bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Copolymer dielectrics with balanced chain-packing density and surface polarity for high-performance flexible organic electronics
Authors: Ji Deyang , Li Tao , Zou Ye , Chu Ming , Zhou Ke , Liu Jinyu , Tian Guofeng , Zhang Zhaoyang , Zhang Xu , Li Liqiang , Wu Dezhen , Dong Huanli , Miao Qian , Fuchs Harald , Hu Wenping 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThe ever-increasing demand for flexible electronics calls for the development of low-voltage and high-mobility organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) that can be integrated into emerging display and labeling technologies. Polymer dielectrics with comprehensive and balanced dielectric properties (i.e., a good balance between their insulating characteristics and compatibility with organic semiconductors) are considered particularly important for this end. Here, we introduce a simple but highly efficient strategy to realize this target by using a new type of copolymer as dielectrics. Benefiting from both high chain packing density guaranteeing dielectric properties and surface polarity optimizing molecular packing of organic semiconductors, this rationally designed copolymer dielectric endows flexible OTFTs with high mobility (5.6 cm2 V−1 s−1), low operating voltage (3 V) and outstanding stability. Further, their applicability in integrated circuits is verified. The excellent device performance shows exciting prospects of this molecular-scale engineered copolymer for the realization of plastic high-performance integrated electronics.
Whole-genome resequencing reveals world-wide ancestry and adaptive introgression events of domesticated cattle in East Asia
Authors: Chen Ningbo , Cai Yudong , Chen Qiuming , Li Ran , Wang Kun , Huang Yongzhen , Hu Songmei , Huang Shisheng , Zhang Hucai , Zheng Zhuqing , Song Weining , Ma Zhijie , Ma Yun , Dang Ruihua , Zhang Zijing , Xu Lei , Jia Yutang , Liu Shanzhai , Yue Xiangpeng , Deng Weidong , Zhang Xiaoming , Sun Zhouyong , Lan Xianyong , Han Jianlin , Chen Hong , Bradley Daniel G , Jiang Yu , Lei Chuzhao 
Published: June 2018

AbstractCattle domestication and the complex histories of East Asian cattle breeds warrant further investigation. Through analysing the genomes of 49 modern breeds and eight East Asian ancient samples, worldwide cattle are consistently classified into five continental groups based on Y-chromosome haplotypes and autosomal variants. We find that East Asian cattle populations are mainly composed of three distinct ancestries, including an earlier East Asian taurine ancestry that reached China at least ~3.9 kya, a later introduced Eurasian taurine ancestry, and a novel Chinese indicine ancestry that diverged from Indian indicine approximately 36.6–49.6 kya. We also report historic introgression events that helped domestic cattle from southern China and the Tibetan Plateau achieve rapid adaptation by acquiring ~2.93% and ~1.22% of their genomes from banteng and yak, respectively. Our findings provide new insights into the evolutionary history of cattle and the importance of introgression in adaptation of cattle to new environmental challenges in East Asia.
The perioperative dynamics of IL-7 following robot-assisted and open colorectal surgery
Authors: Krzystek-Korpacka Małgorzata , Zawadzki Marek , Szufnarowski Krzysztof , Bednarz-Misa Iwona , Gorska Sabina , Witkiewicz Wojciech , Gamian Andrzej 
Published: June 2018

AbstractInterleukin-7 is critical for T-cell development and displays antimicrobial and antitumor properties. It is referred to as a “critical enhancer of protective immunity”. However, there is no information on interleukin-7 dynamics following colorectal surgery. Moreover, although robot-assisted surgery is gaining popularity, data on the immune response to it is almost non-existent. In this prospective non-randomized case-control study we found interleukin-7 dynamics to differ following robot-assisted and open approach and to affect postoperative immunity. Linear increases were seen in the robotic group while a cubic pattern with a maximum at 8 h in the open one. Low preoperative interleukin-7 was associated with developing surgical site infection. In turn, higher preoperative interleukin-7 was associated with preserved immune function: less pronounced drop in lymphocyte count and higher Δlymphocyte/Δneutrophil ratio in patients undergoing robotic surgery. The changes in other cytokines, namely, interleukin-12(p70), TNFα, interferon-γ, and interleukin-10 were independently associated with interleukin-7 dynamics. In turn, relative changes in interleukin-7 were independent predictors of changes in interferon-γ, key cytokine of favourable Th1 immune response. Taken together, we demonstrated different perioperative dynamics of interleukin-7, which may contribute to favourable outcomes following robotic colorectal surgery including lower incidence of surgical site infections, milder surgery-induced lymphopenia, and beneficial interferon-γ dynamics.
Signature of Pareto optimization in the Escherichia coli proteome
Authors: Koçillari Loren , Fariselli Piero , Trovato Antonio , Seno Flavio , Maritan Amos 
Published: June 2018

AbstractProteins have coevolved with cellular environments to improve or preserve their functions, maintaining at the same time the degree of hydrophobicity necessary to fold correctly and enough solubility to perform their biological roles. Here, we study the Escherichia coli proteome using a Pareto front analysis in the solubility-hydrophobicity space. The results indicate the existence of a Pareto optimal front, a triangle whose vertices correspond to archetypal proteins specialized in distinct tasks, such as regulatory processes, membrane transport, outer-membrane pore formation, catalysis, and binding. The vertices are further enriched with proteins that occupy different subcellular compartments, namely, cytoplasmic, inner membrane, outer membrane, and outer membrane bounded periplasmic space. The combination of various enriching features offers an interpretation of how bacteria use the physico-chemical properties of proteins, both to drive them into their final destination in the cell and to have their tasks accomplished.
Na3SbSe4−xS
x
as Sodium Superionic Conductors
Authors: Xiong Shan , Liu Zhantao , Rong Haibo , Wang Hai , McDaniel Malte , Chen Hailong 
Published: June 2018

AbstractNa based all-solid-state batteries are a promising technology for large-scale energy storage applications owing to good safety properties and low cost. High performance solid electrolyte materials with high room temperature ionic conductivity, good electrochemical stability and facile synthesis are highly desired for the commercialization of this technology. In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of a novel fast Na-ion conductor, cubic Na3SbSe4, with an excellent ionic conductivity of 0.85 mS cm–1 at room temperature, and a group of S doped variants. Na3SbSe4 exhibits good compatibility with metallic Na and good stability in a wide voltage range. The application of this compound as solid electrolyte is demonstrated in all-solid-state Na-ion cells cycled at room temperature.
Sample tracking in microbiome community profiling assays using synthetic 16S rRNA gene spike-in controls
Authors: Tourlousse Dieter M. , Ohashi Akiko , Sekiguchi Yuji 
Published: June 2018

AbstractWorkflows for microbiome community profiling by high-throughput sequencing are prone to sample mix-ups and cross-contamination due to the complexity of the procedures and large number of samples typically analyzed in parallel. We employed synthetic 16S rRNA gene spike-in controls to establish a method for tracking of sample identity and detection of cross-contamination in microbiome community profiling assays based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (16S-seq). Results demonstrated that combinatorial sample tracking mixes (STMs) can be reliably resolved by Illumina sequencing and faithfully represent their sample of origin. In a single-blinded experiment, addition of STMs at low levels was shown to be sufficient to unambiguously identify and resolve swapped samples. Using artificial admixtures of individually SMT-tagged samples, we further established the ability to detect and quantify cross-contamination down to a level of approximately 1%. The utility of our technique was underscored through detection of an unplanned case of cross-contamination that occurred during this study. By enabling detection of sample mix-ups and cross-contamination throughout 16S-seq workflows, the present technique thus assures provenance of sequence data on a per-sample basis. The method can be readily implemented in standard 16S-seq workflows and its routine application is expected to enhance the reliability of 16S-seq data.
Fisher Discrimination Regularized Robust Coding Based on a Local Center for Tumor Classification
Authors: Li Weibiao , Liao Bo , Zhu Wen , Chen Min , Li Zejun , Wei Xiaohui , Peng Lihong , Huang Guohua , Cai Lijun , Chen HaoWen 
Published: June 2018

AbstractTumor classification is crucial to the clinical diagnosis and proper treatment of cancers. In recent years, sparse representation-based classifier (SRC) has been proposed for tumor classification. The employed dictionary plays an important role in sparse representation-based or sparse coding-based classification. However, sparse representation-based tumor classification models have not used the employed dictionary, thereby limiting their performance. Furthermore, this sparse representation model assumes that the coding residual follows a Gaussian or Laplacian distribution, which may not effectively describe the coding residual in practical tumor classification. In the present study, we formulated a novel effective cancer classification technique, namely, Fisher discrimination regularized robust coding (FDRRC), by combining the Fisher discrimination dictionary learning method with the regularized robust coding (RRC) model, which searches for a maximum a posteriori solution to coding problems by assuming that the coding residual and representation coefficient are independent and identically distributed. The proposed FDRRC model is extensively evaluated on various tumor datasets and shows superior performance compared with various state-of-the-art tumor classification methods in a variety of classification tasks.
Molecular identification of papillomavirus in ducks
Authors: Williams Richard A. J. , Tolf Conny , Waldenström Jonas 
Published: June 2018

AbstractPapillomaviruses infect many vertebrates, including birds. Persistent infections by some strains can cause malignant proliferation of cells (i.e. cancer), though more typically infections cause benign tumours, or may be completely subclinical. Sometimes extensive, persistent tumours are recorded–notably in chaffinches and humans. In 2016, a novel papillomavirus genotype was characterized from a duck faecal microbiome, in Bhopal, India; the sixth papillomavirus genotype from birds. Prompted by this finding, we screened 160 cloacal swabs and 968 faecal samples collected from 299 ducks sampled at Ottenby Bird Observatory, Sweden in 2015, using a newly designed real-time PCR. Twenty one samples (1.9%) from six individuals (2%) were positive. Eighteen sequences were identical to the published genotype, duck papillomavirus 1. One additional novel genotype was recovered from three samples. Both genotypes were recovered from a wild strain domestic mallard that was infected for more than 60 days with each genotype. All positive individuals were adult (P = 0.004). Significantly more positive samples were detected from swabs than faecal samples (P < 0.0001). Sample type data suggests transmission may be via direct contact, and only infrequently, via the oral-faecal route. Infection in only adult birds supports the hypothesis that this virus is sexually transmitted, though more work is required to verify this.
Toxic anthropogenic signature in Antarctic continental shelf and deep sea sediments
Authors: Isla Enrique , Pérez-Albaladejo Elisabet , Porte Cinta 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIndustrial activity generates harmful substances which can travel via aerial or water currents thousands of kilometers away from the place they were used impacting the local biota where they deposit. The presence of harmful anthropogenic substances in the Antarctic is particularly surprising and striking due to its remoteness and the apparent geophysical isolation developed with the flows of the Antarctic Circumpolar current and the ring of westerly winds surrounding the continent. However, long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) of pollutants has been detected in the Antarctic since the 70’s along the Antarctic trophic food web from phytoplankton to birds. Still, no information exists on the presence of cytotoxic compounds in marine sediments neither at basin scales (thousands of kilometers) nor in water depths (hundreds of meters) beyond shallow coastal areas near research stations. Our results showed for the first time that there is cytotoxic activity in marine sediment extracts from water depths >1000 m and along thousands of kilometers of Antarctic continental shelf, in some cases comparable to that observed in Mediterranean areas. Ongoing anthropogenic pressure appears as a serious threat to the sessile benthic communities, which have evolved in near isolation for millions of years in these environments.
Midday and nadir salivary cortisol appear superior to cortisol awakening response in burnout assessment and monitoring
Authors: Pilger Alexander , Haslacher Helmuth , Meyer Bernhard M. , Lackner Alexandra , Nassan-Agha Selma , Nistler Sonja , Stangelmaier Claudia , Endler Georg , Mikulits Andrea , Priemer Ingrid , Ratzinger Franz , Ponocny-Seliger Elisabeth , Wohlschläger-Krenn Evelyne , Teufelhart Manuela , Täuber Heidemarie , Scherzer Thomas M. , Perkmann Thomas , Jordakieva Galateja , Pezawas Lukas , Winker Robert 
Published: June 2018

AbstractBurnout and work-related stress symptoms of anxiety disorder and depression cause prolonged work absenteeism and early retirement. Hence, reliable identification of patients under risk and monitoring of treatment success is highly warranted. We aimed to evaluate stress-specific biomarkers in a population-based, “real-world” cohort (burnouts: n = 40, healthy controls: n = 26), recruited at a preventive care ward, at baseline and after a four-month follow up, during which patients received medical and psychological treatment. At baseline, significantly higher levels of salivary cortisol were observed in the burnout group compared to the control group. This was even more pronounced in midday- (p < 0.001) and nadir samples (p < 0.001) than for total morning cortisol secretion (p < 0.01). The treatment program resulted in a significant reduction of stress, anxiety, and depression scores (all p < 0.001), with 60% of patients showing a clinically relevant improvement. This was accompanied by a ~30% drop in midday cortisol levels (p < 0.001), as well as a ~25% decrease in cortisol nadir (p < 0.05), although not directly correlating with score declines. Our data emphasize the potential usefulness of midday and nadir salivary cortisol as markers in the assessment and biomonitoring of burnout.
Design of a high-precision and non-contact dynamic angular displacement measurement with dual-Laser Doppler Vibrometers
Authors: Chen Lei , Zhang Dengwei , Zhou Yilan , Liu Cheng , Che Shuangliang 
Published: June 2018

AbstractA wide dynamic range, high precision, non-contact and large bandwidth angular displacement measurement (ADM) is greatly necessary for the applications such as industrial control and military equipment. This paper proposes a simple and effective ADM method based on Doppler Effect, heterodyne detection and diffuse reflection, which can fulfill these requirements simultaneously. Two beams of parallel light generated by a pair of laser Doppler vibrometers are incident upon the surface of rotational target, then data processing unit acquires the velocity of dual laser incident points on the moving target, and resolves the rotational angular displacement and translation displacement of target through the relationship between dual laser beams dynamically. Several major measurement errors that may affect the ADM accuracy are analyzed. A high precision rotary table is used as an angular displacement standard to verify the measurement range and accuracy, the verification experiment shows that the measurement range is not less than ±10° and the measurement accuracy is 0.0362° based on the method. After using a polynomial error compensation, the measurement accuracy can be promoted to 0.0088°, and this compensation method can be applied to real time measurement.
From D-sorbitol to five-membered bis(cyclo-carbonate) as a platform molecule for the synthesis of different original biobased chemicals and polymers
Authors: Furtwengler Pierre , Avérous Luc 
Published: June 2018

AbstractBis(cyclo-carbonate) was successfully synthesized from D-sorbitol (Sorb-BisCC) through an environmentally friendly process with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as a reactant. In agreement with green chemistry principles, solvent free reactions were catalyzed and took place at low temperature. The reaction yield was increased until 50%, with the use of 1.3.5-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene as catalyst and a continuous DMC feed to limit the side-reactions or the loss of reactant by azeotropic flux with a reactional subsidiary product. The obtained Sorb-BisCC is a remarkable platform molecule which could compete with others polycyclic platform molecules (isosorbide). Sorb-BisCC can be e.g., used to synthesize different chemicals such as short and long polyols, or novel biobased non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPU). Two Sorb-BisCC molecules have been coupled to obtain novel cyclic diols with pendant side chains. Polyether polyols were also obtained by anionic ring opening polymerization. According to the synthesis conditions, these synthetized polyether polyols range from partially to highly cross-linked materials. Finally, NIPU were synthesized with short and biobased fatty diamines. These different modifications and synthesis highlight the versatility of the Sorb-BisCC and demonstrated its high potential as building block. Sorb-BisCC can be considered as a platform molecule to open the way to different original and biobased chemical architectures.
Non-invasive imaging through strongly scattering media based on speckle pattern estimation and deconvolution
Authors: Wang Zhouping , Jin Xin , Dai Qionghai 
Published: June 2018

AbstractImaging through scattering media is still a formidable challenge with widespread applications ranging from biomedical imaging to remote sensing. Recent research progresses provide several feasible solutions, which are hampered by limited complexity of targets, invasiveness of data collection process and lack of robustness for reconstruction. In this paper, we show that the complex to-be-observed targets can be non-invasively reconstructed with fine details. Training targets, which can be directly reconstructed by speckle correlation and phase retrieval, are utilized as the input of the proposed speckle pattern estimation model, in which speckle modeling and constrained least square optimization are applied to estimate the distribution of the speckle pattern. Reconstructions for to-be-observed targets are realized by deconvoluting the estimated speckle pattern from the acquired integrated intensity matrices (IIMs). The qualities of reconstructed results are ensured by the stable statistical property and memory effect of laser speckle patterns. Experimental results show that the proposed method can reconstruct complex targets in high quality and the reconstruction performance is robust even much less data are acquired.
Active particles with desired orientation flowing through a bottleneck
Authors: Parisi Daniel R. , Cruz Hidalgo Raúl , Zuriguel Iker 
Published: June 2018

AbstractWe report extensive numerical simulations of the flow of anisotropic self-propelled particles through a constriction. In particular, we explore the role of the particles’ desired orientation with respect to the moving direction on the system flowability. We observe that when particles propel along the direction of their long axis (longitudinal orientation) the flow-rate notably reduces compared with the case of propulsion along the short axis (transversal orientation). And this is so even when the effective section (measured as the number of particles that are necessary to span the whole outlet) is larger for the case of longitudinal propulsion. This counterintuitive result is explained in terms of the formation of clogging structures at the outlet, which are revealed to have higher stability when the particles align along the long axis. This generic result might be applied to many different systems flowing through bottlenecks such as microbial populations or different kind of cells. Indeed, it has already a straightforward connection with recent results of pedestrian (which self-propel transversally oriented) and mice or sheep (which self-propel longitudinally oriented).
Damage-associated molecular pattern recognition is required for induction of retinal neuroprotective pathways in a sex-dependent manner
Authors: Hooper Marcus J. , Wang Jiangang , Browning Robert , Ash John D. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractRetinal degeneration is a common cause of irreversible blindness and is caused by the death of retinal light-sensitive neurons called photoreceptors. At the onset of degeneration, stressed photoreceptors cause retinal glial cells to secrete neuroprotective factors that slow the pace of degeneration. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is one such factor that is required for endogenous neuroprotection. Photoreceptors are known to release signals of cellular stress, called damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) early in degeneration, and we hypothesized that receptors for DAMPs or pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play a key role in the induction of LIF and neuroprotective stress responses in retinal glial cells. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is a well-established DAMP receptor. In our experiments, activation of TLR2 protected both male and female mice from light damage, while the loss of TLR2 in female mice did not impact photoreceptor survival. In contrast, induction of protective stress responses, microglial phenotype and photoreceptor survival were strongly impacted in male TLR2−/− mice. Lastly, using publicly available gene expression data, we show that TLR2 is expressed highly in resting microglia prior to injury, but is also induced in Müller cells in inherited retinal degeneration.
Experimental 3-D Ultrasound Imaging with 2-D Sparse Arrays using Focused and Diverging Waves
Authors: Roux Emmanuel , Varray François , Petrusca Lorena , Cachard Christian , Tortoli Piero , Liebgott Hervé 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThree dimensional ultrasound (3-D US) imaging methods based on 2-D array probes are increasingly investigated. However, the experimental test of new 3-D US approaches is contrasted by the need of controlling very large numbers of probe elements. Although this problem may be overcome by the use of 2-D sparse arrays, just a few experimental results have so far corroborated the validity of this approach. In this paper, we experimentally compare the performance of a fully wired 1024-element (32 × 32) array, assumed as reference, to that of a 256-element random and of an “optimized” 2-D sparse array, in both focused and compounded diverging wave (DW) transmission modes. The experimental results in 3-D focused mode show that the resolution and contrast produced by the optimized sparse array are close to those of the full array while using 25% of elements. Furthermore, the experimental results in 3-D DW mode and 3-D focused mode are also compared for the first time and they show that both the contrast and the resolution performance are higher when using the 3-D DW at volume rates up to 90/second which represent a 36x speed up factor compared to the focused mode.