bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Enterococcus faecalis virulence factor ElrA interacts with the human Four-and-a-Half LIM Domains Protein 2
Authors: Jamet Alexandre , Dervyn Rozenn , Lapaque Nicolas , Bugli Francesca , Perez-Cortez Naima G. , Blottière Hervé M. , Twizere Jean-Claude , Sanguinetti Maurizio , Posteraro Brunella , Serror Pascale , Maguin Emmanuelle 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe commensal bacterium Enterococcus faecalis is a common cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. The increasing prevalence of multi-antibiotic resistant E. faecalis strains reinforces this public health concern. Despite numerous studies highlighting several pathology-related genetic traits, the molecular mechanisms of E. faecalis virulence remain poorly understood. In this work, we studied 23 bacterial proteins that could be considered as virulence factors or involved in the Enterococcus interaction with the host. We systematically tested their interactions with human proteins using the Human ORFeome library, a set of 12,212 human ORFs, in yeast. Among the thousands of tested interactions, one involving the E. faecalis virulence factor ElrA and the human protein FHL2 was evidenced by yeast two-hybrid and biochemically confirmed. Further molecular characterizations allowed defining an FHL2-interacting domain (FID) of ElrA. Deletion of the FID led to an attenuated in vivo phenotype of the mutated strain clearly indicating that this interaction is likely to contribute to the multifactorial virulence of this opportunistic pathogen. Altogether, our results show that FHL2 is the first host cellular protein directly targeted by an E. faecalis virulence factor and that this interaction is involved in Enterococcus pathogenicity.
All‐digital synchronous 2 × time‐difference amplifier based on time register
Authors: Lyu Yinxuan , Feng Jianhua , Ye Hongfei , Yu Dunshan 
Published: June 2017

A novel 2 × time‐difference amplifier (TDA) in 65 nm CMOS technology is presented. Unlike traditional analogue TDA, the proposed TDA, employing an all‐digital synchronous architecture, achieves 2 × TDA in a time subtracting way based on time register. Multi‐path negative skewed gated delay cells are utilised to minimise gating skew error in the time register. To make up for the delay mismatch in the two time registers, a foreground calibration scheme that calibrates the input offset of the phase detectors at the same time is applied. The TDA gain ranges from 1.99 to 2.02 over ± 150 ps input time‐difference range and the standard variation of the gain is 0.02 under various process, voltage and temperature (PVT) conditions. The simulated average of power consumption is 62 μW under 100 MHz clock frequency.
Soft‐switching DC–DC Cuk converter operating in discontinuous‐capacitor‐voltage mode
Authors: Poorali Behzad , Adib Ehsan , Farzanehfard Hosein 
Published: June 2017

This paper proposes an improved topology for the conventional DC–DC Cuk converter operating in discontinuous‐capacitor‐voltage mode which provides soft‐switching conditions for all the semiconductor devices. The improved topology has only three passive components in addition to the elements of the conventional counterpart, an extra winding, an auxiliary diode, and an auxiliary inductor. Therefore, without using any extra active switch, the soft‐switching operation is attained and the switching losses are reduced. In the proposed converter, the power switch turns on and off under zero‐current‐switching and zero‐voltage‐switching conditions, respectively. In addition, the switch current is reduced in comparison with the conventional Cuk converter resulting in lower current stress. Also, the leakage inductance energy is recycled and continuity of the input and output currents are preserved. It is shown that reduction of the switch current and soft‐switching operation improves the overall efficiency. Analysis of the proposed converter together with the design guidelines is presented. Moreover, the experimental results of a 100 W prototype producing −24 V from 150 V input voltage are provided and compared with the results obtained from a similar prototype of the conventional Cuk converter.
Platelets Protect Cardiomyocytes from Ischemic Damage
Authors: Walsh Tony , Poole Alastair 
Published: June 2017

AbstractPlatelets are classically known for their roles in bleeding control and occlusive thrombus formation causing ischemic tissue damage. Recently, nonclassical roles for platelets have been described, many of which may be mediated by the heterogeneous cargo that platelets secrete from granular stores upon activation. Using an in vitro model of ischemic injury to ventricular cardiomyocytes, we observed that platelets, through secreted factors, delayed the rate of cardiomyocyte death during ischemia. This protective effect appeared independent of platelet dense granule cargo, but required α-granule components stromal cell-derived factor-1α and transforming growth factor-β1. Protein kinase C activity within cardiomyocytes was responsible for mediating the protective signals initiated by the released platelet cargo. Importantly, pretreating platelets with a P2Y12 antagonist, but not the cyclooxygenase inhibitor aspirin, substantially attenuated this protective effect. These findings therefore reveal a paradoxically protective role for platelet activation during cardiac ischemia and could have important implications for the use of antiplatelet therapeutics in the management of myocardial infarction.
The IMPROVEDD VTE Risk Score: Incorporation of D-Dimer into the IMPROVE Score to Improve Venous Thromboembolism Risk Stratification
Authors: Gibson C. , Spyropoulos Alex , Cohen Alexander , Hull Russell , Goldhaber Samuel , Yusen Roger , Hernandez Adrian , Korjian Serge , Daaboul Yazan , Gold Alex , Harrington Robert , Chi Gerald 
Published: June 2017

Background The IMPROVE score is a validated venous thromboembolism (VTE) assessment tool to risk stratify hospitalized, medically ill patients based on clinical variables. It was hypothesized that addition of D-dimer measurement to derive a new IMPROVEDD score would improve identification of at risk of VTE.
Methods The association of the IMPROVE score and D-dimer ≥ 2 × the upper limit of normal (ULN) with the risk of symptomatic deep vein thrombosis, nonfatal pulmonary embolism, or VTE-related death was evaluated in 7,441 hospitalized, medically ill patients randomized in the APEX trial. Based on the Cox regression analysis, the IMPROVEDD score was derived by adding two points to the IMPROVE score if the D-dimer was ≥ 2 × ULN.
Results Baseline D-dimer was independently associated with symptomatic VTE through 77 days (adjusted HR: 2.22 [95% CI: 1.38–1.58], p = 0.001). Incorporation of D-dimer into the IMPROVE score improved VTE risk discrimination (ΔAUC: 0.06 [95% CI: 0.02–0.09], p = 0.0006) and reclassification (continuous NRI: 0.34 [95% CI: 0.17–0.51], p = 0.001; categorical NRI: 0.13 [95% CI: 0.03–0.23], p = 0.0159). Patients with an IMPROVEDD score of ≥2 had a greater VTE risk compared with those with an IMPROVEDD score of 0 to 1 (HR: 2.73 [95% CI: 1.52–4.90], p = 0.0007).
Conclusion Incorporation of D-dimer into the IMPROVE VTE risk assessment model further improves risk stratification in hospitalized, medically ill patients who received thromboprophylaxis. An IMPROVEDD score of ≥2 identifies hospitalized, medically ill patients with a heightened risk for VTE through 77 days.
Variceal Bleeds in Patients with Biliary Atresia
Authors: Witt Mauri , Bax Niels , Verkade Henkjan , Scheenstra René , de Kleine Ruben , Hulscher Jan , van Wessel Daan 
Published: June 2017

Introduction Portal hypertension often occurs in biliary atresia (BA). The subsequent development of esophageal varices and bleeding from these varices are a well-known complication. We aim to describe the incidence and severity of variceal bleeding in patients with BA. In addition, we describe the characteristics of patients who experienced variceal bleeds.
Materials and Methods We included all infants treated for BA at our center between March 1987 and August 2015. Variceal bleeding was defined as hematemesis and/or melena with presence of varices at endoscopy. Findings at endoscopy and ultrasound, laboratory tests, clearance of jaundice, fibrosis-grade at Kasai portoenterostomy, and several varices prediction scores were documented. Routine endoscopies were not performed.
Results In this study, 74 patients were included. During follow-up, 18 out of 74 patients (24%) developed variceal bleeding at an age of 9 months (range, 4–111). Twelve patients were listed for liver transplantation at the time of bleeding. Patients who did not clear their jaundice developed variceal bleeds more often and earlier in life. Bleeds were treated with sclerotherapy, banding, or octreotide. Four patients did not receive treatment. No bleeding-related mortality occurred.
Conclusion One-fourth of the children diagnosed with BA experience variceal bleeds during follow-up. Most of these children are younger than 1 year and often already listed for transplantation. Major complications did not occur after variceal bleeding.
Mechanochemical feedback underlies coexistence of qualitatively distinct cell polarity patterns within diverse cell populations
Authors: Park JinSeok , Holmes William R. , Lee Sung Hoon , Kim Hong-Nam , Kim Deok-Ho , Kwak Moon Kyu , Wang Chiaochun Joanne , Edelstein-Keshet Leah , Levchenko Andre 
Published: June 2017

Significance
Directional cell migration accompanied by cell polarization is key to progression of aggressive cancers, such as melanoma. Cells can display diverse dynamical patterns, with no single mechanism proposed to account for all of them. We show that a simple model predicts the simultaneous presence of random, oscillatory, and persistent dynamic polarization and migration patterns. This mechanism postulates spatially distributed, mechanochemical feedback, coupling the dynamically changing extracellular matrix–cell contacts to the activation of signaling downstream of the Rho-family small GTPases. We validate this mechanism experimentally and use it to explain the transition from a more benign to a more aggressive cell behavior in melanoma progression. This mechanistic analysis framework is general and can be used for diverse stochastic cell migration behaviors in cancer.
A Multiregional Approach for Estimating the Economic Impact of Harvest Restrictions on Saltwater Sportfishing
Authors: Seung Chang K. , Lew Daniel K. 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Previous economic impact studies associated with recreational fishing have used models that ignore impacts occurring outside of the modeled region. This study develops a multiregional computable general equilibrium (MRCGE) model to evaluate the economic effects across multiple regions resulting from changing limits on sport anglers’ harvest of several important species in Alaska. Fishing participation changes arising due to changes in the limits are predicted from a stated-preference model. Next, an MRCGE model is used to estimate the economic effects in Alaska, the U.S. West Coast, and rest of the United States. By accounting for the economic linkages among the three regions, this study shows the importance of multiregional approaches for more accurately measuring economic impacts even when fishery managers may only be concerned about the economic, social, and biological effects occurring in the primary region.
Received January 25, 2017; accepted June 16, 2017 Published online September 5, 2017
Confederate Memory in Post-Confederate Atlanta—a Prolegomena
Authors: Adamczyk Christopher Lee 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACT
The landscape surrounding a memory site strongly influences how it is perceived by the people who visit it. As landscapes are prone to change over time, it is important to acknowledge the ways that such change exerts influence over visitors’ experiences. Through a historically oriented in situ investigation of Atlanta’s Civil War commemoration sites, I reconstruct a narrative from that city’s history that demonstrates how changing contexts, physical and social, can influence both the use of memory sites and the construction of future memory sites. I suggest that change in these sites’ fragmented surroundings prompted the construction of new monuments that were chiefly informed by ideological inadequacies created by transformed landscapes at older memory sites.
Doing Rhetorical StudiesIn Situ: The Nomad Citizen in Jordan
Authors: Hayes Heather Ashley 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACTIn this essay, I explore the ways that doing rhetoric in situ can reveal sets of decolonizing practices within interdisciplinary rhetorical studies. I discuss the idea of rhetoric in situ and its possibility for establishing sets of decolonizing practices in rhetorical studies drawing from fieldwork methods found in disciplines including anthropology. I advance a call for a more literal interpretation of in situ as one way of demonstrating the ways that historians and critics of rhetoric contribute to the conceptual world of publics to co-create imagined rhetorical possibilities with displaced persons. By way of demonstrating the methodological approach I’m advancing in this essay, I turn to a set of discourses born from my own fieldwork, completed on the northern border of Jordan in 2014, amidst the Syrian refugee crisis. In analyzing discourse from two refugee families living in the Mafraq Governorate of Jordan after escaping the violence of the Syrian conflict, I offer the concept of the “nomad citizen” as one way to expand understandings of citizenship in rhetorical studies to be more responsive to crises of transnational migration born out of colonialism.
SocratesEx Situ
Authors: Kennerly Michele 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACTSocrates is an oddity. This past decade has seen both his radical contextualization through archeological efforts to locate him in the public spaces of his native Athens and his radical decontextualization through studies of his reception in later times and places. What unifies those seemingly divergent investigations of Socrates is a fascination with discovering and discerning where Socrates belongs. Socrates’ own contemporaries called him “atopos” (odd, literally, out-of-place), and our contemporary attempts to locate him seem to oppose this displacement, on the one hand, and capitalize upon it, on the other. By seeking Socrates in his own time and place, we may come to understand better how his very movements marked him as out of step with Athenian norms and how such a demarcation affects how we map rhetoric’s borders during that formative time. By seeking Socrates in other times and places, we learn that Socrates himself is a rhetorical topos returned to again and again by people who find or think themselves similarly marked as odd, inappropriate, unbelonging, or out of place. This location work matters for Rhetoric because Socrates is such an atopic (odd) figure in our history.
Phase-change materials for non-volatile memory devices: from technological challenges to materials science issues
Authors: Noé Pierre , Vallée Christophe , Hippert Françoise , Fillot Frédéric , Raty Jean-Yves 
Published: June 2017

AbstractChalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs), such as Ge-Sb-Te alloys, have shown outstanding properties, which has led to their successful use for a long time in optical memories (DVDs) and, recently, in non-volatile resistive memories. The latter, known as PCM memories or phase-change random access memories (PCRAMs), are the most promising candidates among emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies to replace the current FLASH memories at CMOS technology nodes under 28 nm. Chalcogenide PCMs exhibit fast and reversible phase transformations between crystalline and amorphous states with very different transport and optical properties leading to a unique set of features for PCRAMs, such as fast programming, good cyclability, high scalability, multi-level storage capability, and good data retention. Nevertheless, PCM memory technology has to overcome several challenges to definitively invade the NVM market. In this review paper, we examine the main technological challenges that PCM memory technology must face and we illustrate how new memory architecture, innovative deposition methods, and PCM composition optimization can contribute to further improvements of this technology. In particular, we examine how to lower the programming currents and increase data retention. Scaling down PCM memories for large-scale integration means the incorporation of the PCM into more and more confined structures and raises materials science issues in order to understand interface and size effects on crystallization. Other materials science issues are related to the stability and ageing of the amorphous state of PCMs. The stability of the amorphous phase, which determines data retention in memory devices, can be increased by doping the PCM. Ageing of the amorphous phase leads to a large increase of the resistivity with time (resistance drift), which has up to now hindered the development of ultra-high multi-level storage devices. A review of the current understanding of all these issues is provided from a materials science point of view.
Neurovascular Unit: Basic and Clinical Imaging with Emphasis on Advantages of Ferumoxytol
Authors: Netto Joao Prola , Iliff Jeffrey , Stanimirovic Danica , Krohn Kenneth A , Hamilton Bronwyn , Varallyay Csanad , Gahramanov Seymur , Daldrup-Link Heike , d’Esterre Christopher , Zlokovic Berislav , Sair Haris , Lee Yueh , Taheri Saeid , Jain Rajan , Panigrahy Ashok , Reich Daniel S , Drewes Lester R , Castillo Mauricio , Neuwelt Edward A 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Physiological and pathological processes that increase or decrease the central nervous system's need for nutrients and oxygen via changes in local blood supply act primarily at the level of the neurovascular unit (NVU). The NVU consists of endothelial cells, associated blood–brain barrier tight junctions, basal lamina, pericytes, and parenchymal cells, including astrocytes, neurons, and interneurons. Knowledge of the NVU is essential for interpretation of central nervous system physiology and pathology as revealed by conventional and advanced imaging techniques. This article reviews current strategies for interrogating the NVU, focusing on vascular permeability, blood volume, and functional imaging, as assessed by ferumoxytol an iron oxide nanoparticle.
Strategies for improving the lithium-storage performance of 2D nanomaterials
Authors: Mei Jun , Zhang Yuanwen , Liao Ting , Sun Ziqi , Dou Shi Xue 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
2D nanomaterials, including graphene, transition metal oxide (TMO) nanosheets, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets, etc., have offered an appealing and unprecedented opportunity for the development of high-performance electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Although significant progress has been made on 2D nanomaterials for LIB applications in the recent years, some major challenges still exist for the direct use of these sheet-like nanomaterials, such as their serious self-agglomerating tendency during electrode fabrication and low conductivity as well as the large volume changes over repeated charging–discharging cycles for most TMOs/TMDs, which have resulted in large irreversible capacity, low initial Coulombic efficiency and fast capacity fading. To address these issues, considerable progress has been made in the exploitation of 2D nanosheets for enhanced lithium storage. In this review, we intend to summarize the recent progress on the strategies for enhancing the lithium-storage performance of 2D nanomaterials, including hybridization with conductive materials, surface/edge functionalization and structural optimization. These strategies for manipulating the structures and properties of 2D nanomaterials are expected to meet the grand challenges for advanced nanomaterials in clean energy applications and thus provide access to exciting materials for achieving high-performance next-generation energy-storage devices.
Information transmission within federal fiscal architectures: theory and evidence
Authors: Dreher Axel , Gehring Kai , Kotsogiannis Christos , Marchesi Silvia 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
This paper explores the role of information transmission and misaligned interests across levels of governments in explaining variation in the degree of decentralization across countries. We analyse two alternative policy-decision schemes—‘decentralization’ and ‘centralization’— within a two-sided incomplete information principal–agent framework. The quality of communication depends on the conflict of interests between the government levels and on which government level controls the degree of decentralization. We show that the extent of misaligned interests and the relative importance of local and central government knowledge affect the optimal choice of policy-decision schemes. Our empirical analysis confirms that countries’ choices depend on the relative importance of private information. In line with our theory the results differ significantly between unitary and federal countries.
Integrated taxonomy reveals multiple species in the Dendrobaena byblica (Rosa, 1893) complex (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae)
Authors: Szederjesi Tímea , Pop Victor V , Pavlíček Tomáš , Márton Orsolya , Krízsik Virág , Csuzdi Csaba 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Dendrobaena byblica (Rosa, 1893) is a Circum-Mediterranean species complex composed of at least 17 nominal taxa. Regarding the most important species characters (clitellum and tubercles) the worms belonging to the genus Fitzingeria Zicsi, 1978 seem to be very close to the D. byblica species group. Here we provide the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of the byblica species group and the Fitzingeria species, and show that the genus Fitzingeria is polyphyletic and groups together with the Carpathian and Balkanic deeply pigmented byblica forms. The other main clade consists of the ‘classical’ byblica species. The morphological characteristics also support these results. On the basis of the molecular and morphological characters the species of the former Fitzingeria were relegated to Dendrobaena and four new species were described together with a new replacement name Dendrobaena carpathomontana nom. nov. for F. platyura montana (Černosvitov, 1932).
Team Investment and Longitudinal Relationships: An Innovative Global Health Education Model
Authors: Myers Kimberly R. , Fredrick N. Benjamin 
Published: June 2017

Problem
Increasing student interest in global health has resulted in medical schools offering more global health opportunities. However, concerns have been raised, particularly about one-time, short-term experiences, including lack of follow-through for students and perpetuation of unintentional messages of global health heroism, neocolonialism, and disregard for existing systems and communities of care. Medical schools must develop global health programs that address these issues.

Approach
The Global Health Scholars Program (GHSP) was created in 2008–2009 at Penn State College of Medicine. This four-year program is based on values of team investment and longitudinal relationships and uses the service–learning framework of preparation, service, and reflection. Teams of approximately five students, with faculty oversight, participate in two separate monthlong trips abroad to the same host community in years 1 and 4, and in campus- and Web-based activities in years 2 and 3.

Outcomes
As of December 2016, 191 students have been accepted into the GHSP. Since inception, applications have grown by 475% and program sites have expanded from one to seven sites on four continents. The response from students has been positive, but logistical challenges persist in sustaining team investment and maintaining longitudinal relationships between student teams and host communities.

Next Steps
Formal methods of assessment should be used to compare the GHSP model with more traditional approaches to global health education. Other medical schools with similar aims can adapt the GHSP model to expand their global health programming.