bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Oblique Porous Composite as Evaporating “Cap”: Do Desert Dunes Preserve Moisture by Capillary Barriers and Tilt of Their Slopes?
Authors: Al‐Shukaili A. , Al‐Busaidi H. , Al‐Maktoumi A. , Abdalla O. , Shelukhina O. , Kacimov A. R. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractEvaporation from desert sand dunes is studied practically using laboratory columns and mathematically using both analytical and numerical modeling. On outcropping cliffs of the dunes of Buwshar (Oman), microstratification, with layers' thickness of 1–2 mm, was observed. Loose sand and consolidated core samples were collected for laboratory experiments. Imbibition into initially dry sand columns and ensuing steady state evaporation from a capillary fringe above a horizontal water table were studied. The evaporating, negative‐pressure topsoil of the columns was slanted mimicking the cliffs' tilt. In the columns plugged by a thin composite “cap” made by tooling the dune stratified clod, evaporation was impeded and reduced as compared with a homogeneous column. The same outlet evaporating boundaries were considered in HYDRUS‐2D simulations, which showed that 2‐D evaporation from a homogenous column was significantly higher than that from the column with a stratified “plug” at the top. Analytical solution for a 2‐D tension‐saturated homogeneous trapezium was obtained by conformal mappings of pentagon in the physical plane onto a rectangle in the Zhukovsky plain, via a reference plane. This solution combines the versatility of the Toth model, where topology of flow is controlled by an isobaric boundary of a flow tube, and of the Vedernikov model, which assumes a constant hydraulic conductivity in the negative pressure zone of a capillary fringe. Analytical formulae also manifest a decrease of the flow rate with the increase of the angle of tilt of an evaporating isobar.
Ca2+-activated Cl− channel TMEM16A/ANO1 identified in zebrafish skeletal muscle is crucial for action potential acceleration
Authors: Dayal Anamika , Ng Shu Fun J. , Grabner Manfred 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe Ca2+-activated Cl−channel (CaCC) TMEM16A/Anoctamin 1 (ANO1) is expressed in gastrointestinal epithelia and smooth muscle cells where it mediates secretion and intestinal motility. However, ANO1 Cl−conductance has never been reported to play a role in skeletal muscle. Here we show that ANO1 is robustly expressed in the highly evolved skeletal musculature of the euteleost species zebrafish. We characterised ANO1 asbonafideCaCC which is activated close to maximum by Ca2+ions released from the SR during excitation-contraction (EC) coupling. Consequently, our study addressed the question about the physiological advantage of implementation of ANO1 into the euteleost skeletal-muscle EC coupling machinery. Our results reveal that Cl−influx through ANO1 plays an essential role in restricting the width of skeletal-muscle action potentials (APs) by accelerating the repolarisation phase. Resulting slimmer APs enable higher AP-frequencies and apparently tighter controlled, faster and stronger muscle contractions, crucial for high speed movements.
A tRNA half modulates translation as stress response in Trypanosoma brucei
Authors: Fricker Roger , Brogli Rebecca , Luidalepp Hannes , Wyss Leander , Fasnacht Michel , Joss Oliver , Zywicki Marek , Helm Mark , Schneider André , Cristodero Marina , Polacek Norbert 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIn the absence of extensive transcription control mechanisms the pathogenic parasite Trypanosoma brucei crucially depends on translation regulation to orchestrate gene expression. However, molecular insight into regulating protein biosynthesis is sparse. Here we analyze the small non-coding RNA (ncRNA) interactome of ribosomes in T. brucei during different growth conditions and life stages. Ribosome-associated ncRNAs have recently been recognized as unprecedented regulators of ribosome functions. Our data show that the tRNAThr 3´half is produced during nutrient deprivation and becomes one of the most abundant tRNA-derived RNA fragments (tdRs). tRNAThr halves associate with ribosomes and polysomes and stimulate translation by facilitating mRNA loading during stress recovery once starvation conditions ceased. Blocking or depleting the endogenous tRNAThr halves mitigates this stimulatory effect both in vivo and in vitro. T. brucei and its close relatives lack the well-described mammalian enzymes for tRNA half processing, thus hinting at a unique tdR biogenesis in these parasites.
Spin-optoelectronic devices based on hybrid organic-inorganic trihalide perovskites
Authors: Wang Jingying , Zhang Chuang , Liu Haoliang , McLaughlin Ryan , Zhai Yaxin , Vardeny Shai R. , Liu Xiaojie , McGill Stephen , Semenov Dmitry , Guo Hangwen , Tsuchikawa Ryuichi , Deshpande Vikram V. , Sun Dali , Vardeny Z. Valy 
Published: January 2019

AbstractRecently the hybrid organic-inorganic trihalide perovskites have shown remarkable performance as active layers in photovoltaic and other optoelectronic devices. However, their spin characteristic properties have not been fully studied, although due to the relatively large spin-orbit coupling these materials may show great promise for spintronic applications. Here we demonstrate spin-polarized carrier injection into methylammonium lead bromide films from metallic ferromagnetic electrodes in two spintronic-based devices: a ‘spin light emitting diode’ that results in circularly polarized electroluminescence emission; and a ‘vertical spin valve’ that shows giant magnetoresistance. In addition, we also apply a magnetic field perpendicular to the injected spins orientation for measuring the ‘Hanle effect’, from which we obtain a relatively long spin lifetime for the electrically injected carriers. Our measurements initiate the field of hybrid perovskites spin-related optoelectronic applications.
Precision ultrasound sensing on a chip
Authors: Basiri-Esfahani Sahar , Armin Ardalan , Forstner Stefan , Bowen Warwick P. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractUltrasound sensors have wide applications across science and technology. However, improved sensitivity is required for both miniaturisation and increased spatial resolution. Here, we introduce cavity optomechanical ultrasound sensing, where dual optical and mechanical resonances enhance the ultrasound signal. We achieve noise equivalent pressures of 8–300 μPa Hz−1/2 at kilohertz to megahertz frequencies in a microscale silicon-chip-based sensor with >120 dB dynamic range. The sensitivity far exceeds similar sensors that use an optical resonance alone and, normalised to the sensing area, surpasses previous air-coupled ultrasound sensors by several orders of magnitude. The noise floor is dominated by collisions from molecules in the gas within which the acoustic wave propagates. This approach to acoustic sensing could find applications ranging from biomedical diagnostics, to autonomous navigation, trace gas sensing, and scientific exploration of the metabolism-induced-vibrations of single cells.
Artificial Neuron using Vertical MoS2/Graphene Threshold Switching Memristors
Authors: Kalita Hirokjyoti , Krishnaprasad Adithi , Choudhary Nitin , Das Sonali , Dev Durjoy , Ding Yi , Tetard Laurene , Chung Hee-Suk , Jung Yeonwoong , Roy Tania 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWith the ever-increasing demand for low power electronics, neuromorphic computing has garnered huge interest in recent times. Implementing neuromorphic computing in hardware will be a severe boost for applications involving complex processes such as image processing and pattern recognition. Artificial neurons form a critical part in neuromorphic circuits, and have been realized with complex complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry in the past. Recently, metal-insulator-transition materials have been used to realize artificial neurons. Although memristors have been implemented to realize synaptic behavior, not much work has been reported regarding the neuronal response achieved with these devices. In this work, we use the volatile threshold switching behavior of a vertical-MoS2/graphene van der Waals heterojunction system to produce the integrate-and-fire response of a neuron. We use large area chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene and MoS2, enabling large scale realization of these devices. These devices can emulate the most vital properties of a neuron, including the all or nothing spiking, the threshold driven spiking of the action potential, the post-firing refractory period of a neuron and strength modulated frequency response. These results show that the developed artificial neuron can play a crucial role in neuromorphic computing.
µLAS: Sizing of expanded trinucleotide repeats with femtomolar sensitivity in less than 5 minutes
Authors: Malbec Rémi , Chami Bayan , Aeschbach Lorène , Ruiz Buendía Gustavo A. , Socol Marius , Joseph Pierre , Leïchlé Thierry , Trofimenko Evgeniya , Bancaud Aurélien , Dion Vincent 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWe present µLAS, a lab-on-chip system that concentrates, separates, and detects DNA fragments in a single module. µLAS speeds up DNA size analysis in minutes using femtomolar amounts of amplified DNA. Here we tested the relevance of µLAS for sizing expanded trinucleotide repeats, which cause over 20 different neurological and neuromuscular disorders. Because the length of trinucleotide repeats correlates with the severity of the diseases, it is crucial to be able to size repeat tract length accurately and efficiently. Expanded trinucleotide repeats are however genetically unstable and difficult to amplify. Thus, the amount of amplified material to work with is often limited, making its analysis labor-intensive. We report the detection of heterogeneous allele lengths in 8 samples from myotonic dystrophy type 1 and Huntington disease patients with up to 750 CAG/CTG repeats in five minutes or less. The high sensitivity of the method allowed us to minimize the number of amplification cycles and thus reduce amplification artefacts without compromising the detection of the expanded allele. These results suggest that µLAS can speed up routine molecular biology applications of repetitive sequences and may improve the molecular diagnostic of expanded repeat disorders.
Quantifying uncertainties of sandy shoreline change projections as sea level rises
Authors: Le Cozannet Gonéri , Bulteau Thomas , Castelle Bruno , Ranasinghe Roshanka , Wöppelmann Guy , Rohmer Jeremy , Bernon Nicolas , Idier Déborah , Louisor Jessie , Salas-y-Mélia David 
Published: January 2019

AbstractSandy shorelines are constantly evolving, threatening frequently human assets such as buildings or transport infrastructure. In these environments, sea-level rise will exacerbate coastal erosion to an amount which remains uncertain. Sandy shoreline change projections inherit the uncertainties of future mean sea-level changes, of vertical ground motions, and of other natural and anthropogenic processes affecting shoreline change variability and trends. Furthermore, the erosive impact of sea-level rise itself can be quantified using two fundamentally different models. Here, we show that this latter source of uncertainty, which has been little quantified so far, can account for 20 to 40% of the variance of shoreline projections by 2100 and beyond. This is demonstrated for four contrasting sandy beaches that are relatively unaffected by human interventions in southwestern France, where a variance-based global sensitivity analysis of shoreline projection uncertainties can be performed owing to previous observations of beach profile and shoreline changes. This means that sustained coastal observations and efforts to develop sea-level rise impact models are needed to understand and eventually reduce uncertainties of shoreline change projections, in order to ultimately support coastal land-use planning and adaptation.
VacA promotes CagA accumulation in gastric epithelial cells during Helicobacter pylori infection
Authors: Abdullah Majd , Greenfield Laura K. , Bronte-Tinkew Dana , Capurro Mariana I. , Rizzuti David , Jones Nicola L. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the causative agent of gastric cancer, making it the only bacterium to be recognized as a Class I carcinogen by the World Health Organization. The virulence factor cytotoxin associated gene A (CagA) is a known oncoprotein that contributes to the development of gastric cancer. The other major virulence factor vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA), disrupts endolysosomal vesicular trafficking and impairs the autophagy pathway. Studies indicate that there is a functional interplay between these virulence factors by unknown mechanisms. We show that in the absence of VacA, both host-cell autophagy and the proteasome degrade CagA during infection with H. pylori. In the presence of VacA, CagA accumulates in gastric epithelial cells. However, VacA does not affect proteasome function during infection with H. pylori suggesting that VacA−disrupted autophagy is the predominant means by which CagA accumulates. Our studies support a model where in the presence of VacA, CagA accumulates in dysfunctional autophagosomes providing a possible explanation for the functional interplay of VacA and CagA.
Antagonistic pleiotropy in mice carrying a CAG repeat expansion in the range causing Huntington’s disease
Authors: Morton A. J. , Skillings E. A. , Wood N. I. , Zheng Z. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractAntagonist pleiotropy, where a gene exerts a beneficial effect at early stages and a deleterious effect later on in an animal’s life, may explain the evolutionary persistence of devastating genetic diseases such as Huntington’s disease (HD). To date, however, there is little direct experimental evidence to support this theory. Here, we studied a transgenic mouse carrying the HD mutation with a repeat of 50 CAGs (R6/2_50) that is within the pathological range of repeats causing adult-onset disease in humans. R6/2_50 mice develop characteristic HD brain aggregate pathology, with aggregates appearing predominantly in the striatum and cortex. However, they show few signs of disease in their lifetime. On the contrary, R6/2_50 mice appear to benefit from carrying the mutation. They have extended lifespans compared to wildtype (WT) mice, and male mice show enhanced fecundity. Furthermore, R6/2_50 mice outperform WT mice on the rotarod and show equal or better performance in the two choice discrimination task than WT mice. This novel mouse line provides direct experimental evidence that, although the HD mutation causes a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, there may be premorbid benefits of carrying the mutation.
Characterizing both bacteria and fungi improves understanding of the Arabidopsis root microbiome
Authors: Bergelson Joy , Mittelstrass Jana , Horton Matthew W. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractRoots provide plants mineral nutrients and stability in soil; while doing so, they come into contact with diverse soil microbes that affect plant health and productivity. Despite their ecological and agricultural relevance, the factors that shape the root microbiome remain poorly understood. We grew a worldwide panel of replicated Arabidopsis thaliana accessions outdoors and over winter to characterize their root-microbial communities. Although studies of the root microbiome tend to focus on bacteria, we found evidence that fungi have a strong influence on the structure of the root microbiome. Moreover, host effects appear to have a stronger influence on plant-fungal communities than plant-bacterial communities. Mapping the host genes that affect microbiome traits identified a priori candidate genes with roles in plant immunity; the root microbiome also appears to be strongly affected by genes that impact root and root hair development. Our results suggest that future analyses of the root microbiome should focus on multiple kingdoms, and that the root microbiome is shaped not only by genes involved in defense, but also by genes involved in plant form and physiology.
Transthyretin Aggregation Pathway toward the Formation of Distinct Cytotoxic Oligomers
Authors: Dasari Anvesh K. R. , Hughes Robert M. , Wi Sungsool , Hung Ivan , Gan Zhehong , Kelly Jeffrey W. , Lim Kwang Hun 
Published: January 2019

AbstractCharacterization of small oligomers formed at an early stage of amyloid formation is critical to understanding molecular mechanism of pathogenic aggregation process. Here we identified and characterized cytotoxic oligomeric intermediates populated during transthyretin (TTR) aggregation process. Under the amyloid-forming conditions, TTR initially forms a dimer through interactions between outer strands. The dimers are then associated to form a hexamer with a spherical shape, which serves as a building block to self-assemble into cytotoxic oligomers. Notably, wild-type (WT) TTR tends to form linear oligomers, while a TTR variant (G53A) prefers forming annular oligomers with pore-like structures. Structural analyses of the amyloidogenic intermediates using circular dichroism (CD) and solid-state NMR reveal that the dimer and oligomers have a significant degree of native-like β-sheet structures (35–38%), but with more disordered regions (~60%) than those of native TTR. The TTR variant oligomers are also less structured than WT oligomers. The partially folded nature of the oligomeric intermediates might be a common structural property of cytotoxic oligomers. The higher flexibility of the dimer and oligomers may also compensate for the entropic loss due to the oligomerization of the monomers.
Revealing the alternative promoter usage of SAF/MAZ gene by bichromatic fluorescent reporter construct
Authors: Ren Jianbo , Guo Dawei , Wang Xiaoyi , Zhang Chao , Wang Bo , Gao Zhe 
Published: January 2019

Abstract
The large-scale identification of putative alternative promoters study shows more than 52% of human genes are regulated by alternative promoters. The human myc-associated zinc finger protein (SAF/MAZ) gene have SAF-1 and SAF-3 variants transcripted from two transcription start sites (TSSs). By using SAF/MAZ promoter as a model, we set up an approach to probe how the alternative promoters are regulated in real time. We have constructed the bichromatic fluorescent reporter driven by SAF/MAZ 5′-proximal promoter plasmids from which transactivation status of SAF-1 and SAF-3 alternative promoter could be monitored by EGFP and DsRed expression respectively. The results showed that the SAF-3 expression is regulated by alternative promoters. When the bichromatic fluorescent reporter was driven by −1692/+277 or −1401/+277 SAF/MAZ promoter the dominant expression of SAF-3 would be observed in comparison with SAF-1 expression. We also identified that Elk-1 is an inhibitory transcription factor for SAF-3 expression. The temporal diversity of SAF-1 and SAF-3 expressions can be observed via bichromatic fluorescent reporters. These imply that the bichromatic fluorescent reporter driven by alternative promoter construct might be a useful tool for decoding the temporal regulatory repertoire of alternative promoter in human genes.
Repetition‐assisted decoding of polar codes
Authors: Rowshan M. , Viterbo E. , Micheloni R. , Marelli A. 
Published: January 2019

Error correction performance of finite‐length polar codes has been a major concern in the past decade. This Letter presents a method for improving the error correction performance of cyclic redundancy check (CRC)‐aided successive cancellation list decoding for polar codes of medium block‐lengths with high code rates. In the proposed decoding scheme, a one‐time repetition of least reliable bit‐channels along with partial protection of the message is employed to correct the error(s) when decoding fails. The results show an improvement of nearly 0.2 dB in error correction performance.
Optical fibre liquid sensor for cryogenic propellant mass measurement
Authors: Chi Xingqiang , Ke Xuan , Xu Wei 
Published: January 2019

The authors report a one‐piece flexible liquid level optical fibre sensing probe in this Letter, which is meant to measure the liquid level inside the cryogenic propellant tanks of spacecraft and rockets. The ultra‐lightweight sensing probe can be used in both aerospace vehicles and in any type of cryogenic fluid storage system. In contrast to current liquid gauging technologies such as Delta‐P pressure sensor, capacitance probe, ultrasonic sensor, and silicon diode liquid level sensing probe, the fibre optic continuous liquid level sensor has unique advantages in terms of gauging accuracy, reliability, simplicity, and maintenance. The sensor uses one single optical fibre probe to measure the liquid level and the liquid distribution of cryogenic propellant. Every point of the sensing fibre is a ‘point sensor’ that is able to distinguish liquid and vapour. The physical location of each ‘point sensor’ can be determined with 1 mm spatial resolution or better. The optical fibre probe can be installed in a propellant tank with the same manner as currently used silicon diode liquid level sensing probe via only one single feed‐through to connect to an optical signal interrogation unit located outside the tank. Experiments on measuring liquid nitrogen level are demonstrated.
Effect of lane allocation on operational efficiency at weaving areas based on a cellular automaton model
Authors: An Xu , Zhao Jing , Li Peng , Ma Xiaodan 
Published: January 2019

The traffic weaving area is one of the key bottlenecks affecting the operation efficiency of an urban expressway system. The main motivation of this study is to explore the effects of lane allocation on the operational efficiency at weaving areas. A cellular automaton model was established, in which three different lane‐changing rules were considered to match the driving behaviour when the lanes are allocated. Using the average vehicular travel time and the average velocity as the indicators, the operational performance of various lane allocation schemes was compared under different traffic and geometric conditions. A case study is used to validate and evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the benefits of the lane‐allocation strategy are affected by the traffic flow, weaving volume ratio, weaving length, and installation location of the isolation facilities. The lane‐allocation strategy has promising application under the conditions of a traffic flow that is >400 veh/ln, at weaving volume ratio between 0.2 and 0.7, and weaving length shorter than 300 m. Moreover, the isolation facilities should cover the weaving area when the lane‐allocation strategy is used.
Single inductor dual buck‐boost inverter based on half‐cycle PWM scheme with active clamping devices
Authors: Lee Moonhyun , Kim Jong‐Woo , Lai Jih‐Sheng 
Published: January 2019

This paper presents a single‐phase differential‐type photovoltaic inverter named single inductor dual buck‐boost inverter (SIDBBI) based on improved half‐cycle PWM (HPWM). Conventional DBBI (CDBBI) is a good option for photovoltaic application due to step‐up/down ability for varying inputs. However, inherent high inductor current and corresponding increments of inductor size and device ratings have made it less attractive than other topologies. This paper proposes an HPWM scheme with active clamping switches to reduce inductor voltage swing, highly induced current and component stresses by eliminating output voltages offsets. Under the proposed modulation, component voltage stresses in CDBBI can be reduced by zero offset, and there arises a chance to integrate half‐utilized inductors, main switches and complementary diodes of two modules into one set, which is the proposed SIDBBI topology. 500 W prototypes of the conventional/proposed inverters have been built for verifications and comparison. Detailed analysis and experimental results under the proposed HPWM show that the size of SIDBBI can be reduced by 40.4% than CDBBI, maintaining comparable efficiency over 96% and wide input coverage by step‐up/down ability. Comparative results address that SIDBBI is competitive in terms of component counts, stresses and losses, compared with various kinds of buck‐boost inverter topologies.