bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent progress on high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS): The challenges and applications in fabricating VO2 thin film
Authors: Zhang Haibao , Cherng Jyh-Shiarn , Chen Qiang
Published: March 2019

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is well known in modern physical vapor deposition (PVD) owing to its high peak power density, high degree of ionization, high plasma density and hence high ion flux towards the substrate that allows ones to deposit high quality thin films in comparison with conventional magnetron sputtering technology. The present short review on HiPIMS intends to provide readers with a summary of the current status of this emerging PVD technique: the developmental history, the plasma characterization, and the applications in hardness and functional thin film fabrications. Several items on the distinctive feature of HiPIMS, including self-sputtering mechanism, low deposition rate, arcing phenomenon and key factors of deposition process are reviewed in detail. To limit the scope, the emphasis is put on thermo-chromic VO2 thin film deposited by HiPIMS. Based on this typical issue, some classical ideas and approaches on fabrication of the functional thin films through HiPIMS technique are demonstrated.
Structural, electronic and transport properties of an edge terminated armchair MoS2 nanoribbon with N, O and F atoms
Authors: DavoodianIdalik M. , Kordbacheh A. , Velashjerdi F.
Published: March 2019

Structural, electronic and transport properties of an edge terminated armchair molybdenum disulfide nanoribbon with N, O and F atoms are investigated using ab initio calculations. This functionalization leads to more stable structures. Also the band gap of the MoS2 ribbon is essentially altered, and varying values of the direct and indirect band gaps are obtained because of such novel edge functionalization. An external electric fields were applied to these edge terminated MoS2 nanoribbons and electronic properties were studied. According to the findings, the enhancement of the field strength reduces the band gap of the edge terminated AMoS2NRs. Furthermore, the transport properties of the structures were studied with equilibrium Green’s function formalism. It is intriguing that multiple negative differential resistance was observed in these non-metal edge functionalized armchair MoS2.
Preparation and growth mechanism of solidified TiO2 film on polyimide by SILAR at room temperature
Authors: Sun Chengyue , Zhao Huiyang , Shi Yaping , Chen Ying , Wu Yiyong , Wang Li , Guo Bin
Published: March 2019

In order to further expand the applications of polyimide, titanium oxide (TiO2) was deposited on flexible Kapton substrate by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method at room temperature. The growth process was systematically investigated by analyzing the changes of surface structures, film thickness, water wettability and adhesion work during film deposition. The results showed the SILAR TiO2 films growth initializes in an island-like pattern and then gradually transforms into a 2D layered manner after 10 deposition cycles with a growth rate of about 0.5 nm/cycle. With the increase of cycle number, the water wettability and adhesion work increased to ensure the deposition process to be continued. Interestingly, the obtained TiO2 film exhibits weak crystallinity, which is attributed to the surface graphitized structure of Kapton induced by the ultraviolet (UV) activation in ambient. However, no information of the crystalline phase was detected when TiO2 films were deposited on glass or polyethylene (PE) substrates without the special graphit-like structures under the same conditions. Hence, the growth mechanisms as the surface reactions, film formation and continuous growth behaviors of TiO2 film on Kapton substrate were discussed in details.
Promoting ozone synthesis from oxygen by a high performance volume-surface hybrid discharge
Authors: Li Meng , Yan Yan , Zhang Luyao , Zhou Zihao , Zheng Libiao , Zhu Bin , Wang Li , Li Tie , Tang Xiaojia , Zhu Yimin
Published: March 2019

A high performance hybrid discharge reactor with a flat-plate configuration, in which volume and surface discharges can occur simultaneously, is designed to achieve a high ozone energy yield at high concentrations. Compared with the single volume/surface dielectric barrier discharge, this hybrid discharge acquires much higher discharge voltage, number density of current pulses, and thus discharge power at the same input power. The optical emission spectroscopy diagnosis indicates that the designed reactor possesses a relatively high electron density, excitation temperature, and low rotational temperature, which facilitates the production of ozone. The excellent performance of the hybrid discharge in ozone production from oxygen demonstrates its high energy efficiency and reliability for the practical application of the ozone synthesis.
Nonthermal rate constants for CH4* + X → CH3 + HX, X = H, O, OH, and O2
Authors: Jasper Ahren W. , Sivaramakrishnan Raghu , Klippenstein Stephen J.
Published: March 2019

Quasiclassical trajectories are used to compute nonthermal rate constants, k*, for abstraction reactions involving highly-excited methane CH4* and the radicals H, O, OH, and O2. Several temperatures and internal energies of methane, Evib, are considered, and significant nonthermal rate enhancements for large Evib are found. Specifically, when CH4* is internally excited close to its dissociation threshold (Evib ≈ D0 = 104 kcal/mol), its reactivity with H, O, and OH is shown to be collision-rate-limited and to approach that of comparably-sized radicals, such as CH3, with k* > 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. Rate constants this large are more typically associated with barrierless reactions, and at 1000 K, this represents a nonthermal rate enhancement, k*/k, of more than two orders of magnitude relative to thermal rate constants k. We show that large nonthermal rate constants persist even after significant internal cooling, with k*/k > 10 down to Evib ≈ D0/4. The competition between collisional cooling and nonthermal reactivity is studied using a simple model, and nonthermal reactions are shown to account for up to 35%–50% of the fate of the products of H + CH3 = CH4* under conditions of practical relevance to combustion. Finally, the accuracy of an effective temperature model for estimating k* from k is quantified.
4WD Driving Skills
Authors: Widman Vic
Published: March 2019

Modern four-wheel drive vehicles are powerful and sophisticated machines, able to travel almost anywhere. Given their growing popularity with recreational drivers, there is an even more pressing need for adequate training. Even on sealed roads these vehicles require a different set of driving skills: off-road the demands are many times greater.
4WD Driving Skills concentrates on the essential skills of four-wheel driving for every type of off-road terrain as well as sealed and unsealed roads. It explains what makes a four-wheel drive vehicle different, how to approach challenging situations, and shows what to do if things go wrong.
Titanium/Zirconium functionally graded materials with porosity gradients for potential biomedical applications
Authors: Matuła Izabela , Dercz Grzegorz , Barczyk Jagoda
Published: March 2019

The main aim of this study was the fabrication of functionally graded materials for biomedical applications. Samples with gradient porosities were prepared by a two-stage powder metallurgy method. The internal and external zones of both samples were composed of different phases and pore structures. The phase compositions, microstructures, porosities, and microhardness of the sintered samples were analysed. The results revealed successful fabrication of materials with gradient porosities by the powder metallurgy method, and the transition zone (formed by diffusion) between the external and internal zones was found to be permanent. The Rietveld refinement analysis showed that the production method and atomic radii of the elements used in the synthesis influenced the material structure.

This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on The Crystallographic Aspects of Metallic Alloys.
Key comparison BIPM.RI(I)-K3 of the air-kerma standards of the NPL, UK, and the BIPM in medium-energy x-rays
Authors: Burns D T , Kessler C , Kelly M , Bass G A , Maughan D J
Published: March 2019

A key comparison has been made between the air-kerma standards of the NPL, UK, and the BIPM in the medium-energy x-ray range. The results show the standards to be in agreement at the level of the standard uncertainty of the comparison of 3.4 parts in 103, with some evidence of a dependence on radiation quality. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suitable for entry in the BIPM key comparison database.

KEY WORDS FOR SEARCH

Radiation dosimetry, air kerma, comparison, medium-energy x-rays

Main text

To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.

The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCRI, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).
Recent peat and carbon accumulation following the Little Ice Age in northwestern Québec, Canada
Authors: Piilo Sanna R , Zhang Hui , Garneau Michelle , Gallego-Sala Angela , Amesbury Matthew J , Väliranta Minna M
Published: March 2019

Peatland ecosystems are important carbon sinks, but also release carbon back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane. Peatlands therefore play an essential role in the global carbon cycle. However, the response of high-latitude peatlands to ongoing climate change is still not fully understood. In this study, we used plant macrofossils and peat property analyses as proxies to document changes in vegetation and peat and carbon accumulation after the Little Ice Age. Results from 12 peat monoliths collected in high-boreal and low-subarctic regions in northwestern Québec, Canada, suggest high carbon accumulation rates for the recent past (post AD 1970s). Successional changes in plant assemblages were asynchronous within the cores in the southernmost region, but more consistent in the northern region. Average apparent recent carbon accumulation rates varied between 50.7 and 149.1 g C m−2 yr−1 with the northernmost study region showing higher values. The variation in vegetation records and peat properties found within samples taken from the same sites and amongst cores taken from different regions highlights the need to investigate multiple records from each peatland, but also from different peatlands within one region.
Towards applying N balance as a sustainability indicator for the US Corn Belt: realistic achievable targets, spatio-temporal variability and policy implications
Authors: Sela S , Woodbury P B , Marjerison R , van Es H M
Published: March 2019

Gains in nitrogen use efficiency in the production of corn (Zea mays L.) remain low due to management constraints and difficulties in accurately predicting the optimum fertilizer application rate. Retailers and consumers are looking for robust sustainability indicators to help drive the industry towards more sustainable food production, including the simple input-output based ‘N balance’ metric. Seven-year simulations for 25 locations across five US Corn Belt States (NE, IA, MN, IL, IN) were conducted using the biogeochemical Adapt-N® model to determine (i) realistically achievable N balance values when N rates are optimized, (ii) the effects of climate and soil type on achievable N balance values, and (iii) the relative importance of N application timing (fall, spring, split in-season) and formulation (+/− nitrapyrin) in reducing N balance. Split in-season applications reduced N rates by 39% and 22% over fall and spring applications and N balance by 36% and 22%, respectively. Adding nitrapyrin to fall or spring preplant applications modestly reduced N inputs by 9% and 4% and N balance by 18% and 12%. Split N management reduced N losses by 52% and 31% of total area-scaled N losses compared to fall and spring N applications and adding nitrapyrin by 13% and 10%, respectively. Benefits from improved timing and formulation were greater in the more humid eastern part of the region. Split in-season N management allows farmers to reach sustainable N balance levels in 88% of cases, with the remainder mostly affected by mid-season droughts. Economic assessment found partial profit to be enhanced with lower N balance, suggesting that N balance reductions may be achieved through voluntary approaches. The model simulations offered ranges of realistic N balance values that can be used to inform policy discussions. It appears that N balance is best applied when averaged over multiple seasons and threshold levels should be guided by characteristics of the production environment, including soil type and climate.
A Dictionary of Politics and International Relations in China
Authors: Ogden Chris
Published: March 2019

Over 230 entries

This new dictionary defines critical terms relating to China’s politics since 1949. It comprises succinct definitions covering core political structures, ideologies, and practices, as well as individuals, groups, and concerns that are essential to them.

Covering the full spectrum of Chinese politics, authoritative and up-to-date entries include charm offensive, cybersecurity, hukou system, Silk Road, and United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

Complete with useful weblinks, this new addition to the Oxford Quick Reference series is an indispensable companion for students studying Asian and international politics, as well as for professionals whose interests relate to China’s expanding domestic and foreign politics.
Effects of etelcalcetide on fibroblast growth factor 23 in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism receiving hemodialysis
Authors: Wolf Myles , Block Geoffrey A , Chertow Glenn M , Cooper Kerry , Fouqueray Bruno , Moe Sharon M , Sun Yan , Tomlin Holly , Vervloet Marc , Oberbauer Rainer
Published: March 2019

Background

Etelcalcetide is an intravenous calcimimetic approved for treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) in patients receiving hemodialysis. Besides lowering parathyroid hormone (PTH), etelcalcetide also significantly reduces fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), but the mechanisms are unknown.

Methods

To investigate potential mediators of etelcalcetide-induced FGF23 reduction, we performed secondary analyses of the 26-week randomized trials that compared the effects on PTH of etelcalcetide (n = 509) versus placebo (n = 514) and etelcalcetide (n = 340) versus cinacalcet (n = 343) in adults with sHPT receiving hemodialysis. We analyzed changes in FGF23 in relation to changes in PTH, calcium, phosphate and bone turnover markers. We also investigated how concomitant treatments aimed at mitigating hypocalcemia altered the FGF23-lowering effects of etelcalcetide.

Results

Etelcalcetide reduced FGF23 [median % change (quartile 1–quartile 3)] from baseline to the end of the trial significantly more than placebo [–56% (–85 to –7) versus +2% (–40 to +65); P < 0.001] and cinacalcet [–68% (–87 to –26) versus –41% (–76 to +25); P < 0.001]. Reductions in FGF23 correlated strongly with reductions in calcium and phosphate, but not with PTH; correlations with bone turnover markers were inconsistent and of borderline significance. Increases in concomitant vitamin D administration partially attenuated the FGF23-lowering effect of etelcalcetide, but increased dialysate calcium concentration versus no increase and increased dose of calcium supplementation versus no increase did not attenuate the FGF23-lowering effects of etelcalcetide.

Conclusion

These data suggest that etelcalcetide potently lowers FGF23 in patients with sHPT receiving hemodialysis and that the effect remains detectable among patients who receive concomitant treatments aimed at mitigating treatment-associated decreases in serum calcium.
The investigative burden of membranous nephropathy in the UK
Authors: Hamilton Patrick , Wilson Fiona , Chinnadurai Rajkumar , Sinha Smeeta , Singh Malinder , Ponnusamy Arvind , Hall Peter , Dhaygude Ajay , Kanigicherla Durga , Brenchley Paul
Published: March 2019

Background

Membranous nephropathy (MN) represents two distinct disease entities. Primary MN is now recognized as an autoimmune condition associated with the anti-PLA2R antibody and secondary MN occurs in tandem with malignancy, infection, drug therapy and other autoimmune conditions. Prior to the development of accessible enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, the diagnosis of MN was one of exclusion. We studied whether the introduction of serum anti-PLA2R antibody testing leads to a reduction in the frequency of investigations in MN patients.

Methods

Patients from three UK centres with a diagnosis of MN between 2009 and 2014 were identified. We compared patients who had a positive anti-PLA2R test within 6 months of biopsy with those who had no test or a negative test. Records were reviewed for investigations that took place 6 months prior to and 6 months following the biopsy date to see if these were normal or identified a secondary cause of MN.

Results

In total, 184 patients were included: 80 had no test, 66 had a negative anti-PLA2R test and 38 had a positive test within 6 months of diagnosis. In 2012, 46.5% of patients had an anti-PLA2R test, increasing to 93.3% in 2014. From 2012 to 2014 the number of screening tests dropped from 10.03 to 4.29 and the costs from £497.92 to £132.94.

Conclusions

Since its introduction, a progressively higher proportion of patients diagnosed with MN had an anti-PLA2R test. This has led to a reduction in the number of screening tests and in the cost of investigations carried out. The anti-PLA2R test has the potential to reduce this burden as its use becomes more widespread.
Make and break the alarmone: regulation of (p)ppGpp synthetase/hydrolase enzymes in bacteria
Authors: Ronneau Séverin , Hallez Régis
Published: March 2019

Bacteria use dedicated mechanisms to respond adequately to fluctuating environments and to optimize their chances of survival in harsh conditions. One of the major stress responses used by virtually all bacteria relies on the sharp accumulation of an alarmone, the guanosine penta- or tetra-phosphate commonly referred to as (p)ppGpp. Under stressful conditions, essentially nutrient starvation, these second messengers completely reshape the metabolism and physiology by coordinately modulating growth, transcription, translation and cell cycle. As a central regulator of bacterial stress response, the alarmone is also involved in biofilm formation, virulence, antibiotics tolerance and resistance in many pathogenic bacteria. Intracellular concentrations of (p)ppGpp are determined by a highly conserved and widely distributed family of proteins called RelA-SpoT Homologs (RSH). Recently, several studies uncovering mechanisms that regulate RSH activities have renewed a strong interest in this field. In this review, we outline the diversity of the RSH protein family as well as the molecular devices used by bacteria to integrate and transform environmental cues into intracellular (p)ppGpp levels.
Genetic Variation in Acoustic Time of Flight and Drill Resistance of Juvenile Wood in a Large Loblolly Pine Breeding Population
Authors: Walker Trevor D , Isik Fikret , McKeand Steven E
Published: March 2019

Acoustic time of flight and drill resistance (surrogates for wood stiffness and density, respectively) were measured on 11,097 standing trees from 269 pollen-mix families of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) in 6- to 9-year-old progeny tests at eight sites across the southeastern United States. Specific gravity was measured on two test sites. The phenotypic correlation between specific gravity and drill resistance was moderate (r = 0.68), whereas the genetic correlation was very strong (rg = 0.96). Narrow-sense heritabilities for acoustic time of flight and drill resistance were around 0.35 for individual trees and very strong (0.90) for family means. High genetic correlations (>0.80) between pairs of sites suggested a low genotype-by-environment interaction for both traits. Genetic correlations between wood quality traits and other economic traits (growth and stem straightness) were low except for a moderate correlation between acoustic time of flight and tree slenderness (rg = –0.64). The checklot ranked near the middle for both wood quality traits, implying no inadvertent selection occurred in this population that has been selected intensively for volume productivity. This study is the first to apply these tools in a large breeding program, and results suggest they are effective for selecting genotypes for wood quality.
Central Europe’s descent into autocracy: A constitutional analysis of authoritarian populism
Authors: Bugarič Bojan
Published: March 2019

The article offers an analysis of the particular type of populism that has evolved in Eastern and Central Europe, most notably in Hungary and Poland. The new populism in ECE differs from other populisms because it combines the elements of populism, ethnonationalism, and authoritarianism. Adhering to a similar script, which consists of sustained attacks on rule of law institutions, civil rights and freedoms, the media, and electoral rules, both populist governments in a relatively short period of time dismantled almost all the key cornerstones of democracy in Hungary and Poland. The current surge of populism in ECE demonstrates that constitutional democracy is in great danger when its core principles no longer enjoy wide democratic support. Paradoxically, constitutional democracy can play its “counter-majoritarian” role only when a majority of the people believe that it is the only game in town. Ultimately, democratic political parties and social movements with credible political ideas and programs offer the best hope for the survival of constitutional democracy. The role of law and constitutional checks and balances is less of an essential bulwark against democratic backsliding than is traditionally presumed in the legal literature.
Theoretical and practical motivations for the use of the moving average rule in the stock market
Authors: Kouaissah Noureddine , Orlandini Davide , Ortobelli Sergio , Tichý Tomas
Published: March 2019

This paper provides some theoretical foundations for using moving average (MA) rules in the stock market. In particular, the paper analyzes the conditional probability of price increments and examines how this probability varies over time. We prove under certain assumptions that the probability of being in an uptrend is greater than the probability of being in a downtrend. This demonstration partially justifies the common use of MA rules in the stock market. Finally, we propose an ex-post empirical analysis to evaluate and compare the performance of some MA rules and other portfolio strategies in the US stock market. In this context, we also suggest a methodology that incorporates these trading rules as alarm rules to predict potential market failures. Our ex-post results confirm the advantages of using these trading rules to predict market trends and crises.
Clinical impacts of administering a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug to beef calves after assisted calving on pain and inflammation, passive immunity, health, and growth
Authors: Pearson Jennifer M , Pajor Edmond A , Campbell John R , Caulkett Nigel A , Levy Michel , Dorin Craig , Windeyer M Claire
Published: March 2019

Assisted calves are often born weak, injured, or oxygen deprived and have a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. The objective was to investigate the impact of using pain mitigation at birth in assisted beef calves on physiological indicators of pain and inflammation, passive immunity, health, and growth. Thirty-three primiparous cows and their calves requiring assistance at birth on two ranches located in southern Alberta were enrolled. Data collected at birth include date and time of calving, calf sex, meconium staining, presentation of calf, and calving difficulty (easy assist: one person manually delivered the calf; difficult assist: delivery by two or more people, or mechanical assistance). Within 10 min of birth, calves were stratified by calving difficulty, randomized to a medication group, and received a subcutaneous dose of meloxicam (0.5 mg/kg BW) or an equivalent volume of placebo. Cow–calf pairs were then placed in individual box stalls for observation and sampling. At birth, 1, 4, and 24 h after birth, heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were assessed and blood samples collected to measure indicators of pain and inflammation (cortisol, corticosterone, substance P, and haptoglobin). Serum IgG concentration and failed transfer of passive immunity (serum IgG concentration <24 g/L) were assessed in the 24-h blood samples. Preweaning treatment for disease and mortality information was collected and calves were weighed at 7 to 10 d of age and at weaning. Of the 33 calves enrolled, 17 calves received meloxicam and 16 calves received a placebo. Meloxicam-medicated calves had significantly greater ADG to 7 to 10 d of age (P = 0.05) (mean = 0.9 kg/d; SE = 0.10) compared with placebo-medicated calves (mean = 0.6 kg/d; SE = 0.12). There was no significant effect of meloxicam on physiological indicators of pain and inflammation, standing or nursing by 1 h, passive immunity, health outcomes, or ADG to weaning (P > 0.1). Although this was a small sample population, meloxicam given to assisted calves at birth improved ADG in the first week of life, which may indicate an important production management tool for improving well-being in assisted calves.
Contemporary Validation of a Nomogram Predicting Colon Cancer Recurrence, Revealing All-Stage Improved Outcomes
Authors: Konishi Tsuyoshi , Shimada Yoshifumi , Hsu Meier , Wei Iris H , Pappou Emmanouil , Smith J Joshua , Nash Garrett M , Guillem José G , Paty Philip B , Garcia-Aguilar Julio , Cercek Andrea , Yaeger Rona , Stadler Zsofia K , Segal Neil H , Varghese Anna , Saltz Leonard B , Shia Jinru , Vakiani Efsevia , Gönen Mithat , Weiser Martin R
Published: March 2019

Background

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) colon cancer recurrence nomogram is a risk calculator that provides patients and clinicians with individualized prediction of recurrence following curative resection of colon cancer. Although validated on multiple separate cohorts, the nomogram requires periodic updating as patient care changes over time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nomogram’s accuracy in a contemporary cohort and modify the tool to reflect improvements in outcome related to advances in colon cancer therapy.

Methods

A contemporary patient cohort was compiled, including consecutive colon cancer patients undergoing curative resection for stage I–III colon adenocarcinoma at MSK from 2007 to 2014. The nomogram’s predictive accuracy was assessed by concordance index and calibration plots of predicted vs actual freedom from recurrence at 5 years after surgery.

Results

Data from a total of 999 eligible patients with complete records were used for validation. Median follow-up among survivors was 37 months. The concordance index was 0.756 (95% confidence interval = 0.707 to 0.805), indicating continued discriminating power, but the calibration plot revealed that the nomogram overestimated recurrence risk. Recalibration of the nomogram by estimating a new baseline freedom-from-recurrence function restored the nomogram’s accuracy.

Conclusion

The updated nomogram retains the original nomogram’s variables but includes a lower baseline estimation of recurrence risk, reflecting improvements in outcomes for all stages of colon cancer, likely resulting from advances in imaging and integration of multiple treatment modalities.
Association Between Children’s Hospital Visitor Restrictions and Healthcare-Associated Viral Respiratory Infections: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Authors: Forkpa Hawa , Rupp Angela H , Shulman Stanford T , Patel Sameer J , Gray Elizabeth L , Zheng Xiaotian , Bovee Maria , Kociolek Larry K
Published: March 2019

We investigated the effect of annual winter visitor restrictions on hospital respiratory virus transmission. The healthcare-associated (HA) viral respiratory infection (VRI) transmission index (number of HA VRIs per 100 inpatient community-associated VRIs) was 59% lower during the months in which visitor restrictions were implemented. These data prompt consideration for instituting year-round visitor restrictions.
Maize glossy6 is involved in cuticular wax deposition and drought tolerance
Authors: Li Li , Du Yicong , He Cheng , Dietrich Charles R , Li Jiankun , Ma Xiaoli , Wang Rui , Liu Qiang , Liu Sanzhen , Wang Guoying , Schnable Patrick S , Zheng Jun
Published: March 2019

Cuticular waxes, long-chain hydrocarbon compounds, form the outermost layer of plant surfaces in most terrestrial plants. The presence of cuticular waxes protects plants from water loss and other environmental stresses. Cloning and characterization of genes involved in the regulation, biosynthesis, and extracellular transport of cuticular waxes onto the surface of epidermal cells have revealed the molecular basis of cuticular wax accumulation. However, intracellular trafficking of synthesized waxes to the plasma membrane for cellular secretion is poorly understood. Here, we characterized a maize glossy (gl6) mutant that exhibited decreased epicuticular wax load, increased cuticle permeability, and reduced seedling drought tolerance relative to wild-type. We combined an RNA-sequencing-based mapping approach (BSR-Seq) and chromosome walking to identify the gl6 candidate gene, which was confirmed via the analysis of multiple independent mutant alleles. The gl6 gene represents a novel maize glossy gene containing a conserved, but uncharacterized, DUF538 domain. This study suggests that the GL6 protein may be involved in the intracellular trafficking of cuticular waxes, opening the door to elucidating the poorly understood process by which cuticular wax is transported from its site of biosynthesis to the plasma membrane.
Prospective Investigation of an Automated PCR/Nucleic Acid Microarray-Based Platform for Enteric Pathogen Testing
Authors: Beckman Amy K , Ferrieri Patricia
Published: March 2019

Background

The Verigene Enteric Pathogens Test (Luminex Corporation) is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/nucleic acid microarray-based assay targeting 8 bacterial and viral pathogens that cause diarrhea.

Objective

To compare traditional enteric culture methods with stool testing by Verigene EP (PCR/microarray).

Methods

Tests were performed using PCR/microarray between February and August 2016. All specimens also underwent culture for Salmonella and Shigella; specimens that tested positive for bacterial pathogen(s) had confirmatory cultures.

Results

Valid results were obtained for 99.3% of the 3795 stool specimens. Among these, 497 (13.2%) specimens tested positive for at least 1 pathogen by PCR/microarray; 45.5% of these tested positive for 1 or more bacterial pathogens. Agreement between positive bacterial PCR/microarray results and culture-based testing was 85.3%. Compared with cultures, PCR/microarray demonstrated 95.2% and 87.5% sensitivity and 99.8% and 99.8% specificity for Salmonella and Shigella, respectively.

Conclusions

The Verigene EP generated evaluable results for most stool specimens tested and demonstrated good agreement with bacterial cultures.
EZHIP/CXorf67 mimics K27M mutated oncohistones and functions as an intrinsic inhibitor of PRC2 function in aggressive posterior fossa ependymoma
Authors: Hübner Jens-Martin , Müller Torsten , Papageorgiou Dimitris N , Mauermann Monika , Krijgsveld Jeroen , Russell Robert B , Ellison David W , Pfister Stefan M , Pajtler Kristian W , Kool Marcel
Published: March 2019

Background

Posterior fossa A (PFA) ependymomas are one of 9 molecular groups of ependymoma. PFA tumors are mainly diagnosed in infants and young children, show a poor prognosis, and are characterized by a lack of the repressive histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) mark. Recently, we reported overexpression of chromosome X open reading frame 67 (CXorf67) as a hallmark of PFA ependymoma and showed that CXorf67 can interact with enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), thereby inhibiting polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), but the mechanism of action remained unclear.

Methods

We performed mass spectrometry and peptide modeling analyses to identify the functional domain of CXorf67 responsible for binding and inhibition of EZH2. Our findings were validated by immunocytochemistry, western blot, and methyltransferase assays.

Results

We find that the inhibitory mechanism of CXorf67 is similar to diffuse midline gliomas harboring H3K27M mutations. A small, highly conserved peptide sequence located in the C-terminal region of CXorf67 mimics the sequence of K27M mutated histones and binds to the SET domain (Su(var)3-9/enhancer-of-zeste/trithorax) of EZH2. This interaction blocks EZH2 methyltransferase activity and inhibits PRC2 function, causing de-repression of PRC2 target genes, including genes involved in neurodevelopment.

Conclusions

Expression of CXorf67 is an oncogenic mechanism that drives H3K27 hypomethylation in PFA tumors by mimicking K27M mutated histones. Disrupting the interaction between CXorf67 and EZH2 may serve as a novel targeted therapy for PFA tumors but also for other tumors that overexpress CXorf67. Based on its function, we have renamed CXorf67 as “EZH Inhibitory Protein” (EZHIP).
Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders
Authors: Leung Janny H.C.
Published: March 2019

This book offers a critical perspective to the proliferation of official multilingualism in the contemporary world. Through diachronic and synchronic comparisons, it shows that official multilingualism has become a norm in the political management of linguistic diversity, but actual practices vary according to sociohistorical contexts and current power dynamics. It explains such convergences and divergences using a theory of symbolic jurisprudence, which posits that official language law has served chiefly as a discursive resource for a range of political and economic functions, such as ensuring stability, establishing legitimacy, balancing rival powers, and harnessing trade opportunities. The book goes on to examine the practical impact of official multilingualism on public institutions and legal processes and the application of linguistic equality—frequently asserted in multilingual polities—on the ground. The study shows that serious pursuit of linguistic equality calls for elaborate administrative effort in public institutions and carries a potential to clash with existing legal practices (from legal drafting and interpretation, to language rights in trial proceedings). However, such changes—however extensive—hardly ever disrupt the status quo. The book further argues that linguistic equality as proclaimed and practiced in many polities today is shallow in character, and must not be confused with popular conceptions of equality. The book concludes that both symbolic jurisprudence and shallow equality are components of a policy of strategic pluralism that underlies official multilingualism. Although official multilingualism can legitimately be used to pursue collective goals, it runs the underlying risks of disguising substantive inequalities and displacing more progressive efforts in social change.
Tracing Linguistic Management through Time
Authors: Leung Janny H.C.
Published: March 2019

This chapter offers a historical account of how polities have operated in a linguistically diverse society. Although societal multilingualism has been commonplace throughout human civilization, official multilingualism is clearly a modern phenomenon. However, whether the use of a language is mandated by policy or law, or is a matter of convention, polities have always had to deal with linguistic diversity. Therefore, instead of comparing the language(s) that receive official recognition, the chapter uses law as a site to examine the internal language practice of a polity in different historical periods. The account shows that official multilingualism today, encapsulating contemporary ethics and politics, has characteristics that distinguish it from treaded paths of linguistic management.
How Official Multilingualism Works
Authors: Leung Janny H.C.
Published: March 2019

This chapter spells out major sociopolitical forces that have contributed to the widespread adoption of official multilingualism, and offers an explanation of how official multilingualism works through law. Jurisdictions that adopt multilingual law are primarily driven by pragmatic rather than normative forces. Official language law can perform a plethora of instrumental functions because such law works chiefly through its symbolic power. This discursive reading of law is contrary to the dominant, positivist view of law as command of a sovereign backed by force. Although symbolism is sometimes defined in opposition to what is real or substantive, law that works through symbolism is not necessarily empty in content or limited in impact. In fact, its semiotic flexibility has allowed it to be used to pursue a wide range of instrumental goals, which consist mostly of political and economic capital.
The Truth to Be Found in Death
Authors: Muehlberger Ellen
Published: March 2019

The first chapter examines how early fourth-century histories dealt with the insecurity of Christianity’s place in the empire by portraying emperors dying well or dying badly. This literary trope was a tool that argued that bodies were a signal of an alternate, but ultimately correct, narrative of the immediate past, one in which the success of Christianity was both inevitable and unmistakable. This way of mediating the past introduced a relationship between bodily suffering at death and divine displeasure, a concept that took root in the construction of heresiology and orthodoxy; the latter part of the chapter considers stories about heretics who die badly and notes how, associating what they saw as the filth of heresy with the filth of the dying body, Christian writers developed a vocabulary that equated a difficult death with moral stain.
Training for Death
Authors: Muehlberger Ellen
Published: March 2019

This chapter explains how the experience of death became a topic for so many Christians from so many different areas of the ancient world simultaneously, and why they all seemed to approach it in the same, peculiar way. All the Christian writers whose work is considered in this book had a common educational background, not in the church but in the rhetorical classrooms that formed elite men for public leadership. Often, the rhetorical training they received along with non-Christian contemporaries is seen as contentless, a rote memorization of styles and forms. This chapter calls that assumption into question by demonstrating how one rhetorical exercise—speech in character—created a pattern of speaking about and thinking about tragic circumstances. Its method of dealing with time, its emphasis on the reversal of fortune, and its focus on the regret of the person at the center of a tragedy all became fundamental to how Christians imagined the moment of reckoning.
What Remains?
Authors: Muehlberger Ellen
Published: March 2019

Chapter 4 considers the wealth of images of death as a fund of Christian thinking about the nature of humanity and argues that by putting more effort toward imagining death, Christians invented a new stage of human experience: the postmortal. While some early Christian literature speaks formally of death as the moment of separation between an eternal soul and a mortal body, the picture that emerges from the evidence in this book is far more complex. What remained was not just a soul, or a mind, but was often also a body that received physical punishment. The chapter argues that in the Christian imagination about death we can access an informal anthropology that stands at odds with formal theological teachings about humanity from late antiquity. Once established, thinking about death as a moment of reckoning shifted how Christians thought of a person and his life.
Considering Compulsion in Late Ancient Christianity
Authors: Muehlberger Ellen
Published: March 2019

At the opening of the fifth century, Christian writers advocated explicitly for using force or the threat of force to produce allegiance among Christians. In this chapter the author disaggregates this act, compulsion, from the other kinds of violence in late antiquity that have drawn the attention of scholars. She then examines the most influential statements made in defense of compulsion, taking her bearings primarily from Augustine’s letters, to show how Christian reasoning about the propriety of compulsion depends directly on there being a vividly imagined and universally expected postmortal. In the latter part of the chapter, the author explains how the chronology for human life that includes the postmortal allowed Augustine to shift ethical questions about the act of compulsion onto more favorable ground. The shift to surrogated thinking persisted in Christian considerations of compulsion, and at the end of the chapter, the author reflects on the lasting effects of this approach.
Introduction
Authors: Barkin J. Samuel , Sjoberg Laura
Published: March 2019

This chapter sets up an identity crisis in International Relations theorizing as the context for the currently complicated relationship between constructivism and critical theorizing, both in disciplinary International Relations–centered theory discussions and in empirical research about global politics. It argues that in the face of a proliferation of theoretical perspectives and increasing uncertainty about the nature of the world of global politics “out there,” there has been a tendency of theorists outside the “neo-neo synthesis” of realisms and liberalisms to consolidate their work into another synthesis, one between constructivist and critical International Relations. The chapter makes the preliminary case that constructivism and critical theory should be seen as orthogonal rather than complementary, and that the two should be seen as sets of tools for research and argumentation, rather than as paradigmatic unities. Finally, the chapter introduces the idea of affordances as a way of thinking about what the two can do well.
The European Polarization of Income Distributions
Authors: Beckfield Jason
Published: March 2019

The stratification of Europe combines two trends: the economic convergence among European economies and the within-nation polarization of the distribution of household income. This chapter examines the combination of these trends to describe the new structure of European stratification, and it analyzes what role European integration has played in these changes. Using fixed-effects models that simulate control for unmeasured but stable between-country differences in the drivers of income inequality over the 1973–2013 period, it extrapolates predictions from those models and compares these to data on income inequality from Waves V and VI of the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), circa 2000–2010, and Eurostat, circa 2008–2012. It then uses individual-level data from the LIS and Eurostat to calculate the level of total income inequality in Europe and the changing contribution of between- and within-nation income inequality to the total.
Conclusion
Authors: Beckfield Jason
Published: March 2019

This concluding chapter summarizes the book’s main findings, details the limitations of the research, and elaborates the implications of the argument for the social science of stratification, as well as for the political questions of where Europe goes from here. It begins with an analysis of the recent recession through the lens of unequal Europe. It then evaluates three counterfactual scenarios. The first is Global Europe: what if Europe globalized instead of regionalized? The second is Economic Europe: what if Europe integrated economically without integrating politically? The third is Social Europe: what if the technocratic capitalist turn had failed to dominate European-level policy and jurisprudence in the 1980s?
Meet the Food Radicals
Authors: Norwood F. Bailey , Mix Tamara L.
Published: March 2019

They are twenty-seven persons changing how we farm, how the food system operates, and how we eat. No two are the same, but all are far from ordinary. Some want to change how we farm to make it more sustainable, while others want to transform the food system in the name of social justice. Some seek to alter what we eat, while others want to change how and where we eat. They include regular farmers, but also farmers growing food without the sun or soil. They include architects, molecular biologists, Black Lives Matter activists, anarchists, undercover animal rights investigators, big farmers, small farmers, martial arts instructors, and more. Join us at the table to dine with twenty-seven food radicals—and see the world of food as you have rarely seen it before.
Introduction
Authors: Norwood F. Bailey , Mix Tamara L.
Published: March 2019

Describing someone as a food “radical” can imply many different things. It can suggest the person has unusual ideas, or it can mean that he or she is awesome in some way. The Latin ancestor of the word “radical” suggests the person is someone attempting to get at the “root” of a food problem. Many individuals seek to improve the food system. Most are radical in various ways. All are creative, unconventional, brave, and compassionate people. While they do not all agree on solutions, they do agree on the need for a better food system, and one can learn something from all of them.
The Farm
Authors: Norwood F. Bailey , Mix Tamara L.
Published: March 2019

Agriculture is experiencing radical changes. Farmers are learning to produce crops without tilling the soil, robots are becoming farmhands, and companies are raising crops without sunlight or soil. Though these changes are revolutionary, some believe we have not gone far enough. While pesticides allow farmers to prevent soil erosion, some argue agroecological methods can prevent erosion without pesticides, through the use of polycultures, green manures, and other techniques used in organic agriculture. Livestock agriculture is also being challenged on animal welfare and environmental grounds, so much so that some individuals conduct undercover investigations of livestock farms, and companies are investing large amounts of money to create meat substitutes. The possibilities afforded by genetic engineering are enormous, and while some see the technology as a key component of sustainability, others see it as a threat. While individuals may share similar goals for improving the food system, their preferred methods often differ.
Resilience, Transitions, and Youth Leaving Care
Authors: Gilligan Robbie
Published: March 2019

This chapter discusses resilience in the lives of care leavers. Youth transitions can be especially challenging for young adults who face major adversity in their lives as they negotiate early encounters with adult life. One such group is young people leaving out-of-home care at the official age, in many jurisdictions, of 18 years. Young people leaving care often do not have the luxury of extending the timing of their transitions, as may be the case for their peers not in care; circumstances force them to make early transitions and, typically, without the level of support their more fortunate peers may be able to call on. Yet many young adults leaving care do quite well; they manage to display resilience. They find resources in their social ecology which help them to manage the process of their transitions. This chapter explores the background to such displays of resilience and how former caregivers and other concerned adults may help to stimulate and sustain such resilience. It also argues that support from concerned adults in arenas such as education and work may be especially helpful in promoting resilience to adversity among youth transitioning to adulthood from care.