bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Performance analysis of subcarrier intensity modulation using rectangular QAM over Malaga turbulence channels with integer and non‐integer β
Authors: Alheadary Wael G. , Park Ki‐Hong , Alouini Mohamad‐Slim 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIn this paper, we derive the performances of optical wireless communication system utilizing adaptive subcarrier intensity modulation over the Malaga turbulent channel. More specifically, analytical closed‐form solutions and asymptotic results are derived for average bit error rate, achievable spectral efficiency, outage probability, and ergodic capacity by utilizing series expansion identity of modified Bessel function. Our asymptotic and analytical results based on series solutions with finite numbers highly matched to the numerical results. By exploiting the inherent nature of fading channel, the proposed adaptive scheme enhances the spectral efficiency without additional transmit power while satisfying the required bit error rate criterion. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global competitiveness analysis of energy storage system:model and index
Authors: Lee Chansong , Kim Jeong Won , Yeom Sung Chan , Kim Kyung Nam 
Published: October 2016

Energy storage system (ESS) plays a significant role in increasing the reliability and the performance of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Because of its positive relevance to the electric grid, renewables, and grid security, many developed countries enhance their efforts to develop the ESS technologies. A comparative study on global ESS competitiveness helps researchers to identify leading and lagging countries in ESS field while providing the key indicators to explain the differences. To develop a model index to measure the ESS competitiveness, we, first, devises a competitiveness framework of categories and indicators based on theories of science and technology innovation. Second, we set up the model indexes, both theoretical and experimental, by conducting analytic hierarchy process analysis and collecting experts’ review. Then, we measure the ESS competitiveness of 11 OECD countries and China, and find that the United States is an outstanding first‐runner in the ESS sector. China is the second while Japan, Germany, and South Korea belong to the next competitive group. Research findings in this paper provide policy implications for ESS technological development and commercialization. WIREs Energy Environ 2017, 6:e235. doi: 10.1002/wene.235This article is categorized under:

Energy Infrastructure > Economics and Policy
Energy Systems Economics > Economics and Policy
Energy Policy and Planning > Economics and Policy
Measuring the Burden of Surgical Disease Averted by Emergency and Essential Surgical Care in a District Hospital in Papua New Guinea
Authors: Stokes Matthew A. R. , Guest Glenn D. , Mamadi Perista , Seta Westin , Yaubihi Noel , Karawiga Grace , Naidi Billy , Watters David A. K. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractBackgroundTimely access to emergency and essential surgical care (EESC) and anaesthesia in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) prevents premature death, minimises lifelong disability and reduces their economic impact on families and communities. Papua New Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific region, and provides much of its surgical care at a district hospital level. We aimed to evaluate the surgical capacity of a district hospital in PNG and estimate the effectiveness of surgical interventions provided.MethodsWe performed a prospective study to calculate the number of DALYs averted for 465 patients treated with surgical care over a 3‐month period (Sep–Nov 2013) in Alotau Hospital, Milne Bay Province, PNG (pop 210,000). Data were also collected on infrastructure, workforce, interventions provided and equipment available using the World Health Organization’s Integrated Management of Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Toolkit, a survey to assess EESC and surgical capacity. We also performed a retrospective one‐year audit of surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic care to provide context with regards to annual disease burden treated and surgical activity.ResultsEESC was provided by 11 Surgeons/Anaesthetists/Obstetricians (SAO) providers, equating to 5.7 per 100,000 population (including 4 nurse anaesthetists). They performed 783/100,000 procedures annually. Over the 3‐month prospective study period, 4954 DALYs were averted by 465 surgical interventions, 52 % of which were elective. This equates to 18,330 DALYs averted annually or, approximately 18 % of the published but estimated disease burden in the Province in the 2013 Global Burden of Disease Study. The overall peri‐operative mortality rate was 1.29 %, with 0.41 % for elective procedures and 2.25 % for emergencies.ConclusionsMuch of the burden of surgical disease in Papua New Guinea presenting to Alotau General Hospital serving Milne Bay Province can be effectively treated by a small team providing emergency and essential surgical care. This is despite a relatively low surgical volume and limited numbers of trained surgical anaesthesia obstetric providers, and likely underservicing. The ability of surgical care to avert disease in Papua New Guinea highlights its importance to public health in LMICs.
Drug repositioning
Authors: Mehndiratta Man Mohan , Wadhai Swati , Tyagi Brij , Gulati Natasha , Sinha Madhu 
Published: October 2016

AbstractRapid advances in pharmacotherapy and bioinformatics has led to the discovery and growing popularity of drug repositioning which includes re-investigating or recycling of existing drugs for new indications. There are innumerable advantages as well as challenges of drug repositioning. Since de-novo drug discovery takes plenty of time, effort and money, it has proved to a preferred alternative strategy for accelerated drug discovery. Moreover it is relatively inexpensive and carries minimal risk due to availability of previous pharmacological, safety and toxicology data. The strategies used are Known drug – new target/Drug focus/Drug-centric, Known target- new indication/Target focus/Target-centric and Disease focus/Disease-centric. Drug repositioning is a new breakthrough strategy to benefit patients by offering safer and effective treatment using shelved drugs.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Natural product pectolinarigenin inhibits osteosarcoma growth and metastasis via SHP-1-mediated STAT3 signaling inhibition
Authors: Zhang Tao , Li Suoyuan , Li Jingjie , Yin Fei , Hua Yingqi , Wang Zhouying , Lin Binhui , Wang Hongsheng , Zou Dongqing , Zhou Zifei , Xu Jing , Yi Chengqing , Cai Zhengdong 
Published: October 2016

AbstractSignal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) has important roles in cancer aggressiveness and has been confirmed as an attractive target for cancer therapy. In this study, we used a dual-luciferase assay to identify that pectolinarigenin inhibited STAT3 activity. Further studies showed pectolinarigenin inhibited constitutive and interleukin-6-induced STAT3 signaling, diminished the accumulation of STAT3 in the nucleus and blocked STAT3 DNA-binding activity in osteosarcoma cells. Mechanism investigations indicated that pectolinarigenin disturbed the STAT3/DNA methyltransferase 1/HDAC1 histone deacetylase 1 complex formation in the promoter region of SHP-1, which reversely mediates STAT3 signaling, leading to the upregulation of SHP-1 expression in osteosarcoma. We also found pectolinarigenin significantly suppressed osteosarcoma cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and reduced the level of STAT3 downstream proteins cyclin D1, Survivin, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), B-cell lymphoma extra-large (Bcl-xl) and myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1). In addition, pectolinarigenin inhibited migration, invasion and reserved epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype in osteosarcoma cells. In spontaneous and patient-derived xenograft models of osteosarcoma, we identified administration (intraperitoneal) of pectolinarigenin (20 mg/kg/2 days and 50 mg/kg/2 days) blocked STAT3 activation and impaired tumor growth and metastasis with superior pharmacodynamic properties. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that pectolinarigenin may be a candidate for osteosarcoma intervention linked to its STAT3 signaling inhibitory activity.
XAB2 functions in mitotic cell cycle progression via transcriptional regulation of CENPE
Authors: Hou Shuai , Li Na , Zhang Qian , Li Hui , Wei Xinyue , Hao Tian , Li Yue , Azam Sikandar , Liu Caigang , Cheng Wei , Jin Bilian , Liu Quentin , Li Man , Lei Haixin 
Published: October 2016

AbstractXeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA)-binding protein 2 (XAB2) is a multi-functional protein that plays critical role in processes including transcription, transcription-coupled DNA repair, pre-mRNA splicing, homologous recombination and mRNA export. Microarray analysis on gene expression in XAB2 knockdown cells reveals that many genes with significant change in expression function in mitotic cell cycle regulation. Fluorescence-activated cell scanner analysis confirmed XAB2 depletion led to cell arrest in G2/M phase, mostly at prophase or prometaphase. Live cell imaging further disclosed that XAB2 knockdown induced severe mitotic defects including chromosome misalignment and defects in segregation, leading to mitotic arrest, mitotic catastrophe and subsequent cell death. Among top genes down-regulated by XAB2 depletion is mitotic motor protein centrosome-associated protein E (CENPE). Knockdown CENPE showed similar phenotypes to loss of XAB2, but CENPE knockdown followed by XAB2 depletion did not further enhance cell cycle arrest. Luciferase assay on CENPE promoter showed that overexpression of XAB2 increased luciferase activity, whereas XAB2 depletion resulted in striking reduction of luciferase activity. Further mapping revealed a region in CENPE promoter that is required for the transcriptional regulation by XAB2. Moreover, ChIP assay showed that XAB2 interacted with CENPE promoter. Together, these results support a novel function of XAB2 in mitotic cell cycle regulation, which is partially mediated by transcription regulation on CENPE.
Ras signaling regulates osteoprogenitor cell proliferation and bone formation
Authors: Papaioannou Garyfallia , Mirzamohammadi Fatemeh , Kobayashi Tatsuya 
Published: October 2016

AbstractDuring endochondral bone development, osteoblasts are continuously differentiated from locally residing progenitor cells. However, the regulation of such endogenous osteoprogenitor cells is still poorly understood mainly due to the difficulty in identifying such cells in vivo. In this paper, we genetically labeled different cell populations of the osteoblast linage using stage-specific, tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mice to investigate their responses to a proliferative stimulus. We have found that overactivation of Kras signaling in type II collagen-positive, immature osteoprogenitor cells, but not in mature osteoblasts, substantially increases the number of their descendant stromal cells and mature osteoblasts, and subsequently increases bone mass. This effect was mediated by both, the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K), pathways. Thus we demonstrate that Ras signaling stimulates proliferation of immature osteoprogenitor cells to increase the number of their osteoblastic descendants in a cell-autonomous fashion.
LWD–TCP complex activates the morning gene CCA1 in Arabidopsis
Authors: Wu Jing-Fen , Tsai Huang-Lung , Joanito Ignasius , Wu Yi-Chen , Chang Chin-Wen , Li Yi-Hang , Wang Ying , Hong Jong Chan , Chu Jhih-Wei , Hsu Chao-Ping , Wu Shu-Hsing 
Published: October 2016

AbstractA double-negative feedback loop formed by the morning genes CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1)/LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and the evening gene TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION1 (TOC1) contributes to regulation of the circadian clock in Arabidopsis. A 24-h circadian cycle starts with the peak expression of CCA1 at dawn. Although CCA1 is targeted by multiple transcriptional repressors, including PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR9 (PRR9), PRR7, PRR5 and CCA1 HIKING EXPEDITION (CHE), activators of CCA1 remain elusive. Here we use mathematical modelling to infer a co-activator role for LIGHT-REGULATED WD1 (LWD1) in CCA1 expression. We show that the TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1-CYCLOIDEA-PCF20 (TCP20) and TCP22 proteins act as LWD-interacting transcriptional activators. The concomitant binding of LWD1 and TCP20/TCP22 to the TCP-binding site in the CCA1 promoter activates CCA1. Our study reveals activators of the morning gene CCA1 and provides an action mechanism that ensures elevated expression of CCA1 at dawn to sustain a robust clock.
Short-term Effects of Outdoor Air Pollution on Lung Function among Female Non-smokers in China
Authors: Zhou Yun , Liu Yuewei , Song Yuanchao , Xie Jungang , Cui Xiuqing , Zhang Bing , Shi Tingming , Yuan Jing , Chen Weihong 
Published: October 2016

AbstractShort-term exposures to outdoor air pollutants have been associated with lower lung function, but the results are inconsistence. The effects of different pollutant levels on lung function changes are still unclear. We quantified the effects of outdoor air pollution exposure (NO2, PM10, O3, and PM2.5) on lung function among 1,694 female non-smokers from the Wuhan-Zhuhai Cohort in China by using linear mixed model. We further investigated the associations in the two cities with different air quality levels separately to quantify the effects of different pollutant level exposure on lung function. We found the moving averages of NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 concentrations were significantly associated with reduced FVC. In city at high pollutant level, the moving average of NO2, PM10, O3, and PM2.5 exposures were significantly associated with both FVC and FEV1 reductions. In the low-level air pollution city, PM10 (Lag03-Lag05) and O3 concentrations (Lag01-Lag03) were significantly associated with reduced FVC, while PM10 (Lag03-Lag05), O3 (Lag0-Lag03), and PM2.5 (Lag04-Lag06) exposure were significantly associated with reduced FEV1. Our results suggest that outdoor air pollution is associated with short-term adverse effects on lung function among female non-smokers. The adverse effects may persist for longer durations within 7 days at higher air pollutant levels.
Growth Arrest Specific 2 (GAS2) is a Critical Mediator of Germ Cell Cyst Breakdown and Folliculogenesis in Mice
Authors: York J. Philippe , Ren Yi Athena , Zeng Jie , Bin Zhang  , Wang Fang , Chen Rui , Liu Jianqiao , Xia Xuefeng , Zhang Pumin 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIn the mouse ovary, the primordial follicle pool is established through a diverse array of signaling pathways and tissue remodeling events. Growth arrest specific gene two (GAS2) is a highly conserved cytoskeleton-associated protein whose in vivo function remains unclear. In Drosophila, loss of the GAS2 homolog, Pigs, results in infertility. We demonstrate herein that, in the mouse ovary, GAS2 is expressed in the stromal cells surrounding the oocyte cysts on 16.5 dpc, and in stromal cells surrounding growing follicles during juvenile and adult life. We have generated genetically engineered mice with inactivated Gas2. Gas2 homozygous mutant mice are viable but have severely impaired fertility in females, in which oocyte cyst breakdown is disrupted and follicle growth is impaired, with significantly reduced numbers of large antral follicles and corpora lutea. In these mutant mice, the organization of the basal lamina surrounding developing follicles is severely defective at multiple stages of folliculogenesis. We also found that Notch signaling activity was altered in ovaries from Gas2 null mice around the time of birth and during follicular development later in life. These results indicate that GAS2 is a critical and novel regulator of tissue remodeling in the ovary during oocyte cyst breakdown and folliculogenesis.
Cellular uptake of a cystine-knot peptide and modulation of its intracellular trafficking
Authors: Gao Xinxin , Stanger Karen , Kaluarachchi Harini , Maurer Till , Ciepla Paulina , Chalouni Cecile , Franke Yvonne , Hannoush Rami N. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractCyclotides or cyclic cystine-knot peptides have emerged as a promising class of pharmacological ligands that modulate protein function. Interestingly, very few cyclotides have been shown to enter into cells. Yet, it remains unknown whether backbone cyclization is required for their cellular internalization. In this report, we studied the cellular behavior of EETI-II, a model acyclic cystine-knot peptide. Even though synthetic methods have been used to generate EETI-II, recombinant methods that allow efficient large scale biosynthesis of EETI-II have been lagging. Here, we describe a novel protocol for recombinant generation of folded EETI-II in high yields and to near homogeneity. We also uncover that EETI-II is efficiently uptaken via an active endocytic pathway to early endosomes in mammalian cells, eventually accumulating in late endosomes and lysosomes. Notably, co-incubation with a cell-penetrating peptide enhanced the cellular uptake and altered the trafficking of EETI-II, leading to its evasion of lysosomes. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of modulating the subcellular distribution and intracellular targeting of cystine-knot peptides, and hence enable future exploration of their utility in drug discovery and delivery.
Broadband full-color monolithic InGaN light-emitting diodes by self-assembled InGaN quantum dots
Authors: Li Hongjian , Li Panpan , Kang Junjie , Ding Jiianfeng , Ma Jun , Zhang Yiyun , Yi Xiaoyan , Wang Guohong 
Published: October 2016

AbstractWe have presented broadband full-color monolithic InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by self-assembled InGaN quantum dots (QDs) using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The electroluminescence spectra of the InGaN QDs LEDs are extremely broad span from 410 nm to 720 nm with a line-width of 164 nm, covering entire visible wavelength range. A color temperature of 3370 K and a color rendering index of 69.3 have been achieved. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements reveal a strong carriers localization effect of the InGaN QDs layer by obvious blue-shift of emission peak from 50 K to 300 K. The broadband luminescence spectrum is believed to be attributed to the injected carriers captured by the different localized states of InGaN QDs with various sizes, shapes and indium compositions, leading to a full visible color emission. The successful realization of our broadband InGaN QDs LEDs provide a convenient and practical method for the fabrication of GaN-based monolithic full-color LEDs in wafer scale.
The origin of high PCE in PTB7 based photovoltaics: proper charge neutrality level and free energy of charge separation at PTB7/PC71BM interface
Authors: Park Soohyung , Jeong Junkyeong , Hyun Gyeongho , Kim Minju , Lee Hyunbok , Yi Yeonjin 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe energy level alignments at donor/acceptor interfaces in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) play a decisive role in device performance. However, little is known about the interfacial energetics in polymer OPVs due to technical issues of the solution process. Here, the frontier ortbial line-ups at the donor/acceptor interface in high performance polymer OPVs, PTB7/PC71BM, were investigated using in situ UPS, XPS and IPES. The evolution of energy levels during PTB7/PC71BM interface formation was investigated using vacuum electrospray deposition, and was compared with that of P3HT/PC61BM. At the PTB7/PC71BM interface, the interface dipole and the band bending were absent due to their identical charge neutrality levels. In contrast, a large interfacial dipole was observed at the P3HT/PC61BM interface. The measured photovoltaic energy gap (EPVG) was 1.10 eV for PTB7/PC71BM and 0.90 eV for P3HT/PC61BM. This difference in the EPVG leads to a larger open-circuit voltage of PTB7/PC71BM than that of P3HT/PC61BM.
Oxidation mechanism of T91 steel in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic: with consideration of internal oxidation
Authors: Ye Zhongfei , Wang Pei , Dong Hong , Li Dianzhong , Zhang Yutuo , Li Yiyi 
Published: October 2016

AbstractClarification of the microscopic events that occur during oxidation is of great importance for understanding and consequently controlling the oxidation process. In this study the oxidation product formed on T91 ferritic/martensitic steel in oxygen saturated liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) at 823 K was characterized at the nanoscale using focused-ion beam and transmission electron microscope. An internal oxidation zone (IOZ) under the duplex oxide scale has been confirmed and characterized systematically. Through the microscopic characterization of the IOZ and the inner oxide layer, the micron-scale and nano-scale diffusion of Cr during the oxidation in LBE has been determined for the first time. The micron-scale diffusion of Cr ensures the continuous advancement of IOZ and inner oxide layer, and nano-scale diffusion of Cr gives rise to the typical appearance of the IOZ. Finally, a refined oxidation mechanism including the internal oxidation and the transformation of IOZ to inner oxide layer is proposed based on the discussion. The proposed oxidation mechanism succeeds in bridging the gap between the existing models and experimental observations.
Identification of Comamonas testosteroni as an androgen degrader in sewage
Authors: Chen Yi-Lung , Wang Chia-Hsiang , Yang Fu-Chun , Ismail Wael , Wang Po-Hsiang , Shih Chao-Jen , Wu Yu-Ching , Chiang Yin-Ru 
Published: October 2016

AbstractNumerous studies have reported the masculinization of freshwater wildlife exposed to androgens in polluted rivers. Microbial degradation is a crucial mechanism for eliminating steroid hormones from contaminated ecosystems. The aerobic degradation of testosterone was observed in various bacterial isolates. However, the ecophysiological relevance of androgen-degrading microorganisms in the environment is unclear. Here, we investigated the biochemical mechanisms and corresponding microorganisms of androgen degradation in aerobic sewage. Sewage samples collected from the Dihua Sewage Treatment Plant (Taipei, Taiwan) were aerobically incubated with testosterone (1 mM). Androgen metabolite analysis revealed that bacteria adopt the 9, 10-seco pathway to degrade testosterone. A metagenomic analysis indicated the apparent enrichment of Comamonas spp. (mainly C. testosteroni) and Pseudomonas spp. in sewage incubated with testosterone. We used the degenerate primers derived from the meta-cleavage dioxygenase gene (tesB) of various proteobacteria to track this essential catabolic gene in the sewage. The amplified sequences showed the highest similarity (87–96%) to tesB of C. testosteroni. Using quantitative PCR, we detected a remarkable increase of the 16S rRNA and catabolic genes of C. testosteroni in the testosterone-treated sewage. Together, our data suggest that C. testosteroni, the model microorganism for aerobic testosterone degradation, plays a role in androgen biodegradation in aerobic sewage.