bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Highly Stretchable and Conductive Silver Nanoparticle Embedded Graphene Flake Electrode Prepared by In situ Dual Reduction Reaction
Authors: Yoon Yeoheung , Samanta Khokan , Lee Hanleem , Lee Keunsik , Tiwari Anand P. , Lee JiHun , Yang Junghee , Lee Hyoyoung 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe emergence of stretchable devices that combine with conductive properties offers new exciting opportunities for wearable applications. Here, a novel, convenient and inexpensive solution process was demonstrated to prepare in situ silver (Ag) or platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs)-embedded rGO hybrid materials using formic acid duality in the presence of AgNO3 or H2PtCl6 at low temperature. The reduction duality of the formic acid can convert graphene oxide (GO) to rGO and simultaneously deposit the positively charged metal ion to metal NP on rGO while the formic acid itself is converted to a CO2 evolving gas that is eco-friendly. The AgNP-embedded rGO hybrid electrode on an elastomeric substrate exhibited superior stretchable properties including a maximum conductivity of 3012 S cm-1 (at 0 % strain) and 322.8 S cm-1 (at 35 % strain). Its fabrication process using a printing method is scalable. Surprisingly, the electrode can survive even in continuous stretching cycles.
Activity of andrographolide against chikungunya virus infection
Authors: Wintachai Phitchayapak , Kaur Parveen , Lee Regina Ching Hua , Ramphan Suwipa , Kuadkitkan Atichat , Wikan Nitwara , Ubol Sukathida , Roytrakul Sittiruk , Chu Justin Jang Hann , Smith Duncan R. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractChikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne alphavirus that has recently engendered large epidemics around the world. There is no specific antiviral for treatment of patients infected with CHIKV and development of compounds with significant anti-CHIKV activity that can be further developed to a practical therapy is urgently required. Andrographolide is derived from Andrographis paniculata, a herb traditionally used to treat a number of conditions including infections. This study sought to determine the potential of andrographolide as an inhibitor of CHIKV infection. Andrographolide showed good inhibition of CHIKV infection and reduced virus production by approximately 3log10 with a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 77 μM without cytotoxicity. Time-of-addition and RNA transfection studies showed that andrographolide affected CHIKV replication and the activity of andrographolide was shown to be cell type independent. This study suggests that andrographolide has the potential to be developed further as an anti-CHIKV therapeutic agent.
Nano-architecture of gustatory chemosensory bristles and trachea in Drosophila wings
Authors: Valmalette Jean Christophe , Raad Hussein , Qiu Nan , Ohara Satoshi , Capovilla Maria , Robichon Alain 
Published: September 2015

AbstractIn the Drosophila wing anterior margin, the dendrites of gustatory neurons occupy the interior of thin and long bristles that present tiny pores at their extremities. Many attempts to measure ligand-evoked currents in insect wing gustatory neurons have been unsuccessful for technical reasons. The functions of this gustatory activity therefore remain elusive and controversial. To advance our knowledge on this understudied tissue, we investigated the architecture of the wing chemosensory bristles and wing trachea using Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. We hypothesized that the wing gustatory hair, an open-ended capillary tube and the wing trachea constitute biological systems similar to nano-porous materials. We present evidence that argues in favour of the existence of a layer or a bubble of air beneath the pore inside the gustatory hair. We demonstrate that these hollow hairs and wing tracheal tubes fulfil conditions for which the physics of fluids applied to open-ended capillaries and porous materials are relevant. We also document that the wing gustatory hair and tracheal architectures are capable of trapping volatile molecules from the environment, which might increase the efficiency of their spatial detection by way of wing vibrations or during flight.
Acid stress mediated adaptive divergence in ion channel function during embryogenesis in Rana arvalis
Authors: Shu Longfei , Laurila Anssi , Räsänen Katja 
Published: September 2015

AbstractIon channels and pumps are responsible for ion flux in cells and are key mechanisms mediating cellular function. Many environmental stressors, such as salinity and acidification, are known to severely disrupt ionic balance of organisms thereby challenging fitness of natural populations. Although ion channels can have several vital functions during early life-stages (e.g. embryogenesis), it is currently not known i) how developing embryos maintain proper intracellular conditions when exposed to environmental stress and ii) to what extent environmental stress can drive intra-specific divergence in ion channels. Here we studied the moor frog, Rana arvalis, from three divergent populations to investigate the role of different ion channels and pumps for embryonic survival under acid stress (pH 4 vs 7.5) and whether populations adapted to contrasting acidities differ in the relative role of different ion channel/pumps. We found that ion channels that mediate Ca2+ influx are essential for embryonic survival under acidic pH, and, intriguingly, that populations differ in calcium channel function. Our results suggest that adaptive divergence in embryonic acid stress tolerance of amphibians may in part be mediated by Ca2+ balance. We suggest that ion flux may mediate adaptive divergence of natural populations at early life-stages in the face of environmental stress.
A comprehensive theoretical model for on-chip microring-based photonic fractional differentiators
Authors: Jin Boyuan , Yuan Jinhui , Wang Kuiru , Sang Xinzhu , Yan Binbin , Wu Qiang , Li Feng , Zhou Xian , Zhou Guiyao , Yu Chongxiu , Lu Chao , Yaw Tam Hwa , Wai P. K. A. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMicroring-based photonic fractional differentiators play an important role in the on-chip all-optical signal processing. Unfortunately, the previous works do not consider the time-reversal and the time delay characteristics of the microring-based fractional differentiator. They also do not include the effect of input pulse width on the output. In particular, it cannot explain why the microring-based differentiator with the differentiation order n > 1 has larger output deviation than that with n < 1 and why the microring-based differentiator cannot reproduce the three-peak output waveform of an ideal differentiator with n > 1. In this paper, a comprehensive theoretical model is proposed. The critically-coupled microring resonator is modeled as an ideal first-order differentiator, while the under-coupled and over-coupled resonators are modeled as the time-reversed ideal fractional differentiators. Traditionally, the over-coupled microring resonators are used to form the differentiators with 1 < n < 2. However, we demonstrate that smaller fitting error can be obtained if the over-coupled microring resonator is fitted by an ideal differentiator with n < 1. The time delay of the differentiator is also considered. Finally, the influences of some key factors on the output waveform and deviation are discussed. The proposed theoretical model is beneficial for the design and application of the microring-based fractional differentiators.
Φ-score: A cell-to-cell phenotypic scoring method for sensitive and selective hit discovery in cell-based assays
Authors: Guyon Laurent , Lajaunie Christian , Fer Frédéric , Bhajun Ricky , Sulpice Eric , Pinna Guillaume , Campalans Anna , Radicella J. Pablo , Rouillier Philippe , Mary Mélissa , Combe Stéphanie , Obeid Patricia , Vert Jean-Philippe , Gidrol Xavier 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPhenotypic screening monitors phenotypic changes induced by perturbations, including those generated by drugs or RNA interference. Currently-used methods for scoring screen hits have proven to be problematic, particularly when applied to physiologically relevant conditions such as low cell numbers or inefficient transfection. Here, we describe the Φ-score, which is a novel scoring method for the identification of phenotypic modifiers or hits in cell-based screens. Φ-score performance was assessed with simulations, a validation experiment and its application to gene identification in a large-scale RNAi screen. Using robust statistics and a variance model, we demonstrated that the Φ-score showed better sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility compared to classical approaches. The improved performance of the Φ-score paves the way for cell-based screening of primary cells, which are often difficult to obtain from patients in sufficient numbers. We also describe a dedicated merging procedure to pool scores from small interfering RNAs targeting the same gene so as to provide improved visualization and hit selection.
3D hierarchical porous graphene aerogel with tunable meso-pores on graphene nanosheets for high-performance energy storage
Authors: Ren Long , Hui K. N. , Hui K. S. , Liu Yundan , Qi Xiang , Zhong Jianxin , Du Yi , Yang Jianping 
Published: September 2015

AbstractNew and novel 3D hierarchical porous graphene aerogels (HPGA) with uniform and tunable meso-pores (e.g., 21 and 53 nm) on graphene nanosheets (GNS) were prepared by a hydrothermal self-assembly process and an in-situ carbothermal reaction. The size and distribution of the meso-pores on the individual GNS were uniform and could be tuned by controlling the sizes of the Co3O4 NPs used in the hydrothermal reaction. This unique architecture of HPGA prevents the stacking of GNS and promises more electrochemically active sites that enhance the electrochemical storage level significantly. HPGA, as a lithium-ion battery anode, exhibited superior electrochemical performance, including a high reversible specific capacity of 1100 mAh/g at a current density of 0.1 A/g, outstanding cycling stability and excellent rate performance. Even at a large current density of 20 A/g, the reversible capacity was retained at 300 mAh/g, which is larger than that of most porous carbon-based anodes reported, suggesting it to be a promising candidate for energy storage. The proposed 3D HPGA is expected to provide an important platform that can promote the development of 3D topological porous systems in a range of energy storage and generation fields.
Klotho-related Molecules Upregulated by Smoking Habit in Apparently Healthy Men: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Nakanishi Kaori , Nishida Makoto , Harada Masaya , Ohama Tohru , Kawada Noritaka , Murakami Masaaki , Moriyama Toshiki , Yamauchi-Takihara Keiko 
Published: September 2015

AbstractWhile aging is unavoidable, the aging mechanism is still unclear because of its complexity. Smoking causes premature death and is considered as an environmental aging accelerator. In the present study, we focused on the influence of smoking to the serum concentration of anti-aging protein α-klotho (αKl) and the β-klotho-associated protein fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-21 in men. Subjects consisted of apparently healthy men over 40 years of age who underwent health examination. Physical and biochemical parameters, including the levels of several cytokines and growth factors, were obtained from the subjects. Among middle-aged men (46.1 ± 5.1 years), serum levels of FGF-21, soluble αKl (sαKl) and inflammation-related cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 were significantly higher in smokers than in never-smokers. Serum levels of FGF-21 increased and correlated with alanine transaminase, γ guanosine-5′-triphosphate and total cholesterol only in smokers, suggesting FGF-21 as a metabolic disorder-related factor in smokers. In aged men (60.3 ± 1.7 years), although the serum levels of sαKl in never-smokers were low, smokers showed highly increased serum levels of sαKl. Serum levels of sαKl was correlated with IL-6 in middle-aged never-smokers, suggesting sαKl regulates IL-6. However, this correlation was disrupted in smokers and aged men.
Diabetic pdx1-mutant zebrafish show conserved responses to nutrient overload and anti-glycemic treatment
Authors: Kimmel Robin A. , Dobler Stefan , Schmitner Nicole , Walsen Tanja , Freudenblum Julia , Meyer Dirk 
Published: September 2015

AbstractDiabetes mellitus is characterized by disrupted glucose homeostasis due to loss or dysfunction of insulin-producing beta cells. In this work, we characterize pancreatic islet development and function in zebrafish mutant for pdx1, a gene which in humans is linked to genetic forms of diabetes and is associated with increased susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes. Pdx1 mutant zebrafish have the key diabetic features of reduced beta cells, decreased insulin and elevated glucose. The hyperglycemia responds to pharmacologic anti-diabetic treatment and, as often seen in mammalian diabetes models, beta cells of pdx1 mutants show sensitivity to nutrient overload. This unique genetic model of diabetes provides a new tool for elucidating the mechanisms behind hyperglycemic pathologies and will allow the testing of novel therapeutic interventions in a model organism that is amenable to high-throughput approaches.
Small angle X-ray scattering studies of CTNNBL1 dimerization and CTNNBL1/CDC5L complex
Authors: Ahn Jae-Woo , Sik Jin Kyeong , Francis Son Hyeoncheol , Ho Chang Jeong , Kim Kyung-Jin 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe hPrp19/CDC5L complex is a non-snRNP spliceosome complex that plays a key role in the spliceosome activation during pre-mRNA splicing and CTNNBL1 and CDC5L are essential components of the complex. In this study, to investigate the oligomeric state of CTNNBL1 in solution, we performed small angle X-ray scattering experiments in various concentrations of NaCl. We observed that CTNNBL1 existed as a dimer in physiological NaCl concentrations. Site-directed mutagenesis experiment of CTNNBL1 confirmed that N-terminal capping region and the first four ARM repeats are important for dimerization of the protein. We also found that the positively-charged NLS3-containing region (residues 197–235) of CDC5L bound to the negatively-charged patch of CTNNBL1 and that the CTNNBL1/CDC5L complex formed a heterotetramer consisting of one CTNNBL1 dimer and one CDC5L dimer. Moreover, reconstruction of 3D models of CTNNBL1/CDC5L complexes containing CTNNBL1 and three different truncated forms of CDC5L showed that the CDC5L141–196 region and the CDC5L236–377 region were positioned at the top of the N-terminal capping region and at the bottom of ARM VII of CTNNBL1, respectively.
Masked Repetition Priming in Treatment of Anomia: A Phase 2 Study
Authors: Silkes JoAnn P. 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to masked primes may improve naming accuracy for individuals with anomia. This study investigates the effect of repeated exposures to masked identity primes paired with pictures over multiple trials, sessions, and days on the ability of people with anomia to name those pictures.

Method
Four participants with anomia completed this single-subject, multiple-baseline design study. Twelve treatment sessions were conducted for each of 2 semantic categories. Comparisons of performance on naming probes were made between items that were primed, unprimed but seen the same number of times, and unprimed and seen only during naming probes.

Results
All participants showed some gains in naming trained items although to varying degrees, and trained (primed) items generally showed greater improvement than untrained items seen the same number of times. Cross-category generalization was observed for some participants, but little to no within-category generalization occurred. Minimal changes occurred on measures of general language ability.

Conclusions
These data provide continued evidence that masked repetition priming can have a positive effect on naming for people with anomia. Factors that may influence participant response and additional questions that must be settled for this line of research to continue are discussed.
Effects of Steady-State Noise on Verbal Working Memory in Young Adults
Authors: Marrone Nicole , Alt Mary , DeDe Gayle , Olson Sarah , Shehorn James 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
We set out to examine the impact of perceptual, linguistic, and capacity demands on performance of verbal working-memory tasks. The Ease of Language Understanding model (Rönnberg et al., 2013) provides a framework for testing the dynamics of these interactions within the auditory-cognitive system.

Methods

Adult native speakers of English (
n
= 45) participated in verbal working-memory tasks requiring processing and storage of words involving different linguistic demands (closed/open set). Capacity demand ranged from 2 to 7 words per trial. Participants performed the tasks in quiet and in speech-spectrum-shaped noise. Separate groups of participants were tested at different signal-to-noise ratios. Word-recognition measures were obtained to determine effects of noise on intelligibility.

Results
Contrary to predictions, steady-state noise did not have an adverse effect on working-memory performance in every situation. Noise negatively influenced performance for the task with high linguistic demand. Of particular importance is the finding that the adverse effects of background noise were not confined to conditions involving declines in recognition.

Conclusions
Perceptual, linguistic, and cognitive demands can dynamically affect verbal working-memory performance even in a population of healthy young adults. Results suggest that researchers and clinicians need to carefully analyze task demands to understand the independent and combined auditory-cognitive factors governing performance in everyday listening situations.
Preliteracy Speech Sound Production Skill and Linguistic Characteristics of Grade 3 Spellings: A Study Using the Templin Archive
Authors: Overby Megan S. , Masterson Julie J. , Preston Jonathan L. 
Published: September 2015

PurposeThis archival investigation examined the relationship between preliteracy speech sound production skill (SSPS) and spelling in Grade 3 using a dataset in which children's receptive vocabulary was generally within normal limits, speech therapy was not provided until Grade 2, and phonological awareness instruction was discouraged at the time data were collected.MethodParticipants (N= 250), selected from the Templin Archive (Templin, 2004), varied on prekindergarten SSPS. Participants' real word spellings in Grade 3 were evaluated using a metric of linguistic knowledge, the Computerized Spelling Sensitivity System (Masterson & Apel, 2013). Relationships between kindergarten speech error types and later spellings also were explored.ResultsPrekindergarten children in the lowest SPSS (7th percentile) scored poorest among articulatory subgroups on both individual spelling elements (phonetic elements, junctures, and affixes) and acceptable spelling (using relatively more omissions and illegal spelling patterns). Within the 7th percentile subgroup, there were no statistical spelling differences between those with mostly atypical speech sound errors and those with mostly typical speech sound errors.ConclusionsFindings were consistent with predictions from dual route models of spelling that SSPS is one of many variables associated with spelling skill and that children with impaired SSPS are at risk for spelling difficulty.
Compact dual‐band circularly polarised GNSS antenna
Authors: Sun Chao , Zheng Huili , Liu Ying 
Published: September 2015

As is well known, the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antenna always suffers from the size problem. The authors' propose that two shorting probes in parallel are loaded on a patch antenna and a dual‐band compact GNSS antenna, which has a smaller electrical size of only 60 mm (0.23λ) × 60 mm ×18 mm (0.07λ) × (λ being the wavelength in free space). A dual‐layer feed network is also designed to achieve circular polarised radiation. Simulated and measured results show that the proposed antenna has good and stable performance over both dual operating bands.
Wearable tri‐band SIW based antenna on leather substrate
Authors: Mandal B. , Parui S.K. 
Published: September 2015

A compact substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) based wearable tri‐band leather antenna, designed for optimal on‐body performance in the 2.4 GHz (ISM), 3.51 GHz (WiMAX) and 4.69 GHz (Military application) bands is proposed. By using brass eyelets and a combination of conducting and non‐conductive leather materials, a substrate integrated waveguide cavity with a ground plane is realised. The antenna is very compact, flexible and directs radiation away from the wearer. Additional miniaturisation is achieved by introducing slits. The free space performance in the bands is found satisfactory with measured impedance bandwidths of 11, 7 and 5%, maximal measured free‐space gains of 1.1, 0.9 and 2.1 dBi, and efficiencies of 71.3%, 68.2% and 76.5% achieved for the proposed antenna.
Component-wise gradient boosting and false discovery control in survival analysis with high-dimensional covariates
Authors: He Kevin , Li Yanming , Zhu Ji , Liu Hongliang , Lee Jeffrey E. , Amos Christopher I. , Hyslop Terry , Jin Jiashun , Lin Huazhen , Wei Qinyi , Li Yi 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMotivation: Technological advances that allow routine identification of high-dimensional risk factors have led to high demand for statistical techniques that enable full utilization of these rich sources of information for genetics studies. Variable selection for censored outcome data as well as control of false discoveries (i.e. inclusion of irrelevant variables) in the presence of high-dimensional predictors present serious challenges. This article develops a computationally feasible method based on boosting and stability selection. Specifically, we modified the component-wise gradient boosting to improve the computational feasibility and introduced random permutation in stability selection for controlling false discoveries.Results: We have proposed a high-dimensional variable selection method by incorporating stability selection to control false discovery. Comparisons between the proposed method and the commonly used univariate and Lasso approaches for variable selection reveal that the proposed method yields fewer false discoveries. The proposed method is applied to study the associations of 2339 common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with overall survival among cutaneous melanoma (CM) patients. The results have confirmed that BRCA2 pathway SNPs are likely to be associated with overall survival, as reported by previous literature. Moreover, we have identified several new Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway SNPs that are likely to modulate survival of CM patients.Availability and implementation: The related source code and documents are freely available at https://sites.google.com/site/bestumich/issues.Contact: yili@umich.edu
P-SAMS: a web site for plant artificial microRNA and synthetic trans-acting small interfering RNA design
Authors: Fahlgren Noah , Hill Steven T. , Carrington James C. , Carbonell Alberto 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Summary: The Plant Small RNAMaker Site (P-SAMS) is a web tool for the simple and automated design of artificial miRNAs (amiRNAs) and synthetic trans-acting small interfering RNAs (syn-tasiRNAs) for efficient and specific targeted gene silencing in plants. P-SAMS includes two applications, P-SAMS amiRNA Designer and P-SAMS syn-tasiRNA Designer. The navigation through both applications is wizard-assisted, and the job runtime is relatively short. Both applications output the sequence of designed small RNA(s), and the sequence of the two oligonucleotides required for cloning into ‘B/c’ compatible vectors.
Availability and implementation: The P-SAMS website is available at http://p-sams.carringtonlab.org.
Contact: acarbonell@ibmcp.upv.es or nfahlgren@danforthcenter.org