bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Promise of Direct-to-Consumer Telehealth for Disaster Response and Recovery
Authors: Uscher-Pines Lori , Fischer Shira , Chari Ramya 
Published: May 2016

AbstractTelehealth has great promise to improve and even revolutionize emergency response and recovery. Yet telehealth in general, and direct-to-consumer (DTC) telehealth in particular, are underutilized in disasters. Direct-to-consumer telehealth services allow patients to request virtual visits with health care providers, in real-time, via phone or video conferencing (online video or mobile phone applications). Although DTC services for routine primary care are growing rapidly, there is no published literature on the potential application of DTC telehealth to disaster response and recovery because these services are so new. This report presents several potential uses of DTC telehealth across multiple disaster phases (acute response, subacute response, and recovery) while noting the logistical, legal, and policy challenges that must be addressed to allow for expanded use.Uscher-PinesL,FischerS,ChariR.The promise of direct-to-consumer telehealth for disaster response and recovery.Prehosp Disaster Med.2016;31(4):454–456.
Photo gallery: Ground zero Nagasaki
Authors: Nakamura Akitoshi 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThis selection of photos is meant as an appeal from the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to remember the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was compiled by museum director Akitoshi Nakamura based on the collection at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.1 Readers are invited to visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and spend some time viewing its collection of over 1,000 photographs and remnants from the city at that time to get a sense of what happened before and after the atomic bombing that summer seventy years ago, and how devastating the atomic bomb's destructive effects were.
Automatic quantitative analysis of experimental primary and secondary retinal neurodegeneration: implications for optic neuropathies
Authors: Davis B M , Guo L , Brenton J , Langley L , Normando E M , Cordeiro M F 
Published: May 2016

AbstractSecondary neurodegeneration is thought to play an important role in the pathology of neurodegenerative disease, which potential therapies may target. However, the quantitative assessment of the degree of secondary neurodegeneration is difficult. The present study describes a novel algorithm from which estimates of primary and secondary degeneration are computed using well-established rodent models of partial optic nerve transection (pONT) and ocular hypertension (OHT). Brn3-labelled retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) were identified in whole-retinal mounts from which RGC density, nearest neighbour distances and regularity indices were determined. The spatial distribution and rate of RGC loss were assessed and the percentage of primary and secondary degeneration in each non-overlapping segment was calculated. Mean RGC number (82 592±681) and RGC density (1695±23.3 RGC/mm2) in naïve eyes were comparable with previous studies, with an average decline in RGC density of 71±17 and 23±5% over the time course of pONT and OHT models, respectively. Spatial analysis revealed greatest RGC loss in the superior and central retina in pONT, but significant RGC loss in the inferior retina from 3 days post model induction. In comparison, there was no significant difference between superior and inferior retina after OHT induction, and RGC loss occurred mainly along the superior/inferior axis (~30%)versusthe nasal–temporal axis (~15%). Intriguingly, a significant loss of RGCs was also observed in contralateral eyes in experimental OHT. In conclusion, a novel algorithm to automatically segment Brn3a-labelled retinal whole-mounts into non-overlapping segments is described, which enables automated spatial and temporal segmentation of RGCs, revealing heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of primary and secondary degenerative processes. This method provides an attractive means to rapidly determine the efficacy of neuroprotective therapies with implications for any neurodegenerative disorder affecting the retina.
Design and fabrication of silicon-tessellated structures for monocentric imagers
Authors: Wu Tao , Hamann Stephen S. , Ceballos Andrew C. , Chang Chu-En , Solgaard Olav , Howe Roger T. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractCompared with conventional planar optical image sensors, a curved focal plane array can simplify the lens design and improve the field of view. In this paper, we introduce the design and implementation of a segmented, hemispherical, CMOS-compatible silicon image plane for a 10-mm diameter spherical monocentric lens. To conform to the hemispherical focal plane of the lens, we use flexible gores that consist of arrays of spring-connected silicon hexagons. Mechanical functionality is demonstrated by assembling the 20-μm-thick silicon gores into a hemispherical test fixture. We have also fabricated and tested a photodiode array on a silicon-on-insulator substrate for use with the curved imager. Optical testing shows that the fabricated photodiodes achieve good performance; the hemispherical imager enables a compact 160 ° field of view camera with >80% fill factor using a single spherical lens.
Domain topology and domain switching kinetics in a hybrid improper ferroelectric
Authors: Huang F. -T. , Xue F. , Gao B. , Wang L. H. , Luo X. , Cai W. , Lu X. -Z. , Rondinelli J. M. , Chen L. Q. , Cheong S. -W. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractCharged polar interfaces such as charged ferroelectric walls or heterostructured interfaces of ZnO/(Zn,Mg)O and LaAlO3/SrTiO3, across which the normal component of electric polarization changes suddenly, can host large two-dimensional conduction. Charged ferroelectric walls, which are energetically unfavourable in general, were found to be mysteriously abundant in hybrid improper ferroelectric (Ca,Sr)3Ti2O7crystals. From the exploration of antiphase boundaries in bilayer-perovskites, here we discover that each of four polarization-direction states is degenerate with two antiphase domains, and these eight structural variants form a Z4× Z2domain structure with Z3vortices and five distinct types of domain walls, whose topology is directly relevant to the presence of abundant charged walls. We also discover a zipper-like nature of antiphase boundaries, which are the reversible creation/annihilation centres of pairs of two types of ferroelectric walls (and also Z3-vortex pairs) in 90° and 180° polarization switching. Our results demonstrate the unexpectedly rich nature of hybrid improper ferroelectricity.
A wearable chemical–electrophysiological hybrid biosensing system for real-time health and fitness monitoring
Authors: Imani Somayeh , Bandodkar Amay J. , Mohan A. M. Vinu , Kumar Rajan , Yu Shengfei , Wang Joseph , Mercier Patrick P. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractFlexible, wearable sensing devices can yield important information about the underlying physiology of a human subject for applications in real-time health and fitness monitoring. Despite significant progress in the fabrication of flexible biosensors that naturally comply with the epidermis, most designs measure only a small number of physical or electrophysiological parameters, and neglect the rich chemical information available from biomarkers. Here, we introduce a skin-worn wearable hybrid sensing system that offers simultaneous real-time monitoring of a biochemical (lactate) and an electrophysiological signal (electrocardiogram), for more comprehensive fitness monitoring than from physical or electrophysiological sensors alone. The two sensing modalities, comprising a three-electrode amperometric lactate biosensor and a bipolar electrocardiogram sensor, are co-fabricated on a flexible substrate and mounted on the skin. Human experiments reveal that physiochemistry and electrophysiology can be measured simultaneously with negligible cross-talk, enabling a new class of hybrid sensing devices.
Essential structural elements in tRNAPro for EF-P-mediated alleviation of translation stalling
Authors: Katoh Takayuki , Wohlgemuth Ingo , Nagano Masanobu , Rodnina Marina V. , Suga Hiroaki 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe ribosome stalls on translation of polyproline sequences due to inefficient peptide bond formation between consecutive prolines. The translation factor EF-P is able to alleviate this stalling by accelerating Pro-Pro formation. However, the mechanism by which EF-P recognizes the stalled complexes and accelerates peptide bond formation is not known. Here, we use genetic code reprogramming through a flexible in-vitro translation (FIT) system to investigate how mutations in tRNAPro affect EF-P function. We show that the 9-nt D-loop closed by the stable D-stem sequence in tRNAPro is a crucial recognition determinant for EF-P. Such D-arm structures are shared only among the tRNAPro isoacceptors and tRNAfMet in Escherichia coli, and the D-arm of tRNAfMet is essential for EF-P-induced acceleration of fMet–puromycin formation. Thus, the activity of EF-P is controlled by recognition elements in the tRNA D-arm.
Potent social synchronization can override photic entrainment of circadian rhythms
Authors: Fuchikawa Taro , Eban-Rothschild Ada , Nagari Moshe , Shemesh Yair , Bloch Guy 
Published: May 2016

AbstractCircadian rhythms in behaviour and physiology are important for animal health and survival. Studies with individually isolated animals in the laboratory have consistently emphasized the dominant role of light for the entrainment of circadian rhythms to relevant environmental cycles. Although in nature interactions with conspecifics are functionally significant, social signals are typically not considered important time-givers for the animal circadian clock. Our results challenge this view. By studying honeybees in an ecologically relevant context and using a massive data set, we demonstrate that social entrainment can be potent, may act without direct contact with other individuals and does not rely on gating the exposure to light. We show for the first time that social time cues stably entrain the clock, even in animals experiencing conflicting photic and social environmental cycles. These findings add to the growing appreciation for the importance of studying circadian rhythms in ecologically relevant contexts.
The rubber tree genome reveals new insights into rubber production and species adaptation
Authors: Tang Chaorong , Yang Meng , Fang Yongjun , Luo Yingfeng , Gao Shenghan , Xiao Xiaohu , An Zewei , Zhou Binhui , Zhang Bing , Tan Xinyu , Yeang Hoong-Yeet , Qin Yunxia , Yang Jianghua , Lin Qiang , Mei Hailiang , Montoro Pascal , Long Xiangyu , Qi Jiyan , Hua Yuwei , He Zilong , Sun Min , Li Wenjie , Zeng Xia , Cheng Han , Liu Ying , Yang Jin , Tian Weimin , Zhuang Nansheng , Zeng Rizhong , Li Dejun , He Peng , Li Zhe , Zou Zhi , Li Shuangli , Li Chenji , Wang Jixiang , Wei Dong , Lai Chao-Qiang , Luo Wei , Yu Jun , Hu Songnian , Huang Huasun 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe Para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is an economically important tropical tree species that produces natural rubber, an essential industrial raw material. Here we present a high-quality genome assembly of this species (1.37 Gb, scaffold N50 = 1.28 Mb) that covers 93.8% of the genome (1.47 Gb) and harbours 43,792 predicted protein-coding genes. A striking expansion of the REF/SRPP (rubber elongation factor/small rubber particle protein) gene family and its divergence into several laticifer-specific isoforms seem crucial for rubber biosynthesis. The REF/SRPP family has isoforms with sizes similar to or larger than SRPP1 (204 amino acids) in 17 other plants examined, but no isoforms with similar sizes to REF1 (138 amino acids), the predominant molecular variant. A pivotal point in Hevea evolution was the emergence of REF1, which is located on the surface of large rubber particles that account for 93% of rubber in the latex (despite constituting only 6% of total rubber particles, large and small). The stringent control of ethylene synthesis under active ethylene signalling and response in laticifers resolves a longstanding mystery of ethylene stimulation in rubber production. Our study, which includes the re-sequencing of five other Hevea cultivars and extensive RNA-seq data, provides a valuable resource for functional genomics and tools for breeding elite Hevea cultivars.
An agricultural survey for more than 9,500 African households
Authors: Waha Katharina , Zipf Birgit , Kurukulasuriya Pradeep , Hassan Rashid M. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractSurveys for more than 9,500 households were conducted in the growing seasons 2002/2003 or 2003/2004 in eleven African countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Niger and Senegal in western Africa; Egypt in northern Africa; Ethiopia and Kenya in eastern Africa; South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Households were chosen randomly in districts that are representative for key agro-climatic zones and farming systems. The data set specifies farming systems characteristics that can help inform about the importance of each system for a country’s agricultural production and its ability to cope with short- and long-term climate changes or extreme weather events. Further it informs about the location of smallholders and vulnerable systems and permits benchmarking agricultural systems characteristics.
MIMIC-III, a freely accessible critical care database
Authors: Johnson Alistair E.W. , Pollard Tom J. , Shen Lu , Lehman Li-wei H. , Feng Mengling , Ghassemi Mohammad , Moody Benjamin , Szolovits Peter , Anthony Celi Leo , Mark Roger G. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractMIMIC-III (‘Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care’) is a large, single-center database comprising information relating to patients admitted to critical care units at a large tertiary care hospital. Data includes vital signs, medications, laboratory measurements, observations and notes charted by care providers, fluid balance, procedure codes, diagnostic codes, imaging reports, hospital length of stay, survival data, and more. The database supports applications including academic and industrial research, quality improvement initiatives, and higher education coursework.
Monoclonal regulatory T cells provide insights into T cell suppression
Authors: Gubser Céline , Schmaler Mathias , Rossi Simona W. , Palmer Ed 
Published: May 2016

AbstractRegulatory T cells (Tregs) have a crucial role in maintaining lymphocyte homeostasis. However an understanding of how Tregs function at a cellular and molecular level has not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we make use of a T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic, Rag−/− mouse expressing a Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 (Foxp3) transgene. This mouse provides a source of monoclonal CD4+ Foxp3+ T cells with a defined specificity. Here we show that monoclonal B3K506 Tregs are functional in vitro and in vivo and clearly require cognate antigen to be suppressive. We further show that the strength of Treg stimulation determines the strength of Treg mediated suppression. Finally we analysed various suppressive mechanisms used by monoclonal Tregs and found that Treg-Tconv proximity is a parameter, which correlates with enhanced suppression.
Europium Silicide – a Prospective Material for Contacts with Silicon
Authors: Averyanov Dmitry V. , Tokmachev Andrey M. , Karateeva Christina G. , Karateev Igor A. , Lobanovich Eduard F. , Prutskov Grigory V. , Parfenov Oleg E. , Taldenkov Alexander N. , Vasiliev Alexander L. , Storchak Vyacheslav G. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractMetal-silicon junctions are crucial to the operation of semiconductor devices: aggressive scaling demands low-resistive metallic terminals to replace high-doped silicon in transistors. It suggests an efficient charge injection through a low Schottky barrier between a metal and Si. Tremendous efforts invested into engineering metal-silicon junctions reveal the major role of chemical bonding at the interface: premier contacts entail epitaxial integration of metal silicides with Si. Here we present epitaxially grown EuSi2/Si junction characterized by RHEED, XRD, transmission electron microscopy, magnetization and transport measurements. Structural perfection leads to superb conductivity and a record-low Schottky barrier with n-Si while an antiferromagnetic phase invites spin-related applications. This development opens brand-new opportunities in electronics.
Dynamical state of the network determines the efficacy of single neuron properties in shaping the network activity
Authors: Sahasranamam Ajith , Vlachos Ioannis , Aertsen Ad , Kumar Arvind 
Published: May 2016

AbstractSpike patterns are among the most common electrophysiological descriptors of neuron types. Surprisingly, it is not clear how the diversity in firing patterns of the neurons in a network affects its activity dynamics. Here, we introduce the state-dependent stochastic bursting neuron model allowing for a change in its firing patterns independent of changes in its input-output firing rate relationship. Using this model, we show that the effect of single neuron spiking on the network dynamics is contingent on the network activity state. While spike bursting can both generate and disrupt oscillations, these patterns are ineffective in large regions of the network state space in changing the network activity qualitatively. Finally, we show that when single-neuron properties are made dependent on the population activity, a hysteresis like dynamics emerges. This novel phenomenon has important implications for determining the network response to time-varying inputs and for the network sensitivity at different operating points.
Retention Mechanisms of Citric Acid in Ternary Kaolinite-Fe(III)-Citrate Acid Systems Using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L3,2-edge XANES Spectroscopy
Authors: Yang Jianjun , Wang Jian , Pan Weinan , Regier Tom , Hu Yongfeng , Rumpel Cornelia , Bolan Nanthi , Sparks Donald 
Published: May 2016

AbstractOrganic carbon (OC) stability in tropical soils is strongly interlinked with multivalent cation interaction and mineral association. Low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) represent the readily biodegradable OC. Therefore, investigating retention mechanisms of LMWOAs in mineral-cation-LMWOAs systems is critical to understanding soil C cycling. Given the general acidic conditions and dominance of kaolinite in tropical soils, we investigated the retention mechanisms of citric acid (CA) in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems with various Fe/CA molar ratios at pH ~3.5 using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L3,2-edge XANES techniques. With Fe/CA molar ratios >2, the formed ferrihydrite mainly contributed to CA retention through adsorption and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios from 2 to 0.5, ternary complexation of CA to kaolinite via a five-coordinated Fe(III) bridge retained higher CA than ferrihydrite-induced adsorption and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios ≤0.5, kaolinite-Fe(III)-citrate complexation preferentially occurred, but less CA was retained than via outer-sphere kaolinite-CA complexation. This study highlighted the significant impact of varied Fe/CA molar ratios on CA retention mechanisms in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems under acidic conditions and clearly showed the important contribution of Fe-bridged ternary complexation on CA retention. These findings will enhance our understanding of the dynamics of CA and other LMWOAs in tropical soils.
Uncovering three-dimensional gradients in fibrillar orientation in an impact-resistant biological armour
Authors: Zhang Y. , Paris O. , Terrill N. J. , Gupta H. S. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe complex hierarchical structure in biological and synthetic fibrous nanocomposites entails considerable difficulties in the interpretation of the crystallographic texture from diffraction data. Here, we present a novel reconstruction method to obtain the 3D distribution of fibres in such systems. An analytical expression is derived for the diffraction intensity from fibres, explaining the azimuthal intensity distribution in terms of the angles of the three dimensional fibre orientation distributions. The telson of stomatopod (mantis shrimp) serves as an example of natural biological armour whose high impact resistance property is believed to arise from the hierarchical organization of alpha chitin nanofibrils into fibres and twisted plywood (Bouligand) structures at the sub-micron and micron scale. Synchrotron microfocus scanning X-ray diffraction data on stomatopod telson were used as a test case to map the 3D fibre orientation across the entire tissue section. The method is applicable to a range of biological and biomimetic structures with graded 3D fibre texture at the sub-micron and micron length scales.
Decellularization of human stromal refractive lenticules for corneal tissue engineering
Authors: Yam Gary Hin-Fai , Yusoff Nur Zahirah Binte M. , Goh Tze-Wei , Setiawan Melina , Lee Xiao-Wen , Liu Yu-Chi , Mehta Jodhbir S. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractSmall incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) becomes a procedure to correct myopia. The extracted lenticule can be used for other clinical scenarios. To prepare for allogeneic implantation, lenticule decellularization with preserved optical property, stromal architecture and chemistry would be necessary. We evaluated different methods to decellularize thin human corneal stromal lenticules created by femtosecond laser. Treatment with 0.1% sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) followed by extensive washes was the most efficient protocol to remove cellular and nuclear materials. Empty cell space was found inside the stroma, which displayed aligned collagen fibril architecture similar to native stroma. The SDS-based method was superior to other treatments with hyperosmotic 1.5 M sodium chloride, 0.1% Triton X-100 and nucleases (from 2 to 10 U/ml DNase and RNase) in preserving extracellular matrix content (collagens, glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans). The stromal transparency and light transmittance was indifferent to untreated lenticules. In vitro recellularization showed that the SDS-treated lenticules supported corneal stromal fibroblast growth. In vivo re-implantation into a rabbit stromal pocket further revealed the safety and biocompatibility of SDS-decellularized lenticules without short- and long-term rejection risk. Our results concluded that femtosecond laser-derived human stromal lenticules decellularized by 0.1% SDS could generate a transplantable bioscaffold with native-like stromal architecture and chemistry.
Biodegradable Magnesium (Mg) Implantation Does Not Impose Related Metabolic Disorders in Rats with Chronic Renal Failure
Authors: Wang Jiali , Xu Jiankun , Liu Waiching , Li Yangde , Qin Ling 
Published: May 2016

AbstractMg and its alloys have been considered as one of the most promising biodegradable medical devices, but it was still unclear whether hypermagnesemia involved health risks would occur in persons with kidney disease due to their deteriorated kidney function for Mg ions excretion from their body. In this study, we established a chronic renal failure (CRF) model in rats induced by adenine administration prior to Mg implantation, aiming to predict if CRF patients are suitable for the use of Mg implants. The results showed that Mg levels in serum, urine, feces and internal organs had no significant changes after Mg implantation for both normal and CRF rats. Biochemical indices detection and histopathological analysis in kidney, liver and heart tissue confirmed that Mg implants did not induce any extra damage in animals even with renal failure. Our study indicates that Mg based orthopaedic medical device may be considered for use in CRF patients without biosafety concerns.