bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Urea on the Morphology of Co3O4 Nanostructures and Their Application for Potentiometric Glucose Biosensor
Authors: Ibupoto Zafar Hussain , Elhag Sami , AlSalhi M. S. , Nur Omer , Willander Magnus 
Published: July 2014

AbstractIn this study, an effect of different concentrations of urea on the morphology of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanostructures was investigated. The Co3O4 nanostructures are fabricated on gold coated glass substrate by the hydrothermal method. The morphological and structural characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy, and X‐ray diffraction techniques. The Co3O4 nanostructures exhibit morphology of flowers‐like and have comprised on nanowires due to the increasing amount of urea. The nanostructures were highly dense on the substrate and possess a good crystalline quality. The Co3O4 nanostructures were successfully used for the development of a sensitive glucose biosensor. The presented glucose biosensor detected a wide range of glucose concentrations from 1×10−6 M to 1×10−2 M with sensitivity of a −56.85 mV/decade and indicated a fast response time of less than 10 s. This performance could be attributed to the heterogeneous catalysis effect at glucose oxidase enzyme, nanoflowers, and nanowires interfaces, which have enhanced the electron transfer process on the electrode surface. Moreover, the reproducibility, repeatability, stability and selectivity were also investigated. All the obtained results indicate the potential use of the developed glucose sensor for monitoring of glucose concentrations at drugs, human serum and food industry related samples.
Clinical and molecular characteristics of Chinese patients with X‐linked lymphoproliferative syndrome type 1
Authors: An Yun‐Fei , Luo Xiao‐Bo , Yang Xi , Wang Jing , Li Li , Zhao Xiao‐Dong 
Published: July 2014

BackgroundX‐linked lymphoproliferative syndrome type 1 (XLP1) is a rare inherited, life‐threatening immunodeficiency disorder caused by mutations in SH2D1A gene. It affect approximately two to three males per million. Fewer than 10 cases with definite gene mutations have been reported in Chinese mainland and no rapid diagnosis method has been established.ProcedureWe determined the clinical and molecular characteristics of five patients with XLP1. The SH2D1A gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced, the SAP expression was analyzed by flow cytometry.ResultsTwo patients had novel SH2D1A mutations and three had mutations that have been previously reported. Three patients presented with fulminant infectious mononucleosis or hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and one presented with lymphoma. Null or decreased SAP expression on PBMCs was noted. The remaining patient presented with unique, recurrent, nonfulminant infectious mononucleosis and bimodal intracellular SAP protein expression.ConclusionsThe overall molecular characteristics and clinical phenotypes of Chinese patients with XLP1 matched previous reports. The unique bimodal intracellular SAP protein expression indicated the presence of some residual SAP‐positive T cells that are able to respond to persistent Epstein–Barr virus infection and could explain the relatively mild clinical phenotype of this patient. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:2043–2047. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genetic engineering combined with random mutagenesis to enhance G418 production inMicromonospora echinospora
Authors: Ni Xianpu , Sun Zhenpeng , Zhang Hongyu , He Han , Ji Zhouxiang , Xia Huanzhang 
Published: July 2014

AbstractG418, produced by fermentation of Micromonospora echinospora, is an aminoglycoside antibiotic commonly used in genetic selection and maintenance of eukaryotic cells. Besides G418, M. echinospora produces many G418 analogs. As a result, the G418 product always contains impurities such as gentamicin C1, C1a, C2, C2a, gentamicin A and gentamicin X2. These impurities are less potent but more toxic than G418, but the purification of G418 is difficult because it has similar properties to its impurities. G418 is an intermediate in the gentamicin biosynthesis pathway. From G418 the pathway proceeds via successive dehydrogenation and aminotransferation at the C-6′ position to generate the gentamicin C complex, but genes responsible for these steps are still obscure. Through disruption of gacJ, which is deduced to encode a C-6′ dehydrogenase, the biosynthetic impurities gentamicin C1, C1a, C2 and C2a were all removed, and G418 became the main product of the gacJ disruption strain. These results demonstrated that gacJ is in charge of conversion of the 6′-OH of G418 into 6′-NH2. Disruption of gacJ not only eliminates the impurities seen in the original strain but also improves G418 titers by 15-fold. G418 production was further improved by 26.6 % through traditional random mutagenesis. Through the use of combined traditional and recombinant genetic techniques, we produced a strain from which most impurities were removed and G418 production was improved by 19 fold.
Test of the anomalous scaling of passive temperature fluctuations in turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection with spatial inhomogeneity
Authors: He Xiaozhou , Shang Xiao-dong , Tong Penger 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThe scaling properties of the temperature structure function (SF) and temperature–velocity cross-structure function (CSF) are investigated in turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC). The measured SFs and CSFs exhibit good scaling in space and time and the resulting SF and CSF exponents are obtained both at the centre of the convection cell and near the sidewall. A universal relationship between the CSF exponent and the thermal dissipation exponent is found, confirming that the anomalous scaling of passive temperature fluctuations in turbulent RBC is indeed caused by the spatial intermittency of the thermal dissipation field. It is also found that the difference in the functional form of the measured SF and CSF exponents at the two different locations in the cell is caused by the change of the geometry of the most dissipative structures in the (inhomogeneous) temperature field from being sheetlike at the cell centre to filament-like near the sidewall. The experiment thus provides direct evidence showing that the universality features of turbulent cascade are linked to the degree of anisotropy and inhomogeneity of turbulent statistics.
Electrophoresis of bubbles
Authors: Schnitzer Ory , Frankel Itzchak , Yariv Ehud 
Published: July 2014

AbstractSmoluchowski’s celebrated electrophoresis formula is inapplicable to field-driven motion of drops and bubbles with mobile interfaces. We here analyse bubble electrophoresis in the thin-double-layer limit. To this end, we employ a systematic asymptotic procedure starting from the standard electrokinetic equations and a simple physicochemical interface model. This furnishes a coarse-grained macroscale description where the Debye-layer physics is embodied in effective boundary conditions. These conditions, in turn, represent a non-conventional driving mechanism for electrokinetic flows, where bulk concentration polarization, engendered by the interaction of the electric field and the Debye layer, results in a Marangoni-like shear stress. Remarkably, the electro-osmotic velocity jump at the macroscale level does not affect the electrophoretic velocity. Regular approximations are obtained in the respective cases of small zeta potentials, small ions, and weak applied fields. The nonlinear small-zeta-potential approximation rationalizes the paradoxical zero mobility predicted by the linearized scheme of Booth (J. Chem. Phys., vol. 19, 1951, pp. 1331–1336). For large (millimetre-size) bubbles the pertinent limit is actually that of strong fields. We have carried out a matched-asymptotic-expansion analysis of this singular limit, where salt polarization is confined to a narrow diffusive layer. This analysis establishes that the bubble velocity scales as the $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}2/3$-power of the applied-field magnitude and yields its explicit functional dependence upon a specific combination of the zeta potential and the ionic drag coefficient. The latter is provided to within an $O(1)$ numerical pre-factor which, in turn, is calculated via the solution of a universal (parameter-free) nonlinear flow problem. It is demonstrated that, with increasing field magnitude, all numerical solutions of the macroscale model indeed collapse on the analytic approximation thus obtained. Existing measurements of clean-bubble electrophoresis agree neither with present theory nor with previous models; we discuss this ongoing discrepancy.
Role of slipstream instability in formation of counter-rotating vortex rings ahead of a compressible vortex ring
Authors: Dora C. L. , Murugan T. , De S. , Das Debopam 
Published: July 2014

AbstractCounter-rotating vortex rings (CRVRs) are observed to form ahead of a primary compressible vortex ring that is generated at the open end of a shock tube at sufficiently high Mach numbers. In most of the earlier studies, the embedded shock strength has been asserted as the cause for the formation of CRVRs. In the present study, particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and high-order numerical simulations show that CRVRs do not form in the absence of a Mach disk in the sonic under-expanded jet behind the primary vortex ring. Kelvin–Helmholtz-type shear flow instability of the slipstream originating from the triple point of the Mach disk and subsequent eddy pairing, as observed by Rikanati et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 96, 2006, art. 174503) in shock-wave Mach reflection, is found to be responsible for CRVR formation. The growth rate of the slipstream in the present problem follows the model proposed by them. The parameters influencing the formation of CRVRs as well as their dynamics is investigated. It is found that the strength of the Mach disk and its duration of persistence results in an exit impulse that determines the number of CRVRs formed.
Selection for soyabeans with high and environmentally stable lutein concentrations
Authors: Dhakal Krishna Hari , Choung Myoung-Gun , Hwang Young-Sun , Fritschi Felix B. , Shannon J. Grover , Lee Jeong-Dong 
Published: July 2014

Lutein has significant nutritional benefits for human health. Therefore, enhancing soybean lutein concentrations is an important breeding objective. However, selection for soybeans with high and environmentally stable lutein concentrations has been limited. The objectives of this study were to select soybeans with high seed lutein concentrations and to determine the stability of lutein concentrations across environments. A total of 314 genotypes were screened and 18 genotypes with high lutein concentrations and five genotypes with low lutein concentrations were selected for further examination. These 23 genotypes and two check varieties were evaluated under six environments (two planting dates for 2 years at one location and two planting dates for 1 year at another location). Lutein concentrations were influenced by genotype, environment and genotype × environment interactions. Genotypes with late maturity and low lutein concentrations were more stable than those with early maturity and high concentrations. Early (May) planting resulted in greater lutein concentrations than late (June) planting. Among the genotypes evaluated, PI603423B (7.7 μg/g) and PI89772 (5.8 μg/g) had the greatest mean lutein concentrations and exhibited medium and high stability across the six environments, respectively. Thus, these genotypes may be useful for breeding soybeans with high and stable seed lutein concentrations.
Variation in seedling root traits in wild barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. spontaneum) germplasm
Authors: Tyagi Kuldeep , Lee Hyo Jeong , Lee Chong Ae , Steffenson Brian J. , Kim Young Jin , Yun Song Joong 
Published: July 2014

Improved root architecture of cultivated barley can improve crop performance in drought-prone areas. In this study, seedlings of 315 wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum) accessions from the Wild Barley Diversity Collection (WBDC) were grown under hydroponic conditions for 8 d after germination and then root characteristics were analysed. Significant differences were observed among the accessions with regard to seminal root number (SRN), root length (RL), specific root length (SRL), root fresh weight and root dry weight (RDW). Principal component analysis explained about 81% of the total variation for ten traits. Principal component (PC) 1, PC2 and PC3 explained about 38, 30 and 13% of the total variation among the accessions. The two most prominent contributors in each PC were RL and SRL, RDW and SRN, and the longitude and latitude of the collection sites, respectively. Accessions WBDC266, WBDC302, WBDC286 and WBDC011 had the longest RL and the highest RDW, specific dry root weight and SRL, respectively. These accessions may be useful genetic resources for the improvement of these root traits in cultivated barley.
Lysosome sorting of β-glucocerebrosidase by LIMP-2 is targeted by the mannose 6-phosphate receptor
Authors: Zhao Yuguang , Ren Jingshan , Padilla-Parra Sergi , Fry Elizabeth E. , Stuart David I. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThe integral membrane protein LIMP-2 has been a paradigm for mannose 6-phosphate receptor (MPR) independent lysosomal targeting, binding to β-glucocerebrosidase (β-GCase) and directing it to the lysosome, before dissociating in the late-endosomal/lysosomal compartments. Here we report structural results illuminating how LIMP-2 binds and releases β-GCase according to changes in pH, via a histidine trigger, and suggesting that LIMP-2 localizes the ceramide portion of the substrate adjacent to the β-GCase catalytic site. Remarkably, we find that LIMP-2 bears P-Man9GlcNAc2 covalently attached to residue N325, and that it binds MPR, via mannose 6-phosphate, with a similar affinity to that observed between LIMP-2 and β-GCase. The binding sites for β-GCase and the MPR are functionally separate, so that a stable ternary complex can be formed. By fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, we also demonstrate that LIMP-2 interacts with MPR in living cells. These results revise the accepted view of LIMP-2–β-GCase lysosomal targeting.
Local mapping of detector response for reliable quantum state estimation
Authors: Cooper Merlin , Karpiński Michał , Smith Brian J. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractImproved measurement techniques are central to technological development and foundational scientific exploration. Quantum physics relies on detectors sensitive to non-classical features of systems, enabling precise tests of physical laws and quantum-enhanced technologies including precision measurement and secure communications. Accurate detector response calibration for quantum-scale inputs is key to future research and development in these cognate areas. To address this requirement, quantum detector tomography has been recently introduced. However, this technique becomes increasingly challenging as the complexity of the detector response and input space grow in a number of measurement outcomes and required probe states, leading to further demands on experiments and data analysis. Here we present an experimental implementation of a versatile, alternative characterization technique to address many-outcome quantum detectors that limits the input calibration region and does not involve numerical post processing. To demonstrate the applicability of this approach, the calibrated detector is subsequently used to estimate non-classical photon number states.
An electromagnetic field disrupts negative geotaxis in Drosophila via a CRY-dependent pathway
Authors: Fedele Giorgio , Green Edward W. , Rosato Ezio , Kyriacou Charalambos P. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractMany higher animals have evolved the ability to use the Earth’s magnetic field, particularly for orientation. Drosophila melanogaster also respond to electromagnetic fields (EMFs), although the reported effects are quite modest. Here we report that negative geotaxis in flies, scored as climbing, is disrupted by a static EMF, and this is mediated by cryptochrome (CRY), the blue-light circadian photoreceptor. CRYs may sense EMFs via formation of radical pairs of electrons requiring photoactivation of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) bound near a triad of Trp residues, but mutation of the terminal Trp in the triad maintains EMF responsiveness in climbing. In contrast, deletion of the CRY C terminus disrupts EMF responses, indicating that it plays an important signalling role. CRY expression in a subset of clock neurons, or the photoreceptors, or the antennae, is sufficient to mediate negative geotaxis and EMF sensitivity. Climbing therefore provides a robust and reliable phenotype for studying EMF responses in Drosophila.
Glucose-induced electrical activities and insulin secretion in pancreatic islet β-cells are modulated by CFTR
Authors: Guo Jing Hui , Chen Hui , Ruan Ye Chun , Zhang Xue Lian , Zhang Xiao Hu , Fok Kin Lam , Tsang Lai Ling , Yu Mei Kuen , Huang Wen Qing , Sun Xiao , Chung Yiu Wa , Jiang Xiaohua , Sohma Yoshiro , Chan Hsiao Chang 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThe cause of insulin insufficiency remains unknown in many diabetic cases. Up to 50% adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), develop CF-related diabetes (CFRD) with most patients exhibiting insulin insufficiency. Here we show that CFTR is a regulator of glucose-dependent electrical acitivities and insulin secretion in β-cells. We demonstrate that glucose elicited whole-cell currents, membrane depolarization, electrical bursts or action potentials, Ca2+oscillations and insulin secretion are abolished or reduced by inhibitors or knockdown of CFTR in primary mouse β-cells or RINm5F β-cell line, or significantly attenuated in CFTR mutant (DF508) mice compared with wild-type mice. VX-809, a newly discovered corrector of DF508 mutation, successfully rescues the defects in DF508 β-cells. Our results reveal a role of CFTR in glucose-induced electrical activities and insulin secretion in β-cells, shed light on the pathogenesis of CFRD and possibly other idiopathic diabetes, and present a potential treatment strategy.
Modelling Lipid Competition Dynamics in Heterogeneous Protocell Populations
Authors: Shirt-Ediss Ben , Ruiz-Mirazo Kepa , Mavelli Fabio , Solé Ricard V. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractRecent experimental work in the field of synthetic protocell biology has shown that prebiotic vesicles are able to ‘steal’ lipids from each other. This phenomenon is driven purely by asymmetries in the physical state or composition of the vesicle membranes, and, when lipid resource is limited, translates directly into competition amongst the vesicles. Such a scenario is interesting from an origins of life perspective because a rudimentary form of cell-level selection emerges. To sharpen intuition about possible mechanisms underlying this behaviour, experimental work must be complemented with theoretical modelling. The aim of this paper is to provide a coarse-grain mathematical model of protocell lipid competition. Our model is capable of reproducing, often quantitatively, results from core experimental papers that reported distinct types vesicle competition. Additionally, we make some predictions untested in the lab and develop a general numerical method for quickly solving the equilibrium point of a model vesicle population.
Predicting the settlement of coarse granular materials under vertical loading
Authors: Quezada Juan Carlos , Saussine Gilles , Breul Pierre , Radjaï Farhang 
Published: July 2014

AbstractGranular materials are widely used in industrial processes despite their complex and poorly understood mechanical behaviour both in static and dynamic regimes. A prototypical example is the settlement and compaction of a granular bed under vibrational loading. The elementary mechanisms of this process are still unclear and there is presently no established theory or methodology to predict the settlement and its statistical variability. By means of a parametric study, carried out on a full-scale track and a critical analysis of density relaxation laws, we introduce a novel settlement model in coarse granular materials under cyclic loading. Our extensive experimental data indicate that the settlement process is governed by three independent parameters strongly correlated with the vibration intensity and initial packing fraction. We show that the mean settlement is well predicted by the model with its parameter values extracted from experimental data.
A magnetically shielded room with ultra low residual field and gradient
Authors: Altarev I. , Babcock E. , Beck D. , Burghoff M. , Chesnevskaya S. , Chupp T. , Degenkolb S. , Fan I. , Fierlinger P. , Frei A. , Gutsmiedl E. , Knappe-Grüneberg S. , Kuchler F. , Lauer T. , Link P. , Lins T. , Marino M. , McAndrew J. , Niessen B. , Paul S. , Petzoldt G. , Schläpfer U. , Schnabel A. , Sharma S. , Singh J. , Stoepler R. , Stuiber S. , Sturm M. , Taubenheim B. , Trahms L. , Voigt J. , Zechlau T. 
Published: July 2014

A versatile and portable magnetically shielded room with a field of (700 ± 200) pT within a central volume of 1 m × 1 m × 1 m and a field gradient less than 300 pT/m, achieved without any external field stabilization or compensation, is described. This performance represents more than a hundredfold improvement of the state of the art for a two-layer magnetic shield and provides an environment suitable for a next generation of precision experiments in fundamental physics at low energies; in particular, searches for electric dipole moments of fundamental systems and tests of Lorentz-invariance based on spin-precession experiments. Studies of the residual fields and their sources enable improved design of future ultra-low gradient environments and experimental apparatus. This has implications for developments of magnetometry beyond the femto-Tesla scale in, for example, biomagnetism, geosciences, and security applications and in general low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements.
In vitro evaluation of glyceric acid and its glucosyl derivative, α-glucosylglyceric acid, as cell proliferation inducers and protective solutes
Authors: Sato Shun , Kitamoto Dai , Habe Hiroshi 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
We demonstrate that 0.78 mm glyceric acid activated the proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts by about 45%, whereas 34 mm α-glucosylglyceric acid (GGA) increased collagen synthesis by the fibroblasts by 1.4-fold compared to that in the absence of GGA. The two substances also exerted protective effects on both DNA scission by the hydroxyl radical and protein aggregation by heat in vitro.