bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New interpretation of the wings of the pterosaurRhamphorhynchus muensteribased on the Zittel and Marsh specimens
Authors: Bennett S. Christopher
Published: March 2016

The Zittel wing ofRhamphorhynchus muensteriis reinterpreted as preserving negative impressions of closely spaced broad flat actinofibrils that were replaced by calcite but were prepared away by the specimen’s finder. The Marsh specimen preserves positive impressions of the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wing, which show that the skin was smooth with fine wrinkles and that actinofibrils were not on the wing surface. Based on comparisons of those specimens, the dactylopatagium consisted of dorsal and ventral skins of epidermis and dermis surrounding a common hypodermis core, and keratinous actinofibrils developed in place within the dorsal epidermis adjacent to a layer of linear collagen fibers in the dorsal dermis. The actinofibrils and linear collagen fibers together formed the main functional structure of the dactylopatagium. That structure made the dactylopatagium somewhat stiff and essentially inextensible so that it folded up along discrete fold lines that probably were genetically determined. A pneumatic retrophalangeal wedge behind the antebrachium through at least wing phalanx 3 streamlined the transition between the thick wing spar and thin patagium.
Increased intake of fruits and vegetables in overweight subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, metabolic risk factors and dietary intake
Authors: Järvi A. , Karlström B. , Vessby B. , Becker W.
Published: March 2016

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been associated with several health benefits. However, the effects on body weight (BW) and metabolic markers are not fully known. The present study investigated the effects of increased intake of fruits and vegetables in overweight and obese men and women on dietary habits, anthropometry and metabolic control. In a 16-week controlled intervention, thirty-four men and thirty-four women aged 35–65 years (BMI>27 kg/m2) were randomised to an intervention (IN) or a reference (RG) group. All participants received general dietary advice, and subjects in the IN group received fruits and vegetables for free, of which ≥500 g had to be eaten daily. BW, waist circumference (WC), sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), plasma insulin, blood glucose, glycated Hb (HbA1c), serum lipids, blood pressure, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity, urinary isoprostane (iso-8-PGF 2α) and serum carotenoids were measured. Diet was assessed using 3-d weighed food records. In all, thirty subjects in the IN group and thirty-two in the RG group completed the intervention. Intake of fruits and vegetables doubled in the IN group, whereas intake of fruits increased in the RG group. Serumα- andβ-carotene concentrations and intakes of folate and vitamin C increased significantly in the IN group. Energy intake, BW, WC and SAD decreased significantly in both groups. Supine systolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the IN group, with no between-group differences. No significant changes were observed for other metabolic markers. Provision of fruits and vegetables led to substantially increased intakes, with subsequent favourable changes in anthropometry and insulin levels, which tended to be more pronounced in the IN group. The observed improvements may, in combination with improved nutritional markers, have health benefits in the long term.
IDENTIFICATION OF DISCRETE CHOICE DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING MODELS WITH NONPARAMETRIC DISTRIBUTION OF UNOBSERVABLES
Authors: Chen Le-Yu
Published: March 2016

This paper presents semiparametric identification results for the Rust (1994) class of discrete choice dynamic programming (DCDP) models. We develop sufficient conditions for identification of the deep structural parameters for the case where the per-period utility function ascribed to one choice in the model is parametric but the distribution of unobserved state variables is nonparametric. The proposed identification strategy does not rely on availability of the terminal period data and can therefore be applied to infinite horizon structural dynamic models. Identifying power comes from assuming that the agent’s per-period utilities admit continuous choice-specific state variables that are observed with sufficient variation and satisfy certain conditional independence assumptions on the joint time series of observables. These conditions allow us to formulate exclusion restrictions for identifying the primitive structural functions of the model.
How to stabilize the banking system: lessons from the pre-1914 London money market
Authors: Sissoko Carolyn
Published: March 2016

This article argues that the British financial system in the era prior to World War I provides modern policymakers with a successful model of how to stabilize the banking system. This model had two components: incentives were structured to ensure that all banks that originated or traded assets on the money market sought only to trade in high-quality assets; and macro-prudential regulation promoted the segregation of money markets from capital markets, monitored the growth of money market credit, and restricted trade on the money market in assets issued by entities and sectors whose money market liabilities were growing so fast that the most reasonable explanation was that the money market was being used to finance longer-term investment. These facts indicate that policymakers can successfully stabilize the banking system through a combination of structural reform and regulation of the growth of credit.
On the Restoration of Pteraspis
Authors: Mitchell Hugh
Published: March 2016

In the year 1860, when engaged in drawing up a list of the fossils known to occur in the Lower Old Red Sandstone of Scotland, we had occasion to remark that, with the exception of the Pteraspis, we had found in our northern rocks the various fossils of the equivalent beds in England, and many others besides, indicating an extensive piscine fauna in that epoch of geological history. We have now to remove that exception, for Pteraspis does occur with us. Some very fine specimens have recently been found in our Scottish
rocks, and from their examination we are not only able to discern that fragments which have been many years in our possession, and which we could not refer to any known fossil, belong to that palæozoic fish, but we are also encouraged to attempt the restoration of the remarkable buckler, composed of solid bone, in which this ancient denizen of the deep was encased.

Figure 1. In the construction of this diagram three fossil specimens have been employed. These specimens are similar in their proportions and in the method of their preservation, and their exact measurements have been followed in the figure. The first specimen, used for this diagram, exhibits very beautifully the form of the shield with the terminal horns, and the distinct eye-sockets. The eyes are placed on the margin of the shield, and their impression is also seen on a cast in the stone of this specimen. The second specimen is the prolonged central termination of the shield, which
has been broken off at the ridge which terminates on either side in the horns. The third specimen show’s the junction of this central prolongation with the shield. All the three specimens have a high central ridge, and still retain something of the graceful outline of the living form. As preserved in the stone these specimens show only the nacreous layer, the other component layers of the bone of the Pteraspis having perished in their case.
Trails, Tracks, and Surface-Markings
Authors: Jones T. Rupert
Published: March 2016

Geologizing, with some friends, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, a few summers since (1859), we noticed some puddles of rain-water in the clay talus of the Wealden Cliffs near Brook Point, and observed that, like other such surfaces, the partially dried clay beds of the diminished pools showed rain-prints, foot-tracks, trails, and the rings of broken bubbles. Amongst these various markings are convex trail-like lines (fig. 1), which at first appeared difficult to account for; but, recollecting Mr. A. Hancock's remarks on the so-called Annelide tracks, published in the ‘Annals of Natural History,’ 3rd series, vol. ii. p. 443, plates 14–19, I looked carefully on the wetter parts of the clay, along the edges of the puddles, and soon saw little beetle-like insects boring into the clay, and apparently traversing such galleries, just beneath the surface, as the little narrow convex sinuous markings may be due to. One of these insects I enclosed alive in its clay habitat, but I could not afterwards find it, when I had the specimen of surface-marked clay at home. The cut edges of the pieces of clay show the openings of the numerous little galleries (fig. 1b). Some of them are close to the surface; some are an eighth of an inch or more below: in the latter case, probably the roof of the gallery received coatings of mud after it was raised up, retaining its convexity.
Some Remarks on Mr. Darwin's Theory
Authors: Hutton Frederick Wollaston
Published: March 2016

But there are other causes that have tended to modify animals; stich as habit, use or disuse of any particular organ, food, climate, &c., and these together with the fact that a variation which appears in the parent, at any period of its existence, tends to re-appear in the offspring at the same period, will enable us to account for the metamorphoses of insects, the differences of colour in the young and the adult, the horus of sheep and cattle, &c. If to these we add that of “sexual selection,” we can see why sexes differ in organs and properties. In fact most of the facts in natural history can be explained by this theory; but there are a few which at present cannot, such as the colours of certain larvæ, which are asexual. Even these may perhaps be the effects of the mysterious and unknown laws of correlation of growth and sympathy between different parts.

We must remember that the theory of natural selection is subordinate to, and totally distinct from, that of the transmutation of species; and that if the former should be found wanting it would not effect the latter in the least degree.

The third great argument urged against the theory of transmutation of species is the geological one; and may be divided into two heads.
On the Distribution of Cephalaspis and Pteraspis in England
Authors: Roberts George E.
Published: March 2016

I Hope our scientific tourists of the approaching season will take their good eyes into Herefordshire quarries. For now that the Scotch monopoly of the Old Red fishes is broken up, they will be found to repay time and trouble, if searched for in that and the adjoining counties; and something like a reasonable history of these strange old littoral fishes may be the result of a single season's work. There is a great deal about them well worth, knowing, and their remains will be found tolerably abundant, though very fragmentary, both in the sandstones and corn stones; and therefore I have a peculiar pleasure in introducing our primæval fish-fauna to the notice of those on search already—or hoping to be as the season advances—for relics of ancient life.

Before I call particular attention to some fruitful localities, let me say a few words upon the physical condition and geographical aspect of the age they lived in. Though I ought rather to say ages, for they anticipated the advent of the system they are popularly said to belong to—that vast life-era—the extent of whose inland-seas and shallow littoral ocean-zone we see in the sandy, shaly, and gravelly beds which contain our fishes, and of whose deep seas the thick-bedded limestones of Devon are witnesses—called by us Old Red or Devonian; and first appeared upon the stage in true Upper Silurian times; for the Pteraspis Ludensis of the Lower Ludlow shales of Leintwardine (county Salop), is the oldest representative of the family.
High and Low Life
Authors: Roberts George E.
Published: March 2016

Our knowledge of the limits of animal life have been notably extended during the year which has just departed. Air, blown upon an adhesive surface by the aeroscope on the summit of Etna, twelve thousand feet above the sea level, has been found to contain large quantities of Diatomaceæ; and thus the presence of a zone of life has been discovered to us, soaring not only above the limits hitherto fixed, but above the range of physical phenomena in the mountain itself.

And now the ocean-depths have given up a secret as marvellous. We are taught that at a depth below the surface nearly as great as the height of the infusorial zone above it, animals as high in the scale of being as starfishes are enjoying life. The one discovery is a fitting pendant to the other, and yet, how great is their difference! In the one case the extreme ratification of the atmosphere seemed to our notions to render life impossible; in the other, the enormous pressure of the opposite element, which in the homes of these starfishes must amount to at least a ton and a-half on the square inch, is so greatly at variance with our belief, that we are confounded at the very outset of the inquiry. The capability in an animal so well accustomed to air as the starfish—whose ordinary domain is the seabeach—to exist without it, and its inherent power of withstanding a pressure that would upon the surface grind a rock to powder, are studies replete with instruction and value—studies which can be turned to a good geologieal account, and made to bear reference to a past fauna as well as to a living one.
Notes on Making Gutta-Percha Moulds and Plaster of Paris Casts
Authors: Jones T. Rupert
Published: March 2016

My Dear Sir —As something towards enabling amateur and other geologists to communicate some of the results of their researches to their fellow-inquirers, I beg to offer the enclosed directions for making a preparation of gutta-percha and bees-wax, much better adapted for taking casts and moulds of fossils than gutta-percha itself; and also some useful remarks for the preparation of plaster-casts. These directions have been chiefly drawn up, at my request, by my friend, Mr. John Wetherell, of Highgate. I have also to observe that the prepared gutta-percha is capable of being applied to the purposes of the museum in another way, which has been suggested to me by a friend lately. Thus, have some narrow slips of tin folded into squares, of convenient sizes, and into these press some of the composition, and use these as pedestals for such fossil shells, and other specimens, as will not stand steadily by themselves. By warming these pedestals in hot water, they are readily softened so as to receive the fossils when pressed into them, and the latter can be at any time raised for examination.

Of course this composition, or even gutta-percha itself, is unfit for use in hot climates, and for transmission, by post or otherwise, to the tropics.
Notes of a Geologist in Ireland During August and September, 1857
Authors: Symonds W. S.
Published: March 2016

A notice of the geology around Killarney having already appeared in the Geologist, by “A Brother of the Hammer,” it will be sufficient for us to indicate the best localities for sections and fossils, premising that the upper and lower Old Red Sandstone are unequivocally represented in Ireland, independently of the upper groups of conglomerates, and red and yellow sandstones.

The Old Red Conglomerate in Ireland is in many places unconformable to the Old Red Sandstone, and constitutes the base of the carboniferous deposits; and I had been assured that the same unconformability had been detected in the Forest of Dean; but a careful examination, with Dr. Melville, has since convinced me that there is no such unconformability between the Upper Brownstones and the overlying masses of conglomerates and red and yellow sandstones in this or the Blorenge district. In Ireland the local geologists persist in limiting the term Old Red Sandstone to a series of deposits which there, most certainly pertain more to the carboniferous group, viz., the conglomerates, red sandstones, and yellow and grey sandstones, which pass upwards conformably into the Coonahola grits and carboniferous slates. The equivalents of our cornstones and brownstones of Brecon and Monmouth may be studied at Glengariff, at the head of Bantry Bay, where the lowest rocks seen are the Glengariff grits, or upper cornstones, overlaid by the Dingle slates or brownstones, and the red sandstones of the conglomerate series, with no unconformability.
Contributions to the Geology of Gloucestershire
Authors: Brodie P. B.
Published: March 2016

It is one of the many striking facts of geology that, as we pass from one great group of rocks to another, we find a considerable change both in lithologioal and zoological characters. Sometimes the transition is abrupt and sudden, at others, slow and gradual. In the former case, the marine fauna of the older deposit had perished, and a new race sprung up and succeeded to its place; while, in the latter, there was only a gradual dying out of some species unable to exist under the changed oceanic conditions, others more hardy still continuing to flourish in the later formation. But this change of genera and species is not confined necessarily to the breaks which seem to have taken place between one great rock-system and another; it is often to be noted in a greater or less degree, as we have seen in our review of the Oolites in this county, in the minor divisions and sub-divisions of each formation. The student must also bear in mind that the strata which form the crust of the globe were, for the most part, deposited by the sea; a very small proportion only being the products of fresh water, and still fewer being purely terrestrial. Therefore, in our researches into the history of the past, we have to deal more usually with the varied inhabitants of the ancient seas, and to mark the changes which took place from time to time as we pass through either entire periods, or the parts and details into which they may be divided.
The Common Fossils of the British Rocks
Authors: Mackie S. J.
Published: March 2016

But what are the silent voices of the past saying—for what have the wonderful and mysterious powers of nature for so many ages been labouring? Where, through all the strange mysteries of the past, is the finger of God pointing? To MAN, and the world that is his. Look at all the appropriations of every kind of organic and inorganic matter to such varied and different purposes by our race, and can we divert our minds from contemplating the vast time and the numberless operations which have assisted in the elaboration of the materials necessary for our comforts or our wants? Past and present creations alike show that animals fitted for each peculiar condition of our planet have existed at every period; but of all those classes which have passed away, or of those which exist, there are none which have not been limited in their geographical range, none to which a considerable other portion of this world has not been useless and unserviceable. Is it so with man? The stars of heaven—how many ages old!—tell him the track of the world he lives upon; mysterious magnetism guides the slender needle by which his freighted ships are safely steered from shore to shore; the very lightning is his messenger. The coal and iron of his mighty engines are ages old; the clay of the bricks of which he builds his houses, and the marble of the statues with which he adorns his palaces, have passed through ages of preparation; innumerable and diversified as are the materials of the earth, has he not a use for them all, from the lowermost granites to the uppermost surface-soils?
Upper Silurian Corals
Authors: Roberts George C.
Published: March 2016

Coral-Hunting in the debris of a Wenlock-shale quarry ranks high— to my thinking—amongst the pleasures of geology. And, indeed, has no insignificant place among its wonders. For to any one not conversant with zoophytic life, it is hard to believe that the rugged corals that lie strewn about the quarry, once held sensitive masses of life—that from every pore tiny arms waved to and fro in the water to entangle the lesser creatures they lived on; and that the animal— that slight thread of jelly-like substance, filling each tube, was at once a limb of the body and an independent creature, contributing, while attached, to the general support, and being able, if severed from the mass, to lead a separate existence and be itself the parent of others. The Wenlock series of the Upper Silurians have been rightly regarded as the metropolis of its zoophytic life, for both in variety and number, corals culminated in the seas of that age. Of these species, “so far removed from existing ones as to be quite unknown in modern seas, all with rare exceptions, dying out at the close of the Palæozoic epoch.” I will essay a familiar sketch.
On Canadian Caverns
Authors: Gibb George D.
Published: March 2016

The prominent feature of a large portion of the province of Canada is the presence of various limestone rocks belonging to the Silurian formations. Until lately, the existence of caverns in these rocks, as well as in those lying subjacent—namely the Laurentian of Sir William Logan, was almost unknown; as, with the exception of an isolated account here and there, no regular description of any cavern had appeared. Owing to the labours of the Canadian Geological Survey, and of several private individuals, a number of caverns have been discovered at distances remote from one another; some of these have received but a passing notice in the publications of the Survey, and are not, therefore, useful as a means of reference. The present communication, it is hoped, will supply that deficiency, as in it I purpose to embody short descriptive accounts of all the caverns of Canada which are known up to the present time. The details of some of them are not so full as could be desired; nevertheless, with all the available sources of information within my reach, together with personal observation in some, on the whole the general descriptions may be relied upon as accurate, and as containing a correct account of the particular geological formations in which they lie.
Palæontological Notes on the Brachiopoda
Authors: Davidson Thomas
Published: March 2016

In my last communication, I endeavoured to lay before the reader all the more important facts, already acquired, relative to the genera and sub-genera that are provided with spiral appendages for the support of the oral arms; and at the same time I referred to several points which still required to be elucidated and explained before the subject could be considered to have been satisfactorily studied.
A Chapter on Fossil Lightning
Authors: Gibb G. D.
Published: March 2016

The expression “fossil lightning” may seem somewhat paradoxical, but it is here employed in a figurative sense to designate a condition of things which we have good modern evidence to prove to have been the result of the lightning's flash, myriads of ages gone by. Of late years vitrified sand-tubes have been discovered in Cumberland, in Prussia, South America, Natal, and other places; and these have been very clearly made out as having been directly caused by lightning, and hence they have been called by mineralogists “Fulminary tubes” or Fulgurites. All these would appear, so far as we can ascertain, to have been formed at comparatively a very recent period, and hardly, therefore, deserving of the appellation of “fossil lightning.” Nevertheless, as I have come across some examples of such bodies on the surface of the flagstones which form our pavements, and of the antiquity of which there cannot be any doubt whatever, I have no hesitation in making use of the term which heads this chapter.
Geological Localities. –No. I Folkestone
Authors: Mackie S. J.
Published: March 2016

Where now is that great funereal mass ? Where now that twothousand feet of ocean mud and sand ? All round the rim of the great Wealden area the basset-edges of that thick mass crop out, bearing on their cliff-like downs patches of red loam, gravel and round flint-pebbles—remnants that mark the ravages of time and physical forces upon the rock-beds of yet another age, in which that great Cretaceous mass was slowly raised, bearing as it were on its shoulders the ever-forming ooze, filled with the relics of other intervening forma of life that reigned in that vast interval between the Secondary period and our own.
Criteria for Happiness Among People Living in Extreme Poverty in Maputo, Mozambique
Authors: Galinha Iolanda Costa , Garcia-Martín Miguel Ángel , Gomes Clara , Oishi Shigehiro
Published: March 2016

The criteria for happiness of people living near the limit of survival needs in diverse cultural contexts allow us to understand the fundamental and universal or culturally specific sources of human happiness. Twenty-five participants (11 men, 14 women) from Maputo, Mozambique, M = 37.36; SD = 15.86 years old (19 to 80), reported a per capita monthly household income between 143 and 1,000 Meticals (3.86 and 27.03 USD). Participants responded to (a) a semistructured interview about happiness, criteria for happiness, positive and negative life events, and hopes and fears for the future and (b) a structured interview about satisfaction in specific life domains and comparative income. Only 16% of the participants reported being happy. Participants said that when basic needs are not satisfied happiness is impossible. Overall, satisfaction with life in specific domains was higher because of satisfaction in nonmaterial domains. The main criteria for happiness were having basic living conditions, a job, and positive relationships with family and neighbors. After survival needs were met, social, spiritual, and personal aspects of life became important for subjective well-being. Satisfaction with income was correlated with comparative income and not with objective income. Being able to provide wedding and funeral ceremonies and having good relationships with neighbors may be culturally specific criteria for happiness in Maputo. The breakup of marital relationships, family abandonment, and spousal infidelity (reported mainly by women) may be gender-specific sources of unhappiness in Maputo.
Macrophage-mediated chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell survival is independent of APRIL signaling
Authors: van Attekum MHA , Terpstra S , Reinen E , Kater AP , Eldering E
Published: March 2016

Survival of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells is mainly driven by interactions within the lymph node (LN) microenvironment with bystander cells such as T cells or cells from the monocytic lineage. Although the survival effect by T cells is largely governed by the TNFR ligand family member CD40L, the exact mechanism of monocyte-derived cell-induced survival is not known. An important role has been attributed to the TNFR ligand, a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), although the exact mechanism remained unclear. Since we detected that APRIL was expressed by CD68+ cells in CLL LN, we addressed its relevance in various aspects of CLL biology, using a novel APRIL overexpressing co-culture system, recombinant APRIL, and APRIL reporter cells. Unexpectedly, we found, that in these various systems, APRIL had no effect on survival of CLL cells, and activation of NF-κB was not enhanced on APRIL stimulation. Moreover, APRIL stity mulation did not affect CLL proliferation, neither as single stimulus nor in combination with known CLL proliferation stimuli. Furthermore, the survival effect conveyed by macrophages to CLL cells was not affected by transmembrane activator and CAML interactor-Fc, an APRIL decoy receptor. We conclude that the direct role ascribed to APRIL in CLL cell survival might be overestimated due to application of supraphysiological levels of recombinant APRIL.
Open-source image reconstruction of super-resolution structured illumination microscopy data in ImageJ
Authors: Müller Marcel , Mönkemöller Viola , Hennig Simon , Hübner Wolfgang , Huser Thomas
Published: March 2016

Super-resolved structured illumination microscopy (SR-SIM) is an important tool for fluorescence microscopy. SR-SIM microscopes perform multiple image acquisitions with varying illumination patterns, and reconstruct them to a super-resolved image. In its most frequent, linear implementation, SR-SIM doubles the spatial resolution. The reconstruction is performed numerically on the acquired wide-field image data, and thus relies on a software implementation of specific SR-SIM image reconstruction algorithms. We present fairSIM, an easy-to-use plugin that provides SR-SIM reconstructions for a wide range of SR-SIM platforms directly within ImageJ. For research groups developing their own implementations of super-resolution structured illumination microscopy, fairSIM takes away the hurdle of generating yet another implementation of the reconstruction algorithm. For users of commercial microscopes, it offers an additional, in-depth analysis option for their data independent of specific operating systems. As a modular, open-source solution, fairSIM can easily be adapted, automated and extended as the field of SR-SIM progresses.
A strategy for sequence control in vinyl polymers via iterative controlled radical cyclization
Authors: Hibi Yusuke , Ouchi Makoto , Sawamoto Mitsuo
Published: March 2016

There is a growing interest in sequence-controlled polymers toward advanced functional materials. However, control of side-chain order for vinyl polymers has been lacking feasibility in the field of polymer synthesis because of the inherent feature of chain-growth propagation. Here we show a general and versatile strategy to control sequence in vinyl polymers through iterative radical cyclization with orthogonally cleavable and renewable bonds. The proposed methodology employs a repetitive and iterative intramolecular cyclization via a radical intermediate in a one-time template with a radical-generating site at one end and an alkene end at the other, each of which is connected to a linker via independently cleavable and renewable bonds. The unique design specifically allowed control of radical addition reaction although inherent chain-growth intermediate (radical species) was used, as well as the iterative cycle and functionalization for resultant side chains, to lead to sequence-controlled vinyl polymers (or oligomers).
Detection of intra-brain cytoplasmic 1 (BC1) long noncoding RNA using graphene oxide-fluorescence beacon detector
Authors: Kim Mee Young , Hwang Do Won , Li Fangyuan , Choi Yoori , Byun Jung Woo , Kim Dongho , Kim Jee-Eun , Char Kookheon , Lee Dong Soo
Published: March 2016

Detection of cellular expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) was elusive due to the ambiguity of exposure of their reactive sequences associated with their secondary/tertiary structures and dynamic binding of proteins around lncRNAs. Herein, we developed graphene-based detection techniques exploiting the quenching capability of graphene oxide (GO) flakes for fluorescent dye (FAM)-labeled single-stranded siRNAs and consequent un-quenching by their detachment from GO by matching lncRNAs. A brain cytoplasmic 1 (BC1) lncRNA expression was significantly decreased by a siRNA, siBC1–1. GO quenched the FAM-labeled siBC1–1 peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe, and this quenching was recovered by BC1. While FAM-siBC1–1-PNA-GO complex transfected spontaneously mouse or human neural stem cells, fluorescence was recovered only in mouse cells having high BC1 expression. Fluorescent dye-labeled single-stranded RNA-GO probe could detect the reactive exposed nucleic acid sequence of a cytoplasmic lncRNA expressing in the cytoplasm, which strategy can be used as a detection method of lncRNA expression.
Adipose derived pericytes rescue fractures from a failure of healing – non-union
Authors: Tawonsawatruk T. , West C. C. , Murray I. R. , Soo C. , Péault B. , Simpson A. H. R. W.
Published: March 2016

Atrophic non-union is attributed to biological failure of the fracture repair process. It occurs in up to 10% of fractures, results in significant morbidity to patients and treatment often requires complex reconstructive procedures. We tested the ability of human bone derived marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and human adipose derived pericytes (the native ancestor of the MSC) delivered percutaneously to the fracture gap to prevent the formation of atrophic non-union in a rat model. At eight weeks, 80% of animals in the cell treatment groups showed evidence of bone healing compared to only 14% of those in the control group. Radiographic parameters showed significant improvement over the eight-week period in the cell treatment groups and histology confirmed bone bridges at the fracture gap in the both treatment groups. The quality of bone produced and its biomechanical properties were significantly enhanced in both treatment groups. The results from this study demonstrate that MSC and pericytes have significant bone regeneration potential in an atrophic non-union model. These cells may have a role in the prevention of atrophic non-union and could enable a paradigm shift in the treatment of fractures at high risk of failing to heal and developing non-union.
Doppler effect induced spin relaxation boom
Authors: Zhao Xinyu , Huang Peihao , Hu Xuedong
Published: March 2016

We study an electron spin qubit confined in a moving quantum dot (QD), with our attention on both spin relaxation and the product of spin relaxation, the emitted phonons. We find that Doppler effect leads to several interesting phenomena. In particular, spin relaxation rate peaks when the QD motion is in the transonic regime, which we term a spin relaxation boom in analogy to the classical sonic boom. This peak indicates that a moving spin qubit may have even lower relaxation rate than a static qubit, pointing at the possibility of coherence-preserving transport for a spin qubit. We also find that the emitted phonons become strongly directional and narrow in their frequency range as the qubit reaches the supersonic regime, similar to Cherenkov radiation. In other words, fast moving excited spin qubits can act as a source of non-classical phonons. Compared to classical Cherenkov radiation, we show that quantum dot confinement produces a small but important correction on the Cherenkov angle. Taking together, these results have important implications to both spin-based quantum information processing and coherent phonon dynamics in semiconductor nanostructures.
Exposure to sucrose during periods of withdrawal does not reduce cocaine-seeking behavior in rats
Authors: Nicolas Céline , Lafay-Chebassier Claire , Solinas Marcello
Published: March 2016

Concomitant access to drugs of abuse and alternative rewards such as sucrose has been shown to decrease addiction-related behaviors in animals. Here we investigated whether access to sucrose during abstinence in contexts that are temporally and physically distinct from drug-related contexts could reduce subsequent drug seeking. In addition, we investigated whether a history of cocaine self-administration would alter the rewarding effects of sucrose. Rats self-administered cocaine for ten sessions, while yoked-saline rats received only saline injections and then we subjected them to a 30-day withdrawal period during which they had access to water and sucrose continuously or intermittently according to a schedule that induces binge-drinking behavior. At the end of the withdrawal period, rats were tested for cocaine seeking behavior during a single 6 h session. We found that exposure to cocaine increased sucrose consumption only when rats had intermittent access to sucrose, but exposure to sucrose did not alter drug seeking regardless of the schedule of access. These results suggest that exposure to cocaine cross-sensitizes to the rewarding effects of sucrose, but exposure to sucrose during abstinence, temporally and physically distinct from drug-related environments, does not to reduce drug seeking.
Genome-wide identification and developmental expression profiling of long noncoding RNAs during Drosophila metamorphosis
Authors: Chen Bing , Zhang Yi , Zhang Xia , Jia Shili , Chen Shuang , Kang Le
Published: March 2016

An increasing number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been discovered with the recent advances in RNA-sequencing technologies. lncRNAs play key roles across diverse biological processes, and are involved in developmental regulation. However, knowledge about how the genome-wide expression of lncRNAs is developmentally regulated is still limited. We here performed a whole-genome identification of lncRNAs followed by a global expression profiling of these lncRNAs during development in Drosophila melanogaster. We combined bioinformatic prediction of lncRNAs with stringent filtering of protein-coding transcripts and experimental validation to define a high-confidence set of Drosophila lncRNAs. We identified 1,077 lncRNAs in the given transcriptomes that contain 43,967 transcripts; among these, 646 lncRNAs are novel. In vivo expression profiling of these lncRNAs in 27 developmental processes revealed that the expression of lncRNAs is highly temporally restricted relative to that of protein-coding genes. Remarkably, 21% and 42% lncRNAs were significantly upregulated at late embryonic and larval stage, the critical time for developmental transition. The results highlight the developmental specificity of lncRNA expression, and reflect the regulatory significance of a large subclass of lncRNAs for the onset of metamorphosis. The systematic annotation and expression analysis of lncRNAs during Drosophila development form the foundation for future functional exploration.
Rapid bacterial antibiotic susceptibility test based on simple surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic biomarkers
Authors: Liu Chia-Ying , Han Yin-Yi , Shih Po-Han , Lian Wei-Nan , Wang Huai-Hsien , Lin Chi-Hung , Hsueh Po-Ren , Wang Juen-Kai , Wang Yuh-Lin
Published: March 2016

Rapid bacterial antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) measurement are important to help reduce the widespread misuse of antibiotics and alleviate the growing drug-resistance problem. We discovered that, when a susceptible strain of Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli is exposed to an antibiotic, the intensity of specific biomarkers in its surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra drops evidently in two hours. The discovery has been exploited for rapid AST and MIC determination of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and wild-type E. coli as well as clinical isolates. The results obtained by this SERS-AST method were consistent with that by the standard incubation-based method, indicating its high potential to supplement or replace existing time-consuming methods and help mitigate the challenge of drug resistance in clinical microbiology.
Neural Univariate Activity and Multivariate Pattern in the Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus Differentially Encode Facial Expression and Identity
Authors: Yang Zetian , Zhen Zonglei , Huang Lijie , Kong Xiang-zhen , Wang Xu , Song Yiying , Liu Jia
Published: March 2016

Faces contain a variety of information such as one’s identity and expression. One prevailing model suggests a functional division of labor in processing faces that different aspects of facial information are processed in anatomically separated and functionally encapsulated brain regions. Here, we demonstrate that facial identity and expression can be processed in the same region, yet with different neural coding strategies. To this end, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine two types of coding schemes, namely univariate activity and multivariate pattern, in the posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTS) - a face-selective region that is traditionally viewed as being specialized for processing facial expression. With the individual difference approach, we found that participants with higher overall face selectivity in the right pSTS were better at differentiating facial expressions measured outside of the scanner. In contrast, individuals whose spatial pattern for faces in the right pSTS was less similar to that for objects were more accurate in identifying previously presented faces. The double dissociation of behavioral relevance between overall neural activity and spatial neural pattern suggests that the functional-division-of-labor model on face processing is over-simplified and that coding strategies shall be incorporated in a revised model.
Facile labelling of graphene oxide for superior capacitive energy storage and fluorescence applications
Authors: Eng Alex Yong Sheng , Chua Chun Kiang , Pumera Martin
Published: March 2016

Labelling of graphene oxide witho-phenylenediamine produces an interesting nanomaterial exhibiting dual enhancements in its capacitance and fluorescence properties.
Selective modification of nanoparticle arrays by laser-induced self assembly (MONA-LISA): putting control into bottom-up plasmonic nanostructuring
Authors: Kalfagiannis Nikolaos , Siozios Anastasios , Bellas Dimitris V. , Toliopoulos Dimosthenis , Bowen Leon , Pliatsikas Nikolaos , Cranton Wayne M. , Kosmidis Constantinos , Koutsogeorgis Demosthenes C. , Lidorikis Elefterios , Patsalas Panos
Published: March 2016

Peak temperature of a Ag thin film on Si and SEM images of the resultant nanoparticles by our MONA-LISA process.
Highly selective adsorption and separation of dichloromethane/trichloromethane on a copper-based metal–organic framework
Authors: Tian Fengming , Zhang Xinghua , Chen Yunlin
Published: March 2016

CuBTC (HKUST-1) has been proven to be a great candidate for highly selective adsorption and separation of dichloromethane and trichloromethane.
A new l-arabinose isomerase with copper ion tolerance is suitable for creating protein–inorganic hybrid nanoflowers with enhanced enzyme activity and stability
Authors: Xu Zheng , Wang Rui , Liu Chao , Chi Bo , Gao Jian , Chen Beining , Xu Hong
Published: March 2016

Protein–inorganic hybrid nanoflowers were prepared using Cu2+, PBS buffer, and a copper ion tolerant l-arabinose isomerase that was derived from Paenibacillus polymyxa (PPAI).
A biofunctionalized quantum dot–nickel oxide nanorod based smart platform for lipid detection
Authors: Ali Md. Azahar , Srivastava Saurabh , Agrawal Ved V. , Willander Magnus , John Renu , Malhotra Bansi D.
Published: March 2016

A label-free and sensitive immunosensor has been fabricated using an antibody conjugated CdS–NiO nanocomposite for detection of lipids in serum samples.
Monitoring early zeolite formation via in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Authors: Brabants G. , Lieben S. , Breynaert E. , Reichel E. K. , Taulelle F. , Martens J. A. , Jakoby B. , Kirschhock C. E. A.
Published: March 2016

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is for the first time demonstrated as a viable tool for in situ monitoring of early zeolite formation.
Acetazolamide polymorphism: a case of hybridization induced polymorphism?
Authors: Sarkar Sounak , Pavan Mysore S. , Cherukuvada Suryanarayan , Guru Row Tayur N.
Published: March 2016

The unusual phenomenon of the formation of the kinetic form as against the thermodynamic form upon slow cooling of boiling aqueous solution in the case of diuretic drug acetazolamide is rationalized in terms of “hybridization induced polymorphism” based on extensive experimental and theoretical investigations.
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on reduced metals: evidence for a unique relationship between the coverage of adsorbed oxygen species and adsorption energy
Authors: Perry S. C. , Denuault G.
Published: March 2016

The ORR current follows a volcano-like dependence on the coverage of oxygen species that adsorb upon exposure to dissolved oxygen and on their adsorption energy.
Fundamental developments in clinical infrared and Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Baker Matthew J. , Faulds Karen
Published: March 2016

Guest editors Matthew Baker and Karen Faulds introduce the Fundamental Developments in Clinical Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy issue of Chemical Society Reviews
Wafer-scale transferable molybdenum disulfide thin-film catalysts for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production
Authors: Kwon Ki Chang , Choi Seokhoon , Hong Kootak , Moon Cheon Woo , Shim Young-Seok , Kim Do Hong , Kim Taemin , Sohn Woonbae , Jeon Jong-Myeong , Lee Chul-Ho , Nam Ki Tae , Han Seungwu , Kim Soo Young , Jang Ho Won
Published: March 2016

Wafer-scale n-MoS2/p-Si photocathodes with high hydrogen evolution reaction activities are demonstrated.
Crowned spiropyran fluoroionophores with a carboxyl moiety for the selective detection of lithium ions
Authors: Stubing D. B. , Heng S. , Abell A. D.
Published: March 2016

The absorbance and fluorescence spectra of carboxylated spiropyrans containing methyl-1-aza-12-crown-4, methyl-1-aza-15-crown-5, methyl-1-aza-18-crown-6 moieties are compared in the presence of alkali metal ions.
Superhydrophobic Au/polymer nanocomposite films via AACVD/swell encapsulation tandem synthesis procedure
Authors: Dixon Sebastian C. , Peveler William J. , Noor Nuruzzaman , Bear Joseph C. , Parkin Ivan P.
Published: March 2016

A synthetic route is presented for creating well-attached Au/polymer nanocomposite thin films on glass which exhibit superhydrophobicity.
Gold nanoparticles/Orange II functionalized graphene nanohybrid based electrochemical aptasensor for label-free determination of insulin
Authors: Li Tingting , Liu Zhiguang , Wang Li , Guo Yujing
Published: March 2016

Nanocomposites, gold nanoparticles on Orange II functionalized graphene (AuNPs/O-GNs), were developed to modify the electrode surface for anchoring an insulin binding aptamer.
PEG–imidazolium-functionalized 6FDA–durene polyimide as a novel polymeric membrane for enhanced CO2 separation
Authors: Kammakakam Irshad , Nam SangYong , Kim Tae-Hyun
Published: March 2016

A series of poly(ethylene glycol)–imidazolium-functionalized 6FDA–durene polyimides (PEG–Im-PIs) with a range of PEG chain lengths was developed.
Improved cycling stability of lithium–sulphur batteries by enhancing the retention of active material with a sandwiched hydrothermally treated graphite film
Authors: Pan Yuede , Chou Shu-Lei , Liu Hua-Kun , Dou Shi-Xue
Published: March 2016

A new lithium–sulphur battery with a hydrothermally treated graphite film sandwiched between the separator and the sulphur cathode shows increased capacity, enhanced cycling stability and improved coulombic efficiency.
Microwave regeneration of phenol-loaded activated carbons obtained from Arundo donax and waste fiberboard
Authors: Pan R. R. , Fan F. L. , Li Y. , Jin X. J.
Published: March 2016

A study was performed for the microwave regeneration of Arundo donax activated carbon (ADAC) and waste fiberboard activated carbon (WFAC) loaded with phenol.
Effect of ionic liquid-containing poly(ε-caprolactone) on the dispersion and dielectric properties of polymer/carbon nanotube composites
Authors: Ren Ye , Zhou Zheng , Yin Guangzhong , Chen Guang-Xin , Li Qifang
Published: March 2016

A compatilizer containing imidazolium segment was used to improve the compatibility of CNTs with PCL matrix.
Controllable synthesis of spherical cerium oxide particles
Authors: Zhang Hepeng , Wang Wenbin , Zhang Baoliang , Li Huan , Zhang Qiuyu
Published: March 2016

Formation mechanism CeO2synthesized by a hydrothermal method.
Long-term and oxidative-responsive alginate–deferoxamine conjugates with a low toxicity for iron overload
Authors: Tian Meng , Chen Xi , Li Hao , Ma Lu , Gu Zhipeng , Qi Xin , Li Xi , Tan Hong , You Chao
Published: March 2016

Long-term and oxidative-responsive alginate–deferoxamine conjugates.
Nanocomposite coatings based on copper and the products of polyethylene destruction, features of their formation, structure and antibacterial properties
Authors: Sun Jinguo , Rogachev A. V. , Yarmolenko M. A. , Rogachev A. A. , Jiang Xiaohong , Tapal'skii D. V. , Gorbachev D. L. , Bespal'ko A. A.
Published: March 2016

A new method of forming coatings containing copper nanoparticles and the products of polyethylene thermal destruction is suggested.
The effect of reduced graphene oxide on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PVDF–BaTiO3 nanocomposites
Authors: Yaqoob Usman , Uddin A. S. M. Iftekhar , Chung Gwiy-Sang
Published: March 2016

Formation process of the insulator–conductor–insulator sandwich structure. After addition of the BTO NPs into the PVDF–GO solution, a 3 μm thin film was achieved by a spin coated method.