bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Salina: A Prehistoric Village in the Aeolian Islands
Authors: Cavalier Madeleine
Published: August 2016

The Aeolian Islands are situated off the north coast of Sicily, not far from the entrance to the Straits of Messina. They can be reached by a daily service of steamboats from the port of Milazzo, 20 miles west of Messina. There is a daily train, called Freccia di Sul, that goes direct from Milan to Palermo, stopping at Milazzo; The northernmost of the islands is Stromboli with its famous active volcano. The chief town is Lipari on the island of that name; here on its acropolis excavations directed by Professor Bernabo Brea on behalf of the Soprintendenza alle Antichita della Sicilia Orientale have revealed a stratified succession of huts, ranging from the neolithic period down to Hellenistic, Roman and modern times. These excavations and others on other islands have shown that, small though they be, the islands once played an important part in the culture of the western Mediterranean.
A Medieval Skin Boat
Authors: Johnstone Paul
Published: August 2016

Skin boats have an assured but unsatisfactory place in history. Assured, because the literary references to them are many and interesting. Unsatisfactory, S because archaeologically it is unlikely that any remains, by their nature, will ever be found to give an idea of what they were 1ike. James Hornell has summarized many of the literary references to the part they played in Northern Europe during the Classical and Dark Ages in his well-known work on British coracles and Irish curraghs. In the Roman period they are mentioned by Caesar, Lucan, Pliny, Strabo, Solinus, Sidonius Apollinaris and Avienus. Pliny specifically mentions their part in the cross-channel tin trade. The references in Caesar and Lucan are also particularly significant, as will become clear below.

Later in the Dark Ages, according to the old Irish stories, Bran and Maelduin used curraghs, or hide-covered boats, for their voyages and Teigue, son of Cian, raided nearly to Spain. In the other direction, St Brendan reached the Shetlands and possibly Iceland as well. St Columba, of course, travelled from Ireland to Iona in a curragh. Niall of the Nine Hostages raided Wales in a fleet of curraghs and his grandson, Breccan, lost 50 in Breccan’s Cauldron, the Corryvreckan which fishermen still avoid today. In the medieval period, Froissart and Holinshed show that Caesar’s use of leather-covered coracles to get armies across rivers survived amongst the troops of Edward III and Henry V, though one imagines they were stouter craft than those described by Giraldus Cambrensis in his Description of Wales, which, Giraldus claimed, could be overturned by a blow from the tail of the salmon which the coracle fishermen were trying to catch.
Australian Radio-carbon Dates
Authors: Mulvaney D. J.
Published: August 2016

The Antipodean archaeologist has more than passing interest in the opinions expressed in ANTIQUITY concerning the reliability of radio-carbon 14 age estimations. To him, objective prehistory seems unattainable without the combination of stratigraphy and radio-carbon. Other geochronological schemes remain to be devised and tested in Australia, while the material simplicity of aboriginal culture deprives the prehistorian of many customary ancillary aids, such as coinage, pottery or sophisticated typology. Even the ubiquitous faience bead has proved elusive. In the Polynesian world there is dispute concerning the value of genealogies and traditions, but even the most ardent critic must grant that they contain more apparent historicity and chronology than Australian concepts of ‘the dream time’. In this generation, therefore, carbon 14 is likely to provide the basic clues for the interpretation of the past. This brief article is intended to record a series of dates which, it would seem, neither physicist nor archaeologist can impugn.

Despite the pressing need for a carbon 14 chronology, few age estimations are available for aboriginal cultural material. However, some of them are subject to the qualifications stressed by previous contributors to this journal. The sites have been dated by estimations on single samples, collected under circumstances where controlled, stratified excavation was not possible. The artifacts and the source of the samples were first exposed by natural erosion. Unfortunately, in some instances, the artifacts are such generalized types that they are of doubtful utility for cultural analysis. In the writer’s opinion, the three oldest Australian stone assemblages, and the only Tasmanian midden deposit dated so far, all suffer from one or other of these limitations, and they are relevant to any assessment made of the evidence. The relevant sites and antiquity are as follows. (Dates B.C.)
The Last Decade in New Zealand Archaeology
Authors: Golson J. , Gathercole P. W.
Published: August 2016

In the two articles referred to above, Dr Roger Duff, the Director of the Canterbury Museum, reviewed the evidence then available for the origins and character of the first human settlement of New Zedand. Using the evidence of both oral tradition and archaeology, he saw the first settlers as Polynesians, coming from a tropical ‘Hawaiki’ to the north-east (identified as the Society group) and possessing a material culture similar to that typical of Eastern Polynesia, particularly the peripheral islands of Hawaii, the Marquesas, Easter and Pitcairn. Chronologically, he was prepared to argue that ‘. . . there is strong circumstantial evidence for believing that human settlement must be earlier rather than later than A.D. 950’, the genealogically derived date for the discovery of New Zealand by Kupe (who was followed, again according to traditional interpretations, by Toi, about A.D. 1150). To Duff, this ‘strong circumstantial evidence’ comprised the remains, particularly in the South Island, of a distinctive and now extinct avifauna consisting of moa, swan and eagle found in association with Eastern Polynesian-type artifacts but hardly referred to in Maori tradition. Duff argued that it would be logical to relate the Maori themselves to the traditional arrival of the so-called Fleet from Eastern Polynesia (Society Islands and/or Southern Cooks) in about A.D. 1350, which ‘. . . brings to a close a general period of migration from Polynesia. Introducing the sweet potato and other food-plants, the newcomers impose themselves as an aristocracy upon the Toi and pre-Toi descendants, and found the tribes which were dominant in Cook’s time’.
Opium Trade in the Bronze Age Levant
Authors: Merrillees R. S.
Published: August 2016

For some time now, there has been an increasing tendency amongst archaeologists to think of pottery vessels, not so much as the products of a human mind, which may reflect the many, varied factors which influenced their style of manufacture, but as impersonal objects which serve little more useful purpose than to fill out a complex typological classification. In our preoccupation with compiling these sequences to establish nothing more than the relative and absolute chronologies (vital though they are) of countries where literary records of an historical nature are lacking, we have begun to lose sight of the human element, which is, after all, a more basic constituent of pottery than clay or temper. I little expected, when I embarked on a study of the Cypriote Bronze Age pots found in Egypt, that they would lend themselves so readily to a revelation of the very human reasons which inspired their shapes, created a demand for their contents, and so brought about their exportation to Egypt. It is really to Mr H. W. M. Hodges, to whom I took my technical problems, that I owe the disclosure contained in this paper. Even more it was he who re-orientated my approach to the subject along far more personal lines, which has made the task of assembling and interpreting the data a most rewarding excursion into Levantine life during the Bronze Age.

One of the most interesting facts to emerge from even a cursory study of the Cypriote Base-ring I ware, which occurs in Egypt during the first half of the XVIIIth Dynasty, is the limited number of shapes involved.
Excavations at Susa (Persia), 1930–1931
Authors: de Mecquenem R.
Published: August 2016

The ruins of ancient Susa, prior to the Achaemenid period (sixth century B.c.), are shaped like a square, each side of which is 700 metres long. The angles face the cardinal points. The southern angle is however prolonged by an external mound, which M. Dieulafoy has called the ‘the Dungeon’.

The acropolis of Susa occupies the main portion of the northwestern side and we are continuing there the systematic exploration inaugurated by M. de Morgan. This year we widened and lengthened a trench which last season had reached the natural soil, and here we found a big ditch dug in the middle Elamite period. It was 8 metres wide, and 6.25 metres deep; we excavated 10.25 metres of its length without reaching its other end. The sides were covered by raw (sundried) bricks, which in some places were protected by thick walls of kilnfired bricks. Some of these burnt bricks have cuneiform inscriptions recording the dedication of Elamite temples. In the silting of this ditch we found fragments of arragonite vases, often inscribed with the names of the Achaemenid sovereigns Xerxes and Artaxerxes, and fragments of horns and ears of the stone protomas of the bulls forming the capitals of the columns of the Apadana. It seems that this ditch was originally a tank of water, belonging to the Elamite temples of the God Shushinak and of the Goddess Nin-Har-Shag. Water was brought into the tank by means of an aqueduct. The ditch was filled up gradually during the post-Achaemenid periods (Parthian and Sassanid). The fact that the ground surrounding the ditch corresponded to levels anterior to the third millennium B.c., was very perplexing until the real nature of the ditch was fully ascertained. However, during the course of clearing the remains we found a fragment of the pedestal of a Sumerian statue,chiselled out of a blue stone. Judging from its style it can be dated to the period of Agade, 2700 B.C.
Ladle Hill—an unfinished hillfort
Authors: Piggott Stuart
Published: August 2016

Every archaeologist has at one time or another no doubt idly toyed with the attractive, if utterly impractical, idea of travelling backwards in time, and has seen himself, arrived within his ' period ', solving many problems by merely looking around him. Students of earthworks would give much to have been present at the building of a hillfort, for even if conversation with the builders were impossible, a great deal might be learned by watching the work in progress. We today, dealing with hillforts completed some two thousand years ago, find it difficult even after excavation to visualize the exact methods of construction of these defences.

There is however one example of a hillfort which is in that same unfinished state as our time-traveller might find were he on the Wessex Downs in the first few centuries B.C. True that he (lucky man !) would find the ditches newly dug and the rampart fresh piled chalk, while we today see them grass-grown and denuded; but never- theless these earthworks on Ladle Hill do help us to understand how they made those great green ramparts to protect their villages.
The Excavation of Two Long Barrows in Wessex
Authors: de M. Morgan Faith , Ashbee P.
Published: August 2016

The long barrow at Nutbane, Penton Grafton, Andover, Hants, was excavated during the autumn of 1957 by the writer on behalf of the Andover History Group. The barrow (map reference SU 330495) was not included in the map of Neolithic Wessex and had only been discovered two or three years previously, when the attention of Ordnance Survey officers was drawn to its presence.

The barrow had been considerably denuded by ploughing over many years. It is built along the contour of a gentle slope, part of the gradual incline from the chalk ridge five miles to the north down to the valley of the Anton River two miles to the south. It is orientated East-West, with the higher and broader end to the east.
Inscriptions in the Libyan Alphabet from Ghirza in Tripolitania
Authors: Reynolds J. M. , Brogan Olwen , Smith David
Published: August 2016

Ghirza is the site of a Roman frontier settlement in the pre-desert zone of Tripolitania in North Africa, 5 miles south-west of the confluence of the Wadi Ghirza and the Wadi Zemzem, 80 miles from the coast of the Gulf of Sidra and 150 miles (in a straight line) south-east of Tripoli. It is best known for its two groups of monumental tombs decorated with rough sculptured reliefs showing the life of the inhabitants; but it is also notable for other antiquities, and especially for its ‘town’ of fortified farmhouses, clustered together on the edge of the wadi.
Creating a Textual Public Space: Slogans and Texts from Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement
Authors: Veg Sebastian
Published: August 2016

Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement (September–December 2014) represented a watershed in Hong Kong's political culture and self-understanding. Based on over 1,000 slogans and other textual and visual material documented during the movement, this study provides an overview of claims, which are oriented towards an assertion of agency, articulated at different levels: in a universalistic mode (“democracy”), in relation with a political community (Hong Kong autonomy and decolonization), and through concrete policy aims. At the same time, slogans mobilize diverse cultural and historical repertoires that attest the hybrid quality of Hong Kong identity and underscore the diversity of sources of political legitimacy. Finally, it will be argued that by establishing a system of contending discourses within the occupied public spaces, the movement strived to act out a type of discursive democracy. Despite the challenges that this discursive space encountered in interacting with the authorities and the public at large, it represented an unfinished attempt to build a new civic culture among Hong Kong's younger generation.
Odysseus in Academe
Authors: Senelick Laurence
Published: August 2016

The past sixty years of theatre studies recall the travels of Odysseus. It had a narrow escape from being devoured and digested by the Gallic Cyclops that dwelt in the Cave of Theory. It lingered in the Lotos-land of performance studies, gorging on a bottomless buffet of human activity. It hearkened to siren songs luring it to seductive but slippery shoals of anthropology, ethnography, sociology, and neuroscience. Some of its crew has suffered a Circean transformation into omnivorously rooting cultural critics. Its vocabulary has been inflated by Aeolus, king of winds. Meanwhile, back home there languishes its consort, History, knotting and unknotting a tapestry of documentary material and archival research while urged to bed by suitors from foreign realms.
“Nor are we just passing through”: Muriel Naessens, Political Consistency, and Feminist Theatre of the Oppressed
Authors: Howe Kelly
Published: August 2016

We must be as clear as possible about what we are defending. We are not, in fact, neutral, nor are we just passing through.

—Muriel Naessens

Muriel Naessens, feminist militant and Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner, died in France in February 2016, at the age of 67. After training with Theatre of the Oppressed founder Augusto Boal in his early days in France, Naessens founded the organization Féminisme-Enjeux, which “acts to prevent the oppression of women.” A feminist activist for over forty years, Naessens used Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) as one of her primary methods. She was a longtime activist with the French Family Planning Movement (MFPF), in many ways the French equivalent of the US organization Planned Parenthood. “As a member of Augusto's TO group in Paris and at the same time a militant in the Family Planning Organization,” wrote Naessens in 2006, “I was able to develop the use of TO on a regular but punctual basis within the MFPF, where it quickly found its rightful place on a national level.”
Writing of H3K4Me3 overcomes epigenetic silencing in a sustained but context-dependent manner
Authors: Cano-Rodriguez David , Gjaltema Rutger A F. , Jilderda Laura J , Jellema Pytrick , Dokter-Fokkens Jelleke , Ruiters Marcel H J. , Rots Marianne G
Published: August 2016

Histone modifications reflect gene activity, but the relationship between cause and consequence of transcriptional control is heavily debated. Recent developments in rewriting local histone codes of endogenous genes elucidated instructiveness of certain marks in regulating gene expression. Maintenance of such repressive epigenome editing is controversial, while stable reactivation is still largely unexplored. Here we demonstrate sustained gene re-expression using two types of engineered DNA-binding domains fused to a H3K4 methyltransferase. Local induction of H3K4me3 is sufficient to allow re-expression of silenced target genes in various cell types. Maintenance of the re-expression is achieved, but strongly depends on the chromatin microenvironment (that is, DNA methylation status). We further identify H3K79me to be essential in allowing stable gene re-expression, confirming its role in epigenetic crosstalk for stable reactivation. Our approach uncovers potent epigenetic modifications to be directly written onto genomic loci to stably activate any given gene.
Ordered chromatin changes and human X chromosome reactivation by cell fusion-mediated pluripotent reprogramming
Authors: Cantone Irene , Bagci Hakan , Dormann Dirk , Dharmalingam Gopuraja , Nesterova Tatyana , Brockdorff Neil , Rougeulle Claire , Vallot Celine , Heard Edith , Chaligne Ronan , Merkenschlager Matthias , Fisher Amanda G.
Published: August 2016

Erasure of epigenetic memory is required to convert somatic cells towards pluripotency. Reactivation of the inactive X chromosome (Xi) has been used to model epigenetic reprogramming in mouse, but human studies are hampered by Xi epigenetic instability and difficulties in tracking partially reprogrammed iPSCs. Here we use cell fusion to examine the earliest events in the reprogramming-induced Xi reactivation of human female fibroblasts. We show that a rapid and widespread loss of Xi-associated H3K27me3 and XIST occurs in fused cells and precedes the bi-allelic expression of selected Xi-genes by many heterokaryons (30–50%). After cell division, RNA-FISH and RNA-seq analyses confirm that Xi reactivation remains partial and that induction of human pluripotency-specific XACT transcripts is rare (1%). These data effectively separate pre- and post-mitotic events in reprogramming-induced Xi reactivation and reveal a complex hierarchy of epigenetic changes that are required to reactivate the genes on the human Xi chromosome.
Probiotic-derived ferrichrome inhibits colon cancer progression via JNK-mediated apoptosis
Authors: Konishi Hiroaki , Fujiya Mikihiro , Tanaka Hiroki , Ueno Nobuhiro , Moriichi Kentaro , Sasajima Junpei , Ikuta Katsuya , Akutsu Hiroaki , Tanabe Hiroki , Kohgo Yutaka
Published: August 2016

Previous reports have suggested that some probiotics inhibit tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the molecules involved have not yet been identified. Here, we show that the culture supernatant of Lactobacillus casei ATCC334 has a strong tumour-suppressive effect on colon cancer cells. Using mass spectrometry, we identify ferrichrome as a tumour-suppressive molecule produced by L. casei ATCC334. The tumour-suppressive effect of ferrichrome is greater than that of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil, and ferrichrome has less of an effect on non-cancerous intestinal cells than either of those agents. A transcriptome analysis reveals that ferrichrome treatment induces apoptosis, which is mediated by the activation of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Western blotting indicates that the induction of apoptosis by ferrichrome is reduced by the inhibition of the JNK signalling pathway. This we demonstrate that probiotic-derived ferrichrome exerts a tumour-suppressive effect via the JNK signalling pathway.
Turning the respiratory flexibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against itself
Authors: Lamprecht Dirk A. , Finin Peter M. , Rahman Md. Aejazur , Cumming Bridgette M. , Russell Shannon L. , Jonnala Surendranadha R. , Adamson John H. , Steyn Adrie J. C.
Published: August 2016

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) electron transport chain (ETC) has received significant attention as a drug target, however its vulnerability may be affected by its flexibility in response to disruption. Here we determine the effect of the ETC inhibitors bedaquiline, Q203 and clofazimine on the Mtb ETC, and the value of the ETC as a drug target, by measuring Mtb’s respiration using extracellular flux technology. We find that Mtb’s ETC rapidly reroutes around inhibition by these drugs and increases total respiration to maintain ATP levels. Rerouting is possible because Mtb rapidly switches between terminal oxidases, and, unlike eukaryotes, is not susceptible to back pressure. Increased ETC activity potentiates clofazimine’s production of reactive oxygen species, causing rapid killing in vitro and in a macrophage model. Our results indicate that combination therapy targeting the ETC can be exploited to enhance killing of Mtb.
Temporal dynamics of bacterial microbiota in the human oral cavity determined using an in situ model of dental biofilms
Authors: Wake Nanako , Asahi Yoko , Noiri Yuichiro , Hayashi Mikako , Motooka Daisuke , Nakamura Shota , Gotoh Kazuyoshi , Miura Jiro , Machi Hiroyuki , Iida Tetsuya , Ebisu Shigeyuki
Published: August 2016

Numerous studies on oral biofilms have been performed in vitro, although it is difficult to mimic the oral environment. Here we used an in situ model to conduct a quantitative analysis and comprehensive identification of bacterial communities over time by performing deep sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. We show here that the number of viable bacteria in supragingival biofilms increased in two steps. Using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, as well as confocal laser scanning microscopy, we detected gram-positive cocci during the first 8 h. The biofilm was subsequently covered with a thick matrix-like structure composed of different bacterial morphotypes that diversified as the number of bacteria increased. Streptococcus accounted for >20% of the population until 16 h, and obligate anaerobes such as Fusobacterium, Prevotella and Porphyromonas predominated after 48 h, and this increase was statistically significant after 96 h (P<0.05). Together, our data demonstrate that an initial population of facultative anaerobic bacteria was replaced with a population of gram-negative anaerobic bacteria during oral biofilm formation. This study, therefore, contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the composition of the bacterial microbiota involved in the health of the human oral cavity.
Worldwide impact of aerosol’s time scale on the predicted long-term concentrating solar power potential
Authors: Ruiz-Arias Jose A. , Gueymard Christian A. , Santos-Alamillos Francisco J. , Pozo-Vázquez David
Published: August 2016

Concentrating solar technologies, which are fuelled by the direct normal component of solar irradiance (DNI), are among the most promising solar technologies. Currently, the state-of the-art methods for DNI evaluation use datasets of aerosol optical depth (AOD) with only coarse (typically monthly) temporal resolution. Using daily AOD data from both site-specific observations at ground stations as well as gridded model estimates, a methodology is developed to evaluate how the calculated long-term DNI resource is affected by using AOD data averaged over periods from 1 to 30 days. It is demonstrated here that the use of monthly representations of AOD leads to systematic underestimations of the predicted long-term DNI up to 10% in some areas with high solar resource, which may result in detrimental consequences for the bankability of concentrating solar power projects. Recommendations for the use of either daily or monthly AOD data are provided on a geographical basis.
“Non-Toxic” Proteins of the Botulinum Toxin Complex Exert In-vivo Toxicity
Authors: Miyashita Shin-Ichiro , Sagane Yoshimasa , Suzuki Tomonori , Matsumoto Takashi , Niwa Koichi , Watanabe Toshihiro
Published: August 2016

The botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) causes muscle paralysis and is the most potent toxin in nature. BoNT is associated with a complex of auxiliary “Non-Toxic” proteins, which constitute a large-sized toxin complex (L-TC). However, here we report that the “Non-Toxic” complex of serotype D botulinum L-TC, when administered to rats, exerts in-vivo toxicity on small-intestinal villi. Moreover, Serotype C and D of the “Non-Toxic” complex, but not BoNT, induced vacuole-formation in a rat intestinal epithelial cell line (IEC-6), resulting in cell death. Our results suggest that the vacuole was formed in a manner distinct from the mechanism by which Helicobacter pylori vacuolating toxin (VacA) and Vibrio cholerae haemolysin induce vacuolation. We therefore hypothesise that the serotype C and D botulinum toxin complex is a functional hybrid of the neurotoxin and vacuolating toxin (VT) which arose from horizontal gene transfer from an ancestral BoNT-producing bacterium to a hypothetical VT-producing bacterium.
Tsr Chemoreceptor Interacts With IL-8 Provoking E. coli Transmigration Across Human Lung Epithelial Cells
Authors: Han Bing , Li Manshu , Xu Yonghao , Islam Diana , Khang Julie , Del Sorbo Lorenzo , Lee Warren , Szaszi Katalin , Zhong Nanshan , Slutsky Arthur S. , Li Yimin , Zhang Haibo
Published: August 2016

Bacterial colonization of epithelial surfaces and subsequent transmigration across the mucosal barrier are essential for the development of infection. We hypothesized that the methyl-accepting proteins (MCPs), known as chemoreceptors expressed on Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterial surface, play an important role in mediating bacterial transmigration. We demonstrated a direct interaction between human interleukin-8 (IL-8) and Tsr receptor, a major MCP chemoreceptor. Stimulation of human lung epithelial cell monolayer with IL-8 resulted in increased E. coli adhesion and transmigration of the native strain (RP437) and a strain expressing only Tsr (UU2373), as compared to a strain (UU2599) with Tsr truncation. The augmented E. coli adhesion and migration was associated with a higher expression of carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 and production of inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and a lower expression of the tight junction protein claudin-1 and the plasma membrane protein caveolin-1 in lung epithelial cells. An increased E. coli colonization and pulmonary cytokine production induced by the RP437 and UU2373 strains was attenuated in mice challenged with the UU2599 strain. Our results suggest a critical role of the E. coli Tsr chemoreceptor in mediating bacterial colonization and transmigration across human lung epithelium during development of pulmonary infections.
Hierarchical Mesoporous 3D Flower-like CuCo2O4/NF for High-Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage
Authors: Jadhav Harsharaj S. , Pawar Sambhaji M. , Jadhav Arvind H. , Thorat Gaurav M. , Seo Jeong Gil
Published: August 2016

Ternary spinel CuCo2O4 nanostructure clenches great potential as high-performance electrode material for next-generation energy storage systems because of its higher electrical conductivity and electrochemical activity. Carbon free and binder free 3D flower-like CuCo2O4 structure are grown on nickel foam (NF) via a facile hydrothermal synthesis method followed by annealing. The obtained CuCo2O4/NF is directly used as electrode for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs) application. The electrochemical study of 3D flower-like CuCo2O4 as an electrode for LIB and SC shows highly mesoporous unique architecture plays important role in achieving high capacity/capacitance with superior cycle life. The high surface area and mesoporous nature not only offer sufficient reaction sites, but also can accelerate the liquid electrolyte to penetrate electrode and the ions to reach the reacting sites. In outcome, it exhibits highest capacity of 1160 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles when used as an anode for LIB and specific capacitance of 1002 F g−1 after 3000 cycles. The superior electrochemical of synthesized material is attributed to direct contact of electrode active material with good intrinsic electrical conductivity to the underneath conductive NF substrate builds up an express path for fast ion and electron transfer.
Creation of artificial skyrmions and antiskyrmions by anisotropy engineering
Authors: Zhang S. , Petford-Long A. K. , Phatak C.
Published: August 2016

Topologically non-trivial spin textures form a fundamental paradigm in solid-state physics and present unique opportunities to explore exciting phenomena such as the topological Hall effect. One such texture is a skyrmion, in which the spins can be mapped to point in all directions wrapping around a sphere. Understanding the formation of these spin textures and their energetic stability, is crucial in order to control their behavior. In this work, we report on controlling the perpendicular anisotropy of continuous Co/Pt multilayer films with ion irradiation to form unique spin configurations of artificial skyrmions and antiskyrmions that are stabilized by their demagnetization energy. We elucidate their behavior using aberration-corrected Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. We also discuss the energetic stability of these structures studied through in-situ magnetizing experiments performed at room temperature, combined with micromagnetic simulations that successfully reproduce the spin textures and behavior. This research offers new opportunities towards creation of artificial skyrmion or antiskyrmion lattices that can be used to investigate not only fundamental properties of their interaction with electron currents but also technological applications such as artificial magnonic crystals.
Rapid detection of toxic compounds in tobacco smoke condensates using high-resolution 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Authors: Ticha Jana , Wright Christopher
Published: August 2016

In 2012, the FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee published a list of 93 harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) of tobacco products and tobacco smoke.
Studies of cytochrome c-551 unfolding using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and other biophysical techniques
Authors: Sil Pallabi , Paul Simanta Sarani , Silvio Eva Di , Travaglini-Allocatelli Carlo , Chattopadhyay Krishnananda
Published: August 2016

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy studies with a bacterial cytochrome c labeled at different positions complement NMR hydrogen exchange results.
Ruthenium(ii) complexes of hemilabile pincer ligands: synthesis and catalysing the transfer hydrogenation of ketones
Authors: Nair Ashwin G. , McBurney Roy T. , Walker D. Barney , Page Michael J. , Gatus Mark R. D. , Bhadbhade Mohan , Messerle Barbara A.
Published: August 2016

A series of hemilabile NHC Ru(ii) complexes were synthesised and assessed for their catalytic activity for transfer hydrogenation reactions.
Consideration of land use change-induced surface albedo effects in life-cycle analysis of biofuels
Authors: Cai H. , Wang J. , Feng Y. , Wang M. , Qin Z. , Dunn J. B.
Published: August 2016

Land use change (LUC)-induced surface albedo effects for expansive biofuel production need to be quantified for improved understanding of biofuel climate impacts.
Proof-of-concept for facile perovskite solar cell recycling
Authors: Kadro Jeannette M. , Pellet Norman , Giordano Fabrizio , Ulianov Alexey , Müntener Othmar , Maier Joachim , Grätzel Michael , Hagfeldt Anders
Published: August 2016

Recyclability of perovskite solar cells is demonstrated in a simple lab-scale process. Successful recovery of valuable components as well as cell performance underline the technology's potential as sustainable PV.
Calibration of Mo isotope amount ratio measurements by MC-ICPMS using normalisation to an internal standard and improved experimental design
Authors: Malinovsky Dmitry , Dunn Philip J. H. , Goenaga-Infante Heidi
Published: August 2016

Improved methodology for high accuracy Mo isotope amount ratio measurements by MC-ICPMS using normalisation to an internal standard is presented.
Micromagnet arrays enable precise manipulation of individual biological analyte–superparamagnetic bead complexes for separation and sensing
Authors: Rampini S. , Li P. , Lee G. U.
Published: August 2016

This article reviews lab on a chip devices based on arrays of microfabricated magnetic features and presents the microscale operations enabled by this technology, e.g., transport, separation and detection of magnetic beads and magnetically labelled biological analytes.
A DFT study of the mechanism of NHC catalysed annulation reactions involving α,β-unsaturated acyl azoliums and β-naphthol
Authors: Aurell M. José , Domingo Luis R. , Arnó Manuel , Zaragozá Ramón J.
Published: August 2016

The mechanism of NHC catalysed annulation reactions involving an α,β-unsaturated acyl azolium and β-naphthol has been studied using DFT methods at the MPWB1K/6-311G(d,p) level in toluene.
Insights into the Pummerer synthesis of oxazolines
Authors: Becerra-Cely Laura , Rueda-Espinosa Juan , Ojeda-Porras Andrea , Gamba-Sánchez Diego
Published: August 2016

A rapid and simple method to access unnatural 2-substituted 5-thio oxazolines has been developed using Pummerer chemistry.
Towards cost-effective silicon anodes using conductive polyaniline-encapsulated silicon micropowders
Authors: Zhao Xin , Li Minjie , Ross Nicole , Lin Yu-Ming
Published: August 2016

To overcome the remaining issues of nanostructured Si anode, we investigated the feasibility towards practically viable Si anode by combining low-cost material precursors with facile and scalable processes.
Flexible and multifunctional electronics fabricated by a solvent-free and user-friendly method
Authors: Dinh Toan , Phan Hoang-Phuong , Qamar Afzaal , Nguyen Nam-Trung , Dao Dzung Viet
Published: August 2016

Pencil-drawn flexible and multifunctional electronic devices have been proven to show potential for various applications including mass and flow sensors, human-motion detection and wearable thermal therapy.
Enhanced dissolution rate and oral bioavailability of ginkgo biloba extract by preparing nanoparticles via emulsion solvent evaporation combined with freeze drying (ESE-FR)
Authors: Wang Lingling , Zhao Xiuhua , Zu Yuangang , Wu Weiwei , Li Yuanyuan , Zu Chang , Zhang Yin
Published: August 2016

Dissolution rate and oral bioavailability of GBE nanoparticles were significantly improved by emulsion solvent evaporation combined with freeze drying (ESE-FR), implying that ESE-FR has great potential value in the preparation of oral GBE drugs.
Dual inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor and topoisomerase IIα derived from a quinoline scaffold
Authors: Chauhan Monika , Joshi Gaurav , Kler Harveen , Kashyap Archana , Amrutkar Suyog M. , Sharma Praveen , Bhilare Kiran D. , Chand Banerjee Uttam , Singh Sandeep , Kumar Raj
Published: August 2016

Based on the quinazoline bearing EGFR inhibitors, a series of thirty four compounds having a quinoline scaffold were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for EGFR kinase inhibitory and anticancer activities.
On the use of dielectric spectroscopy for the real time assessment of the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in epoxy
Authors: Bekas D. G. , Gkikas G. , Maistros G. M. , Paipetis A. S.
Published: August 2016

We report the on line monitoring of the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in a typical aerospace epoxy system via dielectric spectroscopy.
Facile synthesis of N-doped carbon-coated Si/Cu alloy with enhanced cyclic performance for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Deng Libo , Zhang Wei , Ren Xiangzhong , Zhang Peixin , Li Yongliang , Sun Lingna , Gao Yuan
Published: August 2016

Nanoparticles consisting of silicon/copper/nitrogen-doped-carbon (Si/Cu/N–C) with a Si/Cu alloy core and a N–C shell have been prepared and their cyclic life as an anode in lithium-ion batteries was significantly enhanced compared to Si/Cu alloy.
Enhanced adsorption of Cu(ii) ions on chitosan microspheres functionalized with polyethylenimine-conjugated poly(glycidyl methacrylate) brushes
Authors: Lv Li , Zhang Jing , Yuan Shaojun , Huang Liqiang , Tang Shengwei , Liang Bin , Pehkonen Simo O.
Published: August 2016

Crosslinked chitosan microspheres were tethered with branched polyethylenimine-conjugated poly(glycidyl methacrylate) brushesviasurface-initiated ATRP and were further utilized as novel adsorbent to purify Cu(ii)-contaminated aqueous solution​.
Effects of organosolv fractionation time on thermal and chemical properties of lignins
Authors: Tao Jingming , Hosseinaei Omid , Delbeck Lukas , Kim Pyoungchung , Harper David P. , Bozell Joseph J. , Rials Timothy G. , Labbé Nicole
Published: August 2016

This study investigated the properties of lignins isolated at specific time points during fractionation, with the intent of correlating fractionation time with thermal and chemical properties.
Improved performance in Ag2S/P3HT hybrid solar cells with a solution processed SnO2 electron transport layer
Authors: Guo Yaxiong , Lei Hongwei , Li Borui , Chen Zhao , Wen Jian , Yang Guang , Fang Guojia
Published: August 2016

We successfully constructed a heterojunction structure composed of Ag2S nanocrystals/P3HT conjugated polymer with a relatively high absorption coefficient and broader absorption from the ultraviolet to near-infrared region.
In situ chemical etching of tunable 3D Ni3S2 superstructures for bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting
Authors: Zhu Ting , Zhu Liangliang , Wang Jing , Ho Ghim Wei
Published: August 2016

3D Ni3S2 superstructures created by an in situ anisotropic growth demonstrate enhanced electrocatalytic properties for bifunctional water splitting.
Efficient and stable organic solar cells via a sequential process
Authors: Cheng Pei , Yan Cenqi , Wu Yang , Dai Shuixing , Ma Wei , Zhan Xiaowei
Published: August 2016

The sequentially processed bulk heterojunction organic solar cells exhibit similar efficiency and much better stability than those of mixed bulk heterojunction organic solar cells.
Pyrene-based blue AIEgens: tunable intramolecular conjugation, good hole mobility and reversible mechanochromism
Authors: Yang Jie , Guo Qingxun , Wen Xiaodong , Gao Xuming , Peng Qian , Li Qianqian , Ma Dongge , Li Zhen
Published: August 2016

Six blue AIEgens were designed by combining the TPE core and pyrene side groups, which exhibited multifunctional properties of good blue emitters, high hole mobility and reversible mechanochromism property.
Recessed‐channel reconfigurable field‐effect transistor
Authors: Kim S. , Kim S.W.
Published: August 2016

A new reconfigurable field‐effect transistor (RFET) named as recessed‐channel RFET (RC‐RFET) is introduced herein to improve scalability, current drivability and subthreshold swing (S). There are two distinct features which allow RC‐RFET to show enhanced performance than conventional RFET. First, a novel structure based RC and stacked gates increases effective channel length which results in suppressed short‐channel‐effect without any integration density penalty. Second, the switching mechanism of RC‐RFET (thermionic emission) differs from that of conventional RFET (Schottky barrier tunnelling). It enables RC‐RFET to overcome the fundamental limit of S degradation as a function of gate voltage and promises higher ON–OFF current ratio (ION/IOFF) and its low‐power applications. As a result, the RC‐RFET shows ION/IOFF higher than 107, small drain induced barrier lowering about 15 mV/V and ideal S (∼63 mV/decade) for 50 nm gate length.
Dithering‐based calibration of capacitor mismatch in SAR ADCs
Authors: Wu Jianhui , Wu Aidong , Du Yuan
Published: August 2016

A novel dithering‐based calibration technique to correct capacitor mismatch in digital‐to‐analogue converter (DAC) used in successive approximation register analogue‐to‐digital converters is proposed. With dithering, weights of most significant bit capacitors can be measured accurately, which relaxes matching requirement in capacitive DAC. In addition, the bypass window technique is used to detect whether the output voltage of the DAC is within a predefined small window, which determines whether to inject the dithering signal. As a result, the proposed calibration can operate in the background. According to the simulation, the proposed calibration technique significantly improves capacitor matching without resorting to extensive computation or dedicated circuits.
Development of a prototype of portable FES rehabilitation system for relearning of gait for hemiplegic subjects
Authors: Watanabe Takashi , Endo Shun , Morita Ryusei
Published: August 2016

This study aimed at developing a prototype of portable FES rehabilitation system for relearning gait pattern of healthy subjects, which can measure gait information during walking applying electrical stimulation for foot drop correction or providing timing information. A gait event detection method using an inertial sensor attached on the foot was determined based on gait of healthy subjects from simultaneous measurements with pressure sensors. From the result of comparing the detected gait event timings with EMG signal of the tibialis anterior muscle during walking of healthy subjects, the toe off and the foot flat timings detected by the inertial sensor were suggested to be useful to determine the stimulation timing for the foot drop correction. The gait event detection method was implemented in a prototype of portable FES rehabilitation system consisting of an 8‐inch tablet‐type device, 2 inertial sensors and an electrical stimulator. The portable system was examined with hemiplegic subjects under the conditions of FES foot drop correction and inducing voluntary effort to develop ankle dorsiflexion at the timing given by electrical stimulation with small stimulation intensity. The system was considered to be useful for gait rehabilitation of hemiplegia using FES foot drop correction or inducing voluntary effort.
Design and analysis of fuzzy PID controller with derivative filter for AGC in multi‐area interconnected power system
Authors: Mohanty Pradeep Kumar , Sahu Binod Kumar , Pati Tridipta Kumar , Panda Sidhartha , Kar Sanjeeb Kumar
Published: August 2016

This study presents a comprehensive analytical study of a fuzzy proportional‐integral‐derivative (fuzzy‐PID) controller with derivative filter (fuzzy‐PIDF) for automatic generation control (AGC) in multi‐area power system tuned by a novel hybrid local unimodal sampling‐teaching learning based optimisation (LUS‐TLBO) algorithm. The relevant advantage of this recommended controller is its high sensitivity to load perturbation. Initially a two area non‐reheat type thermal system is considered and the gains of PIDF controller are tuned employing hybrid LUS‐TLBO algorithm. The supremacy of PIDF controller is shown by comparing the results with some recently published articles. The study is further extended to design fuzzy logic based PID controller with derivative filter (fuzzy‐PIDF) for AGC of the same power system employing hybrid LUS‐TLBO algorithm. Supremacy of the proposed approach is shown by comparing the results with another recently published article. In addition, the work is also extended to deal with AGC issues in two area multi source hydro thermal power system using the proposed controller. Finally, it is seen that fuzzy‐PIDF controller retains its supremacy over PID/PIDF/fuzzy‐PID controllers. In addition to it, robustness analysis is carried out for the non‐reheat two area thermal power systems by varying different parameters within the range of ±50%.
Local‐area STVS control system
Authors: Dong Yipeng , Xie Xiaorong , Lu Chao , Zhou Baorong , Jiang Qirong
Published: August 2016

Short‐term voltage stability (STVS) issue poses a significant threat to receiving‐end power systems with high penetration of induction motors. To improve STVS of a receiving‐end system in a limited geographic area, this study proposes a local‐area STVS control system (LVCS). LVCS consists of phasor measurement units (PMUs), a local‐area centralised controller (LCC), generator‐level actuators (GLAs) and high‐speed communication networks. The PMUs or GLAs are pre‐deployed according to the observability or controllability of STVS. LCC receives and processes voltage measurements from PMUs to generate supplementary excitation control signals (SECSs). The SECSs are next forwarded to and executed by GLAs. Simulation studies on a practical receiving‐end system in China Southern Power Grid demonstrate that: once the target system suffers a serious fault, LVCS can ‘feel’ the voltage sag at critical buses and enforce the excitation control of generators to inject more dynamic var into the receiving‐end system. As a result, the increasing var demand is met locally and STVS can be improved considerably. Time delay caused by synchrophasor transmission has also been considered in the design of LVCS to make it feasible in practice. Thus, the proposed LVCS offers a new and effective solution to the STVS problem.
Athletic Population with Spondylolysis: Review of Outcomes following Surgical Repair or Conservative Management
Authors: Panteliadis Pavlos , Nagra Navraj S. , Edwards Kimberley L. , Behrbalk Eyal , Boszczyk Bronek
Published: August 2016

Study Design

Narrative review.

Objective

The study aims to critically review the outcomes associated with the surgical repair or conservative management of spondylolysis in athletes.

Methods

The English literature listed in MEDLINE/PubMed was reviewed to identify related articles using the term “spondylolysis AND athlete.” The criteria for studies to be included were management of spondylolysis in athletes, English text, and no year, follow-up, or study design restrictions. The references of the retrieved articles were also evaluated. The primary outcome was time to return to sport. This search yielded 180 citations, and 25 publications were included in the review.

Results

Treatment methods were dichotomized as operative and nonoperative. In the nonoperative group, 390 athletes were included. A combination of bracing with physical therapy and restriction of activities was used. Conservative measures allowed athletes to return to sport in 3.7 months (weighted mean). One hundred seventy-four patients were treated surgically. The most common technique was Buck's, using a compression screw (91/174). All authors reported satisfactory outcomes. Time to return to play was 7.9 months (weighted mean). There were insufficient studies with suitably homogenous subgroups to conduct a meta-analysis.

Conclusion

There is no gold standard approach for the management of spondylolysis in the athletic population. The existing literature suggests initial therapy should be a course of conservative management with thoracolumbosacral orthosis brace, physiotherapy, and activity modification. If conservative management fails, surgical intervention should be considered. Two-sided clinical studies are needed to determine an optimal pathway for the management of athletes with spondylolysis.
Enhanced response from field-annealed magnetoelastic strain sensor
Authors: Dalponte Alessandro , Bastos Eduardo S. , Missell Frank P.
Published: August 2016

Magnetoelastic materials permit the development of remote-query strain sensors for use in situations of difficult access. In this work, we examined materials for a remote-query strain sensor based on the ΔE effect. An applied stress modifies the magnetic field produced by a transducer glued to the sample and thereby changes the resonant frequency of a vibrating amorphous ribbon. We considered several amorphous alloys for both the vibrating ribbon and the transducer. To eliminate the casting stress and improve the anisotropy, ribbons were annealed in a transverse magnetic field. This resulted in a dramatic improvement in the sensor performance when sensors were biased above the anisotropy field. For example, a Metglas 2826MB3 ribbon with resonant frequency of 62 kHz showed frequency shifts of up to 5 kHz for a deformation of 0.03%. These results are in good agreement with models for the ΔE effect.