bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Petawatt class lasers worldwide
Authors: Danson Colin , Hillier David , Hopps Nicholas , Neely David 
Published: February 2015

The use of ultra-high intensity laser beams to achieve extreme material states in the laboratory has become almost routine with the development of the petawatt laser. Petawatt class lasers have been constructed for specific research activities, including particle acceleration, inertial confinement fusion and radiation therapy, and for secondary source generation (x-rays, electrons, protons, neutrons and ions). They are also now routinely coupled, and synchronized, to other large scale facilities including megajoule scale lasers, ion and electron accelerators, x-ray sources and z-pinches. The authors of this paper have tried to compile a comprehensive overview of the current status of petawatt class lasers worldwide. The definition of ‘petawatt class’ in this context is a laser that delivers

${>}200~\text{TW}$

.
A new stem nematode, Ditylenchus oncogenus n. sp. (Nematoda: Tylenchida), parasitizing sowthistle from Adriatic coast dunes in southern Italy
Authors: Vovlas N. , Troccoli A. , Palomares-Rius J.E. , De Luca F. , Cantalapiedra-Navarrete C. , Liébanas G. , Landa B.B. , Subbotin S.A. , Castillo P. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractMorphological and molecular analyses of a stem nematode causing a severe disease on infected sowthistle (Sonchus bulbosus) plants, involving the formation of gall-like structures on infected leaves and stems, have led to the description of a new species named Ditylenchus oncogenus n. sp. Morphologically, the new species is characterized by a medium to large body size (all adults more than 1 mm in length); a delicate stylet (9.0–11.0 μm long) with minute, rounded knobs; a long post-vulval uterine sac (c. 65% of the vulva–anus distance); six incisures at the lateral fields and characteristic D. destructor-pattern of spicules (with pronounced ventral tumulus and anteriorly pointed, less sclerotized, cuticle parts present within the lamina). The results of molecular analysis of rRNA gene sequences, including the D2–D3 expansion regions of 28S rRNA, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA, partial 18S rRNA gene, the protein-coding mitochondrial gene, cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI), and the heat-shock protein 90 (hsp90) gene, support the new species status. The results of a host-suitability test indicated that the new species does not parasitize potato (Solanum tuberosum) tubers and broad bean (Vicia faba) seedlings. Histopathological observations on naturally infected sowthistle tissues revealed that D. oncogenus n. sp. causes floral stem neoplasia and midrib leaf gall formation on the type, and to date only known, host. The galls were characterized by extensive hyperplasia, where several necrotic cells in the neoplasic area were directly damaged by feeding of the nematode, whereas a number of adjacent cells showed typical cytological changes, such as granulated cytoplasm with hypertrophied nuclei and nucleoli.
Are we ‘on the right trach?’ The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death examines tracheostomy care
Authors: Wilkinson K A , Freeth H , Martin I C 
Published: February 2015

AbstractObjectives:The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death presents a detailed survey of practice, encompassing the care pathway for patients with a new tracheostomy formed in hospital, alongside a review of organisational aspects of care.Results:Tracheostomy formation has come to be regarded as a relatively low-risk procedure that can be carried out safely at the bedside, even in high-risk patients. Information on how many procedures are carried out percutaneously has been poor and not captured by existing UK data collection systems.Conclusion:The study reinforces recommendations made by other healthcare groups, and presents new information which can be used as a basis for discussion and future planning to improve patient outcomes. The importance of meticulous ongoing care of a tracheostomy is recognised as important to prevent patient complications. Bedside staff must have the knowledge, competencies and confidence to deal with common and potentially life-threatening emergencies when they occur.
Mothers' labeling responses to infants' gestures predict vocabulary outcomes
Authors: OLSON JANET , MASUR ELISE FRANK 
Published: February 2015

AbstractTwenty-nine infants aged 1;1 and their mothers were videotaped while interacting with toys for 18 minutes. Six experimental stimuli were presented to elicit infant communicative bids in two communicative intent contexts – proto-declarative and proto-imperative. Mothers' verbal responses to infants' gestural and non-gestural communicative bids were coded for object and action labels. Relations between maternal labeling responses and infants' vocabularies at 1;1 and 1;5 were examined. Mothers' labeling responses to infants' gestural communicative bids were concurrently and predictively related to infants' vocabularies, whereas responses to non-gestural communicative bids were not. Mothers' object labeling following gestures in the proto-declarative context mediated the association from infants' gesturing in the proto-declarative context to concurrent noun lexicons and was the strongest predictor of subsequent noun lexicons. Mothers' action labeling after infants' gestural bids in the proto-imperative context predicted infants' acquisition of action words at 1;5. Findings show that mothers' responsive labeling explain specific relations between infants' gestures and their vocabulary development.
The Spatial Presence Experience Scale (SPES)
Authors: Hartmann Tilo , Wirth Werner , Schramm Holger , Klimmt Christoph , Vorderer Peter , Gysbers André , Böcking Saskia , Ravaja Niklas , Laarni Jari , Saari Timo , Gouveia Feliz , Maria Sacau Ana 
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The study of spatial presence is currently receiving increased attention in both media psychology and communication research. The present paper introduces the Spatial Presence Experience Scale (SPES), a short eight-item self-report measure. The SPES is derived from a process model of spatial presence ( Wirth et al., 2007 , Media Psychology, 9, 493–525), and assesses spatial presence as a two-dimensional construct that comprises a user’s self-location and perceived possible actions in a media environment. The SPES is shorter than many other available spatial presence scales, and can be conveniently applied to diverse media settings. Two studies are reported (N1 = 290, N2 = 395) that confirm sound psychometric qualities for the SPES.
Aquifer environment selects for microbial species cohorts in sediment and groundwater
Authors: Hug Laura A , Thomas Brian C , Brown Christopher T , Frischkorn Kyle R , Williams Kenneth H , Tringe Susannah G , Banfield Jillian F 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
Little is known about the biogeography or stability of sediment-associated microbial community membership because these environments are biologically complex and generally difficult to sample. High-throughput-sequencing methods provide new opportunities to simultaneously genomically sample and track microbial community members across a large number of sampling sites or times, with higher taxonomic resolution than is associated with 16 S ribosomal RNA gene surveys, and without the disadvantages of primer bias and gene copy number uncertainty. We characterized a sediment community at 5 m depth in an aquifer adjacent to the Colorado River and tracked its most abundant 133 organisms across 36 different sediment and groundwater samples. We sampled sites separated by centimeters, meters and tens of meters, collected on seven occasions over 6 years. Analysis of 1.4 terabase pairs of DNA sequence showed that these 133 organisms were more consistently detected in saturated sediments than in samples from the vadose zone, from distant locations or from groundwater filtrates. Abundance profiles across aquifer locations and from different sampling times identified organism cohorts that comprised subsets of the 133 organisms that were consistently associated. The data suggest that cohorts are partly selected for by shared environmental adaptation.
Wave kinetics of random fibre lasers
Authors: Churkin D V. , Kolokolov I V. , Podivilov E V. , Vatnik I D. , Nikulin M A. , Vergeles S S. , Terekhov I S. , Lebedev V V. , Falkovich G. , Babin S A. , Turitsyn S K. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractTraditional wave kinetics describes the slow evolution of systems with many degrees of freedom to equilibrium via numerous weak non-linear interactions and fails for very important class of dissipative (active) optical systems with cyclic gain and losses, such as lasers with non-linear intracavity dynamics. Here we introduce a conceptually new class of cyclic wave systems, characterized by non-uniform double-scale dynamics with strong periodic changes of the energy spectrum and slow evolution from cycle to cycle to a statistically steady state. Taking a practically important example—random fibre laser—we show that a model describing such a system is close to integrable non-linear Schrödinger equation and needs a new formalism of wave kinetics, developed here. We derive a non-linear kinetic theory of the laser spectrum, generalizing the seminal linear model of Schawlow and Townes. Experimental results agree with our theory. The work has implications for describing kinetics of cyclical systems beyond photonics.
Drug Target Optimization in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Using Innovative Computational Platform
Authors: Chuang Ryan , Hall Benjamin A. , Benque David , Cook Byron , Ishtiaq Samin , Piterman Nir , Taylor Alex , Vardi Moshe , Koschmieder Steffen , Gottgens Berthold , Fisher Jasmin 
Published: February 2015

AbstractChronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) represents a paradigm for the wider cancer field. Despite the fact that tyrosine kinase inhibitors have established targeted molecular therapy in CML, patients often face the risk of developing drug resistance, caused by mutations and/or activation of alternative cellular pathways. To optimize drug development, one needs to systematically test all possible combinations of drug targets within the genetic network that regulates the disease. The BioModelAnalyzer (BMA) is a user-friendly computational tool that allows us to do exactly that. We used BMA to build a CML network-model composed of 54 nodes linked by 104 interactions that encapsulates experimental data collected from 160 publications. While previous studies were limited by their focus on a single pathway or cellular process, our executable model allowed us to probe dynamic interactions between multiple pathways and cellular outcomes, suggest new combinatorial therapeutic targets and highlight previously unexplored sensitivities to Interleukin-3.
Aberrant expression of maternal Plk1 and Dctn3 results in the developmental failure of human in-vivo- and in-vitro-matured oocytes
Authors: Fan Yong , Zhao Hong-Cui , Liu Jianqiao , Tan Tao , Ding Ting , Li Rong , Zhao Yue , Yan Jie , Sun Xiaofang , Yu Yang , Qiao Jie 
Published: February 2015

AbstractFertilisation is the first step in embryonic development and dynamic changes of key genes may potentially improve assisted reproduction techniques efficiency during this process. Here, we analysed genes that were differentially expressed between oocytes and zygotes and focused on cytokinesis-related genes. Plk1 and Dctn3 were identified as showing dramatic changes in expression during fertilisation and were suggested to play a key role in inducing aneuploidy in zygotes and 8-cell embryos. Moreover, we found that maternal Plk1 and Dctn3 were expressed at lower levels in in vitro matured oocytes, which may have contributed to the high ratio of resulting embryos with abnormal Plk1 and Dctn3 expression levels, thereby reducing the developmental competence of the resulting embryos. Furthermore, the overexpression of Dctn3 can silence Plk1 expression, which suggests a potential regulation mechanism. In conclusion, our present study showed that aberrant expression of Plk1 and Dctn3 increases embryo aneuploidy and developmental failure, particularly in in vitro matured oocytes. Our results facilitate a better understanding of the effects of oocyte maternal gene expression on embryonic development and can be used to improve the outcome of assisted reproduction techniques.
Systematic Confirmation Study of GWAS-Identified Genetic Variants for Kawasaki Disease in A Chinese Population
Authors: Lou Jiao , Zhong Rong , Shen Na , Lu Xu-zai , Ke Jun-tao , Duan Jia-yu , Qi Yan-qi , Wang Yu-jia , Zhang Qing , Wang Wei , Gong Fang-qi , Miao Xiao-ping 
Published: February 2015

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with Kawasaki disease (KD). In this study, we replicated the associations of 10 GWAS-identified SNPs with KD in a Han Chinese population. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression and cumulative effect of non-risk genotypes were also performed. Although none of the SNPs reached the corrected significance level, 4 SNPs showed nominal associations with KD risk. Compared with their respective wild type counterparts, rs1801274 AG+GG genotypes and rs3818298 TC+CC genotypes were nominally associated with the reduced risk of KD (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.59–0.99, P = 0.045; OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.56–0.98, P = 0.038). Meanwhile, rs1801274 GG genotype, rs2736340 CC genotype or rs4813003 TT genotype showed a reduced risk trend (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.35–0.93, P = 0.024; OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.26–0.83, P = 0.010; OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.43–0.94, P = 0.022), compared with rs1801274 AG+AA genotypes, rs2736340 CT+TT genotypes or rs4813003 TC+CC genotypes, respectively. Furthermore, a cumulative effect was observed with the ORs being gradually decreased with the increasing accumulative number of non-risk genotypes (Ptrend<0.001). In conclusion, our study suggests that 4 GWAS-identified SNPs, rs2736340, rs4813003, rs3818298 and rs1801274, were nominally associated with KD risk in a Han Chinese population individually and jointly.
Interferon γ-induced GTPase promotes invasion of Listeria monocytogenes into trophoblast giant cells
Authors: Tachibana Masato , Hashino Masanori , Watanabe Kenta , Shimizu Takashi , Watarai Masahisa 
Published: February 2015

AbstractListeria monocytogenes is well known for having the ability to cross the placental barrier, leading to fetal infections and abortion. However, the mechanisms leading to infectious abortion are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that interferon γ-induced GTPase (IGTP) contributes to the invasion of L. monocytogenes into trophoblast giant (TG) cells, which are placental immune cells. Knockdown of IGTP in TG cells decreased the relative efficiencies of L. monocytogenes invasion. Moreover, IGTP accumulated around infected L. monocytogenes in TG cells. Treatment of TG cells with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt inhibitors also reduced bacterial invasion. PI3K/Akt inhibitor or IGTP knockdown reduced the amount of phosphorylated Akt. Monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) gangliosides, lipid raft markers, accumulated in the membrane of L. monocytogenes-containing vacuoles in TG cells. Furthermore, treatment with a lipid raft inhibitor reduced bacterial invasion. These results suggest that IGTP-induced activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway promotes bacterial invasion into TG cells.
Elevated arousal at time of decision-making is not the arbiter of risk avoidance in chickens
Authors: Davies A. C. , Radford A. N. , Pettersson I. C. , Yang F. P. , Nicol C. J. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe somatic marker hypothesis proposes that humans recall previously experienced physiological responses to aid decision-making under uncertainty. However, little is known about the mechanisms used by non-human animals to integrate risk perception with predicted gains and losses. We monitored the behaviour and physiology of chickens when the choice between a high-gain (large food quantity), high-risk (1 in 4 probability of receiving an air-puff) option (HGRAP) or a low-gain (small food quantity), no-risk (of an air-puff) (LGNAP) option. We assessed when arousal increased by considering different stages of the decision-making process (baseline, viewing, anticipation, reward periods) and investigated whether autonomic responses influenced choice outcome both immediately and in the subsequent trial. Chickens were faster to choose and their heart-rate significantly increased between the viewing and anticipation (post-decision, pre-outcome) periods when selecting the HGRAP option. This suggests that they responded physiologically to the impending risk. Additionally, arousal was greater following a HGRAP choice that resulted in an air-puff, but this did not deter chickens from subsequently choosing HGRAP. In contrast to human studies, we did not find evidence that somatic markers were activated during the viewing period, suggesting that arousal is not a good measure of avoidance in non-human animals.
miR-19b regulates hTERT mRNA expression through targeting PITX1 mRNA in melanoma cells
Authors: Ohira Takahito , Naohiro Sunamura , Nakayama Yuji , Osaki Mitsuhiko , Okada Futoshi , Oshimura Mitsuo , Kugoh Hiroyuki 
Published: February 2015

AbstractHuman telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) plays a crucial role in cancer development. We previously identified paired-like homeodomain1 (PITX1) as an hTERT suppressor gene. However, the underlying mechanisms that are involved in the regulation of PITX1 remain unknown. Here, we report that the microRNA-19b (miR-19b) regulates hTERT expression and cell proliferation through inhibition of PITX1. Compared with normal melanocyte cells, miR-19b expression was higher in most melanoma cells and was accompanied by downregulation of PITX1. Moreover, overexpression of miR-19b inhibited PITX1 mRNA translation through a miR-19b binding site within the 3′UTR of the PITX1 mRNA. Our combined findings indicate the participation of miR-19b as a novel upstream effector of hTERT transcription via direct targeting of PITX1.
Possible Electric-Field-Induced Superconducting States in Doped Silicene
Authors: Zhang Li-Da , Yang Fan , Yao Yugui 
Published: February 2015

AbstractSilicene has been synthesized recently, with experimental evidence showing possible superconductivity in the doped case. The noncoplanar low-buckled structure of this material inspires us to study the pairing symmetry of the doped system under a perpendicular external electric field. Our study reveals that the electric field induces an interesting quantum phase transition from the singlet chiral d + id′-wave superconducting phase to the triplet f-wave one. The emergence of the f-wave pairing results from the sublattice-symmetry-breaking caused by the electric field and the ferromagnetic-like intra-sublattice spin correlations at low dopings. Due to the enhanced density of states, the superconducting critical temperature of the system is enhanced by the electric field remarkably. Furthermore, we design a particular dc SQUID experiment to detect the quantum phase transition predicted here. Our results, if confirmed, will inject a new vitality to the familiar Si-based industry through adopting doped silicene as a tunable platform to study different types of exotic unconventional superconductivities.
Appropriate Fe (II) Addition Significantly Enhances Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) Activity through Improving the Bacterial Growth Rate
Authors: Liu Yiwen , Ni Bing-Jie 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe application of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process is often limited by the slow growth rate of Anammox bacteria. As the essential substrate element that required for culturing Anammox sludge, Fe (II) is expected to affect Anammox bacterial growth. This work systematically studied the effects of Fe (II) addition on Anammox activity based on the kinetic analysis of specific growth rate using data from batch tests with an enriched Anammox sludge at different dosing levels. Results clearly demonstrated that appropriate Fe (II) dosing (i.e., 0.09 mM) significantly enhanced the specific Anammox growth rate up to 0.172 d−1 compared to 0.118 d−1 at regular Fe (II) level (0.03 mM). The relationship between Fe (II) concentration and specific Anammox growth rate was found to be well described by typical substrate inhibition kinetics, which was integrated into currently well-established Anammox model to describe the enhanced Anammox growth with Fe (II) addition. The validity of the integrated Anammox model was verified using long-term experimental data from three independent Anammox reactors with different Fe (II) dosing levels. This Fe (II)-based approach could be potentially implemented to enhance the process rate for possible mainstream application of Anammox technology, in order for an energy autarchic wastewater treatment.
Compact antipodal Vivaldi antenna for UWB applications
Authors: Pandey G.K. , Verma H. , Meshram M.K. 
Published: February 2015

A novel compact end‐fire antipodal Vivaldi antenna is proposed for ultra‐wideband (UWB) applications such as in radars, microwave imaging and in high data rate wireless systems. To make the antenna compact, a bending feed line structure and sinusoidal modulated Gaussian tapered slot is used. The proposed antenna has a reflection coefficient of less than −10 dB from 2 GHz to more than 12 GHz (more than 166% fractional bandwidth). The radiation characteristics show an end‐fire radiation pattern in the operating frequency band with peak realised gain values in the range of 1.5−5.2 dBi. Time domain analysis shows that the antenna has good pulse handling capability with a high system fidelity factor.
Low‐profile high‐gain slot antenna with Fabry‐Pérot cavity and mushroom‐like electromagnetic band gap structures
Authors: Liu Ying , Hao Yuwen , Gong Shuxi 
Published: February 2015

A novel low‐profile high‐gain slot antenna based on a modified Fabry‐Pérot cavity (FPC) and a mushroom‐like electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structure is proposed and discussed. The low‐profile FPC composed of a planar artificial magnetic conductor and frequency selective surfaces is utilised to enhance gain. Moreover, the mushroom‐like EBG structure rather than a traditional reflector is used to reduce the profile and to increase gain. Eventually, an antenna prototype operating at the WLAN system coverage IEEE 802.11a (5.15–5.35 GHz) is fabricated and exemplified to validate high radiation performance. The measured results show that the proposed antenna achieves a high gain of up to 10.6 dBi at 5.25 GHz and an −10 dB impendence bandwidth for S11 ranging from 5.08 to 5.51 GHz.
Electrical predictive model of Zener diode under pulsed EOS
Authors: Zhu F. , Ravelo B. , Fouquet F. , Kadi M. 
Published: February 2015

Electrical overstress (EOS) is assumed as one of the most misinterpreted electrical phenomena that can affect drastically the reliability of electronic components. To predict the behaviour of a circuit under EOS, a relevant predictive circuit model is required. An investigation of circuit degradation caused by the pulsed EOS is addressed. More precisely, the electrical response of the Zener diode BZX84B6V8 under square wave EOS is modelled. The proposed model is originally extracted from the diode electro‐thermal behaviour caused by the self‐heating induced by excessive EOS on the reverse voltage. The diode EOS model was emulated and implemented in VHDL‐AMS language. It has been found experimentally, with a 17 V amplitude and 8 ms period square wave EOS, that the diode transient electrical parameters enable experimental response prediction. The suggested model can be used for reliability analyses of electronic devices.