bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Magnetotactic bacteria in a droplet self-assemble into a rotary motor
Authors: Vincenti Benoit , Ramos Gabriel , Cordero Maria Luisa , Douarche Carine , Soto Rodrigo , Clement Eric 
Published: November 2019

AbstractFrom intracellular protein trafficking to large-scale motion of animal groups, the physical concepts driving the self-organization of living systems are still largely unraveled. Self-organization of active entities, leading to novel phases and emergent macroscopic properties, recently shed new light on these complex dynamical processes. Here we show that under the application of a constant magnetic field, motile magnetotactic bacteria confined in water-in-oil droplets self-assemble into a rotary motor exerting a torque on the external oil phase. A collective motion in the form of a large-scale vortex, reversable by inverting the field direction, builds up in the droplet with a vorticity perpendicular to the magnetic field. We study this collective organization at different concentrations, magnetic fields and droplet radii and reveal the formation of two torque-generating areas close to the droplet interface. We characterize quantitatively the mechanical energy extractable from this new biological and self-assembled motor.
A fln-2 mutation affects lethal pathology and lifespan in C. elegans
Authors: Zhao Yuan , Wang Hongyuan , Poole Richard J. , Gems David 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDifferences in genetic background in model organisms can have complex effects on phenotypes of interest. We previously reported a difference in hermaphrodite lifespan between two wild-type lines widely used by C. elegans researchers (N2 hermaphrodite and male stocks). Here, using pathology-based approaches and genome sequencing, we identify the cause of this difference as a nonsense mutation in the filamin gene fln-2 in the male stock, which reduces early mortality caused by pharyngeal infection. We show how fln-2 variation explains previous discrepancies involving effects of sir-2.1 (sirtuin deacetylase) on ageing, and show that in a fln-2(+) background, sir-2.1 over-expression causes an FUDR (DNA synthesis inhibitor)-dependent reduction in pharyngeal infection and increase in lifespan. In addition we show how fln-2 variation confounds effects on lifespan of daf-2 (insulin/IGF-1 signalling), daf-12 (steroid hormone signalling), and eat-2 (putative dietary restriction). These findings underscore the importance of identifying and controlling genetic background variation.
4-Octyl itaconate inhibits aerobic glycolysis by targeting GAPDH to exert anti-inflammatory effects
Authors: Liao Shan-Ting , Han Chao , Xu Ding-Qiao , Fu Xiao-Wei , Wang Jun-Song , Kong Ling-Yi 
Published: November 2019

AbstractActivated macrophages switch from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, similar to the Warburg effect, presenting a potential therapeutic target in inflammatory disease. The endogenous metabolite itaconate has been reported to regulate macrophage function, but its precise mechanism is not clear. Here, we show that 4-octyl itaconate (4-OI, a cell-permeable itaconate derivative) directly alkylates cysteine residue 22 on the glycolytic enzyme GAPDH and decreases its enzyme activity. Glycolytic flux analysis by U13C glucose tracing provides evidence that 4-OI blocks glycolytic flux at GAPDH. 4-OI thereby downregulates aerobic glycolysis in activated macrophages, which is required for its anti-inflammatory effects. The anti-inflammatory effects of 4-OI are replicated by heptelidic acid, 2-DG and reversed by increasing wild-type (but not C22A mutant) GAPDH expression. 4-OI protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced lethality in vivo and inhibits cytokine release. These findings show that 4-OI has anti-inflammatory effects by targeting GAPDH to decrease aerobic glycolysis in macrophages.
Geminal group-directed olefinic C-H functionalization via four- to eight-membered exo-metallocycles
Authors: Meng Keke , Li Tingyan , Yu Chunbing , Shen Cong , Zhang Jian , Zhong Guofu 
Published: November 2019

AbstractGreat efforts have been made in the activation of a C(alkenyl)-H bond vicinal to the directing group to proceed via five- or six-membered endo-metallocycles. In stark contrast, functionalization of a C(alkenyl)-H bond geminal to the directing group via exo-metallocycle pathway continued to be elusive. Here we report the selective transformation of an olefinic C-H bond that is geminal to the directing group bearing valuable hydroxyl, carbamate or amide into a C-C bond, which proceeds through four- to eight-membered exo-palladacycles. Compared to the reported mechanisms proceeding only through six-membered exo-palladacycles via N,N-bidentate chelation, our weak and O-monodentate chelation-assisted C(alkenyl)-H activations tolerate longer or shorter distances between the olefinic C-H bonds and the coordinating groups, allowing for the functionalizations of many olefinic C-H bonds in alkenyl alcohols, carbamates and amides. The synthetic applicability has been demonstrated by the preparative scale and late-stage C-H functionalization of steroid and ricinoleate derivatives.
Versatile stochastic dot product circuits based on nonvolatile memories for high performance neurocomputing and neurooptimization
Authors: Mahmoodi M. R. , Prezioso M. , Strukov D. B. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe key operation in stochastic neural networks, which have become the state-of-the-art approach for solving problems in machine learning, information theory, and statistics, is a stochastic dot-product. While there have been many demonstrations of dot-product circuits and, separately, of stochastic neurons, the efficient hardware implementation combining both functionalities is still missing. Here we report compact, fast, energy-efficient, and scalable stochastic dot-product circuits based on either passively integrated metal-oxide memristors or embedded floating-gate memories. The circuit’s high performance is due to mixed-signal implementation, while the efficient stochastic operation is achieved by utilizing circuit’s noise, intrinsic and/or extrinsic to the memory cell array. The dynamic scaling of weights, enabled by analog memory devices, allows for efficient realization of different annealing approaches to improve functionality. The proposed approach is experimentally verified for two representative applications, namely by implementing neural network for solving a four-node graph-partitioning problem, and a Boltzmann machine with 10-input and 8-hidden neurons.
Natural biomass derived hard carbon and activated carbons as electrochemical supercapacitor electrodes
Authors: Ghosh Sourav , Santhosh Ravichandran , Jeniffer Sofia , Raghavan Vimala , Jacob George , Nanaji Katchala , Kollu Pratap , Jeong Soon Kwan , Grace Andrews Nirmala 
Published: November 2019

AbstractWith every moving day, the aspect that is going to be the most important for modern science and technology is the means to supply sufficient energy for all the scientific applications. As the resource of fossil fuel is draining out fast, an alternative is always required to satisfy the needs of the future world. Limited resources also force to innovate something that can utilise the resource more efficiently. This work is based on a simple synthesis route of biomass derived hard carbon and to exploring the possibility of using it as electrochemical supercapacitors. A cheap, eco-friendly and easily synthesized carbon material is utilized as electrode for electrochemical energy-storage. Four different hard carbons were synthesized from KOH activated banana stem (KHC), phosphoric acid treated banana stem derived carbons (PHC), corn-cob derived hard carbon (CHC) and potato starch derived hard carbons (SHC) and tested as supercapacitor electrodes. KOH-activated hard carbon has provided 479.23 F/g specific capacitance as calculated from its cycle voltammograms. A detailed analysis is done to correlate the results obtained with the material property. Overall, this work provides an in depth analysis of the science behind the components of an electrochemical energy-storage system as well as why the different characterization techniques are required to assess the quality and reliability of the material for electrochemical supercapacitor applications.
Realistic microstructure evolution of complex Ta-Nb-Hf-Zr high-entropy alloys by simulation techniques
Authors: Mishra Shashank , Maiti Soumyadipta , Dwadasi Balarama Sridhar , Rai Beena 
Published: November 2019

AbstractOver last 15 years high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and complex concentrated alloys (CCAs) have gained much appreciation for their numerous superior properties. In this paper we have shown a novel simulation methodology to realistically predict the nanometer level local structural features of complex Ta0.25Nb0.25Hf0.25Zr0.25 HEA. This involves prediction of the morphology of the short-range clustering (SRCs), their quantitative atomic composition at the nano level and the thermodynamic aspects. An alloy structure model containing 11664 atoms was created and this was subjected to structure evolution at 1800 °C. The structure evolution technique is based on a combined hybrid Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics (MC/MD) approach. The simulated results from this work are further validated against experiments and material characterizations reported in literature and done by high-resolution transmission electron micrograph (HRTEM) for the nano-level microstructure, atom probe tomography (APT) for the local chemical compositions and X-ray diffraction at synchrotron sources for the local lattice relaxation effects. This work qualitatively and quantitatively reproduces the materials characterization results reasonably well from the developed simulation methodologies. The structure evolution methods as described in this work are based on independent computer simulations and does not involve any manual intervention for input based on experiments on evolving SRCs. This work shows the potential of utilizing MC/MD based computational methods to reduce the number of costly experimental characterizations and accelerate the pace for materials development.
A subacute model of glaucoma based on limbal plexus cautery in pigmented rats
Authors: Lani Rafael , Dias Mariana S. , Abreu Carla Andreia , Araújo Victor G. , Gonçalo Thais , Nascimento-dos-Santos Gabriel , Dantas Adalmir Morterá , Allodi Silvana , Fiorani Mario , Petrs-Silva Hilda , Linden Rafael 
Published: November 2019

AbstractGlaucoma is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive functional impairment and degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons, and is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Current management of glaucoma is based on reduction of high intraocular pressure (IOP), one of its most consistent risk factors, but the disease proceeds in almost half of the patients despite such treatments. Several experimental models of glaucoma have been developed in rodents, most of which present shortcomings such as high surgical invasiveness, slow learning curves, damage to the transparency of the optic media which prevents adequate functional assessment, and variable results. Here we describe a novel and simple method to induce ocular hypertension in pigmented rats, based on low-temperature cauterization of the whole circumference of the limbal vascular plexus, a major component of aqueous humor drainage and easily accessible for surgical procedures. This simple, low-cost and efficient method produced a reproducible subacute ocular hypertension with full clinical recovery, followed by a steady loss of retinal ganglion cells and optic axons, accompanied by functional changes detected both by electrophysiological and behavioral methods.
Enhancing the Seebeck effect in Ge/Si through the combination of interfacial design features
Authors: Nadtochiy Andriy , Kuryliuk Vasyl , Strelchuk Viktor , Korotchenkov Oleg , Li Pei-Wen , Lee Sheng-Wei 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDue to their inherent physical properties, thin-film Si/SiGe heterostructures have specific thermal management applications in advanced integrated circuits and this in turn is essential not only to prevent a high local temperature and overheat inside the circuit, but also generate electricity through the Seebeck effect. Here, we were able to enhance the Seebeck effect in the germanium composite quantum dots (CQDs) embedded in silicon by increasing the number of thin silicon layers inside the dot (multi-fold CQD material). The Seebeck effect in the CQD structures and multi-layer boron atomic layer-doped SiGe epitaxial films was studied experimentally at temperatures in the range from 50 to 300 K and detailed calculations for the Seebeck coefficient employing different scattering mechanisms were made. Our results show that the Seebeck coefficient is enhanced up to ≈40% in a 3-fold CQD material with respect to 2-fold Ge/Si CQDs. This enhancement was precisely modeled by taking into account the scattering of phonons by inner boundaries and the carrier filtering by the CQD inclusions. Our model is also able to reproduce the observed temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient in the B atomic layer-doped SiGe fairly well. We expect that the phonon scattering techniques developed here could significantly improve the thermoelectric performance of Ge/Si materials through further optimization of the layer stacks inside the quantum dot and of the dopant concentrations.
Converse Magnetoelectric Composite Resonator for Sensing Small Magnetic Fields
Authors: Hayes P. , Jovičević Klug M. , Toxværd S. , Durdaut P. , Schell V. , Teplyuk A. , Burdin D. , Winkler A. , Weser R. , Fetisov Y. , Höft M. , Knöchel R. , McCord J. , Quandt E. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMagnetoelectric (ME) thin film composites consisting of sputtered piezoelectric (PE) and magnetostrictive (MS) layers enable for measurements of magnetic fields passively, i.e. an AC magnetic field directly generates an ME voltage by mechanical coupling of the MS deformation to the PE phase. In order to achieve high field sensitivities a magnetic bias field is necessary to operate at the maximum piezomagnetic coefficient of the MS phase, harnessing mechanical resonances further enhances this direct ME effect size. Despite being able to detect very small AC field amplitudes, exploiting mechanical resonances directly, implies a limitation to available signal bandwidth along with the inherent inability to detect DC or very low frequency magnetic fields. The presented work demonstrates converse ME modulation of thin film Si cantilever composites of mesoscopic dimensions (25 mm × 2.45 mm × 0.35 mm), employing piezoelectric AlN and magnetostrictive FeCoSiB films of 2 µm thickness each. A high frequency mechanical resonance at about 515 kHz leads to strong induced voltages in a surrounding pickup coil with matched self-resonance, leading to field sensitivities up to 64 kV/T. A DC limit of detection of 210 pT/Hz1/2 as well as about 70 pT/Hz1/2 at 10 Hz, without the need for a magnetic bias field, pave the way towards biomagnetic applications.
Community assembly mechanisms and succession processes significantly differ among treatments during the restoration of Stipa grandis – Leymus chinensis communities
Authors: Dong Ke , Hao Guang , Yang Nan , Zhang Jian-li , Ding Xin-feng , Ren Hui-qin , Shen Jun-fang , Wang Jin-long , Jiang Lin , Zhao Nian-xi , Gao Yu-bao 
Published: November 2019

AbstractUnderstanding community assembly mechanisms is helpful to predict community dynamics. To explore which community assembly mechanism(s) drive(s) the grassland restoration in semi-arid region, we investigated the relationships between plant trait and species relative abundance (SRA), and estimated community functional diversity indices for each community under different treatments (enclosure, grazing and mowing treatment) in a restoration region of Stipa grandis – Leymus chinensis communities in the northern China from 2010 to 2012. There was a high fraction of significant relationships between trait value and SRA, suggesting that niche theory structured the grassland restoration in this region. The functional richness was higher and the functional divergence was lower in the enclosure community than that in the grazing or mowing community, and significantly positive plant height - SRA relationship was found in the enclosure community. These findings demonstrated that limiting similarity based on niche theory was more important in structuring the enclosure community and that environmental filtering based on niche theory played a more important role in driving the grazing or mowing community. Only the factor of year significantly affected the functional evenness (FEve), and the lowest FEve in 2011 implied that the relatively lower precipitation could enhance the effect of limiting similarity on community assembly in the semi-arid grassland.
Rotigotine suppresses sleep-related muscle activity augmented by injection of dialysis patients’ sera in a mouse model of restless legs syndrome
Authors: Muramatsu Kazuhiro , Chikahisa Sachiko , Shimizu Noriyuki , Séi Hiroyoshi , Inoue Yuichi 
Published: November 2019

AbstractIdiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS) has a genetic basis wherein BTBD9 is associated with a higher risk of RLS. Hemodialysis patients also exhibit higher rates of RLS compared with the healthy population. However, little is known about the relationship of BTBD9 and end-stage renal disease to RLS pathophysiology. Here we evaluated sleep and leg muscle activity of Btbd9 mutant (MT) mice after administration of serum from patients with either idiopathic or RLS due to end-stage renal disease (renal RLS) and investigated the efficacy of treatment with the dopamine agonist rotigotine. At baseline, the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was decreased and leg muscle activity during non-REM (NREM) sleep was increased in MT mice compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Wake-promoting effects of rotigotine were attenuated by injection of serum from RLS patients in both WT and MT mice. Leg muscle activity during NREM sleep was increased only in MT mice injected with serum from RLS patients of ideiopatic and renal RLS. Subsequent treatment with rotigotine ameliorated this altered leg muscle activity. Together these results support previous reports showing a relationship between the Btbd9/dopamine system and RLS, and elucidate in part the pathophysiology of RLS.
Comorbidity of asthma and hypertension may be mediated by shared genetic dysregulation and drug side effects
Authors: Zolotareva Olga , Saik Olga V. , Königs Cassandra , Bragina Elena Yu. , Goncharova Irina A. , Freidin Maxim B. , Dosenko Victor E. , Ivanisenko Vladimir A. , Hofestädt Ralf 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAsthma and hypertension are complex diseases coinciding more frequently than expected by chance. Unraveling the mechanisms of comorbidity of asthma and hypertension is necessary for choosing the most appropriate treatment plan for patients with this comorbidity. Since both diseases have a strong genetic component in this article we aimed to find and study genes simultaneously associated with asthma and hypertension. We identified 330 shared genes and found that they form six modules on the interaction network. A strong overlap between genes associated with asthma and hypertension was found on the level of eQTL regulated genes and between targets of drugs relevant for asthma and hypertension. This suggests that the phenomenon of comorbidity of asthma and hypertension may be explained by altered genetic regulation or result from drug side effects. In this work we also demonstrate that not only drug indications but also contraindications provide an important source of molecular evidence helpful to uncover disease mechanisms. These findings give a clue to the possible mechanisms of comorbidity and highlight the direction for future research.
A host dTMP-bound structure of T4 phage dCMP hydroxymethylase mutant using an X-ray free electron laser
Authors: Park Si Hoon , Park Jaehyun , Lee Sang Jae , Yang Woo Seok , Park Sehan , Kim Kyungdo , Park Zee-Yong , Song Hyun Kyu 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe hydroxymethylation of cytosine bases plays a vital role in the phage DNA protection system inside the host Escherichia coli. This modification is known to be catalyzed by the dCMP hydroxymethylase from bacteriophage T4 (T4dCH); structural information on the complexes with the substrate, dCMP and the co-factor, tetrahydrofolate is currently available. However, the detailed mechanism has not been understood clearly owing to a lack of structure in the complex with a reaction intermediate. We have applied the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) technique to determine a high-resolution structure of a T4dCH D179N active site mutant. The XFEL structure was determined at room temperature and exhibited several unique features in comparison with previously determined structures. Unexpectedly, we observed a bulky electron density at the active site of the mutant that originated from the physiological host (i.e., E. coli). Mass-spectrometric analysis and a cautious interpretation of an electron density map indicated that it was a dTMP molecule. The bound dTMP mimicked the methylene intermediate from dCMP to 5′-hydroxymethy-dCMP, and a critical water molecule for the final hydroxylation was convincingly identified. Therefore, this study provides information that contributes to the understanding of hydroxymethylation.
Variation of the clavicle’s muscle insertion footprints – a cadaveric study
Authors: Herteleer M. , Vancleef S. , Herijgers P. , Duflou J. , Jonkers I. , Vander Sloten J. , Nijs S. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe muscle footprint anatomy of the clavicle is described in various anatomical textbooks but research on the footprint variation is rare. Our goal was to assess the variation and to create a probabilistic atlas of the muscle footprint anatomy. 14 right and left clavicles of anatomical specimens were dissected until only muscle fibers remained. 3D models with muscle footprints were made through CT scanning, laser scanning and photogrammetry. Then, for each side, the mean clavicle was calculated and non-rigidly registered to all other cadaveric bones. Muscle footprints were indicated on the mean left and right clavicle through the 1-to-1 mesh correspondence which is achieved by non-rigid registration. Lastly, 2 probabilistic atlases from the clavicle muscle footprints were generated. There was no statistical significant difference between the surface area (absolute and relative), of the originally dissected muscle footprints, of male and female, and left and right anatomical specimens. Visualization of all muscle footprints on the mean clavicle resulted in 72% (right) and 82% (left) coverage of the surface. The Muscle Insertion Footprint of each specimen covered on average 36.9% of the average right and 37.0% of the average left clavicle. The difference between surface coverage by all MIF and the mean surface coverage, shows that the MIF location varies strongly. From the probabilistic atlas we can conclude that no universal clavicle exists. Therefore, patient-specific clavicle fracture fixation plates should be considered to minimally interfere with the MIF. Therefore, patient-specific clavicle fracture fixation plates which minimally interfere with the footprints should be considered.