep lakes within a fluvial-dominated megaenvironment.
Effects of inclusive leadership on organizational citizenship behavior: the mediating roles of organizational justice and learning culture
Authors: Hanh Tran Thi Bich , Choi Suk Bong
Published: April 2019

The aim of this article is to examine the causal relationship between inclusive leadership and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of Vietnam service workers. This article also examines the mediating roles of organizational justice and organizational learning culture in this causal relationship. We collected data via a questionnaire survey of a sample of 268 employees from four service firms in Vietnam. The results showed that inclusive leadership is positively related to OCB. Moreover, both organizational justice and organizational learning culture played partial mediating roles in the inclusive leadership–OCB relationship. The findings advance the literature on leadership by studying an underexplored type of leadership in relation to employee OCB. They also extend our knowledge of organizational justice and learning culture by specifying these as mediators in the mechanisms of employee inclusive leadership–OCB relations. The article thus adds to a body of work in which OCB is connected with leaders’ behavior and organizational level predictors.
On the track of a Scottish impact structure: a detrital zircon and apatite provenance study of the Stac Fada Member and wider Stoer Group, NW Scotland
Authors: Kenny Gavin G. , O’Sullivan Gary J. , Alexander Stephen , Simms Michael J. , Chew David M. , Kamber Balz S.
Published: April 2019

The Stac Fada Member of the Stoer Group, within the Torridonian succession of NW Scotland, is a melt-rich, impact-related deposit that has not been conclusively correlated with any known impact structure. However, a gravity low approximately 50 km east of the preserved Stac Fada Member outcrops has recently been proposed as the associated impact site. We investigate the location of the impact structure through a provenance study of detrital zircon and apatite in five samples from the Stoer Group. Our zircon U–Pb data are dominated by Archaean grains (> 2.5 Ga), consistent with earlier interpretations that the detritus was largely derived from local Lewisian Gneiss Complex, whereas the apatite data (the first for the Stoer Group) display a single major peak atc.1.7 Ga, consistent with regional Laxfordian metamorphism. The almost complete absence of Archaean-aged apatite is best explained by later heating of the > 2.5 Ga Lewisian basement (the likely source region) above the closure temperature of the apatite U–Pb system (c.375–450°C). The U–Pb age distributions for zircon and apatite show no significant variation with stratigraphic height. This may be interpreted as evidence that there was no major change in provenance during the course of deposition of the Stoer Group or, if there was any significant change, the different source regions were characterized by similar apatite and zircon U–Pb age populations. Consequently, the new data do not provide independent constraints on the location of the structure associated with the Stac Fada Member impact event.
Dancing the Nation? French Dance Diplomacy in Allied-Occupied Austria, 1945–55
Authors: Golovlev Alexander
Published: April 2019

These excerpts from critical reviewscovering French dance tours in Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck reflect the scale and variety of French cultural engagement and its growing public visibility in Austria. Out of the four Allied powers, it was France, and not the Soviet Union with its “ballet capital,” that made most use of dance and ballet fornation-brandingpurposes, both in sabots and on pointe. France's dance diplomacy exported all genres of dance to Austria in order to portray the politically and militarily weakened nation as arayonnantcultural leader of Europe, whose diversity, supremacy, and grandeur were not undone by 1871 and 1940.
Brief Notes on the Long War in the Early Modern News Cycle
Authors: Radway Robyn D.
Published: April 2019

It is difficult for the historian to imagine how the scraps of paper encountered in the archive, filled with printed words and images, served as the first newspapers that were created, distributed, and read throughout early modern Europe. Taking an empathetic approach to history, the process could look something like this: In a village outside of Augsburg in late spring of 1595, a small crowd gathers around a well-worn tavern table, staring intently at a sheet of paper. Some focus their eyes on the brightly colored image filling the top half of the page: a bird's-eye view of a citadel in a heavily fortified countryside with throngs of armored figures mercilessly slaying their turbaned enemies. Others let their eyes wander through the two columns of text below, perhaps quietly sounding out the letters they recognize as they search for familiar words and phrases. One man, possibly the local notary, darts his eyes more rapidly across the lines, reading portions out loud to those still waiting to digest the contents of the sheet of paper. Everyone present knows the key points from the headline running along the top, having heard it called out by the street vendor who sold it in the square, a raspy voice crying: “The City and Fortress of Simbalt in Moldavia on the Danube, and other locations”; “2000 Turks slain with poleaxes”; “The army spared no one, men or women, young or old”; and “Lots of booty.” The peddler, who carried the sheet along with a variety of small wares as he moved around the countryside, had picked it up earlier that week from the courtyard establishment of Leonard Schweiger, in the Augsburg suburb of St. James. That morning, it had arrived in a stack of 100 to 500 identical sheets in the hands of the entrepreneuring publisher and Briefmaler, Georg Kress. Earlier, Kress had hurriedly added the finishing touches of paint to the image, the last of the white pigment still drying as he ran his latest batch of newssheets over to the shop. Time was of the essence. Kress needed to get his print out before his rival, Bartholomäus Käppler, overheard his source boasting about the events and created his own newssheet. This fresh news, of Christian forces defeating the Muslim Turks, sold quickly. Kress was ready to provide it, just in time for our hawker to pick up a stack of copies, one of which would eventually make its way into the hands of the villagers sitting around the tavern table.
The Many Lives of Franz von der Trenck
Authors: Krueger Rita
Published: April 2019

Baron Franz von der Trenck might not now be a household name, but in the eighteenth century, he was notorious for the blood-curdling excesses of the soldiers under his command and an approach to war on behalf of Queen Empress Maria Theresa that appeared to defy the tenets of the age. As one biography described, “The thirty-eight year lifespan of the pandur general Franz Baron von der Trenck was a symphony of violence and death.” On the other side of the Prussian-Austrian conflict, Friedrich von der Trenck was iconic in different ways, with a career that careened from the military under Frederick II, to prison, and lastly to the guillotine in Paris. In service to their monarchs and in pursuit of personal advancement, security, and adventure, the Trenck cousins collided with each other at various points, demonstrating what it meant for nobles to be both architects and victims of fame, reputation, and slander. After Franz's death in prison, Friedrich, for his own reasons, had a hand in shaping the reputation of his cousin as a larger-than-life military man with an affinity for particular types of violence. However, Friedrich was not the only curator of Franz's legacy and others took part during and after Franz's life in the adulteration and appropriation of his life narrative. As a military man, Franz von der Trenck weaponized his own reputation, but its plasticity continued far after his death because he served as a stand-in for a variety of cultural inquiries, anxieties, and hopes beyond military practices and the laws of war. The subtexts of those narratives reveal particular cultural fault lines salient not just in the eighteenth century but also long after, including the constructed, imaginary boundary between the civilized and uncivilized in time and geography. Legends about Trenck drew on tropes about an uncivilized past through the ostensible space between a cultured European center and a wild Slavic or Turkic periphery. The boundary of civilization was not the only theme threaded through stories about Trenck. The nature of his violence was condemned by many and featured in his downfall, but there was also a subterranean admiration for a man who appeared to glorify war as an essential, formative masculine adventure and who romanticized the transgression of rape in war. Beginning with Friedrich and resonating still in twentieth-century nationalist iterations of Trenck is the idolization of a figure who seemed to transcend the petty morality or narrow-mindedness of those who judged him.
« Muchos negros, mulatos y otros colores »
Authors: Zúñiga Jean-Paul
Published: April 2019

Les sociétés coloniales hispano-américaines sont traditionnellement décrites comme des ensembles hiérarchisés selon une logique raciale, le terme casta étant pour ce faire traduit par la notion de race. Cette synonymie entraîne cependant le télescopage des catégories coloniales et des concepts contemporains, simplifiant de la sorte des processus complexes et longs à cristalliser. Cet article insiste sur les spécificités coloniales qui voient la transformation d’une notion issue du langage nobiliaire en une science des phénotypes. L’étude de cette culture visuelle et de ce vocabulaire, d’abord intimement liés au milieu mésoaméricain, permet de dévoiler les dialogues régionaux et inter-impériaux qui aboutissent à la création d’un espace euro-américain de création conceptuelle commune.
Stratégies matrimoniales et émigration vers l’Amérique au XVIIIesiècle
Authors: Force Pierre
Published: April 2019

Avant l’émigration de masse vers l’Amérique du Sud au XIXesiècle, les communautés rurales des Pyrénées occidentales connurent un mouvement migratoire notable vers Saint-Domingue et les autres îles des Caraïbes. Cette étude porte sur les rapports entre les mouvements migratoires et l’organisation de ces communautés en « sociétés à maisons » (Claude Lévi- Strauss), où la continuité de la « maison » était essentielle et aucune nouvelle « maison » ne pouvait être fondée. Usant d’une méthode microhistorique, on analyse le rôle complexe des coutumes successorales dans la décision d’émigrer, et on reconstruit les réseaux qui permirent l’émigration. Loin de l’image traditionnelle du fils forcé de partir parce que privé de sa part d’héritage, on montre que l’émigration des cadets avait le soutien de l’ensemble du groupe familial. On soutient aussi que vis-à-vis du « système à maisons », l’émigration était tout à la fois une conséquence du système et contraire à l’esprit du système.
Sovereignty and Common Law Judicial Office inTaylor's Case(1675)
Authors: Kearns David
Published: April 2019

This essay argues that the 1675 conviction of John Taylor by the Court of King's Bench for slandering God reveals Chief Justice Matthew Hale implementing a model of conjoint law-making between courts, Parliament, and crown that gave pre-eminent power to the common lawyers, and none to the Church of England. In doing so, it counters the prevailing literature on Restoration English law, which has treated the law as hierarchical, with the common lawyers subordinate to the sovereign. Rather than following statute or ecclesiastical law, which emphasised the spiritual nature of crimes like Taylor's, Hale located Taylor's offence in the exclusively temporal common law jurisdiction of defamation, which existed largely outside of monarchical purview. Hale's judgment reflected his rhetoric of judicial office outside the courtroom, where he argued the judiciary worked alongside King and Parliament in making law, but were not subservient to these institutions, for common lawyers relied on sources of law beyond sovereign-made statute. The language of sovereignty as hierarchical was thus a factional attack on an independent common law, an attempt to subordinate the common lawyers to the crown that was resisted by the lawyers like Hale in his rhetoric and exercise of office, and should not ground accounts of the Restoration regime.
Neuroprotective and long term potentiation improving effects of vitamin E in juvenile hypothyroid rats
Authors: Baghcheghi Yousef , Mansouri Somaieh , Beheshti Farimah , Shafei Mohammad Naser , Salmani Hossien , Reisi Parham , Anaeigoudari Akbar , Bideskan Alireza Ebrahimzadeh , Hosseini Mahmoud
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Protective effects of vitamin E (Vit E) on long term potentiation (LTP) impairment, neuronal apoptosis and increase of nitric oxide (NO) metabolites in the hippocampus of juvenile rats were examined. The rats were grouped (n=13) as: (1) control; (2) hypothyroid (Hypo) and (3) Hypo-Vit E. Propylthiouracil (PTU) was given in drinking water (0.05%) during 6 weeks. Vit E (20 mg/ kg) was daily injected (IP). To evaluate synaptic plasticity, LTP from the CA1 area of the hippocampus followed by high frequency stimulation to the ipsilateral Schafer collateral pathway was carried out. The cortical and hippocampal tissues were then removed to measure NO metabolites. The brains of 5 animals in each group were removed for apoptosis study. The hypothyroidism status decreased the slope, 10–90% slope and amplitude of field excitatory post synaptic potential (fEPSP) compared to the control group (P<0.01–P<0.001). Injection of Vit E increased the slope, 10–90% slope and amplitude of the fEPSP in the Hypo-Vit E group in comparison to the Hypo group (P<0.05–P<0.01). TUNEL positive neurons and NO metabolites were higher in the hippocampus of the Hypo rats, as compared to those in the hippocampus of the control ones (P<0.001). Treatment of the Hypo rats by Vit E decreased apoptotic neurons (P<0.01–P<0.001) and NO metabolites (P<0.001) in the hippocampus compared to the Hypo rats. The results of the present study showed that Vit E prevented the LTP impairment and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus of juvenile hypothyroid rats.
Detection of the Nitric Oxide Dayglow on Mars by MAVEN/IUVS
Authors: Stevens Michael H. , Siskind David E. , Evans J. Scott , Fox Jane L. , Deighan Justin , Jain Sonal K. , Schneider Nicholas M.
Published: April 2019

We report the first remote observation of nitric oxide (NO) densities on Mars. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) on NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) satellite observes NO γ band solar resonance fluorescence between 213.0 and 225.5 nm. We invert an average dayglow limb radiance profile to retrieve a number density profile between 80 and 130 km. The retrieved IUVS NO number density at 117 km is 5 times smaller than those measured by Viking mass spectrometers over 40 years ago but consistent with photochemical model results within the IUVS statistical uncertainty. These observations may therefore help to reconcile a longstanding problem in our understanding of NO photochemistry in the Martian upper atmosphere. We also report the first detection of the CO+ First Negative bands in the Martian dayglow near 219 nm.
Lasing at topological edge states in a photonic crystal L3 nanocavity dimer array
Authors: Han Changhyun , Lee Myungjae , Callard Ségolène , Seassal Christian , Jeon Heonsu
Published: April 2019

Topological photonics have provided new insights for the manipulation of light. Analogous to electrons in topological insulators, photons travelling through the surface of a topological photonic structure or the interface of two photonic structures with different topological phases are free from backscattering caused by structural imperfections or disorder. This exotic nature of the topological edge state (TES) is truly beneficial for nanophotonic devices that suffer from structural irregularities generated during device fabrication. Although various topological states and device concepts have been demonstrated in photonic systems, lasers based on a topological photonic crystal (PhC) cavity array with a wavelength-scale modal volume have not been explored. We investigated TESs in a PhC nanocavity array in the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. Upon optical excitation, the topological PhC cavity array realised using an InP-based multiple-quantum-well epilayer spontaneously exhibits lasing peaks at the topological edge and bulk states. TES characteristics, including the modal robustness caused by immunity to scattering, are confirmed from the emission spectra and near-field imaging and by theoretical simulations and calculations.
BCL-XL and MCL-1 are the key BCL-2 family proteins in melanoma cell survival
Authors: Lee Erinna F. , Harris Tiffany J. , Tran Sharon , Evangelista Marco , Arulananda Surein , John Thomas , Ramnac Celeste , Hobbs Chloe , Zhu Haoran , Gunasingh Gency , Segal David , Behren Andreas , Cebon Jonathan , Dobrovic Alexander , Mariadason John M. , Strasser Andreas , Rohrbeck Leona , Haass Nikolas K. , Herold Marco J. , Fairlie W. Douglas
Published: April 2019

Malignant melanoma is one of the most difficult cancers to treat due to its resistance to chemotherapy. Despite recent successes with BRAF inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors, many patients do not respond or become resistant to these drugs. Hence, alternative treatments are still required. Due to the importance of the BCL-2-regulated apoptosis pathway in cancer development and drug resistance, it is of interest to establish which proteins are most important for melanoma cell survival, though the outcomes of previous studies have been conflicting. To conclusively address this question, we tested a panel of established and early passage patient-derived cell lines against several BH3-mimetic drugs designed to target individual or subsets of pro-survival BCL-2 proteins, alone and in combination, in both 2D and 3D cell cultures. None of the drugs demonstrated significant activity as single agents, though combinations targeting MCL-1 plus BCL-XL, and to a lesser extent BCL-2, showed considerable synergistic killing activity that was elicited via both BAX and BAK. Genetic deletion of BFL-1 in cell lines that express it at relatively high levels only had minor impact on BH3-mimetic drug sensitivity, suggesting it is not a critical pro-survival protein in melanoma. Combinations of MCL-1 inhibitors with BRAF inhibitors also caused only minimal additional melanoma cell killing over each drug alone, whilst combinations with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib was more effective in multiple cell lines. Our data show for the first time that therapies targeting specific combinations of BCL-2 pro-survival proteins, namely MCL-1 plus BCL-XL and MCL-1 plus BCL-2, could have significant benefit for the treatment of melanoma.
Elevation of O-GlcNAc and GFAT expression by nicotine exposure promotes epithelial‐mesenchymal transition and invasion in breast cancer cells
Authors: Zhang Nana , Zhu Tong , Yu Kairan , Shi Meiyun , Wang Xue , Wang Lingyan , Huang Tianmiao , Li Wenli , Liu Yubo , Zhang Jianing
Published: April 2019

Cigarette smoking has been shown to be a carcinogenic factor in breast cancer. Nicotine (Nic), an active component of tobacco, has been found to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in breast cancer cells. However, the alterations in protein O-GlcNAcylation in Nic-mediated tumorigenesis and malignization mechanisms are less well studied. Herein, we found that cellular O-GlcNAcylation dramatically increased in human breast cancer cells with EMT activation induced by Nic. Elevated O-GlcNAcylation subsequently promoted Nic-induced EMT activation and increased cell migratory abbility. In addition, we demonstrated that a differentiation factor for the mammary epithelium, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein B (CEBPB), was involved in Nic-induced hyper-O-GlcNAcylation via transcriptional regulation of the expression of the key enzyme glutamine: fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) and thus increased the flux through the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP). Finally, elevated O-GlcNAcylation of the transcriptional repressor C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) suppressed its heterodimerization with CEBPB and facilitated the DNA-binding activity of CEBPB, further generating positive feedback that enhanced EMT upon Nic stimulation. In conclusion, our results have revealed a new regulatory mechanism involving CEBPB/GFAT-induced hyper-O-GlcNAcylation that plays a key role in EMT and smoking-mediated breast cancer progression.
In vivo rendezvous of small nucleic acid drugs with charge-matched block catiomers to target cancers
Authors: Watanabe Sumiyo , Hayashi Kotaro , Toh Kazuko , Kim Hyun Jin , Liu Xueying , Chaya Hiroyuki , Fukushima Shigeto , Katsushima Keisuke , Kondo Yutaka , Uchida Satoshi , Ogura Satomi , Nomoto Takahiro , Takemoto Hiroyasu , Cabral Horacio , Kinoh Hiroaki , Tanaka Hiroyoshi Y. , Kano Mitsunobu R. , Matsumoto Yu , Fukuhara Hiroshi , Uchida Shunya , Nangaku Masaomi , Osada Kensuke , Nishiyama Nobuhiro , Miyata Kanjiro , Kataoka Kazunori
Published: April 2019

Stabilisation of fragile oligonucleotides, typically small interfering RNA (siRNA), is one of the most critical issues for oligonucleotide therapeutics. Many previous studies encapsulated oligonucleotides into ~100-nm nanoparticles. However, such nanoparticles inevitably accumulate in liver and spleen. Further, some intractable cancers, e.g., tumours in pancreas and brain, have inherent barrier characteristics preventing the penetration of such nanoparticles into tumour microenvironments. Herein, we report an alternative approach to cancer-targeted oligonucleotide delivery using a Y-shaped block catiomer (YBC) with precisely regulated chain length. Notably, the number of positive charges in YBC is adjusted to match that of negative charges in each oligonucleotide strand (i.e., 20). The YBC rendezvouses with a single oligonucleotide in the bloodstream to generate a dynamic ion-pair, termed unit polyion complex (uPIC). Owing to both significant longevity in the bloodstream and appreciably small size (~18 nm), the uPIC efficiently delivers oligonucleotides into pancreatic tumour and brain tumour models, exerting significant antitumour activity.
Publisher Correction: Barcoding reveals complex clonal behavior in patient-derived xenografts of metastatic triple negative breast cancer
Authors: Merino D. , Weber T. S. , Serrano A. , Vaillant F. , Liu K. , Pal B. , Di Stefano L. , Schreuder J. , Lin D. , Chen Y. , Asselin-Labat M. L. , Schumacher T. N. , Cameron D. , Smyth G. K. , Papenfuss A. T. , Lindeman G. J. , Visvader J. E. , Naik S. H.
Published: April 2019

The original version of this Article contained an error in Fig. 4. In the left histogram of the right panel of Fig. 4d, several data points were inadvertently deleted from the histogram during the production process. This error has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article. The original, incorrect version of Fig. 4 is presented in the accompanying Publisher Correction.
Author Correction: Assessing data availability and research reproducibility in hydrology and water resources
Authors: Stagge James H. , Rosenberg David E. , Abdallah Adel M. , Akbar Hadia , Attallah Nour A. , James Ryan
Published: April 2019

In the original version of this Article the author of reference #38 was incorrectly stated as Quinn, J. et al. This has been corrected to Xu, W. et al. in both the HTML and PDF versions.
A comparative analysis of methods for de novo assembly of hymenopteran genomes using either haploid or diploid samples
Authors: Yahav Tal , Privman Eyal
Published: April 2019

Diverse invertebrate taxa including all 200,000 species of Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps and sawflies) have a haplodiploid sex determination system, where females are diploid and males are haploid. Thus, hymenopteran genome projects can make use of DNA from a single haploid male sample, which is assumed advantageous for genome assembly. For the purpose of gene annotation, transcriptome sequencing is usually conducted using RNA from a pool of individuals. We conducted a comparative analysis of genome and transcriptome assembly and annotation methods, using genetic sources of different ploidy: (1) DNA from a haploid male or a diploid female (2) RNA from the same haploid male or a pool of individuals. We predicted that the use of a haploid male as opposed to a diploid female will simplify the genome assembly and gene annotation thanks to the lack of heterozygosity. Using DNA and RNA from the same haploid individual is expected to provide better confidence in transcript-to-genome alignment, and improve the annotation of gene structure in terms of the exon/intron boundaries. The haploid genome assemblies proved to be more contiguous, with both contig and scaffold N50 size at least threefold greater than their diploid counterparts. Completeness evaluation showed mixed results. The SOAPdenovo2 diploid assembly was missing more genes than the haploid assembly. The SPAdes diploid assembly had more complete genes, but a higher level of duplicates, and a greatly overestimated genome size. When aligning the two transcriptomes against the male genome, the male transcriptome gave 2–3% more complete transcripts than the pool transcriptome for genes with comparable expression levels in both transcriptomes. However, this advantage disappears in the final results of the gene annotation pipeline that incorporates evidence from homologous proteins. The RNA pool is still required to obtain the full transcriptome with genes that are expressed in other life stages and castes. In conclusion, the use of a haploid source material for a de novo genome project provides a substantial advantage to the quality of the genome draft and the use of RNA from the same haploid individual for transcriptome to genome alignment provides a minor advantage for genes that are expressed in the adult male.
Compatibility of ciprofloxacin with commercial peritoneal dialysis solutions
Authors: Kussmann Manuel , Ferth Alexander , Obermüller Markus , Pichler Petra , Zeitlinger Markus , Wiesholzer Martin , Burgmann Heinz , Poeppl Wolfgang , Reznicek Gottfried
Published: April 2019

Intraperitoneal administration of antibiotics together with peritoneal dialysis fluids (PDFs) remains the preferable route for treatment of peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis. For home based therapy, antibiotic-containing PDFs are stored for up to two weeks and warmed up to body-temperature before administration. The present study investigated the compatibility of ciprofloxacin with five commercial PDFs at refrigeration-temperature, room-temperature and body-temperature. Ciprofloxacin concentrations were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Drug-diluent stability was evaluated by measurement of pH-values and visual inspection at each sampling point. The antimicrobial activity of ciprofloxacin was assessed by an E. coli disk diffusion method. Ciprofloxacin was stable at refrigeration-temperature and body-temperature in all PDFs evaluated over the whole study period of 14 days and 24 hours, respectively. At room-temperature, in contrast, ciprofloxacin demonstrated only limited stability in particular when tested in mixed Physioneal. Except for Physioneal 1.36%, no relevant drug adsorption was observed and the antimicrobial activity of ciprofloxacin was found to be preserved in each PDF at each storage condition investigated. Intraperitoneal ciprofloxacin might be used for inpatient and home based therapy of peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis and no compensatory dose adjustment is needed when stored for up to two weeks at refrigeration-temperature before use.
Propidium iodide staining underestimates viability of adherent bacterial cells
Authors: Rosenberg Merilin , Azevedo Nuno F. , Ivask Angela
Published: April 2019

Combining membrane impermeable DNA-binding stain propidium iodide (PI) with membrane-permeable DNA-binding counterstains is a widely used approach for bacterial viability staining. In this paper we show that PI staining of adherent cells in biofilms may significantly underestimate bacterial viability due to the presence of extracellular nucleic acids (eNA). We demonstrate that gram-positive Staphylococcus epidermidis and gram-negative Escherichia coli 24-hour initial biofilms on glass consist of 76 and 96% PI-positive red cells in situ, respectively, even though 68% the cells of either species in these aggregates are metabolically active. Furthermore, 82% of E. coli and 89% S. epidermidis are cultivable after harvesting. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed that this false dead layer of red cells is due to a subpopulation of double-stained cells that have green interiors under red coating layer which hints at eNA being stained outside intact membranes. Therefore, viability staining results of adherent cells should always be validated by an alternative method for estimating viability, preferably by cultivation.
SMN deficiency causes pain hypersensitivity in a mild SMA mouse model through enhancing excitability of nociceptive dorsal root ganglion neurons
Authors: Qu Ruobing , Yao Fuping , Zhang Xiaomin , Gao Yuan , Liu Tong , Hua Yimin
Published: April 2019

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a devastating motor neuron degeneration disease caused by a deficiency of the SMN protein. Majority of patients also suffer from chronic pain. However, the pathogenesis of pain in the context of SMA has never been explored. In this study, using various pain tests, we found that a mild SMA mouse model presents with multiple forms of pain hypersensitivity. Patch-clamp recording showed that nociceptive neurons in SMA mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) are hyperexcitable and their sodium current densities are markedly increased. Using quantitative RT-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence, we observed enhanced expression of two main voltage-gated sodium channels Nav1.7 and Nav1.8 in SMA mouse DRGs, which is at least in part due to increase in both expression and phosphorylation of NF-κB p50/p65 heterodimer. Moreover, we revealed that plasma norepinephrine levels are elevated in SMA mice, which contributes to mechanical hypersensitivity via the β2-adrenergic receptor. Finally, we uncovered that β2-adrenergic signaling positively modulates expression as well as phosphorylation of p50 and p65 in SMA mouse DRGs. Therefore, our data demonstrate that SMA mice, similar to humans, also develop pain hypersensitivity, and highlight a peripheral signaling cascade that elicits the mechanical sensitization in the mouse model, suggesting potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
One-pot synthesis of sub-10 nm LiNbO3nanocrystals exhibiting a tunable optical second harmonic response
Authors: Ali Rana Faryad , Bilton Matthew , Gates Byron D.
Published: April 2019

Sub-10 nm single-crystalline LiNbO3, nanocrystals that exhibit a tunable non-linear optical response were prepared by a one-pot solution-phase synthesis.
MX-type single chain complexes with an aromatic in-plane ligand: incorporation of aromatic interactions for stabilizing the chain structure
Authors: Afrin Unjila , Iguchi Hiroaki , Mian Mohammad Rasel , Takaishi Shinya , Yamakawa Hiromichi , Terashige Tsubasa , Miyamoto Tatsuya , Okamoto Hiroshi , Yamashita Masahiro
Published: April 2019

MX-type one-dimensional complexes containing only an aromatic in-plane ligand were synthesized for the first time.
Luminescence properties and exciton dynamics of core–multi-shell semiconductor quantum dots leading to QLEDs
Authors: Mehata Mohan Singh , Ratnesh R. K.
Published: April 2019

Carrier relaxation processes in CdSe core QDs and core–multi-shell QDs under excitation at 450 nm.
Enhanced hydrogen storage kinetics of an Mg–Pr–Al composite by in situ formed Pr3Al11 nanoparticles
Authors: Zhou Caiqin , Li Can , Li Yongtao , Zhang Qingan
Published: April 2019

Hydrogen sorption kinetics for Mg–Pr–Al is enhanced by the inhibiting role of Pr3Al11 and catalytic effect of PrH3/PrH2.
Stereoisomers and functional groups in oxidorhenium(v) complexes: effects on catalytic activity
Authors: Schachner J. A. , Berner B. , Belaj F. , Mösch-Zanetti N. C.
Published: April 2019

Stereo-control and effects on the catalytic activity of oxidorhenium(v) complexes in epoxidation and perchlorate reduction catalysis.
Tissue deconjugation of urolithin A glucuronide to free urolithin A in systemic inflammation
Authors: Ávila-Gálvez M. A. , Giménez-Bastida J. A. , González-Sarrías A. , Espín J. C.
Published: April 2019

Urolithin A glucuronide is deconjugated to free urolithin A in systemic inflammation.
Highly concentrated and stabilizer-free transition-metal dichalcogenide dispersions in low-boiling point solvent for flexible electronics
Authors: Lobo Kenneth , Trivedi Shivam , Matte H. S. S. Ramakrishna
Published: April 2019

Liquid-phase exfoliation of TMDCs was studied in a low-boiling point solvent, and the highest concentration of dispersions without surfactants was achieved.
Photonic actuators with predefined shapes
Authors: Yang Na , Ji Xingxiang , Sun Juanjuan , Zhang Yu , Xu Qinghua , Fu Yingjuan , Li Hongguang , Qin Menghua , Yuan Zaiwu
Published: April 2019

Highly flexible and chiral nematic phenol formaldehyde resin (PFR)/graphene oxide (GO) composite films are prepared by CNC-templating, which can be forged into objects with predefined shapes and show good shape recovery capability by selective treatment with aldehydes.
Caspase-3 probes for PET imaging of apoptotic tumor response to anticancer therapy
Authors: Elvas Filipe , Vanden Berghe Tom , Adriaenssens Yves , Vandenabeele Peter , Augustyns Koen , Staelens Steven , Stroobants Sigrid , Van der Veken Pieter , wyffels Leonie
Published: April 2019

Apoptosis is a highly regulated process involved in the normal organism development and homeostasis.
Influence of remote functional groups towards the formation of 1,2-cis glycosides: special emphasis on β-mannosylation
Authors: Gucchait Arin , Misra Anup Kumar
Published: April 2019

The influence of remote functional groups for the stereoselective formation of 1,2-cis glycosides and β-mannosides is reported.
Deconstructive di-functionalization of unstrained, benzo cyclic amines by C–N bond cleavage using a recyclable tungsten catalyst
Authors: Zhang Yujing , Sun Shuai , Su Yijin , Zhao Jian , Li Yong-Hong , Han Bo , Shi Feng
Published: April 2019

With H2WO4 as the catalyst and H2O2 as the oxidant, we herein report a deconstructive difunctionalization of the C–N bond in unstrained, benzo cyclic amines to generate an ester group and nitro group simultaneously.
Correction: Substituent-controlled racemization of dissymmetric coordination capsules
Authors: Harada Kentaro , Sekiya Ryo , Maehara Takeshi , Haino Takeharu
Published: April 2019

Correction for ‘Substituent-controlled racemization of dissymmetric coordination capsules’ by Kentaro Harada et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2019, DOI: 10.1039/c9ob00388f.
Cholesterol-coated gold nanorods as an efficient nano-carrier for chemotherapeutic delivery and potential treatment of breast cancer: in vitro studies using the MCF-7 cell line
Authors: Mahmoud Nouf N. , Sabbah Dima A. , Abu-Dahab Rana , Abuarqoub Duaa , Abdallah Maha , (Hasan Ibrahim) Ameerah , Khalil Enam A.
Published: April 2019

Gold nanorods demonstrate a recognized role in the treatment of breast cancer cell lines as an efficient nanocarrier for chemotherapeutic drug delivery.
Disentangling optically activated delayed fluorescence and upconversion fluorescence in DNA stabilized silver nanoclusters
Authors: Krause Stefan , Cerretani Cecilia , Vosch Tom
Published: April 2019

Optically activated delayed fluorescence (OADF) is a powerful tool for generating background-free, anti-Stokes fluorescence microscopy modalities.
On the origin and evolution of the depletion zone in coffee stains
Authors: Mayarani M. , Basavaraj Madivala G. , Satapathy Dillip K.
Published: April 2019

Growth kinetics of the depletion zone during evaporation of a sessile drop.
Anisotropic electrokinetic transport in channels modified with patterned polymer brushes
Authors: Cao Qianqian
Published: April 2019

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to predict the transport dynamics of fluids through nanochannels with polymer patterning surfaces.
Three-dimensional micropatterning of semiconducting polymers via capillary force-assisted evaporative self-assembly
Authors: Shin Jae In , Cho Su Jung , Jeon Jisoo , Lee Kwang Hee , Wie Jeong Jae
Published: April 2019

Controlled evaporative self-assembly of P3HT is conducted in a 3-dimensional capillary tube.
The impact of oxidative stress, inflammation, and senescence on the maintenance of immunological memory in the bone marrow in old age
Authors: Naismith Erin , Pangrazzi Luca
Published: April 2019

The bone marrow (BM) provides a preferential survival environment for the long-term maintenance of antigen-experienced adaptive immune cells. After the contact with antigens, effector/memory T cells and plasma cell precursors migrate to the BM, in which they can survive within survival niches in an antigen-independent manner. Despite this, the phenotype of adaptive immune cells changes with aging, and BM niches themselves are affected, leading to impaired long-term maintenance of immunological memory in the elderly as a result. Oxidative stress, age-related inflammation (inflammaging), and cellular senescence appear to play a major role in this process. This review will summarize the age-related changes in T and B cell phenotype, and in the BM niches, discussing the possibility that the accumulation of highly differentiated, senescent-like T cells in the BM during aging may cause inflammation in the BM and promote oxidative stress and senescence. In addition, senescent-like T cells may compete for space with other immune cells within the marrow, partially excluding effector/memory T cells and long-lived plasma cells from the niches.
Climate and land-use change homogenise terrestrial biodiversity, with consequences for ecosystem functioning and human well-being
Authors: Newbold Tim , Adams Georgina L. , Albaladejo Robles Gonzalo , Boakes Elizabeth H. , Braga Ferreira Guilherme , Chapman Abbie S. A. , Etard Adrienne , Gibb Rory , Millard Joseph , Outhwaite Charlotte L. , Williams Jessica J.
Published: April 2019

Biodiversity continues to decline under the effect of multiple human pressures. We give a brief overview of the main pressures on biodiversity, before focusing on the two that have a predominant effect: land-use and climate change. We discuss how interactions between land-use and climate change in terrestrial systems are likely to have greater impacts than expected when only considering these pressures in isolation. Understanding biodiversity changes is complicated by the fact that such changes are likely to be uneven among different geographic regions and species. We review the evidence for variation in terrestrial biodiversity changes, relating differences among species to key ecological characteristics, and explaining how disproportionate impacts on certain species are leading to a spatial homogenisation of ecological communities. Finally, we explain how the overall losses and homogenisation of biodiversity, and the larger impacts upon certain types of species, are likely to lead to strong negative consequences for the functioning of ecosystems, and consequently for human well-being.
Improving interruption performance of mechanical circuit breakers by controlling pre‐current‐zero wave shape
Authors: Schultz Tim , Hammerich Benjamin , Bort Lorenz , Franck Christian M.
Published: April 2019

Mechanical circuit breakers (MCBs) are the limiting component for current injection HVDC circuit breakers. Improving their interruption performance reduces requirements for capacitance and inductance needed in the injection circuit and thus space use and costs. Higher performance can be achieved by creating a period of low current gradient before zero crossing in the MCB, e.g. by using a saturable inductor (SI). In this paper, the impact of duration and steepness during the low current‐gradient phase is linked to arc parameters of the investigated model gas circuit breaker. It is shown in a scaled experimental setup that an optimum design of the SI can be derived from arc time constant and interruption limits for constant current gradients. This optimisation results in a considerable increase of interruption performance. The feasibility of implementing an SI in a full‐scale HVDC circuit breaker is demonstrated using simulations. Using an improved injection scheme, the stresses for the MCB can be reduced significantly. Consequently, the injection circuit components can be scaled down, making the topology more economical. The reduced interruption requirements might also make it possible to use a single gas interrupter instead of a series connection of vacuum interrupters, reducing the complexity of the mechanical switch.
Channel state information based efficient database construction for indoor localisation
Authors: Tian Xiyan , Wang Chao , Du Liufeng
Published: April 2019

The popularisation of fingerprinting localisation technology has been hindered because of two major hurdles: (i) the accuracy bottleneck caused by unreliable location fingerprints and (ii) the huge effort required to construct a fingerprints database (or radio map) for the targeted area. To tackle the two problems, the authors propose an effective solution in this work. First, they exploit channel state information, which is a parameter depicting the frequency response of each subchannel, to design the location fingerprint, striving to eliminate the interferences of the complex indoor environment. Second, they propose an efficient construction scheme leveraging the matrix completion theory to improve the calibration efficiency, and employ a Bayes rule‐based fingerprint matching method to implement location estimation. Finally, they evaluate the authors’ localisation system in two typical scenarios, and the numerical results show that the proposal ensures superior performance while reducing the workload significantly.