bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Strongly average‐case secure obfuscation: achieving input privacy and circuit obscurity
Authors: Zhang Mingwu , Mu Yi , Shen Jian , Huang Xinyi 
Published: February 2016

AbstractA program obfuscator is a compiling algorithm that takes a program/circuit as input and generates a new garbled circuit to implement the same functionality as before while obtaining hard‐to‐understand in some sense, that is, infeasible to learn information from the garbled circuit. In order to obtain a practical application, an obfuscation should satisfy equivalent in functionality, polynomial slowdown in efficiency, and virtual black‐box in security. In this paper, we model a stronger cryptographic obfuscation that does not only achieves the obfuscated circuit obscurity but also supports input re‐key privacy. In order to implement the re‐encryption obfuscation, we at first propose a key‐privacy two‐level encryption mechanism that implicitly supports the transformation from level‐2 ciphertext into level‐1 one, which provides an efficient method to re‐encrypt the ciphertext without explicitly decryption procedure. Under the mechanism of two‐level encryption and function of re‐encryption, we construct an obfuscation of re‐encryption that takes as input a probabilistic (keys) circuit and outputs a transformed circuit. We also give the proof that the obfuscator achieves the average‐case security for the circuit family under the extended DBDH assumption and Decisional Linear assumption in the standard model. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Verifiable attribute‐based proxy re‐encryption for secure public cloud data sharing
Authors: Lin Suqing , Zhang Rui , Wang Mingsheng 
Published: February 2016

AbstractFor secure data sharing in the public cloud, attribute‐based encryption was introduced to simultaneously achieve data confidentiality and fine‐grained access control. In order to update access control of the attribute‐based encrypted data from delegation, attribute‐based proxy re‐encryption (AB‐PRE) was proposed accordingly. Most previous AB‐PRE schemes require that the proxy executes the re‐encryption honestly. However, the public cloud as a proxy may not meet the requirement because the encrypted data are delegated to the public cloud and out of control for data owners. In this paper, we introduce verifiability for AB‐PRE to check the correctness of the re‐encryption executed by the proxy. By introducing a commitment scheme and a key derivation function, we propose a generic construction of unidirectional single‐hop AB‐PRE with verifiable re‐encryption (AB‐VPRE) for both key‐policy and ciphertext‐policy settings, and the access structure can be monotonic and non‐monotonic. We prove the security and the verification soundness of our constructed AB‐VPRE scheme in the standard model and provide three instantiations. Compared with previous work on AB‐PRE, our proposed AB‐VPRE schemes require less computation and can efficiently detect the malicious behaviors of the proxy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Heart valve regeneration: the need for systems approaches
Authors: Usprech Jenna , Chen Wen Li Kelly , Simmons Craig A. 
Published: February 2016

Tissue‐engineered heart valves are promising alternatives to address the limitations of current valve replacements, particularly for growing children. Current heart valve tissue engineering strategies involve the selection of biomaterial scaffolds, cell types, and oftenin vitroculture conditions aimed at regenerating a valve for implantation and subsequent maturationin vivo. However, identifying optimal combinations of cell sources, biomaterials, and/or bioreactor conditions to produce functional, durable valve tissue remains a challenge. Despite some short‐term success in animal models, attempts to recapitulate aspects of the native heart valve environment based on ‘best guesses’ of a limited number of regulatory factors have not proven effective. Better outcomes for valve tissue regeneration will likely require a systems‐level understanding of the relationships between multiple interacting regulatory factors and their effects on cell function and tissue formation. Until recently, conventional culture methods have not allowed for multiple design parameters to be considered at once. Emerging microtechnologies are well suited to systematically probe multiple inputs, in combination, in high throughput and with great precision. When combined with statistical and network systems analyses, these microtechnologies have excellent potential to define multivariate signal–response relationships and reveal key regulatory pathways for robust functional tissue regeneration.WIREs Syst Biol Med2016, 8:169–182. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1329This article is categorized under:Biological Mechanisms > Cell SignalingModels of Systems Properties and Processes > Organ, Tissue, and Physiological ModelsDevelopmental Biology > Stem Cell Biology and Regeneration
Luciferase NanoLuc as a reporter for gene expression and protein levels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Masser Anna E. , Kandasamy Ganapathi , Kaimal Jayasankar Mohanakrishnan , Andréasson Claes 
Published: February 2016

AbstractReporter proteins are essential tools in the study of biological processes and are employed to monitor changes in gene expression and protein levels. Luciferases are reporter proteins that enable rapid and highly sensitive detection with an outstanding dynamic range. Here we evaluated the usefulness of the 19 kDa luciferase NanoLuc (Nluc), derived from the deep sea shrimp Oplophorus gracilirostris, as a reporter protein in yeast. Cassettes with codon‐optimized genes expressing yeast Nluc (yNluc) or its destabilized derivative yNlucPEST have been assembled in the context of the dominant drug resistance marker kanMX. The reporter proteins do not impair the growth of yeast cells and exhibit half‐lives of 40 and 5 min, respectively. The commercial substrate Nano‐Glo® is compatible with detection of yNluc bioluminescence in < 50 cells. Using the unstable yNlucPEST to report on the rapid and transient expression of a heat‐shock promoter (PCYC1–HSE), we found a close match between the intensity of the bioluminescent signal and mRNA levels during both induction and decay. We demonstrated that the bioluminescence of yNluc fused to the C‐terminus of a temperature‐sensitive protein reports on its protein levels. In conclusion, yNluc and yNlucPEST are valuable new reporter proteins suitable for experiments with yeast using standard commercial substrate. © 2016 The Authors. Yeast published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Decontamination in a Patient Room Using Feline Calicivirus and Murine Norovirus as Surrogate Markers for Human Norovirus
Authors: Holmdahl Torsten , Walder Mats , Uzcátegui Nathalie , Odenholt Inga , Lanbeck Peter , Medstrand Patrik , Widell Anders 
Published: February 2016

OBJECTIVETo determine whether hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) could be used to decontaminate caliciviruses from surfaces in a patient room.DESIGNFeline calicivirus (FCV) and murine norovirus (MNV) were used as surrogate viability markers to mimic the noncultivable human norovirus. Cell culture supernatants of FCV and MNV were dried in triplicate 35-mm wells of 6-well plastic plates. These plates were placed in various positions in a nonoccupied patient room that was subsequently exposed to HPV. Control plates were positioned in a similar room but were never exposed to HPV.METHODSVirucidal activity was measured in cell culture by reduction in 50% tissue culture infective dose titer for FCV and by both 50% tissue culture infective dose titer and plaque reduction for MNV.RESULTSNeither viable FCV nor viable MNV could be detected in the test room after HPV treatment. At least 3.65 log reduction for FCV and at least 3.67 log reduction for MNV were found by 50% tissue culture infective dose. With plaque assay, measurable reduction for MNV was at least 2.85 log units.CONCLUSIONSThe successful inactivation of both surrogate viruses indicates that HPV could be a useful tool for surface decontamination of a patient room contaminated by norovirus. Hence nosocomial spread to subsequent patients can be avoided.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:561–566
A Revised Radiocarbon Chronology of the Aceramic Shell Midden of Ra’s Al-Hamra 6 (Muscat, Sultanate of Oman): Implication For Occupational Sequence, Marine Reservoir Age, and Human Mobility
Authors: Zazzo Antoine , Munoz Olivia , Badel Emilie , Béguier Irène , Genchi Francesco , Marcucci Lapo Gianni 
Published: February 2016

AbstractRa’s al-Hamra 6 (RH-6) is one of the earliest stratified archaeological sites along the eastern littoral of the Arabian Peninsula. This shell midden was radiocarbon dated to the 6th–5th millennium cal BC, but the majority of the dates were obtained before the advent of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating and suffer from large uncertainties. In addition, most of these dates were obtained on marine and mangrove shells and required correction for local variations from the global average marine 14C reservoir age (MRA). This proved difficult because no consensus value exists for this period in the area. Recent excavations at RH-6 offered the opportunity to redate this important site in order to precisely determine its occupation history and later use as a graveyard, and establish the marine reservoir effect for this time period. Thirty-eight samples of charcoal, shells, and human bone apatite were selected for 14C dating. Bayesian modeling of the 14C dates suggests that the formation of the shell midden spanned ~1 millennium, between the mid-6th and the mid-5th millennium cal BC. Positive and consistent ΔR values were calculated throughout the entire sequence, ranging from 99±27 to 207±43 14C yr. At the beginning of the 4th millennium cal BC, RH-6 was used as a graveyard, as suggested by the 14C dating of a shell in strict association with an individual buried at the surface of the site. 14C dating of human bone apatite allowed us to calculate that 89% of this individual’s diet derived from marine resources. This finding confirms previous observations showing the overwhelming presence of marine and mangrove-dwelling species in the faunal and charcoal assemblage, and implies a low mobility, or mobility restricted to the coast for this population during the 4th millennium cal BC.
Potato root infection byRhizoctonia solanianastomosis group-3 andColletotrichum coccodesunder current and future spring weather in northern Italy
Authors: MANICI L. M. , CAPUTO F. , NICOLETTI F. 
Published: February 2016

SUMMARYA study was performed in controlled conditions to reproduce cold and warm spring regimes in the east Po valley, northern Italy with a temperate subcontinental climate, to evaluate whether and to what extent spring weather regimes favour the attack ofRhizoctonia solaniorColletotrichum coccodeson potato, in view of predicted climate change. The main experiment, preceded by a controlled chamber set of tests to quantify response to temperatures ofR. solanianastomosis group (AG)-3 andC. coccodesstrains, showed that limit temperatures (minimum, maximum and optimum of colony radial growth) ofR. solaniAG-3 are 6 °C lower than those ofC. coccodes. Then, a trial to reproduce early growth stages of potato was performed in phytotrons with sprouts of cvar Hermes to simulate cold and warm spring regimes with two different relative soil moisture contents. That simulation was carried out on native non-sterilized soil samples which were co-inoculated artificially withR. solaniAG-3 andC. coccodes. Species-abundance findings of fungal root colonization in potato roots and molecular quantification (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) ofC. coccodesandR. solaniAG-3 inoculum growth in soil showed that: (i)C. coccodesis more competitive thanR. solaniAG-3 in colonizing potato root both in warm and cold spring regimes; (ii)R. solaniAG-3 infected potato roots only in the coldest spring regimes regardless of soil moisture content; (iii) soil temperature is the greatest factor that influences root colonization ofC. coccodesandR. solanias well as that of soil inhabiting fungi including some potential antagonists; (iv)R. solaniAG-3 andC. coccodesseem to greatly increase in soil under the relative driest and warmest spring weather regimes expected according to the mean scenarios of climate changing in northern Italy; (v) binucleateRhizoctoniaAG-A, a common non-pathogenic fungus indigenous to agricultural soil of that area, appears to be antagonistic towards root fungal pathogens of potato.
Early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip: predictive factors for recurrence
Authors: Ozkul Y , Songu M , Imre A , Tunc E , Ozkul Z , Arslanoglu S , Pinar E , Onal K 
Published: February 2016

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to evaluate the effect of tumour thickness on other clinicopathological parameters in early stage lower lip squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:Forty-six consecutive patients with lower lip squamous cell carcinoma were included in the study. Demographic, clinical and pathological data were retrospectively collected.Results:The mean follow-up period for all patients was 32.0 ± 18.9 months. Forty-four tumours were staged as T1 and two were T2. Twelve patients underwent neck dissection. Two patients presented with neck metastasis in the follow-up period. Four patients (8.7 per cent) had local recurrence. Correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between microscopic tumour thickness and local tumour recurrence (r = 0.328, p = 0.045).Conclusion:Surgical margin control is important to prevent local recurrence, especially in thicker tumours. In addition, neck metastasis is rare in early stage lower lip squamous cell carcinoma. A ‘wait and see’ policy might be preferred in early stage T1 lower lip squamous cell carcinoma cases.
¿Educación o desintegración? Parental Migration, Remittances and Left-behind Children's Education in Western Guatemala
Authors: DAVIS JASON 
Published: February 2016

AbstractMany Guatemalan parents migrate to the United States with the intention of returning earned income to improve the human capital prospects of their left-behind children. This laudable goal is achieved by many – arguably benefiting girls more than boys. However, negative international migration externalities including migration failure, familial abandonment, psychosocial harms and a culture of migration that disproportionally limits the educational prospects of boys need to be considered. Based on qualitative field interviews in western Guatemala with parents and educators, this article presents a nuanced view of economic migration and left-behind children's education, capturing both its remittance-related benefits and parental absence harms.
A Vital Challenge to Materialism
Authors: Mulder Jesse M. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractLife poses a threat to materialism. To understand the phenomena of animate nature, we make use of a teleological form of explanation that is peculiar to biology, of explanations in terms of what I call the ‘vital categories’ – and this holds even for accounts of underlying physico-chemical ‘mechanisms’. The materialist claims that this teleological form of explanation does not capture what is metaphysically fundamental, whereas her preferred physical form of explanation does. In this essay, I do three things. (1) I argue that the ‘vital categories’, such aslife formandlife-process, do not reduce to the ‘physical categories’ and show that there are no grounds for the materialist's metaphysically limiting claim; (2) I sketch a positive view on how vital and physical explanations can both apply to a given phenomenon, and on how they interrelate; and (3) I show that this view meshes nicely with evolutionary theory, despite being committed to a form of ‘biological essentialism’.
Too soon to fly the coop? Online journaling to support students’ learning during their Erasmus study visit
Authors: Gabaudan Odette 
Published: February 2016

AbstractUndergraduate students whose programme includes a full academic year on an Erasmus study visit require a range of support before, during and after their year abroad. This study focuses on the support provided by the home academic coordinator during the students’ period of study abroad. The research is based on a case-study which explores how the maintenance of an online journal can enhance students’ new learning experiences. The outcomes of this investigation are of interest at a pragmatic level to Erasmus coordinators and educational institutions whose programmes include a study visit or an internship. At a theoretical level, this study brings together a number of areas that have each been the subject of prior research but that so far have not been pulled together, particularly in the context of a study visit to a foreign country. The areas referred to include the benefits and challenges of rolling out educational online journals; the use of blogging in language learning; the design of rubrics as a form of feedback and the activity of reflective writing in an online environment. The findings and the discussion show how the online journal has added a positive dimension to the year abroad, particularly in the areas of communication and feedback, peer support, language learning and technology.
NLRC5 shields T lymphocytes from NK-cell-mediated elimination under inflammatory conditions
Authors: Ludigs Kristina , Jandus Camilla , Utzschneider Daniel T. , Staehli Francesco , Bessoles Stéphanie , Dang Anh Thu , Rota Giorgia , Castro Wilson , Zehn Dietmar , Vivier Eric , Held Werner , Romero Pedro , Guarda Greta 
Published: February 2016

AbstractNLRC5 is a transcriptional regulator of MHC class I (MHCI), which maintains high MHCI expression particularly in T cells. Recent evidence highlights an important NK–T-cell crosstalk, raising the question on whether NLRC5 specifically modulates this interaction. Here we show that NK cells from Nlrc5-deficient mice exhibit moderate alterations in inhibitory receptor expression and responsiveness. Interestingly, NLRC5 expression in T cells is required to protect them from NK-cell-mediated elimination upon inflammation. Using T-cell-specific Nlrc5-deficient mice, we show that NK cells surprisingly break tolerance even towards ‘self’ Nlrc5-deficient T cells under inflammatory conditions. Furthermore, during chronic LCMV infection, the total CD8+ T-cell population is severely decreased in these mice, a phenotype reverted by NK-cell depletion. These findings strongly suggest that endogenous T cells with low MHCI expression become NK-cell targets, having thus important implications for T-cell responses in naturally or therapeutically induced inflammatory conditions.
Maternal plasma folate impacts differential DNA methylation in an epigenome-wide meta-analysis of newborns
Authors: Joubert Bonnie R. , den Dekker Herman T. , Felix Janine F. , Bohlin Jon , Ligthart Symen , Beckett Emma , Tiemeier Henning , van Meurs Joyce B. , Uitterlinden Andre G. , Hofman Albert , Håberg Siri E. , Reese Sarah E. , Peters Marjolein J. , Kulle Andreassen Bettina , Steegers Eric A. P. , Nilsen Roy M. , Vollset Stein E. , Midttun Øivind , Ueland Per M. , Franco Oscar H. , Dehghan Abbas , de Jongste Johan C. , Wu Michael C. , Wang Tianyuan , Peddada Shyamal D. , Jaddoe Vincent W. V. , Nystad Wenche , Duijts Liesbeth , London Stephanie J. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractFolate is vital for fetal development. Periconceptional folic acid supplementation and food fortification are recommended to prevent neural tube defects. Mechanisms whereby periconceptional folate influences normal development and disease are poorly understood: epigenetics may be involved. We examine the association between maternal plasma folate during pregnancy and epigenome-wide DNA methylation using Illumina’s HumanMethyl450 Beadchip in 1,988 newborns from two European cohorts. Here we report the combined covariate-adjusted results using meta-analysis and employ pathway and gene expression analyses. Four-hundred forty-three CpGs (320 genes) are significantly associated with maternal plasma folate levels during pregnancy (false discovery rate 5%); 48 are significant after Bonferroni correction. Most genes are not known for folate biology, includingAPC2,GRM8,SLC16A12,OPCML,PRPH,LHX1,KLK4andPRSS21.Some relate to birth defects other than neural tube defects, neurological functions or varied aspects of embryonic development. These findings may inform how maternal folate impacts the developing epigenome and health outcomes in offspring.
Nanocaged enzymes with enhanced catalytic activity and increased stability against protease digestion
Authors: Zhao Zhao , Fu Jinglin , Dhakal Soma , Johnson-Buck Alexander , Liu Minghui , Zhang Ting , Woodbury Neal W. , Liu Yan , Walter Nils G. , Yan Hao 
Published: February 2016

AbstractCells routinely compartmentalize enzymes for enhanced efficiency of their metabolic pathways. Here we report a general approach to construct DNA nanocaged enzymes for enhancing catalytic activity and stability. Nanocaged enzymes are realized by self-assembly into DNA nanocages with well-controlled stoichiometry and architecture that enabled a systematic study of the impact of both encapsulation and proximal polyanionic surfaces on a set of common metabolic enzymes. Activity assays at both bulk and single-molecule levels demonstrate increased substrate turnover numbers for DNA nanocage-encapsulated enzymes. Unexpectedly, we observe a significant inverse correlation between the size of a protein and its activity enhancement. This effect is consistent with a model wherein distal polyanionic surfaces of the nanocage enhance the stability of active enzyme conformations through the action of a strongly bound hydration layer. We further show that DNA nanocages protect encapsulated enzymes against proteases, demonstrating their practical utility in functional biomaterials and biotechnology.
Novel nanowire-structured polypyrrole-cobalt composite as efficient catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction
Authors: Yuan Xianxia , Li Lin , Ma Zhong , Yu Xuebin , Wen Xiufang , Ma Zi-Feng , Zhang Lei , Wilkinson David P. , Zhang Jiujun 
Published: February 2016

AbstractA novel nanowire-structured polypyrrole-cobalt composite, PPy-CTAB-Co, is successfully synthesized with a surfactant of cetyltrimethylammounium bromide (CTAB). As an electro-catalyst towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media, this PPy-CTAB-Co demonstrates a superior ORR performance when compared to that of granular PPy-Co catalyst and also a much better durability than the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst. Physiochemical characterization indicates that the enhanced ORR performance of the nanowire PPy-CTAB-Co can be attributed to the high quantity of Co-pyridinic-N groups as ORR active sites and its large specific surface area which allows to expose more active sites for facilitating oxygen reduction reaction. It is expected this PPy-CTAB-Co would be a good candidate for alkaline fuel cell cathode catalyst.
Purcell effect and Lamb shift as interference phenomena
Authors: Rybin Mikhail V. , Mingaleev Sergei F. , Limonov Mikhail F. , Kivshar Yuri S. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe Purcell effect and Lamb shift are two well-known physical phenomena which are usually discussed in the context of quantum electrodynamics, with the zero-point vibrations as a driving force of those effects in the quantum approach. Here we discuss the classical counterparts of these quantum effects in photonics and explain their physics trough interference wave phenomena. As an example, we consider a waveguide in a planar photonic crystal with a side-coupled defect and demonstrate a perfect agreement between the results obtained on the basis of quantum and classic approaches and reveal their link to the Fano resonance. We find that in such a waveguide-cavity geometry the Purcell effect can modify the lifetime by at least 25 times and the Lamb shift can exceed 3 half-widths of the cavity spectral line.