bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Birth weight and adolescent blood pressure measured at age 12 years in the Gateshead Millennium Study
Authors: Mann K. D. , Basterfield L. , Wright C. , Parkinson K. , Reilly J. K. , Reilly J. J. , Adamson A. J. , Pearce M. S. ,   on behalf of the GMS core team
Published: January 2019

AbstractBirth weight and early growth have been associated with later blood pressure. However, not all studies consistently find a significant reduction in blood pressure with an increase in birth weight. In addition, the relative importance of birth weight and of other lifestyle and environmental factors is often overlooked and the association is rarely studied in adolescents. We investigated early life predictors, including birth weight, of adolescent blood pressure in the Gateshead Millennium Study (GMS). The GMS is a cohort of 1029 individuals born in 1999–2000 in Gateshead in Northern England. Throughout infancy and early childhood, detailed information were collected, including birth weight and measures of height and weight. Assessments of 491 returning participants at age 12 years included measures of body mass and blood pressure. Linear regression and path analysis were used to determine predictors and their relative importance on blood pressure. Birth weight was not directly associated with blood pressure at the age of 12. However, after adjustment for contemporaneous body mass index (BMI), an inverse association of standardized birth weight on systolic blood pressure was significant. The relative importance of birth weight on later systolic blood pressure was smaller than other contemporaneous body measures (height and BMI). There was no independent association of birth weight on blood pressure seen in this adolescent population. Contemporaneous body measures have an important role to play. Lifestyle factors that influence body mass or size, such as diet and physical activity, where interventions are directed at early prevention of hypertension should be targeted.
Dynamical Malaria Forecasts Are Skillful at Regional and Local Scales in Uganda up to 4 Months Ahead
Authors: Tompkins Adrian M. , Colón‐González Felipe J. , Di Giuseppe Francesca , Namanya Didacus B. 
Published: January 2019

Malaria forecasts from dynamical systems have never been attempted at the health district or local clinic catchment scale, and so their usefulness for public health preparedness and response at the local level is fundamentally unknown. A pilot preoperational forecasting system is introduced in which the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts ensemble prediction system and seasonal climate forecasts of temperature and rainfall are used to drive the uncalibrated dynamical malaria model VECTRI to predict anomalies in transmission intensity 4 months ahead. It is demonstrated that the system has statistically significant skill at a number of sentinel sites in Uganda with high‐quality data. Skill is also found at approximately 50% of the Ugandan health districts despite inherent uncertainties of unconfirmed health reports. A cost‐loss economic analysis at three example sentinel sites indicates that the forecast system can have a positive economic benefit across a broad range of intermediate cost‐loss ratios and frequency of transmission anomalies. We argue that such an analysis is a necessary first step in the attempt to translate climate‐driven malaria information to policy‐relevant decisions.
Thermohaline‐Shear Instability
Authors: Radko Timour 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThis study presents the linear theory of thermohaline‐shear instability, which is realized in oceanic flows that are dynamically and diffusively stable. The framework is based on the unbounded Couette model, which makes it possible to decouple the destabilizing effects of spatially uniform shear from instabilities caused by the presence of inflection points in velocity profiles. The basic state is assumed to be time dependent, which reflects the role of internal waves in controlling fine‐scale shear. Linear stability analysis suggests that conditions for thermohaline‐shear instability are met in most ocean regions where temperature and salinity concurrently increase downward. We conclude that thermohaline‐shear instability represents a plausible mechanism for the initiation of active diffusive convection, which, in turn, is essential for the formation of thermohaline staircases and maintenance of double‐diffusive interleaving.
Nitric Oxide in Climatological Global Energy Budget During 1982–2013
Authors: Lin Cissi Y. , Deng Yue 
Published: January 2019

AbstractOver the past decades, temperature and density of the upper atmosphere show negative trends and this decrease of the upper atmospheric temperature is attributed to the declining neutral density. Specifically, nitric oxide (NO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) govern thermospheric cooling at 5.3 and 15 μm, respectively. While a lot of efforts have focused on the CO2 effects on the long‐term trends, relatively less attention has been paid to the impacts by NO, which responds to solar and geomagnetic activities dynamically. In this study, we investigate the role of NO in climatological global energy budget for the recent three solar cycles using the Global Ionosphere‐Thermosphere Model. From 1982 to 2013, the F10.7 and Ap indices showed a decadal decrease of ~8% and ~20%, respectively. By imposing temporal‐varying F10.7 and Ap values in the simulations, we find a decadal change of −0.28 × 1011 W or −17.3% in total NO cooling power, which agrees well with that (−0.34 × 1011 W or −17.2%) from the empirical Thermosphere Climate Index derived from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry data. Neutral density decreases by 10–20% at 200–450 km and Tex decreases by 25.3 K per decade. The deduced‐decadal change of NO cooling reaches ~25% of that of total heating at ~130 km and its significance decreases with altitude.
First MMS Observation of Energetic Particles Trapped in High‐Latitude Magnetic Field Depressions
Authors: Nykyri Katariina , Chu Christina , Ma Xuanye , Fuselier Stephen A. , Rice Rachel 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWe present a case study of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of the Southern Hemispheric dayside magnetospheric boundaries under southward interplanetary magnetic field direction with strong By component. During this event MMS encountered several magnetic field depressions characterized by enhanced plasma beta and high fluxes of high‐energy electrons and ions at the dusk sector of the southern cusp region that resemble previous Cluster and Polar observations of cusp diamagnetic cavities. Based on the expected maximum magnetic shear model and magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we show that for the present event the diamagnetic cavity‐like structures were formed in an unusual location. Analysis of the composition measurements of ion velocity distribution functions and magnetohydrodynamics simulations show clear evidence of the creation of a new kind of magnetic bottle structures by component reconnection occurring at lower latitudes. We propose that the high‐energy particles trapped in these cavities can sometimes end up in the loss cone and leak out, providing a likely explanation for recent high‐energy particle leakage events observed in the magnetosheath.
On the Development of Shear Surface Roughness
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Manaska , Biswas Uddalak , Mandal Nibir , Misra Santanu 
Published: January 2019

AbstractFrom deformed quartzites in the Singhbhum Shear Zone, eastern India, we report shear fractures of varying surface roughness: very smooth, containing no lineation to strongly rough with prominent slickenlines. We reproduced them in analogue laboratory experiments, which suggest that the modes of shear failure (brittle versus ductile) and the fracture orientation are potential factors to control the fracture roughness. The experiments were conducted on cohesive sand‐talc models with varying sand:talc volume ratio. Pure sand models underwent Coulomb failure in the brittle regime; this failure mode switched to plastic yielding in the ductile regime with increasing talc content. Such a transition in failure behavior resulted in a remarkable variation in the fracture roughness characteristics. Shear fractures produced by Coulomb failure are smooth, and devoid of any slickenlines, whereas those produced by plastic yielding display strongly linear roughness, defined by cylindrical ridges along the slip direction. Such linear irregularities become more prominent with increasing fracture orientation (θ) to the compression direction (θ = 30 to 60°). We develop a new computational technique, based on controlled optical images to map the shear surface geometry from field casts and laboratory samples. Binarization of the irregular surface images (cantor set) provides 1‐D fractal dimension (D), which is used to quantify the roughness variability, and the degree of their anisotropy in terms of ΔD (difference in D across and along the slip direction). From numerical models, we finally show onset of wave instability in the mechanically distinct rupture zone as an alternative mechanism for slickenline formation.
Dissimilarity Between Dust, Heat, and Momentum Turbulent Transports During Aeolian Soil Erosion
Authors: Dupont S. , Rajot J.‐L. , Labiadh M. , Bergametti G. , Lamaud E. , Irvine M. R. , Alfaro S. C. , Bouet C. , Fernandes R. , Khalfallah B. , Marticorena B. , Bonnefond J. M. , Chevaillier S. , Garrigou D. , Henry‐des‐Tureaux T. , Sekrafi S. , Zapf P. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractMeasuring accurately size‐resolved dust flux near the surface is crucial for better quantifying dust losses by semiarid soils. Dust fluxes have been usually estimated from the flux‐gradient approach, assuming similarity between dust and momentum turbulent transport. This similarity has, however, never been verified. Here we investigate the similarity between dust (0.3 to 6.0 μm in diameter), momentum, and heat fluxes during aeolian erosion events. These three fluxes were measured by the Eddy Covariance technique during the WIND‐O‐V (WIND erOsion in presence of sparse Vegetation's) 2017 field experiment over an isolated erodible bare plot in South Tunisia. Our measurements confirm the prevalence of ejection and sweep motions in transporting dust as for heat and momentum. However, our measurements also reveal a different partition of the dust flux between ejection and sweep motions and between eddy time scales compared to that of momentum and heat fluxes. This dissimilarity results from the intermittency of the dust emission compared to the more continuous emission (absorption) of heat (momentum) at the surface. Unlike heat emission and momentum absorption, dust release is conditioned by the wind intensity to initiate sandblasting. Consequently, ejection motions do not carry dust as often as heat and low momentum from the surface. This dissimilarity diminishes with increasing wind intensity as saltation patterns, and thus dust emission through sandblasting, become spatially more frequent. Overall, these findings may have implications on the evaluation of dust flux from techniques based on similarity with momentum or heat turbulent transport.
Weak Stratospheric Polar Vortex Events Modulated by the Arctic Sea‐Ice Loss
Authors: Hoshi Kazuhira , Ukita Jinro , Honda Meiji , Nakamura Tetsu , Yamazaki Koji , Miyoshi Yasunobu , Jaiser Ralf 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWe characterize the differences in the upward planetary‐scale wave propagation during observed weak polar vortex (WPV) events between heavy‐ and light‐sea‐ice years in the Barents‐Kara Sea based on a composite analysis for the period of 1979–2015. Upward wave propagation during WPV events in heavy‐ice years is dominated by the wavenumber 1 component. In contrast, WPV events occurring in light‐ice years are characterized by stronger wavenumber 2 propagation, which is caused by the tropospheric wavenumber 2 response to sea‐ice reduction in the Barents‐Kara Sea. The above observed features are supported by an Atmospheric General Circulation Model experiment. Thus, under present climate conditions, Arctic sea‐ice loss is a possible factor modulating the wave propagation during the WPV events. We also find that the WPV events in light‐ice years have stronger stratosphere‐troposphere coupling, followed by colder midlatitude surface conditions particularly over Eurasia.
Trodusquemine enhances Aβ42 aggregation but suppresses its toxicity by displacing oligomers from cell membranes
Authors: Limbocker Ryan , Chia Sean , Ruggeri Francesco S. , Perni Michele , Cascella Roberta , Heller Gabriella T. , Meisl Georg , Mannini Benedetta , Habchi Johnny , Michaels Thomas C. T. , Challa Pavan K. , Ahn Minkoo , Casford Samuel T. , Fernando Nilumi , Xu Catherine K. , Kloss Nina D. , Cohen Samuel I. A. , Kumita Janet R. , Cecchi Cristina , Zasloff Michael , Linse Sara , Knowles Tuomas P. J. , Chiti Fabrizio , Vendruscolo Michele , Dobson Christopher M. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractTransient oligomeric species formed during the aggregation process of the 42-residue form of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42) are key pathogenic agents in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To investigate the relationship between Aβ42 aggregation and its cytotoxicity and the influence of a potential drug on both phenomena, we have studied the effects of trodusquemine. This aminosterol enhances the rate of aggregation by promoting monomer-dependent secondary nucleation, but significantly reduces the toxicity of the resulting oligomers to neuroblastoma cells by inhibiting their binding to the cellular membranes. When administered to a C. elegans model of AD, we again observe an increase in aggregate formation alongside the suppression of Aβ42-induced toxicity. In addition to oligomer displacement, the reduced toxicity could also point towards an increased rate of conversion of oligomers to less toxic fibrils. The ability of a small molecule to reduce the toxicity of oligomeric species represents a potential therapeutic strategy against AD.
Breakdown of adaptive immunotolerance induces hepatocellular carcinoma in HBsAg-tg mice
Authors: Zong Lu , Peng Hui , Sun Cheng , Li Fenglei , Zheng Meijuan , Chen Yongyan , Wei Haiming , Sun Rui , Tian Zhigang 
Published: January 2019

AbstractHepatitis B virus (HBV) can induce chronic inflammation, cirrhosis, and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite evidence suggesting a link between adaptive immunity and HBV-related diseases in humans, the immunopathogenic mechanisms involved are seldom described. Here we show that expression of TIGIT, a promising immune checkpoint in tumor immunotherapy, increases with age on hepatic CD8+ T cells in HBsAg-transgenic (HBs-tg) mice whose adaptive immune system is tolerant to HBsAg. TIGIT blockade or deficiency leads to chronic hepatitis and fibrosis, along with the emergence of functional HBsAg-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), suggesting adaptive immune tolerance could be broken by TIGIT blockade or deficiency. Importantly, HBsAg vaccination further induces nonresolving inflammation and HCC in a CD8+ T cell-dependent manner in TIGIT-blocked or -deficient HBs-tg mice. Therefore, CD8+ T cells play an important role in adaptive immunity-mediated tumor progression and TIGIT is critical in maintenance of liver tolerance by keeping CTLs in homeostatic balance.
A nanophotonic laser on a graph
Authors: Gaio Michele , Saxena Dhruv , Bertolotti Jacopo , Pisignano Dario , Camposeo Andrea , Sapienza Riccardo 
Published: January 2019

AbstractConventional nanophotonic schemes minimise multiple scattering to realise a miniaturised version of beam-splitters, interferometers and optical cavities for light propagation and lasing. Here instead, we introduce a nanophotonic network built from multiple paths and interference, to control and enhance light-matter interaction via light localisation. The network is built from a mesh of subwavelength waveguides, and can sustain localised modes and mirror-less light trapping stemming from interference over hundreds of nodes. With optical gain, these modes can easily lase, reaching ~100 pm linewidths. We introduce a graph solution to the Maxwell’s equation which describes light on the network, and predicts lasing action. In this framework, the network optical modes can be designed via the network connectivity and topology, and lasing can be tailored and enhanced by the network shape. Nanophotonic networks pave the way for new laser device architectures, which can be used for sensitive biosensing and on-chip optical information processing.
An orderly single-trial organization of population dynamics in premotor cortex predicts behavioral variability
Authors: Wei Ziqiang , Inagaki Hidehiko , Li Nuo , Svoboda Karel , Druckmann Shaul 
Published: January 2019

AbstractAnimals are not simple input-output machines. Their responses to even very similar stimuli are variable. A key, long-standing question in neuroscience is to understand the neural correlates of such behavioral variability. To reveal these correlates, behavior and neural population activity must be related to one another on single trials. Such analysis is challenging due to the dynamical nature of brain function (e.g., in decision making), heterogeneity across neurons and limited sampling of the relevant neural population. By analyzing population recordings from mouse frontal cortex in perceptual decision-making tasks, we show that an analysis approach tailored to the coarse grain features of the dynamics is able to reveal previously unrecognized structure in the organization of population activity. This structure is similar on error and correct trials, suggesting dynamics that may be constrained by the underlying circuitry, is able to predict multiple aspects of behavioral variability and reveals long time-scale modulation of population activity.
Magnetic-field-dependent quantum emission in hexagonal boron nitride at room temperature
Authors: Exarhos Annemarie L. , Hopper David A. , Patel Raj N. , Doherty Marcus W. , Bassett Lee C. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractOptically addressable spins associated with defects in wide-bandgap semiconductors are versatile platforms for quantum information processing and nanoscale sensing, where spin-dependent inter-system crossing transitions facilitate optical spin initialization and readout. Recently, the van der Waals material hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has emerged as a robust host for quantum emitters, promising efficient photon extraction and atom-scale engineering, but observations of spin-related effects have remained thus far elusive. Here, we report room-temperature observations of strongly anisotropic photoluminescence patterns as a function of applied magnetic field for select quantum emitters in h-BN. Field-dependent variations in the steady-state photoluminescence and photon emission statistics are consistent with an electronic model featuring a spin-dependent inter-system crossing between triplet and singlet manifolds, indicating that optically-addressable spin defects are present in h-BN.
A welding phenomenon of dissimilar nanoparticles in dispersion
Authors: Huang Zhiqi , Zhao Zhi-Jian , Zhang Qian , Han Lili , Jiang Xiumei , Li Chao , Cardenas Maria T. Perez , Huang Peng , Yin Jun-Jie , Luo Jun , Gong Jinlong , Nie Zhihong 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe oriented attachment of small nanoparticles (NPs) is recognized as an important mechanism involved in the growth of inorganic nanocrystals. However, non-oriented attachment of dissimilar NPs has been rarely observed in dispersion. This communication reports a welding phenomenon occurred directly between as-synthesized dispersions of single-component Au and chalcogenide NPs, which leads to the formation of asymmetric Au-chalcogenide hybrid NPs (HNPs). The welding of dissimilar NPs in dispersion is mainly driven by the ligand desorption-induced conformal contact between NPs and the diffusion of Au into chalcogenide NPs. The welding process can occur between NPs with distinct shapes or different capping agents or in different solvent media. A two-step assembly-welding mechanism is proposed for this process, based on our in situ electron spin resonance measurements and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The understanding of NP welding in dispersion may lead to the development of unconventional synthetic tools for the fabrication of hybrid nanostructures with diverse applications.
Structure of tRNA splicing enzyme Tpt1 illuminates the mechanism of RNA 2′-PO4 recognition and ADP-ribosylation
Authors: Banerjee Ankan , Munir Annum , Abdullahu Leonora , Damha Masad J. , Goldgur Yehuda , Shuman Stewart 
Published: January 2019

AbstractTpt1 is an essential agent of fungal tRNA splicing that removes the 2′-PO4 at the splice junction generated by fungal tRNA ligase. Tpt1 catalyzes a unique two-step reaction whereby the 2′-PO4 attacks NAD+ to form an RNA-2′-phospho-ADP-ribosyl intermediate that undergoes transesterification to yield 2′-OH RNA and ADP-ribose-1″,2″-cyclic phosphate products. Because Tpt1 is inessential in exemplary bacterial and mammalian taxa, Tpt1 is seen as an attractive antifungal target. Here we report a 1.4 Å crystal structure of Tpt1 in a product-mimetic complex with ADP-ribose-1″-phosphate in the NAD+ site and pAp in the RNA site. The structure reveals how Tpt1 recognizes a 2′-PO4 RNA splice junction and the mechanism of RNA phospho-ADP-ribosylation. This study also provides evidence that a bacterium has an endogenous phosphorylated substrate with which Tpt1 reacts.
Engineering of CRISPR-Cas12b for human genome editing
Authors: Strecker Jonathan , Jones Sara , Koopal Balwina , Schmid-Burgk Jonathan , Zetsche Bernd , Gao Linyi , Makarova Kira S. , Koonin Eugene V. , Zhang Feng 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe type-V CRISPR effector Cas12b (formerly known as C2c1) has been challenging to develop for genome editing in human cells, at least in part due to the high temperature requirement of the characterized family members. Here we explore the diversity of the Cas12b family and identify a promising candidate for human gene editing from Bacillus hisashii, BhCas12b. However, at 37 °C, wild-type BhCas12b preferentially nicks the non-target DNA strand instead of forming a double strand break, leading to lower editing efficiency. Using a combination of approaches, we identify gain-of-function mutations for BhCas12b that overcome this limitation. Mutant BhCas12b facilitates robust genome editing in human cell lines and ex vivo in primary human T cells, and exhibits greater specificity compared to S. pyogenes Cas9. This work establishes a third RNA-guided nuclease platform, in addition to Cas9 and Cpf1/Cas12a, for genome editing in human cells.