ALBERT

Description: The airborne laser scanning (ALS) datasets were acquired at the Arctic tundra site of Trail Valley Creek (TVC), Northwest Territories, Canada, which is underlain by continuous permafrost. Basic processing and filtering steps were applied to the ALS point cloud. Based on a classification into ground and vegetation points, a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and rasters of mean and maximum vegetation heights are derived. Detailed metadata are included.

Description: When cumulonimbus clouds aggregate, developing into a single entity with precipitation covering a horizontal scale of hundreds of kilometers, they are called mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). They account for much of Earth’s precipitation, generate severe weather events and flooding, produce prodigious cirriform anvil clouds, and affect the evolution of the larger-scale circulation. Understanding the inner workings of MCSs has resulted from developments in observational technology and modeling. Time–space conversion of ordinary surface and upper-air observations provided early insight into MCSs, but deeper understanding has followed field campaigns using increasingly sophisticated radars, better aircraft instrumentation, and an ever-widening range of satellite instruments, especially satellite-borne radars. High-resolution modeling and theoretical insights have shown that aggregated cumulonimbus clouds induce a mesoscale circulation consisting of air overturning on a scale larger than the scale of individual convective up- and downdrafts. These layers can be kilometers deep and decoupled from the boundary layer in elevated MCSs. Cooling in the lower troposphere and heating aloft characterize the stratiform regions of MCSs. As a result, long-lived MCSs with large stratiform regions have a top-heavy heating profile that generates potential vorticity in midlevels, thus influencing the larger-scale circulation within which the MCSs occur. Global satellite data show MCSs varying in structure, depending on the prevailing large-scale circulation and topography. These patterns are likely to change with global warming. In addition, environmental pollution affects MCS structure and dynamics subtly. Feedbacks of MCSs therefore need to be included or parameterized in climate models.

Description: The central change in understanding of the ocean circulation during the past 100 years has been its emergence as an intensely time-dependent, effectively turbulent and wave-dominated, flow. Early technologies for making the difficult observations were adequate only to depict large-scale, quasi-steady flows. With the electronic revolution of the past 50+ years, the emergence of geophysical fluid dynamics, the strongly inhomogeneous time-dependent nature of oceanic circulation physics finally emerged. Mesoscale (balanced), submesoscale oceanic eddies at 100-km horizontal scales and shorter, and internal waves are now known to be central to much of the behavior of the system. Ocean circulation is now recognized to involve both eddies and larger-scale flows with dominant elements and their interactions varying among the classical gyres, the boundary current regions, the Southern Ocean, and the tropics.

Description: Although atmospheric observing systems were already an important part of meteorology before the American Meteorological Society was established in 1919, the past 100 years have seen a steady increase in their numbers and types. Examples of how observing systems were developed and how they have enabled major scientific discoveries are presented. These examples include observing systems associated with the boundary layer, the upper air, clouds and precipitation, and solar and terrestrial radiation. Widely used specialized observing systems such as radar, lidar, and research aircraft are discussed, and examples of applications to weather forecasting and climate are given. Examples drawn from specific types of chemical measurements, such as ozone and carbon dioxide, are included. Sources of information on observing systems, including other chapters of this monograph, are also discussed. The past 100 years has been characterized by synergism between societal needs for weather observations and the needs of fundamental meteorological research into atmospheric processes. In the latter half of the period, observing system improvements have been driven by the increasing demands for higher-resolution data for numerical models, the need for long-term measurements, and for more global coverage. This has resulted in a growing demand for data access and for integrating data from an increasingly wide variety of observing system types and networks. These trends will likely continue.

Description: The polar regions present several unique challenges to meteorology, including remoteness and a harsh environment. We summarize the evolution of polar meteorology in both hemispheres, beginning with measurements made during early expeditions and concluding with the recent decades in which polar meteorology has been central to global challenges such as the ozone hole, weather prediction, and climate change. Whereas the 1800s and early 1900s provided data from expeditions and only a few subarctic stations, the past 100 years have seen great advances in the observational network and corresponding understanding of the meteorology of the polar regions. For example, a persistent view in the early twentieth century was of an Arctic Ocean dominated by a permanent high pressure cell, a glacial anticyclone. With increased observations, by the 1950s it became apparent that, while anticyclones are a common feature of the Arctic circulation, cyclones are frequent and may be found anywhere in the Arctic. Technology has benefited polar meteorology through advances in instrumentation, especially autonomously operated instruments. Moreover, satellite remote sensing and computer models revolutionized polar meteorology. We highlight the four International Polar Years and several high-latitude field programs of recent decades. We also note outstanding challenges, which include understanding of the role of the Arctic in variations of midlatitude weather and climate, the ability to model surface energy exchanges over a changing Arctic Ocean, assessments of ongoing and future trends in extreme events in polar regions, and the role of internal variability in multiyear-to-decadal variations of polar climate.

Description: The field of atmospheric science has been enhanced by its long-standing collaboration with entities with specific needs. This chapter and the two subsequent ones describe how applications have worked to advance the science at the same time that the science has served the needs of society. This chapter briefly reviews the synergy between the applications and advancing the science. It specifically describes progress in weather modification, aviation weather, and applications for security. Each of these applications has resulted in enhanced understanding of the physics and dynamics of the atmosphere, new and improved observing equipment, better models, and a push for greater computing power.

Description: Over the past century, the atmospheric and related sciences have seen incredible advances in our understanding of Earth’s environment and our ability to monitor and predict its behavior. These advances have had a profound impact on society and have been integrated into every aspect of daily life. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has been instrumental in supporting these advances throughout its first 100 years of existence as a scientific and professional society serving the community of professionals in the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. AMS has provided opportunities for researchers and practitioners to share their scientific findings and build fruitful collaborations to further the science and its application. Through strategic initiatives at key points in its history, AMS has pushed the science forward—highlighting areas ripe for development, creating frameworks for interdisciplinary interactions, and providing innovative approaches to the dissemination of research results. As a society made up of the scientific community and led by many of the most prominent scientists of their time, AMS has been able to respond to, and often anticipate, the needs of its community.

Description: A century ago, meteorologists regarded tropical cyclones as shallow vortices, extending upward only a few kilometers into the troposphere, and nothing was known about their physics save that convection was somehow involved. As recently as 1938, a major hurricane struck the densely populated northeastern United States with no warning whatsoever, killing hundreds. In the time since the American Meteorological Society was founded, however, tropical cyclone research blossomed into an endeavor of great breadth and depth, encompassing fields ranging from atmospheric and oceanic dynamics to biogeochemistry, and the precision and scope of forecasts and warnings have achieved a level of success that would have been regarded as impossible only a few decades ago. This chapter attempts to document the extraordinary progress in tropical cyclone research over the last century and to suggest some avenues for productive research over the next one.

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Progress in Oceanography, Volume 170〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alba María Martínez–Pérez, Teresa S. Catalá, Mar Nieto–Cid, Jaime Otero, Marta Álvarez, Mikhail Emelianov, Isabel Reche, Xosé Antón Álvarez–Salgado, Javier Arístegui〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in the Mediterranean Sea was analysed by excitation–emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy and parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis during the cruise HOTMIX 2014. A 4–component model, including 3 humic–like and 1 protein–like compounds, was obtained. To decipher the environmental factors that dictate the distributions of these components, we run generalized additive models (GAMs) in the epipelagic layer and an optimum multiparametric (OMP) water masses analysis in the meso– and bathypelagic layers. In the epipelagic layer, apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and temperature presented the most significant effects on the variability of the marine humic-like peak M fluorescence, suggesting that its distribution was controlled by the net community respiration of organic matter and photobleaching. On the contrary, the variability of the soil humic-like peak E and the protein–like peak T fluorescence was explained mainly by the prokaryotic heterotrophic abundance, which decreased eastwards. In the meso– and bathypelagic layers, water mass mixing and basin–scale mineralization processes explained 〉72% and 63% of the humic–like and protein–like fluorescence variability, respectively. When analysing the two basins separately, the OMP model offered a better explanation of the distribution of fluorescence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, as expected from the reduced biological activity in this ultra–oligotrophic basin. Furthermore, while western Mediterranean deep waters display the usual trend in the global ocean (increase of humic–like fluorescence and decrease of protein–like fluorescence with higher AOU values), the eastern Mediterranean deep waters presented an opposite trend. Different initial fluorescence intensities of the water masses that mix in the eastern basin, with Adriatic and Aegean origins, seem to be behind this contrasting pattern. The analysis of the transect–scale mineralization processes corroborate this hypothesis, suggesting a production of humic–like and a consumption of protein–like fluorescence in parallel with water mass ageing. Remarkably, the transect–scale variability of the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorbing at the excitation wavelength of the humic–like peak M indicates an unexpected loss with increasing AOU, which suggests that the consumption of the non–fluorescent fraction of CDOM absorbing at that wavelength exceeded the production of the fluorescent fraction observed here.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Algebra, Volume 518〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): William Cocke, Meng-Che “Turbo” Ho〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Word maps provide a wealth of information about finite groups. We examine the connection between the probability distribution induced by a word map and the underlying structure of a finite group. We show that a finite group is nilpotent if and only if every surjective word map has fibers of uniform size. Moreover, we show that probability distributions themselves are sufficient to identify nilpotent groups, and these same distributions can be used to determine abelian groups up to isomorphism. In addition we answer a question of Amit and Vishne.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Algebra, Volume 518〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Benjamin Steinberg〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Work of Jean Renault shows that, for topologically principal étale groupoids, a diagonal-preserving isomorphism of reduced 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉C〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉⁎〈/mo〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/math〉-algebras yields an isomorphism of groupoids. Several authors have proved analogues of this result for ample groupoid algebras over integral domains under suitable hypotheses. In this paper, we extend the known results by allowing more general coefficient rings and by weakening the hypotheses on the groupoids. Our approach has the additional feature that we only need to impose conditions on one of the two groupoids. Applications are given to Leavitt path algebras.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, Volume 1863, Issue 2〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mathilde Ménard, Florent Meyer, Ksenia Parkhomenko, Cédric Leuvrey, Grégory Francius, Sylvie Bégin-Colin, Damien Mertz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles emerge as promising carriers for drug delivery. Among challenges, one important issue is the design of HSA nanoparticles with a low mean size of ca. 50 nm and having a high drug payload. The original strategy developed here is to use sacrificial mesoporous nanosilica templates having a diameter close to 30 nm to drive the protein nanocapsule formation. This new approach ensures first an efficient high drug loading (ca. 30%) of Doxorubicin (DOX) in the porous silica by functionalizing silica with an aminosiloxane layer and then allows the one-step adsorption and the physical cross-linking of HSA by modifying the silica surface with isobutyramide (IBAM) groups. After silica template removal, homogenous DOX-loaded HSA nanocapsules (30–60 nm size) with high drug loading capacity (ca. 88%) are thus formed. Such nanocapsules are shown efficient in multicellular tumor spheroid models (MCTS) of human hepatocarcinoma cells by their significant growth inhibition with respect to controls. Such a new synthesis approach paves the way toward new protein based nanocarriers for drug delivery.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0304416518303416-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Data in Brief, Volume 21〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Juan A. Parga, Ana I. Rodriguez-Perez, Maria Garcia-Garrote, Jannette Rodriguez-Pallares, Jose L. Labandeira-Garcia〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This article describes the effect of the oxidative stress inducers Angiotensin II and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) on different cell lines. The levels of expression Angiotensin type 1 and type 2 receptors in different dopaminergic cell lines are shown. The data indicate that treatment with Angiotensin II and 6-OHDA increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreases cell viability. NRF2 is a transcription factor induced by ROS. We provide data that NRF2 overexpression increases cell viability in response to oxidative stress inducers compared to control cells, and that these inducers can, both separately and in combination, enhance the expression of NRF2-regulated genes heme oxygenase 1 (Hmox1), NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (Nqo1) and Kruppel like factor 9 (Klf9). Interpretation of these data and additional information is presented in the research article “Angiotensin II induces oxidative stress and upregulates neuroprotective signaling from the NRF2 and KLF9 pathway in dopaminergic cells“ (Parga et al., 2018) [1].〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Cytokine, Volume 113〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Agnieszka Swidnicka-Siergiejko, Urszula Wereszczynska-Siemiatkowska, Andrzej Siemiatkowski, Justyna Wasielica-Berger, Jacek Janica, Barbara Mroczko, Andrzej Dabrowski〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Introduction〈/h6〉 〈p〉The presence of esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis indicates clinically significant portal hypertension (PH), that results from structural and dynamic changes in the liver and systemic circulation including the activation of several fibrotic and inflammatory pathways. We assessed if interleukin-18 (IL-18) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) serum levels can be used as PH markers and reflect its severity.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Material and methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉IL-18 and TGF-β1 peripheral blood levels were analyzed in 83 cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices compared to healthy individuals, in relation to MELD and Child-Pugh scores, laboratory and Doppler ultrasound parameters, and non-selective beta-blocker therapy (NSBB).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉IL-18 concentration was significantly higher in cirrhotic patients, while TGF-β1 concentration was lower than in controls. MELD score correlated positively with IL-18 levels and negatively with TGF-β1 levels. IL-18 levels correlated positively with bilirubin, INR, ALT and AST levels, and negatively with albumin levels and erythrocyte count. TGF-β1 levels correlated positively with platelet count, leukocyte, and erythrocyte count, and negatively with bilirubin levels and prothrombin time. Moreover, significant correlations were found: between IL and 18 levels and portal, mesenteric superior, and splenic vein velocity, and between TGF-β1 levels and splenic vein diameter and spleen size. In a subgroup of patients, IL-18 levels significantly decreased after NSBB.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉The observed imbalance of peripheral IL-18 and TGF-β1 levels indicates clinically significant PH associated with the presence of esophageal varices in cirrhosis. The correlation of IL-18 levels with liver failure indicators and decrease with NSBB suggest an important role of IL-18 in disease progression and its potential use as noninvasive test for PH assessment.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, Volume 1866, Issue 1〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 169〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alaina N. Perkins, Salmaan H. Inayat-Hussain, Nicole C. Deziel, Caroline H. Johnson, Stephen S. Ferguson, Rolando Garcia-Milian, David C. Thompson, Vasilis Vasiliou〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Currently, there are 〉11,000 synthetic turf athletic fields in the United States and 〉13,000 in Europe. Concerns have been raised about exposure to carcinogenic chemicals resulting from contact with synthetic turf fields, particularly the infill material (“crumb rubber”), which is commonly fabricated from recycled tires. However, exposure data are scant, and the limited existing exposure studies have focused on a small subset of crumb rubber components. Our objective was to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of a broad range of chemical components of crumb rubber infill using computational toxicology and regulatory agency classifications from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to inform future exposure studies and risk analyses. Through a literature review, we identified 306 chemical constituents of crumb rubber infill from 20 publications. Utilizing ADMET Predictor™, a computational program to predict carcinogenicity and genotoxicity, 197 of the identified 306 chemicals met our 〈em〉a priori〈/em〉 carcinogenicity criteria. Of these, 52 chemicals were also classified as known, presumed or suspected carcinogens by the US EPA and ECHA. Of the remaining 109 chemicals which were not predicted to be carcinogenic by our computational toxicology analysis, only 6 chemicals were classified as presumed or suspected human carcinogens by US EPA or ECHA. Importantly, the majority of crumb rubber constituents were not listed in the US EPA (n = 207) and ECHA (n = 262) databases, likely due to an absence of evaluation or insufficient information for a reliable carcinogenicity classification. By employing a cancer hazard scoring system to the chemicals which were predicted and classified by the computational analysis and government databases, several high priority carcinogens were identified, including benzene, benzidine, benzo(a)pyrene, trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride. Our findings demonstrate that computational toxicology assessment in conjunction with government classifications can be used to prioritize hazardous chemicals for future exposure monitoring studies for users of synthetic turf fields. This approach could be extended to other compounds or toxicity endpoints.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 169〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tsun-Hsuan Chen, Xianglin L. Du, Wenyaw Chan, Kai Zhang〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cold weather has been identified as a major cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Although the effects of cold weather on mortality has been investigated extensively, studies on how cold weather affects hospital admissions are limited particularly in the Southern United States. This study aimed to examine impacts of cold weather on emergency hospital admissions (EHA) in 12 major Texas metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for the 10-year period, 2004–2013. A two-stage approach was employed to examine the associations between cold weather and EHA. First, the cold effects on each MSA were estimated using distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM). Then a random effects meta-analysis was applied to estimate pooled effects across all 12 MSAs. Percent increase in risk and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated as with a 1 °C (°C) decrease in temperature below a MSA-specific threshold for cold effects. Age-stratified and cause-specific EHA were modeled separately. The majority of the 12 Texas MSAs were associated with an increased risk in EHA ranging from 0.1% to 3.8% with a 1 ⁰C decrease below cold thresholds. The pooled effect estimate was 1.6% (95% CI: 0.9%, 2.2%) increase in all-cause EHA risk with 1 ⁰C decrease in temperature. Cold wave effects were also observed in most eastern and southern Texas MSAs. Effects of cold on all-cause EHA were highest in the very elderly (2.4%, 95% CI: 1.2%, 3.6%). Pooled estimates for cause-specific EHA association were strongest in pneumonia (3.3%, 95% CI: 2.8%, 3.9%), followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.3%, 95% CI: 2.1%, 4.5%) and respiratory diseases (2.8%, 95% CI: 1.9%, 3.7%). Cold weather generally increases EHA risk significantly in Texas, especially in respiratory diseases, and cold effects estimates increased by elderly population (aged over 75 years). Our findings provide insight into better intervention strategy to reduce adverse health effects of cold weather among targeted vulnerable populations.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 168〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ji-Young Son, Jong-Tae Lee, Kevin J. Lane, Michelle L. Bell〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Few studies have examined temperature's effect on adverse birth outcomes and relevant effect modifiers.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Objectives〈/h6〉 〈p〉We investigated associations between heat and adverse birth outcomes and how individual and community characteristics affect these associations for Seoul, Korea, 2004–2012.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉We applied logistic regression to estimate associations between heat index during pregnancy, 4 weeks before delivery, and 1 week before delivery and risk of preterm birth and term low birth weight. We investigated effect modification by individual (infant's sex, mother's age, and mother's educational level) and community characteristics (socioeconomic status (SES) and percentage of green areas near residence at the gu level, which is similar to borough in Western countries). We also evaluated associations by combinations of individual- and community-level SES.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Heat exposure during whole pregnancy was significantly associated with risk of preterm birth. An interquartile (IQR) increase (5.5 °C) in heat index during whole pregnancy was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.033 (95% CI 1.005, 1.061) with NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 adjustment, and 1.028 (95% CI 0.998, 1.059) with PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉 adjustment, for preterm birth. We also found significant associations with heat exposure during 4 weeks before delivery and 1 week before delivery on preterm birth. We did not observe significant associations with term low birth weight. Higher risk of heat on preterm birth was associated with some individual characteristics such as infants with younger or older mothers and lower community-level SES. For combinations of individual- and community-level SES, the highest and most significant estimated effect was found for infants with low educated mothers living in low SES communities, with suggestions of effects of both individual-and community-level SES.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Our findings have implications for evaluating impacts of high temperatures on birth outcomes, estimating health impacts of climate change, and identifying which subpopulations and factors are most relevant for disparities in this association.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 169〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Amira M. Aker, Kelly K. Ferguson, Zaira Y. Rosario, Bhramar Mukherjee, Akram N. Alshawabkeh, José F. Cordero, John D. Meeker〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Prenatal exposure to certain xenobiotics has been associated with adverse birth outcomes. We examined the associations of triclocarban, phenols and parabens in a cohort of 922 pregnant women in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats Program (PROTECT). Methods: Urinary triclocarban, phenols and parabens were measured at three time points in pregnancy (visit 1: 16–20 weeks, visit 2: 20–24 weeks, visit 3: 24–28 weeks gestation). Multiple linear regression (MLR) models were conducted to regress gestational age and birthweight z-scores against each woman's log average concentrations of exposure biomarkers. Logistic regression models were conducted to calculate odds of preterm birth, small or large for gestational age (SGA and LGA) in association with each of the exposure biomarkers. An interaction term between the average urinary biomarker concentration and infant sex was included in models to identify effect modification. The results were additionally stratified by study visit to look for windows of vulnerability. Results were transformed into the change in the birth outcome for an inter-quartile-range difference in biomarker concentration (Δ). Results: Average benzophenone-3, methyl- and propyl-paraben concentrations were associated with an increase in gestational age [(Δ 1.90 days; 95% CI: 0.54, 3.26); (Δ 1.63; 95% CI: 0.37, 2.89); (Δ 2.06; 95% CI: 0.63, 3.48), respectively]. Triclocarban was associated with a suggestive 2-day decrease in gestational age (Δ − 1.96; 95% CI: −4.11, 0.19). Bisphenol A measured at visit 1 was associated with a suggestive increase in gestational age (Δ 1.37; 95% CI: −0.05, 2.79). Triclosan was positively associated with gestational age among males, and negatively associated with gestational age among females. Methyl-, butyl- and propyl-paraben were associated with significant 0.50–0.66 decreased odds of SGA. BPS was associated with an increase in the odds of SGA at visit 3, and a suggestive increase in the odds of LGA at visit 1. Conclusion: Benzophenone-3, methyl-paraben and propyl-paraben were associated with an increase in gestational age. Concentrations of triclocarban, which were much higher than reported in other populations, were associated with a suggestive decrease in gestational age. The direction of the association between triclosan and gestational age differed by infant sex. Parabens were associated with a decrease in SGA, and BPS was associated with both SGA and LGA depending on the study visit. Further studies are required to substantiate these findings.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sebastian Iwaszenko, Natalia Howaniec, Adam Smoliński〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Gasification technologies represent the most viable options of thermochemical processing of solid fuels. They are also characterized by lower emissions and higher efficiency when compared to conventional combustion systems. Particular attention has been paid to underground coal gasification offering the possibility of utilization for energy purposes coal resources otherwise inaccessible for economic or safety reasons. The disadvantage of this process is, however, the difficult control both in terms of technological and environmental aspects. The underground coal gasification process requires investigation of numerous heterogeneous reactions and transport processes, influenced by various process parameters, such as the temperature, type and flow rate of a gasification agent and geological conditions of the georeactor. In the paper a new, alternative way of the determination of kinetics of coal gasification by the Random Pore Model application is proposed. The procedure for determination of model parameters is presented. The structural parameter was estimated on the basis of measurements of char porous structure parameters. The reactivity measurements made for selected Polish coals were applied in determination of kinetic constants. The results of gasification process simulations for determined parameters and Random Pore Model are also given.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Joel Krupa, Rahmatallah Poudineh, L.D. Danny Harvey〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Although renewables in the resource-rich countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are inconsequential contributors to regional total primary energy supply, recent project developments and overt support from a range of influential regional actors suggest a general trend towards a more environmentally sustainable electricity supply. This trend is driven just as much by economics as other factors, as rapidly falling renewable energy capital costs are complementing favourable policy environments, technical suitability, and concerns around the impacts of anthropogenic climate change and local pollution. Finance is an especially important consideration in this transition, yet it receives insufficient coverage. This paper seeks to remedy this deficiency of academic inquiry by highlighting the case of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to draw out broader implications for the region. We outline the factors that affect the financeability of projects, review the latest developments in renewable energy finance in the region, and present policy recommendations going forward.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0360544218320966-egi10GRBN8M09N.jpg" width="289" alt="Image" title="Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Ecological Economics, Volume 156〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zia Wadud, Phani Kumar Chintakayala〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Personal carbon trading is a downstream version of the cap and trade approaches to mitigating carbon emissions from individual energy use. Although there are studies that investigate the theoretical and implementation issues, there is little evidence over the potential ways people could reduce their emissions when subject to a PCT policy. Especially little is understood about how people make tradeoff between or complement reducing emissions from transport and in-home energy use. This paper addresses this gap by reporting the findings of a questionnaire survey of stated intentions under the policy. Results show that, more people (53.6%) preferred to reduce their emissions from both transport and in-home energy use compared to from only one of these. This shows the flexibility offered by a cap including transport and in-home energy use is more efficient compared to a PCT covering either of these separately. Nearly three-fourths (76.2%) opted to reduce their emissions following a PCT policy. However, among those with above-budget initial emissions, a large share (79.6%) still could not reduce their emissions to below the budget and opted to purchase at least some permits to cover their emissions, indicating the difficulty in reducing emissions at the personal and household level.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Comptes Rendus Geoscience, Volume 350, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ilias Fountoulakis, Christos S. Zerefos, Alkiviadis F. Bais, John Kapsomenakis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Nozomu Ohkawara, Vitali Fioletov, Hugo De Backer, Kaisa Lakkala, Tomi Karppinen, Ann R. Webb〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Spectral UV records of solar irradiance at stations over Europe, Canada, and Japan were used to study long-term trends at 307.5 nm for a 25-year period, from 1992 to 2016. Ground-based measurements of total ozone, as well as satellite measurements of the Aerosol Index, the Total Cloud Cover and the surface reflectivity were also used in order to attribute the estimated changes of the UV to the corresponding changes of these factors. The present study shows that over the Northern Hemisphere, the long-term changes in UV-B radiation reaching the Earth's surface vary significantly over different locations, and that the main drivers of these variations are changes in aerosols and total ozone. At high latitudes, part of the observed changes may also be attributed to changes in the surface reflectivity. Over Japan, the UV-B irradiance at 307.5 nm has increased significantly by ∼3%/decade during the past 25 years, possibly due to the corresponding significant decrease of its absorption by aerosols. It was found that the greatest part of this increase took place before the mid-2000s. The only European station, over which UV radiation increases significantly, is that of Thessaloniki, Greece. Analysis of the clear-sky irradiance for the particular station shows increasing irradiance at 307.5 nm by ∼3.5%/decade during the entire period of study, with an increasing rate of change during the last decade, possibly again due to the decreasing absorption by aerosols.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Algebra, Volume 518〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Serge Bouc, Jacques Thévenaz〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A correspondence functor is a functor from the category of finite sets and correspondences to the category of 〈em〉k〈/em〉-modules, where 〈em〉k〈/em〉 is a commutative ring. A main tool for this study is the construction of a correspondence functor associated to any finite lattice 〈em〉T〈/em〉. We prove for instance that this functor is projective if and only if the lattice 〈em〉T〈/em〉 is distributive. Moreover, it has quotients which play a crucial role in the analysis of simple functors. The special case of total orders yields some more specific and complete results.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Solid State Ionics, Volume 327〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): W.G. Wang, X.Y. Li, T. Liu, G.L. Hao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The electrical performances and relaxation behaviors of the Na〈sub〉0.525〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.475〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 and Bi-deficient Na〈sub〉0.51〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.48〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 sample were investigated. The grain conductivity of the Na〈sub〉0.525〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.475〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 sample is able to reach 1.51 × 10〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 S/cm at 673 K. In the temperature range of measurement, the grain conductivity of the Bi-deficient Na〈sub〉0.51〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.48〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 sample is lower than that of the Na〈sub〉0.525〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.475〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 sample. By the internal friction and dielectric relaxation spectrum, the activation energy and relaxation time at infinite temperature were determined as (0.82 eV, 2.47 × 10〈sup〉−14〈/sup〉 s), (0.67 eV, 5.82 × 10〈sup〉−12〈/sup〉 s) and (0.85 eV, 5.8 × 10〈sup〉−13〈/sup〉 s), (0.52 eV, 2.55 × 10〈sup〉−10〈/sup〉 s) for the Na〈sub〉0.525〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.475〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 and Na〈sub〉0.51〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.48〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 samples at the different temperature regions. In the Na〈sub〉0.525〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.475〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 compound, there is larger specific free volume, higher mobile oxygen vacancy content and better oxygen vacancy mobility, which cause the higher grain conductivity in the Na〈sub〉0.525〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.475〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 compound. To some extent, by the Bi-deficient method, oxygen vacancies can be introduced into the Na〈sub〉0.51〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.48〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉2.975〈/sub〉 compound and the grain conductivity may be improved, but the other side of Bi-deficiency harms the oxygen vacancy diffusion capacities in the Na〈sub〉0.5〈/sub〉Bi〈sub〉0.5〈/sub〉TiO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 compound.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Complexity〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Robert J. Kunsch, Erich Novak, Daniel Rudolf〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We compute the integral of a function or the expectation of a random variable with minimal cost and use, for our new algorithm and for upper bounds of the complexity, i.i.d. samples. Under certain assumptions it is possible to select a sample size based on a variance estimation, or – more generally – based on an estimation of a (central absolute) 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si1.gif"〉〈mi〉p〈/mi〉〈/math〉-moment. That way one can guarantee a small absolute error with high probability, the problem is thus called solvable. The expected cost of the method depends on the 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si1.gif"〉〈mi〉p〈/mi〉〈/math〉-moment of the random variable, which can be arbitrarily large. In order to prove the optimality of our algorithm we also provide lower bounds. These bounds apply not only to methods based on i.i.d. samples but also to general randomized algorithms. They show that – up to constants – the cost of the algorithm is optimal in terms of accuracy, confidence level, and norm of the particular input random variable. Since the considered classes of random variables or integrands are very large, the worst case cost would be infinite. Nevertheless one can define adaptive stopping rules such that for each input the expected cost is finite. We contrast these positive results with examples of integration problems that are not solvable.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Solid State Ionics, Volume 327〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yonrapach Areerob, Ju Yong Cho, Won Kweon Jang, Kwang Youn Cho, Won-Chun Oh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A cost effective and efficient alternative counter electrode (CE) to replace commercially existing platinum (Pt)-based CEs for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is necessary to make DSSCs competitive. Herein, we report the model-controllable synthesis of Graphene-La〈sub〉6〈/sub〉W〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉 doped NiSe-CoSe quantum dot (GLW-NiCoSe) nanosheets with various NiCoSe content via simple hydrothermal method and used as CE for DSSC application. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results confirmed that the as-synthesized GLW-NiCoSe nanosheets quantum dot exhibited good electrocatalytic properties and a low charge transfer resistance at the electrolyte-electrode interface. In addition, Thermal images and Photocurrent also demonstrate stability effect of material with more exposed edge sites and appropriate NiCoSe ratio. GLW-NiCoSe nanosheets performed rough surfaces, well-defined interior voids, large specific surface areas and outstanding catalytic actives. Finally, the mechanism of this material has been reported. All of these results showed a high energy conversion efficiency of up to 8%, which was comparable to the Pt CE (7%). The simple fabricated and good electrocatalytic properties of GLW-NiCoSe nanosheets make them as an alternative CE for DSSCs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167273818304910-ga1.jpg" width="314" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Solid Earth Sciences, Volume 3, Issue 4〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Algebra〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Volker Gebhardt, Stephen Tawn〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉We present an improved orderly algorithm for constructing all unlabelled lattices up to a given size, that is, an algorithm that constructs the minimal element of each isomorphism class relative to some total order.〈/p〉 〈p〉Our algorithm employs a stabiliser chain approach for cutting branches of the search space that cannot contain a minimal lattice; to make this work, we grow lattices by adding a new layer at a time, as opposed to adding one new element at a time, and we use a total order that is compatible with this modified strategy.〈/p〉 〈p〉The gain in speed is between one and two orders of magnitude. As an application, we compute the number of unlabelled lattices on 20 elements.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Solid State Ionics, Volume 327〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ho-Young Jung, Geon-O Moon, T. Sadhasivam, Chang-Soo Jin, Won-Shik Park, Hee-Tak Kim, Sung-Hee Roh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉To confirm the viability of a porous polyethylene (PE) separator for using in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), we conduct a comparative electroanalytical and chemical stability studies of the PE separator and Nafion 212 membrane. We characterize the physicochemical properties of the separator, such as water uptake, dimensional change, and ion conductivity, and analyze its structural and compositional features using thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We also test the chemical stability of the separator against highly oxidative V〈sup〉5+〈/sup〉 ions and the cell performance of VRFB using PE separator to assess practical applicability. In chemical stability, the change of VO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 ion to VO〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 ion is considerably lowered by the PE separator (0.01 mmol/L) than the Nafion 212 (0.27 mmol/L), which indicates that the PE separator possesses higher chemical stability. The energy efficiency of the VRFB with the PE separator is lower than that obtained with Nafion 212. However, the chemical stability of PE separator is 27 times higher than that of Nafion 212, indicating that its use will promote the long-term operation of the VRFB system. Hence, the PE separator can be considered a cost-effective option for VRFB operation, with appropriate modifications to its thickness, surface properties and pore structure.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 European Journal of Combinatorics, Volume 76〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Joshua Hallam, Jeremy L. Martin, Bruce E. Sagan〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Let 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si39.gif"〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈/math〉 be a graph with vertex set 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si2.gif"〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉{〈/mo〉〈mn〉1〈/mn〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mo〉…〈/mo〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mi〉n〈/mi〉〈mo〉}〈/mo〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉. A spanning forest 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si3.gif"〉〈mi〉F〈/mi〉〈/math〉 of 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si39.gif"〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈/math〉 is 〈em〉increasing〈/em〉 if the sequence of labels on any path starting at the minimum vertex of a tree of 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si3.gif"〉〈mi〉F〈/mi〉〈/math〉 forms an increasing sequence. Hallam and Sagan showed that the generating function 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si6.gif"〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉ISF〈/mi〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉(〈/mo〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mi〉t〈/mi〉〈mo〉)〈/mo〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 for increasing spanning forests of 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si39.gif"〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈/math〉 has all nonpositive integral roots. Furthermore they proved that, up to a change of sign, this polynomial equals the chromatic polynomial of 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si39.gif"〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈/math〉 precisely when 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si9.gif"〉〈mn〉1〈/mn〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mo〉…〈/mo〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mi〉n〈/mi〉〈/math〉 is a perfect elimination order for 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si39.gif"〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈/math〉. We give new, purely combinatorial proofs of these results which permit us to generalize them in several ways. For example, we are able to bound the coefficients of 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll" altimg="si6.gif"〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉ISF〈/mi〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉(〈/mo〉〈mi〉G〈/mi〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mi〉t〈/mi〉〈mo〉)〈/mo〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 using broken circuits. We are also able to extend these results to simplicial complexes using the new notion of a cage-free complex. A generalization to labeled multigraphs is also given. We observe that the definition of an increasing spanning forest can be formulated in terms of pattern avoidance, and we end by exploring spanning forests that avoid the patterns 231, 312 and 321.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 4, Issue 11〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Karen Gu, Lawrence Mok, Mark M.W. Chong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The expression of any gene must be precisely controlled for appropriate function. This expression can be controlled at various levels. This includes epigenetic regulation through DNA methylation or histone modifications. At the posttranscriptional level, regulation can be via alternative splicing or controlling messenger RNA (mRNA) stability. RNA cleavage is one way to control mRNA stability. For example, microRNA (miRNA)-induced mRNA cleavage has long been recognised in plants. RNA cleavage also appears to be widespread in other kingdoms of life, and it is now clear that mRNA cleavage plays critical functions in animals. Although miRNA-induced mRNA cleavage can occur in animals, it is not a widespread mechanism. Instead, mRNA cleavage can be induced by a range of other mechanisms, including by endogenous short inhibitory RNAs (endo-siRNAs), as well as the Ribonuclease III (RNase III) enzymes Drosha and Dicer. In addition, RNA cleavage induced by endo-siRNAs and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) is important for genome defence against transposons. Moreover, several RNase has been identified as important antiviral mediators. In this review, we will discuss these various RNA endonucleolytic cleavage mechanisms utilised by animals to regulate the expression of genes and as a defence against retrotransposons and viral infection.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Underground Space〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pinghe Sun, Dingqiang Mo, Samuel T. Ariaratnam, Han Cao, Pengfei Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉During horizontal directional drilling installations, a primary function of drilling fluids is to yield drill cuttings and lubricate the product pipe. This paper presents the results of a research study of drilling fluid parameters, and the filter cake properties associated with drill cutting intrusions. Different sand meshes and field cutting sizes were added to the drilling fluids. Based on the laboratory experiments of eighteen samples including testing drilling fluid rheology and filter cake properties, the influence of drill cuttings on low solid-phase drilling fluid systems were obtained. The results reveal that drilling fluid plastic viscosity values increase with sand content and particle size. The 100-mesh sand exhibits a larger plastic viscosity compared to the 200-mesh sand. This suggests that the coarser the sand, the greater is the plastic viscosity. By contrast, drilling fluids with 200-mesh sand exhibit greater shear forces than the 100-mesh sand. When the sand content is ≥4%, the shear dilution ability of the drilling fluid begins to weaken. The thinnest filter cake is formed after 6 h with a 100-mesh cutting size and 4% sand content. However, when the cutting size changed to 150-mesh and 2% content, the largest filter cake toughness and strength after rolling for 12 h were obtained. Simultaneously, the combination of 200-mesh and 150-mesh with 2–4% content rolling for 12–24 h indicate different results. For the filter cake thickness, cutting content is the primary influencing factor followed by particle size and gradation. The factor with the least influence is rolling time. We found that rolling time and gradation were the most significant factors affecting the toughness of the filter cake, followed by cutting content. Conversely, particle size exhibits the least influence on filter cake toughness. These results are important to better understand the solid-phase control of drilling fluids in the field.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Surface Science, Volume 681〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Qingjun Chen, Ingeborg-Helene Svenum, Ljubisa Gavrilovic, De Chen, Edd A. Blekkan〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Trace amounts of potassium (K) have a significant influence on the activity and selectivity of cobalt-based catalysts in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS), in which hydrogen adsorption and dissociation is one of the initial and most important steps. In this work, hydrogen adsorption and dissociation behavior on typical facets ((0001), (10–11), (10–12), (10–15) and (11–20)) of hcp Co with and without adsorbed K were systematically studied. H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 molecular adsorption results showed that H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 mainly adsorbed in the perpendicular mode and close to the state of free H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. Different facets and pre-adsorbed K did not show obvious effects on the H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 adsorption energy. Atomic hydrogen adsorption was site and facet dependent, but the maximum hydrogen adsorption energy on the different facets of hcp Co were similar (-2.64 to -2.67 eV) with the exception on the (11–20) facet where the adsorption energy was significantly lower (-2.44 eV). K had a slight destabilizing effect on the H atom adsorption on the former Co surfaces due to a very weak repulsive interaction between K and H atoms. The initial H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation had negligible energy barriers (0–0.07 eV) on the clean surface of hcp Co, suggesting the direct dissociative adsorption of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The energy barriers for H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation are mainly caused by the approach of molecular H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 towards the Co surface and the rotation of the H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 molecule from the perpendicular mode to the parallel mode. The H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation energy barriers increase by 0.02–0.17 eV after the pre-adsorption of K, indicating a slight inhibition of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation by K. However, the energy barriers for H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation in the presence of K were also small (0.05–0.21 eV). This indicates that H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociates readily at typical Co-based FTS reaction temperatures (210–240 °C), both in the absence and presence of K. Different K species (K and KOH) exhibit similar effects on H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation on hcp Co. The B〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 sites on the stepped facets, the preferred sites for K adsorption are not the most favorable site for H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation, and K slightly hinders H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dissociation at the B〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 site of hcp Co.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0039602818305144-fx1.jpg" width="301" alt="Image, graphical abstract" title="Image, graphical abstract"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Drug Resistance Updates, Volume 41〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mohammad Hamidian, Ruth M. Hall〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In multiply resistant 〈em〉Acinetobacter baumannii,〈/em〉 complex transposons located in the chromosomal 〈em〉comM〈/em〉 gene carry antibiotic and heavy metal resistance determinants. For one type, known collectively as AbaR, the ancestral form, AbaR0, entered a member of global clone 1 (GC1) in the mid 1970s and continued to evolve 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 forming many variants. In AbaR0, antibiotic and mercuric ion resistance genes are located between copies of a cadmium-zinc resistance transposon, Tn〈em〉6018,〈/em〉 and this composite transposon is in a class III transposon, Tn〈em〉6019〈/em〉, carrying arsenate/arsenite resistance genes and five 〈em〉tni〈/em〉 transposition genes. The antibiotic resistance genes in the AbaR0 and derived AbaR3 configurations are 〈em〉aphA1b〈/em〉, 〈em〉bla〈/em〉〈sub〉TEM〈/sub〉, 〈em〉catA1〈/em〉, 〈em〉sul1, tetA〈/em〉(A), and cassette-associated 〈em〉aacC1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉aadA1〈/em〉 genes. These genes are in a specific arrangement of fragments from well-known transposons, e.g. Tn〈em〉1〈/em〉, Tn〈em〉1721,〈/em〉 Tn〈em〉1696〈/em〉 and Tn〈em〉2670〈/em〉, that arose in an IncM1 plasmid. All known GC1 lineage 1 isolates carry AbaR0 or AbaR3, which arose around 1990, or a variant derived from one of them. Variants arose via deletions caused by one of three internal IS〈em〉26〈/em〉s, by recombination between duplicate copies of 〈em〉sul1〈/em〉 or Tn〈em〉6018,〈/em〉 or by gene cassette addition or replacement. A few GC2 isolates also carry an AbaR island with different cassette-associated genes, 〈em〉aacA4〈/em〉 and 〈em〉oxa20〈/em〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 169〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): M. Van Ginneken, R. Blust, L. Bervoets〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Chemical and natural factors have been demonstrated to interact and potentially change the toxicity of the individual stressors. Yet, while there exists a multitude of papers studying the temperature-dependent toxicity of single chemicals, little research exists on the impact of temperature on chemical mixtures. This paper investigates the effect of temperature on environmentally-relevant mixtures of Cd, Cu and Pb. We linked the effects on respiration, growth, feeding rate and activity of 〈em〉Asellus aquaticus〈/em〉 to the free ion activities, as a measure for the bioavailability of the metals, and the body concentrations. We observed interactions of temperature and metal body concentrations on all sublethal endpoints, except activity. Mixture effects on accumulation and feeding rate were observed as well and even an interaction between metal body burden, mixture and temperature treatment was revealed for the feeding rate of Pb exposed isopods. This research adds to a growing body of evidence that the current chemical-based monitoring is insufficient to estimate chemical toxicity in aquatic ecosystems and must, therefore, be complemented with effect-based tools.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 4, Issue 11〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Seungyeon Lee, Minsung Kim, Jessica S. Mendoza, Ian M. McDonough〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A potential new clinical disorder is arising due to the addiction to cellphones called nomophobia—or feelings of discomfort or anxiety experienced by individuals when they are unable to use their mobile phones or utilize the conveniences these devices provide. However, before being able to officially classify this disorder as clinically relevant, more research needs to be conducted to determine how nomophobia relates to existing disorders. In a sample of 397 undergraduate students, the present study examined the relationship between the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and the Obsessiveness Content Scale (OBS) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (the MMPI-2). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test whether the OBS Content Scale would be related to a one-factor NMP-Q solution (Fig. 1) or a four-factor NMP-Q solution (Fig. 2). Convergent and divergent validity were also investigated. The four-factor model was a better fit than the one-factor model as indicated by most fit indices. The findings showed that the OBS latent variable was correlated with all of the four NMP-Q latent variables. Mixed support was found for convergent validity, but high support was found for the divergent validity of the NMP-Q factors. This study contributes to a growing body of literature seeking to better understand the addictive nature of cellphones and takes a new perspective on addiction research and obsessiveness. These findings provide a better understanding between pre-existing assessments of personality disorders (e.g., obsessiveness) that are emerging from the overuse of mobile phones or the excessive fear of losing one's cell phone.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 4, Issue 11〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chiara Sanmartin, Francesca Venturi, Cristina Sgherri, Anita Nari, Monica Macaluso, Guido Flamini, Mike Frank Quartacci, Isabella Taglieri, Gianpaolo Andrich, Angela Zinnai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This research aimed to study the effects of packaging and storage temperature on the shelf-life of an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as it can occur in most points of sale. The evolution of the chemical and sensory characteristics of an EVOO, initially stored in stainless steel silos under nitrogen at 12–18 °C, was evaluated after packaging. Tinplate tin (TT) and greenish glass (GG), the most used packaging containers, and temperatures of 6 and 26 °C were taken into consideration. After 125 days from packaging all the samples maintained clearness, green and yellow reflections and the positive sensory notes of bitterness and pungency of the starting EVOO. Shelf-life of EVOO was significantly affected by different storage conditions: oil samples stored in GG at 6 °C preserved for the most part the positive attributes, whereas those stored in TT at 26 °C showed a significant presence of the rancid flavor due to oxidative processes. Moreover, samples stored in GG at 6 °C maintained the highest bitterness intensity and did not show defects at the end of the storage period. The results suggest that storage in GG at a low temperature could represent a promising storage condition to slow-down the oil degradation during market storage.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 168〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Janneke G.F. Hogervorst, Narjes Madhloum, Nelly D. Saenen, Bram G. Janssen, Joris Penders, Charlotte Vanpoucke, Immaculata De Vivo, Karen Vrijens, Tim S. Nawrot〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Introduction〈/h6〉 〈p〉Particulate air pollution is probably causally related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Plasma homocysteine is an established cardiovascular disease risk factor. Recent studies show that exposure to particulate air pollution is associated with plasma homocysteine levels in adults but no studies on the association between prenatal air pollution and neonatal homocysteine levels exist.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉In 609 newborns of the ENVIR〈em〉ON〈/em〉AGE (ENVIRonmental influence 〈em〉ON〈/em〉 early AGEing) birth cohort, we investigated the association between prenatal particulate matter exposure with a diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉) and cord plasma homocysteine levels, and in a subset (n = 490) we studied the interaction with 11 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in oxidative stress-related genes (〈em〉CAT, COMT, GSTP1, SOD2, NQO1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉HFE〈/em〉), through multiple linear regression. PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 levels were obtained using a high resolution spatial temporal interpolation method. Homocysteine levels were measured by the homocysteine enzymatic assay on a Roche/Hitachi cobas c system. SNPs were assessed on the Biotrove OpenArray SNP genotyping platform.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉In multivariable-adjusted models, cord plasma homocysteine levels were 8.1% higher (95% CI: 1.9 to 14.3%; p = 0.01) for each 5 µg/m³ increment in average PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 exposure during the entire pregnancy. With regard to pregnancy trimesters, there was only an association in the 2〈sup〉nd〈/sup〉 trimester: 3.6% (95% CI: 0.9% to 6.4%; p = 0.01). The positive association between PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 in and homocysteine was (borderline) statistically significantly modified by genetic variants in 〈em〉MnSOD〈/em〉 (p interaction = 0.02), 〈em〉GSTP1〈/em〉 (p interaction = 0.07) and the sum score of the 3 studied SNPs in the 〈em〉CAT〈/em〉 gene (p interaction=0.09), suggesting oxidative stress as an underlying mechanism of action.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Exposure to particulate air pollution 〈em〉in utero〈/em〉 is associated with higher cord blood homocysteine levels, possibly through generating oxidative stress. Increased air pollution-induced homocysteine levels in early life might predispose for cardiovascular and other diseases later in life.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Research, Volume 169〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yu Zang, Brecht Devleesschauwer, P. Michael Bolger, Emily Goodman, Herman J. Gibb〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Chronic exposures to cadmium (Cd) are associated with reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR), increasing the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In support of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s initiative to estimate the global burden of foodborne diseases, a risk assessment was performed to estimate the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) due to late-stage CKD associated with dietary exposures to cadmium. Using the distribution of population GFRs, the prevalence of CKD was calculated as the proportion of humans whose GFR fall in the ranges corresponding to Stage 4 or Stage 5 CKD. The increase in the CKD prevalence due to cadmium exposure was simulated based on a previously reported pharmacokinetic model describing the relationship between dietary cadmium intake and urinary cadmium (UCd), as well as a previously published dose-response relationship between UCd and GFR. Cadmium-related incidence rate, calculated as the change in the prevalence during a one-year period, were used to compute the mortality and DALY in all WHO regions. It is estimated that dietary cadmium would result in a median of 12,224 stage 4 and stage 5 new CKD cases per year worldwide, resulting in 2064 global deaths and 70,513 DALYs. These data translate into a median global burden of 1.0 DALY per 100,000 population, which account for 0.2% of the global DALYs of CKD. While these results suggest that the overall impact of dietary cadmium exposure on global CKD is low, they do indicate that reasonable efforts to reduce dietary exposure will result a positive public health impact. This would be particularly the case in areas with elevated levels of dietary cadmium.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Volume 173〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yixiang Zhang, Jianming He, Xiao Li, Chong Lin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hydraulic fracturing using freshwater as fracturing fluid is regularly employed in commercial shale gas or oil production. Many problems are brought by the fracturing fluid of water, such as water shortages, swelling of clay mineral, and the pollution of flow-back water. Replacement of water by supercritical CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (SC〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) in the hydraulic fracturing treatment of shale reservoir has meaningful potential for the improvement of gas production. Hydraulic fracturing experiments, under different injection rate and stress state, were carried out for studying the SC-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 fracturing of shale considering anisotropy effects. Anisotropy of shale has a significant impact on the mechanical behavior and fracture propagation of shale in the experiment. There shows a downward tendency for breakdown pressure with the increase of bedding plane angle in general. Higher injection rate can lead to the higher breakdown pressure, while higher deviator stress can lead to the lower breakdown pressure instead. In addition, three patterns of fracture propagation can be observed in the experiment, relative to the bedding structures of shale specimen, including propagating along, propagating across and arresting. The maximum values of fracture width during experiment in shale with different bedding plane angle ranges from 0.29 mm to 1.05 mm, while the final fracture width after the fracturing experiment is kept within the range of 0.01 mm–0.04 mm under the injection rate of 0.3 ml/s.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Volume 173〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xueying Wang, Hongjian Ni, Ruihe Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Toolface control is an important issue when drilling directional wells with steerable motors. In this paper, a new experimental apparatus has been built to study the toolface behavior while slide drilling. In experiments, weight on bit and toolface orientation during the simulated slide drilling are recorded and analyzed. Experimental results indicate that axial stick-slip motion of the drillstring that occurs in the presence of large friction causes toolface disorientation. In addition, the phenomenon of toolface hysteresis in horizontal wells is identified. The asymmetric loading and unloading rates of weight on bit result in toolface hysteresis, and toolface hysteresis worsens toolface disorientation. A new method of correcting toolface by quickly eliminating toolface hysteresis is proposed. Four torque-related parameters are used in the method, and each has a specific implication. The proposed method has been examined using the experimental apparatus and has been proven to work. The experimental results and related analysis in this paper can help to further improve the efficiency of toolface control during slide drilling.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 365〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Per Morten Hansen, André Vagner Gaathaug, Dag Bjerketvedt, Knut Vaagsaether〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study discusses the rapid expansion and phase transition of liquefied carbon dioxide (CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) in vertical ducts. Results from small-scale experiments in three test setups (A, B, and C) were compared with a Rankine-Hugoniot model that treats the phase transition as an adiabatic evaporation wave of constant thickness. The model calculates the fluid properties behind the evaporation wave. The motivation was to identify hazards and quantify the energy-release in tank explosions such as a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. The experimental results corresponded with a Chapman Jouguet (CJ) solution. The contributions include a mapping of CJ solutions calculated from a range of pre-rupture conditions. The puncture of a diaphragm (setup A, and B), or complete test section rupture (setup C) initiated the tests. The three test setups provided a range of pressures for the model. Evaporation waves were observed, propagating with velocities of 35–42 ms〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 (setup A, and B), and ∼ 10 ms〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 (setup C) into the superheated liquid. The calculated vapor mass fraction behind of the evaporation wave was in the range 0.21-0.23. The study presents a strategy, which incorporates the calculated vapor mass fraction, to predict the energy released in a tank explosion.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 365〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Esther Gomez-Herrero, Montserrat Tobajas, Alicia Polo, Juan J. Rodriguez, Angel F. Mohedano〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, we assessed the potential of combining Fenton´s reagent and biological oxidation for removing the imidazolium-based ionic liquid 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EmimCl). Fenton-like oxidation was conducted at variable H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 doses from 20 to 100% the stoichiometric value as calculated from the theoretical chemical oxygen demand (COD). The stoichiometric H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dose afforded Total Organic Carbon (TOC) conversion and COD removal of 50 and 62%, respectively. Identifying the reaction by-products formed at low hydrogen peroxide doses allowed a plausible pathway for EmimCl oxidation to be proposed. The effluents from Fenton-like oxidation at substoichiometric H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 doses were less ecotoxic and more biodegradable than was the parent ionic liquid. The effluent from Fenton-like oxidation with the 60% H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 dose (TOC conversion ≅ 41%, COD removal ≅ 31%) was subsequently subjected to an effective biological treatment that allowed complete removal of the starting compound, increased its ecotoxicity to a low–moderate level and rendered it acceptably biodegradable. Biological oxidation was performed in 8-h and 12-h cycles in a sequencing batch reactor. Combining Fenton and biological oxidation of EmimCl afforded TOC conversion and COD removal of around 90%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S030438941831015X-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 364〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhiyong Liu, Shu Zhang, Dan Hu, Yunsheng Zhang, Henglin Lv, Cheng Liu, Yidong Chen, Juan Sun〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, paraffin/red mud phase change energy storage composites were fabricated at 4 mix proportions with paraffin to red mud ratios of 0.4:0.6, 0.45:0.55, 0.5:0.5, and 0.55:0.45 by a mixed mill-heating method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results reveal that paraffin flows well into red mud pores and has good compatibility. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results reveal that the melting temperatures of the paraffin/red mud phase change energy storage composite vary from 75℃ to 85℃, and the latent heat value is approximately 25–40J/g. High thermal stability is observed by the thermogravimetric analysis (TG) method. The Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) isotherms, laser particle sizer, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and laser Raman spectrograph (LRS) show that the phase change energy storage composite does not produce a new material from the raw materials and that the material has a stable performance. Furthermore, the paraffin/red mud phase change energy storage composite was incorporated into the cement-based and gypsum-based materials at 10%, 20%, and 30% weight. The heat storage performance can be improved remarkably with an increase in the addition of phase change energy storage composite replacement. The compressive strength change is minimal with the addition of 10% and 20%, and the compressive strength decreases by nearly 40% with the addition of 30%. The paraffin/red mud phase change energy storage composite has a large influence on the flexural strength.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Fish & Shellfish Immunology, Volume 84〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xing-Wei Xiang, Jin-Xing Xiao, Yu-Fang Zhou, Bin Zheng, Zheng-Shun Wen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The black seabream (〈em〉Sparus macrocephlus〈/em〉) is an economically pivotal aquaculture species cultured in China and Southeast Asian countries. To understand the molecular immune mechanisms underlying the response to 〈em〉Vibrio parahaemolyticus〈/em〉, a comparative gene transcription analysis were performed with utilized fresh livers of 〈em〉V. parahaemolyticus〈/em〉-immunized 〈em〉Sparus macrocephlus〈/em〉 with a control group through RNA-Seq technology. A total of 256663 contigs were obtained after excluded the low-quality sequences and assembly. The average length of contigs collected from this research is 1066.93 bp. Furthermore, blast analysis indicates 30747 contigs were annotated based on homology with matches in the NT, NR, gene, and string databases. A gene ontology analysis was employed to classify 21598 genes according to three major functional categories: molecular function, cellular component, and biological process. A total of 14470 genes were discovered in 303 KEGG pathways. RSEM and EdgeR were introduced to estimate 3841 genes significantly different expressed (False Discovery Rate〈0.001) which includes 4072 up-regulated genes and 3771 down-regulated genes. A significant enrichment analysis of these differentially expressed genes and isogenes were conducted to reveal the major immune-related pathways which refer to the toll-like receptor, complement, coagulation cascades, and chemokine signaling pathways. In addition, 92175 potential simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 121912 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected and identified sequencely in the 〈em〉Sparus macrocephlus〈/em〉 liver transcriptome. This research characterized a gene expression pattern for normal and the 〈em〉V. parahaemolyticus〈/em〉 -immunized 〈em〉Sparus macrocephlus〈/em〉 for the first time and not only sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the host-〈em〉V. parahaemolyticus〈/em〉 interaction but contribute to facilitate future studies on 〈em〉Sparus macrocephlus〈/em〉 gene expression and functional genomics.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Fish & Shellfish Immunology, Volume 84〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yi-Hong Chen, Jian-Guo He〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The shrimp aquaculture industry is plagued by disease. Due to the lack of deep understanding of the relationship between innate immune mechanism and environmental adaptation mechanism, it is difficult to prevent and control the diseases of shrimp. The shrimp innate immune system has received much recent attention, and the functions of the humoral immune response and the cellular immune response have been preliminarily characterized. The role of environmental stress in shrimp disease has also been investigated recently, attempting to clarify the interactions among the innate immune response, the environmental stress response, and disease. Both the innate immune response and the environmental stress response have a complex relationship with shrimp diseases. Although these systems are important safeguards, allowing shrimp to adapt to adverse environments and resist infection, some pathogens, such as white spot syndrome virus, hijack these host systems. As shrimp lack an adaptive immune system, immunization therapy cannot be used to prevent and control shrimp disease. However, shrimp diseases can be controlled using ecological techniques. These techniques, which are based on the innate immune response and the environmental stress response, significantly reduce the impact of shrimp diseases. The object of this review is to summarize the recent research on shrimp environmental adaptation mechanisms, innate immune response mechanisms, and the relationship between these systems. We also suggest some directions for future research.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 4, Issue 10〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): J.M. Lázaro-Guevara, B.J. Flores-Robles, K. Garrido, V. Pinillos-Aransay, A. Elena-Ibáñez, L. Merino-Meléndez, J.A. López-Martínez, R. Victoriano-Lacalle〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Retinal diseases associated with the dysfunction or death of photoreceptors are a major cause of blindness around the world, improvements in genetics tools, like next generation sequencing (NGS) allows the discovery of genes and genetic changes that lead to many of those retinal diseases. Though, there very few databases that explores a wide spectrum of retinal diseases, phenotypes, genes, and proteins, thus creating the need for a more comprehensive database, that groups all these parameters.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Multiple open access databases were compiled into a new comprehensive database. A biological network was then crated, and organized using Cytoscape. The network was scrutinized for presence of hubs, measuring the concentration of grouped nodes. Finally, a trace back analysis was performed in areas were the power law reports a high r-squared value near one, that indicates high nodes density.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉This work leads to creation of a retinal database that includes 324 diseases, 803 genes, 463 phenotypes, and 2461 proteins. Four biological networks (1) a disease and gene network connected by common phenotypes, (2) a disease and phenotype network connected by common genes, (3) a disease and gene network with shared disease or gene as the cause of an edge, and (4) a protein and disease network. The resulting networks will allow users to have easier searching for retinal diseases, phenotypes, genes, and proteins and their interrelationships.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉These networks have a broader range of information than previously available ones, helping clinicians in the comprehension of this complex group of diseases.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 3 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 International Journal of Sediment Research〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pil Jae Kim, Jong Hyeon Lee, In Ae Huh, DongSoo Kong〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sediment quality has been evaluated in a variety of ways since the early 1990s in studies from Europe. In South Korea, most studies have used an indicator value for benthic macroinvertebrates based on water quality, not sediment quality. To date, few studies have examined the biological integrity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in South Korea. In the current study, the tolerance valency and value in samples and the indicator weight values were measured for 43 benthic macroinvertebrate taxa from 73 sampling units in South Korea from 2014 to 2016. Total organic carbon, the amount of heavy metals, and total ammonia nitrogen were analyzed. The average grade for each pollutant was used as the sediment quality index. A benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index was developed for bioassessment of freshwater sediment. The benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index, which is based on the relative frequency of occurrence of macroinvertebrates, was highly correlated with pollution levels in the sediment. This index can be used in the field to assess the contamination of freshwater sediment. As the sample size was small in the current study and there were taxonomic limitations of Chironomidae larvae, further research is needed to improve the reliability of the benthic macroinvertebrates sediment index.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 364〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Muhammad Humayun, Zhewen Hu, Abbas Khan, Wei Cheng, Yang Yuan, Zhiping Zheng, Qiuyun Fu, Wei Luo〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Herein, we report for the first time the highly efficient degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) over CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 composites (xCeO/CN) prepared via wet-chemical solution method. It is shown that the resultant nanocomposites with a proper mass ratio percentage (15%) of CeO coupled exhibit greatly enhanced visible-light activity for 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) degradation compared to the bare g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉. From photoluminescence (PL) and Fluorescence (FL) results, it is suggested that enhanced photo-degradation is attributed to the significantly improved charge separation and transfer as a result of the proper band alignments between g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 and CeO components. Further, from radical trapping experiments, it is confirmed that hydroxyl radicals (〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉OH) are the predominant oxidants involved in the degradation of 2,4-DCP over CeO/CN composites. Furthermore, a possible reaction pathway and detailed photocatalytic mechanism for 2,4-DCP degradation is proposed mainly based on the detected liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS) intermediate products, that readily transform into CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O. This work would help researchers to deeply understand the reaction mechanism of 2,4-DCP and would provide feasible routes to fabricate g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉-based highly efficient photocatalysts for environmental remediation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0304389418310069-ga1.jpg" width="264" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 365〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lei Yang, Lu Xu, Xue Bai, Pengkang Jin〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, a novel TiO〈sub〉2-x〈/sub〉/rGO-PS-Vis process was developed, which utilizes the TiO〈sub〉2-x〈/sub〉/rGO (Ti〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 and oxygen vacancies self-doped TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 coupled with reduced graphene oxide) nanocomposite as a promising and efficient activator of persulfate (PS) for the enhanced oxidation of micropollutants under visible -light irradiation. TiO〈sub〉2-x〈/sub〉/rGO exhibited a significantly high activity for PS activation to produce more sulfate radicals (SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉) and hydroxyl radicals (〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉OH). Therefore, almost 100% BPA (10 mg/L) and 80% TOC can be removed just within 12 min with 1.0 g/L TiO〈sub〉2-x〈/sub〉/rGO and 2 mM PS under visible light. Moreover, it was found that many other typical micropollutants, such as phenol, acetaminophen and sulfamethoxazole can also be effectively degraded by this process. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and radical quenching experiments indicated that both SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and 〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉OH contribute to the degradation of organics, and the radical process was the main degradation pathway. In addition, the effects of PS concentration, catalyst dosage, initial solution pH and inorganic anions were investigated systematically. Experiments carried out in the real background of water matrix with low-concentration of BPA indicated that the proposed TiO〈sub〉2-x〈/sub〉/rGO-PS-Vis process has strong non-selective photo-oxidative ability for the removal of micropollutants in water.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0304389418310082-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉No definitive evidence of spacetime supersymmetry (SUSY) that transmutes fermions into bosons and vice versa has been revealed in nature so far. Moreover, the question of whether spacetime SUSY in 2 + 1 and higher dimensions can emerge in generic lattice microscopic models remains open. Here, we introduce a lattice realization of a single Dirac fermion in 2 + 1 dimensions with attractive interactions that preserves both time-reversal and chiral symmetries. By performing sign problem–free determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we show that an interacting single Dirac fermion in 2 + 1 dimensions features a superconducting quantum critical point (QCP). We demonstrate that the 〈f〉N=2〈/f〉 spacetime SUSY in 2 + 1 dimensions emerges at the superconducting QCP by showing that the fermions and bosons have identical anomalous dimensions 1/3, a hallmark of the emergent SUSY. We further show some experimental signatures that may be measured to test such emergent SUSY in candidate systems.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Colloidal dispersions with liquid crystallinity hold great promise for fabricating their superstructures. As an example, when graphene oxide (GO) sheets are assembled in the liquid crystalline state, they can turn into ordered macroscopic forms of GO such as fibers via the wet spinning process. Here, we report that by reinforcing intersheet interactions, GO liquid crystals (LCs) turn into mechanically robust hydrogels that can be readily drawn into highly aligned fibrillar structures. GO hydrogel fibers with highly aligned sheets (orientation factor, 〈i〉f〈/i〉 = 0.71) exhibit more than twice the ionic conductivity compared to those with partially aligned structures (〈i〉f〈/i〉 = 0.01). The hierarchically interconnected two-dimensional nanochannels within these neatly aligned GOLC hydrogel fibers may facilitate controlled transport of charge carriers and could be potentially explored as cables for interconnecting biosystems and/or human-made devices.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉With accelerating trends in miniaturization of semiconductor devices, techniques for energy harvesting become increasingly important, especially in wearable technologies and sensors for the internet of things. Although thermoelectric systems have many attractive attributes in this context, maintaining large temperature differences across the device terminals and achieving low–thermal impedance interfaces to the surrounding environment become increasingly difficult to achieve as the characteristic dimensions decrease. Here, we propose and demonstrate an architectural solution to this problem, where thin-film active materials integrate into compliant, open three-dimensional (3D) forms. This approach not only enables efficient thermal impedance matching but also multiplies the heat flow through the harvester, thereby increasing the efficiencies for power conversion. Interconnected arrays of 3D thermoelectric coils built using microscale ribbons of monocrystalline silicon as the active material demonstrate these concepts. Quantitative measurements and simulations establish the basic operating principles and the key design features. The results suggest a scalable strategy for deploying hard thermoelectric thin-film materials in harvesters that can integrate effectively with soft materials systems, including those of the human body.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probes based on a charge transfer (CT) process with high stability and reproducibility are powerful tools under open-air conditions. However, the key problem ahead of practical usage of CT-based SERS technology is how to effectively improve sensitivity. Here, a novel ternary heterostructure SERS substrate, Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉@GO@TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, with a significant enhancement factor of 8.08 x 10〈sup〉6〈/sup〉 was first synthesized. We found the remarkable enhanced effect of SERS signal to be attributed to the resonance effect of CuPc, CT between GO and TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, and enrichment from a porous TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 shell. In addition, we developed a robust SERS probe with good recyclability under visible light illumination on Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉@GO@TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanocomposites toward ultrasensitive detection of cancer cells down to three cells. We have now successfully applied this probe for in situ quantification and imaging of programmed cell death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1) on triple-negative breast cancer cell surface at the single-cell level and for monitoring the expression variation of PD-L1 during drug treatment.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 244〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sarah M. Elliott, William T. Route, Laura A. DeCicco, David D. VanderMeulen, Steven R. Corsi, Brett R. Blackwell〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Several organic contaminants (OCs) have been detected in bald eagle (〈em〉Haliaeetus leucocephalus)〈/em〉 nestling (eaglet) plasma in the upper Midwestern United States. Despite frequent and relatively high concentrations of OCs in eaglets, little is understood about potential biological effects associated with exposure. We screened an existing database of OC concentrations in eaglet plasma collected from the Midwestern United States against bioactivity information from the ToxCast database. ToxCast bioactivity information consists of concentrations expected to elicit responses across a range of biological space (e.g. cellular, developmental, etc.) obtained from a series of high throughput assays. We calculated exposure—activity ratios (EAR) by calculating the ratio of plasma concentrations to concentrations available in ToxCast. Bioactivity data were not available for all detected OCs. Therefore, our analysis provides estimates of potential bioactivity for 19 of the detected OCs in eaglet plasma. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) EAR values were consistently the highest among all study areas. Maximum EAR values were ≥1 for PFOS, perfluorononanoic acid, and bisphenol A in 99.7, 0.53 and 0.26% of samples, indicating that some plasma concentrations were greater than what may be expected to elicit biological responses. About 125 gene targets, indicative of specific biological pathways, were identified as potentially being affected. Inhibition of several CYP genes, involved in xenobiotic metabolism, were most consistently identified. Other identified biological responses have potential implications for motor coordination, cardiac functions, behavior, and blood circulation. However, it is unclear what these results mean for bald eagles, given that ToxCast data are generated using mammalian-based endpoints. Despite uncertainties and limitations, this method of screening environmental data can be useful for informing future monitoring or research focused on understanding the occurrence and effects of OCs in bald eagles and other similarly-positioned trophic species.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118329166-fx1.jpg" width="246" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 44〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hye Soo Suh, Daeung Danny Kim〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The study demonstrated a systematic approach to achieve the nearly zero energy community building through the assessment of energy performance of the combined passive and active design solutions and renewable energy systems. Among 16 community buildings, four buildings were selected and the parameters that had an impact on energy consumption were identified through the analysis of electricity and gas consumption. After the validation with the measured data of electricity and gas, the energy simulation was used to model the newly constructed community building. A combined passive and active design strategy was applied to improve the energy performance. To offset the energy use for the domestic hot water, possible renewable energy systems such as the PV system, the solar thermal system, and the geothermal heat pump system were reviewed and their efficiency was analyzed. As a result, the combination of the PV system with additional PV modules and the geothermal system was chosen for the achievement of the nearly zero energy target.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 44〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhiqiang John Zhai, Jacob Michael Helman〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Climate change is a widely acknowledged major environmental problem whose impacts on building energy use however are not fully understood. Various climate models have been developed and used to project climate changes; however most of existing studies on climate change impacts only use few model outcomes, providing narrow predictions on the influences. This study analyzed a large number (i.e., 56) of models and scenarios. The obtained future climate data showed a wider range of potential changes and thus impacts on building energy. Four reference climate models were identified to cover the full range of the 56 models for three time periods and seven climate zones. The accuracy of model projections was validated using historical data. The study predicted the potential energy implications of climate changes to a campus building stock. Influences of these changes on utility and economics were analyzed. The study further explored the potential impacts of climate change to the current climate zones that directly relate to building energy consumption.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 44〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jorge Navarro-Rubio, Paloma Pineda, Antonio García-Martínez〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Eco-efficiency and building optimization potential of prefabricated structures to be used in new buildings are studied, focusing on the analysis of a novel dry precast beam-column connection under different durability and re-using scenarios. The analyses include structural response (via numerical models), optimization potential (material take off, building schedule and economic cost) and environmental impact (via Life Cycle Assessment, LCA). The connection is applied to a case study which is representative of common buildings: a seven-story concrete structure with frames and deck slabs. The structural response of the connection accomplishes the Eurocode safety prescriptions. Man-hours and task duration decrease around 80%, and the global schedule undergoes 60% diminution. Focusing on economic issues, when the prefabricated structural elements are reused the accumulated economic cost significantly decreases. LCA shows that durability, in terms of service life, is directly related to the environmental impact. However, other design options, such us re-using, have less repercussion in the impact categories (i.e. Global Warming Potential and Embodied Energy), and in the global cost. Results from this research could contribute to the implementation of prefabricated elements in the building stock promoting eco-efficiency.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Fish & Shellfish Immunology, Volume 84〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yinnan Mu, Shimin Zhou, Ning Ding, Jingqun Ao, Xinhua Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Chemokines are a superfamily of structurally related chemotactic cytokines exerting significant roles in regulating cell migration and activation. Currently, five subgroups of fish specific CXC chemokines, named CXCL_F1-CXCL_F5, have been identified in teleost fish. However, understanding of the functions of these fish specific CXC chemokines is still limited. Here, a new member of fish specific CXC chemokines, 〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6, was cloned from large yellow croaker 〈em〉Larimichthys crocea〈/em〉. Its open reading frame (ORF) is 369 nucleotides long, encoding a peptide of 122 amino acids (aa). The deduced 〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6 protein contains a 19-aa signal peptide and a 103-aa mature polypeptide, which has four conserved cysteine residues (C〈sup〉28〈/sup〉, C〈sup〉30〈/sup〉, C〈sup〉56〈/sup〉, and C〈sup〉72〈/sup〉), as found in other known CXC chemokines. Phylogenetic analysis showed 〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6 formed a separate clade with sequences from other fish species, tentatively named CXCL_F6, distinct from the clades formed by fish CXCL_F1-5 and mammalian CXC chemokines. The 〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6 transcripts were constitutively expressed in all examined tissues and significantly up-regulated in the spleen and head kidney tissues by poly (I:C) and 〈em〉Vibrio alginolyticus〈/em〉. Its transcripts were also detected in primary head kidney leukocytes (HKLs), peripheral blood leucocytes (PBLs), and large yellow croaker head kidney (LYCK) cell line, and significantly up-regulated by poly(I:C), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and peptidoglycan (PGN) in HKLs. Recombinant 〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6 protein (r〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6) could not only chemotactically attract monocytes/macrophages and lymphocytes from PBLs, but also enhance NO release and expression of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and CXCL8) in monocytes/macrophages. These results indicate that 〈em〉Lc〈/em〉CXCL_F6 plays a role in mediating the inflammatory response.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 138〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jae-Woong Min, Nicholas S. Vonortas, YoungJun Kim〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study explores the factors that contribute to the commercialization of technologies transferred from universities and public research institutes (U&PRIs) to companies. We take a step further than the established literature focusing on technology transfer to examine factors that also affect the chances of the successful commercialization of the transferred technologies through an empirical analysis of 669 technology transfer cases in Korea. The study shows that the intensity of market competition is a key factor in moderating the effects of partnership and absorptive capacity on the successful commercialization of transferred technologies. While collaboration with U&PRIs exerts a positive effect on commercialization success, this effect is weakened by the intensity of market competition. The intensity of market competition boosts the importance of company absorptive capacity for the commercialization success of the transferred technology. We conclude that strategic management of the absorptive capacities of companies and their partnership with U&PRIs are necessary ingredients of the success of technology transfer in concordance with the intensity of competition that the company faces in the market.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Omega〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shih-Sian (Sherwin) Jhang, Joseph P. Ogden, Nallan C. Suresh〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper develops and tests a stylized model of a manufacturing firm's operational and financial configuration that integrates the effects of market competition and integration abilities of firms. Market power is predicted to drive trade credit balances of suppliers and customers, capital structure, and firm value. These predicted relationships are tested using data for publicly traded U.S. manufacturing firms for the period 1984–2014. A two-step procedure is adopted wherein, in the first step, the model variables of profitability, asset turnover, inventory, and cash are subjected to a factor analysis to determine the existence of a common factor based on theoretical arguments. In the second step, scores of the major factor (MPscore) are used in regressions with accounts receivable, accounts payable, market leverage, and Tobin's 〈em〉Q〈/em〉 as alternative dependent variables. Evidence from cross-sectional and time series analyses provides strong support for the hypothesized relationships. Market power is not otherwise explained by firm size and asset tangibility. Additional results indicate that U.S. manufacturers generally increased their market power over this timeframe. We also find that firms with high market power tend to have higher survival rates.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Computers in Industry, Volume 104〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jacques Bahi, Wiem Elghazel, Christophe Guyeux, Mourad Hakem, Kamal Medjaher, Noureddine Zerhouni〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Monitoring activities in industry may require the use of wireless sensor networks, for instance due to difficult access or hostile environment. But it is well known that this type of networks has various limitations like the amount of disposable energy. Indeed, once a sensor node exhausts its resources, it will be dropped from the network, stopping so to forward information about maybe relevant features towards the sink. This will result in broken links and data loss which impacts the diagnostic accuracy at the sink level. It is therefore important to keep the network's monitoring service as long as possible by preserving the energy held by the nodes. As packet transfer consumes the highest amount of energy comparing to other activities in the network, various topologies are usually implemented in wireless sensor networks to increase the network lifetime. In this paper, we emphasize that it is more difficult to perform a good diagnostic when data are gathered by a wireless sensor network instead of a wired one, due to broken links and data loss on the one hand, and deployed network topologies on the other hand. Three strategies are considered to reduce packet transfers: (1) sensor nodes send directly their data to the sink, (2) nodes are divided by clusters, and the cluster heads send the average of their clusters directly to the sink, and (3) averaged data are sent from cluster heads to cluster heads in a hop-by-hop mode, leading to an avalanche of averages. Their impact on the diagnostic accuracy is then evaluated. We show that the use of random forests is relevant for diagnostics when data are aggregated through the network and when sensors stop to transmit their values when their batteries are emptied. This relevance is discussed qualitatively and evaluated numerically by comparing the random forests performance to state-of-the-art PHM approaches, namely: basic bagging of decision trees, support vector machine, multinomial naive Bayes, AdaBoost, and Gradient Boosting. Finally, a way to couple the two best methods, namely the random forests and the gradient boosting, is proposed by finding the best hyperparameters of the former by using the latter.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Scripta Materialia, Volume 162〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Cong-Yu Zhang, Hao Chen, Jia-Ning Zhu, Wen-Bo Liu, Geng Liu, Chi Zhang, Zhi-Gang Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The steady-state assumption in the classical solute drag (SD) models is not always valid in treating the complex interaction between alloying elements and migrating interfaces (grain/phase boundaries) in steels. In this study, a general treatment based on phase-field theory is proposed to capture the SD effects of alloying elements without the steady state assumption, while it reduces to the SD models under steady-state assumption. This new treatment can predict the interaction between migrating interfaces and alloying elements with strong segregation tendencies, which cannot be captured by the classical SD models.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1359646218306535-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 244〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jessica Purswani, Isabel M. Guisado, Julio Coello-Cabezas, Jesús González-López, Clementina Pozo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Methyl 〈em〉tert〈/em〉-butyl ether (MTBE) degradation technologies based on two-phase partitioning systems such as extractive membrane biofilm reactors (EMBFR) permit separation of biological and contaminant compartments, thus allowing optimization of the biological section. In this study, we set-up an EMBFR with three MTBE-degrading and cooperating strains (termed social biofilm: 〈em〉Agrobacterium〈/em〉 sp. MS2, 〈em〉Paenibacillus etheri〈/em〉 SH7〈sup〉T〈/sup〉 and 〈em〉Rhodococcus ruber〈/em〉 EE6). The removal efficiency of the social-biofilm EMBFR was 80%, and functional stability was observed in the reactor, i.e. more efficient than previous studies (single-strain inoculated EMBFR, 〈50% removal efficiency and unstable function). Metabolite 〈em〉tert〈/em〉-butyl alcohol was not observed, and the EC〈sub〉50〈/sub〉 values were higher than those observed in single-strain EMBFRs. Comparative analysis of the MTBE enzymatic pathway and the social-biofilm was performed, where the mechanism of cooperation observed within the social-biofilm is likely due to enzymatic redundancy. Functional outcomes were equal to previous batch tests, hence 100% scalability was obtained. Overall, higher functional and stability outcomes are obtained with the use of the social-biofilm in an MTBE-EMBFR.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118334353-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 10 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 296〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Saheed Bukola, Stephen E. Creager〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Transmission rates for protons and deuterons across single-layer graphene embedded in Nafion | graphene | Nafion sandwich structures are measured as a function of temperature in electrochemical hydrogen pump cells. Rates of ion transmission through graphene are obtained in the form of area-normalized ion-transfer resistances, and are interpreted in terms of ion-exchange current densities and standard heterogeneous ion-transfer rate constants. An encounter pre-equilibrium model for the ion-transfer step is then used to provide rate constants for the fundamental microscopic step of ion (proton or deuteron) transmission across graphene. Application of this rate model to interpret variable-temperature data on proton and deuteron transmission rates provides values for the activation energy and pre-exponential factor for the fundamental ion transmission step across graphene. Activation energies obtained from the Arrhenius plots for proton and deuteron transmission are as follows; for proton, E〈sub〉act〈/sub〉 = 48 ± 2 kJ/mole (0.50 ± 0.02 eV) and for deuteron, E〈sub〉act〈/sub〉 = 53 ± 5 kJ/mole (0.55 ± 0.05 eV). The difference between these two values of approximately 5 kJ/mole is in good agreement with the expected difference in vibrational zero-point energies for O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉H and O-D bonds, albeit with some uncertainty given the uncertainties in the activation energy values. Pre-exponential frequency factor values of 8.3 ± 0.4 × 10〈sup〉13〈/sup〉 s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and is 4.7 ± 0.5 × 10〈sup〉13〈/sup〉 s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 were obtained for proton and deuteron transmission respectively across graphene. These pre-factor values are both quite large, on the order of the values predicted from the Eyring – Polanyi equation with a transmission coefficient near one. The ratio of 1.8 for the rate pre-factors (H/D) is in reasonable agreement with the value of 1.3 for the ratio of bond vibrational frequencies for O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉H and O-D stretching, respectively. Taken together, these data support a model in which proton and deuteron transmission across graphene are largely adiabatic processes for which the differences in transmission rate at room temperature are due largely to differences in activation energies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 131〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): P.V. Bruyns, P. Hanáček, C. Klak〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The Crassulaceae is an important family in the Greater Cape Floristic Region of southern Africa and is the seventh largest family in the arid Succulent Karoo Biome. After the Aizoaceae it is the largest group of leaf-succulents in southern Africa.〈/p〉 〈p〉This is the first investigation of a broad selection (68%) of the ±170 species of 〈em〉Crassula〈/em〉. We used data from three chloroplast and two nuclear gene-regions, which yielded many informative characters and provided good resolution among the species.〈/p〉 〈p〉We show that only five of the 20 sections in 〈em〉Crassula〈/em〉 are monophyletic. However, the clades recovered show close correlation with the two subgenera that were once recognized. 〈em〉Crassula〈/em〉 contains more than 25 succulent annual species which are not closely related to each other but form early-diverging branches in each of the three major clades. One of these major clades contains far more perennial species than the others and is the greatest diversification within 〈em〉Crassula〈/em〉. This diversification mostly arose within the last 10 million years (my) and spread across much of southern Africa. Members of the smaller two major clades are often soft- and flat-leaved perennials (many with basic chromosome number x = 8, with high levels of polyploidy). Those in the largest diversification (where a basic chromosome number of x = 7 predominates) show other arid-adaptations (more highly succulent leaves with a dense covering of hairs or papillae or a smooth xeromorphic epidermis). Their flowers are also more variable in shape and bee-, moth- and butterfly-pollinated species are known among them.〈/p〉 〈p〉We establish that 〈em〉Crassula〈/em〉 arose in the Greater Cape Floristic Region of southern Africa. While much of its diversity has evolved in the last 10 my, 〈em〉Crassula〈/em〉 nevertheless contains species that are much older and itself arose ±46 my ago. Since all its species are succulent it is possible that they are part of an early arid-adapted flora that contributed to the Succulent Karoo Biome in the western part of southern Africa. Consequently this Biome may not be assembled only from ‘young lineages’ as is usually thought to be the case.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1055790318303567-ga1.jpg" width="104" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 143〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yi Ren, Fang Cheng, Xiaoying Zhou, Kai Chang, Guanghui Zhou〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Two-dimensional (2D) polyaniline with C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N stoichiometry, is a newly fabricated layered material that has been expected to possess fascinating electronic, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. The nature of its counterpart nanoribbons offering even more tunability in properties because of the unique quantum confinement and edge effect, however, has not been revealed yet. Here we systemically study the mechanical, electronic and magnetic properties for various nanoribbons cutting from a monolayer C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N sheet along the typical crystallographic orientations. By the first-principles calculations we find that C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N nanoribbons exhibit sensitive responses to the externally applied electric field and strain. Specifically, the spin-selective half-metallicity depends on the external electric field or strain, as well as the ribbon width. For the asymmetric zigzag-edged ribbon, the spin-polarization rate approaches −100% at electric field strength −0.2 V/Å. Interestingly, an applied strain can transform a symmetric zigzag-carbon-edge ribbon from a magnetic semiconductor to a half-metal. And the half-metal property remains unchanged when the strain increases from 8 to 15%, while the spin-up subband gap further increases to 0.46 eV. These numerical results may be useful to engineer and design magnetic-field-free spintronic devices based on the 2D C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318309333-fx1.jpg" width="256" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 142〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sivabrata Sahu, Mihir Ranjan Sahoo, Anoop Kumar Kushwaha, G.C. Rout, S.K. Nayak〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We have investigated here, the electronic and magnetic properties of graphene–nickel system by tight-binding mean-field approach. Strong hybridization between the 2p〈sub〉z〈/sub〉 orbital of graphene and 3d〈sub〉z2〈/sub〉 orbital of nickel occurs when monolayer graphene is placed over a single layer of ferromagnetically ordered Ni (111) metal due to the excellent lattice matching between the two layers. This hybridization greatly affects the electronic and magnetic properties of the bilayer system, resulting in a significantly reduced local magnetic moment of the nickel layer and an enhanced induced spin polarization on the graphene layer. The calculated Hamiltonian revealed critical information regarding the first-, second-and third-nearest-neighbour hopping integrals of 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉π〈/mi〉〈mo〉−〈/mo〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 electrons of graphene besides the Coulomb correlation of electrons in nickel (111). The Hubbard type Coulomb interactions present in nickel lattices were treated within the mean-field approximation. Zubarev's technique was employed to calculate electronic Green's functions and subsequent investigation of the temperature dependent ferromagnetic magnetization of nickel (111)was carried out through self-consistent calculation. Further calculations regarding the induced magnetization in the graphene, total magnetization in bilayer layer system, electronic band dispersion, spin resolved density of states (DOS) and spin polarization efficiency have been carried out. The results were corroborated by experimental observations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318309977-egi10LZ69G4T53.jpg" width="283" alt="Image" title="Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 143〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lihua Lin, Hongzhe Pan, Yanhuan Chen, Xiaoying Song, Jun Xu, Huibiao Liu, Shaolong Tang, Youwei Du, Nujiang Tang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Pristine graphdiyne (pGDY) with high quality was prepared by annealing as-prepared GDY in hydrogen, and its stacking style, bandgap and magnetism were studied. The results show that pGDY is ABC-stacked, has a direct bandgap of ca. 0.64 eV, and shows spin-half paramagnetism at 2 K which may result from the residual hydroxyl groups on the chains of GDY sheet. The hybrid functional calculations show that ABC-stacked GDY is a semiconductor with a direct bandgap of 0.73 eV and is intrinsically nonmagnetic.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318309126-fx1.jpg" width="350" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 143〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): A. Yadav, M. Yadav, S. Gupta, Y. Popat, A. Gangan, B. Chakraborty, L.M. Ramaniah, R. Fernandes, A. Miotello, M.R. Press, N. Patel〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Reduced graphene oxide (rGO)〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 composites are prepared using photo-reduction method by varying GO to TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 weight ratio from low (rGOT-0.001, 0.01, & 0.1) to high (rGOT-1, 3 & 10) range and its effect on morphological, optical and mechanism of fast charge dynamics at the interface are investigated. Experimental analysis confirm that reduction process improves as TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 amount increases in rGO-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 but leads to aggregation of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles. rGOT-3 composite displayed the highest photocatalytic activity for degradation of phenols compared to TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, GO and other composites. This was achieved due to uniform dispersion of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles over rGO surface, which enables distinct formation of Ti〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉C bond between each TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticle and rGO surface, and results in slight red shift in the band edge. This Ti〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉C bond facilitates fast electron transfer from TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 to rGO and reduces recombination rate as revealed by photoluminescence and time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The experimental findings were further investigated using density functional theory simulations. Band structure calculation confirms high mobility states induced within the band gap due to formation of Ti〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉C bond in rGO-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 model which assists in fast electron transfer from TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 to rGO during the photocatalytic process and hence reduces recombination rate.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318310091-fx1.jpg" width="477" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 143〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rebecca F. Albers, Rafael A. Bini, João B. Souza, Derik T. Machado, Laudemir C. Varanda〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉There is great interest in new materials that synergistically combine properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with nanoparticles (NP) generating rGO-nanoparticles hybrid materials (NPHM). Based on the modified polyol process (MPP), we developed a new and versatile method to synthesize rGO and rGO-NPHM in one-pot route. rGO sheets with small defects number were reduced from graphene oxide by the MPP, and experimental parameters were varied to evaluate the method robustness, and adjusted to prepare rGO-NPHM, for instance, rGO/Au, rGO/Ag, rGO/CdSe, rGO/FePt and rGO/Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 inferring the versatility of our methodology. NPHM were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and Raman, UV–Vis, and FTIR spectroscopies. All synthesized NPHM shown size-controlled monodisperse-like NP homogeneously distributed onto the rGO sheets, except for the Ag-NP where a bimodal size distribution was observed. Plasmon (rGO/Au and rGO/Ag) and typical absorption and emission (rGO/CdSe) by UV–Vis, whereas paramagnetic-like (rGO/FePt) and superparamagnetic (rGO/Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) behavior was observed by the magnetic NPHM. The MPP is already efficient for NP preparation and here, we showed that its might successful for rGO and rGO-NPHM synthesis in a simple and versatile one-pot route, which can be scaled up to allow mass production and easily tuned for other NP kinds.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318310066-fx1.jpg" width="404" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 142〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yaochen Song, Jiaxuan Liao, Cheng Chen, Jian Yang, Jinchen Chen, Feng Gong, Sizhe Wang, Ziqiang Xu, Mengqiang Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Self-assembled nano-honeycomb WS〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 modified by graphene doping were prepared by improved one step hydrothermal method. In this hybrid structure, graphene plays a key role of transferring the morphology from the nanowire microporous spheres to graphene-supported nano-honeycomb plane structure, which has the larger the specific surface area and higher conductivity. This anode delivers the superb electrochemical performances of lithium/sodium ion batteries with high specific charge capacity (953.1/522.3 mAh·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 0.1 A·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), long cycling life (more than 350/200 cycles at 1 A·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), and high charge/discharge rates (up to 10/5 A·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉). This nano-honeycomb structure WS〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 composite anode with facile hydrothermal process, as well as superb electrochemical performances, makes it attractive for the potential applications in lithium/sodium ion batteries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318307103-fx1.jpg" width="299" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 143〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Functional materials' properties are influenced by microstructures which can be changed during manufacturing. A technique is presented which digitises graphite foam via X-ray tomography and converts it into image-based models to determine properties in silico. By simulating a laser flash analysis its effective thermal conductivity is predicted. Results show ∼1% error in the direction the foam was ‘grown’ during manufacturing but is significantly less accurate in plane due to effective thermal conductivity resulting from both the foam's microstructure and graphite's crystalline structure. An empirical relationship is found linking these by using a law of mixtures. A case study is presented demonstrating the technique's use to simulate a heat exchanger component containing graphite foam with micro-scale accuracy using literature material properties for solid graphite. Compared against conventional finite element modelling there is no requirement to firstly experimentally measure the foam's effective bulk properties. Additionally, improved local accuracy is achieved due to exact location of contact between the foam and other parts of the component. This capability will be of interest in design and manufacture of components using graphite materials. The software used was developed by the authors and is open source for others to undertake similar studies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318309461-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 143〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ke Chu, Jing Wang, Ya-ping Liu, Yuan-bo Li, Cheng-chang Jia, Hu Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In-situ formation of appropriate interfacial carbides by matrix-alloying with carbide-forming elements offers an efficient approach to improve the interfacial bonding of graphene/CuX composites. However, the carbide formation commonly occurs at graphene edge/matrix interface, which is not enough to achieve the sufficient interfacial bonding because the vast majority of graphene/matrix interface is basal-plane/matrix interface rather than edge/matrix interface. To alleviate this limitation, we reported a new design of 〈em〉creating defects on graphene basal-plane〈/em〉 (CDGB) to optimize the interface and mechanical properties of graphene/CuCr composites. Plasma treatment was employed to create the structural defects (∼7 nm nanopores) on graphene basal-plane. When incorporating the plasma-treated graphene into the CuCr matrix, the Cr〈sub〉7〈/sub〉C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 carbides were found to be in-situ formed at both basal-plane/matrix and edge/matrix interfaces. Ex-situ and in-situ tensile tests both demonstrated that the plasma-treated graphene led to the composite that showed a larger strength enhancement and a higher load transfer capability than untreated counterpart, which was ascribed to the largely improved interfacial bonding contributed by the Cr〈sub〉7〈/sub〉C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 formed at basal-plane/matrix interface. This study suggests that the CDBG via plasma treatment affords a feasible solution for the interface optimization of graphene/CuX composites with enhanced mechanical properties.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318310145-fx1.jpg" width="477" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon, Volume 142〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Dalsu Choi, Hyun-Sig Kil, Sungho Lee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Recently restricted greenhouse gas emission regulations for commercial vehicles have initiated a significant interest of an automotive industry in carbon fibers (CFs), which are excellent lightweight structural materials. However, the high production cost of CFs has limited their use in a selected number of applications including military, aircraft, and aerospace industries. Therefore, to satisfy a huge demand from the automotive industry and to translate an exotic technology into commercial applications, tremendous research efforts have focused on developing low-cost CFs. As the precursor cost takes more than 50% of an entire cost for CFs production, adopting low-cost precursors for CFs have been utilized as one of the main strategies. In this article, we review series of previous achievements which incorporated low-cost precursors into CFs fabrication including novel acrylic polymers, polyethylene (PE), lignin, and pitch. Furthermore, looking toward the future, prospective processing technologies which might be beneficial for reducing manufacturing cost of CFs are also reviewed.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0008622318309436-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 17 October 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Carbon〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Paolo Restuccia, M.C. Righi〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Theoretical Biology, Volume 462〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rani Anupama, Sajitha Lulu, Rout Madhusmita, Sundararajan Vino, Amitava Mukherjee, Subramanian Babu〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈em〉Pseudomonas aeruginosa〈/em〉 is a pathogenic biofilm forming bacteria which exist in wide range of environments such as water, soil and human body. In an earlier study, we used a system biology approach based analysis of biofilm forming genes of 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 and their possible role in TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticle binding. The major protein of 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 targeted by TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 was found to be KatA, a major catalase required for H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 resistance and acute virulence and the direct interacting protein partners of KatA were found to be DnaK, Hfq, RpoA and RpoS. To understand the protein-protein physical interaction characteristic of these key proteins involved in biofilm related processes, homology modeling, docking and molecular dynamic simulation were performed. For all these proteins, physical and chemical properties, amino acid composition, nest and cleft analysis were performed using online tools. The interactions between TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉NPs–KatA and four protein–protein complexes such as KatA–DnaK, KatA–Hfq, KatA–RpoA and KatA–RpoS were studied. Our results indicate that all four key proteins and TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉NPs can have stable complexation with KatA. The study has given enough clues to understand the interaction of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉NPs with 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 biofilm in natural environment. Further investigations could lead to development of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉NPs based therapeutic and sanitary interventions to combat this pathogenic bacterium.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Volume 169〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Liming Wen, José Badal, Jiafu Hu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉P receiver functions (PRFs) and the 〈em〉H-k〈/em〉 stacking technique are tools often used to constrain the thickness of the crust and the ratio between the velocities of P and S waves. Both the crustal depth and the Poisson's ratio are very important parameters to study the tectonic evolution of the lithosphere, but they can be significantly affected by the presence of crustal anisotropy. In order to address this problem, we have extended the isotropic stacking approach to include six converted P-to-S phases that are generated in the anisotropic case, instead of only three phases considered in the isotropic case, and we have examined the feasibility of the stacking technique using synthetic and real data. Based on PRFs acquired by 108 permanent broadband seismic stations deployed in the southeastern margin of Tibet including the Sichuan and Yunnan areas, we have applied the anisotropic 〈em〉H-k〈/em〉 stacking scheme to investigate the crustal thickness and Poisson’s ratio. The results reveal that the crustal thickness varies from ∼60 km in the Songpan-Ganzi fold system and the northern part of the Sichuan-Yunnan diamond-shaped block, near the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, to ∼33 km in southern Yunnan, and that the Poisson’s ratio varies mostly from 0.24 to 0.32. The highest values of 0.28–0.30 are found along the axis formed by the Longmenshan fault, the Lijiang-Jinhe fault and the Xiaojiang fault, and are attributed to the accumulation of lower crustal flow in front of the Sichuan Basin. The highest value of ∼0.32 is observed at the Tengchong volcano area to the north of the Indochina block, and is attributed to the upwelling of hot mantle associated to the eastward subduction of the Indian plate, rather than to the expansion of east Tibet. Comparing with the results provided by the isotropic stacking scheme, it is appreciated that the crustal depth determined by the anisotropic stacking method well adjusts the observed pattern of gravity anomaly. We conclude that the results obtained by anisotropic stacking yield a much better constraint on the estimation of the crustal depth and Poisson's ratio when compared to those achieved by isotropic stacking.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1367912018302979-fx1.jpg" width="333" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hongxia Zhao, Tianpeng Yuan, Jia Gao, Xinli Wang, Jia Yan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Both conventional and advanced exergy analysis methods were adopted to compare parallel and series compression-ejection hybrid refrigeration system for a two-temperature R290 refrigerator. The calculation was performed through Matlab and CoolProp. The results over typical design conditions showed that the exergy efficiency of the series system is 5.17% higher than the parallel system, and the exergy destructions of the compressor (30.59% for parallel and 31.22% for series) and the ejector (19.36% for parallel and 22.65% for series) are the biggest of the total system. Results from advanced exergy analysis showed that the compressor possesses highest improvement priority as its avoidable exergy destruction rate is the biggest, 42.76% of the total for parallel system and 41.28% for series system. The endogenous avoidable exergy destruction rates of the compressor and the ejector are larger than their exogenous parts in both systems, indicating it is most important to improve their own efficiency. However, the condenser’s endogenous avoidable exergy destruction rates are smaller than their exogenous part, so it is more effective by improving other system components rather than itself. The influence of the interactions among the components on the system performance was also evaluated based on their mexogenous exergy destruction.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yikai Jia, Sha Yin, Binghe Liu, Hui Zhao, Huili Yu, Jie Li, Jun Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Dynamic mechanical loading, e.g. impact, is one of the major catastrophic factors that trigger short-circuit, thermal runaway, or even fire/explosion consequences of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, the mechanical integrity and electrical coupling behaviors of lithium-ion pouch cells under dynamical loading were investigated. Two types of experiments, namely compression and drop-weight tests, are designed and conducted. The state-of-charge (SOC) and loading rate dependencies of batteries, as well as their coupling effect, are examined. Furthermore, the interaction between force response and electrical behavior of battery is investigated through real-time monitoring of voltage change during loading. Experiments on LiCoO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 lithium-ion pouch cells show that the higher SOC and loading rates increases battery structure stiffness. In addition, loading rate intensifies battery structure stiffening with the SOC effect. Results indicate that the deformation and material failure of battery component together determine the electrical behavior of battery. Higher loading rate leads to faster voltage drop and more severe internal short-circuit. This short-circuit discharging process in turn affects the force response in dynamic loading. Results may provide useful insights into the fundamental understanding of electrical and mechanical coupled integrity of LIBs and lay a solid basis for their crash safety design.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Lithos, Volumes 324–325〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R. Johannes Giebel, Michael A.W. Marks, Christoph D.K. Gauert, Gregor Markl〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A detailed electron microprobe study has been carried out on the compositional variations of mica and apatite from carbonatites, phoscorites and associated pyroxenites (and fenites) of the Loolekop deposit, Palabora Carbonatite Complex (South Africa). Mica in pyroxenites and fenites is Mg-rich biotite, whilst micas in carbonatites and phoscorites are compositionally diverse including phlogopite, Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 30% kinoshitalite component), 〈sup〉IV〈/sup〉Al-rich phlogopite (up to 30% eastonite component) and tetraferriphlogopite. The various types of phlogopites are interpreted as orthomagmatic phases, whereas tetraferriphlogopite precipitation was a late-magmatic to hydrothermal process that additionally introduced REE into the system. Orthomagmatic apatite is generally REE- and Sr-poor fluorapatite and does not show large compositional differences between rock types. Apatite associated with the late-stage tetraferriphlogopite mineralization reaches higher levels of REE (up to 4.9 wt%), Si (up to 1.5 wt% SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉), Sr (up to 2.6 wt% SrO) and Na (up to 1.0 wt% Na〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O).〈/p〉 〈p〉The compositional variation of micas and apatites, which is affiliated with distinct rock types, reflects the multi-stage evolution of the Loolekop deposit and provides detailed insight into the relationships of the carbonatite-phoscorite assemblage. The obtained data support the separation of phoscorite and carbonatite by immiscibility from a common parental magma, which may happen due to a decrease of temperature and/or pressure during the ascent of the magma. This results in a density contrast between the carbonatitic and phoscoritic components that will lead to descending phoscorite accumulations at the outer zones of the magma channel and a jet-like ascent (further promoted by its extremely low viscosity) of the carbonatite magma. The genetic model deduced here explains the peculiar association of carbonatites, phoscorites and silicate rocks in many alkaline complexes worldwide.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tao Yu, Guoqing Guan, Abuliti Abudula, Akihiro Yoshida, Dayong Wang, Yongchen Song〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The 2013/2017 Nankai Trough (Japan) and 2017 Shenhu Area (China) offshore methane hydrate production tests showed the world the possibility and feasibility of the oceanic methane hydrate production by depressurization. However, the relatively low gas production rate still remained as one of the critical bottlenecks for the economical utilization. This study chose the Nankai Trough as a target area, and aimed at the gas recovery enhancement from the methane hydrate reservoir using vertical wells. A traditional single-vertical-well system and a new dual-vertical-well system were proposed, and special production strategies of the aggressive depressurization and permeability improvement were applied to these two systems for the effectiveness verification. Based on the 15-year simulation results, it was found that the middle low-permeability silt-dominated layers in the reservoir held the key to the gas recovery enhancement, and for the single-vertical-well system, the permeability improvement in this sublayer seemed more reliable and feasible than the aggressive depressurization. On the other hand, the dual-vertical-well system significantly exceeded the single-vertical-well system due to the synergistic effect of the two wellbores, and could raise the average gas production rate (9.5 × 10〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/day) by one order of magnitude (to 7.9 × 10〈sup〉4〈/sup〉 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/day). Moreover, if this new system was combined with the aggressive depressurization, the average gas production rate could be further raised by one order of magnitude (to 3.4 × 10〈sup〉5〈/sup〉 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/day).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Molecular Cell, Volume 72, Issue 3〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lorea Blazquez, Warren Emmett, Rupert Faraway, Jose Mario Bello Pineda, Simon Bajew, Andre Gohr, Nejc Haberman, Christopher R. Sibley, Robert K. Bradley, Manuel Irimia, Jernej Ule〈/p〉 〈h5〉Summary〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Recursive splicing (RS) starts by defining an “RS-exon,” which is then spliced to the preceding exon, thus creating a recursive 5′ splice site (RS-5ss). Previous studies focused on cryptic RS-exons, and now we find that the exon junction complex (EJC) represses RS of hundreds of annotated, mainly constitutive RS-exons. The core EJC factors, and the peripheral factors PNN and RNPS1, maintain RS-exon inclusion by repressing spliceosomal assembly on RS-5ss. The EJC also blocks 5ss located near exon-exon junctions, thus repressing inclusion of cryptic microexons. The prevalence of annotated RS-exons is high in deuterostomes, while the cryptic RS-exons are more prevalent in 〈em〉Drosophila〈/em〉, where EJC appears less capable of repressing RS. Notably, incomplete repression of RS also contributes to physiological alternative splicing of several human RS-exons. Finally, haploinsufficiency of the EJC factor 〈em〉Magoh〈/em〉 in mice is associated with skipping of RS-exons in the brain, with relevance to the microcephaly phenotype and human diseases.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1097276518308323-fx1.jpg" width="375" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Applied Energy, Volumes 233–234〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zia Wadud, Sarah Royston, Jan Selby〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Among the various sustainability goals of higher education institutions (HEIs), reducing energy use and carbon emissions are particularly important. However, not much is known about energy demand from the higher education sector – especially since there is a lack of robust models of energy demand in this sector. This paper, the first to utilize a panel dataset and advanced panel econometric techniques in order to model energy use in higher education, investigates variations in energy use between HEIs (cross-sectional analysis), and also changes in energy use over time (temporal analysis), using the UK as a case study. We argue that panel dataset and methods are more useful for understanding growth (and reduction) in energy use within the HE sector than the methods used within previous cross-sectional studies. Results show that, over time and also across the sector, energy consumption in the HEIs increases with increases in income and floor space, but at a slower rate. As HEIs grow overall (in terms of income, floor space, student and staff number) over time, they become more 'energy efficient' (using less energy per unit of area, population or income), indicating economies of scale in the temporal dimension. Results also show that after controlling for income and size, research intensive HEIs consume more energy. We also find a small but statistically significant effect of energy prices on energy consumption, as might be expected. Simulation using the model parameters for an example scenario suggests that energy consumption will continue to increase unless there is a significant change in the policies driving income growth and spatial expansion in the HE sector in the UK.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Molecular Cell, Volume 72, Issue 3〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jodi Bubenik, Maurice S. Swanson〈/p〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this issue of 〈em〉Molecular Cell〈/em〉, Yap et al. (2018) identify a novel lncRNA (PNCTR) that contains short tandem repeats that trap the RNA splicing factor PTBP1 in the perinucleolar compartment and link this sequestration activity to cancer cell development.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Molecular Cell, Volume 72, Issue 3〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Timothy R. Abbott, Lei S. Qi〈/p〉 〈div〉〈p〉In a recent issue of 〈em〉Nature〈/em〉, Halperin et al. (2018) develop a new technology to continuously diversify specific genomic loci by combining CRISPR-Cas9 with error-prone DNA polymerases.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Molecular Cell, Volume 72, Issue 4〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sandro Baldi, Dhawal S. Jain, Lisa Harpprecht, Angelika Zabel, Marion Scheibe, Falk Butter, Tobias Straub, Peter B. Becker〈/p〉 〈h5〉Summary〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Regular successions of positioned nucleosomes, or phased nucleosome arrays (PNAs), are predominantly known from transcriptional start sites (TSSs). It is unclear whether PNAs occur elsewhere in the genome. To generate a comprehensive inventory of PNAs for 〈em〉Drosophila〈/em〉, we applied spectral analysis to nucleosome maps and identified thousands of PNAs throughout the genome. About half of them are not near TSSs and are strongly enriched for an uncharacterized sequence motif. Through genome-wide reconstitution of physiological chromatin in 〈em〉Drosophila〈/em〉 embryo extracts, we uncovered the molecular basis of PNA formation. We identified Phaser, an unstudied zinc finger protein that positions nucleosomes flanking the motif. It also revealed how the global activity of the chromatin remodelers CHRAC/ACF, together with local barrier elements, generates islands of regular phasing throughout the genome. Our work demonstrates the potential of chromatin assembly by embryo extracts as a powerful tool to reconstitute chromatin features on a global scale 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1097276518308037-fx1.jpg" width="375" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Molecular Cell, Volume 72, Issue 3〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis, Mingkun Wu, Ulrich Braunschweig, Jonathan Roth, Hong Han, Andrew J. Best, Bushra Raj, Michael Aregger, Dave O’Hanlon, Jonathan D. Ellis, John A. Calarco, Jason Moffat, Anne-Claude Gingras, Benjamin J. Blencowe〈/p〉 〈h5〉Summary〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Alternative splicing is crucial for diverse cellular, developmental, and pathological processes. However, the full networks of factors that control individual splicing events are not known. Here, we describe a CRISPR-based strategy for the genome-wide elucidation of pathways that control splicing and apply it to microexons with important functions in nervous system development and that are commonly misregulated in autism. Approximately 200 genes associated with functionally diverse regulatory layers and enriched in genetic links to autism control neuronal microexons. Remarkably, the widely expressed RNA binding proteins Srsf11 and Rnps1 directly, preferentially, and frequently co-activate these microexons. These factors form critical interactions with the neuronal splicing regulator Srrm4 and a bi-partite intronic splicing enhancer element to promote spliceosome formation. Our study thus presents a versatile system for the identification of entire splicing regulatory pathways and further reveals a common mechanism for the definition of neuronal microexons that is disrupted in autism.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1097276518308402-fx1.jpg" width="375" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉