bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Functional characterization of the late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein gene family from Pinus tabuliformis (Pinaceae) in Escherichia coli
Authors: Gao Jie , Lan Ting 
Published: January 2016

AbstractLate embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are a large and highly diverse gene family present in a wide range of plant species. LEAs are proposed to play a role in various stress tolerance responses. Our study represents the first-ever survey of LEA proteins and their encoding genes in a widely distributed pine (Pinus tabuliformis) in China. Twenty–three LEA genes were identified from the P. tabuliformis belonging to seven groups. Proteins with repeated motifs are an important feature specific to LEA groups. Ten of 23 pine LEA genes were selectively expressed in specific tissues and showed expression divergence within each group. In addition, we selected 13 genes representing each group and introduced theses genes into Escherichia coli to assess the protective function of PtaLEA under heat and salt stresses. Compared with control cells, the E. coli cells expressing PtaLEA fusion protein exhibited enhanced salt and heat resistance and viability, indicating the protein may play a protective role in cells under stress conditions. Furthermore, among these enhanced tolerance genes, a certain extent of function divergence appeared within a gene group as well as between gene groups, suggesting potential functional diversity of this gene family in conifers.
PB2-588 V promotes the mammalian adaptation of H10N8, H7N9 and H9N2 avian influenza viruses
Authors: Xiao Chencheng , Ma Wenjun , Sun Na , Huang Lihong , Li Yaling , Zeng Zhaoyong , Wen Yijun , Zhang Zaoyue , Li Huanan , Li Qian , Yu Yuandi , Zheng Yi , Liu Shukai , Hu Pingsheng , Zhang Xu , Ning Zhangyong , Qi Wenbao , Liao Ming 
Published: January 2016

AbstractHuman infections with avian influenza H7N9 or H10N8 viruses have been reported in China, raising concerns that they might cause human epidemics and pandemics. However, how these viruses adapt to mammalian hosts is unclear. Here we show that besides the commonly recognized viral polymerase subunit PB2 residue 627 K, other residues including 87E, 292 V, 340 K, 588 V, 648 V and 676 M in PB2 also play critical roles in mammalian adaptation of the H10N8 virus. The avian-origin H10N8, H7N9 and H9N2 viruses harboring PB2-588 V exhibited higher polymerase activity, more efficient replication in mammalian and avian cells and higher virulence in mice when compared to viruses with PB2-588 A. Analyses of available PB2 sequences showed that the proportion of avian H9N2 or human H7N9 influenza isolates bearing PB2-588 V has increased significantly since 2013. Taken together, our results suggest that the substitution PB2-A588V may be a new strategy for an avian influenza virus to adapt mammalian hosts.
Fractality à la carte: a general particle aggregation model
Authors: Nicolás-Carlock J. R. , Carrillo-Estrada J. L. , Dossetti V. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractIn nature, fractal structures emerge in a wide variety of systems as a local optimization of entropic and energetic distributions. The fractality of these systems determines many of their physical, chemical and/or biological properties. Thus, to comprehend the mechanisms that originate and control the fractality is highly relevant in many areas of science and technology. In studying clusters grown by aggregation phenomena, simple models have contributed to unveil some of the basic elements that give origin to fractality, however, the specific contribution from each of these elements to fractality has remained hidden in the complex dynamics. Here, we propose a simple and versatile model of particle aggregation that is, on the one hand, able to reveal the specific entropic and energetic contributions to the clusters’ fractality and morphology, and, on the other, capable to generate an ample assortment of rich natural-looking aggregates with any prescribed fractal dimension.
A target-protection mechanism of antibiotic resistance at atomic resolution: insights into FusB-type fusidic acid resistance
Authors: Tomlinson Jennifer H. , Thompson Gary S. , Kalverda Arnout P. , Zhuravleva Anastasia , O’Neill Alex J. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractAntibiotic resistance in clinically important bacteria can be mediated by proteins that physically associate with the drug target and act to protect it from the inhibitory effects of an antibiotic. We present here the first detailed structural characterization of such a target protection mechanism mediated through a protein-protein interaction, revealing the architecture of the complex formed between the FusB fusidic acid resistance protein and the drug target (EF-G) it acts to protect. Binding of FusB to EF-G induces conformational and dynamic changes in the latter, shedding light on the molecular mechanism of fusidic acid resistance.
A Nanoplasmonic Strategy for Precision in-situ Measurements of Tip-enhanced Raman and Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Authors: Meng Lingyan , Sun Mengtao , Chen Jianing , Yang Zhilin 
Published: January 2016

AbstractWe theoretically investigate an optimized tip-film system that supports in-situ measurement of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and tip-enhanced fluorescence (TEF) of dye molecules. A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is proposed to precisely control the tip-film distance and thus in-situ measurement of TERS and TEF can be realized utilizing the specific surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties of the tip-film system. Our calculations show that the optimized tip-film distance of 2 nm suggests a possibility of efficient acquisition of TERS and TEF in-situ. The calculated spatial resolution of TERS and spectral resolution of TEF can be down to 6.5 nm and 10 nm, respectively. Our theoretical results may find promising application in developing multiple functional nano-spectroscopy through which Raman and fluorescence can be measured in-situ at the nanoscale level.
The role of motility and chemotaxis in the bacterial colonization of protected surfaces
Authors: Tamar Einat , Koler Moriah , Vaknin Ady 
Published: January 2016

AbstractInternal epithelial surfaces in humans are both oxygenated and physically protected by a few hundred microns thick hydrogel mucosal layer, conditions that might support bacterial aerotaxis. However, the potential role of aerotaxis in crossing such a thin hydrogel layer is not clear. Here, we used a new setup to study the potential role of motility and chemotaxis in the bacterial colonization of surfaces covered by a thin hydrogel layer and subjected to a vertical oxygen gradient. Using the bacterium Escherichia coli, we show that both non-motile and motile-but-non-chemotactic bacteria could barely reach the surface. However, an acquired mutation in the non-chemotactic bacteria that altered their inherent swimming behavior led to a critical enhancement of surface colonization. Most chemotactic strains accumulated within the bulk of the hydrogel layer, except for the MG1655 strain, which showed a unique tendency to accumulate directly at the oxygenated surface and thus exhibited distinctly enhanced colonization. Even after a long period of bacterial growth, non-motile bacteria could not colonize the hydrogel. Thus, switching motility, which can be spontaneously acquired or altered in vivo, is critical for the colonization of such protected surfaces, whereas aerotaxis capacity clearly expedites surface colonization and can lead to diverse colonization patterns.
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor promotes aging phenotypes across species
Authors: Eckers Anna , Jakob Sascha , Heiss Christian , Haarmann-Stemmann Thomas , Goy Christine , Brinkmann Vanessa , Cortese-Krott Miriam M. , Sansone Roberto , Esser Charlotte , Ale-Agha Niloofar , Altschmied Joachim , Ventura Natascia , Haendeler Judith 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe ubiquitously expressed aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) induces drug metabolizing enzymes as well as regulators of cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Certain AhR ligands promote atherosclerosis, an age-associated vascular disease. Therefore, we investigated the role of AhR in vascular functionality and aging. We report a lower pulse wave velocity in young and old AhR-deficient mice, indicative of enhanced vessel elasticity. Moreover, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) showed increased activity in the aortas of these animals, which was reflected in increased NO production. Ex vivo, AhR activation reduced the migratory capacity of primary human endothelial cells. AhR overexpression as well as treatment with a receptor ligand, impaired eNOS activation and reduced S-NO content. All three are signs of endothelial dysfunction. Furthermore, AhR expression in blood cells of healthy human volunteers positively correlated with vessel stiffness. In the aging model Caenorhabditis elegans, AhR-deficiency resulted in increased mean life span, motility, pharynx pumping and heat shock resistance, suggesting healthier aging. Thus, AhR seems to have a negative impact on vascular and organismal aging. Finally, our data from human subjects suggest that AhR expression levels could serve as an additional, new predictor of vessel aging.
Autologous leukocyte-reduced platelet-rich plasma therapy for Achilles tendinopathy induced by collagenase in a rabbit model
Authors: González Juan C. , López Catalina , Álvarez María E. , Pérez Jorge E. , Carmona Jorge U. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractLeukocyte-reduced platelet-rich plasma (LR-PRP) is a therapy for tendinopathy of the Achilles tendon (TAT); however, there is scarce information regarding LR-PRP effects in rabbit models of TAT. We compared, at 4 and 12 weeks (w), the LR-PRP and placebo (PBS) effects on ultrasonography, histology and relative gene expression of collagen types I (COL1A1) and III (COL3A1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in 24 rabbits with TAT induced by collagenase. The rabbits (treated with both treatments) were euthanatised after either 4 or 12 w. A healthy group (HG (n = 6)) was included. At 4 and 12 w, the LR-PRP group had a no statistically different histology score to the HG. At w 4, theCOL1A1expression was significantly higher in the LR-PRP group when compared to HG and the expression ofCOL3A1from both LR-PRP and PBS-treated tendons was significantly higher when compared to the HG. At w 12, the expression ofCOL3A1remained significantly higher in the PBS group in comparison to the LR-PRP group and the HG. At w 4, the LR-PRP group presented a significantly higher expression of VEGF when compared to the PBS group and the HG. In conclusion, LR-PRP treatment showed regenerative properties in rabbits with TAT.
Hybrid wireless charging system for monitoring overhead 110 kV high‐voltage power line equipment based on magneto‐electric conversion
Authors: Wang Wei , Huang Xueliang , Tan Linlin , Zhao Junfeng , Yan Changxin 
Published: January 2016

The monitoring equipment for overhead 110 kV high‐voltage power lines plays an important role in the smart grid operations and may be required to work for years without maintenance; therefore, many varieties of energy harvesting devices have been investigated with a variety of problems remained though. In this study, a hybrid wireless power charging proposed system, integrated with magneto‐electric and electric‐electric conversion, is presented. It consists of an inductive energy harvesting device, an AC–AC frequency inverter, the transmitting and receiving coils, the rectifier systems connected in series, a wind turbine to drive the rotation of the receiving coils, etc. In particular, three receiving coils were designed for symmetrical disposition so that the angle between each pair of receiving coils was 120°. The design of the series rectifier circuit was explored to improve the input voltage level for charging the monitoring equipment more easily. The dynamic wireless power transfer system would bring about four energy‐increased outputs with three symmetrical receiving coils when they were driven to rotate. The proposed scheme, born out of the existing methods of energy harvesting for monitoring equipment would provide stable and safe power at any time and it has been verified effectively by both simulation and experiment.
Emigrations, Diasporas and People on the Move
Authors: Newitt Malyn 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
This chapter examines how the Portuguese diaspora fits into the long-term history of human migrations. Portuguese migration shares many of the characteristics of elite migrations, as well as migrations of mercantile classes, migrations of the poor, migrations resulting from religious persecution and labour migrations. The Portuguese diaspora has continued unbroken for five centuries and has featured the onward migration of Portuguese who have settled outside metropolitan Portugal. In many parts of the world a “Portuguese” identity has developed without any direct link with Portugal itself.
Points of Departure
Authors: Newitt Malyn 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
This chapter is focused on the Atlantic islands (Madeira, the Azores, Cape Verde and the Guinea islands). It examines the original settlements and argues that the land tenure system and the economy exacerbated the problems of poverty, overpopulation and drought with the result that the islands became major providers of onward emigrants. The climate of Cape Verde and the frequency of earthquakes in the Azores also forced people to leave. The Guinea islands are different in that they have attracted in-migration of contract labourers rather than being a source of emigrants like the other islands.
The Diaspora of the Sephardic Jews
Authors: Newitt Malyn 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
This chapter looks at the expulsion of the Sephardic Jews from Portugal at the end of the fifteenth century and the mass conversion of those that remained, who constituted the class of New Christians. The chapter looks at the dispersal of Jews and New Christians to West Africa, the Americas, France, Italy and the Mediterranean. The foundation of the Jewish community in Amsterdam is of special importance, as are the offshoots of it in London and Hamburg. The Portuguese culture of the Sephardic Jews was maintained for 200 years and only declined when civil disabilities were removed from the Jewish communities in the nineteenth century.
Portuguese Migration and Settlement in Asia
Authors: Newitt Malyn 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
This chapter follows the story of the Portuguese in Asia—the soldiers, officials and missionaries who established the Estado da India in the sixteenth century. The Portuguese established fortified trading ports around the western Indian Ocean with Goa as the main seat of government. In the Far East, Macao and Nagasaki became centres of trade and missionary activity. Intermarriage with Asian women resulted in the emergence of “Portuguese” populations in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India which spoke their own creole language, adhered to Catholicism and survived as a distinct caste into the twentieth century. Goa itself generated its own diaspora, with Goans settling in British India and finding employment elsewhere in the Portuguese and British empires.
Reflection and Refraction
Authors: Guenther B. D. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The propagation of a light wave when the electrical properties of the medium change in a discontinuous way experiences a change in propagation direction called refraction. The first of several derivations of the laws of refraction (Snell’s law) and reflection are given in this chapter, here relying only on the wave properties of light to obtain the laws. To obtain the amplitude of the light waves reflected and refracted, boundary conditions developed in classical electromagnetic theory for Maxwell’s equations are used. It is found that there is an angle, called Brewster’s angle, for which light reflected from a boundary will be linearly polarized. There is also a set of conditions for which all light incident on a boundary will be reflected. A few of the properties of this reflected wave, called a totally reflected wave, are discussed.
Fourier Analysis
Authors: Guenther B. D. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The techniques developed by Fourier and Dirichlet state that a Fourier series, a sum of sinusoidal functions, can be used to describe any periodic functions and that the Fourier transform, an integral transform, can be used to describe aperiodic functions. The measurement process used to obtain information about continuous functions found in nature is accomplished by making discrete measurements (called samples) of the functions. The development of the Fourier theory presents the opportunity to justify the experimental approach, by examining the processes of replication and sampling. The concepts, developed for electrical communication systems, that depend upon the use of the Fourier method are used for analysis of optical imaging systems and will be needed in the Fresnel formulation of diffraction in Chapters 9 and 10.
The Death of Simoeisios: Iliad 4.473–489
Authors: Schein Seth L. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The description of the death of the Trojan youth Simoeisios at Iliad 4.473–489 expresses a central theme of the poem: the cost in human terms of the heroism that the Iliad celebrates. The vignette of Simoeisios’ birth, moving like many other Iliadic vignettes and similes from the realm of war to a world of peacetime and everyday life, situates him in a familial and social context in which he will be missed (‘he did not repay his dear parents for rearing him’). The patronymics framing the passage (‘son of Flower’), its imagery, Simoeisios’ characterization as ἠΐθεον θαλερόν (‘unmarried, blossoming’), and the simile comparing his corpse to a tree that has been felled suggest the vitality and potential cut short when Ajax kills him ‘in the front rank’. The death of Simoeisios is a small-scale analogue to the destiny of Hektor and of Troy as portrayed and suggested elsewhere in the poem.
The Horses of Achilles in Book 17 of the Iliad
Authors: Schein Seth L. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The scene in which Achilles’ immortal horses stand immobile on the field of battle, weeping for the dead Patroklos, and Zeus asks himself why the gods involved them in the miseries of mortal existence (Iliad 17.426–455) memorably expresses the poem’s fundamental contrast between divinity and humanity and anticipates its emphasis Books 18–24 on the mortality and death of Achilles. Despite their immortality, the horses’ sorrow implicates them in human suffering and associates them closely with the death of Patroklos and impending death of Achilles. Zeus’ additional question, ‘Why did we give you to Lord Peleus, / a mortal’, evokes the myth of Thetis forced into marriage with a mortal and Achilles’ resulting mortality. Close attention to the diction, style, and thematic resonances of this remarkable scene throws light on the most fundamental themes and values of the Iliad and demonstrates its significance for the overall interpretation of the poem.
Estimates of escapement, exploitation rate, and number of downstream migrating European eels Anguilla anguilla in Ichkeul Lake (northern Tunisia)
Authors: Derouiche Emna , Hizem Habbechi Besma , Kraïem Med. Mejdeddine , Elie Pierre 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) stock has been declining for the last three decades and today, it is currently listed as endangered. The objective of this study was to quantify the escapement rate of silver eels to obtain an estimate of the future spawners migrating from the southern part of its distribution area in Tunisia. A mark–recapture experiment was conducted in Ichkeul Lake (Tunisia) between December 2013 and February 2014, covering the winter downstream run of eels. The size range of the downstream migrating eels was between 33 and 79 cm with 585.3 ± 156.77 g mean weight. The number of migrating silver eels was estimated to 342 221 (297 956–386 486), corresponding to a biomass of 200.2 (174.3–226.1) t, with a density of 23.55 (20.51–26.6) kg ha−1. The commercial fishing rate was estimated to be 18.8% (16.6–21.5%), which translates into an escapement rate of 81.2% (78.5–83.4%). The ratio current/pristine escapement was 0.69 for the entire migration period.
The roles of transportation and transportation hubs in the propagation of influenza and coronaviruses: a systematic review
Authors: Browne Annie , St-Onge Ahmad Sacha , Beck Charles R. , Nguyen-Van-Tam Jonathan S. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Background. Respiratory viruses spread in humans across wide geographical areas in short periods of time, resulting in high levels of morbidity and mortality. We undertook a systematic review to assess the evidence that air, ground and sea mass transportation systems or hubs are associated with propagating influenza and coronaviruses.
Methods. Healthcare databases and sources of grey literature were searched using pre-defined criteria between April and June 2014. Two reviewers screened all identified records against the protocol, undertook risk of bias assessments and extracted data using a piloted form. Results were analysed using a narrative synthesis.
Results. Forty-one studies met the eligibility criteria. Risk of bias was high in the observational studies, moderate to high in the reviews and moderate to low in the modelling studies. In-flight influenza transmission was identified substantively on five flights with up to four confirmed and six suspected secondary cases per affected flight. Five studies highlighted the role of air travel in accelerating influenza spread to new areas. Influenza outbreaks aboard cruise ships affect 2–7% of passengers. Influenza transmission events have been observed aboard ground transport vehicles. High heterogeneity between studies and the inability to exclude other sources of infection means that the risk of influenza transmission from an index case to other passengers cannot be accurately quantified. A paucity of evidence was identified describing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus transmission events associated with transportation systems or hubs.
Conclusion . Air transportation appears important in accelerating and amplifying influenza propagation. Transmission occurs aboard aeroplanes, at the destination and possibly at airports. Control measures to prevent influenza transmission on cruise ships are needed to reduce morbidity and mortality. There is no recent evidence of sea transport accelerating influenza or coronavirus spread to new areas. Further investigation is required regarding the roles of ground transportation systems and transport hubs in pandemic situations.