bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electric field induced reversible 180° magnetization switching through tuning of interfacial exchange bias along magnetic easy-axis in multiferroic laminates
Authors: Xue Xu , Zhou Ziyao , Peng Bin , Zhu Mingmin , Zhang Yijun , Ren Wei , Ren Tao , Yang Xi , Nan Tianxiang , Sun Nian X. , Liu Ming
Published: November 2015

E-field control of interfacial exchange coupling and deterministic switching of magnetization have been demonstrated in two sets of ferromagnetic(FM)/antiferromagnetic(AFM)/ferroelectric(FE) multiferroic heterostructures, including NiFe/NiCoO/glass/PZN-PT (011) and NiFe/FeMn/glass/PZN-PT (011). We designed this experiment to achieve exchange bias tuning along the magnetic easy axis, which is critical for realizing reversible 180° magnetization deterministic switching at zero or small magnetic bias. Strong exchange coupling were established across AFM-FM interfaces, which plays an important role in voltage control of magnetization switching. Through the competition between the E-field induced uniaxial anisotropy in ferromagnetic layer and unidirectional anisotropy in antiferromagnetic layer, the exchange bias was significantly shifted by up to |∆Hex|/Hex = 8% in NiFe/FeMn/glass/PZN-PT (011) and 13% in NiFe/NiCoO/glass/PZN-PT (011). In addition, the square shape of the hysteresis loop, as well as a strong shape tunability of |∆Hex|/Hc = 67.5 ~ 125% in NiFe/FeMn/glass/PZN-PT and 30 ~ 38% in NiFe/NiCoO/glass/PZN-PT were achieved, which lead to a near 180° magnetization switching. Electrical tuning of interfacial exchange coupling in FM/AFM/FE systems paves a new way for realizing magnetoelectric random access memories and other memory technologies.
Impact of Fish Farming on Phosphorus in Reservoir Sediments
Authors: Jia Binyang , Tang Ya , Tian Liyan , Franz Leander , Alewell Christine , Huang Jen-How
Published: November 2015

Fish farming has seriously influenced the aquatic environment in Sancha reservoir in SW China since 1985 and has been strongly restricted since 2005. Thus, phosphorus speciation in a sediment core dated between 1945 and 2010 at cm-resolution and in surface sediments from Sancha reservoir may allow us track how fish farming impacts phosphorus dynamics in lake sediments. Fish farming shifts the major binding forms of phosphorus in sediments from organic to residual phosphorus, which mostly originated from fish feed. Sorption to metal oxides and association with organic matters are important mechanisms for phosphorus immobilisation with low fish farming activities, whereas calcium-bound phosphorous had an essential contribution to sediment phosphorus increases under intensive fish framing. Notwithstanding the shifting, the aforementioned phosphorus fractions are usually inert in the lake environment, therefore changing phosphorus mobility little. The use of fish feed and water-purification reagents, the most important additives for fish farming, introduce not only phosphorus but also large amounts of sand-sized minerals such as quartz into the lake, to which phosphorus weakly sorbs. The sand-sized minerals as additional sorbents increase the pool of easily mobilisable phosphorus in sediments, which will slow down the recovery of reservoir water due to its rapid re-mobilisation.
Modulation of Macrophage Functional Polarity towards Anti-Inflammatory Phenotype with Plasmid DNA Delivery in CD44 Targeting Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles
Authors: Tran Thanh-Huyen , Rastogi Ruchir , Shelke Juili , Amiji Mansoor M.
Published: November 2015

The purpose of this study was to modulate macrophage polarity from the pro-inflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype using plasmid DNA (pDNA) expressing interleukin-4 (IL4) or interleukin-10 (IL10)-encapsulated in hyaluronic acid-poly(ethyleneimine) (HA-PEI) nanoparticles (NPs). The HA-PEI/pDNA NPs with spherical shape, average size of 186 nm were efficiently internalized by J774A.1 macrophages. Transfection of HA-PEI/pDNA-IL4 and HA-PEI/pDNA-IL10 NPs increased IL4 and IL10 gene expression in J774 macrophages which could re-program the macrophages from M1 to M2 phenotype as evidenced by a significant increase in the Arg/iNOS level and upregulation of CD206 and CD163 compared to untreated macrophages. Following intraperitoneal (IP) injection to C57BL/6 mice, HA-PEI NPs effectively targeted peritoneal macrophages over-expressing CD44 receptor. In an in vivo model of stimulated peritoneal macrophages, IP administration of HA-PEI/pDNA-IL4 and HA-PEI/pDNA-IL10 to C57BL/6 mice significantly increased the Arg/iNOS ratio and CD163 expression in the cells. Furthermore, HA-PEI/pDNA-IL10 NPs significantly increased peritoneal and serum IL10 levels which effectively suppressed LPS-induced inflammation by reducing level of TNF-α and IL-1β in peritoneal macrophages and in the peritoneal fluid. The results demonstrated that pDNA-IL10-encapsulate HA-PEI NPs skewed macrophage functional polarity from M1 toward an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype which may be a promising platform for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
The AP-3 adaptor complex mediates sorting of yeast and mammalian PQ-loop-family basic amino acid transporters to the vacuolar/lysosomal membrane
Authors: Llinares Elisa , Barry Abdoulaye Oury , André Bruno
Published: November 2015

The limiting membrane of lysosomes in animal cells and that of the vacuole in yeast include a wide variety of transporters, but little is known about how these proteins reach their destination membrane. The mammalian PQLC2 protein catalyzes efflux of basic amino acids from the lysosome and the similar Ypq1, −2, and −3 proteins of yeast perform an equivalent function at the vacuole. We here show that the Ypq proteins are delivered to the vacuolar membrane via the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) trafficking pathway, which requires the AP-3 adaptor complex. When traffic via this pathway is deficient, the Ypq proteins pass through endosomes from where Ypq1 and Ypq2 properly reach the vacuolar membrane whereas Ypq3 is missorted to the vacuolar lumen via the multivesicular body pathway. When produced in yeast, PQLC2 also reaches the vacuolar membrane via the ALP pathway, but tends to sort to the vacuolar lumen if AP-3 is defective. Finally, in HeLa cells, inhibiting the synthesis of an AP-3 subunit also impairs sorting of PQLC2 to lysosomes. Our results suggest the existence of a conserved AP-3-dependent trafficking pathway for proper delivery of basic amino acid exporters to the yeast vacuole and to lysosomes of human cells.
Molecular cloning and characterization of amh and dax1 genes and their expression during sex inversion in rice-field eel Monopterus albus
Authors: Hu Qing , Guo Wei , Gao Yu , Tang Rong , Li Dapeng
Published: November 2015

The full-length cDNAs of amh and dax1 in the hermaphrodite, rice-field eel (Monopterus albus), were cloned and characterized in this study. Multiple sequence alignment revealed Dax1 was well conserved among vertebrates, whereas Amh had a low degree of similarity between different vertebrates. Their expression profiles in gonads during the course of sex inversion and tissues were investigated. The tissue distribution indicated amh was expressed mostly in gonads and was scarcely detectable in other tissues, whereas the expression of dax1 was widespread among the different tissues, especially liver and gonads. amh was scarcely detectable in ovaries whereas it was abundantly expressed in both ovotestis and testis. By contrast, dax1 was highly expressed in ovaries, especially in ♀IV (ovaries in IV stage), but it was decreased significantly in ♀/♂I (ovotestis in I stage). Its expression was increased again in ♀/♂III (ovotestis in III stage) and then decreased to a low level in testis. These significant different expression patterns of amh and dax1 suggest the increase of amh expression and the decline of dax1 expression are important for the activation of testis development and the high level of amh and a low level of dax1 expression are necessary for maintenance of testis function.
Ultra-fast pulse propagation in nonlinear graphene/silicon ridge waveguide
Authors: Liu Ken , Zhang Jian Fa , Xu Wei , Zhu Zhi Hong , Guo Chu Cai , Li Xiu Jian , Qin Shi Qiao
Published: November 2015

We report the femtosecond laser propagation in a hybrid graphene/silicon ridge waveguide with demonstration of the ultra-large Kerr coefficient of graphene. We also fabricated a slot-like graphene/silicon ridge waveguide which can enhance its effective Kerr coefficient 1.5 times compared with the graphene/silicon ridge waveguide. Both transverse-electric-like (TE-like) mode and transverse-magnetic-like (TM-like) mode are experimentally measured and numerically analyzed. The results show nonlinearity dependence on mode polarization not in graphene/silicon ridge waveguide but in slot-like graphene/silicon ridge waveguide. Great spectral broadening was observed due to self-phase modulation (SPM) after propagation in the hybrid waveguide with length of 2 mm. Power dependence property of the slot-like hybrid waveguide is also measured and numerically analyzed. The results also confirm the effective Kerr coefficient estimation of the hybrid structures. Spectral blue shift of the output pulse was observed in the slot-like graphene/silicon ridge waveguide. One possible explanation is that the blue shift was caused by the ultra-fast free carrier effect with the optical absorption of the doped graphene. This interesting effect can be used for soliton compression in femtosecond region. We also discussed the broadband anomalous dispersion of the Kerr coefficient of graphene.
Structure-based Design Targeted at LOX-1, a Receptor for Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein
Authors: Thakkar Shraddha , Wang Xianwei , Khaidakov Magomed , Dai Yao , Gokulan Kuppan , Mehta Jawahar L. , Varughese Kottayil I.
Published: November 2015

Atherosclerosis related cardiovascular diseases continue to be the primary cause of mortality in developed countries. The elevated level of low density lipoprotein (LDL) is generally considered to be the driver of atherosclerosis, but recent years have seen a shift in this perception in that the vascular plaque buildup is mainly caused by oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) rather than native-LDL. The scavenger receptor LOX-1 found in endothelial cells binds and internalizes ox-LDL which leads to the initiation of plaque formation in arteries. Using virtual screening techniques, we identified a few potential small molecule inhibitors of LOX-1 and tested their inhibitory potential using differential scanning fluorimetry and various cellular assays. Two of these molecules significantly reduced the uptake of ox-LDL by human endothelial cells, LOX-1 transcription and the activation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPKs in human endothelial cells. In addition, these molecules suppressed ox-LDL-induced VCAM-1 expression and monocyte adhesion onto human endothelial cells demonstrating their therapeutic potential.
Identification of key amino acid residues responsible for internal and external pH sensitivity of Orai1/STIM1 channels
Authors: Tsujikawa Hiroto , Yu Albert S , Xie Jia , Yue Zhichao , Yang Wenzhong , He Yanlin , Yue Lixia
Published: November 2015

Changes of intracellular and extracellular pH are involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, in which regulation of the Ca2+ release activated Ca2+ channel (ICRAC) by pH has been implicated. Ca2+ entry mediated by ICRAC has been shown to be regulated by acidic or alkaline pH. Whereas several amino acid residues have been shown to contribute to extracellular pH (pHo) sensitivity, the molecular mechanism for intracellular pH (pHi) sensitivity of Orai1/STIM1 is not fully understood. By investigating a series of mutations, we find that the previously identified residue E106 is responsible for pHo sensitivity when Ca2+ is the charge carrier. Unexpectedly, we identify that the residue E190 is responsible for pHo sensitivity when Na+ is the charge carrier. Furthermore, the intracellular mutant H155F markedly diminishes the response to acidic and alkaline pHi, suggesting that H155 is responsible for pHi sensitivity of Orai1/STIM1. Our results indicate that, whereas H155 is the intracellular pH sensor of Orai1/STIM1, the molecular mechanism of external pH sensitivity varies depending on the permeant cations. As changes of pH are involved in various physiological/pathological functions, Orai/STIM channels may be an important mediator for various physiological and pathological processes associated with acidosis and alkalinization.
Sodium channel-inhibiting drugs and survival of breast, colon and prostate cancer: a population-based study
Authors: Fairhurst Caroline , Watt Ian , Martin Fabiola , Bland Martin , Brackenbury William J.
Published: November 2015

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) regulate invasion and metastasis. Several VGSC-inhibiting drugs reduce metastasis in murine cancer models. We aimed to test the hypothesis that patients taking VGSC-inhibiting drugs who developed cancer live longer than those not taking these drugs. A cohort study was performed on primary care data from the QResearch database, including patients with breast, bowel or prostate cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare the survival from cancer diagnosis of patients taking VGSC-inhibiting drugs with those not exposed to these drugs. Median time to death was 9.7 years in the exposed group and 18.4 years in the unexposed group and exposure to these medications significantly increased mortality. Thus, exposure to VGSC-inhibiting drugs associates with reduced survival in breast, bowel and prostate cancer patients. This finding is not consistent with the preclinical data. Despite the strengths of this study including the large sample size, the study is limited by missing information on potentially important confounders such as cancer stage, co-morbidities and cause of death. Further research, which is able to account for these confounding issues, is needed to investigate the relationship between VGSC-inhibiting drugs and cancer survival.
Binocular summation of chance decisions
Authors: Yehezkel Oren , Sterkin Anna , Sagi Dov , Polat Uri
Published: November 2015

Seeing with two eyes usually helps one respond faster. Here we show that with ambiguous stimuli, binocular viewing can paradoxically slow down reaction time. This is explained by the observers basing their decision on a noisy neuronal representation within the visual system, with the added noise breaking the symmetry between the two possible interpretations. Binocular integration improves the representation by reducing the noise, increasing ambiguity and decision time. The neuronal Accumulator (Race) model is applied to quantify the underlying binocular integration. The model accounts for the distributions of reaction times and predicts suboptimal integration between eyes. We conclude that under ambiguous stimulation neuronal noise within the visual system determines responses.
First Experience of Ultrasound-guided Percutaneous Ablation for Recurrent Hepatoblastoma after Liver Resection in Children
Authors: Liu Baoxian , Zhou Luyao , Huang Guangliang , Zhong Zhihai , Jiang Chunlin , Shan Quanyuan , Xu Ming , Kuang Ming , Xie Xiaoyan
Published: November 2015

This study aimed to summarize the first experience with ultrasound-guided percutaneous ablation treatment (PAT) for recurrent hepatoblastoma (HB) after liver resection in children. From August 2013 to October 2014, PAT was used to treat 5 children with a total of 8 recurrent HB (mean size, 1.4 ± 0.8 cm; size range, 0.7–3.1 cm), including 4 patients with 7 tumors in the liver and 1 patient with 1 tumor in the lung. Technical success was achieved in all patients (5/5, 100%). The complete ablation rate after the first ablation session was 80% (4/5) on a patient-by-patient basis and 87.5% (7/8) on a tumor-by-tumor basis. Only 1 patient developed a fever with temperature >39 °C; it lasted 4 days after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and was resolved by conservative therapy. During the follow-up period, new intrahepatic recurrences after PAT were detected in two patients. One died due to tumor progression 4 months after ablation. The median overall survival time after PAT was 13.8 months. PAT is a safe and promising therapy for children with recurrent HB after liver resection and further investigation in large-scale randomized clinical trials is required to determine its role in the treatment of this disease.
Ultrawide electrical tuning of light matter interaction in a high electron mobility transistor structure
Authors: Pal Shovon , Nong Hanond , Markmann Sergej , Kukharchyk Nadezhda , Valentin Sascha R. , Scholz Sven , Ludwig Arne , Bock Claudia , Kunze Ulrich , Wieck Andreas D. , Jukam Nathan
Published: November 2015

The interaction between intersubband resonances (ISRs) and metamaterial microcavities constitutes a strongly coupled system where new resonances form that depend on the coupling strength. Here we present experimental evidence of strong coupling between the cavity resonance of a terahertz metamaterial and the ISR in a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure. The device is electrically switched from an uncoupled to a strongly coupled regime by tuning the ISR with epitaxially grown transparent gate. The asymmetric potential in the HEMT structure enables ultrawide electrical tuning of ISR, which is an order of magnitude higher as compared to an equivalent square well. For a single heterojunction with a triangular confinement, we achieve an avoided splitting of 0.52 THz, which is a significant fraction of the bare intersubband resonance at 2 THz.
Circulating microbial RNA and health
Authors: Leung Ross Ka-Kit , Wu Ying-Kit
Published: November 2015

Measurement of health indicators in the blood is a commonly performed diagnostic procedure. Two blood studies one involving extended observations on the health of an individual by integrative Personal Omics Profiling (iPOP) and the other tracking the impact of Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) placement on nine heart failure patients were examined for the association of change in health status with change in microbial RNA species. Decrease in RNA expression ratios of human to bacteria and viruses accompanying deteriorated conditions was evident in both studies. Despite large between-subject variations in bacterial composition before LVAD implantation among all the patients, on day 180 after the implantation they manifested apparent between-subject bacterial similarity. In the iPOP study three periods, namely, pre-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection with normal blood glucose level, RSV infection with normal blood glucose level and post-RSV infection with high blood glucose level could be defined. The upsurge of Enterobacteria phage PhiX 174 sensu lato and Escherichia coli gene expression, in which membrane transporters, membrane receptors for environment signalling, carbohydrate catabolic genes and carbohydrate-active enzymes were enriched only throughout the second period, which suggests a potentially overlooked microbial response to or modulation of the host blood glucose level.
KATZLDA: KATZ measure for the lncRNA-disease association prediction
Authors: Chen Xing
Published: November 2015

Accumulating experimental studies have demonstrated important associations between alterations and dysregulations of lncRNAs and the development and progression of various complex human diseases. Developing effective computational models to integrate vast amount of heterogeneous biological data for the identification of potential disease-lncRNA associations has become a hot topic in the fields of human complex diseases and lncRNAs, which could benefit lncRNA biomarker detection for disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Considering the limitations in previous computational methods, the model of KATZ measure for LncRNA-Disease Association prediction (KATZLDA) was developed to uncover potential lncRNA-disease associations by integrating known lncRNA-disease associations, lncRNA expression profiles, lncRNA functional similarity, disease semantic similarity and Gaussian interaction profile kernel similarity. KATZLDA could work for diseases without known related lncRNAs and lncRNAs without known associated diseases. KATZLDA obtained reliable AUCs of 7175, 0.7886, 0.7719 in the local and global leave-one-out cross validation and 5-fold cross validation, respectively, significantly improving previous classical methods. Furthermore, case studies of colon, gastric and renal cancer were implemented and 60% of top 10 predictions have been confirmed by recent biological experiments. It is anticipated that KATZLDA could be an important resource with potential values for biomedical researches.
Application of artificial neural network to investigate the effects of 5-fluorouracil on ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides in HepG2 cells
Authors: Guo Jianru , Chen QianQian , Lam Christopher Wai Kei , Wang Caiyun , Wong Vincent Kam Wai , Xu Fengguo , Jiang ZhiHong , Zhang Wei
Published: November 2015

Endogenous ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides are essential metabolites that play important roles in a broad range of key cellular functions. Their intracellular levels could also reflect the action of nucleoside analogues. We investigated the effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on ribonucleotide and deoxyribonucleotide pool sizes in cells upon exposure to 5-FU for different durations. Unsupervised and supervised artificial neural networks were compared for comprehensive analysis of global responses to 5-FU. As expected, deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP) increased after 5-FU incubation due to the inhibition of thymine monophosphate (TMP) synthesis. Interestingly, the accumulation of dUMP could not lead to increased levels of deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) and deoxyuridine diphosphate (dUDP). After the initial fall in intracellular deoxythymidine triphosphate (TTP) concentration, its level recovered and increased from 48 h exposure to 5-FU, although deoxythymidine diphosphate (TDP) and TMP continued to decrease compared with the control group. These findings suggest 5-FU treatment caused unexpected changes in intracellular purine polls, such as increases in deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP), adenosine-triphosphate (ATP), guanosine triphosphate (GTP) pools. Further elucidation of the mechanism of action of 5-FU in causing these changes should enhance development of strategies that will increase the anticancer activity of 5-FU while decreasing its resistance.
Tianma Gouteng Yin, a Traditional Chinese Medicine decoction, exerts neuroprotective effects in animal and cellular models of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Liu Liang-Feng , Song Ju-Xian , Lu Jia-Hong , Huang Ying-Yu , Zeng Yu , Chen Lei-Lei , Durairajan Siva Sundara Kumar , Han Quan-Bin , Li Min
Published: November 2015

Tianma Gouteng Yin (TGY) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction widely used to treat symptoms associated with typical Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this study, the neuroprotective effects of water extract of TGY were tested on rotenone-intoxicated and human α-synuclein transgenic Drosophila PD models. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of TGY was also evaluated in the human dopaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line treated with rotenone and the rotenone intoxicated hemi-parkinsonian rats. In rotenone-induced PD models, TGY improved survival rate, alleviated impaired locomotor function of Drosophila, mitigated the loss of dopaminergic neurons in hemi-parkinsonian rats and alleviated apoptotic cell death in SH-SY5Y cells; in α-synuclein transgenic Drosophila, TGY reduced the level of α-synuclein and prevented degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Conclusively, TGY is neuroprotective in PD models both in vivo and in vitro.
Sialylation of the prion protein glycans controls prion replication rate and glycoform ratio
Authors: Katorcha Elizaveta , Makarava Natallia , Savtchenko Regina , Baskakov Ilia V.
Published: November 2015

Prion or PrPSc is a proteinaceous infectious agent that consists of a misfolded and aggregated form of a sialoglycoprotein called prion protein or PrPC. PrPC has two sialylated N-linked carbohydrates. In PrPSc, the glycans are directed outward, with the terminal sialic acid residues creating a negative charge on the surface of prion particles. The current study proposes a new hypothesis that electrostatic repulsion between sialic residues creates structural constraints that control prion replication and PrPSc glycoform ratio. In support of this hypothesis, here we show that diglycosylated PrPC molecules that have more sialic groups per molecule than monoglycosylated PrPC were preferentially excluded from conversion. However, when partially desialylated PrPC was used as a substrate, recruitment of three glycoforms into PrPSc was found to be proportional to their respective populations in the substrate. In addition, hypersialylated molecules were also excluded from conversion in the strains with the strongest structural constraints, a strategy that helped reduce electrostatic repulsion. Moreover, as predicted by the hypothesis, partial desialylation of PrPC significantly increased the replication rate. This study illustrates that sialylation of N-linked glycans creates a prion replication barrier that controls replication rate and glycoform ratios and has broad implications.
Laser controlled singlet oxygen generation in mitochondria to promote mitochondrial DNA replication in vitro
Authors: Zhou Xin , Wang Yupei , Si Jing , Zhou Rong , Gan Lu , Di Cuixia , Xie Yi , Zhang Hong
Published: November 2015

Reports have shown that a certain level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can promote mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication. However, it is unclear whether it is the mitochondrial ROS that stimulate mtDNA replication and this requires further investigation. Here we employed a photodynamic system to achieve controlled mitochondrial singlet oxygen (1O2) generation. HeLa cells incubated with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) were exposed to laser irradiation to induce 1O2 generation within mitochondria. Increased mtDNA copy number was detected after low doses of 630 nm laser light in ALA-treated cells. The stimulated mtDNA replication was directly linked to mitochondrial 1O2 generation, as verified using specific ROS scavengers. The stimulated mtDNA replication was regulated by mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and mtDNA polymerase γ. MtDNA control region modifications were induced by 1O2 generation in mitochondria. A marked increase in 8-Oxoguanine (8-oxoG) level was detected in ALA-treated cells after irradiation. HeLa cell growth stimulation and G1-S cell cycle transition were also observed after laser irradiation in ALA-treated cells. These cellular responses could be due to a second wave of ROS generation detected in mitochondria. In summary, we describe a controllable method of inducing mtDNA replication in vitro.
Colorimetric sensing of atrazine in rice samples using cysteamine functionalized gold nanoparticles after solid phase extraction
Authors: Liu Guangyang , Wang Shanshan , Yang Xin , Li Tengfei , She Yongxin , Wang Jing , Zou Pan , Jin Fen , Jin Maojun , Shao Hua
Published: November 2015

A colorimetric assay for the determination of atrazine in rice samples using cysteamine–gold nanoparticles after solid phase extraction has been developed.
A green and efficient photocatalytic route for the highly-selective oxidation of saturated alpha-carbon C–H bonds in aromatic alkanes over flower-like Bi2WO6
Authors: Liu Ying , Chen Lang , Yuan Qing , He Jie , Au Chak-Tong , Yin Shuang-Feng
Published: November 2015

A green and efficient photocatalytic route has been developed for the highly-selective oxidation of aromatic alkanes over flower-like Bi2WO6 under solvent-free conditions.
Soft nanotubes acting as confinement effecters and chirality inducers for achiral polythiophenes
Authors: Kameta Naohiro , Masuda Mitsutoshi , Shimizu Toshimi
Published: November 2015

Depending on their nanochannel sizes, soft nanotubes were able to not only control the conformation and aggregation state of encapsulated achiral polythiophene boronic acids but also induce chirality in the polythiophene chains that exhibit chiral recognition abilities for d, l-sugars.
Tailoring luminescence color conversion via affinitive co-assembly of glutamates appended with pyrene and naphthalene dicarboximide units
Authors: Xing Pengyao , Zhao Zhuo , Hao Aiyou , Zhao Yanli
Published: November 2015

Co-assembled vesicles constructed from two glutamic acid derivatives display concentration-dependent energy transfer along with multiple color emissions.
Boron nitride ceramics from molecular precursors: synthesis, properties and applications
Authors: Bernard Samuel , Salameh Chrystelle , Miele Philippe
Published: November 2015

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) attracts considerable interest particularly when it is prepared from borazine-based single-source precursors through chemical routes suitable for the shaping and the nanostructuration of the final ceramic.
Adsorption deformation of microporous composites
Authors: Coudert François-Xavier , Fuchs Alain H. , Neimark Alexander V.
Published: November 2015

We demonstrate a theoretical model to describe the behavior of flexible adsorbent materials, or soft porous crystals, when used in practical applications as nanostructured composites such as core–shell particles or mixed matrix membranes.
A supramolecular H-bond driven light switch sensor for small anions
Authors: Rommel S. A. , Sorsche D. , Rau S.
Published: November 2015

A new, strongly luminescent iridium(iii) bibenzimidazole anion sensor system based on an H-bond driven light switch is presented.
Synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties of a new copper oxo-antimony sulphate CuSb6O8(SO4)2
Authors: Zimmermann Iwan , Kremer Reinhard K. , Hu Shichao , Johnsson Mats
Published: November 2015

The crystal structure of the new compound CuSb6O8(SO4)2 is made up of charge neutral layers with long antimony oxygen distances present in between the layers. CuSb6O8(SO4)2 constitutes a linear chain S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J ∼ 2.8 K) which undergoes long-range antiferromagnetic ordering at 0.69 K.
Nitrogen-doped activated carbon for a high energy hybrid supercapacitor
Authors: Li Bing , Dai Fang , Xiao Qiangfeng , Yang Li , Shen Jingmei , Zhang Cunman , Cai Mei
Published: November 2015

The present work provides a novel one-step synthesis for nitrogen-doped activated carbon. The excellent performance of the N-doped AC allows its further application in a hybrid-type supercapacitor, which utilizes a combination of the capacitor electrode and a Li-ion battery anode.
Nickel(ii) and copper(ii) complexes constructed with N2S2 hybrid benzamidine–thiosemicarbazone ligand: synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, DFT, kinetico-catalytic and in vitro biological applications
Authors: Vijayan Paranthaman , Viswanathamurthi Periasamy , Velmurugan Krishnaswamy , Nandhakumar Raju , Balakumaran Manickam Dakshinamoorthi , Kalaichelvan Pudupalayam Thangavelu , Malecki Jan Grzegorz
Published: November 2015

We report nickel(ii) and copper(ii) complexes containing the benzamidine–thiosemicarbazone ligand together with DFT, enzyme kinetics and in vitro biological applications such as DNA/BSA affinities and anticancer properties.
Synthesis of novel 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazolo-bosentan derivatives – evaluation of antimicrobial and anticancer activities and molecular docking
Authors: Easwaramoorthi K. , Rajendran A. Jeya , Rao K. Chennakesava , Arun Y. , Balachandran C. , Perumal P. T. , Emi Nobuhiko , Mahalingam S. M. , Duraipandiyan V. , Al-Dhabi N. A.
Published: November 2015

One pot synthesis with good yields. Good antimicrobial activity against 4EMV receptor. Prominent anticancer activity against A549 and SKOV-3 cell lines. Significantin vitrocytotoxicity at 7.81 μg mL−1. Docking mode of1hwith 2XP2 receptor.
Highly transparent polyimides derived from 2-phenyl-4,6-bis(4-aminophenoxy)pyrimidine and 1,3-bis(5-amino-2-pyridinoxy)benzene: preparation, characterization, and optical properties
Authors: Wang Chunbo , Guan Yue , Tian Dongbo , Dang Guodong , Wang Daming , Chen Chunhai , Zhou Hongwei
Published: November 2015

Heterocyclic polyimides were prepared from two novel diamines with anhydrides, which exhibit outstanding solubility and optical transparency properties.
Influence of phosphate precursors on the structure, crystallization behaviour and bioactivity of sol–gel derived 45S5 bioglass
Authors: Shankhwar Nisha , Kothiyal G. P. , Srinivasan A.
Published: November 2015

Sol–gel derived fully amorphous bioglass (BG_(NH4)2HPO4) with composition close to bioglass 45S5 has been prepared and characterized.
Synthesis and unimolecular micelles of amphiphilic copolymer with dendritic poly(l-lactide) core and poly(ethylene oxide) shell for drug delivery
Authors: Fan Xiaoshan , Hu Zhiguo , Wang Guowei
Published: November 2015

A novel type of amphiphilic copolymer POSS-(G3-PLLA-b-PEO-COOH)8 with a hydrophobic third-generation dendritic PLLA core and a functionalized hydrophilic PEO shell with surface carboxylic groups was synthesized as a carrier for drug delivery.
Total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and phytochemical profiling of grape and pomegranate wines
Authors: Lantzouraki Dimitra Z. , Sinanoglou Vassilia J. , Tsiaka Thalia , Proestos Charalampos , Zoumpoulakis Panagiotis
Published: November 2015

The object of this study was to determine the phenolic profile, the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of pomegranate wine and compare to multi-varietalVitisspp. red wine using different spectrophotometric and spectrometric techniques.
Synthesis of Mn2O3/poly(styrene-co-butyl methacrylate) resin composites and their oil-absorbing properties
Authors: Zhang Tao , Zhang Qian , Wang Xinpei , Li Qiurong , Rong Jian , Qiu Fengxian
Published: November 2015

This paper reports the synthesis of Mn2O3/poly(styrene-co-butyl methacrylate) resin composites by using a combined biotemplate technology and microwave polymerization method, as well as their application in oil absorption.
Preparation of a novel high-strength polyzwitterionic liquid hydrogel and application in catalysis
Authors: He Xiaoyan , Qiang Shenglu , Liu Zhirong , Wang Meng , Yang Wu
Published: November 2015

A new polymeric hydrogel P(PVIS–AA) based on zwitterionic liquids (1-propyl-3-vinyl imidazole sulfonate) (PVIS) and acrylic acid (AA) was prepared by free-radical polymerization.
Synthesis and characterization of novel silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles with tags of ionic liquid. Application in the synthesis of polyhydroquinolines
Authors: Zolfigol Mohammad Ali , Yarie Meysam
Published: November 2015

A novel, green and recoverable silica-coated magnetic nanoparticle immobilized ionic liquid, was designed, synthesized, fully characterized and was used for the synthesis of polyhydroquinoline derivatives.
Spreading of porous vesicles subjected to osmotic shocks: the role of aquaporins
Authors: Berthaud Alice , Quemeneur François , Deforet Maxime , Bassereau Patricia , Brochard-Wyart Françoise , Mangenot Stéphanie
Published: November 2015

Aquaporin 0 (AQP0) is a transmembrane protein specific to the eye lens, involved as a water carrier across the lipid membranes. We propose here a new method based on GUV spreading to measure the water permeability of membrane and single functional water pore. We also demonstrate that truncated AQP0 do not conduct water.
Highly efficient and durable dye-sensitized solar cells based on a wet-laid PET membrane electrolyte
Authors: Sun Kyung Chul , Sahito Iftikhar Ali , Noh Jung Woo , Yeo Sang Young , Im Jung Nam , Yi Sung Chul , Kim Yeon Sang , Jeong Sung Hoon
Published: November 2015

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a commonly used textile fiber, was used in the form of a wet-laid non-woven fabric as a matrix for electrolytes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
Reflex triode of axial symmetric design
Authors: Vintizenko I.
Published: November 2015

The prospects of the practical application of reflex triodes are connected with the constructional features of these high‐power microwave oscillators. The results of experimental investigations of an original design of a reflex triode are presented. A scheme of the triode allows provision of a symmetric current supply to the device grid. A linear induction accelerator (LIA) with low source impedance has been used. The LIA is made using a composition approach, where the main parts of the accelerator are placed within one cylindrical tank.
MMSE‐based version of OMP for recovery of discrete‐valued sparse signals
Authors: Sparrer S. , Fischer R.F.H.
Published: November 2015

An enhanced algorithm for the reconstruction of discrete‐valued sparse vectors from an underdetermined system of linear equations under the presence of noise is presented. Knowledge from the field of compressed sensing and from digital communications is combined in optimising the estimation step in the orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm according to the minimum mean‐squared error (MMSE) criterion. Thereby, a gain in performance of more than 1 dB is achieved compared with the conventional OMP.
Current limiting circuit for low‐cost HESS
Authors: Shin Chul‐Jun , Yoo Kwang‐Min , Kim Dong‐Rak , Lee Jun‐Young
Published: November 2015

A current limiter for the low‐cost hybrid energy storage system (HESS) to guarantee battery lifetime is presented. It controls the maximum battery current and makes the battery backup system responsible for the remaining load. The proposed current limiter is a controllable variable resistor which can be implemented with a bidirectional semiconductor switch, a resistor, and a filter. Its feasibility has been verified with a 25 A limiter.
Cooperative spectrum sensing with two‐stage reporting for cognitive radio networks
Authors: So Jaewoo
Published: November 2015

A new cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) scheme with two‐stage reporting is proposed so as to improve the throughput of secondary users (SUs) through reducing the reporting overhead. In the proposed scheme, the reporting process of the SUs is divided into two stages (a dedicated reporting stage and a contention‐based reporting stage) and the fusion centre determines the presence of primary users through combining the sensing results successfully received in the two reporting stages by using the k‐out‐of‐N rule. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly outperforms conventional CSS schemes based on the OR rule and the k‐out‐of‐N rule.
Compact UWB CP square slot antenna with two corners connected by a strip line
Authors: Karamzadeh S. , Rafii V. , Kartal M. , Saygin H.
Published: November 2015

A novel method to design a compact, broadband circularly polarised square slot antenna (CPSSA) with a considerably wide axial ratio (AR) bandwidth is proposed. A coplanar waveguide fed square slot antenna with an impedance matching stub and a cross‐shape radiating patch together with a strip line that connects the two opposite corners of the ground section is designed to provide the desired characteristics. The obtained results for the proposed antenna provide good agreement with the expected performance with a compact size of 20 × 20 mm. The measured impedance bandwidth is as large as 11 050 MHz (2950–14 000 MHz) or about 130.38% with respect to the centre frequency. The measured 3 dB AR is 3373 MHz (35.7%) from 3729 to 7102 MHz and the average measured gain of the CPSSA is almost 3.5 dBi in the operating band.
Comments on and corrections to ‘unified VLSI architecture for photo core transform used in JPEG XR’
Authors: Do Trang T.T. , Nguyen Binh P.
Published: November 2015

In the Letter ‘Unified VLSI architecture for photo core transform used in JPEG XR’, the authors proposed a hardware architecture to implement the three elementary 2 × 2 transform operations for the photo core transform used in JPEG XR. However, there are some errors in their implementation, dataflow and reported resources used. In this Letter, we point out those errors and suggest the corresponding corrections. We also provide constant additions which must be added to the results of the implementation to conform the standard.
Formulas for pth root computations in finite fields of characteristic p
Authors: Perin L.P. , Custódio R. , Panario D. , Wang Q.
Published: November 2015

Families of irreducible polynomials over 𝔽p, p odd are provided, where pth roots can be efficiently computed. Efficient cube root computations in extensions of characteristic 3 have been recently studied, in part motivated by pairing cryptography implementations. For the particular case p = 3, some previous results are slightly improved and new extensions are provided where efficient cube root computations are possible.
Data‐assisted channel estimation and performance analysis for two‐way amplify‐and‐forward relay networks with M‐ary frequency shift keying modulation
Authors: Masjedi Maryam , Doost Hoseini Ali M.
Published: November 2015

In this study, a new method is proposed for channel estimation and symbol detection in amplify‐and‐forward two‐way relay networks with frequency shift keying signalling, over block fading as well as time‐varying Rayleigh flat fading channels. It relies solely on information symbols to estimate reciprocal and non‐reciprocal channels without pilot symbols assistance. To achieve this goal, users apply known periodic phase shifts to their transmit symbols and adopt maximum likelihood or linear minimum mean square error criteria to discriminate and estimate the two composite channels. Optimal and suboptimal phase shifts are designed to minimise the mean square error (MSE). Minimum distance receiver is then used for symbol detection. An approximate upper bound for the resulting bit error rate (BER) is derived and the effect of channel variation rate on the MSE and BER is studied. Finally, simulation results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the suggested method.
Complexity‐aware‐normalised mean squared error ‘CAN’ metric for dimension estimation of memory polynomial‐based power amplifiers behavioural models
Authors: Hammi Oualid , Miftah Abderezak
Published: November 2015

The memory polynomial model is widely used for the behavioural modelling of radio‐frequency non‐linear power amplifiers having memory effects. One challenging task related to this model is the selection of its dimension which is defined by the non‐linearity order and the memory depth. This study presents an approach suitable for the selection of the model dimension in memory polynomial‐based power amplifiers’ behavioural models. The proposed approach uses a hybrid criterion that takes into account the model accuracy and its complexity. The proposed technique is tested on two memory polynomial‐based behavioural models. Experimental validation carried out using experimental data of two Doherty power amplifiers, built using different transistor technologies and tested with two different signals, illustrates consistent advantages of the proposed technique as it significantly reduces the model dimension by more than 60% without compromising its accuracy.
Diversity gain of lattice constellation‐based joint orthogonal space‐time block coding
Authors: Liu Wei , Lei Jing , Imran Muhammad‐Ali , Tang Chaojing
Published: November 2015

It is generally thought that space‐time block codes (STBCs) can obtain no more than full space diversity. In this study, the authors propose a new construction method of joint orthogonal STBCs based on M‐dimensional lattice constellations for obtaining space and time diversities simultaneously. By deriving the Chernoff bound of error probability, they prove the exact diversity gain of the proposed code is M times of that in traditional STBCs. This is a valuable scheme as diversity gain is usually the primary factor to determine the ability of anti‐fading. Moreover, the maximum‐likelihood decoder for the proposed code just requires joint decoding of M real symbols, whose complexity is acceptable as M, usually, needs not to be too big. Numerical results show that the proposed code has remarkable improvement of performance compared with some typical STBCs under the comparable low decoding complexity.
Supervised framework for automatic recognition and retrieval of interaction: a framework for classification and retrieving videos with similar human interactions
Authors: Chattopadhyay Chiranjoy , Das Sukhendu
Published: November 2015

This study presents supervised framework for automatic recognition and retrieval of interactions (SAFARRIs), a supervised learning framework to recognise interactions such as pushing, punching, and hugging, between a pair of human performers in a video shot. The primary contribution of the study is to extend the vectors of locally aggregated descriptors (VLADs) as a compact and discriminative video encoding representation, to solve the complex class partitioning problem of recognising human interaction. An initial codebook is generated from the training set of video shots, by extracting feature descriptors around the spatiotemporal interest points computed across frames. A bag of action words is generated by encoding the first‐order statistics of the visual words using VLAD. Support vector machine classifiers (1 against all) are trained using these codebooks. The authors have verified SAFARRI's accuracy for classification and retrieval (query by example). SAFARRI is free from tracking or recognition of body parts and capable of identifying the region of interaction in video shots. It gives superior retrieval and classification performances over recently proposed methods, on two publicly available human interaction datasets.
Dickson charge pump using integrated inductors in complementary metal–oxide semiconductor technology
Authors: Zucchelli Massimiliano , Colalongo Luigi , Richelli Anna , Kovacs‐Vajna Zsolt M.
Published: November 2015

A fully integrated DC/DC converter for low‐voltage applications is presented. It is based on a modified Dickson charge pump which exhibits improved performances by using integrated small inductors. The proposed charge pump is superior in terms of power efficiency, maximum output voltage, rise time, and voltage output ripple. The overall circuit does not require any external components and can be fully integrated in a standard complementary metal–oxide semiconductor technology. The converter has been designed in STMicroelectronics 180 nm process.
The Big Bang: Facial Trauma Caused by Recreational Fireworks
Authors: Molendijk Josher , Vervloet Bob , Wolvius Eppo B. , Koudstaal Maarten J.
Published: November 2015

In the Netherlands, it is a tradition of setting off fireworks to celebrate the turn of the year. In our medical facility, each year patients with severe skeletal maxillofacial trauma inflicted by recreational fireworks are encountered. We present two cases of patients with severe blast injury to the face, caused by direct impact of rockets, and thereby try to contribute to the limited literature on facial blast injuries, their treatment, and clinical outcome. These patients require multidisciplinary treatment, involving multiple reconstructive surgeries, and the overall recovery process is long. The severity of these traumas raises questions about the firework traditions and legislations not only in the Netherlands but also worldwide. Therefore, the authors support restrictive laws on personal use of fireworks in the Netherlands.