bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Oral delivery of dsRNA lipoplexes to German cockroach protects dsRNA from degradation and induces RNAi response
Authors: Lin Yu‐Hsien , Huang Jia‐Hsin , Liu Yun , Belles Xavier , Lee How‐Jing 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBACKGROUNDIn the past years, the concept of RNAi application for insect pest control has been proposed, considering the disruption of vital genes. However, the efficiency of RNAi is variable between different insect groups, especially by oral delivery of dsRNA. The purpose of this study is to assess the possibilities of RNAi as a tool for pest control using oral delivery of the dsRNAs encapsulated by liposome in the German cockroach Blattella germanica, which is highly sensitive to RNAi by injection of dsRNAs.RESULTSInjecting dsRNA into the abdomen of B. germanica caused dramatic depletion of essential α‐tubulin gene and mortality. In contrast, oral delivery of the naked dsRNA resulted in lower RNAi efficiency, accounting for rapid degradation of the dsRNA in the midgut of B. germanica. Notably, we have further demonstrated that continuous ingestion of dsRNA lipoplexes in which dsRNA was encapsulated with a cationic liposome carrier was sufficient to slow down the degradation of dsRNA in the midgut and to increase the mortality of the German cockroach by significantly inhibiting α‐tubulin expression in the midgut.CONCLUSIONWe provide empirical evidence that the formulation of dsRNA lipoplexes could be a plausible approach for insect pest control based on RNAi. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Evaluating a filtering and recirculating system to reduce dust drift in simulated sowing of dressed seed and abraded dust particle characteristics
Authors: Biocca Marcello , Pochi Daniele , Fanigliulo Roberto , Gallo Pietro , Pulcini Patrizio , Marcovecchio Francesca , Perrino Cinzia 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe pneumatic precision drills used in maize sowing can release dust owing to abrasion of dressed seed; the drift of dust containing insecticide active ingredients is harmful to honey bees. Therefore, we developed a device for drills that uses partial recirculation and filtration of the air by means of an antipollen and an electrostatic filter.RESULTSTests were carried out by simulating the sowing of seed treated with imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and fipronil. Dust released by the drill in different configurations was analysed to assess its mass and active ingredient concentration, size distribution and particle number concentration. In general, particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5 and 10 µm represent about 40 and 75% of the total dust mass respectively. The finest size fraction (<1 µm) contains a higher content of active ingredient. The prototype equipped with both antipollen and electrostatic filters always showed a reduction in dust emission greater than 90% in terms of both total mass and active ingredient amount, with a greater efficiency in the reduction in particles below 4 µm.CONCLUSIONThis study presents an engineering solution addressing dust losses during sowing, contributes to the description of abrasion dust fractions and provides suggestions for further development of the prototype. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Impact of sesquiterpenes from Inula racemosa (Asteraceae) on growth, development and nutrition of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Kaur Mandeep , Kumar Rakesh , Upendrabhai Deep Patel , Singh Inder Pal , Kaur Sanehdeep 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe use of botanical pesticides for protecting crops from insect pests has assumed greater importance all over the world owing to growing awareness of harmful effects of indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides. Inula racemosa Hook. f. (Asteraceae), a medicinally important perennial herb, is rich in sesquiterpenes with many biological activities. The present studies were conducted with the objective to evaluate the sesquiterpenes isolated from I. racemosa for insecticidal activity against Spodoptera litura (F.).RESULTSAlantolactone and isoalantolactone isolated from I. racemosa exerted growth inhibitory effects on S. litura. Addition of both the sesquiterpenes to larval diet extended the development period and reduced pupation as well as adult emergence. The dietary utilisation experiments on third‐instar larvae of S. litura revealed reduction in consumption and growth rates of larvae as well as efficiency of conversion of ingested and digested food owing to alantolactone and isoalantolactone.CONCLUSIONThe root extract of I. racemosa, which is rich in two sesquiterpenes, i.e. alantolactone and isoalantolactone, has the potential for management of S. litura. However, there is a need to understand the specific mechanism of action of these compounds. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Electrostatic spraying in the chemical control of Triozoida limbata (Enderlein) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) in guava trees (Psidium guajava L.)
Authors: Tavares Rafael M , Cunha João PAR , Alves Thales C , Bueno Mariana R , Silva Sérgio M , Zandonadi César HS 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBACKGROUNDOwing to the difficulty in reaching targets during pesticide applications on guava trees, it is important to evaluate new technologies that may improve pest management. In electrostatic spraying, an electric force is added to the droplets to control their movements such that they are efficiently directed to the target. The present study evaluated the performance of electrostatic and non‐electrostatic spraying in the control of the guava psyllid, the deposition of the spray mixture on the leaves and the losses to the soil.RESULTSThe deposition of the spray mixture was up to 2 times greater when using electrostatic spraying in comparison with non‐electrostatic application. The losses of the spray mixture to the soil were up to 4 times smaller with the electrostatic spraying. Electrostatic spraying had better control of the psyllid.CONCLUSIONIt was possible to reduce the volume rate of application with electrostatic spraying without adversely affecting the control of the guava psyllid. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Magnetic exchange interaction in the spin‐polarized electron gas
Authors: Valizadeh Mohammad Mahdi , Satpathy Sashi 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe exchange interaction between two magnetic moments embedded in a host metal is fundamental to the description of the magnetic behavior of solids. In the standard spin‐degenerate electron gas, it leads to the well known Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yoshida (RKKY) interaction, which is of the Heisenberg form . Here, we study the more general case of the spin‐polarized electron gas both in two and three dimensions, by evaluating the interaction strength as an integration over the product of the host Green's functions. We find that an additional Ising‐like term appears in the magnetic interaction, so that the net interaction for the spin‐polarized gas is of the form . The anisotropic interaction is due to the broken rotational symmetry because of the spin polarization in the direction. Furthermore, the interaction shows a beating pattern as a function of distance, caused by the two different Fermi momenta for the two spins.
Regional modelling of rainfall erosivity: sensitivity of soil erosion to aerosol emissions
Authors: Nissan Hannah , Toumi Ralf 
Published: September 2016

A rainfall erosivity scheme is implemented into the widely used regional atmosphere–land model, WRF. Rainfall erosivity is parametrized from hourly precipitation and surface runoff in a high resolution (4 km) convection‐permitting model. The scheme is used to examine the potential effects of changes in atmospheric aerosol concentrations on soil erosion in a case‐study of northern India and the surrounding countries for the 2010 monsoon season, using a model which isolates the indirect effect on cloud microphysics only. This study offers a preliminary investigation into this emerging topic, but longer simulations would be needed to establish a robust signal.Summer precipitation is reduced in most areas and the monsoon circulation weakens for increases in cloud condensation nuclei concentrations. This can be attributed to localised cloud microphysical changes in the northeast of India, which induce a dynamic response opposing the monsoon circulation. The two regions of greatest decrease in erosion with increasing aerosol are in the Western Ghats and the Ganges Delta, both significant cropland areas. However, the effect is not uniform, with isolated local increases in soil erosion. These results suggest that, while efforts to reduce anthropogenic aerosol emissions may improve water availability for crops through enhanced rainfall, these benefits are likely to be tempered by an increase in soil erosion, though robust local changes were difficult to predict.
Quantum nonlocality in the excitation energy transfer in the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex
Authors: Bengtson Charlotta , Stenrup Michael , Sjöqvist Erik 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) complex—a pigment protein complex involved in photosynthesis in green sulfur bacteria—is remarkably efficient in transferring excitation energy from light harvesting antenna molecules to a reaction center. Recent experimental and theoretical studies suggest that quantum coherence and entanglement may play a role in this excitation energy transfer (EET). We examine whether bipartite quantum nonlocality, a property that expresses a stronger‐than‐entanglement form of correlation, exists between different pairs of chromophores in the FMO complex when modeling the EET by the hierarchically coupled equations of motion method. We compare the results for nonlocality with the amount of bipartite entanglement in the system. In particular, we analyze in what way these correlation properties are affected by different initial conditions. It is found that bipartite nonlocality only exists when the initial conditions are chosen in an unphysiological manner and probably is absent when considering the EET in the FMO complex in its natural habitat. It is also seen that nonlocality and entanglement behave quite differently in this system. In particular, for localized initial states, nonlocality only exists on a very short time scale and then drops to zero in an abrupt manner. As already known from previous studies, quantum entanglement between chromophore pairs, on the other hand, is oscillating and exponentially decaying and follow thereby a pattern more similar to the chromophore population dynamics. The abrupt disappearance of nonlocality in the presence of nonvanishing entanglement is a phenomenon we call nonlocality sudden death; a striking manifestation of the difference between these two types of correlations in quantum systems.
Reassessment of the NH4NO3 thermal decomposition technique for calibration of the N2O isotopic composition
Authors: Mohn Joachim , Gutjahr Wilhelm , Toyoda Sakae , Harris Eliza , Ibraim Erkan , Geilmann Heike , Schleppi Patrick , Kuhn Thomas , Lehmann Moritz F. , Decock Charlotte , Werner Roland A. , Yoshida Naohiro , Brand Willi A. 
Published: September 2016

RationaleIn the last few years, the study of N2O site‐specific nitrogen isotope composition has been established as a powerful technique to disentangle N2O emission pathways. This trend has been accelerated by significant analytical progress in the field of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and more recently quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS).MethodsThe ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) decomposition technique provides a strategy to scale the 15N site‐specific (SP ≡ δ15Nα – δ15Nβ) and bulk (δ15Nbulk = (δ15Nα + δ15Nβ)/2) isotopic composition of N2O against the international standard for the 15N/14N isotope ratio (AIR‐N2). Within the current project 15N fractionation effects during thermal decomposition of NH4NO3 on the N2O site preference were studied using static and dynamic decomposition techniques.ResultsThe validity of the NH4NO3 decomposition technique to link NH4+ and NO3− moiety‐specific δ15N analysis by IRMS to the site‐specific nitrogen isotopic composition of N2O was confirmed. However, the accuracy of this approach for the calibration of δ15Nα and δ15Nβ values was found to be limited by non‐quantitative NH4NO3 decomposition in combination with substantially different isotope enrichment factors for the conversion of the NO3− or NH4+ nitrogen atom into the α or β position of the N2O molecule.ConclusionsThe study reveals that the completeness and reproducibility of the NH4NO3 decomposition reaction currently confine the anchoring of N2O site‐specific isotopic composition to the international isotope ratio scale AIR‐N2. The authors suggest establishing a set of N2O isotope reference materials with appropriate site‐specific isotopic composition, as community standards, to improve inter‐laboratory compatibility. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving transient performance of adaptive control via a modified reference model and novel adaptation
Authors: Na Jing , Herrmann Guido , Zhang Kaiqiang 
Published: September 2016

SummaryThis paper presents a new model reference adaptive control (MRAC) framework for a class of nonlinear systems to address the improvement of transient performance. The main idea is to introduce a nonlinear compensator to reshape the closed‐loop system transient, and to suggest a new adaptive law with guaranteed convergence. The compensator captures the unknown system dynamics and modifies the given nominal reference model and the control action. This modified controlled system can approach the response of the ideal reference model. The transient is easily tuned by a new design parameter of this compensator. The nominal adaptive law is augmented by new leakage terms containing the parameter estimation errors. This allows for fast, smooth and exponential convergence of both the tracking error and parameter estimation, which again improves overall reference model following. We also show that the required excitation condition for the estimation convergence is equivalent to the classical persistent excitation (PE) condition. In this respect, this paper provides an intuitive and numerically feasible approach to online validate the PE condition. The salient feature of the suggested methodology is that the rapid suppression of uncertainties in the controlled system can be achieved without using a large, high‐gain induced, learning rate in the adaptive laws. Extensive simulations are given to show the effectiveness and the improved response of the proposed schemes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robust observer‐based stabilization of Lipschitz nonlinear uncertain systems via LMIs ‐ discussions and new design procedure
Authors: Zemouche A. , Rajamani R. , Kheloufi H. , Bedouhene F. 
Published: September 2016

SummaryThis paper presents a new observer‐based controller design method for Lipschitz nonlinear systems with uncertain parameters and
‐bounded disturbance inputs. In the presence of uncertain parameters, the separation principle is not applicable even in the case of linear time invariant systems. A state of the art review for uncertain linear systems is first presented to describe the shortcomings and conservatism of existing results for this problem. Then a new LMI‐based design technique is developed to solve the problem for both linear and Lipschitz nonlinear systems. The features of the new technique are the use of a new matrix decomposition, the allowance of additional degrees of freedom in design of the observer and controller feedback gains, the elimination of any need to use equality constraints, the allowance of uncertainty in the input matrix and the encompassing of all previous results under one framework. An extensive portfolio of numerical case studies is presented to illustrate the superiority of the developed design technique to existing results for linear systems from literature and to illustrate application to Lipschitz nonlinear systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Physics and chemistry of oxidation of two‐dimensional nanomaterials by molecular oxygen
Authors: Wang Gaoxue , Pandey Ravindra , Karna Shashi P. 
Published: September 2016

The discovery of graphene has inspired extensive interest in two‐dimensional (2D) materials, and has led to synthesis/growth of additional 2D materials, generally referred to as ‘Beyond Graphene’. Notable among the recently discovered exotic 2D materials are group IV elemental monolayers silicene and germanene, group V elemental monolayer phosphorene, and binary monolayers, such as hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN), and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2
). Environmental effect on the physical and chemical properties of these 2D materials is a fundamental issue for their practical applications in devices operating under ambient conditions, especially, exposure to air often leads to oxidation of nanomaterials with significant impact on the functional properties and performances of devices built with them. In view of its importance, we present here a review of the recent experimental and theoretical studies on the oxidation of 2D materials focusing on the relationship between the oxidation process and the energy values which can be calculated by first principles methods. The complement of experiments and theory facilitates the understanding of the underlying oxidation process in terms of cohesive energy, energy barrier to oxidation and dissociation energy of oxygen molecule for 2D materials including graphene, silicene, germanene, phosphorene, h‐BN, and MoS2. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2017, 7:e1280. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1280This article is categorized under:

Structure and Mechanism > Computational Materials Science
Electronic Structure Theory > Density Functional Theory
Recent developments of first‐principles force fields
Authors: Sun Lei , Deng Wei‐Qiao 
Published: September 2016

Molecular mechanics force fields derived from first‐principles calculations represent the next generation of force fields for molecular dynamics simulations. In recent years, a large amount of first‐principles force fields have been developed in the fields of physical and biological fields. Here, we review the first‐principles force fields especially for simulating the adsorption of small molecules in nanoporous materials and on surfaces. We describe the latest developments in force field parameterization and application, primarily in the last 10 years. Emphasis is placed on the procedure in developing these first‐principles force fields. We discuss the selections of first‐principles methods and fragment models during the parameterization. As the first‐principles force fields are available in a wide range of simulation packages, it is anticipated that use of these force fields will lead to new discoveries of the adsorption phenomena in nanoporous materials and on surfaces. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2017, 7:e1282. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1282This article is categorized under:

Structure and Mechanism > Computational Materials Science
Software > Simulation Methods
Software > Molecular Modeling
Production and Emulsifying Effect of Polyglycerol and Fatty Acid Esters with Varying Degrees of Esterification
Authors: Shikhaliev Khidmet S. , Stolpovskaya Nadezhda V. , Krysin Mikhail Yu. , Zorina Anna V. , Lyapun Denis V. , Zubkov Fedor I. , Yankina Kristina Yu. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractEsters with acyl groups can be formed by the esterification of polyglycerol. The purpose of the present study was to produce fatty acid esters [hexanoic (caproic), octanoic (caprylic), decanoic (capric), dodecanoic (lauric), tetradecanoic (myristic), hexadecanoic (palmitic), octadecanoic (stearic)] and polyglycerol (average number‐of degrees of polymerization of 5) with varying degrees of esterification and to examine their emulsifying properties. A number of fundamental catalysts of polyglycerol acylation reactions by methyl esters of carboxylic acid were studied, and sodium methoxide was found to be the best choice. The temperature rate of transesterification increased from 180 to 220 °C with the fatty acid chain alkyl residue. Synthesized mono‐, di‐, tri‐, tetra‐, and heptaesters of various fatty acids and polyglycerol provided the highest hydroxyl values from 15 to 815 mg KOH g−1 and saponification values from 82 to 321 mg KOH g−1. The emulsifying properties were assessed for all polyglycerol and fatty acid esters, with results showing maximum emulsifying effect for tri‐ and tetraesters of capric, lauric, and caprylic acids. Regardless of the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance value (HLB) of polyglycerol esters and carboxylic acid, a 4:1 ratio of sunflower oil to water formed a water‐in‐oil type emulsion. When mixing oil and water in a 1:1 ratio, mono‐ and diesters of polyglycerol formed an oil‐in‐water type emulsion, heptaesters formed a water‐in‐oil type emulsion, and tri‐ and tetraesters formed both of types of emulsions, depending on the length of the acid hydrocarbon radicals.
THEHUKOUSYSTEM, RURAL INSTITUTIONS, AND MIGRANT INTEGRATION IN CHINA
Authors: Tyner Adam , Ren Yuan 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThis article presents evidence that factors in rural areas influence migrant integration into China's cities. We argue that the value of the rural registration influences migrants' decision-making and identities by creating a cost to registration transfer to the city, and that the rural land system interacts with the household registration system to inhibit migrant integration. We test novel hypotheses derived from a simple model of migrant integration, finding connections between rural sending area factors and migrant integration in the city. We test these hypotheses using survey data from two surveys of rural-to-urban migrant workers and publicly available economic data. We find that migrants from areas with higher levels of economic development are less likely to desire registration transfer to the city. We also find that landholding and weaker rural and rights are associated with lower levels of social integration in the city.