bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mandibular Reconstruction with Lateral Tibial Bone Graft: An Excellent Option for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Authors: Miceli Ana Lucia Carpi , Pereira Livia Costa , da Silva Torres Thiago , Calasans-Maia MônicaDiuana , Louro Rafael Seabra
Published: November 2016

Autogenous bone grafts are the gold standard for reconstruction of atrophic jaws, pseudoarthroses, alveolar clefts, orthognathic surgery, mandibular discontinuity, and augmentation of sinus maxillary. Bone graft can be harvested from iliac bone, calvarium, tibial bone, rib, and intraoral bone. Proximal tibia is a common donor site with few reported problems compared with other sites. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of proximal tibia as a donor area for maxillofacial reconstructions, focusing on quantifying the volume of cancellous graft harvested by a lateral approach and to assess the complications of this technique. In a retrospective study, we collected data from 31 patients, 18 women and 13 men (mean age: 36 years, range: 19–64), who were referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Servidores do Estado Federal Hospital. Patients were treated for sequelae of orthognathic surgery, jaw fracture, nonunion, malunion, pathology, and augmentation of bone volume to oral implant. The technique of choice was lateral access of proximal tibia metaphysis for graft removal from Gerdy tubercle under general anesthesia. The mean volume of bone harvested was 13.0 ± 3.7 mL (ranged: 8–23 mL). Only five patients (16%) had minor complications, which included superficial infection, pain, suture dehiscence, and unwanted scar. However, none of these complications decreases the result and resolved completely. We conclude that proximal tibia metaphysis for harvesting cancellous bone graft provides sufficient volume for procedures in oral and maxillofacial surgery with minimal postoperative morbidity.
A microfluidic chip based model for the study of full thickness human intestinal tissue using dual flow
Authors: Dawson A. , Dyer C. , Macfie J. , Davies J. , Karsai L. , Greenman J. , Jacobsen M.
Published: November 2016

The study of inflammatory bowel disease, including Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, has relied largely upon the use of animal or cell culture models; neither of which can represent all aspects of the human pathophysiology. Presented herein is a dual flow microfluidic device which holds full thickness human intestinal tissue in a known orientation. The luminal and serosal sides are independently perfused ex vivo with nutrients with simultaneous waste removal for up to 72 h. The microfluidic device maintains the viability and integrity of the tissue as demonstrated through Haematoxylin & Eosin staining, immunohistochemistry and release of lactate dehydrogenase. In addition, the inflammatory state remains in the tissue after perfusion on the device as determined by measuring calprotectin levels. It is anticipated that this human model will be extremely useful for studying the biology and testing novel interventions in diseased tissue.
A soft damping function for dispersion corrections with less overfitting
Authors: Ucak Umit V. , Ji Hyunjun , Singh Yashpal , Jung Yousung
Published: November 2016

The use of damping functions in empirical dispersion correction schemes is common and widespread. These damping functions contain scaling and damping parameters, and they are usually optimized for the best performance in practical systems. In this study, it is shown that the overfitting problem can be present in current damping functions, which can sometimes yield erroneous results for real applications beyond the nature of training sets. To this end, we present a damping function called linear soft damping (lsd) that suffers less from this overfitting. This linear damping function damps the asymptotic curve more softly than existing damping functions, attempting to minimize the usual overcorrection. The performance of the proposed damping function was tested with benchmark sets for thermochemistry, reaction energies, and intramolecular interactions, as well as intermolecular interactions including nonequilibrium geometries. For noncovalent interactions, all three damping schemes considered in this study (lsd, lg, and BJ) roughly perform comparably (approximately within 1 kcal/mol), but for atomization energies, lsd clearly exhibits a better performance (up to 2-6 kcal/mol) compared to other schemes due to an overfitting in lg and BJ. The number of unphysical parameters resulting from global optimization also supports the overfitting symptoms shown in the latter numerical tests.
Dissipative particle dynamics for systems with high density of charges: Implementation of electrostatic interactions
Authors: Gavrilov A. A. , Chertovich A. V. , Kramarenko E. Yu.
Published: November 2016

In this work, we study the question of how to introduce electrostatic interactions in dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method in order to correctly reproduce the properties of systems with high density of charges, including those with inhomogeneous charge distribution. To this end, we formulate general requirements for the electrostatic force in DPD and propose a new functional form of the force which suits better for satisfying these requirements than the previously used ones. In order to verify the proposed model, we study the problem of a single polyelectrolyte chain collapse and compare the results with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in which the exact Coulomb force is used. We show that an excellent quantitative agreement between MD and DPD models is observed if the length parameter D of the proposed electrostatic force is chosen properly; the recommendations concerning the choice of this parameter value are given based on the analysis of a polyelectrolyte chain collapse behavior. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of DPD with the proposed electrostatic force to studying microphase separation phenomenon in polyelectrolyte melts and show that the same values of D as in the case of single chain collapse should be used, thus indicating universality of the model. Due to the charge correlation attraction, a long-range order in such melts can be observed even at zero Flory-Huggins parameter.
On metastability and Markov state models for non-stationary molecular dynamics
Authors: Koltai Péter , Ciccotti Giovanni , Schütte Christof
Published: November 2016

Unlike for systems in equilibrium, a straightforward definition of a metastable set in the non-stationary, non-equilibrium case may only be given case-by-case—and therefore it is not directly useful any more, in particular in cases where the slowest relaxation time scales are comparable to the time scales at which the external field driving the system varies. We generalize the concept of metastability by relying on the theory of coherent sets. A pair of sets A and B is called coherent with respect to the time interval [t1, t2] if (a) most of the trajectories starting in A at t1 end up in B at t2 and (b) most of the trajectories arriving in B at t2 actually started from A at t1. Based on this definition, we can show how to compute coherent sets and then derive finite-time non-stationary Markov state models. We illustrate this concept and its main differences to equilibrium Markov state modeling on simple, one-dimensional examples.
Investigating the ground-state rotamers of n-propylperoxy radical
Authors: Hoobler Preston R. , Turney Justin M. , Schaefer Henry F.
Published: November 2016

The n-propylperoxy radical has been described as a molecule of critical importance to studies of low temperature combustion. Ab initio methods were used to study this three-carbon alkylperoxy radical, normal propylperoxy. Reliable CCSD(T) (coupled-cluster theory, incorporating single, double, and perturbative triple)/ANO0 geometries were predicted for the molecule’s five rotamers. For each rotamer, energetic predictions were made using basis sets as large as the cc-pV5Z in conjunction with coupled cluster levels of theory up to CCSDT(Q). Along with the extrapolations, corrections for relativistic effects, zero-point vibrational energies, and diagonal Born–Oppenheimer corrections were used to further refine energies. The results indicate that the lowest conformer is the gauche-gauche (GG) rotamer followed by the gauche-trans (0.12 kcal mol−1 above GG), trans-gauche (0.44 kcal mol−1), gauche′-gauche (0.47 kcal mol−1), and trans-trans (0.57 kcal mol−1). Fundamental vibrational frequencies were obtained using second-order vibrational perturbation theory. This is the first time anharmonic frequencies have been computed for this system. The most intense IR features include all but one of the C–H stretches. The O–O fundamental (1063 cm−1 for the GG structure) also has a significant IR intensity, 19.6 km mol−1. The anharmonicity effects on the potential energy surface were also used to compute vibrationally averaged rg,0K bond lengths, accounting for zero-point vibrations present within the molecule.
Improved photoswitching response times of MoS2 field-effect transistors by stacking p-type copper phthalocyanine layer
Authors: Pak Jinsu , Min Misook , Cho Kyungjune , Lien Der-Hsien , Ahn Geun Ho , Jang Jingon , Yoo Daekyoung , Chung Seungjun , Javey Ali , Lee Takhee
Published: November 2016

Photoswitching response times (rise and decay times) of a vertical organic and inorganic heterostructure with p-type copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and n-type molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) semiconductors are investigated. By stacking a CuPc layer on MoS2 field effect transistors, better photodetection capability and fast photoswitching rise and decay phenomena are observed. Specifically, with a 2 nm-thick CuPc layer on the MoS2 channel, the photoswitching decay time decreases from 3.57 s to 0.18 s. The p-type CuPc layer, as a passivation layer, prevents the absorption of oxygen on the surface of the MoS2 channel layer, which results in a shortened photoswitching decay time because adsorbed oxygen destroys the balanced ratio of electrons and holes, leading to the interruption of recombination processes. The suggested heterostructure may deliver enhanced photodetection abilities and photoswitching characteristics for realizing ultra-thin and sensitive photodetectors.
Identification of the primary compensating defect level responsible for determining blocking voltage of vertical GaN power diodes
Authors: King M. P. , Kaplar R. J. , Dickerson J. R. , Lee S. R. , Allerman A. A. , Crawford M. H. , Fischer A. J. , Marinella M. J. , Flicker J. D. , Fleming R. M. , Kizilyalli I. C. , Aktas O. , Armstrong A. M.
Published: November 2016

Electrical performance and characterization of deep levels in vertical GaN P-i-N diodes grown on low threading dislocation density (∼104  - 106 cm−2) bulk GaN substrates are investigated. The lightly doped n drift region of these devices is observed to be highly compensated by several prominent deep levels detected using deep level optical spectroscopy at Ec-2.13, 2.92, and 3.2 eV. A combination of steady-state photocapacitance and lighted capacitance-voltage profiling indicates the concentrations of these deep levels to be Nt = 3 × 1012, 2 × 1015, and 5 × 1014 cm−3, respectively. The Ec-2.92 eV level is observed to be the primary compensating defect in as-grown n-type metal-organic chemical vapor deposition GaN, indicating this level acts as a limiting factor for achieving controllably low doping. The device blocking voltage should increase if compensating defects reduce the free carrier concentration of the n drift region. Understanding the incorporation of as-grown and native defects in thick n-GaN is essential for enabling large VBD in the next-generation wide-bandgap power semiconductor devices. Thus, controlling the as-grown defects induced by epitaxial growth conditions is critical to achieve blocking voltage capability above 5 kV.
Explorations on size limit of L1-FePt nanoparticles for practical magnetic storage
Authors: Huang Tao , Wang Haiwei , Zou Yuhao , Cheng Weiming , Xie Changsheng
Published: November 2016

With the advance of HAMR technology, the storage potential of L10-FePt nanoparticles with practical considerations are of great significance. We present an L10-FePt nanoparticle model based on atomistic spin model with Langevin thermodynamics to simulate the magnetic behaviors of L10-FePt nanoparticles at Curie temperature and room temperature to explore their practical design margins. Given specific composites, the Curie temperatures of L10-FePt nanoparticles decrease with their volume sizes decrease starting from 8 nm, meaning no more laser power increment needed for smaller L10-FePt nanoparticles. However, L10-FePt nanoparticles get unstable more easily while their volume sizes decrease at room temperature within 10 years. Above all, a reasonable size of L10-FePt nanoparticles for stable information retaining should not be less than 8 nm at a certain aspect ratio.
Nanoparticles of wurtzite aluminum nitride from the nut shells
Authors: Qadri S. B. , Gorzkowski E. P. , Rath B. B. , Feng C. R. , Amarasinghe R.
Published: November 2016

Nanoparticles of aluminum nitride were produced from a thermal treatment of a mixture of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and shells of almond, cashew, coconuts, pistachio, and walnuts in a nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures in excess of 1450 °C. By selecting the appropriate ratios of each nut powder to Al2O3, it is shown that stoichiometric aluminum nitride can be produced by carbo-thermal reduction in nitrogen atmosphere. Using x-ray diffraction analysis, Raman scattering and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, it is demonstrated that aluminum nitride consists of pure wurtzite phase. Transmission electron microscopy showed the formation of nanoparticles and in some cases nanotubes of AlN.
Blade-coated sol-gel indium-gallium-zinc-oxide for inverted polymer solar cell
Authors: Lee Yan-Huei , Tsai Pei-Ting , Chang Chia-Ju , Meng Hsin-Fei , Horng Sheng-Fu , Zan Hsiao-Wen , Lin Hung-Cheng , Liu Hung-Chuan , Tseng Mei-Rurng , Yeh Han-Cheng
Published: November 2016

The inverted organic solar cell was fabricated by using sol-gel indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) as the electron-transport layer. The IGZO precursor solution was deposited by blade coating with simultaneous substrate heating at 120 °C from the bottom and hot wind from above. Uniform IGZO film of around 30 nm was formed after annealing at 400 °C. Using the blend of low band-gap polymer poly[(4,8-bis-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-benzo(1,2-b:4,5-b’)dithiophene)-2,6-diyl-alt- (4-(2-ethylhexanoyl)-thieno [3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-6-diyl)] (PBDTTT-C-T) and [6,6]-Phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester ([70]PCBM) as the active layer for the inverted organic solar cell, an efficiency of 6.2% was achieved with a blade speed of 180 mm/s for the IGZO. The efficiency of the inverted organic solar cells was found to depend on the coating speed of the IGZO films, which was attributed to the change in the concentration of surface OH groups. Compared to organic solar cells of conventional structure using PBDTTT-C-T: [70]PCBM as active layer, the inverted organic solar cells showed significant improvement in thermal stability. In addition, the chemical composition, as well as the work function of the IGZO film at the surface and inside can be tuned by the blade speed, which may find applications in other areas like thin-film transistors.
Solar steam generator needs no lenses or mirrors
Authors: Miller Johanna L.
Published: November 2016

A combination of inexpensive materials collects and concentrates heat from the Sun.
Two-year colleges teach physics to widening range of students
Authors: Feder Toni
Published: November 2016

Increasingly, partnerships ease the way to transfer to universities.
Courtroom forensic evidence often lacks scientific validity, report finds
Authors: Feder Toni
Published: November 2016

Improvements will require coordination among the US judicial, law enforcement, and scientific communities.
The Variediene-Forming Carbocation Cyclization/Rearrangement Cascade
Authors: Hong Young J. , Tantillo Dean J.
Published: October 2016

An energetically viable (on the basis of results from density functional theory computations) pathway to the diterpene variediene is described. Only one of the three secondary carbocations along this pathway is predicted to be a minimum on the potential energy surface.
A survey of cervical screening among refugee and non‐refugee African immigrant women in Brisbane, Australia
Authors: Anaman Judith A. , Correa‐Velez Ignacio , King Julie
Published: November 2016

Issue addressed

To compare the level of cervical screening uptake between refugee and non‐refugee African immigrant women living in Brisbane, Australia, and examine factors associated with Pap smear testing.

Methods

Cross‐sectional survey with a convenience sample of 254 women aged 21–62 years from 22 African countries (144 refugees, 110 non‐refugees). Chi‐square tests were used to compare the demographic and health‐related characteristics between refugee and non‐refugee women. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between the outcome variable (Pap smear testing) and the independent variables.

Results

Two‐thirds of women had used Pap smear services in Australia. Chi‐square test analysis established that non‐refugee women were significantly more likely to have used Pap smear services than refugee women (73.6% vs 61.8% respectively; P = 0.047). Immigration status, however, was not a significant predictor of cervical screening uptake in the multiple regression analyses. The significant predictors for screening uptake in these analyses were work arrangement, parity, healthcare visit, knowledge about Pap smear and perceived susceptibility to cervical cancer.

Conclusion

Most women relied on opportunistic screening after receiving invitation letters to screen or after visiting health professionals for antenatal or postnatal care.

So what?

The findings suggest that organised cervical screening programs are not reaching most African immigrant women living in Brisbane. It is incumbent on the public health sector, including healthcare professionals and settlement agencies working with African communities, to develop health promotion strategies that meaningfully engage African immigrant women, including those from refugee backgrounds, to enhance their knowledge about cervical cancer and screening practices.
Systematics of the South American species of Cylindrostethus Mayr, 1865 (Hemiptera : Heteroptera : Gerridae), with a new species from Amazonian Brazil and Peru
Authors: Floriano Carla Fernanda Burguez , Paladini Andressa , Cavichioli Rodney Ramiro
Published: October 2016

Water striders (pond skaters) occur worldwide and are conspicuous in most aquatic environments, but the taxonomy of many groups remains unresolved. Here we revise the South American species of the Palaeo- and Neotropically distributed Cylindrostethus Mayr, 1865, a genus characterised by its long, cylindrical body and fast jumping-gliding locomotion. Using a cladistic analysis of morphological characters, we confirm the subdivision of Neotropical Cylindrostethus into two major groups. Nine species of Cylindrostethus are recognised from South America, one of which was recently discovered in Amazonian Brazil and Peru: C. bassleri Drake, 1952; C. bilobatus Kuitert, 1942; C. drakei, sp. nov.; C. hungerfordi Drake & Harris, 1934; C. linearis (Erichson, 1848); C. meloi Floriano & Cavichioli, 2013; C. palmaris Drake & Harris, 1934; C. podargus Drake, 1958; C. regulus (White, 1879). Two species are placed in synonymy: (C. podargus = C. stygius Drake, 1961, syn. nov.); (C. linearis = C. erythropus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1850), syn. nov.). A key to the nine species is provided, along with detailed descriptions and illustrations.
Corrigendum to: Integrative systematic studies on tardigrades from Antarctica identify new genera and new species within Macrobiotoidea and Echiniscoidea
Authors: Vecchi Matteo , Cesari Michele , Bertolani Roberto , Jönsson K. Ingemar , Rebecchi Lorena , Guidetti Roberto
Published: October 2016

Tardigrades represent one of the most abundant groups of Antarctic metazoans in terms of abundance and diversity, thanks to their ability to withstand desiccation and freezing; however, their biodiversity is underestimated. Antarctic tardigrades from Dronning Maud Land and Victoria Land were analysed from a morphological point of view with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and from a molecular point of view using two genes (18S, 28S) analysed in Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood frameworks. In addition, indel-coding datasets were used for the first time to infer tardigrade phylogenies. We also compared Antarctic specimens with those from Italy and Greenland. A combined morphological and molecular analysis led to the identification of two new evolutionary lineages, for which we here erect the new genera Acanthechiniscus, gen. nov. (Echiniscidae, Echiniscoidea) and Mesobiotus, gen. nov. (Macrobiotidae, Macrobiotoidea). Moreover, two species new to science were discovered: Pseudechiniscus titianae, sp. nov. (Echiniscidae : Echiniscoidea) and Mesobiotus hilariae, sp. nov. (Macrobiotidae : Macrobiotoidea). This study highlights the high tardigrade diversity in Antarctica and the importance of an integrated approach in faunal and taxonomic studies.
Re-evaluation of the systematic status of two deep-water recorded Periclimenes species (Decapoda : Palaemonidae), with a preliminary analysis on the evolution of certain echinoid-associated palaemonid shrimps and related taxa
Authors: Kou Qi , Li Xinzheng , Gan Zhibin
Published: October 2016

Periclimenes rectirostris Bruce, 1981 and Periclimenes josephi Li, 2008 are two palaemonid shrimps reported from the deep water in the western Pacific. Prior morphological studies suggest their systematic status might be problematic. Therefore, we attempted to re-evaluate the systematic status of the two species in this study. Based on an analysis incorporating molecular, morphological and ecological data, P. rectirostris is suggested to belong to the genus Sandimenes Li, 2009, but the systematic status of P. josephi is still undetermined due to the polyphyletic state of the genus Zenopontonia Bruce, 1975a. Meanwhile, a preliminary reconstruction of the evolutionary process of the echinoid-associated palaemonid shrimps is presented. Additionally, a well-supported clade mainly comprising the echinoderm or mollusc-associated taxa is recovered, and multiple host shifts are presumed to have occurred during their diversification.
Phylogeny of Stenopodidea (Crustacea : Decapoda) shrimps inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial genes reveals non-monophyly of the families Spongicolidae and Stenopididae and most of their composite genera
Authors: Chen Chien-Lin , Goy Joseph W. , Bracken-Grissom Heather D. , Felder Darryl L. , Tsang Ling Ming , Chan Tin-Yam
Published: October 2016

The infraorder Stenopodidea is a relatively small group of marine decapod crustaceans including the well known cleaner shrimps, but their higher taxonomy has been rather controversial. This study provides the most comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analyses of Stenopodidea using sequence data from two mitochondrial (16S and 12S rRNA) and two nuclear (histone H3 and sodium–potassium ATPase α-subunit (NaK)) genes. We included all 12 nominal genera from the three stenopodidean families in order to test the proposed evolutionary hypothesis and taxonomic scheme of the group. The inferred phylogeny did not support the familial ranking of Macromaxillocarididae and rejected the reciprocal monophyly of Spongicolidae and Stenopididae. The genera Stenopus, Richardina, Spongiocaris, Odontozona, Spongicola and Spongicoloides are showed to be poly- or paraphyletic, with monophyly of only the latter three genera strongly rejected in the analysis. The present results only strongly support the monophyly of Microprosthema and suggest that Paraspongiola should be synonymised with Spongicola. The three remaining genera, Engystenopus, Juxtastenopus and Globospongicola, may need to be expanded to include species from other genera if their statuses are maintained. All findings suggest that the morphological characters currently adopted to define genera are mostly invalid and substantial taxonomic revisions are required. As the intergeneric relationships were largely unresolved in the present attempt, the hypothesis of evolution of deep-sea sponge-associated taxa from shallow-water free-living species could not be verified here. The present molecular phylogeny, nevertheless, provides some support that stenopoididean shrimps colonised the deep sea in multiple circumstances.
Porcelain crabs of the genera Pachycheles Stimpson and Neopisosoma Haig (Decapoda : Anomura : Porcellanidae): new premises based on molecular data and comments on phylogenetic relationships in the family
Authors: Miranda Ivana , Mantelatto Fernando L.
Published: October 2016

Porcellanidae Haworth, 1825 is a family of marine anomuran crabs distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions of all the oceans, typically littoral and sublittoral waters, with a considerable diversity of lifestyles, habitats and colouration. Pachycheles Stimpson, 1858 and Neopisosoma Haig, 1960 share, among other morphological characteristics, the fragmentation of the lateral carapace walls. The morphology of this body region was key to supporting the establishment of Neopisosoma, which increased uncertainty about the taxonomic status of these genera due to the high intraspecific variation of this character. Our study reconstructs the phylogenetic relationship between Pachycheles and Neopisosoma based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to evaluate whether these are valid taxa. While Pachycheles seems to be monophyletic, the position of Neopisosoma mexicanum (Streets, 1871) indicates that the group is polyphyletic, and deserves further investigation. Pachycheles is revealed to be older than Neopisosoma, and likely originated in the Indo-Pacific, later spreading to the American continent during the early Tertiary. Neopisosoma may have arisen much later in the Caribbean Province before the closure of the Isthmus of Panama, explaining its distribution, which is restricted mainly to Central America. The inclusion of a considerable number of species from both genera represents a significant advance in the study of this controversial group. The phylogenetic reconstruction of Pachycheles unveiled clades corroborated by morphology, but also revealed unclear relationships, which may indicate the potential existence of cryptic species.
Pedogenic processes and soil–landform relationships for identification of yield-limiting soil properties
Authors: Vasu Duraisamy , Singh Surendra Kumar , Tiwary Pramod , Chandran Padikkal , Ray Sanjay Kumar , Duraisami Veppangadu Perumal
Published: October 2016

Knowledge of soil–landform relationships helps in understanding the dominant pedogenic processes causing variations in soil properties within and between landforms. In this study, we investigated how major pedogenic processes in three landform positions of the semi-arid Deccan Plateau (India) have led to current plant yield-limiting soil properties. For this, we characterised 26 pedons from three landforms – piedmont, alluvial plain and valley – and performed factor analysis on the dataset. As the frequency distribution of the dataset was highly skewed for most of the soil properties, landform-wise partition and log-transformation were performed before studying soil variability within landforms. Results indicated that two factors explained 56, 71 and 64% of variability in soil properties in piedmonts, alluvial plains and valleys, respectively. The major soils in lower piedmonts (Typic Haplustalfs and Typic Rhodustalfs) were spatially associated with Vertisols (Sodic Haplusterts) occurring in alluvial plains and valleys. The soil properties in alluvial plains and valleys (Vertic Haplustepts, Sodic Haplusterts and Typic Ustifluvents) were modified due to regressive pedogenic processes. These soils were characterised by high pH (8.5–9.8), exchangeable sodium percentage (16.5–46.6) and poor saturated hydraulic conductivity (<1cmh–1). Subsoil sodicity induced by the presence of pedogenic calcium carbonate impaired the hydraulic conductivity. Subsoil sodicity and poor saturated hydraulic conductivity were identified as major yield-limiting soil properties. The relationships found between specific soil properties, surface and subsurface horizons, and position in the landscape helped to determine the dominant pedogenic processes and how these influenced current soil properties and their effects on crop yield.
PTPN22 contributes to exhaustion of T lymphocytes during chronic viral infection
Authors: Maine Christian J. , Teijaro John R. , Marquardt Kristi , Sherman Linda A.
Published: November 2016

Significance

Some viruses, including lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus clone 13, shut down the ability of CD4 T lymphocytes to produce IL-2, a cytokine required for the survival and function of T lymphocytes. This shutdown contributes to exhaustion of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes and chronic viral infection of the host. The underlying mechanism responsible for the loss of cytokine production by CD4 T cells remains poorly understood. We demonstrate that the expression of a protein tyrosine phosphatase, PTPN22, contributes to chronic viral infection. PTPN22 increases the production of IFN-β following infection, resulting in increased expression of the cAMP response element modulator (CREM) in CD4 T lymphocytes. CREM prevents production of IL-2, thereby contributing to T-cell exhaustion and chronic viral infection.
Online social integration is associated with reduced mortality risk
Authors: Hobbs William R. , Burke Moira , Christakis Nicholas A. , Fowler James H.
Published: November 2016

Significance

People who have stronger social networks live longer. However, can we say the same about online social networks? Here, we conduct such a study. Using public California vital records, we compare 12 million Facebook users to nonusers. More importantly, we also look within Facebook users to explore how online social interactions—reflecting both online and offline social activity—are associated with longevity. We find that Facebook users who accept more friendships have a lower risk of mortality, but there is no relationship for those who initiate more friendships. Mortality risk is lowest for those with high levels of offline social interaction and moderate levels of online social interaction.
GSDMB induces an asthma phenotype characterized by increased airway responsiveness and remodeling without lung inflammation
Authors: Das Sudipta , Miller Marina , Beppu Andrew K. , Mueller James , McGeough Matthew D. , Vuong Christine , Karta Maya R. , Rosenthal Peter , Chouiali Fazila , Doherty Taylor A. , Kurten Richard C. , Hamid Qutayba , Hoffman Hal M. , Broide David H.
Published: November 2016

Significance

Because the SNP linking chromosome 17q21 to asthma is associated with increased gasdermin B (GSDMB) expression, we generated transgenic mice expressing increased levels of the human GSDMB transgene (hGSDMB
Zp3-Cre
), which develop an asthma phenotype characterized by a spontaneous increase in airway responsiveness and airway remodeling (increased peribronchial smooth muscle) in the absence of the development of airway inflammation. These results challenge the current paradigm in asthma that airway inflammation induces smooth muscle remodeling and airway responsiveness, as these hGSDMB
Zp3-Cre
mice develop increased airway-hyperresponsiveness and smooth muscle in the absence of airway inflammation. Furthermore, this study adds to our understanding of gene networks in asthma that we have identified can act in sequential pathways (i.e., GSDMB induces 5-lipoxygenase to induce TGF-β1).
Epigenetic gene regulation by Janus kinase 1 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Authors: Rui Lixin , Drennan Amanda C. , Ceribelli Michele , Zhu Fen , Wright George W. , Huang Da Wei , Xiao Wenming , Li Yangguang , Grindle Kreg M. , Lu Li , Hodson Daniel J. , Shaffer Arthur L. , Zhao Hong , Xu Weihong , Yang Yandan , Staudt Louis M.
Published: November 2016

Significance

Autocrine cytokine signaling in cancer can activate members of the Janus kinase (JAK) family, which are generally thought to act by phosphorylating STAT family transcription factors. We report here that JAK1 mediates autocrine IL-6 and IL-10 cytokine signaling in activated B-cell–like (ABC) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) by a noncanonical epigenetic regulatory mechanism involving phosphorylation of histone H3 on tyrosine 41. We have identified target genes that are activated in ABC DLBCL by this epigenetic mechanism. Knowledge of these epigenetic targets led to our demonstration that JAK1 inhibitors synergize with inhibitors of active B cell receptor signaling in ABC DLBCL, suggesting a new therapeutic strategy for this subtype of DLBCL, which is the most difficult to cure with current therapy.
Interface-induced superconductivity at ∼25 K at ambient pressure in undoped CaFe
2
As
2
single crystals
Authors: Zhao Kui , Lv Bing , Deng Liangzi , Huyan Shu-Yuan , Xue Yu-Yi , Chu Ching-Wu
Published: November 2016

Significance

One of the major goals for scientists in the field of superconductivity and materials science has been to obtain superconductors with higher critical temperatures (T
c
). One way that has long been proposed to achieve enhanced T
c
s is to take advantage of artificially or naturally assembled interfaces. The present work clearly demonstrates that high-T
c
superconductivity in the well-known nonsuperconducting compound CaFe
2
As
2
can be induced by antiferromagnetic/metallic layer stacking and provides the most direct evidence to date for the interface-enhanced T
c
in this compound. The observations offer an avenue to higher T
c.
Prodigiosin inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling and exerts anticancer activity in breast cancer cells
Authors: Wang Zhongyuan , Li Bo , Zhou Liang , Yu Shubin , Su Zijie , Song Jiaxing , Sun Qi , Sha Ou , Wang Xiaomei , Jiang Wenqi , Willert Karl , Wei Lei , Carson Dennis A. , Lu Desheng
Published: November 2016

Significance

The Wnt pathway is implicated in multiple cancers, but to date no pharmacologically acceptable Wnt inhibitors have been introduced into the clinic. Analogs of the natural product prodigiosin are in early leukemia trials, but their mechanisms of action have not been established. We report that prodigiosin and its analog obatoclax block Wnt signaling at nanomolar concentrations by preventing the phosphorylation of Dishevelled. Cyclin D is an established target of Wnt signaling, and elevated cyclin D levels are characteristic of advanced breast cancer. In a Wnt-driven murine transgenic model of breast cancer, prodigiosin potently diminished cyclin D levels and blocked the growth of tumors. These results provide a rationale for the introduction of prodigiosin analogs into clinical trials of advanced breast cancer.
Indigenous expertise: African women’s artistry connecting across time and space
Authors: Sheldon Brittany
Published: November 2016

This article examines the indigenous technologies of women artists in the rural communities of northeastern Ghana and southeastern Burkina Faso, who paint the earthen walls of their homes using pigments derived from the local environment. Much has been written about the artistic ingenuity of fresco painters in the Italian Renaissance. Less scholarly attention has been given to the skills of rural women artists in West Africa, who also use fresco-like techniques to plaster and paint the walls of their homes. Wall paintings are partly functional: they protect the household walls from harsh winds and rains. They have important social functions as well: through their paintings, women announce to onlookers that they are skilled artists who respect themselves and take pride in their culture. These processes are collaborative, involving all of the women from the household and neighbourhood; they are therefore key to the formation and maintenance of women’s relationships. This discussion highlights women as expert artists, detailing the technical processes of plastering and painting as well as their historical development through the collaborative efforts of women working across generations and communities.
A new state’s debut in regional diplomacy: Namibia and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)
Authors: Mushelenga Peya , van Wyk Jo-Ansie
Published: November 2016

The Republic of Namibia has been one of the last states in southern Africa to gain independence. As a newly independent state, Namibia formulated a regional foreign policy-based on historical support and relations. One arena where Namibia made its diplomatic debut was in a multilateral context through its engagement with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its predecessor, the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC). Building on the parallels in Namibia and SADC’s relations, Namibia has transformed itself into a leading country in the region through various diplomatic practices typically used by new states. As s a newly independent or new state, the case of Namibia’s regional diplomacy in respect of SADC offers some insights into new state diplomacy. Firstly, Namibia’s regional diplomacy reflects some continuity in the liberation movements’ relations with regional actors. In the second instance, regional diplomacy offers new states a relatively safe environment to develop its diplomatic confidence. Thirdly, Namibia’s regional diplomacy reiterates the importance of diplomatic skill, technical expertise and bureaucratic experience, which, in the fourth instance, can be translated into credible organizational and diplomatic innovation in the region.
QAcon: single model quality assessment using protein structural and contact information with machine learning techniques
Authors: Cao Renzhi , Adhikari Badri , Bhattacharya Debswapna , Sun Miao , Hou Jie , Cheng Jianlin
Published: November 2016

Motivation

Protein model quality assessment (QA) plays a very important role in protein structure prediction. It can be divided into two groups of methods: single model and consensus QA method. The consensus QA methods may fail when there is a large portion of low quality models in the model pool.

Results

In this paper, we develop a novel single-model quality assessment method QAcon utilizing structural features, physicochemical properties, and residue contact predictions. We apply residue-residue contact information predicted by two protein contact prediction methods PSICOV and DNcon to generate a new score as feature for quality assessment. This novel feature and other 11 features are used as input to train a two-layer neural network on CASP9 datasets to predict the quality of a single protein model. We blindly benchmarked our method QAcon on CASP11 dataset as the MULTICOM-CLUSTER server. Based on the evaluation, our method is ranked as one of the top single model QA methods. The good performance of the features based on contact prediction illustrates the value of using contact information in protein quality assessment.

Availability and Implementation

The web server and the source code of QAcon are freely available at: http://cactus.rnet.missouri.edu/QAcon

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Cost and economic benefit of clinical decision support systems for cardiovascular disease prevention: a community guide systematic review
Authors: Jacob Verughese , Thota Anilkrishna B , Chattopadhyay Sajal K , Njie Gibril J , Proia Krista K , Hopkins David P , Ross Murray N , Pronk Nicolaas P , Clymer John M
Published: November 2016

Objective: This review evaluates costs and benefits associated with acquiring, implementing, and operating clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Materials and Methods: Methods developed for the Community Guide were used to review CDSS literature covering the period from January 1976 to October 2015. Twenty-one studies were identified for inclusion.

Results: It was difficult to draw a meaningful estimate for the cost of acquiring and operating CDSSs to prevent CVD from the available studies (n = 12) due to considerable heterogeneity. Several studies (n = 11) indicated that health care costs were averted by using CDSSs but many were partial assessments that did not consider all components of health care. Four cost-benefit studies reached conflicting conclusions about the net benefit of CDSSs based on incomplete assessments of costs and benefits. Three cost-utility studies indicated inconsistent conclusions regarding cost-effectiveness based on a conservative $50,000 threshold.

Discussion: Intervention costs were not negligible, but specific estimates were not derived because of the heterogeneity of implementation and reporting metrics. Expected economic benefits from averted health care cost could not be determined with confidence because many studies did not fully account for all components of health care.

Conclusion: We were unable to conclude whether CDSSs for CVD prevention is either cost-beneficial or cost-effective. Several evidence gaps are identified, most prominently a lack of information about major drivers of cost and benefit, a lack of standard metrics for the cost of CDSSs, and not allowing for useful life of a CDSS that generally extends beyond one accounting period.
Sir Charles Bell
Authors: Aminoff Michael J
Published: November 2016

Charles Bell (1774–1842) was a Scottish anatomist–surgeon whose original ideas on the nervous system have been equated with those of William Harvey on the circulation. He suggested that the anterior and posterior nerve roots have different functions, and based on their connectivity he showed that different parts of the brain have different functions. He noted that individual peripheral nerves actually contain nerve fibers with different functions, that nerves conduct only in one direction, that sense organs are specialized to receive only one form of sensory stimulus, and that there is a sixth (muscle) sense. In addition to the facial palsy and its associated features named after him, he provided the first clinical descriptions of several neurological disorders and important insights into referred pain and reciprocal inhibition. Bell helped to change the way art students are taught, described the anatomical basis of facial expressions, initiated the scientific study of the physical expression of emotions, and stimulated the later work of Charles Darwin on facial expressions. His teachings influenced British and European art. Bell was a renowned medical teacher who founded his own medical school, subsequently took over the famous Hunterian school, and eventually helped establish the University of London and the Middlesex Hospital Medical School in London. However, his belief in intelligent design caused him to be left behind by the evolutionist thought that developed in the nineteenth century. He was a brilliant but flawed human being who contributed much to the advance of knowledge.
Rice Plasma Membrane Proteomics Reveals Magnaporthe oryzae Promotes Susceptibility by Sequential Activation of Host Hormone Signaling Pathways
Authors: Cao Jidong , Yang Chao , Li Lingjuan , Jiang Lan , Wu Yao , Wu Chuanwan , Bu Qingyun , Xia Guixian , Liu Xiaoyun , Luo Yuanming , Liu Jun
Published: November 2016

Plant plasma membrane (PM) plays important roles in immune response. Here, we utilized quantitative mass spectrometry to explore rice PM protein composition and dynamic changes during Magnaporthe oryzae infection. We report, thus far, the largest rice PM proteome dataset with 3,906 identified proteins, among which 484 proteins were differentially expressed after M. oryzae infection. One third of the identified proteins are predicted to have at least one transmembrane domain. Half of the identified proteins are predicted to have binding functions and over one third of the proteins have enzyme-related functions. In addition, Gene Ontology analyses revealed that abscisic acid (ABA) and cytokinin (CK) signaling were sequentially activated after M. oryzae infection in rice. We found that the activation of ABA signaling and the suppression of rice immune response occurred at the early infection stage, while the activation of CK signaling, the upregulation of sugar transporter genes expression, and the nutrient efflux of infected rice cells occurred at later infection stage. Thus, we further propose that M. oryzae activates ABA signaling to repress rice immune signaling for initial invasion and redirects nutrient efflux of infected cells for massive growth at the later infection stage.
Lumpy Hands
Authors: Goldenberg Alina , Jacob Sharon E.
Published: November 2016

Teledermatology is a term to describe the provision of dermatologic medical services through telecommunication technology. In this modality, there is transfer of medical information electronically (including patient history and visual data) on a patient in one location to a provider who is in another location. The construct of this column is such that cases are presented in a standardized teledermatology reader format. This is a case of chronic lumpy growths presenting on both hands.
Perianal Crohn Disease in a Large Multicenter Pediatric Collaborative
Authors: Adler Jeremy , Dong Shiming , Eder Sally J. , Dombkowski Kevin J. ,   ImproveCareNow Pediatric IBD Learning Health System
Published: November 2016

Background:

Although perianal complications of Crohn disease (CD) are commonly encountered in clinical practice, the epidemiology of perianal CD among populations of children is poorly understood. We sought to characterize the prevalence of perianal disease in a large and diverse population of pediatric patients with CD.

Methods:

We conducted retrospective analyses from a prospective observational cohort, the ImproveCareNow Network (May 2006–October 2014), a multicenter pediatric inflammatory bowel disease quality improvement collaborative. Clinicians prospectively documented physical examination and phenotype classification at outpatient visits. Perianal examination findings and concomitant phenotype change were used to corroborate time of new‐onset perianal disease. Results were stratified by age, sex, and race and compared across groups with logistic regression. Cumulative incidence was estimated using Kaplan‐Meier analyses and compared between groups with Cox proportional hazard regression models.

Results:

The registry included 7076 patients with CD (41% girls). Missing/conflicting entries resulted in 397 (6%) patient exclusions. Among the remaining 6679 cases, 1399 (21%) developed perianal disease. Perianal disease was more common among boys (22%) than girls (20%; P = 0.013) and developed sooner after diagnosis among those with later rather than early onset disease (P < 0.001). Perianal disease was also more common among blacks (26%) compared with whites (20%; P = 0.017). Asians with later onset CD developed perianal disease earlier in their disease course (P = 0.01). There was no association between disease location or nutritional status at diagnosis and later development of perianal disease.

Conclusions:

In this large multicenter collaborative, we found that perianal disease is more common among children with CD than previously recognized. Differences in the development of perianal disease were found across racial and other subgroups. Treatment strategies are needed to prevent perianal disease development.