bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ancestrality and evolution of trait syndromes in finches (Fringillidae)
Authors: Ponge Jean‐François , Zuccon Dario , Elias Marianne , Pavoine Sandrine , Henry Pierre‐Yves , Théry Marc , Guilbert Éric 
Published: October 2017

AbstractSpecies traits have been hypothesized by one of us (Ponge, 2013) to evolve in a correlated manner as species colonize stable, undisturbed habitats, shifting from “ancestral” to “derived” strategies. We predicted that generalism, r‐selection, sexual monomorphism, and migration/gregariousness are the ancestral states (collectively called strategy A) and evolved correlatively toward specialism, K‐selection, sexual dimorphism, and residence/territoriality as habitat stabilized (collectively called B strategy). We analyzed the correlated evolution of four syndromes, summarizing the covariation between 53 traits, respectively, involved in ecological specialization, r‐K gradient, sexual selection, and dispersal/social behaviors in 81 species representative of Fringillidae, a bird family with available natural history information and that shows variability for all these traits. The ancestrality of strategy A was supported for three of the four syndromes, the ancestrality of generalism having a weaker support, except for the core group Carduelinae (69 species). It appeared that two different B‐strategies evolved from the ancestral state A, both associated with highly predictable environments: one in poorly seasonal environments, called B1, with species living permanently in lowland tropics, with “slow pace of life” and weak sexual dimorphism, and one in highly seasonal environments, called B2, with species breeding out‐of‐the‐tropics, migratory, with a “fast pace of life” and high sexual dimorphism.
Addition of urea and thiourea to electrophoresis sample buffer improves efficiency of protein extraction from TCA/acetone‐treated smooth muscle tissues for phos‐tag SDS‐PAGE
Authors: Takeya Kosuke , Kaneko Toshiyuki , Miyazu Motoi , Takai Akira 
Published: October 2017

AbstractPhosphorylation analysis by using phos‐tag technique has been reported to be suitable for highly sensitive quantification of smooth muscle myosin regulatory light chain (LC20) phosphorylation. However, there is another factor that will affect the sensitivity of phosphorylation analysis, that is, protein extraction. Here, we optimized the conditions for total protein extraction out of trichloroacetic acid (TCA)‐fixed tissues. Standard SDS sample buffer extracted less LC20, actin and myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1) from TCA/acetone treated ciliary muscle strips. On the other hand, sample buffer containing urea and thiourea in addition to lithium dodecyl sulfate (LDS) or SDS extracted those proteins more efficiently, and thus increased the detection sensitivity up to 4–5 fold. Phos‐tag SDS‐PAGE separated dephosphorylated and phosphorylated LC20s extracted in LDS/urea/thiourea sample buffer to the same extent as those in standard SDS buffer. We have concluded that LDS (or SDS) /urea/thiourea sample buffer is suitable for highly sensitive phosphorylation analysis in smooth muscle, especially when it is treated with TCA/acetone.
High‐Efficiency Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells Based on a ZnO Nanorod/ Nanosheet Hierarchical Structure
Authors: Cheng Houyan , Wang Yanxiang , Guo Pingchun , Yang Zhisheng 
Published: October 2017

AbstractAn aqueous solution of Zn(NO3)2⋅6 H2O‐C6H2N4‐PEI and Zn(NO3)2⋅6 H2O‐CO(NH2)2 is used as the raw materials to fabricate hierarchically structured films of ZnO nanorods/nanosheets (ZnO NRs/NSs) via a two‐step hydrothermal synthesis. The films of ZnO NRs/NSs are then applied as photoanodes for application in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The current density–voltage curves and the incident monochromatic photon‐to‐electron conversion efficiency of DSSCs are measured. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy, and intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy, the conditions of the internal electron transport and transfer of ZnO‐based DSSCs are tested and analyzed. The results indicate that the ZnO NRs/NSs photoanodes have properties of rapid electron transport and high electron collection efficiency and show a relatively large amount of dye absorption. Therefore, for DSSCs based on ZnO NRs/NSs with liquid electrolyte, the short‐circuit current density (Jsc), open‐circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) are 11.82 mA cm−2, 0.66 V, 0.58, and 4.59 %, respectively. The PCE of the DSSCs is improved by 178.18 % compared to that of pure ZnO NRs cells (1.65 %) and is improved by 21.42 % with respect to pure ZnO NSs cells (3.78 %).
The midsummer drought in Mexico: perspectives on duration and intensity from the CHIRPS precipitation database
Authors: Perdigón‐Morales Juliet , Romero‐Centeno Rosario , Pérez Paulina Ordóñez , Barrett Bradford S. 
Published: October 2017

ABSTRACTIn many regions of Mexico, precipitation occurs in a very well defined annual cycle, with peaks in May–June and September–October and a relative minimum in the middle. This minimum in the middle of the rainy season is known as the midsummer drought (MSD) and impacts agriculture and industry. However, in Mexico there are large areas with either sparse meteorological station coverage or where time series of historical observations have many missing data, which make it difficult to study and analyse the precipitation variability at different scales of space and time. Therefore, the most important objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the recently available Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) product in estimating the duration and intensity of the MSD in Mexico, taking advantage of its very fine spatial resolution (0.05°) and continuous coverage to improve on current understanding of the MSD. In order to achieve this, MSD duration and intensity are calculated from the CHIRPS data and then compared to gauge data for the 1981–2010 period. In addition, two new indices for estimating the intensity of the MSD are defined, and these new indices provide complementary information to that obtained with more traditional methods. Results show that CHIRPS overestimates (underestimates) precipitation in Mexico during summer and autumn (winter and spring) seasons by up to 30%. Most importantly, by using CHIRPS and the two new indices proposed, the most detailed spatial representation ever of the MSD in Mexico has been obtained through the elimination of spatial and temporal coverage gaps.
Proportional Feedback Control of Energy Intake During Obesity Pharmacotherapy
Authors: Hall Kevin D. , Sanghvi Arjun , Göbel Britta 
Published: October 2017

ObjectiveObesity pharmacotherapies result in an exponential time course for energy intake whereby large early decreases dissipate over time. This pattern of declining drug efficacy to decrease energy intake results in a weight loss plateau within approximately 1 year. This study aimed to elucidate the physiology underlying the exponential decay of drug effects on energy intake.MethodsPlacebo‐subtracted energy intake time courses were examined during long‐term obesity pharmacotherapy trials for 14 different drugs or drug combinations within the theoretical framework of a proportional feedback control system regulating human body weight.ResultsAssuming each obesity drug had a relatively constant effect on average energy intake and did not affect other model parameters, our model correctly predicted that long‐term placebo‐subtracted energy intake was linearly related to early reductions in energy intake according to a prespecified equation with no free parameters. The simple model explained about 70% of the variance between drug studies with respect to the long‐term effects on energy intake, although a significant proportional bias was evident.ConclusionsThe exponential decay over time of obesity pharmacotherapies to suppress energy intake can be interpreted as a relatively constant effect of each drug superimposed on a physiological feedback control system regulating body weight.
Highly Thermal Stable TATB‐based Aluminized Explosives Realizing Optimized Balance between Thermal Stability and Detonation Performance
Authors: Gong Feiyan , Guo Hu , Zhang Jianhu , Shen Chunying , Lin Congmei , Zeng Chengcheng , Liu Shijun 
Published: October 2017

AbstractIn this work, a series of TATB‐based aluminized explosives were formulated from 1, 3, 5‐triamino‐2, 4, 6‐trinitrobenzene (TATB), aluminum powders and polymeric binders. The thermal stability, heat of detonation, detonation velocity and pressure of the TATB based aluminized (TATB/Al) explosives were systematically investigated by cook‐off, constant temperature calorimeter, electrometric method and manganin piezo resistance gauge, respectively. The selected PBX‐3 (70 wt% TATB/25 wt% Al/5 wt% fluorine resin) achieved optimized balance between thermal stability and detonation performance, with the thermal runaway temperature around 583 K. The thermal ignition of TATB‐based aluminized explosive occurred at the edge of the cylinder according to the experimental and numerical simulations. Moreover, the critical thermal runaway temperature for PBX‐3 was calculated based on the Semenov's thermal explosion theory and the thermal decomposition kinetic parameters of the explosive, which was consistent with the experimental value.
Serotonin neuron development: shaping molecular and structural identities
Authors: Deneris Evan , Gaspar Patricia 
Published: October 2017

The continuing fascination with serotonin (5‐hydroxytryptamine, 5‐HT) as a nervous system chemical messenger began with its discovery in the brains of mammals in 1953. Among the many reasons for this decades‐long interest is that the small numbers of neurons that make 5‐HT influence the excitability of neural circuits in nearly every region of the brain and spinal cord. A further reason is that 5‐HT dysfunction has been linked to a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders many of which have a neurodevelopmental component. This has led to intense interest in understanding 5‐HT neuron development with the aim of determining whether early alterations in their generation lead to brain disease susceptibility. Here, we present an overview of the neuroanatomical organization of vertebrate 5‐HT neurons, their neurogenesis, and prodigious axonal architectures, which enables the expansive reach of 5‐HT neuromodulation in the central nervous system. We review recent findings that have revealed the molecular basis for the tremendous diversity of 5‐HT neuron subtypes, the impact of environmental factors on 5‐HT neuron development, and how 5‐HT axons are topographically organized through disparate signaling pathways. We summarize studies of the gene regulatory networks that control the differentiation, maturation, and maintenance of 5‐HT neurons. These studies show that the regulatory factors controlling acquisition of 5‐HT‐type transmitter identity continue to play critical roles in the functional maturation and the maintenance of 5‐HT neurons. New insights are presented into how continuously expressed 5‐HT regulatory factors control 5‐HT neurons at different stages of life and how the regulatory networks themselves are maintained. WIREs Dev Biol 2018, 7:e301. doi: 10.1002/wdev.301This article is categorized under:

Nervous System Development > Vertebrates: General Principles
Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Gene Networks and Genomics
Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Cellular Differentiation
Nervous System Development > Secondary: Vertebrates: Regional Development
Opportunities and challenges of demand response in active distribution networks
Authors: Ponnaganti Pavani , Pillai Jayakrishnan R , Bak‐Jensen Birgitte 
Published: October 2017

In power systems, the installed generation capacity must exceed the annual peak demand, even though some capacity is kept idle most of the time. However, if it is uneconomical or not feasible to augment a sufficient capacity, the demand might exceed the available capacity. This mandates the system operator to shed the load in order to maintain security of the system. With the advent of advanced smart metering infrastructure, communication between system operator and end‐use customers makes it possible to adjust/curtail/shift the demand with respect to the state of the system. The response of the demand commonly termed as demand response (DR) can be attained either by incentive‐based or price‐based. With the help of DR, the renewable energy generation capacity can be increased by tuning the demand to match the variable and unpredictable power from renewable generation. It can also bring other benefits such as peak shaving, hosting capacity enhancement, and generation cost reduction. Furthermore, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and electric water heater can also be used as distributed storage resources to contribute to ancillary services, such as frequency/voltage regulation, peak‐shaving power or help to integrate fluctuating renewable resources. All these DR modes of operation need conventional regulatory frameworks and market design for capitalizing the available resources. Therefore, the objective of the study is to discuss the DR classification and their control strategies, DR role in microgrids and integration of renewable energy resources. Also, highlighted the opportunities and challenges along with the insights for the research scope associated with DR. WIREs Energy Environ 2018, 7:e271. doi: 10.1002/wene.271This article is categorized under:

Energy Infrastructure > Systems and Infrastructure
Energy Systems Economics > Systems and Infrastructure
Energy Policy and Planning > Systems and Infrastructure
The protein corona on nanoparticles as viewed from a nanoparticle‐sizing perspective
Authors: Wang Haixia , Lin Youhui , Nienhaus Karin , Nienhaus G. Ulrich 
Published: October 2017

Most surfaces of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are reactive toward biomolecules. Therefore, whenever NPs become immersed in biological fluids, proteins and other biomolecules bind to the NP surface, forming an adsorption layer (biomolecular corona) that modifies the NPs’ physicochemical properties and subsequent interactions with living systems. Its exploration is a formidable endeavor owing to the enormous diversity of engineered NPs in terms of their physicochemical properties and the vast number of biomolecules available in biofluids that may bind to NPs with widely different strengths. Significant progress has been made in our understanding of the biomolecular corona, but even very basic issues are still controversially debated. In fact, there are divergent views of its microscopic structure and dynamics, even on physical properties, such as its thickness. As an example, there is no agreement on whether proteins form monolayers or multilayers upon adsorption. In our quantitative studies of NP–protein interactions by in situ fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) with highly defined model NPs and important serum proteins, we have universally observed protein monolayer formation around NPs under saturation or even oversaturation conditions. Here, we critically discuss biomolecular corona characterization using FCS and dynamic light scattering and identify challenges and future opportunities. Further careful, quantitative experiments are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of biomolecular corona formation and to characterize its structure.This article is categorized under:

Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology
RESOURCE NATIONALISM IN INDONESIA: OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES AND SECTORAL VARIATION IN MINING AND PALM OIL
Authors: Warburton Eve 
Published: October 2017

AbstractDuring the global commodities boom Indonesia, like many resource-rich countries, introduced an increasing number of nationalist policy interventions. However, the state has intervened assertively in some sectors and only passively in others. In Indonesia's mining sector, interventions that compel foreign divestment received widespread support from politicians and domestic industry; yet similar proposals to limit foreign investment in the strategic agribusiness sector have largely failed. This article brings the literature on resource nationalism into conversation with studies of business–state relations, in order to understand why nationalist mobilization met with more success in Indonesia's mining sector than in agribusiness. It argues that ownership structures constitute the source of this variation. Uniquely integrated patterns of domestic and foreign ownership in the strategic palm oil sub-sector constrained lawmakers’ nationalist agenda. Such constraints were less formidable in Indonesia's mining sector, where foreign capital is more easily differentiated, and concentrated in a sub-sector that contributes less overall to the Indonesian economy.
Micro-plumes for nano-velocimetry
Authors: Squires Todd M. 
Published: October 2017

Fluid flows through nano-scale channels depend sensitively on the physical and chemical properties of the walls that surround them. The sub-micron dimensions of such channels, however, are impossible to resolve optically, which rules out most methods for flow visualization. Classic calculations by Squire (Q. J. Mech. Appl. Maths, vol. IV, 1951, pp. 321–329) and Landau & Lifshitz (Fluid Mechanics, vol. 6, 1959, Pergamon) showed that the laminar flow driven outside a capillary, by fluid emerging from the end of the capillary, is identical to the flow driven by a point force proportional to the average velocity in the capillary. Secchi et al. (J. Fluid Mech. 826, R3) analyze the dispersion of a solute that is injected along with the fluid, whose concentration decays slowly with distance but with a strong angular dependence that encodes the intra-capillary velocity. Fluorescence micrographs of the concentration profile emerging from the nanocapillary can be related directly to the average fluid velocity within the nanocapillary. Beyond their remarkable capacity for nano-velocimetry, Landau–Squire plumes will likely appear throughout micro- and nano-fluidic systems.
Mineralogical and geochemical evidence of weathering in a middle to late Pleistocene paleosol sequence in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin
Authors: Jacobs Peter M. , Davis Anthony T. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractPaleosols occur in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin because this area escaped direct Pleistocene glaciation, allowing long-term loess and colluvium accumulation in selected settings. The most complete known depositional sequence at Oil City, Wisconsin, contains eight lithologic units with five paleosols, all with normal remanent magnetism (i.e., <780 ka). Previous work characterized the stratigraphy, pedology, micromorphology, and clay mineralogy of the section. We investigate chemical weathering of the 8–63 µm silt fraction using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and elemental geochemistry by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Elemental ratios TiO2/CaO, Zr/Sr, and Rb/Sr generally align with the pedological evidence of weathering. Mineral ratios plagioclase/quartz and K-feldspar/quartz display greater scatter and less certainty in interpretation. The paleosols with Bt horizons have ratios indicating greater weathering than the modern soil. The most weathered paleosol is formed in the unnamed fourth loess unit stratigraphically below the Loveland Member. The stratigraphic position and higher degree of weathering support correlation of the fourth loess with the Yarmouth Geosol and Crowley’s Ridge Silt of the Middle Mississippi valley. Geochemical indices by pXRF are more consistent with established lithologic breaks than mineralogy by XRD. Our results support the use of pXRF for stratigraphic and weathering studies of Quaternary sediments.
Evidence of a late glacial warming event and early Holocene cooling in the southern Brazilian coastal highlands
Authors: Behling Hermann , Oliveira Marcelo Accioly Teixeira de 
Published: October 2017

AbstractA high-resolution pollen record of the Atlantic rain forest (ARF) biome from the coastal Serra do Tabuleiro mountains of southern Brazil documents an 11,960 yr history of vegetation and climate change. A marked expansion of Weinmannia into the grassland vegetation marks the latter part of the Younger Dryas, reflecting warm and relatively wet conditions. Between 11,490 and 9110 cal yr BP, grasslands became dominant again, indicating a long cold and dry phase, probably in response to the stronger influence of cold South Atlantic seawater and to Antarctic cold fronts. Between 9110 and 2640 cal yr BP, four distinct phases with strong or moderate expansions of different ARF biome taxa were recorded, reflecting warmer and relatively dry conditions with changes in rainfall and length of the annual dry season. After 2640 cal yr BP, the modern ARF biome became established with high amounts of ferns, reflecting somewhat cooler and wetter conditions with a reduced annual dry season. In particular, after 1000 cal yr BP tree ferns increased, reflecting wetter conditions with no dry season.
A darker shade of white: expat self-making in a Congolese rainforest enclave
Authors: Hendriks Thomas 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThis article offers a new perspective on contemporary ‘whiteness’ in Africa by looking at the ambiguous ways in which it affects everyday life in and around the labour compounds of a multinational timber firm in the Congolese rainforest. As a foreign investment enclave, the logging concession is home to a small isolated community of European expatriate men whose ‘white’ faces evoke a set of ambivalent memories of colonial exploitation in the area. Through a carefully contextualized understanding of how these contemporary expats are perceived in the labour compounds and how they construct their own racialized male selves, this article pushes the discussion on whiteness in Africa beyond the conventional analysis of (post-)settler identities and whites of African nationalities. It argues that, as a permanent fixture in the present neoliberal moment but also as an uncanny repetition of a colonial past, the European loggers construct and embody very specific ‘expat’ masculinities whose internalized dynamics of self-exoticization make them ‘African’ in their own right. Mobilizing the problematic trope of ‘darkness’, both in expat self-making practices and in popular narratives about their presence, this article illustrates how whiteness in Africa comes in many shades.
A comparative analysis of the Su-pung-er and Bayne testimonies related to the Franklin expedition
Authors: Gross Tom , Taichman Russell S. 
Published: October 2017

ABSTRACTDuring Charles Francis Hall's second Arctic expedition (1864–1869) to find survivors and/or documents of Sir John Franklin's 1845 Northwest Passage expedition, two separate Inuit testimonies were recorded of a potential burial vault of a high-ranking officer. The first testimony was provided by a Boothia Inuk named Su-pung-er. The second testimony was documented by Captain Peter Bayne who, at the time, was employed by Hall. To date the vault has not been found. Recently, both the HMSErebusand HMSTerrorhave been located. The discovery of these vessels was made possible, in part, by Inuit testimony of encounters with and observations of the Franklin expedition. The findings of theErebusandTerrorhave significantly bolstered the view that the Inuit accurately reported their observations and interactions with the Franklin crew. The purpose of this paper is to publish in their entirety Hall's notes from conversations with Su-pung-er focused on the vaults and to compare these observations to those reported in the Bayne testimony. It is our hope that in so doing the final major archaeological site of the Franklin expedition may be located.