bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Circulating memory T follicular helper subsets, Tfh2 and Tfh17, participate in the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome
Authors: Che Yuanyuan , Qiu Jinpeng , Jin Tao , Yin Fei , Li Man , Jiang Yanfang 
Published: February 2016

AbstractCirculating memory T follicular helper subsets, Tfh2 and Tfh17 are found to be aberrantly regulated in many autoimmune diseases. However, their roles in the pathogenesis of GBS are still unclear. This study examined the phenotype, distribution, clinical relevance and potential function of Tfh2 and Tfh17 in 36 GBS patients (including 24 AMAN and 12 AIDP patients). We found that the absolute counts of total memory Tfh cells were significantly increased in AMAN, while no significant difference in AIDP compared with HC. Furthermore, the levels of the three subsets of memory Tfh cells, Tfh1, Tfh2 and Tfh17, were differentially altered in AMAN. The absolute counts of Tfh1, Tfh2 and Tfh17 were all increased to a higher level in AMAN. The ratio of (Tfh2+Tfh17)/Tfh1 and the percentages of ICOS+ cells in Tfh2 and Tfh17 cells were greater in AMAN when compared to AIDP and HC and the former had a positive correlation with the severity of both AMAN and AIDP. Conversely, the percentages of PD1+ cells in Tfh2 and Tfh17 cells were lower in AMAN than in HC. Therefore, circulating memory Tfh2 and Tfh17 cells might promote the autoantibody-related immune response and serve as useful markers to evaluate the progression of AMAN.
Myosin di-phosphorylation and peripheral actin bundle formation as initial events during endothelial barrier disruption
Authors: Hirano Mayumi , Hirano Katsuya 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe phosphorylation of the 20-kD myosin light chain (MLC) and actin filament formation play a key role in endothelial barrier disruption. MLC is either mono- or di-phosphorylated (pMLC and ppMLC) at T18 or S19. The present study investigated whether there are any distinct roles of pMLC and ppMLC in barrier disruption induced by thrombin. Thrombin induced a modest bi-phasic increase in pMLC and a robust mono-phasic increase in ppMLC. pMLC localized in the perinuclear cytoplasm during the initial phase, while ppMLC localized in the cell periphery, where actin bundles were formed. Later, the actin bundles were rearranged into stress fibers, where pMLC co-localized. Rho-kinase inhibitors inhibited thrombin-induced barrier disruption and peripheral localization of ppMLC and actin bundles. The double, but not single, mutation of phosphorylation sites abolished the formation of peripheral actin bundles and the barrier disruption, indicating that mono-phosphorylation of MLC at either T18 or S19 is functionally sufficient for barrier disruption. Namely, the peripheral localization, but not the degree of phosphorylation, is suggested to be essential for the functional effect of ppMLC. These results suggest that MLC phosphorylation and actin bundle formation in cell periphery are initial events during barrier disruption.
Increasing the information rates of optical communications via coded modulation: a study of transceiver performance
Authors: Maher Robert , Alvarado Alex , Lavery Domaniç , Bayvel Polina 
Published: February 2016

AbstractOptical fibre underpins the global communications infrastructure and has experienced an astonishing evolution over the past four decades, with current commercial systems transmitting data rates in excess of 10 Tb/s over a single fibre core. The continuation of this dramatic growth in throughput has become constrained due to a power dependent nonlinear distortion arising from a phenomenon known as the Kerr effect. The mitigation of fibre nonlinearities is an area of intense research. However, even in the absence of nonlinear distortion, the practical limit on the transmission throughput of a single fibre core is dominated by the finite signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) afforded by current state-of-the-art coherent optical transceivers. Therefore, the key to maximising the number of information bits that can be reliably transmitted over a fibre channel hinges on the simultaneous optimisation of the modulation format and code rate, based on the SNR achieved at the receiver. In this work, we use an information theoretic approach based on the mutual information and the generalised mutual information to characterise a state-of-the-art dual polarisation m-ary quadrature amplitude modulation transceiver and subsequently apply this methodology to a 15-carrier super-channel to achieve the highest throughput (1.125 Tb/s) ever recorded using a single coherent receiver.
Functional role of positively selected amino acid substitutions in mammalian rhodopsin evolution
Authors: Fernández-Sampedro Miguel A. , Invergo Brandon M. , Ramon Eva , Bertranpetit Jaume , Garriga Pere 
Published: February 2016

AbstractVisual rhodopsins are membrane proteins that function as light photoreceptors in the vertebrate retina. Specific amino acids have been positively selected in visual pigments during mammal evolution, which, as products of adaptive selection, would be at the base of important functional innovations. We have analyzed the top candidates for positive selection at the specific amino acids and the corresponding reverse changes (F13M, Q225R and A346S) in order to unravel the structural and functional consequences of these important sites in rhodopsin evolution. We have constructed, expressed and immunopurified the corresponding mutated pigments and analyzed their molecular phenotypes. We find that position 13 is very important for the folding of the receptor and also for proper protein glycosylation. Position 225 appears to be important for the function of the protein affecting the G-protein activation process, and position 346 would also regulate functionality of the receptor by enhancing G-protein activation and presumably affecting protein phosphorylation by rhodopsin kinase. Our results represent a link between the evolutionary analysis, which pinpoints the specific amino acid positions in the adaptive process, and the structural and functional analysis, closer to the phenotype, making biochemical sense of specific selected genetic sequences in rhodopsin evolution.
Inverted optical intrinsic response accompanied by decreased cerebral blood flow are related to both neuronal inhibition and excitation
Authors: Ma Zengguang , Cao Pengjia , Sun Pengcheng , Zhao Linna , Li Liming , Tong Shanbao , Lu Yiliang , Yan Yan , Chen Yao , Chai Xinyu 
Published: February 2016

AbstractNegative hemodynamic response has been widely reported in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, however its origin is still controversial. Optical intrinsic signal (OIS) imaging can be used to study brain activity by simultaneously recording hemodynamic signals at different wavelengths with high spatial resolution. In this study, we found transcorneal electrical stimulation (TcES) could elicit both positive OIS response (POR) and negative OIS response (NOR) in cats’ visual cortex. We then investigated the property of this negative response to TcES and its relationship with cerebral blood flow (CBF) and neuronal activity. Results from laser speckle contrast imaging showed decreased CBF in the NOR region while increased CBF in the POR region. Both planar and laminar electrophysiological recordings in the middle (500–700 μm) cortical layers demonstrated that decreased and increased neuronal activities were coexisted in the NOR region. Furthermore, decreased neuronal activity was also detected in the deep cortical layers in the NOR region. This work provides evidence that the negative OIS together with the decreased CBF should be explained by mechanisms of both neuronal inhibition and excitation within middle cortical layers. Our results would be important for interpreting neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the negative BOLD signals.
Effect of TiO2 blocking layer synthesised by a sol–gel method in performances of fluorine‐doped tin oxide/TiO2/dyed‐TiO2/electrolyte/pt/fluorine‐doped tin oxide solar cells based on natural mallow dye
Authors: Kadachi Zouhour , Ben Karoui Moufida , Azizi Tarek , Gharbi Rached 
Published: February 2016

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film prepared by sol–gel technique and deposed by spin coating was used as the blocking layer between fluorine doped tin oxide and dyed TiO2 photoanode deposed by doctor blade in dye‐sensitised solar cell (DSSC). The synthesised films show a polycrystalline structure at annealing temperature of 400°C with small amount of amorphous phase observed at 300°C. The values of the electrical conductivity varies from 0.11 to 1.17 Ω−1 cm−1 for one and two layers thin films, respectively, and the corresponding activation energies decreased as a function of the thickness, it passes from 109 meV for one layer to 55 meV for two layers. The photoanode of the DSSC was sensitised by the mallow diluted in ethanol having absorption spectra with two peaks, one around 480 nm (blue light) and the second at 665 nm (red light) attributable to the chlorophyll mixture. Improvement of the electrical performance is due to the increased electron lifetime and decreased of the recombination process showed by the open circuit voltage decay measurement. The lifetime values increase from 0.80 ms for the cell without blocking layer to 1.24 ms for the cell based on the blocking layer.
New folding lateral double diffused metal oxide semiconductor breaking silicon limit with ultra‐low specific on‐resistance
Authors: Duan Baoxing , Li Chunlai , Ma Jianchong , Yuan Song , Yang Yintang 
Published: February 2016

A new lateral double diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) is proposed for the first time with the step oxide layer above the folding silicon substrate. Three technologies, including of the electric field modulation effect, majority carrier accumulation, and folding silicon, are applied simultaneously to the proposed LDMOS for improving the trade‐off between the breakdown voltage (BV) and specific on‐resistance (Ron,sp). The majority carrier accumulation layer under the extended gate is formed in the folding silicon substrate during the on‐state operation. The high‐doping drift region can be depleted completely in the off‐state, thanks to an additional electric field modulation, which is analogous to the super junction idea. The uniform lateral electric field has been obtained due to the new electric field peak to improve the trade‐off between the BV and Ron,sp. The proposed LDMOS shows the Ron,sp of 0.32 mΩ cm2 with the BV of 62 V, which has broken the silicon limit relationship with Ron,sp of 2.0 mΩ cm2 under the same BV in the conventional LDMOS. This is the previously reported lowest Ron,sp with the BV of about 60 V.
Pflege im eigenen Haushalt oder außerhalb? – Ein Vergleich des Gesundheitszustands von Pflegenden
Authors: Mußgnug T. , Korotkaia A. 
Published: February 2016

ZusammenfassungDie GEDA-Studie 2012 ist eine repräsentative, bundesweite Befragung mittels computerunterstützter Telefoninterviews, die im Zeitraum März 2012 bis März 2013 vom Robert-Koch-Institut durchgeführt wurde und insgesamt 19 294 realisierte Interviews umfasst. Insgesamt wurden die Antworten von 1 219 Befragten, die eine pflegebedürftige Person pflegen und die Fragen zu Geschlecht, Alter und Gesundheitszustand für diese Studie beantwortet haben, untersucht. Mittels der Statistik Software SPSS wurden die GEDA-Daten deskriptiv ausgewertet und anhand Microsoft Office visualisiert dargestellt. Personen, die eine pflegebedürftige Person pflegen, sind in der Stichprobe zu 47,2% im Alter zwischen 45–64 Jahren. In der Kohorte pflegen mehr Frauen (62,8%) als Männer (37,2%) pflegebedürftige Angehörige. Vergleicht man die Häufigkeiten der Angaben zum Gesundheitszustand innerhalb dreier Altersgruppen, schätzen die Personen, die eine pflegebedürftige Person außerhalb des eigenen Haushalts pflegen, ihren Gesundheitszustand eher besser ein, als bei der Pflege im eigenen Haushalt.
Dynamic secretion during meiotic reentry integrates the function of the oocyte and cumulus cells
Authors: Cakmak Hakan , Franciosi Federica , Zamah A. Musa , Cedars Marcelle I. , Conti Marco 
Published: February 2016

Significance
Oocyte fitness to support embryo development and pregnancy is dependent on an elaborate cross-talk with the surrounding environment of the ovarian follicle. Here, we show that this cross-talk continues during the periovulatory period when a new set of bioactive molecules is secreted by the oocyte in mice and humans. This shift in pattern of secretion is dependent on oocyte maturation and on paracrine factors secreted by somatic cells at the time of ovulation. These changes in pattern of secretion may be used to assess oocyte quality.
Endogenous dendritic cells from the tumor microenvironment support T-ALL growth via IGF1R activation
Authors: Triplett Todd A. , Cardenas Kim T. , Lancaster Jessica N. , Hu Zicheng , Selden Hilary J. , Jasso Guadalupe J. , Balasubramanyam Sadhana , Chan Kathy , Li LiQi , Chen Xi , Marcogliese Andrea N. , Davé Utpal P. , Love Paul E. , Ehrlich Lauren I. R. 
Published: February 2016

SignificanceT-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a malignancy of developing T cells. Cancer cell growth is often driven by cell-intrinsic alterations in signaling pathways as well as extrinsic signals from the tumor microenvironment. Here we identify tumor-associated dendritic cells as a key endogenous cell type in the tumor microenvironment that promotes murine T-ALL growth and survival at both primary and metastatic tumor sites. We also find that tumor-associated dendritic cells activate the insulin-like growth factor I receptor in T-ALL cells, which is critical for their survival. Analysis of primary patient T-ALL samples reveals phenotypically analogous tumor microenvironments. Our findings suggest that targeting signals from the tumor microenvironment could expand therapeutic options for T-ALL.
Lipid and metabolite profiles of human brain tumors by desorption electrospray ionization-MS
Authors: Jarmusch Alan K. , Pirro Valentina , Baird Zane , Hattab Eyas M. , Cohen-Gadol Aaron A. , Cooks R. Graham 
Published: February 2016

Significance
Brain tumors can lead to a significant source of morbidity and mortality. The primary treatment is microsurgical resection, and the extent of resection is associated with length of survival. Unfortunately, reliable intraoperative tools for diagnosis and safe maximal resection of the tumor mass are lacking. Mass spectra (lipid and metabolite profiles) can be used to distinguish between healthy and diseased tissues by comparison of patterns of peak intensities using multivariate statistics. This experiment can be done on a timescale amenable to intraoperative analysis using tissue smears. These data can provide surgeons with near real-time pathologic information and guide the intraoperative resection of the tumor at the difficult to detect peritumoral borders.
Lasing in robust cesium lead halide perovskite nanowires
Authors: Eaton Samuel W. , Lai Minliang , Gibson Natalie A. , Wong Andrew B. , Dou Letian , Ma Jie , Wang Lin-Wang , Leone Stephen R. , Yang Peidong 
Published: February 2016

Significance
Nanowire lasers are miniaturized light sources with great potential for integration into optoelectronic circuits. Many of the current nanowire lasers either require extreme conditions for synthesis or suffer from poor operational stability. We synthesize nanowires of a promising set of compositions, the cesium lead halides, and accomplish this under near-ambient conditions. These nanowires act as efficient laser cavities and are capable of lasing with relatively low excitation thresholds. They also demonstrate unprecedented stability for a perovskite-based nanowire laser and offer a new nanoscale platform for future study.
Bilateral practice improves dominant leg performance in long jump
Authors: Focke Anne , Spancken Sina , Stockinger Christian , Thürer Benjamin , Stein Thorsten 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBenefits of bilateral practice both for the non‐dominant and for the dominant body side have been shown in several studies. Thereby, most of the studies included movement tasks of the upper extremity or investigated sports games in which the ability of acting bilaterally is an essential basis for success and, thus, a bilateral practice is reasonable anyway. Individual unilaterally performed sports including movement tasks of the lower extremity are rarely investigated. Therefore, the aim of our study was to test if contralateral transfer due to bilateral practice can be found in an unilaterally performed sport including the lower extremity. We trained and tested 61 adolescent athletes in long jump to compare the jumping performance of the dominant leg after a 12‐week practice period between two groups: a bilateral practice group that practiced specific long jump exercises with both the dominant and non‐dominant leg and an unilateral practice group that practiced specific long jump exercises only with the dominant leg. Results showed a superior effect of bilateral practice compared to unilateral practice regarding the jumping performance of the dominant leg. The performance increase at post‐test and retention‐test for the dominant limb was significantly higher for the bilateral practice group (pre‐to‐post: 5.2%, pre‐to‐retention: 7.4%) compared to the unilateral practice group (pre‐to‐post: 3.4%, pre‐to‐retention: 4.5%). Thus, bilateral practice should be established in the early practice programmes of track and field athletes to improve the performance of the dominant take‐off leg.
Caffeine improves muscular performance in elite Brazilian Jiu‐jitsu athletes
Authors: Diaz‐Lara Francisco Javier , Del Coso Juan , García Jose Manuel , Portillo Luis J. , Areces Francisco , Abián‐Vicén Javier 
Published: February 2016

AbstractScientific information about the effects of caffeine intake on combat sport performance is scarce and controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of caffeine to improve Brazilian Jiu‐jitsu (BJJ)‐specific muscular performance. Fourteen male and elite BJJ athletes (29.2 ± 3.3 years; 71.3 ± 9.1 kg) participated in a randomized double‐blind, placebo‐controlled and crossover experiment. In two different sessions, BJJ athletes ingested 3 mg kg−1 of caffeine or a placebo. After 60 min, they performed a handgrip maximal force test, a countermovement jump, a maximal static lift test and bench‐press tests consisting of one‐repetition maximum, power‐load, and repetitions to failure. In comparison to the placebo, the ingestion of the caffeine increased: hand grip force in both hands (50.9 ± 2.9 vs. 53.3 ± 3.1 kg; respectively p < .05), countermovement jump height (40.6 ± 2.6 vs. 41.7 ± 3.1 cm; p = .02), and time recorded in the maximal static lift test (54.4 ± 13.4 vs. 59.2 ± 11.9 s; p < .01).The caffeine also increased the one‐repetition maximum (90.5 ± 7.7 vs. 93.3 ± 7.5 kg; p = .02), maximal power obtained during the power‐load test (750.5 ± 154.7 vs. 826.9 ± 163.7 W; p < .01) and mean power during the bench‐press exercise test to failure (280.2 ± 52.5 vs. 312.2 ± 78.3 W; p = .04). In conclusion, the pre‐exercise ingestion of 3 mg kg−1 of caffeine increased dynamic and isometric muscular force, power, and endurance strength in elite BJJ athletes. Thus, caffeine might be an effective ergogenic aid to improve physical performance in BJJ.
Investigations on the physical origin of lateral photovoltage in PbS-colloidal quantum dot/Si heterojunctions
Authors: Abhale Atul Prakash , Koteswara Rao K S R , Pendyala N B , Banerjee A 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Restricted area heterojunctions, an array of lead sulfide colloidal quantum dots (PbS-CQDs) and crystalline silicon, are studied with a non-destructive remote contact light beam induced current (RC-LBIC) technique. As well as getting good quality active area images we observed an anomalous unipolar signal response for the PbS-CQD/n-Si devices and a conventionally expected bipolar signal profile for the PbS-CQD/p-Si devices. Interestingly, our simulation results consistently yielded a unipolar and bipolar nature in the signals related to the PbS-CQD/n-Si and PbS-CQD/p-Si heterostructures, respectively. In order to explain the physical mechanism involved in the unipolar signal response of the PbS-CQD/n-Si devices, we propose a model based on the band alignment in the heterojunctions, in addition to the distribution of photo-induced excess majority carriers across the junction. Given that the RC-LBIC technique is well suited to this context, the presence of these two distinct mechanisms (the bipolar and unipolar nature of the signals) needs to be considered in order to have a better interpretation of the data in the characterization of an array of homo/heterojunctions.
A low resistivity n++-InGaN/p++-GaN polarization-induced tunnel junction
Authors: Hu Weiwei , Zhang Shuming , Ikeda Masao , Chen Yigang , Liu Jianping , Feng Meixin , Li Deyao , Zhang Feng , Zhou Kun , Tian Aiqin , Yang Hui 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
A low resistivity n++-InGaN/p++-GaN tunnel junction is illustrated. The tunneling current density of tunnel junction with 30 percent In content in InGaN layer turns out to be extraordinary high (10 kA cm−2) even at a relatively low bias voltage (0.1 V) compared with traditional n++-GaN/p++-GaN. And we optimize the InGaN layer including the thickness, indium component and the doping concentration to increase the tunneling probability with the 1D Schrödinger Poisson self-consistent method and WKB (Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) approximation. It is shown that the peak value of electric field in tunnel junction caused by spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric effect reaches 7.1 MV cm−1 with the 2D hole gas concentration of 2  ×  1020 cm−3 at the interface between InGaN and GaN. That indicates n++-InGaN/p++-GaN tunnel junction has a potential application in GaN-based optoelectronic device.
Light-bias coupling erase process for non-volatile zinc tin oxide TFT memory with a nickel nanocrystals charge trap layer
Authors: Li Jeng-Ting , Liu Li-Chih , Ke Po-Hsien , Chen Jen-Sue , Jeng Jiann-Shing 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
A nonvolatile charge trapping memory is demonstrated on a thin film transistor (TFT) using a solution processed ultra-thin (~7 nm) zinc tin oxide (ZTO) semiconductor layer with an Al2O3/Ni-nanocrystals (NCs)/SiO2 dielectric stack. A positive threshold voltage (V
TH) shift of 7 V is achieved at gate programming voltage of 40 V for 1 s but the state will not be erased by applying negative gate voltage. However, the programmed V
TH shift can be expediently erased by applying a gate voltage of  −10 V in conjunction with visible light illumination for 1 s. It is found that the sub-threshold swing (SS) deteriorates slightly under light illumination, indicating that photo-ionized oxygen vacancies (

and/or

) are trapped at the interface between Al2O3 and ZTO, which assists the capture of electrons discharged from the Ni NCs charge trapping layer. The light-bias coupling action and the role of ultra-thin ZTO thickness are discussed to elucidate the efficient erasing mechanism.