bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Elastin‐Like Peptides (ELPs) – Building Blocks for Stimuli‐Responsive Self‐Assembled Materials
Authors: Navon Yotam , Bitton Ronit 
Published: March 2016

AbstractElastin‐like polypeptides (ELPs) are biopolymers composed of short repeating peptide motifs inspired by the native elastin hydrophobic domains, mostly the pentapeptide VPGXG, where X is a guest residue, which can be any amino acid except proline. The ability to control the hydrophobicity of ELPs, simply by changing the guest residue, and moreover, to transform an ELP from a soluble molecule to an insoluble one upon heating, makes them promising building blocks for novel stimuli‐responsive self‐assembled materials. Over the past decade, ELPs have been designed to self‐assemble into spherical and cylindrical micelles, fibres, vesicles, and coacervates. In this short review, we summarize the recent literature, describing the molecules and conditions employed to attain these desired structures.
Different Effects of Cognitive Shifting and Intelligence on Creativity
Authors: Pan Xuan , Yu Huihong 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe relationship between creativity and executive control has long been controversial. Some researchers view creative thinking as a defocused process with little executive control involvement, whereas others claim that executive control plays a vital role in creative thinking. In this study, we focused on one subcomponent of executive control, cognitive shifting, and examined its relationship with creativity by using latent variable analysis and structural equation modeling. We also analyzed whether this relation was mediated by intelligence. The results showed that: (a) cognitive shifting ability had a positive relationship with creativity, but only on the quantitative aspects (fluency and flexibility); (b) Intelligence had a positive relationship with both quantitative and qualitative aspects (originality) of creativity, and its effect on qualitative aspect was stronger than that on the quantitative aspect; (c) There was a mediating effect of intelligence on the relationship between creativity cognitive and shifting.
Quantitative electromyographic characteristics of idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis
Authors: Chang Wei‐Han , Fang Tuan‐Jen , Li Hsueh‐Yu , Jaw Fu‐Shan , Wong Alice M. K. , Pei Yu‐Cheng 
Published: March 2016

Objectives/HypothesisUnilateral vocal fold paralysis with no preceding causes is diagnosed as idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis. However, comprehensive guidelines for evaluating the defining characteristics of idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis are still lacking. In the present study, we hypothesized that idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis may have different clinical and neurologic characteristics from unilateral vocal fold paralysis caused by surgical trauma.Study DesignRetrospective, case series study.MethodsPatients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis were evaluated using quantitative laryngeal electromyography, videolaryngostroboscopy, voice acoustic analysis, the Voice Outcome Survey, and the Short Form‐36 Health Survey quality‐of‐life questionnaire. Patients with idiopathic and iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis were compared.ResultsA total of 124 patients were recruited. Of those, 17 with no definite identified causes after evaluation and follow‐up were assigned to the idiopathic group. The remaining 107 patients with surgery‐induced vocal fold paralysis were assigned to the iatrogenic group. Patients in the idiopathic group had higher recruitment of the thyroarytenoid–lateral cricoarytenoid muscle complex and better quality of life compared with the iatrogenic group.ConclusionIdiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis has a distinct clinical presentation, with relatively minor denervation changes in the involved laryngeal muscles, and less impact on quality of life compared with iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis.Level of Evidence4. Laryngoscope, 126:E362–E368, 2016
Relative Importance of Mineralogy and Organic Matter Characteristics on Macroaggregate and Colloid Dynamics in MG‐Silicate Dominated Soils
Authors: Falsone Gloria , Celi Luisella , Stanchi Silvia , Bonifacio Eleonora 
Published: March 2016

AbstractSoil aggregation and organic matter (OM) conservation are important in the prevention of land degradation. Aggregation processes and OM turnover influence each other and depend on the characteristics of both minerals and organic pools. We assessed the relative importance of the organic and mineral phases at the macroaggregate and colloidal scale in two soils (CHL and SRP, chlorite and serpentine‐rich, respectively) where Mg‐silicates dominated, by incubating them with a relatively degraded and oxidized organic fraction, that is the humic acids (HAs) extracted from the organic horizons of both CHL and SRP. The HA from SRP were more aromatic and richer in phenolic groups, whereas HA from CHL were N‐richer, more aliphatic and richer in carboxyl groups. The SRP soil formed larger amounts of macroaggregates, more stable than in CHL. At the colloidal scale, SRP was more flocculated and clay had a lower electrophoretic mobility than CHL. HA enhanced aggregate formation in both samples but improved aggregate stability only in CHL. In CHL, slight differences in electrophoretic mobility were visible, while in SRP, differences were more pronounced, with a point of zero charge at lower pH and larger hydrodynamic diameter. The abundance of Mg in SRP may have favoured the formation of weaker outer‐sphere interactions and the release of clay‐HA associations upon water dispersion, while in CHL Ca formed more stable bonds with HA. In SRP, ligand exchange reactions can be ruled out, conversely to the dominant bonding mechanism occurring in Al‐silicate dominated soils, with important consequences on the release of OM‐loaded clay particles. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Drivers of fluorescent dissolved organic matter in the global epipelagic ocean
Authors: Catalá T. S. , Álvarez‐Salgado X. A. , Otero J. , Iuculano F. , Companys B. , Horstkotte B. , Romera‐Castillo C. , Nieto‐Cid M. , Latasa M. , Morán X. A. G. , Gasol J. M. , Marrasé C. , Stedmon C. A. , Reche I. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractFluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in open surface waters (< 200 m) of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans was analysed by excitation‐emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). A four‐component PARAFAC model was fit to the EEMs, which included two humic‐ (C1 and C2) and two amino acid‐like (C3 and C4) components previously identified in ocean waters. Generalized‐additive models (GAMs) were used to explore the environmental factors that drive the global distribution of these PARAFAC components. The explained variance for the humic‐like components was substantially larger (> 70%) than for the amino acid‐like components (< 35%). The environmental variables exhibiting the largest effect on the global distribution of C1 and C2 were apparent oxygen utilisation followed by chlorophyll a. Positive non‐linear relationships between both predictor variables and the two humic‐like PARAFAC components suggest that their distribution are biologically controlled. Compared with the dark ocean (> 200 m), the relationships of C1 and C2 with AOU indicate a higher C1/AOU and C2/AOU ratios of the humic‐like substances in the dark ocean than in the surface ocean where a net effect of photobleaching is also detected. C3 (tryptophan‐like) and C4 (tyrosine‐like) variability was mostly dictated by salinity (S), by means of positive non‐linear relationships, suggesting a primary physical control of their distributions at the global surface ocean scale that could be related to the changing evaporation‐precipitation regime. Remarkably, bacterial biomass (BB) only contributed to explain a minor part of the variability of C1 and C4.
Non‐oral Continuous Drug Delivery Techniques in Parkinson's Disease: For Whom, When, and How?
Authors: Timpka Jonathan , Henriksen Tove , Odin Per 
Published: March 2016

AbstractContinuous dopaminergic stimulation (CDS) has become one of the main concepts in present Parkinson's disease (PD) research. This is based on the assumption that CDS, or rather near CDS, is the normal striatal setting in a healthy individual. In PD, the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons leads to a reduced capacity to buffer dopamine, which could increase the vulnerability to a pulsatile administration of drugs. The term continuous drug delivery (CDD) describes the process of delivering drugs continuously with the aim of achieving CDS. There are three principal techniques for non‐oral CDD: continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion CSAi), levodopa‐carbidopa intestinal gel infusion (LCIGi), and transdermal rotigotine therapy. CDD has repeatedly been shown effective in the day‐to‐day treatment of PD patients. Although this review does not replace local guidelines regarding the use of the included non‐oral CDD‐based therapies, we have compiled the current base of evidence or consensus view with the intention of facilitating both the selection and the use in a clinical setting. The indications for CSAi and LCIGi are very similar and are centered around motor complications in advanced PD, whereas rotigotine has been proven effective both as a monotherapy in early PD and as an add‐on to levodopa in advanced PD. Deep‐brain stimulation is a relevant option for many of the patients with advanced PD, and we therefore also discuss its use in relation to the CDD‐based techniques. Blinded and controlled trials have shown that non‐oral CDD is an effective approach for the treatment of PD.
A compact omni‐directional circularly polarized antenna for WLAN applications
Authors: Liu Yi , Wang Jianxiao , Yang Lin , Liu Ying , Li Xi , Ren Jian 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACTA compact omni‐directional circularly polarized (CP) antenna is presented. The proposed CP antenna consists of a centrally fed circular patch and four curved branches which are printed on two substrates and the two substrates are connected by four metal pins. The center circular patch acts as a monopole and the four curved branches are employed as a current loop enabling the antenna radiates omni‐directional CP waves in azimuth plane. The antenna is designed at 2.4 GHz for WLAN application and printed on substrates with a compact size of 0.34λ0 × 0.34λ0 × 0.08λ0 (where λ0 is the wavelength in free space). To verify the design, the antenna is fabricated and measured. The measured results show that the antenna proposed in this article has an impedance bandwidth of about 10% (2.31‐2.55GHz) and 3dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of about 50% (1.9–3.2 GHz). The S‐parameters, axial ratios, radiation patterns, antenna gains, and antenna efficiencies are studied. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:1011–1016, 2016
Platform tolerant UWB antenna over multi‐band AMC structure
Authors: Kumar Pandey Gaurav , Shankar Singh Hari , Kumar Meshram Manoj 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACTA low profile (≈0.09λ2.6 GHz) platform tolerant antenna system having a monopole antenna placed over a multiband artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) is presented for ultrawideband (UWB) applications. The AMC structure is a simple triple band structure having planar array of unit cells. The AMC behavior i.e., zero reflection phase point observed about 4.0, 7.2, and 10.3 GHz, respectively. The simulated and measured results of the antenna when placed in free space, on large metal plate, and over numeric body model/human hand are also compared. The results show that the proposed UWB antenna with AMC structure having platform tolerant properties when placed on large metallic plate and body model for on body applications. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:1052–1059, 2016
Three‐dimensional numerical analysis of concrete‐faced rockfill dam using dual‐mortar finite element method with mixed tangential contact constraints
Authors: Zhou Mozhen , Zhang Bingyin , Peng Chong , Wu Wei 
Published: March 2016

SummaryConcrete‐faced rockfill dam (CFRD) is a popular alternative to traditional dam types in the last two decades. The modelling of CFRD involves complex multi‐body contact and strong geometry and material nonlinearities. We present a numerical approach for the modelling of CFRDs in this paper. Based on the dual‐mortar finite element method, the presented approach considers different parts of rockfill and all concrete slabs as independent deformable continuum. The multi‐body contacts are modelled using Lagrange multipliers with a weak form segment‐to‐segment contact strategy. To alleviate instability induced by strong geometry nonlinearity in the slab–slab contact, we propose a mixed type of constraints for the tangential contact. A general transformation scheme is introduced to simplify the implementation of contact constraints. Three‐dimensional analysis of Tianshengqiao‐1 CFRD is performed. The nonlinear and time‐dependent deformation of the rockfill is considered. We study the influence of the rockfill deformation on the reliability of the concrete face. Three major concerns of the face, that is, the axial compression, the slab–slab separation and the face‐rockfill separation, are discussed in detail. The numerical results are compared with data from in‐situ observation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Patient characteristics for different therapeutic strategies in the management ketamine cystitis
Authors: Jhang Jia‐Fong , Birder Lori A. , Chancellor Michael B. , Kuo Hann‐Chorng 
Published: March 2016

AimsLong‐term ketamine abuse results in severely inflamed bladder and intractable bladder pain. Currently there is no guideline for clinician to follow how to manage patients with ketamine cystitis (KC). This study analyzed the KC patient characteristics between who received conservative management and augmentation enterocystoplasty (AE).MethodsA total of 53 patients with chronic ketamine abuse and lower urinary tract symptoms were included in this study. All of the patients have been initially treated conservatively but fail. They were admitted for detailed urological examinations. Patients were classified according to their maximal bladder capacity (MBC). The patients with extremely small MBC (<100 ml) with or without upper urinary tract damage and very small MBC with upper urinary tract damage were recommended to receive AE. The patient characteristics and treatment outcome are compared between patients with AE and conservative treatment.ResultsAmong them, 28 patients underwent AE and 25 were managed with conservative treatment. The only significant difference between groups was more patients with urgency urinary incontinence underwent AE. Patients underwent AE had significantly smaller MBC, thicker bladder wall, and higher incidence of vesicoureteral reflux. Patients underwent AE reported a good outcome. Most of patients received conservative treatment had a fair result.ConclusionsKC patients who already developed a contracted bladder with extremely small bladder capacity (<300 ml) with irreversible urinary tract change, partial cystectomy, and AE seems necessary for early restoration of a normal lower urinary tract function. The treatment outcome of AE is better than patients with conservative treatment. Neurourol. Urodynam. 36:687–691, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Strategies for non‐invasive imaging of polymeric biomaterial in vascular tissue engineering and regenerative medicine using ultrasound and photoacoustic techniques
Authors: Avigo Cinzia , Flori Alessandra , Armanetti Paolo , Di Lascio Nicole , Kusmic Claudia , Jose Jithin , Losi Paola , Soldani Giorgio , Faita Francesco , Menichetti Luca 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe ability of new polymeric materials to provide excellent biomechanical properties expanded their potential for biomedical applications enormously. The use of non‐invasive imaging modalities could provide crucial information to monitor the efficacy/effectiveness/efficiency of the new materials employed in ‘regenerative’ approaches, including scaffolds, hydrogels, self‐assembling materials and nanosized structures. The assessment of the morpho‐functional and metabolic changes of treated or implanted tissues, the visualization of sites of drug delivery and the real‐time check of the in vivo efficacy of therapeutics could be achieved by non‐invasive micro‐ and macro‐imaging techniques. The macro‐ and nano‐requirements of these new materials and their behaviour in vivo can be investigated using standard approaches such as computed tomography, MRI and ultrasound techniques and the emerging photoacoustic imaging. This paper presents recent advancements of ultrasonography and the novel photoacoustic technique to monitor the morpho‐functional parameters of synthetic polymeric scaffolds and conduits in experimental models. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Quantum wire‐on‐well (WoW) cell with long carrier lifetime for efficient carrier transport
Authors: Sugiyama Masakazu , Fujii Hiromasa , Katoh Takumi , Toprasertpong Kasidit , Sodabanlu Hassanet , Watanabe Kentaroh , Alonso‐Álvarez Diego , Ekins‐Daukes Nicholas J. , Nakano Yoshiaki 
Published: March 2016

AbstractA quantum wire‐on‐well (WoW) structure, taking advantage of the layer undulation of an InGaAs/GaAs/GaAsP superlattice grown on a vicinal substrate, was demonstrated to enhance the carrier collection from the confinement levels and extend the carrier lifetime (220 ns) by approximately four times more than a planar reference superlattice. Strained InGaAs/GaAs/GaAsP superlattices were grown on GaAs substrates under exactly the same conditions except for the substrate misorientation (0 and 6 ° off). The growth on a 6 ° off substrate induced significant layer undulation as a result of step bunching and non‐uniform precursor incorporation between steps and terraces, whereas the growth on a substrate without miscut resulted in planar layers. The undulation was the most significant for InGaAs layers, forming periodically aligned InGaAs nanowires on planar wells, a WoW structure. As for the photocurrent corresponding to the sub‐bandgap range of GaAs, the light absorption by the WoW was extended to longer wavelengths and weakened as compared with the planar superlattice. Almost the same photocurrent was obtained for both the WoW and the planar superlattice. Open‐circuit voltage for the WoW was not affected by the longer‐wavelength absorption edge, and the same value was obtained for the two structures. Furthermore, the superior carrier collection in the WoW, especially under forward biases, improved fill factor compared with the planer superlattice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantifying and understanding the fitness effects of protein mutations: Laboratory versus nature
Authors: Boucher Jeffrey I. , Bolon Daniel N. A. , Tawfik Dan S. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe last decade has seen a growing number of experiments aimed at systematically mapping the effects of mutations in different proteins, and of attempting to correlate their biophysical and biochemical effects with organismal fitness. While insightful, systematic laboratory measurements of fitness effects present challenges and difficulties. Here, we discuss the limitations associated with such measurements, and in particular the challenge of correlating the effects of mutations at the single protein level (“protein fitness”) with their effects on organismal fitness. A variety of experimental setups are used, with some measuring the direct effects on protein function and others monitoring the growth rate of a model organism carrying the protein mutants. The manners by which fitness effects are calculated and presented also vary, and the conclusions, including the derived distributions of fitness effects of mutations, vary accordingly. The comparison of the effects of mutations in the laboratory to the natural protein diversity, namely to amino acid changes that have fixed in the course of millions of years of evolution, is also debatable. The results of laboratory experiments may, therefore, be less relevant to understanding long‐term inter‐species variations yet insightful with regard to short‐term polymorphism, for example, in the study of the effects of human SNPs.
Comparison of real‐time refractivity measurements by radar with automatic weather stations, AROME‐WMED and WRF forecast simulations during SOP1 of the HyMeX campaign
Authors: Besson Lucas , Caumont Olivier , Goulet Laurent , Bastin Sophie , Menut Laurent , Bresson Emilie , Fourrié Nadia , Fabry Frédéric , Parent du Châtelet Jacques 
Published: March 2016

Weather radars, originally designed to detect and quantify precipitation, can be used to estimate and map the refractivity at low levels, a proxy for humidity. As highlighted by previous studies, this presents a definite meteorological interest, both for numerical weather prediction and for atmospheric process studies. Recent works have given keys to performing high‐accuracy measurements with operational radar without decreasing the quality of reflectivity and Doppler wind classical measurements, and the retrieval of radar refractivity is now performed in real time with the Météo‐France Application Radar à la Météorologie Infra‐Synoptique (ARAMIS) operational network.Taking advantage of the Hydrological cycle in Mediterranean eXperiment (HyMeX) field campaign (September–November 2012), refractivity measured by a few radars located in southeast France has been compared with in situ measurement by Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs), and correlation between these two independent observations is quite good, in particular giving high quality for the diurnal cycle and during the pre‐convection period measurement by the radar.To go further in the evaluation of the usefulness of such a product, we compared refractivity derived from radar measurements and from two different kinds of model: the numerical prediction model Applications de la Recherche à l'Opérationnel à Méso‐Echelle – Western MEDiterranean (AROME‐WMED) using a 2.5 km resolution grid mesh over southern France and a coarser resolution simulation (54 × 54 km) performed with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, which both ran in a forecasting mode during the HyMeX Special Observing Period 1. These two models give access to the variability of the modelling and thus enable us to quantify the uncertainty of the refractivity modelling. The result of this comparison is generally fairly good, with a pattern of refractivity field similar to observations (AWS and radar), although obviously with locally strong differences.We finally illustrate the usefulness of refractivity mapping by radar by investigating a typical meteorological situation of a convective system observed during the HyMeX campaign.
One‐Pot, Clean Synthesis of Vanillic Acid from Ferulic Acid
Authors: Delisi Riccardo , Ciriminna Rosaria , Parrino Francesco , Palmisano Leonardo , Xu Yi‐Jun , Pagliaro Mario 
Published: March 2016

AbstractFerulic acid dissolved in water is selectively oxidized to vanillic acid in high yield (≈60 %) under remarkably mild and green conditions, namely at room temperature with air as primary oxidant, over a catalytic amount of nanostructured Bi2WO6. The process is general and opens the route to the selective oxidation of natural substances into derivatives of significant applicative relevance.