bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genetic drift of human coronavirus OC43 spike gene during adaptive evolution
Authors: Ren Lili , Zhang Yue , Li Jianguo , Xiao Yan , Zhang Jing , Wang Ying , Chen Lan , Paranhos-Baccalà Gláucia , Wang Jianwei
Published: June 2015

Coronaviruses (CoVs) continuously threaten human health. However, to date, the evolutionary mechanisms that govern CoV strain persistence in human populations have not been fully understood. In this study, we characterized the evolution of the major antigen-spike (S) gene in the most prevalent human coronavirus (HCoV) OC43 using phylogenetic and phylodynamic analysis. Among the five known HCoV-OC43 genotypes (A to E), higher substitution rates and dN/dS values as well as more positive selection sites were detected in the S gene of genotype D, corresponding to the most dominant HCoV epidemic in recent years. Further analysis showed that the majority of substitutions were located in the S1 subunit. Among them, seven positive selection sites were chronologically traced in the temporal evolution routes of genotype D and six were located around the critical sugar binding region in the N-terminal domain (NTD) of S protein, an important sugar binding domain of CoV. These findings suggest that the genetic drift of the S gene may play an important role in genotype persistence in human populations, providing insights into the mechanisms of HCoV-OC43 adaptive evolution.
XI-006 induces potent p53-independent apoptosis in Ewing sarcoma
Authors: Pishas Kathleen I. , Adwal Alaknanda , Neuhaus Susan J. , Clayer Mark T. , Farshid Gelareh , Staudacher Alexander H. , Callen David F.
Published: June 2015

There is an imperious need for the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma, the second most prevalent solid bone tumour observed in children and young adolescents. Recently, a 4-nitrobenzofuroxan derivative, XI-006 (NSC207895) was shown to diminish MDM4 promoter activity in breast cancer cell lines. As amplification of MDM4 is frequently observed in sarcomas, this study examined the therapeutic potential of XI-006 for the treatment of Ewing and osteosarcoma. XI-006 treatment of Ewing and osteosarcoma cell lines (n = 11) resulted in rapid and potent apoptosis at low micro-molar concentrations specifically in Ewing sarcoma cell lines (48 hr IC50 0.099–1.61 μM). Unexpectedly, apoptotic response was not dependent on MDM4 mRNA/protein levels or TP53 status. Alkaline/neutral comet and γH2AX immunofluorescence assays revealed that the cytotoxic effects of XI-006 could not be attributed to the induction of DNA damage. RNA expression analysis revealed that the mechanism of action of XI-006 could be accredited to the inhibition of cell division and cycle regulators such as KIF20A and GPSM2. Finally, potent synergy between XI-006 and olaparib (PARP inhibitor) were observed due to the down-regulation of Mre11. Our findings suggest that XI-006 represents a novel therapeutic intervention for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma.
Understanding of sub-band gap absorption of femtosecond-laser sulfur hyperdoped silicon using synchrotron-based techniques
Authors: Limaye Mukta V. , Chen S. C. , Lee C. Y. , Chen L. Y. , Singh Shashi B. , Shao Y. C. , Wang Y. F. , Hsieh S. H. , Hsueh H. C. , Chiou J. W. , Chen C. H. , Jang L. Y. , Cheng C. L. , Pong W. F. , Hu Y. F.
Published: June 2015

The correlation between sub-band gap absorption and the chemical states and electronic and atomic structures of S-hyperdoped Si have been extensively studied, using synchrotron-based x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES), extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), valence-band photoemission spectroscopy (VB-PES) and first-principles calculation. S 2pXPS spectra reveal that the S-hyperdoped Si with the greatest (~87%) sub-band gap absorption contains the highest concentration of S2−(monosulfide) species. Annealing S-hyperdoped Si reduces the sub-band gap absorptance and the concentration of S2−species, but significantly increases the concentration of larger S clusters [polysulfides (Sn2−, n > 2)]. The SiK-edge XANES spectra show that S hyperdoping in Si increases (decreased) the occupied (unoccupied) electronic density of states at/above the conduction-band-minimum. VB-PES spectra evidently reveal that the S-dopants not only form an impurity band deep within the band gap, giving rise to the sub-band gap absorption, but also cause the insulator-to-metal transition in S-hyperdoped Si samples. Based on the experimental results and the calculations by density functional theory, the chemical state of the S species and the formation of the S-dopant states in the band gap of Si are critical in determining the sub-band gap absorptance of hyperdoped Si samples.
Identification of the long non-coding RNA H19 in plasma as a novel biomarker for diagnosis of gastric cancer
Authors: Zhou Xiaoying , Yin Chengqiang , Dang Yini , Ye Feng , Zhang Guoxin
Published: June 2015

Recent studies have demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regarded as useful tools for cancer detection, particularly for the early stage; however, little is known about their diagnostic impact on gastric cancer (GC). We hypothesized that GC-related lncRNAs might release into the circulation during tumor initiation and could be utilized to detect and monitor GC. 8 lncRNAs which previously found to be differently expressed in GC were selected as candidate targets for subsequent circulating lncRNA assay. After validating in 20 pairs of tissues and plasma in training set, H19 was selected for further analysis in another 70 patients and 70 controls. Plasma level of H19 was significantly higher in GC patients compared with normal controls (p < 0.0001). By receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.838; p < 0.001; sensitivity, 82.9%; specificity, 72.9%). Furthermore, H19 expression enabled the differentiation of early stage GC from controls with AUC of 0.877; sensitivity, 85.5%; specificity, 80.1%. Besides, plasma levels of H19 were significantly lower in postoperative samples than preoperative samples (p = 0.001). In conclusion, plasma H19 could serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosis of GC, in particular for early tumor screening.
Conservation of Olfactory Avoidance in Drosophila Species and Identification of Repellents for Drosophila suzukii
Authors: Krause Pham Christine , Ray Anandasankar
Published: June 2015

Flying insects use olfaction to navigate towards fruits in complex odor environments with remarkable accuracy. Some fruits change odor profiles substantially during ripening and related species can prefer different stages. In Drosophila species attractive odorants have been studied extensively, but little is understood about the role of avoidance pathways. In order to examine the role of the avoidance cue CO2 emitted from fruit on behavior of two species with different ripening stage preferences, we investigated the CO2-detection pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila suzukii, a harmful pest of fruits. Avoidance to CO2 is not conserved in D. suzukii suggesting a behavioral adaptation that could facilitate attraction to younger fruit with higher CO2 emission levels. We investigated known innate avoidance pathways from five species at different evolutionary distances: D. melanogaster, D. yakuba, D. suzukii, D. pseudoobscura and D. virilis. Surprisingly, only DEET shows strong repellency across all species, whereas CO2, citronellal and ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate show only limited conservation. These findings guide us to test recently discovered safe DEET substitutes and we identify one that protects fruits from D. suzukii thus providing a new behavioral strategy for controlling agricultural pests.
Bio-Inspired Aggregation Control of Carbon Nanotubes for Ultra-Strong Composites
Authors: Han Yue , Zhang Xiaohua , Yu Xueping , Zhao Jingna , Li Shan , Liu Feng , Gao Peng , Zhang Yongyi , Zhao Tong , Li Qingwen
Published: June 2015

High performance nanocomposites require well dispersion and high alignment of the nanometer-sized components, at a high mass or volume fraction as well. However, the road towards such composite structure is severely hindered due to the easy aggregation of these nanometer-sized components. Here we demonstrate a big step to approach the ideal composite structure for carbon nanotube (CNT) where all the CNTs were highly packed, aligned and unaggregated, with the impregnated polymers acting as interfacial adhesions and mortars to build up the composite structure. The strategy was based on a bio-inspired aggregation control to limit the CNT aggregation to be sub 20–50 nm, a dimension determined by the CNT growth. After being stretched with full structural relaxation in a multi-step way, the CNT/polymer (bismaleimide) composite yielded super-high tensile strengths up to 6.27–6.94 GPa, more than 100% higher than those of carbon fiber/epoxy composites and toughnesses up to 117–192 MPa. We anticipate that the present study can be generalized for developing multifunctional and smart nanocomposites where all the surfaces of nanometer-sized components can take part in shear transfer of mechanical, thermal and electrical signals.
Voltage-gated Na+ Channel Activity Increases Colon Cancer Transcriptional Activity and Invasion Via Persistent MAPK Signaling
Authors: House Carrie D. , Wang Bi-Dar , Ceniccola Kristin , Williams Russell , Simaan May , Olender Jacqueline , Patel Vyomesh , Baptista-Hon Daniel T. , Annunziata Christina M. , Silvio Gutkind J. , Hales Tim G. , Lee Norman H.
Published: June 2015

Functional expression of voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) has been demonstrated in multiple cancer cell types where channel activity induces invasive activity. The signaling mechanisms by which VGSCs promote oncogenesis remain poorly understood. We explored the signal transduction process critical to VGSC-mediated invasion on the basis of reports linking channel activity to gene expression changes in excitable cells. Coincidentally, many genes transcriptionally regulated by the SCN5A isoform in colon cancer have an over-representation of cis-acting sites for transcription factors phosphorylated by ERK1/2 MAPK. We hypothesized that VGSC activity promotes MAPK activation to induce transcriptional changes in invasion-related genes. Using pharmacological inhibitors/activators and siRNA-mediated gene knockdowns, we correlated channel activity with Rap1-dependent persistent MAPK activation in the SW620 human colon cancer cell line. We further demonstrated that VGSC activity induces downstream changes in invasion-related gene expression via a PKA/ERK/c-JUN/ELK-1/ETS-1 transcriptional pathway. This is the first study illustrating a molecular mechanism linking functional activity of VGSCs to transcriptional activation of invasion-related genes.
Naked eye instant reversible sensing of Cu2+and its in situ imaging in live brine shrimp Artemia
Authors: Nair Ratish R. , Raju M. , Patel Neha P. , Raval Ishan H. , Suresh E. , Haldar Soumya , Chatterjee Pabitra B.
Published: June 2015

A Cu2+-specific reversible chemosensor capable of showing a naked eye detectable instant change in colour in the presence of as low as 30 ppb of Cu2+was designed. Utilizing brine shrimpArtemia, the LOD could be improved further to 10 ppb through bio-accumulation of Cu2+.
Molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography for the determination of four chloroacetamide herbicides in soil
Authors: Wang Yan , Jin Xiaoyang , Zhao Dan , Guo Xiaohong , Li Ranhong
Published: June 2015

A molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography for separation and determination of four chloroacetamide herbicides, alachlor, acetochlor, pretilachlor and metolachlor, in soil was developed.
Anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy as a method to identify metallic and mixed metallic/semiconducting configurations of multi-walled carbon nanotubes
Authors: Baibarac Mihaela , Matea Adelina , Ilie Mirela , Baltog Ioan , Magrez Arnaud
Published: June 2015

The SERS effect on metallic and metallic/semiconductor MWCNTs.
The 13C amide I band is still sensitive to conformation change when the regular amide I band cannot be distinguished at the typical position in H2O
Authors: Li Shanghao , Combs Joseph Dale , Alharbi Olaa Eid , Kong Jing , Wang Chengshan , Leblanc Roger M.
Published: June 2015

The regular amide I band in Pep25 is not sensitive to the conformation change in H2O, but the 13C amide I band is.
Ultrasensitive genotyping with target-specifically generated circular DNA templates and RNA FRET probes
Authors: Zhou Haoxian , Wang Hui , Liu Chenghui , Wang Honghong , Duan Xinrui , Li Zhengping
Published: June 2015

A RNA FRET probe-based signal amplification strategy is designed for ultrasensitive detection of RCA products coupled with thermal cycle-based ligation.
Gene delivery polymer structure–function relationships elucidated via principal component analysis
Authors: Bishop C. J. , Abubaker-Sharif B. , Guiriba T. , Tzeng S. Y. , Green J. J.
Published: June 2015

Principal component analysis was applied to a biomaterial library of poly(beta-amino ester)s, useful for non-viral gene delivery, to elucidate chemical parameters that drive biological function.
A chromium nitride/carbon nitride containing graphitic carbon nanocapsule hybrid as a Pt-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction
Authors: Zhao Lu , Wang Lei , Yu Peng , Zhao Dongdong , Tian Chungui , Feng He , Ma Jing , Fu Honggang
Published: June 2015

A CrN nanoparticle and carbon nitride containing graphitic carbon nanocapsule hybrid has been synthesized, which can be used as a highly-efficient Pt-free electrocatalyst towards oxygen reduction reaction with a dominant 4-electron pathway, superior stability and methanol immunity.
Fluorophore ATCUN complexes: combining agent and probe for oxidative DNA cleavage
Authors: Wende C. , Kulak N.
Published: June 2015

A Cu(ii)-based peptidic DNA cleaving agent equipped with a Cu(ii)-sensing fluorescent reporter allows monitoring the fate of the nucleolytic metal ion.
A pH-responsive fluorescent [5]pseudorotaxane formed by self-assembly of cationic water-soluble pillar[5]arenes and a tetraphenylethene derivative
Authors: Chen Rener , Jiang Huajiang , Gu Haining , Zhou Qizhong , Wu Jiashou , Chen Dingben , Zhang Jie
Published: June 2015

The formation of a pH-responsive fluorescent [5]pseudorotaxane by self-assembly of cationic water-soluble pillar[5]arenes and a tetraphenylethene derivative was reported.
Endeavour to simplify the frustrated concept of protein-ammonium family ionic liquid interactions
Authors: Jha Indrani , Venkatesu Pannuru
Published: June 2015

Schematic representation of protein stabilization/destabilization in the presence of ionic liquids.
Anharmonic simulations of the vibrational spectrum of sulfated compounds: application to the glycosaminoglycan fragment glucosamine 6-sulfate
Authors: Barnes Loïc , Schindler Baptiste , Allouche Abdul-Rahman , Simon Daniel , Chambert Stéphane , Oomens Jos , Compagnon Isabelle
Published: June 2015

Anharmonic behavior of sulfated glucosamine resolved by hybrid GVPT2 approach.
Energy level modeling of lanthanide materials: review and uncertainty analysis
Authors: Joos Jonas J. , Poelman Dirk , Smet Philippe F.
Published: June 2015

Empirical energy level models for describing lanthanide materials are reviewed and situated in a broader theoretical framework. The accuracy of determining experimental quantities through modeling is assessed.
Correction: The future of organic photovoltaics
Authors: Mazzio Katherine A. , Luscombe Christine K.
Published: June 2015

Correction for ‘The future of organic photovoltaics’ by Katherine A. Mazzio et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2015, 44, 78–90.
Hybrid organic–inorganic chlorozincate and a molecular zinc complex involving the in situ formed imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinium cation: serendipitous oxidative cyclization, structures and photophysical properties
Authors: Buvaylo Elena A. , Kokozay Vladimir N. , Linnik Rostyslav P. , Vassilyeva Olga Yu. , Skelton Brian W.
Published: June 2015

A facile synthetic route to 2,3-disubstituted imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinium species leads to novel halometallate hybrids.
Non-nitric oxide based metallovasodilators: synthesis, reactivity and biological studies
Authors: Sá Denise S. , Fernandes André F. , Silva Carlos D. S. , Costa Paula P. C. , Fonteles Manassés C. , Nascimento Nilberto R. F. , Lopes Luiz G. F. , Sousa Eduardo H. S.
Published: June 2015

There is an increasing number of compounds developed to target one or more pathways involved in vasodilation.
Self-reducing asymmetric polymer membrane for in situ formation and containment of noble metal nanocatalysts
Authors: Chappa Sankararao , Shinde Rakesh N. , Pandey Ashok K.
Published: June 2015

Highly stable metal nanocatalysts formed in self-reducing asymmetric polymer membrane exhibit good catalytic activity in inorganic and organic redox reactions.
Efficient synthesis of lower rim α-hydrazino tetrazolocalix[4]arenes via an Ugi-azide multicomponent reaction
Authors: Alavijeh Nahid S. , Zadmard Reza , Ramezanpour Sorour , Balalaie Saeed , Alavijeh Mohammad S. , Rominger Frank
Published: June 2015

Herein, we developed an efficient synthesis of α-hydrazino tetrazolocalix[4]arene derivatives, suitable for metal ion complexation as investigated, via an Ugi-azide multicomponent reaction.
Nanoparticles of Cu–Co alloy derived from layered double hydroxides and their catalytic performance for higher alcohol synthesis from syngas
Authors: Cao Ang , Liu Guilong , Yue Yizhi , Zhang Lihong , Liu Yuan
Published: June 2015

A series of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with different Cu/Co ratios were prepared according to the co-precipitation method and used as catalyst precursors for higher alcohol synthesis.
Development of smart leathers: incorporating scent through infusion of encapsulated lemongrass oil
Authors: Velmurugan Punitha , Fathima Nishter Nishad , Baskar Geetha , Dhathathreyan Aruna , Raghava Rao Jonnalagadda
Published: June 2015

Fragrant nanospheres were formed by an emulsion polymerization technique using chitosan and acrylic acid as a wall material.
Energetics of proton transfer in alkali carbonates: a first principles calculation
Authors: Lei Xueling , Qin Changyong , Huang Kevin
Published: June 2015

Recent development of dual-phase ceramic–carbonate composite electrolytes for IT-SOFCs has prompted a pressing question as to whether H+can transfer in MC and play a role in the enhanced ionic conductivity and improved SOFC performance.
Copper conductive inks: synthesis and utilization in flexible electronics
Authors: Abhinav K Venkata , Rao R Venkata Krishna , Karthik P. S. , Singh Surya Prakash
Published: June 2015

Conductive inks are a recent advance in electronics and have promising future applications in flexible electronics and smart applications.
Nanoporous silicon from low-cost natural clinoptilolite for lithium storage
Authors: Miao Rongrong , Yang Jun , Wu Yanan , Wang Jiulin , Nuli Yanna , Lu Wei
Published: June 2015

Nanoporous silicon is derived from extremely low-cost natural clinoptilolite by using magnesiothermic reduction method. After surface carbon coating, it exhibits good cycling stability and is of tremendous potential for its practical application.
Bio-oil production via catalytic microwave pyrolysis of model municipal solid waste component mixtures
Authors: Suriapparao Dadi V. , Vinu R.
Published: June 2015

Microwave assisted co-pyrolysis of model MSW components such as cellulose, paraffin oil, garden waste and kitchen wastes reveals the potential to tailor the oil yields, their quality and energy recovery using different susceptors.
Pd/Cu-cocatalyzed reigoselective arylation of thiazole derivatives at 2-position under ligand-free conditions
Authors: Gu Jian , Cai Chun
Published: June 2015

An efficient protocol for regioselective arylation of thiazole derivatives at the 2-position via palladium- and copper-catalyzed C–H bond activation under ligand-free conditions has been developed.
Application of flexible bis-pyrazine–bis-amide ligands to construct various polyoxometalate-based metal–organic complexes
Authors: Wang Xiu-Li , Liu Dan-Na , Lin Hong-Yan , Liu Guo-Cheng , Han Na , Luan Jian , Chang Zhi-Han
Published: June 2015

Five novel polyoxometalates-based metal–organic complexes constructed from different types of polyanions and flexible bis-pyrazine–bis-amide ligands with different spacer lengths have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized.
Demonstrating microdroplet coalescence for tailored and biodegradable microgel fabrication
Authors: Simone G.
Published: June 2015

Coalescence of microdroplets, mimicking Nature, has been exploited to form gelatin microparticles. The microgels are biodegradable and biocompatible.
Breakdown of self-limiting growth on oxidized copper substrates: a facile method for large-size high-quality bi- and trilayer graphene synthesis
Authors: Yu Yiwei , Gan Lin , Wan Xiaofei , Zhai Tianyou
Published: June 2015

Copper nanoparticles induced by oxidation can be utilized to tune the dispersion and size of bi- and trilayer graphene grains.
Tjernberg peptide: a double edged sword in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Kumaraswamy Priyadharshini , Sethuraman Swaminathan , Krishnan Uma Maheswari
Published: June 2015

KLVFF peptide acts as an anti-oxidant through regulation of SOD levels by altering the levels of AP-1 and NF-κB below a concentration of 100 μM while at higher concentrations it turns toxic through activation of MAP kinases and p53.
Correction: Identification of competitive inhibitors for bovine serum albumin from dynamic combinatorial libraries containing a bienzyme system
Authors: He Wei , Fang Zheng , Yang Zhao , Ji Dong , Chen Ketao , Guo Kai
Published: June 2015

Correction for ‘Identification of competitive inhibitors for bovine serum albumin from dynamic combinatorial libraries containing a bienzyme system’ by Wei He et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 23224–23228.
Mechanistic insights into the reductive dehydroxylation pathway for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids promoted by the IspH enzyme
Authors: Abdel-Azeim Safwat , Jedidi Abdesslem , Eppinger Jorg , Cavallo Luigi
Published: June 2015

We report an integrated QM/MM study of the bio-organometallic reaction pathway of the reductive dehydroxylation of (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP).
Raindrop impact on sand: a dynamic explanation of crater morphologies
Authors: Zhao Song-Chuan , de Jong Rianne , van der Meer Devaraj
Published: June 2015

The observed morphology transition is explained by the competition between the impact time and the mixing time.
Nanomeshes of highly crystalline nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulated Fe/Fe3C electrodes as ultrafast and stable anodes for Li-ion batteries
Authors: Zhou Jinqiu , Qian Tao , Yang Tingzhou , Wang Mengfan , Guo Jun , Yan Chenglin
Published: June 2015

Nanomeshes of highly crystalline nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulated Fe/Fe3C electrodes as ultrafast and stable anodes for Li-ion batteries have been demonstrated.
Fast, sensitive and selective colorimetric gold bioassay for dopamine detection
Authors: Palanisamy Sivakumar , Zhang Xuehua , He Tao
Published: June 2015

A highly sensitive and selective colorimetric biosensor for dopamine has been developed by using double molecular recognition modified Au nanoparticles.
Folic acid-conjugated organically modified silica nanoparticles for enhanced targeted delivery in cancer cells and tumor in vivo
Authors: Yin Feng , Zhang Butian , Zeng Shuwen , Lin Guimiao , Tian Jinglin , Yang Chengbin , Wang Kuan , Xu Gaixia , Yong Ken-Tye
Published: June 2015

Folic acid-conjugated fluorescent silica nanoparticles with biocompatibility and high-selectivity show great potential forin vivotumor imaging.
The rational design of NAMI-A-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles as antiangiogenic nanosystems
Authors: Hu Hao , You Yuanyuan , He Lizhen , Chen Tianfeng
Published: June 2015

Herein we demonstrate the use of RGD-modified MSNs as a vehicle for anticancer drugs to achieve enhanced antiangiogenic activity.
Surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) with a covalent antithrombin–heparin complex for the prevention of thrombosis: use of polydopamine as bonding agent
Authors: Leung Jennifer M. , Berry Leslie R. , Atkinson Helen M. , Cornelius Rena M. , Sandejas Darren , Rochow Niels , Selvaganapathy P. Ravi , Fusch Christoph , Chan Anthony K. C. , Brash John L.
Published: June 2015

PDMS surface for blood oxygenator modified with antithrombin–heparin complexviapolydopamine.
Multi-stimuli-responsive magnetic assemblies as tunable releasing carriers
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Mei , Guo Kun , Li Luo-Hao , Zhang Sheng , Li Bang-Jing
Published: June 2015

Construction of amphiphilic magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) by cyclodextrin-based inclusion complexation and the reversible assembly of these MNPs triggered by temperature or redox reagent.
The regulation of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of carbon dots via a one-pot approach
Authors: Mao Quan-Xing , Wang Wen-Jing , Hai Xin , Shu Yang , Chen Xu-Wei , Wang Jian-Hua
Published: June 2015

The hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity of carbon dots is regulated by varying the H3PO4/ethanol molar ratio, via a hydrothermal process with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate as the carbon source in a H3PO4–ethanol medium.
Continuous synthesis of high quality CdSe quantum dots in supercritical fluids
Authors: Chakrabarty Arkajyoti , Marre Samuel , Landis Ryan F. , Rotello Vincent M. , Maitra Uday , Guerzo André Del , Aymonier Cyril
Published: June 2015

Demonstration of a powerful scalable continuous supercritical fluids approach to synthesize high quality CdSe quantum dots (QDs).
Systematic structure modification of a low bandgap conjugated polymer improves thin film morphology and photovoltaic performance by incorporating naphthalene into side chains
Authors: Sun Ying , Zhang Chao , Huang Qizan , Dai Bin , Lin Baoping , Yang Hong , Zhang Xueqin , Guo Lingxiang , Liu Yurong
Published: June 2015

A naphthalene group was incorporated into the polymer side chain to help the active layer spontaneously form good film morphology.
Theoretical modeling of two-step spin-crossover transitions in FeII dinuclear systems
Authors: Cirera Jordi , Ruiz Eliseo
Published: June 2015

Calculations using the hybrid meta-GGA TPSSh exchange–correlation functional have been employed to model the spin-transition in dinuclear iron(ii) systems.
Photomobile materials with interpenetrating polymer networks composed of liquid-crystalline and amorphous polymers
Authors: Ube T. , Takado K. , Ikeda T.
Published: June 2015

Interpenetrating polymer networks composed of a crosslinked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymer and poly(alkyl methacrylate)s were developed to enhance the photoresponsive and mechanical properties of photomobile polymer materials.
A route to low temperature growth of single crystal GaN on sapphire
Authors: Motamedi Pouyan , Dalili Neda , Cadien Kenneth
Published: June 2015

Gallium nitride (GaN) was deposited on sapphire at 275 °C, using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. The films are single-crystal for the first ∼5 nm, before they transition to a polycrystalline structure. These structural shifts are reflected in the variations of the refractive index.
Performance against implementation of digital backpropagation for high‐speed coherent optical systems
Authors: Parahyba V.E.S. , Reis J.D. , Ranzini S.M. , Schneider E.O. , Rosa E.S. , Simões F.D. , Diniz J.C.M. , Carvalho L.H.H. , Filho E.P.L. , Oliveira J.C.R.F. , Oliveira J.R.F.
Published: June 2015

The trade‐off between transmission performance and hardware implementation in application‐specific integrated circuits of digital backpropagation (DBP) in coherent 32 GBd polarisation‐division multiplexing 16 quadrature amplitude modulation is analysed. The reach is optimised for different DBP implementations under constraints of 16 and 28 nm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology digital signal processing (DSP) area.
Fully transparent flexible dual‐layer channel Ga‐doped ZnO thin‐film transistors on plastic substrates
Authors: Han Dedong , Huang Fuqing , Cong Yingying , Huang Lingling , Zhang Yi , Shi Pan , Yu Wen , Zhou Xiaoliang , Liu Lifeng , Zhang Shengdong , Zhang Xing , Wang Yi
Published: June 2015

Fully transparent dual‐layer Ga‐doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin‐film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated on flexible plastic substrate by room temperature processes. The GZO thin films are deposited by radio‐frequency sputtering according to the variation of the depositing time in order to optimise the performance of GZO TFTs. The results show that dual‐layer GZO TFTs exhibit excellent electrical properties, mechanical flexibility and optical transparency. A saturation mobility μs of 350 cm2/V.s, a linear field effect mobility of 281 cm2/V.s, a threshold voltage VTH of 3.2 V, a steep subthreshold swing of 268 mV/decade, a low off‐state current value (IOFF) of 1.5 × 10−11 A and a high on/off ratio of about 108 were extracted. The TFTs also have admirable transparency with an average visible transmittance of 87.2%. These results indicate that GZO material is suitable for the next generation flexible displays.
Efficient UWB filter design technique for integrated passive device implementation
Authors: Saadi A.A. , Yagoub M.C.E. , Touhami R. , Slimane A. , Taibi A. , Belaroussi M.T.
Published: June 2015

A new approach is proposed to act as an efficient design technique for the implementation of ultra‐wideband (UWB) bandpass filters in integrated passive device technology. The proposed design is based on two major original contributions. First, the use of hourglass filter theory which, to the best of authors knowledge, has not been applied yet to such technology. Then, the minimisation of the number of inductors involved in the filter circuit through the zigzag technique. Implemented in 0.18 µm CMOS technology, the designed filter exhibits excellent performances such as two finite tunable transmission zeros, enhanced selectivity, a bandwidth covering the entire UWB spectrum of 3.1–10.6 GHz, a stopband rejection better than 15 dB throughout frequencies below 2.7 GHz and above 11 GHz, a good matching better than 11 dB, a minimum mid‐band insertion loss of 1.8 dB and, finally, a sufficiently constant group delay. With these features and only 10 lumped elements, the proposed filter is one of the most promising compact filters for UWB applications.
Survey on diversity‐combining techniques for interference suppression in fast frequency hopping systems
Authors: Le Ly‐Minh‐Duy , Teh Kah Chan , Li Kwok H.
Published: June 2015

Over the past few decades, frequency hopping (FH) techniques have attracted considerable interest in both military and commercial communications. However, fading and interference can significantly degrade the performance of an FH system. One method commonly employed to overcome the degradation in performance because of the fading is the use of diversity. Furthermore, fast FH (FFH) systems can enjoy both time and frequency diversity and hence FFH systems employed in conjunction with diversity‐combining techniques are effective for combating fading and interference effects. In this study, the authors provide a comprehensive survey on the past and current research work on diversity‐combining techniques for suppressing different types of interference in FFH M‐ary frequency‐shift‐keying systems over various fading channels. Some commonly used theoretical approaches for analysing performance of FFH systems are also presented. In addition to the survey, they will also discuss some interesting areas of future work in this research topic.
Shrinkage‐based biased signal‐to‐noise ratio estimator using pilot and data symbols for linearly modulated signals
Authors: Park Chee‐Hyun , Lee Soojeong , Chang Joon‐Hyuk
Published: June 2015

In diverse engineering problems including wireless communications, the estimate of the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) is required. In this study, the authors develop a shrinkage‐based SNR estimator in the data‐aided and non‐data‐aided schemes for higher M‐ary phase‐shift‐keying (M ≥ 8) and quadrature amplitude modulations. The observed Cramér‐Rao lower bound is used as the variance of the expectation maximisation estimator to determine the optimal shrinkage factor. Simulation results show that the normalised mean‐squared error of the proposed method is lower than that of the expectation maximisation method for low and moderate SNR conditions.
Mining gene link information for survival pathway hunting
Authors: Jing Gao‐Jian , Zhang Zirui , Wang Hong‐Qiang , Zheng Hong‐Mei
Published: June 2015

This study proposes a gene link‐based method for survival time‐related pathway hunting. In this method, the authors incorporate gene link information to estimate how a pathway is associated with cancer patient's survival time. Specifically, a gene link‐based Cox proportional hazard model (Link‐Cox) is established, in which two linked genes are considered together to represent a link variable and the association of the link with survival time is assessed using Cox proportional hazard model. On the basis of the Link‐Cox model, the authors formulate a new statistic for measuring the association of a pathway with survival time of cancer patients, referred to as pathway survival score (PSS), by summarising survival significance over all the gene links in the pathway, and devise a permutation test to test the significance of an observed PSS. To evaluate the proposed method, the authors applied it to simulation data and two publicly available real‐world gene expression data sets. Extensive comparisons with previous methods show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method for survival pathway hunting.
The Role of a Conservative Minimal Interventional Management Protocol in the Fractures of the Dentate Portion of the Adult Mandible
Authors: Krishnan Balasubramanian
Published: June 2015

Mandibular fractures are commonly encountered by the maxillofacial surgeon. Maxillomandibular fixation (MMF) and open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), or a combination of both, are the accepted standard treatments. This study aims to assess the role of a conservative minimal intervention protocol in the management of undisplaced/minimally displaced fractures of the dentate portion of the adult mandible and the complications associated with such minimalistic intervention. Thirty-four patients with undisplaced/minimally displaced fractures of the dentate portion of the adult mandible were advised to restrict mouth opening and limit themselves to a soft diet for a minimum of 4 weeks. All patients were advised follow-up at regular intervals for at least 3 months. Five patients were lost to follow-up. Symphysis and parasymphysis fractures were the most common fracture locations. Fourteen patients needed tension band stabilization with a mandibular arch bar/bridle wiring and three patients required extraction of luxated teeth. All patients showed satisfactory healing except three in whom additional intervention (ORIF) was performed. The improvement in mouth opening was statistically significant. Complications were seen more frequently among smokers and alcoholics. For patients with minimally displaced mandibular fractures, it is necessary to consider if the perceived benefits of intervention justify the associated added costs and possible complications. Patients have to be fully informed about the possible complications while using this minimal intervention protocol. This study concludes that a conservative minimal intervention management protocol for such fractures of the dentate portion of the mandible can produce satisfactory results.
Modified Transconjunctival Approach to the Lower Eyelid: Technical Details for Predictable Results
Authors: Bonawitz Steven , Crawley William , Shores Jaimie T. , Manson Paul N.
Published: June 2015

The transconjunctival approach to the lower orbit is well described in the literature and has been used for both cosmetic and reconstructive purposes. When properly performed, it allows access to the orbital floor and inferior orbital rim with minimal lower lid morbidity and an inconspicuous scar. Many variations of this approach have been described and these can lead to confusion and uncertainty regarding the surgical technique including when and how to best utilize this approach in the traumatized eyelid. Residents and less experienced attendings employing this approach often fail to fully understand the technical and anatomic details that can make this a very fast and simple way to gain complete access to the inferior, medial, and lateral orbit while minimizing complications such as postoperative lid malposition and canthal deformities. We describe our method for transconjunctival access to the inferior orbital rim and orbital floor with specific attention to several precise surgical aspects that make this a fast and reliable technique with low morbidity and predictable architecture of closure.
Design and microwave test of an ultrawideband input/output structure for sheet beam travelling wave tubes
Authors: Shu Guoxiang , Wang Jianxun , Liu Guo , Yang Liya , Luo Yong , Wang Shafei
Published: June 2015

Broadband operation is of great importance for the applications of travelling wave tubes such as high-data communication and wideband radar. An input/output (I/O) structure operating with broadband property plays a significant role to achieve these applications. In this paper, a Y-type branch waveguide (YTBW) coupler and its improvements are proposed and utilized to construct an extremely wideband I/O structure to ensure the broadband operation for sheet beam travelling wave tubes (SB-TWTs). Cascaded reflection resonators are utilized to improve the isolation characteristic and transmission efficiency. Furthermore, to minimize the reflectivity of the port connected with the RF circuit, wave-absorbing material (WAM) is loaded in the resonator. Simulation results for the YTBW loaded with WAM predict an excellent performance with a 50.2% relative bandwidth for port reflectivity under −15 dB, transmission up to −1.5 dB, and meanwhile isolation under −20 dB. In addition, the coupler has a relatively compact configuration and the beam tunnel can be widened, which is beneficial for the propagation of the electrons. A Q-band YTBW loaded with two reflection resonators is fabricated and microwave tested. Vector network analyzer (VNA) measured results have an excellent agreement with our simulation, which verify our theoretical analysis and simulation calculation.
Quantitative measurements of electromechanical response with a combined optical beam and interferometric atomic force microscope
Authors: Labuda Aleksander , Proksch Roger
Published: June 2015

An ongoing challenge in atomic force microscope (AFM) experiments is the quantitative measurement of cantilever motion. The vast majority of AFMs use the optical beam deflection (OBD) method to infer the deflection of the cantilever. The OBD method is easy to implement, has impressive noise performance, and tends to be mechanically robust. However, it represents an indirect measurement of the cantilever displacement, since it is fundamentally an angular rather than a displacement measurement. Here, we demonstrate a metrological AFM that combines an OBD sensor with a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) to enable accurate measurements of the cantilever velocity and displacement. The OBD/LDV AFM allows a host of quantitative measurements to be performed, including in-situ measurements of cantilever oscillation modes in piezoresponse force microscopy. As an example application, we demonstrate how this instrument can be used for accurate quantification of piezoelectric sensitivity—a longstanding goal in the electromechanical community.
Statistics of time delay and scattering correlation functions in chaotic systems. I. Random matrix theory
Authors: Novaes Marcel
Published: June 2015

We consider the statistics of time delay in a chaotic cavity having M open channels, in the absence of time-reversal invariance. In the random matrix theory approach, we compute the average value of polynomial functions of the time delay matrix Q = − iħS†dS/dE, where S is the scattering matrix. Our results do not assume M to be large. In a companion paper, we develop a semiclassical approximation to S-matrix correlation functions, from which the statistics of Q can also be derived. Together, these papers contribute to establishing the conjectured equivalence between the random matrix and the semiclassical approaches.
Wall-touching kink mode calculations with the M3D code
Authors: Breslau J. A. , Bhattacharjee A.
Published: June 2015

This paper seeks to address a controversy regarding the applicability of the 3D nonlinear extended MHD code M3D [W. Park et al., Phys. Plasmas 6, 1796 (1999)] and similar codes to calculations of the electromagnetic interaction of a disrupting tokamak plasma with the surrounding vessel structures. M3D is applied to a simple test problem involving an external kink mode in an ideal cylindrical plasma, used also by the Disruption Simulation Code (DSC) as a model case for illustrating the nature of transient vessel currents during a major disruption. While comparison of the results with those of the DSC is complicated by effects arising from the higher dimensionality and complexity of M3D, we verify that M3D is capable of reproducing both the correct saturation behavior of the free boundary kink and the “Hiro” currents arising when the kink interacts with a conducting tile surface interior to the ideal wall.
Transition matrices and orbitals from reduced density matrix theory
Authors: Etienne Thibaud
Published: June 2015

In this contribution, we report two different methodologies for characterizing the electronic structure reorganization occurring when a chromophore undergoes an electronic transition. For the first method, we start by setting the theoretical background necessary to the reinterpretation through simple tensor analysis of (i) the transition density matrix and (ii) the natural transition orbitals in the scope of reduced density matrix theory. This novel interpretation is made more clear thanks to a short compendium of the one-particle reduced density matrix theory in a Fock space. The formalism is further applied to two different classes of excited states calculation methods, both requiring a single-determinant reference, that express an excited state as a hole-particle mono-excited configurations expansion, to which particle-hole correlation is coupled (time-dependent Hartree-Fock/time-dependent density functional theory) or not (configuration interaction single/Tamm-Dancoff approximation). For the second methodology presented in this paper, we introduce a novel and complementary concept related to electronic transitions with the canonical transition density matrix and the canonical transition orbitals. Their expression actually reflects the electronic cloud polarisation in the orbital space with a decomposition based on the actual contribution of one-particle excitations from occupied canonical orbitals to virtual ones. This approach validates our novel interpretation of the transition density matrix elements in terms of the Euclidean norm of elementary transition vectors in a linear tensor space. A proper use of these new concepts leads to the conclusion that despite the different principles underlying their construction, they provide two equivalent excited states topological analyses. This connexion is evidenced through simple illustrations of (in)organic dyes electronic transitions analysis.
Note: Improving low-light-level image detection sensitivity with higher speed using auxiliary sinusoidal light signal
Authors: Tang Hongying , Yu Zhengtao
Published: June 2015

An improved active imaging method, which upgraded the detection sensitivity by applying an auxiliary sawtooth wave light signal, was reported. Nevertheless, such method sacrificed the imaging speed. To speed up imaging, a sinusoidal light signal is used instead and superposed with the undetectable low-light-level signal on the image sensor. After acquiring a superimposed image set in one sine wave cycle, an unbiased low-light-level image estimation is obtained by using least-square optimization. Through probabilistic analysis and experimental study, we demonstrate that the sinusoidal signal could improve the detection sensitivity 1/3 faster than the sawtooth wave signal.
Epitaxial Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film on Si (111) 4° substrate
Authors: Song Ning , Young Matthew , Liu Fangyang , Erslev Pete , Wilson Samual , Harvey Steven P. , Teeter Glenn , Huang Yidan , Hao Xiaojing , Green Martin A.
Published: June 2015

To explore the possibility of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS)/Si based tandem solar cells, the heteroepitaxy of tetragonal Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films on single crystalline cubic Si (111) wafers with 4° miscut is obtained by molecular beam epitaxy. The X-ray θ-2θ scan and selected area diffraction patterns of the CZTS thin films and Si substrates, and the high resolution transmission electron microscopy image of the CZTS/Si interface region demonstrate that the CZTS thin films are epitaxially grown on the Si substrates. A CZTS/Si P-N junction is formed and shows photovoltaic responses, indicating the promising application of epitaxial CZTS thin films on Si.
Polarization-selective optical transmission through a plasmonic metasurface
Authors: Pelzman Charles , Cho Sang-Yeon
Published: June 2015

We present the design, fabrication, and experimental characterization of a nanoslit-based metasurface that offers polarization-selective optical transmission for advanced imaging applications. The metasurface consists of an array of meta-atoms, constructed with two orthogonally coupled subwavelength apertures. Highly enhanced optical transmission was achieved by selective excitation of surface plasmon waves on the metasurface. By rotating the orientation of the linearly polarized incident beam, switching of enhanced optical transmission bands through the metasurface was experimentally demonstrated. This demonstration is a significant step towards developing advanced multispectral imaging devices.
Habitat and feeding ecology of alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand, India
Authors: Syed Zarreen , Ilyas Orus
Published: June 2015

The alpine musk deer, Moschus chrysogaster, a small member of family Moschidae, is a primitive deer threatened due to poaching and habitat loss, and therefore classified as Endangered by IUCN and also listed in Appendix I of CITES. Although the species is legally protected in India under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, conservation of the species requires better understanding of its distribution and resource-use pattern; therefore, a study on its feeding and habitat ecology was conducted from February 2011 to February 2014, at Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is one of the known remaining habitats for musk deer in India. Four locations, namely, Shokhark I, Shokhark II, Tungnath and Chandrashila, were intensively monitored and further categorised on the basis of habitats and altitudinal gradient. The habitat overlap between musk deer and all other ungulate species of the area was calculated through Pianka’s overlap index. The results indicated a large overlap between musk deer and Himalayan tahr. Species dietary spectra were studied using microhistological techniques for faecal pellet-group analysis coupled with Bonferroni approach. The dicotyledon to monocotyledon ratios were found to be 73.62–26.38% and 52.016– 47.984% in the pre- and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. The study showed that the musk deer is predominantly a browser. The most preferred plant species of the animals were found to be Gaultheria trichophylla, Ophiopogon intermedius., Cyperus sp. and Sibbaldia cuneata. During the field survey, opportunistic sightings of the species were also recorded. The species was found to be restricted to areas where the density of preferred vegetation was high. Therefore, it is recommended to provide strict protection to the areas such as Shokhark.