bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Discussion of Sanford Schram’s The Return of Ordinary Capitalism: Neoliberalism, Precarity, Occupy
Authors: Burgess Katrina
Published: June 2016

Sanford Schram’s The Return of Ordinary Capitalism: Neoliberalism, Precarity, Occupy (Oxford University Press, 2015) is an ambitious effort to link together three important political realities of our time: the rise of new forms of neoliberal governance, the associated rise of new forms of social and economic insecurity, and the recent development of organized forms of political resistance symbolized by the figure of “Occupy.” The argument is relevant to all subfields of political science. And so we have invited a range of experts across the discipline to comment on the book and on the broader question the book poses: Are we confronting a new form of capitalism that engenders new forms of politics, and if so, what does this mean for political science?
A Discussion of Sanford Schram’s The Return of Ordinary Capitalism: Neoliberalism, Precarity, Occupy
Authors: Sawyer Mark
Published: June 2016

Sanford Schram’s The Return of Ordinary Capitalism: Neoliberalism, Precarity, Occupy (Oxford University Press, 2015) is an ambitious effort to link together three important political realities of our time: the rise of new forms of neoliberal governance, the associated rise of new forms of social and economic insecurity, and the recent development of organized forms of political resistance symbolized by the figure of “Occupy.” The argument is relevant to all subfields of political science. And so we have invited a range of experts across the discipline to comment on the book and on the broader question the book poses: Are we confronting a new form of capitalism that engenders new forms of politics, and if so, what does this mean for political science?
A Discussion of Suzanne Mettler’s Degrees of Inequality: How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream
Authors: Kaufman-Osborn Timothy
Published: June 2016

The discipline of political science in the United States evolved in tandem with the development of democratic education and the modern university system. Since the early years of the twentieth century, political science has been an academic discipline housed in universities and colleges, and most political scientists earn their living as university or college teachers. And yet as individual academics or as a discipline, we rarely stand back from our institutional environment and ask hard questions about what is happening with higher education and what this means for the practice of political science. Suzanne Mettler does precisely this in Degrees of Inequality: How Higher Education Politics Sabotaged the American Dream. And so we have invited a range of political science scholars, many with extensive experience as university leaders, to comment on her book and its implications for the future of political science.
Women on Corporate Boards: A Comparison of Parliamentary Discourse in the United Kingdom and France
Authors: Chandler Andrea
Published: June 2016

In 2013 the European Commission presented a draft directive calling for member states to increase the presence of women on corporate boards. Some countries, such as France, have taken a quota approach by passing legislation requiring corporations to increase the numbers of women on their boards over time, while the governments of other states, such as the United Kingdom, have preferred measures to encourage corporations to have more inclusive boards. While there is a growing literature on the impact that an increased presence of women can have on corporate boards, as well as a solid feminist literature on the role of quotas in political structures, there has been relatively little attention to the specific ways in which political actors have viewed the question of women on corporate boards. This article compares the ways in which quotas for women in corporate boards have been examined by the legislatures of the United Kingdom and France, with attention also to parliamentary debates in Canada and Russia. It is hypothesized that variations in political discourse help explain why conservative governments adopted such different approaches toward gender balance on corporate boards.
Food contaminants and programming of type 2 diabetes: recent findings from animal studies
Authors: Firmin S. , Bahi-Jaber N. , Abdennebi-Najar L.
Published: June 2016

It is now accepted that the way our health evolves with aging is intimately linked to the quality of our early life. The present review highlights the emerging data of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease field on developmental disruption by toxicants and their subsequent effect on type 2 diabetes. We report adverse neonatal effects of several food contaminants during pregnancy and lactation, among them bisphenol A, chlorpyrifos, perfluorinated chemicals on pancreas integrity and functionality in later life. The described alterations, in conjunction with disruption of β cell mass in early life, can lead to dysregulation of glucose metabolism, insulin synthesis, which facilitates the development of insulin resistance and progression of diabetes in the adult. Despite limited and often inconclusive epidemiologic and experimental data, more recent data clearly show that infants appear to be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes in later life. This may be a result of continued exposure to chemical food contaminants during the critical window of pancreas development. In societies already burdened with increased incidence of non-communicable chronic diseases, there is a clear need for information regarding the potential harmful effects of chemical food contaminants on adult health diseases.
Variation and Heritability in Hair Diameter and Curvature in an Australian Twin Sample
Authors: Ho Yvonne Y. W. , Brims Mark , McNevin Dennis , Spector Timothy D. , Martin Nicholas G. , Medland Sarah E.
Published: June 2016

Hair diameter and curvature are two characteristics of human scalp hair used in forensic contexts. While previous data show that subjective categorization of hair curvature is highly heritable, the heritability of objectively measured curvature and diameter, and variability of hair characteristics within each individual have not yet been studied. The present study measured hair diameter and curvature using an optical fiber diameter analyzer in a sample of 2,332 twins and siblings. Heritability was estimated using maximum likelihood structural equation modeling. Results show sex differences in the magnitude of genetic influence for mean diameter and curvature, with the vast majority of the variance accounted for by genetic effects in males (diameter = 86%, curvature = 53%) and females (diameter = 77%, curvature = 61%). The consistency of diameter (variance within an individual) was also highly heritable, but did not show sex limitation, with 68% of the variance accounted for by genetic factors. Moderate phenotypic correlations were seen between diameter and consistency (r = 0.3) but there was little correlation between diameter and curvature (r = -0.13). A bivariate Cholesky analysis was used to estimate the genetic and environmental correlations between hair diameter and consistency, yielding genetic correlations of rgF = 0.27 for females and rgM = 0.25 for males.
Sibling Sleep—What Can It Tell Us About Parental Sleep Reports in the Context of Autism?
Authors: Schwichtenberg A. J. , Hensle Tara , Honaker Sarah , Miller Meghan , Ozonoff Sally , Anders Thomas
Published: June 2016

Sleep problems are common in families raising children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Clinicians often depend on parent reports of child sleep but minimal research exists to address the accuracy or biases in these reports. To isolate parent-report accuracy (from differences in sleep behaviors), the sleep of younger siblings were assessed within a 2-group design. The present study compared parent diary reports of infant sibling sleep to videosomnography and actigraphy. In the high-risk group, families had at least 1 child with ASD and a younger sibling ( n = 33). The low-risk comparison group had no family history of ASD ( n = 42). We confirmed comparable sleep behaviors between the groups and used paired t tests, two 1-sided tests (TOST), and Bland-Altman plots to assess parent-report accuracy. The parameters of sleep onset, nighttime sleep duration, awakenings, morning rise time, and daytime sleep duration were evaluated. Diary and videosomnography estimates were comparable for nighttime sleep duration, morning rise time, and awakenings for both groups. Diary and actigraph estimates were less comparable for both groups. Daytime sleep duration estimates had the largest discrepancy with both groups reporting (on average) 40 additional minutes of sleep when compared to actigraphy estimates. In the present study, families raising children with ASD were just as accurate as other families when reporting infant sleep behaviors. Our findings have direct clinical implications and support the use of parent nighttime sleep reports.
Parents’ Experiences of Psychoeducational Sleep Management Interventions: A Qualitative Study of Parents of Children With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
Authors: Beresford Bryony , Stuttard Lucy , Clarke Susan , Maddison Jane
Published: June 2016

Psychoeducational approaches to managing behavioral sleep problems in children with neurodisabilities are directed at the parent, increasing their knowledge and understanding of sleep and requiring them to change the way they manage sleep disturbance. Given parental engagement with and adherence to an intervention are critical to its success, it is important we understand parents’ experiences of participating in interventions of this nature. It is surprising therefore that, to date, research in this area is extremely limited. This article reports the findings from a qualitative study of 35 parents who had received a psychoeducational sleep management intervention (SMI) delivered through 1 of the following modes: a half-day workshop ( n = 8); a 4-session group-delivered intervention ( n = 15); or 1-to-1 work with a specialist sleep practitioner ( n = 12). The study was part of a larger program of work evaluating SMIs for children with developmental disorders, autistic spectrum conditions, or both. Purposeful sampling was used to represent intervention outcome, child’s diagnosis, parents’ education, and partner involvement in the intervention. Focus groups and individual interviews were used to gather data. The data were subject to a thematic analysis in relation to (a) parents’ descriptions of the processes by which a SMI leads to improvements in their child’s sleep; (b) parents’ views of the factors which hinder the achievement of positive intervention outcomes; and (c) parents’ views on intervention intensity and mode of delivery. The implications of the findings in terms of the design, content, and delivery of such interventions are discussed.
The Development of a Clinically Relevant Sleep Modification Protocol for Youth With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Perfect Michelle M. , Beebe Dean W. , Levine-Donnerstein Deborah , Frye Sara S. , Bluez Grai P. , Quan Stuart F.
Published: June 2016

Findings from Type 2 diabetes research has indicated that sleep is both a predictor of onset and a correlate of disease progression. However, the role that sleep plays in glucose regulation and daytime functioning in youth with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has not been systematically investigated. Nonetheless, preliminary findings have supported that various sleep parameters are strongly correlated to health-related and neurobehavioral outcomes in youth with T1DM. This suggests that improving sleep might reduce morbidity. A critical step in developing evidence-based guidelines regarding sleep in diabetes management is to first determine that sleep modification in natural settings is possible (i.e., instructing youth to have a healthy sleep opportunity leads to more total sleep time) and that an increased sleep duration impacts disease and psychosocial outcomes in these youth. This article describes the background, design, and feasibility of an ongoing randomized clinical trial that aims to examine if increasing sleep relative to youth’s own sleep routines affects glucose control and daytime functioning.
Long noncoding RNA NRON contributes to HIV-1 latency by specifically inducing tat protein degradation
Authors: Li Jun , Chen Cancan , Ma Xiancai , Geng Guannan , Liu Bingfeng , Zhang Yijun , Zhang Shaoyang , Zhong Fudi , Liu Chao , Yin Yue , Cai Weiping , Zhang Hui
Published: June 2016

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play multiple key regulatory roles in various cellular pathways. However, their functions in HIV-1 latent infection remain largely unknown. Here we show that a lncRNA named NRON, which is highly expressed in resting CD4+ T lymphocytes, could be involved in HIV-1 latency by specifically inducing Tat protein degradation. Our results suggest that NRON lncRNA potently suppresses the viral transcription by decreasing the cellular abundance of viral transactivator protein Tat. NRON directly links Tat to the ubiquitin/proteasome components including CUL4B and PSMD11, thus facilitating Tat degradation. Depletion of NRON, especially in combination with a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, significantly reactivates the viral production from the HIV-1-latently infected primary CD4+ T lymphocytes. Our data indicate that lncRNAs play a role in HIV-1 latency and their manipulation could be a novel approach for developing latency-reversing agents.
Discovery of relict subglacial lakes and their geometry and mechanism of drainage
Authors: Livingstone Stephen J. , Utting Daniel J. , Ruffell Alastair , Clark Chris D. , Pawley Steven , Atkinson Nigel , Fowler Andrew C.
Published: June 2016

Recent proxy measurements reveal that subglacial lakes beneath modern ice sheets periodically store and release large volumes of water, providing an important but poorly understood influence on contemporary ice dynamics and mass balance. This is because direct observations of how lake drainage initiates and proceeds are lacking. Here we present physical evidence of the mechanism and geometry of lake drainage from the discovery of relict subglacial lakes formed during the last glaciation in Canada. These palaeo-subglacial lakes comprised shallow (<10 m) lenses of water perched behind ridges orientated transverse to ice flow. We show that lakes periodically drained through channels incised into bed substrate (canals). Canals sometimes trend into eskers that represent the depositional imprint of the last high-magnitude lake outburst. The subglacial lakes and channels are preserved on top of glacial lineations, indicating long-term re-organization of the subglacial drainage system and coupling to ice flow.
An experimental test of noncontextuality without unphysical idealizations
Authors: Mazurek Michael D. , Pusey Matthew F. , Kunjwal Ravi , Resch Kevin J. , Spekkens Robert W.
Published: June 2016

To make precise the sense in which nature fails to respect classical physics, one requires a formal notion of classicality. Ideally, such a notion should be defined operationally, so that it can be subject to direct experimental test, and it should be applicable in a wide variety of experimental scenarios so that it can cover the breadth of phenomena thought to defy classical understanding. Bell’s notion of local causality fulfils the first criterion but not the second. The notion of noncontextuality fulfils the second criterion, but it is a long-standing question whether it can be made to fulfil the first. Previous attempts to test noncontextuality have all assumed idealizations that real experiments cannot achieve, namely noiseless measurements and exact operational equivalences. Here we show how to devise tests that are free of these idealizations. We perform a photonic implementation of one such test, ruling out noncontextual models with high confidence.
Stabilizing lithium metal using ionic liquids for long-lived batteries
Authors: Basile A. , Bhatt A. I. , O’Mullane A. P.
Published: June 2016

Suppressing dendrite formation at lithium metal anodes during cycling is critical for the implementation of future lithium metal-based battery technology. Here we report that it can be achieved via the facile process of immersing the electrodes in ionic liquid electrolytes for a period of time before battery assembly. This creates a durable and lithium ion-permeable solid–electrolyte interphase that allows safe charge–discharge cycling of commercially applicable Li|electrolyte|LiFePO4 batteries for 1,000 cycles with Coulombic efficiencies >99.5%. The tailored solid–electrolyte interphase is prepared using a variety of electrolytes based on the N-propyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide room temperature ionic liquid containing lithium salts. The formation is both time- and lithium salt-dependant, showing dynamic morphology changes, which when optimized prevent dendrite formation and consumption of electrolyte during cycling. This work illustrates that a simple, effective and industrially applicable lithium metal pretreatment process results in a commercially viable cycle life for a lithium metal battery.
The social contingency of momentary subjective well-being
Authors: Rutledge Robb B. , de Berker Archy O. , Espenhahn Svenja , Dayan Peter , Dolan Raymond J.
Published: June 2016

Although social comparison is a known determinant of overall life satisfaction, it is not clear how it affects moment-to-moment variation in subjective emotional state. Using a novel social decision task combined with computational modelling, we show that a participant’s subjective emotional state reflects not only the impact of rewards they themselves receive, but also the rewards received by a social partner. Unequal outcomes, whether advantageous or disadvantageous, reduce average momentary happiness. Furthermore, the relative impacts of advantageous and disadvantageous inequality on momentary happiness at the individual level predict a subject’s generosity in a separate dictator game. These findings demonstrate a powerful social influence upon subjective emotional state, where emotional reactivity to inequality is strongly predictive of altruism in an independent task domain.
Cross-membranes orchestrate compartmentalization and morphogenesis in Streptomyces
Authors: Celler Katherine , Koning Roman I. , Willemse Joost , Koster Abraham J. , van Wezel Gilles P.
Published: June 2016

Far from being simple unicellular entities, bacteria have complex social behaviour and organization, living in large populations, and some even as coherent, multicellular entities. The filamentous streptomycetes epitomize such multicellularity, growing as a syncytial mycelium with physiologically distinct hyphal compartments separated by infrequent cross-walls. The viability of mutants devoid of cell division, which can be propagated from fragments, suggests the presence of a different form of compartmentalization in the mycelium. Here we show that complex membranes, visualized by cryo-correlative light microscopy and electron tomography, fulfil this role. Membranes form small assemblies between the cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane, or, as evidenced by FRAP experiments, large protein-impermeable cross-membrane structures, which compartmentalize the multinucleoid mycelium. All areas containing cross-membrane structures are nucleoid-restricted zones, suggesting that the membrane assemblies may also act to protect nucleoids from cell-wall restructuring events. Our work reveals a novel mechanism of controlling compartmentalization and development in multicellular bacteria.
Spatial niche formation but not malignant progression is a driving force for intratumoural heterogeneity
Authors: Hoefflin Rouven , Lahrmann Bernd , Warsow Gregor , Hübschmann Daniel , Spath Cathleen , Walter Britta , Chen Xin , Hofer Luisa , Macher-Goeppinger Stephan , Tolstov Yanis , Korzeniewski Nina , Duensing Anette , Grüllich Carsten , Jäger Dirk , Perner Sven , Schönberg Gita , Nyarangi-Dix Joanne , Isaac Sanjay , Hatiboglu Gencay , Teber Dogu , Hadaschik Boris , Pahernik Sascha , Roth Wilfried , Eils Roland , Schlesner Matthias , Sültmann Holger , Hohenfellner Markus , Grabe Niels , Duensing Stefan
Published: June 2016

Intratumoural heterogeneity (ITH) is a major cause of cancer-associated lethality. Extensive genomic ITH has previously been reported in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Here we address the question whether ITH increases with malignant progression and can hence be exploited as a prognostic marker. Unexpectedly, precision quantitative image analysis reveals that the degree of functional ITH is virtually identical between primary ccRCCs of the lowest stage and advanced, metastatic tumours. Functional ITH was found to show a stage-independent topological pattern with peak proliferative and signalling activities almost exclusively in the tumour periphery. Exome sequencing of matching peripheral and central primary tumour specimens reveals various region-specific mutations. However, these mutations cannot directly explain the zonal pattern suggesting a role of microenvironmental factors in shaping functional ITH. In conclusion, our results indicate that ITH is an early and general characteristic of malignant growth rather than a consequence of malignant progression.
Extensive local adaptation within the chemosensory system following Drosophila melanogaster’s global expansion
Authors: Arguello J. Roman , Cardoso-Moreira Margarida , Grenier Jennifer K. , Gottipati Srikanth , Clark Andrew G. , Benton Richard
Published: June 2016

How organisms adapt to new environments is of fundamental biological interest, but poorly understood at the genetic level. Chemosensory systems provide attractive models to address this problem, because they lie between external environmental signals and internal physiological responses. To investigate how selection has shaped the well-characterized chemosensory system of Drosophila melanogaster, we have analysed genome-wide data from five diverse populations. By couching population genomic analyses of chemosensory protein families within parallel analyses of other large families, we demonstrate that chemosensory proteins are not outliers for adaptive divergence between species. However, chemosensory families often display the strongest genome-wide signals of recent selection within D. melanogaster. We show that recent adaptation has operated almost exclusively on standing variation, and that patterns of adaptive mutations predict diverse effects on protein function. Finally, we provide evidence that chemosensory proteins have experienced relaxed constraint, and argue that this has been important for their rapid adaptation over short timescales.
Mesoscale atmosphere ocean coupling enhances the transfer of wind energy into the ocean
Authors: Byrne D. , Münnich M. , Frenger I. , Gruber N.
Published: June 2016

Although it is well established that the large-scale wind drives much of the world’s ocean circulation, the contribution of the wind energy input at mesoscales (10–200 km) remains poorly known. Here we use regional simulations with a coupled high-resolution atmosphere–ocean model of the South Atlantic, to show that mesoscale ocean features and, in particular, eddies can be energized by their thermodynamic interactions with the atmosphere. Owing to their sea-surface temperature anomalies affecting the wind field above them, the oceanic eddies in the presence of a large-scale wind gradient provide a mesoscale conduit for the transfer of energy into the ocean. Our simulations show that this pathway is responsible for up to 10% of the kinetic energy of the oceanic mesoscale eddy field in the South Atlantic. The conditions for this pathway to inject energy directly into the mesoscale prevail over much of the Southern Ocean north of the Polar Front.
Loss of OLFM4 promotes tumor migration through inducing interleukin-8 expression and predicts lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer
Authors: Zhao J , Shu P , Duan F , Wang X , Min L , Shen Z , Ruan Y , Qin J , Sun Y , Qin X
Published: June 2016

Endoscopic surgery is increasingly used for early gastric cancer (EGC) treatment worldwide, and lymph node metastasis remains the most important risk factor for endoscopic surgery in EGC patients. Olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4) is mainly expressed in the digestive system and upregulated in several types of tumors. However, the role of OLFM4 in EGC has not been explored. We evaluated OLFM4 expression by immunohistochemical staining in 105 patients with EGC who underwent gastrectomy. The clinicopathological factors and OLFM4 expression were co-analyzed to predict lymph node metastasis in EGC. The metastatic mechanism of OLFM4 in gastric cancer was also investigated. We found that OLFM4 was upregulated in EGC tumor sections, and relatively low expression of OLFM4 was observed in patients with lymph node metastasis. OLFM4 expression as well as tumor size and differentiation were identified as independent factors, which could be co-analyzed to generate a better model for predicting lymph node metastasis in EGC patients. In vitro studies revealed that knockdown of OLFM4 promoted the migration of gastric cancer cells through activating the NF-κB/interleukin-8 axis. Negative correlation between OLFM4 and interleukin-8 expression was also observed in EGC tumor samples. Our study implies that OLFM4 expression is a potential predictor of lymph node metastasis in EGC, and combing OLFM4 with tumor size and differentiation could better stratify EGC patients with different risks of lymph node metastasis.
A Disposable paper breathalyzer with an alcohol sensing organic electrochemical transistor
Authors: Bihar Eloїse , Deng Yingxin , Miyake Takeo , Saadaoui Mohamed , Malliaras George G. , Rolandi Marco
Published: June 2016

Breathalyzers estimate Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) from the concentration of ethanol in the breath. Breathalyzers are easy to use but are limited either by their high price and by environmental concerns, or by a short lifetime and the need for continuous recalibration. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept disposable breathalyzer using an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) modified with alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) as the sensor. The OECT is made with the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and is printed on paper. ADH and its cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) are immobilized onto the OECT with an electrolyte gel. When the OECT-breathalyzer is exposed to ethanol vapor, the enzymatic reaction of ADH and ethanol transforms NAD+ into NADH, which causes a decrease in the OECT source drain current. In this fashion, the OECT-breathalyzer easily detects ethanol in the breath equivalent to BAC from 0.01% to 0.2%. The use of a printed OECT may contribute to the development of breathalyzers that are disposable, ecofriendly and integrated with wearable devices for real-time BAC monitoring.
Compressed Sensing Electron Tomography for Determining Biological Structure
Authors: Guay Matthew D. , Czaja Wojciech , Aronova Maria A. , Leapman Richard D.
Published: June 2016

There has been growing interest in applying compressed sensing (CS) theory and practice to reconstruct 3D volumes at the nanoscale from electron tomography datasets of inorganic materials, based on known sparsity in the structure of interest. Here we explore the application of CS for visualizing the 3D structure of biological specimens from tomographic tilt series acquired in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). CS-ET reconstructions match or outperform commonly used alternative methods in full and undersampled tomogram recovery, but with less significant performance gains than observed for the imaging of inorganic materials. We propose that this disparity stems from the increased structural complexity of biological systems, as supported by theoretical CS sampling considerations and numerical results in simulated phantom datasets. A detailed analysis of the efficacy of CS-ET for undersampled recovery is therefore complicated by the structure of the object being imaged. The numerical nonlinear decoding process of CS shares strong connections with popular regularized least-squares methods and the use of such numerical recovery techniques for mitigating artifacts and denoising in reconstructions of fully sampled datasets remains advantageous. This article provides a link to the software that has been developed for CS-ET reconstruction of electron tomographic data sets.
A molecular determinant of phosphoinositide affinity in mammalian TRPV channels
Authors: Velisetty Phanindra , Borbiro Istvan , Kasimova Marina A. , Liu Luyu , Badheka Doreen , Carnevale Vincenzo , Rohacs Tibor
Published: June 2016

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] is an important cofactor for ion channels. Affinity for this lipid is a major determinant of channel inhibition by depletion of PI(4,5)P2 upon phospholipase C (PLC) activation. Little is known about what determines PI(4,5)P2 affinity in mammalian ion channels. Here we report that two members of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid (TRPV) ion channel family, TRPV5 and TRPV6 lack a positively charged residue in the TM4-TM5 loop that was shown to interact with PI(4,5)P2 in TRPV1, which shows high affinity for this lipid. When this positively charged residue was introduced to either TRPV6 or TRPV5, they displayed markedly higher affinities for PI(4,5)P2, and were largely resistant to inhibition by PI(4,5)P2 depletion. Furthermore, Ca2+-induced inactivation of TRPV6 was essentially eliminated in the G488R mutant, showing the importance of PLC-mediated PI(4,5)P2 depletion in this process. Computational modeling shows that the introduced positive charge interacts with PI(4,5)P2 in TRPV6.
Optically induced metal-to-dielectric transition in Epsilon-Near-Zero metamaterials
Authors: Kaipurath R. M. , Pietrzyk M. , Caspani L. , Roger T. , Clerici M. , Rizza C. , Ciattoni A. , Di Falco A. , Faccio D.
Published: June 2016

Epsilon-Near-Zero materials exhibit a transition in the real part of the dielectric permittivity from positive to negative value as a function of wavelength. Here we study metal-dielectric layered metamaterials in the homogenised regime (each layer has strongly subwavelength thickness) with zero real part of the permittivity in the near-infrared region. By optically pumping the metamaterial we experimentally show that close to the Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) wavelength the permittivity exhibits a marked transition from metallic (negative permittivity) to dielectric (positive permittivity) as a function of the optical power. Remarkably, this transition is linear as a function of pump power and occurs on time scales of the order of the 100 fs pump pulse that need not be tuned to a specific wavelength. The linearity of the permittivity increase allows us to express the response of the metamaterial in terms of a standard third order optical nonlinearity: this shows a clear inversion of the roles of the real and imaginary parts in crossing the ENZ wavelength, further supporting an optically induced change in the physical behaviour of the metamaterial.
Hollow Cone Electron Imaging for Single Particle 3D Reconstruction of Proteins
Authors: Tsai Chun-Ying , Chang Yuan-Chih , Lobato Ivan , Van Dyck Dirk , Chen Fu-Rong
Published: June 2016

The main bottlenecks for high-resolution biological imaging in electron microscopy are radiation sensitivity and low contrast. The phase contrast at low spatial frequencies can be enhanced by using a large defocus but this strongly reduces the resolution. Recently, phase plates have been developed to enhance the contrast at small defocus but electrical charging remains a problem. Single particle cryo-electron microscopy is mostly used to minimize the radiation damage and to enhance the resolution of the 3D reconstructions but it requires averaging images of a massive number of individual particles. Here we present a new route to achieve the same goals by hollow cone dark field imaging using thermal diffuse scattered electrons giving about a 4 times contrast increase as compared to bright field imaging. We demonstrate the 3D reconstruction of a stained GroEL particle can yield about 13.5 Å resolution but using a strongly reduced number of images.
Magnetization and magneto-transport staircaselike behavior in layered perovskite Sr2CoO4 at low temperature
Authors: Li Qiuhang , Yuan Xueping , Xing Lei , Xu Mingxiang
Published: June 2016

Polycrystalline layered perovskite Sr2CoO4 sample was synthesized by high temperature and high pressure method. The staircaselike behavior has been observed in the magnetization and resistivity versus field curves of Sr2CoO4 at low temperature. The main features of the steps can be obtained from the measured results: (i) the positions of the external magnetic field at which steps occur are varying in different measurement runs, (ii) the steps only appear at low temperature and disappear with a slight increase of the temperature, (iii) the steps are dependent on the temperature and field sweep rate. Based on the features of the magnetization and magneto-transport staircaselike behavior in Sr2CoO4, the unusual phenomenon can be ascribed to an avalanche of flipping domains in terms of the random field theory.
Topological states and phase transitions in Sb2Te3-GeTe multilayers
Authors: Nguyen Thuy-Anh , Backes Dirk , Singh Angadjit , Mansell Rhodri , Barnes Crispin , Ritchie David A. , Mussler Gregor , Lanius Martin , Grützmacher Detlev , Narayan Vijay
Published: June 2016

Topological insulators (TIs) are bulk insulators with exotic ‘topologically protected’ surface conducting modes. It has recently been pointed out that when stacked together, interactions between surface modes can induce diverse phases including the TI, Dirac semimetal, and Weyl semimetal. However, currently a full experimental understanding of the conditions under which topological modes interact is lacking. Here, working with multilayers of the TI Sb2Te3 and the band insulator GeTe, we provide experimental evidence of multiple topological modes in a single Sb2Te3-GeTe-Sb2Te3 structure. Furthermore, we show that reducing the thickness of the GeTe layer induces a phase transition from a Dirac-like phase to a gapped phase. By comparing different multilayer structures we demonstrate that this transition occurs due to the hybridisation of states associated with different TI films. Our results demonstrate that the Sb2Te3-GeTe system offers strong potential towards manipulating topological states as well as towards controlledly inducing various topological phases.
Sensitivity to Auditory Velocity Contrast
Authors: Locke Shannon M. , Leung Johahn , Carlile Simon
Published: June 2016

A natural auditory scene often contains sound moving at varying velocities. Using a velocity contrast paradigm, we compared sensitivity to velocity changes between continuous and discontinuous trajectories. Subjects compared the velocities of two stimulus intervals that moved along a single trajectory, with and without a 1 second inter stimulus interval (ISI). We found thresholds were threefold larger for velocity increases in the instantaneous velocity change condition, as compared to instantaneous velocity decreases or thresholds for the delayed velocity transition condition. This result cannot be explained by the current static “snapshot” model of auditory motion perception and suggest a continuous process where the percept of velocity is influenced by previous history of stimulation.
Ultrastructural analysis of the decellularized cornea after interlamellar keratoplasty and microkeratome-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty in a rabbit model
Authors: Hashimoto Yoshihide , Hattori Shinya , Sasaki Shuji , Honda Takako , Kimura Tsuyoshi , Funamoto Seiichi , Kobayashi Hisatoshi , Kishida Akio
Published: June 2016

The decellularized cornea has received considerable attention for use as an artificial cornea. The decellularized cornea is free from cellular components and other immunogens, but maintains the integrity of the extracellular matrix. However, the ultrastructure of the decellularized cornea has yet to be demonstrated in detail. We investigated the influence of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on the decellularization of the corneal ultrastructure and its involvement in transparency and assessed the in vivo behaviour of the decellularized cornea using two animal transplantation models, in relation to remodelling of collagen fibrils. Decellularized corneas were prepared by the HHP method. The decellularized corneas were executed by haematoxylin and eosin and Masson’s trichrome staining to demonstrate the complete removal of corneal cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the ultrastructure of the decellularized cornea prepared by the HHP method was better maintained than that of the decellularized cornea prepared by the detergent method. The decellularized cornea after interlamellar keratoplasty and microkeratome-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty using a rabbit model was stable and remained transparent without ultrastructural alterations. We conclude that the superior properties of the decellularized cornea prepared by the HHP method were attributed to the preservation of the corneal ultrastructure.
Presence of atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) genomes in newborn piglets correlates with congenital tremor
Authors: Postel Alexander , Hansmann Florian , Baechlein Christine , Fischer Nicole , Alawi Malik , Grundhoff Adam , Derking Sarah , Tenhündfeld Jörg , Pfankuche Vanessa Maria , Herder Vanessa , Baumgärtner Wolfgang , Wendt Michael , Becher Paul
Published: June 2016

Pestiviruses are highly variable RNA viruses belonging to the continuously growing family Flaviviridae. A genetically very distinct pestivirus was recently discovered in the USA, designated atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV). Here, a screening of 369 sera from apparently healthy adult pigs demonstrated the existence of APPV in Germany with an estimated individual prevalence of 2.4% and ~10% at farm level. Additionally, APPV genomes were detected in newborn piglets affected by congenital tremor (CT), but genomes were absent in unaffected piglets. High loads of genomes were identified in glandular epithelial cells, follicular centers of lymphoid organs, the inner granular cell layer of the cerebellum, as well as in the trigeminal and spinal ganglia. Retrospective analysis of cerebellum samples from 2007 demonstrated that APPV can be found in piglets with CT of unsolved aetiology. Determination of the first European APPV complete polyprotein coding sequence revealed 88.2% nucleotide identity to the APPV sequence from the USA. APPV sequences derived from different regions in Germany demonstrated to be highly variable. Taken together, the results of this study strongly suggest that the presence of APPV genomes in newborn piglets correlates with CT, while no association with clinical disease could be observed in viremic adult pigs.
Progression of Dementia Assessed by Temporal Correlations of Physical Activity: Results From a 3.5-Year, Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Hu Kun , Riemersma - van der Lek Rixt F. , Patxot Melissa , Li Peng , Shea Steven A. , Scheer Frank A. J. L. , Van Someren Eus J. W.
Published: June 2016

Cross-sectional studies show that activity fluctuations in healthy young adults possess robust temporal correlations that become altered with aging, and in dementia and depression. This study was designed to test whether or not within-subject changes of activity correlations (i) track the clinical progression of dementia, (ii) reflect the alterations of depression symptoms in patients with dementia, and (iii) can be manipulated by clinical interventions aimed at stabilizing circadian rhythmicity and improving sleep in dementia, namely timed bright light therapy and melatonin supplementation. We examined 144 patients with dementia (70–96 years old) who were assigned to daily treatment with bright light, bedtime melatonin, both or placebos only in a 3.5-year double-blinded randomized clinical trial. We found that activity correlations at temporal scales <~2 hours significantly decreased over time and that light treatment attenuated the decrease by ~73%. Moreover, the decrease of temporal activity correlations positively correlated with the degrees of cognitive decline and worsening of mood though the associations were relatively weak. These results suggest a mechanistic link between multiscale activity regulation and circadian/sleep function in dementia patients. Whether temporal activity patterns allow unobtrusive, long-term monitoring of dementia progression and mood changes is worth further investigation.
Transcriptome profiling of the salt-stress response in Triticum aestivum cv. Kharchia Local
Authors: Goyal Etika , Amit Singh K. , Singh Ravi S. , Mahato Ajay K. , Chand Suresh , Kanika Kumar
Published: June 2016

Kharchia Local wheat variety is an Indian salt tolerant land race known for its tolerance to salinity. However, there is a lack of detailed information regarding molecular mechanism imparting tolerance to high salinity in this bread wheat. In the present study, differential root transcriptome analysis identifying salt stress responsive gene networks and functional annotation under salt stress in Kharchia Local was performed. A total of 453,882 reads were obtained after quality filtering, using Roche 454-GS FLX Titanium sequencing technology. From these reads 22,241 ESTs were generated out of which, 17,911 unigenes were obtained. A total of 14,898 unigenes were annotated against nr protein database. Seventy seven transcription factors families in 826 unigenes and 11,002 SSRs in 6,939 unigenes were identified. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database identified 310 metabolic pathways. The expression pattern of few selected genes was compared during the time course of salt stress treatment between salt-tolerant (Kharchia Local) and susceptible (HD2687). The transcriptome data is the first report, which offers an insight into the mechanisms and genes involved in salt tolerance. This information can be used to improve salt tolerance in elite wheat cultivars and to develop tolerant germplasm for other cereal crops.
Ocular exposure to blue-enriched light has an asymmetric influence on neural activity and spatial attention
Authors: Newman Daniel P. , Lockley Steven W. , Loughnane Gerard M. , Martins Ana Carina P. , Abe Rafael , Zoratti Marco T. R. , Kelly Simon P. , O’Neill Megan H. , Rajaratnam Shantha M. W. , O’Connell Redmond G. , Bellgrove Mark A.
Published: June 2016

Brain networks subserving alertness in humans interact with those for spatial attention orienting. We employed blue-enriched light to directly manipulate alertness in healthy volunteers. We show for the first time that prior exposure to higher, relative to lower, intensities of blue-enriched light speeds response times to left, but not right, hemifield visual stimuli, via an asymmetric effect on right-hemisphere parieto-occipital α-power. Our data give rise to the tantalising possibility of light-based interventions for right hemisphere disorders of spatial attention.
Thermochemical hydrolysis of macroalgae Ulva for biorefinery: Taguchi robust design method
Authors: Jiang Rui , Linzon Yoav , Vitkin Edward , Yakhini Zohar , Chudnovsky Alexandra , Golberg Alexander
Published: June 2016

Understanding the impact of all process parameters on the efficiency of biomass hydrolysis and on the final yield of products is critical to biorefinery design. Using Taguchi orthogonal arrays experimental design and Partial Least Square Regression, we investigated the impact of change and the comparative significance of thermochemical process temperature, treatment time, %Acid and %Solid load on carbohydrates release from green macroalgae from Ulva genus, a promising biorefinery feedstock. The average density of hydrolysate was determined using a new microelectromechanical optical resonator mass sensor. In addition, using Flux Balance Analysis techniques, we compared the potential fermentation yields of these hydrolysate products using metabolic models of Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild type, Saccharomyces cerevisiae RN1016 with xylose isomerase and Clostridium acetobutylicum. We found that %Acid plays the most significant role and treatment time the least significant role in affecting the monosaccharaides released from Ulva biomass. We also found that within the tested range of parameters, hydrolysis with 121 °C, 30 min 2% Acid, 15% Solids could lead to the highest yields of conversion: 54.134–57.500 gr ethanol kg−1Ulva dry weight by S. cerevisiae RN1016 with xylose isomerase. Our results support optimized marine algae utilization process design and will enable smart energy harvesting by thermochemical hydrolysis.
An Elevated Glycemic Gap is Associated with Adverse Outcomes in Diabetic Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Liao Wen-I , Lin Chin-Sheng , Lee Chien-Hsing , Wu Ya-Chieh , Chang Wei-Chou , Hsu Chin-Wang , Wang Jen-Chun , Tsai Shih-Hung
Published: June 2016

Acute hyperglycemia is a frequent finding in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The prognostic role of hyperglycemia in diabetic patients with AMI remains controversial. We retrospectively reviewed patients’ medical records to obtain demographic data, clinical presentation, major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), several clinical scores and laboratory data, including the plasma glucose level at initial presentation and HbA1c levels. The glycemic gap, which represents changes in serum glucose levels during the index event, was calculated from the glucose level upon ED admission minus the HbA1c-derived average glucose (ADAG). We enrolled 331 patients after the review of medical records. An elevated glycemic gap between admission serum glucose levels and ADAG were associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients. The glycemic gap showed superior discriminative power regarding the development of MACEs when compared with the admission glucose level. The calculation of the glycemic gap may increase the discriminative powers of established clinical scoring systems in diabetic patients presenting to the ED with AMI. In conclusion, the glycemic gap could be used as an adjunct parameter to assess the severity and prognosis of diabetic patients presenting with AMI. However, the usefulness of the glycemic gap should be further explored in prospective longitudinal studies.
Crystal structure of tyrosine decarboxylase and identification of key residues involved in conformational swing and substrate binding
Authors: Zhu Haixia , Xu Guochao , Zhang Kai , Kong Xudong , Han Ruizhi , Zhou Jiahai , Ni Ye
Published: June 2016

Tyrosine decarboxylase (TDC) is a pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme and is mainly responsible for the synthesis of tyramine, an important biogenic amine. In this study, the crystal structures of the apo and holo forms of Lactobacillus brevis TDC (LbTDC) were determined. The LbTDC displays only 25% sequence identity with the only reported TDC structure. Site-directed mutagenesis of the conformationally flexible sites and catalytic center was performed to investigate the potential catalytic mechanism. It was found that H241 in the active site plays an important role in PLP binding because it has different conformations in the apo and holo structures of LbTDC. After binding to PLP, H241 rotated to the position adjacent to the PLP pyridine ring. Alanine scanning mutagenesis revealed several crucial regions that determine the substrate specificity and catalytic activity. Among the mutants, the S586A variant displayed increased catalytic efficiency and substrate affinity, which is attributed to decreased steric hindrance and increased hydrophobicity, as verified by the saturation mutagenesis at S586. Our results provide structural information about the residues important for the protein engineering of TDC to improve catalytic efficiency in the green manufacturing of tyramine.