bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cybernetic Revolutionaries
Authors: Medina Eden
Published: December 2018

A historical study of Chile's twin experiments with cybernetics and socialism, and what they tell us about the relationship of technology and politics.

In Cybernetic Revolutionaries, Eden Medina tells the history of two intersecting utopian visions, one political and one technological. The first was Chile's experiment with peaceful socialist change under Salvador Allende; the second was the simultaneous attempt to build a computer system that would manage Chile's economy. Neither vision was fully realized—Allende's government ended with a violent military coup; the system, known as Project Cybersyn, was never completely implemented—but they hold lessons for today about the relationship between technology and politics.

Drawing on extensive archival material and interviews, Medina examines the cybernetic system envisioned by the Chilean government—which was to feature holistic system design, decentralized management, human-computer interaction, a national telex network, near real-time control of the growing industrial sector, and modeling the behavior of dynamic systems. She also describes, and documents with photographs, the network's Star Trek-like operations room, which featured swivel chairs with armrest control panels, a wall of screens displaying data, and flashing red lights to indicate economic emergencies.

Studying project Cybersyn today helps us understand not only the technological ambitions of a government in the midst of political change but also the limitations of the Chilean revolution. This history further shows how human attempts to combine the political and the technological with the goal of creating a more just society can open new technological, intellectual, and political possibilities. Technologies, Medina writes, are historical texts; when we read them we are reading history.
Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture
Authors: Jenkins Henry , Purushotma Ravi , Weigel Margaret , Clinton Katie , Robison Alice J.
Published: December 2018

Many teens today who use the Internet are actively involved in participatory cultures—joining online communities (Facebook, message boards, game clans), producing creative work in new forms (digital sampling, modding, fan videomaking, fan fiction), working in teams to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (as in Wikipedia), and shaping the flow of media (as in blogging or podcasting). A growing body of scholarship suggests potential benefits of these activities, including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, development of skills useful in the modern workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship. Some argue that young people pick up these key skills and competencies on their own by interacting with popular culture; but the problems of unequal access, lack of media transparency, and the breakdown of traditional forms of socialization and professional training suggest a role for policy and pedagogical intervention.

This report aims to shift the conversation about the "digital divide" from questions about access to technology to questions about access to opportunities for involvement in participatory culture and how to provide all young people with the chance to develop the cultural competencies and social skills needed. Fostering these skills, the authors argue, requires a systemic approach to media education; schools, afterschool programs, and parents all have distinctive roles to play.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning
Phantasmal Media
Authors: Harrell D. Fox
Published: December 2018

An argument that great expressive power of computational media arises from the construction of phantasms—blends of cultural ideas and sensory imagination.

In Phantasmal Media, D. Fox Harrell considers the expressive power of computational media. He argues, forcefully and persuasively, that the great expressive potential of computational media comes from the ability to construct and reveal phantasms—blends of cultural ideas and sensory imagination. These ubiquitous and often-unseen phantasms—cognitive phenomena that include sense of self, metaphors, social categories, narrative, and poetic thinking—influence almost all our everyday experiences. Harrell offers an approach for understanding and designing computational systems that have the power to evoke these phantasms, paying special attention to the exposure of oppressive phantasms and the creation of empowering ones. He argues for the importance of cultural content, diverse worldviews, and social values in computing. The expressive power of phantasms is not purely aesthetic, he contends; phantasmal media can express and construct the types of meaning central to the human condition.

Harrell discusses, among other topics, the phantasm as an orienting perspective for developers; expressive epistemologies, or data structures based on subjective human worldviews; morphic semiotics (building on the computer scientist Joseph Goguen's theory of algebraic semiotics); cultural phantasms that influence consensus and reveal other perspectives; computing systems based on cultural models; interaction and expression; and the ways that real-world information is mapped onto, and instantiated by, computational data structures.

The concept of phantasmal media, Harrell argues, offers new possibilities for using the computer to understand and improve the human condition through the human capacity to imagine.
Saving Global Fisheries
Authors: Barkin J. Samuel , DeSombre Elizabeth R.
Published: December 2018

A proposal for a new global approach for fisheries focused on reducing fishing capacity and providing incentives for long-term sustainability.

The Earth's oceans are overfished, despite more than fifty years of cooperation among the world's fishing nations. There are too many boats chasing too few fish. In SavingGlobal Fisheries, J. Samuel Barkin and Elizabeth DeSombre analyze the problem of overfishing and offer a provocative proposal for a global regulatory and policy approach.

Existing patterns of international fisheries management try to limit the number of fish that can be caught while governments simultaneously subsidize increased fishing capacity, focusing on fisheries as an industry to be developed rather than on fish as a resource to be conserved. Regionally based international management means that protection in one area simply shifts fishing efforts to other species or regions. Barkin and DeSombre argue that global rather than regional regulation is necessary for successful fisheries management and emphasize the need to reduce subsidies. They propose an international system of individual transferable quotas that would give holders of permits an interest in the long-term health of fish stocks and help create a sustainable level of fishing capacity globally.
Garments of Paradise
Authors: Ryan Susan Elizabeth
Published: December 2018

A historical and critical view of wearable technologies that considers them as acts of communication in a social landscape.

Wearable technology—whether a Walkman in the 1970s, an LED-illuminated gown in the 2000s, or Google Glass today—makes the wearer visible in a technologically literate environment. Twenty years ago, wearable technology reflected cultural preoccupations with cyborgs and augmented reality; today, it reflects our newer needs for mobility and connectedness. In this book, Susan Elizabeth Ryan examines wearable technology as an evolving set of ideas and their contexts, always with an eye on actual wearables—on clothing, dress, and the histories and social relations they represent. She proposes that wearable technologies comprise a pragmatics of enhanced communication in a social landscape. “Garments of paradise” is a reference to wearable technology's promise of physical and mental enhancements.

Ryan defines “dress acts”—hybrid acts of communication in which the behavior of wearing is bound up with the materiality of garments and devices—and focuses on the use of digital technology as part of such systems of meaning. She connects the ideas of dress and technology historically, in terms of major discourses of art and culture, and in terms of mass media and media culture, citing such thinkers as Giorgio Agamben, Manuel De Landa, and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. She examines the early history of wearable technology as it emerged in research labs; the impact of ubiquitous and affective approaches to computing; interaction design and the idea of wearable technology as a language of embodied technology; and the influence of open source ideology. Finally, she considers the future, as wearing technologies becomes an increasingly naturalized aspect of our social behavior.
Girls Coming to Tech!
Authors: Bix Amy Sue
Published: December 2018

How women coped with both formal barriers and informal opposition to their entry into the traditionally masculine field of engineering in American higher education.

Engineering education in the United States was long regarded as masculine territory. For decades, women who studied or worked in engineering were popularly perceived as oddities, outcasts, unfeminine (or inappropriately feminine in a male world). In Girls Coming to Tech!, Amy Bix tells the story of how women gained entrance to the traditionally male field of engineering in American higher education.

As Bix explains, a few women breached the gender-reinforced boundaries of engineering education before World War II. During World War II, government, employers, and colleges actively recruited women to train as engineering aides, channeling them directly into defense work. These wartime training programs set the stage for more engineering schools to open their doors to women. Bix offers three detailed case studies of postwar engineering coeducation. Georgia Tech admitted women in 1952 to avoid a court case, over objections by traditionalists. In 1968, Caltech male students argued that nerds needed a civilizing female presence. At MIT, which had admitted women since the 1870s but treated them as a minor afterthought, feminist-era activists pushed the school to welcome more women and take their talent seriously.

In the 1950s, women made up less than one percent of students in American engineering programs; in 2010 and 2011, women earned 18.4% of bachelor's degrees, 22.6% of master's degrees, and 21.8% of doctorates in engineering. Bix's account shows why these gains were hard won.
Monitoring Movements in Development Aid
Authors: Jensen Casper Bruun , Winthereik Brit Ross
Published: December 2018

An examination of emerging information infrastructures that are intended to increase accountability and effectiveness in partnerships for development aid.

In Monitoring Movements in Development Aid, Casper Jensen and Brit Winthereik consider the processes, social practices, and infrastructures that are emerging to monitor development aid, discussing both empirical phenomena and their methodological and analytical challenges. Jensen and Winthereik focus on efforts by aid organizations to make better use of information technology; they analyze a range of development aid information infrastructures created to increase accountability and effectiveness. They find that constructing these infrastructures is not simply a matter of designing and implementing technology but entails forging new platforms for action that are simultaneously imaginative and practical, conceptual and technical.

After presenting an analytical platform that draws on science and technology studies and the anthropology of development, Jensen and Winthereik present an ethnography- based analysis of the mutually defining relationship between aid partnerships and infrastructures; the crucial role of users (both actual and envisioned) in aid information infrastructures; efforts to make aid information dynamic and accessible; existing monitoring activities of an environmental NGO; and national-level performance audits, which encompass concerns of both external control and organizational learning.

Jensen and Winthereik argue that central to the emerging movement to monitor development aid is the blurring of means and ends: aid information infrastructures are both technological platforms for knowledge about aid and forms of aid and empowerment in their own right.
Storytelling and the Sciences of Mind
Authors: Herman David
Published: December 2018

An transdisciplinary exploration of narrative not just as a target for interpretation but also as a means for making sense of experience itself.

With Storytelling and the Sciences of Mind, David Herman proposes a cross-fertilization between the study of narrative and research on intelligent behavior. This cross-fertilization goes beyond the simple importing of ideas from the sciences of mind into scholarship on narrative and instead aims for convergence between work in narrative studies and research in the cognitive sciences. The book as a whole centers on two questions: How do people make sense of stories? And: How do people use stories to make sense of the world? Examining narratives from different periods and across multiple media and genres, Herman shows how traditions of narrative research can help shape ways of formulating and addressing questions about intelligent activity, and vice versa.

Using case studies that range from Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to sequences from The Incredible Hulk comics to narratives told in everyday interaction, Herman considers storytelling both as a target for interpretation and as a resource for making sense of experience itself. In doing so, he puts ideas from narrative scholarship into dialogue with such fields as psycholinguistics, philosophy of mind, and cognitive, social, and ecological psychology. After exploring ways in which interpreters of stories can use textual cues to build narrative worlds, or storyworlds, Herman investigates how this process of narrative worldmaking in turn supports efforts to understand—and engage with—the conduct of persons, among other aspects of lived experience.
Offline replay supports planning in human reinforcement learning
Authors: Momennejad Ida , Otto A Ross , Daw Nathaniel D , Norman Kenneth A
Published: December 2018

Making decisions in sequentially structured tasks requires integrating distally acquired information. The extensive computational cost of such integration challenges planning methods that integrate online, at decision time. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether ‘offline’ integration during replay supports planning, and if so which memories should be replayed. Inspired by machine learning, we propose that (a) offline replay of trajectories facilitates integrating representations that guide decisions, and (b) unsigned prediction errors (uncertainty) trigger such integrative replay. We designed a 2-step revaluation task for fMRI, whereby participants needed to integrate changes in rewards with past knowledge to optimally replan decisions. As predicted, we found that (a) multi-voxel pattern evidence for off-task replay predicts subsequent replanning; (b) neural sensitivity to uncertainty predicts subsequent replay and replanning; (c) off-task hippocampus and anterior cingulate activity increase when revaluation is required. These findings elucidate how the brain leverages offline mechanisms in planning and goal-directed behavior under uncertainty.
Folding mutations suppress early beta-cell proliferation
Authors: Modi Honey , Johnson James D
Published: December 2018

Exploring how proliferation and maturation of beta-cells can be impaired after birth will shed light on the origins of various forms of diabetes.
Li–CO
2

Batteries
Authors: Xie Zhaojun , Zhou Zhen
Published: December 2018

Among all the physical and chemical methods of CO
2
capture and conversion, rechargeable Li–CO
2
batteries represent a novel strategy for using CO
2
and storing energy simultaneously. This new energy storage system could reduce not only fossil fuel consumption but also the “greenhouse effect” by the reversible reaction between lithium and CO
2
. At present, the investigations on Li–CO
2
batteries are in the preliminary stage, and there are still many obstacles to be overcome. The inferior electrochemical performance of Li–CO
2
batteries largely results from one of the discharge products, Li
2
CO
3
, because its low electronic and ionic conductivity result in high overpotential for the electrochemical oxidization during charge process. Hence, many efforts have been focusing on the exploration of efficient cathode materials including searching for more active catalysts and rational design of the cathode structure. In general, materials with large specific surface, high electronic conductivity, hierarchical porous structure, and evenly distributed active sites are expected to optimize the electrochemical performance of Li–CO
2
batteries. Among them, composite materials with metal or metal‐oxide nanoparticles highly dispersed on functional carbon matrixes are regarded as efficient electrocatalysts. Additionally, binder‐free cathodes demonstrate advantages in further practical applications and need to be energetically promoted.
Organoselenium Chemistry
Authors: Singh Fateh V. , Wirth Thomas
Published: December 2018

Organoselenium chemistry has been established as a valuable research area in synthetic and medicinal chemistry. After the discovery of the selenoxide elimination reaction in the early 1970s, organoselenium reagents achieved great success in organic synthesis including asymmetric synthesis. More commonly, synthetic transformations such as selenenylation, selenocyclization, and 2,3‐sigmatropic rearrangements have been successfully achieved using these reagents under mild reaction conditions. The application of these reagents in catalysis makes them more suitable reagents in organic synthesis. Several books, book chapters, and review articles have been published to explain the utility of organoselenium reagents in synthesis. This article highlights the application of organoselenium reagents in organic synthesis including asymmetric synthesis.
Foreign Accent
Authors: Major Roy C.
Published: December 2018

The formation and change of an individual's foreign accent is governed by many interrelated factors. The two most important linguistic factors are language transfer (interference) and universal factors, similar to what children do when they acquire their first language. Nonlinguistic factors include amount of exposure to the second language, first and second language use, age of learning, and sociocultural and psychological factors, such as attitudes and identity. In turn, a listener's perception of a foreign accent is influenced by all of these factors.
Materials Development
Authors: Tomlinson Brian
Published: December 2018

This entry focuses on the development of materials for the learning of languages. In doing so, it initially focuses on the dramatic change in attitudes toward materials development and reveals how since the early 1990s materials development has received far more attention in the literature and on academic and training courses both as a practical undertaking and as a field of study. From being perceived as an adjunct to publications and courses on methodology, it has now become a significant focus of action and study in its own right. It has also progressed from being an atheoretical activity to a research‐informed activity, as well as becoming a popular focus for academic study and a means of applying theory to practice and practice to theory. This entry also reports on a number of controversial issues which dominate the literature on materials development. For example, it considers whether materials should focus on teaching language forms or on providing experience of the meanings which language conveys; it asks whether materials should be contrived in order to focus and simplify the learning process, or whether they should be authentic representations of how the target language is actually used; and it compares the value of asking learners to practice language with asking them to use language for communication. It also looks at the benefits and drawbacks of current developments such as the global coursebook intended for any learner anywhere, and the design and use of digital materials.
Needs Analysis and Syllabus Design for Language for Specific Purposes
Authors: Basturkmen Helen
Published: December 2018

Needs analysis and language for specific purposes (LSP) courses are inextricably intertwined. LSP courses aim to help learners function linguistically within a particular academic, professional, or workplace environment, and the course syllabus is based on analysis of the needs of the learners in relation to such environments. The analysis of learners' needs is thus a key process in the design and ongoing revision of the LSP syllabus. Such is the importance of needs analysis that it is generally seen as the defining characteristic of LSP. This entry discusses the importance of needs analysis in LSP, identifies trends in the practices and methodologies used, and examines how the results of needs analysis can be used to inform the design of the LSP syllabus. Although needs analysis is often viewed as essentially procedural, it is not without theory, nor is it devoid of controversy and debate. The final sections discuss the role of theory and issues in needs analysis.
Politeness
Authors: Locher Miriam A.
Published: December 2018

Since the 1970s the topic of politeness has boomed within pragmatics (the study of language in use). Recognizing that people use language strategically to shape relationships, it is of interest how politeness and impoliteness effects come about and what patterns emerge in their linguistic rendition. Scholarship has moved from early universalist theories to more discursive discussions of (linguistic) relational work. The field is nowadays multidisciplinary and vibrant in its endeavor to combine theories and methodologies to better understand how politeness as well as impoliteness are negotiated in language use. Factors that influence the choice of linguistic strategies are many, among them power, age, seniority, affect, distance or closeness, the roles of the interactants, and the norms of appropriate conduct in the particular historical, cultural, local, and social context.
Antemortem CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio predicts Alzheimer's disease pathology better than Aβ42 in rapidly progressive dementias
Authors: Baiardi Simone , Abu‐Rumeileh Samir , Rossi Marcello , Zenesini Corrado , Bartoletti‐Stella Anna , Polischi Barbara , Capellari Sabina , Parchi Piero
Published: December 2018

Objective

Despite the critical importance of pathologically confirmed samples for biomarker validation, only a few studies have correlated CSF Aβ42 values in vivo with postmortem Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, while none evaluated the CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio. We compared CSF Aβ42 and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio as biomarkers predicting AD neuropathological changes in patients with a short interval between lumbar puncture and death.

Methods

We measured CSF Aβ40 and Aβ42 and assessed AD pathology in 211 subjects with rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) and a definite postmortem diagnosis of Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (n = 159), AD (n = 12), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, n = 4), AD/DLB mixed pathologies (n = 5), and various other pathologies (n = 31).

Results

The score reflecting the severity of Aβ pathology showed a better correlation with ln(Aβ42/Aβ40) (R2 = 0.506, β = −0.713, P < 0.001) than with ln(Aβ42) (R2 = 0.206, β = −0.458, P < 0.001), which was confirmed after adjusting for covariates. Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio showed significantly higher accuracy than Aβ42 in the distinction between cases with or without AD pathology (AUC 0.818 ± 0.028 vs. 0.643 ± 0.039), especially in patients with Aβ42 levels ≤495 pg/mL (AUC 0.888 ± 0.032 vs. 0.518 ± 0.064). Using a cut‐off value of 0.810, the analysis of Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio yielded 87.0% sensitivity, 88.2% specificity in the distinction between cases with an intermediate‐high level of AD pathology and those with low level or no AD pathology.

Interpretation

The present data support the use of CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio as a biomarker of AD pathophysiology and noninvasive screener for Aβ pathology burden, and its introduction in the research diagnostic criteria for AD.
Hollow Metal–Organic‐Framework Micro/Nanostructures and their Derivatives: Emerging Multifunctional Materials
Authors: Liu Di , Wan Jiawei , Pang Guangsheng , Tang Zhiyong
Published: December 2018

Hollow metal–organic framework (MOF) micro/nanostructures and their derivatives are attracting a great amount of research interest in recent years because their hierarchical porous structures not only provide abundant, easily accessed metal sites but also endow 3D channels for rapid mass transport. As a result, they demonstrate significant advantages in many applications including catalysis, gas sensors, batteries, supercapacitors, and so on. Nevertheless, studies on hollow MOFs and their derivatives are still at the beginning of this field, and the relationship between their structures and application performances is not yet reviewed comprehensively. Herein, the synthetic strategies and practical applications of hollow micro/nanostructured MOFs and their derivatives are summarized, and their corresponding prospects are also discussed.
Ultrahigh‐Sensitive Broadband Photodetectors Based on Dielectric Shielded MoTe2/Graphene/SnS2 p–g–n Junctions
Authors: Li Alei , Chen Qianxue , Wang Peipei , Gan Yuan , Qi Tailei , Wang Peng , Tang Fangdong , Wu Judy Z. , Chen Rui , Zhang Liyuan , Gong Youpin
Published: December 2018

2D atomic sheets of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have a tremendous potential for next‐generation optoelectronics since they can be stacked layer‐by‐layer to form van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. This allows not only bypassing difficulties in heteroepitaxy of lattice‐mismatched semiconductors of desired functionalities but also providing a scheme to design new optoelectronics that can surpass the fundamental limitations on their conventional semiconductor counterparts. Herein, a novel 2D h‐BN/p‐MoTe2/graphene/n‐SnS2/h‐BN p–g–n junction, fabricated by a layer‐by‐layer dry transfer, demonstrates high‐sensitivity, broadband photodetection at room temperature. The combination of the MoTe2 and SnS2 of complementary bandgaps, and the graphene interlayer provides a unique vdW heterostructure with a vertical built‐in electric field for high‐efficiency broadband light absorption, exciton dissociation, and carrier transfer. The graphene interlayer plays a critical role in enhancing sensitivity and broadening the spectral range. An optimized device containing 5−7‐layer graphene has been achieved and shows an extraordinary responsivity exceeding 2600 A W−1 with fast photoresponse and specific detectivity up to ≈1013 Jones in the ultraviolet–visible–near‐infrared spectrum. This result suggests that the vdW p–g–n junctions containing multiple photoactive TMDs can provide a viable approach toward future ultrahigh‐sensitivity and broadband photonic detectors.
Probing Distinctive Electron Conduction in Multilayer Rhenium Disulfide
Authors: Lee Byung Chul , Na Junhong , Choi Jun Hee , Ji Hyunjin , Kim Gyu‐Tae , Joo Min‐Kyu
Published: December 2018

Charge carrier transport in multilayer van der Waals (vdW) materials, which comprise multiple conducting layers, is well described using Thomas–Fermi charge screening (λTF) and interlayer resistance (Rint). When both effects occur in carrier transport, a channel centroid migrates along the c‐axis according to a vertical electrostatic force, causing redistribution of the conduction centroid in a multilayer system, unlike a conventional bulk material. Thus far, numerous unique properties of vdW materials are discovered, but direct evidence for distinctive charge transport behavior in 2D layered materials is not demonstrated. Herein, the distinctive electron conduction features are reported in a multilayer rhenium disulfide (ReS2), which provides decoupled vdW interaction between adjacent layers and much high interlayer resistivity in comparison with other transition‐metal dichalcogenides materials. The existence of two plateaus in its transconductance curve clearly reveals the relocation of conduction paths with respect to the top and bottom surfaces, which is rationalized by a theoretical resistor network model by accounting of λTF and Rint coupling. The effective tunneling distance probed via low‐frequency noise spectroscopy further supports the shift of electron conduction channel along the thickness of ReS2.
A Highly Fluorescent and Photoresponsive Polymer Gel Consisting of Poly(acrylic acid) and Supramolecular Cyanostilbene Crosslinkers
Authors: Kim Hyeong‐Ju , Lee Hyun Jun , Chung Jong Won , Whang Dong Ryeol , Park Soo Young
Published: December 2018

A poly(acrylic acid)‐based polymer gel exhibiting strong fluorescence and high photoresponsibility is prepared by using a cyanostilbene derivative as a self‐assembling supramolecular crosslinking agent, which generates conceptually new multiple hydrogen bonds in the gel system. This polymer gel in ethanol shows the gel‐to‐sol transition upon UV light irradiation with concomitant fluorescence color and intensity changes, which are attributed to the trans‐to‐cis photoisomerization of the supramolecular crosslinkers. Aggregation‐induced enhanced emission (AIEE) behavior of the trans‐cyanostilbene derivative enables a highly fluorescent polymer gel (ΦF = 0.68) with green color (λem = 541 nm), which can be switched into a blue fluorescent sol (λem = 506 nm and ΦF = 0.12) upon UV irradiation.
Phthalocyanine Zinc‐catalyzed Hydroxylation of Aryl Boronic Acids under Visible Light
Authors: Luo Dong‐Ping , Huang Yang‐Feng , Hong Xiao‐Yi , Chen Dingben , Li Guo‐Xing , Huang Xiao‐Bo , Gao Wen‐Xia , Liu Miao‐Chang , Zhou Yun‐Bing , Wu Hua‐Yue
Published: December 2018

A visible‐light‐promoted aerobic oxidative hydroxylation of boronic acids using phthalocyanine zinc as an easily available photosensitizer has been developed. It provided a direct access to synthesize aliphatic alcohols and phenols from boronic acids. The advantages of this approach included the low catalyst loading (0.5 mol%), high efficient, the use of O2 as an oxygen source, wide substrate range, the simple operational process, and mild conditions.

magnified image
Exosome Release Is Regulated by mTORC1
Authors: Zou Wenchong , Lai Mingqiang , Zhang Yue , Zheng Lei , Xing Zhe , Li Ting , Zou Zhipeng , Song Qiancheng , Zhao Xiaoyang , Xia Laixin , Yang Jian , Liu Anling , Zhang Han , Cui Zhong‐Kai , Jiang Yu , Bai Xiaochun
Published: December 2018

Exosomes are small membrane‐bound vesicles released into extracellular spaces by many types of cells. These nanovesicles carry proteins, mRNA, and miRNA, and are involved in cell waste management and intercellular communication. In the present study, it is shown that exosome release, which leads to net loss of cellular membrane and protein content, is negatively regulated by mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). It is found that in cells and animal models exosome release is inhibited by sustained activation of mTORC1, leading to intracellular accumulation of CD63‐positive exosome precursors. Inhibition of mTORC1 by rapamycin or nutrient and growth factor deprivation stimulates exosome release, which occurs concomitantly with autophagy. The drug‐stimulated release is blocked by siRNA‐mediated downregulation of small GTPase Rab27A. Analysis of the cargo content in exosomes released from rapamycin‐treated cells reveals that inhibition of mTORC1 does not significantly alter its majority protein and miRNA profiles. These observations demonstrate that exosome release, like autophagy, is negatively regulated by mTORC1 in response to changes in nutrient and growth factor conditions.
Liquid‐Crystalline Small Molecules for Nonfullerene Solar Cells with High Fill Factors and Power Conversion Efficiencies
Authors: Li Huan , Wu Qiong , Zhou Ruimin , Shi Yanan , Yang Chen , Zhang Yajie , Zhang Jianqi , Zou Wenjun , Deng Dan , Lu Kun , Wei Zhixiang
Published: December 2018

Compared with nonfullerene‐based polymer solar cells, all‐small‐molecule solar cells normally show low power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) due to their low fill factors (FFs). Molecular stacking orientation and phase separation are the main factors affecting the performance of all‐small‐molecule solar cells. In this work, two liquid‐crystalline small‐molecule donors are designed and synthesized and a novel nonfullerene acceptor with good crystallinity developed. Owing to the face‐on orientation of the component molecules and appropriate phase separation in the active layer, a high FF of over 70% and a PCE of 10.7% are obtained from the resulting solar cells; these values are among the best obtained thus far for all‐small‐molecule solar cells. The high FF reported here is significant for a further design of high‐performance all‐small‐molecule solar cells.
No Easy Answers: Avoiding Potential Pitfalls of De‐implementation
Authors: Pinto Rogério M. , Witte Susan S.
Published: December 2018

In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began to de‐emphasize and de‐implement multiple evidence‐based HIV prevention practices that had been around for 20 years, thus changing the scope of implementation across the globe. The authors provide evidence how existing interventions (e.g., CDC HIV interventions) may influence implementation of interventions that came after the program was discontinued. De‐implementation is an ecological event that influences, and is influenced by, many parts of a system, for instance, implementation of one type of intervention may influence the implementation of other interventions (biomedical and/or behavioral) after a long‐running program is discontinued. Researchers and policy makers ought to consider how de‐implementation of behavioral interventions is influenced by biomedical interventions mass‐produced by companies with lobbying power. The scientific study of de‐implementation will be inadequate without consideration of the political climate that surrounds de‐implementation of certain types of interventions and the promotion of more‐profitable ones.
An N‐terminal heterozygous missense CASK mutation is associated with microcephaly and bilateral retinal dystrophy plus optic nerve atrophy
Authors: LaConte Leslie E. W. , Chavan Vrushali , DeLuca Stephanie , Rubin Karol , Malc Jessica , Berry Susan , Gail Summers C. , Mukherjee Konark
Published: December 2018

Heterozygous loss‐of‐function mutations in the X‐linked gene CASK are associated with mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH) and ophthalmological disorders including optic nerve atrophy (ONA) and optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH). Recently, we have demonstrated that CASK(+/−) mice display ONH with 100% penetrance but exhibit no change in retinal lamination or structure. It is not clear if CASK loss‐of‐function predominantly affects retinal ganglion cells, or if other retinal cells like photoreceptors are also involved. Here, we report a heterozygous missense mutation in the N‐terminal calcium/calmodulin‐dependent kinase (CaMK) domain of the CASK protein in which a highly conserved leucine is mutated to the cyclic amino acid proline. In silico analysis suggests that the mutation may produce destabilizing structural changes. Experimentally, we observe pronounced misfolding and insolubility of the CASKL209P protein. Interestingly, the remaining soluble mutant protein fails to interact with Mint1, which specifically binds to CASK's CaMK domain, suggesting a mechanism for the phenotypes observed with the CASKL209P mutation. In addition to microcephaly, cerebellar hypoplasia and delayed development, the subject with the L209P mutation also presented with bilateral retinal dystrophy and ONA. Electroretinography indicated that rod photoreceptors are the most prominently affected cells. Our data suggest that the CASK interactions mediated by the CaMK domain may play a crucial role in retinal function, and thus, in addition to ONH, individuals with mutations in the CASK gene may exhibit other retinal disorders, depending on the nature of mutation.
Iodine‐Promoted Synthesis of 2‐Naphthyl Thioethers from Tetralones and Sulfonyl Hydrazides
Authors: Yang Fulai , Bao Yishu , Dai Zonghao , Tian Meizhen , Jia Qian , Zhou Qingfa
Published: December 2018

In the traditional Bamford‐Stevens‐Shapiro‐type reaction, electrophiles replace the carbonyl group to synthesize polysubstituted carbon‐carbon double bonds. We herein report an unusually simple and general procedure to access carbon‐carbon double bonds from ketones and install electrophiles at the original α‐position of the carbonyl functional group, thus providing a new tool in organic synthesis. This reaction shows a wide substrate scope and functional‐group tolerance.
Draf IIB with superior septectomy: finding the “middle ground”
Authors: Bhalla Vidur , Sykes Kevin J. , Villwock Jennifer A. , Beahm D. David , McClurg Stanley W. , Chiu Alexander G.
Published: December 2018

Background

Previous studies have demonstrated a high failure rate of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) with Draf IIa in patients with diffuse polyposis, asthma, and aspirin‐exacerbated respiratory disease. A high percentage of these patients progress to endoscopic modified Lothrop procedure (EMLP). We describe a modification of the Draf IIb with a superior septectomy (IIb+SS), which may provide similar therapeutic benefit as demonstrated by the distribution of sinus irrigations in the sinus cavity with ESS with IIb+SS vs ESS with EMLP.

Methods

ESS with IIb+SS was performed on 6 cadaver heads. Fluorescein‐dyed irrigations were performed on each head and penetration was recorded using video endoscopy. EMLP was subsequently performed on each head with repeat dye‐irrigation and video endoscopy. The videos were reviewed by 4 blinded fellowship‐trained rhinologists, and irrigant penetration of the maxillary, ethmoid, frontal, sphenoid sinuses, and olfactory cleft was graded 0 to 3 (3 implying complete staining).

Results

The mean scores when comparing IIb+SS to EMLP were as follows: overall 1.99 vs 1.97 (p = 0.816), maxillary sinus 2.67 vs 2.38 (p = 0.128), ethmoid sinus 1.88 vs 1.98 (p = 0.536), sphenoid sinus 2.58 vs 2.50 (p = 0.467), frontal sinus 1.13 vs 1.38 (p = 0.073), and olfactory cleft 1.71 vs 1.63 (p = 0.529). There was no significant difference between subsites. Interrater reliability was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.781).

Conclusion

Performing ESS with IIb+SS provides similar irrigation delivery benefits to ESS with EMLP, without the need for altering natural sinus outflow and creating circumferential scarring. Further studies evaluating its use in patients that are high risk for revision surgery are needed.
Alternaria‐induced barrier dysfunction of nasal epithelial cells: role of serine protease and reactive oxygen species
Authors: Shin Seung‐Heon , Ye Mi‐Kyung , Lee Dong‐Won , Che Mi‐Hyun
Published: December 2018

Background

Upper airway barrier dysfunction has been associated with chronic rhinosinusitis and allergic rhinitis. Alternaria is commonly found in nasal secretion and plays a role in the pathogenesis of airway diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Alternaria on the junctional complex of nasal epithelial cells.

Methods

Air‐liquid interface nasal epithelial cultures from the inferior turbinate of septal surgery patients were stimulated with Alternaria alternate. Production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and transepithelial resistance (TER) was measured. The expression of tight junction (TJ) and adherens junction (AJ) molecules was determined using real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, and confocal microscopy. Protease activity in Alternaria was determined using protease inhibitors and heat inactivation.

Results

Alternaria enhanced the production of ROS and reduced the TER. Alternaria decreased the messenger RNA and protein expression of TJs (zonula occludens‐1, occludin, and claudin‐1), but did not influence the AJ molecule. When Alternaria was pretreated with serine protease inhibitor and heat inactivation, ROS, TER, and TJ molecule expression returned to their nonstimulated levels.

Conclusion

Serine protease in Alternaria altered nasal epithelial barrier function. Intracellular ROS induced by Alternaria may influence the barrier function of nasal epithelial cells and enhance the inflammatory process of nasal mucosa.
Paintable Room‐Temperature Phosphorescent Liquid Formulations of Alkylated Bromonaphthalimide
Authors: Goudappagouda  , Manthanath Ananthakrishnan , Wakchaure Vivek Chandrakant , Ranjeesh Kayaramkodath Chandran , Das Tamal , Vanka Kumar , Nakanishi Takashi , Babu Sukumaran Santhosh
Published: December 2018

Organic phosphors have been widely explored with an understanding that crystalline molecular ordering is a requisite for enhanced intersystem crossing. In this context, we explored the room‐temperature phosphorescence features of a solvent‐free organic liquid phosphor in air. While alkyl chain substitution varied the physical states of the bromonaphthalimides, the phosphorescence remained unaltered for the solvent‐free liquid in air. As the first report, a solvent‐free liquid of a long swallow‐tailed bromonaphthalimide exhibits room‐temperature phosphorescence in air. Doping of the phosphor with carbonyl guests resulted in enhanced phosphorescence, and hence a large‐area paintable phosphorescent liquid composite with improved lifetime and quantum yield was developed.
The Comparability of Pt to Pt‐Ru in Catalyzing the Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction for Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells Operated at 80 °C
Authors: Li Qihao , Peng Hanqing , Wang Yingming , Xiao Li , Lu Juntao , Zhuang Lin
Published: December 2018

The Pt‐catalyzed hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) for alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs) has been one of the focus subjects in current fuel‐cell research. The Pt catalyst is inferior for HOR in alkaline solutions, and alloying with Ru is an effective promotion strategy. APEFCs with Pt‐Ru anodes have provided a performance benchmark over 1 W cm−2 at 60 °C. The Pt anode is now found to be in fact as good as the Pt‐Ru anode for APEFCs operated at elevated conditions. At 80 °C with appropriate gas back‐pressure, the cell with a Pt anode exhibits a peak power density of about 1.9 W cm−2, which is very close to that with a Pt‐Ru anode. Even by decreasing the anode Pt loading to 0.1 mg cm−2, over 1.5 W cm−2 can still be achieved at 80 °C. This finding alters the previous understanding about the Pt catalyzed HOR in alkaline media and casts a new light on the development of practical and high‐power APFEC technology.
NiH‐Catalyzed Remote Asymmetric Hydroalkylation of Alkenes with Racemic α‐Bromo Amides
Authors: Zhou Fang , Zhang Yao , Xu Xianfeng , Zhu Shaolin
Published: December 2018

Reported here is a terminal‐selective, remote asymmetric hydroalkylation of olefins with racemic α‐bromo amides. The reaction proceeds by NiH‐catalyzed alkene isomerization and subsequent alkylation reaction, and can enantioconvergently introduce an unsymmetrical secondary alkyl group from a racemic α‐bromo amide onto a terminal C(sp3)−H position along the hydrocarbon chain of the alkene. This mild process affords a range of structurally diverse chiral α‐alkylalkanoic amides in excellent yields, and high regio‐ and enantioselectivities. In addition, the synthetic utility of this protocol is further highlighted by the regioconvergent conversion of industrial raw materials of isomeric olefin mixtures into enantioriched α‐alkylalkanoic amides on large scale.
Eine neue Strukturklasse neutraler borhaltiger Diradikale verbrückt über zwei Kohlenstoffatome
Authors: Deissenberger Andrea , Welz Eileen , Drescher Regina , Krummenacher Ivo , Dewhurst Rian D. , Engels Bernd , Braunschweig Holger
Published: December 2018

Eine neue Strukturklasse borhaltiger Diradikale wurde durch Lewis‐Basen‐Addition und Reduktion einfach CAAC‐stabilisierter Diborylalkene dargestellt. Die Diradikale besitzen eine senkrecht stehende olefinische Brücke, die eine Delokalisierung zwischen den B(CAAC)‐π‐Systemen verhindert, woraus eine lediglich sehr schwache Kopplung der Spinzentren resultiert. DFT‐Rechnungen deuten darauf hin, dass die Verbindungen einen offenschaligen Singulett‐Grundzustand besitzen, mit einem Triplettzustand, der energetisch vernachlässigbar höher liegt, weshalb eine leichte thermische Besetzung des letzteren möglich ist.
A New Class of Neutral Boron‐Based Diradicals Spanned by a Two‐Carbon‐Atom Bridge
Authors: Deissenberger Andrea , Welz Eileen , Drescher Regina , Krummenacher Ivo , Dewhurst Rian D. , Engels Bernd , Braunschweig Holger
Published: December 2018

A new structural class of boron‐based diradicals is prepared by Lewis base addition to and reduction of singly cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) stabilised diborylalkenes. The diradicals feature a perpendicular olefinic bridge preventing delocalization between the B(CAAC) π systems, making the coupling between the spin centres very weak. DFT calculations indicate that the compounds are ground‐state (open‐shell) singlets, with triplet states negligibly higher in energy, thus making the triplet states easily populated thermally.
Preparation and properties of carbon‐fiber‐ and pine‐cone‐fiber‐reinforced high‐density polyethylene composites
Authors: Guo Yong , Liu Dian , Chen Yuxia , Zhang Tingting , Zhu Shiliu
Published: December 2018

In this study, we were concerned with the physical properties of carbon‐fiber‐ and pine‐cone‐fiber‐reinforced high‐density polyethylene prepared by compression molding. The resulting composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and mechanical testing. The results indicate that the manufacturing properties of the composites were improved with the addition of carbon fibers. The FTIR results showed that the carbon‐fiber reinforcement of the composites was mainly achieved through physical effects. An appropriate content of carbon‐fiber addition improved the interface combination between the fibers and matrix; carbon fibers improve the water absorption of the material, and the relative crystallinity of the composite increased with increasing carbon‐fiber addition. With increasing carbon‐fiber content, the thermal decomposition temperature of the composites increased, and the thermal stability of the composites improved. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47304.
Calix[4]arene‐Based Bis(Nitric Oxide) Complexes: Synthesis, Physical Properties, and Structural Characterization
Authors: Wang Denan , Zhang Depeng , Lindeman Sergey V. , Rathore Rajendra
Published: December 2018

Calix[4]arene‐based molecules hold great promise as candidate sensors and storage materials for nitric oxide (NO), owing to their unprecedented binding affinity for NO. However, the structure of calix[4]arene is complicated by the availability of four possible conformers: 1,3‐alternate, 1,2‐alternate, cone, and partial cone (paco). Whilst complexes of NO with several of these conformers have previously been established, the 1,2‐alternate conformer complex, that is, [1,2‐alter⋅NO]+, has not been previously reported. Herein, we determine the crystal structure of the NO complex with the 1,2‐alternate conformer for the first time. In addition, we have also found that the 1,2‐alternate and 1,3‐alternate conformers can combine with two NO molecules to form stable bis(nitric oxide) complexes. These new complexes, which exhibit remarkable binding capacity for the construction of NO‐storage molecules, were characterized by using X‐ray crystallography and NMR, IR, and UV/Vis spectroscopy. These findings will extend our understanding of the interactions between nitric oxide and cofacially and non‐cofacially arrayed aromatic rings, and we expect them to aid in the design and development of new supramolecular sensors and storage materials for NO with high capacity and efficacy.