bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the Susceptibility of the WE54 Magnesium-Based Alloy to Stress Corrosion Cracking
Authors: Sozańska Maria , Mościcki Adrian
Published: January 2020

This article presents an assessment of the susceptibility of the WE54 magnesium-based alloy to stress corrosion cracking in an 0.1 M Na2SO4 environment. In this work, the basis criterion for assessing the alloy’s behavior under complex mechanical and corrosive loads is the deterioration in its mechanical properties (elongation—ε, %, reduction in area—Z, %, tensile strength—Rm, MPa) along with a fractographic analysis of fracture surfaces. The WE54 magnesium-based alloy was subjected to the slow strain rate test (SSRT) under mechanical loads in corrosive environment (0.1 M Na2SO4 solution). The test was carried out in four variants: (a) SSRT in air, (b) cathodic hydrogen charging for 24 h at a current density of 50 mA/cm2 followed by SSRT in air, (c) SSRT in a corrosive environment under open-circuit potential conditions, and (d) SSRT in a corrosive environment under cathodic polarization at a current density of 50 mA/cm2. In each variant, the content of hydrogen in the alloy was determined. It was demonstrated that under SCC conditions, in the presence of hydrogen, the plastic properties of WE54 decreased significantly, whereas the alloy’s strength properties changed to a smaller degree. The change in the mechanical properties under SCC conditions in a corrosive environment was accompanied by a change in the fracture surface morphology and by the presence of numerous cracks, both on fracture surfaces and in the alloy’s microstructure.
Analysis of incremental die bending of wires and tubes
Authors: Holstein Viktor , Hermes Matthias , Tekkaya A. Erman
Published: January 2020

The use of bent wires, tubes, and profiles has a broad application in the industry as it is based on a great number of possible applications. Both structures with a high light-weight construction potential as well as functional and aesthetic geometry can be realised expediently. Known processes are often limited in case of tight radii and complex bending contours that cut each other or that are similar to a loop. The so called incremental die bending provides the remedy. It is an innovative process for the production of complexly shaped workpieces in the form of bent wires, tubes, or profiles. The bending process in case of incremental die bending is different to conventional processes, since a die is reshaped. With this process the semi-product is put into a hard bending shape by a moving feeding unit. The process is very accurate and at the same time cost-effective, since almost any bending contours can be produced form-based in one working stage. Furthermore, the die geometry enables the manufacture of contours that were previously very work-intensive or not producible at all.
Selected microRNAs Increase Synaptic Resilience to the Damaging Binding of the Alzheimer’s Disease Amyloid Beta Oligomers
Authors: Zolochevska Olga , Taglialatela Giulio
Published: January 2020

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is marked by synaptic loss (at early stages) and neuronal death (at late stages). Amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau oligomers can target and disrupt synapses thus driving cognitive decay. Non-demented individuals with Alzheimer’s neuropathology (NDAN) are capable of withstanding Aβ and tau toxicity, thus remaining cognitively intact despite presence of AD neuropathology. Understanding the involved mechanism(s) would lead to development of novel effective therapeutic strategies aimed at promoting synaptic resilience to amyloid toxicity. NDAN have a unique hippocampal post-synaptic proteome when compared with AD and control individuals. Potential upstream modulators of such unique proteomic profile are miRNA-485, miRNA-4723 and miRNA-149, which we found differentially expressed in AD and NDAN vs. control. We thus hypothesized that these miRNAs play an important role in promoting either synaptic resistance or sensitization to Aβ oligomer binding. Using an in vivo mouse model, we found that administration of these miRNAs affected key synaptic genes and significantly decreased Aβ binding to the synapses. Our findings suggest that miRNA regulation and homeostasis are crucial for Aβ interaction with synaptic terminals and support that a unique miRNA regulation could be driving synaptic resistance to Aβ toxicity in NDAN, thus contributing to their preserved cognitive abilities.
“It’s No Longer Taboo, is It?” Stories of Intimate Citizenship of People with Disabilities in Today’s Russian Public Sphere
Authors: Iarskaia-Smirnova Elena , Verbilovich Volha
Published: January 2020

This article examines how disability and sexuality are represented in today’s Russian media, and how disabled people navigate these understandings. Drawing on online storytelling and first person stories about sexuality told by disabled people in the public sphere, the article provides a qualitative account of people with disabilities, journalists and civil rights advocates, analyzing how contemporary Russians with disabilities narrate their own lives in public forums. The focus of their stories, as well as the accounts of eyewitnesses, volunteers in the institutions, is on the constraints and limits of sexuality and intimacy spheres imposed by the professionals, families and wider society. This article also interprets the narratives behind disabled people’s sexuality circulating in contemporary Russia through digital networks, in combination with qualitative data from primary sources: disability activists and two journalists with and without disability in Moscow. It is argued that the telling of these stories in a public forum is a political act. In personal stories about sexual, bodily experiences told in the interviews or autobiographical texts, self-presentations and discussions in social networks, the voices of people are heard, permitting emancipation from previous categories. However, disability always remains with them, playing an important role in social lives of these people and in their sexual experiences and identities, becoming the cornerstone of the personal and collective re-defining of themselves. Using ideas of “visibility politics” (Arendt), queer/crip kinship and intimate citizenship (Plummer), the authors demonstrate how someone might choose to speak publicly about a topic and how this understanding develops cultural understandings of contemporary Russia.
Broadening Genetic Diversity of the Japanese Potato Gene Pool
Authors: Hosaka Kazuyoshi , Sanetomo Rena
Published: January 2020

Newly developed potato varieties in Japan have never replaced existing old varieties, indicating genetic poverty in our gene pool. To broaden the genetic diversity, Andean primitive cultivated potatoes (Andigena) were used to create parental clones. A total of 184 Andigena accessions and 10 tetraploidSolanum tarijense-Andigena hybrid clones were crossed with a breeding clone 10H17. From 6939 F1hybrid clones, 287 were selected as long-day-adapted F1clones. From progeny evaluation using these as pollen parents crossed with Atlantic, 95 male-fertile and high-yielding F1clones were selected (PGEL clones). The genetic relationship was evaluated using 17,947 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, which disclosed their distinctiveness, with larger mean Euclidean distances between PGEL clones and Japanese, foreign, or all tetraploid varieties (48.0, 49.9 or 49.4, respectively) than between Japanese and foreign varieties (47.2). Thus, these PGEL clones can be used to expand genetic diversity in Japanese potato breeding populations.
Further evidence for fungivory in the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) of the Welsh Borderland, UK
Authors: Edwards Dianne , Axe Lindsey , Morris Jennifer L. , Boddy Lynne , Selden Paul
Published: January 2020

The recent demonstrations that widespread mid-Palaeozoic Prototaxites and other nematophytes had fungal affinities indicate that terrestrial fungi were important elements in carbon cycling in the Early Devonian. Here, we provide evidence for their participation in the recycling of nutrients by early terrestrial invertebrates. Evidence is in the form of coprolites, both those associated with nematophytes or containing their fragmentary remains. Cylindrical coprolites consistently associated with fungal mats are placed in a new ichnospecies, Bacillafaex myceliorum. Their contents are granular to amorphous, suggestive of complete digestion of the ingested hyphae, with the inference of possession of chitinases in the digestive tracts of the consumers. A further single example comprises a cluster of cylindrical bodies attached to the lower surface of a Nematothallus fragment. Here, homogenisation was less complete, with traces of hyphae remaining. Terrestrial animal fossils have not been found at the locality, but scorpions, pseudoscorpions, Opiliones, mites, centipedes (carnivores) and millipedes, and Collembola (detritivores) have been recorded from the slightly younger Rhynie cherts. Studies of fungivory in extant arthropods have concentrated on Collembola and, to a lesser extent, mites, but their faecal pellets are much smaller than the fossil examples. Millipedes, based on body size and faeces of extant forms, are considered more realistic producers, but little is known about fungal feeding in these animals. Regardless of the affinities of the producers, the diversity in morphology, sizes, aggregations, and composition of nematophyte-containing examples suggests that fungivory was an important component of carbon cycling in early terrestrial ecosystems.
A broader approach to recreational water quality assessment: Buenos Aires City case study
Authors: López Sardi Mónica , Larroudé Victoria
Published: January 2020

In the last decade, the world population has become more urban than rural, but the human contact with nature is still a necessity for a proper physical and mental development. The urban green areas are a significant part of the urban heritage, providing fundamental ecosystem services. They give us the possibility of having social and cultural interaction surrounded by nature. Water is usually part of the landscape of these areas. The quality of the recreational water in urban green areas impacts on multiple factors like soil, vegetation, aquatic and terrestrial life and public health. A complete evaluation of this quality requires applying different methodologies simultaneously. Samples were collected at eight sites of Buenos Aires City in order to assess the quality of its recreational water. Results were compared with water quality standards in established legislation and were ranked by the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSF-WQI). Euphotic zone transparency was used as a parameter of the impact on aquatic life, measuring the Secchi depth. A test for fecal coliform bacteria was used as a risk indicator for human health. In accordance with the NSF-WQI ranking, the eight sampling sites have medium or bad water quality. Fifty percent of the sites exceeded the allowed count of coliform bacteria. According to established legislation, five of the studied sites were found to be unsuitable for primary, secondary or passive aquatic activities. Of the remaining sites, two were suitable for passive activities and only one qualified to be suitable for all kinds of aquatic activities. Secchi depth measures reveal a bad water quality for aquatic life at four of the analyzed sites.
Impact of effluent discharge from a medium-scale fish farm on the water quality of Odo-Owa stream near Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria
Authors: Famoofo Oluwaseyi O. , Adeniyi Israel F.
Published: January 2020

This study aimed to assess the impact of effluent discharge from a medium-scale aquaculture fish farm on the water quality of a nearby receiving stream, Odo-Owa stream, near Ijebu-Ode (06° 49′ N, 003° 56′ E) in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. Some physicochemical water quality parameters of the effluent receiving stream were determined at seven selected sites, above and below the effluent discharge point into the stream to assess the effluent impact on the water body. The seven sampling stations comprised three stations (A–C) located upstream of the effluent discharge point (Station D), two stations (E and F) located downstream of Station D, while the seventh station (Station G) was a close-by reference groundwater source. The water quality parameters investigated include five physical parameters (water temperature, apparent color, true color, turbidity and transparency), seven general chemical parameters (pH, conductivity, TDS, total alkalinity, total hardness, ammonia and DO), seven major ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl−, SO42− and HCO3ˉ), three nutrient compounds (PO43−, NO3− and NO2−) and five heavy metals (Hg2+, Mn2+, Fe2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+). Water samples were collected from each sampling station twice per season: dry season (December 2013 and February 2014) and rainy season (April and July 2014), and analyzed in the laboratory using standard analytical methods. The result showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in most of the investigated parameters between the impacted (Stations A–C) and unimpacted sections (Stations E and F) of the effluent receiving stream. Ammonia was about nine times higher; true color was more than five times higher; apparent color, depth, alkalinity, HCO3− and SO42− were each more than two times higher, while pH, Ca2+, Na+, K+, Cl− and PO43− were generally higher along the impacted section than the unimpacted section of the receiving stream. Except for Hg2+, the mean concentrations of all the heavy metals analyzed (Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+) were also higher in the impacted portion than in the unimpacted portion. Seasonal variations across the water stretch showed that the mean (± SE) concentrations of TDS, turbidity, PO43−, Mn2+, Fe2+ and Hg2+ were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) in the rainy season than in the dry season. The WQI was more fair (26–50) at the unimpacted (48.42) section of the water stretch as well as in the rainy (48.36) than it was in the impacted section (47.62) as well as during the dry season (45.36). The effluent discharge point, D (40.50), recorded the least WQI. This study showed that effluent discharge from the investigated medium-scale fish farm had a significant negative impact on the water quality of the receiving Odo-Owa stream and the indicator parameters comprised of ammonia, color and alkalinity.
Cytomegalovirus in Pregnancy
Authors: Gupta Sangeeta , Sadhvi B. Sathindra
Published: January 2020

Human cytomegalovirus is worldwide the most common pathogen causing teratogenic congenital infection. Maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a serious health concern as it is associated with severe birth defects like sensori-neural hearing loss, impairment of cognitive development and cerebral palsy. It is acquired by contact with body fluids and by vertical transmission from mother to fetus. Transmission rates are particularly high after primary infection of women. Unlike rubella infection, past infection with CMV and seropositivity at the time of conception does not confer protection to the fetus. The rate of transmission increases with period of gestation but the severity is more when an infection is transmitted to fetus before 20 weeks gestation. Congenital CMV (cCMV) infection may present as cerebral or extracerebral ultrasound abnormalities, fetal growth restriction and fetal loss. Hearing loss is the most common long term sequelae of cCMV infection accounting for about 25–30% of all cases of hearing loss in children in the US. Immunoglobulin G avidity testing is used to better define the timing of the infection in the mother. Invasive testing and ultrasound aid in the diagnosis of fetal infection. Hygiene information to pregnant women for prevention of CMV infection is currently the most effective preventive strategy. The role of vaccines, antiviral drugs and immunoglobulins is still not proven.
Small Talk mit Bildzeichen
Authors: Beißwenger Michael , Pappert Steffen
Published: January 2020

Emojis erfreuen sich in der digitalen Alltagskommunikation großer Beliebtheit. Insbesondere in informellen, privaten Kontexten werden die kleinen Bildzeichen hochfrequent verwendet. Dies lässt annehmen, dass sie die Interaktionsgestaltung und das sprachliche Handeln sehr zentral und differenziert unterstützen. Im Beitrag wird ein Beschreibungsrahmen vorgestellt, der Praktiken des Handelns mit Emojis unter einer pragmatischen Perspektive analysierbar macht und der danach fragt, was Emojis für den Aufbau von Sinn und Verstehen in der internetbasierten Kommunikation leisten (und warum). Wie dieser Beschreibungsrahmen für das Verständnis konkreter Emoji-Verwendungen im Interaktionskontext genutzt werden kann, wird an der Analyse eines WhatsApp-Verlaufs demonstriert.
Normalization of mediotemporal and prefrontal activity, and mediotemporal-striatal connectivity, may underlie antipsychotic effects of cannabidiol in psychosis
Authors: O'Neill Aisling , Wilson Robin , Blest-Hopley Grace , Annibale Luciano , Colizzi Marco , Brammer Mick , Giampietro Vincent , Bhattacharyya Sagnik
Published: January 2020

Background

Recent evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating ingredient present in cannabis extract, has an antipsychotic effect in people with established psychosis. However, the effect of CBD on the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying psychosis is unknown.

Methods

Patients with established psychosis on standard antipsychotic treatment were studied on separate days at least one week apart, to investigate the effects of a single dose of orally administered CBD (600 mg) compared to a matched placebo (PLB), using a double-blind, randomized, PLB-controlled, repeated-measures, within-subject cross-over design. Three hours after taking the study drug participants were scanned using a block design functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm, while performing a verbal paired associate learning task. Fifteen psychosis patients completed both study days, 13 completed both scanning sessions. Nineteen healthy controls (HC) were also scanned using the same fMRI paradigm under identical conditions, but without any drug administration. Effects of CBD on brain activation measured using the blood oxygen level-dependent hemodynamic response fMRI signal were studied in the mediotemporal, prefrontal, and striatal regions of interest.

Results

Compared to HC, psychosis patients under PLB had altered prefrontal activation during verbal encoding, as well as altered mediotemporal and prefrontal activation and greater mediotemporal-striatal functional connectivity during verbal recall. CBD attenuated dysfunction in these regions such that activation under its influence was intermediate between the PLB condition and HC. CBD also attenuated hippocampal-striatal functional connectivity and caused trend-level symptom reduction in psychosis patients.

Conclusions

This suggests that normalization of mediotemporal and prefrontal dysfunction and mediotemporal-striatal functional connectivity may underlie the antipsychotic effects of CBD.
The Clandon Barrow Finery: a Synopsis of Success in an Early Bronze Age World
Authors: Needham Stuart , Woodward Ann
Published: January 2020

The famous assemblage of finery excavated by Edward Cunnington from Clandon Barrow, Dorset, in 1882 is usually held to be archetypal of the ‘Wessex culture’ and rich graves. Meticulous examination of the six artefacts and re-appraisal of comparative material casts a new light on the significance of the group. It does not represent a definable cultural package and instead points to a complex set of inter-relationships with ‘foreign’ lands achieved, above all, by plying varied maritime networks. Connections are shown to have run up the east coast of Britain, west towards the Irish Sea, and across the Channel to both Armorica and the Frisian coast. By contrast, links with inland Wessex were rather insubstantial. Questions are raised about the utility of the ‘Wessex’ label.

Although uncertain whether it was a grave group or some other ritual deposit, the assemblage can be seen in a positive light as a record of great exploits in distant travel. The material assembled came to stand for the success of the south Dorset community and its key personages as judged against the prime concerns of Early Bronze Age society. Its paramount importance is emphasised by the choice of site – a focally positioned, yet relatively isolated barrow within a dense monumental landscape and, moreover, a barrow that saw recurrent rejuvenation as part of a cycle of remembrance.
User–Robot Interaction for Safe Navigation of a Quadrotor
Authors: Sanchez L. F. , Abaunza H. , Castillo P.
Published: January 2020

This paper introduces an intuitive and safe command approach for a quadrotor, where inertial and muscular gestures are used for semi-autonomous flight. A bracelet composed of gyroscopes, accelerometers, and electromyographic sensors is used to detect user gestures, then an algorithm is proposed to interpret the signals as flight commands. The main goal is to provide a wearable, easy-to-handle human–machine interface for users a to safely command this kind of vehicles, even for inexpert operators. Safety measures are incorporated in the scheme to further enhance the user’s experience. Experimental tests are performed to validate the proposal.
‘Berlin Does You Good’: Experimental Art, Place Marketing and the Urban Public Sphere in 1980s West Berlin
Authors: Smith Briana J.
Published: January 2020

This article analyses the relationship of mutual benefit that formed between West Berlin's local government and experimental artists in the 1980s. In 1978 the West Berlin parliament established a grant programme to support independent artists operating in what was referred to as the ‘free scene’. The grants were intended to support the goal of restoring the city's status as a capital of artistic innovation. Soon after, the local tourism office also featured these independent artists within a new place marketing strategy focused on raising the ‘experiential value’ of the city's cultural offerings. But as this article shows, experimental artists were also using city grants to pursue alternative agendas focused on engaging with local populations in urban space. Through these projects, experimental artists extended the spirit of participatory democracy flourishing within the city's counter-cultural enclaves to broader areas of the city.
The contribution of grammar and lexicon to language switching costs: Examining contact-induced languages and their implications for theories of language representation
Authors: Deibel Isabel
Published: January 2020

Many language pairs chosen in language switching studies differ randomly on multiple linguistic levels, thus obscuring the nature of switching costs. Contact-induced languages, i.e., creoles (e.g., Spanish-based Palenquero) and mixed languages (e.g., Media Lengua), having arisen in intense language contact scenarios, relate systematically to their source languages by displaying high proportions of cognates or shared grammar. This configuration can speak to the relative contribution of lexicon and grammar to switching costs. Results from a production and comprehension task show that switching costs are systematically tied to a language pair's grammatical distance. This suggests that switching costs may result from the re-generation of the morphosyntactic frame on switch trials. Emphasizing the value of testing psycholinguistic theories outside of the usual Western populations, the current study provides insight into the degree of shared mental representations between contact-induced languages and their source languages.
Central Europe as Ground Zero of the New International Order
Authors: Wheatley Natasha
Published: January 2020

This article presents post-Habsburg central and eastern Europe as the flagship campus of the new international order of 1919. It shows how the international project of imperial liquidation, and the predicament of the successor states, produced a wide range of new international schemes, techniques, and frameworks—spanning the economy, crime, humanitarianism, and rights—that significantly shaped the global governance of today. Where historians customarily trace the implications of imperial collapse for the region's nationalization, I focus instead on internationalization. I isolate three different “border effects” in which the boundaries of sovereignty were reworked or challenged. International authority and jurisdiction grew and thrived on the sorts of qualified sovereignty that emerged in empire's wake.
Revolution through the Lens of Ordinary Life in Kyiv
Authors: Betlii Olena
Published: January 2020

This essay discusses the Ukrainian revolution of 1917–1921 from Kyiv's perspective. It emphasizes that mainstream historiography (that is, a concentration on reconstructing political and military events combined with an elite-centered approach) has exhausted itself. In order to explain the revolutionary events and how they were experienced, new approaches are needed. This essay demonstrates the potential of focusing on “little people,” of examining the revolutionary years from a polycentric perspective, and of broadening our perception of the revolutionary epoch as a way out of World War I. The essay demonstrates how an inclusive urban Kyiv narrative with a focus on ordinary life raises a number of new research questions and provides a variety of fresh topics. It also shows how productive it can be to study “big events” while closely following the life of a city and its dwellers.
Re-thinking the Revolution in Ukraine: The Jewish Experience, 1917–1921
Authors: Bilous Larysa
Published: January 2020

This article examines how the Jewish experience can change the larger picture of revolution and war in Ukraine and conventional history of “the Russian Revolution.” The case study of Kyiv's Jewish community shows that its creation as an imagined community and development in 1917 was in fact made possible by the war, which served as a catalyst for social development. The interethnic relationships in revolutionary Ukraine were built on the legacy and foundation of prewar tensions, which were reinforced by the ethnicization of politics brought by the war. The collapse of the Russian empire, the rise of nation-states, the emergence of a new order, which was neither known nor universally welcomed, pushed people to transgress old boundaries of social behavior, leading to mass violence in 1919 and 1920.
The Geography of Revolutionary Art
Authors: Fowler Mayhill C.
Published: January 2020

This article argues that a focus on Ukraine challenges the general understanding of culture in the revolutionary period, which either focuses on artists working in Moscow making Soviet art, or on non-Russian (Ukrainian, Jewish or Polish) artists in the regions making “national” art. Neither paradigm captures the radical shift in infrastructure during the imperial collapse and civil war. Placing the regions at the center of analysis highlights how Kyiv was an important cultural center during the period for later artistic developments in Europe and in the USSR. It shows that revolutionary culture is fundamentally wartime culture. Finally, the article argues that peripheral visions are central to a full geography of culture in order to trace how cultural infrastructures collapse and are re-constituted.
Jewish Social Mobility under Late Stalinism: A View from the Newly Sovietizing Periphery
Authors: Dumitru Diana
Published: January 2020

This article expands our knowledge of nationality policies, center-periphery relations, and Jewish life under late Stalinism, a period which has heretofore been viewed predominantly through the lens of Stalin's terror and marginalization. By focusing on Soviet Moldavia, the article demonstrates that developments in this region followed a different trajectory from those displayed in the center. Local expediencies, derived from the needs of a newly Sovietizing territory with “suspect” locals, encouraged the professional advancement of ethnic Jews to positions of power and prestige previously unmatched in this region. The study explores both the opportunities and limitations faced by Jews in this peripheral region, while placing these phenomena inside the framework of Soviet nationality policies and its accompanying policy toward government professionals. Simultaneously, the article highlights both the legacy of Romanian official antisemitism within this region of postwar Soviet society and the role of the “neo-korenizatsiia” program in displacing Jews within Soviet state structures.
Escaping the Double Burden: Female Polish Workers in State Socialist Czechoslovakia
Authors: Klípa Ondřej
Published: January 2020

From the 1960s to 1989, thousands of female Polish workers were sent to Czechoslovak enterprises. I analyze how the Polish women used their stay in the CSSR during the peak period of labor force cooperation to escape the dual burden of production and reproduction. My argument is that the advantageous position enjoyed by skilled male workers in state-socialist regimes could also partly apply to the otherwise vulnerable and marginalized unskilled female and migrant work force. Mutually countervailing policies of the two “cooperating” states, which in fact competed for the same workers, forced Czechoslovakia to relax control over the Poles and allowed the workers to choose relatively freely whether to stay in the host country or return. I conclude that these favorable conditions endowed the female Polish workers with agency and empowered them to flee from their determined roles in paternalist state-socialist society.
Distinguishing Spread Among Ensemble Members Between Drought and Flood Indian Summer Monsoon Years in the Past 58 Years (1958–2015) Reforecasts
Authors: Shukla Ravi P. , Shin Chul‐Su
Published: January 2020

This study examines the different characteristics of ensemble spread (ESP) between drought and flood years of Indian summer monsoon (ISM) during June to September mean using the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2). We have analyzed a set of 20‐member ensemble seasonal reforecasts for 1958–2015 using CFSv2 initialized in April. The ESP of ISM Rainfall (ISMR) is negatively (positively) correlated with ISMR (NINO3.4) index, indicating that ESP in drought ISMR years seems to be larger than that in flood years. The mean value of ESP for drought ISMR years is larger than flood years. The spatial structure of ISMR composite anomalies during drought years shows better agreement with observed rainfall anomalies in comparison to flood years. As a result, smaller ESP in flood years may suggest that ensemble prediction of ISMR in flood years tends to be overconfident and less reliable due to underestimate of forecast uncertainty, compared to drought years.
Impacts of Seagrass Dynamics on the Coupled Long‐Term Evolution of Barrier‐Marsh‐Bay Systems
Authors: Reeves I. R. B. , Moore L. J. , Goldstein E. B. , Murray A. B. , Carr J. A. , Kirwan M. L.
Published: January 2020

Seagrass provides a wide range of economically and ecologically valuable ecosystem services, with shoreline erosion control often listed as a key service, but can also alter the sediment dynamics and waves within back‐barrier bays. Here we incorporate seagrass dynamics into an existing barrier‐marsh exploratory model, GEOMBEST++, to examine the coupled interactions of the back‐barrier bay with both adjacent (marsh) and nonadjacent (barrier island) subsystems. While seagrass reduces marsh edge erosion rates and increases progradation rates in many of our 288 model simulations, seagrass surprisingly increases marsh edge erosion rates when sediment export from the back‐barrier basin is negligible because the ability of seagrass to reduce the volume of marsh sediment eroded matters little for back‐barrier basins in which all sediment is conserved. Our model simulations also suggest that adding seagrass to the bay subsystem leads to increased deposition in the bay, reduced sediment available to the marsh, and enhanced marsh edge erosion until the bay reaches a new, shallower equilibrium depth. In contrast, removing seagrass liberates previously sequestered sediment that is then delivered to the marsh, leading to enhanced marsh progradation. Lastly, we find that seagrass reduces barrier island migration rates in the absence of back‐barrier marsh by filling accommodation space in the bay. These model observations suggest that seagrass meadows operate as dynamic sources and sinks of sediment that can influence the evolution of coupled marsh and barrier island landforms in unanticipated ways.
From an extremophilic community to an electroautotrophic production strain: identifying a novel Knallgas bacterium as cathodic biofilm biocatalyst
Authors: Reiner Johannes Eberhard , Geiger Katharina , Hackbarth Max , Fink Marielle , Lapp Christian Jonas , Jung Tobias , Dötsch Andreas , Hügler Michael , Wagner Michael , Hille-Reichel Andrea , Wilcke Wolfgang , Kerzenmacher Sven , Horn Harald , Gescher Johannes
Published: January 2020

Coupling microbial electrosynthesis to renewable energy sources can provide a promising future technology for carbon dioxide conversion. However, this technology suffers from a limited number of suitable biocatalysts, resulting in a narrow product range. Here, we present the characterization of the first thermoacidophilic electroautotrophic community using chronoamperometric, metagenomic, and 13C-labeling analyses. The cathodic biofilm showed current consumption of up to −80 µA cm−2 over a period of 90 days (−350 mV vs. SHE). Metagenomic analyses identified members of the genera Moorella, Desulfofundulus, Thermodesulfitimonas, Sulfolobus, and Acidianus as potential primary producers of the biofilm, potentially thriving via an interspecies sulfur cycle. Hydrogenases seem to be key for cathodic electron uptake. An isolation campaign led to a pure culture of a Knallgas bacterium from this community. Growth of this organism on cathodes led to increasing reductive currents over time. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a distinct gene expression profile of cells grown at a cathode. Moreover, pressurizable flow cells combined with optical coherence tomography allowed an in situ observation of cathodic biofilm growth. Autotrophic growth was confirmed via isotope analysis. As a natural polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) producer, this novel species, Kyrpidia spormannii, coupled the production of PHB to CO2 fixation on cathode surfaces.
Vaccination with CD47 deficient tumor cells elicits an antitumor immune response in mice
Authors: Li Yang , Zhang Mingyou , Wang Xiaodan , Liu Wentao , Wang Hui , Yang Yong-Guang
Published: January 2020

Cancer cells are poorly immunogenic and have a wide range of mutations, which makes them unsuitable for use in vaccination treatment. Here, we show that elimination of CD47, a ligand for the myeloid cell inhibitory receptor SIRPα, from tumor cells by genetic deletion or antibody blocking, significantly improves the effectiveness of the immune response to tumour cells. In both solid and hematopoietic mouse tumor models, vaccination with tumor cells or tumor antigen-expressing cells, that lack CD47 or were pre-coated with anti-CD47 antibodies, achieved an antitumor immune response. The efficacy of this approach was synergistically enhanced when used in combination with anti-PD-1 antibodies. The induction of antitumor responses depends on SIRPα+CD11c+ DCs, which exhibit rapid expansion following introduction of CD47-deficient tumor cells. Our results indicate that CD47-deficient whole tumor cells can induce antitumor responses.
Stretchable fabric generates electric power from woven thermoelectric fibers
Authors: Sun Tingting , Zhou Beiying , Zheng Qi , Wang Lianjun , Jiang Wan , Snyder Gerald Jeffrey
Published: January 2020

Assembling thermoelectric modules into fabric to harvest energy from body heat could one day power multitudinous wearable electronics. However, the invalid 2D architecture of fabric limits the application in thermoelectrics. Here, we make the valid thermoelectric fabric woven out of thermoelectric fibers producing an unobtrusive working thermoelectric module. Alternately doped carbon nanotube fibers wrapped with acrylic fibers are woven into π-type thermoelectric modules. Utilizing elasticity originating from interlocked thermoelectric modules, stretchable 3D thermoelectric generators without substrate can be made to enable sufficient alignment with the heat flow direction. The textile generator shows a peak power density of 70 mWm−2 for a temperature difference of 44 K and excellent stretchability (~80% strain) with no output degradation. The compatibility between body movement and sustained power supply is further displayed. The generators described here are true textiles, proving active thermoelectrics can be woven into various fabric architectures for sensing, energy harvesting, or thermal management.
Publisher Correction: Schools of skyrmions with electrically tunable elastic interactions
Authors: Sohn Hayley R. O. , Liu Changda D. , Smalyukh Ivan I.
Published: January 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Coherent control and high-fidelity readout of chromium ions in commercial silicon carbide
Authors: Diler Berk , Whiteley Samuel J. , Anderson Christopher P. , Wolfowicz Gary , Wesson Marie E. , Bielejec Edward S. , Joseph Heremans F. , Awschalom David D.
Published: January 2020

Transition metal ions provide a rich set of optically active defect spins in wide bandgap semiconductors. Chromium (Cr4+) in silicon-carbide (SiC) produces a spin-1 ground state with a narrow, spectrally isolated, spin-selective, near-telecom optical interface. However, previous studies were hindered by material quality resulting in limited coherent control. In this work, we implant Cr into commercial 4H-SiC and show optimal defect activation after annealing above 1600 °C. We measure an ensemble optical hole linewidth of 31 MHz, an order of magnitude improvement compared to as-grown samples. An in-depth exploration of optical and spin dynamics reveals efficient spin polarization, coherent control, and readout with high fidelity (79%). We report T1 times greater than 1 s at cryogenic temperatures (15 K) with a T2* = 317 ns and a T2 = 81 μs, where spin dephasing times are currently limited by spin–spin interactions within the defect ensemble. Our results demonstrate the potential of Cr4+ in SiC as an extrinsic, optically active spin qubit.
PIPE4: Fast PPI Predictor for Comprehensive Inter- and Cross-Species Interactomes
Authors: Dick Kevin , Samanfar Bahram , Barnes Bradley , Cober Elroy R. , Mimee Benjamin , Tan Le Hoa , Molnar Stephen J. , Biggar Kyle K. , Golshani Ashkan , Dehne Frank , Green James R.
Published: January 2020

The need for larger-scale and increasingly complex protein-protein interaction (PPI) prediction tasks demands that state-of-the-art predictors be highly efficient and adapted to inter- and cross-species predictions. Furthermore, the ability to generate comprehensive interactomes has enabled the appraisal of each PPI in the context of all predictions leading to further improvements in classification performance in the face of extreme class imbalance using the Reciprocal Perspective (RP) framework. We here describe the PIPE4 algorithm. Adaptation of the PIPE3/MP-PIPE sequence preprocessing step led to upwards of 50x speedup and the new Similarity Weighted Score appropriately normalizes for window frequency when applied to any inter- and cross-species prediction schemas. Comprehensive interactomes for three prediction schemas are generated: (1) cross-species predictions, where Arabidopsis thaliana is used as a proxy to predict the comprehensive Glycine max interactome, (2) inter-species predictions between Homo sapiens-HIV1, and (3) a combined schema involving both cross- and inter-species predictions, where both Arabidopsis thaliana and Caenorhabditis elegans are used as proxy species to predict the interactome between Glycine max (the soybean legume) and Heterodera glycines (the soybean cyst nematode). Comparing PIPE4 with the state-of-the-art resulted in improved performance, indicative that it should be the method of choice for complex PPI prediction schemas.
Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events after Treatment in Early-stage Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Hormone Therapy
Authors: Chou Ying-Hsiang , Huang Jing-Yang , Kornelius Edy , Chiou Jeng-Yuan , Huang Chien-Ning
Published: January 2020

This nationwide population-based study investigated the differences in the risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) among patients with hormone receptor–positive early-stage breast cancer undergoing different combinations of adjuvant treatments in Taiwan. Data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) and Taiwan Cancer Registry (TCR) along with the national mortality data were used. Patients who underwent surgery as the first mode of treatment were divided into four groups based on the subsequent adjuvant therapy received: hormone therapy (H), hormone therapy + chemotherapy (CH), hormone therapy + radiotherapy (RH), and hormone therapy + radiotherapy + chemotherapy (CRH) groups. The risks of fatal and nonfatal MACE among the groups were examined using the inverse probability of treatment weighted hazard ratio (IPTW-HR). Adjuvant treatment, age, tumour size, and comorbidities significantly affected the risks of MACEs among the 19,007 patients analysed. For nonfatal MACEs, the IPTW-HR was significantly lower in the CH group compare to the H group (0.704, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.516–0.961). No significant differences in the risks for fatal MACE were observed among the four groups. The IPTW-HRs for haemorrhagic stroke in the CH group was 0.424 (95% CI: 0.188–0.957), for congestive heart failure (CHF) in the RH group was 0.260 (95% CI: 0.088–0.762), and for ischaemic heart disease in the CRH group was 0.544 (95% CI: 0.317–0.934). Increase in the adjuvant modality does not necessarily increase the nonfatal or fatal MACE risks. Cardiac health should be monitored even in patients receiving hormone therapy alone.
More bullets for PISTOL: linear and cyclic siloxane reporter probes for quantitative 1H MR oximetry
Authors: Agarwal Shubhangi , Gulaka Praveen K. , Rastogi Ujjawal , Kodibagkar Vikram D.
Published: January 2020

Tissue oximetry can assist in diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases and enable personalized therapy. Previously, we reported the ability of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) for accurate measurements of tissue oxygen tension (pO2) using Proton Imaging of Siloxanes to map Tissue Oxygenation Levels (PISTOL) magnetic resonance imaging. Here we report the feasibility of several commercially available linear and cyclic siloxanes (molecular weight 162–410 g/mol) as PISTOL-based oxygen reporters by characterizing their calibration constants. Further, field and temperature dependence of pO2 calibration curves of HMDSO, octamethyltrisiloxane (OMTSO) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMSO) were also studied. The spin-lattice relaxation rate R1 of all siloxanes studied here exhibited a linear relationship with oxygenation (R1 = A′ + B′*pO2) at all temperatures and field strengths evaluated here. The sensitivity index η( = B′/A′) decreased with increasing molecular weight with values ranged from 4.7 × 10−3–11.6 × 10−3 torr−1 at 4.7 T. No substantial change in the anoxic relaxation rate and a slight decrease in pO2 sensitivity was observed at higher magnetic fields of 7 T and 9.4 T for HMDSO and OMTSO. Temperature dependence of calibration curves for HMDSO, OMTSO and PDMSO was small and simulated errors in pO2 measurement were 1–2 torr/°C. In summary, we have demonstrated the feasibility of various linear and cyclic siloxanes as pO2-reporters for PISTOL-based oximetry.
Neural correlates of retrieval-based enhancement of autobiographical memory in older adults
Authors: Xu Qianli , Zhang Jiayi , Grandjean Joanes , Tan Cheston , Subbaraju Vigneshwaran , Li Liyuan , Lee Kuan Jin , Hsieh Po-Jang , Lim Joo-Hwee
Published: January 2020

Lifelog photo review is considered to enhance the recall of personal events. While a sizable body of research has explored the neural basis of autobiographical memory (AM), there is limited neural evidence on the retrieval-based enhancement effect on event memory among older adults in the real-world environment. This study examined the neural processes of AM as was modulated by retrieval practice through lifelog photo review in older adults. In the experiment, blood-oxygen-level dependent response during subjects’ recall of recent events was recorded, where events were cued by photos that may or may not have been exposed to a priori retrieval practice (training). Subjects remembered more episodic details under the trained relative to non-trained condition. Importantly, the neural correlates of AM was exhibited by (1) dissociable cortical areas related to recollection and familiarity, and (2) a positive correlation between the amount of recollected episodic details and cortical activation within several lateral temporal and parietal regions. Further analysis of the brain activation pattern at a few regions of interest within the core remember network showed a training_condition × event_detail interaction effect, suggesting that the boosting effect of retrieval practice depended on the level of recollected event details.
Genomic profiling of 553 uncharacterized neurodevelopment patients reveals a high proportion of recessive pathogenic variant carriers in an outbred population
Authors: Lee Youngha , Park Soojin , Lee Jin Sook , Kim Soo Yeon , Cho Jaeso , Yoo Yongjin , Lee Sangmoon , Yoo Taekyeong , Lee Moses , Seo Jieun , Lee Jeongeun , Kneissl Jana , Lee Jean , Jeon Hyoungseok , Jeon Eun Young , Hong Sung Eun , Kim Eunha , Kim Hyuna , Kim Woo Joong , Kim Jon Soo , Ko Jung Min , Cho Anna , Lim Byung Chan , Kim Won Seop , Choi Murim , Chae Jong-Hee
Published: January 2020

A substantial portion of Mendelian disease patients suffers from genetic variants that are inherited in a recessive manner. A precise understanding of pathogenic recessive variants in a population would assist in pre-screening births of such patients. However, a systematic understanding of the contribution of recessive variants to Mendelian diseases is still lacking. Therefore, genetic diagnosis and variant discovery of 553 undiagnosed Korean patients with complex neurodevelopmental problems (KND for Korean NeuroDevelopmental cohort) were performed using whole exome sequencing of patients and their parents. Disease-causing variants, including newly discovered variants, were identified in 57.5% of the probands of the KND cohort. Among the patients with the previous reported pathogenic variants, 35.1% inherited these variants in a recessive manner. Genes that cause recessive disorders in our cohort tend to be less constrained by loss-of-function variants and were enriched in lipid metabolism and mitochondrial functions. This observation was applied to an estimation that approximately 1 in 17 healthy Korean individuals carry at least one of these pathogenic variants that develop severe neurodevelopmental problems in a recessive manner. Furthermore, the feasibility of these genes for carrier screening was evaluated. Our results will serve as a foundation for recessive variant screening to reduce occurrences of rare Mendelian disease patients. Additionally, our results highlight the utility and necessity of whole exome sequencing-based diagnostics for improving patient care in a country with a centralized medical system.