bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Critical role for CaFEN1 and CaFEN12 of Candida albicans in cell wall integrity and biofilm formation
Authors: Alfatah Md. , Bari Vinay K. , Nahar Anubhav S. , Bijlani Swati , Ganesan K.
Published: January 2017

Sphingolipids are involved in several cellular functions, including maintenance of cell wall integrity. To gain insight into the role of individual genes of sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway, we have screened Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains deleted in these genes for sensitivity to cell wall perturbing agents calcofluor white and congo red. Only deletants of FEN1 and SUR4 genes were found to be sensitive to both these agents. Candida albicans strains deleted in their orthologs, CaFEN1 and CaFEN12, respectively, also showed comparable phenotypes, and a strain deleted for both these genes was extremely sensitive to cell wall perturbing agents. Deletion of these genes was reported earlier to sensitise cells to amphotericin B (AmB), which is a polyene drug that kills the cells mainly by binding and sequestering ergosterol from the plasma membrane. Here we show that their AmB sensitivity is likely due to their cell wall defect. Further, we show that double deletant of C. albicans is defective in hyphae formation as well as biofilm development. Together this study reveals that deletion of FEN1 and SUR4 orthologs of C. albicans leads to impaired cell wall integrity and biofilm formation, which in turn sensitise cells to AmB.
CircRNA_000203 enhances the expression of fibrosis-associated genes by derepressing targets of miR-26b-5p, Col1a2 and CTGF, in cardiac fibroblasts
Authors: Tang Chun-Mei , Zhang Ming , Huang Lei , Hu Zhi-qin , Zhu Jie-Ning , Xiao Zhen , Zhang Zhuo , Lin Qiu-xiong , Zheng Xi-Long , -Yang Min , Wu Shu-Lin , Cheng Jian-Ding , Shan Zhi-Xin
Published: January 2017

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) participate in regulating gene expression in diverse biological and pathological processes. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the modulation of circRNA_000203 on expressions of fibrosis-associated genes in cardiac fibroblasts. CircRNA_000203 was shown upregulated in the diabetic mouse myocardium and in Ang-II-induced mouse cardiac fibroblasts. Enforced-expression of circRNA_000203 could increase expressions of Col1a2, Col3a1 and α-SMA in mouse cardiac fibroblasts. RNA pull-down and RT-qPCR assay indicated that circRNA_000203 could specifically sponge miR-26b-5p. Dual luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-26b-5p interacted with 3′UTRs of Col1a2 and CTGF, and circ_000203 could block the interactions of miR-26b-5p and 3′UTRs of Col1a2 and CTGF. Transfection of miR-26b-5p could post-transcriptionaly inhibit expressions of Col1a2 and CTGF, accompanied with the suppressions of Col3a1 and α-SMA in cardiac fibroblasts. Additionally, over-expression of circRNA_000203 could eliminate the anti-fibrosis effect of miR-26b-5p in cardiac fibroblasts. Together, our results reveal that suppressing the function of miR-26b-5p contributes to the pro-fibrosis effect of circRNA_000203 in cardiac fibroblasts.
Establishment of a integrative multi-omics expression database CKDdb in the context of chronic kidney disease (CKD)
Authors: Fernandes Marco , Husi Holger
Published: January 2017

Complex human traits such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) are a major health and financial burden in modern societies. Currently, the description of the CKD onset and progression at the molecular level is still not fully understood. Meanwhile, the prolific use of high-throughput omic technologies in disease biomarker discovery studies yielded a vast amount of disjointed data that cannot be easily collated. Therefore, we aimed to develop a molecule-centric database featuring CKD-related experiments from available literature publications. We established the Chronic Kidney Disease database CKDdb, an integrated and clustered information resource that covers multi-omic studies (microRNAs, genomics, peptidomics, proteomics and metabolomics) of CKD and related disorders by performing literature data mining and manual curation. The CKDdb database contains differential expression data from 49395 molecule entries (redundant), of which 16885 are unique molecules (non-redundant) from 377 manually curated studies of 230 publications. This database was intentionally built to allow disease pathway analysis through a systems approach in order to yield biological meaning by integrating all existing information and therefore has the potential to unravel and gain an in-depth understanding of the key molecular events that modulate CKD pathogenesis.
Predicting drug-target interactions by dual-network integrated logistic matrix factorization
Authors: Hao Ming , Bryant Stephen H. , Wang Yanli
Published: January 2017

In this work, we propose a dual-network integrated logistic matrix factorization (DNILMF) algorithm to predict potential drug-target interactions (DTI). The prediction procedure consists of four steps: (1) inferring new drug/target profiles and constructing profile kernel matrix; (2) diffusing drug profile kernel matrix with drug structure kernel matrix; (3) diffusing target profile kernel matrix with target sequence kernel matrix; and (4) building DNILMF model and smoothing new drug/target predictions based on their neighbors. We compare our algorithm with the state-of-the-art method based on the benchmark dataset. Results indicate that the DNILMF algorithm outperforms the previously reported approaches in terms of AUPR (area under precision-recall curve) and AUC (area under curve of receiver operating characteristic) based on the 5 trials of 10-fold cross-validation. We conclude that the performance improvement depends on not only the proposed objective function, but also the used nonlinear diffusion technique which is important but under studied in the DTI prediction field. In addition, we also compile a new DTI dataset for increasing the diversity of currently available benchmark datasets. The top prediction results for the new dataset are confirmed by experimental studies or supported by other computational research.
Galectin-3 as a marker of interstitial atrial remodelling involved in atrial fibrillation
Authors: Hernández-Romero Diana , Vílchez Juan Antonio , Lahoz Álvaro , Romero-Aniorte Ana I. , Jover Eva , García-Alberola Arcadio , Jara-Rubio Rubén , Martínez Carlos M. , Valdés Mariano , Marín Francisco
Published: January 2017

Remodelling in the atria could appear as a result of hypertension, diabetes or ischaemic heart disease. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a mediator of profibrotic pathways and a potential biomarker of cardiac remodelling. We prospectively recruited consecutive patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. Preoperative Gal-3 levels were determined from serum samples, and the presence of fibrosis was assessed from atrial appendage tissue samples obtained during cardiac surgery. We included 100 patients with aortic valve or ischaemic heart diseases and 15 controls with permanent AF. Gal-3 levels were associated with sex, left atrial volume, previous cardiac disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, NYHA and NT-proBNP. We observed differences in serum Gal-3 concentrations between patients and controls with permanent AF (p = 0.020). We performed ROC curves related to fibrosis and established a cutoff point for Gal-3 >13.65 ng/ml. Multivariate analyses showed previous cardiac disease, NYHA scale and high Gal-3 to be independent predictors of fibrosis. After adjustment for confounding factors, atrial fibrosis remained the only independent factor for the development of AF (p = 0.022). High Gal-3 serum levels predict fibrosis of the atrial appendage. NYHA scale and previous cardiac disease were also associated with tissue fibrosis in patients undergoing surgery. Atrial fibrosis was the only independent predictor for post-operative AF occurrence in our model after correcting for confounding factors.
Physical Health Indicators Improve Prediction of Cardiovascular and All-cause Mortality among Middle-Aged and Older People: a National Population-based Study
Authors: Lee Wei-Ju , Peng Li-Ning , Chiou Shu-Ti , Chen Liang-Kung
Published: January 2017

The effectiveness of established methods for stratifying cardiovascular risk, for example, the Framingham risk score (FRS), may be improved by adding extra variables. This study evaluated the potential benefits of adding physical health indicators (handgrip strength, walking speed, and peak expiratory flow) to the FRS in predicting cardiovascular and all-cause mortality by using a nationwide population-based cohort study data. During median follow-up of 4.1 years, 67 of 911 study subjects had died. In Cox regression analysis, all additional physical health indicators, except walking speed, significantly predicted cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (P < 0.05). Compared with the conventional FRS, c statistics were significantly increased when dominant handgrip strength or relative handgrip strength (handgrip strength adjusted for body mass index), or combination with walking speed or peak expiratory flow were incorporated into the FRS prediction model, both in the whole cohort and also in participants who did not have prevalent cardiovascular diseases at baseline. In conclusion, dominant or relative handgrip strength are simple and inexpensive physical health indicators that substantially improve the accuracy of the FRS in predicting cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older people.
Abnormalities of regional brain function in Parkinson’s disease: a meta-analysis of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies
Authors: Pan PingLei , Zhang Yang , Liu Yi , Zhang He , Guan DeNing , Xu Yun
Published: January 2017

There is convincing evidence that abnormalities of regional brain function exist in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, many resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) have reported inconsistent results about regional spontaneous neuronal activity in PD. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis using the Seed-based d Mapping and several complementary analyses. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for eligible whole-brain rs-fMRI studies that measured ALFF differences between patients with PD and healthy controls published from January 1st, 2000 until June 24, 2016. Eleven studies reporting 14 comparisons, comparing 421 patients and 381 healthy controls, were included. The most consistent and replicable findings in patients with PD compared with healthy controls were identified, including the decreased ALFFs in the bilateral supplementary motor areas, left putamen, left premotor cortex, and left inferior parietal gyrus, and increased ALFFs in the right inferior parietal gyrus. The altered ALFFs in these brain regions are related to motor deficits and compensation in PD, which contribute to understanding its neurobiological underpinnings and could serve as specific regions of interest for further studies.
Extracellular vesicle mediated intercellular communication at the porcine maternal-fetal interface: A new paradigm for conceptus-endometrial cross-talk
Authors: Bidarimath Mallikarjun , Khalaj Kasra , Kridli Rami T. , Kan Frederick W. K. , Koti Madhuri , Tayade Chandrakant
Published: January 2017

Exosomes and microvesicles are extracellular vesicles released from cells and can contain lipids, miRNAs and proteins that affect cells at distant sites. Recently, microvesicles containing miRNA have been implicated in uterine microenvironment of pigs, a species with unique epitheliochorial (non-invasive) placentation. Here we report a novel role of conceptus-derived exosomes/microvesicles (hereafter referred to as extracellular vesicles; EVs) in embryo-endometrial cross-talk. We also demonstrate the stimulatory effects of EVs (PTr2-Exo) derived from porcine trophectoderm-cells on various biological processes including the proliferation of maternal endothelial cells (PAOEC), potentially promoting angiogenesis. Transmission immuno-electron microscopy confirmed the presence of EVs in tissue biopsies, PTr2-Exo and PAOEC-derived EVs (PAOEC-Exo). RT-PCR detected 14 select miRNAs in CD63 positive EVs in which miR-126-5P, miR-296-5P, miR-16, and miR-17-5P were the most abundant angiogenic miRNAs. Proteomic analysis revealed EV proteins that play a role in angiogenesis. In-vitro experiments, using two representative cell lines of maternal-fetal interface, demonstrated bidirectional EVs shuttling between PTr2 and PAOEC cells. Importantly, these studies support the idea that PTr2-Exo and PAOEC-Exo containing select miRNAs and proteins can be successfully delivered to recipient cells and that they may have a biological role in conceptus-endometrial cross-talk crucial for the pregnancy success.
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-dependent regulation of pulmonary miRNA by chronic cigarette smoke exposure
Authors: Rogers Sarah , de Souza Angela Rico , Zago Michela , Iu Matthew , Guerrina Necola , Gomez Alvin , Matthews Jason , Baglole Carolyn J.
Published: January 2017

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor historically known for its toxic responses to man-made pollutants such as dioxin. More recently, the AhR has emerged as a suppressor of inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis from cigarette smoke by mechanisms that may involve the regulation of microRNA. However, little is known about the AhR regulation of miRNA expression in the lung in response to inhaled toxicants. Therefore, we exposed Ahr−/− and Ahr+/− mice to cigarette smoke for 4 weeks and evaluated lung miRNA expression by PCR array. There was a dramatic regulation of lung miRNA by the AhR in the absence of exogenous ligand. In response to cigarette smoke, there were more up-regulated miRNA in Ahr−/− mice compared to Ahr+/− mice, including the cancer-associated miRNA miR-96. There was no significant change in the expression of the AhR regulated proteins HuR and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). There were significant increases in the anti-oxidant gene sulfiredoxin 1 (Srxn1) and FOXO3a- predicted targets of miR-96. Collectively, these data support a prominent role for the AhR in regulating lung miRNA expression. Further studies to elucidate a role for these miRNA may further uncover novel biological function for the AhR in respiratory health and disease.
25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)D vitamin D fails to predict sepsis and mortality in a prospective cohort study
Authors: Ratzinger Franz , Haslacher Helmuth , Stadlberger Markus , Schmidt Ralf L. J. , Obermüller Markus , Schmetterer Klaus G. , Perkmann Thomas , Makristathis Athanasios , Marculescu Rodrig , Burgmann Heinz
Published: January 2017

The clinical role of vitamin D in sepsis and mortality prediction is controversially discussed. Therefore, we conducted a prospective cohort study on standard care wards, including 461 patients with suspected sepsis fulfilling two or more SIRS criteria. On the first and third day after onset of SIRS symptoms levels of 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)D and sepsis biomarkers were analysed for their predictive capacity for identifying infection, bacteraemia and an elevated mortality risk. Additionally, several SNPs associated with vitamin D metabolism were evaluated. Bacteraemic patients (28.5%) presented with significantly lower 1,25(OH)D levels than SIRS patients without bacteraemia on the first and third day, while 25(OH)D did not show a predictive capacity. No significant differences of either 1,25(OH)D or 25(OH)D levels were found between SIRS patients with and without infections or between survivors and non-survivors. Sepsis biomarkers, including procalcitonin and CRP, showed a significantly higher discriminatory capacity for these classification tasks. The vitamin D metabolism-related SNPs analysed did not indicate any association with our outcome measures. In conclusion, 1,25(OH)D but not 25(OH)D showed a minor discriminatory value for the prediction of bacteraemia that was inferior to CRP and PCT but both failed to predict sepsis and mortality in a prospective cohort of SIRS patients.
A spiking neural network model of 3D perception for event-based neuromorphic stereo vision systems
Authors: Osswald Marc , Ieng Sio-Hoi , Benosman Ryad , Indiveri Giacomo
Published: January 2017

Stereo vision is an important feature that enables machine vision systems to perceive their environment in 3D. While machine vision has spawned a variety of software algorithms to solve the stereo-correspondence problem, their implementation and integration in small, fast, and efficient hardware vision systems remains a difficult challenge. Recent advances made in neuromorphic engineering offer a possible solution to this problem, with the use of a new class of event-based vision sensors and neural processing devices inspired by the organizing principles of the brain. Here we propose a radically novel model that solves the stereo-correspondence problem with a spiking neural network that can be directly implemented with massively parallel, compact, low-latency and low-power neuromorphic engineering devices. We validate the model with experimental results, highlighting features that are in agreement with both computational neuroscience stereo vision theories and experimental findings. We demonstrate its features with a prototype neuromorphic hardware system and provide testable predictions on the role of spike-based representations and temporal dynamics in biological stereo vision processing systems.
Maintenance and Representation of Mind Wandering during Resting-State fMRI
Authors: Chou Ying-hui , Sundman Mark , Whitson Heather E. , Gaur Pooja , Chu Mei-Lan , Weingarten Carol P. , Madden David J. , Wang Lihong , Kirste Imke , Joliot Marc , Diaz Michele T. , Li Yi-Ju , Song Allen W. , Chen Nan-kuei
Published: January 2017

Major advances in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques in the last two decades have provided a tool to better understand the functional organization of the brain both in health and illness. Despite such developments, characterizing regulation and cerebral representation of mind wandering, which occurs unavoidably during resting-state fMRI scans and may induce variability of the acquired data, remains a work in progress. Here, we demonstrate that a decrease or decoupling in functional connectivity involving the caudate nucleus, insula, medial prefrontal cortex and other domain-specific regions was associated with more sustained mind wandering in particular thought domains during resting-state fMRI. Importantly, our findings suggest that temporal and between-subject variations in functional connectivity of above-mentioned regions might be linked with the continuity of mind wandering. Our study not only provides a preliminary framework for characterizing the maintenance and cerebral representation of different types of mind wandering, but also highlights the importance of taking mind wandering into consideration when studying brain organization with resting-state fMRI in the future.
Development of a novel model of hypertriglyceridemic acute pancreatitis in mice
Authors: Pan Yiyuan , Li Yong , Gao Lin , Tong Zhihui , Ye Bo , Liu Shufeng , Li Baiqiang , Chen Yizhe , Yang Qi , Meng Lei , Wang Yuhui , Liu George , Lu Guotao , Li Weiqin , Li Jieshou
Published: January 2017

The morbidity rate of hypertriglyceridemic acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP) increased rapidly over the last decade. However an appropriate animal model was lacking to recapitulate this complicated human disease. We established a novel mice model of HTG-AP by poloxamer 407 (P-407) combined with caerulein (Cae). In our study, serum triglyceride levels of P-407 induced mice were elevated in a dose-dependent manner, and the pancreatic and pulmonary injuries were much severer in HTG mice than normal mice when injected with conventional dose Cae (50 ug/kg), what’s more, the severity of AP was positively correlative with duration and extent of HTG. In addition, we found that a low dose Cae (5 ug/kg) could induce pancreatic injury in HTG mice while there was no obvious pathological injury in normal mice. Finally, we observed that HTG leaded to the increased infiltrations of macrophages and neutrophils in mice pancreatic tissues. In conclusion, we have developed a novel animal model of HTG-AP that can mimic physiological, histological, clinical features of human HTG-AP and it could promote the development of therapeutic strategies and advance the mechanism research on HTG-AP.
Structure, transport and photoconductance of PbS quantum dot monolayers functionalized with a copper phthalocyanine derivative
Authors: André A. , Theurer C. , Lauth J. , Maiti S. , Hodas M. , Samadi Khoshkhoo M. , Kinge S. , Meixner A. J. , Schreiber F. , Siebbeles L. D. A. , Braun K. , Scheele M.
Published: January 2017

We simultaneously surface-functionalize PbS nanocrystals with Cu 4,4′,4′′,4′′′-tetraaminophthalocyanine and assemble this hybrid material into macroscopic monolayers.
Synthesis of Co nanotubes by nanoporous template-assisted electrodeposition via the incorporation of vanadyl ions
Authors: Jeon Yoo Sang , Kim Su Hyo , Park Bum Chul , Nam Da Yeon , Kim Young Keun
Published: January 2017

Co nanotubes can be easily prepared by nanoporous template-assisted electrodeposition via the incorporation of VO2+ ions, which assist Co ions in adhering to the pore walls.
Enhanced selective oxidation of h-BN nanosheet through a substrate-mediated localized charge effect
Authors: Mao Keke , Wu Xiaojun , Yang Jinlong
Published: January 2017

First-principles calculations reveal a spatially confined enhancement in the chemical reactivity of h-BN sheets towards O2, mediated via a substrate-induced charge effect.
Infrared characterisation of acetonitrile and propionitrile aerosols under Titan's atmospheric conditions
Authors: Ennis C. , Auchettl R. , Ruzi M. , Robertson E. G.
Published: January 2017

Acetonitrile and propionitrile aerosols were generated under simulated Titan conditions where new insight into the ice morphology, particle size and formation/diffusion kinetics has been extracted by online infrared spectroscopy.
A high-performance supercapacitor electrode based on tremella-like NiC2O4@NiO core/shell hierarchical nanostructures on nickel foam
Authors: He Dong , Liu Guolong , Pang Anqi , Jiang Yang , Suo Hui , Zhao Chun
Published: January 2017

Tremella-like nickel oxalate@nickel oxide (NiC2O4@NiO) core/shell hierarchical nanostructures have been successfully synthesized on nickel foam through a facile hydrothermal method followed by an electrochemical activation process.
Measurement of uranium-236 in particles by secondary ion mass spectrometry
Authors: Simons David S. , Fassett John D.
Published: January 2017

The determination of the relative isotopic abundance by secondary ion mass spectrometry of 236U in uranium-containing material is complicated by the presence of 235U1H+ ions at the same nominal mass as the uranium isotopic peak.
On the synthesis of machine learning and automated reasoning for an artificial synthetic organic chemist
Authors: Yadav Maneesh K.
Published: January 2017

Examining the application of contemporary artificial intelligence methods to the automation of organic chemistry.
Palladium-catalyzed carbonylative synthesis of benzofuran-2(3H)-ones from 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohols using formic acid as the CO source
Authors: Li Hao-Peng , Ai Han-Jun , Qi Xinxin , Peng Jin-Bao , Wu Xiao-Feng
Published: January 2017

A palladium-catalyzed carbonylative intramolecular synthesis of benzofuran-2(3H)-ones from 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohols has been developed with formic acid as the CO source, various desired products were obtained in moderate to good yields.
CoP nanoarray: a robust non-noble-metal hydrogen-generating catalyst toward effective hydrolysis of ammonia borane
Authors: Tang Chun , Qu Fengli , Asiri Abdullah M. , Luo Yonglan , Sun Xuping
Published: January 2017

A CoP nanoarray behaves as a robust non-noble-metal recyclable catalyst for effective on-demand hydrogen generation from ammonia borane hydrolysis, with an initial turnover frequency and activation energy of 42.8 molH2 molCoP−1 min−1 and 34.1 kJ mol−1, respectively.
High-performance ionic and non-ionic fluoropolymer/ionic liquid gel hybrid actuators based on single-walled carbon nanotubes
Authors: Terasawa Naohiro
Published: January 2017

The electrochemical and electromechanical properties of actuators based on an ionic and non-ionic fluoropolymer gel, and an ionic liquid, fabricated using a single-walled carbon nanotube gel electrode.
Effect of storage environment on hydrogen generation by the reaction of Al with water
Authors: Wang Yin-Qiang , Gai Wei-Zhuo , Zhang Xia-Yu , Pan Hong-Yi , Cheng Zhenxiang , Xu Pingguang , Deng Zhen-Yan
Published: January 2017

Water vapor rather than oxygen is responsible for the degradation of Al activity during storage in atmospheric environment.
A novel fluorescent concanavalin A detection platform using an anti-concanavalin A aptamer and graphene oxide
Authors: Liu Haiyan , Bai Yunfeng , Qin Jun , Chen Zezhong , Feng Feng
Published: January 2017

A novel fluorescent sensor for simple, rapid and sensitive “turn-on” detection of concanavalin A was developed based on a high-affinity anti-concanavalin A aptamer and graphene oxide.
Identification and control of unstable FOPTD processes with improved transients
Authors: Pandey S. , Majhi S.
Published: January 2017

A set of explicit expressions for an accurate identification of unstable first order plus time delay (FOPTD) process using single relay feedback test are deduced. Thereafter, tuning rules for a feedforward and feedback combination of proportional‐integral and proportional controllers are proposed to enhance the closed loop transient performance. When the process output is distorted by measurement noise, a Fourier series based curve fitting technique is utilised for the reconstruction of true process output. Benchmark examples from literature are illustrated and thereafter comparisons are made to validate the effectiveness of the proposed identification and control scheme.
Meta‐stability immunity technique for high speed SAR ADCs
Authors: Qiu L. , Tang K. , Zheng Y.J. , Siek L.
Published: January 2017

An 8‐bit 4 GS/s 8‐channel time‐interleaved successive approximation register (SAR) analogue‐to‐digital converter (ADC) is presented. To enhance the ENOB (effective number of bits), a meta‐stability immunity technique is proposed, which utilises pre‐installation to eliminate uncertain decision. The technique has negligible design overhead in terms of power and silicon area. The ADC chip was fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS technology. It achieves an ENOB of 7.45 bits, with 48 mW power consumption and an area of 0.075 mm2.
Impact of plant outage on ferroresonance and maloperation of differential protection in the presence of SVC in electrical network
Authors: Rezaei Salman
Published: January 2017

Ferroresonance is phenomena, which emerged in case of different circumstances such as short circuit and breaker phase failure. In addition, plant outage is another cause of ferroresonance. Ferroresonance may cause maloperation of some protective devices such as differential protection. In this study, Manitoba hydro network is analysed in power systems computer‐aided design/electro‐magnetic transient design and control to recognise ferroresonant configurations in case of plant outage. Impact of ferroresonance on maloperation of differential protection is analysed. A static var compensator (SVC) is installed at the mid‐point of the network to mitigate ferroresonance. Operation of relay is assessed in the presence of SVC; furthermore, effect of parameters and components of SVC on operation of differential protection is investigated. Then, an adaptive algorithm is designed in differential relay to recognise ferroresonance and prevent maloperation of the relay.
An optimal time control problem for the one-dimensional, linear heat equation, in the presence of a scaling parameter
Authors: Benalia Karim , David Claire , Oukacha Brahim
Published: January 2017

In this paper, we study the optimal time problem for the one-dimensional, linear heat equation, in the presence of a scaling parameter. To begin with, we build an exact solution. The dependence of this solution as regards the scaling parameter naturally opens the way to study the existence and uniqueness of an optimal time control. If, moreover, one assumes theL∞− null controllability, it enables to establish a bang-bang type property.
GSTP1 and CYP2B6 Genetic Polymorphisms and the Risk of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Neonates
Authors: Zachaki Sophia , Daraki Aggeliki , Polycarpou Elena , Stavropoulou Chrysa , Manola Kalliopi , Gavrili Stavroula
Published: January 2017

Objectives Antioxidant response plays a key role in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) pathogenesis. The glutathione-S-tranferases pi 1 (GSTP1) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) detoxification enzymes protect cells from oxidative damage. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the A313G GSTP1 and G516T CYP2B6 inactivating polymorphisms could be associated with BPD susceptibility.

Study Design To test this hypothesis, we conducted a case–control study enrolled 138 premature neonates ≤32 weeks of gestational age; of the 138, 46 developed BPD and 92 did not develop BPD. Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from neonates' peripheral blood and was used as template for GSTP1 and CYP2B6 genotyping using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method.

Results Our report provides evidence for a possible pathogenetic role of the G516T CYP2B6 polymorphism in BPD susceptibility. Although no differences in the frequencies of the GSTP1 variant genotypes were noticed between premature neonates who developed BPD and neonates who did not develop BPD, a significantly higher frequency of the GSTP1 polymorphism was observed in extremely low birth weight infants. Despite the small sample size, it is very interesting the fact that all neonates ≤1,000 g carrying the homozygous mutant GSTP1 genotype developed BPD.

Conclusion Our results underscore the significance of both CYP2B6 and GSTP1 polymorphisms in modulating the risk of BPD.
Buoyancy effects in an unstably stratified turbulent boundary layer flow
Authors: Li Dong , Luo Kun , Fan Jianren
Published: January 2017

Direct numerical simulation has been performed to investigate the effect of buoyancy on an unstably stratified turbulent boundary layer with the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation. The simulation results show that the mean values of the streamwise velocity and scalar fields are increased in the near-wall region but decreased in the outer layer under the effect of buoyancy, which leads to significant increases in the skin-friction drag and heat transfer. In addition, it is found that the unstable thermal stratification results in large increases in the intensities of the near-wall streamwise vortices and high- and low-speed streaks, and a reduction in the mean diameter of the vortical structures. Moreover, the turbulent coherent structures become less organized due to the stratification effect. With respect to the neutral boundary layer flow, the outer vortical structures tend to bias the direction of the principal extensional strain towards the vertical plane in the unstably stratified flow.
Wide-aperture aspherical lens for high-resolution terahertz imaging
Authors: Chernomyrdin Nikita V. , Frolov Maxim E. , Lebedev Sergey P. , Reshetov Igor V. , Spektor Igor E. , Tolstoguzov Viktor L. , Karasik Valeriy E. , Khorokhorov Alexei M. , Koshelev Kirill I. , Schadko Aleksander O. , Yurchenko Stanislav O. , Zaytsev Kirill I.
Published: January 2017

In this paper, we introduce wide-aperture aspherical lens for high-resolution terahertz (THz) imaging. The lens has been designed and analyzed by numerical methods of geometrical optics and electrodynamics. It has been made of high-density polyethylene by shaping at computer-controlled lathe and characterized using a continuous-wave THz imaging setup based on a backward-wave oscillator and Golay detector. The concept of image contrast has been implemented to estimate image quality. According to the experimental data, the lens allows resolving two points spaced at 0.95λ distance with a contrast of 15%. To highlight high resolution in the THz images, the wide-aperture lens has been employed for studying printed electronic circuit board containing sub-wavelength-scale elements. The observed results justify the high efficiency of the proposed lens design.
Magnetoacoustic nonlinear periodic (cnoidal) waves in plasmas
Authors: Ur-Rehman Hafeez , Mahmood S. , Hussain S.
Published: January 2017

Magnetoacoustic nonlinear periodic (cnoidal) waves and solitons are studied in magnetized electron-ion plasmas with inertial cold ions and warm electrons. Using the two fluid model, the dispersion relation of the magnetoacoustic waves is obtained in the linear limit and the wave dispersive effects appear through the electron inertial length. The well known reductive perturbation method is employed to derive the Korteweg-de Vries equation for magnetoacoustic waves in plasmas. The Sagdeev potential approach is used, and the cnoidal wave solution of magnetoacoustic waves is obtained under periodic boundary conditions. The analytical solution for magnetoacoustic solitons is also presented. The phase plane portraits are also plotted for magnetoacoustic solitons shown as a separatrix, and the cnoidal wave structure always lies within the separatrix. It is found that plasma beta, which depends on the plasma density, electron temperature, and magnetic field intensity, has a significant effect on the amplitude and phase of the cnoidal waves, while it also affects the width and amplitude of the magnetoacoustic soliton in plasmas. The numerical results are plotted within the plasma parameters for laboratory and space plasmas for illustration. It is found that only compressive magnetoacoustic nonlinear periodic wave and soliton structures are formed in magnetized plasmas.
Effects of external magnetic field on oblique propagation of ion acoustic cnoidal wave in nonextensive plasma
Authors: Farhad Kiyaei Forough , Dorranian Davoud
Published: January 2017

Effects of the obliqueness and the strength of external magnetic field on the ion acoustic (IA) cnoidal wave in a nonextensive plasma are investigated. The reductive perturbation method is employed to derive the corresponding KdV equation for the IA wave. Sagdeev potential is extracted, and the condition of generation of IA waves in the form of cnoidal waves or solitons is discussed in detail. In this work, the domain of allowable values of nonextensivity parameter q for generation of the IA cnoidal wave in the plasma medium is considered. The results show that only the compressive IA wave may generate and propagate in the plasma medium. Increasing the strength of external magnetic field will increase the frequency of the wave and decrease its amplitude, while increasing the angle of propagation will decrease the frequency of the wave and increase its amplitude.
Discharge ignition in the micro-cathode arc thruster
Authors: Teel George , Shashurin Alexey , Fang Xiuqi , Keidar Michael
Published: January 2017

The breakdown mechanism in the Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster has been studied to better understand the nature of the discharge ignition and to extend the ignition system lifetime. It has been found that optimal material selection of the insulator is an important factor during breakdown. Two opposite processes have been found to cycle during operation. The processes are degradation of the conductive film from the inter-electrode interface and re-deposition of the conductive film due to cathode spot erosion. Initial resistances were found to vary from hundreds of ohms to thousands of ohms based on the initial connectivity of the film to the electrodes. After initial breakdown however, resistances have been found to stabilize in a typical pattern. Materials capable of withstanding high temperatures, high pressures, and smooth surfaces are shown to be beneficial for extending thruster lifetime.
Pb- and Sm-doping effects on the vortex dynamics in Bi4O4S3 superconductor
Authors: Xie L. , Tie X. Y. , Zhang H. G.
Published: January 2017

Polycrystalline samples of Bi4O4S3, Bi3.94Pb0.06O4S3, and Bi3.94Sm0.06O4S3 were synthesized using a conventional solid-state reaction method. The vortex dynamics of these samples are studied and compared through measuring the critical current density (Jc) and magnetic relaxation. The estimated Jc value of three samples at temperature 2 K decreases with doping Pb and Sm elements due to the depression of the superconductivity. The normalized pinning force response with reduced field follows the Kramer scaling law f(h)∝ hp(1−h)q, and the maximum of the reduced field (hmax) is observed at 0.31, 0.24, and 0.18 for Bi4O4S3, Bi3.94Pb0.06O4S3, and Bi3.94Sm0.06O4S3, respectively, indicating the presence of both surface and point pinning centers in these samples. The barrier energy estimated by the magnetic relaxation data depends on the field as a negative power law U0∝Hn and the magnetic relaxation rate S exhibits a considerable monotonic increase with magnetic field, which corroborates a plastic nature of the creep vortex dynamics in these compounds.
Magnetic and mechanical properties of a finite-thickness superconducting strip with a cavity in oblique magnetic fields
Authors: Huang Chen-Guang , Liu Jun
Published: January 2017

This paper presents an investigation of the mechanical response of a finite-thickness superconducting strip containing an elliptical cavity in oblique magnetic fields. After the Bean critical state model and the minimum magnetic energy variation procedure are employed, the dependency of the magnetic and mechanical properties on the aspect ratio of the strip and the tilt angles of the applied field and elliptical cavity is discussed. The results show that for a strip in an oblique magnetic field, the current front penetrates non-monotonically from the surface inwards in the initial stage. The magnetization of the strip and the applied field are not collinear, and the angle between them becomes smaller with increasing field. Simultaneously, the strip suffers from a torque produced by the electromagnetic force and then has a tendency to rotate. Compared with the defect-free case, the appearance of the elliptical cavity affects the magnetic property of the strip and further causes significant stress concentration. If the tilt angle of the elliptical cavity is small, a position of stable mechanical equilibrium will exist for the strip. It is interesting that due to the elliptical cavity effect, an oblique magnetization and a non-zero torque are generated even if the applied field is perpendicular or parallel to the strip.
Forward-backward generalized sidelobe canceler beamforming applied to medical ultrasound imaging
Authors: Li Jiake , Chen Xiaodong , Wang Yi , Chen Xiaoshuai , Yu Daoyin
Published: January 2017

For adaptive ultrasound imaging, accurate estimation of the covariance matrix is of great importance, and it has a fundamental influence on the performance of the adaptive beamformer. In this paper, a new forward-backward generalized sidelobe canceler (FBGSC) approach is proposed for medical ultrasound imaging, which uses forward and backward subaperture averaging to accurate estimate the covariance matrix. And resulted from accurate estimating of covariance matrix, FBGSC can achieve better lateral resolution and contrast without preprocessing algorithms. Field II is applied to obtain the simulated echo data of scattering points and a circular cyst. Beamforming responses of scattering points show that FBGSC can improve the lateral resolution by 55.7% and 66.6% compared with synthetic aperture (SA) and delay-and-sum (DS), respectively. Similarly, the simulated results of circular cyst show that FBGSC can obtain better beamforming responses than traditional adaptive beamformers. Finally, an experiment is conducted based on the real echo data of a medical ultrasound system. Results demonstrate that the FBGSC can improve the imaging quality of medical ultrasound imaging system, with lower computational demand and higher reliability.
A preliminary investigation of the Partners in Health scale measurement properties in patients with end stage renal disease
Authors: Baxter Claire , Morello Andrea , Smith David , Norton Lynda , Bentley David
Published: January 2017

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is becoming more prevalent in Australia. As a result, strategies to improve quality of life when living with ESRD are becoming increasingly important. The Flinders Program has been developed to help support and increase the self-management capacity of people living with chronic disease. The Partners in Health (PIH) scale is a self-management capacity assessment tool, which is an integral element of the Flinders Program. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the preliminary measurement properties of the PIH scale within the ESRD population. Forty participants took part in the study, which involved survey assessments at baseline and follow up and a semi-structured interview. Results indicated that the PIH scale had good internal reliability (α=0.85), moderate test-retest reliability (r=0.33) and face validity in ESRD patients. Areas for improving the instrument or data collection process were identified through qualitative interviews, and implications are discussed specific to ESRD patients.
Professionals and translation in a “literary translation system”
Authors: Liping Bai
Published: January 2017

The issue related to professionals is an important one in the field of translation studies. Lefevere holds that professionals play an important part in the literary system and may ensure “the literary system does not fall too far out of step with the other subsystems society consists of”. This article first explores Lefevere’s use of the term “professionals” and then proposes to study professionals in a “literary translation system” instead of a literary system. The focus of this “literary translation system” is translators or translations, and it is a system in which various factors including translators, patrons, professionals, etc. interact with each other. Taking into consideration of the factors of economy and expertise, we can define a professional as someone who lives from certain special knowledge he/she has acquired. In the “literary translation system”, a professional can be a university teacher, an editor, a critic, a reviewer, etc., who has acquired special knowledge of literary translation. The interaction between professionals and translators is also investigated through a case study of the debate over different Chinese versions of the French novel The Red and the Black.
Acquisition of Chinese relative clauses by deaf children in Hong Kong
Authors: Lam Scholastica Wai Sze
Published: January 2017

This paper is a study of how deaf children in Hong Kong acquire Chinese relative clauses. The relative clause is reported to be a difficult structure for deaf children (Friedmann & Szterman 2006). While it may be true for postnominal relative clauses, it is unclear whether prenominal relative clauses are equally difficult for deaf children. This paper explores this question by examining deaf children’s comprehension and production of Chinese relative clauses via an elicited production task, a picture selection task and a dots-connecting task, which are all presented in written format. In addition to deaf children, typically developing Cantonese children and Cantonese adults with high Chinese proficiency are also recruited for comparison. The results show that deaf children fall behind typically developing Cantonese children in production. But deaf children with higher Chinese proficiency can perform similarly with typically developing Cantonese children. The error types and the types of non-RC responses produced by deaf children are also present in the data of typically developing Cantonese children, suggesting that deaf children do not undergo a different pathway in the development of relative clauses. While typically developing Cantonese children demonstrate non-significant subject advantage in production but object advantage in comprehension, deaf children do not demonstrate subject-object asymmetry in production and object advantage in comprehension.
Fake attributives in Chinese
Authors: Zhuang Huibin
Published: January 2017

Fake attributives in Chinese are the result of the interaction between syntax and prosody. For syntactic reasons, certain objects of complex verbal constructions and verbal quantifiers cannot be realized in situ; but they can be spelled out in some roundabout ways, one of which is to form fake attributives throughde-insertion. In the forming process of fake attributives, the cliticdeplays an important role, andde-insertion is frequently resorted to in facilitating the correspondence between the phonological structure and the syntactic structure, with the aim of ensuring meaning conveyance. It is concluded that fake attributives are initiated, to some extent, by mismatches between syntactic and phonological structure and derived whendeis inserted to enhance their correspondence.
Microstructure and mechanical behavior of Al9Si0.8Fe alloy with different Mn contents
Authors: Baldan Renato , Malavazi Jefferson , Couto Antônio Augusto
Published: January 2017

It has been reported that the detrimental effect of Fe on the mechanical properties of Al alloys can be eliminated through the addition of Mn. In this study, we examine the effects of the addition of different Mn contents (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.7 wt-% of Mn) on the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of Al9Si0.8Fe alloy. It is shown that the presence of up to 0.4 wt-% of Mn changed the platelike morphology of β-Al5FeSi into α-Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2 with a Chinese script-like morphology. Mn contents higher than 0.4 wt-% promoted the formation of α-Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2 phase with a polygonal morphology. The effect of the addition of up to 0.7 wt-% of Mn on the mechanical properties of Al9Si0.8Fe alloys is in fact quite negligible.
The effect of deformation-induced-ferrite-transformation on nanometre-sized carbides in Ti–Mo ferritic steel
Authors: Ning Zhen , Cai Qingwu , Xie Baosheng , Dong Entao
Published: January 2017

In this study, the effect of deformation-induced-ferrite-transformation (DIFT) rolling on precipitation in Ti–Mo ferrite matrix micro-alloyed steel was investigated by comparing to rolling in austenite non-recrystallisation region. The precipitate volume fraction and precipitation-starting time-temperature (PTT) curves under two kinds of process were calculated by thermodynamic and kinetic calculation, and the effects of non-recrystallisation rolling and DIFT rolling on the contribution of strengthening mechanisms were quantitatively analysed. The results showed that comparing with rolling in the austenite non-recrystallisation region, carbides in the steel by DIFT rolling were finer and more uniform. Moreover, DIFT rolling could enhance fine grain strengthening and precipitation strengthening simultaneously, and the increments of fine grain and precipitation strengthening were 34 and 63.7 MPa, respectively.
Tensile elongation of lean-alloy austenitic stainless steels: Transformation-induced plasticity versus planar glide
Authors: Huang Qiuliang , Volkova Olena , Biermann Horst , Mola Javad
Published: January 2017

An Fe–13Cr–3.4Mn–0.47C lean-alloy stainless steel was made austenitic by solution annealing at 1250°C. Tensile tests between 20 and 200°C indicated enhancement of ductility at higher temperatures. At 200°C where planar glide, manifested as deformation twinning, was the dominant deformation mechanism, a uniform tensile elongation of 102% was achieved. At 20°C where deformation-induced α′-martensitic transformation replaced deformation twinning as the dominant deformation mechanism, tensile elongation was significantly impaired. The tensile elongation contribution by the planar glide was estimated to be at least four times that of the α′-TRIP (transformation-induced plasticity) mechanism. The results indicate that inexpensive lean-alloy austenitic stainless steels exhibiting pronounced α′-formation at room temperature could become highly formable at higher temperatures.