bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CD40L membrane retention enhances the immunostimulatory effects of CD40 ligation
Authors: Elmetwali Taha , Salman Asmaa , Wei Wenbin , Hussain Syed A. , Young Lawrence S. , Palmer Daniel H.
Published: January 2020

In carcinomas, the nature of CD40 ligand shapes the outcome of CD40 ligation. To date, the consequences of membrane-bound CD40L (mCD40L) on its immune-stimulatory function are unknown. Here, we examined the impact of mCD40L versus soluble CD40L (sCD40L) on T24 bladder carcinoma gene expression profiling. Of 410 differentially expressed genes, 286 were upregulated and 124 downregulated by mCD40L versus sCD40L. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed immune-stimulatory function as the most significant enriched biological process affected by upregulated transcripts, while those downregulated were critical for cell growth and division. Furthermore, immature dendritic cells (iDC) responded to mCD40L with enhanced maturation and activation over sCD40L evidenced by higher expression levels of CD83, CD86, HLA-DR and CD54, increased secretion of IL12 and IL10 and higher tumour-antigen (TA) uptake capacity. Furthermore, autologus CD3+ T cells responded to TA-loaded mCD40L-activated DC with increased proliferation and cytotoxic response (CD107a and IFN-γ-producing CD3+ CD8+ T cells) to the tumour-loaded autologous PBMCs compared to sCD40L. Thus, these data indicate that mCD40L enhances the immunostimulatory capacity over sCD40L. Furthermore, the ability of mCD40L to also directly induce cell death in CD40-expressing carcinomas, subsequently releasing tumour-specific antigens into the tumour microenvironment highlights the potential for mCD40L as a multi-faceted anti-cancer immunotherapeutic.
Broomrape infestation in carrot (Daucus carota): Changes in carotenoid gene expression and carotenoid accumulation in the parasitic weed Phelipanche aegyptiaca and its host
Authors: Emran Sewar , Nawade Bhagwat , Yahyaa Mosaab , Abu Nassar Jackline , Tholl Dorothea , Eizenberg Hanan , Ibdah Mwafaq
Published: January 2020

Carotenogenesis has been intensively studied in carrot roots, and transcriptional regulation is thought to be the major factor in carotenoid accumulation in these organs. However, little is known about the transcriptional regulation of carotenoid biosynthetic genes concerning carotenoid accumulation during infestation by the obligate parasite Phelipanche aegyptiaca. HPLC analysis revealed a decrease in carotenoid levels of the different carrot cultivars when parasitized by P. aegyptiaca. Besides, we isolated and analyzed P. aegyptiaca tubercles parasitizing the various carrot root cultivars and show that they accumulate different carotenoids compared to those in non-infested carrot roots. Expression analysis of PHYTOENE SYNTHASE (PSY1) and CAROTENOID ISOMERASE (CRTISO) as well as the strigolactone apocarotenoid biosynthetic genes DWARF27 (D27), CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE 7 (CCD7) and CCD8 revealed that their transcript levels showed significant variation in P. aegyptiaca infested carrot roots. After parasite infestation, the expression of these genes was strongly reduced, as were the carotenoid levels and this was more pronounced in the uncommon non-orange varieties. We also analyzed the parasite genes encoding D27, CCD7 and CCD8 and show that they are expressed in tubercles. This raises important questions of whether the parasite produces its carotenoids and apocarotenoids including strigolactones and whether the latter might have a role in tubercle development.
Dynamic behavior modeling of laser-induced damage initiated by surface defects on KDP crystals under nanosecond laser irradiation
Authors: Yang Hao , Cheng Jian , Liu Zhichao , Liu Qi , Zhao Linjie , Wang Jian , Chen Mingjun
Published: January 2020

The issue of laser-induced damage of transparent dielectric optics has severely limited the development of high-power laser systems. Exploring the transient dynamic behaviors of laser damage on KDP surface by developing multi-physics coupling dynamics model is an important way to reveal the mechanism of nanosecond laser damage. In this work, KDP crystals are taken as an example to explore the mechanism of laser-induced surface damage. Based on the theories of electromagnetic field, heat conduction and fluid dynamics, a multi-physics coupling dynamics model is established for describing the evolution of nanosecond damage processes. The dynamics of laser energy transmission, thermal field distribution and damage morphology during nanosecond laser irradiation are simulated with this model. It is found that the enhancement of light intensity caused by surface defect plays an important role in the initial energy deposition and damage initiation of the laser irradiation area. The evolution of temperature field and crater morphology during subsequent laser irradiation is helpful to understand the laser damage process. The feasibility of this model is verified by the morphology information of typical defect-induced laser damage. This work provides further insights in explaining the laser-induced damage by surface defects on KDP crystals. The model can be also applied to investigate the laser damage mechanisms of other transparent dielectric optics.
An enhanced recyclable 3D adsorbent for diverse bio-applications using biocompatible magnetic nanomulberry and cucurbituril composites
Authors: Luan Yange , Liu Huifang , Qiao Zhen , Koo Bonhan , Shin Jaehyub , Jang Yoon Ok , Noh Jin-Seo , Shin Yong
Published: January 2020

Herein, we describe the synthesis of highly water-dispersible and biocompatible 3D adsorbents via a rapid two-step strategy employing a mesoporous magnetic nanomulberry-shaped Fe3O4 (MNM) on diatomaceous earth (DE) and cucurbituril (CB; MNM-DE-CB). Coating of CB on the surface of MNM-DE via hydrogen bonds not only enhanced the dispersibility of CB, but also improved the stability of MNM-DE. The ability of the adsorbent to remove dyes from water was investigated as a function of metal ions, solution pH, temperature, and concentration to determine optimum reaction conditions. Unlike MNM-DE, MNM-DE-CB exhibited highly efficient, rapid dye removal and recyclability in aqueous solution, and low cytotoxicity toward cancer cells in drug delivery tests. MNM-DE-CB is a promising green adsorbent with potential for diverse applications including water remediation, interface catalysis, bio-sample preparation, and drug delivery.
Peptide hormone sensors using human hormone receptor-carrying nanovesicles and graphene FETs
Authors: Ahn Sae Ryun , An Ji Hyun , Lee Seung Hwan , Song Hyun Seok , Jang Jyongsik , Park Tai Hyun
Published: January 2020

Hormones within very low levels regulate and control the activity of specific cells and organs of the human body. Hormone imbalance can cause many diseases. Therefore, hormone detection tools have been developed, particularly over the last decade. Peptide hormones have a short half-life, so it is important to detect them within a short time. In this study, we report two types of peptide hormone sensors using human hormone receptor-carrying nanovesicles and graphene field-effect transistors (FETs). Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and glucagon (GCG) are peptide hormones present in human blood that act as ligands to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this paper, the parathyroid hormone receptor (PTHR) and the glucagon receptor (GCGR) were expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 (HEK-293) cells, and were constructed as nanovesicles carrying the respective receptors. They were then immobilized onto graphene-based FETs. The two hormone sensors developed were able to detect each target hormone with high sensitivity (ca. 100 fM of PTH and 1 pM of GCG). Also, the sensors accurately recognized target hormones among different types of peptide hormones. In the development of hormone detection tools, this approach, using human hormone receptor-carrying nanovesicles and graphene FETs, offers the possibility of detecting very low concentrations of hormones in real-time.
Segregating signal from noise through movement in echolocating bats
Authors: Taub Mor , Yovel Yossi
Published: January 2020

Segregating signal from noise is one of the most fundamental problems shared by all biological and human-engineered sensory systems. In echolocating bats that search for small objects such as tiny insects in the presence of large obstacles (e.g., vegetation), this task can pose serious challenges as the echoes reflected from the background might be several times louder than the desired signal. Bats’ ability to adjust their sensing, specifically their echolocation signal and sequence design has been deeply studied. In this study, we show that in addition to adjusting their sensing, bats also use movement in order to segregate desired echoes from background noise. Bats responded to an acoustically echoic background by adjusting their angle of attack. Specifically, the bats in our experiment used movement and not adaptation of sensory acquisition in order to overcome a sensory challenge. They approached the target at a smaller angle of attack, which results in weaker echoes from the background as was also confirmed by measuring the echoes of the setup from the bat’s point of view. Our study demonstrates the importance of movement in active sensing.
The novel missense mutation Met48Lys in FKBP22 changes its structure and functions
Authors: Ishikawa Yoshihiro , Mizuno Nobuyo , Holden Paul , Lim Pei Jin , Gould Douglas B. , Rohrbach Marianne , Giunta Cecilia , Bächinger Hans Peter
Published: January 2020

Mutations in the FKBP14 gene encoding FKBP22 (FK506 Binding Protein 22 kDa) cause kyphoscoliotic Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (kEDS). The first clinical report showed that a lack of FKBP22 protein due to mutations causing nonsense-mediated decay of the mRNA leads to a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes including progressive kyphoscoliosis, joint hypermobility, hypotonia, hyperelastic skin, hearing loss and aortic rupture. Our previous work showed that these phenotypic features could be correlated with the functions of FKBP22, which preferentially binds to type III, VI and X collagens, but not to type I, II or V collagens. We also showed that FKBP22 catalyzed the folding of type III collagen through its prolyl isomerase activity and acted as a molecular chaperone for type III collagen. Recently, a novel missense mutation Met48Lys in FKBP22 was identified in a patient with kEDS. In this report, we expand the list of substrates of FKBP22 and also demonstrate that the Met48Lys mutation diminishes the activities of FKBP22, indicating that pathology can arise from absence of FKBP22, or partial loss of its function.
Association between lifetime coffee consumption and late life cerebral white matter hyperintensities in cognitively normal elderly individuals
Authors: Park Jeongbin , Han Ji Won , Lee Ju Ri , Byun Seonjeong , Suh Seung Wan , Kim Jae Hyoung , Kim Ki Woong
Published: January 2020

Coffee consumption is associated with cerebral hypoperfusion that may contribute to the development of cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH). We investigated the effect of lifetime coffee consumption on the volume of WMH (VWMH) in late life, and compared the effect between men and women since caffeine clearance may be different between sexes. We enrolled 492 community-dwelling cognitively normal elderly individuals (73.4 ± 6.7 years old on average) from the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia. We evaluated their patterns and amounts of coffee consumption using a study-specific standardized interview and estimated cerebral VWMH by automatic segmentation of brain fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence magnetic resonance images. Higher cumulative lifetime coffee consumption was associated with higher logVWMH in both sexes (p = 0.030). The participants who consumed more than 2 cups of coffee per day on average in their lifetime showed higher logVWMH in late life than those who consumed less. When both sexes were analyzed separately, these coffee-logVWMH associations were found only in women, although the volumes of brain and white matter of women were smaller than those of men. Our findings suggest that prolonged high coffee consumption may be associated with the risk of WMH in late life.
A Boolean Model of Microvascular Rarefaction to Predict Treatment Outcomes in Renal Disease
Authors: Williams Erika , Chade Alejandro R.
Published: January 2020

Despite advances in renovascular disease (RVD) research, gaps remain between experimental and clinical outcomes, translation of results, and the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms. A predictive tool to indicate support (or lack of) for biological findings may aid clinical translation of therapies. We created a Boolean model of RVD and hypothesized that it would predict outcomes observed in our previous studies using a translational swine model of RVD. Our studies have focused on developing treatments to halt renal microvascular (MV) rarefaction in RVD, a major feature of renal injury. A network topology of 20 factors involved in renal MV rarefaction that allowed simulation of 5 previously tested treatments was created. Each factor was assigned a function based upon its interactions with other variables and assumed to be “on” or “off”. Simulations of interventions were performed until outcomes reached a steady state and analyzed to determine pathological processes that were activated, inactivated, or unchanged vs. RVD with no intervention. Boolean simulations mimicked the results of our previous studies, confirming the importance of MV integrity on treatment outcomes in RVD. Furthermore, our study supports the potential application of a mathematical tool to predict therapeutic feasibility, which may guide the design of future studies for RVD.
Tradeoffs between dispersal and reproduction at an invasion front of cane toads in tropical Australia
Authors: Kelehear Crystal , Shine Richard
Published: January 2020

Individuals at the leading edge of a biological invasion experience novel evolutionary pressures on mating systems, due to low population densities coupled with tradeoffs between reproduction and dispersal. Our dissections of >1,200 field-collected cane toads (Rhinella marina) at a site in tropical Australia reveal rapid changes in morphological and reproductive traits over a three-year period after the invaders first arrived. As predicted, individuals with dispersal-enhancing traits (longer legs, narrower heads) had reduced reproductive investment (lower gonad mass). Post-invasion, the population was increasingly dominated by individuals with less dispersive phenotypes and a higher investment into reproduction (including, increased expression of sexually dimorphic traits in males). These rapid shifts in morphology and reproductive biology emphasise the impacts of the invasion process on multiple, interlinked aspects of organismal biology.
Comprehensive analysis of circRNAs from cashmere goat skin by next generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)
Authors: Zheng Yuanyuan , Hui Taiyu , Yue Chang , Sun Jiaming , Guo Dan , Guo Suling , Guo Suping , Li Bojiang , Wang Zeying , Bai Wenlin
Published: January 2020

Circular RNA (circRNA) is endogenous non-coding RNA (ncRNA) with a covalently closed circular structure. It is mainly generated through RNA alternative splicing or back-splicing. CircRNA is known in the majority of eukaryotes and very stable. However, knowledge of the circRNA involved in regulating cashmere fineness is limited. Skin samples were collected from Liaoning cashmere goats (LCG) and Inner Mongolia cashmere goats (MCG) during the anagen period. For differentially expressed circRNAs, RNA sequencing was performed, and the analysis led to an identification of 17 up-regulated circRNAs and 15 down-regulated circRNAs in LCG compared with MCG skin samples. In order to find the differentially expressed circRNAs in LCG, we carried out qPCRs on 10 candidate circRNAs in coarse type skin of LCG (CT-LCG) and fine type skin of LCG (FT-LCG). Four circRNAs: ciRNA128, circRNA6854, circRNA4154 and circRNA3620 were confirmed to be significantly differential expression in LCG. Also, a regulatory network of circRNAs-miRNAs was bioinformatically deduced and may help to understand molecular mechanisms of potential circRNA involvement in regulating cashmere fineness.
Morphological Neural Computation Restores Discrimination of Naturalistic Textures in Trans-radial Amputees
Authors: Mazzoni Alberto , Oddo Calogero M. , Valle Giacomo , Camboni Domenico , Strauss Ivo , Barbaro Massimo , Barabino Gianluca , Puddu Roberto , Carboni Caterina , Bisoni Lorenzo , Carpaneto Jacopo , Vecchio Fabrizio , Petrini Francesco M. , Romeni Simone , Czimmermann Tamas , Massari Luca , di Iorio Riccardo , Miraglia Francesca , Granata Giuseppe , Pani Danilo , Stieglitz Thomas , Raffo Luigi , Rossini Paolo M. , Micera Silvestro
Published: January 2020

Humans rely on their sense of touch to interact with the environment. Thus, restoring lost tactile sensory capabilities in amputees would advance their quality of life. In particular, texture discrimination is an important component for the interaction with the environment, but its restoration in amputees has been so far limited to simplified gratings. Here we show that naturalistic textures can be discriminated by trans-radial amputees using intraneural peripheral stimulation and tactile sensors located close to the outer layer of the artificial skin. These sensors exploit the morphological neural computation (MNC) approach, i.e., the embodiment of neural computational functions into the physical structure of the device, encoding normal and shear stress to guarantee a faithful neural temporal representation of stimulus spatial structure. Two trans-radial amputees successfully discriminated naturalistic textures via the MNC-based tactile feedback. The results also allowed to shed light on the relevance of spike temporal encoding in the mechanisms used to discriminate naturalistic textures. Our findings pave the way to the development of more natural bionic limbs.
Targeting Forward and Reverse EphB4/EFNB2 Signaling by a Peptide with Dual Functions
Authors: Xiong Chiyi , Wen Yunfei , Zhao Jun , Yin Dengke , Xu Lingyun , Chelariu-Raicu Anca , Yao Cody , Leng Xiaohong , Liu Jinsong , Chaudhari Rajan R. , Zhang Shuxing , Sood Anil K. , Li Chun
Published: January 2020

The tyrosine kinase receptor EphB4 is frequently overexpressed in ovarian and other solid tumors and is involved in interactions between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment, contributing to metastasis. Trans-interaction between EphB4 and its membrane-bound ligand ephrin B2 (EFNB2) mediates bi-directional signaling: forward EFNB2-to-EphB4 signaling suppresses tumor cell proliferation, while reverse EphB4-to-EFNB2 signaling stimulates the invasive and angiogenic properties of endothelial cells. Currently, no small molecule–based, dual-function, EphB4-binding peptides are available. Here, we report our discovery of a bi-directional ephrin agonist peptide, BIDEN-AP which, when selectively internalized via receptor-mediated endocytosis, suppressed invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of ovarian cancer cells. BIDEN-AP also inhibited endothelial migration and tube formation. In vivo, BIDEN-AP and its nanoconjugate CCPM-BIDEN-AP significantly reduced growth of orthotopic ovarian tumors, with CCPM-BIDEN-AP displaying greater antitumor potency than BIDEN-AP. Both BIDEN-AP and CCPM-BIDEN-AP compromised angiogenesis by downregulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition and angiogenic pathways. Thus, we report a novel EphB4-based therapeutic approach against ovarian cancer.
The influence of predation risk on mate signaling and mate choice in the lesser waxmoth Achroia grisella
Authors: Edomwande Christopher , Barbosa Flavia
Published: January 2020

Mating signals are often conspicuous and can be eavesdropped on by predators. Therefore, it is expected that predation risk will shape the evolution of sexual communication in both senders and receivers. Males of the lesser waxmoth Achroia grisella produce ultrasonic signals to attract females, and females have preferences for certain signal traits. When they detect predator cues such as bat echolocation calls, males typically stop signaling and females freeze. Here we examine different ways in which predation risk affects male signaling and female choice. We exposed calling males to predator cues under three different treatments: in isolation, within a simulated lek composed of attractive males, or within a simulated lek of unattractive males. We also tested if female choice depends on predation risk by submitting females to a two-choice test between an attractive and an unattractive signal, in the presence and the absence of predator cues. We found that risk-taking behavior is not only impacted by the presence of competitors, but by the competitors’ attractiveness as well. Additionally, more attractive males take more risks when calling in isolation, but not when lekking. In females, we found that preference for the more attractive call disappeared when the attractive call was associated with higher predation risk. These results reinforce the trade-off between traits that increase survival and mate attraction, and bring new insight into the evolution of leks in this species.
Clinical relevance of somatic mutations in main driver genes detected in gastric cancer patients by next-generation DNA sequencing
Authors: Nemtsova Marina V. , Kalinkin Alexey I. , Kuznetsova Ekaterina B. , Bure Irina V. , Alekseeva Ekaterina A. , Bykov Igor I. , Khorobrykh Tatiana V. , Mikhaylenko Dmitry S. , Tanas Alexander S. , Kutsev Sergey I. , Zaletaev Dmitry V. , Strelnikov Vladimir V.
Published: January 2020

Somatic mutation profiling in gastric cancer (GC) enables main driver mutations to be identified and their clinical and prognostic value to be evaluated. We investigated 77 tumour samples of GC by next-generation sequencing (NGS) with the Ion AmpliSeq Hotspot Panel v2 and a custom panel covering six hereditary gastric cancer predisposition genes (BMPR1A, SMAD4, CDH1, TP53, STK11 and PTEN). Overall, 47 somatic mutations in 14 genes were detected; 22 of these mutations were novel. Mutations were detected most frequently in the CDH1 (13/47) and TP53 (12/47) genes. As expected, somatic CDH1 mutations were positively correlated with distant metastases (p = 0.019) and tumours with signet ring cells (p = 0.043). These findings confirm the association of the CDH1 mutations with diffuse GC type. TP53 mutations were found to be significantly associated with a decrease in overall survival in patients with Lauren diffuse-type tumours (p = 0.0085), T3-T4 tumours (p = 0.037), and stage III-IV tumours (p = 0.013). Our results confirm that the detection of mutations in the main driver genes may have a significant prognostic value for GC patients and provide an independent GC-related set of clinical and molecular genetic data.
Author Correction: A Recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) Expressing S Protein of Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) Protects Chickens against IBV and NDV
Authors: Shirvani Edris , Paldurai Anandan , Manoharan Vinoth K. , Varghese Berin P. , Samal Siba K.
Published: January 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Author Correction: Moderate Nucleoporin 133 deficiency leads to glomerular damage in zebrafish
Authors: Cianciolo Cosentino Chiara , Berto Alessandro , Pelletier Stéphane , Hari Michelle , Loffing Johannes , Neuhauss Stephan C. F. , Doye Valérie
Published: January 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
MicroRNAs in ovarian cancer and recent advances in the development of microRNA-based biosensors
Authors: Aziz Nahian Binte , Mahmudunnabi Rabbee G. , Umer Muhammad , Sharma Shayna , Rashid Md Abdur , Alhamhoom Yahya , Shim Yoon-Bo , Salomon Carlos , Shiddiky Muhammad J. A.
Published: January 2020

Ovarian cancer is the most aggressive of all gynaecological malignancies and is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide.
Pathway dependent shape-transformation of azide-decorated polymersomes
Authors: Che Hailong , de Windt Lafayette N. J. , Zhu Jianzhi , Pijpers Imke A. B. , Mason Alexander F. , Abdelmohsen Loai K. E. A. , van Hest Jan C. M.
Published: January 2020

Here we report the shape transformation of poly(ethylene glycol)–polystyrene (PEG–PS) polymersomes into ordered inverse morphologies, directed by the salt concentration of the medium and the presence of azide groups on the polymersome surface.
A novel MoNi@Ni(OH)2 heterostructure with Pt-like and stable electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction
Authors: Lu Xiaoying , Cai Minmin , Zou Zehua , Huang Junfeng , Xu Cailing
Published: January 2020

A novel Mo0.84Ni0.16@Ni(OH)2 heterostructure was successfully fabricated.
Microwave-assisted organic acid–base-co-catalyzed tandem Meinwald rearrangement and annulation of styrylepoxides
Authors: Shi Yi , Li Siqi , Lu Yang , Zhao Zizhen , Li Pingfan , Xu Jiaxi
Published: January 2020

A microwave-assisted acid and base co-catalyzed strategy shows very high efficiency in the tandem reaction for the conversion of styrylepoxides into [1,1′-biaryl]-3-carbaldehydes.
A synthetic transcription factor pair mimic for precise recruitment of an epigenetic modifier to the targeted DNA locus
Authors: Yu Zutao , Ai Mengting , Samanta Soumen K. , Hashiya Fumitaka , Taniguchi Junichi , Asamitsu Sefan , Ikeda Shuji , Hashiya Kaori , Bando Toshikazu , Pandian Ganesh N. , Isaacs Lyle , Sugiyama Hiroshi
Published: January 2020

ePIP–HoGu not only mimics the transcription factor operation as pairs but is also capable of recruiting the epigenetic modifiers to a particular DNA locus.
Catechol-functionalized hydrogels: biomimetic design, adhesion mechanism, and biomedical applications
Authors: Zhang Wei , Wang Ruixing , Sun ZhengMing , Zhu Xiangwei , Zhao Qiang , Zhang Tengfei , Cholewinski Aleksander , Yang Fut (Kuo) , Zhao Boxin , Pinnaratip Rattapol , Forooshani Pegah Kord , Lee Bruce P.
Published: January 2020

This review presents insights into the fundamental challenges of wet adhesion, and the applications of catechol-functionalized hydrogels in diverse areas.
Zn2Ln2 complexes with carbonate bridges formed by the fixation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: single-molecule magnet behaviour and magnetocaloric effect
Authors: Liu Cai-Ming , Zhang De-Qing , Hao Xiang , Zhu Dao-Ben
Published: January 2020

In the self-assembly process, CO2 in the air is automatically fixed to Zn2Ln2 cluster molecular materials.
Mechanistic study of carboxylic acid and phosphate ester cleavage by oximate metal complexes surpassing the limiting reactivity of highly basic free oximate anions
Authors: Lugo-González José Carlos , Gómez-Tagle Paola , Flores-Alamo Marcos , Yatsimirsky Anatoly K.
Published: January 2020

A family of oximate complexes of Zn(ii) and Cd(ii) with esterolytic reactivity surpassing the limiting reactivity of highly basic free oximates has been developed and mechanistically characterized.
Determination of fluorine in copper ore using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy assisted by the SrF molecular emission band
Authors: Tang Zhiyang , Zhou Ran , Hao Zhongqi , Zhang Wen , Li Qingzhou , Zeng Qingdong , Li Xiangyou , Zeng Xiaoyan , Lu Yongfeng
Published: January 2020

The SrF molecular band as an alternative to the fluorine atomic line was proposed to detect fluorine in copper ore using LIBS technology in air.
Copper-catalysed synthesis of 3-hydroxyisoindolin-1-ones from benzylcyanide 2-iodobenzamides
Authors: Kavala Veerababurao , Wang Chen-Yu , Wang Cheng-Chuan , Patil Prakash Bhimrao , Fang ChiaChi , Kuo Chun-Wei , Yao Ching-Fa
Published: January 2020

Copper-catalysed synthesis of 3-hydroxyisoindolin-1-ones from benzylcyanide 2-iodobenzamides were achieved in one-pot two-step sequential reaction.
Microscopic investigations on the healing and softening of damaged salt by uniaxial deformation from CT, SEM and NMR: effect of fluids (brine and oil)
Authors: Chen Jie , Peng Huihua , Fan Jinyang , Zhang Xiong , Liu Wei , Jiang Deyi
Published: January 2020

A systematic microscopic investigation by CT, SEM and NMR to study the effects of brine and oil on rock salt healing.
Heterogeneous ion exchange membranes based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU): effect of PSS/DVB resin on morphology and electrodialysis
Authors: Ahmad Muhammad , Qaiser Asif Ali , Huda Noor Ul , Saeed Anem
Published: January 2020

Membrane morphology and electrochemical properties depend on PSS/DVB resin content and swelling in addition to interaction with TPU.
Statistical ensemble inequivalence for flexible polymers under confinement in various geometries
Authors: Dutta Sandipan , Benetatos Panayotis
Published: January 2020

The problem of statistical ensemble inequivalence for single polymers has been the subject of intense research.
The role of DOT1L in the proliferation and prognosis of gastric cancer
Authors: Song Zaozhi , Wei Zhuoli , Wang Qingkang , Zhang Xinxin , Tao Xiaoying , Wu Nan , Liu Xue , Qian Jun
Published: January 2020

Background: Disruptor of telomeric silencing-1-like (DOT1L), a methyltransferase of H3K79, was observed to be amplified and overexpressed in certain malignancies. This work was aimed at investigating the differences in DOT1L expression and its regulatory mechanism in gastric cancer (GC) and healthy samples.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect DOT1L levels in 101 cases of GC and marching adjacent normal tissues. DOT1L was inhibited by small interfering RNA (siRNA) and EPZ5676; a targeting drug. The ability of cells to proliferate were checked by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and clone formation assays, with flow cytometry for observing the cell cycle. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot revealed the gene and protein profiles. Finally, the outcome of EPZ5676 administration was checked on a murine model.

Results: The expression of DOT1L is significantly increased in gastric malignant tumors that is related to the degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis and TNM staging. DOT1L serves as an independent marker for the prognosis of overall survival (OS) with high levels implying worse prognosis. In addition, DOT1L regulates cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 (CDK4) and CDK6 through H3K79me2, which leads to a change in the cell cycle at G1, thereby affecting the proliferation of tumors in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusions: This is a first clinical demonstration of the applicability of DOT1L overexpression in gastric tumors. The work is suggestive of altered proliferation of cells by DOT1L via regulating cyclins and H3K79 methylation. This indicates the role of DOT1L in the prognosis and possible medical intervention of GC.
Development of Phonetic Contrasts in Cantonese Tone Acquisition
Authors: Mok Peggy Pik Ki , Li Vivian Guo , Fung Holly Sze Ho
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Previous studies showed both early and late acquisition of Cantonese tones based on transcription data using different criteria, but very little acoustic data were reported. Our study examined Cantonese tone acquisition using both transcription and acoustic data, illustrating the early and protracted aspects of Cantonese tone acquisition.

Method

One hundred fifty-nine Cantonese-speaking children aged between 2;1 and 6;0 (years;months) and 10 reference speakers participated in a tone production experiment based on picture naming. Natural production materials with 30 monosyllabic words were transcribed by two native judges. Acoustic measurements included overall tonal dispersion and specific contrasts between similar tone pairs: ratios of average fundamental frequency height for the level tones (T1, T3, T6), magnitude of rise and inflection point for the rising tones (T2, T5), magnitude of fall, H1*–H2*, and harmonic-to-noise ratio for the low tones (T4, T6). Auditory assessment of creakiness for T4 was also included.

Results

Children in the eldest group (aged 5;7–6;0) were still not completely adultlike in production accuracy, although two thirds of them had production accuracy over 90%. Children in all age groups had production accuracy significantly higher than chance level, and they could produce the major acoustic contrasts between specific tone pairs similarly as reference speakers. Fine phonetic detail of the inflection point and creakiness was more challenging for children.

Conclusion

Our findings illustrated the multifaceted aspects (both early and late) of Cantonese tone acquisition and called for a wider perspective on how to define successful phonological acquisition.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.11594853
Automated Acoustic Analysis of Oral Diadochokinesis to Assess Bulbar Motor Involvement in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Rong Panying
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this article was to validate a novel acoustic analysis of oral diadochokinesis (DDK) in assessing bulbar motor involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Method

An automated acoustic DDK analysis was developed, which filtered out the voice features and extracted the envelope of the acoustic waveform reflecting the temporal pattern of syllable repetitions during an oral DDK task (i.e., repetitions of /tɑ/ at the maximum rate on 1 breath). Cycle-to-cycle temporal variability (cTV) of envelope fluctuations and syllable repetition rate (sylRate) were derived from the envelope and validated against 2 kinematic measures, which are tongue movement jitter (movJitter) and alternating tongue movement rate (AMR) during the DDK task, in 16 individuals with bulbar ALS and 18 healthy controls. After the validation, cTV, sylRate, movJitter, and AMR, along with an established clinical speech measure, that is, speaking rate (SR), were compared in their ability to (a) differentiate individuals with ALS from healthy controls and (b) detect early-stage bulbar declines in ALS.

Results

cTV and sylRate were significantly correlated with movJitter and AMR, respectively, across individuals with ALS and healthy controls, confirming the validity of the acoustic DDK analysis in extracting the temporal DDK pattern. Among all the acoustic and kinematic DDK measures, cTV showed the highest diagnostic accuracy (i.e., 0.87) with 80% sensitivity and 94% specificity in differentiating individuals with ALS from healthy controls, which outperformed the SR measure. Moreover, cTV showed a large increase during the early disease stage, which preceded the decline of SR.

Conclusions

This study provided preliminary validation of a novel automated acoustic DDK analysis in extracting a useful measure, namely, cTV, for early detection of bulbar ALS. This analysis overcame a major barrier in the existing acoustic DDK analysis, which is continuous voicing between syllables that interferes with syllable structures. This approach has potential clinical applications as a novel bulbar assessment.
Linguistic Maze Production by Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Bangert Katherine J. , Finestack Lizbeth H.
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Previous investigations reveal that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) produce elevated rates of linguistic mazes (i.e., filled pauses, repetitions, revisions, and/or abandoned utterances) in expressive language samples (
Redmond, 2004
). The current study aimed to better understand maze use of children and adolescents with ADHD with a focus on the specific maze types produced in different language sampling contexts based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2;
Lord et al., 2012
).

Method

Participants included twenty-five 4- to 13-year-olds with a confirmed diagnosis of ADHD. Each participant completed the ADOS to provide narrative and conversational language samples. Research assistants transcribed at least 100 utterances from the ADOS using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (
Miller & Chapman, 2000
) conventions. Dependent variables included the rates of repetitions, revisions, filled pauses, content mazes (
Thordardottir & Ellis Weismer, 2002
), and stalls (
Rispoli, 2003
;
Rispoli, Hadley, & Holt, 2008
) produced in narrative and conversational portions of the ADOS.

Results

In the full sample, participants produced a significantly greater rate of revisions than filled pauses (
p
= .01) and repetitions (
p
< .01). Participants also produced a significantly lower rate of filled pauses than content mazes (
p
< .01). Across contexts, participants produced a higher rate of filled pauses in conversational versus narrative contexts. Age was positively correlated with revisions and content mazes. Mean length of utterance was positively correlated with revisions, repetitions, and context mazes. Expressive language ability was positively correlated with filled pauses and stalls.

Conclusion

The children and adolescents in our sample demonstrated a unique profile of maze use. Sampling context had a limited influence on maze use, whereas maze use was impacted by age, mean length of utterance, and expressive language ability. Study findings highlight the importance of analyzing maze types separately rather than as a single category.
Analysis and development of an electromagnetic exposure map based in spatial interpolation
Authors: de Andrade H.D. , de Figuêiredo A.L. , Fialho B.R. , da S. Paiva J.L. , Queiroz Júnior I. de S. , Sousa M.E.T.
Published: January 2020

The increasing demand for electricity has led humans to a growing exposure to artificial sources of electromagnetic emission, making it essential to determine the intensity of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which is subject to the population of a given area. This Letter proposes an analysis of EMF exposure levels and spatial distribution over the region of the input and power circuits of a 230 kV/60 Hz air‐insulated substation. For this, measurement protocols were determined based on current standards and from spatial interpolation methods, a contour map was developed, allowing a complete evaluation of the behaviour and levels of EMF throughout the region. The results obtained indicate that exposure levels in this region are below those recommended by regulatory agencies.
Modulated rapid load pull system for the emulation of envelope tracking power amplifiers
Authors: Alsahali S. , Gecan D. , Alt A. , Chen P. , Woodington S. , Sheikh A. , Tasker P. , Lees J.
Published: January 2020

This Letter presents a novel characterisation system that is able to fully emulate a complete envelope tracking power amplifier (ET‐PA) environment, with modulated impedance synthesis and dynamic supply voltage generation while using industry‐standard modulated signals and digital pre‐distortion. The system is used to characterise a 10 W GaN device and provide impedance control over the signal and distortion bandwidths, in response to a 10 MHz long‐term evolution signal. A National Instruments PXI‐based measurement system is utilised to apply tracking signals to a bespoke supply modulator and successfully improve the average power added efficiency by ∼18 percentage points. Three different shaping functions are implemented, and their efficiency and linearity performance evaluated. In addition, digital pre‐distortion (DPD) is used to linearise the PA while operating with the three different tracking trajectories. Experimental results demonstrate that when applying shaping functions, a trade‐off needs to be made between efficiency and linearity. Even though a constant gain shaping function provides lower efficiency, it achieves good raw linearity performance without DPD, which is a good option if local linearisation is not available. This novel system is a useful tool in the design of ET‐PAs, to more completely investigate the performance of the device.
Load frequency control assessment of tidal power plant and capacitive energy storage systems supported microgrid
Authors: Kumar Akshay , Shankar Gauri
Published: January 2020

Tidal power plant (TPP) is an emerging and fast‐growing addition to clean energy technologies. Potentially, it may bridge the gap of energy scarcity and lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a meticulous study on it in providing support to various ancillary services, especially, in load frequency control (LFC), need to be carried out. Penetration of the intermittent unit like TPPs into the power system causes capacity addition but at the cost of a decrease in inertia and primary frequency response owing to the power electronic interface. Due to this, following disturbance, both the maximum frequency nadir and the rate of change of frequency deviation deteriorate, which poses a threat to LFC service. So, in this study, the contribution of the deloaded TPPs, with different level of penetration, in frequency regulation employing control strategies such as inertia control and droop control is analysed. Performance of these control strategies has been successfully demonstrated through a series of simulation‐based experiments. Further, the impact of virtual inertia contribution from capacitive energy storage systems (CESSs), in case of insufficient inertia support from TPPs on LFC performance of the system is investigated. Lastly, the impact of a combined response of inertia and droop control strategies with CESSs on frequency nadir is also explored.
Two‐port–two‐port SI between RS485 and Ethernet with an FIFO queue for efficient PC‐to‐PC communication
Authors: Sung Guo‐Ming , Shen Yen‐Shih , Yu Chih‐Ping , Jian Cheng‐Syuan
Published: January 2020

This study proposes a two‐port Ethernet and two‐port RS485 network serial interface (SI) for packet transformation and data transmission for computer‐to‐computer communication. The proposed SI, which is composed of an RS485 module, an Ethernet module, a transmitter manager, a receiver manager, and the manager first‐in–first‐out (FIFO) queue, not only increases the data transmission rate but also guarantees correct communication between two Ethernet modules and two RS485 modules. An application‐specific integrated circuit is proposed to increase the operation frequency of the two‐port–two‐port SI. Furthermore, the large FIFO size enables the transmission of the maximum Ethernet packet length of 88 B and allows the latency of 51 clocks to be overcome. The measurement results indicate that the operating frequency, baud rate, data transfer rate, power consumption, processing delay, gate count, and chip size are 125 MHz, 115,200 Hz, 1 Gbps, 137 mW, 139.31 µs, 162,300, and 1.27 × 1.27 mm2, respectively, at a power supply of 1.8 V and total FIFO queue of 10 kB. The error between the theoretical throughput (7.342 Mbps) and the measured throughput (7.5067 Mbps) was ∼2.24%.
Power system flexibility improvement with a focus on demand response and wind power variability
Authors: Dadkhah Akbar , Vahidi Behrooz , Shafie‐khah Miadreza , Catalão João P.S.
Published: January 2020

Unpredictable system component contingencies have imposed vulnerability on power systems, which are under high renewables penetration nowadays. Intermittent nature of renewable energy sources has made this unpredictability even worse than before and calls for excellent adaptability. This study proposes a flexible security‐constrained structure to meet the superior flexibility by coordination of generation and demand sides. In the suggested model, demand‐side flexibility is enabled via an optimum real‐time (RT) pricing program, while the commitment of conventional units through providing up and down operational reserves improves the flexibility of supply‐side. The behaviour of two types of customers is characterised to define an accurate model of demand response and the effect of customers’ preferences on the optimal operation of power networks. Conclusively, the proposed model optimises RT prices in the face of contingency events as well as wind power penetration. System operators together with customers could benefit from the proposed method to schedule generation and consumption units reliably.
MPPT in PV systems using ant colony optimisation with dwindling population
Authors: Krishnan G Satheesh , Kinattingal Sundareswaran , Simon Sishaj P , Nayak Panugothu Srinivasa Rao
Published: January 2020

Ant colony optimisation has been tailored to suit maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic (PV) systems and is presented in this study. Artificial ants are deployed in the solution space and are made to forage and the ants which find better sources of food are retained while ants fail to search effectively are deleted from the population. The greedy search of potential ants for better food location leads to identification of higher power peaks in the PV system. The concept is modelled suitably and MPPT curves in a few PV configurations are simulated and found to be promising. Experiments were also conducted to show the veracity of the new method.
Robustness of a biomolecular oscillator to pulse perturbations
Authors: Banerjee Soumyadip , Sen Shaunak
Published: January 2020

Biomolecular oscillators can function robustly in the presence of environmental perturbations, which can either be static or dynamic. While the effect of different circuit parameters and mechanisms on the robustness to steady perturbations has been investigated, the scenario for dynamic perturbations is relatively unclear. To address this, the authors use a benchmark three protein oscillator design – the repressilator – and investigate its robustness to pulse perturbations, computationally as well as use analytical tools of Floquet theory. They found that the metric provided by direct computations of the time it takes for the oscillator to settle after pulse perturbation is applied, correlates well with the metric provided by Floquet theory. They investigated the parametric dependence of the Floquet metric, finding that the parameters that increase the effective delay enhance robustness to pulse perturbation. They found that the structural changes such as increasing the number of proteins in a ring oscillator as well as adding positive feedback, both of which increase effective delay, facilitates such robustness. These results highlight such design principles, especially the role of delay, for designing an oscillator that is robust to pulse perturbation.
Blood glucose regulation and control of insulin and glucagon infusion using single model predictive control for type 1 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Crecil Dias Cifha , Kamath Surekha , Vidyasagar Sudha
Published: January 2020

This study elaborates on the design of artificial pancreas using model predictive control algorithm for a comprehensive physiological model such as the Sorensen model, which regulates the blood glucose and can have a longer control time in normal glycaemic region. The main objective of the proposed algorithm is to eliminate the risk of hyper and hypoglycaemia and have a precise infusion of hormones: insulin and glucagon. A single model predictive controller is developed to control the bihormones, insulin, and glucagon for such a development unmeasured disturbance is considered for a random time. The simulation result for the proposed algorithm performed good regulation lowering the hypoglycaemia risk and maintaining the glucose level within the normal glycaemic range. To validate the performance of the tracking of output and setpoint, average tracking error is used and 4.4 mg/dl results are obtained while compared with standard value (14.3 mg/dl).