bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Fascia Iliaca Block as the Primary Intraoperative Anesthesia for Hip Fracture Surgery: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Ruzbarsky Joseph J. , Gausden Elizabeth B. , Goldwyn Elan M. , Lowenwirt Isaac P. , Kotlyar Vitaly
Published: October 2017

Background

Early surgical intervention for hip fractures in the elderly has proven efficacious. However, surgical delays commonly occur in this patient population due to comorbid conditions that put these patients at a high risk for hypotension-related complications of general or neuraxial anesthesia or anticoagulants that delay the safe use of neuraxial anesthesia.

Questions/Purposes

The questions/purposes of this study are (1) to investigate if a fascia iliaca block in conjunction with light to moderate sedation could provide adequate analgesia throughout open surgery for intertrochanteric hip fractures (AO/OTA 31-1) without requiring conversion to general anesthesia with airway support and (2) to assess its perioperative complication profile.

Methods

A retrospective chart review was conducted to identify patients with intertrochanteric hip fractures who underwent anesthesia with a fascia iliaca block over a 1.5-year period.

Results

In the six patients identified, there were no intraoperative conversions to general anesthesia requiring airway support. Additionally, there were no intraoperative complications, no mortalities within 30 days, 2 patients on anticoagulation who required a blood transfusion, and a single patient who developed a postoperative hospital-acquired pneumonia that resolved with an antibiotic course.

Conclusions

In this series of patients, we demonstrate that a fascia iliaca block can reliably be utilized as the primary anesthetic for patients undergoing surgical fixation of intertrochanteric hip fractures, with an acceptable perioperative complication profile. Although concomitant sedation was provided with the block, this anesthesia strategy has the potential to reduce preoperative delays and minimize the overall burden of sedative and anesthetic medications in a geriatric population. These initial findings may serve as a basis for future, higher-quality prospective and comparative studies.
The Methuselah Effect: The Pernicious Impact of Unreported Deaths on Old-Age Mortality Estimates
Authors: Black Dan A. , Hsu Yu-Chieh , Sanders Seth G. , Schofield Lynne Steuerle , Taylor Lowell J.
Published: November 2017

We examine inferences about old-age mortality that arise when researchers use survey data matched to death records. We show that even small rates of failure to match respondents can lead to substantial bias in the measurement of mortality rates at older ages. This type of measurement error is consequential for three strands in the demographic literature: (1) the deceleration in mortality rates at old ages; (2) the black-white mortality crossover; and (3) the relatively low rate of old-age mortality among Hispanics, often called the “Hispanic paradox.” Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men matched to death records in both the U.S. Vital Statistics system and the Social Security Death Index, we demonstrate that even small rates of missing mortality matching plausibly lead to an appearance of mortality deceleration when none exists and can generate a spurious black-white mortality crossover. We confirm these findings using data from the National Health Interview Survey matched to the U.S. Vital Statistics system, a data set known as the “gold standard” (Cowper et al. 2002) for estimating age-specific mortality. Moreover, with these data, we show that the Hispanic paradox is also plausibly explained by a similar undercount.
Transcendence Matters: Do the Ways Family Members Experience God Meaningfully Relate to Family Life?
Authors: Dalton Hilary , Dollahite David C. , Marks Loren D.
Published: November 2017

As more Americans continue to move away from an institutional approach to religion and spirituality to a more personal approach, it is important to explore the ways that personal perspectives about God influence various aspects of life including family life. This study explored how participants viewed and experienced God as an authority figure (Directive Transcendence), as a close confidant (Intimate Transcendence), or as both (Authoritative Transcendence). In-depth interviews with 198 religious families from across America were analyzed using a team-based qualitative approach. These analyses revealed that participants experienced God as both an authority figure and as a close confidant. Both types of experiences are associated with family relationships in different ways. Concepts relating to ideas of authority, parenting styles, and attachment theory are used to help understand familial impacts from how one experiences God.
Governing others: Anomaly and the algorithmic subject of security
Authors: Aradau Claudia , Blanke Tobias
Published: November 2017

As digital technologies and algorithmic rationalities have increasingly reconfigured security practices, critical scholars have drawn attention to their performative effects on the temporality of law, notions of rights, and understandings of subjectivity. This article proposes to explore how the ‘other’ is made knowable in massive amounts of data and how the boundary between self and other is drawn algorithmically. It argues that algorithmic security practices and Big Data technologies have transformed self/other relations. Rather than the enemy or the risky abnormal, the ‘other’ is algorithmically produced as anomaly. Although anomaly has often been used interchangeably with abnormality and pathology, a brief genealogical reading of the concept shows that it works as a supplementary term, which reconfigures the dichotomies of normality/abnormality, friend/enemy, and identity/difference. By engaging with key practices of anomaly detection by intelligence and security agencies, the article analyses the materialisation of anomalies as specific spatial ‘dots’, temporal ‘spikes’, and topological ‘nodes’. We argue that anomaly is not simply indicative of more heterogeneous modes of othering in times of Big Data, but represents a mutation in the logics of security that challenge our extant analytical and critical vocabularies.
Using Stable Isotopes and a Bayesian Mixing Model (FRUITS) to Investigate Diet at the Early Neolithic Site of Carding Mill Bay, Scotland
Authors: Bownes Jessica M , Ascough Philippa L , Cook Gordon T , Murray Iona , Bonsall Clive
Published: October 2017

We present δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S measurements on archaeological human and animal bone collagen samples from a shell midden dating to the Neolithic ca. 4000–3500 cal BC, together with measurements on modern fish and shellfish. These data were used in conjunction with the Bayesian mixing model, Food Reconstruction Using Isotopic Transferred Signals (FRUITS), to reconstruct human diet at the site. We demonstrate the importance of using a geographically appropriate faunal baseline in stable isotope paleodietary studies, and suggest that Neolithic individuals at this site consumed up to ca. 21% of dietary protein from marine resources, despite stable isotope ratios that imply a wholly terrestrial diet. This marine resource consumption does not significantly shift the radiocarbon (14C) dates of these individuals, so although we must consider the use of marine resources at the site, the chronology that has previously been established is secure. The δ13C and δ15N measurements from the archaeological herbivore bone collagen indicate that it is unlikely they ate plants enriched with fertilisers such as manure or seaweed. The δ34S values reveal a sea-spray effect; therefore, in this instance, δ34S cannot be used as a dietary indicator but can be used to demonstrate the likely locality of the fauna.
The Impact of In-group Favoritism on Trade Preferences
Authors: Mutz Diana C. , Kim Eunji
Published: November 2017

Using a population-based survey experiment, this study evaluates the role of in-group favoritism in influencing American attitudes toward international trade. By systematically altering which countries gain or lose from a given trade policy (Americans and/or people in trading partner countries), we vary the role that in-group favoritism should play in influencing preferences.

Our results provide evidence of two distinct forms of in-group favoritism. The first, and least surprising, is that Americans value the well-being of other Americans more than that of people outside their own country. Rather than maximize total gains, Americans choose policies that maximize in-group well-being. This tendency is exacerbated by a sense of national superiority; Americans favor their national in-group to a greater extent if they perceive Americans to be more deserving.

Second, high levels of perceived intergroup competition lead some Americans to prefer trade policies that benefit the in-group and hurt the out-group over policies that help both their own country and the trading partner country. For a policy to elicit support, it is important not only that the US benefits, but also that the trading partner country loses so that the US achieves a greater relative advantage. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding bipartisan public opposition to trade.
THE CLEOPATRAS AND THE JEWS
Authors: Pearce Sarah
Published: November 2017

This paper explores a variety of evidence for relations between Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, and her Jewish subjects. In the first part of the paper, the focus is on the profoundly negative portrait of the queen in the works of Josephus, with particular attention to Cleopatra's alleged antipathy to Alexandrian Jews in Josephus'sAgainst Apion. Analysis of Josephus's evidence confirms, I argue, that his case against the queen does not stand up. The second part of the paper offers a detailed consideration of other evidence, epigraphic and literary, which, I suggest, confirms a picture of the queen as continuing the policy of her predecessors with regard to the Jews of the Ptolemaic kingdom, by participating in the long-established practice of extending royal support and protection to Jewishproseuchai(places of prayer). While the evidence does not permit definitive conclusions, it suggests that Cleopatra looked to particular Jewish groups – as to others – within Egypt for support and in this, followed a path taken by Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III. Finally, a few details in Plutarch'sLife of Antonymay also suggest the queen's political and personal alliances with individual Jews, in Egypt and Judea.
GLOBAL CLIMATES, THE 1257 MEGA-ERUPTION OF SAMALAS VOLCANO, INDONESIA, AND THE ENGLISH FOOD CRISIS OF 1258
Authors: Campbell Bruce M. S.
Published: November 2017

In 1258, as baronial opposition to Henry III erupted and the government became locked in constitutional conflict, the country found itself in the grip of a serious food crisis. To blame was a run of bad weather and failed harvests. Thousands of famished famine refugees flocked to London in quest of food and charity, where many of them perished and were buried in mass graves. The multiple burials recently discovered and excavated in the cemetery of the hospital of St Mary Spital highlight the plight of the poor at this time of political turmoil. Was their fate part of a global catastrophe precipitated by the VEI7 explosion of Samalas Volcano, Indonesia, the previous year or was powerful solar forcing of global climates responsible for the unusually unstable weather? The answer depends in large measure upon establishing the precise chronology of how the crisis unfolded, drawing upon the surviving documentary record of prices and harvests, the comments of contemporary chroniclers and a range of high-resolution palaeo-climatic proxies. Reexamination of this episode illustrates the potential of environmental history to shed fresh light on familiar historical events and its capacity to place them in a global environmental context.
OLD WORDS AND THE NEW WORLD: LIBERAL EDUCATION AND THE FRANCISCANS IN NEW SPAIN, 1536–1601The Whitfield Prize Winner
Authors: Pollnitz Aysha
Published: November 2017

The Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, established in 1536, liberally educated the sons of Nahua (Aztec) leaders in New Spain. Its Franciscan pedagogues, including Bernardino de Sahagún (c. 1499–1590), Andrés de Olmos (1491–1571) and Juan Bautista (c. 1555–1606/13), worked with indigenous students and alumni to collect, edit and circulate Nahuatlhuehuetlahtolli, or ‘speech of the ancients’. This paper examines the largest collection of these orations printed in pre-modern Mexico, theHuehuetlahtolli[1601] edited by Juan Bautista and indigenous intellectuals from the college. It argues that the Tlatelolcans adapted Nahuatl ‘old words’ for the New World of colonial society. They ornamented the speeches with rhetorical techniques derived from Santa Cruz's Erasmian curriculum. They interpolated biblical sentences, particularly from Proverbs and Sirach, to enhance the evangelising potential of the discourses. Finally, they drew on Erasmus's theory of speech, as expressed in his pedagogical and spiritual writings, to explicate Nahuatllos difrasismosconcerning eloquence and good counsel. Contextualising theHuehuetlahtolli[1601] in Santa Cruz's Erasmian schoolroom reveals the contours of its argument for vernacular evangelisation, the liberal education of indigenous youth and for the elegance of the Nahuatl tongue.
DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY AND UNIONIST POLITICAL THOUGHT DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD IN IRELAND,c.1912–1922
Authors: Reid Colin W.
Published: November 2017

This paper examines ideas about democratic legitimacy and sovereignty within Ulster unionist political thought during the revolutionary period in Ireland (c. 1912–22). Confronted by Irish nationalists who claimed that Home Rule (and later, independence) enjoyed the support of the majority of people in Ireland, Ulster unionists deployed their own democratic idioms to rebuff such arguments. In asserting unionism's majority status, first, across the United Kingdom and, second, within the province of Ulster, unionists mined the language of democracy to legitimise their militant stand against Home Rule. The paper also probes the unionist conception of sovereignty by examining the establishment of the Provisional Government of Ulster in 1913, which was styled as a ‘trustee’ for the British constitution in Ireland after the coming of Home Rule. The imperial, economic and religious arguments articulated by unionists against Home Rule are well known, but the space given to constitutional rights and democratic legitimacy in the political language of unionism remain obscure. While the antagonisms at the heart of the revolutionary period in Ireland assumed the form of identity politics and sectarianism, the deployment of normative democratic language by unionists reveals that clashing ideals of representative government underpinned the conflict.
GLOBALISING AND LOCALISING THE GREAT WAR
Authors: Gregory Adrian
Published: November 2017

This article is intended to suggest an approach to the global history of the First World War that can provide a method of managing the potentially unwieldy concept of global conflict by understanding it through the war's impact on localities. By concentrating on four relatively small but significant cities; Oxford in England, Halifax in Nova Scotia, Jerusalem in Palestine and Verdun in eastern France, which experienced the war in very different ways, it looks at both the movement of people and things and the symbolic interconnectivities that made the war a ‘world war’. This local focus helps challenge both the primacy of self-contained national history and the focus on the violent interaction of the opposing sides which are the more normal ways of narrating the war. It does not deny the usefulness of these traditional structures of narration and explanation but suggests that there are different and complementary ways the war can be viewed, which create different emphasis and chronologies.
Presence of reduced regional left ventricular function even in the absence of left ventricular wall scar tissue in the long term after repair of an anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery
Authors: Nordmeyer Sarah , Schmitt Boris , Nasseri Boris , Alexi-Meskishvili Vladimir , Kuehne Titus , Berger Felix , Nordmeyer Johannes
Published: November 2017

Background

We sought to assess left ventricular regional function in patients with and without left ventricular wall scar tissue in the long term after repair of an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.

Methods

A total of 20 patients aged 12.8±7.4 years were assessed 10 (0.5–17) years after the repair of an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery; of them, 10 (50%) patients showed left ventricular wall scar tissue on current cardiac MRI. Left ventricular regional function was assessed by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in 10 patients with scar tissue and 10 patients without scar tissue and in 10 age-matched controls.

Results

In patients with scar tissue, MRI-derived left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly reduced compared with that in patients without scar tissue (51 versus 61%, p<0.05), and echocardiography-derived longitudinal strain was significantly reduced in five of six left ventricular areas compared with that in healthy controls (average relative reduction, 46%; p<0.05). In patients without scar tissue, longitudinal strain was significantly reduced in two of six left ventricular areas (average relative reduction, 23%; p<0.05) and circumferential strain was reduced in one of six left ventricular areas (relative reduction, 56%; p<0.05) compared with that in healthy controls.

Conclusions

Regional left ventricular function is reduced even in patients without left ventricular wall scar tissue late after successful repair of an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery. This highlights the need for meticulous lifelong follow-up in all patients with a repaired anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.
Wenn ein Tennisarm kein Tennisarm ist … Differenzialdiagnosen des lateralen Ellbogenschmerzes
Authors: Vavken Patrick
Published: October 2017

Zusammenfassung. Obwohl der laterale Ellbogenschmerz viele mögliche Ursachen hat, wird er immer noch zu oft reflexartig mit dem Tennisarm gleichgesetzt. Zwei aktuelle Studien zeigen jedoch, dass 75 % der Patienten mit chronischem, lateralem Ellbogenschmerz unter einer Ellbogeninstabilität und nicht einem Tennisarm leiden. Der vorliegende Mini-Review soll die wichtigsten Differenzialdiagnosen des lateralen Ellbogenschmerzes in Ursache, Diagnostik, Behandlungsansatz sowie «pitfalls» und «red flags» beleuchten.
Microangiopathie cérébrale et troubles cognitifs
Authors: Jacquin-Piques Agnès
Published: November 2017

Zusammenfassung. Zerebrale Mikroangiopathien umfassen eine Gruppe neuropathologischer Prozesse, die die kleinen Perforationsarterien, Arteriolen und Kapillaren beeinflussen. Neuroimaging-Merkmale der Einengung der kleinen Koronararterienäste (Small Vessel Disease) sind ischämische und hämorrhagische Marker: jüngster kleiner subkortikaler Infarkt, Lakune vermuteten vaskulären Ursprungs, Hyperintensität der weissen Masse, perivaskuläre Räume, zerebrale Mikroblutungen, Hirnatrophie, kortikale oberflächliche Siderose und akute subarachnoidale Blutungen. Diese Läsionen gelten als der Hauptrisikofaktor der vaskulären kognitiven Störungen. Die zerebrale Mikroangiopathie wird typischerweise in zwei Hauptformen kategorisiert: die nicht-amyloide Angiopathie, die auch als «hypertensive Arteriopathie» bezeichnet wird, die oft mit fortgeschrittenem Alter und vaskulären Risikofaktoren und der zerebralen Amyloidangiopathie zusammenhängt. Die zerebrale Amyloidangiopathie ist klinisch charakterisiert durch kognitive Beeinträchtigungen, intrazerebrale Blutungen und durch transiente Episoden fokal-neurologischer Defizite aufgrund von Subarachnoidalblutungen.
Le syndrome de Widal en pratique clinique
Authors: Borgeat Kaeser Amélie , Ribi Camillo
Published: November 2017

Zusammenfassung. Das Widal-Syndrom umfasst eine klinische Trias mit chroniquer Rhinosinusitis und nasalen Polypen, Asthma bronchiale und eine Unverträglichkeit auf Acetylsalicylsäure (Aspirin) und anderen nichtsteroidalen Entzündungshemmern (NSAID). Etwa 7 % der Asthmatiker und 10 % der Patienten mit chronischer Rhinosinusitis leiden darunter. Asthma und NSAID-Unverträglichkeit treten häufig mehrere Jahre nach Beginn der Rhinosinusitis auf, was zur Verzögerung der Diagnose führt. Zurzeit gibt es keine spezifischen Biomarker. Der Provokationstest mit Aspirin bleibt der Gold-Standard für die Diagnose, sollte aber wegen des Risikos eines schweren Asthmaanfalls nur durch den Spezialisten durchgeführt werden. Die Grundbehandlung beruht auf der Kombination topischer Kortikosteroide und Montelukast, sowie der Vermeidung von Hemmern der Zyklooxygenase-1. Therapierefraktäre Fälle können auf eine Desensibilisierung mit Aspirin oder neuerdings auf Biologika wie Mepolizumab ansprechen.
Electricity generation from digitally printed cyanobacteria
Authors: Sawa Marin , Fantuzzi Andrea , Bombelli Paolo , Howe Christopher J. , Hellgardt Klaus , Nixon Peter J.
Published: October 2017

Microbial biophotovoltaic cells exploit the ability of cyanobacteria and microalgae to convert light energy into electrical current using water as the source of electrons. Such bioelectrochemical systems have a clear advantage over more conventional microbial fuel cells which require the input of organic carbon for microbial growth. However, innovative approaches are needed to address scale-up issues associated with the fabrication of the inorganic (electrodes) and biological (microbe) parts of the biophotovoltaic device. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of using a simple commercial inkjet printer to fabricate a thin-film paper-based biophotovoltaic cell consisting of a layer of cyanobacterial cells on top of a carbon nanotube conducting surface. We show that these printed cyanobacteria are capable of generating a sustained electrical current both in the dark (as a ‘solar bio-battery’) and in response to light (as a ‘bio-solar-panel’) with potential applications in low-power devices.
Mutational signatures reveal the dynamic interplay of risk factors and cellular processes during liver tumorigenesis
Authors: Letouzé Eric , Shinde Jayendra , Renault Victor , Couchy Gabrielle , Blanc Jean-Frédéric , Tubacher Emmanuel , Bayard Quentin , Bacq Delphine , Meyer Vincent , Semhoun Jérémy , Bioulac-Sage Paulette , Prévôt Sophie , Azoulay Daniel , Paradis Valérie , Imbeaud Sandrine , Deleuze Jean-François , Zucman-Rossi Jessica
Published: October 2017

Genomic alterations driving tumorigenesis result from the interaction of environmental exposures and endogenous cellular processes. With a diversity of risk factors, liver cancer is an ideal model to study these interactions. Here, we analyze the whole genomes of 44 new and 264 published liver cancers and we identify 10 mutational and 6 structural rearrangement signatures showing distinct relationships with environmental exposures, replication, transcription, and driver genes. The liver cancer-specific signature 16, associated with alcohol, displays a unique feature of transcription-coupled damage and is the main source of CTNNB1 mutations. Flood of insertions/deletions (indels) are identified in very highly expressed hepato-specific genes, likely resulting from replication-transcription collisions. Reconstruction of sub-clonal architecture reveals mutational signature evolution during tumor development exemplified by the vanishing of aflatoxin B1 signature in African migrants. Finally, chromosome duplications occur late and may represent rate-limiting events in tumorigenesis. These findings shed new light on the natural history of liver cancers.
Mixed-quantum-dot solar cells
Authors: Yang Zhenyu , Fan James Z. , Proppe Andrew H. , Arquer F. Pelayo García de , Rossouw David , Voznyy Oleksandr , Lan Xinzheng , Liu Min , Walters Grant , Quintero-Bermudez Rafael , Sun Bin , Hoogland Sjoerd , Botton Gianluigi A. , Kelley Shana O. , Sargent Edward H.
Published: October 2017

Colloidal quantum dots are emerging solution-processed materials for large-scale and low-cost photovoltaics. The recent advent of quantum dot inks has overcome the prior need for solid-state exchanges that previously added cost, complexity, and morphological disruption to the quantum dot solid. Unfortunately, these inks remain limited by the photocarrier diffusion length. Here we devise a strategy based on n- and p-type ligands that judiciously shifts the quantum dot band alignment. It leads to ink-based materials that retain the independent surface functionalization of quantum dots, and it creates distinguishable donor and acceptor domains for bulk heterojunctions. Interdot carrier transfer and exciton dissociation studies confirm efficient charge separation at the nanoscale interfaces between the two classes of quantum dots. We fabricate the first mixed-quantum-dot solar cells and achieve a power conversion of 10.4%, which surpasses the performance of previously reported bulk heterojunction quantum dot devices fully two-fold, indicating the potential of the mixed-quantum-dot approach.
Crystal structure of tripartite-type ABC transporter MacB from Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Okada Ui , Yamashita Eiki , Neuberger Arthur , Morimoto Mayu , van Veen Hendrik W. , Murakami Satoshi
Published: October 2017

The MacA–MacB–TolC tripartite complex is a transmembrane machine that spans both plasma membrane and outer membrane and actively extrudes substrates, including macrolide antibiotics, virulence factors, peptides and cell envelope precursors. These transport activities are driven by the ATPase MacB, a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily. Here, we present the crystal structure of MacB at 3.4-Å resolution. MacB forms a dimer in which each protomer contains a nucleotide-binding domain and four transmembrane helices that protrude in the periplasm into a binding domain for interaction with the membrane fusion protein MacA. MacB represents an ABC transporter in pathogenic microorganisms with unique structural features.
Author Correction: Identification of donor microbe species that colonize and persist long term in the recipient after fecal transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile
Authors: Kumar Ranjit , Yi Nengjun , Zhi Degui , Eipers Peter , Goldsmith Kelly T. , Dixon Paula , Crossman David K. , Crowley Michael R. , Lefkowitz Elliot J. , Rodriguez J. Martin , Morrow Casey D.
Published: November 2017

The affiliation details are incorrect in this article. The correct affiliation details are given below:

1Biomedical Informatics, Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; 2Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; 3Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; 4Department of Genetics and Heflin Center for Genomic Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; 5Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA and 6Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.

In addition, this article was originally published without the accompanying supplementary tables. This file is now available in the HTML version of the article; the PDF was correct from the time of publication.
Identification of regenerative roadblocks via repeat deployment of limb regeneration in axolotls
Authors: Bryant Donald M. , Sousounis Konstantinos , Payzin-Dogru Duygu , Bryant Sevara , Sandoval Aaron Gabriel W. , Martinez Fernandez Jose , Mariano Rachelle , Oshiro Rachel , Wong Alan Y. , Leigh Nicholas D. , Johnson Kimberly , Whited Jessica L.
Published: October 2017

Axolotl salamanders are powerful models for understanding how regeneration of complex body parts can be achieved, whereas mammals are severely limited in this ability. Factors that promote normal axolotl regeneration can be examined in mammals to determine if they exhibit altered activity in this context. Furthermore, factors prohibiting axolotl regeneration can offer key insight into the mechanisms present in regeneration-incompetent species. We sought to determine if we could experimentally compromise the axolotl’s ability to regenerate limbs and, if so, discover the molecular changes that might underlie their inability to regenerate. We found that repeated limb amputation severely compromised axolotls’ ability to initiate limb regeneration. Using RNA-seq, we observed that a majority of differentially expressed transcripts were hyperactivated in limbs compromised by repeated amputation, suggesting that mis-regulation of these genes antagonizes regeneration. To confirm our findings, we additionally assayed the role of amphiregulin, an EGF-like ligand, which is aberrantly upregulated in compromised animals. During normal limb regeneration, amphiregulin is expressed by the early wound epidermis, and mis-expressing this factor lead to thickened wound epithelium, delayed initiation of regeneration, and severe regenerative defects. Collectively, our results suggest that repeatedly amputated limbs may undergo a persistent wound healing response, which interferes with their ability to initiate the regenerative program. These findings have important implications for human regenerative medicine.
Constraints on global temperature target overshoot
Authors: Ricke K. L. , Millar R. J. , MacMartin D. G.
Published: November 2017

In the aftermath of the Paris Agreement, the climate science and policy communities are beginning to assess the feasibility and potential benefits of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial. Understanding the dependence of the magnitude and duration of possible temporary exceedance (i.e., “overshoot”) of temperature targets on sustainable energy decarbonization futures and carbon dioxide (CO2) removal rates will be an important contribution to this policy discussion. Drawing upon results from the mitigation literature and the IPCC Working Group 3 (WG3) scenario database, we examine the global mean temperature implications of differing, independent pathways for the decarbonization of global energy supply and the implementation of negative emissions technologies. We find that within the scope of scenarios broadly-consistent with the WG3 database, the magnitude of temperature overshoot is more sensitive to the rate of decarbonization. However, limiting the duration of overshoot to less than two centuries requires ambitious deployment of both decarbonization and negative emissions technology. The dependencies of temperature target overshoot’s properties upon currently untested negative emissions technologies suggests that it will be important to consider how climate impacts depend on both the magnitude and duration of overshoot, not just long term residual warming.
Sensing performances of pure and hybridized carbon nanotubes-ZnO nanowire networks: A detailed study
Authors: Lupan Oleg , Schütt Fabian , Postica Vasile , Smazna Daria , Mishra Yogendra Kumar , Adelung Rainer
Published: November 2017

In this work, the influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) hybridization on ultraviolet (UV) and gas sensing properties of individual and networked ZnO nanowires (NWs) is investigated in detail. The CNT concentration was varied to achieve optimal conditions for the hybrid with improved sensing properties. In case of CNT decorated ZnO nanonetworks, the influence of relative humidity (RH) and applied bias voltage on the UV sensing properties was thoroughly studied. By rising the CNT content to about 2.0 wt% (with respect to the entire ZnO network) the UV sensing response is considerably increased from 150 to 7300 (about 50 times). With respect to gas sensing, the ZnO-CNT networks demonstrate an excellent selectivity as well as a high gas response to NH3 vapor. A response of 430 to 50 ppm at room temperature was obtained, with an estimated detection limit of about 0.4 ppm. Based on those results, several devices consisting of individual ZnO NWs covered with CNTs were fabricated using a FIB/SEM system. The highest sensing performance was obtained for the finest NW with diameter (D) of 100 nm,  with a response of about 4 to 10 ppm NH3 vapor at room temperature.
Phononic Crystal Waveguide Transducers for Nonlinear Elastic Wave Sensing
Authors: Ciampa Francesco , Mankar Akash , Marini Andrea
Published: November 2017

Second harmonic generation is one of the most sensitive and reliable nonlinear elastic signatures for micro-damage assessment. However, its detection requires powerful amplification systems generating fictitious harmonics that are difficult to discern from pure nonlinear elastic effects. Current state-of-the-art nonlinear ultrasonic methods still involve impractical solutions such as cumbersome signal calibration processes and substantial modifications of the test component in order to create material-based tunable harmonic filters. Here we propose and demonstrate a valid and sensible alternative strategy involving the development of an ultrasonic phononic crystal waveguide transducer that exhibits both single and multiple frequency stop-bands filtering out fictitious second harmonic frequencies. Remarkably, such a sensing device can be easily fabricated and integrated on the surface of the test structure without altering its mechanical and geometrical properties. The design of the phononic crystal structure is supported by a perturbative theoretical model predicting the frequency band-gaps of periodic plates with sinusoidal corrugation. We find our theoretical findings in excellent agreement with experimental testing revealing that the proposed phononic crystal waveguide transducer successfully attenuates second harmonics caused by the ultrasonic equipment, thus demonstrating its wide range of potential applications for acousto/ultrasonic material damage inspection.
The Dependence of CNT Aerogel Synthesis on Sulfur-driven Catalyst Nucleation Processes and a Critical Catalyst Particle Mass Concentration
Authors: Hoecker Christian , Smail Fiona , Pick Martin , Weller Lee , Boies Adam M.
Published: October 2017

The floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FC-CVD) process permits macro-scale assembly of nanoscale materials, enabling continuous production of carbon nanotube (CNT) aerogels. Despite the intensive research in the field, fundamental uncertainties remain regarding how catalyst particle dynamics within the system influence the CNT aerogel formation, thus limiting effective scale-up. While aerogel formation in FC-CVD reactors requires a catalyst (typically iron, Fe) and a promotor (typically sulfur, S), their synergistic roles are not fully understood. This paper presents a paradigm shift in the understanding of the role of S in the process with new experimental studies identifying that S lowers the nucleation barrier of the catalyst nanoparticles. Furthermore, CNT aerogel formation requires a critical threshold of FexCy > 160 mg/m3, but is surprisingly independent of the initial catalyst diameter or number concentration. The robustness of the critical catalyst mass concentration principle is proved further by producing CNTs using alternative catalyst systems; Fe nanoparticles from a plasma spark generator and cobaltocene and nickelocene precursors. This finding provides evidence that low-cost and high throughput CNT aerogel routes may be achieved by decoupled and enhanced catalyst production and control, opening up new possibilities for large-scale CNT synthesis.
Chemometric Evaluation of THz Spectral Similarity for the Selection of Early Drug Candidates
Authors: Sterczewski Lukasz A. , Nowak Kacper , Szlachetko Boguslaw , Grzelczak Michal P. , Szczesniak-Siega Berenika , Plinska Stanislawa , Malinka Wieslaw , Plinski Edward F.
Published: October 2017

In this paper we discuss the link between the domain of physical parameters – molecular descriptors of a drug, and terahertz (THz) spectra. We measured the derivatives of the well-known anti-inflammatory drug Piroxicam using THz spectroscopy and employed Principal Component Analysis to build similarity maps in the molecular descriptor and spectral domains. We observed, that the spatial neighborhood on the molecular descriptors map is highly correlated with the spectral neighbourhood within a group of structurally-similar molecules. We built a Partial Least Squares (PLS) predictive model to quantify the relationship between the spectra and the melting point, which can guide the selection of early drug candidates.
Link prediction in complex networks via matrix perturbation and decomposition
Authors: Xu Xiaoya , Liu Bo , Wu Jianshe , Jiao Licheng
Published: November 2017

Link prediction in complex networks aims at predicting the missing links from available datasets which are always incomplete and subject to interfering noises. To obtain high prediction accuracy one should try to complete the missing information and at the same time eliminate the interfering noise from the datasets. Given that the global topological information of the networks can be exploited by the adjacent matrix, the missing information can be completed by generalizing the observed structure according to some consistency rule, and the noise can be eliminated by some proper decomposition techniques. Recently, two related works have been done that focused on each of the individual aspect and obtained satisfactory performances. Motivated by their complementary nature, here we proposed a new link prediction method that combines them together. Moreover, by extracting the symmetric part of the adjacent matrix, we also generalized the original perturbation method and extended our new method to weighted directed networks. Experimental studies on real networks from disparate fields indicate that the prediction accuracy of our method was considerably improved compared with either of the individual method as well as some other typical local indices.
Plasticity in leader–follower roles in human teams
Authors: Nakayama Shinnosuke , Ruiz Marín Manuel , Camacho Maximo , Porfiri Maurizio
Published: October 2017

In humans, emergence of leaders and followers is key to group performance, but little is known about the whys and hows of leadership. A particularly elusive question entails behavioral plasticity in leadership across social contexts. Addressing this question requires to eliminate social feedback between focal individuals and their partners in experiments that could illuminate the spontaneous emergence of social roles. We investigated plasticity in leader–follower roles in cooperation, where members choose the task toward a shared goal, and coordination, where members adjust their actions in real time based on social responsiveness. Through a computer-programmed virtual partner, we demonstrate adaptive plasticity in leader–follower roles. Humans increased their followership to cooperate when the partner led more in the choice of the task, whereas they showed only weak leadership when the partner followed more. We leveraged the information-theoretic notion of transfer entropy to quantify leadership and followership in coordination from their movements. When exhibiting stronger followership in task cooperation, humans coordinated more with the partner’s movement, with greater information being transferred from the partner to humans. The evidence of behavioral plasticity suggests that humans are capable of adapting their leader–follower roles to their social environments, in both cooperation and coordination.
Paper-Based Sensing Device for Electrochemical Detection of Oxidative Stress Biomarker 8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in Point-of-Care
Authors: Martins Gabriela V. , Tavares Ana P. M. , Fortunato Elvira , Sales M. Goreti F.
Published: October 2017

This work presents a cost-effective, label-free in point-of-care (POC) biosensor for the sensitive detection of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), the most abundant oxidative product of DNA, that may allow a premature assessment of cancer disease, thereby improving diagnosis, prognostics and survival rates. The device targets the direct detection of 8-OHdG by using for the first time a carbon-ink 3-electrode on a paper substrate coupled to Differential Pulse Voltammetry readings. This design was optimized by adding nanostructured carbon materials to the ink and the conducting polymer PEDOT, enhancing the electrocatalytic properties of the sensor towards 8-OHdG detection. Meanwhile, the ability of this oxidative stress biomarker to undertake an oxidation reaction enabled the development of the sensing electrochemical device without the need of chemical probes and long incubation periods. This paper-modified sensor presented high electrochemical performance on the oxidation of 8-OHdG with a wide linear range (50–1000 ng/ml) and a low detection limit (14.4 ng/ml). Thus, our results showed the development of a direct and facile sensor with good reproducibility, stability, sensitivity and more importantly, selectivity. The proposed carbon-based electrochemical sensor is a potential candidate to be miniaturized to small portable size, which make it applicable for in-situ 8-OHdG sensing in real biological samples.
Beyond Bell’s theorem: realism and locality without Bell-type correlations
Authors: De Zela F.
Published: October 2017

The long-lasting view of entanglement as the characteristic trait of quantum mechanics has been recently challenged by experimental demonstrations of non-quantum entanglement. This motivates a review of the meaning of Bell violations, which have been widely taken to prove the impossibility of a realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics and as a manifestation of its non-local character. This work provides new theoretical evidence for the need of reviewing the meaning of Bell violations, especially when they occur outside the quantum framework. We present a local-realistic model that reproduces quantum predictions concerning Bell tests. We claim that local-realism is fully compatible with correlations that are not of the Bell type and therefore lie outside the scope of Bell’s theorem. Most experimental Bell tests involve either spin vectors spanning the Bloch sphere or Stokes vectors spanning the Poincaré sphere. A suitable statistical tool that allows assessing correlations between vectors is given by inner-product-type correlations. Using them, it is possible to reproduce quantum predictions for all Bell states, thereby explaining experimental results of Bell tests within a local-realistic framework.
The Origin of the “Seasons” in Space Weather
Authors: Dikpati Mausumi , Cally Paul S. , McIntosh Scott W. , Heifetz Eyal
Published: November 2017

Powerful ‘space weather’ events caused by solar activity pose serious risks to human health, safety, economic activity and national security. Spikes in deaths due to heart attacks, strokes and other diseases occurred during prolonged power outages. Currently it is hard to prepare for and mitigate the impact of space weather because it is impossible to forecast the solar eruptions that can cause these terrestrial events until they are seen on the Sun. However, as recently reported in Nature, eruptive events like coronal mass ejections and solar flares, are organized into quasi-periodic “seasons”, which include enhanced bursts of eruptions for several months, followed by quiet periods. We explored the dynamics of sunspot-producing magnetic fields and discovered for the first time that bursty and quiet seasons, manifested in surface magnetic structures, can be caused by quasi-periodic energy-exchange among magnetic fields, Rossby waves and differential rotation of the solar interior shear-layer (called tachocline). Our results for the first time provide a quantitative physical mechanism for forecasting the strength and duration of bursty seasons several months in advance, which can greatly enhance our ability to warn humans about dangerous solar bursts and prevent damage to satellites and power stations from space weather events.
A clinical-scale BioArtificial Liver, developed for GMP, improved clinical parameters of liver function in porcine liver failure
Authors: Selden Clare , Bundy James , Erro Eloy , Puschmann Eva , Miller Malcolm , Kahn Delawir , Hodgson Humphrey , Fuller Barry , Gonzalez-Molina Jordi , Le Lay Aurelie , Gibbons Stephanie , Chalmers Sherri , Modi Sunil , Thomas Amy , Kilbride Peter , Isaacs Agnes , Ginsburg Richard , Ilsley Helen , Thomson David , Chinnery Galya , Mankahla Ncedile , Loo Lizel , Spearman C. Wendy
Published: October 2017

Liver failure, whether arising directly from acute liver failure or from decompensated chronic liver disease is an increasing problem worldwide and results in many deaths. In the UK only 10% of individuals requiring a liver transplant receive one. Thus the need for alternative treatments is paramount. A BioArtificial Liver machine could temporarily replace the functions of the liver, buying time for the patient’s liver to repair and regenerate. We have designed, implemented and tested a clinical-scale BioArtificial Liver machine containing a biomass derived from a hepatoblastoma cell-line cultured as three dimensional organoids, using a fluidised bed bioreactor, together with single-use bioprocessing equipment, with complete control of nutrient provision with feedback BioXpert recipe processes, and yielding good phenotypic liver functions. The methodology has been designed to meet specifications for GMP production, required for manufacture of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). In a porcine model of severe liver failure, damage was assured in all animals by surgical ischaemia in pigs with human sized livers (1.2–1.6 kg liver weights). The BioArtificial liver (UCLBAL) improved important prognostic clinical liver-related parameters, eg, a significant improvement in coagulation, reduction in vasopressor requirements, improvement in blood pH and in parameters of intracranial pressure (ICP) and oxygenation.
Atomically flat and uniform relaxed III–V epitaxial films on silicon substrate for heterogeneous and hybrid integration
Authors: Holland Martin , van Dal Mark , Duriez Blandine , Oxland Richard , Vellianitis Georgios , Doornbos Gerben , Afzalian Aryan , Chen Ta-Kun , Hsieh Chih-Hua , Ramvall Peter , Vasen Tim , Yeo Yee-Chia , Passlack Matthias
Published: November 2017

The integration of III-V semiconductors on silicon (Si) substrate has been an active field of research for more than 30 years. Various approaches have been investigated, including growth of buffer layers to accommodate the lattice mismatch between the Si substrate and the III-V layer, Si- or Ge-on-insulator, epitaxial transfer methods, epitaxial lateral overgrowth, aspect-ratio-trapping techniques, and interfacial misfit array formation. However, manufacturing standards have not been met and significant levels of remaining defectivity, high cost, and complex integration schemes have hampered large scale commercial impact. Here we report on low cost, relaxed, atomically smooth, and surface undulation free lattice mismatched III-V epitaxial films grown in wide-fields of micrometer size on 300 mm Si(100) and (111) substrates. The crystallographic quality of the epitaxial film beyond a few atomic layers from the Si substrate is accomplished by formation of an interfacial misfit array. This development may enable future platforms of integrated low-power logic, power amplifiers, voltage controllers, and optoelectronics components.