bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhanced photocurrent of Si solar cell with the inclusion of a transparent indium tin oxide thin film
Authors: Parida Bhaskar , Ji Hyung Yong , Lim Gyoung Ho , Park Seungil , Kim Keunjoo
Published: October 2014

We investigated the enhanced photocurrents in crystalline Si solar cells with the inclusion of indium tin oxide thin film. The indium tin oxide enhances the quantum efficiency and reduces photoreflectance in the spectral region of 310–1048 nm. The enhanced photocurrent is ranged at the Si band edge for the spectral peak near 1033 nm. For the subband gap region, the photocurrent is strongly reduced by the indium tin oxide thin film, indicating that the transmission of infrared spectra was prevented by plasmonic metamaterial effect. The fabricated cell showed the short circuit current density enhanced due to the carrier excitation behavior at conduction band of the infrared spectra induced metallic indium tin oxide thin film. The enhanced shunt resistance of the pn junction is related to the blocking of Ag paste penetration into the Si emitter layer by the indium tin oxide thin film during fabrication process.
Spatial localization of resistive drift wave structure in tokamak edge plasmas with an embedded magnetic island
Authors: Hu Shilin , Li Jiquan , Qu Hongpeng , Kishimoto Y.
Published: October 2014

Resistive drift wave instability is investigated numerically in tokamak edge plasma confined by sheared slab magnetic field geometry with an embedded magnetic island. The focus is on the structural characteristics of eigenmode inside the island, where the density profile tends to be flattened. A transition of the dominant eigenmode occurs around a critical island width wc. For thin islands with a width below wc, two global long wavelength eigenmodes with approximately the same growth rate but different eigenfrequency are excited, which are stabilized by the magnetic island through two-dimensional mode coupling in both x and y (corresponding to radial and poloidal in tokamak) directions. On the other hand, a short wavelength eigenmode, which is destabilized by thick islands with a width above wc, dominates the edge fluctuation, showing a prominent structural localization in the region between the X-point and the O-point of the magnetic island. The main destabilization mechanism is identified as the mode coupling in the y direction, which is similar to the so-called toroidal coupling in tokamak plasmas. These three eigenmodes may coexist in the drift wave fluctuation for the island with a width around wc. It is demonstrated that the structural localization results mainly from the quasilinear flattening of density profile inside the magnetic island.
Simultaneous control of vortex polarity and chirality in thickness-modulated [Co/Pd]n/Ti/Ni80Fe20 disks
Authors: Shimon G. , Ravichandar V. , Adeyeye A. O. , Ross C. A.
Published: October 2014

Simultaneous vortex chirality and polarity control are observed in thickness-modulated [Co/Pd]n/Ti/Ni80Fe20 disks using magnetic force microscopy by applying a proper sequence of in-plane and out-of-plane reset fields. The thickness modulation in the NiFe layer introduces an additional shape anisotropy, which defines the vortex chirality during the in-plane reset field, while the [Co/Pd]n underlayer produces a large out-of-plane stray field, which stabilizes the vortex polarity in the NiFe layer. Micromagnetic simulations are compared with experiment results.
Research Update: Nickel filling in nanofeatures using supercritical fluid and its application to fabricating a novel catalyst structure for continuous growth of nanocarbon fibers
Authors: Watanabe Mitsuhiro , Osada Kazuma , Kondoh Eiichi , Okubo Soichiro , Hikata Takeshi , Nakayama Akira
Published: October 2014

A novel catalyst structure for continuous growth of nanocarbon fibers is proposed. In this structure, catalyst nanofibers are embedded in a membrane that separates the growth ambient into carbon-supplying and carbon-precipitating environments. The catalyst nanofibers pierce through the membrane so that carbon source gas is supplied only to one end of the catalyst fibers and nanocarbon fibers grow continuously at the other end. To realize this structure, self-supporting anodized alumina was used as a membrane, and its nano-through-holes were filled with catalyst Ni in supercritical CO2 fluid. Direct carbon growth from the Ni nanofibers was confirmed using this catalyst structure.
Electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of p-type Ag-doped Mg2Sn and Mg2Sn1-xSix (x = 0.05, 0.1)
Authors: Kim Sunphil , Wiendlocha Bartlomiej , Jin Hyungyu , Tobola Janusz , Heremans Joseph P.
Published: October 2014

An experimental and theoretical study of p-type Ag-doped Mg2Sn and Mg2Sn1-xSix (x = 0.05, 0.1) is presented. Band structure calculations show that behavior of Ag in Mg2Sn depends on the site it occupies. Based on Bloch spectral functions and density of states calculations, we show that if Ag substitutes for Sn, it is likely to form a resonant level; if it substitutes for Mg, a rigid-band-like behavior is observed. In both cases, the doped system should exhibit p-type conductivity. Experimentally, thermoelectric, thermomagnetic, and galvanomagnetic properties are investigated of p-type Mg2Sn1−xSix (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1) samples synthesized by a co-melting method in sealed crucibles. Ag effectively dopes the samples p-type, and thermoelectric power factors in excess of 20 μW cm−1K−2 are observed in optimally doped samples. From the measured Seebeck coefficient, Nernst coefficient, and mobility, we find that the combination of acoustic phonon scattering, optical phonon scattering and defect scattering results in an energy-independent scattering rate. No resonant-like increase in thermopower is observed, which correlates well with electronic structure calculations assuming the location of Ag on Mg site.
Temperature dependence of magnetization and anisotropy in uniaxial NiFe2O4 nanomagnets: Deviation from the Callen-Callen power law
Authors: Chatterjee Biplab K. , Ghosh C. K. , Chattopadhyay K. K.
Published: October 2014

The thermal variation of magnetic anisotropy (K) and saturation magnetization (MS) for uniaxial nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanomagnets are investigated. Major magnetic hysteresis loops are measured for the sample at temperatures over the range 5–280 K using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The high-field regimes of the hysteresis loops are modeled using the law of approach to saturation, based on the assumption that at sufficiently high field only direct rotation of spin-moment take place, with an additional forced magnetization term that is linear with applied field. The uniaxial anisotropy constant K is calculated from the fitting of the data to the theoretical equation. As temperature increases from 5 K to 280 K, a 49% reduction of K, accompanied by an 85% diminution of MS is observed. Remarkably, K is linearly proportional to MS2.6 in the whole temperature range violating the existing theoretical model by Callen and Callen. The unusual power-law behavior for the NiFe2O4 uniaxial nanomagnets is ascribed to the non-negligible contributions from inter-sublattice pair interactions, Neel surface anisotropy, and higher order anisotropies. A complete realization of the unusual anisotropy-magnetization scaling behavior for nanoscale two-sublattice magnetic materials require a major modification of the existing theory by considering the exact mechanism of each contributions to the effective anisotropy.
Influence of magnetic field on laser-produced barium plasmas: Spectral and dynamic behaviour of neutral and ionic species
Authors: Raju Makaraju Srinivasa , Singh R. K. , Gopinath Pramod , Kumar Ajai
Published: October 2014

The expansion dynamics and spectral behaviour of plasma produced by a Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1.064 μm, pulse width: 8 ns) from barium target and expanding in 0.45 T transverse magnetic field in vacuum (10−5 Torr pressure) are investigated using time-of-flight optical emission spectroscopy. The experiments are carried out at various laser fluences from 12 to 31 J/cm2. The temporal profiles of neutral (Ba I 553.5 and 577.7 nm) lines are temporally broadened, while that of ionic (Ba II 413.0 and 455.4 nm) lines show strong confinement in the presence of a magnetic field. In the absence of magnetic field, the temporal profile of Ba I 553.5 nm is exactly reproduced by fitting with two Shifted Maxwell Boltzmann (SMB) Distribution components, while in the presence of a magnetic field the profile could only be fitted with three components. The field enhanced and field induced SMB components of neutral profile are correlated with populations of ground state, metastable states, and long-lived Rydberg states present in the barium plasma, while SMB components of ionic lines are explained on the basis of the presence of super-elastic collisions among the excited species in the plasma. The spatial variation of electron temperature and temporal variation of electron density are deduced and correlated to the different collisional processes in the barium plasma. The ionic profiles show efficient confinement in the presence of a magnetic field at higher fluences.
Note: Calibration of EBT3 radiochromic film for measuring solar ultraviolet radiation
Authors: Chun S. L. , Yu P. K. N.
Published: October 2014

Solar (UVA + UVB) exposure was assessed using the Gafchromic EBT3 film. The coloration change was represented by the net reflective optical density (Net ROD). Through calibrations against a UV-tube lamp, operational relationships were obtained between Net ROD and the (UVA + UVB) exposures (in J cm−2 or J m−2). The useful range was from ∼0.2 to ∼30 J cm−2. The uniformity of UV irradiation was crucial for an accurate calibration. For solar exposures ranging from 2 to 11 J cm−2, the predicted Net ROD agreed with the recorded values within 9%, while the predicted exposures agreed with the recorded values within 15%.
Topos quantum theory on quantization-induced sheaves
Authors: Nakayama Kunji
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we construct a sheaf-based topos quantum theory. It is well known that a topos quantum theory can be constructed on the topos of presheaves on the category of commutative von Neumann algebras of bounded operators on a Hilbert space. Also, it is already known that quantization naturally induces a Lawvere-Tierney topology on the presheaf topos. We show that a topos quantum theory akin to the presheaf-based one can be constructed on sheaves defined by the quantization-induced Lawvere-Tierney topology. That is, starting from the spectral sheaf as a state space of a given quantum system, we construct sheaf-based expressions of physical propositions and truth objects, and thereby give a method of truth-value assignment to the propositions. Furthermore, we clarify the relationship to the presheaf-based quantum theory. We give translation rules between the sheaf-based ingredients and the corresponding presheaf-based ones. The translation rules have “coarse-graining” effects on the spaces of the presheaf-based ingredients; a lot of different proposition presheaves, truth presheaves, and presheaf-based truth-values are translated to a proposition sheaf, a truth sheaf, and a sheaf-based truth-value, respectively. We examine the extent of the coarse-graining made by translation.
Role of defects in BiFeO3 multiferroic films and their local electronic structure by x-ray absorption spectroscopy
Authors: Ravalia Ashish , Vagadia Megha , Solanki P. S. , Gautam S. , Chae K. H. , Asokan K. , Shah N. A. , Kuberkar D. G.
Published: October 2014

Present study reports the role of defects in the electrical transport in BiFeO3 (BFO) multiferroic films and its local electronic structure investigated by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure. Defects created by high energy 200 MeV Ag+15 ion irradiation with a fluence of ∼5 × 1011 ions/cm2 results in the increase in structural strain and reduction in the mobility of charge carriers and enhancement in resistive (I-V) and polarization (P-E) switching behaviour. At higher fluence of ∼5 × 1012 ions/cm2, there is a release in the structural strain due to local annealing effect, resulting in an increase in the mobility of charge carriers, which are released from oxygen vacancies and hence suppression in resistive and polarization switching. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure studies at Fe L3, 2- and O K-edges show a significant change in the spectral features suggesting the modifications in the local electronic structure responsible for changes in the intrinsic magnetic moment and electrical transport properties of BFO.
Spectral response of localized surface plasmon in resonance with mid-infrared light
Authors: Kusa Fumiya , Ashihara Satoshi
Published: October 2014

We study spectral responses of localized surface plasmons (LSPs) in gold nanorods, which resonate at mid-infrared frequencies, by transmission spectroscopy and electromagnetic field analyses. The resonance linewidth is found to be linearly proportional to the resonance frequency, indicating that the dephasing due to Drude relaxation is suppressed and that the overall dephasing is dominated by radiative damping. Owing to the reduced radiative/non-radiative damping and large geometrical length of the nanorod, near-field intensity enhancement exceeds several hundred times. Nonetheless the resonance linewidth is comparable with or larger than the bandwidth of a 100-fs pulse, and therefore the enhanced near-field as short as 100-fs can be created upon pulsed excitation. The large enhancements with appropriate bandwidths make LSPs promising for enhanced nonlinear spectroscopies, coherent controls, and strong-field light-matter interactions in the mid-infrared range.
Study on photonic angular momentum states in coaxial magneto-optical waveguides
Authors: Yang Mu , Wu Li-Ting , Guo Tian-Jing , Guo Rui-Peng , Cui Hai-Xu , Cao Xue-Wei , Chen Jing
Published: October 2014

By rigorously solving Maxwell's equations, we develop a full-wave electromagnetic theory for the study of photonic angular momentum states (PAMSs) in coaxial magneto-optical (MO) waveguides. Paying attention to a metal-MO-metal coaxial configuration, we show that the dispersion curves of the originally degenerated PAMSs experience a splitting, which are determined by the off-diagonal permittivity tensor element of the MO medium. We emphasize that this broken degeneracy in dispersion relation is accompanied by modified distributions of field component and transverse energy flux. A qualitative analysis about the connection between the split dispersion behavior and the field distribution is provided. Potential applications are discussed.
Structural stability and depolarization of manganese-doped (Bi0.5Na0.5)1−xBaxTiO3 relaxor ferroelectrics
Authors: Wang Sheng-Fen , Tu Chi-Shun , Chang Ting-Lun , Chen Pin-Yi , Chen Cheng-Sao , Hugo Schmidt V. , Anthoniappen J.
Published: October 2014

This work reveals that 0.5 mol. % manganese (Mn) doping in (Bi0.5Na0.5)1−xBaxTiO3 (x = 0 and 0.075) solid solutions can increase structural thermal stability, depolarization temperature (Td), piezoelectric coefficient (d33), and electromechanical coupling factor (kt). High-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy reveal coexistence of rhombohedral (R) R3c and tetragonal (T) P4bm phases in (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.925Ba0.075TiO3 (BN7.5BT) and 0.5 mol. % Mn-doped BN7.5BT (BN7.5BT-0.5Mn). (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 (BNT) and BN7.5BT show an R − R + T phase transition, which does not occur in 0.5 mol. % Mn-doped BNT (BNT-0.5Mn) and BN7.5BT-0.5Mn. Dielectric permittivity (ε′) follows the Curie-Weiss equation, ε′ = C/(T − To), above the Burns temperature (TB), below which polar nanoregions begin to develop. The direct piezoelectric coefficient (d33) and electromechanical coupling factor (kt) of BN7.5BT-0.5Mn reach 190 pC/N and 47%.
Polarization reversal and domain kinetics in magnesium doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate
Authors: Shur V. Ya. , Akhmatkhanov A. R. , Chuvakova M. A. , Baturin I. S.
Published: October 2014

The polarization reversal process has been studied in 1 mol. % MgO doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate (LT) single crystal. The revealed stages of domain structure evolution represent (1) continuous nucleation and growth of isolated hexagonal domains with walls oriented along Y directions and (2) continuous motion of the plane domain walls stimulated by merging with isolated domains. The activation field dependence of the switching time has been revealed. The coercive field for quasi-static switching is about 150 V/mm. The bulk screening process has been analyzed. The main parameters of the switching process have been compared with other representatives of LT family.
Transient photovoltage study on the dynamics of excitons and carriers in tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum
Authors: Chen Xiaoqing , Wu Bo , He Zeshang , Xuxie Huina , Liang Ziqi , Hou Xiaoyuan
Published: October 2014

Transient photovoltage (TPV) was performed on the ITO/tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (AlQ)/silver device to study the dynamics of carriers. It has been previously reported that typical TPV results in organic semiconductors show no more than one turning point of voltage polarity, where interfacial exciton dissociation and carrier drift are responsible as suggested by the conventional model. By contrast, two polarity turning points were observed in our TPV studies, for which the conventional model fails to explain and thus a more detailed model is proposed to add the diffusion of carriers. The new model is further supported by the TPV evolution study where the effect induced by insertion of a thin LiF layer between AlQ and silver was examined. Our new findings may give a better understanding of optoelectronic dynamics in organic semiconductors.
Thermal conductivity of configurable two-dimensional carbon nanotube architecture and strain modulation
Authors: Zhan H. F. , Zhang G. , Bell J. M. , Gu Y. T.
Published: October 2014

We reported the thermal conductivity of the two-dimensional carbon nanotube (CNT)-based architecture, which can be constructed through welding of single-wall CNTs by electron beam. Using large-scale nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, the thermal conductivity is found to vary with different junction types due to their different phonon scatterings at the junction. The strong length and strain dependence of the thermal conductivity suggests an effective avenue to tune the thermal transport properties of the CNT-based architecture, benefiting the design of nanoscale thermal rectifiers or phonon engineering.
Beam-deposited platinum as versatile catalyst for bottom-up silicon nanowire synthesis
Authors: Hibst N. , Knittel P. , Kranz C. , Mizaikoff B. , Strehle S.
Published: October 2014

The controlled localized bottom-up synthesis of silicon nanowires on arbitrarily shaped surfaces is still a persisting challenge for functional device assembly. In order to address this issue, electron beam and focused ion beam-assisted catalyst deposition have been investigated with respect to platinum expected to form a PtSi alloy catalyst for a subsequent bottom-up nanowire synthesis. The effective implementation of pure platinum nanoparticles or thin films for silicon nanowire growth has been demonstrated recently. Beam-deposited platinum contains significant quantities of amorphous carbon due to the organic precursor and gallium ions for a focused ion beam-based deposition process. Nevertheless, silicon nanowires could be grown on various substrates regardless of the platinum purity. Additionally, p-type doping could be realized with diborane whereas n-type doping suppressed a nanowire growth. The rational utilization of this beam-assisted approach enables us to control the localized synthesis of single silicon nanowires at planar surfaces but succeeded also in single nanowire growth at the three-dimensional apex of an atomic force microscopy tip. Therefore, this catalyst deposition method appears to be a unique extension of current technologies to assemble complex nanowire-based devices.
Mid-infrared response of reduced graphene oxide and its high-temperature coefficient of resistance
Authors: Liang Haifeng
Published: October 2014

Much effort has been made to study the formation mechanisms of photocurrents in graphene and reduced graphene oxide films under visible and near-infrared light irradiation. A built-in field and photo-thermal electrons have been applied to explain the experiments. However, much less attention has been paid to clarifying the mid-infrared response of reduced graphene oxide films at room temperature. Thus, mid-infrared photoresponse and annealing temperature-dependent resistance experiments were carried out on reduced graphene oxide films. A maximum photocurrent of 75 μA was observed at room temperature, which was dominated by the bolometer effect, where the resistance of the films decreased as the temperature increased after they had absorbed light. The electrons localized in the defect states and the residual oxygen groups were thermally excited into the conduction band, forming a photocurrent. In addition, a temperature increase of 2 °C for the films after light irradiation for 2 minutes was observed using absorption power calculations. This work details a way to use reduced graphene oxide films that contain appropriate defects and residual oxygen groups as bolometer-sensitive materials in the mid-infrared range.
Activity-dependent FUS dysregulation disrupts synaptic homeostasis
Authors: Sephton Chantelle F. , Tang Amy A. , Kulkarni Ashwinikumar , West James , Brooks Mieu , Stubblefield Jeremy J. , Liu Yun , Zhang Michael Q. , Green Carla B. , Huber Kimberly M. , Huang Eric J. , Herz Joachim , Yu Gang
Published: October 2014

Significance

Both overexpression of wild-type fused in sarcoma (FUS) protein and missense mutations can be pathogenic in a group of related neurodegenerative disorders that includes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. It is unclear how FUS overexpression and missense mutations cause disease in human patients. In this work, we generated novel transgenic mouse models expressing low levels of wild-type and mutant human FUS, both of which recapitulate aspects of the human diseases. We found a profound difference in the underlying mechanisms by which missense mutation and wild-type overexpression cause disease. Overexpression of wild-type FUS protein alters its nuclear function at the level of gene expression. In contrast, missense mutation disrupts activity-dependent synaptic homeostasis to gain a toxic function at dendritic spines.
The Boundaries of an Infidel in Zoroastrianism: A Middle Persian Term of Otherness for Jews, Christians, and Muslims
Authors: Mokhtarian Jason
Published: October 2014

This paper explores the Middle Persian term agdēn, which is often problematically translated as “infidel.” By tracing this term of otherness through Middle Persian texts such as legal cases inThe Book of a Thousand Judgmentsand polemics in theDēnkardBook III, this article argues that the concept of the infidel frequently appears in discussions about slavery, intermarriage, and conversion to and from Zoroastrianism. Middle Persian legal and theological texts regarding infidels deal with cases in which Zoroastrian interactions with non-Zoroastrians impinge upon Zoroastrian boundaries of identity. Moreover, the term agdēn often refers to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, thereby offering insight into the ties between Zoroastrian self-identity and other groups which the Persian priests encountered. In the end, this paper demonstrates the need for further intensive studies into Middle Persian technical terms of otherness as they lie at the heart of questions of Zoroastrian self-definition and attitudes towards others.
Interleukin 13– and Interleukin 17A–Induced Pulmonary Hypertension Phenotype Due to Inhalation of Antigen and Fine Particles from Air Pollution
Authors: Park Sung‐Hyun , Chen Wen‐Chi , Esmaeil Nafiseh , Lucas Benjamin , Marsh Leigh M. , Reibman Joan , Grunig Gabriele
Published: October 2014

Pulmonary hypertension has a marked detrimental effect on quality of life and life expectancy. In a mouse model of antigen‐induced pulmonary arterial remodeling, we have recently shown that coexposure to urban ambient particulate matter (PM) significantly increased the thickening of the pulmonary arteries and also resulted in significantly increased right ventricular systolic pressures. Here we interrogate the mechanism and show that combined neutralization of interleukin 13 (IL‐13) and IL‐17A significantly ameliorated the increase in right ventricular systolic pressure, the circumferential muscularization of pulmonary arteries, and the molecular change in the right ventricle. Surprisingly, our data revealed a protective role of IL‐17A for the antigen‐ and PM‐induced severe thickening of pulmonary arteries. This protection was due to the inhibition of the effects of IL‐13, which drove this response, and the expression of metalloelastase and resistin‐like molecule α. However, the latter was redundant for the arterial thickening response. Anti‐IL‐13 exacerbated airway neutrophilia, which was due to a resulting excess effect of IL‐17A, confirming concurrent cross inhibition of IL‐13‐ and IL‐17A‐dependent responses in the lungs of animals exposed to antigen and PM. Our experiments also identified IL‐13/IL‐17A‐independent molecular reprogramming in the lungs induced by exposure to antigen and PM, which indicates a risk for arterial remodeling and protection from arterial constriction. Our study points to IL‐13‐ and IL‐17A‐coinduced inflammation as a new template for biomarkers and therapeutic targeting for the management of immune response–induced pulmonary hypertension.
Response to Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Drug Therapies in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Authors: Charalampopoulos Athanasios , Howard Luke S. , Tzoulaki Ioanna , Gin‐Sing Wendy , Grapsa Julia , Wilkins Martin R. , Davies Rachel J. , Nihoyannopoulos Petros , Connolly Susan B. , Gibbs J. Simon R.
Published: October 2014

The age at diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and the prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors are increasing. We sought to determine whether the response to drug therapy was influenced by CV risk factors in PAH patients. We studied consecutive incident PAH patients (n = 146) between January 1, 2008, and July 15, 2011. Patients were divided into two groups: the PAH–No CV group included patients with no CV risk factors (obesity, systemic hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, permanent atrial fibrillation, mitral and/or aortic valve disease, and coronary artery disease), and the PAH‐CV group included patients with at least one. The response to PAH treatment was analyzed in all the patients who received PAH drug therapy. The PAH–No CV group included 43 patients, and the PAH‐CV group included 69 patients. Patients in the PAH–No CV group were younger than those in the PAH‐CV group (P < 0.0001). In the PAH–No CV group, 16 patients (37%) improved on treatment and 27 (63%) did not improve, compared with 11 (16%) and 58 (84%) in the PAH‐CV group, respectively (P = 0.027 after adjustment for age). There was no difference in survival at 30 months (P = 0.218). In conclusion, in addition to older age, CV risk factors may predict a reduced response to PAH drug therapy in patients with PAH.
Singular invariant integrals for elastic body with delaminated thin elastic inclusion
Authors: Khludnev A.
Published: October 2014

We consider an equilibrium problem for a

2
D

2D

elastic body with a thin elastic inclusion. It is assumed that the inclusion is partially delaminated, therefore providing the presence of a crack. Inequality type boundary conditions are imposed at the crack faces to prevent a mutual penetration of the faces. Differentiability properties of the energy functional with respect to the crack length are analyzed. We prove an existence of the derivative and find a formula for this derivative. It is shown that the formula for the derivative can be written in the form of a singular invariant integral.
Evaluating characteristic functions of character sheaves at unipotent elements
Authors: Taylor Jay
Published: October 2014

AssumeG\mathbf {G}is a connected reductive algebraic group defined over an algebraic closureK=F¯p\mathbb {K} = \overline {\mathbb {F}}_pof the finite field of prime orderp>0p>0. Furthermore, assume thatF:G→GF : \mathbf {G} \to \mathbf {G}is a Frobenius endomorphism ofG\mathbf {G}. In this article we give a formula for the value of anyFF-stable character sheaf ofG\mathbf {G}at a unipotent element. This formula is expressed in terms of class functions ofGF\mathbf {G}^Fwhich are supported on a single unipotent class ofG\mathbf {G}. In general these functions are not determined, however, we give an expression for these functions under the assumption thatZ(G)Z(\mathbf {G})is connected,G/Z(G)\mathbf {G}/Z(\mathbf {G})is simple andppis a good prime forG\mathbf {G}. In this case our formula is completely explicit.
Differential regulation enrichment analysis via the integration of transcriptional regulatory network and gene expression data
Authors: Ma Shining , Jiang Tao , Jiang Rui
Published: October 2014

Motivation: Although many gene set analysis methods have been proposed to explore associations between a phenotype and a group of genes sharing common biological functions or involved in the same biological process, the underlying biological mechanisms of identified gene sets are typically unexplained.

Results: We propose a method called Differential Regulation-based enrichment Analysis for GENe sets (DRAGEN) to identify gene sets in which a significant proportion of genes have their transcriptional regulatory patterns changed in a perturbed phenotype. We conduct comprehensive simulation studies to demonstrate the capability of our method in identifying differentially regulated gene sets. We further apply our method to three human microarray expression datasets, two with hormone treated and control samples and one concerning different cell cycle phases. Results indicate that the capability of DRAGEN in identifying phenotype-associated gene sets is significantly superior to those of four existing methods for analyzing differentially expressed gene sets. We conclude that the proposed differential regulation enrichment analysis method, though exploratory in nature, complements the existing gene set analysis methods and provides a promising new direction for the interpretation of gene expression data.

Availability and implementation: The program of DRAGEN is freely available at http://bioinfo.au.tsinghua.edu.cn/dragen/.

Contact:  ruijiang@tsinghua.edu.cn or jiang@cs.ucr.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary Data are available at Bioinformatics online.
FuncPatch: a web server for the fast Bayesian inference of conserved functional patches in protein 3D structures
Authors: Huang Yi-Fei , Golding G. Brian
Published: October 2014

Motivation: A number of statistical phylogenetic methods have been developed to infer conserved functional sites or regions in proteins. Many methods, e.g. Rate4Site, apply the standard phylogenetic models to infer site-specific substitution rates and totally ignore the spatial correlation of substitution rates in protein tertiary structures, which may reduce their power to identify conserved functional patches in protein tertiary structures when the sequences used in the analysis are highly similar. The 3D sliding window method has been proposed to infer conserved functional patches in protein tertiary structures, but the window size, which reflects the strength of the spatial correlation, must be predefined and is not inferred from data. We recently developed GP4Rate to solve these problems under the Bayesian framework. Unfortunately, GP4Rate is computationally slow. Here, we present an intuitive web server, FuncPatch, to perform a fast approximate Bayesian inference of conserved functional patches in protein tertiary structures.

Results: Both simulations and four case studies based on empirical data suggest that FuncPatch is a good approximation to GP4Rate. However, FuncPatch is orders of magnitudes faster than GP4Rate. In addition, simulations suggest that FuncPatch is potentially a useful tool complementary to Rate4Site, but the 3D sliding window method is less powerful than FuncPatch and Rate4Site. The functional patches predicted by FuncPatch in the four case studies are supported by experimental evidence, which corroborates the usefulness of FuncPatch.

Availability and implementation: The software FuncPatch is freely available at the web site, http://info.mcmaster.ca/yifei/FuncPatch

Contact:  golding@mcmaster.ca

Supplementary information:  Supplementary Data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Therapeutic uses of anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies
Authors: Philips George K. , Atkins Michael
Published: October 2014

Despite extensive investigation over the past three decades, cancer immunotherapy has produced limited success, with few agents achieving approval by the Food and Drug Administration and even the most effective helping only a minority of patients, primarily with melanoma or renal cancer. In recent years, immune checkpoints that maintain physiologic self-tolerance have been implicated in the down-regulation of anti-tumor immunity. Efforts to restore latent anti-tumor immunity have focused on antibody-based interventions targeting CTL antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) on T lymphocytes and its principal ligand (PD-L1) on tumor cells. Ipilimumab, an antibody targeting CTLA-4, appears to restore tumor immunity at the priming phase, whereas anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies restore immune function in the tumor microenvironment. Although ipilimumab can produce durable long-term responses in patients with advanced melanoma, it is associated with significant immune-related toxicities. By contrast, antibodies targeting either PD-1 or PD-L1 have produced significant anti-tumor activity with considerably less toxicity. Activity was seen in patients with melanoma and renal cancer, as well as those with non-small-cell lung, bladder and head and neck cancers, tumors not previously felt to be sensitive to immunotherapy. The tolerability of PD-1-pathway blockers and their unique mechanism of action have made them ideal backbones for combination regimen development. Combination approaches involving cytotoxic chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents, alternative immune-checkpoint inhibitors, immunostimulatory cytokines and cancer vaccines are currently under clinical investigation. Current efforts focus on registration trials of single agents and combinations in various diseases and disease settings and identifying predictive biomarkers of response.
Assessing the quality of life among caregivers of patients with gliomas
Authors: Minaya Flores Patricia , Berbis Julie , Chinot, Olivier , Auquier Pascal
Published: October 2014

Background

The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of gliomas in caregivers' quality of life (QoL) and to compare this specific population to other oncology caregivers and the normative population in order to find differences and understand which aspects of QoL are more impacted.

Methods

The sample was composed of caregivers of patients with gliomas from the Neuro-Oncology Department of Timone University Hospital of Marseilles, France. Control caregivers were selected from different oncology departments and were matched with caregivers of patients with brain cancer on age, sex, and relationship with the patients. We used the specific CareGiver Oncology Quality of Life questionnaire (CarGOQoL) to assess the impact of cancer and its treatment on caregivers' QoL. Caregivers also completed the Short Form 36 (SF36) for comparison with the French normative sample.

Results

The study sample included 50 caregivers of patients with gliomas, aged 30–77 years, 28% of whom were men. When comparing specific CarGOQoL scores with those of the control caregivers, brain cancer caregivers had significantly lower scores for the burden and leisure time dimensions, with an effect size of 0.4. No significant differences between cases and controls were observed with SF36.

Conclusion

Caregivers of patients with gliomas showed increased burden scores and lower scores for the leisure time dimension. This could be explained by their unique care situation, in which patients become more limited physically and cognitively.
Unveiling the nature of coronae in active galactic nuclei through submillimeter observations
Authors: Inoue Yoshiyuki , Doi Akihiro
Published: October 2014

The heating mechanism of a corona above an accretion disk in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is still unknown. One possible mechanism is magnetic reconnection heating requiring energy equipartition between magnetic energy and gas energy in the disk. Here, we investigate the expected observed properties in the radio band from such a magnetized corona. A magnetized corona can generate synchrotron radiation since a huge amount of electrons exists. Although most of the radiation would be absorbed by synchrotron self-absorption, high-frequency end of synchrotron emission can escape from a corona and appear at the submillimeter range. If only thermal electrons exist in a corona, the expected flux from nearby Seyferts is below the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) sensitivity. However, if non-thermal electrons coexist in a corona, ALMA can measure the non-thermal tail of the synchrotron radiation from a corona. Such a non-thermal population is naturally expected to exist if the corona is heated by magnetic reconnections. Future ALMA observations will directly probe the coronal magnetic field strength and the existence of non-thermal electrons in coronae of AGNs.
혼합야채추출물의 항산화 및 항당뇨 효과 증진을 위한 톳, 매생이, 미역귀의 첨가효과
Authors: Tong Tao , Zhang Chengmei , Ko Du-Ok , Kim Sup-Bo , Jung Kwang-Jin , Kang Seong-Gook
Published: October 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the addition of Hizikia fusiforme, Capsosiphon fulvescens, and Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll on the antioxidant and inhibitory potentials against key enzymes related to type 2 diabetes of a commercial vegetable extract. The nutritional quality and mineral concentration of a vegetable extract with seaweeds added were also analyzed. The addition levels of seaweed did not influence the proximate composition, whereas the calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and iron concentrations significantly increased at the 5% Hizikia fusiforme and Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll addition levels. The 20% Hizikia fusiforme addition level significantly increased the total phenolic content and reducing power by 47.08% and 16.82%. The hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of the vegetable extract was not strengthened with the addition of seaweeds. The DPPH radical scavenging activity at the 20% Hizikia fusiforme, Capsosiphon fulvescens, and Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll addition levels significantly increased by 27.47%, 22.25%, and 17.27%, respectively. The vegetable extract with seaweeds added showed higher-level α-glucosidase inhibition activities, accompanied by relatively weaker α-amylase inhibition activity. In particular, at the 5% Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll addition level, the α-glucosidase activity was significantly inhibited by 98.26%. Overall, the results showed that the incorporation of seaweeds into a vegetable extract effectively increased the mineral concentration and improved the antioxidant and inhibitory abilities of the extract on key enzymes linked to type 2 diabetes.
Comparison of quality characteristics between seasonal cultivar of salted-Kimchi cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. Pekinesis)
Authors: Ku Kyung Hyung , Choi Eun Jeong , Jeong Moon Cheol
Published: October 2014

This study was carried to investigate the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of seasonal salted-Kimchi cabbage order to provide basic data for optimal salting and storage condition of seasonal Kimchi cabbage. Generally, fall season samples had slightly higher pH and acidity value than the other seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage. The soluble solids content of spring, summer, fall and winter samples were 5.95%, 6.18%, 6.29% and 7.76%, respectively. The salt content of all the seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage samples were insignificant. The number of microbial bacteria in the summer samples were generally much more significant than spring and winter samples. There was no significant difference in the color of seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage. As for the texture properties, the firmest samples in the surface rupture test were the spring samples (force: 4.92 kg), and the hardest samples in the puncture test were the summer samples (force: 11.71 kg). In the correlation analysis of the quality characteristics of seasonal samples, the soluble solids content and hardness of the seasonal salted Kimchi cabbage was significantly correlated at 1% significance level. Also, in the principal component analysis, F1 and F2 were shown to explain 27.28% and 35.59% of the total variance (62.87%), respectively. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the quality characteristics of seasonal samples, the samples were divided into three groups: spring cabbage group, summer cabbage group and fall and winter cabbage group,.
Comparison for enzymic activity of Nuruk and quality properties of Yakju by different fungi
Authors: Huh Chang-Ki , Kim So-Mang , Kim Yong-Doo
Published: October 2014

The enzymatic activity of Nuruk and the quality properties of Yakju were investigated according to different fungi. The fungi that were used in this study were Aspergillus kawachii KCCM 32819, Aspergillus niger KCCM 32005, Rhizopus japonicus KCCM 11604, Rhizopus oryzae KCCM 11272, Rhizopus oryzae KCCM 11273, Rhizopus oryzae KCCM 11276, and Mucor rouxii KCCM 60148. The study results are as follows. The saccharogenic power of Rhizopus oryzae KCCM 11272 Nuruk was the highest (3,647.72 SP/g) among all the samples. The α-amylase production and protease activities were highest (3.76 DU and 4.7 tyrosine mg/min, respectively) in the Rhizopus japonicus KCCM 11604 Nuruk. The pH levels of the Yakju made with commercial Nuruk and Rhizopus japonicus KCCM 11604 Nuruk were 4.14 and 4.07, respectively. The total titratable acid content of the Yakju made with Rhizopus oryzae KCCM 11273 Nuruk was the highest (0.56%) among all the samples. Rhizopus japonicus KCCM 11604 and Rhizopus oryzae KCCM 11272 had the highest ethanol yields (15.18% and 15.10%, respectively). In the sensory evaluation carried out in this study, the panel preferred the Yakju made with Rhizopus japonicus KCCM 11604 Nuruk. Overall, however, the panel did not like the Yakju made with Aspergillus niger KCCM 32005 Nuruk.
Antioxidant activities of commonly used Brassica spp. sprout vegetables in Korea
Authors: Shin Gi-Hae , Lee Young-Jun , Kim Jae-Hwan , Kim Young-Hyoun , Kim Dan-Bi , Lee Jong Seok , Lim Jeong-Ho , Lee Ok-Hwan
Published: October 2014

Brassica spp. vegetables have been known to have biological activities such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, we investigated the in vitro physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant activities of commonly used Brassica spp. sprout vegetables such as kohlabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongyloides), red radish (RaphanussativusL. var. sativus), broccoli (B. oleraceavar. italica), cabbage (B. rapavar. glabra Regel), rape (B. napus), radish (R. sativus), and tatsoi (B. campestris var. narinosa) sprouts. Our results showed that the vegetables with the highest total phenolics contents were the radish sprout (24.40±1.24 mg TAE/g) and kohlabi sprout extracts (23.97±0.46 mg TAE/g). Furthermore, the vegetable with the highest total flavonoid content was the radish sprout extract (15.30±1.35 mg CE/g). However, the kohlabi sprout extract showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging value (IC50= 1.95 mg/mL) and ORAC value (79.03 mM TE/g). In addition,the six kinds of Brassica spp. sprout vegetable extracts, except tatsoi, significantly inhibited the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and showed thatintracellular oxidative stress is closely related tothe accumulation of differentiated adipocytes and fat during the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. These results suggest that Brassica spp. sprout vegetables, especially kohlabi and radish sprout extracts, can be used to develop natural antioxidants.
An open framework for biodiversity databases
Authors: Bán Miklós , Végvári Zsolt , Bérces Sándor
Published: October 2014

OpenBioMaps is a recently developed, open and free web application with distributed database background, operated by several universities and national parks. This system provides free web map services and open database access by using standard OGC protocols. One of its' main features is that users can create new and unique database projects. The databases involved are maintained by the data providers themselves. Standard tools supplied to the users include repeatable and referable data queries, exporting, evaluations and tracking of data changes. The system also provides a programmable data service for promoting data processing.
Isotypic crystal structures of 1-benzyl-4-(4-bromophenyl)-2-imino-1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydrocycloocta[b]pyridine-3-carbonitrile and 1-benzyl-4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-imino-1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydrocycloocta[b]pyridine-3-carbonitrile
Authors: Nagalakshmi R. A. , Suresh J. , Maharani S. , Kumar R. Ranjith , Lakshman P. L. Nilantha
Published: October 2014

The molecules of the two isotypic title compounds, C25H24BrN3, (I), and C25H24FN3, (II), comprise a 2-iminopyridine ring fused with a cyclooctane ring. In (I), the cyclooctane ring adopts a twisted chair–chair conformation, while in (II), this ring adopts a twisted boat–chair conformation. The dihedral angles between the planes of the pyridine ring and the bromobenzene and phenyl rings are 80.14 (12) and 71.72 (13)°, respectively, in (I). The equivalent angles in (II) are 75.25 (8) and 68.34 (9)°, respectively. In both crystals, inversion dimers linked by pairs of C—H...N interactions generateR22(14) loops, which are further connected by weak C—H...π interactions, generating (110) sheets.
Crystal structure of 2-(3-fluorophenyl)-5-iodo-3-methylsulfinyl-1-benzofuran
Authors: Choi Hong Dae , Lee Uk
Published: October 2014

In the title compound, C15H10FIO2S, the dihedral angle between the planes of the benzofuran ring system [r.m.s. deviation = 0.015 (2) Å] and the 3-fluorophenyl ring is 29.63 (7)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked into inversion dimers along theb-axis direction by two different pairs of C—H...O hydrogen bonds and I...O [3.228 (1) Å] contacts.