bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unsettled: Brexit and European Union nationals' sense of belonging
Authors: Ranta Ronald , Nancheva Nevena 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThis article explores the dynamics of belonging of European Union (EU) nationals living in the United Kingdom (UK) in the context of UK's withdrawal from the EU. It uses a mixed‐methods study of prereferendum and postreferendum survey and interviews and focus groups to investigate patterns of belonging among EU nationals, shifts in the parameters of these patterns, and the overall impact of Brexit on them. The study identifies four patterns of belonging and argues that Brexit has significantly disrupted them, shifting them towards a new phase of rationalisation and reaction reliant on migrantness, Europeanness, and rights. In the aftermath of the referendum, EU nationals began to rethink their belonging, constituting themselves as a collectivity by making use of EU citizenship and a shared European identity. This constitutive dynamics is consequential for the status of EU nationals in the UK, for the boundaries of the political community of the British state, and also for Europe.
Population geography, scale, environment, and sex‐ratio imbalances: An appreciation of the contribution to population geography of Professor John Clarke (1929–2018)
Authors: Findlay Allan M. , Evans Ian 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWith John Clarke's death, population geography has lost a champion of the subdiscipline. His textbook Population Geography introduced the subject to a generation of human geographers around the world. His research advanced understanding of population and scale, whereas his lead role as Chair of the International Geographical Union Commission on Population Geography was used to promote pioneering research on population and the environment. He was well ahead of his time with research on geography and gender, reflected in his many publications on sex ratios and the gendered asymmetries of power.
Nonparametric collective spectral density estimation with an application to clustering the brain signals
Authors: Maadooliat Mehdi , Sun Ying , Chen Tianbo 
Published: September 2018

In this paper, we develop a method for the simultaneous estimation of spectral density functions (SDFs) for a collection of stationary time series that share some common features. Due to the similarities among the SDFs, the log‐SDF can be represented using a common set of basis functions. The basis shared by the collection of the log‐SDFs is estimated as a low‐dimensional manifold of a large space spanned by a prespecified rich basis. A collective estimation approach pools information and borrows strength across the SDFs to achieve better estimation efficiency. Moreover, each estimated spectral density has a concise representation using the coefficients of the basis expansion, and these coefficients can be used for visualization, clustering, and classification purposes. The Whittle pseudo‐maximum likelihood approach is used to fit the model and an alternating blockwise Newton‐type algorithm is developed for the computation. A web‐based shiny App found at “https://ncsde.shinyapps.io/NCSDE” is developed for visualization, training, and learning the SDFs collectively using the proposed technique. Finally, we apply our method to cluster similar brain signals recorded by the for identifying synchronized brain regions according to their spectral densities.
Potential Antileishmanial Activity of a Triazole‐Based Hybrid Peptide against Leishmania major
Authors: Maji Krishnendu , Abbasi Mazharul , Podder Debasish , Datta Rupak , Haldar Debasish 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe dipeptides 1–4 with a triazole containing synthetic amino acid and Leu/ Phe/ Val/ Gly have been designed and synthesized as a potent antileishmanial agent. The 1‐(2‐Amino‐phenyl)‐1H‐[1, 2,3] triazole‐4‐carboxylic acid was synthesized using click chemistry approach. From X‐ray crystallography, the peptide 1 containing a Leu residue at C‐terminus adopts kink like structure but there is no intramolecular hydrogen bond. So, the hydrogen bonding sites are free and allowed for intermolecular interaction with the guests. The phenylalanine analogue 2 where the phenyl and triazole rings are perpendicular to each other also form supramolecular column‐like structure through π‐π stacking interaction. The incorporation of a triazole containing synthetic amino acid at the N‐terminus enhances its anti‐parasites activity. The properties such as lipophilicity and cytotoxicity, are relevant factors for the design of new antileishmanial agent. IC50 value were calculated for dipeptides 1–4 using normal growth inhibition strategy. For dipeptide 1, IC50 value is 11μg/ml and the Phe containing dipeptide 2 exhibits IC50 21.17μg/ml on Leishmania major promastigotes. But the Val and Gly containing dipeptides 3 and 4 have IC50 values 138.23 μg/ml and 21.75 μg/ml respectively. The higher lipophilicity of dipeptide 1 is likely to improve the chances of reaching this intracellular parasite. The experimental result show that the triazole‐based dipeptide 1 is promising as antileishmanial agent.
Synthesis and In Vitro Anti‐Tumor, Anti‐Mycobacterial and Anti‐HIV Activities of Diethylene‐Glycol‐Tethered Bis‐Isatin Derivatives
Authors: Li Wei , Zhao Shi‐Jia , Gao Feng , Lv Zao‐Sheng , Tu Jun‐Ying , Xu Zhi 
Published: September 2018

AbstractA series of diethylene glycol tethered bis‐istain derivatives 4 a‐o were designed, synthesized and screened for their biological activities in this paper. Eight bis‐isatin derivatives displayed broad‐spectrum activities against all tested drug‐sensitive and drug‐resistant cancer cells with IC50 in a range of 8.32 to 49.73 μM. The most active derivative 4 d was >2.5 folds more potent than etoposide against Hela, HCT‐116, A549 and drug‐resistant MCF‐7/DOX (Doxorubicin‐resistant MCF‐7) cells and was comparable to etoposide against DU145, SKOV3 and MCF‐7. Tubulin inhibitory results suggested that this kind of bis‐istain derivatives could exert their anti‐cancer activities through tubulin inhibition. The eight bis‐isatin derivatives with high anti‐tumor activity were selected for further screen to investigate their anti‐mycobacterial and anti‐HIV activities, but the majority of them only exhibited weak to moderate activities.
Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organosilicons: Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Pyridyldisilanes with a Donor‐Acceptor Linker
Authors: Tan Juan Juan , Gu Feng Long 
Published: September 2018

AbstractAs a novel kind of organosilicon complex, dipyridyldisilane and 1‐phenyl‐2‐pyridyl‐disilane with a donor‐ acceptor link by the σ‐π interaction and intramolecular charge transfer, has been investigated by the density functional theory. It is found that the phenyl replaced by the pyridy in diphenyldisilane can significantly narrow the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap, and enhance the electronic polarization, thus make the electronic distribution more diffuse. As a result, the static first hyperpolarizability (β0) of dipyridyldisilane is enhanced to the range of 10.365×10−30 esu ∼ 26.385×10−30esu. And in order to know the effect of the number of pyridyl ring and the position of pyridyl ring on NLO responses, we calculated the β0 values for 1‐phenyl‐2‐pyridyl‐disilane, they are in the range of 6.475×10−30 esu ∼ 1482.613×10−30esu. The smaller HOMO‐LUMO gap and the smaller transition energy make the larger value of β0. This kind of organosilicon complex is one of the potentially versatile and fascinating nonlinear optical materials.
High‐Surface‐Area Nitrogen/Phosphorus Dual‐Doped Hierarchical Porous Carbon Derived from Biochar for Sulfur Holder
Authors: Han Jianmei , Chen Xia , Xi Baojuan , Mao Hongzhi , Feng Jinkui , Xiong Shenglin 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBiomass jellyfish umbrellas are used to prepare N,P‐codoped activated carbon (denoted as NPAC) through a soaking in NH4H2PO4 solution and activation process by potassium hydroxide. The key features of NPAC materials are the micro‐/mesopore coexistent structure and ultrahigh surface area (2307 m2 g−1), which displays the significance of carbon synthesis from biochars. When NPAC serves as the sulfur holder, it not only benefits the maximum encapsulation of sulfur in the pores but also restrains the dissolution of polysulfides through physisorption. Meanwhile, the N and P co‐doping is favorable for binding polysulfides by providing additional chemical adsorption sites via bonding with polysulfides. Relying on the synergistic effect of physi‐/chemisorption, the sulfur‐infiltrated NPAC material (NPAC−S) shows superior electrochemical performance to AC−S. After 300 cycles at a high current density of 1 C, the NPAC−S72 composite indicates a reversible capacity of 517 mAh g−1 with the capacity decay of 0.103% per cycle after 300 cycles. This work demonstrates that the biomass‐derived carbon route promises due to the unexpected textures of the as‐obtained carbon materials inherently from the special biological structures. The NPAC also shows a promising prospect in the application of absorbents, electrochemical catalysts, and capacitor materials, which inspires researcher to explore other new functional carbonaceous materials.
Enriched Ag Nanospecies Interspersed Nanoporous Siliceous Antibacterial Agent
Authors: Yang Fu , Song Yiyan , Cai Ling , Zhou Shijian , Chen Jin , Kong Yan 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBacterial inactivation by silver nanoparticles recieved increasing attention towards the treatment of multiple drug resistance (MDR). In this study, we developed an efficient Ag nanospecies interspersed nanoporous siliceous antimicrobial agent (Ag‐NSA) with the silver concentration of 9.26 wt%. The enriched Ag nanospecies interspersed on the reductive siliceous materials were in situ formed via surface organic modification methods through consecutively grafting functional organic groups. The achieved Ag‐NSA were characterized by physicochemical techniques and obviously exhibited the prolonged inhibitory effect on bacterial growth including gram‐negative Escherichia coli (72 h) and gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus (72 h) compared with those incubated in the presence of silver particles without the dispersion effect of nanoporous silica at the same concentration. These results revealed that the high homogeneity of Ag nanospecies in nanopores could improve the antibacterial effect of silver particles which may be attributed to the inherent channelled silica framework favoring the releasing behavior of silver. Thus, the constructed Ag‐NSA with long‐lasting antibacterial properties hold the potential for medical applications.
Conductive Composite Materials Fabricated from Microbially Produced Protein Nanowires
Authors: Sun Yun‐Lu , Tang Hai‐Yan , Ribbe Alexander , Duzhko Volodimyr , Woodard Trevor L. , Ward Joy E. , Bai Ying , Nevin Kelly P. , Nonnenmann Stephen S. , Russell Thomas , Emrick Todd , Lovley Derek R. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractProtein‐based electronic materials have numerous potential advantages with respect to sustainability and biocompatibility over electronic materials that are synthesized using harsh chemical processes and/or which contain toxic components. The microorganism Geobacter sulfurreducens synthesizes electrically conductive protein nanowires (e‐PNs) with high aspect ratios (3 nm × 10–30 µm) from renewable organic feedstocks. Here, the integration of G. Sulfurreducens e‐PNs into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a host polymer matrix is described. The resultant e‐PN/PVA composites exhibit conductivities comparable to PVA‐based composites containing synthetic nanowires. The relationship between e‐PN density and conductivity of the resultant composites is consistent with percolation theory. These e‐PNs confer conductivity to the composites even under extreme conditions, with the highest conductivities achieved from materials prepared at pH 1.5 and temperatures greater than 100 °C. These results demonstrate that e‐PNs represent viable and sustainable nanowire compositions for the fabrication of electrically conductive composite materials.
Rational Design of Transition Metal‐Based Materials for Highly Efficient Electrocatalysis
Authors: Dou Shuo , Wang Xin , Wang Shuangyin 
Published: September 2018

AbstractElectrocatalysts play critical roles in the renewable electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. The conventional noble metal‐based electrocatalysts cannot satisfy the demand of large‐scale manufacturing due to their high‐price and scarce reserves in the earth. Therefore, rational designing of transition metal‐based materials to endow high activity, selectivity, stability, and low cost has been regarded as an alternative of noble metal‐based materials. Here, recent effective and facile strategies to rationally design transition metal‐based electrocatalysts, such as increasing the number active sties, improving the utilization of active sites (atomic‐scale catalysts), modulating the electron configurations, as well as controlling the lattice facets, for oxygen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and CO2 reduction reaction, are summarized. It is believed that based on the understanding of fundamental design principles, well‐designed non‐noble metal and even metal free electrocatalysts would further make the electrochemical energy conversion and storage great promise in the future.
Forming Atom–Vacancy Interface on the MoS2 Catalyst for Efficient Hydrodeoxygenation Reactions
Authors: Li Qiang , Bai Xiaowan , Ling Chongyi , Zhou Qionghua , Yuan Shijun , Chen Qian , Wang Jinlan 
Published: September 2018

AbstractAtomically dispersed supported catalysts show superior catalytic activity and selectivity in diverse reactions, while the challenging part is identifying the active sites and revealing the reaction mechanisms, which play essential roles in rational design of efficient catalysts to massive energy consumption reduction. Herein, an atom vacancy interface (AVI) model is proposed, for the first time, based on a case study of atomically dispersed Co atoms distributed on 2H‐MoS2 surfaces as promising catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reactions. The results show that the reactive single Co atom promotes the H2 activation and leads to largely increased sulfur vacancies adjacent to the metals and the formation of metal vacancy interfaces on the MoS2 surface. Detailed reaction mechanism studies demonstrate that the AVI model is quite different from edge vacancy dominated unprompted MoS2 and traditionally prepared CoMoS2 catalysts. The novel structure results in a considerable reduction of energy barriers of three elementary steps including CO scission, hydrogenation processes, and catalytic center regeneration, and eventually boots the HDO reaction at low temperature.
Embryonic exposure to 4‐methylimidazole leads to zebrafish myofibril misalignment
Authors: Tsai Jen‐Ning , Sun Chiao‐Yin , Ding Yu‐Ju , Wang Yun‐Hsin , Lo Kang‐Chieh , Wen Chi‐Chung , Lin Jia‐Wei , Chang Chiung‐Fang , Hsu Li‐Sung , Chen Hui‐Min , Fong Tsorng‐Harn , Chen Yau‐Hung 
Published: September 2018

Abstract4‐methylimidazole (4‐MI) is an imidazole‐derived organic chemical compound that can be used as a raw material in the manufacture of diverse chemicals and has been identified as an ingredient of caramel color in soybean sauce, beers, and other soft drinks. The aim of the present study was to investigate the teratogenic effects of 4‐MI during zebrafish embryogenesis. Zebrafish embryos were treated with different dosages of 4‐MI (0‐120 mM) for different exposure durations (12‐60 hours). The percentages of embryos with malformed phenotypes increased as the exposure dosages and duration time of 4‐MI increased. We also used immunofluorescence and transmission microscopy to evaluate the subtle changes in the myofibril alignment and ultrastructure of muscle organization. Our data showed that 4‐MI treatment disturbs muscle fiber alignment. Electron microscopy data indicated that Z‐lines were undetectable in the 4‐MI‐treated embryos. Although the thick and thin filaments were visible, they were all disorganized. In addition, zebrafish embryos treated by 4‐MI exhibited aberrant expression of 2 muscle‐specific genes, myod and myogenin. Taken together, we concluded that early exposure to 4‐MI affects zebrafish myogenesis, especially in myofibril alignment.
Aberrant methylation‐induced dysfunction of p16 is associated with osteoblast activation caused by fluoride
Authors: Wu Shouli , Yan Weimin , Qiu Bing , Liao Yongfang , Gu Junying , Wei Shaofeng , Zhang Aihua , Pan Xueli 
Published: September 2018

AbstractChronic exposure to fluoride continues to be a public health problem worldwide, affecting thousands of people. Fluoride can cause abnormal proliferation and activation of osteoblast and osteoclast, leading to skeletal fluorosis that can cause pain and harm to joints and bones and even lead to permanent disability. Nevertheless, there is no recognized mechanism to explain the bone lesions of fluorosis. In this work, we performed a population study and in vitro experiments to investigate the pathogenic mechanism of skeletal fluorosis in relation to methylation of the promoter of p16. The protein coded by the p16 gene inhibits cdk (cyclin‐dependent kinase) 4/cdk6‐mediated phosphorylation4 of retinoblastoma gene product and induces cell cycle arrest. The results showed that hypermethylation of p16 and reduced gene expression was evident in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with fluorosis and correlated with the level of fluoride exposure. Studies with cell cultures of osteoblasts revealed in response to sodium fluoride (NaF) treatment, there was an induction of p16 hypermethylation and decreased expression, leading to increased cell proliferation, a longer S‐phase of the cell cycle, and development of skeletal fluorosis. Further, the methylation inhibitor, 5‐aza‐2‐deoxycytidine, reversed the p16 hypermethylation and expression in response to NaF. These results reveal a regulatory role of p16 gene methylation on osteoblasts activation during the development of skeletal fluorosis.
The Sources and Diversity of Immigrant Population Change in Australia, 1981–2011
Authors: Raymer James , Shi Yanlin , Guan Qing , Baffour Bernard , Wilson Tom 
Published: September 2018

AbstractAustralia has one of the largest percentages of immigrant populations in the developed world with a highly regulated system of immigration control and regular censuses to track their changes over time. However, the ability to explain the population change through the demographic components of immigration, emigration, and death by age and sex is complicated because of differences in measurement and sources of information. In this article, we explore three methods for reconciling the demographic accounts from 1981 to 2011 for the Australia-born and 18 foreign-born population groups. We then describe how the immigrant populations have changed and what has contributed most to that change. We find that the sources of immigrant population change have varied considerably by age, sex, country of birth, and period of immigration. Immigrants from Europe are currently the oldest and slowest-growing populations, whereas those from elsewhere are growing rapidly and exhibit relatively young population age structures. Studying these patterns over time helps us to understand the nature of international migration and its long-term contributions to population change and composition.
Altered functional connectivity strength in informant‐reported subjective cognitive decline: A resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Authors: Dong Chao , Liu Tao , Wen Wei , Kochan Nicole A. , Jiang Jiyang , Li Qiongge , Liu Hao , Niu Haijun , Zhang Wei , Wang Yilong , Brodaty Henry , Sachdev Perminder S. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractIntroductionInformant‐reported subjective cognitive decline (iSCD) has been associated with a higher risk of conversion to dementia, but the findings of whole brain functional connectivity strength (FCS) changes in iSCD are limited.MethodsThe sample comprised 39 participants with iSCD and 39 age‐ and sex‐ matched healthy controls. The global absolute (aFCS) and relative functional connectivity strengths were estimated using weighted degree centrality and the z‐scores of the weighted degree centrality respectively. FreeSurfer was used for measuring cortical thickness.ResultsThe aFCS was lower in iSCD primarily in left medial superior frontal, left precuneus, left parietal, right cuneus, and bilateral calcarine; while relative functional connectivity strength was higher in posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus compared with healthy controls. No significant differences in cortical thickness were observed.DiscussionThere are detectable changes of FCS in iSCD, with the precuneus possibly playing a compensatory role. FCS could therefore have a potential role to serve as one of the earliest neuroimaging markers of neurodegenerative disease.
Utility of perfusion PET measures to assess neuronal injury in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Joseph‐Mathurin Nelly , Su Yi , Blazey Tyler M. , Jasielec Mateusz , Vlassenko Andrei , Friedrichsen Karl , Gordon Brian A. , Hornbeck Russ C. , Cash Lisa , Ances Beau M. , Veale Thomas , Cash David M. , Brickman Adam M. , Buckles Virginia , Cairns Nigel J. , Cruchaga Carlos , Goate Alison , Jack Clifford R. , Karch Celeste , Klunk William , Koeppe Robert A. , Marcus Daniel S. , Mayeux Richard , McDade Eric , Noble James M. , Ringman John , Saykin Andrew J. , Thompson Paul M. , Xiong Chengjie , Morris John C. , Bateman Randall J. , Benzinger Tammie L.S. ,   Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network
Published: September 2018

AbstractIntroduction18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is commonly used to estimate neuronal injury in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we evaluate the utility of dynamic PET measures of perfusion using 11C‐Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) to estimate neuronal injury in comparison to FDG PET.MethodsFDG, early frames of PiB images, and relative PiB delivery rate constants (PiB‐R1) were obtained from 110 participants from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network. Voxelwise, regional cross‐sectional, and longitudinal analyses were done to evaluate the correlation between images and estimate the relationship of the imaging biomarkers with estimated time to disease progression based on family history.ResultsMetabolism and perfusion images were spatially correlated. Regional PiB‐R1 values and FDG, but not early frames of PiB images, significantly decreased in the mutation carriers with estimated year to onset and with increasing dementia severity.DiscussionHypometabolism estimated by PiB‐R1 may provide a measure of brain perfusion without increasing radiation exposure.