bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Management and Organization Review Special Issue ‘Business Model Innovation in Transforming Economies’
Authors: Volberda Henk , Mihalache Oli , Fey Carl , Lewin Arie Y.
Published: October 2017

Transforming economies such as the BRIC countries – Ex-Soviet Republics, or Eastern European countries – share national aspirations of becoming innovation economies. These aspirations have stimulated a push for entrepreneurship and experimentation with new ways of doing things. This has created a fascinating context for research on business model innovation, relating to the way incumbent firms adapt their business models or come up with entirely new models. Similarly, new business models may be originated by start-up companies that often are challenging and leapfrogging the ‘tired’ old business models or simply invent new ones. However, research that specifically explores indigenous business model innovation in the context of these transforming economies is still in its early stages. The MOR special issue on ‘Business Model Innovation in Transforming Economies’ aims to address this gap by soliciting research uncovering successful new business models that is indigenous to these economies, as they transition to becoming innovation economies themselves and contribute to strategy and management theory development.
THE INTEGRATION OF SEARCH IN MACROECONOMICS: TWO ALTERNATIVE PATHS
Authors: Danthine Samuel , De Vroey Michel
Published: October 2017

Our paper analyzes and compares two attempts at integrating unemployment in macroeconomics. The first, due to Peter Diamond, consists in a search model exhibiting multiple equilibria and wherein cycles may be produced. The second is due to David Andolfatto and Monika Merz, who, more or less simultaneously, constructed models enabling the integration of the matching function into RBC modeling. In the first sections, we present the methodology upon which our paper is based—Axel Leijonhufvud’s decision-tree insight—and briefly describe these three economists’ motivations and the context in which they were working. We continue with recounting the birth and further development of the search paradigm upon which Diamond’s, Andolfatto’s, and Merz’s attempts were based. These preliminaries settled, we address the heart of the paper, the critical analysis of their respective contributions. Our interest lies specifically in how they made their way in the development of the field. We explain why Diamond’s model, which ambitioned to rival Robert Lucas’s explanation of business fluctuations, did not live up to its author’s expectations. Andolfatto’s and Merz’s project was less ambitious, yet their model became an established component of the RBC program—but at the price of abandoning several constitutive traits of the search approach.
Law PORT: an Online Training Initiative to Improve the Legal Information Skills of Postgraduate Researchers
Authors: Davies Lisa
Published: October 2017

In this article Lisa Davies, Access Librarian at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, reports on a recent initiative to create online tutorials to improve the legal information skills of postgraduate researchers. She describes the aims of the project, outlines the steps that were taken to create the new training resources, details the content of the tutorials, looks back on the main challenges faced and considers plans for the future.
Algorithms and the Rule of Law
Authors: Kennedy Rónán
Published: October 2017

In this short article Rónán Kennedy explores fundamental issues surrounding the use of algorithms in the context of the rule of law in our society. He states, ‘The issues that are buried in these systems should be a matter of serious concern for law and lawyers as we try to protect fundamental values in the 21st century, and we try to properly represent our clients’ interests against systems errors that we cannot easily identify’.*
Attitudes to Gun Control in an American Twin Sample: Sex Differences in the Causes of Variation
Authors: Eaves Lindon J. , Silberg Judy L.
Published: October 2017

The genetic and social causes of individual differences in attitudes to gun control are estimated in a sample of senior male and female twin pairs in the United States. Genetic and environmental parameters were estimated by weighted least squares applied to polychoric correlations for monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins of both sexes. The analysis suggests twin similarity for attitudes to gun control in men is entirely genetic while that in women is purely social. Although the volunteer sample is small, the analysis illustrates how the well-tested concepts and methods of genetic epidemiology may be a fertile resource for deepening our scientific understanding of biological and social pathways that affect individual risk to gun violence.
Sensitivities of in vivo markers of arterial organ damage in patients with peripheral atherosclerosis
Authors: Frick Martina , Baumann Frederic , Sick Beate , Wilkinson Ian B. , Amann-Vesti Beatrice , Husmann Marc
Published: October 2017

Abstract. Background: Biomarkers of vascular diseases such as ankle-brachial index (ABI), peripheral pulse pressure (pPP), central pulse pressure (cPP), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) allow assessment of arterial organ damage (AOD). However, the utility of markers other than ABI in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which are also associated with a significant increase of cardiovascular events, remains unclear. Patients and methods: Asymptomatic (n = 21) and symptomatic patients (n = 46) with a positive sonography for PAD or history of lower limb revascularization were included. ABI, pPP, cPP, and PWV were assessed. PWV were performed using a brachial cuff-based method (aortic PWV (aPWV)) and oscillography (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV)), respectively. The two methods for PWV were compared using Bland Altman analysis. Sensitivities of ABI, pPP, cPP, cfPWV, and aPWV for AOD were calculated. Results: Sixty-seven patients (35.8 % female, mean age 69, range 39–91 years) had a significantly higher aPWV than cfPWV (median 10.5 m/s (IQR: 8.8–12.65 m/s) vs. median 9.0 m/s (IQR: 7.57–10.55 m/s), p = 0.0013). There was no correlation between cfPWV and age (r = 0.311, p = 0.116). Bland Altman analysis revealed a mean difference of -1.04 (-2SD; -6.38 to + 2SD; 4.31). The sensitivities for AOD were 68.7 % for ABI, 61.2 % for aPWV, 40.3 % for cfPWV, 31.3 % for peripheral PP, and 10.4 % for central aortic PP (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Brachial-derived aPWV differs from the gold standard assessment (cfPWV), which may be underestimated in PAD due to atherosclerotic obstructions along the aorto-iliac segment. The sensitivities of noninvasive in vivo markers of AOD vary widely and tend to underestimate the actual presence of AOD.
Early clinical outcomes of a novel rheolytic directional thrombectomy technique for patients with iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis
Authors: Dopheide Jörn F. , Sebastian Tim , Engelberger Rolf P. , Haine Axel , Kucher Nils
Published: October 2017

Abstract. Background: Rheolytic thrombectomy (RT) for acute iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with first-generation techniques is often incomplete and adjunctive conventional catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) is required in more than half of patients to achieve venous patency. Patients and methods: From the prospective Bern Venous Stent Registry, we investigated rates of primary treatment success, primary patency, and post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) from 40 consecutive patients (mean age 51 ± 19 years, 45 % women) with acute iliofemoral DVT, treated with a novel directional RT technology and stent placement. Overall, 24 patients were treated for native-vessel iliofemoral DVT (11 with single-session RT, 13 with bail-out RT after failed CDT) and 16 for iliofemoral stent thrombosis. Pulse-spray thrombolysis (r-tPA 10 mg) was performed in 29 (73 %) patients. The mean follow-up duration was 193 ± 132 days (minimum 90 days). Results: Overall, primary treatment success of RT was 95 %; only two patients required adjunctive CDT to restore patency. In 24 patients with native-vessel DVT, six-month primary patency was 92 % (95 %CI 75–99 %), and 23 patients (96 %) were free from the PTS according to the Villalta score. In 16 patients with stent thrombosis, six-month primary patency was 63 % (95 %CI 35–85 %) and 50 % were free from PTS. Except for transient macroscopic haemoglobinuria in all patients, no other side effects were recorded. Conclusions: In patients with iliofemoral DVT of native or stented vessels, RT followed by stent placement appears to be effective and safe. The novel technique enables single-session DVT treatment in the majority of patients without the need for prolonged CDT.
Die Psychotherapie-Debatte
Authors: Wampold Bruce E.
Published: October 2017

Die zweite Auflage des Titels „The Great Psychotherapy Debate“ von Bruce E. Wampold und Zac E. Imel liegt nun in der deutschsprachigen Adaption von Christoph Flückiger vor. Das Buch gibt einen umfassenden Überblick über die psychologische Therapieforschung, ihre Geschichte und über die verschiedenen Ansätze, die zur Untersuchung der Wirksamkeit verwendet werden. Zentrale therapeutische Methoden und Interventionen werden verständlich dargestellt und anhand aktueller Forschungsliteratur kritisch hinterfragt. Die Autoren vergleichen die herkömmlichen Untersuchungsansätze, die nur die Betrachtung spezifischer Wirkfaktoren berücksichtigen, mit dem eigens von ihnen entwickelten Kontextmodell, das von methodenübergreifenden Einflüssen ausgeht. Dafür stellen sie beide Modelle dar, leiten Hypothesen zur Therapiewirksamkeit ab und überprüfen anschließend ihre Annahmen anhand der aktuellen empirischen Literatur. Nach diesem Vergleich kommen sie zu dem Fazit, dass übergreifende Faktoren, wie etwa die Therapeuteneigenschaften, für die Wirksamkeit der Psychotherapie eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Damit versöhnen sie nicht nur unterschiedliche Ansätze, sondern sie ermutigen auch Kliniker dazu, pragmatisch-integrativ und methodenübergreifend zu arbeiten.
Intestinal microbiota: a potential target for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis
Authors: Xu Xin , Jia Xiaoyue , Mo Longyi , Liu Chengcheng , Zheng Liwei , Yuan Quan , Zhou Xuedong
Published: October 2017

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) is a prevalent metabolic bone disease characterized by bone loss and structural destruction, which increases the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. Owing to the high morbidity and serious complications of PMO, many efforts have been devoted to its prophylaxis and treatment. The intestinal microbiota is the complex community of microorganisms colonizing the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics, which are dietary or medical supplements consisting of beneficial intestinal bacteria, work in concert with endogenous intestinal microorganisms to maintain host health. Recent studies have revealed that bone loss in PMO is closely related to host immunity, which is influenced by the intestinal microbiota. The curative effects of probiotics on metabolic bone diseases have also been demonstrated. The effects of the intestinal microbiota on bone metabolism suggest a promising target for PMO management. This review seeks to summarize the critical effects of the intestinal microbiota and probiotics on PMO, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenic relationship between bacteria and host, and to define the possible treatment options.
Cofilin1-dependent actin dynamics control DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission
Authors: Rehklau Katharina , Hoffmann Lena , Gurniak Christine B , Ott Martin , Witke Walter , Scorrano Luca , Culmsee Carsten , Rust Marco B
Published: October 2017

Mitochondria form highly dynamic networks in which organelles constantly fuse and divide. The relevance of mitochondrial dynamics is evident from its implication in various human pathologies, including cancer or neurodegenerative, endocrine and cardiovascular diseases. Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) is a key regulator of mitochondrial fission that oligomerizes at the mitochondrial outer membrane and hydrolyzes GTP to drive mitochondrial fragmentation. Previous studies demonstrated that DRP1 recruitment and mitochondrial fission is promoted by actin polymerization at the mitochondrial surface, controlled by the actin regulatory proteins inverted formin 2 (INF2) and Spire1C. These studies suggested the requirement of additional actin regulatory activities to control DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission. Here we show that the actin-depolymerizing protein cofilin1, but not its close homolog actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF), is required to maintain mitochondrial morphology. Deletion of cofilin1 caused mitochondrial DRP1 accumulation and fragmentation, without altering mitochondrial function or other organelles’ morphology. Mitochondrial morphology in cofilin1-deficient cells was restored upon (i) re-expression of wild-type cofilin1 or a constitutively active mutant, but not of an actin-binding-deficient mutant, (ii) pharmacological destabilization of actin filaments and (iii) genetic depletion of DRP1. Our work unraveled a novel function for cofilin1-dependent actin dynamics in mitochondrial fission, and identified cofilin1 as a negative regulator of mitochondrial DRP1 activity. We conclude that cofilin1 is required for local actin dynamics at mitochondria, where it may balance INF2/Spire1C-induced actin polymerization.
Curcumin reversed chronic tobacco smoke exposure induced urocystic EMT and acquisition of cancer stem cells properties via Wnt/β-catenin
Authors: Liang Zhaofeng , Lu Ling , Mao Jiahui , Li Xia , Qian Hui , Xu Wenrong
Published: October 2017

Tobacco smoke (TS) is the most important single risk factor for bladder cancer. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a transdifferentiation process, involved in the initiation of TS-related cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have an essential role in the progression of many tumors including TS-related cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms of TS exposure induced urocystic EMT and acquisition of CSCs properties remains undefined. Wnt/β-catenin pathway is critical for EMT and the maintenance of CSCs. The aim of our present study was to investigate the role of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in chronic TS exposure induced urocystic EMT, stemness acquisition and the preventive effect of curcumin. Long time TS exposure induced EMT changes and the levels of CSCs’ markers were significant upregulated. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Wnt/β-catenin pathway modulated TS-triggered EMT and stemness, as evidenced by the findings that TS elevated Wnt/β-catenin activation, and that TS-mediated EMT and stemness were attenuated by Wnt/β-catenin inhibition. Treatment of curcumin reversed TS-elicited activation of Wnt/β-catenin, EMT and CSCs properties. Collectively, these data indicated the regulatory role of Wnt/β-catenin in TS-triggered urocystic EMT, acquisition of CSCs properties and the chemopreventive effect of curcumin.
Long non-coding RNAs involved in autophagy regulation
Authors: Yang Lixian , Wang Hanying , Shen Qi , Feng Lifeng , Jin Hongchuan
Published: October 2017

Autophagy degrades non-functioning or damaged proteins and organelles to maintain cellular homeostasis in a physiological or pathological context. Autophagy can be protective or detrimental, depending on its activation status and other conditions. Therefore, autophagy has a crucial role in a myriad of pathophysiological processes. From the perspective of autophagy-related (ATG) genes, the molecular dissection of autophagy process and the regulation of its level have been largely unraveled. However, the discovery of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) provides a new paradigm of gene regulation in almost all important biological processes, including autophagy. In this review, we highlight recent advances in autophagy-associated lncRNAs and their specific autophagic targets, as well as their relevance to human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cerebral ischemic stroke.
Secretory stressors induce intracellular death receptor accumulation to control apoptosis
Authors: van Raam Bram J , Lacina Tamara , Lindemann Ralph K , Reiling Jan H
Published: October 2017

Disruption of the Golgi apparatus can induce a distinct form of programmed cell death that has not been thoroughly characterized. We found that pharmacological application of Golgi stress leads to induction of death receptors (DRs) 4 and 5. DR4 appears to be primarily responsible for the initiation of cell death downstream of Golgi stress, whereas DR5 seems to be more important for cell death triggered by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in specific cancer cell lines. DR induction downstream of either Golgi or ER stress mainly causes intracellular accumulation of DR4 presumably at the Golgi, rather than increased expression on the cell surface. Nevertheless, cells treated with secretory pathway stressors displayed an increased susceptibility to TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand), the endogenous ligand of DR4/5, probably due to intracellular sequestration of the caspase-8 regulator CFLAR (caspase-8 and FADD-like apoptosis regulator). These findings have implications for the treatment of cancer with DR agonists and our general understanding of DR signaling while highlighting the role of the Golgi apparatus as a cell death signaling platform.
miR-181a increases FoxO1 acetylation and promotes granulosa cell apoptosis via SIRT1 downregulation
Authors: Zhang Mei , Zhang Qun , Hu Yali , Xu Lu , Jiang Yue , Zhang Chunxue , Ding Lijun , Jiang Ruiwei , Sun Jianxin , Sun Haixiang , Yan Guijun
Published: October 2017

Oxidative stress impairs follicular development by inducing granulosa cell (GC) apoptosis, which involves enhancement of the transcriptional activity of the pro-apoptotic factor Forkhead box O1 (FoxO1). However, the mechanism by which oxidative stress promotes FoxO1 activity is still unclear. Here, we found that miR-181a was upregulated in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-treated GCs and a 3-nitropropionic acid (NP)-induced in vivo model of ovarian oxidative stress. miR-181a overexpression promoted GC apoptosis, whereas knockdown of endogenous miR-181a blocked H2O2-induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, we identified that Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a deacetylase that suppresses FoxO1 acetylation in GCs, was downregulated by miR-181a and reversed the promoting effects of H2O2 and miR-181a on FoxO1 acetylation and GC apoptosis. Importantly, decreased miR-181a expression in the in vivo ovarian oxidative stress model inhibited apoptosis by upregulating SIRT1 expression and FoxO1 deacetylation. Together, our results suggest that miR-181a mediates oxidative stress-induced FoxO1 acetylation and GC apoptosis by targeting SIRT1 both in vitro and in vivo.
STAT1β enhances STAT1 function by protecting STAT1α from degradation in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Zhang Ying , Chen Yelong , Yun Hailong , Liu Zhaoyong , Su Min , Lai Raymond
Published: October 2017

STAT1, which carries tumor suppressor functions in several models, consists of two isoforms, namely STAT1α and STAT1β. The biological function and significance of STAT1β has never been examined in human cancer. We examined STAT1β function in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by transfecting a STAT1β gene into various ESCC cell lines. The interaction between STAT1α and STAT1β was examined by using co-immunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy. The prognostic significance of STAT1β expression, detectable by immunohistochemistry and western blot, was evaluated in a large cohort of ESCC patients. Enforced expression of STAT1β induced and prolonged the expression and phosphorylation of STAT1α in ESCC cells, and these effects were amplified by gamma-interferon (IFN-γ). We also found that STAT1β interacts with STAT1α and decreases STAT1α degradation by the proteasome. Moreover, STAT1β substantially increased the DNA binding and transcription activity of STAT1. STAT1β also sensitized ESCC cells to chemotherapeutic agents, including cisplatin and 5-flurouracil. Using western blot and immunohistochemistry, we found that STAT1β was frequently decreased in esophageal cancer, as compared to their adjacent benign esophageal epithelial tissue. Loss of STAT1β significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, invasion and shorter overall survival in ESCC patients. Therefore, STAT1β plays a key role in enhancing the tumor suppressor function of STAT1α, in ESCC, in a manner that can be amplified by IFN-γ.
Mutation analysis of the CTNS gene in Iranian patients with infantile nephropathic cystinosis: identification of two novel mutations
Authors: Sadeghipour Forough , Basiratnia Mitra , Derakhshan Ali , Fardaei Majid
Published: October 2017

Nephropathic cystinosis is an inherited lysosomal transport disorder caused by mutations in the CTNS gene that encodes for a lysosomal membrane transporter, cystinosin. Dysfunction in this protein leads to cystine accumulation in the cells of different organs. The accumulation of cystine in the kidneys becomes apparent with renal tubular Fanconi syndrome between 6 and 12 months of age and leads to renal failure in the first decade of life. The aim of this study was to analyze the CTNS mutations in 20 Iranian patients, from 20 unrelated families, all of whom were afflicted with infantile nephropathic cystinosis. In these patients, seven different mutant alleles were found, including two new mutations, c.517T>C; p.Y173H and c.492_515del, that have not been previously reported. In addition, we observed that c.681G>A, the common Middle Eastern mutation, was the most common mutation in our patients. Moreover, a new minisatellite or variable number of tandem repeat marker (KX499495) was identified at the CTNS gene. Seven different alleles were found for this marker, and its allele frequency and heterozygosity degree were calculated in cystinosis patients and healthy individuals.
A shared Runx1-bound Zbtb16 enhancer directs innate and innate-like lymphoid lineage development
Authors: Mao Ai-Ping , Ishizuka Isabel E. , Kasal Darshan N. , Mandal Malay , Bendelac Albert
Published: October 2017

Zbtb16-encoded PLZF is a signature transcription factor (TF) that directs the acquisition of T-helper effector programs during the development of multiple innate lymphocyte lineages, including natural killer T cell, innate lymphoid cell, mucosal-associated invariant T cell and γδ lineages. PLZF is also essential in osteoblast and spermatogonial development. How Zbtb16 itself is regulated in different lineages is incompletely understood. Here, by systematic CRISPR/Cas9-assisted deletions of chromatin accessible regions within the Zbtb16 locus in mouse, we identify a critical enhancer controlling PLZF expression exclusively in innate lymphoid lineages. Multiple sites within this enhancer express canonical motifs for the TF Runx1, which is essential for the development of these lineages. Notably, some regulatory sites control the kinetic rather than the overall level of PLZF expression. Thus, our comprehensive, unbiased analysis of regulatory elements in vivo reveals critical mechanisms of Zbtb16 regulation shared between innate and innate-like lymphoid lineages.
The cholesterol metabolite 27 hydroxycholesterol facilitates breast cancer metastasis through its actions on immune cells
Authors: Baek Amy E. , Yu Yen-Rei A. , He Sisi , Wardell Suzanne E. , Chang Ching-Yi , Kwon Sanghoon , Pillai Ruchita V. , McDowell Hannah B. , Thompson J. Will , Dubois Laura G. , Sullivan Patrick M. , Kemper Jongsook K. , Gunn Michael D. , McDonnell Donald P. , Nelson Erik R.
Published: October 2017

Obesity and elevated circulating cholesterol are risk factors for breast cancer recurrence, while the use of statins, cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors widely used for treating hypercholesterolemia, is associated with improved disease-free survival. Here, we show that cholesterol mediates the metastatic effects of a high-fat diet via its oxysterol metabolite, 27-hydroxycholesterol. Ablation or inhibition of CYP27A1, the enzyme responsible for the rate-limiting step in 27-hydroxycholesterol biosynthesis, significantly reduces metastasis in relevant animal models of cancer. The robust effects of 27-hydroxycholesterol on metastasis requires myeloid immune cell function, and it was found that this oxysterol increases the number of polymorphonuclear-neutrophils and γδ-T cells at distal metastatic sites. The pro-metastatic actions of 27-hydroxycholesterol requires both polymorphonuclear-neutrophils and γδ-T cells, and 27-hydroxycholesterol treatment results in a decreased number of cytotoxic CD8+T lymphocytes. Therefore, through its actions on γδ-T cells and polymorphonuclear-neutrophils, 27-hydroxycholesterol functions as a biochemical mediator of the metastatic effects of hypercholesterolemia.
Lifshitz transition from valence fluctuations in YbAl3
Authors: Chatterjee Shouvik , Ruf Jacob P. , Wei Haofei I. , Finkelstein Kenneth D. , Schlom Darrell G. , Shen Kyle M.
Published: October 2017

In mixed-valent Kondo lattice systems, such as YbAl3, interactions between localized and delocalized electrons can lead to fluctuations between two different valence configurations with changing temperature or pressure. The impact of this change on the momentum-space electronic structure is essential for understanding their emergent properties, but has remained enigmatic. Here, by employing a combination of molecular beam epitaxy and in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we show that valence fluctuations can lead to dramatic changes in the Fermi surface topology, even resulting in a Lifshitz transition. As the temperature is lowered, a small electron pocket in YbAl3 becomes completely unoccupied while the low-energy ytterbium (Yb) 4f states become increasingly itinerant, acquiring additional spectral weight, longer lifetimes, and well-defined dispersions. Our work presents a unified picture of how local valence fluctuations connect to momentum-space concepts such as band filling and Fermi surface topology in mixed valence systems.
Organosulfide-plasticized solid-electrolyte interphase layer enables stable lithium metal anodes for long-cycle lithium-sulfur batteries
Authors: Li Guoxing , Gao Yue , He Xin , Huang Qingquan , Chen Shuru , Kim Seong H. , Wang Donghai
Published: October 2017

Lithium metal is a promising anode candidate for the next-generation rechargeable battery due to its highest specific capacity (3860 mA h g−1) and lowest potential, but low Coulombic efficiency and formation of lithium dendrites hinder its practical application. Here, we report a self-formed flexible hybrid solid-electrolyte interphase layer through co-deposition of organosulfides/organopolysulfides and inorganic lithium salts using sulfur-containing polymers as an additive in the electrolyte. The organosulfides/organopolysulfides serve as “plasticizer” in the solid-electrolyte interphase layer to improve its mechanical flexibility and toughness. The as-formed robust solid-electrolyte interphase layers enable dendrite-free lithium deposition and significantly improve Coulombic efficiency (99% over 400 cycles at a current density of 2 mA cm−2). A lithium-sulfur battery based on this strategy exhibits long cycling life (1000 cycles) and good capacity retention. This study reveals an avenue to effectively fabricate stable solid-electrolyte interphase layer for solving the issues associated with lithium metal anodes.
The quaternary architecture of RARβ–RXRα heterodimer facilitates domain–domain signal transmission
Authors: Chandra Vikas , Wu Dalei , Li Sheng , Potluri Nalini , Kim Youngchang , Rastinejad Fraydoon
Published: October 2017

Assessing the physical connections and allosteric communications in multi-domain nuclear receptor (NR) polypeptides has remained challenging, with few crystal structures available to show their overall structural organizations. Here we report the quaternary architecture of multi-domain retinoic acid receptor β–retinoic X receptor α (RARβ–RXRα) heterodimer bound to DNA, ligands and coactivator peptides, examined through crystallographic, hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, mutagenesis and functional studies. The RARβ ligand-binding domain (LBD) and DNA-binding domain (DBD) are physically connected to foster allosteric signal transmission between them. Direct comparisons among all the multi-domain NRs studied crystallographically to date show significant variations within their quaternary architectures, rather than a common architecture adhering to strict rules. RXR remains flexible and adaptive by maintaining loosely organized domains, while its heterodimerization partners use a surface patch on their LBDs to form domain-domain interactions with DBDs.
The origin of uniaxial negative thermal expansion in layered perovskites
Authors: Ablitt Chris , Craddock Sarah , Senn Mark S. , Mostofi Arash A. , Bristowe Nicholas C.
Published: October 2017

Why is it that ABO3 perovskites generally do not exhibit negative thermal expansion (NTE) over a wide temperature range, whereas layered perovskites of the same chemical family often do? It is generally accepted that there are two key ingredients that determine the extent of NTE: the presence of soft phonon modes that drive contraction (have negative Grüneisen parameters); and anisotropic elastic compliance that predisposes the material to the deformations required for NTE along a specific axis. This difference in thermal expansion properties is surprising since both ABO3 and layered perovskites often possess these ingredients in equal measure in their high-symmetry phases. Using first principles calculations and symmetry analysis, we show that in layered perovskites there is a significant enhancement of elastic anisotropy due to symmetry breaking that results from the combined effect of layering and condensed rotations of oxygen octahedra. This feature, unique to layered perovskites of certain symmetry, is what allows uniaxial NTE to persist over a large temperature range. This fundamental insight means that symmetry and the elastic tensor can be used as descriptors in high-throughput screening and to direct materials design.
Bio-artificial pleura using an autologous dermal fibroblast sheet
Authors: Kanzaki Masato , Takagi Ryo , Washio Kaoru , Kokubo Mami , Yamato Masayuki
Published: October 2017

Air leaks (ALs) are observed after pulmonary resections, and without proper treatment, can produce severe complications. AL prevention is a critical objective for managing patients after pulmonary resection. This study applied autologous dermal fibroblast sheets (DFS) to close ALs. For sealing ALs in a 44-year-old male human patient with multiple bullae, a 5 × 15-mm section of skin was surgically excised. From this skin specimen, primary dermal fibroblasts were isolated and cultured for 4 weeks to produce DFSs that were harvested after a 10-day culture. ALs were completely sealed using surgical placement of these autologous DFSs. DFS were found to be a durable long-term AL sealant, exhibiting requisite flexibility, elasticity, durability, biocompatibility, and usability, resulting reliable AL closure. DFS should prove to be an extremely useful tissue-engineered pleura substitute.
The effects of heterogeneity on stochastic cycles in epidemics
Authors: Herrerías-Azcué Francisco , Galla Tobias
Published: October 2017

Models of biological processes are often subject to different sources of noise. Developing an understanding of the combined effects of different types of uncertainty is an open challenge. In this paper, we study a variant of the susceptible-infective-recovered model of epidemic spread, which combines both agent-to-agent heterogeneity and intrinsic noise. We focus on epidemic cycles, driven by the stochasticity of infection and recovery events, and study in detail how heterogeneity in susceptibilities and propensities to pass on the disease affects these quasi-cycles. While the system can only be described by a large hierarchical set of equations in the transient regime, we derive a reduced closed set of equations for population-level quantities in the stationary regime. We analytically obtain the spectra of quasi-cycles in the linear-noise approximation. We find that the characteristic frequency of these cycles is typically determined by population averages of susceptibilities and infectivities, but that their amplitude depends on higher-order moments of the heterogeneity. We also investigate the synchronisation properties and phase lag between different groups of susceptible and infected individuals.
Strong Binding of Platelet Integrin αIIbβ3 to Fibrin Clots: Potential Target to Destabilize Thrombi
Authors: Höök Peter , Litvinov Rustem I. , Kim Oleg V. , Xu Shixin , Xu Zhiliang , Bennett Joel S. , Alber Mark S. , Weisel John W.
Published: October 2017

The formation of platelet thrombi is determined by the integrin αIIbβ3-mediated interactions of platelets with fibrinogen and fibrin. Blood clotting in vivo is catalyzed by thrombin, which simultaneously induces fibrinogen binding to αIIbβ3 and converts fibrinogen to fibrin. Thus, after a short time, thrombus formation is governed by αIIbβ3 binding to fibrin fibers. Surprisingly, there is little understanding of αIIbβ3 interaction with fibrin polymers. Here we used an optical trap-based system to measure the binding of single αIIbβ3 molecules to polymeric fibrin and compare it to αIIbβ3 binding to monomeric fibrin and fibrinogen. Like αIIbβ3 binding to fibrinogen and monomeric fibrin, we found that αIIbβ3 binding to polymeric fibrin can be segregated into two binding regimes, one with weaker rupture forces of 30–60 pN and a second with stronger rupture forces >60 pN that peaked at 70–80 pN. However, we found that the mechanical stability of the bimolecular αIIbβ3-ligand complexes had the following order: fibrin polymer > fibrin monomer > fibrinogen. These quantitative differences reflect the distinct specificity and underlying molecular mechanisms of αIIbβ3-mediated reactions, implying that targeting platelet interactions with fibrin could increase the therapeutic indices of antithrombotic agents by focusing on the destabilization of thrombi rather than the prevention of platelet aggregation.
The autophagy scaffold protein ALFY is critical for the granulocytic differentiation of AML cells
Authors: Schläfli Anna M. , Isakson Pauline , Garattini E. , Simonsen Anne , Tschan Mario P.
Published: October 2017

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignancy of myeloid progenitor cells that are blocked in differentiation. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare form of AML, which generally presents with a t(15;17) translocation causing expression of the fusion protein PML-RARA. Pharmacological doses of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) induce granulocytic differentiation of APL cells leading to cure rates of >80% if combined with conventional chemotherapy. Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway for the removal of cytoplasmic content and recycling of macromolecules. ATRA induces autophagy in ATRA-sensitive AML and APL cells and autophagy inhibition attenuates ATRA-triggered differentiation. In this study, we aimed at identifying if the autophagy-linked FYVE-domain containing protein (ALFY/WDFY3) is involved in autophagic degradation of protein aggregates contributes to ATRA therapy-induced autophagy. We found that ALFY mRNA levels increase significantly during the course of ATRA-induced differentiation of APL and AML cell lines. Importantly ALFY depletion impairs ATRA-triggered granulocytic differentiation of these cells. In agreement with its function in aggrephagy, knockdown of ALFY results in reduced ATRA-induced proteolysis. Our data further suggest that PML-RARα is an autophagy substrate degraded with the help of ALFY. In summary, we present a crucial role for ALFY in retinoid triggered maturation of AML cells.
Optical cryptography with biometrics for multi-depth objects
Authors: Yan Aimin , Wei Yang , Hu Zhijuan , Zhang Jingtao , Tsang Peter Wai Ming , Poon Ting-Chung
Published: October 2017

We propose an optical cryptosystem for encrypting images of multi-depth objects based on the combination of optical heterodyne technique and fingerprint keys. Optical heterodyning requires two optical beams to be mixed. For encryption, each optical beam is modulated by an optical mask containing either the fingerprint of the person who is sending, or receiving the image. The pair of optical masks are taken as the encryption keys. Subsequently, the two beams are used to scan over a multi-depth 3-D object to obtain an encrypted hologram. During the decryption process, each sectional image of the 3-D object is recovered by convolving its encrypted hologram (through numerical computation) with the encrypted hologram of a pinhole image that is positioned at the same depth as the sectional image. Our proposed method has three major advantages. First, the lost-key situation can be avoided with the use of fingerprints as the encryption keys. Second, the method can be applied to encrypt 3-D images for subsequent decrypted sectional images. Third, since optical heterodyning scanning is employed to encrypt a 3-D object, the optical system is incoherent, resulting in negligible amount of speckle noise upon decryption. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time optical cryptography of 3-D object images has been demonstrated in an incoherent optical system with biometric keys.
Forecasting the onset and course of mental illness with Twitter data
Authors: Reece Andrew G. , Reagan Andrew J. , Lix Katharina L. M. , Dodds Peter Sheridan , Danforth Christopher M. , Langer Ellen J.
Published: October 2017

We developed computational models to predict the emergence of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Twitter users. Twitter data and details of depression history were collected from 204 individuals (105 depressed, 99 healthy). We extracted predictive features measuring affect, linguistic style, and context from participant tweets (N = 279,951) and built models using these features with supervised learning algorithms. Resulting models successfully discriminated between depressed and healthy content, and compared favorably to general practitioners’ average success rates in diagnosing depression, albeit in a separate population. Results held even when the analysis was restricted to content posted before first depression diagnosis. State-space temporal analysis suggests that onset of depression may be detectable from Twitter data several months prior to diagnosis. Predictive results were replicated with a separate sample of individuals diagnosed with PTSD (Nusers = 174, Ntweets = 243,775). A state-space time series model revealed indicators of PTSD almost immediately post-trauma, often many months prior to clinical diagnosis. These methods suggest a data-driven, predictive approach for early screening and detection of mental illness.
Preference for novel faces in male infant monkeys predicts cerebrospinal fluid oxytocin concentrations later in life
Authors: Madrid Jesus E. , Oztan Ozge , Sclafani Valentina , Del Rosso Laura A. , Calonder Laura A. , Chun Katie , Capitanio John P. , Garner Joseph P. , Parker Karen J.
Published: October 2017

The ability to recognize individuals is a critical skill acquired early in life for group living species. In primates, individual recognition occurs predominantly through face discrimination. Despite the essential adaptive value of this ability, robust individual differences in conspecific face recognition exist, yet its associated biology remains unknown. Although pharmacological administration of oxytocin has implicated this neuropeptide in face perception and social memory, no prior research has tested the relationship between individual differences in face recognition and endogenous oxytocin concentrations. Here we show in a male rhesus monkey cohort (N = 60) that infant performance in a task used to determine face recognition ability (specifically, the ability of animals to show a preference for a novel face) robustly predicts cerebrospinal fluid, but not blood, oxytocin concentrations up to five years after behavioural assessment. These results argue that central oxytocin biology may be related to individual face perceptual abilities necessary for group living, and that these differences are stable traits.
Properties analysis of transcription factor gene TasMYB36 from Trichoderma asperellum CBS433.97 and its heterogeneous transfomation to improve antifungal ability of Populus
Authors: Ji Shida , Wang Zhiying , Wang Jinjie , Fan Haijuan , Wang Yucheng , Liu Zhihua
Published: October 2017

The transcription of TasMYB36 in the biocontrol species T. asperellum was upregulated in four different pathogenic fermentation broths, suggesting that TasMYB36 plays an important role in the response to biotic stresses. Seventy-nine MYB transcription factors that were homologous to TasMYB36 from six sequenced Trichoderma genomes were analyzed. They were distributed in fourteen clades in the phylogenetic tree. The 79 MYBs contained 113 DNA binding domains, and their amino acid sequences were conserved and were different to those in plants. The promoters of 79 MYBs contained 1374 cis-regulators related to the stress response, such as GCR1 (17.5%) and GCN4 (15.5%). Subsequently, TasMYB36 was integrated into the genome of Populus davidiana × P. alba var. pyramidalis (PdPap poplar), and after co-culture of the transformants (PdPap-TasMYB36s) with Alternaria alternate, the transcription of genes in the jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) hormone signaling pathways were upregulated; the POD, SOD and CAT activities were enhanced; and the reactive oxygen content was reduced in PdPap-TasMYB36s. The disease spots area on PdPap-TasMYB36s leaves infected by A. alternate were average 0.63% (PdPap-Con: 24.7%). In summary, TasMYB36 of T. asperellum CBS433.97 is an important defense response gene that upregulates other stress response genes and could improve resistance to biotic stresses.
Unified treatment of spin torques using a coupled magnetisation dynamics and three-dimensional spin current solver
Authors: Lepadatu Serban
Published: October 2017

A three-dimensional spin current solver based on a generalised spin drift-diffusion description, including the bulk and interfacial spin Hall effects, is integrated with a magnetisation dynamics solver. The resulting model is shown to simultaneously reproduce the spin-orbit torques generated using the spin Hall effect, spin pumping torques generated by magnetisation dynamics in multilayers, as well as the spin transfer torques acting on magnetisation regions with spatial gradients, whilst field-like and spin-like torques are reproduced in a spin valve geometry. Two approaches to modelling interfaces are analysed, one based on the spin mixing conductance and the other based on continuity of spin currents where the spin dephasing length governs the absorption of transverse spin components. In both cases analytical formulas are derived for the spin-orbit torques in a heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayer geometry, showing in general both field-like and damping-like torques are generated. The limitations of the analytical approach are discussed, showing that even in a simple bilayer geometry, due to the non-uniformity of the spin currents, a full three-dimensional treatment is required. The model is further applied to the analysis of the spin Hall angle in Pt by reproducing published experimental ferromagnetic resonance data in the bilayer geometry.
Dispersal of thermophilic beetles across the intercontinental Arctic forest belt during the early Eocene
Authors: Brunke Adam J. , Chatzimanolis Stylianos , Metscher Brian D. , Wolf-Schwenninger Karin , Solodovnikov Alexey
Published: October 2017

Massive biotic change occurred during the Eocene as the climate shifted from warm and equable to seasonal and latitudinally stratified. Mild winter temperatures across Arctic intercontinental land bridges permitted dispersal of frost-intolerant groups until the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, while trans-Arctic dispersal in thermophilic groups may have been limited to the early Eocene, especially during short-lived hyperthermals. Some of these lineages are now disjunct between continents of the northern hemisphere. Although Eocene climate change may have been one of the most important drivers of these ancient patterns in modern animal and plant distributions, its particular events are rarely implicated or correlated with group-specific climatic requirements. Here we explored the climatic and geological drivers of a particularly striking Neotropical-Oriental disjunct distribution in the rove beetle Bolitogyrus, a suspected Eocene relict. We integrated evidence from Eocene fossils, distributional and climate data, paleoclimate, paleogeography, and phylogenetic divergence dating to show that intercontinental dispersal of Bolitogyrus ceased in the early Eocene, consistent with the termination of conditions required by thermophilic lineages. These results provide new insight into the poorly known and short-lived Arctic forest community of the Early Eocene and its surviving lineages.
Non-Mendelian assortment of homologous autosomes of different sizes in males is the ancestral state in the Caenorhabditis lineage
Authors: Le Tho Son , Yang Fang-Jung , Lo Yun-Hua , Chang Tiffany C. , Hsu Jung-Chen , Kao Chia-Yi , Wang John
Published: October 2017

Organismal genome sizes vary by six orders of magnitude and appear positively correlated with organismal size and complexity. Neutral models have been proposed to explain the broad patterns of genome size variation based on organism population sizes. In the Caenorhabditis genus, hermaphrodite genomes are smaller than those of gonochoristic species. One possible driving force for this genome size difference could be non-random chromosome segregation. In Caenorhabditis elegans, chromosome assortment is non-independent and violates Mendel’s second law. In males, the shorter homologue of a heterozygous autosome pair preferentially co-segregates with the X chromosome while the longer one preferentially co-segregates with the nullo-X (O) chromosome in a process we call “skew”. Since hermaphrodites preferentially receive the shorter chromosomes and can start populations independently, their genome size would be predicted to decrease over evolutionary time. If skew is an important driver for genome size reduction in hermaphroditic Caenorhabditis species, then it should be present in all congeneric species. In this study, we tested this hypothesis and found that skew is present in all eight examined species. Our results suggest that skew is likely the ancestral state in this genus. More speculatively, skew may drive genome size patterns in hermaphroditic species in other nematodes.
Arctic cryosphere and Milankovitch forcing of Great Basin paleoclimate
Authors: Lachniet Matthew , Asmerom Yemane , Polyak Victor , Denniston Rhawn
Published: October 2017

Although Great Basin paleoclimate history has been examined for more than a century, the orbital-scale paleoclimate forcings remain poorly understood. Here we show – by a detailed phasing analysis of a well-dated stalagmite δ18O time series – that Great Basin paleoclimate is linearly related to, but lagged, the 23,000 yr precession cycle in northern hemisphere summer insolation by an average of 3240 years (−900 to 6600 yr range) over the last two glacial cycles. We interpret these lags as indicating that Great Basin climate is sensitive to and indirectly forced by changes in the cryosphere, as evidenced by fast and strong linkages to global ice volume and Arctic paleoclimate indicators. Mid-latitude atmospheric circulation was likely impacted by a northward shifted storm track and higher pressure over the region arising from decreased sea ice and snow cover. Because anthropogenic warming is expected to reduce northern hemisphere snow and ice cover, continued increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases is likely to result in warming and drying over coming centuries that will amplify a warming trend that began ~2400 years ago.