bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Subtle effects of environmental stress observed in the early life stages of the Common frog, Rana temporaria
Authors: Strong Rebecca , Martin Francis L. , Jones Kevin C. , Shore Richard F. , Halsall Crispin J. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWorldwide amphibian populations are declining due to habitat loss, disease and pollution. Vulnerability to environmental contaminants such as pesticides will be dependent on the species, the sensitivity of the ontogenic life stage and hence the timing of exposure and the exposure pathway. Herein we investigated the biochemical tissue ‘fingerprint’ in spawn and early-stage tadpoles of the Common frog, Rana temporaria, using attenuated total reflection-Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy with the objective of observing differences in the biochemical constituents of the respective amphibian tissues due to varying water quality in urban and agricultural ponds. Our results demonstrate that levels of stress (marked by biochemical constituents such as glycogen that are involved in compensatory metabolic mechanisms) can be observed in tadpoles present in the pond most impacted by pollution (nutrients and pesticides), but large annual variability masked any inter-site differences in the frog spawn. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy is capable of detecting differences in tadpoles that are present in selected ponds with different levels of environmental perturbation and thus serves as a rapid and cost effective tool in assessing stress-related effects of pollution in a vulnerable class of organism.
Sudden Transition between Classical to Quantum Decoherence in bipartite correlated Qutrit Systems
Authors: Cárdenas-López F. A. , Allende S. , Retamal J. C. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractClassical to quantum decoherence transition, an issue existing for incoherent superposition of Bell-diagonal states is studied for three dimensional bipartite AB mixed quantum systems. Depending on the initial conditions, the dynamics of classical and quantum correlations can exhibit a sudden transition between classical to quantum decoherence. This result is calculated numerically by using entropic and geometric measures of correlations. An alternative explanation for this effect could be obtained by extending the bipartite A ⊗ B qutrit system to a pure tripartite A ⊗ B ⊗ C system. The freezing of classical correlations in AB is related to a freezing of the entanglement in the AC bipartition.
Environment-insensitive and gate-controllable photocurrent enabled by bandgap engineering of MoS2 junctions
Authors: Shih Fu-Yu , Wu Yueh-Chun , Shih Yi-Siang , Shih Ming-Chiuan , Wu Tsuei-Shin , Ho Po-Hsun , Chen Chun-Wei , Chen Yang-Fang , Chiu Ya-Ping , Wang Wei-Hua 
Published: March 2017

AbstractTwo-dimensional (2D) materials are composed of atomically thin crystals with an enormous surface-to-volume ratio, and their physical properties can be easily subjected to the change of the chemical environment. Encapsulation with other layered materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride, is a common practice; however, this approach often requires inextricable fabrication processes. Alternatively, it is intriguing to explore methods to control transport properties in the circumstance of no encapsulated layer. This is very challenging because of the ubiquitous presence of adsorbents, which can lead to charged-impurity scattering sites, charge traps, and recombination centers. Here, we show that the short-circuit photocurrent originated from the built-in electric field at the MoS2 junction is surprisingly insensitive to the gaseous environment over the range from a vacuum of 1 × 10−6 Torr to ambient condition. The environmental insensitivity of the short-circuit photocurrent is attributed to the characteristic of the diffusion current that is associated with the gradient of carrier density. Conversely, the photocurrent with bias exhibits typical persistent photoconductivity and greatly depends on the gaseous environment. The observation of environment-insensitive short-circuit photocurrent demonstrates an alternative method to design device structure for 2D-material-based optoelectronic applications.
A Nanotechnology-Ready Computing Scheme based on a Weakly Coupled Oscillator Network
Authors: Vodenicarevic Damir , Locatelli Nicolas , Abreu Araujo Flavio , Grollier Julie , Querlioz Damien 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWith conventional transistor technologies reaching their limits, alternative computing schemes based on novel technologies are currently gaining considerable interest. Notably, promising computing approaches have proposed to leverage the complex dynamics emerging in networks of coupled oscillators based on nanotechnologies. The physical implementation of such architectures remains a true challenge, however, as most proposed ideas are not robust to nanotechnology devices’ non-idealities. In this work, we propose and investigate the implementation of an oscillator-based architecture, which can be used to carry out pattern recognition tasks, and which is tailored to the specificities of nanotechnologies. This scheme relies on a weak coupling between oscillators, and does not require a fine tuning of the coupling values. After evaluating its reliability under the severe constraints associated to nanotechnologies, we explore the scalability of such an architecture, suggesting its potential to realize pattern recognition tasks using limited resources. We show that it is robust to issues like noise, variability and oscillator non-linearity. Defining network optimization design rules, we show that nano-oscillator networks could be used for efficient cognitive processing.
Systems Pharmacology-based strategy to screen new adjuvant for hepatitis B vaccine from Traditional Chinese Medicine Ophiocordyceps sinensis
Authors: Wang Jingbo , Liu Rui , Liu Baoxiu , Yang Yan , Xie Jun , Zhu Naishuo 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAdjuvants are common component for many vaccines but there are still few licensed for human use due to low efficiency or side effects. The present work adopted Systems Pharmacology analysis as a new strategy to screen adjuvants from traditional Chinese medicine. Ophiocordyceps sinensis has been used for many years in China and other Asian countries with many biological properties, but the pharmacological mechanism has not been fully elucidated. First in this study, 190 putative targets for 17 active compounds in Ophiocordyceps sinensis were retrieved and a systems pharmacology-based approach was applied to provide new insights into the pharmacological actions of the drug. Pathway enrichment analysis found that the targets participated in several immunological processes. Based on this, we selected cordycepin as a target compound to serve as an adjuvant of the hepatitis B vaccine because the existing vaccine often fails to induce an effective immune response in many subjects. Animal and cellular experiments finally validated that the new vaccine simultaneously improves the humoral and cellular immunity of BALB/c mice without side effects. All this results demonstrate that cordycepin could work as adjuvant to hepatitis b vaccine and systems-pharmacology analysis could be used as a new method to select adjuvants.
Plasmon-assisted site-selective growth of Ag nanotriangles and Ag-Cu2O hybrids
Authors: Xie Ying , Ma Liang , Cheng Zi-Qiang , Yang Da-Jie , Zhou Li , Hao Zhong-Hua , Wang Qu-Quan 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWe report a plasmon-assisted growth of metal and semiconductor onto the tips of Ag nanotriangles (AgNTs) under light irradiation. The site-selective growth of Ag onto AgNTs are firstly demonstrated on the copper grids and amine-coated glass slides. As the irradiation time increases, microscopic images indicate that AgNTs gradually touch with each other and finally “weld” tip-to-tip together into the branched chains. Meanwhile, the redshift of plasmon band is observed in the extinction spectra, which agrees well the growth at the tips of AgNTs and the decrease of the gaps between the adjacent nanotriangles. We also synthesize AgNT-Cu2O nanocomposites by using a photochemical method and find that the Cu2O nanoparticles preferably grow on the tips of AgNTs. The site-selective growth of Ag and Cu2O is interpreted by the local field concentration at the tips of AgNTs induced by surface plasmon resonance under light excitation.
A computational approach to calculate the heat of transport of aqueous solutions
Authors: Di Lecce Silvia , Albrecht Tim , Bresme Fernando 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThermal gradients induce concentration gradients in alkali halide solutions, and the salt migrates towards hot or cold regions depending on the average temperature of the solution. This effect has been interpreted using the heat of transport, which provides a route to rationalize thermophoretic phenomena. Early theories provide estimates of the heat of transport at infinite dilution. These values are used to interpret thermodiffusion (Soret) and thermoelectric (Seebeck) effects. However, accessing heats of transport of individual ions at finite concentration remains an outstanding question both theoretically and experimentally. Here we discuss a computational approach to calculate heats of transport of aqueous solutions at finite concentrations, and apply our method to study lithium chloride solutions at concentrations >0.5 M. The heats of transport are significantly different for Li+and Cl−ions, unlike what is expected at infinite dilution. We find theoretical evidence for the existence of minima in the Soret coefficient of LiCl, where the magnitude of the heat of transport is maximized. The Seebeck coefficient obtained from the ionic heats of transport varies significantly with temperature and concentration. We identify thermodynamic conditions leading to a maximization of the thermoelectric response of aqueous solutions.
Ag/AgO Nanoparticles Grown via Time Dependent Double Mechanism in a 2D Layered Ni-PCP and Their Antibacterial Efficacy
Authors: Agarwal Rashmi A. , Gupta Neeraj K. , Singh Rajan , Nigam Shivansh , Ateeq Bushra 
Published: March 2017

AbstractA simple synthesis route for growth of Ag/AgO nanoparticles (NPs) in large quantitative yields with narrow size distribution from a functional, non-activated, Ni (II) based highly flexible porous coordination polymer (PCP) as a template has been demonstrated. This template is a stable storage media for the NPs larger than the pore diameters of the PCP. From EPR study it was concluded that NPs were synthesized via two mechanisms i.e. acid formation and the redox activity of the framework. Size range of Ag/AgO NPs is sensitive to choice of solvent and reaction time. Direct use of Ag/AgO@Ni-PCP shows influential growth inhibition towards Escherichia coli and the pathogen Salmonella typhimurium at extremely low concentrations. The pristine template shows no cytotoxic activity, even though it contains Ni nodes in the framework.
Ultrasound mediated delivery of oxygen and LLL12 loaded stimuli responsive microdroplets for the treatment of hypoxic cancer cells
Authors: Xu Jinshun , Yuan Shuai , Tian Jilai , Martin Kyle A. , Song Jinhua , Li Chenglong , Wang Zhigang , Lin Jiayuh , Si Ting , Xu Ronald X. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractLLL12 exhibits high specificity for inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation and dimerization, and inducing apoptosis to constitutively activated STAT3 cancer cells without cytotoxicity to normal cells with dormant STAT3. However, clinical deployment of LLL12 in cancer treatment is hindered by its low bioavailability and hypoxia-induced resistance. To overcome these limitations, we encapsulate both oxygen and LLL12 in stimuli responsive microdroplets (SRMs) by a gas-driven coaxial flow focusing (CFF) process for ultrasound mediated treatment of hypoxic cancer cells. Our benchtop experiments demonstrate that the CFF process is able to produce SRMs with uniform size distribution, large oxygen loading capacity, high LLL12 encapsulation efficiency, well protection of bioactivity, and steadily long shelf time. The in vitro therapeutic studies in pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1 and CAPAN-1) demonstrate the immediate release of oxygen and LLL12 in exposure to therapeutic ultrasound pulses as well as the improved anticancer effects under hypoxic conditions. The findings suggest that the proposed oxygen and LLL12 loaded SRMs provide a promising drug delivery strategy for more effective treatment of hypoxic cancer cells.
Noncanonical NF-κB mediates the Suppressive Effect of Neutrophil Elastase on IL-8/CXCL8 by Inducing NKRF in Human Airway Smooth Muscle
Authors: Ho Shu-Chuan , Wu Sheng-Ming , Feng Po-Hao , Liu Wen-Te , Chen Kuan-Yuan , Chuang Hsiao-Chi , Chan Yao-Fei , Kuo Lu-Wei , Lee Kang-Yun 
Published: March 2017

AbstractNeutrophil elastase (NE) suppresses IL-8/CXCL8 in human airway smooth muscle cells (hASM) while stimulating its production in respiratory epithelial cells. This differential effect is mediated by the selective induction of NKRF and dysregulation in chronic inflammatory diseases. We hypothesized that the differential activation of NF-κB subunits confer the opposite effect of NKRF on IL-8/CXCL8 in primary hASM and A549 cells stimulated with NE. The events occurring at the promoters of NKRF and IL-8/CXCL8 were observed by ChIP assays, and the functional role of RelB was confirmed by knockdown and overexpression. Although p65 was stimulated in both cell types, RelB was only activated in NE-treated hASM, as confirmed by NF-κB DNA binding ELISA, Western blotting and confocal microscopy. Knockdown of RelB abolished the induction of NKRF and converted the suppression of IL-8/CXCL8 to stimulation. The forced expression of RelB induced NKRF production in hASM and A549 cells. NE activated the NIK/IKK1/RelB non-canonical NF-κB pathway in hASM but not in A549. The nuclear-translocated RelB was recruited to the NKRF promoter around the putative κB site, accompanied by p52 and RNA polymerase II. In conclusion, NFRF is a novel RelB-response gene, and NE is a stimulator of the non-canonical RelB/NF-κB pathway in hASM.
5D imaging via light sheet microscopy reveals cell dynamics during the eye-antenna disc primordium formation in Drosophila
Authors: Huang Yu Shan , Ku Hui Yu , Tsai Yun Chi , Chang Chin Hao , Pao Sih Hua , Sun Y. Henry , Chiou Arthur 
Published: March 2017

Abstract5D images of engrailed (en) and eye gone (eyg) gene expressions during the course of the eye-antenna disc primordium (EADP) formation of Drosophila embryos from embryonic stages 13 through 16 were recorded via light sheet microscopy and analyzed to reveal the cell dynamics involved in the development of the EADP. Detailed analysis of the time-lapsed images revealed the process of EADP formation and its invagination trajectory, which involved an inversion of the EADP anterior-posterior axis relative to the body. Furthermore, analysis of the en-expression pattern in the EADP provided strong evidence that the EADP is derived from one of the en-expressing head segments.
Tuning of Exchange Coupling and Switchable Magnetization Dynamics by Displacing the Bridging Ligands Observed in Two Dimeric Manganese(III) Compounds
Authors: Liu Xiang-Yu , Cen Pei-Pei , Wu Li-Zhou , Li Fei-Fei , Song Wei-Ming , Xie Gang , Chen San-Ping 
Published: March 2017

AbstractTwo Mn(III)-based dimers, [Mn2(bpad)2(CH3O)4]n (1) and [Mn2(bpad)2(pa)2]n·2H2O (2) (Hbpad = N3-benzoylpyridine-2-carboxamidrazone, H2pa = phthalic acid), have been assembled from a tridentate Schiff-base chelator and various anionic coligands. Noteworthily, compound 1 could be identified as a reaction precursor to transform to 2 in the presence of phthalic acid, resulting in a rarely structural conversion process in which the bridges between intradimer Mn(III) ions alter from methanol oxygen atom with μ2-O mode in 1 (Mn "Equation missing" Mn distance of 3.046 Å) to syn-anti carboxylate in 2 (Mn "Equation missing" Mn distance of 4.043 Å), while the Mn(III) centers retain hexa-coordinated geometries with independently distorted octahedrons in two compounds. The dc magnetic determinations reveal that ferromagnetic coupling between two metal centers with J = 1.31 cm−1 exists in 1, whereas 2 displays weak antiferromagnetic interactions with the coupling constant J of −0.56 cm−1. Frequency-dependent ac susceptibilities in the absence of dc field for 1 suggest slow relaxation of the magnetization with an energy barrier of 13.9 K, signifying that 1 features single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior. This work presents a rational strategy to fine-tune the magnetic interactions and further magnetization dynamics of the Mn(III)-containing dinuclear units through small structural variations driven by the ingenious chemistry.
3D-printed navigation template in proximal femoral osteotomy for older children with developmental dysplasia of the hip
Authors: Zheng Pengfei , Xu Peng , Yao Qingqiang , Tang Kai , Lou Yue 
Published: March 2017

AbstractTo explore the feasibility of 3D-printed navigation template in proximal femoral varus rotation and shortening osteotomy for older children with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Between June 2014 and May 2015, navigation templates were designed and used for 12 DDH patients. Surgical information and outcomes were compared to 13 patients undergoing the same surgery but without navigation template. In template-guided patient group, operation time (21.08 min vs. 46.92 min), number of X-ray exposures (3.92 vs. 6.69), and occurrence of femoral epiphysis damage (0 vs. 0.92) were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Furthermore, after 12–18 months follow-up, 66.7% and 16.7% of the hips in template-guided group were rated as excellent or good, respectively, according to the McKay criteria; 83.3% and 16.7% by using the Severin criteria respectively. By contrast, 46.2% and 23.1% of the hips in traditional operation group were classed as excellent or good, respectively, using the McKay criteria; 46.2% and 30.8% by using the Severin criteria respectively. The template-guided group achieved a better outcome; however, there was no significant difference. Application of the navigation template for older DDH children can reduce the operation time, radiation exposure, and epiphysis damage, which also simplifies surgery and improves precision.
Resistive switching mechanism in the one diode-one resistor memory based on p+-Si/n-ZnO heterostructure revealed by in-situ TEM
Authors: Zhang Lei , Zhu Liang , Li Xiaomei , Xu Zhi , Wang Wenlong , Bai Xuedong 
Published: March 2017

AbstractOne diode-one resistor (1D1R) memory is an effective architecture to suppress the crosstalk interference, realizing the crossbar network integration of resistive random access memory (RRAM). Herein, we designed a p+-Si/n-ZnO heterostructure with 1D1R function. Compared with the conventional multilayer 1D1R devices, the structure and fabrication technique can be largely simplified. The real-time imaging of formation/rupture process of conductive filament (CF) process demonstrated the RS mechanism by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Meanwhile, we observed that the formed CF is only confined to the outside of depletion region of Si/ZnO pn junction, and the formation of CF does not degrade the diode performance, which allows the coexistence of RS and rectifying behaviors, revealing the 1D1R switching model. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the CF is consisting of the oxygen vacancy by in-situ TEM characterization.
An autism-associated serotonin transporter variant disrupts multisensory processing
Authors: Siemann J K , Muller C L , Forsberg C G , Blakely R D , Veenstra-VanderWeele J , Wallace M T 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAltered sensory processing is observed in many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with growing evidence that these impairments extend to the integration of information across the different senses (that is, multisensory function). The serotonin system has an important role in sensory development and function, and alterations of serotonergic signaling have been suggested to have a role in ASD. A gain-of-function coding variant in the serotonin transporter (SERT) associates with sensory aversion in humans, and when expressed in mice produces traits associated with ASD, including disruptions in social and communicative function and repetitive behaviors. The current study set out to test whether these mice also exhibit changes in multisensory function when compared with wild-type (WT) animals on the same genetic background. Mice were trained to respond to auditory and visual stimuli independently before being tested under visual, auditory and paired audiovisual (multisensory) conditions. WT mice exhibited significant gains in response accuracy under audiovisual conditions. In contrast, although the SERT mutant animals learned the auditory and visual tasks comparably to WT littermates, they failed to show behavioral gains under multisensory conditions. We believe these results provide the first behavioral evidence of multisensory deficits in a genetic mouse model related to ASD and implicate the serotonin system in multisensory processing and in the multisensory changes seen in ASD.
Unilateral problems for thep-Laplace operator in perforated media involving large parameters
Authors: Gómez Delfina , Lobo Miguel , Pérez Eugenia , Podolskii Alexander V. , Shaposhnikova Tatiana A. 
Published: March 2017

We address homogenization problems for variational inequalities issue from unilateral constraints for thep-Laplacian posed in perforated domains of ℝn, with n ≥ 3 andp ∈ [2,n]. εis a small parameter which measures the periodicity of the structure while aε≪εmeasures the size of the perforations. We impose constraints for solutions and their fluxes (associated with thep-Laplacian) on the boundary of the perforations. These constraints imply that the solution is positive and that the flux is bounded from above by a negative, nonlinear monotonic function of the solution multiplied by a parameter βεwhich may be very large, namely, βε → ∞asε→ 0. We first consider the case where p < nand the domains periodically perforated by tiny balls and we obtain homogenized problems depending on the relations between the different parameters of the problem:p,n,ε, aεandβε. Critical relations for parameters are obtained which mark important changes in the behavior of the solutions. Correctors which provide improved convergence are also computed. Then, we extend the results for p = nand the case of non periodically distributed isoperimetric perforations. We make it clear that in the averaged constants of the problem, the perimeter of the perforations appears for any shape.
Chemical Protein Synthesis through Selenocysteine Chemistry
Authors: Metanis Norman , Mousa Reem , Reddy Post 
Published: March 2017

Methods for the preparation of small-to-medium-sized proteins by chemical protein synthesis have matured in recent years and proven valuable for protein science. Thanks to the many recent discoveries and developments in the field, proteins up to 300 amino acids can now be prepared in the lab in a matter of days. This technology gives the scientists the flexibility to substitute any atom in the protein sequence; hence synthesis is not constrained to the 20 canonical amino acids. In this Synpacts article we briefly highlight the recent studies on selenocysteine chemistry in the field of chemical protein synthesis.1	Introduction2	Selenocysteine in Nature and in Folding Studies3	Selenocysteine in Protein Synthesis4	Selenocysteine in Natural Selenoproteins5	Outlook