bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New voyages to explore the natural product galaxy
Authors: Mouncey Nigel J , Otani Hiroshi , Udwary Daniel , Yoshikuni Yasuo
Published: January 2019

Natural products are a large family of diverse and complex chemical molecules that have roles in both primary and secondary metabolism, and over 210,000 natural products have been described. Secondary metabolite natural products are of high commercial and societal value with therapeutic uses as antibiotics, antifungals, antitumor and antiparasitic products and in agriculture as products for crop protection and animal health. There is a resurgence of activity in exploring natural products for a wide range of applications, due to not only increasing antibiotic resistance, but the advent of next-generation genome sequencing and new technologies to interrogate and investigate natural product biosynthesis. Genome mining has revealed a previously undiscovered richness of biosynthetic potential in novel biosynthetic gene clusters for natural products. Complementing these computational processes are new experimental platforms that are being developed and deployed to access new natural products.
Fabclavine biosynthesis in X. szentirmaii: shortened derivatives and characterization of the thioester reductase FclG and the condensation domain-like protein FclL
Authors: Wenski Sebastian L , Kolbert Diana , Grammbitter Gina L C , Bode Helge B
Published: January 2019

Fabclavines, unusual peptide–polyketide–polyamine hybrids, show broad-spectrum bioactivity against a variety of different organism like Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, fungi and protozoa. We elucidated the biosynthesis of these NRPS–PKS hybrids in Xenorhabdus szentirmaii by deletion of most genes encoded in the fabclavine BGC and subsequent analysis of produced fabclavine or polyamine intermediates. Thereby, we identified shortened fabclavines similar to the bioactive zeamines. Furthermore, we analyzed the thioester reductase FclG and the free-standing condensation domain-like protein FclL in detail and observed low substrate specificity for both enzymes.
Influences of Material Aspirations on Migration
Authors: Thornton Arland , Williams Nathalie E. , Bhandari Prem , Young-DeMarco Linda , Sun Cathy , Swindle Jeffrey , Hughes Christina , Xie Yu
Published: January 2019

In this article, we investigate the influences of material aspirations on migration in Nepal, positing that material aspirations may have important influences on decisions to migrate and where to locate. We discuss a theoretical model explaining how these aspirations might be key influences in the migration decision. Using detailed continuous migration histories from the 2008–2012 Chitwan Valley Family Study, we estimate logistic and alternative-specific conditional logit models to examine how material aspirations in Nepal influence migration rates and destinations. Our empirical analyses provide strong evidence that material aspirations have large effects on overall rates of migration and affect destination-specific migration rates, particularly for relatively wealthy Western and Asian destinations. We also show an interaction effect between material aspirations and destination-specific expected earnings in influencing people’s migration choices. It is the people with high aspirations who migrate to destinations with high earning potentials.
Religious Diversity and Religious Progress
Authors: McKim Robert
Published: January 2019

What is someone who has a perspective on religious matters to say about those who endorse other perspectives? What should they say about other religions? For example, might some of their beliefs be true? What stage are we human beings at in our religious development? Are we close to maturity, religiously speaking, so that most of the important religious ideas and innovations there will ever be have already appeared? Or are we starting out in our religious evolution, so that religious developments to date are merely the first rude efforts of a species in its religious infancy?
Dynamics and eigenvalues in dimension zero
Authors: HERNÁNDEZ-CORBATO LUIS , NIEVES-RIVERA DAVID JESÚS , RUIZ DEL PORTAL FRANCISCO R. , SÁNCHEZ-GABITES JAIME J.
Published: January 2019

Let $X$ be a compact, metric and totally disconnected space and let $f:X\rightarrow X$ be a continuous map. We relate the eigenvalues of $f_{\ast }:\check{H}_{0}(X;\mathbb{C})\rightarrow \check{H}_{0}(X;\mathbb{C})$ to dynamical properties of $f$, roughly showing that if the dynamics is complicated then every complex number of modulus different from 0, 1 is an eigenvalue. This stands in contrast with a classical inequality of Manning that bounds the entropy of $f$ below by the spectral radius of $f_{\ast }$.
Dropping slender-body theory into the mud
Authors: Spagnolie S. E.
Published: January 2019

The equations describing classical viscous fluid flow are notoriously challenging to solve, even approximately, when the flow is host to one or many immersed bodies. When an immersed body is slender, the smallness of its aspect ratio can sometimes be used as a basis for a ‘slender-body theory’ describing its interaction with the surrounding environment. If the fluid is complex, however, such theories are generally invalid and efforts to understand the dynamics of immersed bodies are almost entirely numerical in nature. In a valiant effort, Hewitt & Balmforth (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 856, 2018, pp. 870–897) have unearthed a theory to describe the motion of slender bodies in a viscoplastic fluid, ‘fluids’ such as mud or toothpaste which can be coaxed to flow, but only with a sufficiently large amount of forcing. Mathematical theories for some tremendously complicated physical systems may now be within reach.
A rarefied gas flow around a rotating sphere: diverging profiles of gradients of macroscopic quantities
Authors: Taguchi Satoshi , Saito Kazuyuki , Takata Shigeru
Published: January 2019

The steady behaviour of a rarefied gas around a rotating sphere is studied numerically on the basis of the linearised ellipsoidal statistical model of the Boltzmann equation, also known as the ES model, and the Maxwell diffuse–specular boundary condition. It is demonstrated numerically that the normal derivative of the circumferential component of the flow velocity and that of the heat flux diverge on the boundary with a rate 

$s^{-1/2}$

, where

$s$

is the normal distance from the boundary. Further, it is demonstrated that the diverging term is proportional to the magnitude of the jump discontinuity of the velocity distribution function on the boundary, which originates from the mismatch of the incoming and outgoing data on the boundary. The moment of force exerted on the sphere is also obtained for a wide range of the Knudsen number and for various values of the accommodation coefficient.
Transition to the ultimate regime in a radiatively driven convection experiment
Authors: Bouillaut Vincent , Lepot Simon , Aumaître Sébastien , Gallet Basile
Published: January 2019

We report on the transition between two regimes of heat transport in a radiatively driven convection experiment, where a fluid gets heated up within a tunable heating length $\ell$ in the vicinity of the bottom of the tank. The first regime is similar to that observed in standard Rayleigh–Bénard experiments, the Nusselt number $Nu$ being related to the Rayleigh number $Ra$ through the power law $Nu\sim Ra^{1/3}$. The second regime corresponds to the ‘ultimate’ or mixing-length scaling regime of thermal convection, where $Nu$ varies as the square root of $Ra$. Evidence for these two scaling regimes has been reported in Lepot et al. (Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, vol. 115, 2018, pp. 8937–8941), and we now study in detail how the system transitions from one to the other. We propose a simple model describing radiatively driven convection in the mixing-length regime. It leads to the scaling relation $Nu\sim (\ell /H)Pr^{1/2}Ra^{1/2}$, where $H$ is the height of the cell and $Pr$ is the Prandtl number, thereby allowing us to deduce the values of $Ra$ and $Nu$ at which the system transitions from one regime to the other. These predictions are confirmed by the experimental data gathered at various $Ra$ and $\ell$. We conclude by showing that boundary layer corrections can persistently modify the Prandtl number dependence of $Nu$ at large $Ra$, for $Pr\gtrsim 1$.
ON MAXIMALLY FROBENIUS DESTABILISED VECTOR BUNDLES
Authors: LI LINGGUANG
Published: January 2019

Let $X$ be a smooth projective curve of genus $g\geq 2$ over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p>0$. We show that for any integers $r$ and $d$ with $0<r<p$, there exists a maximally Frobenius destabilised stable vector bundle of rank $r$ and degree $d$ on $X$ if and only if $r\mid d$.
“Students Are [Not] Slaves”: 1960s Student Power Debates in Tennessee
Authors: BALLANTYNE KATHERINE
Published: January 2019

This article examines 1960s student power debates at Tennessee universities. It makes three main arguments. First, student protests overin loco parentisrestrictions fit into an emerging student demand for autonomy more broadly, even in a politically and culturally conservative state like Tennessee. Second, these student power debates complicate the 1960s movements declension narrative, since Tennessee student activism peaked in 1970. Third, though black and white students both demanded greater personal autonomy, continued racial inequities on and off Tennessee campuses rendered their experiences distinct.
From Buddha Bones to Bo Trees: Nehruvian India, Buddhism, and the poetics of power, 1947–1956
Authors: OBER DOUGLAS F.
Published: January 2019

In the first decade after Indian independence in 1947, the secular Indian state projected a vision of itself as being guided by universal ethics rooted in the nation's ancient Buddhist past. From the circulation of Buddhist relics in distant lands to the reinvention and incorporation of Buddhist symbols in contemporary state regalia, the government sponsored a wide variety of programmes in the name of world peace, Pan-Asian unity, and enlightened democratic values that promoted Buddhism both within India and across Asia. This more than decades-long effort was entirely the outcome of the political and social visions of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and key members of his cabinet. In its most concise formulation, this Nehruvian-style Buddhism consisted of a two-pronged approach, one concerning the uses of Buddhism in the domestic sphere—that is, for domestic consumption by citizens of the new nation—and one concerning the uses of Buddhism as an instrument of foreign policy. At the heart of these projects was the dual effort to integrate a diverse South Asian populace into a wider national consciousness and yield influence among the post-colonial order in Asia. This article details the strategies and ideologies that Nehru and his cabinet employed vis-à-vis Buddhism from the mid-1940s to late 1950s when their Buddhist statecraft began to unravel due to geopolitical crises and the mass conversions of Ambedkarite Dalits. After tracing these developments, the article briefly considers the continued relevance of the Nehruvian engagement with Buddhism as it relates to twenty-first century Indian affairs.
Modulation of anterior cingulate cortex reward and penalty signalling in medication-naive young-adult subjects with depressive symptoms following acute dose lurasidone
Authors: Wolke Selina A. , Mehta Mitul A. , O'Daly Owen , Zelaya Fernando , Zahreddine Nada , Keren Hanna , O'Callaghan Georgia , Young Allan H. , Leibenluft Ellen , Pine Daniel S. , Stringaris Argyris
Published: January 2019

Background

Aberrations in reward and penalty processing are implicated in depression and putatively reflect altered dopamine signalling. This study exploits the advantages of a placebo-controlled design to examine how a novel D2 antagonist with adjunctive antidepressant properties modifies activity in the brain's reward network in depression.

Methods

We recruited 43 medication-naïve subjects across the range of depression severity (Beck's Depression Inventory-II score range: 0–43), including healthy volunteers, as well as people meeting full-criteria for major depressive disorder. In a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design, all subjects received either placebo or lurasidone (20 mg) across two visits separated by 1 week. Functional magnetic resonance imaging with the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task assessed reward functions via neural responses during anticipation and receipt of gains and losses. Arterial spin labelling measured cerebral blood flow (CBF) at rest.

Results

Lurasidone altered fronto-striatal activity during anticipation and outcome phases of the MID task. A significant three-way Medication-by-Depression severity-by-Outcome interaction emerged in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) after correction for multiple comparisons. Follow-up analyses revealed significantly higher ACC activation to losses in high- v. low depression participants in the placebo condition, with a normalisation by lurasidone. This effect could not be accounted for by shifts in resting CBF.

Conclusions

Lurasidone acutely normalises reward processing signals in individuals with depressive symptoms. Lurasidone's antidepressant effects may arise from reducing responses to penalty outcomes in individuals with depressive symptoms.
Cognitive impairment from early to middle adulthood in patients with affective and nonaffective psychotic disorders
Authors: Mollon Josephine , Mathias Samuel R. , Knowles Emma E. M. , Rodrigue Amanda , Koenis Marinka M. G. , Pearlson Godfrey D. , Reichenberg Abraham , Barrett Jennifer , Denbow Dominique , Aberizk Katrina , Zatony Molly , Poldrack Russell A. , Blangero John , Glahn David C.
Published: January 2019

Background

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of psychotic disorders, but the profile of impairment across adulthood, particularly in African-American populations, remains unclear.

Methods

Using cross-sectional data from a case–control study of African-American adults with affective (n= 59) and nonaffective (n= 68) psychotic disorders, we examined cognitive functioning between early and middle adulthood (ages 20–60) on measures of general cognitive ability, language, abstract reasoning, processing speed, executive function, verbal memory, and working memory.

Results

Both affective and nonaffective psychosis patients showed substantial and widespread cognitive impairments. However, comparison of cognitive functioning between controls and psychosis groups throughout early (ages 20–40) and middle (ages 40–60) adulthood also revealed age-associated group differences. During early adulthood, the nonaffective psychosis group showed increasing impairments with age on measures of general cognitive ability and executive function, while the affective psychosis group showed increasing impairment on a measure of language ability. Impairments on other cognitive measures remained mostly stable, although decreasing impairments on measures of processing speed, memory and working memory were also observed.

Conclusions

These findings suggest similarities, but also differences in the profile of cognitive dysfunction in adults with affective and nonaffective psychotic disorders. Both affective and nonaffective patients showed substantial and relatively stable impairments across adulthood. The nonaffective group also showed increasing impairments with age in general and executive functions, and the affective group showed an increasing impairment in verbal functions, possibly suggesting different underlying etiopathogenic mechanisms.
La teoria dellagovernance:sfide e prospettive
Authors: Mayntz Renate
Published: January 2019

Introduzione

Questo articolo tratta dello sviluppo e della successiva evoluzione della teoria dellagovernance, la cui origine va rintracciata nell'analisi delle attività intraprese dalle autorità politiche nel tentativo di modellare le strutture e i processi socioeconomici. In Germania il termine in uso èSteuerungstheorie[teoria della direzione] (Mayntz 1987). La parola inglesegovernanceè stata per lungo tempo equiparata agoverning, l'elemento processuale del governare, rappresentando così la prospettiva complementare rispetto a quella istituzionale negli studi dedicati al governo. In altre parole,governancevenne utilizzato approssimativamente quale sinonimo dipolitische Steuerung[direzione politica].
La Lega Nord e la transizione italiana
Authors: Biorcio Roberto
Published: January 2019

Introduzione

La Lega Nord ha avuto un ruolo fondamentale nella trasformazione del sistema politico italiano: ha contribuito in modo decisivo alla crisi dei partiti di governo della Prima repubblica, ha introdotto importanti innovazioni nella politica italiana e ha sinora ostacolato il consolidamento di un sistema politico bipolare. Se la transizione italiana appare lunga, complessa e ancora largamente incompiuta (Pasquino 1995, VI), il contributo del partito diretto da Umberto Bossi è già oggi chiaramente identificabile.
Effetti sistemici e politica internazionale
Authors: Andreatta Filippo
Published: January 2019

Questi due recenti lavori di importanti studiosi statunitensi dimostrano ancora una volta la vitalità e la creatività della disciplina delle relazioni internazionali. Si tratta infatti di opere di grande respiro e rigore teorico che introducono nel dibattito accademico ipotesi ed analisi alquanto avvincenti. Il libro di Snyder si concentra su uno degli aspetti essenziali della politica internazionale – le alleanze – e riesce nell'intento di affrontare approfonditamente un argomento che, paradossalmente, è invece rimasto piuttosto trascurato nella letteratura specializzata. A parte la letteratura politologica sulle coalizioni ed i beni pubblici, e la letteratura più classica sulle relazioni internazionali, non ci sono infatti analisi recenti in materia. Il volume di Jervis è invece meno ambizioso in quanto non si presenta come un'analisi compiuta su uno degli aspetti principali della disciplina. Ciò nonostante, l'autore cerca di proporre una chiave di lettura sistemica di tutta la politica internazionale risultando così non meno rilevante del libro di Snyder. La ricchezza del background culturale di Jervis e la sua capacità di sintesi – che già si erano espresse in campi diversi quali la teoria della deterrenza nucleare, l'importanza delle variabili tecnologiche, l'analisi psicologica delle decisioni e le grandi metafore strategiche della diplomazia contemporanea – assumono in questo caso una forma matura che permette all'autore di attingere proficuamente da altre discipline quali la biologia e l'ingegneria ambientale senza mai perdere di vista l'intento di spiegare fenomeni sociali complessi.
IDEE E CONOSCENZA NELLE POLITICHE PUBBLICHE EUROPEE: TECNOCRAZIA O POLITICIZZAZIONE?
Authors: Radaelli Claudio M.
Published: January 2019

Introduzione

La conoscenza nelle politiche pubbliche dell'Unione europea: un vantaggio a metà?

Come spesso accade, l'interesse attuale per la dimensione cognitiva della politica rappresenta più una riscoperta che una novità assoluta. In senso lato, essa comprende filoni ben noti, addirittura classici, degli studi politici. Lo dimostra la ricca letteratura su temi diversi quali l'incrementalismo (Lindblom 1959), la razionalità limitata (Simon 1957), le mappe cognitive delle élites politiche (Axelrod 1976), la concezione dei meccanismi di governo come apprendimento (Deutsch 1966, 80; Heclo 1972), il cosiddetto «complesso militare-industriale» (Rosen 1973), e la tecnocrazia (Fisichella 1997). Perché dunque «riscoprire» il ruolo politico della conoscenza? O meglio, qual è il potenziale di studi i quali, sia nell'ambito dell'analisi sulle politiche pubbliche (Capano 1995; Radaelli 1997) sia nelle relazioni internazionali (Jacobsen 1995), reclamano una maggiore considerazione per i fattori cognitivi nelle scelte di policy? Quanto sono efficaci nella spiegazione del cambiamento {policy change)? E, da ultimo, come possono essere valutati da un punto di vista normativo? Una delle idee cardine della prospettiva cognitiva è che la politica vada oltre la semplice risoluzione dei conflitti. L'apprendimento, la propensione alla soluzione dei problemi, i fora di discussione e il policy enlightenment - si sostiene - possono contare più della politica basata su stili conflittuali. La politica sta forse superando il modello della democrazia competiti- va-awersariale?
Is transplanetary sustainability a good idea? An answer from the perspective of conceptual engineering
Authors: Beisbart Claus
Published: January 2019

Is our current concept of sustainable development too focused on our planet? Do we need a new conception of sustainability? The recent call for an 'ethics of planetary sustainability' by A. Losch may be understood as promoting an affirmative answer to this question. This essay analyses and assesses the introduction of a new concept of sustainability from the perspective of conceptual engineering. The central question is whether this new concept, which I call ‘transplanetary sustainability’, may improve our thinking, and, indirectly, our practices. I argue that a new notion of transplanetary sustainability advantageously points to considerations that matter from a moral point of view. It may also help us to be more exact and consistent in our moral thinking. At the same time, there are serious doubts as to how fundamental the concept of sustainability as such is from a theoretical perspective since it does not figure in prominent moral theories. Furthermore, in view of possible extraterrestrial beings that deserve to be taken into account from a moral point of view, the proposed revision of the concept may reach less than required. Nevertheless, since sustainability has had an impressive career in international politics, it is practically speaking important that sustainability be conceived such that outer space is taken into account.
Warm Circumpolar Deep Water at the Western Getz Ice Shelf Front, Antarctica
Authors: Assmann K. M. , Darelius E. , Wåhlin A. K. , Kim T. W. , Lee S. H.
Published: January 2019

The Getz Ice Shelf is one of the largest sources of fresh water from ice shelf basal melt in Antarctica. We present new observations from three moorings west of Siple Island 2016–2018. All moorings show a persistent flow of modified Circumpolar Deep Water toward the western Getz Ice Shelf. Unmodified Circumpolar Deep Water with temperatures up to 1.5 °C reaches the ice shelf front in frequent episodes. These represent the warmest water observed at any ice shelf front in the Amundsen Sea. Mean currents within the warm bottom layer of 18–20 cm/s imply an advection time scale of 7 days from shelf break to ice shelf front. Zonal wind stress at the shelf break affects heat content at the ice shelf front on weekly to monthly time scales. Our 2‐year mooring records also evince that upwelling over the shelf break controls thermocline depth on subannual to annual time scales.
Simulating Dynamic Roots in the Energy Exascale Earth System Land Model
Authors: Drewniak B. A.
Published: January 2019

Roots are important contributors to plant development, functioning to provide nutrients and water for plant growth. However, roots and their functions are often simplified in Earth system models, which limit the feedback of root foraging strategy on plant productivity, and their impacts on the carbon cycle. The goal of this study is to introduce a new method to resolve the vertical structure of roots over time. The method allows plasticity of rooting depth distribution under nonuniform profiles of water and nitrogen, which influences aboveground dynamics. The dynamic root model optimizes root distribution for both water and nitrogen uptake but gives priority to plant water demands. I implement this new method in the Energy Exascale Earth System model. The resulting root distribution maintains agreement with observations in most ecosystems and marginally improves the gross primary productivity estimated by the model, compared to satellite observations. Increases in gross primary productivity are simulated in desert and boreal ecosystems. However, the model does not capture deep roots in the dry tropics, and therefore, productivity losses are observed in parts of the Amazon and the African savannah. I discuss details of the model algorithm, along with some sensitivity studies that shed light on the model behavior in water‐limited ecosystems. The study shows that additional model processes, such as climate dependent root depth, root hydraulics, root form and function, and better nitrogen uptake, should be considered to improve the root water uptake in the Energy Exascale Earth System Land Model (ELM).
Pd films on soft substrates: a visual, high-contrast and low-cost optical hydrogen sensor
Authors: She Xiaoyi , Shen Yang , Wang Jianfang , Jin Chongjun
Published: January 2019

For the rapid development of the hydrogen economy, a reliable and low-cost hydrogen sensor appears to be extremely important. Here, we first show that a palladium film deposited on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) can obtain an exceedingly high-reflectance contrast of 25.78 over the entire visible band upon exposure to 4 vol% hydrogen gas (H2) mixed with nitrogen gas. This high-reflectance contrast results from the surface deformation induced by the volume inflation after exposure to H2, leading to the transition of the near-specular surface to a diffusing surface. In addition, a change in brightness is readable by naked eye upon exposure to H2 with various concentrations from 0.6 to 1 vol% under the illumination of a fluorescent tube. Furthermore, this sensor possesses an excellent recyclability and quick response time of a few seconds. Compared with Pd nanostructure-based hydrogen sensors, this visual, high-contrast and low-cost sensor is of great potential for practical hydrogen sensing.
Significant shared heritability underlies suicide attempt and clinically predicted probability of attempting suicide
Authors: Ruderfer Douglas M. , Walsh Colin G. , Aguirre Matthew W. , Tanigawa Yosuke , Ribeiro Jessica D. , Franklin Joseph C. , Rivas Manuel A.
Published: January 2019

Suicide accounts for nearly 800,000 deaths per year worldwide with rates of both deaths and attempts rising. Family studies have estimated substantial heritability of suicidal behavior; however, collecting the sample sizes necessary for successful genetic studies has remained a challenge. We utilized two different approaches in independent datasets to characterize the contribution of common genetic variation to suicide attempt. The first is a patient reported suicide attempt phenotype asked as part of an online mental health survey taken by a subset of participants (n = 157,366) in the UK Biobank. After quality control, we leveraged a genotyped set of unrelated, white British ancestry participants including 2433 cases and 334,766 controls that included those that did not participate in the survey or were not explicitly asked about attempting suicide. The second leveraged electronic health record (EHR) data from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC, 2.8 million patients, 3250 cases) and machine learning to derive probabilities of attempting suicide in 24,546 genotyped patients. We identified significant and comparable heritability estimates of suicide attempt from both the patient reported phenotype in the UK Biobank (h2SNP = 0.035, p = 7.12 × 10−4) and the clinically predicted phenotype from VUMC (h2SNP = 0.046, p = 1.51 × 10−2). A significant genetic overlap was demonstrated between the two measures of suicide attempt in these independent samples through polygenic risk score analysis (t = 4.02, p = 5.75 × 10−5) and genetic correlation (rg = 1.073, SE = 0.36, p = 0.003). Finally, we show significant but incomplete genetic correlation of suicide attempt with insomnia (rg = 0.34–0.81) as well as several psychiatric disorders (rg = 0.26–0.79). This work demonstrates the contribution of common genetic variation to suicide attempt. It points to a genetic underpinning to clinically predicted risk of attempting suicide that is similar to the genetic profile from a patient reported outcome. Lastly, it presents an approach for using EHR data and clinical prediction to generate quantitative measures from binary phenotypes that can improve power for genetic studies.
Indirect protection from vaccinating children against influenza in households
Authors: Tsang Tim K. , Fang Vicky J. , Ip Dennis K. M. , Perera Ranawaka A. P. M. , So Hau Chi , Leung Gabriel M. , Peiris J. S. Malik , Cowling Benjamin J. , Cauchemez Simon
Published: January 2019

Vaccination is an important intervention to prevent influenza virus infection, but indirect protection of household members of vaccinees is not fully known. Here, we analyze a cluster household randomized controlled trial, with one child in each household randomized to receive influenza vaccine or placebo, for an influenza B epidemic in Hong Kong. We apply statistical models to estimate household transmission dynamics and quantify the direct and indirect protection of vaccination. Direct vaccine efficacy was 71%. The infection probability of unvaccinated household members in vaccinated households was only 5% lower than in control households, because only 10% of infections are attributed to household transmission. Even when that proportion rises to 30% and all children are vaccinated, we predict that the infection probability for unvaccinated household members would only be reduced by 20%. This suggests that benefits of individual vaccination remain important even when other household members are vaccinated.
A standard primary energy approach for comparing desalination processes
Authors: Shahzad Muhammad Wakil , Burhan Muhammad , Ng Kim Choom
Published: January 2019

Considering different grades of energy as equivalent in the desalination industry could have negative economic and environmental consequences. Whereas this approach will suffice for the comparison of same energy input processes, omitting the grade of energy when comparing diverse technologies may lead to incorrect conclusions and, resultantly, inefficient installations. Here, a standard primary energy-based thermodynamic framework is presented that addresses the energy efficacy of assorted desalination processes. Example calculations show that a thermal desalination plant integrated with a power plant consumes 2–3% of input standard primary energy. We also propose a standard universal performance ratio methodology to provide a level playing field for the comparison of desalination processes; this suggest that the majority of desalination processes are operating far from the sustainable zone, with only ~10–13% at the ideal or thermodynamic limit. A proposed roadmap shows that attaining an efficacy level of up to 25–30% of the thermodynamic limit is crucial for achieving the 2030 sustainability development goals for seawater desalination, which will require a technological shift in the capability of dissolved salts separation processes.
Significance of hydrogen bonding and other noncovalent interactions in determining octahedral tilting in the CH3NH3PbI3 hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cell semiconductor
Authors: Varadwaj Pradeep R. , Varadwaj Arpita , Marques Helder M. , Yamashita Koichi
Published: January 2019

The CH3NH3PbI3(methylammonium lead triiodide) perovskite semiconductor system has been viewed as a blockbuster research material during the last five years. Because of its complicated architecture, several of its technological, physical and geometrical issues have been examined many times. Yet this has not assisted in overcoming a number of problems in the field nor in enabling the material to be marketed. For instance, these studies have not clarified the nature and type of hydrogen bonding and other noncovalent interactions involved; the origin of hysteresis; the actual role of the methylammonium cation; the nature of polarity associated with the tetragonal geometry; the unusual origin of various frontier orbital contributions to the conduction band minimum; the underlying phenomena of spin-orbit coupling that causes significant bandgap reduction; and the nature of direct-to-indirect bandgap transition features. Arising from many recent reports, it is now a common belief that the I···H–N interaction formed between the inorganic framework and the ammonium group of CH3NH3+is the only hydrogen bonded interaction responsible for all temperature-dependent geometrical polymorphs of the system, including the most stable one that persists at low-temperatures, and the significance of all other noncovalent interactions has been overlooked. This study focussed only on the low temperature orthorhombic polymorph of CH3NH3PbI3and CD3ND3PbI3, where D refers deuterium. Together with QTAIM, DORI and RDG based charge density analyses, the results of density functional theory calculations with PBE with and without van der Waals corrections demonstrate that the prevailing view of hydrogen bonding in CH3NH3PbI3is misleading as it does not alone determine thea−b+a−tilting pattern of the PbI64−octahedra. This study suggests that it is not only the I···H/D–N, but also the I···H/D–C hydrogen/deuterium bonding and other noncovalent interactions (viz. tetrel-, pnictogen- and lump-hole bonding interactions) that are ubiquitous in the orthorhombic CH3NH3PbI3/CD3ND3PbI3perovskite geometry. Their interplay determines the overall geometry of the polymorph, and are therefore responsible in part for the emergence of the functional optical properties of this material. This study also suggests that these interactions should not be regarded as the sole determinants of octahedral tilting since lattice dynamics is known to play a critical role as well, a common feature in many inorganic perovskites both in the presence and the absence of the encaged cation, as in CsPbI3/WO3perovskites, for example.
Effect of Crystallization Modes in TIPS-pentacene/Insulating Polymer Blends on the Gas Sensing Properties of Organic Field-Effect Transistors
Authors: Lee Jung Hun , Seo Yena , Park Yeong Don , Anthony John E. , Kwak Do Hun , Lim Jung Ah , Ko Sunglim , Jang Ho Won , Cho Kilwon , Lee Wi Hyoung
Published: January 2019

Blending organic semiconductors with insulating polymers has been known to be an effective way to overcome the disadvantages of single-component organic semiconductors for high-performance organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). We show that when a solution processable organic semiconductor (6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene, TIPS-pentacene) is blended with an insulating polymer (PS), morphological and structural characteristics of the blend films could be significantly influenced by the processing conditions like the spin coating time. Although vertical phase-separated structures (TIPS-pentacene-top/PS-bottom) were formed on the substrate regardless of the spin coating time, the spin time governed the growth mode of the TIPS-pentacene molecules that phase-separated and crystallized on the insulating polymer. Excess residual solvent in samples spun for a short duration induces a convective flow in the drying droplet, thereby leading to one-dimensional (1D) growth mode of TIPS-pentacene crystals. In contrast, after an appropriate spin-coating time, an optimum amount of the residual solvent in the film led to two-dimensional (2D) growth mode of TIPS-pentacene crystals. The 2D spherulites of TIPS-pentacene are extremely advantageous for improving the field-effect mobility of FETs compared to needle-like 1D structures, because of the high surface coverage of crystals with a unique continuous film structure. In addition, the porous structure observed in the 2D crystalline film allows gas molecules to easily penetrate into the channel region, thereby improving the gas sensing properties.
Rapid Quantitative Fluorescence Detection of Copper Ions with Disposable Microcapsule Arrays Utilizing Functional Nucleic Acid Strategy
Authors: He Enqi , Cai Liangyuan , Zheng Fengyi , Zhou Qianyu , Guo Dan , Zhou Yinglin , Zhang Xinxiang , Li Zhihong
Published: January 2019

In this work, an economical and easy-to-use microcapsule array fabricated by ice printing technique has been realized for ultrasensitive fluorescence quantification of copper ions employing functional nucleic acid strategy. With ice printing, the detection reagents are sealed by polystyrene (PS) film isolation and photopolymer, which guarantees a stable and contamination-free environment for functional nucleic acid reaction. Our microcapsule arrays have shown long-term stability (20 days) under −20 °C storage in frozen form before use. During the Cu2+ on-site detection, 1 μL sample is simply injected into the thawy microcapsule by a microliter syringe under room temperature, and after 20 minutes the fluorescence result can be obtained by an LED transilluminator. This method can realize the detection limit to 100 nM (100 fmol/μL) with high specificity.
Tactile stimulation reduces aggressiveness but does not lower stress in a territorial fish
Authors: Bolognesi Marcela Cesar , dos Santos Gauy Ana Carolina , Gonçalves-de-Freitas Eliane
Published: January 2019

Body tactile stimulation has a positive effect upon highly social animals, such as mammals and cleaner-client coral-reef fish, by relieving stress and improving health. Conversely, some tactile contacts are naturally detrimental, such as those resulted from aggressive interactions. To study whether positive responses from tactile stimulation are generalized among vertebrates, we tested its effect on stress response and aggressive behavior in a territorial fish species, Nile tilapia. We developed an apparatus made of a row of sticks bordered by silicone bristles that was positioned in the middle of the aquarium, and through which fish had to pass to access food, thus receiving tactile stimulation. Isolated fish experienced tactile stimulation for 7 days, and  were assigned to 2 types of stressors: non-social (confinement) or social (aggressive interaction). Each of them had a corresponding control treatment without tactile stimulation. Although fish spontaneously crossed the apparatus, we did not observe a decrease in plasma cortisol levels immediately after stressor application as a response to the use of the apparatus, either for social or non-social treatment. However, tactile stimulation reduced aggressive interaction in the social treatment, showing a positive effect on a territorial fish species, and pointing to a way to improve welfare.
Responses to soil pH gradients of inorganic phosphate solubilizing bacteria community
Authors: Zheng Bang-Xiao , Zhang Ding-Peng , Wang Yu , Hao Xiu-Li , Wadaan Mohammed A. M. , Hozzein Wael N. , Peñuelas Josep , Zhu Yong-Guan , Yang Xiao-Ru
Published: January 2019

Soil pH is commonly considered a dominant factor affecting the function of microbiota. Few studies, however, have focused on communities of bacteria able to solubilize inorganic phosphate (iPSB), which are important for the mobilization of soil phosphorus (P), because finding an effective method to assess the abundance and diversity of iPSB communities is difficult. We used a newly reported method of database alignment and quantified the gene pqqC to analyze the compositions of iPSB communities from five soils with pH gradients ranging from 4 to 8. The iPSB community structure differed significantly between these soil types. Among iPSB community, Bacillus was the dominant genus, followed by Arthrobacter and Streptomyces. A redundancy analysis indicated that soil pH was the most important of 15 soil factors and their pairwise interactions, accounting for 5.12% of the variance. The abundance of the iPSB communities increased with pH within the gradients which was confirmed by experimental adjustment of pH, suggesting that the defect P status in high pH soil was speculated as the driving force of iPSB community population. Our study demonstrated the dominant role of soil pH on the iPSB community, which may contribute to the understanding the possible mechanism of microbial P mobilization for better improvement of P use-efficiency.
Application of Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma on Tooth Extraction Site Prevents Occurence of Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws in Rats
Authors: Toro Luan Felipe , de Mello-Neto João Martins , Santos Fernanda Furuse Ventura dos , Ferreira Letícia Chaves , Statkievicz Cristian , Cintra Luciano Tavares Ângelo , Issa João Paulo Mardegan , Dornelles Rita Cássia Menegati , de Almeida Juliano Milanezi , Nagata Maria José Hitomi , Garcia Valdir Gouveia , Theodoro Leticia Helena , Casatti Cláudio Aparecido , Ervolino Edilson
Published: January 2019

This study evaluated the effects of local application of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the tooth extraction site of rats presenting the main risk factors for medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). For seven weeks, senile rats were submitted to systemic treatment with vehicle (VEH and VEH-PRP) or 100 μg/Kg of zoledronate (ZOL and ZOL-PRP) every three days. After three weeks, the first lower molar was extracted. VEH-PRP and ZOL-PRP received PRP at the tooth extraction site. Euthanasia was performed at 28 days postoperatively. Clinical, histopathological, histometric and immunohistochemical analyses were carried out in histological sections from the tooth extraction site. ZOL showed lower percentage of newly formed bone tissue (NFBT), higher percentage of non-vital bone tissue (NVBT), as well as higher immunolabeling for TNFα and IL-1β. In addition, ZOL presented lower immunolabeling for PCNA, VEGF, BMP2/4, OCN and TRAP. VEH and ZOL-PRP showed improvement in the tooth extraction site wound healing and comparable percentage of NFBT, VEGF, BMP2/4 and OCN. Local application of autologous PRP proved a viable preventive therapy, which is safe and effective to restore tissue repair capacity of the tooth extraction site and prevent the occurrence of MRONJ following tooth extraction.
Rhinella marina oocytes: a suitable alternative expression system for functional characterization of aquaglyceroporins
Authors: Rojas Vania , Ortiz Yulexi Y. , Rodríguez Sheridan , Araque Vladimir , Rodríguez-Acosta Alexis , Figarella Katherine , Uzcátegui Néstor L.
Published: January 2019

Amphibian oocytes have been extensively used for heterologous expression of membrane proteins for studying their biochemical and biophysical properties. So far, Xenopus laevis is the main amphibian used as oocytes source to express aquaglyceroporins in order to assess water and solutes permeability. However, this well-established amphibian model represents a threat to the biodiversity in many countries, especially in those from tropical regions. For that reason, the import of Xenopus laevis is subjected to strict control, which essentially has restricted its use in these regions. Therefore, a wider variety of expression systems for aquaglyceroporins is needed. Rhinella marina is extensively distributed in the Americas and its native range spreads from South America to Texas, US. Here we report the use of Rhinella marina oocytes as an alternative expression system for aquaglyceroporins and demonstrated its suitability to determine the permeability to water and non-ionic solutes. Rhinella marina oocytes were able to functionally express channels from human and the protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma brucei, two very distant organisms on the evolutionary scale. Permeability values obtained from Rhinella marina oocytes expressing members of aquaporin family were similar and comparable to those values reported in the literature for the same channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes.
Statistical models for meal-level estimation of mass and energy intake using features derived from video observation and a chewing sensor
Authors: Yang Xin , Doulah Abul , Farooq Muhammad , Parton Jason , McCrory Megan A. , Higgins Janine A. , Sazonov Edward
Published: January 2019

Accurate and objective assessment of energy intake remains an ongoing problem. We used features derived from annotated video observation and a chewing sensor to predict mass and energy intake during a meal without participant self-report. 30 participants each consumed 4 different meals in a laboratory setting and wore a chewing sensor while being videotaped. Subject-independent models were derived from bite, chew, and swallow features obtained from either video observation or information extracted from the chewing sensor. With multiple regression analysis, a forward selection procedure was used to choose the best model. The best estimates of meal mass and energy intake had (mean ± standard deviation) absolute percentage errors of 25.2% ± 18.9% and 30.1% ± 33.8%, respectively, and mean ± standard deviation estimation errors of −17.7 ± 226.9 g and −6.1 ± 273.8 kcal using features derived from both video observations and sensor data. Both video annotation and sensor-derived features may be utilized to objectively quantify energy intake.
Automatic Coronary Wall and Atherosclerotic Plaque Segmentation from 3D Coronary CT Angiography
Authors: Ghanem Ahmed M. , Hamimi Ahmed H. , Matta Jatin R. , Carass Aaron , Elgarf Reham M. , Gharib Ahmed M. , Abd-Elmoniem Khaled Z.
Published: January 2019

Coronary plaque burden measured by coronary computerized tomography angiography (CCTA), independent of stenosis, is a significant independent predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) events and mortality. Hence, it is essential to develop comprehensive CCTA plaque quantification beyond existing subjective plaque volume or stenosis scoring methods. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for automated 3D segmentation of CCTA vessel wall and quantification of atherosclerotic plaque, independent of the amount of stenosis, along with overcoming challenges caused by poor contrast, motion artifacts, severe stenosis, and degradation of image quality. Vesselness, region growing, and two sequential level sets are employed for segmenting the inner and outer wall to prevent artifact-defective segmentation. Lumen and vessel boundaries are joined to create the coronary wall. Curved multiplanar reformation is used to straighten the segmented lumen and wall using lumen centerline. In-vivo evaluation included CCTA stenotic and non-stenotic plaques from 41 asymptomatic subjects with 122 plaques of different characteristics against the individual and consensus of expert readers. Results demonstrate that the framework segmentation performed robustly by providing a reliable working platform for accelerated, objective, and reproducible atherosclerotic plaque characterization beyond subjective assessment of stenosis; can be potentially applicable for monitoring response to therapy.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence inhibitors discovered by Mycobacterium marinum high-throughput screening
Authors: Tükenmez Hasan , Edström Isabel , Ummanni Ramesh , Fick Stina Berglund , Sundin Charlotta , Elofsson Mikael , Larsson Christer
Published: January 2019

High-throughput screening facilities do not generally support biosafety level 3 organisms such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. To discover not only antibacterials, but also virulence inhibitors with either bacterial or host cell targets, an assay monitoring lung fibroblast survival upon infection was developed and optimized for 384-plate format and robotic liquid handling. By using Mycobacterium marinum as surrogate organism, 28,000 compounds were screened at biosafety level 2 classification, resulting in 49 primary hits. Exclusion of substances with unfavourable properties and known antimicrobials resulted in 11 validated hits of which 7 had virulence inhibiting properties and one had bactericidal effect also in wild type Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This strategy to discover virulence inhibitors using a model organism in high-throughput screening can be a valuable tool for other researchers working on drug discovery against tuberculosis and other biosafety level 3 infectious agents.