bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The nomadic other: Ontological security and the Inner Asian steppe in historical East Asian international politics
Authors: MacKay Joseph 
Published: September 2015

AbstractA growing literature in IR addresses the historical international politics of East Asia prior to Western influence. However, this literature has taken little note of the role of Eurasian steppe societies and empires in these dynamics. This article offers a corrective, showing that relations between China and the steppe played an important role in regional politics. I argue that Chinese elite conceptions of the steppe as other played an important role in maintaining China’s ontological security. Imperial Chinese elites pursued a deliberate strategy of ‘othering’ steppe societies, presenting them as China’s political-cultural opposite. Doing so both provided a source of stable identity to China and justified their exclusion from the Chinese ‘world order’. Empirically, I proceed in three sections. First, I consider Chinese identity building, framed in terms of ontological security, both under the founding Qin and Han dynasties, and under the later Ming dynasty. Second, I address recent historiography of the steppe, showing Chinese conceptions of it were inaccurate. Third, I address the long history of hybridity between the two regions.
Bayesian Inference of GNSS Failures
Authors: Milner Carl , Macabiau Christophe , Thevenon Paul 
Published: September 2015

The probability of failure (failure rate) is a key input parameter to integrity monitoring systems used for safety, liability or mission critical applications. A standard approach in the design of Global Positioning System (GPS) integrity monitoring is to utilise the service commitment on the probability of major service failure, often by applying a conservative factor. This paper addresses the question of what factor is appropriate by applying Bayesian inference to real and hypothetical fault histories.Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) anomalies include clock or signal transmission type faults which are punctual (may occur at any time) and incorrect ephemeris data which are broadcast for a nominal two hours. These two types of anomaly, classified as continuous and discrete respectively are addressed. Bounds on the total probability of failure are obtained with given confidence levels subject to well defined hypotheses relating past to future performance. Factors for the GPS service commitment of 10−5per hour per satellite are obtained within the range two to five with high confidence (up to 1–10−9).
Revisiting Wolff–Parkinson–White risk stratification: a malignant arrhythmia in a patient with intermittent pre-excitation
Authors: Paul Erin A. , Mone Suzanne M. , Liberman Leonardo 
Published: September 2015

AbstractIt has been reported that the presence of intermittent pre-excitation indicates low risk of rapid conduction via the accessory pathway in atrial fibrillation. We report a case of a 10-year-old boy with a history of intermittent pre-excitation who presented with atrial fibrillation with very rapid conduction.
Five-fold symmetry as indicator of dynamic arrest in metallic glass-forming liquids
Authors: Hu Y. C. , Li F. X. , Li M. Z. , Bai H. Y. , Wang W. H. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractWith sufficient high cooling rates, a variety of liquids, including metallic melts, will cross a glass transition temperature and solidify into glass accompanying a marked increase of the shear viscosity in approximately 17 orders of magnitude. Because of the intricate atomic structure and dynamic behaviours of liquid, it is yet difficult to capture the underlying structural mechanism responsible for the marked slowing down during glass transition, which impedes deep understanding of the formation and nature of glasses. Here, we report that a universal structural indicator, the average degree of five-fold local symmetry, can well describe the slowdown dynamics during glass transition. A straightforward relationship between structural parameter and viscosity (or α-relaxation time) is introduced to connect the dynamic arrest and the underlying structural evolution. This finding would be helpful in understanding the long-standing challenges of glass transition mechanism in the structural perspective.
New insights into photoactivated volume generation boost surface morphing in liquid crystal coatings
Authors: Liu Danqing , Broer Dirk J. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPhotoactivated generation of disorder in a liquid crystal network produces free volume that leads to the controlled formation of dynamic corrugations at its surface. The liquid crystal order amplifies the deformation of copolymerized azobenzene, which takes place on molecular length scales, to a micrometre-sized macroscopic phenomenon based on changes in density. We postulate a new mechanism in which continuous oscillating dynamics of the trans-to-cis isomerization of the azobenzene overrules the net conversion, which is currently considered as the origin. This is supported by a significant local density decrease when both the trans and cis isomers are triggered simultaneously, either by dual-wavelength excitation or by the addition of a fluorescent agent converting part of the light to the cis-actuating wavelengths. This new insight provides a general guideline to boost free volume generation leading not only to larger macroscopic deformations but also to controllable and faster non-equilibrium dynamics.
Probe-based measurement of lateral single-electron transfer between individual molecules
Authors: Steurer Wolfram , Fatayer Shadi , Gross Leo , Meyer Gerhard 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe field of molecular electronics aims at using single molecules as functional building blocks for electronics components, such as switches, rectifiers or transistors. A key challenge is to perform measurements with atomistic control over the alignment of the molecule and its contacting electrodes. Here we use atomic force microscopy to examine charge transfer between weakly coupled pentacene molecules on insulating films with single-electron sensitivity and control over the atomistic details. We show that, in addition to the imaging capability, the probe tip can be used to control the charge state of individual molecules and to detect charge transfers to/from the tip, as well as between individual molecules. Our approach represents a novel route for molecular charge transfer studies with a host of opportunities, especially in combination with single atom/molecule manipulation and nanopatterning techniques.
Atomically resolved real-space imaging of hot electron dynamics
Authors: Lock D. , Rusimova K. R. , Pan T. L. , Palmer R. E. , Sloan P. A. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe dynamics of hot electrons are central to understanding the properties of many electronic devices. But their ultra-short lifetime, typically 100 fs or less, and correspondingly short transport length-scale in the nanometre range constrain real-space investigations. Here we report variable temperature and voltage measurements of the nonlocal manipulation of adsorbed molecules on the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface in the scanning tunnelling microscope. The range of the nonlocal effect increases with temperature and, at constant temperature, is invariant over a wide range of electron energies. The measurements probe, in real space, the underlying hot electron dynamics on the 10 nm scale and are well described by a two-dimensional diffusive model with a single decay channel, consistent with 2-photon photo-emission (2PPE) measurements of the real time dynamics.
High-resolution computed tomography reconstructions of invertebrate burrow systems
Authors: Hale Rachel , Boardman Richard , Mavrogordato Mark N. , Sinclair Ian , Tolhurst Trevor J. , Solan Martin 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe architecture of biogenic structures can be highly influential in determining species contributions to major soil and sediment processes, but detailed 3-D characterisations are rare and descriptors of form and complexity are lacking. Here we provide replicate high-resolution micro-focus computed tomography (μ-CT) data for the complete burrow systems of three co-occurring, but functionally contrasting, sediment-dwelling inter-tidal invertebrates assembled alone, and in combination, in representative model aquaria. These data (≤2,000 raw image slices aquarium−1, isotropic voxel resolution, 81 μm) provide reference models that can be used for the development of novel structural analysis routines that will be of value within the fields of ecology, pedology, geomorphology, palaeobiology, ichnology and mechanical engineering. We also envisage opportunity for those investigating transport networks, vascular systems, plant rooting systems, neuron connectivity patterns, or those developing image analysis or statistics related to pattern or shape recognition. The dataset will allow investigators to develop or test novel methodology and ideas without the need to generate a complete three-dimensional computation of exemplar architecture.
Multiplexed 3D FRET imaging in deep tissue of live embryos
Authors: Zhao Ming , Wan Xiaoyang , Li Yu , Zhou Weibin , Peng Leilei 
Published: September 2015

AbstractCurrent deep tissue microscopy techniques are mostly restricted to intensity mapping of fluorophores, which significantly limit their applications in investigating biochemical processes in vivo. We present a deep tissue multiplexed functional imaging method that probes multiple Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) sensors in live embryos with high spatial resolution. The method simultaneously images fluorescence lifetimes in 3D with multiple excitation lasers. Through quantitative analysis of triple-channel intensity and lifetime images, we demonstrated that Ca2+ and cAMP levels of live embryos expressing dual FRET sensors can be monitored simultaneously at microscopic resolution. The method is compatible with a broad range of FRET sensors currently available for probing various cellular biochemical functions. It opens the door to imaging complex cellular circuitries in whole live organisms.
A multi-platform metabolomics approach identifies highly specific biomarkers of bacterial diversity in the vagina of pregnant and non-pregnant women
Authors: McMillan Amy , Rulisa Stephen , Sumarah Mark , Macklaim Jean M. , Renaud Justin , Bisanz Jordan E. , Gloor Gregory B. , Reid Gregor 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBacterial vaginosis (BV) increases transmission of HIV, enhances the risk of preterm labour and is associated with malodour. Clinical diagnosis often relies on microscopy, which may not reflect the microbiota composition accurately. We use an untargeted metabolomics approach, whereby we normalize the weight of samples prior to analysis, to obtained precise measurements of metabolites in vaginal fluid. We identify biomarkers for BV with high sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.99) in a cohort of 131 pregnant and non-pregnant Rwandan women and demonstrate that the vaginal metabolome is strongly associated with bacterial diversity. Metabolites associated with high diversity and clinical BV include 2-hydroxyisovalerate and γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), but not succinate, which is produced by bothLactobacillus crispatusand BV-associated anaerobesin vitro. Biomarkers associated with high diversity and clinical BV are independent of pregnancy status and were validated in a blinded replication cohort from Tanzania (n = 45), where we predicted clinical BV with 91% accuracy. Correlations between the metabolome and microbiota identifiedGardnerella vaginalisas a putative producer of GHB and we demonstrate production by this speciesin vitro. This work illustrates how changes in community structure alter the chemical composition of the vagina and identifies highly specific biomarkers for a common condition.
Nanoclusters first: a hierarchical phase transformation in a novel Mg alloy
Authors: Okuda Hiroshi , Yamasaki Michiaki , Kawamura Yoshihito , Tabuchi Masao , Kimizuka Hajime 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe Mg-Y-Zn ternary alloy system contains a series of novel structures known as long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) structures. The formation process and its key concept from a viewpoint of phase transition are not yet clear. The current study reveals that the phase transformation process is not a traditional spinodal decomposition or structural transformation but, rather a novel hierarchical phase transformation. In this transformation, clustering occurs first and the spatial rearrangement of the clusters induce a secondary phase transformation that eventually lead to two-dimensional ordering of the clusters. The formation process was examined using in situ synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Rapid quenching from liquid alloy into thin ribbons yielded strongly supersaturated amorphous samples. The samples were heated at a constant rate of 10 K/min. and the scattering patterns were acquired. The SAXS analysis indicated that small clusters grew to sizes of 0.2 nm after they crystallized. The clusters distributed randomly in space grew and eventually transformed into a microstructure with two well-defined cluster-cluster distances, one for the segregation periodicity of LPSO and the other for the in-plane ordering in segregated layer. This transformation into the LPSO structure concomitantly introduces the periodical stacking fault required for the 18R structures.
Calreticulin is required for development of the cumulus oocyte complex and female fertility
Authors: Tokuhiro Keizo , Satouh Yuhkoh , Nozawa Kaori , Isotani Ayako , Fujihara Yoshitaka , Hirashima Yumiko , Matsumura Hiroyuki , Takumi Kazuhiro , Miyano Takashi , Okabe Masaru , Benham Adam M. , Ikawa Masahito 
Published: September 2015

AbstractCalnexin (CANX) and calreticulin (CALR) chaperones mediate nascent glycoprotein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum. Here we report that these chaperones have distinct roles in male and female fertility. Canx null mice are growth retarded but fertile. Calr null mice die during embryonic development, rendering indeterminate any effect on reproduction. Therefore, we conditionally ablated Calr in male and female germ cells using Stra8 (mcKO) and Zp3 (fcKO) promoter-driven Cre recombinase, respectively. Calr mcKO male mice were fertile, but fcKO female mice were sterile despite normal mating behavior. Strikingly, we found that Calr fcKO female mice had impaired folliculogenesis and decreased ovulatory rates due to defective proliferation of cuboidal granulosa cells. Oocyte-derived, TGF-beta family proteins play a major role in follicular development and molecular analysis revealed that the normal processing of GDF9 and BMP15 was defective in Calr fcKO oocytes. These findings highlight the importance of CALR in female reproduction and demonstrate that compromised CALR function leads to ovarian insufficiency and female infertility.
Lessons in Protein Design from Combined Evolution and Conformational Dynamics
Authors: Tripathi Swarnendu , Waxham M. Neal , Cheung Margaret S. , Liu Yin 
Published: September 2015

AbstractProtein-protein interactions play important roles in the control of every cellular process. How natural selection has optimized protein design to produce molecules capable of binding to many partner proteins is a fascinating problem but not well understood. Here, we performed a combinatorial analysis of protein sequence evolution and conformational dynamics to study how calmodulin (CaM), which plays essential roles in calcium signaling pathways, has adapted to bind to a large number of partner proteins. We discovered that amino acid residues in CaM can be partitioned into unique classes according to their degree of evolutionary conservation and local stability. Holistically, categorization of CaM residues into these classes reveals enriched physico-chemical interactions required for binding to diverse targets, balanced against the need to maintain the folding and structural modularity of CaM to achieve its overall function. The sequence-structure-function relationship of CaM provides a concrete example of the general principle of protein design. We have demonstrated the synergy between the fields of molecular evolution and protein biophysics and created a generalizable framework broadly applicable to the study of protein-protein interactions.
REG4 is a transcriptional target of GATA6 and is essential for colorectal tumorigenesis
Authors: Kawasaki Yoshihiro , Matsumura Kosuke , Miyamoto Masaya , Tsuji Shinnosuke , Okuno Masumi , Suda Sakiko , Hiyoshi Masaya , Kitayama Joji , Akiyama Tetsu 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe transcription factor GATA6 is a critical regulator of cell proliferation and development in the gastrointestinal tract. We have recently reported that GATA6 induces the expression of the intestinal stem cell marker LGR5 and enhances the clonogenicity and tumorigenicity of colon cancer cells, but not the growth of these cells cultured under adherent conditions. Here we show that REG4, a member of the regenerating islet-derived (REG) family, is also a target of GATA6. We further demonstrate that REG4 is downregulated by overexpression of miR-363, which suppresses GATA6 expression. Moreover, we show that GATA6-mediated activation of REG4 enhances the growth of colon cancer cells under adherent conditions and is required for their tumorigenicity. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that GATA6 simultaneously induces the expression of genes essential for the growth of colon cancer cells under adherent conditions (REG4) and genes required for their clonogenicity (LGR5) and that the miR-363-GATA6-REG4/LGR5 signaling cascade promotes the tumorigenicity of colon cancer cells.
Strong and highly asymmetrical optical absorption in conformal metal-semiconductor-metal grating system for plasmonic hot-electron photodetection application
Authors: Wu Kai , Zhan Yaohui , Zhang Cheng , Wu Shaolong , Li Xiaofeng 
Published: September 2015

AbstractWe propose an architecture of conformal metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) device for hot-electron photodetection by asymmetrical alignment of the semiconductor barrier relative to the Fermi level of metals and strong energy localization through plasmonic resonances. Compared with the conventional grating design, the multi-layered grating system under conformal configuration is demonstrated to possess both optical and electrical advantages for high-sensitivity hot-electron photodetection. Finite-element simulation reveals that a strong and highly asymmetrical optical absorption (top metal absorption >99%) can be realized under such a conformal arrangement. An analytical probability-based electrical simulation verifies the strong unidirectional photocurrent, by taking advantage of the extremely high net absorption and a low metal/semiconductor barrier height and predicts that the corresponding photoresponsivity can be ~3 times of that based on the conventional grating design in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) configuration.
Ultrasensitive detection and characterization of molecules with infrared plasmonic metamaterials
Authors: Cheng Fei , Yang Xiaodong , Gao Jie 
Published: September 2015

AbstractInfrared vibrational spectroscopy is an effective technique which enables the direct probe of molecular fingerprints and such detection can be further enhanced by the emerging engineered plasmonic metamaterials. Here we experimentally demonstrate ultrasensitive detection and characterization of polymer molecules based on an asymmetric infrared plasmonic metamaterial and quantitatively analyze the molecule detection sensitivity and molecule-structure interactions. A sharp, non-radiative Fano resonance supported by the plasmonic metamaterial exhibits strongly enhanced near-field and the resonance frequency is tailored to match the vibrational fingerprint of the target molecule. By utilizing the near-field nature of the plasmonic excitation, significantly enhanced absorption signal of molecules in the infrared spectroscopy are obtained, enabling ultrasensitive detection of only minute quantities of organic molecules. The enhancement of molecular absorption up to 105 fold is obtained and sensitive detection of molecules at zeptomole levels (corresponding to a few tens of molecules within a unit cell) is achieved with high signal-to-noise ratio in our experiment. The demonstrated infrared plasmonic metamaterial sensing platform offers great potential for improving the specificity and sensitivity of label-free, biochemical detection.
Enlargement of choroid plexus in complex regional pain syndrome
Authors: Zhou Guangyu , Hotta Jaakko , Lehtinen Maria K. , Forss Nina , Hari Riitta 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe choroid plexus, located in brain ventricles, has received surprisingly little attention in clinical neuroscience. In morphometric brain analysis, we serendipitously found a 21% increase in choroid plexus volume in 12 patients suffering from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) compared with age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. No enlargement was observed in a group of 8 patients suffering from chronic pain of other etiologies. Our findings suggest involvement of the choroid plexus in the pathogenesis of CRPS. Since the choroid plexus can mediate interaction between peripheral and brain inflammation, our findings pinpoint the choroid plexus as an important target for future research of central pain mechanisms.
Cultural adaptation in cross-national buyer-seller relationships
Authors: Voldnes Gøril , Grønhaug Kjell 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how buyers and sellers in cross-cultural business relationships manage cultural differences to ensure functional, successful business relationships. Failure to consider specific cultural issues may lead to the failure of business ventures crossing national borders. To succeed in today’s global business market, it is critically important to understand and manage cultural differences. Adapting to each other’s cultures is one way of managing cultural differences between business actors.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative, explorative approach examining both sides of the exchange dyad was adopted to obtain insight into adaptation as perceived by both buyer and seller.Findings– The results of this study indicate that mainly Norwegian sellers adapt to the Russian culture and way of conducting business. This is explained by power asymmetry between partners, as well as cultural barriers and lack of cultural sensitivity from the Norwegian partners. Still, the business relationships function well.Practical implications– Knowledge of and applying strategies for managing cultural differences should be helpful for business managers engaged or planning to engage in business ventures with Russia and Norway – especially those doing so for the first time.Originality/value– The study provides new and important information about West-East business relationships and how to manage cultural differences in cross-cultural business relationships. The study shows that business relationships can function well in spite of the absence of some factors previously found to have detrimental effects on these relationships. In addition, the study investigates both sides of the buyer-seller dyad, which is a limitation in previous studies of adaptation.