title stringlengths 7 332 | abstract stringlengths 0 6.99k | subjareas listlengths 1 6 | keywords listlengths 0 47 | asjc listlengths 1 8 | body_text listlengths 21 5.39k | author_highlights listlengths 0 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonlinear non-collinear ultrasonic detection and characterisation of kissing bonds | The development of cost effective and reliable bonded structures ideally requires an NDT method to detect the presence of poor quality, weak bonds or kissing bonds. If these bonds are more compliant in tension than in compression stress-strain nonlinearities provide a possible route to detection with the use of nonlinear ultrasonic techniques. This paper focuses on the kissing bond case and the resulting contact acoustic nonlinearity of the interface. A kissing bond is created by compression loading of two aluminium blocks. Non-collinear mixing of two shear waves producing a sum frequency longitudinal wave is the method of stimulation of contact acoustic nonlinearity in this research. The parametric space of the nonlinear mixing is measured in terms of interaction angle of the input beams and the ratio of their frequencies creating a ‘fingerprint’ of the sample's bulk and interface properties in the region where the beams overlap. The scattering fingerprint of a classically nonlinear solid is modelled analytically and a kissing interface is modelled numerically; these results are compared with experimentally measured values. The experimental interface is tested with varied interfacial loading, resulting in an increase in scattering amplitude as load is increased. Secondary peaks in the parameter space also appeared as loading increased, as well as other changes in the fingerprint pattern. | [
"ENGI",
"MATE",
"PHYS"
] | [
"CAN",
"Kissing bond",
"NDE",
"NDT",
"Non-collinear",
"Nonlinear",
"Ultrasonic"
] | [
"2210",
"2500",
"3104"
] | [
"Kissing bonds, two surfaces in intimate contact but not bonded together, can be difficult to detect with the non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques that are standard in industry today [1,2].",
"For this reason, some structures are over-engineered to allow for the safe failure of an adhesive joint; ‘chicken riv... | [] |
Ultraviolet radiation as a ballast water treatment strategy: Inactivation of phytoplankton measured with flow cytometry | This study investigates different UV doses (mJ/cm2) and the effect of dark incubation on the survival of the algae Tetraselmis suecica, to simulate ballast water treatment and subsequent transport.Samples were UV irradiated and analyzed by flow cytometry and standard culturing methods. Doses of ≥400 mJ/cm2 rendered inactivation after 1 day as measured by all analytical methods, and are recommended for ballast water treatment if immediate impairment is required. Irradiation with lower UV doses (100-200 mJ/cm2) gave considerable differences of inactivation between experiments and analytical methods. Nevertheless, inactivation increased with increasing doses and incubation time. We argue that UV doses ≥100 mJ/cm2 and ≤200 mJ/cm2 can be sufficient if the water is treated at intake and left in dark ballast tanks. The variable results demonstrate the challenge of giving unambiguous recommendations on duration of dark incubation needed for inactivation when algae are treated with low UV doses. | [
"AGRI",
"EART",
"ENVI"
] | [
"Dark incubation",
"Esterase substrate",
"Flow cytometry",
"Inactivation",
"Tetraselmis suecica",
"Ultraviolet irradiation"
] | [
"1104",
"1910",
"2310"
] | [
"Ships use water as ballast to ensure stability and trim during the voyage, and ambient water is pumped into ballast tanks in the hull of the ships.",
"It is traditionally discharged without any treatment and represents a global vector for aquatic invasion.",
"A multitude of organisms like virus, bacteria, alga... | [
"Response of T. suecica to different UV doses and dark incubation was determined.",
"Flow cytometry and standard culturing methods were used to determine inactivation.",
"Inactivation increased with increasing doses and with time of dark incubation after treatment.",
"UV doses ≥ 400 mJ/cm2 permanently inactiv... |
Whole cell biosynthesis of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine and 2-amino-1,3,4-butanetriol using Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) strain BG-10 engineered with a transgene encoding Chromobacterium violaceum ω-transaminase | We have engineered strain BG-10 of the methylotrophic yeast Komagataella phaffii for use as an effective whole cell biocatalyst. We introduced into the yeast a transgene encoding a Chromobacterium violaceum ω-transaminase for transcription in response to methanol induction. The strain was then assessed with respect to its growth performance and biotransformation of a fed ketoalcohol substrate to an amino-alcohol. In the resultant strain, BG-TAM, methanol induction did not compromise cell growth. Successful bioconversion of fed substrates to the by-product, acetophenone, indicated transaminase activity in shake flask-cultivated BG-TAM cells. We then used bioreactor cultivation to exploit the high levels of biomass achievable by Komagataella phaffii. In a 900 μL reaction the BG-TAM strain at OD600 = 1024 achieved up to 0.41 mol mol−1 (molproduct molsubstrate−1) yield on substrate (Yp/s) for production of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine and a space time yield (STY) of 0.29 g L−1 h−1 for production of 2-amino-1,3,4-butanetriol. We have shown that transamination, an important step for bespoke synthesis of small molecule medicines, is biologically realisable using enzymes with a broad substrate range, such as ω-transaminases, within living yeast cells that are fed low-cost substrates for bioconversion. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Bioengineering",
"Biotechnology",
"Chemical engineering",
"Komagataella phaffii",
"Pichia pastoris",
"Transaminase",
"Whole cell biocatalyst"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"The unicellular methylotrophic yeast Komagataella phaffii (K. phaffii), formerly known as Pichia pastoris (Kurtzman, 2009), is a well-established platform for heterologous protein production (Byrne, 2015; Macauley-Patrick et al., 2005).",
"The initial genome sequence of K. phaffii (De Schutter et al., 2009; Kübe... | [] |
Cognitive and anatomical data in a healthy cohort of adults | We present data from a sample of 190 healthy adults including assessments of 4 cognitive factor scores, 12 cognitive tests, and 115 MRI-assessed neuroanatomical variables (cortical thicknesses, cortical and sub-cortical volumes, fractional anisotropy, and radial diffusivity). These data were used in estimating underlying sources of individual variation via independent component analysis (Watson et al., In press) [25]. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Fluid intelligence",
"Independent component analysis",
"Individual differences",
"Neuroanatomy",
"Tractography"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"The data (Supplementary Table 1) includes cognitive and anatomical variables collected prior to a large, multi-modal cognitive training study [25].",
"They include:",
"Demographic measures (i.e., age, sex, and education).",
"4 cognitive factors estimated via structural equation modeling [15].",
"Scores fro... | [] |
PARP activity and inhibition in fetal and adult oligodendrocyte precursor cells: Effect on cell survival and differentiation | Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) family members are ubiquitously expressed and play a key role in cellular processes, including DNA repair and cell death/survival balance. Accordingly, PARP inhibition is an emerging pharmacological strategy for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Consistent evidences support the critical involvement of PARP family members in cell differentiation and phenotype maturation. In this study we used an oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) enriched system derived from fetal and adult brain to investigate the role of PARP in OPCs proliferation, survival, and differentiation. The PARP inhibitors PJ34, TIQ-A and Olaparib were used as pharmacological tools. The main results of the study are: (i) PARP mRNA expression and PARP activity are much higher in fetal than in adult-derived OPCs; (ii) the culture treatment with PARP inhibitors is cytotoxic for OPCs derived from fetal, but not from adult, brain; (iii) PARP inhibition reduces cell number, according to the inhibitory potency of the compounds; (iv) PARP inhibition effect on fetal OPCs is a slow process; (v) PARP inhibition impairs OPCs maturation into myelinating OL in fetal, but not in adult cultures, according to the inhibitory potency of the compounds. These results have implications for PARP-inhibition therapies for diseases and lesions of the central nervous system, in particular for neonatal hypoxic/ischemic encephalopathy. | [
"BIOC"
] | [
"Neonatal hypoxic/ischemic encephalopathy",
"Oligodendrocyte precursor cells",
"PARP inhibitors",
"Remyelination"
] | [
"1307",
"1309"
] | [
"Oligodendrocytes, the cells wrapping the axons of the central nervous system (CNS) with the myelin sheath, derive from the oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) generated during development from multipotent neuroectodermal derivatives in the cortex and spinal cord (Bergles and Richardson, 2015).",
"These cells ... | [
"Oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) were derived from fetal and adult neural stem cells.",
"PARP activity is much higher in fetal than adult—derived OPC.",
"PARP inhibition is toxic for fetal, but not adult OPC, also impairing OPC differentiation."
] |
Demographic hallmarks of an overbrowsed population state in American ginseng | Effects of high deer herbivory in North America on populations of favored plant browse species have been well-documented, however since less palatable plants now dominate the understory, we asked whether these species could be vulnerable as well, and if so, what symptoms might signal that this was occurring? Using American ginseng (Panax quinquefoliusL.) as our representative less palatable understory plant, we compared two subpopulations within a single natural population that were differentially exposed to browse; one isolated from deer by growing atop a large, flat-topped boulder, and a browse-exposed subpopulation in the surrounding low-lying area. We tested the hypothesis that deer effects would be manifested in all parts of the life history; through reduced growth, survival and reproduction. In turn, we hypothesized that browse would reduce population growth rates, and that differences in stage structure of the population would be produced. Taking advantage of a 20 year record of formal demographic censusing, we showed that browse effects were manifested primarily in reduced size-specific growth, while size-specific fertility and survival were relatively unaffected by exposure to browse. Demographically, these differences in growth were sufficient to drive population size reductions of 4.5%/y in the off rock subpopulation while the on rock plants slowly increased in number. High browse off the rock resulted in high proportions of plants in a stunted juvenile state in the off rock population relative to the on rock plants. A high proportion of juveniles is therefore a clear symptom of an understory subjected to chronic overbrowsing, providing land managers a rapid way to assess whether deer could be impacting understory biodiversity. The sharp demographic contrasts we observed between browsed and unbrowsed subpopulations also implies that promotion of refugia within managed lands will likely become increasingly important management tools for biodiversity preservation as long as unchecked deer populations persist. | [
"AGRI",
"ENVI"
] | [
"Ginseng",
"Overbrowsing",
"Panax quinquefolius",
"Plant demography",
"Refugium"
] | [
"1105",
"2303",
"2309"
] | [
"“Since then I have lived to see state after state extirpate its wolves.",
"I have watched the face of many a newly wolfless mountain, and seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails.",
"I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anemic desuetude, and then to death.”",
... | [] |
Construction of currency portfolios by means of an optimized investment strategy | This work focuses on the development of a technical breakout trading strategy based on the Donchian Channel approach, aiming to the construction of profitable portfolios. In this direction, the Modified Renko Bars (MRBs) were developed first; that proved to be a useful trading tool that responses more accurately than the normal candle sticks to the nature and characteristics of the FOREX market. Subsequently, the parameters of the trading strategy (or system) are calibrated for eight currency pairs, over a period of four years (2006–2009), by comparing the performance of three global search derivative-free optimization algorithms. Then, the returns of the developed system are tested for the next seven years (2010–2016) for each pair and two types of portfolios are constructed; an equal weighted one and a portfolio based on the Kelly criterion. The ultimate objective of this paper is to create currency portfolios based on a novel optimized trading strategy, which could beat constantly the main investors’ benchmarks (i.e. S&P500, Barclay CTA Index). | [
"BUSI",
"DECI",
"MATH"
] | [
"Currencies",
"Investment strategy",
"Optimization algorithms",
"Profitable portfolios"
] | [
"1408",
"1803",
"2606",
"2613"
] | [
"The ultimate objective of any investor, trader or manager is to speculate, to generate profits in a consistent basis.",
"Simsek [27] assumed that any financial innovation on portfolio risks is likely to lead to speculation rather than risk sharing due to the motives of the participants in market.",
"An approac... | [
"Development of a new trading tool: the Modified Renko Bar (MRB).",
"We prove that the application of MRB in eight currency pairs increases the performance of channel breakout trading strategy by an average 30%.",
"Calibration of the parameters of the MRB channel strategy based on three optimization algorithms ... |
The future relevance of electricity balancing markets in Europe - A 2030 case study | In the context of an increasing share of variable renewable electricity in the European generation mix the question arises to what extent electricity balancing markets will gain importance in the future. On the one hand, forecast errors of variable renewable electricity drive demand for balancing. On the other hand, transmission system operators across Europe progressively coordinate their actions in order to increase efficiency of balancing markets and thus mitigate the rise of imbalances. Against the background of uncertain future framework conditions, i.e. market design and the level of market integration, this paper aims to assess the relevance of electricity balancing markets across Europe for a set of scenarios in a 2030 context. We apply an established large-scale electricity market model of Europe to derive quantitative insights on market shares and revenues from day-ahead, intra-day and balancing markets. The results show that although the amount of balancing energy is expected to increase in the mid-term, the monetary volume of electricity balancing markets will still lay in the range of a few percent of day-ahead market volumes. The results also confirm that the relevance of this market segment is considerably impacted by the development of framework conditions, which also have distinct impacts on different countries and technologies. | [
"ENER"
] | [
"Case study",
"Electricity balancing",
"Forecast error time series",
"Market analysis",
"Variable renewable electricity"
] | [
"2101"
] | [
"The increasing share of renewable electricity (RES-E) deployment required to reach the sustainability targets stated by the European Union will have increasing impacts on the functioning of electricity markets across all Member States.",
"The envisaged transformation is likely to require numerous regulatory adju... | [
"Development of amount and composition of electricity imbalances by 2030.",
"Assessment of the future relevance of electricity balancing markets in Europe.",
"Market revenues from balancing markets for different technologies."
] |
Hyperglycemia induced damage to mitochondrial respiration in renal mesangial and tubular cells: Implications for diabetic nephropathy | Damage to renal tubular and mesangial cells is central to the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN), a complication of diabetes which can lead to renal failure. Mitochondria are the site of cellular respiration and produce energy in the form of ATP via oxidative phosphorylation, and mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in DN. Since the kidney is an organ with high bioenergetic needs, we postulated that hyperglycemia causes damage to renal mitochondria resulting in bioenergetic deficit. The bioenergetic profiles and the effect of hyperglycemia on cellular respiration of human primary mesangial (HMCs) and proximal tubular cells (HK-2) were compared in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions using the seahorse bio-analyzer. In normoglycemia, HK-2 had significantly lower basal, ATP-linked and maximal respiration rates, and lower reserve capacity compared to HMCs. Hyperglycemia caused a down-regulation of all respiratory parameters within 4 days in HK-2 but not in HMCs. After 8 days of hyperglycemia, down-regulation of respiratory parameters persisted in tubular cells with compensatory up-regulated glycolysis. HMCs had reduced maximal respiration and reserve capacity at 8 days, and by 12 days had compromised mitochondrial respiration despite which they did not enhance glycolysis. These data suggest that diabetes is likely to lead to a cellular deficit in ATP production in both cell types, although with different sensitivities, and this mechanism could significantly contribute to the cellular damage seen in the diabetic kidney. Prevention of diabetes induced damage to renal mitochondrial respiration may be a novel therapeutic approach for the prevention/treatment of DN. | [
"BIOC",
"CHEM"
] | [
"Cellular bioenergetics",
"Diabetes",
"Mesangial cells",
"Mitochondrial dysfunction",
"Renal cells",
"Tubular cells"
] | [
"1308",
"1605"
] | [
"Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a kidney disease which affects approximately one-third of patients with diabetes and develops over a long period of clinical silence [1].",
"Despite good metabolic control, patients with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are at risk of DN [2–4].",
"With the epidemic rise in the incid... | [
"The kidney as an organ has high bioenergetic needs.",
"Cultured renal mesangial and tubular cells have different bioenergetic profiles.",
"Hyperglycemia had a toxic effect on renal cell mitochondrial metabolism.",
"Mesangial cells were more resistant to diabetes induced damage to cellular respiration than tu... |
FLBEIA: A simulation model to conduct Bio-Economic evaluation of fisheries management strategies | Fishery systems are complex systems that need to be managed in order to ensure a sustainable and efficient exploitation of marine resources. Traditionally, fisheries management has relied on biological models. However, in recent years the focus on mathematical models which incorporate economic and social aspects has increased. Here, we present FLBEIA, a flexible software to conduct bio-economic evaluation of fisheries management strategies. The model is multi-stock, multi-fleet, stochastic and seasonal. The fishery system is described as a sum of processes, which are internally assembled in a predetermined way. There are several functions available to describe the dynamic of each process and new functions can be added to satisfy specific requirements. | [
"COMP"
] | [
"Bio-economic model",
"Fisheries management",
"Fleet dynamics",
"Impact assessment",
"Management strategy evaluation"
] | [
"1706",
"1712"
] | [
"It describes fleet’s short term dynamics or tactical behaviour.",
"Each season it models how much effort is exerted and how it is distributed along metiers.6",
"In the first model, effort and its distribution along metiers are given as input data.",
"Thus the effort exerted by the fleet is independent of the... | [] |
Desmetramadol Has the Safety and Analgesic Profile of Tramadol Without Its Metabolic Liabilities: Consecutive Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo- and Active Comparator-Controlled Trials | Desmetramadol is an investigational analgesic consisting of (+) and (-) enantiomers of the tramadol metabolite O-desmethyltramadol (M1). Tramadol is racemic and exerts analgesia by monoaminergic effects of (-)-tramadol and (-)-M1, and by the opioid (+)-M1. Tramadol labeling indicates cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozyme 2D6 ultrarapid metabolizer can produce dangerous (+)-M1 levels, and CYP2D6 poor metabolizers insufficient (+)-M1 for analgesia. We hypothesized that desmetramadol could provide the safety and analgesia of tramadol without its metabolic liabilities. We conducted consecutive double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 3 segment cross-over trials A and B to investigate the steady-state pharmacokinetics and analgesia of 20 mg desmetramadol and 50 mg tramadol in 103 healthy participants without (n = 43) and with (n = 60) cotreatment with the CYP inhibitor paroxetine. In the absence of CYP inhibition (trial A), 20 mg desmetramadol and 50 mg tramadol dosed every 6 hours gave equivalent steady-state (+)-M1, similar adverse events, and analgesia significantly greater than placebo, but equal to each other. In trial B, CYP inhibition significantly depressed tramadol steady-state (+)-M1, reduced its adverse events, and led to insignificant analgesia comparable with placebo. In contrast, CYP inhibition in trial B had no deleterious effect on desmetramadol (+)-M1 or (-)-M1, which gave significant analgesia as in trial A and superior to tramadol (P = .003). Desmetramadol has the safety and efficacy of tramadol without its metabolic liabilities. ClinicalTrials.gov registrations: NCT02205554, NCT03312777 Perspective: To our knowledge, this is the first study of desmetramadol in humans and the first to show it provides the same safety and analgesia as tramadol, but without tramadol's metabolic liabilities and related drug–drug interactions. Desmetramadol could potentially offer expanded safety and usefulness to clinicians seeking an alternative to schedule II opioids. | [
"MEDI",
"NEUR"
] | [
"Desmetramadol",
"metabolism",
"poor metabolizer",
"tramadol",
"ultrarapid metabolizer"
] | [
"2703",
"2728",
"2808"
] | [
"The study design consisted of 2 consecutive randomized, double-blind, 3-period cross-over, placebo- and active comparator-controlled, single-center trials A and B performed between August 2014 and October 2014 and between October 2017 and December 2017 and conducted in a clinical research unit in Salt Lake City, U... | [
"Desmetramadol delivers the active metabolite of tramadol.",
"P450 enzyme inhibition made participants metabolically deficient.",
"Tramadol lost its analgesic efficacy in metabolically deficient participants.",
"Desmetramadol preserved its efficacy in metabolically deficient participants.",
"Desmetramadol a... |
Improved prediction of outcome in Parkinson's disease using radiomics analysis of longitudinal DAT SPECT images | No disease modifying therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) have been found effective to date. To properly power clinical trials for discovery of such therapies, the ability to predict outcome in PD is critical, and there is a significant need for discovery of prognostic biomarkers of PD. Dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT imaging is widely used for diagnostic purposes in PD. In the present work, we aimed to evaluate whether longitudinal DAT SPECT imaging can significantly improve prediction of outcome in PD patients. In particular, we investigated whether radiomics analysis of DAT SPECT images, in addition to use of conventional non-imaging and imaging measures, could be used to predict motor severity at year 4 in PD subjects. We selected 64 PD subjects (38 male, 26 female; age at baseline (year 0): 61.9 ± 7.3, range [46,78]) from the Parkinson's Progressive Marker Initiative (PPMI) database. Inclusion criteria included (i) having had at least 2 SPECT scans at years 0 and 1 acquired on a similar scanner, (ii) having undergone a high-resolution 3 T MRI scan, and (iii) having motor assessment (MDS-UPDRS-III) available in year 4 used as outcome measure. Image analysis included automatic region-of-interest (ROI) extraction on MRI images, registration of SPECT images onto the corresponding MRI images, and extraction of radiomic features. Non-imaging predictors included demographics, disease duration as well as motor and non-motor clinical measures in years 0 and 1. The image predictors included 92 radiomic features extracted from the caudate, putamen, and ventral striatum of DAT SPECT images at years 0 and 1 to quantify heterogeneity and texture in uptake. Random forest (RF) analysis with 5000 trees was used to combine both non-imaging and imaging variables to predict motor outcome (UPDRS-III: 27.3 ± 14.7, range [3,77]). The RF prediction was evaluated using leave-one-out cross-validation. Our results demonstrated that addition of radiomic features to conventional measures significantly improved (p < 0.001) prediction of outcome, reducing the absolute error of predicting MDS-UPDRS-III from 9.00 ± 0.88 to 4.12 ± 0.43. This shows that radiomics analysis of DAT SPECT images has a significant potential towards development of effective prognostic biomarkers in PD. | [
"MEDI",
"NEUR"
] | [
"DAT SPECT",
"Longitudinal",
"Outcome prediction",
"Parkinson's disease",
"Radiomics",
"Textural features"
] | [
"2728",
"2741",
"2805",
"2808"
] | [
"Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, degenerative movement disorder, characterized by neuronal loss in the substantia nigra with the loss of dopaminergic terminals in the basal ganglia (Brooks et al., 1990; Garnett et al., 1987; Stoessl et al., 2011).",
"Given the absence of proven disease modifying therap... | [
"Aim to enable image-assisted prediction of outcome in Parkinson's disease.",
"Radiomics analysis of clinical dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT images (DaTscans).",
"Significant improvement in prediction of motor outcome."
] |
AIRE-Deficient Patients Harbor Unique High-Affinity Disease-Ameliorating Autoantibodies | APS1/APECED patients are defined by defects in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) that mediates central T cell tolerance to many self-antigens. AIRE deficiency also affects B cell tolerance, but this is incompletely understood. Here we show that most APS1/APECED patients displayed B cell autoreactivity toward unique sets of approximately 100 self-proteins. Thereby, autoantibodies from 81 patients collectively detected many thousands of human proteins. The loss of B cell tolerance seemingly occurred during antibody affinity maturation, an obligatorily T cell-dependent step. Consistent with this, many APS1/APECED patients harbored extremely high-affinity, neutralizing autoantibodies, particularly against specific cytokines. Such antibodies were biologically active in vitro and in vivo, and those neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) showed a striking inverse correlation with type I diabetes, not shown by other anti-cytokine antibodies. Thus, naturally occurring human autoantibodies may actively limit disease and be of therapeutic utility. | [
"BIOC"
] | [] | [
"1300"
] | [
"T lymphocyte tolerance is essential for limiting autoimmune disease.",
"Tolerance occurs “centrally” when developing thymocytes with strongly self-reactive T cell receptors (TCRs) are deleted following engagement of self-antigen-derived peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens.",
"... | [
"Each AIRE-deficient patient has a private repertoire of autoantibody reactivities",
"Loss of B cell tolerance occurs during T cell-dependent somatic hypermutation",
"Patient autoantibodies have unprecedented affinities for conformational epitopes",
"Patient autoantibodies can display disease-ameliorating pro... |
Low-cost touchscreen driven programmable dual syringe pump for life science applications | Syringe pumps are powerful tools able to automate routine laboratory practices that otherwise consume large amounts of manual labor time. Commercially available syringe pumps are expensive, difficult to customize, and often preset for a narrow range of operations. Here, we show how to build a programmable dual syringe pump (PDSP) that overcomes these limitations. The PDSP is driven by a Raspberry Pi paired with a stepper motor controller to allow maximal customization via Python scripting. The entire setup can be controlled by a touchscreen for use without a keyboard or mouse. Furthermore, the PDSP is structured around 3D printed parts, enabling users to change any component for their specific application. We demonstrate one application of the PDSP by using it to generate whole cell lysates using a cell homogenizer in an automated fashion. | [
"ENGI",
"PHYS"
] | [
"3D printing",
"Cell homogenizer",
"Customization",
"Dual syringe pump",
"Plasmodium falciparum cell extract"
] | [
"2204",
"2205",
"2209",
"2210",
"3105"
] | [
"Syringe pumps have a wide variety of uses across fields from engineering to biology.",
"Their primary purpose is to continuously dispense precise volumes over a set amount of time.",
"They save time by running unsupervised and provide more consistency than human hands.",
"A dual syringe pump allows for two s... | [] |
Impact on demersal fish of a large-scale and deep sand extraction site with ecosystem-based landscaped sandbars | For the seaward harbour extension of the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, approximately 220 million m3 sand was extracted between 2009 and 2013. In order to decrease the surface area of direct impact, the authorities permitted deep sand extraction, down to 20m below the seabed. Biological and physical impacts of large-scale and deep sand extraction are still being investigated and largely unknown. For this reason, we investigated the colonization of demersal fish in a deep sand extraction site. Two sandbars were artificially created by selective dredging, copying naturally occurring meso-scale bedforms to increase habitat heterogeneity and increasing post-dredging benthic and demersal fish species richness and biomass. Significant differences in demersal fish species assemblages in the sand extraction site were associated with variables such as water depth, median grain size, fraction of very fine sand, biomass of white furrow shell (Abra alba) and time after the cessation of sand extraction. Large quantities of undigested crushed white furrow shell fragments were found in all stomachs and intestines of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), indicating that it is an important prey item. One and two years after cessation, a significant 20-fold increase in demersal fish biomass was observed in deep parts of the extraction site. In the troughs of a landscaped sandbar however, a significant drop in biomass down to reference levels and a significant change in species assemblage was observed two years after cessation. The fish assemblage at the crests of the sandbars differed significantly from the troughs with tub gurnard (Chelidonichthys lucerna) being a Dufrêne-Legendre indicator species of the crests. This is a first indication of the applicability of landscaping techniques to induce heterogeneity of the seabed although it remains difficult to draw a strong conclusion due the lack of replication in the experiment. A new ecological equilibrium is not reached after 2 years since biotic and abiotic variables are still adapting. To understand the final impact of deep and large-scale sand extraction on demersal fish, we recommend monitoring for a longer period, at least for a period of six years or even longer. © 2014 The Authors. | [
"AGRI",
"EART"
] | [
"Epifauna",
"Ground fish",
"Infauna",
"North Sea",
"Sand mining",
"Sediment"
] | [
"1104",
"1910"
] | [
"The demand for marine sand in the Netherlands and worldwide is strongly increasing.",
"In the Netherlands, approximately 24 million m3 sand is used annually for coastal nourishments and for construction.",
"An increase of annual coastline nourishments of up to 40-85 million m3 to counteract effects of future s... | [
"Demersal fish biomass in a deep sand extraction site increased 20-fold and fish species assemblage changed significantly.",
"The most abundant fish species in the extraction site is plaice whereas dab dominated reference areas.",
"Increased demersal fish biomass is closely linked to increased white furrow shel... |
Cerium oxide nanoparticles inhibit lipopolysaccharide induced MAP kinase/NF-kB mediated severe sepsis | The life threatening disease of sepsis is associated with high mortality. Septic patient survivability with currently available treatments has failed to improve. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced sepsis mortality and associated hepatic dysfunction can be prevented by cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) treatment in male Sprague Dawley rats. Here we provide the information about the methods processing of raw data related to our study published in Biomaterials (Selvaraj et al., Biomaterials. , 2015, In press) and Data in Brief (Selvaraj et al., Data in Brief, 2015, In Press). The data present here provides confirmation of cerium oxide nanoparticle treatments ability to prevent the LPS induced sepsis associated changes in physiological, blood cell count, inflammatory protein and growth factors in vivo. In vitro assays investigation the treated of macrophages cells with different concentrations of cerium oxide nanoparticle demonstrate that concentration of cerium oxide nanoparticles below 1. μg/ml did not significantly influence cell survival as determined by the MTT assay. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Cerium oxide nanoparticles",
"LPS",
"MTT",
"Raw 264.7",
"Sepsis",
"Sprague Dawley rat"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"This data articles contains data related to the research articles entitled “Inhibition of MAP kinase/NF-kB mediated signaling and attenuation of lipopolysaccharide induced severe sepsis by cerium oxide nanoparticles” in Biomaterials [1].",
"In the present study we have confirmed how the administration of a singl... | [] |
Numerical investigation of heat transfer enhancement in plate-fin heat sinks: Effect of flow direction and fillet profile | Many researchers have studied the thermal performance of heat sinks, however to the best knowledge of the authors, the effect of flow direction (place of fan) on the thermal performance of plate-fin heat sinks with fillet profile have not yet been investigated. In this paper, the investigation develops a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, validated through comparison with an experimental data from the literature, which demonstrates the effect of flow direction and fillet profile on the thermal performance of plate-fin heat sinks. In particular, a plate-fin heat sink with fillet profile subject to parallel flow has been compared with the conventional design (plate-fin heat sink without fillet profile subject to an impinging flow) and satisfactory results have been perceived. The results of this study show that the base temperature along with the thermal resistance of the heat sink is lower for the proposed design. Therefore, the developed approach has strong potential to be used to improve the thermal performance of heat sinks and hence to develop more advanced effective cooling technologies. | [
"CENG",
"ENGI"
] | [
"Computational fluid dynamic (CFD)",
"Fin",
"Heat sink",
"Thermal performance"
] | [
"1507",
"2201"
] | [
"Power density in electronic and microelectronic equipment is significantly increasing due to recent advances in semiconductor technology.",
"Therefore, in a highly competitive electronic equipment industry, the improvement of heat transfer rate for such devices is critically essential for long-term reliable oper... | [] |
Hyaluronidase activity in the salivary glands of tabanid flies | Tabanids are haematophagous insects that act as biological and mechanical vectors of various diseases, including viruses, bacteria and parasites. The saliva of these insects contains strong anticoagulant and vasodilatory activities as well as immunoregulatory peptides. Here we demonstrate pronounced hyaluronidase (hyase) activity in ten tabanid species of the genera Chrysops, Haematopota, Hybomitra and Tabanus. Compared to other haematophagous insects, the ability of tabanid hyases to hydrolyze hyaluronic acid (HA) is extremely high, for example the enzyme activity of Hybomitra muehlfeldi was found to be 32-fold higher than the salivary hyase activity of the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi. Hyases of all ten tabanid species tested also cleaved chondroitin sulfate A, another glycosaminoglycan present in the extracellular matrix of vertebrates. The pH optimum of the enzyme activity was measured in eight tabanid species; the hyase of Haemopota pluvialis was the only one with optimum at pH 4.0, while in the other seven species the activity optimum was at 5.0. SDS PAGE zymography showed the monomeric character of the enzymes in all tabanid species tested. Under non-reducing conditions the activities were visible as single bands with estimated MW between 35 and 52 kDa. The very high hyaluronidase activity in tabanid saliva might be related to their aggressive biting behavior as well as to their high efficiency as mechanical vectors. As they are supposedly involved in the enlargement of feeding hematomas, hyases might contribute to the mechanical transmission of pathogens. Pathogens present in vector mouthparts are co-inoculated into the vertebrate host together with saliva and may benefit from increased tissue permeability and the immunomodulatory activity of the salivary hyase. | [
"AGRI",
"BIOC"
] | [
"Bloodfeeding",
"Hyaluronidase",
"Pathogen transmission",
"Saliva",
"Tabanids"
] | [
"1109",
"1303",
"1312"
] | [
"Tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) are a cosmopolitan group of haematophagous insects comprising more than 4.400 species (Roskov et al., 2015).",
"These pests are considered a serious nuisance, and are characterized by their persistent biting behavior and painful bites that may induce allergic reactions in sensitive ... | [
"Pronounced hyaluronidase activity was found in saliva of ten tabanid species studied.",
"Tabanid hyaluronidases cleave chondroitin sulfate and have pH optimum at 4.0 or 5.0.",
"The enzymes are monomers with estimated molecular weight between 35 and 52 kDa.",
"The high activity may correspond to the high effi... |
Optimal equipment deployment for biomass terminal operations | This paper investigates the optimization of biomass terminal equipment deployment. A mixed integer linear programming model is developed and applied to minimize the terminal's investment and operational costs related to dedicated and partially used or shared equipment between a terminal's operational steps. The results minimize annual terminal costs through equipment and infrastructure selection and utilization. Tipping points where the technology and equipment type or size change in relation to the increasing throughput are highlighted. Analytical results emphasize the importance of storage costs in all biomass terminals, as well as the critical influence of operational costs in larger facilities. | [
"BUSI",
"ENGI",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Biomass equipment",
"Biomass terminals",
"Equipment selection",
"MILP",
"Terminal logistics",
"Terminal operations"
] | [
"1403",
"2205",
"3313"
] | [
"Biomass use in the European Union (EU) is expected to significantly grow in the co-firing and heating sectors by 2030 (European Biomass Association, 2016).",
"At the moment, 4% of the total biomass used for energy purposes in the EU is imported (Dafnomilis et al., 2017).",
"However by 2030, this amount (both i... | [
"Optimization of biomass port terminal equipment is presented.",
"MILP model minimizes investment and operational costs in biomass bulk terminals.",
"Real data from industry used as input.",
"Results provide optimal equipment allocation and utilization, optimal terminal size and associated logistics.",
"Ins... |
MbT-Tool: An open-access tool based on Thermodynamic Electron Equivalents Model to obtain microbial-metabolic reactions to be used in biotechnological process | Modelling cellular metabolism is a strategic factor in investigating microbial behaviour and interactions, especially for bio-technological processes. A key factor for modelling microbial activity is the calculation of nutrient amounts and products generated as a result of the microbial metabolism. Representing metabolic pathways through balanced reactions is a complex and time-consuming task for biologists, ecologists, modellers and engineers. A new computational tool to represent microbial pathways through microbial metabolic reactions (MMRs) using the approach of the Thermodynamic Electron Equivalents Model has been designed and implemented in the open-access framework NetLogo. This computational tool, called MbT-Tool (Metabolism based on Thermodynamics) can write MMRs for different microbial functional groups, such as aerobic heterotrophs, nitrifiers, denitrifiers, methanogens, sulphate reducers, sulphide oxidizers and fermenters. The MbT-Tool's code contains eighteen organic and twenty inorganic reduction-half-reactions, four N-sources (NH4+, NO3−, NO2−, N2) to biomass synthesis and twenty-four microbial empirical formulas, one of which can be determined by the user (CnHaObNc). MbT-Tool is an open-source program capable of writing MMRs based on thermodynamic concepts, which are applicable in a wide range of academic research interested in designing, optimizing and modelling microbial activity without any extensive chemical, microbiological and programing experience. | [
"BIOC",
"COMP"
] | [
"Energy-transfer-efficiency",
"MbT-Tool",
"Microbial metabolic reaction",
"Microbial metabolism",
"Microbial yield prediction",
"Thermodynamics"
] | [
"1303",
"1304",
"1305",
"1311",
"1315",
"1706"
] | [
"For the construction and development of models of living organisms, it is necessary to describe their physical constants, physiological reactions, interactions and responses to the environment.",
"A robust model of any living system must include chemicals and conservation principles, and relate stoichiometric ma... | [
"Represent microbial metabolism based on thermodynamics.",
"Write microbial metabolic reactions to represent environmental processes.",
"An open-source computational tool to study microbial activity",
"The basis of metabolic behaviour-rules embedded in an individual-based model."
] |
Connectome analysis with diffusion MRI in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: Evaluation using multi-shell, multi-tissue, constrained spherical deconvolution | Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects extensive regions of the central nervous system. In this work, we evaluated the structural connectome of patients with PD, as mapped by diffusion-weighted MRI tractography and a multi-shell, multi-tissue (MSMT) constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD) method to increase the precision of tractography at tissue interfaces. The connectome was mapped with probabilistic MSMT-CSD in 21 patients with PD and in 21 age- and gender-matched controls. Mapping was also performed by deterministic single-shell, single tissue (SSST)-CSD tracking and probabilistic SSST-CSD tracking for comparison. A support vector machine was trained to predict diagnosis based on a linear combination of graph metrics. We showed that probabilistic MSMT-CSD could detect significantly reduced global strength, efficiency, clustering, and small-worldness, and increased global path length in patients with PD relative to healthy controls; by contrast, probabilistic SSST-CSD only detected the difference in global strength and small-worldness. In patients with PD, probabilistic MSMT-CSD also detected a significant reduction in local efficiency and detected clustering in the motor, frontal temporoparietal associative, limbic, basal ganglia, and thalamic areas. The network-based statistic identified a subnetwork of reduced connectivity by MSMT-CSD and probabilistic SSST-CSD in patients with PD, involving key components of the cortico–basal ganglia–thalamocortical network. Finally, probabilistic MSMT-CSD had superior diagnostic accuracy compared with conventional probabilistic SSST-CSD and deterministic SSST-CSD tracking. In conclusion, probabilistic MSMT-CSD detected a greater extent of connectome pathology in patients with PD, including those with cortico–basal ganglia–thalamocortical network disruptions. Connectome analysis based on probabilistic MSMT-CSD may be useful when evaluating the extent of white matter connectivity disruptions in PD. | [
"MEDI",
"NEUR"
] | [
"Connectome",
"Diffusion MRI",
"Diffusion tensor imaging",
"Lewy bodies",
"Neurodegenerative disorders",
"Support vector machine"
] | [
"2728",
"2741",
"2805",
"2808"
] | [
"Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurological disorder after Alzheimer's disease, affecting 6 million individuals worldwide (Vos et al., 2016).",
"The disease is characterized by motor symptoms (i.e., akinesia or bradykinesia, rigidity, and tremor) as well as non-motor symptoms such as cognitiv... | [
"Connectomes mapped in Parkinson's disease (PD) using multi-shell tractography.",
"Multi-shell tractography provided improved sensitivity to connectome pathology.",
"Machine learning accurately predicted PD diagnosis based on connectome.",
"Connectome pathology in PD was localized to basal ganglia-thalamocort... |
Onset of deaminase APOBEC3B induction in response to DNA double-strand breaks | Deamination of 5-methyl cytosine is a major cause of cancer-driver mutations in inflammation-associated cancers. The deaminase APOBEC3B is expressed in these cancers and causes mutations under replication stress; however, the mechanisms by which APOBEC3B mediates deamination and its association with genomic disorders are still unclear. Here, we show that APOBEC3B is stabilized to induce deamination reaction in response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), resulting in the formation of long-lasting DSBs. Uracil, the major deamination product, is subsequently targeted by base excision repair (BER) through uracil-DNA glycosylase 2 (UNG2); hence late-onset DSBs arise as by-products of BER. The frequency of these delayed DSBs was increased by treatment of cells with a PARP inhibitor, and was suppressed following knock-down of UNG2. The late-onset DSBs were induced in an ATR-dependent manner. Those secondary DSBs were persistent, unlike DSBs directly caused by γ-ray irradiation. Overall, these results suggest that the deaminase APOBEC3B is induced in response to DSBs, leading to long-lasting DSB formation in addition to mutagenic 5me-C>T transition induction. | [
"BIOC"
] | [
"APOBEC3B",
"Ataxia-telangiectasia and Rad3-related",
"Base excision repair",
"Deaminase",
"Genomic instability",
"Uracil-DNA glycosylase"
] | [
"1303",
"1304",
"1307",
"1312"
] | [
"Cancer development is associated with mutations and genomic instability [1,2].",
"In cancers that develop under conditions of chronic inflammation, deamination-associated C>T mutations are induced massively in association with expression of deaminase APOBEC3A and B [3].",
"These C>T mutations occur widely in e... | [
"APOBEC3B is stabilized to induce deamination reaction in response to DSBs.",
"Deamination leads to formation of late-onset DSBs through UNG2-mediated BER.",
"Late-onset DSBs induced in an ATR-dependent manner are persistent."
] |
Urban Big Data and the Development of City Intelligence | This study provides a definition for urban big data while exploring its features and applications of China's city intelligence. The differences between city intelligence in China and the “smart city” concept in other countries are compared to highlight and contrast the unique definition and model for China's city intelligence in this paper. Furthermore, this paper examines the role of urban big data in city intelligence by showing that it not only serves as the cornerstone of this trend as it also plays a core role in the diffusion of city intelligence technology and serves as an inexhaustible resource for the sustained development of city intelligence. This study also points out the challenges of shaping and developing of China's urban big data. Considering the supporting and core role that urban big data plays in city intelligence, the study then expounds on the key points of urban big data, including infrastructure support, urban governance, public services, and economic and industrial development. Finally, this study points out that the utility of city intelligence as an ideal policy tool for advancing the goals of China's urban development. In conclusion, it is imperative that China make full use of its unique advantages—including using the nation's current state of development and resources, geographical advantages, and good human relations—in subjective and objective conditions to promote the development of city intelligence through the proper application of urban big data. | [
"CENG",
"COMP",
"ENER",
"ENGI",
"ENVI",
"MATE"
] | [
"City intelligence",
"Construction emphases",
"Ternary space",
"Urban big data"
] | [
"1500",
"1700",
"2102",
"2200",
"2305",
"2501"
] | [
"Amid China's rapid industrialization and urbanization, the rise in the population, manufacturing, and traffic of its cities is becoming increasingly intense and complex leading to a variety of urban diseases such as rapid population growth, traffic jams, environmental deterioration, housing shortages, employment p... | [] |
An Internet of Energy Things Based on Wireless LPWAN | Under intense environmental pressure, the global energy sector is promoting the integration of renewable energy into interconnected energy systems. The demand-side management (DSM) of energy systems has drawn considerable industrial and academic attention in attempts to form new flexibilities to respond to variations in renewable energy inputs to the system. However, many DSM concepts are still in the experimental demonstration phase. One of the obstacles to DSM usage is that the current information infrastructure was mainly designed for centralized systems, and does not meet DSM requirements. To overcome this barrier, this paper proposes a novel information infrastructure named the Internet of Energy Things (IoET) in order to make DSM practicable by basing it on the latest wireless communication technology: the low-power wide-area network (LPWAN). The primary advantage of LPWAN over general packet radio service (GPRS) and area Internet of Things (IoT) is its wide-area coverage, which comes with minimum power consumption and maintenance costs. Against this background, this paper briefly reviews the representative LPWAN technologies of narrow-band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and Long Range (LoRa) technology, and compares them with GPRS and area IoT technology. Next, a wireless-to-cloud architecture is proposed for the IoET, based on the main technical features of LPWAN. Finally, this paper looks forward to the potential of IoET in various DSM application scenarios. | [
"CENG",
"COMP",
"ENER",
"ENGI",
"ENVI",
"MATE"
] | [
"Demand-side management",
"Internet of Things",
"LoRa technology",
"Low-power wide-area network",
"Narrow-band Internet of Things"
] | [
"1500",
"1700",
"2102",
"2200",
"2305",
"2501"
] | [
"Under intense environmental pressure, the global energy sector is transitioning toward clean and sustainable development.",
"The concept of the smart grid has been widely accepted in the last decade as a means of integrating higher percentages of renewables [1,2].",
"In 2016, China’s government announced new p... | [] |
Trans-ethnic Fine Mapping Highlights Kidney-Function Genes Linked to Salt Sensitivity | We analyzed genome-wide association studies (GWASs), including data from 71,638 individuals from four ancestries, for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function used to define chronic kidney disease (CKD). We identified 20 loci attaining genome-wide-significant evidence of association (p < 5 × 10−8) with kidney function and highlighted that allelic effects on eGFR at lead SNPs are homogeneous across ancestries. We leveraged differences in the pattern of linkage disequilibrium between diverse populations to fine-map the 20 loci through construction of “credible sets” of variants driving eGFR association signals. Credible variants at the 20 eGFR loci were enriched for DNase I hypersensitivity sites (DHSs) in human kidney cells. DHS credible variants were expression quantitative trait loci for NFATC1 and RGS14 (at the SLC34A1 locus) in multiple tissues. Loss-of-function mutations in ancestral orthologs of both genes in Drosophila melanogaster were associated with altered sensitivity to salt stress. Renal mRNA expression of Nfatc1 and Rgs14 in a salt-sensitive mouse model was also reduced after exposure to a high-salt diet or induced CKD. Our study (1) demonstrates the utility of trans-ethnic fine mapping through integration of GWASs involving diverse populations with genomic annotation from relevant tissues to define molecular mechanisms by which association signals exert their effect and (2) suggests that salt sensitivity might be an important marker for biological processes that affect kidney function and CKD in humans. | [
"BIOC",
"MEDI"
] | [] | [
"1311",
"2716"
] | [
"Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health burden and affects nearly 10% of the global population.1",
"Reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function used to define CKD, is associated with premature cardiovascular disease and mortality, acute kidney injury, and progr... | [] |
Towards on-farm pig face recognition using convolutional neural networks | Identification of individual livestock such as pigs and cows has become a pressing issue in recent years as intensification practices continue to be adopted and precise objective measurements are required (e.g. weight). Current best practice involves the use of RFID tags which are time-consuming for the farmer and distressing for the animal to fit. To overcome this, non-invasive biometrics are proposed by using the face of the animal. We test this in a farm environment, on 10 individual pigs using three techniques adopted from the human face recognition literature: Fisherfaces, the VGG-Face pre-trained face convolutional neural network (CNN) model and our own CNN model that we train using an artificially augmented data set. Our results show that accurate individual pig recognition is possible with accuracy rates of 96.7% on 1553 images. Class Activated Mapping using Grad-CAM is used to show the regions that our network uses to discriminate between pigs. | [
"COMP",
"ENGI"
] | [
"Biometrics",
"Convolutional neural network",
"Deep learning",
"Pig face recognition"
] | [
"1700",
"2200"
] | [
"The need for on farm identification of individual animals has become more pressing in recent years as sustainable intensification has become commonplace, and the ability to monitor inputs to, and outputs of each animal is increasingly desired.",
"The major method of livestock identification is via passive Radio ... | [
"Face recognition for humans is a well-studied and proven biometric.",
"Precision agriculture requires individual animals to be identified reliably.",
"Current methods e.g. RFID have shortcomings (range, distressing to fit).",
"We adapt approaches from human literature to on farm pig-face recognition.",
"Ac... |
Closed-loop insulin delivery in suboptimally controlled type 1 diabetes: a multicentre, 12-week randomised trial | Background: The achievement of glycaemic control remains challenging for patients with type 1 diabetes. We assessed the effectiveness of day-and-night hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery compared with sensor-augmented pump therapy in people with suboptimally controlled type 1 diabetes aged 6 years and older. Methods: In this open-label, multicentre, multinational, single-period, parallel randomised controlled trial, participants were recruited from diabetes outpatient clinics at four hospitals in the UK and two centres in the USA. We randomly assigned participants with type 1 diabetes aged 6 years and older treated with insulin pump and with suboptimal glycaemic control (glycated haemoglobin [HbA1c] 7·5–10·0%) to receive either hybrid closed-loop therapy or sensor-augmented pump therapy over 12 weeks of free living. Training on study insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring took place over a 4-week run-in period. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned using central randomisation software. Allocation to the two study groups was unblinded, and randomisation was stratified within centre by low (<8·5%) or high (≥8·5%) HbA1c. The primary endpoint was the proportion of time that glucose concentration was within the target range of 3·9–10·0 mmol/L at 12 weeks post randomisation. Analyses of primary outcome and safety measures were done in all randomised patients. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02523131, and is closed to accrual. Findings: From May 12, 2016, to Nov 17, 2017, 114 individuals were screened, and 86 eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive hybrid closed-loop therapy (n=46) or sensor-augmented pump therapy (n=40; control group). The proportion of time that glucose concentration was within the target range was significantly higher in the closed-loop group (65%, SD 8) compared with the control group (54%, SD 9; mean difference in change 10·8 percentage points, 95% CI 8·2 to 13·5; p<0·0001). In the closed-loop group, HbA1c was reduced from a screening value of 8·3% (SD 0·6) to 8·0% (SD 0·6) after the 4-week run-in, and to 7·4% (SD 0·6) after the 12-week intervention period. In the control group, the HbA1c values were 8·2% (SD 0·5) at screening, 7·8% (SD 0·6) after run-in, and 7·7% (SD 0·5) after intervention; reductions in HbA1c percentages were significantly greater in the closed-loop group compared with the control group (mean difference in change 0·36%, 95% CI 0·19 to 0·53; p<0·0001). The time spent with glucose concentrations below 3·9 mmol/L (mean difference in change −0·83 percentage points, −1·40 to −0·16; p=0·0013) and above 10·0 mmol/L (mean difference in change −10·3 percentage points, −13·2 to −7·5; p<0·0001) was shorter in the closed-loop group than the control group. The coefficient of variation of sensor-measured glucose was not different between interventions (mean difference in change −0·4%, 95% CI −1·4% to 0·7%; p=0·50). Similarly, total daily insulin dose was not different (mean difference in change 0·031 U/kg per day, 95% CI −0·005 to 0·067; p=0·09) and bodyweight did not differ (mean difference in change 0·68 kg, 95% CI −0·34 to 1·69; p=0·19). No severe hypoglycaemia occurred. One diabetic ketoacidosis occurred in the closed-loop group due to infusion set failure. Two participants in each study group had significant hyperglycaemia, and there were 13 other adverse events in the closed-loop group and three in the control group. Interpretation: Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery improves glucose control while reducing the risk of hypoglycaemia across a wide age range in patients with suboptimally controlled type 1 diabetes. Funding: JDRF, NIHR, and Wellcome Trust. | [
"MEDI"
] | [] | [
"2700"
] | [
"Type 1 diabetes represents 5–10% of cases with diabetes worldwide, and is presently incurable.1",
"Achievement of recommended glycaemic control remains challenging across all age groups,2 in part because tight glycaemic control increases the risk of hypoglycaemia.3,4",
"Over the past decade, considerable progr... | [] |
T2* and quantitative susceptibility mapping in an equine model of post-traumatic osteoarthritis: assessment of mechanical and structural properties of articular cartilage | Objective: To investigate the potential of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and T2* relaxation time mapping to determine mechanical and structural properties of articular cartilage via univariate and multivariate analysis. Methods: Samples were obtained from a cartilage repair study, in which surgically induced full-thickness chondral defects in the stifle joints of seven Shetland ponies caused post-traumatic osteoarthritis (14 samples). Control samples were collected from non-operated joints of three animals (6 samples). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at 9.4 T, using a 3-D multi-echo gradient echo sequence. Biomechanical testing, digital densitometry (DD) and polarized light microscopy (PLM) were utilized as reference methods. To compare MRI parameters with reference parameters (equilibrium and dynamic moduli, proteoglycan content, collagen fiber angle and -anisotropy), depth-wise profiles of MRI parameters were acquired at the biomechanical testing locations. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and Spearman's rank correlation were utilized in data analysis. Results: PLSR indicated a moderate-to-strong correlation (ρ = 0.49–0.66) and a moderate correlation (ρ = 0.41–0.55) between the reference values and T2* relaxation time and QSM profiles, respectively (excluding superficial-only results). PLSR correlations were noticeably higher than direct correlations between bulk MRI and reference parameters. 3-D parametric surface maps revealed spatial variations in the MRI parameters between experimental and control groups. Conclusion: Quantitative parameters from 3-D multi-echo gradient echo MRI can be utilized to predict the properties of articular cartilage. With PLSR, especially the T2* relaxation time profile appeared to correlate with the properties of cartilage. Furthermore, the results suggest that degeneration affects the QSM-contrast in the cartilage. However, this change in contrast is not easy to quantify. | [
"ENGI",
"MEDI"
] | [
"Articular cartilage",
"Post-traumatic osteoarthritis",
"Quantitative susceptibility mapping",
"T2* relaxation"
] | [
"2204",
"2732",
"2745"
] | [
"Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive disease that leads to restricted mobility and severe joint pain1,2.",
"The onset of OA may be due to joint trauma, such as a ligamental tear or focal cartilage loss.2",
"Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is among the best non-invasive tools available for diagnosis of OA.",
... | [] |
Magnetic properties of a LuVO3 single crystal studied by magnetometry, heat capacity and neutron diffraction | We have studied the magnetic properties of a LuVO3 single crystal. The compound shows an orbital ordering at TOO = 179 K followed by the antiferromagnetic spin ordering at TSO = 109 K. In the magnetically ordered regime, there appears an abrupt change at To = 82.5 K in the magnetisation, indicating a first-order transition. The compound has very large negative Weiss temperature observed along all the main crystallographic axes, suggesting a strong antiferromagnetic correlations in the paramagnetic state. The observation of hysteresis curves in the collinear antiferromagnetic regime is discussed in terms of an inhomogeneity generating some spins with weak local fields in a strongly antiferromagnetic matrix. | [
"MATE"
] | [
"Antiferromagnets",
"Disorder materials",
"Heat capacity",
"Magnetic materials",
"Spin orbital order"
] | [
"2501",
"2502",
"2503",
"2504"
] | [
"The interplay between spin-orbital interaction and phase transitions has attracted much interest recently in strongly correlated electron systems, in particular the transition metal (TM) oxides.",
"Coupling to the lattice further enriches the interplay through lattice distortions, phonons, and cooperative effect... | [] |
Evolution and functional classification of mammalian copper amine oxidases | Mammalian copper-containing amine oxidases (CAOs), encoded by four genes (AOC1-4) and catalyzing the oxidation of primary amines to aldehydes, regulate many biological processes and are linked to various diseases including inflammatory conditions and histamine intolerance. Despite the known differences in their substrate preferences, CAOs are currently classified based on their preference for either primary monoamines (EC 1.4.3.21) or diamines (EC 1.4.3.22). Here, we present the first extensive phylogenetic study of CAOs that, combined with structural analyses of the CAO active sites, provides in-depth knowledge of their relationships and guidelines for classification of mammalian CAOs into AOC1-4 sub-families. The phylogenetic results show that CAOs can be classified based on two residues, X1 and X2, from the active site motif: T/S-X1-X2-N-Y-D. Residue X2 discriminates among the AOC1 (Tyr), AOC2 (Gly), and AOC3/AOC4 (Leu) proteins, while residue X1 further classifies the AOC3 (Leu) and AOC4 (Met) proteins that so far have been poorly identified and annotated. Residues X1 and X2 conserved within each sub-family and located in the catalytic site seem to be the key determinants for the unique substrate preference of each CAO sub-family. Furthermore, one residue located at 10 Å distance from the catalytic site is different between the sub-families but highly conserved within each sub-family (Asp in AOC1, His in AOC2, Thr in AOC3 and Asn in AOC4) and likely contributes to substrate selectivity. Altogether, our results will benefit the design of new sub-family specific inhibitors and the design of in vitro tests to detect individual CAO levels for diagnostic purposes. | [
"AGRI",
"BIOC"
] | [
"Active site motif",
"Copper amine oxidase",
"Functional classification",
"Phylogenetics",
"Three-dimensional structure"
] | [
"1105",
"1311",
"1312"
] | [
"Copper-containing amine oxidases (CAOs) are a large class of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of primary amines to the corresponding aldehyde associated with the reduction of molecular oxygen to hydrogen peroxide (Reviewed in Klema and Wilmot, 2012).",
"Because of their wide distribution in mammalian tissues,... | [
"Active site motif classifies CAOs to functional sub-families.",
"Variable residues from the active site motif contribute to substrate selectivity.",
"One sub-family specific residue seems to be important for substrate preference.",
"Expression profile of mammalian AOC1, AOC2, AOC3 and AOC4 is species-specifi... |
Data for the level of women׳s self-esteem and couples’ sexual satisfaction before and after mammoplasty | Nowadays, one of the existing problems in the societies is the increase in the rate of plastic surgeries such as mammaplasty, especially among the women in Iran. The present study was conducted on the positive and negative effects of this surgery on Iranian women׳s self-esteem and couples’ sexual satisfaction before and after mammaplasty. The analysis is based on data of a pretest -posttest design with only one group conducted on 100 couples. Three questionnaires of demographic characteristics, Rosenberg׳s self-esteem, and women׳s and men׳s sexual satisfaction were adopted. The questionnaires were completed before surgery and two months after by the couples. Among 100 studied participants, mean self-esteem before and after mammaplasty were 18.77 and 17.96 respectively. Mean women׳s sexual satisfaction before and after surgery were 30.80 and 39.80 respectively. In conclusion, mammaplasty is effective on increase of women׳s sexual satisfaction, but it has no effect on increase of their self-esteem and their husbands’ sexual satisfaction. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Mammaplasty",
"Self–esteem",
"Sexual satisfaction",
"Women"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"Out of 100 investigated couples, 3% of the women were under 20 years of age, 17% between 20–30 years, 49% between 30–40 years and 31% over age of 40.",
"About 57% of their spouses were employees and 43% were self-employed.",
"About 19% of the couples had no children, 19% had one child, 55% had two children and... | [] |
Hypoxia signaling controls postnatal changes in cardiac mitochondrial morphology and function | Fetal cardiomyocyte adaptation to low levels of oxygen in utero is incompletely understood, and is of interest as hypoxia tolerance is lost after birth, leading to vulnerability of adult cardiomyocytes. It is known that cardiac mitochondrial morphology, number and function change significantly following birth, although the underlying molecular mechanisms and physiological stimuli are undefined.Here we show that the decrease in cardiomyocyte HIF-signaling in cardiomyocytes immediately after birth acts as a physiological switch driving mitochondrial fusion and increased postnatal mitochondrial biogenesis. We also investigated mechanisms of ATP generation in embryonic cardiac mitochondria. We found that embryonic cardiac cardiomyocytes rely on both glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle to generate ATP, and that the balance between these two metabolic pathways in the heart is controlled around birth by the reduction in HIF signaling. We therefore propose that the increase in ambient oxygen encountered by the neonate at birth acts as a key physiological stimulus to cardiac mitochondrial adaptation. © 2014. | [
"BIOC",
"MEDI"
] | [
"Cardiac",
"Hypoxia",
"Mitochondria",
"Mitofusin",
"Neonatal"
] | [
"1312",
"2705"
] | [
"Fetal cardiomyocytes are adapted to function in low levels of oxygen in utero, whereas adult cardiomyocytes are extremely vulnerable to hypoxia, as evidenced by high rates of mortality and morbidity caused by ischemic heart disease [1].",
"Shortly after birth, cardiomyocytes lose their capability to adapt to hyp... | [
"The reduction in HIF signaling encountered by the heart following birth acts as a physiological switch.",
"Reduced postnatal cardiac HIF signaling affects mitochondrial number, structure and function.",
"Experimental study of mitochondria is prone to artifacts due to the effect of oxygen.",
"Cardiomyocytes e... |
Enhanced case management can be delivered for patients with EVD in Africa: Experience from a UK military Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone | Background: Limited data exist describing supportive care management, laboratory abnormalities and outcomes in patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa. We report data which constitute the first description of the provision of enhanced EVD case management protocols in a West African setting. Methods: Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected by retrospective review of clinical and laboratory records of patients with confirmed EVD admitted between 5 November 2014 and 30 June 2015. Results: A total of 44 EVD patients were admitted (median age 37 years (range 17–63), 32/44 healthcare workers), and excluding those evacuated, the case fatality rate was 49% (95% CI 33%–65%). No pregnant women were admitted. At admission 9/44 had stage 1 disease (fever and constitutional symptoms only), 12/44 had stage 2 disease (presence of diarrhoea and/or vomiting) and 23/44 had stage 3 disease (presence of diarrhoea and/or vomiting with organ failure), with case fatality rates of 11% (95% CI 1%–58%), 27% (95% CI 6%–61%), and 70% (95% CI 47%–87%) respectively (p = 0.009). Haemorrhage occurred in 17/41 (41%) patients. The majority (21/40) of patients had hypokalaemia with hyperkalaemia occurring in 12/40 patients. Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred in 20/40 patients, with 14/20 (70%, 95% CI 46%–88%) dying, compared to 5/20 (25%, 95% CI 9%–49%) dying who did not have AKI (p = 0.01). Ebola virus (EBOV) PCR cycle threshold value at baseline was mean 20.3 (SD 4.3) in fatal cases and 24.8 (SD 5.5) in survivors (p = 0.007). Mean national early warning score (NEWS) at admission was 5.5 (SD 4.4) in fatal cases and 3.0 (SD 1.9) in survivors (p = 0.02). Central venous catheters were placed in 37/41 patients and intravenous fluid administered to 40/41 patients (median duration of 5 days). Faecal management systems were inserted in 21/41 patients, urinary catheters placed in 27/41 and blood component therapy administered to 20/41 patients. Conclusions: EVD is commonly associated life-threatening electrolyte imbalance and organ dysfunction. We believe that the enhanced levels of protocolized care, scale and range of medical interventions we report, offer a blueprint for the future management of EVD in resource-limited settings. | [
"MEDI"
] | [
"Critical care",
"Early warning score",
"Ebola virus disease",
"Viral haemorrhagic fever"
] | [
"2725",
"2726"
] | [
"The recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa was unprecedented.",
"Following the first case in Guinea in December 2013, 28 616 cases were reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone resulting in 11 310 deaths.1,2",
"Fragile healthcare systems in the affected countries struggled to cope with... | [
"EVD is associated with life-threatening electrolyte imbalance and organ dysfunction.",
"Clinical staging/early warning scores can be useful EVD prognostic indicators.",
"Enhanced protocolized care is a blueprint for future treatment in low-resource settings."
] |
A generalised framework for saliency-based point feature detection | Here we present a novel, histogram-based salient point feature detector that may naturally be applied to both images and 3D data. Existing point feature detectors are often modality specific, with 2D and 3D feature detectors typically constructed in separate ways. As such, their applicability in a 2D-3D context is very limited, particularly where the 3D data is obtained by a LiDAR scanner. By contrast, our histogram-based approach is highly generalisable and as such, may be meaningfully applied between 2D and 3D data. Using the generalised approach, we propose salient point detectors for images, and both untextured and textured 3D data. The approach naturally allows for the detection of salient 3D points based jointly on both the geometry and texture of the scene, allowing for broader applicability. The repeatability of the feature detectors is evaluated using a range of datasets including image and LiDAR input from indoor and outdoor scenes. Experimental results demonstrate a significant improvement in terms of 2D-2D and 2D-3D repeatability compared to existing multi-modal feature detectors. | [
"COMP"
] | [
"2D-3D registration",
"Feature detection",
"Feature matching",
"Point detection",
"Saliency"
] | [
"1707",
"1711",
"1712"
] | [
"Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) scanners have been used to obtain 3D data for decades, but it is only in recent years that they have seen more widespread applicability due to the high computational capacity required to cope with such large datasets.",
"However, the integration of LiDAR scans with data from o... | [
"A novel multi-modal histogram-based salient point detector is proposed.",
"The general formulation allows salient point detection in both images and 3D data.",
"The derivative-based approach improves upon existing intensity based 2D approaches.",
"The 3D detector naturally operates on both the geometry and t... |
Regional scale hydrologic modeling of a karst-dominant geomorphology: The case study of the Island of Crete | Crete Island (Greece) is a karst dominated region that faces limited water supply and increased seasonal demand, especially during summer for agricultural and touristic uses. In addition, due to the mountainous terrain, interbasin water transfer is very limited. The resulting water imbalance requires a correct quantification of available water resources in view of developing appropriate management plans to face the problem of water shortage. The aim of this work is the development of a methodology using the SWAT model and a karst-flow model (KSWAT, Karst SWAT model) for the quantification of a spatially and temporally explicit hydrologic water balance of karst-dominated geomorphology in order to assess the sustainability of the actual water use. The application was conducted in the Island of Crete using both hard (long time series of streamflow and spring monitoring stations) and soft data (i.e. literature information of individual processes). The KSWAT model estimated the water balance under normal hydrological condition as follows: 6400 Mm3/y of precipitation, of which 40% (2500 Mm3/y) was lost through evapotranspiration, 5% was surface runoff and 55% percolated into the soil contributing to lateral flow (2%), and recharging the shallow (9%) and deep aquifer (44%). The water yield was estimated as 22% of precipitation, of which about half was the contribution from spring discharges (9% of precipitation). The application of the KSWAT model increased our knowledge about water resources availability and distribution in Crete under different hydrologic conditions. The model was able to capture the hydrology of the karst areas allowing a better management and planning of water resources under scarcity. | [
"ENVI"
] | [
"Crete",
"Karst",
"Mediterranean",
"Multi-site calibration",
"SWAT",
"Water balance"
] | [
"2312"
] | [
"“Karst” identifies a specific geological landscape and morphology formed by the dissolving action of water on soluble carbonate rocks such as primarily limestone, but also marble, dolomite, and gypsum.",
"These rocks are mechanically strong but chemically soluble with high degree of secondary porosity.",
"As a... | [
"SWAT model was adapted and integrated with a karst-flow model (KSWAT model).",
"KSWAT has allowed calibrating 22 streamflow and 47 springs gauging stations.",
"KSWAT has captured the spatial and temporal variability of water balance.",
"The proposed methodology has allowed defining the karst recharge area of... |
Aligning carbon targets for construction with (inter)national climate change mitigation commitments | In the face of a changing climate, a growing number of construction firms are adopting carbon reduction targets on individual projects and across their portfolios. In the wake of the Paris Agreement, some firms are seeking a means of aligning their targets with sectoral, national and international mitigation commitments. There are numerous ways by which such an alignment can be achieved, each requiring different assumptions. Using data from the UK construction industry, this paper reviews current company commitments and progress in carbon mitigation; analyses the unique challenges in aligning construction targets, and presents a series of possible sectoral decarbonisation trajectories. The results highlight the disparity between current company targets and the range of possible trajectories. It is clear that a cross-industry dialogue is urgently required to establish an appropriate response that delivers both a widely-accepted target trajectory and a plan for its delivery. This paper is intended to stimulate and support this necessary debate by illustrating the impact of different methodological assumptions and highlighting the critical features of an appropriate response. | [
"ENGI"
] | [
"Buildings",
"Climate change mitigation",
"Construction",
"Embodied carbon",
"Paris Agreement",
"Science Based Targets",
"Whole life carbon"
] | [
"2205",
"2208",
"2210",
"2215"
] | [
"The dangers posed by anthropogenic carbon emissions and a changing climate are well documented [1], yet in 2016 humanity emitted a further 36 GtCO2 from fossil fuels and industrial processes [2].",
"In December 2015, 195 countries adopted the first legally binding global climate deal seeking to hold increases in... | [
"Some firms are trying to align carbon targets with (inter)national mitigation commitments.",
"Construction firms face a unique set of challenges in aligning targets.",
"There are a range of approaches, each with distinct limitations.",
"Adopting different approaches yields different targets and corresponding... |
Influence of adenovirus and MVA vaccines on the breadth and hierarchy of T cell responses | Viral-vectored vaccines are in clinical development for several infectious diseases where T-cell responses can mediate protection, and responses to sub-dominant epitopes is needed. Little is known about the influence of MVA or adenoviral vectors on the hierarchy of the dominant and sub-dominant T-cell epitopes. We investigated this aspect in mice using a malaria immunogen. Our results demonstrate that the T-cell hierarchy is influenced by the timing of analysis, rather than by the vector after a single immunization, with hierarchy changing over time. Repeated homologous immunization reduced the breadth of responses, while heterologous prime-boost induced the strongest response to the dominant epitope, albeit with only modest response to the sub-dominant epitopes. | [
"BIOC",
"IMMU",
"MEDI",
"VETE"
] | [
"Subdominant T-cell epitopes",
"T-cell hierarchy",
"Vaccines",
"Viral vectors"
] | [
"1313",
"2400",
"2725",
"2739",
"3400"
] | [
"Leading vaccine strategies aiming at inducing strong cellular immunity in humans use recombinant adenovirus (Ad) and Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) [1,2].",
"These vectors have been assessed since the late 90s for their capacity to induce different frequency, phenotype, function and localization of T- and B-cell... | [
"Viral-vectored vaccines are expected to induce T-cell responses to sub-dominant epitopes.",
"Hierarchy of T-cell response is influenced by the timing of analysis after a single immunization.",
"Repeated homologous immunization reduces the breadth of T-cell response.",
"Heterologous prime-boost induces a mode... |
Decreased Serum Sirtuin-1 in COPD | Background The protein deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) is an antiaging molecule that is decreased in the lung in patients with COPD. Recently, SIRT1 was reported to be detectable in serum, but serum SIRT1 (s120S) levels have not yet been reported in patients with COPD. Methods Serum SIRT1 protein of all samples was measured by Western blot, and the SIRT1 protein band densities were calculated and compared with clinical parameters. Results Several molecular sizes of SIRT1, including 120 kDa (actual size) and fragments (102 and 75 kDa) were quantified by Western blot. Among them, only the 120-kDa s120S was significantly decreased in patients with COPD compared with the control subjects without COPD (s120S ratio in healthy subjects = 0.90 ± 0.34 vs those with COPD = 0.68 ± 0.24; P =.014) and was positively correlated with airway obstruction (FEV1/FVC, r = 0.31; P =.020); its severity measured by FEV1 % predicted (r = 0.29; P =.029). s120S also showed a positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.36; P =.0077) and diffusing capacity of the lung per unit volume (the carbon monoxide transfer coefficient: KCO%) (r = 0.32; P =.025). It was also significantly decreased with increasing severity of lung emphysema (r = –0.40; P =.027) and with a clinical history of frequent COPD exacerbations (infrequent vs frequent, 0.76 ± 0.20 vs 0.56 ± 0.26; P =.027). SIRT1 was not detected in supernatant of A549 and primary epithelial cells in normal culture conditions. Conclusions s120S was decreased in the patients with COPD, potentially as reflected by the reduced SIRT1 within cells as a result of oxidative stress, and might be a potential biomarker for certain disease characteristics of COPD. | [
"MEDI"
] | [
"COPD",
"biomarker",
"emphysema",
"serum",
"sirtuin-1"
] | [
"2705",
"2706",
"2740"
] | [
"Commercially available reagents were obtained as follows: Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium (RPMI) medium 1640 (RPMI 1640) (No. 32404-014) and Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) (31053-028) were obtained from Life Technologies; fetal bovine serum (FBS), complete protease inhibitor cocktail (11836153001),... | [] |
Making progress in early breast cancer: Taking time or accepting risk? | Outcomes for patients diagnosed with early breast cancer in developed countries have improved substantially over recent decades. Adjuvant therapies have contributed to this improvement and their benefits have been confirmed in large randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses. Lower event rates, whilst welcome, have created problems for RCTs, that need to be larger and often take longer to provide a reliable result. In an effort to maintain the rate of progress and to obviate the complexity, cost and time required to conduct large RCTs, there has been an increased tendency to rely on observational data to determine a treatment effect and also to accelerate progress by the use of a surrogate marker (pathological complete remission after neoadjuvant chemotherapy). We highlight the pitfalls in these approaches and suggest some simplifications in the conduct of RCTs. | [
"BIOC",
"MEDI"
] | [
"Breast cancer",
"Clinical trials",
"Observational studies",
"Randomised trials",
"Surrogate markers"
] | [
"1306",
"2730"
] | [
"Frustration at the slow rate of progress in trying to develop and improve treatments for early breast cancer is commonly expressed by both patient and medical communities.",
"There is an obvious tension between the desire for improved treatments and other technologies and the need for careful evaluation.",
"Th... | [
"Surrogate markers are yet to be developed and validated in early breast cancer.",
"Reliance on observational data to evaluate treatment effects is risky.",
"Prospective randomised trials are difficult but remain vital to progress.",
"Research approval processes need simplification and streamlining."
] |
Rapid, cost-effective and accurate quantification of Yucca schidigera Roezl. steroidal saponins using HPLC-ELSD method | Yucca GRAS-labelled saponins have been and are increasingly used in food/feed, pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries. Existing techniques presently used for Yucca steroidal saponin quantification remain either inaccurate and misleading or accurate but time consuming and cost prohibitive. The method reported here addresses all of the above challenges. HPLC/ELSD technique is an accurate and reliable method that yields results of appropriate repeatability and reproducibility. This method does not over- or under-estimate levels of steroidal saponins. HPLC/ELSD method does not require each and every pure standard of saponins, to quantify the group of steroidal saponins. The method is a time- and cost-effective technique that is suitable for routine industrial analyses. HPLC/ELSD methods yield a saponin fingerprints specific to the plant species. As the method is capable of distinguishing saponin profiles from taxonomically distant species, it can unravel plant adulteration issues. | [
"AGRI",
"CHEM"
] | [
"Adulteration",
"HPLC-ELSD",
"Quantification",
"Quillaja",
"Saponin",
"Steroidal saponin",
"Yucca",
"Yucca brevifolia",
"Yucca schidigera"
] | [
"1106",
"1602"
] | [
"Well before their chemical structures were elucidated, Yucca saponins were utilised by American Indians in a series of applications, including soap.",
"Multiple uses of a range of compounds originate from different parts of 35–40 Yucca (Agavaceae) species.",
"Yucca are mainly distributed in the deserts of Cent... | [
"Yucca steroidal saponins are widely used in food/feed industries.",
"HPLC/ELSD is a new technique for measurement of Yucca steroidal saponins.",
"Contrary to classical techniques, HPLC/ELSD is rapid, accurate and reliable method.",
"HPLC/ELSD is a time- and cost-effective technique suitable for routine analy... |
Synthesis, characterization and visible light photocatalytic activity of metal based TiO2 monoliths for CO2 reduction | The use of multichannel monoliths for CO2 photoreduction applications is gaining increased attention over slurry and annular reactors due to their tunable geometry for reactor designs and exposed surface area per volume. Metal based TiO2 sol with varying concentrations of Cr, V and Co were deposited on ceramic honeycomb monolithic structures threaded with optical fibres, which can provide light irradiation along each coated interconnected monolithic channel. The coated monoliths show a red shift of absorption edge and light absorption in the visible light region increase with increasing metal concentration compared to pure TiO2. Photocatalytic activities of the metal based TiO2 monoliths under visible light irradiation were evaluated for vapour-phase CO2photoreduction withH2O.Maximum acetaldehyde rate of 11.13μmol/gcath was achieved over the 0.5wt% V-TiO2 monolith after 4h of visible light irradiation. | [
"CENG",
"CHEM",
"ENGI",
"ENVI"
] | [
"CO2 reduction",
"Ceramic monoliths",
"Optical fibres",
"Photocatalysis",
"Titanium dioxide",
"Visible light"
] | [
"1500",
"1600",
"2209",
"2304"
] | [
"The continuous combustion of fossil fuels and depletion of existing resources are intensifying the research and development of alternative future energy options that can directly abate and process ever-increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.",
"Over the past decade, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been considered... | [
"Coated monolithic structures were tested for visible-light-induced CO2 reduction.",
"Red shift in absorption edge was observed with increasing metal concentration.",
"Fuel production rate is enhanced upon chromium, vanadium or cobalt deposition."
] |
Dynamic patterns of overexploitation in fisheries | Understanding overfishing and regulating fishing quotas is a major global challenge for the 21st Century both in terms of providing food for humankind and to preserve the oceans’ ecosystems. However, fishing is a complex economic activity, affected not just by overfishing but also by such factors as pollution, technology, financial factors and more. For this reason, it is often difficult to state with complete certainty that overfishing is the cause of the decline of a fishery. In this study, we developed a simple dynamic model specifically designed to isolate and to study the role of depletion on production. The model is based on the well-known Lotka-Volterra model, or Prey-Predator mechanism, assuming that the fish stock and the fishing industry are coupled variables that dynamically affect each other. In the model, the fishing industry acts as the “predator” and the fish stock as the “prey”. If the model can fit historical data, in particular relative to the productive decline of specific fisheries, then we have a strong indication that the decline of the fish stock is driving the decline of the fishery production. The model doesn't pretend to be a general description of the fishing industry in all its varied forms; however, the data reported here show that the model can describe several historical cases of fisheries whose production decreased and collapsed, indicating that the overexploitation of the fish stocks is an important factor in the decline of fisheries. | [
"ENVI"
] | [
"Fisheries",
"Lotka-Volterra",
"Overfishing",
"System dynamic"
] | [
"2302"
] | [
"Many of the world’s fisheries are showing a decline in the fishing yield, a phenomenon that’s clearly important for the global economy and which is often interpreted in terms of the overexploitation of the fish stock (Pauly, 2009): the fishing industry is consistently depleting the fish stock at a rate higher than... | [
"For the first time, the “predator-prey” model is used for the quantitative description of an economic predatory dynamic in real-world fisheries.",
"A simple “mind-sized” model highlights the driving forces that lead to the resources’ overexploitation and the collapse of a production system.",
"A renewable fish... |
“Nordic Cool” and writing system mimicry in global linguistic landscapes | Fuelled by political and economic trends in the 21st century, the concepts “New Nordic” and “Nordic Cool” have entered the global scene in design, cuisine, entertainment, and general lifestyle (Østergaard et al., 2014; Skou and Munch, 2016; Andersen et al., 2019). Simultaneously, due to globalisation, individuals today are subjected to a higher number of language contact situations than ever before, in face-to-face communication as well as through foreign products and international advertisements. This study explores how Nordic orthographic features are capitalised on in international marketing to elevate the images of various brands. Nordic words and graphemes can be used to evoke positive associations that the consumer may have relating to the region (e.g. associations of ‘nature’, ‘simplicity’, or even ‘luxury’), or simply to index foreigness, globalism, or exclusivity (Jaworski, 2015a). | [
"ARTS",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Globalese",
"Globalisation",
"Indexicality",
"Linguistic landscape",
"Writing system mimicry"
] | [
"1203",
"3310"
] | [
"The term linguistic landscape, which refers to the visibility of languages in public spaces, was first introduced to linguistics by Landry and Bourhis in 1997.",
"In their study, the linguistic landscape of an area is defined by the languages on public road signs, advertisements, and commercial shop signs (Landr... | [
"Positive associations relating to the Nordics increase visibility of Nordic linguistic features.",
"International brands use Nordic linguistic features to evoke positive associations in consumers.",
"Nordic graphemes may be used as innovative features in globalese.",
"The graphemes 〈Ø〉 and 〈Å〉 are particular... |
Chitinozoan biozonation in the upper Katian and Hirnantian of the Welsh Basin, UK | Here we present a chitinozoan biostratigraphical framework for the South Wales upper Katian and Hirnantian (Ashgill) succession. The current study indicates that three of the six Avalonian Ashgill chitinozoan biozones are recognised in the Welsh Basin; the bergstroemi, fossensis and umbilicata biozones. The Baltoscandian and Laurentian Hercochitina gamachiana biozone is suggested by the presence of Belonechitina cf. gamachiana and the Spinachitina taugourdeaui biozone is suggested by Spinachitina cf. taugourdeaui. Intervening between these is a newly erected lower Hirnantian regional biozone, the Belonechitina llangrannogensis n. sp. biozone. The late Katian (Cautleyan-Rawtheyan) Conochitina rugata biozone was not recognised, though the index taxon is recorded. The presence of B. cf. gamachiana below the lithological expression of the Hirnantian glacial maximum and alongside Rawtheyan graptolite and trilobite assemblages shows that the local base of the B. cf. gamachiana biozone lies beneath the Katian-Hirnantian boundary. Although at present in open nomenclature, the finds of B. cf. gamachiana and S. cf. taugourdeaui, from sites where these chitinozoans co-occur with graptolites, are potentially important; the area offers the potential to study how B. cf. gamachiana and S. cf. taugourdeaui are taxonomically and stratigraphically linked to the original index species. A composite Katian-Hirnantian chitinozoan biozonation for the Welsh Basin is presented and three new species are defined: Belonechitina llangrannogensis n. sp., Belonechitina ceregidionensis n. sp. and S. pinachitina penbryniensis n. sp. © 2014 . | [
"AGRI",
"EART"
] | [
"Avalonia",
"Chitinozoan",
"Hirnantian",
"Katian",
"Ordovician",
"Welsh Basin"
] | [
"1105",
"1911"
] | [
"The recent development of an integrated Upper Ordovician chitinozoan biozonation in British Avalonia (Vandenbroucke and Vanmeirhaeghe, 2007; Vandenbroucke, 2008a), based on type areas for the British chronostratigraphical scheme (Fortey et al., 1995, 2000), recognises six chitinozoan biozones with two subzones for... | [
"A new composite Katian-Hirnantian chitinozoan biozonation for the Welsh Basin, UK.",
"Three new species of chitinozoan are defined.",
"The Welsh Basin chitinozoan assemblage implies Laurentian-Avalonian faunal links.",
"Belonchitina cf. gamachiana occurs in the anceps Biozone."
] |
Association of open-angle glaucoma loci with incident glaucoma in the blue mountains eye study | Purpose To determine if open-angle glaucoma (OAG)-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with incident glaucoma and if such genetic information is useful in OAG risk prediction. Design Case-control from within a population-based longitudinal study. Methods study population: Individuals aged over 49 years of age living in the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney and enrolled in the Blue Mountains Eye Study. observation: Cases for this sub-study (n = 67) developed incident OAG between baseline and 10-year visits, in either eye, while controls (n = 1919) had no evidence for OAG at any visit. All participants had an ocular examination and DNA genotyped for reported OAG risk SNPs. main outcome measure: Incident OAG. Results Two loci also known to be associated with cup-to-disc ratio as well as OAG (9p21 near CDKN2B-AS1 and SIX1/SIX6) were both significantly associated with incident OAG in the Blue Mountains Eye Study cohort (P =.006 and P =.004, respectively). The TMCO1 locus was nominally associated (P =.012), while the CAV1/CAV2 and 8q22 loci were not associated. Multivariate logistic regression and neural network analysis both indicated that the genetic risk factors contributed positively to the predictive models incorporating traditional risk factors. Conclusions This study shows that previously reported genetic variations related to OAG and cup-to-disc ratio are associated with the onset of OAG and thus may become useful in risk prediction algorithms designed to target early treatment to those most at risk of developing glaucoma. | [
"MEDI"
] | [] | [
"2731"
] | [
"The Blue Mountains Eye Study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Sydney for investigation of the epidemiology and genetics of ocular disease.",
"The BMES has been described previously.10",
"Briefly, the BMES is a population-based study of individuals living in the Blue Moun... | [] |
Data on endogenous chicken sperm peptides and small proteins obtained through Top-Down High Resolution Mass Spectrometry | The endogenous peptides and small proteins present in chicken sperm were identified in the context of the characterization of a fertility-diagnostic method based on the use of ICM-MS (Intact Cell Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry). The interpretation and description of these data can be found in a research article, “Intact cell MALDI-TOF MS on sperm: a molecular test for male fertility diagnosis” (Soler et al., 2016) [1], and raw data derived from this analysis have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the dataset identifier PRIDE: PXD002768. Here, we describe the inventory of all the molecular species identified, along with their biochemical features and functional analysis. This peptide/protein catalogue can be further employed as reference for other studies and reveal that the use of proteomics allows for a global evaluation of sperm cells functions. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Chicken",
"Peptidome",
"Sperm",
"Top-Down HRMS"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"This dataset consists of a compendium of peptidoforms and small proteoforms extracted from chicken ejaculated sperm, that were pre-fractionated using gel filtration or reverse phase chromatography and identified through a Top-Down mass spectrometry analysis.",
"Hence, this set includes data regarding the identit... | [] |
Cognitive impairment is independently associated with mortality, extended hospital stays and early readmission of older people with emergency hospital admissions: A retrospective cohort study | Background: Older adults admitted to hospital are often cognitively impaired. It is not clear whether the presence of cognitive impairment conveys an additional risk for poor hospital outcomes in this patient population. Objectives: To determine whether cognitive impairment in hospitalised older adults is independently associated with poor outcomes. Design: Retrospective cohort study using electronic, routinely collected data from linked clinical and administrative databases. Setting: Large, acute district general hospital in England. Participants: 21,399 incident emergency admissions of people aged ≥75, screened for cognitive impairment, categorised to 3 groups: (i) cognitive impairment with a diagnosis of dementia, (ii) cognitive impairment with no dementia diagnosis, (iii) no cognitive impairment. Methods: Multivariable logistic regression and Fine and Gray competing risks survival models were employed to explore associations between cognitive impairment and mortality (in-hospital alone, and in-hospital plus up to 30 days after discharge), time to hospital discharge, and hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge. Covariates included age, severity of illness, main diagnosis, comorbidities and nutritional risk. Results: Twenty-seven percent of patients had cognitive impairment; of these, 61.5% had a diagnosis of dementia and 38.5% did not. Patients with cognitive impairment and no diagnosis of dementia were most likely to die in hospital or be readmitted, they also had the longest hospital stays. Cognitive impairment was independently associated with mortality in hospital (Odds Ratio 1.34 [1.17–1.55] with dementia; Odds Ratio 1.78 [1.52–2.07] without), mortality in hospital or within 30 days of discharge (Odds Ratio 1.66 [1.48–1.86]; Odds Ratio 1.67 [1.46–1.90]); readmission (Odds Ratio 1.21 [1.04–1.40]; Odds Ratio 1.47 [1.25–1.73]), and increased time until discharge (sub-hazard ratio 0.80 [0.76–0.83]; sub-hazard ratio 0.66 [0.63–0.69]). Conclusions: Cognitive impairment is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in hospitalised older people with an unscheduled admission, by increasing hospital mortality, extending hospital stays and increasing frequency of readmissions. Future research should focus on understanding the mechanisms contributing to poorer outcomes in this population. | [
"NURS"
] | [
"Cognitive impairments",
"Dementia",
"Hospitalization",
"Length of stay",
"Mortality",
"Older adults",
"Patient readmission"
] | [
"2900"
] | [
"Emergency hospital admissions of older people are increasing globally, and are likely to continue to rise given current demographic trends.",
"Older adults now comprise around two-thirds of hospital inpatients, and up to 50% of these patients have some form of cognitive impairment, including that related to deme... | [] |
Ion-irradiation-induced clustering in W-Re and W-Re-Os alloys: A comparative study using atom probe tomography and nanoindentation measurements | This study examines clustering and hardening in W-2 at.% Re and W-1 at.% Re-1 at.% Os alloys induced by 2 MeV W+ ion irradiation at 573 and 773 K. Such clusters are known precursors to the formation of embrittling precipitates, a potentially life-limiting phenomenon in the operation of fusion reactor components. Increases in hardness were studied using nanoindentation. The presence of osmium significantly increased post-irradiation hardening. Atom probe tomography analysis revealed clustering in both alloys, with the size and number densities strongly dependent on alloy composition and irradiation temperature. The highest cluster number density was found in the ternary alloy irradiated at 773 K. In the ternary alloy, Os was found to cluster preferentially compared to Re. The implications of this result for the structural integrity of fusion reactor components are discussed. Crown | [
"MATE"
] | [
"Atom probe tomography",
"Ion irradiation",
"Nanoindentation",
"Nuclear fusion",
"Tungsten rhenium osmium alloys"
] | [
"2503",
"2504",
"2506",
"2507"
] | [
"Tungsten is the prime candidate for plasma facing applications in future nuclear fusion reactors, being one of only a handful of materials that are capable of withstanding the harsh operating conditions of up to ∼1300 K, power densities of 1–20 MW m−2 and irradiation from both 14 MeV neutrons and 2 MeV alpha parti... | [] |
Digital platforms and the changing nature of physical work: Insights from ride-hailing | The rise of digital platforms has enabled new forms of work, but the nature of these new forms, particularly the role of the digital platform in shaping work relations, is not well understood. This study explores how the presence of the digital platform manifests itself in workers’ perceptions of their work in the context of ride-hailing. We draw on the literature on work relations and theorize how the dimensions of work relations manifest themselves in work done for a digital platform. We employ the Gioia method to analyze 39 interviews conducted with Uber and Lyft drivers, and we identify six key mechanisms of platform-enabled work, namely self-employment, time management, income, information control, pricing, and rating. Our results illustrate that from workers’ perspective, flexibility in work relationships is a key positive element of platform-enabled work. The stark power disparity between workers and the platform is, in turn, a major source of discontent among workers. As a result, we put forward two key dimensions of work relations in the context of platform-enabled work: digital temporality and algorithmic administrativity. The study furthers understanding of the implications from the platform economy and sharing economy on work relations. | [
"COMP",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Digital platform",
"Digitalization",
"Gig economy",
"Lyft",
"Platform economy",
"Ride-hailing",
"Sharing economy",
"Taxi",
"Uber",
"Work"
] | [
"1705",
"1710",
"3309"
] | [
"Digital platforms such as Amazon MTurk, Uber, and AirBnB have enabled the emergence of various new forms of work (Colbert, Yee, & George, 2016; Gandini, 2019; Howcroft & Bergvall-Kåreborn, 2019; Kuhn & Maleki, 2017).",
"In the context of platform-enabled work, we define a digital platform as the digital infrastr... | [
"We identify six key mechanisms of platform-enabled work, namely self-employment, time management, income, information control, pricing, and rating.",
"From workers’ perspective, flexibility in work relationships is a key positive element of platform-enabled work.",
"The stark power disparity between workers an... |
Neurocognitive evidence for mental imagery-driven hypoalgesic and hyperalgesic pain regulation | Mental imagery has the potential to influence perception by directly altering sensory, cognitive, and affective brain activity associated with imagined content. While it is well established that mental imagery can both exacerbate and alleviate acute and chronic pain, it is currently unknown how imagery mechanisms regulate pain perception. For example, studies to date have been unable to determine whether imagery effects depend upon a general redirection of attention away from pain or focused attentional mechanisms. To address these issues, we recorded subjective, behavioral and ERP responses using 64-channel EEG while healthy human participants applied a mental imagery strategy to decrease or increase pain sensations. When imagining a glove covering the forearm, participants reported decreased perceived intensity and unpleasantness, classified fewer high-intensity stimuli as painful, and showed a more conservative response bias. In contrast, when imagining a lesion on the forearm, participants reported increased pain intensity and unpleasantness, classified more low-intensity stimuli as painful, and displayed a more liberal response bias. Using a mass-univariate approach, we further showed differential modulation of the N2 potentials across conditions, with inhibition and facilitation respectively increasing and decreasing N2 amplitudes between 122 and 180. ms. Within this time window, source localization associated inhibiting vs. facilitating pain with neural activity in cortical regions involved in cognitive inhibitory control and in the retrieval of semantic information (i.e., right inferior frontal and temporal regions). In contrast, the main sources of neural activity associated with facilitating vs. inhibiting pain were identified in cortical regions typically implicated in salience processing and emotion regulation (i.e., left insular, inferior-middle frontal, supplementary motor and precentral regions). Overall, these findings suggest that the content of a mental image directly alters pain-related decision and evaluative processing to flexibly produce hypoalgesic and hyperalgesic outcomes. | [
"NEUR"
] | [] | [
"2805",
"2808"
] | [
"Mental imagery – the ability to generate internal representations that preserve the core features of a perceptual experience – relies on similar neural mechanisms as those of actual perception (Kosslyn et al., 2001; McNorgan, 2012).",
"This mechanism of shared representation between imagery and perception is com... | [
"Specific mental imagery contents bias pain perception towards hypoalgesic and hyperalgesic outcomes",
"Mental imagery influences pain-related perceptual decision-making in terms of stimulus discriminability and response bias",
"Pain-related N2 amplitudes are modulated by mental-imagery content",
"Cortical ac... |
The dataset of methylglyoxal activating p38 and p44/42 pathway in osteoclast | Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a kind of chronic metabolic disease that could be characterized by uncontrollable high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period and diverse complications in various organs. These complications include activation of stress responses in bone such as oxidative stress and inflammation, which have been implicated in various bone diseases, including osteoporosis. Non-enzymatic glycation of proteins form and accumulate in patients under hyperglycemia condition. Methylglyoxal (MG) is a reactive advanced glycation end-product precursor. Abnormal high concentration of MG was in serum of diabetic patients. It was proven that MG induces various stress responses. This indicates that it might possibly the key metabolite leading to diabetes-associated bone loss. In this data report, using cell models, the underlying mechanism of methylglyoxal on osteoclast that may lead to bone loss was investigated. In cell cultures, RAW264.7, Macrophages, was treated with methylglyoxal and gene expressions of osteoclast bone biomarkers were investigated. Furthermore, the inhibitions of p38 and p44/42 activities were employed to investigate the osteoclast biomarkers CTSK, OSCAR, and TRACP5 gene expressions. These data implied that MG activated the p38 and p44/42, which was reported to regulate proliferation and differentiation of osteoclast. However, the decreasing MAPK though siRNA knockdown did not change expression of those target markers, TRACP5, OSCAR, and CTSK, in mRNA level. The effects of MG to other osteoclast markers through p38 and p44/42 would be worth to be investigated. For more insight please see Methylglyoxal Activates Osteoclasts through JNK Pathway leading to Osteoporosis. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Diabetes",
"Methylglyoxal",
"Osteoclast",
"Osteoporosis",
"Pathways"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"The band densities quantification of Western Blotting was shown in the graph below.",
"In Fig. 1a, Representative blots of p-p38, p-p44/42, p44/42, and beta-actin of the cells after exposing to MG (400 μM) after the treatment time intervals between 1 h and 24 h. Phosphorylation of p38 and p44/42 were induced by ... | [] |
Economic impacts of climate change and climate change adaptation strategies in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste | The fisheries sectors in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste are important sources of food and income. Similar to other developing countries and those in the Pacific, they are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change more so because of their geographic location, socioeconomic conditions and political instability. Nonetheless, there are approaches to alleviate the damaging effects of climate change in the region's fisheries sector. Using economic modeling, this paper estimates the economic costs of potential climate change adaptation strategies for the fisheries sector in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste through assessment of alternative future scenarios. Strategies include aquaculture development, natural resource management through establishment and/or expansion of marine protected areas, and deployment of low-cost inshore fish aggregating devices. Modeling results demonstrate that the above innovations will enable the two countries to significantly improve coastal and freshwater fish production in the medium-term (2035) and long-term (2050). Fish consumption is projected to grow due to population and income improvements; yet considerable increases in production will augment demand. Furthermore, national-level gains are projected from these adaptation strategies through fish exports. Improved production under climate change will require significant investments from the national governments of Vanuatu and Timor-Leste and/or private sectors. | [
"AGRI",
"ECON",
"ENVI",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Aquaculture",
"Economic modeling",
"Fish aggregating devices",
"Natural resource management",
"Timor-Leste",
"Vanuatu"
] | [
"1104",
"2002",
"2300",
"2308",
"3308"
] | [
"Throughout the tropical Pacific where the majority of rural people still live and depend on subsistence agriculture, the fisheries sector (including aquaculture) is vital to economic development, livelihood, and food and nutrition security.",
"Vanuatu has a long tradition tied to inshore and offshore fisheries; ... | [
"Analyzed economic impact of adaptation strategies in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste.",
"Strategies: aquaculture, natural resource management, and inshore fish aggregating devices.",
"Positive impact of strategies, but current scales of adaptation are too small.",
"Need aggressive, but judicious, increases in invest... |
Dissecting peak broadening in chromatography columns under non-binding conditions | Peak broadening in small columns is dominated by spreading in the extra column volume and not by hydrodynamic dispersion or mass transfer resistances. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) permits to study the influence of these effects separately. Here, peak broadening of three single component solutes – silica nanoparticles, acetone, and lysozyme – was experimentally determined for two different columns (100 mm × 8 mm inner diameter and 10 mm × 5 mm inner diameter) under non-binding conditions. A mass transfer model between mobile and stationary phases as well as a hydrodynamic dispersion model were implemented in the CFD environment STAR-CCM+®. The mass transfer model combines a model of external mass transfer with a model of pore diffusion. The model was validated with experiments performed on the larger column. We find that extra column volume plays an important role in peak broadening of the silica nanoparticles pulse in that column; it is less important for acetone and is weakly pronounced for lysozyme. Hydrodynamic dispersion plays the dominant role at low and medium flow rates for acetone because we are in a regime of 1–10 ReSc. Mass transfer is important for high flow rates of acetone and for all flow rates of lysozyme. Then, peak broadening was predicted in the smaller column with the packed bed parameters taken from larger column. The scalability of the prepacked columns is demonstrated for acetone and silica nanoparticles by excellent agreement with the experimental data. In contrast to the larger column, peak broadening in the smaller column is dominated by extra column volume for all solutes. Peak broadening of lysozyme is controlled only at high flow rates by mass transfer and overrides extra column volume and hydrodynamic dispersion. CFD simulations with implemented mass transfer models successfully model peak broadening in chromatography columns taking all broadening effects into consideration and therefore are a valuable tool for scale up and scale down. Our simulations underscore the importance of extra column volume. | [
"BIOC",
"CHEM"
] | [
"Computational fluid dynamics",
"Extra column volume",
"Film mass transfer",
"Hydrodynamic dispersion",
"Mass transfer mechanism",
"Peak broadening effects",
"Pore diffusion",
"Scalability"
] | [
"1303",
"1602",
"1605"
] | [
"Peak broadening under non-binding conditions is caused by extra column dispersion, hydrodynamic dispersion in the column and mass transfer resistances [1].",
"The (relative) contribution of these mechanisms varies at different scales.",
"For instance, in process development, virus clearance studies and explora... | [
"Mass transfer coupled computational fluid dynamics model is used to analyze columns.",
"Peak broadening mechanisms incl. extra column effects are quantitatively assessed.",
"Band broadening under non-binding condition is accurately predicted across scales."
] |
Cell-cell fusion in the nervous system: Alternative mechanisms of development, injury, and repair | Over a century ago, the seminal work of Ramón y Cajal revealed that the nervous system is made of individual units, the neurons, which are related to each other by contiguity rather than continuity. This view overturned the idea that the nervous system was a reticulum of fibers, a rete diffusa nervosa, as proposed and defined by Camillo Golgi. Although the neuron theory has been widely confirmed in every model system studied and constitutes the basis of modern neuroscience, evidence accumulated over the years suggests that neurons, similar to other types of cells, have the potential to fuse their membranes and undergo cell-cell fusion under certain conditions. This concept adds a substantial layer to our view of the nervous system and how it functions. Here, we bring together past and more recent discoveries on multiple aspects of neuronal fusion, discussing how this cellular event is generated, and what consequences it has for our understanding of nervous system development, disease, injury, and repair. | [
"BIOC"
] | [
"Axonal regeneration",
"Cell-cell fusion",
"Dendrite remodelling",
"Fusogen",
"Heterokaryon",
"Neuron theory"
] | [
"1307",
"1309"
] | [
"The neuron theory proposed by Ramón y Cajal, according to which neurons exist as individual cells, has been the foundation of modern neuroscience and has paved the way for our current understanding of how the nervous system develops and functions.",
"Neurons are highly polarized cells that extend two functionall... | [
"The neuron theory of Ramón y Cajal states that neurons are individual cells.",
"Despite the neuron theory, neurons and glia are able to fuse their plasma membranes.",
"Some neurons undergo self-fusion during development and repair.",
"Neurons and glia are able to form multinucleated cells."
] |
Differentiation of liver progenitor cell line to functional organotypic cultures in 3D nanofibrillar cellulose and hyaluronan-gelatin hydrogels | Physiologically relevant hepatic cell culture models must be based on three-dimensional (3D) culture of human cells. However, liver cells are generally cultured in two-dimensional (2D) format that deviates from the normal in vivo morphology. We generated 3D culture environment for HepaRG liver progenitor cells using wood-derived nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) and hyaluronan-gelatin (HG) hydrogels. Culture of undifferentiated HepaRG cells in NFC and HG hydrogels induced formation of 3D multicellular spheroids with apicobasal polarity and functional bile canaliculi-like structures, structural hallmarks of the liver tissue. Furthermore, hepatobiliary drug transporters, MRP2 and MDR1, were localized on the canalicular membranes of the spheroids and vectorial transport of fluorescent probes towards the biliary compartment was demonstrated. Cell culture in 3D hydrogel supported the mRNA expression of hepatocyte markers (albumin and CYP3A4), and metabolic activity of CYP3A4 in the HepaRG cell cultures. On the contrary, the 3D hydrogel cultures with pre-differentiated HepaRG cells showed decreasing expression of albumin and CYP3A4 transcripts as well as CYP3A4 activity. It is concluded that NFC and HG hydrogels expedite the hepatic differentiation of HepaRG liver progenitor cells better than the standard 2D culture environment. This was shown as improved cell morphology, expression and localization of hepatic markers, metabolic activity and vectorial transport. The NFC and HG hydrogels are promising materials for hepatic cell culture and tissue engineering. © 2014 The Authors. | [
"BIOC",
"CENG",
"ENGI",
"MATE"
] | [
"3D Cell culture",
"Cell differentiation",
"Hepatocyte",
"Multicellular spheroids",
"Nanocellulose",
"Organotypic"
] | [
"1304",
"1502",
"2211",
"2502",
"2503"
] | [
"Pharmaceutical industry, regulatory authorities, and academic investigators need liver cell cultures to predict and estimate metabolism, excretion and toxicity of drugs and other chemicals in the human liver.",
"Due to the inter-species differences animals and animal cells lead frequently to misleading, and some... | [] |
Emerging therapies for the treatment of skeletal muscle wasting in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that constitutes a major global health burden. A significant proportion of patients experience skeletal muscle wasting and loss of strength as a comorbidity of their COPD, a condition that severely impacts on their quality of life and survival. At present, the lung pathology is considered to be largely irreversible; however, the inherent adaptability of muscle tissue offers therapeutic opportunities to tackle muscle wasting and potentially reverse or delay the progression of this aspect of the disease, to improve patients' quality of life. Muscle wasting in COPD is complex, with contributions from a number of factors including inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, growth and anabolic hormones, nutritional status, and physical activity. In this review, we discuss current and emerging therapeutic approaches to treat muscle wasting in COPD, including a number of pharmacological therapies that are in development for muscle atrophy in other pathological states that could be of relevance for treating muscle wasting in COPD patients. | [
"MEDI",
"PHAR"
] | [
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)",
"Comorbidities",
"Pulmonary rehabilitation",
"Skeletal muscle",
"Therapeutic strategies",
"Wasting"
] | [
"2736",
"3004"
] | [
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease caused by excessive inflammation leading to irreversible damage to the airways and lung tissue.",
"Symptoms include cough and shortness of breath, relating to underlying small airways disease with or without chronic bronchitis, and emphys... | [] |
Stress-induced plasticity and functioning of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons | The ventral tegmental area dopamine (VTA-DA) mesolimbic circuit processes emotional, motivational, and social reward associations together with their more demanding cognitive aspects that involve the mesocortical circuitry. Coping with stress increases VTA-DA excitability, but when the stressor becomes chronic the VTA-DA circuit is less active, which may lead to degeneration and local microglial activation. This switch between activation and inhibition of VTA-DA neurons is modulated by e.g. corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), opioids, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the adrenal glucocorticoids. These actions are coordinated with energy-demanding stress-coping styles to promote behavioral adaptation. The VTA circuits show sexual dimorphism that is programmed by sex hormones during perinatal life in a manner that can be affected by glucocorticoid exposure. We conclude that insight in the role of stress in VTA-DA plasticity and connectivity, during reward processing and stress-coping, will be helpful to better understand the mechanism of resilience to breakdown of adaptation. | [
"NEUR",
"PSYC"
] | [
"Adaptation",
"Addiction",
"BDNF",
"CRH",
"Cognition",
"Coping",
"Depression",
"Dopamine",
"Glucocorticoids",
"Habituation",
"Mesocorticolimbic system",
"Microglia",
"Neurodegeneration",
"Opioids",
"Stress",
"Ventral tegmental area"
] | [
"2802",
"2805",
"3206"
] | [
"Although the stress response is essential for adaptation and survival, the term ‘stress’ is today generally associated with a negative experience (McEwen, 2013a,b).",
"Work-related stress is common and chronic exposure to stress is linked to various neuropsychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder (... | [
"mPFC coordinates VTA-linked emotional-motivational valuation with stress-coping.",
"CRH reduces, while opioids and glucocorticoids increase tonic VTA excitability.",
"VTA-DA neurons degenerate during chronic stress after a transient rise in excitability.",
"VTA-DA neurons are sexual dimorphic.",
"VTA-DA dy... |
The nature and origin of Charon's smooth plains | Charon displays extensive plains that cover the equatorial area and south to the terminator on the sub-Pluto hemisphere observed by New Horizons. We hypothesize that these plains are a result of Charon's global extension and early subsurface ocean yielding a large cryoflow that completely resurfaced this area leaving the plains and other features that we observe today. The cryoflow consisted of ammonia-rich material, and could have resurfaced this area either by cryovolcanic effusion similar to lunar maria emplacement or a mechanism similar to magmatic stoping where lithospheric blocks foundered. Geological observations, modeling of possible flow rheology, and an analysis of rille orientations support these hypotheses. | [
"EART",
"PHYS"
] | [
"Charon",
"Cryovolcanism",
"Geological processes",
"Image processing",
"Pluto"
] | [
"1912",
"3103"
] | [
"New Horizons has provided the first geologically useful images of Pluto's moon Charon (Stern et al., 2015), which have revealed that its geology is strikingly diverse (Moore et al., 2016).",
"The Pluto-facing hemisphere, which was seen in the most detail by New Horizons during its flyby, is divided into two prim... | [
"The extensive plains on Charon are a result of global expansion and an early subsurface ocean that flowed as a cryoflow and resurfaced a large area.",
"The cryoflow most likely was composed of ammonia-rich water ice.",
"The cryoflow was similar to Lunar maria emplacement or via a mechanism where lithospheric b... |
The role of stabilization centers in protein thermal stability | The definition of stabilization centers was introduced almost two decades ago. They are centers of noncovalent long range interaction clusters, believed to have a role in maintaining the three-dimensional structure of proteins by preventing their decay due to their cooperative long range interactions. Here, this hypothesis is investigated from the viewpoint of thermal stability for the first time, using a large protein thermodynamics database. The positions of amino acids belonging to stabilization centers are correlated with available experimental thermodynamic data on protein thermal stability. Our analysis suggests that stabilization centers, especially solvent exposed ones, do contribute to the thermal stabilization of proteins. | [
"BIOC"
] | [
"Protein stability",
"Stability changing mutations",
"Stabilization centers",
"Thermal stability",
"Thermophiles"
] | [
"1303",
"1304",
"1307",
"1312"
] | [
"We introduced the concept of stabilization centers (SCs) to solve the problem raised by the fact that the three-dimensional structure of a protein cannot be calculated from amino acid sequence considering only local (short range) interactions [1,2].",
"The idea of stabilization centers came from the fact that th... | [
"Stabilization centers contribute to thermal stabilization of protein structures.",
"Stabilization center content correlates with melting temperature of proteins.",
"Exposed stabilization center content correlates with stability even in hyperthermophiles.",
"Stability changing mutations are frequently found a... |
The day of the week effect in the cryptocurrency market | This paper examines the day of the week effect in the cryptocurrency market using a variety of statistical techniques (average analysis, Student's t-test, ANOVA, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and regression analysis with dummy variables) as well as a trading simulation approach. Most crypto currencies (LiteCoin, Ripple, Dash) are found not to exhibit this anomaly. The only exception is BitCoin, for which returns on Mondays are significantly higher than those on the other days of the week. In this case the trading simulation analysis shows that there exist exploitable profit opportunities; however, most of these results are not significantly different from the random ones and therefore cannot be seen as conclusive evidence against market efficiency. | [
"ECON"
] | [
"Anomaly",
"Bitcoin",
"Cryptocurrency",
"Day of the week effect",
"Efficient Market Hypothesis",
"Trading strategy"
] | [
"2003"
] | [
"There exists a vast literature analyzing calendar anomalies (the day of the week effect, the Turn of the Month Effect, the Month of the Year Effect, the January Effect, the Holiday Effect, the Halloween Effect etc.), and whether or not these can be seen as evidence against the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH – se... | [
"This paper examines the day of the week effect in the cryptocurrency market.",
"It using a variety of statistical techniques – as well as a trading simulation approach.",
"Most crypto currencies (LiteCoin, Ripple, Dash) are found not to exhibit this anomaly.",
"The only exception is BitCoin, for which return... |
CO2-dependent carbon isotope fractionation in dinoflagellates relates to their inorganic carbon fluxes | Carbon isotope fractionation (εp) between the inorganic carbon source and organic matter has been proposed to be a function of pCO2. To understand the CO2-dependency of εp and species-specific differences therein, inorganic carbon fluxes in the four dinoflagellate species Alexandrium fundyense, Scrippsiella trochoidea, Gonyaulax spinifera and Protoceratium reticulatum have been measured by means of membrane-inlet mass spectrometry. In-vivo assays were carried out at different CO2 concentrations, representing a range of pCO2 from 180 to 1200 μatm. The relative bicarbonate contribution (i.e. the ratio of bicarbonate uptake to total inorganic carbon uptake) and leakage (i.e. the ratio of CO2 efflux to total inorganic carbon uptake) varied from 0.2 to 0.5 and 0.4 to 0.7, respectively, and differed significantly between species. These ratios were fed into a single-compartment model, and εp values were calculated and compared to carbon isotope fractionation measured under the same conditions. For all investigated species, modeled and measured εp values were comparable (A. fundyense, S. trochoidea, P. reticulatum) and/or showed similar trends with pCO2 (A. fundyense, G. spinifera, P. reticulatum). Offsets are attributed to biases in inorganic flux measurements, an overestimated fractionation factor for the CO2-fixing enzyme RubisCO, or the fact that intracellular inorganic carbon fluxes were not taken into account in the model. This study demonstrates that CO2-dependency in εp can largely be explained by the inorganic carbon fluxes of the individual dinoflagellates. | [
"AGRI"
] | [
"CCM",
"CO2 uptake",
"HCO3- uptake",
"Leakage"
] | [
"1104",
"1105"
] | [
"During photosynthetic carbon fixation, the lighter carbon isotope 12C is preferred over the heavier carbon isotope 13C, thereby causing carbon isotope fractionation (εp) between the inorganic carbon (Ci) source and the organic carbon.",
"Values for εp of marine phytoplankton have been shown to be CO2-sensitive (... | [
"To understand 13C fractionation in dinoflagellates, inorganic carbon fluxes were measured by MIMS and used for modeling.",
"Changes in cellular carbon fluxes, i.e. HCO3− contribution and CO2 leakage were CO2-dependent.",
"These CO2-dependencies could largely explain the CO2-dependent fractionation patterns obs... |
Characterization and expression patterns of mannose-binding lectin (MMBL) gene in mulberry (Morus multicaulis) and its prokaryotic expression in E. coli | Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is an important natural immune molecule which plays a significant role in plant self-defense and shows a broad spectrum resistance on plant pathogens, viral pathogens, and fungi. In the present paper, a cDNA sequence encoding MBL, which was designated MMBL (GenBank accession NO: KY348866), was cloned from the leaves of mulberry (Morus multicaulis) based on mulberry expressed sequence tags (EST) and homologous cloning technology using RT-PCR. The cDNA was 978 bp in length with a 5′ untranslated regions (UTR) of 189 bp, a 3′ UTR of 303 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 486 bp encoding a protein of 161 amino acids. The estimated molecular weight and isoelectric point (pI) of the putative protein were16.97 kDa and 6.07, respectively. The MMBL had Jacalin domain and six sugar binding sites, and belonged to Jacalin-like superfamily. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences encoded by the MBL gene from various species showed that mulberry was closely related to Morus notabilis, Ipomoea nil, Capsicum annuum, Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum tuberosum. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that MMBL was expressed in all the tested tissues, including leaf, bud, fruit, stem, phloem and xylem of the mulberry with the highest expression in the bud and leaf. The expression level of the mRNA has changed significantly under drought, cold, salt and mechanical damage stress treatments compared to the normal growth environment. The ORF segment of the MMBL was inserted into the expression plasmid pET-28a(+) to construct a recombinant expression plasmid. SDS-PAGE and western blot results revealed that His-tagged fusion protein was successfully expressed. Overall, these results showed a better understanding of the molecular basis for the signal transduction mechanism during the stress responses in mulberry trees. | [
"AGRI"
] | [
"Characterization",
"Expression analysis",
"Mannose-binding lectin",
"Mulberry",
"Prokaryotic expression"
] | [
"1110"
] | [
"Lectin is a kind of proteins possessing at least one noncatalytic domain, which binds reversibly to specific mono- or oligo- saccharides (Peumans and Van Damme 1995).",
"It has the role of agglutinating cells and precipitating glycan or sugar compounds (Agard and Bertozzi 2009).",
"Mannose-binding lectin (MBL)... | [
"MMBL gene was cloned from the leaves of mulberry (Morus multicaulis) that had an ORF of 486 bp encoding a protein of 161 amino acids.",
"The estimated molecular weight and pI of the putative protein were16.97 kDa and 6.07, respectively.",
"MMBL was expressed in all the tissues tested, including leaf, bud, frui... |
Room temperature phosphorescence lifetime and spectrum tuning of substituted thianthrenes | A group of thianthrene derivatives has been studied to investigate the effect of different substituents and substitution positions on their photophysical behavior. Strong room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) and dual fluorescence-phosphorescence at room temperature (RT-DFP) have been observed. Compounds with efficient (Φ ≈ 0.4) yellow and long-lived (τ = 88 ± 6 ms) green phosphorescence have been characterized. The involvement of nπ* and ππ* states was evaluated to explain their high triplet formation yield and phosphorescent properties. To give an insight into electron properties of studied molecules cyclic voltammetry and DFT calculations have been performed. | [
"CENG"
] | [
"Phosphorescence",
"Photophysics",
"RT-DFP",
"RTP",
"Thianthrene"
] | [
"1500",
"1508"
] | [
"Thianthrene is a heterocyclic analog of anthracene but with two sulfur atoms substituting carbon atoms at the 9,10-positions.",
"This structure leads to a bent, non-aromatic geometry of the central thianthrene ring [1–3].",
"Thianthrenes are commonly known due to their interesting electrochemical properties [3... | [
"Thianthrene-based purely organic efficient room temperature phosphors are introduced.",
"Variable phosphorescence color, phosphorescence lifetime and fluorescence to phosphorescence ratio are observed.",
"Molecules are characterized using photophysical methods to explain the diversity of properties and substit... |
Peak car and increasing rebound: A closer look at car travel trends in Great Britain | This paper uses econometric analysis of aggregate time-series data to explore how different factors have influenced the demand for car travel in Great Britain since 1970 and how the rebound effect has changed over that time. Our results suggest that changes in income, the fuel cost of driving and the level of urbanisation largely explain travel trends over this period – with recent reductions in car travel (peak car) being driven by a combination of the rising fuel cost of driving, increased urbanisation and the economic difficulties created by the 2008 financial crisis. We find some evidence that the proportion of licensed drivers has influenced aggregate travel trends, but no evidence that growing income inequality and the diffusion of ICT technology have played a role. Our results also suggest that the rebound effect from improved fuel efficiency has averaged 26% over this period and that the magnitude of this effect has increased over time. However, methodological and data limitations constrain the level of confidence that we can have in these results. | [
"ENGI",
"ENVI",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Fuel efficiency",
"Peak car",
"Rebound effect"
] | [
"2205",
"2300",
"3313"
] | [
"Per capita car travel reached a plateau or began to decline in several OECD countries after the millennium, following more than half a century of continuous growth (Schipper, 2011; Van Dender and Clever, 2013).",
"In Great Britain (GB), per capita car travel reached a peak in 2002 and fell by 9% over the subsequ... | [
"We find that income, fuel costs and urbanisation are the main drivers of car travel trends in GB.",
"Urbanisation may be a proxy for several factors contributing to changes in car use.",
"We estimate the direct rebound effect for car travel in Great Britain to be around 26%",
"We estimate that the direct reb... |
Future land cover change scenarios in South African grasslands – implications of altered biophysical drivers on land management | Future land cover changes may result in adjustments to biophysical drivers impacting on net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE), catchment water use through evapotranspiration (ET), and the surface energy balance through a change in albedo. The Land Change Modeller (Idrisi Terrset 18.08) and land cover for 2000 and 2014 are used to create a future scenario of land cover for two catchment with different land management systems in the Eastern Cape Province for the year 2030. In the S50E catchment, a dualistic farming system, the trend shows that grasslands represented 57% of the total catchment area in 2014 decreasing to 52% by 2030 with losses likely to favour a gain in woody plants and cultivated land. In T35B, a commercial system, persistence of grasslands is modelled with approximately 80% coverage in both years, representing a more stable system. Finally, for S50E, NEE and ET will increase under this land cover change scenario leading to increased carbon sequestration but less water availability and corresponding surface temperature increases. This implies that rehabilitation and land management initiatives should be targeted in catchments under a dualistic farming system, rather than those which are predominantly commercial systems. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Environmental science",
"Geography"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"Land use and land cover change (LULCC) has been suggested to be the most important anthropogenic disturbance to the environment at a local level, causing various microclimatic changes (Mishra and Rai, 2016).",
"Anthropogenic influences on the landscape such as alteration in land use through agriculture, forestry... | [] |
Nanoscale infrared identification and mapping of chemical functional groups on graphene | Chemical functionalisation of graphene and other 2-dimensional materials is a key step in realizing their full potential in various applications. There is a need for non-destructive and unambiguous identification of chemical groups and mapping of their distribution on such materials with nanoscale spatial resolution and at monolayer thicknesses. In this work, AFM-coupled infrared spectroscopy is used to analyse single layer reduced graphene oxide flakes that have been non-covalently functionalized with sulfonated pyrenes. We show this technique to be capable of distinguishing between the different pyrene moieties and mapping the sulfonate groups on a 1.7 nm functionalised monolayer of reduced graphene oxide with 32 nm spatial resolution. This technique is also shown to be sensitive to small changes in the sulfonate absorption spectra arising from chemical and surface effects, enough to distinguish between different functionalizing molecules even on materials with anisotropic thermal conductivity. | [
"CHEM",
"MATE"
] | [] | [
"1600",
"2500"
] | [
"Graphene, and other 2-dimensional (2-d) materials, have shown tremendous potential for applications in the fields of sensors, printed electronics, composites and medicine to name but a few [1].",
"Most often, selective chemical functionalization of a 2-d material is necessary to increase compatibility or tailor ... | [] |
Quantifying the performance of MEG source reconstruction using resting state data | In magnetoencephalography (MEG) research there are a variety of inversion methods to transform sensor data into estimates of brain activity. Each new inversion scheme is generally justified against a specific simulated or task scenario. The choice of this scenario will however have a large impact on how well the scheme performs. We describe a method with minimal selection bias to quantify algorithm performance using human resting state data. These recordings provide a generic, heterogeneous, and plentiful functional substrate against which to test different MEG recording and reconstruction approaches. We used a Hidden Markov model to spatio-temporally partition data into self-similar dynamic states. To test the anatomical precision that could be achieved, we then inverted these data onto libraries of systematically distorted subject-specific cortical meshes and compared the quality of the fit using cross validation and a Free energy metric. This revealed which inversion scheme was able to identify the least distorted (most accurate) anatomical models, and allowed us to quantify an upper bound on the mean anatomical distortion accordingly. We used two resting state datasets, one recorded with head-casts and one without. In the head-cast data, the Empirical Bayesian Beamformer (EBB) algorithm showed the best mean anatomical discrimination (3.7 mm) compared with Minimum Norm/LORETA (6.0 mm) and Multiple Sparse Priors (9.4 mm). This pattern was replicated in the second (conventional dataset) although with a marginally poorer (non-significant) prediction of the missing (cross-validated) data. Our findings suggest that the abundant resting state data now commonly available could be used to refine and validate MEG source reconstruction methods and/or recording paradigms. | [
"NEUR"
] | [
"Empirical Bayesian beamformer",
"Forward model",
"Head-cast",
"Hidden Markov model",
"Inversion",
"LORETA",
"Magnetoencephalography",
"Minimum norm",
"Multiple sparse priors",
"Resolution",
"Resting state"
] | [
"2805",
"2808"
] | [
"Magnetoencephalography (MEG) detects electromagnetic fields at sensors outside the head.",
"The challenge for the researcher is to infer the neuronal current distribution responsible for the observed data, despite a much higher number of possible sources than sensors.",
"The general approach is to restrict the... | [
"Resting state data provides an unbiased dataset for comparing MEG source estimates.",
"We use a hidden Markov model to break the data into stationary segments.",
"We reconstruct these data onto a range of distorted cortical surfaces.",
"The sensitivity of any algorithm to spatial distortion is quantified in ... |
Real estate market and building energy performance: Data for a mass appraisal approach | Mass appraisal is widely considered an advanced frontier in the real estate valuation field. Performing mass appraisal entails the need to get access to base information conveyed by a large amount of transactions, such as prices and property features. Due to the lack of transparency of many Italian real estate market segments, our survey has been addressed to gather data from residential property advertisements.The dataset specifically focuses on property offer prices and dwelling energy efficiency. The latter refers to the label expressed and exhibited by the energy performance certificate. Moreover, data are georeferenced with the highest possible accuracy: at the neighborhood level for a 76.8% of cases, at street or building number level for the remaining 23.2%.Data are related to the analysis performed in Bonifaci and Copiello [1], about the relationship between house prices and building energy performance, that is to say, the willingness to pay in order to benefit from more efficient dwellings. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Building energy performance",
"Energy efficiency",
"Hedonic price",
"Mass appraisal",
"Real estate market"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"The dataset features are as follows: 1,042 records, namely single unique properties, and 16 fields, namely property characteristics or other variables.",
"Table 1 provides an insight on the measurement scales of the variables, as well as their coding system.",
"The measurement scales have been defined accordin... | [] |
The dual function of social gaze | Ears cannot speak, lips cannot hear, but eyes can both signal and perceive. For human beings, this dual function makes the eyes a remarkable tool for social interaction. For psychologists trying to understand eye movements, however, their dual function causes a fundamental ambiguity. In order to contrast signaling and perceiving functions of social gaze, we manipulated participants' beliefs about social context as they looked at the same stimuli. Participants watched videos of faces of higher and lower ranked people, while they themselves were filmed. They believed either that the recordings of them would later be seen by the people in the videos or that no-one would see them. This manipulation significantly changed how participants responded to the social rank of the target faces. Specifically, when they believed that the targets would later be looking at them, and so could use gaze to signal information, participants looked proportionally less at the eyes of the higher ranked targets. We conclude that previous claims about eye movements and face perception that are based on a single social context can only be generalized with caution. A complete understanding of face perception needs to address both functions of social gaze. | [
"ARTS",
"NEUR",
"PSYC",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Eye movements",
"Eye tracking",
"Face perception",
"Social interaction",
"Social status"
] | [
"1203",
"2805",
"3204",
"3205",
"3310"
] | [
"You look across the card table, into the eyes of your opponent.",
"Are you searching their eyes for flickers of information, deciding whether to call their bluff?",
"Or by returning their stare are you letting them know that you have nothing to fear?",
"In social interactions, people use their eyes to percei... | [
"We manipulated beliefs about the social context of the viewing situation.",
"Change in beliefs alone produced different looking patterns to target faces.",
"We were able to dissociate signaling and perceiving functions of social gaze.",
"Face perception needs to address the dual function of social gaze."
] |
Regional free cash flow dataset: An approach to regional performance evaluation | This data article provides estimates on the Russian regions' aggregate free cash flow, which is not covered by national statistics of major countries. A proper microeconomic model was adapted to regional level data to derive a synthetic indicator of a regional economy's performance. The data contributes to the set of regional performance measures thus enabling a new look at studies of economic growth and development. Conventional economic growth indicators, such as GDP, fixed capital investment or industrial output, are widely criticized since they can have negative values only in terms of growth rates thus showing no evidence of value creation or deterioration. Our data on regional free cash flow eliminates this drawback. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Economic development",
"Economic value",
"Free cash flow",
"Regional economy",
"Regional performance"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"This article is associated to a Microsoft Excel Worksheet as a supplementary material.",
"The data contain time series of free cash flow values on the 85 Russian regions covering the period of 2006–2016.",
"No transformation was applied, except for scaling (all in thousands of Russian rubles).",
"Missing val... | [] |
Individual islet respirometry reveals functional diversity within the islet population of mice and human donors | Objective: Islets from the same pancreas show remarkable variability in glucose sensitivity. While mitochondrial respiration is essential for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, little is known regarding heterogeneity in mitochondrial function at the individual islet level. This is due in part to a lack of high-throughput and non-invasive methods for detecting single islet function. Methods: We have developed a novel non-invasive, high-throughput methodology capable of assessing mitochondrial respiration in large-sized individual islets using the XF96 analyzer (Agilent Technologies). Results: By increasing measurement sensitivity, we have reduced the minimal size of mouse and human islets needed to assess mitochondrial respiration to single large islets of >35,000 μm2 area (∼210 μm diameter). In addition, we have measured heterogeneous glucose-stimulated mitochondrial respiration among individual human and mouse islets from the same pancreas, allowing population analyses of islet mitochondrial function for the first time. Conclusions: We have developed a novel methodology capable of analyzing mitochondrial function in large-sized individual islets. By highlighting islet functional heterogeneity, we hope this methodology can significantly advance islet research. | [
"BIOC"
] | [
"Glucose",
"Islets",
"Mitochondria",
"Respirometry"
] | [
"1307",
"1312"
] | [
"Pancreatic islets rely on mitochondrial respiration to secrete insulin [1], a critical function for maintaining metabolic homeostasis.",
"A rise in extracellular glucose levels increases TCA cycle flux, mitochondrial respiration, and ATP synthesis in islet β-cells, which generates molecular signals stimulating a... | [
"Islets from the same pancreas show remarkable variability in glucose sensitivity.",
"Little is known about heterogeneity in mitochondrial respiration in individual islets.",
"We developed a novel high-throughput method to measure individual islet function.",
"Individual islets within a population show hetero... |
Intervening to change behaviour and save energy in the workplace: A systematic review of available evidence | Workplaces worldwide are a major source of carbon emissions and changing energy use behaviour in these environments has the capacity for large carbon savings. This paper reviews and synthesises empirical evidence to identify what types of behaviour change intervention are most successful at saving energy in an office-type workplace. We draw on the field of health-related behaviour change interventions and adopt the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al., 2014) as a framework through which to assess the success of the interventions reviewed here (n = 22 studies). We find that interventions creating social and physical opportunities for employees to save energy are the most successful i.e. which constitute Enablement (including direct support and greater control to employees), Environmental Restructuring (particularly automated and retrofitted technologies) and Modelling (various forms of social influence). The communal nature of most workplaces demands scrutiny to understand the effect of social influences. We provide recommendations for future research, including the need to consider forms of intervention not yet researched; Coercion, Restriction, and Training. We conclude by calling for further, well evaluated, energy saving behavioural interventions in a variety of workplaces to identify those techniques which offer the greatest success in saving energy and thus reducing carbon emissions. | [
"ENER",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Behaviour change",
"Behaviour change wheel",
"Energy use",
"Intervention",
"Review",
"Workplace"
] | [
"2102",
"2103",
"2104",
"2105",
"3301"
] | [
"Non-domestic buildings currently account for around 18% of UK carbon emissions [1] and 20% globally [2]; figures which are set to increase in the future, making workplaces an important focus for energy efficiency and energy saving initiatives around the world.",
"Various mechanisms exist to promote energy reduct... | [
"Studies of international workplace energy saving interventions are reviewed.",
"Enablement, Environmental Restructuring and Modelling most promising interventions.",
"Coercion, Restriction, and Training intervention types have been little researched.",
"Successful interventions create social and physical opp... |
Precise dating of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Murcia (Spain) supports late Neandertal persistence in Iberia | The late persistence in Southern Iberia of a Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic is supported by the archeological stratigraphy and the radiocarbon and luminescence dating of three newly excavated localities in the Mula basin of Murcia (Spain). At Cueva Antón, Mousterian layer I-k can be no more than 37,100 years-old. At La Boja, the basal Aurignacian can be no less than 36,500 years-old. The regional Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition process is thereby bounded to the first half of the 37th millennium Before Present, in agreement with evidence from Andalusia, Gibraltar and Portugal. This chronology represents a lag of minimally 3000 years with the rest of Europe, where that transition and the associated process of Neandertal/modern human admixture took place between 40,000 and 42,000 years ago. The lag implies the presence of an effective barrier to migration and diffusion across the Ebro river depression, which, based on available paleoenvironmental indicators, would at that time have represented a major biogeographical divide. In addition, (a) the Phlegraean Fields caldera explosion, which occurred 39,850 years ago, would have stalled the Neandertal/modern human admixture front because of the population sink it generated in Central and Eastern Europe, and (b) the long period of ameliorated climate that came soon after (Greenland Interstadial 8, during which forests underwent a marked expansion in Iberian regions south of 40°N) would have enhanced the “Ebro Frontier” effect. These findings have two broader paleoanthropological implications: firstly, that, below the Ebro, the archeological record made prior to 37,000 years ago must be attributed, in all its aspects and components, to the Neandertals (or their ancestors); secondly, that modern human emergence is best seen as an uneven, punctuated process during which long-lasting barriers to gene flow and cultural diffusion could have existed across rather short distances, with attendant consequences for ancient genetics and models of human population history. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Archaeology"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"In the Aquitaine basin and the Pyrenees, the Middle Paleolithic (MP) Mousterian culture is followed, in succession, by the Châtelperronian, the Protoaurignacian and the Aurignacian I (a.k.a. Early Aurignacian).",
"In Iberia, these initial phases of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) are represented in the Cantabrian str... | [] |
Socio-cultural values as a dimension of fisheries governance: The cases of Baltic salmon and herring | The socio-cultural values associated with fish and fisheries affect the utilization and management of fish resources. However, these values often remain implicit in fisheries governance. This paper suggests addressing values explicitly to enhance the legitimacy of governance. We analyzed the values related to Baltic salmon and herring in Finland and Estonia, based on stakeholder interviews. By identifying similarities and differences between the values associated with two species in two countries, this paper demonstrates the multivalued nature of fish and fisheries. Based on our analysis, we recommend explicit and systematic inclusion of values in the early stages of governance processes to ensure morally reasoned management and use of fish resources. | [
"ENVI",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Baltic herring",
"Baltic salmon",
"Fisheries governance",
"Socio-cultural values",
"Stakeholder involvement"
] | [
"2308",
"3305"
] | [
"The way in which fish resources are utilized and managed reflects the socio-cultural values associated with fish and fisheries.",
"Different species have different meanings in different contexts and groups (Lam, 2015; Levin et al., 2016).",
"Values also affect management decisions, either implicitly or explici... | [
"The multivalued nature of fish resources is demonstrated.",
"Values related to Baltic salmon and Baltic herring in two countries are compared.",
"Emphasis of values represented in fisheries governance depends on context.",
"Systematic inclusion of values in governance could enhance the legitimacy of decision... |
Effect of stirring rate on the morphology of FDU-12 mesoporous silica particles | Ordered mesoporous FDU-12 silica particles with different morphologies were synthesized by varying the stirring rate. The mesoporous structure and textural properties of the FDU-12 samples were characterized by N2 adsorption and desorption, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering. The influence of the stirring conditions on the morphology was demonstrated, as the FDU-12 particle morphology changes from a regular, hexagonal platelet to a poorly defined shape when the stirring rate is changed from slow to fast. At very fast stirring rate, shear influences the mesophase structure, although the pore diameter and wall thickness remain unchanged. | [
"CHEM",
"ENGI",
"MATE",
"PHYS"
] | [
"FDU-12",
"Morphology",
"Ordered mesoporous silica",
"Stirring"
] | [
"1600",
"2211",
"2500",
"3104"
] | [
"Ordered mesoporous silica materials are applied in catalysis [1,2], molecular adsorption [3,4] and separation [5].",
"In addition to their internal textural properties (ordered and adjustable pore size, large surface area and pore volume), the external morphology of these materials also affects their applicabili... | [
"Morphology of FDU-12 mesoporous silica particles is controlled by changing the stirring rate during synthesis.",
"When increasing stirring rate, FDU-12 particle morphology changes from well-defined to poorly defined.",
"Internal pore structure and three-dimensional pore network topology are unchanged by stirri... |
Sleep homeostasis, habits and habituation | The importance of sleep for behavioural performance during waking is long-established, but the underlying reasons and mechanisms remain elusive. Waking and sleep are associated with changes in the levels of GluA1 AMPAR subunit in synaptic membranes, while studies using genetically-modified mice have identified an important role for GluA1-dependent synaptic plasticity in a non-associative form of memory that underlies short-term habituation to recently experienced stimuli. Here we posit that sleep may play a role in dishabituation, which restores attentional capacity and maximises the readiness of the animal for learning and goal-directed behaviour during subsequent wakefulness. Furthermore we suggest that sleep disturbance may fundamentally change the nature of behaviour, making it more model-free and habitual as a result of reduced attentional capacity. | [
"NEUR"
] | [] | [
"2800"
] | [
"Over one hundred years of research has suggested that sleep and circadian rhythms play an important role in learning and memory.",
"Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain how sleep benefits learning, and why disrupted or mistimed sleep and sleep deprivation might affect cognitive function [1,2].",
... | [
"Synaptic GluA1 subunit levels increase during waking and decrease during sleep.",
"GluA1-dependent plasticity is implicated in short-term habituation.",
"Sleep may play a role in dishabituation, which restores attentional capacity.",
"Sleep disruption favours model-free/habit-based forms of behaviour."
] |
Influence of speech-language therapy on P300 outcome in patients with language disorders: a meta-analysis | Introduction: The patient's evolution in the audiology and speech-language clinic acts as a motivator of the therapeutic process, contributing to patient adherence to the treatment and allowing the therapist to review and/or maintain their clinical therapeutic conducts. Electrophysiological measures, such as the P300 evoked potential, help in the evaluation, understanding and monitoring of human communication disorders, thus facilitating the prognosis definition in each case. Objective: To determine whether the audiology and speech-language therapy influences the variation of P300 latency and amplitude in patients with speech disorders undergoing speech therapy. Methods: This is a systematic review with meta-analysis, in which the following databases were searched: Pubmed, ScienceDirect, SCOPUS, Web of Science, SciELO and LILACS, in addition to the gray literature bases: OpenGrey.eu and DissOnline. The inclusion criteria were randomized or non-randomized clinical trials, without language or date restriction, which evaluated children with language disorders undergoing speech therapy, monitored by P300, compared to children without intervention. Results: The mean difference between the latencies in the group submitted to therapy and the control group was −20.12 ms with a 95% confidence interval of −43.98 to 3.74 ms (p = 0.08, I2 = 25% and p value = 0.26). The mean difference between the amplitudes of the group submitted to therapy and the control group was 0.73 uV with a 95% confidence interval of −1.77 to 3.23 uV (p = 0.57, I2 = 0% and p value = 0.47). Conclusion: The present meta-analysis demonstrates that speech therapy does not influence the latency and amplitude results of the P300 evoked potential in children undergoing speech therapy intervention. | [
"MEDI"
] | [
"P300 evoked potential",
"Rehabilitation of speech and language disorders",
"Speech-Language therapy"
] | [
"2733"
] | [
"Patient evolution at the audiology and speech-language clinic acts as a motivator of the therapeutic process, contributing to patient adherence to treatment and allowing the therapists to review and/or maintain their clinical therapeutic conducts.1",
"Electrophysiological measures, in turn, help in the evaluatio... | [] |
Buyer and seller data from pay what you want and name your own price laboratory markets | Pay What You Want (PWYW) and Name Your Own Price (NYOP) are customer-driven pricing mechanisms that give customers (some) pricing power and that have been used in service industries with high fixed costs to price discriminate without setting a reference price. This paper describes buyer and seller data in a series of induced-value laboratory experiments that compare PWYW and NYOP in monopoly and competitive situations. Sellers are in a one-shot interaction with buyers. Sellers using customer-driven pricing mechanisms may exogenously or endogenously receive additional promotional benefits, for instance through word-of-mouth effects. The major findings based on the data presented here are reported in the paper “Delegating Pricing Power to Customers: Pay What You Want or Name Your Own Price?” (Krämer et al., 2017) [3]. | [
"MULT"
] | [] | [
"1000"
] | [
"The data comprise buyer and seller behavior of a total of 384+144 subjects who participated in 8 different treatments of an experiment reported in Krämer et al., 2017: 6 treatments with exogenous benefits (NYOP monopoly, NYOP competition with fixed roles, NYOP competition with a flexible seller; PWYW monopoly, PWY... | [] |
Antioxidant properties and potential mechanisms of hydrolyzed proteins and peptides from cereals | Cereals like wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, oat, and millet are staple foods in many regions around the world and contribute to more than half of human energy requirements. Scientific publications contain evidence showing that apart from energy, the regular consumption of whole grains is useful for the prevention of many chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress. Biological activities have mostly been attributed to the presence of glucans and polyphenols. In recent years however, food proteins have been investigated as sources of peptides that can exert biological functions, promote health and prevent oxidative stress. This review focuses on the role of hydrolyzed proteins and peptides with antioxidant properties in various models and their mechanisms which include hydrogen or electron transfer, metal chelating, and regulation of enzymes involved in the oxidation-reduction process. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Food science",
"Nutrition"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"Cereals are major sources of energy for populations around the world.",
"Taxonomic classification places them in the Gramineae or Poaceae family which is divided into seven major subfamilies of grasses, Bambusoideae, Oryzoideae, Pooideae, Panicoideae, Arundinoideae, Chloridoideae, and Centothecoideae, 40 tribes ... | [] |
Introducing MOZLEAP: An integrated long-run scenario model of the emerging energy sector of Mozambique | Since recently Mozambique is actively developing its large reserves of coal, natural gas and hydropower. Against this background, we present the first integrated long-run scenario model of the Mozambican energy sector. Our model, which we name MOZLEAP, is calibrated on the basis of recently developed local energy statistics, demographic and urbanization trends as well as cross-country based GDP elasticities for biomass consumption, sector structure, vehicle ownership and energy intensity. We develop four scenarios to evaluate the impact of the anticipated surge in natural resources exploration on aggregate trends in energy supply and demand, the energy infrastructure and economic growth in Mozambique. Our analysis shows that until 2030, primary energy production is likely to increase at least six-fold, and probably much more. This is roughly 10 times the expected increase in energy demand; most of the increase in energy production is destined for export. As a result, Mozambique may well become one of the leading global producers of natural gas and coal. We discuss the opportunities and challenges that this resource wealth poses for the country. | [
"ECON",
"ENER"
] | [
"Energy Modeling",
"Energy Sector",
"LEAP",
"Mozambique",
"Scenarios"
] | [
"2002",
"2100"
] | [
"Since recently Mozambique is actively developing its large reserves of coal, natural gas and hydropower.",
"Once developed, this could make Mozambique an important player in regional and global energy markets.",
"The recent IEA Africa Energy Outlook refers to Mozambique as an emerging large energy producer (to... | [
"Mozambique is now developing its large reserves of coal, natural gas and hydropower",
"We introduce the first comprehensive scenario model of its emerging energy sector",
"Until 2030, energy production increases at least six-fold, probably much more",
"Mozambique may well become a leading global producer of ... |
Mechanical allodynia induced by optogenetic sensory nerve excitation activates dopamine signaling and metabolism in medial nucleus accumbens | The mesolimbic dopaminergic signaling, such as that originating from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons in the medial part of the nucleus accumbens (mNAc), plays a role in complex sensory and affective components of pain. To date, we have demonstrated that optogenetic sensory nerve stimulation rapidly alters the dopamine (DA) content within the mNAc. However, the physiological role and biochemical processes underlying such rapid and regional dynamics of DA remain unclear. In this study, using imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), we observed that sensitized pain stimulation by optogenetic sensory nerve activation increased DA and 3-Methoxytyramine (3-MT; a post-synaptic metabolite obtained following DA degradation) in the mNAc of the experimental mice. To delineate the mechanism associated with elevation of DA and 3-MT, the de novo synthesized DA in the VTA/substantia nigra terminal areas was evaluated using IMS by visualizing the metabolic conversion of stable isotope-labeled tyrosine (13C15N-Tyr) to DA. Our approach revealed that at steady state, the de novo synthesized DA occupied >10% of the non-labeled DA pool in the NAc within 1.5 h of isotope-labeled Tyr administration, despite no significant increase following pain stimulation. These results suggested that sensitized pain triggered an increase in the release and postsynaptic intake of DA in the mNAc, followed by its degradation, and likely delayed de novo DA synthesis. In conclusion, we demonstrated that short, peripheral nerve excitation with mechanical stimulation accelerates the mNAc-specific DA signaling and metabolism which might be associated with the development of mechanical allodynia. | [
"BIOC",
"NEUR"
] | [
"Dopamine",
"Imaging mass spectrometry",
"Mechanical allodynia",
"Nucleus accumbens",
"Optogenetics",
"Ventral tegmental area"
] | [
"1307",
"2804"
] | [
"The dopaminergic pathway, present from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), is important for mediating acute and chronic pain sensations (Ikemoto, 2007; Taylor et al., 2016) and pain-avoidance behavior (Danjo et al., 2014).",
"The medial part of the NAc (mNAc) integrates signals from ... | [
"Regional DA metabolism in an optogenetic mouse model of mechanical allodynia was examined.",
"De novo synthesized DA occupied >10% of total DA pool in the striatum within 1.5 h.",
"Pain induced by tactile and optogenetic stimulation increased DA content in the mNAc.",
"Optogenetic stimulation without pain re... |
Hydrological variability affects particulate nitrogen and phosphorus in streams of the Northern Great Plains | Study region: The study area is located in southern Manitoba, in the prairie region of Canada Study focus: This study examined the impact of hydrological variability on the timing and magnitude of nutrient export from seven agriculturally-dominated watersheds in the Red River Valley, Manitoba, Canada. New hydrological insights for the region: In 2013, discharge showed a seasonal pattern typical of streams traversing the Canadian prairies: high discharge during snowmelt followed by cessation of flow in early June due to lack of precipitation. In 2014, discharge still peaked during snowmelt but, compared to 2013, was 49% lower during snowmelt yet 21% higher during summer and fall due to greater rainfall. These hydrologic differences were associated with differences in fractionation of nutrients between years. Thus, higher concentrations and loads of particulate phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), and a greater (p < 0.05) share of the total nutrient pool in particulate forms (particularly for P), were observed during the snowmelt- dominated year (2013). Our findings show that the nutrient concentrations, fractionation and export from prairie watersheds differ between years, and amongst hydrological seasons, in relation to hydrological conditions. Additional management actions may be required to address changes in the quantity, timing and fractionation of nutrient export associated with rainier summers forecasted under future climate scenarios. | [
"EART",
"ENVI"
] | [
"Canadian prairies",
"Eutrophication",
"Hydroclimatology",
"Lake Winnipeg",
"Nutrients"
] | [
"1901",
"2312"
] | [
"Watersheds in the central Canadian prairies exhibit classic cold regions hydroclimatology, with long (4–5 month) cold winters followed by a short (2–5 week) spring characterized by warming temperatures, high surface runoff due to snowmelt over frozen soils, and peak discharge (Glozier et al., 2006; Fang et al., 20... | [
"Hydroclimatologic changes affected P and N concentrations and fractions.",
"Greater fractions of particulate P and N were observed during snowmelt in 2013.",
"Greater proportions of dissolved P were observed during snowmelt + rainfall in 2014.",
"Effective actions are needed to reduce dissolved P and N expor... |
Investigation into the applicability of Bond Work Index (BWI) and Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI) tests for several biomasses compared to Colombian la Loma coal | With increasing quantities of biomass being combusted in coal fired power stations, there is an urgent need to be able to predict the grindability of biomass in existing coal mills, but currently no standard biomass grindability test exists. In this study, the applicability of the Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI) and Bond Work Index (BWI) as standard grindability tests for biomass were investigated for commercially sourced wood pellets, steam exploded pellets, torrefied pellets, sunflower pellets, eucalyptus pellets, miscanthus pellets, olive cake and Colombian La Loma coal. HGI predicts the behaviour of fuels in vertical spindle mills and BWI for tube and ball mills. Compared to La Loma (HGI of 46), all biomasses tested performed poorly with low HGI values (14-29). Miscanthus pellets had the highest BWI or W<inf>i</inf> at 426 kW h/t. Despite similar HGI values, some untreated biomasses showed lower BWI values (Eucalyptus pellets W<inf>i</inf> 87 kW h/t, HGI 22) compared to others (sunflower pellets W<inf>i</inf> 366 kW h/t, HGI 20). Torrefied pellets had the lowest W<inf>i</inf> (16 kW h/t), with La Loma coal at 23 kW h/t. Wood, miscanthus and sunflower pellets exhibited mill choking during the BWI test, as the amount of fines produced did not increase with an increasing revolution count. An approximate correlation between HGI and BWI was found for the biomass samples which did not experience mill choking in the BWI test. Milling results in this paper suggest that biomass pellets should be composed of pre-densified particles close to the target size in order to minimise the energy use in mills and possibility of mill choking. Our findings would also suggest that the BWI is a valid test for predicting the potential for mill choking of biomass in a tube and ball mill. HGI, however, appears to be a poor method of predicting the grindability of biomass in vertical spindle mills. A new standard grindability test is required to test the grindability of biomasses in such mills. | [
"CENG",
"CHEM",
"ENER"
] | [
"Biomass",
"Bond Work Index (BWI)",
"Coal",
"Energy consumption",
"Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI)",
"Thermogravimetric analysis"
] | [
"1500",
"1605",
"2102",
"2103"
] | [
"Global coal consumption by power generators is growing annually [1].",
"With increasing legislation to reduce emissions from coal fired power stations in Europe [2,3], biomass combustion is playing an increasing role in the UK, Europe and beyond [4].",
"In order to minimise costs, biomass is often ground in ex... | [
"Bond Work Index (BWI) & Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI) tests for biomass & coal.",
"BWI can predict the potential for mill choking of biomass in a tube and ball mill.",
"HGI is a poor method of predicting grindability of biomass in vertical spindle mills.",
"Pellets should be composed of pre-densified pa... |
Time-resolved biophysical approaches to nucleocytoplasmic transport | Molecules are continuously shuttling across the nuclear envelope barrier that separates the nucleus from the cytoplasm. Instead of being just a barrier to diffusion, the nuclear envelope is rather a complex filter that provides eukaryotes with an elaborate spatiotemporal regulation of fundamental molecular processes, such as gene expression and protein translation. Given the highly dynamic nature of nucleocytoplasmic transport, during the past few decades large efforts were devoted to the development and application of time resolved, fluorescence-based, biophysical methods to capture the details of molecular motion across the nuclear envelope. These methods are here divided into three major classes, according to the differences in the way they report on the molecular process of nucleocytoplasmic transport. In detail, the first class encompasses those methods based on the perturbation of the fluorescence signal, also known as ensemble-averaging methods, which average the behavior of many molecules (across many pores). The second class comprises those methods based on the localization of single fluorescently-labelled molecules and tracking of their position in space and time, potentially across single pores. Finally, the third class encompasses methods based on the statistical analysis of spontaneous fluorescence fluctuations out of the equilibrium or stationary state of the system. In this case, the behavior of single molecules is probed in presence of many similarly-labelled molecules, without dwelling on any of them. Here these three classes, with their respective pros and cons as well as their main applications to nucleocytoplasmic shuttling will be briefly reviewed and discussed. | [
"BIOC",
"COMP"
] | [
"Confocal microscopy",
"Diffusion",
"Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy",
"Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching",
"GFP",
"Live cell",
"Nuclear pore complex",
"Single particle tracking",
"Transport"
] | [
"1303",
"1304",
"1305",
"1311",
"1315",
"1706"
] | [
"In eukaryotic cells, the cytoplasm and the nucleus are spatially separated by a double membrane, the nuclear envelope (NE).",
"Embedded in the NE are the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), which allow the passage of ions and molecules across the NE and, at the same time, regulate the exchange of larger molecules, su... | [] |
Novel approaches in cancer management with circulating tumor cell clusters | Tumor metastasis is responsible for the vast majority of cancer-associated morbidities and mortalities. Recent studies have disclosed the higher metastatic potential of circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters than single CTCs. Despite long-term study on metastasis, the characterizations of its most potent cellular drivers, i.e., CTC clusters have only recently been investigated. The analysis of CTC clusters offers new intuitions into the mechanism of tumor metastasis and can lead to the development of cancer diagnosis and prognosis, drug screening, detection of gene mutations, and anti-metastatic therapeutics. In recent years, considerable attention has been dedicated to the development of efficient methods to separate CTC clusters from the patients’ blood, mainly through micro technologies based on biological and physical principles. In this review, we summarize recent developments in CTC clusters with a particular emphasis on passive separation methods that specifically have been developed for CTC clusters or have the potential for CTC cluster separation. Methods such as liquid biopsy are of paramount importance for commercialized healthcare settings. Furthermore, the role of CTC clusters in metastasis, their physical and biological characteristics, clinical applications and current challenges of this biomarker are thoroughly discussed. The current review can shed light on the development of more efficient CTC cluster separation method that will enhance the pivotal understanding of the metastatic process and may be practical in contriving new strategies to control and suppress cancer and metastasis. | [
"MATE"
] | [
"Cancer management",
"Circulating tumor cell cluster",
"Metastasis",
"Microfluidic CTC cluster",
"Passive detection techniques",
"Separation CTC cluster"
] | [
"2501",
"2502",
"2503",
"2504"
] | [
"Metastasis is a complicated, multistep process where cancer cells detach from the primary tumor, migrate to adjacent tissues, invade and travel through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system, survive, proliferate, colonize in distant organs and finally establish a new tumor (Fig. 1a) [1–12].",
"These tumor cell... | [] |
Primary and booster vaccination with an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) is immunogenic and well-tolerated in infants and toddlers in China | Introduction: Replacing live-attenuated oral poliovirus vaccines (OPV) with inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV) is part of the global strategy to eradicate poliomyelitis. China was declared polio-free in 2000 but continues to record cases of vaccine-associated-poliomyelitis and vaccine-derived-poliovirus outbreaks. Two pilot safety studies and two larger immunogenicity trials evaluated the non-inferiority of IPV (Poliorix™, GSK Vaccines, Belgium) versus OPV in infants and booster vaccination in toddlers primed with either IPV or OPV in China. Methods: In pilot safety studies, 25 infants received 3-dose IPV primary vaccination (Study A, www.clinicaltrial.gov NCT00937404) and 25 received an IPV booster after priming with three OPV doses (Study B, NCT01021293). In the randomised, controlled immunogenicity and safety trial (Study C, NCT00920439), infants received 3-dose primary vaccination with IPV (N = 541) or OPV (N = 535) at 2,3,4 months of age, and a booster IPV dose at 18-24 months (N = 470, Study D, NCT01323647: extension of study C). Blood samples were collected before and one month post-dose-3 and booster. Reactogenicity was assessed using diary cards. Serious adverse events (SAEs) were captured throughout each study. Results: Study A and B showed that IPV priming and IPV boosting (after OPV) was safe. Study C: One month post-dose-3, all IPV and ≥98.3% OPV recipients had seroprotective antibody titres towards each poliovirus type. The immune response elicited by IPV was non-inferior to Chinese OPV. Seroprotective antibody titres persisted in ≥94.7% IPV and ≥96.1% OPV recipients at 18-24 months (Study D). IPV had a clinically acceptable safety profile in all studies. Grade 3 local and systemic reactions were uncommon. No SAEs were related to IPV administration. Conclusion: Trivalent IPV is non-inferior to OPV in terms of seroprotection (in the Chinese vaccination schedule) in infant and toddlers, with a clinically acceptable safety profile. | [
"BIOC",
"IMMU",
"MEDI",
"VETE"
] | [
"Booster",
"China",
"Eradication",
"Inactivated poliovirus vaccine",
"Oral poliovirus vaccine",
"Poliomyelitis",
"Poliovirus",
"Vaccine"
] | [
"1313",
"2400",
"2725",
"2739",
"3400"
] | [
"Oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) has been the mainstay of poliomyelitis control in many countries since the 1950s.",
"Nonetheless, there are several disadvantages in continuing vaccination with OPV in countries where wild-type poliovirus has been eradicated.",
"Despite its otherwise remarkable safety profile, OPV... | [
"IPV safety and immunogenicity were assessed in the Chinese vaccination schedule.",
"IPV was non-inferior to Chinese OPV in terms of seroprotection rates.",
"IPV had a clinically acceptable safety profile in four studies.",
"IPV could feasibly be incorporated into Chinese vaccination schedule."
] |
Effect of copolymer composition on particle morphology and release behavior in vitro using progesterone | This study was aimed at improving dissolution rate and sustained release of progesterone by varying copolymer composition and polymer: drug ratio of PLGA. Drug-loaded particles were prepared using electrohydrodynamic atomization. The effects of polymer: drug ratio and copolymer composition on particle properties and in vitro drug-release profile were investigated. The physical form of the generated particles was determined via X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Drug release in vitro was found to be dependent on copolymer composition, where the release rate increased with decreased lactide content of PLGA. Particles produced with solutions of copolymer (75:25) had elongated shapes. In general, the obtained results indicated that the prepared microparticles were ideal carriers for oral administration of progesterone offering great potential to improve the dissolution rate of drugs that suffer from low aqueous solubility. | [
"ENGI",
"MATE"
] | [
"Drug delivery system",
"Electrohydrodynamic",
"Mathematical modelling",
"Progesterone"
] | [
"2210",
"2211",
"2500"
] | [
"In the development of oral formulations, the aqueous solubility of the drug plays a key role in the extent of drug absorption [1].",
"For any therapeutics to be successfully absorbed in the body, it needs to be present in the form of an aqueous solution at the desired site of action [1,2].",
"The solubility is... | [
"Single step electrospraying was applied with high processing yield to prepare drug delivery systems.",
"Solutions of PLGA with different monomer and drug ratios were used for producing progesterone-loaded microparticles.",
"Encapsulation efficiency of 80–90% was achieved in selected formulations.",
"The rele... |
Source apportionment of particle number size distribution in urban background and traffic stations in four European cities | Ultrafine particles (UFP) are suspected of having significant impacts on health. However, there have only been a limited number of studies on sources of UFP compared to larger particles. In this work, we identified and quantified the sources and processes contributing to particle number size distributions (PNSD) using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) at six monitoring stations (four urban background and two street canyon) from four European cities: Barcelona, Helsinki, London, and Zurich. These cities are characterised by different meteorological conditions and emissions. The common sources across all stations were Photonucleation, traffic emissions (3 sources, from fresh to aged emissions: Traffic nucleation, Fresh traffic - mode diameter between 13 and 37 nm, and Urban - mode diameter between 44 and 81 nm, mainly traffic but influenced by other sources in some cities), and Secondary particles. The Photonucleation factor was only directly identified by PMF for Barcelona, while an additional split of the Nucleation factor (into Photonucleation and Traffic nucleation) by using NOx concentrations as a proxy for traffic emissions was performed for all other stations. The sum of all traffic sources resulted in a maximum relative contributions ranging from 71 to 94% (annual average) thereby being the main contributor at all stations. In London and Zurich, the relative contribution of the sources did not vary significantly between seasons. In contrast, the high levels of solar radiation in Barcelona led to an important contribution of Photonucleation particles (ranging from 14% during the winter period to 35% during summer). Biogenic emissions were a source identified only in Helsinki (both in the urban background and street canyon stations), that contributed importantly during summer (23% in urban background). Airport emissions contributed to Nucleation particles at urban background sites, as the highest concentrations of this source took place when the wind was blowing from the airport direction in all cities. | [
"ENVI"
] | [
"Airport emissions",
"Particle number size distributions",
"Photonucleation",
"Positive Matrix Factorization",
"Traffic emissions",
"Ultrafine particles"
] | [
"2300"
] | [
"It has been widely reported that atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has a negative impact upon human health, with 7 million deaths per year attributed to the exposure to air pollution (WHO, 2018).",
"Disentangling the impact on public health of the different sources contributing to PM would allow targeted polic... | [
"Ultrafine particle sources were identified and quantified in four European cities.",
"Common sources were Photonucleation, different Traffic sources, and Secondary.",
"Maximum contribution of traffic sources ranged 71–94% of total particle number.",
"Airport emissions contributed to nucleation particles in u... |
Intensification of convective heat transfer and heat exchanger performance by the combined influence of a twisted tube and twisted tape | Twisted tubes and twisted tapes are swirl flow generators utilized for increasing thermal performance. The combined effects of twisted tubes and twisted tapes on heat transfer, pressure drop and thermal performance were experimentally investigated. Experiments were performed using a trapezoidal shaped twisted tube and twisted tapes having various twist ratios (y/w=2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0). Water was used as the test fluid in a turbulent regime (4500<Re<16,000). A simulation of velocity, temperature contours and local Nusselt number plots was also performed to gain information about fluid flow and heat transfer. The results of the combined devices are studied with those of a smooth circular tube and a twisted tube alone, for comparison. The experimental results show that at a given Re, the Nusselt number (Nu), friction factor (f) and thermal performance of a twisted tube mounted with a twisted tape are consistently higher than those of the twisted tube alone and a smooth circular tube. Additionally, the heat transfer, friction loss and thermal performance factor increase with a reduction of the twist ratio (y/w) since the tape with a smaller y/w gives stronger and more consistent swirl flow. | [
"CENG",
"ENGI"
] | [
"Enhanced heat transfer",
"Heat exchanger tube",
"Swirl",
"Twisted tape",
"Twisted tube"
] | [
"1507",
"2201"
] | [
"Applying twisted tubes and twisted tapes has long been a method enhancing passive heat transfer in shell and tube heat exchangers.",
"Numerous applications are found in chemical processing plants, power plants and solar air/water heaters, and air conditioning equipment, among many others.",
"Twisted-tubes are ... | [] |
A physiological signature of sound meaning in dementia | The meaning of sensory objects is often behaviourally and biologically salient and decoding of semantic salience is potentially vulnerable in dementia. However, it remains unclear how sensory semantic processing is linked to physiological mechanisms for coding object salience and how that linkage is affected by neurodegenerative diseases. Here we addressed this issue using the paradigm of complex sounds. We used pupillometry to compare physiological responses to real versus synthetic nonverbal sounds in patients with canonical dementia syndromes (behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia - bvFTD, semantic dementia - SD; progressive nonfluent aphasia - PNFA; typical Alzheimer's disease - AD) relative to healthy older individuals. Nonverbal auditory semantic competence was assessed using a novel within-modality sound classification task and neuroanatomical associations of pupillary responses were assessed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of patients' brain MR images. After taking affective stimulus factors into account, patients with SD and AD showed significantly increased pupil responses to real versus synthetic sounds relative to healthy controls. The bvFTD, SD and AD groups had a nonverbal auditory semantic deficit relative to healthy controls and nonverbal auditory semantic performance was inversely correlated with the magnitude of the enhanced pupil response to real versus synthetic sounds across the patient cohort. A region of interest analysis demonstrated neuroanatomical associations of overall pupil reactivity and differential pupil reactivity to sound semantic content in superior colliculus and left anterior temporal cortex respectively. Our findings suggest that autonomic coding of auditory semantic ambiguity in the setting of a damaged semantic system may constitute a novel physiological signature of neurodegenerative diseases. | [
"NEUR",
"PSYC"
] | [
"Alzheimer's disease",
"Dementia",
"Frontotemporal",
"Nonverbal sound",
"Physiology",
"Progressive aphasia",
"Pupillometry",
"Semantic"
] | [
"2805",
"3205",
"3206"
] | [
"Disambiguation of potentially relevant, ‘salient’ stimuli from the busy multisensory background is accomplished efficiently and largely automatically by the healthy brain.",
"However, successful processing of sensory salience depends on a number of subprocesses: these include accurate parsing of the sensory envi... | [] |
Substrate recognition of holocytochrome c synthase: N-terminal region and CXXCH motif of mitochondrial cytochrome c | Holocytochrome c synthase (HCCS) attaches heme covalently to mitochondrial respiratory cytochromes c. Little is known about the reaction of heme attachment to apocytochromes c by HCCS, although recently it has been established that the CXXCH motif and the N-terminus of the apocytochrome polypeptide are important protein-protein recognition motifs. Here, we explore further the important features of the N-terminal sequence and investigate what variations in the CXXCH residues are productively recognised by HCCS in its substrate. | [
"BIOC"
] | [] | [
"1303",
"1304",
"1307",
"1311",
"1312",
"1315"
] | [
"The biosynthesis of cytochrome c is achieved by different systems in different organisms [1].",
"The heme group is covalently attached to apocytochrome in a critical and poorly understood step in this post-translational modification process.",
"A characteristic and highly conserved CXXCH motif occurs in the cy... | [
"Holocytochrome c synthase (HCCS) does not attach heme to cytochromes lacking the histidine in the CXXCH motif.",
"HCCS can recognise C-terminally truncated cytochromes c.",
"The aromatic nature of, or possibly shape complementarity to, F15 in cytochrome c is important for recognition by HCCS.",
"The spacing ... |
A robust and versatile mass spectrometry platform for comprehensive assessment of the thiol redox metabolome | Several diseases are associated with perturbations in redox signaling and aberrant hydrogen sulfide metabolism, and numerous analytical methods exist for the measurement of the sulfur-containing species affected. However, uncertainty remains about their concentrations and speciation in cells/biofluids, perhaps in part due to differences in sample processing and detection principles. Using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography in combination with electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometry we here outline a specific and sensitive platform for the simultaneous measurement of 12 analytes, including total and free thiols, their disulfides and sulfide in complex biological matrices such as blood, saliva and urine. Total assay run time is < 10 min, enabling high-throughput analysis. Enhanced sensitivity and avoidance of artifactual thiol oxidation is achieved by taking advantage of the rapid reaction of sulfhydryl groups with N-ethylmaleimide. We optimized the analytical procedure for detection and separation conditions, linearity and precision including three stable isotope labelled standards. Its versatility for future more comprehensive coverage of the thiol redox metabolome was demonstrated by implementing additional analytes such as methanethiol, N-acetylcysteine, and coenzyme A. Apparent plasma sulfide concentrations were found to vary substantially with sample pretreatment and nature of the alkylating agent. In addition to protein binding in the form of mixed disulfides (S-thiolation) a significant fraction of aminothiols and sulfide appears to be also non-covalently associated with proteins. Methodological accuracy was tested by comparing the plasma redox status of 10 healthy human volunteers to a well-established protocol optimized for reduced/oxidized glutathione. In a proof-of-principle study a deeper analysis of the thiol redox metabolome including free reduced/oxidized as well as bound thiols and sulfide was performed. Additional determination of acid-labile sulfide/thiols was demonstrated in human blood cells, urine and saliva. Using this simplified mass spectrometry-based workflow the thiol redox metabolome can be determined in samples from clinical and translational studies, providing a novel prognostic/diagnostic platform for patient stratification, drug monitoring, and identification of new therapeutic approaches in redox diseases. | [
"BIOC",
"CHEM"
] | [
"Glutathione",
"Hydrogen sulfide",
"Oxidative stress",
"Persulfides",
"Reactive species interactome",
"Redox status",
"Thiol-maleimide michael addition"
] | [
"1308",
"1605"
] | [
"Many biological processes that have previously been associated with an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or an impaired antioxidant and free radical scavenging capacity were thought to culminate in ‘oxidative stress’, cell death and tissue damage.",
"More recently, such conditions are interpret... | [
"The thiol redox metabolome comprises free and bound thiols, disulfides, and sulfide.",
"We developed a LC-MS/MS platform for detection of the thiol redox metabolome in biological samples.",
"Thiols in blood, urine and saliva are stabilized by derivatization with N-ethylmaleimide, also preventing oxidation.",
... |
Effect of particle size on syngas production using sawdust of Cameroonian Triplochiton scleroxylon | Improving living comfort is inevitably accompanied by a significant increase in energy requirements. These constant rises in energy demand, coupled with environmental issues of fossil energies, have led researches toward renewable energies. Biomass is then one of the renewable sources of energy which must be valorized in sub-Saharan Africa in order to satisfy the future energy needs. In the present work, sawdust of Triplochiton scleroxylon commonly named Ayous is used as feedstock to produce syngas using a batch reactor for gasification process. Based on the proximate and chemical analysis of these wooden residues, results revealed the cellulose content of 46.5 ± 3.54 wt%, hemicellulose content of 16.2 ± 1.56 wt%, lignin content of 16.2 ± 1.56 wt%, moisture content of 18.67 ± 0.58 wt% and the fixed carbon content of 10.90 ± 0.38 wt%. These contents prove that Ayous is a good substrate for syngas production. That sawdust has then been screened into three samples with different particles sizes (d < 500 µm, 500 µm < d < 1 mm and 1 mm < d < 1.9 mm) and three various masses (9 g, 7 g and 5 g) of each sample have been used for gasification experiment. From these experiments, it has been noted that the less the particle size is the more is the gasification rate. The gasification rates obtained from these different particles sizes were 0.430 g/min, 0.359 g/min and 0.228 g/min, respectively. Owing to these experimental data, a kinetic modelling of gasification process has been performed using a one stage global single reaction. | [
"MULT"
] | [
"Gasification kinetic",
"Particle size",
"Pyrolysis",
"Syngas",
"Triplochiton scleroxylon"
] | [
"1000"
] | [
"Constant increase of population leads to a move up in energy requirements.",
"Because of the anxiety to global climate change, environmental pollution and limited resources of fossil energies, governments are constrained to migrate progressively from fossil energies to clean energies.",
"That explains why valo... | [] |
Using community-based system dynamics modeling to understand the complex systems that influence health in cities: The SALURBAL study | We discuss the design, implementation, and results of a collaborative process designed to elucidate the complex systems that drive food behaviors, transport, and health in Latin American cities and to build capacity for systems thinking and community-based system dynamics (CBSD) methods among diverse research team members and stakeholders. During three CBSD workshops, 62 stakeholders from 10 Latin American countries identified 98 variables and a series of feedback loops that shape food behaviors, transportation and health, along with 52 policy levers. Our findings suggest that CBSD can engage local stakeholders, help them view problems through the lens of complex systems and use their insights to prioritize research efforts and identify novel solutions that consider mechanisms of complexity. | [
"SOCI"
] | [
"Community-based system dynamics",
"Diet",
"Group model building",
"Latin America",
"Transport"
] | [
"3306",
"3312",
"3319"
] | [
"Over half of the world's population, more than 4.1 billion people, lives in cities (World Bank, 2015).",
"In general, many health outcomes are better among urban populations than rural populations (Bai et al., 2012), although much heterogeneity exists both between and within cities.",
"Many factors associated ... | [
"CBSD methods can promote systems thinking and help identify policy approaches.",
"Stakeholders identified 98 variables driving food behaviors and transport in cities.",
"Balancing and reinforcing feedbacks drive change in food behavior and transport.",
"Feedback loops can also explain policy responses and la... |
Stress analysis of double-lap bi-material joints bonded with thick adhesive | Mechanics of double-lap Steel-to-CFRP adhesively-bonded joints loaded in tension are investigated experimentally using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Acoustic Emission (AE), analytically using a one-dimensional closed-form solution and numerically with Finite Element analysis. The double-lap bi-material joints are fabricated of a steel core adhesively bonded to two CFRP skins with adhesive thickness of ~ 8 mm, using an Epoxy-based and MMA-based adhesives. In order to capture the in-plane deformation of the joint, full field strain/displacement maps are obtained using DIC. This data is used to validate the shear-lag model predictions of the adhesive shear stress/strain distribution as well as the linear-elastic Finite Element Model (FEM) results. In addition, they are used to capture the susceptible damage locations and their effect on the displacement contour maps, strain distribution and load transfer between the joint's different constituents. A correlation between the DIC displacement and the AE signals is obtained for damage detection in both joints. Moreover, a good agreement amongst the analytical, FE and DIC strain/stress distributions along the bond-line is observed. This study introduces the analytical shear-lag model as an alternative to predict the stress state in thick-adhesive double-lap joints, with an acceptable level of accuracy and robustness. | [
"CENG",
"MATE"
] | [
"AE",
"Acoustic emission",
"Composites",
"Mechanical properties of adhesives",
"Metals",
"Shear-lag model",
"Stress analysis"
] | [
"1500",
"2502",
"2507"
] | [
"The use of adhesively-bonded double-lap joints (DLJs) is preferred over conventional joining techniques such as bolting, riveting and welding.",
"They offer many advantages including, for instance, the ability to join dissimilar materials such as steel and fiber reinforced composites, weight savings, improved st... | [] |
Vegetation of Eurasia from the last glacial maximum to present: Key biogeographic patterns | Continental-scale estimates of vegetation cover, including land-surface properties and biogeographic trends, reflect the response of plant species to climate change over the past millennia. These estimates can help assess the effectiveness of simulations of climate change using forward and inverse modelling approaches. With the advent of transient and contiguous time-slice palaeoclimate simulations, vegetation datasets with similar temporal qualities are desirable. We collated fossil pollen records for the period 21,000–0 cal yr BP (kyr cal BP; calibrated ages) for Europe and Asia north of 40°N, using extant databases and new data; we filtered records for adequate dating and sorted the nomenclature to conform to a consistent yet extensive taxon list. From this database we extracted pollen spectra representing 1000-year time-slices from 21 kyr cal BP to present and used the biomization approach to define the most likely vegetation biome represented. Biomes were mapped for the 22 time slices, and key plant functional types (PFTs, the constituents of the biomes) were tracked though time. An error matrix and index of topographic complexity clearly showed that the accuracy of pollen-based biome assignments (when compared with modern vegetation) was negatively correlated with topographic complexity, but modern vegetation was nevertheless effectively mapped by the pollen, despite moderate levels of misclassification for most biomes. The pattern at 21 ka is of herb-dominated biomes across the whole region. From the onset of deglaciation (17–18 kyr cal BP), some sites in Europe record forest biomes, particularly the south, and the proportion of forest biomes gradually increases with time through 14 kyr cal BP. During the same period, forest biomes and steppe or tundra biomes are intermixed across the central Asian mountains, and forest biomes occur in coastal Pacific areas. These forest biome occurrences, plus a record of dated plant macrofossils, indicate that some tree populations existed in southern and Eastern Europe and central and far-eastern Eurasia. PFT composition of the herbaceous biomes emphasises the significant contribution of diverse forbs to treeless vegetation, a feature often obscured in pollen records. An increase in moisture ca. 14 kyr cal BP is suggested by a shift to woody biomes and an increase in sites recording initialization and development of lakes and peat deposits, particularly in the European portion of the region. Deforestation of Western Europe, presumably related to agricultural expansion, is clearly visible in the most recent two millennia. | [
"AGRI",
"ARTS",
"EART",
"ENVI",
"SOCI"
] | [
"Biomes",
"Eurasia",
"Late Quaternary",
"Pollen",
"Vegetation"
] | [
"1105",
"1204",
"1907",
"2306",
"3302"
] | [
"Northern Eurasia (north of ca. 40°N and from 10°W to 180°E) is a large landmass with distinct gradients in climate.",
"The last deglaciation led to dramatic changes to the Earth system, and in the North polar amplification likely enhanced regional responses to climate forcing (Serreze and Barry, 2011).",
"The ... | [
"Pollen biomes for 1000-yr time slices from 21 to 0 ka BP are mapped for Eurasia.",
"Tundra and steppe biomes dominated 21–14 ka BP, but forest biomes were also present.",
"From 14 ka BP woody biomes expanded and wetland indicators became more prominent.",
"Extensive taxon list underlines importance of forbs ... |
Enhanced chondrogenesis from human embryonic stem cells | Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have great potential for the repair of damaged articular cartilage. We developed a serum-free 14-day protocol for hESC differentiation into chondrocyte progenitors, which surprisingly lacked strong cartilage matrix production in in vitro tests. In order to direct these progenitors to a more mature phenotype, we investigated substituting different members of the TGFβ family in the protocol. Initially, we supplemented, or substituted GDF5 (day 11–14), with combinations of BMP7 and TGFβ-1, or −3, but these modifications yielded no improvement in matrix gene expression. However, replacing BMP4 with BMP2 (days 3–10 of the protocol) resulted in a more rapid increase in SOX9 gene expression and increased expression of chondrogenic genes SOX5, ACAN and COL2A1. The replacement of BMP4 with BMP2 also enhanced the formation of chondrogenic cell aggregates, with greater deposition of type II collagen. This change was not accompanied by hypertrophic chondrocyte marker COL10A1 expression. The results demonstrate that BMP2 has greater specificity for the generation of chondrogenic cells from hESCs than BMP4 and this was consistent in two hESC lines (HUES1 and MAN7). hESC-chondrogenic cells derived with either BMP2 or BMP4 were tested in vivo by implanting them in fibrin into osteochondral defects in the femur of RNU rats. Repaired cartilage tissue, positive for Safranin O and type II collagen was detected at 6 and 12 weeks with both cell sources, but the BMP2 cells scored higher for tissue quality (Pineda score). Therefore, BMP2 is more effective at driving chondrogenic differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells than BMP4 and the effect on the resulting chondroprogenitors is sustained in an in vivo setting. | [
"BIOC"
] | [] | [
"1307",
"1309"
] | [
"Hyaline cartilage forms the load-bearing surface of articular joints and is required for friction-free movement.",
"The tissue is avascular and aneural and is composed primarily of an extracellular matrix rich in type II collagen and proteoglycans.",
"It is maintained by a single cell type-the chondrocyte, whi... | [
"BMP2 stimulates increased chondrogenic gene expression from hESC chondroprogenitors compared to BMP4.",
"Other TGFΒ members were not effective.",
"BMP2 promoted COL2a1 positive aggregate formation.",
"with no effect on culture expansion or apoptosis."
] |
Cognitive and neural correlates of the 5-repeat allele of the dopamine D4 receptor gene in a population lacking the 7-repeat allele | The 5-repeat allele of a common length polymorphism in the gene that encodes the dopamine D4 receptor (. DRD4) is robustly associated with the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substantially exists in Asian populations, which have a lower ADHD prevalence. In this study, we investigated the effect of this allele on microstructural properties of the brain and on its functional activity during externally directed attention-demanding tasks and creative performance in the 765 Asian subjects. For this purpose, we employed diffusion tensor imaging, N-back functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms, and a test to measure creativity by divergent thinking. The 5-repeat allele was significantly associated with increased originality in the creative performance, increased mean diffusivity (the measure of how the tissue includes water molecules instead of neural and vessel components) in the widespread gray and white matter areas of extensive areas, particularly those where DRD4 is expressed, and reduced task-induced deactivation in the areas that are deactivated during the tasks in the course of both the attention-demanding working memory task and simple sensorimotor task. The observed neural characteristics of 5-repeat allele carriers may lead to an increased risk of ADHD and behavioral deficits. Furthermore, the increased originality of creative thinking observed in the 5-repeat allele carriers may support the notion of the side of adaptivity of the widespread risk allele of psychiatric diseases. | [
"NEUR"
] | [] | [
"2805",
"2808"
] | [
"The dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene locates on chromosome 11p15.5.",
"As summarized previously (Swanson et al., 2000), this gene has a polymorphism in a coding region—a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) of a 48-base pair sequence in exon 3 (Lichter et al., 1993) that codes for a variation in the third in... | [
"Effects of 5-repeat (5R) allele of dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene were examined.",
"5R carrier was associated with higher originality in the creativity task.",
"5R carrier was associated with lower mean diffusivity in the wide-spread areas.",
"5R carrier was associated with lower task-induced deactivation ... |
In vitro plant regeneration, phenolic compound production and pharmacological activities of Coleonema pulchellum | Effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and organic elicitors (OEs) on Coleonema pulchellum in vitro micropropagation, secondary product production and pharmacological activities were evaluated. In vitro, ex vitro and parental plants of C. pulchellum were investigated for their potential to produce phenolic and pharmacological compounds. Different morphogenic characteristics of shoots were obtained with PGRs- and OEs-containing media. A higher number of normal shoots were achieved with a low concentration of thidiazuron (TDZ: 4.5μM). Lesser numbers were found with combinations of TDZ (13.6μM)+indole-3-acetic acid (IAA: 2.9μM); haemoglobin (HB: 300mgl-1) or glutamine (GM: 40μM)+benzyladenine (BA: 8.8μM). Shoots were rooted in vitro and successfully acclimatized. Plant growth regulators and OEs had a significant effect on the synthesis and accumulation of phenolic compounds and flavonoids. In particular, casein hydrolysate (CH) as well as a combination of GM and BA induced high levels of total phenolics and flavonoids during in vitro culture. Cytokinins and OEs had a significant effect on DPPH radical scavenging and antibacterial activities of C. pulchellum extracts. Acclimatized C. pulchellum plants can be used as substitute alternative to natural populations. © 2013 South African Association of Botanists. | [
"AGRI"
] | [
"Antibacterial activity",
"Antioxidants",
"In vitro regeneration",
"Organic elicitors",
"Phenolic compounds"
] | [
"1110"
] | [
"Coleonema pulchellum Williams (Rutaceae) is an evergreen, erect and dense shrub, which occurs from the western to the eastern Cape in South Africa.",
"It is an ideal aromatic garden plant which remains beautiful with pink flowers throughout the year.",
"The plant contains phenylpropenes, phenylpropanoids and t... | [
"In vitro propagation for Coleonema pulchellum is reported for the first time.",
"More normal and healthy shoots were obtained with 4.5 μM TDZ.",
"In vitro and ex vitro-grown C. pulchellum exhibited high bioactivities.",
"The protocol can be applied for mass propagation and plant transformation studies."
] |
Latitudinal gradient of spruce forest understory and tundra phenology in Alaska as observed from satellite and ground-based data | The latitudinal gradient of the start of the growing season (SOS) and the end of the growing season (EOS) were quantified in Alaska (61°N to 71°N) using satellite-based and ground-based datasets. The Alaskan evergreen needleleaf forests are sparse and the understory vegetation has a substantial impact on the satellite signal. We evaluated SOS and EOS of understory and tundra vegetation using time-lapse camera images. From the comparison of three SOS algorithms for determining SOS from two satellite datasets (SPOT-VEGETATION and Terra-MODIS), we found that the satellite-based SOS timing was consistent with the leaf emergence of the forest understory and tundra vegetation. The ensemble average of SOS over all satellite algorithms can be used as a measure of spring leaf emergence for understory and tundra vegetation. In contrast, the relationship between the ground-based and satellite-based EOSs was not as strong as that of SOS both for boreal forest and tundra sites because of the large biases between those two EOSs (19 to 26 days). The satellite-based EOS was more relevant to snowfall events than the senescence of understory or tundra. The plant canopy radiative transfer simulation suggested that 84-86% of the NDVI seasonal amplitude could be a reasonable threshold for the EOS determination. The latitudinal gradients of SOS and EOS evaluated by the satellite and ground data were consistent and the satellite-derived SOS and EOS were 3.5 to 5.7 days degree-1 and -2.3 to -2.7 days degree-1, which corresponded to the spring (May) temperature sensitivity of -2.5 to -3.9 days °C-1 in SOS and the autumn (August and September) temperature sensitivity of 3.0 to 4.6 days °C-1 in EOS. This demonstrates the possible impact of phenology in spruce forest understory and tundra ecosystems in response to climate change in the warming Artic and sub-Arctic regions. | [
"AGRI",
"EART"
] | [
"Alaska",
"Autumn phenology",
"Boreal forest",
"Radiative transfer analysis",
"Satellite SOS and EOS",
"Time-lapse camera",
"Tundra",
"Understory vegetation"
] | [
"1111",
"1903",
"1907"
] | [
"In the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, including Alaska, warming trends have been accelerating and the increased trend in surface temperature in the region over the past decade is twofold higher than that in the whole northern hemisphere (Bekryaev, Polyakov, & Alexeev, 2010; Hinzman et al., 2013; IPCC, 2013).",
"... | [
"Forest understory and tundra phenology is estimated across Alaska from 61°N to 71°N.",
"Satellite estimates of spring onset were consistent with ground-based data.",
"From 84 to 86% of the NDVI seasonal amplitude can be used as a threshold for EOS.",
"The latitudinal gradients of SOS and EOS were 3.5 to 5.7 ... |
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