bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Controlling herding in minority game systems
Authors: Zhang Ji-Qiang , Huang Zi-Gang , Wu Zhi-Xi , Su Riqi , Lai Ying-Cheng 
Published: February 2016

AbstractResource allocation takes place in various types of real-world complex systems such as urban traffic, social services institutions, economical and ecosystems. Mathematically, the dynamical process of resource allocation can be modeled as minority games. Spontaneous evolution of the resource allocation dynamics, however, often leads to a harmful herding behavior accompanied by strong fluctuations in which a large majority of agents crowd temporarily for a few resources, leaving many others unused. Developing effective control methods to suppress and eliminate herding is an important but open problem. Here we develop a pinning control method, that the fluctuations of the system consist of intrinsic and systematic components allows us to design a control scheme with separated control variables. A striking finding is the universal existence of an optimal pinning fraction to minimize the variance of the system, regardless of the pinning patterns and the network topology. We carry out a generally applicable theory to explain the emergence of optimal pinning and to predict the dependence of the optimal pinning fraction on the network topology. Our work represents a general framework to deal with the broader problem of controlling collective dynamics in complex systems with potential applications in social, economical and political systems.
Identification of Mouse Mesenteric and Subcutaneous in vitro Adipogenic Cells
Authors: Miyata Yugo , Otsuki Michio , Kita Shunbun , Shimomura Iichiro 
Published: February 2016

AbstractFat accumulation and the dysfunction of visceral white adipose tissue (WAT), but not subcutaneous WAT, cause abnormalities in whole body metabolic homeostasis. However, no current drugs specifically target visceral WAT. The primary reason for this is that a practical in vitro culture system for mesenteric adipocytes has not been established. To resolve this issue, we sought to identify in vitro adipogenic cells in mesenteric and subcutaneous WATs. First, we examined the expression pattern of surface antigens in stromal-vascular fraction (SVF) cells from mouse mesenteric and subcutaneous WATs, and found the expression of 30 stem cell-related surface antigens. Then, to evaluate the adipogenic ability of each fraction, we performed in vitro screening, and identified five candidate markers for mesenteric adipogenic cells and one candidate marker for subcutaneous adipogenic cells. To investigate whether in vitro adipogenic ability accurately reflects the conditions in vivo, we performed transplantation experiments, and identified CD9− CD201+ Sca-1− cells and CD90+ cells as mesenteric and subcutaneous in vitro adipogenic cells, respectively. Furthermore, mature adipocytes derived from mesenteric and subcutaneous adipogenic cells maintained each characteristic phenotype in vitro. Thus, our study should contribute to the development of a useful culture system for visceral adipocytes.
Synergistic interactions of blood-borne immune cells, fibroblasts and extracellular matrix drive repair in an in vitro peri-implant wound healing model
Authors: Burkhardt Melanie A , Waser Jasmin , Milleret Vincent , Gerber Isabel , Emmert Maximilian Y , Foolen Jasper , Hoerstrup Simon P , Schlottig Falko , Vogel Viola 
Published: February 2016

AbstractLow correlations of cell culture data with clinical outcomes pose major medical challenges with costly consequences. While the majority of biomaterials are tested using in vitro cell monocultures, the importance of synergistic interactions between different cell types on paracrine signalling has recently been highlighted. In this proof-of-concept study, we asked whether the first contact of surfaces with whole human blood could steer the tissue healing response. This hypothesis was tested using alkali-treatment of rough titanium (Ti) surfaces since they have clinically been shown to improve early implant integration and stability, yet blood-free in vitro cell cultures poorly correlated with in vivo tissue healing. We show that alkali-treatment, compared to native Ti surfaces, increased blood clot thickness, including platelet adhesion. Strikingly, blood clots with entrapped blood cells in synergistic interactions with fibroblasts, but not fibroblasts alone, upregulated the secretion of major factors associated with fast healing. This includes matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to break down extracellular matrix and the growth factor VEGF, known for its angiogenic potential. Consequently, in vitro test platforms, which consider whole blood-implant interactions, might be superior in predicting wound healing in response to biomaterial properties.
Astrocyte-derived phosphatidic acid promotes dendritic branching
Authors: Zhu Yan-Bing , Gao Weizhen , Zhang Yongbo , Jia Feng , Zhang Hai-Long , Liu Ying-Zi , Sun Xue-Fang , Yin Yuhua , Yin Dong-Min 
Published: February 2016

AbstractAstrocytes play critical roles in neural circuit formation and function. Recent studies have revealed several secreted and contact-mediated signals from astrocytes which are essential for neurite outgrowth and synapse formation. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of dendritic branching by astrocytes remain elusive. Phospholipase D1 (PLD1), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) to generate phosphatidic acid (PA) and choline, has been implicated in the regulation of neurite outgrowth. Here we showed that knockdown of PLD1 selectively in astrocytes reduced dendritic branching of neurons in neuron-glia mixed culture. Further studies from sandwich-like cocultures and astrocyte conditioned medium suggested that astrocyte PLD1 regulated dendritic branching through secreted signals. We later demonstrated that PA was the key mediator for astrocyte PLD1 to regulate dendritic branching. Moreover, PA itself was sufficient to promote dendritic branching of neurons. Lastly, we showed that PA could activate protein kinase A (PKA) in neurons and promote dendritic branching through PKA signaling. Taken together, our results demonstrate that astrocyte PLD1 and its lipid product PA are essential regulators of dendritic branching in neurons. These results may provide new insight into mechanisms underlying how astrocytes regulate dendrite growth of neurons.
A genome-wide association study identifies a genomic region for the polycerate phenotype in sheep (Ovis aries)
Authors: Ren Xue , Yang Guang-Li , Peng Wei-Feng , Zhao Yong-Xin , Zhang Min , Chen Ze-Hui , Wu Fu-An , Kantanen Juha , Shen Min , Li Meng-Hua 
Published: February 2016

AbstractHorns are a cranial appendage found exclusively in Bovidae, and play important roles in accessing resources and mates. In sheep (Ovies aries), horns vary from polled to six-horned, and human have been selecting polled animals in farming and breeding. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study on 24 two-horned versus 22 four-horned phenotypes in a native Chinese breed of Sishui Fur sheep. Together with linkage disequilibrium (LD) analyses and haplotype-based association tests, we identified a genomic region comprising 132.0–133.1 Mb on chromosome 2 that contained the top 10 SNPs (including 4 significant SNPs) and 5 most significant haplotypes associated with the polycerate phenotype. In humans and mice, this genomic region contains the HOXD gene cluster and adjacent functional genes EVX2 and KIAA1715, which have a close association with the formation of limbs and genital buds. Our results provide new insights into the genetic basis underlying variable numbers of horns and represent a new resource for use in sheep genetics and breeding.
Engineering long shelf life multi-layer biologically active surfaces on microfluidic devices for point of care applications
Authors: Asghar Waseem , Yuksekkaya Mehmet , Shafiee Hadi , Zhang Michael , Ozen Mehmet O. , Inci Fatih , Kocakulak Mustafa , Demirci Utkan 
Published: February 2016

AbstractAlthough materials and engineered surfaces are broadly utilized in creating assays and devices with wide applications in diagnostics, preservation of these immuno-functionalized surfaces on microfluidic devices remains a significant challenge to create reliable repeatable assays that would facilitate patient care in resource-constrained settings at the point-of-care (POC), where reliable electricity and refrigeration are lacking. To address this challenge, we present an innovative approach to stabilize surfaces on-chip with multiple layers of immunochemistry. The functionality of microfluidic devices using the presented method is evaluated at room temperature for up to 6-month shelf life. We integrated the preserved microfluidic devices with a lensless complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging platform to count CD4+T cells from a drop of unprocessed whole blood targeting applications at the POC such as HIV management and monitoring. The developed immunochemistry stabilization method can potentially be applied broadly to other diagnostic immuno-assays such as viral load measurements, chemotherapy monitoring and biomarker detection for cancer patients at the POC.
The CodY regulator is essential for virulence in Streptococcus suis serotype 2
Authors: Feng Liping , Zhu Jiawen , Chang Haitao , Gao Xiaoping , Gao Cheng , Wei Xiaofeng , Yuan Fangyan , Bei Weicheng 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe main role of CodY, a global regulatory protein in most low G + C gram-positive bacteria, is in transcriptional repression. To study the functions of CodY in Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (S. suis 2), a mutant codY clone named ∆codY was constructed to explore the phenotypic variation between ∆codY and the wild-type strain. The result showed that the codY mutation significantly inhibited cell growth, adherence and invasion ability of S. suis 2 to HEp-2 cells. The codY mutation led to decreased binding of the pathogen to the host cells, easier clearance by RAW264.7 macrophages and decreased growth ability in fresh blood of Cavia porcellus. The codY mutation also attenuated the virulence of S. suis 2 in BALB/c mice. Morphological analysis revealed that the codY mutation decreased the thickness of the capsule of S. suis 2 and changed the surface structures analylized by SDS-PAGE. Finally, the codY mutation altered the expressions of many virulence related genes, including sialic acid synthesis genes, leading to a decreased sialic acid content in capsule. Overall, mutation of codY modulated bacterial virulence by affecting the growth and colonization of S. suis 2, and at least via regulating sialic acid synthesis and capsule thickness.
HIV coreceptor tropism determination and mutational pattern identification
Authors: Shen Hui-Shuang , Yin Jason , Leng Fei , Teng Rui-Fang , Xu Chao , Xia Xia-Yu , Pan Xian-Ming 
Published: February 2016

AbstractIn the early stages of infection, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) generally selects CCR5 as the primary coreceptor for entering the host cell. As infection progresses, the virus evolves and may exhibit a coreceptor-switch to CXCR4. Accurate determination coreceptor usage and identification key mutational patterns associated tropism switch are essential for selection of appropriate therapies and understanding mechanism of coreceptor change. We developed a classifier composed of two coreceptor-specific weight matrices (CMs) based on a full-scale dataset. For this classifier, we found an AUC of 0.97, an accuracy of 95.21% and an MCC of 0.885 (sensitivity 92.92%; specificity 95.54%) in a ten-fold cross-validation, outperforming all other methods on an independent dataset (13% higher MCC value than geno2pheno and 15% higher MCC value than PSSM). A web server (http://spg.med.tsinghua.edu.cn/CM.html) based on our classifier was provided. Patterns of genetic mutations that occur along with coreceptor transitions were further identified based on the score of each sequence. Six pairs of one-AA mutational patterns and three pairs of two-AA mutational patterns were identified to associate with increasing propensity for X4 tropism. These mutational patterns offered new insights into the mechanism of coreceptor switch and aided in monitoring coreceptor switch.
Reduced Graphene Oxide Thin Film on Conductive Substrates by Bipolar Electrochemistry
Authors: Allagui Anis , Abdelkareem Mohammad Ali , Alawadhi Hussain , Elwakil Ahmed S. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractRecent years have shown an increased interest in developing manufacturing processes for graphene and its derivatives that consider the environmental impact and large scale cost-effectiveness. However, today’s most commonly used synthesis routes still suffer from their excessive use of harsh chemicals and/or the complexity and financial cost of the process. Furthermore, the subsequent transfer of the material onto a substrate makes the overall process even more intricate and time-consuming. Here we describe a single-step, single-cell preparation procedure of metal-supported reduced graphene oxide (rGO) using the principle of bipolar electrochemistry of graphite in deionized water. Under the effect of an electric field between two stainless steel feeder electrodes, grapheme layers at the anodic pole of the wireless graphite were oxidized into colloidal dispersion of GO, which migrated electrophoretically towards the anodic side of the cell, and deposited in the form of rGO (d(002) = 0.395 nm) by van der Waals forces. For substrates chemically more susceptible to the high anodic voltage, we show that the electrochemical setup can be adapted by placing the latter between the wireless graphite and the stainless steel feeder anode. This method is straightforward, inexpensive, environmentally-friendly, and could be easily scaled up for high yield and large area production of rGO thin films.
Tunable short-wavelength spin wave excitation from pinned magnetic domain walls
Authors: Van de Wiele Ben , Hämäläinen Sampo J. , Baláž Pavel , Montoncello Federico , van Dijken Sebastiaan 
Published: February 2016

AbstractMiniaturization of magnonic devices for wave-like computing requires emission of short-wavelength spin waves, a key feature that cannot be achieved with microwave antennas. In this paper, we propose a tunable source of short-wavelength spin waves based on highly localized and strongly pinned magnetic domain walls in ferroelectric-ferromagnetic bilayers. When driven into oscillation by a microwave spin-polarized current, the magnetic domain walls emit spin waves with the same frequency as the excitation current. The amplitude of the emitted spin waves and the range of attainable excitation frequencies depend on the availability of domain wall resonance modes. In this respect, pinned domain walls in magnetic nanowires are particularly attractive. In this geometry, spin wave confinement perpendicular to the nanowire axis produces a multitude of domain wall resonances enabling efficient spin wave emission at frequencies up to 100 GHz and wavelengths down to 20 nm. At high frequency, the emission of spin waves in magnetic nanowires becomes monochromatic. Moreover, pinning of magnetic domain wall oscillators onto the same ferroelectric domain boundary in parallel nanowires guarantees good coherency between spin wave sources, which opens perspectives towards the realization of Mach-Zehnder type logic devices and sensors.
Tidal pumping facilitates dissimilatory nitrate reduction in intertidal marshes
Authors: Zheng Yanling , Hou Lijun , Liu Min , Liu Zhanfei , Li Xiaofei , Lin Xianbiao , Yin Guoyu , Gao Juan , Yu Chendi , Wang Rong , Jiang Xiaofen 
Published: February 2016

AbstractIntertidal marshes are alternately exposed and submerged due to periodic ebb and flood tides. The tidal cycle is important in controlling the biogeochemical processes of these ecosystems. Intertidal sediments are important hotspots of dissimilatory nitrate reduction and interacting nitrogen cycling microorganisms, but the effect of tides on dissimilatory nitrate reduction, including denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, remains unexplored in these habitats. Here, we use isotope-tracing and molecular approaches simultaneously to show that both nitrate-reduction activities and associated functional bacterial abundances are enhanced at the sediment-tidal water interface and at the tide-induced groundwater fluctuating layer. This pattern suggests that tidal pumping may sustain dissimilatory nitrate reduction in intertidal zones. The tidal effect is supported further by nutrient profiles, fluctuations in nitrogen components over flood-ebb tidal cycles and tidal simulation experiments. This study demonstrates the importance of tides in regulating the dynamics of dissimilatory nitrate-reducing pathways and thus provides new insights into the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and other elements in intertidal marshes.
Fire blight disease reactome: RNA-seq transcriptional profile of apple host plant defense responses to Erwinia amylovora pathogen infection
Authors: Kamber Tim , Buchmann Jan P. , Pothier Joël F. , Smits Theo H. M. , Wicker Thomas , Duffy Brion 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe molecular basis of resistance and susceptibility of host plants to fire blight, a major disease threat to pome fruit production globally, is largely unknown. RNA-sequencing data from challenged and mock-inoculated flowers were analyzed to assess the susceptible response of apple to the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora. In presence of the pathogen 1,080 transcripts were differentially expressed at 48 h post inoculation. These included putative disease resistance, stress, pathogen related, general metabolic, and phytohormone related genes. Reads, mapped to regions on the apple genome where no genes were assigned, were used to identify potential novel genes and open reading frames. To identify transcripts specifically expressed in response to E. amylovora, RT-PCRs were conducted and compared to the expression patterns of the fire blight biocontrol agent Pantoea vagans strain C9-1, another apple pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. papulans, and mock inoculated apple flowers. This led to the identification of a peroxidase superfamily gene that was lower expressed in response to E. amylovora suggesting a potential role in the susceptibility response. Overall, this study provides the first transcriptional profile by RNA-seq of the host plant during fire blight disease and insights into the response of susceptible apple plants to E. amylovora.
Compact magneto‐electric dipole antenna for LTE femtocell base stations
Authors: Idayachandran G. , Nakkeeran R. 
Published: February 2016

A compact magneto‐electric dipole antenna for long‐term evolution femtocell base stations is proposed. It consists of horizontal defected semi‐circular patches that act as electric dipole and vertical rectangular patches that work as magnetic dipole shorted to ground plane. By modifying the regular square ground into minimum ground and by choosing an appropriate height between the horizontal patches and ground, the size of the antenna is considerably reduced without compromising the bandwidth. The overall dimension of the proposed antenna is (68 × 56 × 20)mm3, which is 82.4% less than the original antenna of dimension (120 × 120 × 30)mm3. At S11 = −10 dB, the simulated and measured impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 65.7% (2.03–4.02 GHz) and 63.3% (2.05–3.95 GHz), respectively. Stable radiation pattern at both planes and moderate gain of 5 dBi are obtained.
6–18 GHz, 8.1 W size‐efficient GaN distributed amplifier MMIC
Authors: Kim J. , Park H. , Lee S. , Kwon Y. 
Published: February 2016

A 6–18 GHz, 8.1 W gallium nitride (GaN) distributed amplifier (DA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is presented with compact size. To accomplish high‐output power density with compact size, the last two sections of the DA consist of small‐sized FETs. This approach improves the output return loss and allows the drain line lengths to be reduced thereby increasing the drain cut‐off frequency and reducing circuit size, which results in increased gain and output power characteristics up to higher frequencies. Source via holes of GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are also shared to reduce chip size. The proposed DA is implemented as a two‐stage DA using a commercial 0.25 µm GaN MMIC process. It shows 8.1 W average continuous wave output power and 6.8 dB average associated gain from 6 to 18 GHz under 36 V drain bias with 6.7 mm2 chip area. The proposed DA obtains 1.21 W/mm2 output power density and 1.02 dB/mm2 gain density.
Wide frequency‐tunable resonant tunnelling diode terahertz oscillators using varactor diodes
Authors: Kitagawa S. , Suzuki S. , Asada M. 
Published: February 2016

A resonant tunnelling diode terahertz voltage‐controlled oscillator integrated with a varactor diode (RTD VCO) for a wide tuning range was proposed and fabricated. In single RTD VCO, a tuning range of 120 GHz of the centre frequency of 640 GHz was achieved by a good combination of the RTD and varactor capacitances. A multi‐element array of RTD VCOs was fabricated to increase the tuning range. A very wide frequency tuning of 320 GHz (580–900 GHz) was achieved with a four‐element RTD VCO array.
Triple‐resonance RLC‐tank divide‐by‐2 injection‐locked frequency divider
Authors: Jang S.‐L. , Cheng W.‐C. , Hsue C.‐W. , Juang M.‐H. 
Published: February 2016

Conventional CMOS injection‐locked frequency dividers (ILFDs) were often designed with a single‐resonance LC resonator and they have a single‐band locking range. Wide‐locking range in these ILFDs was obtained at the cost of lower output power. A triple‐resonance (TR) resistor (R), inductor (L) and capacitor (C)‐tank ILFD is presented to design a wide‐locking range CMOS divide‐by‐2 circuit, which is based on a cross‐coupled n‐core MOS pair. The TR ILFD has three overlapped locking ranges seen as one‐band locking range at high microwave injection power and it has large output power. At the core power consumption of 6.76 mW and at the microwave input power of 0 dBm, the divide‐by‐2 TR ILFD achieve a maximum locking range of 5.77 GHz (105.2%) from 2.6 to 8.37 GHz.
High‐density chipless RFID tag for temperature sensing
Authors: Noor T. , Habib A. , Amin Y. , Loo J. , Tenhunen H. 
Published: February 2016

A 30 bit high‐density circular chipless RF identification tag based on C‐shaped open end polarisation independent slots is presented. The encoding capacity of this design is enhanced in a compact size. Patch diameter of the tag is 24 mm. Circularly polarised incident plane waves are used for excitation. Data capacity of 30 bits is achieved in the frequency band of 3.1–11.7 GHz. Spectral signature‐based radar cross‐section results are also measured for flexible and temperature sensor integrated design. The prototype is inkjet printed on Kapton® HN heat resistant conformal sheet.
High‐performance charge plasma based normally OFF GaN MOSFET
Authors: Loan S.A. , Verma S. , Alamoud A.M. 
Published: February 2016

A high‐performance enhancement‐mode charge plasma based gallium nitride (CP‐GaN) MOSFET is stimulated. Here, metals of same work functions are used to induce n‐type charge plasma in an undoped GaN film to realise source and drain regions of a GaN MOSFET. The proposed device is not hetrostructure like the conventional GaN/AlGaN devices and is hence free from hetero‐epitaxial defects and inverse piezoelectric effects, and can have reduced leakage and can be more reliable. An extensive simulation study has revealed that the proposed CP‐GaN device exhibits a threshold voltage of 1.4 V, large ION/IOFF ratio of 108 and transconductance (gm) of 308 mS/mm.