bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Baroclinic Residual Circulation and Mass Transport Due to Internal Tides
Authors: Masunaga Eiji , Arthur Robert S. , Yamazaki Hidekatsu
Published: March 2020

Baroclinic (BC) tidal residual circulation due to internal tides is investigated around islands over a shallow ridge using a numerical ocean model. Internal tides enhance vertical mixing over shallow slopes, leading to horizontal density gradients that drive BC residual circulation along the main thermocline. For a strongly stratified summer case, the vertical diffusivity estimated by the Mellor and Yamada turbulence closure model exceeds 1 × 10−2 m2 s−1, and the velocity of BC residual circulations reaches 0.2 m s−1. The magnitude of BC residual circulation is larger than that of barotropic residual tidal circulation, implying that BC residual circulation due to internal tides plays an important role in coastal ocean circulation. Furthermore, BC residual flow accounts for an equal percentage (5%) of the total tidal kinetic energy as the barotropic residual flow under summer stratification conditions. Results from a coupled sediment resuspension and transport model show the growth of intermediate nepheloid layers formed by strong bottom shear stress and BC residual flow. The residual component contributes largely (23% of the total in summer) to the total suspended sediment flux. Seasonal variability is explored, with weaker winter stratification leading to reduced mixing, and thus weaker BC residual circulation and sediment flux. The magnitude of the BC residual circulation is also shown to be proportional to the square of the tidal amplitude.
Export of Middle Atlantic Bight Shelf Waters Near Cape Hatteras From Two Years of Underwater Glider Observations
Authors: Todd Robert E.
Published: March 2020

Equatorward flow of Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) shelf waters meets poleward flowing South Atlantic Bight shelf waters over the continental shelf near Cape Hatteras, NC, leading to net export of shelf waters into the deep ocean. This export occurs in close proximity to the Gulf Stream, which separates from the continental margin near Cape Hatteras. Observations from sustained underwater glider surveys of the outer continental shelf and slope north of Cape Hatteras from spring 2017 to spring 2019 are used to examine the mean and variability of MAB shelf water export in the region. The 0.3 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1) time‐mean export of MAB shelf water south of 37°N was dominated by discrete export events; 50% of export occurred during the 17% of the time during which transport was more than 1 standard deviation above the mean. These events typically occurred in late spring and summer of both years when equatorward flow into the region peaked. Export of MAB shelf water was correlated with equatorward flow into the region, which was itself correlated with the density gradient across the continental shelf break. Observations during specific time periods that capture extrema in MAB shelf water export are examined to highlight the variability in shelf‐deep ocean exchange scenarios in the Hatteras region. These include near‐surface export driven by hurricanes, subsurface export below the northern edge of the Gulf Stream, and a multi‐month near‐cessation of export.
Calibration of the HP3 Radiometer on InSight
Authors: Mueller N. T. , Knollenberg J. , Grott M. , Kopp E. , Walter I. , Krause C. , Hudson T. , Spohn T. , Smrekar S.
Published: March 2020

The Heatflow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) radiometer is currently operating on Mars, observing two spots approximately 1 and 3 m north‐north‐west of the InSight lander. The instrument has primary sensors that are sensitive in the range of 8 to 14 μm and two more sensors with more narrow spectral ranges per field of view. The radiometer underwent radiometric and geometric calibration at DLR—Berlin; and on Mars radiometric self‐calibration is performed regularly. The self‐calibration confirms that one of the two primary sensors has been stable since the ground calibration, but environmental parameters that are likely associated with the thermal contact of sensor and instrument main body may have slightly changed. The other primary sensor has increased in sensitivity for an unknown reason but is still within expectation from the sensor design. The uncertainty of the two primary sensors is approximately 3 K at night, with somewhat larger errors in the late afternoon. This estimate includes the effect of sensitivity changes that would be too small to be reliably detected by the self‐calibration.
Is the River a Chemostat?: Scale Versus Land Use Controls on Nitrate Concentration‐Discharge Dynamics in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Authors: Marinos Richard E. , Van Meter Kimberly J. , Basu Nandita B.
Published: March 2020

The Upper Mississippi River Basin is the largest source of reactive nitrogen (N) to the Gulf of Mexico. Concentration‐discharge (C‐Q) relationships offer a means to understand both the terrestrial sources that generate this reactive N and the in‐stream processes that transform it. Progress has been made on identifying land use controls on C‐Q dynamics. However, the impact of basin size and river network structure on C‐Q relationships is not well characterized. Here, we show, using high‐resolution nitrate concentration data, that tile drainage is a dominant control on C‐Q dynamics, with increasing drainage density contributing to more chemostatic C‐Q behavior. We further find that concentration variability increases, relative to discharge variability, with increasing basin size across six orders of magnitude, and this pattern is attributed to different spatial correlation structures for C and Q. Our results show how land use and river network structure jointly control riverine N export.
Plant Water Uptake Thresholds Inferred From Satellite Soil Moisture
Authors: Bassiouni Maoya , Good Stephen P. , Still Christopher J. , Higgins Chad W.
Published: March 2020

Empirical functions are widely used in hydrological, agricultural, and Earth system models to parameterize plant water uptake. We infer soil water potentials at which uptake is downregulated from its well‐watered rate and at which uptake ceases, in biomes with <60% woody vegetation at 36‐km grid resolution. We estimate thresholds through Bayesian inference using a stochastic soil water balance framework to construct theoretical soil moisture probability distributions consistent with empirical distributions derived from satellite soil moisture observations. The global median Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency between empirical soil moisture distributions and theoretical distributions using reference constants, inferred median parameters per biome, and spatially variable inferred parameters are 0.38, 0.59, and 0.8, respectively. Spatially variable thresholds capture location‐specific vegetation and climate characteristics and can be connected to biome‐level water uptake strategies. Results demonstrate that satellite soil moisture probability distributions encode information, valuable to understanding biome‐level ecohydrological adaptation and resistance to climate variability.
Nonenzymatic function of Aldolase A downregulates miR-145 to promote the Oct4/DUSP4/TRAF4 axis and the acquisition of lung cancer stemness
Authors: Chang Yu-Chan , Yang Yi-Fang , Chiou Jean , Tsai Hsing-Fang , Fang Chih-Yeu , Yang Chih-Jen , Chen Chi-Long , Hsiao Michael
Published: March 2020

Drug resistance remains a serious issue of clinical importance and is a consequence of cancer stemness. In this study, we showed that the level of Aldolase A (ALDOA) expression is significantly associated with the IC50 value of chemotherapy drugs in lung cancer. Our data revealed that ALDOA overexpression resulted in a significant increase of lung tumor spheres. The use of ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) resulted in the identification of POU5F1 (Oct4) as the leading transcription factor of ALDOA. We observed high expression of ALDOA, Oct4 and stemness markers in collected spheroid cells. DUSP4 and TRAF4 were confirmed as major downstream targets of the ALDOA-Oct4 axis. Knockdown of these molecules significantly decreased the stemness ability of cells. In addition, we investigated whether miR-145 targets the 3′-UTR of Oct4 and is regulated by ALDOA due to the involvement of ALDOA in glycolysis and metabolic reprogramming. Furthermore, we constructed several mutant forms of ALDOA that disrupted its enzymatic activity and showed that they still induced significant in vitro sphere formation and in vivo tumorigenicity. These results demonstrated that ALDOA-mediated spheroid formation is independent of its enzymatic activity. In the clinical component, we also showed that the combination of ALDOA and TRAF4 or DUSP4 is positively correlated with poor overall survival in a xenograft model and cancer patients through immunohistochemical analyses. The results of our study revealed novel functional roles of ALDOA in inducing cancer stemness via the inhibition of miR-145 expression and the activation of Oct4 transcription. These findings offer new therapeutic strategies for modulation of lung cancer stemness to enhance chemotherapeutic responses in lung cancer patients.
Cx43 channels and signaling via IP3/Ca2+, ATP, and ROS/NO propagate radiation-induced DNA damage to non-irradiated brain microvascular endothelial cells
Authors: Hoorelbeke Delphine , Decrock Elke , De Smet Maarten , De Bock Marijke , Descamps Benedicte , Van Haver Valérie , Delvaeye Tinneke , Krysko Dmitri V. , Vanhove Christian , Bultynck Geert , Leybaert Luc
Published: March 2020

Radiotherapeutic treatment consists of targeted application of radiation beams to a tumor but exposure of surrounding healthy tissue is inevitable. In the brain, ionizing radiation induces breakdown of the blood–brain barrier by effects on brain microvascular endothelial cells. Damage from directly irradiated cells can be transferred to surrounding non-exposed bystander cells, known as the radiation-induced bystander effect. We investigated involvement of connexin channels and paracrine signaling in radiation-induced bystander DNA damage in brain microvascular endothelial cells exposed to focused X-rays. Irradiation caused DNA damage in the directly exposed area, which propagated over several millimeters in the bystander area. DNA damage was significantly reduced by the connexin channel-targeting peptide Gap26 and the Cx43 hemichannel blocker TAT-Gap19. ATP release, dye uptake, and patch clamp experiments showed that hemichannels opened within 5 min post irradiation in both irradiated and bystander areas. Bystander signaling involved cellular Ca2+ dynamics and IP3, ATP, ROS, and NO signaling, with Ca2+, IP3, and ROS as crucial propagators of DNA damage. We conclude that bystander effects are communicated by a concerted cascade involving connexin channels, and IP3/Ca2+, ATP, ROS, and NO as major contributors of regenerative signal expansion.
Conversionless efficient and broadband laser light diffusers for high brightness illumination applications
Authors: Schütt Fabian , Zapf Maximilian , Signetti Stefano , Strobel Julian , Krüger Helge , Röder Robert , Carstensen Jürgen , Wolff Niklas , Marx Janik , Carey Tian , Schweichel Marleen , Terasa Maik-Ivo , Siebert Leonard , Hong Hyo-Ki , Kaps Sören , Fiedler Bodo , Mishra Yogendra Kumar , Lee Zonghoon , Pugno Nicola M. , Kienle Lorenz , Ferrari Andrea C. , Torrisi Felice , Ronning Carsten , Adelung Rainer
Published: March 2020

Laser diodes are efficient light sources. However, state-of-the-art laser diode-based lighting systems rely on light-converting inorganic phosphor materials, which strongly limit the efficiency and lifetime, as well as achievable light output due to energy losses, saturation, thermal degradation, and low irradiance levels. Here, we demonstrate a macroscopically expanded, three-dimensional diffuser composed of interconnected hollow hexagonal boron nitride microtubes with nanoscopic wall-thickness, acting as an artificial solid fog, capable of withstanding ~10 times the irradiance level of remote phosphors. In contrast to phosphors, no light conversion is required as the diffuser relies solely on strong broadband (full visible range) lossless multiple light scattering events, enabled by a highly porous (>99.99%) non-absorbing nanoarchitecture, resulting in efficiencies of ~98%. This can unleash the potential of lasers for high-brightness lighting applications, such as automotive headlights, projection technology or lighting for large spaces.
GenomeScope 2.0 and Smudgeplot for reference-free profiling of polyploid genomes
Authors: Ranallo-Benavidez T. Rhyker , Jaron Kamil S. , Schatz Michael C.
Published: March 2020

An important assessment prior to genome assembly and related analyses is genome profiling, where the k-mer frequencies within raw sequencing reads are analyzed to estimate major genome characteristics such as size, heterozygosity, and repetitiveness. Here we introduce GenomeScope 2.0 (https://github.com/tbenavi1/genomescope2.0), which applies combinatorial theory to establish a detailed mathematical model of how k-mer frequencies are distributed in heterozygous and polyploid genomes. We describe and evaluate a practical implementation of the polyploid-aware mixture model that quickly and accurately infers genome properties across thousands of simulated and several real datasets spanning a broad range of complexity. We also present a method called Smudgeplot (https://github.com/KamilSJaron/smudgeplot) to visualize and estimate the ploidy and genome structure of a genome by analyzing heterozygous k-mer pairs. We successfully apply the approach to systems of known variable ploidy levels in the Meloidogyne genus and the extreme case of octoploid Fragaria × ananassa.
Environmental remodeling of human gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome in livestock farms
Authors: Sun Jian , Liao Xiao-Ping , D’Souza Alaric W. , Boolchandani Manish , Li Sheng-Hui , Cheng Ke , Luis Martínez José , Li Liang , Feng You-Jun , Fang Liang-Xing , Huang Ting , Xia Jing , Yu Yang , Zhou Yu-Feng , Sun Yong-Xue , Deng Xian-Bo , Zeng Zhen-Ling , Jiang Hong-Xia , Fang Bing-Hu , Tang You-Zhi , Lian Xin-Lei , Zhang Rong-Min , Fang Zhi-Wei , Yan Qiu-Long , Dantas Gautam , Liu Ya-Hong
Published: March 2020

Anthropogenic environments have been implicated in enrichment and exchange of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria. Here we study the impact of confined and controlled swine farm environments on temporal changes in the gut microbiome and resistome of veterinary students with occupational exposure for 3 months. By analyzing 16S rRNA and whole metagenome shotgun sequencing data in tandem with culture-based methods, we show that farm exposure shapes the gut microbiome of students, resulting in enrichment of potentially pathogenic taxa and antimicrobial resistance genes. Comparison of students’ gut microbiomes and resistomes to farm workers’ and environmental samples revealed extensive sharing of resistance genes and bacteria following exposure and after three months of their visit. Notably, antibiotic resistance genes were found in similar genetic contexts in student samples and farm environmental samples. Dynamic Bayesian network modeling predicted that the observed changes partially reverse over a 4-6 month period. Our results indicate that acute changes in a human’s living environment can persistently shape their gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome.
Latent periodic process inference from single-cell RNA-seq data
Authors: Liang Shaoheng , Wang Fang , Han Jincheng , Chen Ken
Published: March 2020

The development of a phenotype in a multicellular organism often involves multiple, simultaneously occurring biological processes. Advances in single-cell RNA-sequencing make it possible to infer latent developmental processes from the transcriptomic profiles of cells at various developmental stages. Accurate characterization is challenging however, particularly for periodic processes such as cell cycle. To address this, we develop Cyclum, an autoencoder approach identifying circular trajectories in the gene expression space. Cyclum substantially improves the accuracy and robustness of cell-cycle characterization beyond existing approaches. Applying Cyclum to removing cell-cycle effects substantially improves delineations of cell subpopulations, which is useful for establishing various cell atlases and studying tumor heterogeneity.
FHIR Genomics: enabling standardization for precision medicine use cases
Authors: Alterovitz Gil , Heale Bret , Jones James , Kreda David , Lin Fan , Liu Lei , Liu Xin , Mandl Kenneth D. , Poloway David W. , Ramoni Rachel , Wagner Alex , Warner Jeremy L.
Published: March 2020

The development of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) Genomics, a feasible and efficient method for exchanging complex clinical genomic data and interpretations, is described. FHIR Genomics is a subset of the emerging Health Level 7 FHIR standard and targets data from increasingly available technologies such as next-generation sequencing. Much care and integration of feedback have been taken to ease implementation, facilitate wide-scale interoperability, and enable modern app development toward a complete precision medicine standard. A new use case, the integration of the Variant Interpretation for Cancer Consortium (VICC) “meta-knowledgebase” into a third-party application, is described.
The retrospective analysis of Antarctic tracking data project
Authors: Ropert-Coudert Yan , Van de Putte Anton P. , Reisinger Ryan R. , Bornemann Horst , Charrassin Jean-Benoît , Costa Daniel P. , Danis Bruno , Hückstädt Luis A. , Jonsen Ian D. , Lea Mary-Anne , Thompson David , Torres Leigh G. , Trathan Philip N. , Wotherspoon Simon , Ainley David G. , Alderman Rachael , Andrews-Goff Virginia , Arthur Ben , Ballard Grant , Bengtson John , Bester Marthán N. , Blix Arnoldus Schytte , Boehme Lars , Bost Charles-André , Boveng Peter , Cleeland Jaimie , Constantine Rochelle , Crawford Robert J. M. , Dalla Rosa Luciano , Nico de Bruyn P. J. , Delord Karine , Descamps Sébastien , Double Mike , Emmerson Louise , Fedak Mike , Friedlaender Ari , Gales Nick , Goebel Mike , Goetz Kimberly T. , Guinet Christophe , Goldsworthy Simon D. , Harcourt Rob , Hinke Jefferson T. , Jerosch Kerstin , Kato Akiko , Kerry Knowles R. , Kirkwood Roger , Kooyman Gerald L. , Kovacs Kit M. , Lawton Kieran , Lowther Andrew D. , Lydersen Christian , Lyver Phil O’B. , Makhado Azwianewi B. , Márquez Maria E. I. , McDonald Birgitte I. , McMahon Clive R. , Muelbert Monica , Nachtsheim Dominik , Nicholls Keith W. , Nordøy Erling S. , Olmastroni Silvia , Phillips Richard A. , Pistorius Pierre , Plötz Joachim , Pütz Klemens , Ratcliffe Norman , Ryan Peter G. , Santos Mercedes , Southwell Colin , Staniland Iain , Takahashi Akinori , Tarroux Arnaud , Trivelpiece Wayne , Wakefield Ewan , Weimerskirch Henri , Wienecke Barbara , Xavier José C. , Raymond Ben , Hindell Mark A.
Published: March 2020

The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) is a Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research project led jointly by the Expert Groups on Birds and Marine Mammals and Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics, and endorsed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. RAATD consolidated tracking data for multiple species of Antarctic meso- and top-predators to identify Areas of Ecological Significance. These datasets and accompanying syntheses provide a greater understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes in the Southern Ocean, support modelling of predator distributions under future climate scenarios and create inputs that can be incorporated into decision making processes by management authorities. In this data paper, we present the compiled tracking data from research groups that have worked in the Antarctic since the 1990s. The data are publicly available through biodiversity.aq and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. The archive includes tracking data from over 70 contributors across 12 national Antarctic programs, and includes data from 17 predator species, 4060 individual animals, and over 2.9 million observed locations.
Helical tomotherapy: Comparison of Hi-ART and Radixact clinical patient treatments at the Technical University of Munich
Authors: Kraus K. M. , Kampfer S. , Wilkens J. J. , Schüttrumpf L. , Combs S. E.
Published: March 2020

The helical tomotherapy (HT) Hi-ART system was installed at our department in April 2007. In July 2018 the first Radixact system in Germany has been launched for clinical use. We present differences, advantages and disadvantages and show future perspectives in patient treatment using two HT devices. We investigate patient characteristics, image quality, radiotherapy treatment specifications and analyze the time effort for treatments with the Hi-ART system from April 2010 until May 2017 and compare it to the data acquired in the first nine months of usage of the Radixact system. Comparing the Hi-ART and Radixact system, the unique option of integrated MVCT image acquisition has experienced distinct improvement in image quality. Time effort for irradiation treatment could be improved resulting in a mean beam on time for craniospinal axis treatment of 636.2 s for the Radixact system compared to 915.9 s for the Hi-ART system. The beneficial use of tomotherapy for complex target volumes is demonstrated by a head and neck tumor case and craniospinal axis treatment. With the Radixact system MVCT image quality has been improved allowing for fast and precise interfraction dose adaptation. The improved time effort for patient treatment could increase the accessibility for clinical usage.
SAEROF: an ensemble approach for large-scale drug-disease association prediction by incorporating rotation forest and sparse autoencoder deep neural network
Authors: Jiang Han-Jing , Huang Yu-An , You Zhu-Hong
Published: March 2020

Drug-disease association is an important piece of information which participates in all stages of drug repositioning. Although the number of drug-disease associations identified by high-throughput technologies is increasing, the experimental methods are time consuming and expensive. As supplement to them, many computational methods have been developed for an accurate in silico prediction for new drug-disease associations. In this work, we present a novel computational model combining sparse auto-encoder and rotation forest (SAEROF) to predict drug-disease association. Gaussian interaction profile kernel similarity, drug structure similarity and disease semantic similarity were extracted for exploring the association among drugs and diseases. On this basis, a rotation forest classifier based on sparse auto-encoder is proposed to predict the association between drugs and diseases. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed model, we used it to implement 10-fold cross validation on two golden standard datasets, Fdataset and Cdataset. As a result, the proposed model achieved AUCs (Area Under the ROC Curve) of Fdataset and Cdataset are 0.9092 and 0.9323, respectively. For performance evaluation, we compared SAEROF with the state-of-the-art support vector machine (SVM) classifier and some existing computational models. Three human diseases (Obesity, Stomach Neoplasms and Lung Neoplasms) were explored in case studies. As a result, more than half of the top 20 drugs predicted were successfully confirmed by the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database(CTD database). This model is a feasible and effective method to predict drug-disease correlation, and its performance is significantly improved compared with existing methods.
Origin of Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling in 2D and 3D Lead Iodide Perovskites
Authors: Pham Minh T. , Amerling Eric , Luong Hoang M. , Pham Huy T. , Larsen George K. , Whittaker-Brooks Luisa , Nguyen Tho D.
Published: March 2020

We studied spin dynamics of charge carriers in the superlattice-like Ruddlesden-Popper hybrid lead iodide perovskite semiconductors, 2D (BA)2(MA)Pb2I7 (with MA = CH3NH3, and BA = CH3(CH2)3NH3), and 3D MAPbI3 using the magnetic field effect (MFE) on conductivity and electroluminescence in their light emitting diodes (LEDs) at cryogenic temperatures. The semiconductors with distinct structural/bulk inversion symmetry breaking, when combined with colossal intrinsic spin–orbit coupling (SOC), theoretically give rise to giant Rashba-type SOC. We found that the magneto-conductance (MC) magnitude increases monotonically with the emission intensity and saturates at ≈0.05% and 0.11% for the MAPbI3 and (BA)2(MA)Pb2I7, respectively. The magneto-electroluminescence (MEL) response with similar line shapes as the MC response has a significantly larger magnitude, and essentially stays constant at ≈0.22% and ≈0.20% for MAPbI3 and (BA)2(MA)Pb2I7, respectively. The sign and magnitude of the MC and MEL responses can be quantitatively explained in the framework of the Δg-based excitonic model using rate equations. Remarkably, the width of the MEL response in those materials linearly increases with increasing the applied electric field, where the Rashba coefficient in (BA)2(MA)Pb2I7 is estimated to be about 7 times larger than that in MAPbI3. Our studies might have significant impact on future development of electrically-controlled spin logic devices via Rashba-like effects.
Persistent metallic Sn-doped In2O3 epitaxial ultrathin films with enhanced infrared transmittance
Authors: Kim Dongha , Lee Shinbuhm
Published: March 2020

Infrared transparent electrodes (IR-TEs) have recently attracted much attention for industrial and military applications. The simplest method to obtain high IR transmittance is to reduce the electrode film thickness. However, for films several tens of nanometres thick, this approach unintentionally suppresses conduction due to surface electron scattering. Here, we demonstrate low sheet resistance (<400 Ω □−1 at room temperature) and high IR transmittance (>65% at the 2.5-μm wavelength) in Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) epitaxial films for the thickness range of 17−80 nm. A combination of X-ray spectroscopy and ellipsometry measurements reveals a persistent electronic bandstructure in the 8-nm-thick film compared to much thicker films. This indicates that the metallicity of the film is preserved, despite the ultrathin film configuration. The high carrier mobility in the ITO epitaxial films further confirms the film’s metallicity as a result of the improved crystallinity of the film and the resulting reduction in the scattering defect concentration. Thus, ITO shows great potential for IR-TE applications of transparent photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.
Metallomics in deep time and the influence of ocean chemistry on the metabolic landscapes of Earth’s earliest ecosystems
Authors: Hickman-Lewis Keyron , Cavalazzi Barbara , Sorieul Stéphanie , Gautret Pascale , Foucher Frédéric , Whitehouse Martin J. , Jeon Heejin , Georgelin Thomas , Cockell Charles S. , Westall Frances
Published: March 2020

Modern biological dependency on trace elements is proposed to be a consequence of their enrichment in the habitats of early life together with Earth’s evolving physicochemical conditions; the resulting metallic biological complement is termed the metallome. Herein, we detail a protocol for describing metallomes in deep time, with applications to the earliest fossil record. Our approach extends the metallome record by more than 3 Ga and provides a novel, non-destructive method of estimating biogenicity in the absence of cellular preservation. Using microbeam particle-induced X-ray emission (µPIXE), we spatially quantify transition metals and metalloids within organic material from 3.33 billion-year-old cherts of the Barberton greenstone belt, and demonstrate that elements key to anaerobic prokaryotic molecular nanomachines, including Fe, V, Ni, As and Co, are enriched within carbonaceous material. Moreover, Mo and Zn, likely incorporated into enzymes only after the Great Oxygenation Event, are either absent or present at concentrations below the limit of detection of µPIXE, suggesting minor biological utilisation in this environmental setting. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that metal enrichments do not arise from accumulation in nanomineral phases and thus unambiguously reflect the primary composition of the carbonaceous material. This carbonaceous material also has δ13C between −41.3‰ and 0.03‰, dominantly −21.0‰ to −11.5‰, consistent with biological fractionation and mostly within a restricted range inconsistent with abiotic processes. Considering spatially quantified trace metal enrichments and negative δ13C fractionations together, we propose that, although lacking cellular preservation, this organic material has biological origins and, moreover, that its precursor metabolism may be estimated from the fossilised “palaeo-metallome”. Enriched Fe, V, Ni and Co, together with petrographic context, suggests that this kerogen reflects the remnants of a lithotrophic or organotrophic consortium cycling methane or nitrogen. Palaeo-metallome compositions could be used to deduce the metabolic networks of Earth’s earliest ecosystems and, potentially, as a biosignature for evaluating the origin of preserved organic materials found on Mars.
The use of circulating cell-free tumor DNA in routine diagnostics of metastatic melanoma patients
Authors: Knuever Jana , Weiss Jonathan , Persa Oana-Diana , Kreuzer Karl , Mauch Cornelia , Hallek Michael , Schlaak Max
Published: March 2020

Modern advances in technology such as next-generation sequencing and digital PCR make detection of minor circulating cell-free tumor DNA amounts in blood from cancer patients possible. Samples can be obtained minimal-invasively, tested for treatment-determining genetic alterations and are considered to reflect the genetic constitution of the whole tumor mass. Furthermore, tumor development can be determined by a time course of the quantified circulating cell-free tumor DNA. However, systematic studies which prove the clinical relevance of monitoring patients using liquid biopsies are still lacking. In this study, we collected 115 samples from 47 late stage melanoma patients over 1.5 years alongside therapy-associated clinical routine monitoring. Mutation status was confirmed by molecular analysis of primary tumor material. We can show that detectable levels of circulating cell-free tumor DNA correlate with clinical development over time. Increasing levels of circulating cell-free tumor DNA during melanoma treatment with either targeted therapy (BRAF/MEK inhibitors) or immunotherapy, during recovery time or the intervals between last treatment cycle and second-line treatment point towards clinical progression before the progression becomes obvious in imaging. Therefore, this is a further possibility to closely screen our patients for tumor progression during therapy, in therapy-free phases and in earlier stages before therapy initiation.
GPNMB is expressed in human epidermal keratinocytes but disappears in the vitiligo lesional skin
Authors: Biswas Kazal Boron , Takahashi Aya , Mizutani Yukiko , Takayama Satoru , Ishitsuka Asako , Yang Lingli , Yang Fei , Iddamalgoda Arunasiri , Katayama Ichiro , Inoue Shintaro
Published: March 2020

GPNMB is involved in multiple cellular functions including cell adhesion, stress protection and stem cell maintenance. In skin, melanocyte-GPNMB is suggested to mediate pigmentation through melanosome formation, but details of keratinocyte-GPNMB have yet to be well understood. We confirmed the expression of GPNMB in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) by reducing the expression using siRNA. A higher calcium concentration of over 1.25 mM decreased the GPNMB expression. Histological staining showed that GPNMB was expressed in the basal layer of normal skins but completely absent in vitiligo skins. The normal expression of GPNMB in nevus depigmentosus skin suggested that lack of GPNMB is characteristic of vitiligo lesional skins. IFN-γ and IL-17A, two cytokines with possible causal roles in vitiligo development, inhibited GPNMB expression in vitro. Approximately 4–8% of the total GPNMB expressed on NHEKs were released possibly by ADAM 10 as a soluble form, but the process of release was not affected by the cytokines. The suppressive effect of IFN-γ on GPNMB was partially via IFN-γ/JAK2/STAT1 signaling axis. Decreased GPNMB expression in keratinocytes may affect melanocyte maintenance or survival against oxidative stress although further studies are needed. These findings indicate a new target for vitiligo treatment, focusing on the novel role of IFN-γ and IL-17 in downregulating keratinocyte-GPNMB.
Quantifying Differences in Heritability among Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), Cutaneous Psoriasis (PsC) and Psoriasis vulgaris (PsV)
Authors: Li Quan , Chandran Vinod , Tsoi Lam , O’Rielly Darren , Nair Rajan P. , Gladman Dafna , Elder James T. , Rahman Proton
Published: March 2020

Chronic plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are multifactorial inter-related diseases with strong genetic contributions. Better elucidation of the heritability of psoriatic disease subsets is important for identifying novel genes, risk stratification and potential clinical applications. In this study, we used two mixed-effect modelling methodologies to assess the additive contribution of common single nucleotide polymorphisms from genome-wide association studies to estimate the heritability of cutaneous psoriasis, psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis. We found that cutaneous psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis both exhibit considerable heritability, with a greater contribution coming from cutaneous psoriasis.
The COX-2/PGE2 pathway suppresses apical elimination of RasV12-transformed cells from epithelia
Authors: Sato Nanami , Yako Yuta , Maruyama Takeshi , Ishikawa Susumu , Kuromiya Keisuke , Tokuoka Suzumi M. , Kita Yoshihiro , Fujita Yasuyuki
Published: March 2020

At the initial stage of carcinogenesis, when RasV12-transformed cells are surrounded by normal epithelial cells, RasV12 cells are apically extruded from epithelia through cell competition with the surrounding normal cells. In this study, we demonstrate that expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)−2 is upregulated in normal cells surrounding RasV12-transformed cells. Addition of COX inhibitor or COX-2-knockout promotes apical extrusion of RasV12 cells. Furthermore, production of Prostaglandin (PG) E2, a downstream prostanoid of COX-2, is elevated in normal cells surrounding RasV12 cells, and addition of PGE2 suppresses apical extrusion of RasV12 cells. In a cell competition mouse model, expression of COX-2 is elevated in pancreatic epithelia harbouring RasV12-exressing cells, and the COX inhibitor ibuprofen promotes apical extrusion of RasV12 cells. Moreover, caerulein-induced chronic inflammation substantially suppresses apical elimination of RasV12 cells. These results indicate that intrinsically or extrinsically mediated inflammation can promote tumour initiation by diminishing cell competition between normal and transformed cells.
Publisher Correction: Valley phenomena in the candidate phase change material WSe2(1-x)Te2x
Authors: Oliver Sean M. , Young Joshua , Krylyuk Sergiy , Reinecke Thomas L. , Davydov Albert V. , Vora Patrick M.
Published: March 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Post-processing Bijels for Applications
Authors: Mohraz A. , Thorson T. J.
Published: March 2020

The unique morphological attributes inherent to bijels can lead to desirable transport and mechanical properties for numerous advanced material applications. However, bijels as formed may not be able to withstand the operating or processing conditions involved in these applications. This chapter details how the thermodynamic incompatibility of the fluid phases in bijels can be exploited to lock in the attractive morphology of the soft template, forming free-standing, mechanically robust three-dimensional porous scaffolds for further materials processing or technological use. Specific microstructural characteristics of these bijel-derived scaffolds are discussed, as well as their select applications in the fields of electrochemical devices, regenerative biomaterials, and cell delivery scaffolds. Additionally, this chapter examines some of the possible factors at play in the ability to process bijels into porous scaffolds, and provides potential guidelines for assessing and rationalizing these.
Bijels Formed by Solvent Transfer-induced Phase Separation
Authors: Haase Martin F. , Boakye-Ansah Stephen , Di Vitantonio Giuseppe , Stebe Kathleen J. , Lee Daeyeon
Published: March 2020

This chapter introduces the formation of bijels via solvent transfer-induced phase separation (STrIPS). STrIPS bijels are generated by triggering spinodal decomposition of a ternary liquid mixture composed of oil, water, solvent and surface-active nanoparticles. Bicontinuous oil/water channel networks are stabilized by interfacial jamming of the nanoparticles. Continuous production of STrIPS bijel fibers, planar films and microparticles is realized via a scalable route amenable to mass production. STrIPS bijels have asymmetric internal structures, with small domains on the surface and larger internal domains. We discuss the dependency of STrIPS bijel domain organization and size based on variation of nanoparticle concentration and surface functionalization. Moreover, we introduce a microfluidic technique to measure the fracture strength of STrIPS bijels. Mechanical reinforcement of STrIPS bijels is realized by interfacial nanoparticle cross-linking and sol–gel chemistry. Furthermore, applications of STrIPS bijels in reactive separations and as nanocomposite ultrafiltration membranes are introduced. The chapter concludes with an outlook and future perspectives on fundamental research, as well as applications for STrIPS bijels.
Bijels the Easy Way
Authors: Forth Joe , Toor Anju , Chai Yu , Huang Caili , Liu Xubo , Feng Wenqian , Shi Shaowei , Wang Dong , Ashby Paul D. , Helms Brett A. , Russell Thomas P.
Published: March 2020

Spinodal decomposition is not the only way to make a bijel. Indeed, while spinodal decomposition produces structures with a potentially useful morphology, it can be challenging to make bijels using this method and the resulting systems can be hard to process and manipulate. Furthermore, exploiting the functional properties of the assembled particle monolayer is extremely challenging. In this chapter, we show how the assembly of nanoparticle surfactants at the liquid–liquid interface can be used to kinetically trap liquids into a wealth of complex structures without using spinodal decomposition. We apply liquid three-dimensional printing and moulding methods, along with patterned substrates with controllable wetting properties, to build all-liquid devices with applications in chemical synthesis, separation, and purification. The functional properties of the assembled nanomaterials can be exploited to produce interfacially structured liquids that are plasmonically and magnetically responsive. Finally, we conclude by arguing that, while the field shows great promise, efforts need to be made to translate liquid bicontinuous systems out of the laboratory and into meaningful, real-world applications, as well applications in more ‘exotic’ disciplines, such as synthetic biology.
Preparation of textured and transparent BiVO4 photoelectrodes based on Mo-doped BiVO4 nanoparticles for constructing a stand-alone tandem water splitting device
Authors: Wang Ze , Dong Chunwei , Liang Sen , Yao Shiyu , Wang Zidong , Zeng Qingsen , Liu Chongming , Liu Yi , Yang Bai , Zhang Hao
Published: March 2020

Crystallographic orientation control is an effective method to improve the photoelectrochemical water splitting efficiency of BiVO4 photoanodes.
Electronic structure engineering and biomedical applications of low energy-excited persistent luminescence nanoparticles
Authors: Lin Qiaosong , Li Zhihao , Ji Chenhui , Yuan Quan
Published: March 2020

This article introduces the construction of low energy-excited persistent luminescence nanoparticles by electronic structure engineering, and their applications in biomedicine.
Theoretical study of the strain effect on the oxygen reduction reaction activity and stability of FeNC catalyst
Authors: Zhang Xiaoming , Xia Zhangxun , Li Huanqiao , Yu Shansheng , Wang Suli , Sun Gongquan
Published: March 2020

The oxygen reduction performance of Cu@FeNC (1.9%-FeNC) is different from the corresponding 2%-FeNC, mainly due to the coordination between the Cu substrate and Fe atom.
How photocorrosion can trick you: a detailed study on low-bandgap Li doped CuO photocathodes for solar hydrogen production
Authors: Kampmann Jonathan , Betzler Sophia , Hajiyani Hamidreza , Häringer Sebastian , Beetz Michael , Harzer Tristan , Kraus Jürgen , Lotsch Bettina V. , Scheu Christina , Pentcheva Rossitza , Fattakhova-Rohlfing Dina , Bein Thomas
Published: March 2020

This work reveals deep insights into the photocorrosion mechanism of nanostructured p-type Li-doped CuO cathodes used for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production.
Biomimetic fabrication of highly ordered laminae–trestle–laminae structured copper aero-sponge
Authors: Huang Jiankun , Zeng Jingbin , Wang Hongbin , Etim Ubong J. , Liang Baoqiang , Meteku Edem B. , Li Honglin , Wang Yiyan , Qiu Zhiwei , Rood Mark J. , Yan Zifeng
Published: March 2020

Light-weight metallic aero-sponges are highly desirable for electronics, energy storage, catalysis and environmental remediation.
Design of a core–shell catalyst: an effective strategy for suppressing side reactions in syngas for direct selective conversion to light olefins
Authors: Tan Li , Wang Fan , Zhang Peipei , Suzuki Yuichi , Wu Yingquan , Chen Jiangang , Yang Guohui , Tsubaki Noritatsu
Published: March 2020

The preparation of a Zn–Cr@SAPO capsule catalyst and the two different mass transfer routes over the capsule catalyst and physical mixture catalyst in light olefins synthesis from syngas.
Cu2CoGeS4 nanocrystals for high performance aqueous polysulfide/iodide redox flow batteries: enhanced selectively towards the electrocatalytic conversion of polysulfides
Authors: Zhu Ye , He Kai , Tadesse Tsega Tsegaye , Ali Nazakat , Zai Jiantao , Huang Shoushuang , Qian Xuefeng , Chen Zhiwen
Published: March 2020

Cu2CoGeS4 nanocrystals for polysulfide/iodide flow batteries: selectively boosting the electrocatalytic activities of S2−/Sx2− and suppressing the hydrogen evolution.
Diffusio-osmosis and wetting on solid surfaces: a unified description based on a virtual work principle
Authors: Clarke Nigel , Gibbions Nigel , Long Didier R.
Published: March 2020

Gradients of composition give rise to tangential forces which are responsible for diffusio-osmosis or wetting dynamics.
Ultrasensitive immunochromatographic strips for fast screening of the nicarbazin marker in chicken breast and liver samples based on monoclonal antibodies
Authors: Xu Xiaoxin , Liu Liqiang , Wu Xiaoling , Kuang Hua , Xu Chuanlai
Published: March 2020

Nicarbazin is an anticoccidial drug with a residue limit in animal husbandry.
Palladium-catalyzed α-arylation of indolin-3-ones
Authors: Chang Yu-Hsuan , Peng Wan-Ling , Chen I-Chia , Hsu Hsin-Yun , Wu Yen-Ku
Published: March 2020

A general route to C2-(hetero)arylated indolin-3-ones bearing a fully substituted α-center was established.
Correction: Mitochondria-targeted Ir@AuNRs as bifunctional therapeutic agents for hypoxia imaging and photothermal therapy
Authors: Ke Libing , Zhang Cheng , Liao Xinxing , Qiu Kangqiang , Rees Thomas W. , Chen Yu , Zhao Zizhuo , Ji Liangnian , Chao Hui
Published: March 2020

Correction for ‘Mitochondria-targeted Ir@AuNRs as bifunctional therapeutic agents for hypoxia imaging and photothermal therapy’ by Libing Ke et al., Chem. Commun., 2019, 55, 10273–10276.
Sb- and Bi-based coordination polymers with N-donor ligands with and without lone-pair effects and their photoluminescence properties
Authors: Sorg Jens R. , Schneider Tilman , Wohlfarth Luise , Schäfer Thomas C. , Sedykh Alexander , Müller-Buschbaum Klaus
Published: March 2020

New insights in the photoluminescence of Sb/Bi-CPs are gained by the investigation of fifteen coordination polymers of Sb/Bi-halides and bis-pyridyl ligands.
Influence of ligand field on magnetic anisotropy in a family of pentacoordinate CoII complexes
Authors: Acharya Joydev , Sarkar Arup , Kumar Pawan , Kumar Vierandra , Flores Gonzalez Jessica , Cador Olivier , Pointillart Fabrice , Rajaraman Gopalan , Chandrasekhar Vadapalli
Published: March 2020

Three pentacoordinate CoII complexes were synthesized using a common tridentate ligand and varying the halide/pseudohalide ligand. The effect of the latter on the geometry and magnetic properties of the three complexes has been analysed.
Porous Mo–C coverage on ZnO rods for enhanced supercapacitive performance
Authors: Sun Li , Zhang Yuanxing , Si Haochen , Shi Yan , Sun Chao , Zhang Yihe
Published: March 2020

ZnO rods were prepared and covered with a porous Mo–C carbon layer as an electrode material for supercapacitors.
Urine metallomics signature as an indicator of pancreatic cancer
Authors: Schilling Kathrin , Larner Fiona , Saad Amina , Roberts Rhiannon , Kocher Hemant M , Blyuss Oleg , Halliday Alex N , Crnogorac-Jurcevic Tatjana
Published: March 2020

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest types of cancer. Its high mortality rate is attributed largely to the difficulty of early diagnosis. Analysis of urine is an excellent non-invasive approach to trace changes in biochemical reactions due to cancer development. Here we show remarkable differences in concentration of several essential metals: significantly lower levels of urinary calcium and magnesium and increased levels of copper and zinc in PDAC when compared to healthy controls, and demonstrate that a combined analysis of these essential metals are accurate indicators (sensitivity = 99.5%) for metal dyshomeostasis in PDAC. In addition, natural stable zinc isotope composition (δ66/64Zn) in urine reveals the preferential excretion of isotopically light zinc in PDAC (δ66/64Znmedian = −0.15‰) compared to healthy controls (δ66/64Znmedian = +0.02‰), likely supporting the dysregulation of metalloproteins. These findings demonstrate for the first time that metallomics is a promising approach for discovery of biomarkers for detection of patients with PDAC, completely non-invasively, using urine samples.
Chiral separation of five antihistamine drug enantiomers and enantioselective pharmacokinetic study of carbinoxamine in rat plasma by HPLC-MS/MS
Authors: Li Meng , Zhang Junyuan , Ma Siman , Jiang Zhen , Di Xin , Guo Xingjie
Published: March 2020

Chiral separation and pharmacokinetic study of antihistamine drugs.
Hollow porous organic nanospheres for anchoring Pd(PPh3)4 through a co-hyper-crosslinking mediated self-assembly strategy
Authors: Liu Ying , Zhang Li , Gao Shengguang , Shi Buyin , Yu Haitao , Huang Kun
Published: March 2020

A facile synthesis of Pd(PPh3)4-functionalized hollow porous organic nanospheres with excellent catalytic activity is reported for the first time.
High pressure induced local ordering and tunable luminescence of La2Hf2O7:Eu3+ nanoparticles
Authors: Gupta Santosh K. , Zuniga Jose P. , Pokhrel Madhab , Mao Yuanbing
Published: March 2020

This work highlights the high-pressure induced site swapping and improved ordering of Eu3+ in La2Hf2O7:Eu3+ nanocrystals which leads to red-orange-yellow tunable emission at low-moderate-high pressure regime and enhanced correlated color temperature.
Near-field mechanism of the enhanced broadband magneto-optical activity of hybrid Au loaded Bi:YIG
Authors: Pappas Spiridon D. , Lang Philipp , Eul Tobias , Hartelt Michael , García-Martín Antonio , Hillebrands Burkard , Aeschlimann Martin , Papaioannou Evangelos Th.
Published: March 2020

We unravel the underlying near-field mechanism of the enhancement of the magneto-optical activity of bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet films (Bi:YIG) loaded with gold nanoparticles.
Examination of pinanediol–boronic acid ester formation in aqueous media: relevance to the relative stability of trigonal and tetrahedral boronate esters
Authors: Martínez-Aguirre Mayte A. , Flores-Alamo Marcos , Medrano Felipe , Yatsimirsky Anatoly K.
Published: March 2020

The “inverted” order of stabilitiesKtrig>Ktetis observed for pinanediol boronate esters in spite of the existence of the usual strain release effect in the O–B–O angle of the cyclic diol ester.