bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neonatal serotonin reuptake inhibition reduces hypercaloric diet effects on fat mass and hypothalamic gene expression in adult rats
Authors: Galindo Lígia Cristina Monteiro , Barros Manuella da Luz Duarte , Pinheiro Isabeli Lins , Santana Ricardo Vinicius de Carvalho , de Matos Rhowena Jane Barbosa , Leandro Carol Góis , de Souza Sandra Lopes , de Castro Raul Manhães
Published: August 2015

Background

Serotonin (5‐HT) is involved in nervous system ontogenesis, and is important for neurotransmission and behavior modulation after the developmental stage. Alterations in 5‐HT levels during the early period of life may signal to feeding behavior and hypothalamic genic expression changes in adulthood.

Objectives

Investigate the effects of hypercaloric diet in adult rats submitted to neonatal serotonin reuptake inhibition on food intake, fat pad mass, plasmatic triglycerides/cholesterol and gene expression of hypothalamic peptides (POMC, NPY) and serotonin receptors (5‐HT1B, 5‐HT2C).

Methods

In each litter, 8 pups were divided into two groups: control (C) and fluoxetine (F). From the 1st to the 21st postnatal day, C pups received sterile saline while F pups received fluoxetine (10 mg/kg). From 180 to 215 days, a group of rats from C and F groups were fed hypercaloric diet (CH and FH, 421.4 Kcal/100 g) while the rest of animals from C and F groups fed chow diet (CC and FC).

Results

The use of hypercaloric diet was associated with lower accumulation of white adipose tissue in adult rats subjected to neonatal serotonin reuptake inhibition. Adult rats of group FC showed decreased 5‐HT2C and neuropeptide Y mRNA expression compared with control chow diet group (CC). After chronic use of a hypercaloric diet, the expression of 5‐HT2C was higher in the FH group than the FC group and neuropeptide Y expression decreased in FH related to FC.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that neonatal serotonin reuptake inhibition is associated with better adaptation to hypercaloric diet in adult rats.
Age‐dependent differential expression profile of a novel intergenic long noncoding RNA in rat brain
Authors: Kour Sukhleen , Rath Pramod C
Published: August 2015

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are ≥200 nt long, abundant class of non‐protein coding RNAs that are transcribed in complex, sense‐ and antisense patterns from the intergenic and intronic regions of mammalian genome. Mammalian central nervous system constitutes the largest repertoire of noncoding transcripts that are known to be expressed in developmentally regulated and cell‐type specific manners. Although many lncRNAs, functioning in the brain development and diseases are known, none involved in brain aging has been reported so far. Here, we report involvement of a novel, repeat sequence (simple repeats and SINES)‐containing, trans‐spliced, long intergenic non‐protein coding RNA (lincRNA), named as LINC‐RBE (rat brain expressed transcript) involved in maturation and aging of mammalian brain. The LINC‐RBE is strongly expressed in the rat brain and the upstream/downstream sequences of its DNA in the chromosome 5 contain binding sites for many cell growth, survival and development‐specific transcriptional factors. Through RT‐PCR and RNA in situ hybridization, LINC‐RBE was found to be expressed in an age‐dependent manner with significantly higher level of expression in the brain of adult (16 weeks) compared to both immature (4 weeks) and old (70 weeks) rats. Moreover, the expression pattern of the LINC‐RBE showed distinct association with the specific neuro‐anatomical regions, cell types and sub‐cellular compartments of the rat brain in an age‐related manner. Thus, its expression increased from immature stage to adulthood and declined further in old age. This is a first‐time report of involvement of an intergenic repeat sequence‐containing lncRNA in different regions of the rat brain in an age‐dependent manner.
Why Do Student Teachers Go Global
Authors: Doppen Frans H. , An Jing , Diki Kristin
Published: August 2015

This qualitative case study reports the findings on 15 preservice teachers’ motivation for student teaching abroad. They made up about 5% of all student teachers at a major university in the Midwest. Who were these student teachers? What made them different from those who chose not to student teach abroad? In order to determine their characteristics and motives, each preservice teacher participated in a written survey and an oral in-depth interview. The findings suggest that these preservice teachers typically sought the opportunity to student teach abroad as a way to meet professional and personal goals while broadening their global-mindedness.
4‐protein signature predicting tamoxifen treatment outcome in recurrent breast cancer
Authors: De Marchi Tommaso , Liu Ning Qing , Stingl Cristoph , Timmermans Mieke A. , Smid Marcel , Look Maxime P. , Tjoa Mila , Braakman Rene B.H. , Opdam Mark , Linn Sabine C. , Sweep Fred C.G.J. , Span Paul N. , Kliffen Mike , Luider Theo M. , Foekens John A. , Martens John W.M. , Umar Arzu
Published: August 2015

Estrogen receptor (ER) positive tumors represent the majority of breast malignancies, and are effectively treated with hormonal therapies, such as tamoxifen. However, in the recurrent disease resistance to tamoxifen therapy is common and a major cause of death. In recent years, in‐depth proteome analyses have enabled identification of clinically useful biomarkers, particularly, when heterogeneity in complex tumor tissue was reduced using laser capture microdissection (LCM). In the current study, we performed high resolution proteomic analysis on two cohorts of ER positive breast tumors derived from patients who either manifested good or poor outcome to tamoxifen treatment upon recurrence. A total of 112 fresh frozen tumors were collected from multiple medical centers and divided into two sets: an in‐house training and a multi‐center test set. Epithelial tumor cells were enriched with LCM and analyzed by nano‐LC Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS), which yielded >3000 and >4000 quantified proteins in the training and test sets, respectively. Raw data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifiers PXD000484 and PXD000485. Statistical analysis showed differential abundance of 99 proteins, of which a subset of 4 proteins was selected through a multivariate step‐down to develop a predictor for tamoxifen treatment outcome. The 4‐protein signature significantly predicted poor outcome patients in the test set, independent of predictive histopathological characteristics (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15 to 4.17; multivariate Cox regression p value = 0.017). Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of PDCD4, one of the signature proteins, on an independent set of formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tumor tissues provided and independent technical validation (HR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.57 to 0.92; multivariate Cox regression p value = 0.009). We hereby report the first validated protein predictor for tamoxifen treatment outcome in recurrent ER‐positive breast cancer. IHC further showed that PDCD4 is an independent marker.
A Clinical Comparative Study of Ultrasound‐Normal Versus Ultrasound‐Abnormal Congenital Muscular Torticollis
Authors: Lee Yong‐Taek , Park Jong‐Wan , Lim Mikyung , Yoon Kyung Jae , Kim Yong Bum , Chung Pil‐Wook , Park Hee‐Jin , Lee So‐Yeon
Published: August 2015

Objective

To investigate the clinical features and outcome of outpatient‐based physiotherapy (manual stretch) of congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) with passive neck motion limitation (≥10°) according to whether the finding on ultrasonography (US) is normal or abnormal.

Design

Case‐control study.

Setting

Institutional practice.

Participants

A total of 149 patients with CMT who met eligibility criteria were included: age at presentation ≤6 months, limitation of passive neck rotation (ΔROT) or lateral flexion (ΔLAT) ≥10°, and completion of our outpatient‐based physiotherapy program.

Interventions

Patients were allocated to the US‐normal or US‐abnormal group. Patients underwent physiotherapy and were followed‐up monthly until ΔROT and ΔLAT were ≤5° or did not respond to treatment.

Main Outcome Measurements

Baseline characteristics, initial ΔROT and ΔLAT, age at presentation, treatment durations, and success rates of physiotherapy were compared between 2 groups. Treatment duration was adjusted for initial ΔROT, ΔLAT, and age at presentation using analysis of covariance.

Results

Mean initial ΔROT and ΔLAT in US‐abnormal (28.5°; 17.0°) were greater than in US‐normal (7.9°, P < .001; 12.3°, P = .001, respectively). Mean age at presentation was older in US‐normal (3.8 months) than in US‐abnormal (1.8 months, P < .001). Treatment duration was shorter in the US‐normal (5.1 weeks) than US‐abnormal (14.9 weeks, P < .001). Adjusted treatment duration was also shorter in US‐normal (9.7 weeks) than US‐abnormal (13.8 weeks, P < .05). The success rates of physiotherapy were 95% in US‐abnormal and 100% in US‐normal. Two of 6 treatment failures in the US‐abnormal group underwent surgery.

Conclusions

In CMT with passive neck motion limitation (≥10°), patients in the US‐normal group demonstrated lesser passive neck motion limitation and older age at presentation than US‐abnormal. It seems that US‐normal showed shorter treatment duration irrespective of severity of neck motion limitation and age at presentation. Additionally, manual stretching applied before 6 months of age appears to show generally good outcome regardless of US findings.
Desarrollo personal en estudiantes de primer año en ciencia forense. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Authors: Petra Micu Ileana María , García Castillo Zoraida , Valencia Caballero Lorena , Herrera Saint Leu Patricia Margarita
Published: August 2015

Introducción: La licenciatura en ciencia forense es una carrera de reciente creación en México, y el perfil del egresado requiere que este cuente con una serie de habilidades esenciales para su crecimiento personal y profesional.
Objetivo: Este trabajo constituye el primer informe de una investigación de tipo educativo realizada con el objeto de dar seguimiento al desarrollo personal de la primera generación de alumnos de la licenciatura en ciencia forense con el fin de conocer sus requerimientos para una intervención.
Método: Se trata de un estudio transversal descriptivo, comparativo y correlacional de las habilidades de estudiantes del primer semestre de la licenciatura de ciencia forense y su relación con el rendimiento escolar de estos. Se aplicaron 11 escalas tipo Likert para evaluar las habilidades referidas: «Autoestima», «Autoconocimiento y expresión emocional», «Compromiso», «Creatividad», «Resiliencia y afrontamiento», «Autocrítica y heterocrítica», «Optimismo», «Confianza en sí mismo», «Asertividad y liderazgo», «Empatía», así como «Trabajo, apoyo en equipo y habilidades sociales e interpersonales».
Resultados: Se observó que tienden a obtener mejores promedios de calificación aquellos estudiantes que: reportan niveles más elevados de autoestima (rs = 0.357; p = 0.038), manifiestan un mayor compromiso (rs = 0.289; p = 0.049), y reportan un mejor manejo de la autocrítica y heterocrítica (rs = 0.309; p = 0.038). Asimismo, se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el nivel de desarrollo de algunas habilidades, dependiendo del sexo y del tipo de escuela de procedencia de los alumnos.
Conclusiones: Con base en los resultados obtenidos, se recomienda trabajar en el crecimiento personal del estudiante, en especial en su autoestima, su compromiso con las actividades escolares, así como en su habilidad para realizar una crítica adecuada de sí mismo y aceptar las observaciones de los demás sobre él, ya que una mejora en el desarrollo de estas habilidades puede favorecer su desempeño académico.
Climatic variability in the northern sector of the American tropics since the latest MIS 3
Authors: Lozano-García Socorro , Ortega Beatriz , Roy Priyadarsi D. , Beramendi-Orosco Laura , Caballero Margarita
Published: August 2015

We inferred millennial-scale climate variations and paleohydrological conditions in the northern sector of the American tropics for 30.3–5.5 cal ka BP using geochemical characteristics of sediments from Lake Chalco in central Mexico. The sediment sequence is chronologically constrainedwith three tephra and nine radiocarbon dates. Temporal variations in titanium, total inorganic carbon, total organic carbon/titanium ratio, carbon/nitrogen ratio, and silica/titanium ratio indicate changes in runoff, salinity, productivity, and sources. Higher concentrations of Ti indicate more runoff during latest Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (30.3–28.6 cal ka BP). Runoff was lower during the last glacial maximum (LGM; 23–19 cal ka BP) than during the Heinrich 2 event (26–24 cal ka BP). The interval of reduced runoff continued up to 17.5 cal ka BP but increased during the Bølling/Allerød. Trends of decreasing runoff and increasing salinity are observed throughout MIS 1. Lake Chalco received less runoff during the LGM compared to deglaciation, opposite the trend of other North American tropical records. Different amounts of rainfall at different sites are possibly due to shifts in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, changes in the size of the Altlanticwarmpool, and varying sea-surface temperatures of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
THYRSIS’ ARCADIAN SHEPHERDS IN VIRGIL'S SEVENTH ECLOGUE
Authors: Eckerman Chris
Published: August 2015

In Virgil's seventh Eclogue, Meliboeus relates a singing contest that Corydon and Thyrsis undertook. Upon beginning their songs, Corydon invokes the Libethrian nymphs (21), and Thyrsis invokes ‘Arcadian shepherds’ (25–6). Scholars have previously interpreted Thyrsis’ Arcadian shepherds as people, but here I suggest that they should be interpreted as divinities. In support of this assertion, I rely on the expectations of the capping style (which requires that Thyrsis ‘cap’ Corydon's invocation of Libethrian nymphs), Virgil's description of the setting and the characters present, an epigram by Erucius (an intertext for this poem), the Greek and Roman literary tradition that developed especially in relation to gods associated with Arcadia, and Thyrsis’ quatrains, which can be profitably interpreted if we assume that Arcadian gods have heard Thyrsis' prayer and are now inspiring his song.
The Role of Government in the Labor–Creditor Relationship: Evidence from the Chrysler Bankruptcy
Authors: Blaylock Bradley , Edwards Alexander , Stanfield Jared
Published: August 2015

We examine the role of government in the labor–creditor relationship using the case of the Chrysler bankruptcy. As a result of the government intervention, firms in more unionized industries experienced lower event-window abnormal bond returns, higher abnormal bond yields, and lower cumulative abnormal bond returns. The results are stronger for firms closer to distress. We also observe the effect in firms in which labor bargaining power is stronger and those with larger pension liabilities. Overall, the results underline the importance of government as a significant force in shaping the agency conflict between creditors and workers.
Flat adverbs: acceptable today?
Authors: Tieken-Boon van Ostade Ingrid
Published: August 2015

In February 2015, Catherine Bennett published a piece called “Modern Tribes: the grammar pedant” in The Guardian Online. The article focused on so-called usage problems – instances of divided usage concerning grammar, vocabulary or spelling that many people have strong opinions about. (The previous sentence is a good example of such a usage problem: can you indeed end a sentence with a preposition, for instance?) The article itself was not very interesting in its own right: it dealt with all the “old chestnuts”, like less/fewer, disinterested/uninterested and of course the split infinitive. What was interesting, though, was that within a little over ten hours, 84 comments had come in. In the Bridging the Unbridgeable project, we are interested in new usage problems rather than the ones we have been reading about for around two hundred years. So I scoured the comments with great interest. I've already written about what I found in a post on the Bridging the Unbridgeable blog: there were not many new or any very striking complaints, but what I do find of interest is that no-one mentioned the flat adverb. Does this mean that flat adverbs are no longer considered problematical today?
Relationship between rural depopulation and puma-human conflict in the high Andes of Chile
Authors: OHRENS OMAR , TREVES ADRIAN , BONACIC CRISTIÁN
Published: August 2015

Rural depopulation has different effects on biodiversity and ecosystems in many regions of the world. For large carnivores such as pumas (Puma concolor) the effects are uncertain. An analysis of relationships between patterns of rural depopulation and perceptions of the risk posed by pumas among Aymara people in the altiplano region of Chile examined perceived risk, as well as self-reported losses, in relation to livestock husbandry, sociodemographic variables (age, household size, and residency status), and reported self-sufficiency. There was no evidence that rural depopulation elevated perceived risk, or the level of self-reported losses of livestock blamed on pumas. Indeed, many respondents, including older respondents and those with smaller households, reported a decline in perceived risk over the preceding five years. These perceptions of risk were not associated with self-reported losses to pumas in the previous year. An increase in perceived risk was associated with the use of guards for livestock, suggesting livestock owners accommodated their absences from herds by using guards. Absolute numbers of livestock lost increased with the distance from households to where livestock were grazed or gave birth. A cost-effective verification system for puma attacks is recommended, and further human dimensions research is required to identify the owners who complained and the costs and benefits of different wildlife species. Further interventions to prevent either livestock losses or retaliation against pumas can then be targeted more precisely.
Crystal structure of ziprasidone hydrochloride monohydrate, C21H22Cl2N4OS(H2O)
Authors: Kaduk James A. , Zhong Kai , Gindhart Amy M. , Blanton Thomas N.
Published: August 2015

The crystal structure of ziprasidone hydrochloride monohydrate has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data, and optimized using density functional techniques. Ziprasidone hydrochloride monohydrate crystallizes in space groupP-1 (#2) witha= 7.250 10(3),b= 10.986 66(8),c= 14.071 87(14) Å,α= 83.4310(4),β= 80.5931(6),γ= 87.1437(6)°,V= 1098.00(1) Å3, andZ= 2. The ziprasidone conformation in the solid state is very close to the minimum energy conformation. The positively-charged nitrogen in the ziprasidone makes a strong hydrogen bond with the chloride anion. The water molecule makes two weaker bonds to the chloride, and acts as an acceptor in an N–H⋯O hydrogen bond. The powder pattern is included in the Powder Diffraction File™as entry 00-064-1492.
Communitywide cryptosporidiosis outbreak associated with a surface water-supplied municipal water system – Baker City, Oregon, 2013
Authors: DeSILVA M. B. , SCHAFER S. , KENDALL SCOTT M. , ROBINSON B. , HILLS A. , BUSER G. L. , SALIS K. , GARGANO J. , YODER J. , HILL V. , XIAO L. , ROELLIG D. , HEDBERG K.
Published: August 2015

Cryptosporidium, a parasite known to cause large drinking and recreational water outbreaks, is tolerant of chlorine concentrations used for drinking water treatment. Human laboratory-based surveillance for enteric pathogens detected a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Baker City, Oregon during July 2013 associated with municipal drinking water. Objectives of the investigation were to confirm the outbreak source and assess outbreak extent. The watershed was inspected and city water was tested for contamination. To determine the community attack rate, a standardized questionnaire was administered to randomly sampled households. Weighted attack rates and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Water samples tested positive for Cryptosporidium species; a Cryptosporidium parvum subtype common in cattle was detected in human stool specimens. Cattle were observed grazing along watershed borders; cattle faeces were observed within watershed barriers. The city water treatment facility chlorinated, but did not filter, water. The community attack rate was 28·3% (95% CI 22·1–33·6), sickening an estimated 2780 persons. Watershed contamination by cattle probably caused this outbreak; water treatments effective against Cryptosporidium were not in place. This outbreak highlights vulnerability of drinking water systems to pathogen contamination and underscores the need for communities to invest in system improvements to maintain multiple barriers to drinking water contamination.
Airborne Sensor Can Track Photosynthesis Efficiency
Authors: Palmer Chris
Published: August 2015

Remote estimation of fluorescence emitted by plants can indicate variations in photosynthesis performance.
Honoring Earth and Space Scientists
Authors:   AGU
Published: August 2015

Earth and space scientists in the news
Inhibition of ZEB1 expression induces redifferentiation of adult human β cells expanded in vitro
Authors: Sintov Elad , Nathan Gili , Knoller Sarah , Pasmanik-Chor Metsada , Russ Holger A. , Efrat Shimon
Published: August 2015

In-vitro expansion of functional adult human β-cells is an attractive approach for generating insulin-producing cells for transplantation. However, human islet cell expansion in culture results in loss of β-cell phenotype and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This process activates expression of ZEB1 and ZEB2, two members of the zinc-finger homeobox family of E-cadherin repressors, which play key roles in EMT. Downregulation of ZEB1 using shRNA in expanded β-cell-derived (BCD) cells induced mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), β-cell gene expression and proliferation attenuation. In addition, inhibition of ZEB1 expression potentiated redifferentiation induced by a combination of soluble factors, as judged by an improved response to glucose stimulation and a 3-fold increase in the fraction of C-peptide-positive cells to 60% of BCD cells. Furthermore, ZEB1 shRNA led to increased insulin secretion in cells transplanted in vivo. Our findings suggest that the effects of ZEB1 inhibition are mediated by attenuation of the miR-200c target genes SOX6 and SOX2. These findings, which were reproducible in cells derived from multiple human donors, emphasize the key role of ZEB1 in EMT in cultured BCD cells and support the value of ZEB1 inhibition for BCD cell redifferentiation and generation of functional human β-like cells for cell therapy of diabetes.
Anomalous High-Energy Waterfall-Like Electronic Structure in 5 d Transition Metal Oxide Sr2IrO4 with a Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling
Authors: Liu Yan , Yu Li , Jia Xiaowen , Zhao Jianzhou , Weng Hongming , Peng Yingying , Chen Chaoyu , Xie Zhuojin , Mou Daixiang , He Junfeng , Liu Xu , Feng Ya , Yi Hemian , Zhao Lin , Liu Guodong , He Shaolong , Dong Xiaoli , Zhang Jun , Xu Zuyan , Chen Chuangtian , Cao Gang , Dai Xi , Fang Zhong , Zhou X. J.
Published: August 2015

The low energy electronic structure of Sr2IrO4 has been well studied and understood in terms of an effective Jeff = 1/2 Mott insulator model. However, little work has been done in studying its high energy electronic behaviors. Here we report a new observation of the anomalous high energy electronic structure in Sr2IrO4. By taking high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on Sr2IrO4 over a wide energy range, we have revealed for the first time that the high energy electronic structures show unusual nearly-vertical bands that extend over a large energy range. Such anomalous high energy behaviors resemble the high energy waterfall features observed in the cuprate superconductors. While strong electron correlation plays an important role in producing high energy waterfall features in the cuprate superconductors, the revelation of the high energy anomalies in Sr2IrO4, which exhibits strong spin-orbit coupling and a moderate electron correlation, points to an unknown and novel route in generating exotic electronic excitations.
Free and bound excitonic effects in Al0.5Ga0.5N/Al0.35Ga0.65N MQWs with different Si-doping levels in the well layers
Authors: He Chenguang , Qin Zhixin , Xu Fujun , Hou Mengjun , Zhang Shan , Zhang Lisheng , Wang Xinqiang , Ge Weikun , Shen Bo
Published: August 2015

Free exciton (FX) and bound exciton (BX) in Al0.5Ga0.5N/Al0.35Ga0.65N multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with different Si-doping levels in the well layers are investigated by photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Low temperature (10 K) PL spectra identify a large binding energy of 87.4 meV for the BX in undoped sample and 63.6 meV for the BX in Si-doped (2 × 1018 cm−3) sample. They are attributed to O-bound and Si-bound excitons, respectively. The large binding energies of BX are assumed to originate from the strong quantum confinement in the quantum wells, which also leads to a stronger FX PL peak intensity in comparison with BX at 10 K. Si-doping is found to suppress the FX quenching by reducing threading dislocation density (TDD) in the well layers, leading to a significant improvement of IQE from 33.7% to 45%.
Unactivated C(sp3)–H hydroxylation through palladium catalysis with H2O as the oxygen source
Authors: Hu Jiantao , Lan Tianlong , Sun Yihua , Chen Hui , Yao Jiannian , Rao Yu
Published: August 2015

A novel palladium catalyzed hydroxylation of unactivated aliphatic C(sp3)–H bonds was successfully developed. Different from conventional methods, water serves as the hydroxyl group source in the reaction. This reaction demonstrates broad functional group tolerance.
Pd(ii)-catalyzed formal [4+1] cycloaddition reactions of diazoacetates and aryl propargyl alcohols to form 2,5-dihydrofurans
Authors: Shi Taoda , Guo Xin , Teng Shenghan , Hu Wenhao
Published: August 2015

Pd(ii)-catalyzed auto-tandem formal [4+1] cycloaddition of diazoacetates and aryl propargyl alcohols affords 2,5-dihydrofurans as the dominant product over traditional ones.
Laser induced alignment of state-selected CH3I
Authors: He Lanhai , Bulthuis Jaap , Luo Sizuo , Wang Jia , Lu Chunjing , Stolte Steven , Ding Dajun , Roeterdink Wim G.
Published: August 2015

Hexapole state selection is used to prepare CH3I molecules in the |JKM〉 = |1±1∓1〉 state.
Recent advances in the chemical physics of nanoalloys
Authors: Ferrando Riccardo , Johnston Roy L. , Louis Catherine
Published: August 2015

Nanoalloys present a rich variety of structures and properties, which depend on both size and composition, and make them suitable for applications in catalysis, plasmonics, magnetic data storage, and biomedicine.
Antibacterial behavior of halloysite nanotubes decorated with copper nanoparticles in a novel mixed matrix membrane for water purification
Authors: Duan Linlin , Zhao Qianqian , Liu Jindun , Zhang Yatao
Published: August 2015

Poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) with various molecular weights was grafted onto halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) via reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP).
Synthesis of quinoxalines or quinolin-8-amines from N-propargyl aniline derivatives employing tin and indium chlorides
Authors: Aichhorn Stefan , Himmelsbach Markus , Schöfberger Wolfgang
Published: August 2015

The utility of stannous chloride dihydrate as well as indium/InCl3 in combination with “ortho-nitrogen”-N-propargylanilines for the construction of either quinoxaline- or quinolin-8-amine-scaffolds is demonstrated. Depending on the nature of the alkyne, different bicyclic nitrogen heterocycles are formed under aerobic conditions.
Study of breath acetone and its correlations with blood glucose and blood beta-hydroxybutyrate using an animal model with lab-developed type 1 diabetic rats
Authors: Sun Meixiu , Zhao Xiaomeng , Yin Huijuan , Wang Zhennan , Jiang Chenyu , Liu Weichao , Chen Zhuying , Yuan Yuan , Li Yingxin , Wang Chuji
Published: August 2015

We report for the first time a study of breath acetone and its correlations with blood glucose (BG) and blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) using an animal model of rats.
Microwave assisted novel and regioselective functionalization of imidazopyridines with chromene acetals and β-nitrostyrenes
Authors: Chandrasekhara Rao L. , Satish Kumar N. , Meshram H. M.
Published: August 2015

A facile synthesis of novel functionalized imidazopyridines has been accomplished through the condensation of imidazopyridines with chromene hemiacetals or β-nitro styrenes with high regioselectivity and excellent yields in the presence of a catalytic amount of PTSA or InCl3.
Modified high-intensity interval training reduces liver fat and improves cardiac function in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Hallsworth Kate , Thoma Christian , Hollingsworth Kieren G. , Cassidy Sophie , Anstee Quentin M. , Day Christopher P. , Trenell Michael I.
Published: August 2015

Although lifestyle changes encompassing weight loss and exercise remain the cornerstone of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) management, the effect of different types of exercise on NAFLD is unknown. This study defines the effect of modified high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on liver fat, cardiac function and metabolic control in adults with NAFLD. Twenty-three patients with NAFLD [age 54±10 years, body mass index (BMI) 31±4 kg/m2, intra-hepatic lipid >5%) were assigned to either 12 weeks HIIT or standard care (controls). HIIT involved thrice weekly cycle ergometry for 30–40 min. MRI and spectroscopy were used to assess liver fat, abdominal fat and cardiac structure/function/energetics. Glucose control was assessed by oral glucose tolerance test and body composition by air displacement plethysmography. Relative to control, HIIT decreased liver fat (11±5% to 8±2% compared with 10±4% to 10±4% P=0.019), whole-body fat mass (35±7 kg to 33±8 kg compared with 31±9 kg to 32±9 kg, P=0.013), alanine (52±29 units/l to 42±20 units/l compared with 47±22 units/l to 51±24 units/l, P=0.016) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST; 36±18 units/l to 33±15 units/l compared with 31±8 units/l to 35±8 units/l, P=0.017) and increased early diastolic filling rate (244±84 ml/s to 302±107 ml/s compared with 255±82 ml/s to 251±82 ml/s, P=0.018). There were no between groups differences in glucose control. Modified HIIT reduces liver fat and improves body composition alongside benefits to cardiac function in patients with NAFLD and should be considered as part of the broader treatment regimen by clinical care teams. ISRCTN trial ID: ISRCTN78698481.
Audiometric Thresholds: Stimulus Considerations in Sound Field and Under Earphones
Authors: Norrix Linda W. , Anderson Alora
Published: August 2015

Purpose

This study evaluates a new stimulus, FREquency Specific Hearing assessment (FRESH) noise, to obtain hearing thresholds and reviews the potential pitfalls of using narrow band noise.

Method

Twelve adults with simulated gradually sloping hearing loss and 12 adults with steeply sloping hearing loss participated. Hearing thresholds were measured in sound field and under a supraaural earphone for FRESH noise, warbled tones, and narrowband noise. Pure-tone thresholds were also measured under the supraaural earphone.

Results

FRESH noise thresholds were similar to pure-tone and warbled-tone thresholds regardless of audiometric configuration. For the group with gradually sloping hearing loss, thresholds obtained with narrowband noise were approximately 4 dB better than those obtained with the other test stimuli. For the group with steeply sloping hearing loss, narrowband noise significantly underestimated hearing thresholds—the steeper the hearing loss, the greater the underestimation.

Conclusions

When hearing loss is suspected, FRESH noise is appropriate for accurately determining audiometric thresholds in sound field and under earphones. A wider band, attention-getting stimulus such as narrowband noise can result in thresholds that are inaccurate. Clinical decision making regarding choice of test stimulus is discussed.
Relationships Between Formant Frequencies of Sustained Vowels and Tongue Contours Measured by Ultrasonography
Authors: Lee Shao-Hsuan , Yu Jen-Fang , Hsieh Yu-Hsiang , Lee Guo-She
Published: August 2015

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the formant–articulation relationships in corner vowels by acoustic analysis of speech signals and measuring tongue contour using ultrasonography.

Method

Eighteen healthy adults (8 men, 10 women), aged between 20 and 40 years, were enrolled. Speech signals of sustained vowels /ɑ/, /i/, and /u/ were recorded to obtain the first 2 formant frequencies. Tongue height, tongue advancement, and lengths of posterior tongue surface (L
PTS
) and anterior oral cavity (L
AOC
) were obtained using ultrasound image processing technique in order to examine the resonance mechanism of the oral vocal tract.

Results

L
PTS
and L
AOC
, as well as mean frequencies of the first and second formants, showed significant differences between sexes and among vowels. The first formant significantly and better correlated with L
PTS
than with tongue height (
r
= –.78,
p
< .001, Pearson's correlation). The correlation of the second formant with L
AOC
(
r
= –.85,
p
< .001) was also significant and better than the correlation with tongue advancement. Sex, however, did not show significant correlation with the formant frequencies.

Conclusions

Ultrasonographic measurements of tongue contour correlated well to the formant frequencies. The results stressed the importance of tongue shaping in articulation. Although more studies are necessary in clinical implications, disorders associated with abnormal tongue shaping may be the target applications in the future.
“My World Has Expanded Even Though I'm Stuck at Home”: Experiences of Individuals With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Social Media
Authors: Caron Jessica , Light Janice
Published: August 2015

Purpose

This study aimed to expand the current understanding of how persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (pALS) use augmentative and alternative communication and social media to address their communication needs.

Method

An online focus group was used to investigate the experiences of 9 pALS who use augmentative and alternative communication and social media. Questions posed to the group related to (a) current use of social media, (b) advantages of social media, (c) barriers to independent use, (d) supports to independent use, and (e) recommendations for developers, policy makers, and other pALS.

Results

Participants primarily reported that use of social media was a beneficial tool that provided increased communication opportunities, connections to communication partners, and networks of support. Specific results are discussed with reference to the research as well as implications for practice and recommendations for future research.

Conclusions

As individuals with ALS experience loss of function, some communication modes may no longer be viable. Providing access to different modes of communication, including social media, can allow independence, participation and better quality of life.
A Drawing Task to Assess Emotion Inference in Language-Impaired Children
Authors: Vendeville Nathalie , Blanc Nathalie , Brechet Claire
Published: August 2015

Purpose

Studies investigating the ability of children with language impairment (LI) to infer emotions rely on verbal responses (which can be challenging for these children) and/or the selection of a card representing an emotion (which limits the response range). In contrast, a drawing task might allow a broad spectrum of responses without involving language. This study used a drawing task to compare the ability to make emotional inferences in children with and without LI.

Method

Twenty-two children with LI and 22 typically developing children ages 6 to 10 years were assessed in school during 3 sessions. They were asked to listen to audio stories. At specific moments, the experimenter stopped the recording and asked children to complete the drawing of a face to depict the emotion felt by the story's character. Three adult study-blind judges were subsequently asked to evaluate the expressiveness of the drawings.

Results

Children with LI had more difficulty than typically developing children making emotional inferences. Children with LI also made more errors of different valence than their typically developing peers.

Conclusion

Our findings confirm that children with LI show difficulty in producing emotional inferences, even when performing a drawing task—a relatively language-free response mode.
An X-band phase-locked relativistic backward wave oscillator
Authors: Wu Y. , Li Z. H. , Xu Z. , Jin X. , Ma Q. S.
Published: August 2015

For the purpose of coherent high power microwave combining at high frequency band, an X-band phase-locked relativistic backward wave oscillator is presented and investigated. The phase-locking of the oscillator is accomplished by modulation of the electron beam before it reaches the oscillator. To produce a bunched beam with an acceptable injected RF power requirement, an overmoded input cavity is employed to provide initial density modulation. And a buncher cavity is introduced to further increase the modulation depth. When the beam enters the oscillator, the modulation depth is enough to lock the frequency and phase of the output microwave generated by the oscillator. Particle-in-cell simulation shows that an input power of 90 kW is sufficient to lock the frequency and phase of 1.5 GW output microwave with locking bandwidth of 60 MHz.
Influence of emission threshold of explosive emission cathodes on current waveform in foilless diodes
Authors: Wu P. , Huo S. F. , Sun J. , Chen C. H. , Liu G. Z.
Published: August 2015

The emission threshold of explosive emission cathodes (EECs) is an important factor for beam quality. It can affect the explosive emission delay time, the plasma expansion process on the cathode surface, and even the current amplitude when the current is not fully space-charge-limited. This paper researches the influence of the emission threshold of an annular EEC on the current waveform in a foilless diode when the current is measured by a Rogowski coil. The particle-in-cell simulation which is performed under some tolerable and necessary simplifications shows that the long explosive emission delay time of high-threshold cathodes may leave an apparent peak of displacement current on the rise edge of the current waveform, and this will occur only when the electron emission starts after this peak. The experimental researches, which are performed under a diode voltage of 1 MV and a repetitive frequency of 20 Hz, demonstrate that the graphite cathode has a lower emission threshold and a longer lifetime than the stainless steel cathode according to the variation of the peak of displacement current on the rise edge of the current waveform.
Acceleration of electrons generated during ionization of low density gases by a focused laser pulse
Authors: Singh Kunwar Pal , Arya Rashmi , Malik Anil K.
Published: August 2015

The acceleration of electrons generated during ionization of low density gases has been studied using seventh order correction fields of a laser pulse for linearly and circularly polarized laser pulse. The spectrum of energy and angle of emittance of the electrons generated and accelerated during ionization of nitrogen ions N5+, oxygen ions O6+, neon ions Ne8+, krypton ions Kr32+, and argon ions Ar16+ has been obtained for normalized laser intensity parameter a0=4, 6, 12, 20, and 75, respectively, for normalized laser spot size r0=60, 90, and 120. Energy and scattering spectrum for nitrogen, oxygen, and neon ions show two peaks and may generate quasimonoenergetic beams for small laser spot sizes. The energy spectrum is wide and peak lies at low energy for krypton than that for argon. The energy peaks are at higher energy for circularly polarized laser pulse than that for linearly polarized laser pulse. The paraxial approximation may fail to yield accurate results at low values of laser spot size and high laser intensity. The energy associated with spectrum peak tends to saturate with laser intensity.
Analysis of NIF experiments with the minimal energy implosion model
Authors: Cheng B. , Kwan T. J. T. , Wang Y. M. , Merrill F. E. , Cerjan C. J. , Batha S. H.
Published: August 2015

We apply a recently developed analytical model of implosion and thermonuclear burn to fusion capsule experiments performed at the National Ignition Facility that used low-foot and high-foot laser pulse formats. Our theoretical predictions are consistent with the experimental data. Our studies, together with neutron image analysis, reveal that the adiabats of the cold fuel in both low-foot and high-foot experiments are similar. That is, the cold deuterium-tritium shells in those experiments are all in a high adiabat state at the time of peak implosion velocity. The major difference between low-foot and high-foot capsule experiments is the growth of the shock-induced instabilities developed at the material interfaces which lead to fuel mixing with ablator material. Furthermore, we have compared the NIF capsules performance with the ignition criteria and analyzed the alpha particle heating in the NIF experiments. Our analysis shows that alpha heating was appreciable only in the high-foot experiments.
Weibel-mediated collisionless shocks in laser-irradiated dense plasmas: Prevailing role of the electrons in generating the field fluctuations
Authors: Ruyer C. , Gremillet L. , Bonnaud G.
Published: August 2015

We present a particle-in-cell simulation of the generation of a collisionless strong shock in a dense plasma driven by an ultra-intense, plane-wave laser pulse. A linear theory analysis, based on a multi-waterbag model of the particle distributions, highlights the role of the laser-heated electrons in triggering the Weibel-like instability causing shock formation. It is demonstrated that the return-current electrons play a major role in the instability development as well as in the determination of the saturated magnetic field. By contrast, the ions are found of minor importance in driving the instability and the magnetic field fluctuations responsible for their isotropization. Finally, we show that a Weibel-mediated shock can also be generated by a focused laser pulse of large enough spot size.
Impact of normalization methods on high-throughput screening data with high hit rates and drug testing with dose–response data
Authors: Mpindi John-Patrick , Swapnil Potdar , Dmitrii Bychkov , Jani Saarela , Saeed Khalid , Wennerberg Krister , Aittokallio Tero , Östling Päivi , Kallioniemi Olli
Published: August 2015

Motivation: Most data analysis tools for high-throughput screening (HTS) seek to uncover interesting hits for further analysis. They typically assume a low hit rate per plate. Hit rates can be dramatically higher in secondary screening, RNAi screening and in drug sensitivity testing using biologically active drugs. In particular, drug sensitivity testing on primary cells is often based on dose–response experiments, which pose a more stringent requirement for data quality and for intra- and inter-plate variation. Here, we compared common plate normalization and noise-reduction methods, including the B-score and the Loess a local polynomial fit method under high hit-rate scenarios of drug sensitivity testing. We generated simulated 384-well plate HTS datasets, each with 71 plates having a range of 20 (5%) to 160 (42%) hits per plate, with controls placed either at the edge of the plates or in a scattered configuration.

Results: We identified 20% (77/384) as the critical hit-rate after which the normalizations started to perform poorly. Results from real drug testing experiments supported this estimation. In particular, the B-score resulted in incorrect normalization of high hit-rate plates, leading to poor data quality, which could be attributed to its dependency on the median polish algorithm. We conclude that a combination of a scattered layout of controls per plate and normalization using a polynomial least squares fit method, such as Loess helps to reduce column, row and edge effects in HTS experiments with high hit-rates and is optimal for generating accurate dose–response curves.

Contact:  john.mpindi@helsinki.fi

Availability and implementation, Supplementary information: R code and Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Accurate disulfide-bonding network predictions improveab initiostructure prediction of cysteine-rich proteins
Authors: Yang Jing , He Bao-Ji , Jang Richard , Zhang Yang , Shen Hong-Bin
Published: August 2015

Motivation: Cysteine-rich proteins cover many important families in nature but there are currently no methods specifically designed for modeling the structure of these proteins. The accuracy of disulfide connectivity pattern prediction, particularly for the proteins of higher-order connections, e.g. >3 bonds, is too low to effectively assist structure assembly simulations.

Results: We propose a new hierarchical order reduction protocol called Cyscon for disulfide-bonding prediction. The most confident disulfide bonds are first identified and bonding prediction is then focused on the remaining cysteine residues based on SVR training. Compared with purely machine learning-based approaches, Cyscon improved the average accuracy of connectivity pattern prediction by 21.9%. For proteins with more than 5 disulfide bonds, Cyscon improved the accuracy by 585% on the benchmark set of PDBCYS. When applied to 158 non-redundant cysteine-rich proteins, Cyscon predictions helped increase (or decrease) the TM-score (or RMSD) of the ab initio QUARK modeling by 12.1% (or 14.4%). This result demonstrates a new avenue to improve the ab initio structure modeling for cysteine-rich proteins.

Availability and implementation:  http://www.csbio.sjtu.edu.cn/bioinf/Cyscon/

Contact:  zhng@umich.edu or hbshen@sjtu.edu.cn

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Reducing bias due to noise and attenuation in open-ocean echo integration data
Authors: Ryan Tim E. , Downie Ryan A. , Kloser Rudy J. , Keith Gordon
Published: August 2015

Measurements of mean volume backscattering strength (Sv, dB re 1 m−1) at ocean-basin scale were made using 38-kHz hull-mounted echosounders on ships of opportunity as part of Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System. The data were collected on vessels of various designs, none of which were purposely built for collecting high-quality acoustic data. A full range of weather extremes affected the quality of the data and could cause large biases in Sv. To remove first-order biases and improve processing efficiency, a sequence of new and existing data processing filters were applied in a semi-automated procedure. These filters were designed to mitigate the effects of three types of noise: impulsive (less than one ping), transient (multiple pings), and background (hours or longer). A filter was also applied to identify signals that were attenuated by air bubbles beneath the transducer. These filters were applied to data from transits across the Southwest Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans to produce quality-controlled Sv datasets that are now available from a publicly accessible repository. These filters may be relevant to other open-ocean acoustic observing endeavours, and one or more could be used to mitigate bias in data from a range of acoustic applications.