bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Discussion of Alexander Cooley and Jack Snyder's Ranking the World: Grading States as a Tool for Global Governance
Authors: Norris Pippa
Published: March 2017

Ranking the World: Grading States as a Tool of Global Governance, edited by Alexander Cooley and Jack Snyder, assembles an impressive group of political scientists to critically discuss “the important analytical, normative, and policy issues associated with the contemporary practice of ‘grading states.’” The volume addresses a topic of importance to a wide range of political scientists in comparative politics, international relations, and political theory, and raises some fundamental questions about the role of political science at the nexus of theory and practice. We have thus invited a number of colleagues to discuss the volume and its broader implications for political science inquiry.
Identifying health system value dimensions: more than health gain?
Authors: Costa-Font Joan , Sato Azusa , Rovira Forns Joan
Published: March 2017

Publicly funded health system reforms increasingly require the evaluation of competing programmes. However, programmes are made of multi-dimensional attributes of value (where value refers to latent expectations of health system improvement). This paper identifies the design, implementation and validation of a methodology to elicit health system values to guide health care priority setting. The exercise suggests that the proposed methodology is suitable for eliciting and validating health system values, and its findings show that pursuing health gain alone does not fully capture the dimensions of health system value. More specifically, we identify a list of health system values (elicited by both potential and actual users) and classify them in terms of process-related values (e.g., shorter waiting lists, greater choice, etc.) and improvements in health system equity in addition to value derived from health gain.
Effect of Pyroxasulfone Application Timing and Rate on Soybean
Authors: Stephenson Daniel O. , Blouin David C. , Griffin James L. , Landry Randall L. , Woolam Brandi C. , Hardwick John M.
Published: March 2017

Weed-free field experiments were conducted to evaluate soybean injury, growth, and yield following PRE or POST pyroxasulfone application. Soybean was injured 1 and 15% following pyroxasulfone PRE and POST application, respectively, 7 d after treatment (DAT). Injury following PRE and POST application was observed as delayed emergence and leaf necrosis and crinkling, respectively. Injury ranged from 0 to 6% following both application timings 14 and 28 DAT. Soybean was injured 5% or less following 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 g ha−1 of pyroxasulfone. Soybean plant population, height, and yield were not affected by pyroxasulfone application timing. Only 300 g ha−1 of pyroxasulfone reduced soybean plant population to 90% of the nontreated 30 d after PRE. Pyroxasulfone rate did not influence soybean heights and yield. Data indicates that pyroxasulfone can safely be applied to soybean without a detrimental effect on plant growth or yield.
Complex picture for likelihood of ENSO-driven flood hazard
Authors: Emerton R. , Cloke H. L. , Stephens E. M. , Zsoter E. , Woolnough S. J. , Pappenberger F.
Published: March 2017

El Niño and La Niña events, the extremes of ENSO climate variability, influence river flow and flooding at the global scale. Estimates of the historical probability of extreme (high or low) precipitation are used to provide vital information on the likelihood of adverse impacts during extreme ENSO events. However, the nonlinearity between precipitation and flood magnitude motivates the need for estimation of historical probabilities using analysis of hydrological data sets. Here, this analysis is undertaken using the ERA-20CM-R river flow reconstruction for the twentieth century. Our results show that the likelihood of increased or decreased flood hazard during ENSO events is much more complex than is often perceived and reported; probabilities vary greatly across the globe, with large uncertainties inherent in the data and clear differences when comparing the hydrological analysis to precipitation.
Whole-exome sequencing identifies a novel de novo mutation in DYNC1H1 in epileptic encephalopathies
Authors: Lin Zhongdong , Liu Zhenwei , Li Xiucui , Li Feng , Hu Ying , Chen Bingyu , Wang Zhen , Liu Yong
Published: March 2017

Epileptic encephalopathies (EE) are a group of severe childhood epilepsy disorders characterized by intractable seizures, cognitive impairment and neurological deficits. Recent whole-exome sequencing (WES) studies have implicated significant contribution of de novo mutations to EE. In this study, we utilized WES for identifying causal de novo mutations in 4 parent-offspring trios affected by West syndrome. As a result, we found two deleterious de novo mutations in DYNC1H1 and RTP1 in two trios. Expression profile analysis showed that DYNC1H1 and RTP1 are expressed in almost all brain regions and developmental stages. Interestingly, co-expression and genetic interaction network analyses suggested that DYNC1H1 and RTP1 are tightly associated with known epilepsy genes. Furthermore, we observed that the de novo mutations of DYNC1H1 were identified in several different neuropsychiatric disorders including EE, autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities by previous studies, and these mutations primarily occurred in the functional domain of the protein. Taken together, these results demonstrate DYNC1H1 as a strong candidate and RTP1 as a potential candidate on the onset of EE. In addition, this work also proves WES as a powerful tool for the molecular genetic dissection of children affected by sporadic EE.
Experimental evidence suggests that specular reflectance and glossy appearance help amplify warning signals
Authors: Waldron Samuel J. , Endler John A. , Valkonen Janne K. , Honma Atsushi , Dobler Susanne , Mappes Johanna
Published: March 2017

Specular reflection appears as a bright spot or highlight on any smooth glossy convex surface and is caused by a near mirror-like reflectance off the surface. Convex shapes always provide the ideal geometry for highlights, areas of very strong reflectance, regardless of the orientation of the surface or position of the receiver. Despite highlights and glossy appearance being common in chemically defended insects, their potential signalling function is unknown. We tested the role of highlights in warning colouration of a chemically defended, alpine leaf beetle,Oreina cacaliae. We reduced the beetles’ glossiness, hence their highlights, by applying a clear matt finish varnish on their elytra. We used blue tits as predators to examine whether the manipulation affected their initial latency to attack, avoidance learning and generalization of warning colouration. The birds learned to avoid both dull and glossy beetles but they initially avoided glossy prey more than dull prey. Interestingly, avoidance learning was generalized asymmetrically: birds that initially learned to avoid dull beetles avoided glossy beetles equally strongly, but notvice versa.We conclude that specular reflectance and glossiness can amplify the warning signal ofO. cacaliae, augmenting avoidance learning, even if it is not critical for it.
Environmental filtering triggers community assembly of forest understorey plants in Central European pine stands
Authors: Ulrich Werner , Sewerniak Piotr , Puchałka Radosław , Piwczyński Marcin
Published: March 2017

Habitat filtering models predict ecologically similar plant species to jointly colonize sites due to comparable environmental characteristics leading to an aggregated pattern of species spatial occurrence. Models focused on interspecific competition expect species with similar ecological requirements to be spatially segregated. While both models are corroborated by field work, few empirical studies have tried to infer under which habitat conditions these patterns of co-occurrence prevail. Here we use an exceptional data set on central European pine forest understorey plant communities to assess the change in community structure along gradients of soil productivity and heterogeneity. We found all understorey communities to be significantly nested. The degree of segregation increased with increasing soil Ca and Mg content, as well as with increasing pH, nutrient availability, and moisture. However, variability in soil characteristics did not significantly influence the pattern of species co-occurrence. We also found an intimate link between productivity, species richness, and species segregation making any causal inference challenging. These results point to possible misinterpretations and pitfalls in studies on community assembly. Finally our results demonstrate that managed forests provide a natural experiment of understorey community assembly under controlled conditions, an experiment that deserves further attention.
Temperature fluctuations in a changing climate: an ensemble-based experimental approach
Authors: Vincze Miklós , Borcia Ion Dan , Harlander Uwe
Published: March 2017

There is an ongoing debate in the literature about whether the present global warming is increasing local and global temperature variability. The central methodological issues of this debate relate to the proper treatment of normalised temperature anomalies and trends in the studied time series which may be difficult to separate from time-evolving fluctuations. Some argue that temperature variability is indeed increasing globally, whereas others conclude it is decreasing or remains practically unchanged. Meanwhile, a consensus appears to emerge that local variability in certain regions (e.g. Western Europe and North America) has indeed been increasing in the past 40 years. Here we investigate the nature of connections between external forcing and climate variability conceptually by using a laboratory-scale minimal model of mid-latitude atmospheric thermal convection subject to continuously decreasing ‘equator-to-pole’ temperature contrast ΔT, mimicking climate change. The analysis of temperature records from an ensemble of experimental runs (‘realisations’) all driven by identical time-dependent external forcing reveals that the collective variability of the ensemble and that of individual realisations may be markedly different – a property to be considered when interpreting climate records.
Exploring the diversity of blood-sucking Diptera in caves of Central Africa
Authors: Obame-Nkoghe Judicaël , Rahola Nil , Ayala Diego , Yangari Patrick , Jiolle Davy , Allene Xavier , Bourgarel Mathieu , Maganga Gael Darren , Berthet Nicolas , Leroy Eric-Maurice , Paupy Christophe
Published: March 2017

Caves house pathogenic microorganisms, some of which are transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. In Africa, previous studies identified mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges as the main potential vectors of cave-dwelling pathogens. However, to understand their involvement in pathogen spillover, it is crucial to characterize their diversity, community composition and dynamics. Using CDC light traps, we collected hematophagous Diptera in six caves of Gabon during one-shot or longitudinal sampling, and investigated their species diversity and dynamics in relation with external rainfall. Overall, we identified 68 species of mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges, including 45 new records for Gabon. The dominant species were:Uranotaenia nigromaculata, Anopheles smithii s.l., Culex. rimagroup andCulex quasiguiartifor mosquitoes,Spelaeophlebotomus gigasandSpelaeomyia emiliifor sand flies and theCulicoides trifasciellusgroup andCulicoides fulvithoraxfor biting midges. The survey revealed that species assemblages were cave-specific and included mainly troglophilous and trogloxenous species. Both diversity and abundance varied according to the cave and sampling time, and were significantly associated with rainfall. These associations were modulated by the cave specific environmental conditions. Moreover, the presence of trogloxenous and troglophilous species could be of high significance for pathogen transfers between cave and epigeous hosts, including humans.
Tuning of large piezoelectric response in nanosheet-buffered lead zirconate titanate films on glass substrates
Authors: Chopra Anuj , Bayraktar Muharrem , Nijland Maarten , ten Elshof Johan E. , Bijkerk Fred , Rijnders Guus
Published: March 2017

Renewed interest has been witnessed in utilizing the piezoelectric response of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) films on glass substrates for applications such as adaptive optics. Accordingly, new methodologies are being explored to grow well-oriented PZT thin films to harvest a large piezoelectric response. However, thin film piezoelectric response is significantly reduced compared to intrinsic response due to substrate induced clamping, even when films are well-oriented. Here, a novel method is presented to grow preferentially (100)-oriented PZT films on glass substrates by utilizing crystalline nanosheets as seed layers. Furthermore, increasing the repetition frequency up to 20 Hz during pulsed laser deposition helps to tune the film microstructure to hierarchically ordered columns that leads to reduced clamping and enhanced piezoelectric response evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and analytical calculations. A large piezoelectric coefficient of 250 pm/V is observed in optimally tuned structure which is more than two times the highest reported piezoelectric response on glass. To confirm that the clamping compromises the piezoelectric response, denser films are deposited using a lower repetition frequency and a BiFeO3 buffer layer resulting in significantly reduced piezoelectric responses. This paper demonstrates a novel method for PZT integration on glass substrates without compromising the large piezoelectric response.
Dentin sialoprotein facilitates dental mesenchymal cell differentiation and dentin formation
Authors: Li Wentong , Chen Lei , Chen Zhuo , Wu Lian , Feng Junsheng , Wang Feng , Shoff Lisa , Li Xin , Donly Kevin J. , MacDougall Mary , Chen Shuo
Published: March 2017

Dentin sialoprotein (DSP) is a dentin extracellular matrix protein. It is involved in dental mesenchymal cell lineages and dentin formation through regulation of its target gene expression. DSP mutations cause dentin genetic diseases. However, mechanisms of DSP in controlling dental mesenchymal cell differentiation are unknown. Using DSP as bait, we screened a protein library from mouse odontoblastic cells and found that DSP is a ligand and binds to cell surface receptor, occludin. Further study identified that the C-terminal DSP domainaa 363–458 interacts with the occludin extracellular loop 2aa 194–241. The C-terminal DSP domain induced phosphorylation of occludin Ser490 and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) Ser722 and Tyr576. Coexpression of DSP, occludin and FAK was detected in dental mesenchymal cells during tooth development. Occludin physically interacts with FAK, and occludin and FAK phosphorylation can be blocked by DSP and occludin antibodies. This DSP domain facilitates dental mesenchymal cell differentiation and mineralization. Furthermore, transplantation and pulp-capping procedures revealed that this DSP domain induces endogenous dental pulp mesenchymal cell proliferation, differentiation and migration, while stimulating blood vessel proliferation. This study elucidates the mechanism of DSP in dental mesenchymal lineages and implies that DSP may serve as a therapeutic agent for dentin-pulp complex regeneration in dental caries.
SUMOylation and calcium control syntaxin-1A and secretagogin sequestration by tomosyn to regulate insulin exocytosis in human ß cells
Authors: Ferdaoussi Mourad , Fu Jianyang , Dai Xiaoqing , Manning Fox Jocelyn E. , Suzuki Kunimasa , Smith Nancy , Plummer Gregory , MacDonald Patrick E.
Published: March 2017

Insulin secretion from pancreatic ß cells is a multistep process that requires the coordination of exocytotic proteins that integrate diverse signals. These include signals derived from metabolic control of post-translational SUMOylation and depolarization-induced rises in intracellular Ca2+. Here we show that tomosyn, which suppresses insulin exocytosis by binding syntaxin1A, does so in a manner which requires its SUMOylation. Glucose-dependent de-SUMOylation of tomosyn1 at K298 releases syntaxin1A and controls the amplification of exocytosis in concert with a recently-identified tomosyn1-interacting partner; the Ca2+-binding protein secretagogin, which dissociates from tomosyn1 in response to Ca2+-raising stimuli and is required for insulin granule trafficking and exocytosis downstream of Ca2+ influx. Together our results suggest that tomosyn acts as a key signaling hub in insulin secretion by integrating signals mediated by metabolism-dependent de-SUMOylation and electrically-induced entry of Ca2+ to regulate the availability of exocytotic proteins required for the amplification of insulin secretion.
A parameterized model for mean urinary inflow rate and its preliminary application in radiotherapy for cervical cancer
Authors: Jin Fu , Luo Huan-Li , Zhou Juan , Yang Ding-Yi , Yin Li , Yang Xiao-Qing , He Ya-Nan , Liu Xian-Feng , Qiu Da , Zhong Ming-Song , Yang Han , Li Chao , Li Qi-Cheng , He Guang-Lei , Wang Ying
Published: March 2017

Forty-nine patients with stage IIb cervical cancer were included to investigate the changes in bladder volume in response to different approaches to maintaining consistent bladder filling. The impacts of age (Page), water consumption (P
wat
), and body mass index (BMI, P
bmi
) on the mean urinary inflow rate (v
tot
) were analysed. The bladder volume (BV) increased linearly over time. A large variation in v
tot
among individuals was observed, ranging from 0.19 to 5.13 ml/min. The v
tot
was correlated with Page (R = −0.53, p = 0.01) and P
wat
(R = 0.84, p = 0.00), and no correlation between v
tot
and P
bmi
was found (p > 0.05). Therefore, v
tot
could be parameterized using two methods: multivariable linear regression and iterative fitting. There was no statistically significant difference between the two methods. The model accuracy was successfully assessed with several validation tests for patients with good compliance (79.2% of all patients), and the proportion of radiotherapy (RT) fractions with zero wait time (one ultrasound (US) scan) increased from 6.5% to 41.2%. The optimal US scanning number and RT time could be provided using this model. This adaptive RT approach could reduce patient discomfort caused by holding onto urine and reduce technician labour as well as cost.
Whole-Genome Analysis of Human Papillomavirus Types 16, 18, and 58 Isolated from Cervical Precancer and Cancer Samples in Chinese Women
Authors: Liu Ying , Pan Yaqi , Gao Weijiao , Ke Yang , Lu Zheming
Published: March 2017

Human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16, 18 and 58 are ranked the top three high-risk HPV types for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive carcinoma. We aimed to evaluate the diversity of HPV16, HPV18, and HPV58 genetic variants by HPV capture technology combined with next generation sequencing. 295, 73, and 148 variations were observed in 51 HPV16, 7 HPV18, and 11 HPV58 genomes, respectively. HPV16 isolates were predominantly of the A variant lineage, and sublineage A4 (Asian) was the most common. However, there were no significant differences in the distribution of HPV16 A1–3 and A4 variants between CIN1-, CIN2/3, and cervical cancer groups. The 7 HPV18 genomes were assigned to the A3/A4 and A1 sublineages. Of the 11 HPV58 genomes, the most predominant variant sublineages were A2, followed by A1 and B2. The majority of HPV16/18 samples containing contiguous genomic deletions were found to harbor HPV integration. Some T-cell epitope sequences in HPV16 E6 and E7 showed considerable divergence from the prototype NC_001526, suggesting their importance in immunotherapy of HPV-associated carcinomas. In conclusion, sequence diversity and phylogenies of HPV16, 18, and 58 provide the basis for future studies of discrete viral evolution, epidemiology, pathogenicity, and the differences in response to vaccines.
Automatic time-shift alignment method for chromatographic data analysis
Authors: Zheng Qing-Xia , Fu Hai-Yan , Li He-Dong , Wang Bing , Peng Cui-Hua , Wang Sheng , Cai Jun-Lan , Liu Shao-Feng , Zhang Xiao-Bing , Yu Yong-Jie
Published: March 2017

Time shift among samples remains a significant challenge in data analysis, such as quality control of natural plant extracts and metabolic profiling analysis, because this phenomenon may lead to invalid conclusions. In this work, we propose a new time shift alignment method, namely, automatic time-shift alignment (ATSA), for complicated chromatographic data analysis. This technique comprised the following alignment stages: (1) automatic baseline correction and peak detection stage for providing useful chromatographic information; (2) preliminary alignment stage through adaptive segment partition to correct alignment for the entire chromatogram; and (3) precise alignment stage based on test chromatographic peak information to accurately align time shift. In ATSA, the chromatographic peak information of both reference and test samples can be completely employed for time-shift alignment to determine segment boundaries and avoid loss of information. ATSA was used to analyze a complicated chromatographic dataset. The obtained correlation coefficients among samples and data analysis efficiency indicated that the influences of time shift can be considerably reduced by ATSA; thus accurate conclusion could be obtained.
Spin relaxation dynamics of holes in intrinsic GaAs quantum wells studied by transient circular dichromatic absorption spectroscopy at room temperature
Authors: Fang Shaoyin , Zhu Ruidan , Lai Tianshu
Published: March 2017

Spin relaxation dynamics of holes in intrinsic GaAs quantum wells is studied using time-resolved circular dichromatic absorption spectroscopy at room temperature. It is found that ultrafast dynamics is dominated by the cooperative contributions of band filling and many-body effects. The relative contribution of the two effects is opposite in strength for electrons and holes. As a result, transient circular dichromatic differential transmission (TCD-DT) with co- and cross-circularly polarized pump and probe presents different strength at several picosecond delay time. Ultrafast spin relaxation dynamics of excited holes is sensitively reflected in TCD-DT with cross-circularly polarized pump and probe. A model, including coherent artifact, thermalization of nonthermal carriers and the cooperative contribution of band filling and many-body effects, is developed, and used to fit TCD-DT with cross-circularly polarized pump and probe. Spin relaxation time of holes is achieved as a function of excited hole density for the first time at room temperature, and increases with hole density, which disagrees with a theoretical prediction based on EY spin relaxation mechanism, implying that EY mechanism may be not dominant hole spin relaxation mechanism at room temperature, but DP mechanism is dominant possibly.
Pedigree-based genome re-sequencing reveals genetic variation patterns of elite backbone varieties during modern rice improvement
Authors: Zheng Xingfei , Li Lanzhi , Liang Fan , Tan Changjun , Tang Shuzhu , Yu Sibin , Diao Ying , Li Shuangcheng , Hu Zhongli
Published: March 2017

Rice breeding has achieved great productivity improvements by semi-dwarf varieties and hybrid vigour. Due to poor understanding of genetic basis of elite backbone varieties, the continuous increasing in rice yield still faces great challenges. Here, 52 elite rice varieties from three historical representative pedigrees were re-sequenced with 10.1× depth on average, and ~6.5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained. We identified thousands of low-diversity genomic regions and 0-diversity genes during breeding. Using pedigree information, we also traced SNP transmission patterns and observed breeding signatures in pedigree. These regions included the larger number of key well-known functional genes. Besides, 35 regions spanning 0.16% of the rice gnome had been differentially selected between conventional and restorer pedigrees. These genes identified here will be useful to the further pedigree breeding. Our study provides insights into the genetic basis of backbone varieties and will have immediate implications for performing genome-wide breeding by design.
Identification of a Novel, Small Molecule Partial Agonist for the Cyclic AMP Sensor, EPAC1
Authors: Parnell Euan , McElroy Stuart P. , Wiejak Jolanta , Baillie Gemma L. , Porter Alison , Adams David R. , Rehmann Holger , Smith Brian O. , Yarwood Stephen J.
Published: March 2017

Screening of a carefully selected library of 5,195 small molecules identified 34 hit compounds that interact with the regulatory cyclic nucleotide-binding domain (CNB) of the cAMP sensor, EPAC1. Two of these hits (I942 and I178) were selected for their robust and reproducible inhibitory effects within the primary screening assay. Follow-up characterisation by ligand observed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) revealed direct interaction of I942 and I178 with EPAC1 and EPAC2-CNBs in vitro. Moreover, in vitro guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) assays revealed that I942 and, to a lesser extent, I178 had partial agonist properties towards EPAC1, leading to activation of EPAC1, in the absence of cAMP, and inhibition of GEF activity in the presence of cAMP. In contrast, there was very little agonist action of I942 towards EPAC2 or protein kinase A (PKA). To our knowledge, this is the first observation of non-cyclic-nucleotide small molecules with agonist properties towards EPAC1. Furthermore, the isoform selective agonist nature of these compounds highlights the potential for the development of small molecule tools that selectively up-regulate EPAC1 activity.
Relationship between joint torque and muscle fascicle shortening at various joint angles and intensities in the plantar flexors
Authors: Fukutani Atsuki , Misaki Jun , Isaka Tadao
Published: March 2017

Because it is difficult to measure tendon length changes directly in humans, tendon length changes during dynamic movement have been evaluated indirectly from changes in muscle fascicle length and joint angle. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the indirect method. Twitch contractions of the ankle plantar flexors were evoked isometrically in eight subjects. Twitch contractions evoked by singlet, doublet, and triplet stimulations were conducted at dorsiflexion 20° (DF20), plantar flexion 0° (PF0), and plantar flexion 20° (PF20). Muscle fascicle length and pennation angle were recorded by ultrasonography. The magnitude of muscle fascicle shortening was significantly smaller in DF20 than in PF0 and PF20, although the magnitude of joint torque was significantly larger in DF20 than in PF0 and PF20. Theoretically, the magnitude of tendon elongation is expected to be larger in larger joint torque conditions. However, we found that the magnitude of tendon elongation evaluated from muscle fascicle shortening was larger in a lower joint torque condition (PF20). These results suggest that the magnitude of muscle fascicle shortening does not necessarily represent tendon elongation. The larger muscle fascicle shortening in PF20 may be partly caused by eliminating slack of the muscle-tendon complex.
Analysis of prognostic factors for survival after surgery for gallbladder cancer based on a Bayesian network
Authors: Cai Zhi-qiang , Guo Peng , Si Shu-bin , Geng Zhi-min , Chen Chen , Cong Long-long
Published: March 2017

The factors underlying prognosis for gallbladder cancer (GBC) remain unclear. This study combines the Bayesian network (BN) with importance measures to identify the key factors that influence GBC patient survival time. A dataset of 366 patients who underwent surgical treatment for GBC was employed to establish and test a BN model using BayesiaLab software. A tree-augmented naïve Bayes method was also used to mine relationships between factors. Composite importance measures were applied to rank the influence of factors on survival time. The accuracy of BN model was 81.15%. For patients with long survival time (>6 months), the true-positive rate of the model was 77.78% and the false-positive rate was 15.25%. According to the built BN model, the sex, age, and pathological type were independent factors for survival of GBC patients. The N stage, liver infiltration, T stage, M stage, and surgical type were dependent variables for survival time prediction. Surgical type and TNM stages were identified as the most significant factors for the prognosis of GBC based on the analysis results of importance measures.
Low-Cost and Durable Bipolar Plates for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers
Authors: Lettenmeier P. , Wang R. , Abouatallah R. , Saruhan B. , Freitag O. , Gazdzicki P. , Morawietz T. , Hiesgen R. , Gago A. S. , Friedrich K. A.
Published: March 2017

Cost reduction and high efficiency are the mayor challenges for sustainable H2 production via proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Titanium-based components such as bipolar plates (BPP) have the largest contribution to the capital cost. This work proposes the use of stainless steel BPPs coated with Nb and Ti by magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition (PVD) and vacuum plasma spraying (VPS), respectively. The physical properties of the coatings are thoroughly characterized by scanning electron, atomic force microscopies (SEM, AFM); and X-ray diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopies (XRD, XPS). The Ti coating (50 μm) protects the stainless steel substrate against corrosion, while a 50-fold thinner layer of Nb decreases the contact resistance by almost one order of magnitude. The Nb/Ti-coated stainless steel bipolar BPPs endure the harsh environment of the anode for more than 1000 h of operation under nominal conditions, showing a potential use in PEM electrolyzers for large-scale H2 production from renewables.
PATL: A RFID Tag Localization based on Phased Array Antenna
Authors: Qiu Lanxin , Liang Xiaoxuan , Huang Zhangqin
Published: March 2017

In RFID systems, how to detect the position precisely is an important and challenging research topic. In this paper, we propose a range-free 2D tag localization method based on phased array antenna, called PATL. This method takes advantage of the adjustable radiation angle of the phased array antenna to scan the surveillance region in turns. By using the statistics of the tags’ number in different antenna beam directions, a weighting algorithm is used to calculate the position of the tag. This method can be applied to real-time location of multiple targets without usage of any reference tags or additional readers. Additionally, we present an optimized weighting method based on RSSI to increase the locating accuracy. We use a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) UHF RFID reader which is integrated with a phased array antenna to evaluate our method. The experiment results from an indoor office environment demonstrate the average distance error of PATL is about 21 cm and the optimized approach achieves an accuracy of 13 cm. This novel 2D localization scheme is a simple, yet promising, solution that is especially applicable to the smart shelf visualized management in storage or retail area.
Anisotropic electrical resistance in mesoscopic LaAlO3/SrTiO3 devices with individual domain walls
Authors: Goble Nicholas J. , Akrobetu Richard , Zaid Hicham , Sucharitakul Sukrit , Berger Marie-Hélène , Sehirlioglu Alp , Gao Xuan P. A.
Published: March 2017

The crystal structure of bulk SrTiO3(STO) transitions from cubic to tetragonal at around 105 K. Recent local scanning probe measurements of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) interfaces indicated the existence of spatially inhomogeneous electrical current paths and electrostatic potential associated with the structural domain formation in the tetragonal phase of STO. Here we report a study of temperature dependent electronic transport in combination with the polarized light microscopy of structural domains in mesoscopic LAO/STO devices. By reducing the size of the conductive interface to be comparable to that of a single tetragonal domain of STO, the anisotropy of interfacial electron conduction in relationship to the domain wall and its direction was characterized between T = 10–300 K. It was found that the four-point resistance measured with current parallel to the domain wall is larger than the resistance measured perpendicular to the domain wall. This observation is qualitatively consistent with the current diverting effect from a more conductive domain wall within the sample. Among all the samples studied, the maximum resistance ratio found is at least 10 and could be as large as 105 at T = 10 K. This electronic anisotropy may have implications on other oxide hetero-interfaces and the further understanding of electronic/magnetic phenomena found in LAO/STO.
Microfluidic device enabled quantitative time-lapse microscopic-photography for phenotyping vegetative and reproductive phases in Fusarium virguliforme, which is pathogenic to soybean
Authors: Marshall Jill , Qiao Xuan , Baumbach Jordan , Xie Jingyu , Dong Liang , Bhattacharyya Madan K.
Published: March 2017

Time-lapse microscopic-photography allows in-depth phenotyping of microorganisms. Here we report development of such a system using a microfluidic device, generated from polydimethylsiloxane and glass slide, placed on a motorized stage of a microscope for conducting time-lapse microphotography of multiple observations in 20 channels simultaneously. We have demonstrated the utility of the device in studying growth, germination and sporulation in Fusarium virguliforme that causes sudden death syndrome in soybean. To measure the growth differences, we developed a polyamine oxidase fvpo1 mutant in this fungus that fails to grow in minimal medium containing polyamines as the sole nitrogen source. Using this system, we demonstrated that the conidiospores of the pathogen take an average of five hours to germinate. During sporulation, it takes an average of 10.5 h for a conidiospore to mature and get detached from its conidiophore for the first time. Conidiospores are developed in a single conidiophore one after another. The microfluidic device enabled quantitative time-lapse microphotography reported here should be suitable for screening compounds, peptides, micro-organisms to identify fungitoxic or antimicrobial agents for controlling serious plant pathogens. The device could also be applied in identifying suitable target genes for host-induced gene silencing in pathogens for generating novel disease resistance in crop plants.
Dynamic Circulation and Genetic Exchange of a Shrew-borne Hantavirus, Imjin virus, in the Republic of Korea
Authors: Lee Seung-Ho , Kim Won-Keun , No Jin Sun , Kim Jeong-Ah , Kim Jin Il , Gu Se Hun , Kim Heung-Chul , Klein Terry A. , Park Man-Seong , Song Jin-Won
Published: March 2017

Hantaviruses (family Bunyaviridae) are enveloped negative-sense tripartite RNA viruses. The natural hosts of hantaviruses include rodents, shrews, moles, and bats. Imjin virus (MJNV) is a shrew-borne hantavirus identified from the Ussuri white-toothed shrews (Crocidura lasiura) in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and China. We have isolated MJNV and determined its prevalence and molecular diversity in Gyeonggi province, ROK. However, the distribution and phylogeography of MJNV in other regions of ROK remain unknown. A total of 96 C. lasiura were captured from Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces, ROK, during 2011–2014. Among them, four (4.2%) shrews were positive for anti-MJNV IgG and MJNV RNA was detected from nine (9.4%), respectively. Based on the prevalence of MJNV RNA, the preponderance of infected shrews was male and adult, consistent with the gender- and weight-specific prevalence of hantaviruses in other species. We monitored the viral load of MJNV RNA in various tissues of shrews, which would reflect the dynamic infectious status and circulation of MJNV in nature. Our phylogeographic and genomic characterization of MJNV suggested natural occurrences of recombination and reassortment in the virus population. Thus, these findings provide significant insights into the epidemiology, phylogeographic diversity, and dynamic circulation and evolution of shrew-borne hantaviruses.
Dynamics of a single-atom electron pump
Authors: van der Heijden J. , Tettamanzi G. C. , Rogge S.
Published: March 2017

Single-electron pumps based on isolated impurity atoms have recently been experimentally demonstrated. In these devices the Coulomb potential of an atom creates a localised electron state with a large charging energy and considerable orbital level spacings, enabling robust charge capturing processes. In contrast to the frequently used gate-defined quantum dot pumps, which experience a strongly time-dependent potential, the confinement potential in these single-atom pumps is hardly affected by the periodic driving of the system. Here we describe the behaviour and performance of an atomic, single parameter, electron pump. This is done by considering the loading, isolating and unloading of one electron at the time, on a phosphorous atom embedded in a silicon double gate transistor. The most important feature of the atom pump is its very isolated ground state, which is populated through the fast loading of much higher lying excited states and a subsequent fast relaxation process. This leads to a substantial increase in pumping accuracy, and is opposed to the adverse role of excited states observed for quantum dot pumps due to non-adiabatic excitations. The pumping performance is investigated as a function of dopant position, revealing a pumping behaviour robust against the expected variability in atomic position.
Six Out of Ten Women with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections Complain of Distressful Sexual Dysfunction – A Case-Control Study
Authors: Boeri Luca , Capogrosso Paolo , Ventimiglia Eugenio , Scano Roberta , Graziottin Alessandra , Dehò Federico , Montanari Emanuele , Montorsi Francesco , Salonia Andrea
Published: March 2017

Uncomplicated recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs) are common among reproductive-aged women. We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of sexual dysfunction (FSD) in a cohort of women with rUTIs and compare their psychometric scores to those of matched controls. Data from 147 rUTIs women and 150 healthy controls were analysed. Participants completed the International Prostatic Symptoms Score (IPSS), the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Female Sexual Distress Scale (SDS). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models tested prevalence and predictors of distressful FSD. Women with rUTIs had lower FSFI scores (p < 0.001) and a greater proportion of pathological FSFI (78.9% vs. 21.4%; p < 0.001) and SDS scores (77.8% vs. 21.4%; p < 0.001) than controls. Of rUTIs patients, 88 (60%), 77 (52.2%), and 75 (51.1%) reported pathological scores for FSFI-pain, lubrication and arousal, respectively; moreover, 64% had concomitant pathological FSFI and SDS scores. Age, IPSS severity, rUTIs, a history of ≥6 UTIs/year and a history of constipation were independent predictors of pathologic FSFI and SDS (all p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, up to 80% of women with rUTIs showed pathologic FSFI and SDS scores, with 60% reporting scores suggestive of distressful FSD. Having ≥6 UTIs/year and a history of constipation independently predicted distressful FSD.
Guest concentration, bias current, and temperature-dependent sign inversion of magneto-electroluminescence in thermally activated delayed fluorescence devices
Authors: Deng Junquan , Jia Weiyao , Chen Yingbing , Liu Dongyu , Hu Yeqian , Xiong Zuhong
Published: March 2017

Non-emissive triplet excited states in devices that undergo thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) can be up-converted to singlet excited states via reverse intersystem crossing (RISC), which leads to an enhanced electroluminescence efficiency. Exciton-based fluorescence devices always exhibit a positive magneto-electroluminescence (MEL) because intersystem crossing (ISC) can be suppressed effectively by an external magnetic field. Conversely, TADF devices should exhibit a negative MEL because RISC is suppressed by the external magnetic field. Intriguingly, we observed a positive MEL in TADF devices. Moreover, the sign of the MEL was either positive or negative, and depended on experimental conditions, including doping concentration, current density and temperature. The MEL observed from our TADF devices demonstrated that ISC in the host material and RISC in the guest material coexisted. These competing processes were affected by the experimental conditions, which led to the sign change of the MEL. This work gives important insight into the energy transfer processes and the evolution of excited states in TADF devices.
Highly pathogenic H5N6 influenza A viruses recovered from wild birds in Guangdong, southern China, 2014–2015
Authors: Kang Yinfeng , Liu Lu , Feng Minsha , Yuan Runyu , Huang Can , Tan Yangtong , Gao Pei , Xiang Dan , Zhao Xiaqiong , Li Yanling , Irwin David M. , Shen Yongyi , Ren Tao
Published: March 2017

Since 2013, highly pathogenic (HP) H5N6 influenza A viruses (IAVs) have emerged in poultry in Asia, especially Southeast Asia. These viruses have also caused sporadic infections in humans within the same geographic areas. Active IAV surveillance in wild birds sampled in Guangdong province, China from August 2014 through February 2015 resulted in the recovery of three H5N6 IAVs. These H5N6 IAV isolates possess the basic amino acid motif at the HA1-HA2 cleavage site that is associated with highly pathogenic IAVs infecting chickens. Noteworthy findings include: (1) the HP H5N6 IAV isolates were recovered from three species of apparently healthy wild birds (most other isolates of HP H5N6 IAV in Asia are recovered from dead wild birds or fecal samples in the environment) and (2) these isolates were apparently the first recoveries of HP H5N6 IAV for two of the three species thus expanding the demonstrated natural host range for these lineages of virus. This investigation provides additional insight into the natural history of HP H5N6 IAVs and identifies the occurrence of non-lethal, HP H5N6 IAV infections in wild birds thereby demonstrating the value of active IAV surveillance in wild birds.
A bacterial aromatic aldehyde dehydrogenase critical for the efficient catabolism of syringaldehyde
Authors: Kamimura Naofumi , Goto Takayuki , Takahashi Kenji , Kasai Daisuke , Otsuka Yuichiro , Nakamura Masaya , Katayama Yoshihiro , Fukuda Masao , Masai Eiji
Published: March 2017

Vanillin and syringaldehyde obtained from lignin are essential intermediates for the production of basic chemicals using microbial cell factories. However, in contrast to vanillin, the microbial conversion of syringaldehyde is poorly understood. Here, we identified an aromatic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) gene responsible for syringaldehyde catabolism from 20 putative ALDH genes of Sphingobium sp. strain SYK-6. All these genes were expressed in Escherichia coli, and nine gene products, including previously characterized BzaA, BzaB, and vanillin dehydrogenase (LigV), exhibited oxidation activities for syringaldehyde to produce syringate. Among these genes, SLG_28320 (desV) and ligV were most highly and constitutively transcribed in the SYK-6 cells. Disruption of desV in SYK-6 resulted in a significant reduction in growth on syringaldehyde and in syringaldehyde oxidation activity. Furthermore, a desV ligV double mutant almost completely lost its ability to grow on syringaldehyde. Purified DesV showed similar kcat/Km values for syringaldehyde (2100 s−1·mM−1) and vanillin (1700 s−1·mM−1), whereas LigV substantially preferred vanillin (8800 s−1·mM−1) over syringaldehyde (1.4 s−1·mM−1). These results clearly demonstrate that desV plays a major role in syringaldehyde catabolism. Phylogenetic analyses showed that DesV-like ALDHs formed a distinct phylogenetic cluster separated from the vanillin dehydrogenase cluster.
Antimicrobial peptides at work: interaction of myxinidin and its mutant WMR with lipid bilayers mimicking the P. aeruginosa and E. coli membranes
Authors: Lombardi Lucia , Stellato Marco Ignazio , Oliva Rosario , Falanga Annarita , Galdiero Massimiliano , Petraccone Luigi , D’Errico Geradino , De Santis Augusta , Galdiero Stefania , Del Vecchio Pompea
Published: March 2017

Antimicrobial peptides are promising candidates as future therapeutics in order to face the problem of antibiotic resistance caused by pathogenic bacteria. Myxinidin is a peptide derived from the hagfish mucus displaying activity against a broad range of bacteria. We have focused our studies on the physico-chemical characterization of the interaction of myxinidin and its mutant WMR, which contains a tryptophan residue at the N-terminus and four additional positive charges, with two model biological membranes (DOPE/DOPG 80/20 and DOPE/DOPG/CL 65/23/12), mimicking respectively Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa membrane bilayers. All our results have coherently shown that, although both myxinidin and WMR interact with the two membranes, their effect on membrane microstructure and stability are different. We further have shown that the presence of cardiolipin plays a key role in the WMR-membrane interaction. Particularly, WMR drastically perturbs the DOPE/DOPG/CL membrane stability inducing a segregation of anionic lipids. On the contrary, myxinidin is not able to significantly perturb the DOPE/DOPG/CL bilayer whereas interacts better with the DOPE/DOPG bilayer causing a significant perturbing effect of the lipid acyl chains. These findings are fully consistent with the reported greater antimicrobial activity of WMR against P. aeruginosa compared with myxinidin.
Ion bombardment induced buried lateral growth: the key mechanism for the synthesis of single crystal diamond wafers
Authors: Schreck Matthias , Gsell Stefan , Brescia Rosaria , Fischer Martin
Published: March 2017

A detailed mechanism for heteroepitaxial diamond nucleation under ion bombardment in a microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition setup on the single crystal surface of iridium is presented. The novel mechanism of Ion Bombardment Induced Buried Lateral Growth (IBI-BLG) is based on the ion bombardment induced formation and lateral spread of epitaxial diamond within a ~1 nm thick carbon layer. Starting from one single primary nucleation event the buried epitaxial island can expand laterally over distances of several microns. During this epitaxial lateral growth typically thousands of isolated secondary nuclei are generated continuously. The unique process is so far only observed on iridium surfaces. It is shown that a diamond single crystal with a diameter of ~90 mm and a weight of 155 carat can be grown from such a carbon film which initially consisted of 2 · 1013 individual grains.
Neuronal entry and high neurotoxicity of botulinum neurotoxin A require its N-terminal binding sub-domain
Authors: Wang Jiafu , Meng Jianghui , Nugent Marc , Tang Minhong , Dolly J. Oliver
Published: March 2017

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most toxic proteins known, due to inhibiting the neuronal release of acetylcholine and causing flaccid paralysis. Most BoNT serotypes target neurons by binding to synaptic vesicle proteins and gangliosides via a C-terminal binding sub-domain (HCC). However, the role of their conserved N-terminal sub-domain (HCN) has not been established. Herein, we created a mutant form of recombinant BoNT/A lacking HCN (rAΔHCN) and showed that the lethality of this mutant is reduced 3.3 × 104-fold compared to wild-type BoNT/A. Accordingly, low concentrations of rAΔHCN failed to bind either synaptic vesicle protein 2C or neurons, unlike the high-affinity neuronal binding obtained with 125I-BoNT/A (Kd = 0.46 nM). At a higher concentration, rAΔHCN did bind to cultured sensory neurons and cluster on the surface, even after 24 h exposure. In contrast, BoNT/A became internalised and its light chain appeared associated with the plasmalemma, and partially co-localised with vesicle-associated membrane protein 2 in some vesicular compartments. We further found that a point mutation (W985L) within HCN reduced the toxicity over 10-fold, while this mutant maintained the same level of binding to neurons as wild type BoNT/A, suggesting that HCN makes additional contributions to productive internalization/translocation steps beyond binding to neurons.