bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
S-nitrosylation regulates mitochondrial quality control via activation of parkin
Authors: Ozawa Kentaro , Komatsubara Akira T. , Nishimura Yuhei , Sawada Tomoyo , Kawafune Hiroto , Tsumoto Hiroki , Tsuji Yuichi , Zhao Jing , Kyotani Yoji , Tanaka Toshio , Takahashi Ryosuke , Yoshizumi Masanori
Published: July 2013

Parkin, a ubiquitin E3 ligase of the ring between ring fingers family, has been implicated in mitochondrial quality control. A series of recent reports have suggested that the recruitment of parkin is regulated by phosphorylation. However, the molecular mechanism that activates parkin to induce mitochondrial degradation is not well understood. Here and in contrast to previous reports that S-nitrosylation of parkin is exclusively inhibitory, we identify a previously unrecognized site of S-nitrosylation in parkin (Cys323) that induces mitochondrial degradation. We demonstrate that endogenous S-nitrosylation of parkin is in fact responsible for activation of its E3 ligase activity to induce aggregation and degradation. We further demonstrate that mitochondrial uncoupling agents result in denitrosylation of parkin and that prevention of denitrosylation restores mitochondrial degradation. Our data indicates that NO both positive effects on mitochondrial quality control and suggest that targeted S-nitrosylation could provide a novel therapeutic strategy against Parkinson's disease.
Delivering and phenotyping mouse models for the respiratory community: a report on the Biochemical Society Workshop
Authors: Dean Charlotte , Bingle Colin , Hind Matthew
Published: July 2013

The IMPC (International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium) was launched recently, and its aim is to develop and phenotype mouse knockouts of 4000 genes over the next 5 years and, ultimately, of all 20000 or so genes in the mouse genome. As part of the IMPC, the MRC (Medical Research Council) also launched a call for MRC mouse networks, where groups of U.K.-based researchers could form a consortium based around a particular area of research. Members of the respiratory research community formed the RDDRC (Respiratory Development and Disease Research Consortium) to consolidate and develop respiratory phenotyping methods suitable for high-throughput screening. This paper, arising from a Biochemical Society workshop held in London in 2012, highlights the purposes of the RDDRC and the needs of the respiratory research community.
Slew rate enhancement via excessive transient feedback
Authors: Huang B. , Xu L. , Chen D.
Published: July 2013

A simple yet very effective slew rate enhancement (SRE) method is proposed. The proposed SRE feedback is normally off and is activated only when an excessive transient signal in the output stage indicates the onset of slewing. Therefore, the method does not degrade the small signal performances or the linearity of amplifiers as do most existing SRE techniques. The new SRE applies to both single‐stage and multi‐stage, both single‐ended and fully differential amplifiers. Simulation results of an example implementation show more than 700% slew rate boost with less than 2.5% power consumption overhead.
Scalable macromodelling of microwave system responses using sequential sampling with path‐simplexes
Authors: Chemmangat K. , Dhaene T. , Knockaert L.
Published: July 2013

A scattered sequential sampling algorithm for the automatic construction of stable and passive scalable macromodels of parameterised system responses with a well‐conditioned refinement strategy using path‐simplexes is proposed. The method is tailored towards the local scalable macromodelling schemes on scattered grids. A pertinent numerical example validates the proposed approach.
High pyroelectric coefficient modified lead titanate thin films deposition using gold electrode
Authors: Ahmed M. , Butler D.P.
Published: July 2013

Reported is the deposition and characterisation of lead zirconium titanate (PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3) (PZT) and lead calcium titanate (Pb0.7Ca0.3Ti03) (PCT) deposited on a gold electrode with a gold top electrode to form a capacitor structure. Pulsed laser deposition was utilised to deposit the thin films. The thin films were characterised for their dielectric constant and loss tangent variation with temperature as well as the pyroelectric coefficient. The thin films were poled to improve the pyroelectric effect. The highest pyroelectric coefficient was found to be 280 µC/m2 K for PZT film and 400 µC/m2 K for the PCT film after poling.
Joint modelling of medium access and primary/secondary users for cognitive radios through Markov chain
Authors: Vasconcelos E. , Dias K.L. , Cunha P.R.F. , Cavalcanti D. , Cordeiro C.
Published: July 2013

The channel availability of cognitive radio is often estimated through a two‐state ON/OFF model of primary users’ (PUs) behaviour. The ON/OFF model estimates channel availability with respect to the presence of PUs. Multiple secondary users (SUs) may be aware of channel availability, and try to opportunistically access the channel when it becomes available. Hence, the ON/OFF model may overestimate channel capacity from the perspective of SUs, since the channel could be occupied not only by a resuming PU, but also by contending SUs. Proposed is a joint channel availability estimation through a Markov chain model which takes into account, within a single model, PU behaviour and the SU's carrier sensing with multiple access/collision avoidance contention access, without leading to the state explosion problem. Simulations performed show that the joint channel availability equation is able to estimate channel capacity with mean errors of around 2%.
High isolation dual‐port MIMO antenna
Authors: Li W.W. , Zhang B. , Zhou J.H. , You B.Q.
Published: July 2013

A compact dual‐port multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna is proposed for 2.4 GHz wireless local area network systems. The radiation element consists of a monopole and a patch ring with two cuts, through which a coplanar waveguide port and a slotline port are constructed. The current distributions of the proposed antenna for both ports excited are simulated and analysed, respectively. According to the measurement results of the manufactured antenna prototype, the isolation between these two ports over the operating frequencies is better than –35 dB and the cross‐polarisation radiation levels are less than –45 dB at the main direction. Finally, the proposed antenna has excellent isolation not only at the feed ports, but also in the radiation patterns.
Towards less conservative stabilisation conditions for Markovian jump linear systems with partly unknown transition probabilities
Authors: Kim S.H.
Published: July 2013

The problem of deriving less conservative stability and stabilisation conditions for a class of discrete‐time Markovian jump linear systems with partly unknown transition probabilities is investigated. To do so, traditional conditions under consideration are first formulated to be with homogeneous polynomial dependence on partly unknown transition probabilities, and then be converted into a finite set of linear matrix inequalities via a relaxation process that can incorporate all possible slack variables coupled with transition probabilities.
Non‐stationarity of body area networks for sleep monitoring
Authors: Chaganti V. , Hanlen L. , Smith D.
Published: July 2013

The stationarity of the body area network (BAN) channel when the subject is sleeping is examined. The authors question the validity of first‐ and second‐order distribution fits to BAN channel gain. Wide sense stationarity tests have an upper bound at 70% probability for a maximum data length of 5 s. For data lengths greater than 5 s, the probability of stationarity rapidly diminishes. It is shown that the BAN channel is inherently non‐stationary, and independent of the subject, sensor location and activity.
Method for correcting both errors and erasures of RS codes using error‐only and erasure‐only decoding algorithms
Authors: Lu Erl‐Huei , Lu Pen‐Yao , Chen Tso‐Cho
Published: July 2013

A method for correcting both errors and erasures of Reed‐Solomon (RS) codes using error‐only and erasure‐only decoding algorithms is proposed. First, the method removes the effect of erasures from syndromes, then it uses error‐only and erasure‐only correcting processes to correct errors and erasures, respectively; thus, the overall decoding complexity can be reduced substantially. Furthermore, with hardware implementation, the most time‐consuming operations in these two processes can be calculated concurrently to obtain a significant reduction of decoding latency.
Film bulk acoustic biosensor for detection of trace pesticide residues in agricultural products
Authors: Chen D. , Wang J.J. , Xu Y. , Liu W.H. , Wang P.
Published: July 2013

A highly sensitive, rapid and convenient biosensor based on film bulk acoustic resonator has been developed for detection of pesticide residues in agricultural products. When the pesticide molecules are bound to the immobilised antibodies on the resonator sensing surface, the resonant frequency is obviously reduced because of additional mass. Trace pesticide in the solutions was detected through real‐time monitoring of the resonant frequency during antigen–antibody reactions on the resonator surface. Using the proposed biosensor, realised is a convenient and rapid detection process (less than 1 min) and a remarkable low detection limit (ppb level) for the pesticide. On the basis of the sensing performances, the film bulk acoustic resonator shows promising applications for food safety guarantees.
Polarisation‐sensitive sub‐terahertz‐wave detector implementing antenna‐integrated zero‐bias Schottky barrier diode
Authors: Ito H. , Yoshimatsu T. , Yamamoto H. , Ishibashi T.
Published: July 2013

A polarisation‐sensitive sub‐terahertz‐wave detector has been developed by integrating an InP/InGaAsP Schottky barrier diode and a modified bowtie antenna. The fabricated quasi‐optical module could detect signals at frequencies ranging from 30 GHz to 1 THz. The measured sensitivities were 1080 V/W at 250 GHz, 250 V/W at 400 GHz and 86 V/W at 600 GHz for a zero‐bias condition. The principal polarisation axis angle for signal detection was confirmed to be stable within ±1.5° in a frequency ranging from 80 to 600 GHz, while the degree of polarisation was more than 95%.
Distributed adaptive consensus tracking of a class of networked non‐linear systems with parametric uncertainties
Authors: Yoo Sung Jin
Published: July 2013

This study investigates a distributed adaptive consensus tracking problem for multiple non‐linear strict‐feedback systems with parametric uncertainties under a directed communication graph topology. It is assumed that the information of a leader is available for only a limited subset of followers. The distributed adaptive dynamic surface design approach is presented to design the local controller of each follower to guarantee that all networked followers with unmatched parametric uncertainties synchronise to the leader regardless of a lack of the shared information on the communication links. From the Lyapunov stability theorem, it is shown that the consensus tracking errors are cooperatively semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded and converge to an adjustable neighbourhood of the origin.
Local mode‐dependent decentralised H∞ control of uncertain Markovian jump large‐scale systems
Authors: Zhuansun Guilin , Xiong Junlin
Published: July 2013

This study considers the problem of robust H∞ control using decentralised state feedback controllers for a class of large‐scale systems with Markov jump parameters. A sufficient condition is developed to design controllers using local system states and local system operation modes. The sufficient condition is given in terms of rank constrained linear matrix inequalities. An illustrative numerical example is given to demonstrate the developed theory.
Output‐feedback stabilisation control for a class of under‐actuated mechanical systems
Authors: Xu Liang , Hu Qinglei
Published: July 2013

Output‐feedback control of general underactuated mechanical systems is currently considered a major open problem. This study is focused on the output‐feedback stabilisation control problems for a special class of underactuated mechanical systems, which appear in robotics and aerospace applications. For the synthesis of controller, first, the considered underactuated mechanical system is explicitly transformed into two cascade connected subsystems, and then an auxiliary filter‐based virtual stabilisation controller is developed to locally asymptotically stabilise the first subsystem. Further, the designed virtual controller is again involved into the second subsystem using backstepping procedure to construct the actual control law, in which a series of auxiliary time‐varying first‐order low‐pass filters are also implemented to avoid using the derivative of the system non‐linear functions. Moreover, in the second step, finite‐time observer technique is utilised to precisely reconstruct the immeasurable states to achieve the finite‐time stabilisation control in the sense of output feedback. Lyapunov analysis shows the local asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system through the cascade system stability criteria. Simulation results are presented by using two benchmark non‐linear underactuated mechanical systems to demonstrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
Development and evaluation of perceptually adapted colour gradients
Authors: Sáez Aurora , Mendoza Carlos S. , Acha Begoña , Serrano Carmen
Published: July 2013

In this study a set of colour gradients based on colour visual perception, which use International Commission on Illumination (CIE) L*a*b* colour space, is presented. The main objective is the study of how the colour difference equations, developed by CIE, affect the estimation of the gradients in terms of correlation with colour visual perception. To evaluate the gradients performance they are used as the basis of an edge detector based on levelset. A set of synthetic images was designed to evaluate which edge detector and consequently, which colour difference equation, is more correlated with human perception of colour. Both quantitative and qualitative measurements showed that the results obtained using CIE94 have a higher correlation with what the human eye can perceive.
Mixed noise removal filter for multi‐channel images based on halfspace deepest location
Authors: Baljozović Djordje , Kovačević Branko , Baljozović Aleksandra
Published: July 2013

In this study, the authors propose a novel method for removing mixed (mixture of impulse and Gaussian) multi‐channel noise from multi‐channel digital images based on a modified version of the algorithm introduced by Struyf and Rousseeuw (Comput. Stat. Data Anal. (2000), 34, pp. 415–426) for finding approximate halfspace deepest location (Tukey's median). Denoising results of this new nonlinear spatial domain filtering method applied to benchmark images corrupted by multi‐channel mixed noise outperform currently used spatial domain filters and state‐of‐the‐art wavelet transform domain filters in terms of both peak signal‐to‐noise ratio and visual quality. Unlike most of the existing algorithms which remove the noise from multi‐channel digital images on each of the channels separately, our method, because of its multivariate/multi‐dimensional nature, eliminates the noise on all channels simultaneously without their separation, thus preserving the spectral correlation between channels in a multi‐channel image. Proposed denoising method is very effective for removal of very wide range of powers of mixed multi‐channel noise, but can be also successfully implemented for reduction of other forms of multi‐channel noise since it is independent of the source or distribution of the noise.
Non‐linear fourth‐order telegraph‐diffusion equation for noise removal
Authors: Zeng Weili , Lu Xiaobo , Tan Xianghua
Published: July 2013

Fourth‐order partial differential equations (PDEs) for noise removal are able to provide a good trade‐off between noise removal and edge preservation, and can avoid blocky effects often caused by second‐order PDE. In this study, the authors propose a fourth‐order telegraph‐diffusion equation (TDE) for noise removal. In the authors method, a domain‐based fourth‐order PDE is proposed, which takes advantage of statistic characteristics of isolated speckles in the Laplace domain to segment the image domain into two domains: speckle domain and non‐speckle domain. Then, depending on the domain type, they adopt different conductance coefficients in the proposed fourth‐order PDE. The proposed method inherits the advantage of fourth‐order PDE which is able to avoid the blocky effects widely seen in images processed by second‐order PDE. Furthermore, a TDE processing scheme is derived from previously proposed domain‐based fourth‐order PDE by adding second time derivative, which results in better edge preservation, whereas yielding better improvement in signal‐to‐noise ratio and low noise sensitivity. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Detection of local invariant features using contour
Authors: Hu Haibo , Lin Xiaoze , Zhang Xiaohong , Feng Yong
Published: July 2013

This study proposes a new method for the detection of local invariant features with contour. This method differs from traditional methods that use image intensity. Image contours can be extracted stably with changes in viewpoint, scale, illumination and other factors. The proposed algorithm first extracts the stable corner from the contour, then it fits the supporting region of the contour near the corner to an angle, and uses its bisector as the direction of the feature. Next, it searches the contour for the tangent point in the direction of the angle bisector. Finally, with the corner as the centre, and in combination with the tangent point and the feature direction, an elliptic invariant region is constructed. The feasibility of the algorithm was verified experimentally by comparing its repetition rate. Test images obtained from actual scenes include several types of transformations, such as rotation, scaling, affinity, illumination and noise. The results of the experiment show the feasibility of the proposed method for use in local invariant features detection.
Ontology reasoning scheme for constructing meaningful sports video summarisation
Authors: Ouyang Jian‐quan , Liu Renren
Published: July 2013

As digital sports video becomes increasingly pervasive, semantic video summary becomes one of the important components for the next generation of multimedia applications. Ontology is a feasible way to mine the semantic information from the video stream. However, current ontology‐based methods did not concentrate on the effectiveness and soundness of semantic reasoning. Here, the authors propose a content‐directed ontology reasoning approach to produce meaningful sports video summarisation. The proposed ontology can facilitate the metadata acquisition of video and the improvement of query performance. It also provides a flexible way to query the sports video database, which cannot be achieved by simple keyword search. For annotating, describing and managing the sports video content, we propose a sports video descriptive language (SVDL) based on the proposed ontology. Moreover, the semantically meaningful sports video abstraction is produced by reasoning engine which is based on the extension of the Tableau algorithm. Meanwhile, the soundness and completeness of the reasoning algorithm can be solidly proved. Subjective assessment experimental results reveal the reliability and efficiency of the propose scheme.
Free energy calculations for molecular solids using GROMACS
Authors: Aragones J. L. , Noya E. G. , Valeriani C. , Vega C.
Published: July 2013

In this work, we describe a procedure to evaluate the free energy of molecular solids with the GROMACS molecular dynamics package. The free energy is calculated using the Einstein molecule method that can be regarded as a small modification of the Einstein crystal method. Here, the position and orientation of the molecules is fixed by using an Einstein field that binds with harmonic springs at least three non-collinear atoms (or points of the molecule) to their reference positions. The validity of the Einstein field is tested by performing free-energy calculations of methanol, water (ice), and patchy colloids molecular solids. The free energies calculated with GROMACS show a very good agreement with those obtained using Monte Carlo and with previously published results.
Magnetoelectric thin film composites with interdigital electrodes
Authors: Piorra A. , Jahns R. , Teliban I. , Gugat J. L. , Gerken M. , Knöchel R. , Quandt E.
Published: July 2013

Magnetoelectric (ME) thin film composites on silicon cantilevers are fabricated using Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.45)O3 (PZT) films with interdigital transducer electrodes on the top side and FeCoSiB amorphous magnetostrictive thin films on the backside. These composites without any direct interface between the piezoelectric and magnetostrictive phase are superior to conventional plate capacitor-type thin film ME composites. A limit of detection of 2.6 pT/Hz1/2 at the mechanical resonance is determined which corresponds to an improvement of a factor of approximately 2.8 compared to the best plate type sensor using AlN as the piezoelectric phase and even a factor of approximately 4 for a PZT plate capacitor.
Reentrant superconductivity and superconducting critical temperature oscillations in F/S/F trilayers of Cu41Ni59/Nb/Cu41Ni59 grown on cobalt oxide
Authors: Zdravkov V. I. , Kehrle J. , Lenk D. , Obermeier G. , Ullrich A. , Müller C. , Krug von Nidda H. A. , Morari R. , Sidorenko A. S. , Tagirov L. R. , Horn S. , Tidecks R.
Published: July 2013

Ferromagnet/Superconductor/Ferromagnet (F/S/F) trilayers constitute the core of a superconducting spin valve. The switching effect of the spin valve is based on interference phenomena occurring due to the proximity effect at the S/F interfaces. A remarkable effect is only expected if the core structure exhibits strong critical temperature oscillations, or most favorable, reentrant superconductivity, when the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer is increased. The core structure has to be grown on an antiferromagnetic oxide layer (or such layer to be placed on top) to pin by exchange bias the magnetization-orientation of one of the ferromagnetic layers. In the present paper, we demonstrate that this is possible, keeping the superconducting behavior of the core structure undisturbed.
New direct method for evaluating recoilless f-factors of two iron-sites in Fe-bearing compounds using Mössbauer spectrometry
Authors: Barrero C. A. , García K. E.
Published: July 2013

We propose a new direct method for calculating simultaneously two recoilless f-factors of any iron-bearing compound relative to that of a reference material by collecting only a single-temperature Mössbauer spectrum. This methodology is comparatively much simpler than the usual one which requires taking Mössbauer spectra of the compound at several temperatures and subsequently fitting the temperature dependence of the subspectral area or the isomer shift data with a lattice vibrational model. We demonstrate the applicability of this new methodology in the case of three common iron-bearing compounds: magnetite, akaganeite and goethite, but of course this type of study can be extended to other materials. The two f-factors for each compound were related to iron ions located in sites of different origin: for magnetite, these were related to irons with two different oxidation states; for akaganeite to irons in two different crystallographic sites; and for goethite to irons in similar crystal sites but located in grains of different sizes. In the case of magnetite, we found that the f-factors for the Fe3+ and Fe2.5+ sites relative to that of metallic iron powder were of fFe3+/fFe = 0.97 ± 0.05 and fFe2.5+/fFe = 0.92 ± 0.05, respectively. Interestingly, the quotient of these two f-factors, i.e., fFe2.5+/fFe3+, is equal to 0.95 ± 0.05, which compares fairly well with a value reported in literature obtained using the complex methodology based on the temperature dependence of the absolute subspectral area and the Debye approximation. For akaganeite, the f-factors of the doublet 1, D1, and doublet 2, D2, sites relative to that of metallic iron powder were of fD1/fFe = 0.95 ± 0.08 and fD2/fFe = 0.98 ± 0.15, respectively. And for goethite we found that the f-factors of the sextet 1, G1, and sextet 2, G2, sites relative to that of metallic iron powder were of fG1/fFe = 0.80 ± 0.02 and fG2/fFe = 0.80 ± 0.02, respectively. The similarity of these last two factors is perhaps due to a sharp distribution of large grains.
Can the atomic yields oscillate during ion sputtering of an initially homogeneous multicomponent alloy?
Authors: Mark Bradley R. , Mauser Kelly W.
Published: July 2013

We study the time evolution of the surface composition and the atomic sputter yields when a multicomponent alloy is bombarded with a broad ion beam. For a binary or a ternary alloy, the sputter yields approach steady-state values exponentially with time if the sputter yield of each atomic species is proportional to its surface concentration. There may be two distinct stable steady-state solutions to the equations of motion for the sputtering of a binary alloy if the sputter yield of one of the atomic species is amplified. In the case of a ternary alloy, we give a hypothetical example that satisfies the minimal physical requirements and that yields long-lived oscillations in the sputter yields of the three atomic species.
Direct measurement of the characteristic three-body electron attachment time in the atmospheric air in direct current electric field
Authors: Shutov A. V. , Smetanin I. V. , Ionin A. A. , Levchenko A. O. , Seleznev L. V. , Sinitsyn D. V. , Ustinovskii N. N. , Zvorykin V. D.
Published: July 2013

We report the results of theoretical and experimental study of the characteristic time for three-body attachment of electrons produced by 100 fs UV laser pulse in the atmosphere air in the external DC electric field ranged from 0.2 to 10 kV/cm.
Evidence of two sensitization processes of Nd3+ ions in Nd-doped SiOx films
Authors: Liang C.-H. , Cardin J. , Labbé C. , Gourbilleau F.
Published: July 2013

This paper aims to study the excitation mechanism of Nd3+ ions in Nd-SiOx (x < 2) films. The films were deposited by magnetron co-sputtering followed by a rapid thermal annealing at temperature TA ranging from 600 to 1200 °C. Two different photoluminescence (PL) behaviors have been evidenced in SiOx layers depending on the annealing temperature. For low TA (TA < 1000 °C), the recorded visible PL originates from defects energy levels while for high TA (TA > 1000 °C), the visible emission emanates from recombination of excitons in Si nanoclusters. When doped with Nd3+ ions, the visible PL behaviors of Nd-SiOx films follow the same trends. Nd3+ PL was investigated and its decay rate was analyzed in detail. Depending on the annealing conditions, two types of sensitizers have been evidenced. Finally, maximum Nd3+ PL emission has been achieved at around 750 °C when the number of Nd3+ ions excited by the two types of sensitizers reaches a maximum.
Optical biosensing of bacteria and cells using porous silicon based, photonic lamellar gratings
Authors: Mirsky Y. , Nahor A. , Edrei E. , Massad-Ivanir N. , Bonanno L. M. , Segal E. , Sa'ar A.
Published: July 2013

We report on a method to extend the optical sensing capabilities of conventional RIFTS (reflective interferometric Fourier transform spectroscopy) biosensors for real-time detection of large microorganisms, such as bacteria and cells. Using macro porous silicon based 2D arrays of phase (lamellar) grating, we demonstrate that the zero-order optical reflectivity exhibits a similar interference pattern to that obtained for ordinary RIFTS biosensors, which can be Fourier transformed into optical thickness and exploited for biosensing. The sensing capabilities are demonstrated for Escherichia coli bacteria that were captured inside the macro-pores. The entrapment process is monitored and verified by confocal laser scanning microscopy.
Laser spectroscopic gas concentration measurements in situations with unknown optical path length enabled by absorption line shape analysis
Authors: Lundin P. , Mei L. , Andersson-Engels S. , Svanberg S.
Published: July 2013

The concentrations of molecular oxygen and nitrogen in a gas mixture were determined by their impact on the shape of a water vapor line in the near infrared region using diode laser absorption spectroscopy. The shape of the water vapor line depends on the composition of other gases in the mixture and can therefore be used to deduce the concentration of partner molecules, e.g., oxygen, in the buffer. The method enables gas concentration measurements in situations when the path length is unknown, measurements of many gases simultaneously, and measurements of gases lacking suitable absorption lines.
Fast high-temperature superconductor switch for high current applications
Authors: Solovyov Vyacheslav F. , Li Qiang
Published: July 2013

Reversible operation of a high current superconductor switch based on the quench of high-resistance second generation high temperature superconducting wire is demonstrated. The quench is induced by a burst of an ac field generated by an inductively coupled radio-frequency coil. The switch makes a superconducting-to-normal transition within 5 ms and also has a rapid recovery to the superconducting state. The device has potential applications as an active current limiter or as a storage switch for superconducting magnetic energy storage systems. Operation in a full flux penetration/flow regime can effectively minimize the detrimental effects of the intrinsic conductor non-uniformity.
Low-damage high-throughput grazing-angle sputter deposition on graphene
Authors: Chen C.-T. , Casu E. A. , Gajek M. , Raoux S.
Published: July 2013

Despite the prevalence of sputter deposition in the microelectronics industry, it has seen very limited applications for graphene electronics. In this letter, we report systematic investigation of the sputtering induced damages in graphene and identify the energetic sputtering gas neutrals as the primary cause of graphene disorder. We further demonstrate a grazing-incidence sputtering configuration that strongly suppresses fast neutral bombardment and retains graphene structure integrity, creating considerably lower damage than electron-beam evaporation. Such sputtering technique yields fully covered, smooth thin dielectric films, highlighting its potential for contact metals, gate oxides, and tunnel barriers fabrication in graphene device applications.
Time-resolved temperature measurement and numerical simulation of millisecond laser irradiated silicon
Authors: Li Zewen , Zhang Hongchao , Shen Zhonghua , Ni Xiaowu
Published: July 2013

Thermal process of 1064 nm millisecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiated silicon was time-resolved temperature measured by an infrared radiation pyrometer, temperature evolutions of the spot center for wide range of laser energy densities were presented. The waveforms of temperature evolution curves contained much information about phase change, melting, solidification and vaporization. An axisymmetric numerical model was established for millisecond laser heating silicon. The transient temperature fields were obtained by using the finite element method. The numerical results of temperature evolutions of the spot center are in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, the axial temperature distributions of the numerical results give a better understanding of the waveforms in the experimental results. The melting threshold, vaporizing threshold, melting duration, and melting depth were better identified by analyzing two kinds of results.
Performance enhancement of piezoelectric energy harvesters from wake galloping
Authors: Abdelkefi A. , Scanlon J. M. , McDowell E. , Hajj M. R.
Published: July 2013

Experiments are performed to investigate the effects of wake galloping on the range of flow speeds over which a galloping-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvester can be effectively used. Two different upstream cylinders and a wide range of spacing between the upstream and downstream cylinders are considered. Bifurcation diagrams and type of instability for different setups are determined. The results show a complex relation between the upstream circular cylinder size, the spacing between the two cylinders, the flow speed, and the load resistance on one hand, and the level of harvested power on the other hand.
Atg29 phosphorylation regulates coordination of the Atg17-Atg31-Atg29 complex with the Atg11 scaffold during autophagy initiation
Authors: Mao Kai , Chew Leon H. , Inoue-Aono Yuko , Cheong Heesun , Nair Usha , Popelka Hana , Yip Calvin K. , Klionsky Daniel J.
Published: July 2013

Significance

In eukaryotes, the Atg1 kinase complex controls both autophagy induction and the recruitment of other autophagy proteins to the phagophore assembly site (PAS); however, it remains unclear how the Atg1 kinase complex itself is targeted to the PAS or regulated. In this study, we showed that the Atg17-Atg31-Atg29 complex displayed an elongated S-shaped structure, and the interaction of this complex with Atg11 was essential for recruiting the intact Atg1 kinase complex. The phosphorylation of Atg29 is the “switch” controlling the interaction, as it is required for both binding to Atg11 and the PAS targeting of the Atg17-Atg31-Atg29 complex.
Single-dose vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis
Authors: Rumyantsev Alexander A. , Goncalvez Ana P. , Giel-Moloney Maryann , Catalan John , Liu Yuxi , Gao Qing-sheng , Almond Jeff , Kleanthous Harry , Pugachev Konstantin V.
Published: July 2013

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is the most important human pathogen transmitted by ticks in Eurasia. Inactivated vaccines are available but require multiple doses and frequent boosters to induce and maintain immunity. Thus far, the goal of developing a safe, live attenuated vaccine effective after a single dose has remained elusive. Here we used a replication-defective (single-cycle) flavivirus platform, RepliVax, to generate a safe, single-dose TBE vaccine. Several RepliVax-TBE candidates attenuated by a deletion in the capsid gene were constructed using different flavivirus backbones containing the envelope genes of TBE virus. RepliVax-TBE based on a West Nile virus backbone (RV-WN/TBE) grew more efficiently in helper cells than candidates based on Langat E5, TBE, and yellow fever 17D backbones, and was found to be highly immunogenic and efficacious in mice. Live chimeric yellow fever 17D/TBE, Dengue 2/TBE, and Langat E5/TBE candidates were also constructed but were found to be underattenuated. RV-WN/TBE was demonstrated to be highly immunogenic in Rhesus macaques after a single dose, inducing a significantly more durable humoral immune response compared with three doses of a licensed, adjuvanted human inactivated vaccine. Its immunogenicity was not significantly affected by preexisting immunity against WN. Immunized monkeys were protected from a stringent surrogate challenge. These results support the identification of a single-cycle TBE vaccine with a superior product profile to existing inactivated vaccines, which could lead to improved vaccine coverage and control of the disease.
Illusory ownership of a virtual child body causes overestimation of object sizes and implicit attitude changes
Authors: Banakou Domna , Groten Raphaela , Slater Mel
Published: July 2013

An illusory sensation of ownership over a surrogate limb or whole body can be induced through specific forms of multisensory stimulation, such as synchronous visuotactile tapping on the hidden real and visible rubber hand in the rubber hand illusion. Such methods have been used to induce ownership over a manikin and a virtual body that substitute the real body, as seen from first-person perspective, through a head-mounted display. However, the perceptual and behavioral consequences of such transformed body ownership have hardly been explored. In Exp. 1, immersive virtual reality was used to embody 30 adults as a 4-y-old child (condition C), and as an adult body scaled to the same height as the child (condition A), experienced from the first-person perspective, and with virtual and real body movements synchronized. The result was a strong body-ownership illusion equally for C and A. Moreover there was an overestimation of the sizes of objects compared with a nonembodied baseline, which was significantly greater for C compared with A. An implicit association test showed that C resulted in significantly faster reaction times for the classification of self with child-like compared with adult-like attributes. Exp. 2 with an additional 16 participants extinguished the ownership illusion by using visuomotor asynchrony, with all else equal. The size-estimation and implicit association test differences between C and A were also extinguished. We conclude that there are perceptual and probably behavioral correlates of body-ownership illusions that occur as a function of the type of body in which embodiment occurs.
Clonal precursor of bone, cartilage, and hematopoietic niche stromal cells
Authors: Chan Charles K. F. , Lindau Paul , Jiang Wen , Chen James Y. , Zhang Lillian F. , Chen Ching-Cheng , Seita Jun , Sahoo Debashis , Kim Jae-Beom , Lee Andrew , Park Sujin , Nag Divya , Gong Yongquan , Kulkarni Subhash , Luppen Cynthia A. , Theologis Alexander A. , Wan Derrick C. , DeBoer Anthony , Seo Eun Young , Vincent-Tompkins Justin D. , Loh Kyle , Walmsley Graham G. , Kraft Daniel L. , Wu Joseph C. , Longaker Michael T. , Weissman Irving L.
Published: July 2013

Organs are composites of tissue types with diverse developmental origins, and they rely on distinct stem and progenitor cells to meet physiological demands for cellular production and homeostasis. How diverse stem cell activity is coordinated within organs is not well understood. Here we describe a lineage-restricted, self-renewing common skeletal progenitor (bone, cartilage, stromal progenitor; BCSP) isolated from limb bones and bone marrow tissue of fetal, neonatal, and adult mice. The BCSP clonally produces chondrocytes (cartilage-forming) and osteogenic (bone-forming) cells and at least three subsets of stromal cells that exhibit differential expression of cell surface markers, including CD105 (or endoglin), Thy1 [or CD90 (cluster of differentiation 90)], and 6C3 [ENPEP glutamyl aminopeptidase (aminopeptidase A)]. These three stromal subsets exhibit differential capacities to support hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem and progenitor cells. Although the 6C3-expressing subset demonstrates functional stem cell niche activity by maintaining primitive hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) renewal in vitro, the other stromal populations promote HSC differentiation to more committed lines of hematopoiesis, such as the B-cell lineage. Gene expression analysis and microscopic studies further reveal a microenvironment in which CD105-, Thy1-, and 6C3-expressing marrow stroma collaborate to provide cytokine signaling to HSCs and more committed hematopoietic progenitors. As a result, within the context of bone as a blood-forming organ, the BCSP plays a critical role in supporting hematopoiesis through its generation of diverse osteogenic and hematopoietic-promoting stroma, including HSC supportive 6C3(+) niche cells.
A molt timer is involved in the metamorphic molt inManduca sextalarvae
Authors: Suzuki Yuichiro , Koyama Takashi , Hiruma Kiyoshi , Riddiford Lynn M. , Truman James W.
Published: July 2013

Manduca sextalarvae are a model for growth control in insects, particularly for the demonstration of critical weight, a threshold weight that the larva must surpass before it can enter metamorphosis on a normal schedule, and the inhibitory action of juvenile hormone on this checkpoint. We examined the effects of nutrition on allatectomized (CAX) larvae that lack juvenile hormone to impose the critical weight checkpoint. Normal larvae respond to prolonged starvation at the start of the last larval stage, by extending their subsequent feeding period to ensure that they begin metamorphosis above critical weight. CAX larvae, by contrast, show no homeostatic adjustment to starvation but start metamorphosis 4 d after feeding onset, regardless of larval size or the state of development of their imaginal discs. By feeding starved CAX larvae for various durations, we found that feeding for only 12–24 h was sufficient to result in metamorphosis on day 4, regardless of further feeding or body size. Manipulation of diet composition showed that protein was the critical macronutrient to initiate this timing. This constant period between the start of feeding and the onset of metamorphosis suggests that larvae possess a molt timer that establishes a minimal time to metamorphosis. Ligation experiments indicate that a portion of the timing may occur in the prothoracic glands. This positive system that promotes molting and the negative control via the critical weight checkpoint provide antagonistic pathways that evolution can modify to adapt growth to the ecological needs of different insects.
One small step for MIP towards automated metaphor identification?
Authors: Dorst Aletta G. , Reijnierse W.Gudrun , Venhuizen Gemma
Published: July 2013

The manual annotation of large corpora is time-consuming and brings about issues of consistency. This paper aims to demonstrate how general rules for determining basic meanings can be formulated in large-scale projects involving multiple analysts applying MIP(VU) to authentic data. Three sets of problematic lexical units — chemical processes, colours, and sharp objects — are discussed in relation to the question of how the basic meaning of a lexical unit can be determined when human and non-human senses compete as candidates for the basic meaning; these analyses can therefore be considered a detailed case study of problems encountered during step 3.b. of MIP(VU). The analyses show how these problematic cases were tackled in a large corpus clean-up project in order to streamline the annotations and ensure a greater consistency of the corpus. In addition, this paper will point out how the formulation of general identification rules and guidelines could provide a first step towards the automatic detection of linguistic metaphors in natural discourse.
LIFE IS A JOURNEY
Authors: Kromhout Roelf , Forceville Charles
Published: July 2013

The debate between narrativists and ludologists has long enlivened discussions among game theorists. Should videogames be seen as an offshoot of (film) stories, and thus be studied primarily from the perspective of narratology? Or do they represent a truly different phenomenon, and thus require an analytic approach that has nothing to gain from narratology? In this paper we intend not so much to solve this conundrum as suggest how it has arisen in the first place, by showing what journey stories and videogames that involve the movement of the player’s avatar have in common. Our central claim is that both journey stories and such games involve physical movement and quests, and moreover are based on some sort of ‘story’, but that only the stories allow for rich mappings of the conceptual metaphor PURPOSIVE ACTIVITY IS MOVEMENT TOWARD A DESTINATION. If our explanations make sense, they can contribute both to the classification and theorization of videogames and to the expansion of conceptual metaphor theory into the realm of videogames.
Linguistic attitudes toward the tuteo and voseo in Montevideo, Uruguay
Authors: Weyers Joseph R.
Published: July 2013

This study reports on 431 surveys that were used to determine speakers’ attitudes toward the tuteo and voseo in Montevideo. It examines speakers’ attitudes toward: the use of tú; the use of vos in [+D] domains; speakers’ recognition of V–V, T–V, and T–T combinations; ti and vos in prepositional phrases; and the dialect of Montevideo. All speakers express positive attitudes toward the tuteo, although those under 40 do not use it. Younger speakers show a preference for V–V combinations and a predilection for vos as a prepositional object. The youngest subjects expressed the most positive attitude toward the Montevidean dialect. Although recent research points to an increasing use of the voseo in Montevideo (Steffen 2010, Weyers 2009, Bertolotti and Coll 2006), the generally favorable attitudes expressed toward the tuteo suggest an affinity toward the Montevideo norm, regardless of actual usage or potential future changes.
Responding and Clarifying
Authors: Vázquez Carranza Ariel
Published: July 2013

This paper utilises the methodology of Conversation Analysis (CA hereafter) to report on the Spanish particle pues in Mexican Spanish talk. Two general sequential contexts are examined: 1) pues-prefacing in the second pair-part of an adjacency pair, i.e., in the second pair-part of an assessment sequence and in response to questions; and 2) turn-final pues and pues at the end of a turn-constructional unit. The analysis of assessment sequences shows that pues is used to treat the previous assessment as obvious and index epistemic independence; in addition, pues can be one of the elements used to formulate a delicate disagreement. In response to questions, pues either signals unstraightforwardness in answering or indicates that the answer is obvious which challenges the relevance of the question. Similarly, pues, in response to challenges, prefaces the obvious actions to fulfil the request, making the response a riposte. Turn-final pues and pues at the end of the turn constructional unit mark repair after interactional trouble. Finally, in a news delivery sequence, sí pues treats the previous talk as not news for the recipient.
The “Americanization” of Russian life and literature through translations of Hemingway’s works
Authors: Burak Alexander
Published: July 2013

The article analyzes the reasons for Hemingway’s powerful impact on the Soviet culture from the 1930s through the early 1980s. I suggest that this influence was created not so much by Hemingway himself as by the way his works were translated and presented to the readers in the Soviet Union. In particular, the article examines the style of translation employed by a cohesive collective of Russian-Soviet translators (the Kashkíntsy) in their translations of Hemingway’s works that came to be identified with the “Soviet school of translation.” The translators used a distinctive set of linguostylistic means consisting, to a significant extent, in enhancing the expressive properties of the Hemingway originals in their Russian translations. The resultant translated texts not only affected the behavior of a significant part of especially the male population of the Soviet Union but also set the stage for establishing a distinctive “American style” of writing within the mainstream Soviet literature. In other words, the Soviet translators collectively invented Hemingway’s style that made their translated texts sparkle in Russian.
Judicial interpretation education in U.S. colleges and universities
Authors: Matthews Gladys , Ardemagni Enrica J.
Published: July 2013

As education programs preparing interpreters for legal settings gain visibility in academia, the need to analyze the associated teaching and learning processes becomes more pressing. Voids in interpreter education can be as simple as a lack of consensus on the profession’s name (court, judicial, or legal interpreting or interpretation) or as fundamental as how to assess student learning outcomes and even what those outcomes should be. The lack of research to assist in the development of standards and teaching methodologies in interpreter education prompted the authors to conduct a study of interpreting programs and courses taught in colleges and universities in the United States. The study sought to identify the level of courses taught, faculty credentials, similarities and differences in pedagogy, the use or development of tools to assess student learning outcomes, and other characteristics of the programs. The study is expected to provide the basis not just for further research, but also engagement between academia and key stakeholders to fill voids in interpreter education and contribute to the development of teaching standards and methodologies for the field.