bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compressed hydrogen gas-induced synthesis of Au–Pt core–shell nanoparticle chains towards high-performance catalysts for Li–O2 batteries
Authors: Li Cheng Chao , Zhang Wenyu , Ang Huixiang , Yu Hong , Xia Bao Yu , Wang Xin , Yang Yan Hui , Zhao Yang , Hng Huey Hoon , Yan Qingyu
Published: May 2014

Herein we reported a green synthetic route for the preparation of Au–Pt core–shell nanoparticle chains in a two-step route without the use of any surfactants.
Low-cost and high energy density asymmetric supercapacitors based on polyaniline nanotubes and MoO3 nanobelts
Authors: Peng Hui , Ma Guofu , Mu Jingjing , Sun Kanjun , Lei Ziqiang
Published: May 2014

Asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) with high energy density are assembled based on the pseudocapacitance of both electrodes, which use polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes as positive electrodes and MoO3 nanobelts as negative electrodes in a 1 M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte.
Enhanced loading and controlled release of rhBMP-2 in thin mineralized collagen coatings with the aid of chitosan nanospheres and its biological evaluations
Authors: Kong Ziqiang , Lin Jun , Yu Mengfei , Yu Lan , Li Juan , Weng Wenjian , Cheng Kui , Wang Huiming
Published: May 2014

Osseointegration significantly accelerated by enhanced rhBMP-2 loading in thin mineralized collagen coatings with the aid of electrochemically injected chitosan nanospheres.
Tuning the electrical properties of exfoliated graphene layers using deep ultraviolet irradiation
Authors: Iqbal M. Z. , Khan M. F. , Iqbal M. W. , Eom Jonghwa
Published: May 2014

Deep ultraviolet irradiation tunes the electronic properties of mechanically exfoliated single-layer graphene, bilayer graphene, and trilayer graphene while maintaining their unique band structure and electrical properties.
Cues for Lexical Tone Perception in Children: Acoustic Correlates and Phonetic Context Effects
Authors: Tong Xiuli , McBride Catherine , Burnham Denis
Published: May 2014

Purpose

The authors investigated the effects of acoustic cues (i.e., pitch height, pitch contour, and pitch onset and offset) and phonetic context cues (i.e., syllable onsets and rimes) on lexical tone perception in Cantonese-speaking children.

Method

Eight minimum pairs of tonal contrasts were presented in either an identical phonetic context or in different phonetic contexts (different syllable onsets and rimes). Children were instructed to engage in tone identification and tone discrimination.

Results

Cantonese children attended to pitch onset in perceiving similarly contoured tones and attended to pitch contour in perceiving different-contoured tones. There was a decreasing level of tone discrimination accuracy, with tone perception being easiest for same rime–different syllable onset, more difficult for different rime–same syllable onset, and most difficult for different rime–different syllable onset phonetic contexts. This pattern was observed in tonal contrasts in which the member tones had the same contour but not in ones in which the member tones had different contours.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that in addition to pitch contour, the pitch onset is another important acoustic cue for tone perception. The relative importance of acoustic cues for tone perception is phonetically context dependent. These findings are discussed with reference to a newly modified TRACE model for tone languages (TTRACE).
20–40 GHz dual‐gate frequency doubler using 0.5 μm GaAs pHEMT technology
Authors: Li Yuan Chun , Huang Fan‐Hsiu , Xue Quan
Published: May 2014

A Ka‐band dual‐gate frequency doubler using 0.5 μm GaAs enhancement‐mode pHEMT process is presented. The cascode circuit is equalised to the dual‐gate frequency doubler and the relationship between bias and output matching is discussed to obtain the maximum output power and conversion efficiency. Since a pinch‐off gate‐to‐source bias is driven at the input gate node, the frequency doubler consumes little DC power when injecting a low‐power fundamental signal. Based on the analysis, the designed dual‐gate doubler has a 3 dB bandwidth of 5.6 GHz, from 36 to 41.6 GHz. The fundamental suppressions are better than 15 dB. The measured maximum conversion gain is −0.9 dB at an injected power of 7 dBm. A high saturation output power is 7 dBm with a conversion efficiency of 14.3%. The measured results confirm the validity of the proposed analysis method.
Fault detection of switched systems with repeated scalar non‐linearities
Authors: Zheng Zhong , Wu Ligang , Xiong Yongyang
Published: May 2014

This study is concerned with the generalised ℋ2 fault detection problem for a class of discrete‐time switched systems with repeated scalar non‐linearities. To reduce the overdesign of the quadratic framework, this study proposes a switching‐sequence‐dependent Lyapunov function approach to the fault detection filter design procedure. Sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of admissible generalised ℋ2 fault detection filter. Since these conditions involve matrix equalities, the cone complementarity linearisation procedure is employed to cast the non‐convex feasibility problem into a sequential minimisation problem subject to linear matrix inequalities, which can be readily solved by using the standard numerical software. If these conditions are feasible, a desired fault detection filter can be easily constructed. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed theory.
Solitary waves in a chain of repelling magnets
Authors: Molerón Miguel , Leonard Andrea , Daraio Chiara
Published: May 2014

We study experimentally, numerically, and theoretically the dynamics of a one dimensional array of repelling magnets. We demonstrate that such systems support solitary waves with a profile and propagation speed that depend on the amplitude. The system belongs to the kind of nonlinear lattices studied in [Friesecke and Matthies, Physica D 171, 211–220 (2002)] and exhibits a sech2 profile in the low energy regime and atomic scale localization in the high energy regime. Such systems may find potential applications in the design of novel devices for shock absorption, energy localization and focusing. Furthermore, due to the similarity of the magnetic potential with the potentials governing atomic forces, the system could be used for a better understanding of important problems in physics and chemistry.
A study of dynamic contact angles of shear-thickening power-law fluids
Authors: Wang Yu , Zhu Ke-Qin
Published: May 2014

We study the dynamic wetting of shear-thickening power-law fluids in a liquid-solid-gas contact system. In the previous model based on hydrodynamic analysis, microscopic effects near the contact line are neglected. In this work, we adopt two different physical models, slip boundary model and molecular force model, to incorporate microscopic effects and relieve the stress singularity at the moving contact line in hydrodynamics analysis. The two models, which are mathematically equivalent for Newtonian fluids, lead to different results on the dependence of the liquid's dynamic contact angle on its moving speed in both complete wetting and partial wetting cases. By comparing with experiments, we find that the slip boundary model matches the experiments better than the previous model and the molecular force model.
On the use of the double floating probe method to infer the difference between the electron and the heavy particles temperatures in an atmospheric pressure, vortex-stabilized nitrogen plasma jet
Authors: Prevosto L. , Kelly H. , Mancinelli B. R.
Published: May 2014

Sweeping double probe measurements in an atmospheric pressure direct current vortex-stabilized plasma jet are reported (plasma conditions: 100 A discharge current, N2 gas flow rate of 25 Nl/min, thoriated tungsten rod-type cathode, copper anode with 5 mm inner diameter). The interpretation of the double probe characteristic was based on a generalization of the standard double floating probe formulae for non-uniform plasmas coupled to a non-equilibrium plasma composition model. Perturbations caused by the current to the probe together with collisional and thermal processes inside the probe perturbed region were taken into account. Radial values of the average electron and heavy particle temperatures as well as the electron density were obtained. The calculation of the temperature values did not require any specific assumption about a temperature relationship between different particle species. An electron temperature of 10 900 ± 900 K, a heavy particle temperature of 9300 ± 900 K, and an electron density of about 3.5 × 1022 m−3 were found at the jet centre at 3.5 mm downstream from the torch exit. Large deviations from kinetic equilibrium were found toward the outer border of the plasma jet. These results showed good agreement with those previously reported by the authors by using a single probe technique. The calculations have shown that this method is particularly useful for studying spraying-type plasma torches operated at power levels of about 15 kW.
Yttria-stabilized zirconia buffered silicon to optimize in-plane electrical conductivity of [Ca2CoO3]0.62[CoO2] thin films
Authors: Kraus T. , Griesser A. , Klein O. , Fischer M. , Schreck M. , Karl H.
Published: May 2014

The monolithic integration of thermoelectric generators and magnetoresistive functionality on the basis of misfit cobaltate [Ca2CoO3]0.62[CoO2] thin films into silicon technology is a prerequisite for their application in miniaturized electric circuits. Here, we report on [Ca2CoO3]0.62[CoO2] thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on (001)-silicon with a thin epitaxial yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer layer. X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis reveal that high quality c-axis oriented heteroepitaxial [Ca2CoO3]0.62[CoO2] films with a 12-fold in-plane rotational symmetry can be grown, which exhibit remarkable lower electrical resistivity compared to those with random in-plane orientation. This result is explained by energetically preferred epitaxial growth directions of the pseudo hexagonal [CoO2] sublayer in monoclinic [Ca2CoO3]0.62[CoO2] onto the cubic (001)-YSZ surface leading to a highly symmetric in-plane mutual orientation of the charge transporting CoO2 sublayer domains.
Characteristics of magnetic island formation due to resistive interchange instability in helical plasma
Authors: Ueda R. , Watanabe K. Y. , Matsumoto Y. , Itagaki M. , Sato M. , Oikawa S.
Published: May 2014

Focusing attention on the magnetic island formation, we investigate the characteristics of the resistive interchange magnetohydrodynamics instabilities, which would limit a high beta operational regime in helical type fusion reactors. An introduction of a new index, i.e., the ratio of the magnetic fluctuation level to the radial displacement, enables us to make a systematic analysis on the magnetic island formation in the large helical device-like plasmas during the linear growth phase; (i) the interchange instability with the second largest growth rate makes the magnetic island larger than that with the largest growth rate when the amplitude of the radial displacement in both cases is almost the same as each other; (ii) applied to a typical tearing instability, the index is smaller than that for the interchange instability with the second largest growth rate.
Near-infrared photoactive Cu3BiS3 thin films by co-evaporation
Authors: Murali Banavoth , Madhuri M. , Krupanidhi S. B.
Published: May 2014

Semiconducting Cu3BiS3 (CBS) thin films were deposited by co-evaporation of Cu, Bi elemental metallic precursors, with in situ sulphurisation, using a quartz effusion cell. Cu3BiS3 thin films were structurally characterized by XRD and FE-SEM. The chemical bonding of the ions was examined by XPS. As deposited films were demonstrated for metal–semiconductor–metal near IR photodectection under lamp and laser illuminations. The photo current amplified to three orders and two orders of magnitude upon the IR lamp and 60 m W cm−2 1064 nm IR laser illuminations, respectively. Larger grains, made up of nano needle bunches aided the transport of carriers. Transport properties were explained based on the trap assisted space charge conduction mechanism. Steady state detector parameters like responsivity varied from 1.04 AW−1 at 60 m Wcm−2 to 0.22 AW−1 at 20 m Wcm−2. Detector sensitivity of 295 was found to be promising and further could be tuned for better responsivity and efficiency in utilization of near infra-red photodetector.
Unique dielectric tunability of Ag(Nb1−xTax)O3 (x = 0–0.5) ceramics with ferrielectric polar order
Authors: Li Lei , Spreitzer Matjaž , Suvorov Danilo
Published: May 2014

The dielectric tunability and hysteresis loops of Ag(Nb1−xTax)O3 (x = 0–0.5) ceramics were characterized at room temperature with various bias electric fields to determine the polar order. When the maximum bias electric field is 75–125 kV/cm, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss first decrease and then rise with increasing the bias electric field for x = 0 (AgNbO3). The unique response was analyzed and addressed to a mixed response of ferroelectricity (FE)-like and antiferroelectricity (AFE)-like tunable properties, and is explained by the ferrielectricity (FIE) of AgNbO3. Similar dielectric tunability was also observed for x = 0.2 and 0.35, while the dielectric constant and dielectric loss increase monotonously with bias electric field for x = 0.5, indicating the transition in polar order from FIE to AFE for Ag(Nb1−xTax)O3 ceramics with increasing Ta content. The results are consistent with the M1 (Pmc21)-M2 (Pbcm) phase transition at x = 0.4. In comparison, AFE-like double hysteresis loops could not be observed with the applied electric field up to 125 kV/cm, which proved that the tunability measurement is a much more sensitive tool for determining the polar order compared to hysteresis loop measurement.
A novel on-chip three-dimensional micromachined calorimeter with fully enclosed and suspended thin-film chamber for thermal characterization of liquid samples
Authors: Davaji Benyamin , Jeong Bak Hye , Chang Woo-Jin , Hoon Lee Chung
Published: May 2014

A microfabricated calorimeter (μ-calorimeter) with an enclosed reaction chamber is presented. The 3D micromachined reaction chamber is capable of analyzing liquid samples with volume of 200 nl. The thin film low-stress silicon nitride membrane is used to reduce thermal mass of the calorimeter and increase the sensitivity of system. The μ-calorimeter has been designed to perform DC and AC calorimetry, thermal wave analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The μ-calorimeter fabricated with an integrated heater and a temperature sensor on opposite sides of the reaction chamber allows to perform thermal diffusivity and specific heat measurements on liquid samples with same device. Measurement results for diffusivity and heat capacitance using time delay method and thermal wave analysis are presented.
Annealing effects of Au nanoparticles on the surface-plasmon enhanced p-Si/n-ZnO nanorods heterojunction photodetectors
Authors: Hwang J. D. , Wang F. H. , Kung C. Y. , Lai M. J. , Chan M. C.
Published: May 2014

The effects of various annealing temperatures (350–550 °C) of Au nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface-plasmon enhanced p-Si/n-ZnO nanorods (NRs) heterojunction photodetectors (HPDs) have been investigated. The photoresponse of the surface-plasmon-mediated HPDs was found to be determined by the extinction band of the Au NPs, the defects of ZnO NRs, and the Schottky-barrier height (SBH) between the Au and ZnO interface. The higher annealing temperature (550 °C) causes more defects in ZnO NRs and lowers the ultraviolet (UV) response of the fabricated p-Si/n-ZnO NRs HPDs. The higher annealing temperature also renders a rougher surface in the Au NPs, thereby leading to destructive interference and hence the narrowest extinction band. In contrast, the modest temperature (450 °C) results in fewer defects in ZnO NRs, the widest extinction band in Au NPs, and the lowest SBH at the Au/ZnO interface. Such a result enhances the UV-to-visible rejection ratio from 439.6 to 6447 as compared to the HPDs without Au NPs. A band diagram considering the above investigations is illustrated to elucidate the surface plasmon resonance effects on enhancing the UV response.
Direct asymmetry measurement of temperature and density spatial distributions in inertial confinement fusion plasmas from pinhole space-resolved spectra
Authors: Nagayama T. , Mancini R. C. , Florido R. , Mayes D. , Tommasini R. , Koch J. A. , Delettrez J. A. , Regan S. P. , Smalyuk V. A.
Published: May 2014

Two-dimensional space-resolved temperature and density images of an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosion core have been diagnosed for the first time. Argon-doped, direct-drive ICF experiments were performed at the Omega Laser Facility and a collection of two-dimensional space-resolved spectra were obtained from an array of gated, spectrally resolved pinhole images recorded by a multi-monochromatic x-ray imager. Detailed spectral analysis revealed asymmetries of the core not just in shape and size but in the temperature and density spatial distributions, thus characterizing the core with an unprecedented level of detail.
Electron lone pair distortion facilitated metal-insulator transition in β-Pb0.33V2O5 nanowires
Authors: Wangoh L. , Marley P. M. , Quackenbush N. F. , Sallis S. , Fischer D. A. , Woicik J. C. , Banerjee S. , Piper L. F. J.
Published: May 2014

The electronic structure of β-Pb0.33V2O5 nanowires has been studied with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The recent synthesis of defect-free β-Pb0.33V2O5 nanowires resulted in the discovery of an abrupt voltage-induced metal insulator transition. First principle calculations predicted an additional V-O-Pb hybridized “in-gap” state unique to this vanadium bronze playing a significant role in facilitating the transition. We confirm the existence, energetic position, and orbital character of the “in-gap” state. Moreover, we reveal that this state is a hybridized Pb 6s–O 2p antibonding lone pair state resulting from the asymmetric coordination of the Pb2+ ions.
Fast growth of ultrananocrystalline diamond films by bias-enhanced nucleation and growth process in CH4/Ar plasma
Authors: Saravanan A. , Huang B. R. , Sankaran K. J. , Dong C. L. , Tai N. H. , Lin I. N.
Published: May 2014

This letter describes the fast growth of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films by bias-enhanced nucleation and growth process in CH4/Ar plasma. The UNCD grains were formed at the beginning of the film's growth without the necessity of forming the amorphous carbon interlayer, reaching a thickness of ∼380 nm in 10 min. Transmission electron microscopic investigations revealed that the application of bias voltage induced the formation of graphitic phase both in the interior and at the interface regions of UNCD films that formed interconnected paths, facilitating the transport of electrons and resulting in enhanced electron field emission properties.
Carrier-selective contacts for Si solar cells
Authors: Feldmann F. , Simon M. , Bivour M. , Reichel C. , Hermle M. , Glunz S. W.
Published: May 2014

Carrier-selective contacts (i.e., minority carrier mirrors) are one of the last remaining obstacles to approaching the theoretical efficiency limit of silicon solar cells. In the 1980s, it was already demonstrated that n-type polysilicon and semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon emitters form carrier-selective emitters which enabled open-circuit voltages (Voc) of up to 720 mV. Albeit promising, to date a polysilicon emitter solar cell having a high fill factor (FF) has not been demonstrated yet. In this work, we report a polysilicon emitter related solar cell achieving both a high Voc = 694 mV and FF = 81%. The passivation mechanism of these so-called tunnel oxide passivated contacts will be outlined and the impact of TCO (transparent conductive oxide) deposition on the injection-dependent lifetime characteristic of the emitter as well as its implications on FF will be discussed. Finally, possible transport paths across the tunnel oxide barrier will be discussed and it will be shown that the passivating oxide layer does not lead to a relevant resistive loss and thus does not limit the solar cell's carrier transport. Contrary to amorphous silicon-based heterojunction solar cells, this structure also shows a good thermal stability and, thus, could be a very appealing option for next generation high-efficiency silicon solar cells.
A normal metal tunnel-junction heat diode
Authors: Fornieri Antonio , Martínez-Pérez María José , Giazotto Francesco
Published: May 2014

We propose a low-temperature thermal rectifier consisting of a chain of three tunnel-coupled normal metal electrodes. We show that a large heat rectification is achievable if the thermal symmetry of the structure is broken and the central island can release energy to the phonon bath. The performance of the device is theoretically analyzed and, under the appropriate conditions, temperature differences up to ∼200 mK between the forward and reverse thermal bias configurations are obtained below 1 K, corresponding to a rectification ratio R∼2000. The simplicity intrinsic to its design joined with the insensitivity to magnetic fields make our device potentially attractive as a fundamental building block in solid-state thermal nanocircuits and in general-purpose cryogenic electronic applications requiring energy management.
Red-shift of vanadate band-gap by cation substitution for application in phosphor-converted white light-emitting diodes
Authors: Wei XianTao , Wen Jun , Li Shuo , Huang Shan , Cheng Jun , Chen YongHu , Duan ChangKui , Yin Min
Published: May 2014

Eu3+ doped YVO4 is excellent traditional red phosphor, but shifting its efficient excitation band to a longer wavelength is necessary for application in white light-emitting diodes, and is a big challenge that calls for good solution. Following the observation that cation substitution usually is an effective way to manipulate the band-gap of phosphors, we carried out ab initio calculation for the band-gap of pure and Bi3+ doped LnVO4 (Ln = Y, Lu, and Sc). The results show that the band-gap decreases with the cationic radius from Y3+ to Sc3+, and the doping of Bi3+ further decreases their band-gaps. The experimental results on the Eu3+ doped and Eu3+, Bi3+ co-doped LnVO4 (Ln = Y, Lu, and Sc) phosphors confirm this. In particular, the excitation of Eu3+ and Bi3+ co-doped ScVO4 is shifted to approach 400 nm, which fulfills the excitation requirement of near-ultraviolet-based white light-emitting diodes, and implies that Eu3+ and Bi3+ co-doped ScVO4 should be a promising candidate as red phosphor in white light-emitting diodes.
Silicon buried gratings for dielectric laser electron accelerators
Authors: Chang Chia-Ming , Solgaard Olav
Published: May 2014

This paper describes design and simulations of dielectric laser electron accelerators that achieve Gigavolt-per-meter (GV/m) accelerating gradients and wide electron channels (>1 μm). The accelerator design is based on a silicon buried grating structure that enables flexible phase synchronization, large electron channel fields, and low standing-wave ratio in the material. This design increases the accelerating gradients to more than double those of reported quartz grating accelerators, thereby reducing the input laser fluence by 60% for the same accelerating gradient. With a 100 fs pulsed laser, our silicon buried gratings can achieve a maximum gradient of 1.1 GV/m, indicating that these accelerators have potential for numerous electron-accelerator applications.
Enhancement of conduction noise absorption by hybrid absorbers composed of indium-tin-oxide thin film and magnetic composite sheet on a microstrip line
Authors: Kim Sun-Hong , Kim Sung-Soo
Published: May 2014

In order to develop wide-band noise absorbers with a focused design for low frequency performance, this study investigates hybrid absorbers that are composed of conductive indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin film and magnetic composite sheets. The ITO films prepared via reactive sputtering exhibit a typical value of electrical resistivity of ≃10−4 Ω m. Rubber composites with flaky Fe-Si-Al particles are used as the magnetic sheet with a high permeability and high permittivity. For the ITO film with a low surface resistance and covered by the magnetic sheet, approximately 90% power absorption can be obtained at 1 GHz, which is significantly higher than that of the original magnetic sheet or ITO film. The high power absorption of the hybrid absorber is attributed to the enhanced ohmic loss of the ITO film through increased electric field strength bounded by the upper magnetic composite sheet. However, for the reverse layering sequence of the ITO film, the electric field experienced by ITO film is very weak due to the electromagnetic shielding by the under layer of magnetic sheet, which does not result in enhanced power absorption.
Evidence of a Love wave bandgap in a quartz substrate coated with a phononic thin layer
Authors: Liu Ting-Wei , Lin Yu-Ching , Tsai Yao-Chuan , Ono Takahito , Tanaka Shuji , Wu Tsung-Tsong
Published: May 2014

This paper presents a numerical and experimental study of Love wave propagation in a micro-fabricated phononic crystal (PC) structure consisting of a 2D, periodically etched silica film deposited on a quartz substrate. The dispersion characteristics of Love waves in such a phononic structure were analyzed with various geometric parameters by using complex band structure calculations. For the experiment, we adopted reactive-ion etching with electron-beam lithography to fabricate a submicrometer phononic structure. The measured results exhibited consistency with the numerical prediction. The results of this study may serve as a basis for developing PC-based Love wave devices.
Low-temperature electrical transport in B-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond film
Authors: Li Lin , Zhao Jing , Hu Zhaosheng , Quan Baogang , Li Junjie , Gu Changzhi
Published: May 2014

B-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films are grown using hot-filament chemical vapor deposition method, and their electrical transport properties varying with temperature are investigated. When the B-doped concentration of UNCD film is low, a step-like increase feature of the resistance is observed with decreasing temperature, reflecting at least three temperature-modified electronic state densities at the Fermi level according to three-dimensional Mott's variable range hopping transport mechanism, which is very different from that of reported B-doped nanodiamond. With increasing B-doped concentration, a superconductive transformation occurs in the UNCD film and the highest transformation temperature of 5.3 K is observed, which is higher than that reported for superconducting nanodiamond films. In addition, the superconducting coherence length is about 0.63 nm, which breaks a reported theoretical and experimental prediction about ultra-nanoscale diamond's superconductivity.
Genetic variants of
Adam17
differentially regulate TGFβ signaling to modify vascular pathology in mice and humans
Authors: Kawasaki Kyoko , Freimuth Julia , Meyer Dominique S. , Lee Marie M. , Tochimoto-Okamoto Akiko , Benzinou Michael , Clermont Frederic F. , Wu Gloria , Roy Ritu , Letteboer Tom G. W. , Ploos van Amstel Johannes Kristian , Giraud Sophie , Dupuis-Girod Sophie , Lesca Gaeten , Westermann Cornelius J. J. , Coffey Robert J. , Akhurst Rosemary J.
Published: May 2014

Significance

Down-regulation of TGFβ signaling is a therapeutic strategy for several disease applications, particularly cancer and fibrosis. However, TGFβ blockade may have adverse effects because TGFβ signaling is necessary for formation and maintenance of normal blood vessels. Because side effects may vary between individuals due to innate differences in genetic makeup, it is important to find which interindividual genetic variants regulate responses to reduced TGFβ signaling and how these operate at the molecular level. Here we identified polymorphic variants of mouse a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 that differentially regulate TGFβ signaling output and influence the severity of
Tgfb1-
dependent vascular pathology. This has relevance to risk assessment for clinical manifestations in TGFβ-driven diseases, as well as for prediction of desirable and undesirable responses to anti-TGFβ therapy.
Performance-optimized hierarchical models predict neural responses in higher visual cortex
Authors: Yamins Daniel L. K. , Hong Ha , Cadieu Charles F. , Solomon Ethan A. , Seibert Darren , DiCarlo James J.
Published: May 2014

Significance

Humans and monkeys easily recognize objects in scenes. This ability is known to be supported by a network of hierarchically interconnected brain areas. However, understanding neurons in higher levels of this hierarchy has long remained a major challenge in visual systems neuroscience. We use computational techniques to identify a neural network model that matches human performance on challenging object categorization tasks. Although not explicitly constrained to match neural data, this model turns out to be highly predictive of neural responses in both the V4 and inferior temporal cortex, the top two layers of the ventral visual hierarchy. In addition to yielding greatly improved models of visual cortex, these results suggest that a process of biological performance optimization directly shaped neural mechanisms.
Sexual network partners in Tanzania
Authors: Harman Jennifer , Kaufman Michelle R. , Aoki Eric , Trott Carlie D.
Published: May 2014

This qualitative analysis of transcripts from focus groups with men and women in Tanzania explores how patriarchal power is reflected in labels used to describe individuals who engage (or not) in multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships. Label research and muted group theory provide theoretical frames to assess how sexual network-related labels are used by women and men. The use of power-embedded labels was found to show women’s identities and agency as muted while maintaining gender inequality through language. Ramifications for sexual health interventions developed in contexts undergoing economic development, increasing egalitarianism, and social modernization are discussed.
Unveiling the phantom of the "Islamic takeover"
Authors: Langlotz Andreas , Klapproth Muazzin Danièle
Published: May 2014

This paper examines the linguistic and pictorial representation of Muslims and Islam in a Swiss right-wing populist party’s campaign for a federal minaret ban. Using a methodology that combines Conceptual Metaphor Theory with Critical Discourse Analysis we explore two interacting levels of the discourse under examination. Firstly, we show that the discourse is centrally informed by the metaphorical Idealized Cognitive Model of an islamic takeover, with its two metaphorical subframes of conquest and organic growth. Secondly, we describe the discursive strategies – such as categorization, indexing, semantic reframing, the exploitation of intertextual links – used to (re)activate and perpetuate this cognitive model.
We and I, and you and them
Authors: Fetzer Anita
Published: May 2014

This chapter examines the referential domain, communicative function and perlocutionary effect of the personal plural pronouns I and we, and you and them in political discourse, considering in particular their role in doing dominance and doing collectivity. Its methodological framework is an integrated one, combining more recent developments of Searlean speech act theory with interactional sociolinguistics, in particular co-occurrence and conversational inference. The paper is organized as follows: the introduction sets the scene, and the second section presents the contextual constraints and requirements of political discourse. The third section investigates the form and function of personal pronouns in English, considering in particular their role in the expression of individuality and collectivity, and dominance and solidarity. The fourth section presents a micro-analysis, distinguishing between local contexts in which collectivity and individuality, and dominance and solidarity are entextualized and others where the referential domains of the personal pronouns are left underspecified. A conclusion summarizes the results obtained arguing for a cognitive prototype-based scalar conception of individuality and collectivity, and dominance and solidarity, which are fore- and backgrounded in interaction.
Purification and cDNA cloning of a lectin and a lectin-like protein from Apios americana Medikus tubers
Authors: Kouzuma Yoshiaki , Irie Satoshi , Yamazaki Rikiya , Yonekura Masami
Published: May 2014

An Apios americana lectin (AAL) and a lectin-like protein (AALP) were purified from tubers by chromatography on Butyl-Cellulofine, ovomucoid-Cellulofine, and DEAE-Cellulofine columns. AAL showed strong hemagglutinating activity toward chicken and goose erythrocytes, but AALP showed no such activity toward any of the erythrocytes tested. The hemagglutinating activity of AAL was not inhibited by mono- or disaccharides, but was inhibited by glycoproteins, such as asialofetuin and ovomucoid, suggesting that AAL is an oligosaccharide-specific lectin. The cDNAs of AAL and AALP consist of 1,093 and 1,104 nucleotides and encode proteins of 302 and 274 amino acid residues, respectively. Both amino acid sequences showed high similarity to known legume lectins, and those of their amino acids involved in carbohydrate and metal binding were conserved.
Live-cell imaging of HP1α throughout the cell cycle of mouse C3H10T1/2 cells and rhythmical flickering of heterochromatin dots in interphase
Authors: Nakagawa Chika , Kawakita Ai , Fukada Takashi , Sugimoto Kenji
Published: May 2014

Heterochromatin protein 1 alpha (HP1α) localizes to heterochromatin in interphase and shows dynamic molecular behavior in living cells. We previously reported that during mitosis, the majority of HP1α diffused into the cytoplasm but some remained in centromere heterochromatin. Here, we further characterize the molecular behavior of HP1α throughout the cell cycle. Time-lapse imaging of DsRed-HP1α through two successive cell divisions indicated that interphase can be divided into four phases. HP1α forms heterochromatin dots in early G1, which are maintained without any apparent changes (Phase 1). However, the HP1α dots begin to diffuse into the nucleoplasm and start flickering with a rhythmical cycle (Phase 2). Then, the HP1α dots diffuse further towards the periphery of the nucleus (Phase 3), and uniformly diffuse throughout the entire nucleus (Phase 4). Rhythmical flickering of HP1α dots in the middle of interphase may be useful for following cell cycle progression in mouse living cells.
Forced expression of FLO11 confers pellicle-forming ability and furfural tolerance on Saccharomyces cerevisiae in ethanol production
Authors: Nakagawa Youji , Hasebe Toru , Ishiai Miyuki , Yamamura Hideki , Iimura Yuzuru , Hayakawa Masayuki
Published: May 2014

We constructed a plasmid that expresses FLO11 encoding a cell surface glycoprotein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under the control of a constitutive promoter. This plasmid conferred pellicle-forming ability on the non-pellicle-forming industrial strain of S. cerevisiae at the air–liquid interface of the glucose-containing liquid medium. The induced pellicle-forming cells exhibited tolerance to furfural, which is a key toxin in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, in ethanol production.
Evidence of positive selection at signal peptide region of interferon gamma
Authors: Wang Zhengshi , Zhong Ming , Fu Maobin , Dou Tonghai , Bian Zhengqian
Published: May 2014

Interferon gamma (IFNG) is a major cytokine and plays crucial roles in pathogen clearance. About the course of evolution of IFNG, it has been reported that IFNG is being subjected to adaptive selection, which is proved at the level of gene. Neighbor-joining method was used to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree of all IFNG protein-coding sequences. The pair-wise computation of Ka/Ks between every exon homologs, branch-specific model, and site-specific model of the likelihood method were performed to detect positive selection of IFNG. We reported, for the first time, that the signal peptide region of IFNG is under significant positive selection, evolving faster than other parts. We provide evidence at the level of individual exon and individual amino acid site that IFNG is under adaptive evolution, which establishes the basis for further researches about IFNG.
Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Practices among Adult Infectious Disease Physicians
Authors: Lane Michael A. , Marschall Jonas , Beekmann Susan E. , Polgreen Philip M. , Banerjee Ritu , Hersh Adam L. , Babcock Hilary M.
Published: May 2014

Objective

To identify current outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy practice patterns and complications.

Methods

We administered an 11-question survey to adult infectious disease physicians participating in the Emerging Infections Network (EIN), a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–sponsored sentinel event surveillance network in North America. The survey was distributed electronically or via facsimile in November and December 2012. Respondent demographic characteristics were obtained from EIN enrollment data.

Results

Overall, 555 (44.6%) of EIN members responded to the survey, with 450 (81%) indicating that they treated 1 or more patients with outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) during an average month. Infectious diseases consultation was reported to be required for a patient to be discharged with OPAT by 99 respondents (22%). Inpatient (282 [63%] of 449) and outpatient (232 [52%] of 449) infectious diseases physicians were frequently identified as being responsible for monitoring laboratory results. Only 26% (118 of 448) had dedicated OPAT teams at their clinical site. Few infectious diseases physicians have systems to track errors, adverse events, or “near misses” associated with OPAT (97 [22%] of 449). OPAT-associated complications were perceived to be rare. Among respondents, 80% reported line occlusion or clotting as the most common complication (occurring in 6% of patients or more), followed by nephrotoxicity and rash (each reported by 61%). Weekly laboratory monitoring of patients who received vancomycin was reported by 77% of respondents (343 of 445), whereas 19% of respondents (84 of 445) reported twice weekly laboratory monitoring for these patients.

Conclusions

Although use of OPAT is common, there is significant variation in practice patterns. More uniform OPAT practices may enhance patient safety.
A relation between embedding degrees and class numbers of binary quadratic forms
Authors: Ling San , Ozdemir Enver , Xing Chaoping
Published: May 2014

In this paper, we describe a relation between the embedding degree of an elliptic curve over a prime field

F

p

\mathbb {F}_p

and the inertial degree of the primes above

p
p

in a certain ring class field. From this relation, we conclude that the embedding degree divides the class number of a group of binary quadratic forms of a fixed discriminant.
GEPdb: a database for investigating the ternary association of genotype, gene expression and phenotype
Authors: Ryu Daeun , Cho SeongBeom , Kim Hun , Lee Sanghyuk , Kim Wankyu
Published: May 2014

Summary: GEPdb integrates both genome-wide association studies and expression quantitative trait loci information, the two primary sources of genome-wide mapping for genotype–phenotype and genotype–expression associations together with phenotype-associated gene lists. The GEPdb provides simultaneous interpretation of both genetic risks and potential gene regulatory pathways toward phenotypic outcome by establishing the ternary relationship of genotype–expression–phenotype (GEP). The analytic scope is further extended by linkage disequilibrium from five different populations of the international HapMap Project.

Availability and implementation:  http://ercsbweb.ewha.ac.kr/gepdb.

Contact:  wkim@ewha.ac.kr
Probabilistic partitioning methods to find significant patterns in ChIP-Seq data
Authors: Nair Nishanth Ulhas , Kumar Sunil , Moret Bernard M.E. , Bucher Philipp
Published: May 2014

Motivation: We have witnessed an enormous increase in ChIP-Seq data for histone modifications in the past few years. Discovering significant patterns in these data is an important problem for understanding biological mechanisms.

Results: We propose probabilistic partitioning methods to discover significant patterns in ChIP-Seq data. Our methods take into account signal magnitude, shape, strand orientation and shifts. We compare our methods with some current methods and demonstrate significant improvements, especially with sparse data. Besides pattern discovery and classification, probabilistic partitioning can serve other purposes in ChIP-Seq data analysis. Specifically, we exemplify its merits in the context of peak finding and partitioning of nucleosome positioning patterns in human promoters.

Availability and implementation: The software and code are available in the supplementary material.

Contact:  Philipp.Bucher@isb-sib.ch

Supplementary information:  Supplementary Data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Inferring the paths of somatic evolution in cancer
Authors: Misra Navodit , Szczurek Ewa , Vingron Martin
Published: May 2014

Motivation: Cancer cell genomes acquire several genetic alterations during somatic evolution from a normal cell type. The relative order in which these mutations accumulate and contribute to cell fitness is affected by epistatic interactions. Inferring their evolutionary history is challenging because of the large number of mutations acquired by cancer cells as well as the presence of unknown epistatic interactions.

Results: We developed Bayesian Mutation Landscape (BML), a probabilistic approach for reconstructing ancestral genotypes from tumor samples for much larger sets of genes than previously feasible. BML infers the likely sequence of mutation accumulation for any set of genes that is recurrently mutated in tumor samples. When applied to tumor samples from colorectal, glioblastoma, lung and ovarian cancer patients, BML identifies the diverse evolutionary scenarios involved in tumor initiation and progression in greater detail, but broadly in agreement with prior results.

Availability and implementation: Source code and all datasets are freely available at bml.molgen.mpg.de

Contact:  misra@molgen.mpg.de

Supplementary information:  Supplementary Data are available at Bioinformatics online.
On shrinkage and model extrapolation in the evaluation of clinical center performance
Authors: Varewyck Machteld , Goetghebeur Els , Eriksson Marie , Vansteelandt Stijn
Published: May 2014

We consider statistical methods for benchmarking clinical centers based on a dichotomous outcome indicator. Borrowing ideas from the causal inference literature, we aim to reveal how the entire study population would have fared under the current care level of each center. To this end, we evaluate direct standardization based on fixed versus random center effects outcome models that incorporate patient-specific baseline covariates to adjust for differential case-mix. We explore fixed effects (FE) regression with Firth correction and normal mixed effects (ME) regression to maintain convergence in the presence of very small centers. Moreover, we study doubly robust FE regression to avoid outcome model extrapolation. Simulation studies show that shrinkage following standard ME modeling can result in substantial power loss relative to the considered alternatives, especially for small centers. Results are consistent with findings in the analysis of 30-day mortality risk following acute stroke across 90 centers in the Swedish Stroke Register.
The M Yarn: Price and Social Imagination in Early Industrial Britain
Authors: Custer Paul Anthony
Published: May 2014

This essay explores market talk in early nineteenth-century Britain through a close reading of the correspondence of the cotton-spinning firm McConnel & Kennedy of Manchester between 1798 and 1813. I argue that two distinct “narratives” of price and value emerge from these letters, and that the cleave between them pointed both to a deep anxiety about the market, and to a clear and clever bargaining strategy. McConnel & Kennedy clung stubbornly to a definition of “value” that they understood to be fictive, in order to avoid frank surrender to what they saw as cannibalistic price-competition. Rhetoric was, then, no small thing to them. They conceived supply and value as being inversely related, and this idea, I argue, was implicit also in wider contemporary anxieties about the relationship between proliferation and meaning.
Paracoccus
sediminis sp. nov., isolated from Pacific Ocean marine sediment
Authors: Pan Jie , Sun Cong , Zhang Xin-Qi , Huo Ying-Yi , Zhu Xu-Fen , Wu Min
Published: May 2014

Strain CMB17T was a short rod-shaped bacterium isolated from marine sediment of the Pacific Ocean. Cells were Gram-stain-negative and non-motile. Optimal growth occurred at 25–30 °C, pH 6.5–7 and 0.5–1 % (w/v) NaCl. The major fatty acid was C18 : 1ω7c (87.59 %), and ubiquinone-10 was detected as the only isoprenoid quinone. The DNA G+C content of the genomic DNA was 62.2 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain CMB17T is most closely related to

Paracoccus stylophorae

KTW-16T (96.7 %),

P. solventivorans

DSM 6637T (96.4 %) and

P. saliphilus

YIM 90738T (96.4 %). Based on phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain CMB17T is proposed to represent a novel species, denominated Paracoccus
sediminis sp. nov. (type strain CMB17T = JCM 18467T = DSM 26170T = CGMCC 1.12681T).
Roseivivax
marinus sp. nov., isolated from deep water
Authors: Dai Xiaofeng , Shi Xiaochong , Gao Xin , Liu Jingli , Zhang Xiao-Hua
Published: May 2014

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile, cream, long rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain ZL136T, was isolated from deep water of the South China Sea. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that this strain belonged to the genus
Roseivivax
with highest sequence similarity to

Roseivivax halodurans

OCh 239T (97.0 %), followed by

Roseivivax isoporae

sw-2T (96.9 %). Growth occurred at 4–37 °C (optimum 32 °C), pH 6.0–10.0 (optimum 8.0) and in the presence of 0–12 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 3–4 %) in marine broth 2216. Strain ZL136T did not produce bacteriochlorophyll a. The predominant fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c, C18 : 0, C16 : 0 and 11-methyl C18 : 1ω7c. The major polar lipids of ZL136T were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified lipid. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-10. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain ZL136T was 67.0 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analysis, strain ZL136T was classified as a representative of a novel species in the genus of

Roseivivax

, for which the name Roseivivax marinus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ZL136T ( = JCM 19386T = KCTC 32470T).