bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of G-protein-coupled membrane estrogen receptor in mouse Leydig cell function—in vivo and in vitro evaluation
Authors: Kotula-Balak M. , Pawlicki P. , Milon A. , Tworzydlo W. , Sekula M. , Pacwa A. , Gorowska-Wojtowicz E. , Bilinska B. , Pawlicka B. , Wiater J. , Zarzycka M. , Galas J. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIn this study, G-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) was inactivated, by treatment with antagonist (G-15), in testes of C57BL/6 mice: immature (3 weeks old), mature (3 months old) and aged (1.5 years old) (50 μg/kg bw), as well as MA-10 mouse Leydig cells (10 nM/24 h) alone or in combination with 17β-estradiol or antiestrogen (ICI 182,780). In G-15-treated mice, overgrowth of interstitial tissue was found in both mature and aged testes. Depending on age, differences in structure and distribution of various Leydig cell organelles were observed. Concomitantly, modulation of activity of the mitochondria and tubulin microfibers was revealed. Diverse and complex GPER regulation at the mRNA level and protein of estrogen signaling molecules (estrogen receptor α and β; ERα, ERβ and cytochrome P450 aromatase; P450arom) in G-15 Leydig cells was found in relation to age and the experimental system utilized (in vivo and in vitro). Changes in expression patterns of ERs and P450arom, as well as steroid secretion, reflected Leydig cell heterogeneity to estrogen regulation throughout male life including cell physiological status.We show, for the first time, GPER with ERs and P450arom work in tandem to maintain Leydig cell architecture and supervise its steroidogenic function by estrogen during male life. Full set of estrogen signaling molecules, with involvement of GPER, is crucial for proper Leydig cell function where each molecule acts in a specific and/or complementary manner. Further understanding of the mechanisms by which GPER controls Leydig cells with special regard to male age, cell of origin and experimental system used is critical for predicting and preventing testis steroidogenic disorders based on perturbations in estrogen signaling.
Inactivation of the transcription factor mig1 (YGL035C) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae improves tolerance towards monocarboxylic weak acids: acetic, formic and levulinic acid
Authors: Balderas-Hernández Victor E , Correia Kevin , Mahadevan Radhakrishnan 
Published: June 2018

Abstract
Toxic concentrations of monocarboxylic weak acids present in lignocellulosic hydrolyzates affect cell integrity and fermentative performance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this work, we report the deletion of the general catabolite repressor Mig1p as a strategy to improve the tolerance of S. cerevisiae towards inhibitory concentrations of acetic, formic or levulinic acid. In contrast with the wt yeast, where the growth and ethanol production were ceased in presence of acetic acid 5 g/L or formic acid 1.75 g/L (initial pH not adjusted), the m9 strain (Δmig1::kan) produced 4.06 ± 0.14 and 3.87 ± 0.06 g/L of ethanol, respectively. Also, m9 strain tolerated a higher concentration of 12.5 g/L acetic acid (initial pH adjusted to 4.5) without affecting its fermentative performance. Moreover, m9 strain produced 33% less acetic acid and 50–70% less glycerol in presence of weak acids, and consumed acetate and formate as carbon sources under aerobic conditions. Our results show that the deletion of Mig1p provides a single gene deletion target for improving the acid tolerance of yeast strains significantly.
Guilt averse or reciprocal? Looking at behavioral motivations in the trust game
Authors: Engler Yola , Kerschbamer Rudolf , Page Lionel 
Published: June 2018

AbstractFor the trust game, recent models of belief-dependent motivations make opposite predictions regarding the correlation between back transfers and second-order beliefs of the trustor: while reciprocity models predict a negative correlation, guilt-aversion models predict a positive one. This paper tests the hypothesis that the inconclusive results in the previous studies investigating the reaction of trustees to their beliefs are due to the fact that reciprocity and guilt aversion are behaviorally relevant for different subgroups and that their impact cancels out in the aggregate. We find little evidence in support of this hypothesis and conclude that type heterogeneity is unlikely to explain previous results.
Pushing the bad away: reverse Tullock contests
Authors: Rockenbach Bettina , Schneiders Sebastian , Waligora Marcin 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThe literature on rent-seeking primarily focuses on contests for achieving gains, although contests for avoiding losses are also omnipresent. Examples for such ‘reverse’ contests are activities to prevent the close-down of a local school or the construction of a waste disposal close-by. While under standard preferences, investments in ‘reverse’ and ‘conventional’ contests should not be different, loss aversion predicts contests for avoiding losses to be fiercer than conventional ones. In our experimental data, the difference in investments between conventional and reverse Tullock contests is small and statistically insignificant. We discuss several explanations for this remarkable finding.
A general numerical unsteady non-linear lifting line model for engineering aerodynamics studies
Authors: Sugar-Gabor O. 
Published: June 2018

ABSTRACTThe lifting-line theory is widely used for obtaining aerodynamic performance results in various engineering fields, from aircraft conceptual design to wind-power generation. Many different models were proposed, each tailored for a specific purpose, thus having a rather narrow applicability range. This paper presents a general lifting-line model capable of accurately analysing a wide range of engineering problems involving lifting surfaces, both steady-state and unsteady cases. It can be used for lifting surface with sweep, dihedral, twisting and winglets and includes features such as non-linear viscous corrections, unsteady and quasi-steady force calculation, stable wake relaxation through fictitious time marching and wake stretching and dissipation. Possible applications include wing design for low-speed aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, the study of high-frequency avian flapping flight or wind-turbine blade design and analysis. Several validation studies are performed, both steady-state and unsteady, the method showing good agreement with experimental data or numerical results obtained with more computationally expensive methods.
Integration of leadership training for graduate and medical students engaged in translational biomedical research: Examining self-efficacy and self-insight
Authors: Chao Celia , Wooten Kevin , Spratt Heidi , Sarraj Huda , Aronson Judith , Hommel Jonathan , Ungerleider Ross , Ungerleider Jamie D. , Hellmich Mark R. 
Published: June 2018

IntroductionFormal training in team leadership is not taught in biomedical research graduate training programs or medical schools.MethodsWe piloted a Leadership Training Workshop for graduate biomedical and medical students enrolled in our Interprofessional Research Design Course.ResultsThe Kane–Baltes self-efficacy survey demonstrated improved leadership skills (median scores pretraining and post-training were 71 and 76.6; paired t-test, p=0.04).ConclusionsMost students demonstrated significant improvement in self-awareness pertaining to their own innate leadership styles.
10 watt-level tunable narrow linewidth all-fiber amplifier
Authors: Tang Ni , Zhou Zhiyue , Li Zhixian , Wang Zefeng 
Published: June 2018

We report here a high-power, wavelength tunable and narrow linewidth $1.5~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ all-fiber laser amplifier based on a tunable diode laser and Er-Yb co-doped fibers. The laser wavelength can be precisely tuned from 1535 nm to 1580 nm, which covers many absorption lines of mid-infrared laser gases, such as $\text{C}_{2}\text{H}_{2}$, HCN, CO, and HI. The maximum laser power is ${>}$11 W, and the linewidth is about 200–300 MHz, which is close to the absorption linewidth of the above-mentioned gases. This work provides a suitable pump source for high-power wavelength tunable mid-infrared fiber gas lasers based on low-loss hollow-core fibers.
Predicting the breaking strength of gravity water waves in deep and intermediate depth
Authors: Derakhti Morteza , Banner Michael L. , Kirby James T. 
Published: June 2018

We revisit the classical but as yet unresolved problem of predicting the strength of breaking 2-D and 3-D gravity water waves, as quantified by the amount of wave energy dissipated per breaking event. Following Duncan (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 126, 1983, pp. 507–520), the wave energy dissipation rate per unit length of breaking crest may be related to the fifth moment of the wave speed and the non-dimensional breaking strength parameter $b$. We use a finite-volume Navier–Stokes solver with large-eddy simulation resolution and volume-of-fluid surface reconstruction (Derakhti & Kirby, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 761, 2014a, pp. 464–506; J. Fluid Mech., vol. 790, 2016, pp. 553–581) to simulate nonlinear wave evolution, with a strong focus on breaking onset and postbreaking behaviour for representative cases of wave packets with breaking due to dispersive focusing and modulational instability. The present study uses these results to investigate the relationship between the breaking strength parameter $b$ and the breaking onset parameter $B$ proposed recently by Barthelemy et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 841, 2018, pp. 463–488). The latter, formed from the local energy flux normalized by the local energy density and the local crest speed, simplifies, on the wave surface, to the ratio of fluid speed to crest speed. Following a wave crest, when $B$ exceeds a generic threshold value at the wave crest (Barthelemy et al. 2018), breaking is imminent. We find a robust relationship between the breaking strength parameter $b$ and the rate of change of breaking onset parameter $\text{d}B/\text{d}t$ at the wave crest, as it transitions through the generic breaking onset threshold ($B\sim 0.85$), scaled by the local period of the breaking wave. This result significantly refines previous efforts to express $b$ in terms of a wave packet steepness parameter, which is difficult to define robustly and which does not provide a generically accurate forecast of the energy dissipated by breaking.
INNOVATION PLATFORMS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT
Authors: SCHUT MARC , KAMANDA JOSEY , GRAMZOW ANDREAS , DUBOIS THOMAS , STOIAN DIETMAR , ANDERSSON JENS A. , DROR IDDO , SARTAS MURAT , MUR REMCO , KASSAM SHINAN , BROUWER HERMAN , DEVAUX ANDRÉ , VELASCO CLAUDIO , FLOR RICA JOY , GUMMERT MARTIN , BUIZER DJUNA , McDOUGALL CYNTHIA , DAVIS KRISTIN , TUI SABINE HOMANN-KEE , LUNDY MARK 
Published: June 2018

SUMMARYInnovation platforms are fast becoming part of the mantra of agricultural research for development projects and programmes. Their basic tenet is that stakeholders depend on one another to achieve agricultural development outcomes, and hence need a space where they can learn, negotiate and coordinate to overcome challenges and capture opportunities through a facilitated innovation process. Although much has been written on how to implement and facilitate innovation platforms efficiently, few studies supportex-anteappraisal of when and for what purpose innovation platforms provide an appropriate mechanism for achieving development outcomes, and what kinds of human and financial resource investments and enabling environments are required. Without these insights, innovation platforms run the risk of being promoted as a panacea for all problems in the agricultural sector. This study makes clear that not all constraints will require innovation platforms and, if there is a simpler and cheaper alternative, that should be considered first. Based on the review of critical design principles and plausible outcomes of innovation platforms, this study provides a decision support tool for research, development and funding agencies that can enhance more critical thinking about the purposes and conditions under which innovation platforms can contribute to achieving agricultural development outcomes.
How Policy Fields Are Born: The Rise of Democratic Security in Argentina
Authors: Seri Guillermina , Kubal Mary Rose 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThis essay maps the transformation of security from a symbol of authoritarian government under the Cold War paradigm of National Security into a public good and a policy field acknowledged as legitimate and democratic by politicians and policy experts. Using present-day Argentina as an example, we show how security ideas gain dominance across the political spectrum, displacing and subordinating democratic politics conceived in terms of rights. As institutions increasingly accept security measures and pre-emptive risk management, a securitising discourse – despite its claims to advocate for the ‘citizen’ – trumps governance and the rule of law. Appealing to citizens’ concerns and rights, the new forms of securitisation may yet undermine democratic life.
Pensions and social inclusion in an ageing China
Authors: ZHU HUOYUN , WALKER ALAN 
Published: June 2018

ABSTRACTThe inclusive development strategy proposed by the Chinese government embraces social inclusion for older people. In line with most developing countries, China's policy on social inclusion for older people focuses almost exclusively on material security in the form of pensions. This paper examines the impact of pensions on social inclusion for older people across four dimensions: family interaction, social support, social participation and self-assessment using data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey. The results demonstrate that pensions improve dramatically the relationships between older adults and their family members and friends, and therefore their social inclusion in the life world. The exception is social participation which seems to be immune to material income effects. However, the stratified pension system in China generates complex and hierarchical effects on social inclusion among different sub-groups. Social inclusion among older people with high exclusion risks but low pensions is very sensitive to pension levels. Conversely, most pensions are distributed to those with the lowest exclusion risks as a result of the disappearance of their impact on social inclusion. We argue that future social inclusion policies for older people in China should focus first on achieving greater equality in pensions.
Regulation of seed dormancy and germination by nitrate
Authors: Duermeyer Lisza , Khodapanahi Ehsan , Yan Dawei , Krapp Anne , Rothstein Steven J. , Nambara Eiji 
Published: June 2018

AbstractNitrate promotes seed germination at low concentrations in many plant species, and functions as both a nutrient and a signal. As a nutrient, it is assimilated via nitrite to ammonium, which is then incorporated into amino acids. Nitrate reductase (NR) catalyses the reduction of nitrate to nitrite, the committed step in the assimilation. Seed sensitivity to nitrate is affected by other environmental factors, such as light and after-ripening, and by genotypes. Mode of nitrate action in seed germination has been well documented in Arabidopsis thaliana and the hedge mustard Sisymbrium officinale. In these species nitrate promotes seed germination independent of its assimilation by NR, suggesting that it acts as a signal to stimulate germination. In Arabidopsis, maternally applied nitrate affects the degree of primary dormancy in both wild-type and mutants defective in NR. This indicates that nitrate acts not only during germination, but also during seed development to negatively regulate primary dormancy. Functional genomics studies in Arabidopsis have revealed that nitrate elicits downstream events similar to other germination stimulators, such as after-ripening, light and stratification, suggesting that these distinct environmental signals share the same target(s). In Arabidopsis, the NIN-like protein 8 (NLP8) transcription factor, which acts downstream of nitrate signalling, induces nitrate-dependent gene expression. In particular, a gene encoding the abscisic acid (ABA) catabolic enzyme CYP707A2 is directly regulated by NLP8. This regulation triggers a nitrate-induced ABA decrease that permits seed germination. This review article summarizes an update of our current understanding of the regulation of seed dormancy and germination by nitrate.
Formation of Simple Impact Craters in Layered Targets: Implications for Lunar Crater Morphology and Regolith Thickness
Authors: Prieur N. C. , Rolf T. , Wünnemann K. , Werner S. C. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractImpact crater morphologies vary significantly across the lunar maria. Craters with diameter less than 400 m are closely related to variations in target properties (rock strength, porosity, and layering) as well as the impact velocity. Here we investigate target and impact conditions feasible for reproducing crater morphologies, such as normal, central‐mound, flat‐bottomed, and concentric craters, using numerical models of impact crater formation in two‐layer targets under lunar conditions (i.e., average‐impact velocity and gravity). Based on more than 1,000 numerical models, we observe that concentric craters can form with a strength contrast as low as factor of 2 between the layers as long as the difference in cohesion is larger than a value between 50 and 450 kPa (for an impact velocity of 12.7 km/s). Because of this small contrast, concentric craters do not serve as a good indication for the lunar regolith‐mare interface. Crater morphology changes with crater diameter according to three different scenarios depending on layers' strengths and the impact velocity. For high‐impact velocity or/and moderate material strength, normal crater morphology transitions directly to concentric morphology, while with large material strengths and/or low‐impact velocity, craters change with size from normal to flat‐bottomed and then to concentric morphology; only this latter pathway is consistent with previous laboratory results. Lunar regolith thicknesses estimated from crater morphologies can differ by up to 80% from previously inferred thicknesses. The transition from normal to flat‐bottomed craters is found to be the most robust transition to infer the thickness of the surficial target layer.
Real‐Options Water Supply Planning: Multistage Scenario Trees for Adaptive and Flexible Capacity Expansion Under Probabilistic Climate Change Uncertainty
Authors: Erfani Tohid , Pachos Kevis , Harou Julien J. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractPlanning water supply infrastructure includes identifying interventions that cost‐effectively secure an acceptably reliable water supply. Climate change is a source of uncertainty for water supply developments as its impact on source yields is uncertain. Adaptability to changing future conditions is increasingly viewed as a valuable design principle of strategic water planning. Because present decisions impact a system's ability to adapt to future needs, flexibility in activating, delaying, and replacing engineering projects should be considered in least‐cost water supply intervention scheduling. This is a principle of Real Options Analysis, which this paper applies to least‐cost capacity expansion scheduling via multistage stochastic mathematical programming. We apply the proposed model to a real‐world utility with many investment decision stages using a generalized scenario tree construction algorithm to efficiently approximate the probabilistic uncertainty. To evaluate the implementation of Real Options Analysis, the use of two metrics is proposed: the value of the stochastic solution and the expected value of perfect information that quantify the value of adopting adaptive and flexible plans, respectively. An application to London's water system demonstrates the generalized approach. The investment decisions results are a mixture of long‐term and contingency schemes that are optimally chosen considering different futures. The value of the stochastic solution shows that by considering uncertainty, adaptive investment decisions avoid £100 million net present value (NPV) cost, 15% of the total NPV. The expected value of perfect information demonstrates that optimal delay and early decisions have £50 million NPV, 6% of total NPV. Sensitivity of results to the characteristics of the scenario tree and uncertainty set is assessed.
First demonstration of an all-solid-state optical cryocooler
Authors: Hehlen Markus P. , Meng Junwei , Albrecht Alexander R. , Lee Eric R. , Gragossian Aram , Love Steven P. , Hamilton Christopher E. , Epstein Richard I. , Sheik-Bahae Mansoor 
Published: June 2018

AbstractSolid-state optical refrigeration uses anti-Stokes fluorescence to cool macroscopic objects to cryogenic temperatures without vibrations. Crystals such as Yb3+-doped YLiF4 (YLF:Yb) have previously been laser-cooled to 91 K. In this study, we show for the first time laser cooling of a payload connected to a cooling crystal. A YLF:Yb crystal was placed inside a Herriott cell and pumped with a 1020-nm laser (47 W) to cool a HgCdTe sensor that is part of a working Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer to 135 K. This first demonstration of an all-solid-state optical cryocooler was enabled by careful control of the various desired and undesired heat flows. Fluorescence heating of the payload was minimized by using a single-kink YLF thermal link between the YLF:Yb cooling crystal and the copper coldfinger that held the HgCdTe sensor. The adhesive-free bond between YLF and YLF:Yb showed excellent thermal reliability. This laser-cooled assembly was then supported by silica aerogel cylinders inside a vacuum clamshell to minimize undesired conductive and radiative heat loads from the warm surroundings. Our structure can serve as a baseline for future optical cryocooler devices.
Networks of blood proteins in the neuroimmunology of schizophrenia
Authors: Jeffries Clark D. , Perkins Diana O. , Fournier Margot , Do Kim Q. , Cuenod Michel , Khadimallah Ines , Domenici Enrico , Addington Jean , Bearden Carrie E. , Cadenhead Kristin S. , Cannon Tyrone D. , Cornblatt Barbara A. , Mathalon Daniel H. , McGlashan Thomas H. , Seidman Larry J. , Tsuang Ming , Walker Elaine F. , Woods Scott W. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractLevels of certain circulating cytokines and related immune system molecules are consistently altered in schizophrenia and related disorders. In addition to absolute analyte levels, we sought analytes in correlation networks that could be prognostic. We analyzed baseline blood plasma samples with a Luminex platform from 72 subjects meeting criteria for a psychosis clinical high-risk syndrome; 32 subjects converted to a diagnosis of psychotic disorder within two years while 40 other subjects did not. Another comparison group included 35 unaffected subjects. Assays of 141 analytes passed early quality control. We then used an unweighted co-expression network analysis to identify highly correlated modules in each group. Overall, there was a striking loss of network complexity going from unaffected subjects to nonconverters and thence to converters (applying standard, graph-theoretic metrics). Graph differences were largely driven by proteins regulating tissue remodeling (e.g. blood-brain barrier). In more detail, certain sets of antithetical proteins were highly correlated in unaffected subjects (e.g. SERPINE1 vs MMP9), as expected in homeostasis. However, for particular protein pairs this trend was reversed in converters (e.g. SERPINE1 vs TIMP1, being synthetical inhibitors of remodeling of extracellular matrix and vasculature). Thus, some correlation signals strongly predict impending conversion to a psychotic disorder and directly suggest pharmaceutical targets.