bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Greater Greenland Ice Sheet contribution to global sea level rise in CMIP6
Authors: Hofer Stefan , Lang Charlotte , Amory Charles , Kittel Christoph , Delhasse Alison , Tedstone Andrew , Fettweis Xavier
Published: December 2020

Future climate projections show a marked increase in Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) runoff during the 21st century, a direct consequence of the Polar Amplification signal. Regional climate models (RCMs) are a widely used tool to downscale ensembles of projections from global climate models (GCMs) to assess the impact of global warming on GrIS melt and sea level rise contribution. Initial results of the CMIP6 GCM model intercomparison project have revealed a greater 21st century temperature rise than in CMIP5 models. However, so far very little is known about the subsequent impacts on the future GrIS surface melt and therefore sea level rise contribution. Here, we show that the total GrIS sea level rise contribution from surface mass loss in our high-resolution (15 km) regional climate projections is 17.8  ±  7.8 cm in SSP585, 7.9 cm more than in our RCP8.5 simulations using CMIP5 input. We identify a +1.3 °C greater Arctic Amplification and associated cloud and sea ice feedbacks in the CMIP6 SSP585 scenario as the main drivers. Additionally, an assessment of the GrIS sea level contribution across all emission scenarios highlights, that the GrIS mass loss in CMIP6 is equivalent to a CMIP5 scenario with twice the global radiative forcing.
Classical communication enhanced quantum state verification
Authors: Zhang Wen-Hao , Liu Xiao , Yin Peng , Peng Xing-Xiang , Li Gong-Chu , Xu Xiao-Ye , Yu Shang , Hou Zhi-Bo , Han Yong-Jian , Xu Jin-Shi , Zhou Zong-Quan , Chen Geng , Li Chuan-Feng , Guo Guang-Can
Published: December 2020

Quantum state verification provides an efficient approach to characterize the reliability of quantum devices for generating certain target states. The figure of merit of a specific strategy is the estimated infidelity ϵ of the tested state to the target state, given a certain number of performed measurements n. Entangled measurements constitute the globally optimal strategy and achieve the scaling that ϵ is inversely proportional to n. Recent advances show that it is possible to achieve the same scaling simply with non-adaptive local measurements; however, the performance is still worse than the globally optimal bound up to a constant factor. In this work, by introducing classical communication, we experimentally implement an adaptive quantum state verification. The constant factor is minimized from ~2.5 to 1.5 in this experiment, which means that only 60% measurements are required to achieve a certain value of ϵ compared to optimal non-adaptive local strategy. Our results indicate that classical communication significantly enhances the performance of quantum state verification, and leads to an efficiency that further approaches the globally optimal bound.
Sex-specific differences in resting-state functional connectivity of large-scale networks in postconcussion syndrome
Authors: Shafi Reema , Crawley Adrian P. , Tartaglia Maria Carmela , Tator Charles H. , Green Robin E. , Mikulis David J. , Colantonio Angela
Published: December 2020

Concussions are associated with a range of cognitive, neuropsychological and behavioral sequelae that, at times, persist beyond typical recovery times and are referred to as postconcussion syndrome (PCS). There is growing support that concussion can disrupt network-based connectivity post-injury. To date, a significant knowledge gap remains regarding the sex-specific impact of concussion on resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC). The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the injury-based rs-FC differences across three large-scale neural networks and (2) explore the sex-specific impact of injury on network-based connectivity. MRI data was collected from a sample of 80 concussed participants who fulfilled the criteria for postconcussion syndrome and 31 control participants who did not have any history of concussion. Connectivity maps between network nodes and brain regions were used to assess connectivity using the Functional Connectivity (CONN) toolbox. Network based statistics showed that concussed participants were significantly different from healthy controls across both salience and fronto-parietal network nodes. More specifically, distinct subnetwork components were identified in the concussed sample, with hyperconnected frontal nodes and hypoconnected posterior nodes across both the salience and fronto-parietal networks, when compared to the healthy controls. Node-to-region analyses showed sex-specific differences across association cortices, however, driven by distinct networks. Sex-specific network-based alterations in rs-FC post concussion need to be examined to better understand the underlying mechanisms and associations to clinical outcomes.
Integrative analysis of multi-platform reverse-phase protein array data for the pharmacodynamic assessment of response to targeted therapies
Authors: Byron Adam , Bernhardt Stephan , Ouine Bérèngere , Cartier Aurélie , Macleod Kenneth G. , Carragher Neil O. , Sibut Vonick , Korf Ulrike , Serrels Bryan , de Koning Leanne
Published: December 2020

Reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) technology uses panels of high-specificity antibodies to measure proteins and protein post-translational modifications in cells and tissues. The approach offers sensitive and precise quantification of large numbers of samples and has thus found applications in the analysis of clinical and pre-clinical samples. For effective integration into drug development and clinical practice, robust assays with consistent results are essential. Leveraging a collaborative RPPA model, we set out to assess the variability between three different RPPA platforms using distinct instrument set-ups and workflows. Employing multiple RPPA-based approaches operated across distinct laboratories, we characterised a range of human breast cancer cells and their protein-level responses to two clinically relevant cancer drugs. We integrated multi-platform RPPA data and used unsupervised learning to identify protein expression and phosphorylation signatures that were not dependent on RPPA platform and analysis workflow. Our findings indicate that proteomic analyses of cancer cell lines using different RPPA platforms can identify concordant profiles of response to pharmacological inhibition, including when using different antibodies to measure the same target antigens. These results highlight the robustness and the reproducibility of RPPA technology and its capacity to identify protein markers of disease or response to therapy.
Author Correction: ADRML: anticancer drug response prediction using manifold learning
Authors: Moughari Fatemeh Ahmadi , Eslahchi Changiz
Published: December 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Optimization and computational studies evaluating molecular dynamics of EDA cored polymeric dendrimer
Authors: Chawla Malvika , Kaushik R. D. , Singh Jaspal , Manila
Published: December 2020

In this work we report the results acquired from molecular dynamics simulations as well as the optimization of different generations of polyamidoamine dendrimer. The analysis data revealed synthesized dendrimer as a suitable nanostructured candidate suitable for neutral as well as charged molecule delivery due to the presence of both electrostatic potential and van der Waals forces. The methyl ester terminating groups of half-generation dendrimers with characteristic IR peaks for carbonyl at 1670.41 cm−1 tends to shift to 1514.17 cm−1 on conversion to amide group of full-generation dendrimer. The study includes the usage of detailed analysis, demonstrating how molecular dynamics affect the dendrimer complexation. The present investigations provide an unprecedented insight into the computational and experimental system that may be of general significance for the clinical application of dendrimers.
Linking morphological and molecular sources to disentangle the case of Xylodon australis
Authors: Fernández-López Javier , Telleria M. Teresa , Dueñas Margarita , Laguna-Castro Mara , Schliep Klaus , Martín María P.
Published: December 2020

The use of different sources of evidence has been recommended in order to conduct species delimitation analyses to solve taxonomic issues. In this study, we use a maximum likelihood framework to combine morphological and molecular traits to study the case of Xylodon australis (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) using the locate.yeti function from the phytools R package. Xylodon australis has been considered a single species distributed across Australia, New Zealand and Patagonia. Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses were conducted to unmask the actual diversity under X. australis as well as the kinship relations respect their relatives. To assess the taxonomic position of each clade, locate.yeti function was used to locate in a molecular phylogeny the X. australis type material for which no molecular data was available using morphological continuous traits. Two different species were distinguished under the X. australis name, one from Australia–New Zealand and other from Patagonia. In addition, a close relationship with Xylodon lenis, a species from the South East of Asia, was confirmed for the Patagonian clade. We discuss the implications of our results for the biogeographical history of this genus and we evaluate the potential of this method to be used with historical collections for which molecular data is not available.
Influence of an aluminium concentrator corrosion on the output characteristic of a photovoltaic system
Authors: Mota Frederico , Neto Torres João Paulo , Ferreira Fernandes Carlos A. , Marques Lameirinhas Ricardo A.
Published: December 2020

The climate changes observed over the last decades have been promoting a massive transformation on the energy sector, that is still, in truth highly dependent on fossil fuels. Renewable energies are a plausible alternative, because they have lower emissions of toxic gases in comparison with non-renewable ones. In the group of renewable energies, solar technology has the biggest overall potential, mainly because it is cheap and easy to set. Several solar technologies allow to equip their photovoltaic panels with concentrators, mostly to increase the output power and possibly their efficiency. However, some problems related to the use of concentrators have to be dealt in order to improve the entire photovoltaic system performance. One of these issues is the corrosion of the concentrators, leading to a premature ageing and, consequently an increase in maintenance costs. This problem is going to be analysed in this paper, presenting some simulation from a ray traicing software and also some experimental results, from our own laboratory experiences. The used software allows to trace the solar rays of the concentrator, in order to assess the effect of the defects caused by corrosion due to the ambient circumstances. After it, experimental results will help to analyse this effect and to prove simulation ones.
Nutrient removal by rice–wheat cropping system as influenced by crop establishment techniques and fertilization options in conjunction with microbial inoculation
Authors: Shahane Amit Anil , Shivay Yashbir Singh , Prasanna Radha , Kumar Dinesh
Published: December 2020

Nutrient uptake by the rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) is an important indicator of soil fertility and plant nutrient status. The hypothesis of this investigation was that the rate and sources of nutrient application can differentially influence nutrient removal and soil nutrient status in different crop establishment techniques (CETs). Cropping system yield was on par in all the CETs evaluated, however, there were significant changes in soil nutrient availability and microbiological aspects. The system nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) uptake in aerobic rice system followed by zero tillage wheat (ARS-ZTW) was 15.7–17.6 kg ha−1, 0.7–0.9 kg ha−1, 7–9.8 kg ha−1and 13.5–23.1 g ha−1and higher than other CETs. The formulations ofAnabaenasp. (CR1) + Providenciasp. (PR3) consortium (MC1) andAnabaena–Pseudomonasbiofilm (MC2) recorded significantly higher values of soil chlorophyll and microbial biomass carbon and positively affected cropping system nutrient uptake and soil nutrient balance, illustrating the beneficial effect of microbial inoculation through increased supply of biologically fixed N and solubilised P. Zinc fertilization (5 kg Zn ha−1through ZnSO4·7H2O as soil application) increased soil DTPA-extractable Zn by 4.025–4.836 g ha–1, with enhancement to the tune of 20–24% after two cropping cycles of RWCS. Our investigation recommends the need for change in the present CETs to ARS–ZTW, along with the use of microbial inoculation as a means of significantly enhancing cropping system nutrient uptake and soil nutrient status improvement.
Intra-articular collagenase in the spinal facet joint induces pain, DRG neuron dysregulation and increased MMP-1 absent evidence of joint destruction
Authors: Ita Meagan E. , Ghimire Prabesh , Welch Rachel L. , Troche Harrison R. , Winkelstein Beth A.
Published: December 2020

Degeneration is a hallmark of painful joint disease and is mediated by many proteases that degrade joint tissues, including collagenases. We hypothesized that purified bacterial collagenase would initiate nociceptive cascades in the joint by degrading the capsular ligament’s matrix and activating innervating pain fibers. Intra-articular collagenase in the rat facet joint was investigated for its effects on behavioral sensitivity, joint degeneration, and nociceptive pathways in the peripheral and central nervous systems. In parallel, a co-culture collagen gel model of the ligament was used to evaluate effects of collagenase on microscale changes to the collagen fibers and embedded neurons. Collagenase induced sensitivity within one day, lasting for 3 weeks (p < 0.001) but did not alter ligament structure, cartilage health, or chondrocyte homeostasis. Yet, nociceptive mediators were increased in the periphery (substance P, pERK, and MMP-1; p ≤ 0.039) and spinal cord (substance P and MMP-1; p ≤ 0.041). The collagen loss (p = 0.008) induced by exposing co-cultures to collagenase was accompanied by altered neuronal activity (p = 0.002) and elevated neuronal MMP-1 (p < 0.001), suggesting microscale collagen degradation mediates sensitivity in vivo. The induction of sustained sensitivity and nociception without joint damage may explain the clinical disconnect in which symptomatic joint pain patients present without radiographic evidence of joint destruction.
Fresh water skin disease in dolphins: a case definition based on pathology and environmental factors in Australia
Authors: Duignan Pádraig J. , Stephens Nahiid S. , Robb Kate
Published: December 2020

A distinct ulcerative dermatitis known as “freshwater skin disease” is an emerging clinical and pathological presentation in coastal cetaceans worldwide. In Australia, two remarkably similar mortality events enabled the creation of a case definition based on pathology and environmental factors. The first affected a community of endemicTursiops australisin the Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, while the second occurred amongT. aduncusresident in the Swan-Canning River system, Western Australia. The common features of both events were (1) an abrupt and marked decrease in salinity (from > 30ppt to < 5ppt) due to rainfall in the catchments, with hypo-salinity persisting weeks to months, and (2) dermatitis characterized grossly by patchy skin pallor that progressed to variable circular or targetoid, often raised, and centrally ulcerated lesions covering up to 70% of the body surface. The affected skin was often colonized by a variety of fungal, bacterial and algal species that imparted variable yellow, green or orange discoloration. Histologic lesions consisted of epidermal hydropic change leading to vesiculation and erosion; alternately, or in addition, the formation of intra-epithelial pustules resulting in ulceration and hypodermal necrosis. Thus, the environmental factors and characteristic pathologic lesions, are necessary components of the case definition for freshwater skin disease.
K2P2.1 (TREK-1) potassium channel activation protects against hyperoxia-induced lung injury
Authors: Zyrianova Tatiana , Lopez Benjamin , Olcese Riccardo , Belperio John , Waters Christopher M. , Wong Leanne , Nguyen Victoria , Talapaneni Sriharsha , Schwingshackl Andreas
Published: December 2020

No targeted therapies exist to counteract Hyperoxia (HO)-induced Acute Lung Injury (HALI). We previously found that HO downregulates alveolar K2P2.1 (TREK-1) K+channels, which results in worsening lung injury. This decrease in TREK-1 levels leaves a subset of channels amendable to pharmacological intervention. Therefore, we hypothesized that TREK-1 activation protects against HALI. We treated HO-exposed mice and primary alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) with the novel TREK-1 activators ML335 and BL1249, and quantified physiological, histological, and biochemical lung injury markers. We determined the effects of these drugs on epithelial TREK-1 currents, plasma membrane potential (Em), and intracellular Ca2+(iCa) concentrations using fluorometric assays, and blocked voltage-gated Ca2+channels (CaV) as a downstream mechanism of cytokine secretion. Once-daily, intra-tracheal injections of HO-exposed mice with ML335 or BL1249 improved lung compliance, histological lung injury scores, broncho-alveolar lavage protein levels and cell counts, and IL-6 and IP-10 concentrations. TREK-1 activation also decreased IL-6, IP-10, and CCL-2 secretion from primary AECs. Mechanistically, ML335 and BL1249 induced TREK-1 currents in AECs, counteracted HO-induced cell depolarization, and lowered iCa2+concentrations. In addition, CCL-2 secretion was decreased after L-type CaVinhibition. Therefore, Em stabilization with TREK-1 activators may represent a novel approach to counteract HALI.
Genome-wide association studies in tropical maize germplasm reveal novel and known genomic regions for resistance to Northern corn leaf blight
Authors: Rashid Zerka , Sofi Mehrajuddin , Harlapur Sharanappa I. , Kachapur Rajashekhar M. , Dar Zahoor Ahmed , Singh Pradeep Kumar , Zaidi Pervez Haider , Vivek Bindiganavile Sampath , Nair Sudha Krishnan
Published: December 2020

Northern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB) caused bySetosphaeria turcica, is one of the most important diseases of maize world-wide, and one of the major reasons behind yield losses in maize crop in Asia. In the present investigation, a high-resolution genome wide association study (GWAS) was conducted for NCLB resistance in three association mapping panels, predominantly consisting of tropical lines adapted to different agro-ecologies. These panels were phenotyped for disease severity across three locations with high disease prevalence in India. High density SNPs from Genotyping-by-sequencing were used in GWAS, after controlling for population structure and kinship matrices, based on single locus mixed linear model (MLM). Twenty-two SNPs were identified, that revealed a significant association with NCLB in the three mapping panels. Haplotype regression analysis revealed association of 17 significant haplotypes at FDR ≤ 0.05, with two common haplotypes across three maize panels. Several of the significantly associated SNPs/haplotypes were found to be co-located in chromosomal bins previously reported for major genes likeHt2,Ht3andHtn1and QTL for NCLB resistance and multiple foliar disease resistance. Phenotypic variance explained by these significant SNPs/haplotypes ranged from low to moderate, suggesting a breeding strategy of combining multiple resistance alleles towards resistance for NCLB.
Characterization of Enterococcus faecalis in different culture conditions
Authors: Kim Mi-Ah , Rosa Vinicius , Min Kyung-San
Published: December 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate how carbohydrates (glucose or sucrose) affect the characteristics of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) planktonic and biofilm in vitro. For this study, E. faecalis was cultured in tryptone-yeast extract broth with 0% glucose + 0% sucrose, 0.5% glucose, 1% glucose, 0.5% sucrose, or 1% sucrose. Viability of E. faecalis was examined by colony forming unit counting assays. Biofilm formation was assessed by measuring extracellular DNA (eDNA), a component of the biofilm matrix. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to investigate the expression of virulence-associated genes. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis, confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis, and crystal violet colorimetric assay were conducted to study E. faecalis biofilms. E. faecalis showed the highest viability and eDNA levels in 1% sucrose medium in biofilms. The result of qRT-PCR showed that the virulence-associated genes expressed highest in 1% sucrose-grown biofilms and in 1% glucose-grown planktonic cultures. E. faecalis showed highly aggregated biofilms and higher bacteria and exopolysaccharide (EPS) bio-volume in sucrose than in 0% glucose + 0% sucrose or glucose. The results indicate that the production of eDNA and EPS and expression of virulence-associated genes in E. faecalis are affected by the concentration of carbohydrates in biofilm or planktonic culture.
Theoretically predicting the feasibility of highly-fluorinated ethers as promising diluents for non-flammable concentrated electrolytes
Authors: Bouibes Amine , Saha Soumen , Nagaoka Masataka
Published: December 2020

The practical application of nonflammable highly salt-concentrated (HC) electrolyte is strongly desired for safe Li-ion batteries. Not only experimentalists but also theoreticians are extensively focusing on the dilution approach to address the limitations of HC electrolyte such as low ionic conductivity and high viscosity. This study suggests promising highly-fluorinated ethers to dilute the HC electrolyte based on non-flammable trimethyl phosphate (TMP) solvent. According to the quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics calculations, the fluorinated ether diluents showed a miscibility behavior in HC TMP-based electrolyte. While such miscibility behavior of the diluent with TMP solvent has been significantly enhanced by increasing its degree of fluorination, i.e., the “fluorous effect”, it is remarkable that the self-diffusion constant of Li+ and the ionic conductivity should be significantly improved by dilution with bis(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro ethyl) ether (B2E) and bis(pentafluoro ethyl) ether (BPE) compared to other common hydrofluoroether diluents. In addition, the fluorinated-ether diluents have high ability to form a localized-concentrated electrolyte in HC TMP-based solution, leading to high expectation for the formation of a stable and a compact inorganic SEI film.
Antibiofilm and antivirulence efficacy of myrtenol enhances the antibiotic susceptibility of Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Selvaraj Anthonymuthu , Valliammai Alaguvel , Sivasankar Chandran , Suba Manokaran , Sakthivel Ganeshkumar , Pandian Shunmugiah Karutha
Published: December 2020

Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) is rising as a human pathogen of critical priority worldwide as it is the leading cause of chronic opportunistic infections in healthcare settings and the condition is ineradicable with antibiotic therapy. AB possesses the ability to form biofilm on abiotic as well as biotic surfaces which plays a major role in its pathogenesis and resistance in clinical settings. Hence, the demand for an alternative therapy to combat the biofilm-associated infections is increasing. The present study explored the antibiofilm potential of myrtenol, a bicyclic monoterpene present in various plants against reference and clinical strains of AB. Myrtenol (200 μg/mL) exhibited a strong antibiofilm activity without exerting any harmful effect on growth and metabolic viability of AB strains. Microscopic analyses confirmed the reduction in the biofilm thickness and surface coverage upon myrtenol treatment. Especially, myrtenol was found to be effective in disrupting the mature biofilms of tested AB strains. Furthermore, myrtenol inhibited the biofilm-associated virulence factors of AB strains such as extracellular polysaccharide, cell surface hydrophobicity, oxidant resistance, swarming and twitching motility. Transcriptional analysis unveiled the suppression of the biofilm-associated genes such as bfmR, csuA/B, bap, ompA, pgaA, pgaC, and katE by myrtenol. Notably, myrtenol improved the susceptibility of AB strains towards conventional antibiotics such as amikacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and trimethoprim. Thus, the present study demonstrates the therapeutic potential of myrtenol against biofilm-associated infections of AB.
High Throughput Screening Methods for PPI Inhibitor Discovery
Authors: Doyle Sean P. , Mo Xiulei , Qian Kun , Cicka Danielle N. , Niu Qiankun , Fu Haian
Published: December 2020

As the importance of protein–protein interactions (PPIs) in human health and disease has become broadly recognized, interest in identifying inhibitors of PPIs has increased substantially. High throughput screening (HTS) is one of several strategies that have been implemented to identify PPI inhibitors. In this chapter, HTS methods are surveyed and situated within the broader context of PPI inhibitor discovery.
Small Molecule Inhibitors of E3 Ubiquitin Ligases
Authors: Watanabe Nobumoto , Osada Hiroyuki
Published: December 2020

Protein–protein interaction is one of the important events in signal transduction pathways and this interaction is frequently induced by protein phosphorylation. For this interaction, several domains in proteins are known to specifically recognize the phosphorylated residues of target proteins. Previously, we have reviewed small molecule inhibitors for phosphorylation-dependent protein–protein interaction, especially for 14-3-3 or polo box domain (PBD)-dependent binding. F-box proteins, the substrate recognition subunit in SCF ubiquitin ligases, are one of the common examples of such phosphorylation-dependent interaction. In this chapter, we have focused on the several small molecule inhibitors of F-box proteins, especially S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2). Skp2-dependent interaction is known to be important in the progression of diseases caused by disordered signal transduction, such as cancer. Thus, small molecules that modulate this interaction are attractive lead compounds for the treatment of such diseases. In addition, we have summarized some small molecule inhibitors of other F-box proteins.
Discovery of AMG 232, a Small Molecule MDM2 Inhibitor in Clinical Development and its Back-up Clinical Candidate, AM-7209
Authors: Rew Yosup , Eksterowicz John
Published: December 2020

Significant drug discovery efforts have been poured into the design of selective small molecule inhibitors of the MDM2–p53 protein–protein interaction since the first co-crystal structure of the p53 peptide bound to MDM2 was reported in 1996. As a result, several compounds have been advanced into human clinical trials for the treatment of cancers in the past decade. Amgen's structure-based rational design and extensive structure–activity relationship studies led to the discovery of AMG 232, a novel piperidinone series small molecule inhibitor of the MDM2–p53 protein–protein interaction, which is currently in Phase I and II clinical trials for multiple tumor indications. AMG 232 is a potent MDM2 inhibitor (SPR Kd = 0.045 nM, SJSA-1 EdU IC50 = 9.1 nM) with remarkable pharmacokinetic properties. AMG 232 has demonstrated in vivo antitumor activity in several tumor xenograft models and led to complete tumor regression of MDM2 amplified SJSA-1 tumors (ED50 = 9.1 mg kg−1, QD dosing). This chapter covers a comprehensive discovery story of AMG232 from the de novo design of a rigid novel piperidinone scaffold to the systemic optimization of the piperidinone scaffold towards AMG 232 and its back-up clinical candidate AM-7209.
Multi-dimensional LC-MS: the next generation characterization of antibody-based therapeutics by unified online bottom-up, middle-up and intact approaches
Authors: Camperi Julien , Goyon Alexandre , Guillarme Davy , Zhang Kelly , Stella Cinzia
Published: December 2020

This review presents an overview of current analytical trends in antibody characterization by multidimensional LC-MS approaches.
Real-time monitoring of caspase-3/8 activity by self-assembling nanofiber probes in living cells
Authors: Zhang Li-Song , Xu Hong-Lei , Xia Ying , Bi Jian-Peng , Zhang Chuan-Zeng , Xi Zhen , Li Lu-Yuan , Zhang Zhi-Song
Published: December 2020

Supramolecular self-assembling nanofiber probes Nap-GFFpYDEVD-AFC/Nap-GFFpYIETD-AFC for real-time monitoring of caspase-3/8 activity in living cells.
Hydration and dynamics of l-glutamate ion in aqueous solution
Authors: Friesen Sergej , Fedotova Marina V. , Kruchinin Sergey E. , Buchner Richard
Published: December 2020

Dilute l-glutamate affects water dynamics beyond its 1st hydration shell but above 0.4 M only H2O surrounding carboxylate moieties is involved.
Boron-Wittig olefination with gem-bis(boryl)alkanes
Authors: Cuenca Ana B. , Fernández Elena
Published: December 2020

Boron-Wittig reaction as the condensation of lithium α-bis(boryl)carbanions with carbonyl derivatives on route to substituted borylalkenes.
Immunogenicity and cytotoxicity of a platinum(iv) complex derived from capsaicin
Authors: Sun Yuewen , Yin Enmao , Tan Yehong , Yang Tao , Song Dongfan , Jin Suxing , Guo Zijian , Wang Xiaoyong
Published: December 2020

A platinum(iv) complex DCP acts as a chemoimmunotherapeutic agent and induces cancer cell death by damaging DNA, stimulating immunogenic response, and enhancing phagocytosis.
Unsymmetrical diarylamido-based rare-earth alkyl complexes: their synthesis and catalytic performance in isoprene polymerization
Authors: Ren Wenhui , Liu Hui , You Fen , Mao Pengjuan , So Yat-Ming , Kang Xiaohui , Shi Xiaochao
Published: December 2020

We have reported the synthesis of a family of diarylamido-based rare-earth complexes and their stereoselective polymerization of isoprene.
Perspectives for analyzing non-linear photo-ionization spectra with deep neural networks trained with synthetic Hamilton matrices
Authors: Giri Sajal Kumar , Alonso Lazaro , Saalmann Ulf , Rost Jan Michael
Published: December 2020

We have constructed deep neural networks, which can map fluctuating photo-electron spectra obtained from noisy pulses to spectra from noise-free pulses.
Evidence from comparative genomic analyses indicating that Lactobacillus-mediated irritable bowel syndrome alleviation is mediated by conjugated linoleic acid synthesis
Authors: Liu Yang , Xiao Wei , Yu Leilei , Tian Fengwei , Wang Gang , Lu Wenwei , Narbad Arjan , Chen Wei , Zhai Qixiao
Published: December 2020

COG1028-related genes and the high-yield production of conjugated linoleic acid of Lactobacillus strains could contribute to their irritable bowel syndrome alleviating effects.
Supramolecular assembly and spectroscopic characterization of indolenine–barbituric acid zwitterions
Authors: Ramle Abdul Qaiyum , Tiekink Edward R. T. , Fei Chee Chin , Julkapli Nurhidayatullaili Muhd. , Basirun Wan Jefrey
Published: December 2020

The intermolecular hydrogen bonding of barbiturates assists in the supramolecular aggregation and a hypsochromic shift is shown in protic solvents.
Cu(ii)-Porphyrin based near-infrared molecules: synthesis, characterization and photovoltaic application
Authors: Li Renlong , Yuan Yongqiang , Liang Lei , Lu Jianfeng , Cui Cheng-Xing , Niu Hongying , Wu Zerun , Liu Gongchu , Hu Zhicheng , Xie Ruihao , Huang Fei , Zhang Yuping
Published: December 2020

Three novel Cu(ii)-porphyrin-based near-infrared non-fullerene acceptors were developed, which show strong intramolecular charge transfer absorption spectra.
The excellent peroxidase-like activity of uniform CuCo2O4 microspheres with oxygen vacancy for fast sensing of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid
Authors: Han Shuai , Chen Xiaohan , Fan Yifei , Zhang Yuexing , Yang Zhongdong , Kong Xia , Liu Zhenxue , Liu Qingyun , Zhang Xianxi
Published: December 2020

The uniform CuCo2O4 microspheres with oxygen vacancy were firstly found to possess excellent peroxidase-like activity which is essential for constructing a rapid and facile colorimetric sensor to determine H2O2 and interrelated biomolecules.
A high-performance regenerated graphite extracted from discarded lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Ruan Dingshan , Wang Fengmei , Wu Lin , Du Ke , Zhang Zhenhua , Zou Ke , Wu Xiaofeng , Hu Guorong
Published: December 2020

Lithium-ion batteries based on G-A-T-SGT@C anode display high specific capacity, excellent rate capability and outstanding cycling performance.
Introduction to polymerisation-induced self assembly
Authors: Armes Steven P. , Perrier Sébastien , Zetterlund Per B.
Published: December 2020

Steve Armes, Sébastien Perrier and Per Zetterlund introduce the Polymer Chemistry themed collection on polymerisation-induced self assembly.
Mechanistic insights into rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective allylic alkylation for quaternary stereogenic centers
Authors: Pareek Monika , Sunoj Raghavan B.
Published: December 2020

The origin of high enantioselectivity in the formation of quaternary stereogenic carbon.
The chronological evolution of small organic molecular fluorescent probes for thiols
Authors: Yue Yongkang , Huo Fangjun , Yin Caixia
Published: December 2020

The chronological evolution of small organic molecular fluorescent probes for thiols: from separation dependency analysis to cellular specific analysis, what's next?
A highly sensitive strain sensor based on a silica@polyaniline core–shell particle reinforced hydrogel with excellent flexibility, stretchability, toughness and conductivity
Authors: Li Youqiang , Liu Chuang , Lv Xue , Sun Shulin
Published: December 2020

Hydrophobic association and nano-hybrid with SiO2@PANI core–shell nanoparticles endow P(AM/LMA) hydrogel with excellent mechanical strength, fatigue resistance and wonderful strain sensitivity.
Cationic–anionic redox couple gradient to immunize against irreversible processes of Li-rich layered oxides
Authors: Pei Yi , Li Shuang , Chen Qing , Liang Ruilin , Li Matthew , Gao Rui , Ren Dezhang , Deng Ya-Ping , Jin Huile , Wang Shun , Su Dong , Hu Yongfeng , Chen Zhongwei
Published: December 2020

Li-rich layered oxides with cationic–anionic redox couple gradient is designed to suppress the irreversible processes on the surface.
Tailoring carrier dynamics in inverted mesoporous perovskite solar cells with interface-engineered plasmonics
Authors: Liu Zhiliang , Li Qingcheng , Chen Kun , Cui Yuying , Intemann Jeremy J. , Leng Shifeng , Cui Minghuan , Qin Chaochao , Fei Linfeng , Yao Kai , Huang Haitao
Published: December 2020

A fundamental understanding of the influence of plasmon resonances on carrier-dynamics is obtained by incorporating metal–semiconductor heterostructures into a mesoporous layer.
Boosting peroxymonosulfate activation via highly active and durable cobalt catalysts
Authors: Wang Minglei , Gao Qianhong , Zhang Mingxing , He Yulong , Zhang Yumei , Shen Rongfang , Hu Jiangtao , Wu Guozhong
Published: December 2020

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) present one of the most promising strategies to deal with the ever-growing water pollution.
The influence of various regions of the FOXP2 sequence on its structure and DNA-binding function
Authors: Thulo Monare , Rabie Megan A. , Pahad Naadira , Donald Heather L. , Blane Ashleigh A. , Perumal Cardon M. , Penedo J. Carlos , Fanucchi Sylvia
Published: December 2020

FOX proteins are a superfamily of transcription factors which share a DNA-binding domain referred to as the forkhead domain. Our focus is on the FOXP subfamily members, which are involved in language and cognition amongst other things. The FOXP proteins contain a conserved zinc finger and a leucine zipper motif in addition to the forkhead domain. The remainder of the sequence is predicted to be unstructured and includes an acidic C-terminal tail. In the present study, we aim to investigate how both the structured and unstructured regions of the sequence cooperate so as to enable FOXP proteins to perform their function. We do this by studying the effect of these regions on both oligomerisation and DNA binding. Structurally, the FOXP proteins appear to be comparatively globular with a high proportion of helical structure. The proteins multimerise via the leucine zipper, and the stability of the multimers is controlled by the unstructured interlinking sequence including the acid rich tail. FOXP2 is more compact than FOXP1, has a greater propensity to form higher order oligomers, and binds DNA with stronger affinity. We conclude that while the forkhead domain is necessary for DNA binding, the affinity of the binding event is attributable to the leucine zipper, and the unstructured regions play a significant role in the specificity of binding. The acid rich tail forms specific contacts with the forkhead domain which may influence oligomerisation and DNA binding, and therefore the acid rich tail may play an important regulatory role in FOXP transcription.
Quantifying Post-Swallow Residue in Healthy Aging
Authors: Jardine Marie , Miles Anna , Allen Jacqui , Leonard Rebecca
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Reports are mixed on whether post-swallow residue increases with age. This question was investigated using a quantitative measure of residue in a large cohort of healthy adults. It was hypothesized that post-swallow residue would differ between younger and older healthy adults, and significantly increase in individuals ≥ 80 years.

Method

In this observational study, 275 healthy volunteers aged 18–99 years underwent videofluoroscopic swallow studies. Post-swallow residue was quantified using the Bolus Clearance Ratio (BCR) for a 20-ml thin liquid barium bolus and 3-cm
3
barium paste bolus. Number of swallows required per bolus and aspiration were also determined as additional markers of swallow efficiency and safety.

Results

Most BCR values were low, < 0.05 (< 5% of the bolus) for 78% of 20 ml and 66% of paste swallows. BCR values were significantly larger in healthy older adults, although, clinically, the differences are arguably minimal (differences in mean BCR values between age groups: 20 ml: 0.01 [1%]; paste: 0.03 [3%]). For 20 ml, 56% of adults ≥ 80 years performed multiple swallows (oral residue and dose metering) versus 9% of adults 18–39 years. One aspiration event was observed.

Conclusions

Post-swallow residue was slightly increased in older adults; many individuals ≥ 80 years performed more than one swallow per bolus to achieve this similar level of clearance. This suggests a reduction in swallow efficiency with age without compromising swallow safety. Post-swallow residue that poses a risk of airway invasion should be considered a sign of swallowing dysfunction, not healthy aging.
Time slot‐split NOMA with resource allocation in full‐duplex cooperative communications
Authors: Wang Xuan , Liu Yi , Ma Ying , Zhang Hailin
Published: December 2020

This paper presents a time slot‐split non‐orthogonal multiple access (TSS‐NOMA) scheme for full‐duplex (FD) cooperative communication systems to improve resource utilisation. Aiming at the problem of low bandwidth efficiency when pairing users, TSS‐NOMA divides a complete time slot into several parts to improve the pairing process. Users can occupy all bandwidths in different slots to reduce the waste of bandwidth resources. Unlike the scheme of forwarding a single signal, TSS‐NOMA decodes the information symbols of relay, and re‐encodes the messages through the new power allocation factors of successfully paired users. The hybrid symbols are sent to increase the proportion of central users' own signals received by themselves, thus improving the ergodic capacity of the system. To maximise the minimum achievable rate of the system, TSS‐NOMA optimises the power allocation at the base station, and the relay. The performance of TSS‐NOMA is verified by simulation, where numerical results show that this scheme can achieve higher spectral, and energy efficiency.
Robust data‐driven fixed‐order controller synthesis: Model matching approach
Authors: Daş Ersin , Başlamışlı Selahattin Ç.
Published: December 2020

In this paper, a new data‐driven fixed‐order controller design method based on convex optimisation is proposed for linear single input single output systems. The proposed non‐parametric frequency domain data based approach renders the need for a mathematical model of the controlled plant unnecessary. First, a semi‐definite convex optimisation algorithm is proposed to simultaneously compute a minimal uncertainty model and an optimal nominal model from the experimental data. Then the robust performance condition, control input constraints and the closed‐loop model matching objective are described by convex functions with respect to the parameters of the controller. The usefulness and efficiency of the proposed approach are verified experimentally with application to the control of a thrust vector control system.
Fully relative state constraint impulsive consensus of nonlinear multi‐agent systems via state‐dependent impulsive protocols
Authors: Zhang Qiangqiang , Li Chuandong , He Zhilong , Han Yiyan
Published: December 2020

In this paper, the state‐dependent impulsive consensus problem of nonlinear multi‐agent systems in directed topology with fully relative state constraint impulses is investigated. State‐dependent impulsive protocols are designed for achieving leader‐following exponential consensus. By constructing comparison systems, consensus problem of multi‐agent systems with state‐dependent impulses can be simplified to the ones with fixed‐time impulses. In addition, state constraint impulses are considered to limit the jump values of impulses beyond the threshold. Based on algebraic graph theory, convex analysis, comparison principle and stability theory, some novel criteria of impulsive consensus have been proposed. Authors' main results indicate that fully relative state constraint impulsive consensus of nonlinear multi‐agent systems via state‐dependent impulsive protocols can be achieved if the nonlinear systems satisfy suitable conditions. Numerical simulations are presented to validate the effectiveness of theoretical results.
Providing clear pruning threshold: A novel CNN pruning method via L0 regularisation
Authors: Li Guo , Xu Gang
Published: December 2020

Network pruning is a significant way to improve the practicability of convolution neural networks (CNNs) by removing the redundant structure of the network model. However, in most of the existing network pruning methods l1 or l2 regularisation is applied to parameter matrices and the manual selection of pruning threshold is difficult and labor‐intensive. A novel CNNs network pruning method via l0 regularisation is proposed, which adopts l0 regularisation to expand the saliency gap between neurons. A half‐quadratic splitting (HQS) based iterative algorithm is put forward to calculate the approximation solution of l0 regularisation, which makes the joint optimisation problem of regularisation term and training loss function can be solved by various gradient‐based algorithms. Meanwhile, a hyperparameters selection method is designed to make most of the hyperparameters in the algorithm can be determined by examining the pre‐trained model. The results of experiments on MNIST, Fashion‐MNIST and CIFAR100 show that the proposed method can provide a much clearer pruning threshold by widening the saliency gap, and achieve a similar or even better compression performance, compared with the state‐of‐the‐art studies.
The search for radio emission from the exoplanetary systems 55 Cancri,υAndromedae, andτBoötis using LOFAR beam-formed observations
Authors: Turner Jake D. , Zarka Philippe , Grießmeier Jean-Mathias , Lazio Joseph , Cecconi Baptiste , Emilio Enriquez J. , Girard Julien N. , Jayawardhana Ray , Lamy Laurent , Nichols Jonathan D. , de Pater Imke
Published: December 2020

Context.The detection of radio emissions from exoplanets will open up a vibrant new research field. Observing planetary auroral radio emission is the most promising method to detect exoplanetary magnetic fields, the knowledge of which will provide valuable insights into the planet’s interior structure, atmospheric escape, and habitability.

Aims.We present LOFAR (LOw-Frequency ARray) Low Band Antenna (LBA: 10–90 MHz) circularly polarized beamformed observations of the exoplanetary systems 55 Cancri,υAndromedae, andτBoötis. All three systems are predicted to be good candidates to search for exoplanetary radio emission.

Methods.We applied theBOREALISpipeline that we have developed to mitigate radio frequency interference and searched for both slowly varying and bursty radio emission. Our pipeline has previously been quantitatively benchmarked on attenuated Jupiter radio emission.

Results.We tentatively detect circularly polarized bursty emission from theτBoötis system in the range 14–21 MHz with a flux density of ~890 mJy and with a statistical significance of ~3σ. For this detection, we do not see any signal in the OFF-beams, and we do not find any potential causes which might cause false positives. We also tentatively detect slowly variable circularly polarized emission fromτBoötis in the range 21–30 MHz with a flux density of ~400 mJy and with a statistical significance of >8σ. The slow emission is structured in the time-frequency plane and shows an excess in the ON-beam with respect to the two simultaneous OFF-beams. While the bursty emission seems rather robust, close examination casts some doubts on the reality of the slowly varying signal. We discuss in detail all the arguments for and against an actual detection, and derive methodological tests that will also apply to future searches. Furthermore, a ~2σmarginal signal is found from theυAndromedae system in one observation of bursty emission in the range 14–38 MHz and no signal is detected from the 55 Cancri system, on which we placed a 3σupper limit of 73 mJy for the flux density at the time of the observation.

Conclusions.Assuming the detected signals are real, we discuss their potential origin. Their source probably is theτBoötis planetary system, and a possible explanation is radio emission from the exoplanetτBoötis b via the cyclotron maser mechanism. Assuming a planetary origin, we derived limits for the planetary polar surface magnetic field strength, finding values compatible with theoretical predictions. Further observations with LOFAR-LBA and other low-frequency telescopes, such as NenuFAR or UTR-2, are required to confirm this possible first detection of an exoplanetary radio signal.