Versatile method for template-free synthesis of single crystalline metal and metal alloy nanowires

© 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Metal and metal alloy nanowires have applications ranging from spintronics to drug delivery, but high quality, high density single crystalline materials have been surprisingly difficult to fabricate. Here we report a versatile, template-free, self-assembly method for fabrication of single crystalline metal and metal alloy nanowires (Co, Ni, NiCo, CoFe, and NiFe) by reduction of metal nitride precursors formed in situ by reaction of metal salts with a nitrogen source. Thiol reduction of the metal nitrides to the metallic phase at 550-600 °C results in nanowire growth. In this process, sulfur acts as a uniaxial structure-directing agent, passivating the surface of the growing nanowires and preventing radial growth. The versatility of the method is demonstrated by achieving nanowire growth from gas-phase, solution-phase or a combination of gas- and solution-phase precursors. The fabrication method is suited to large-area CVD on a wide range of solid substrates

Robust multicolor single photon emission from point defects in hexagonal boron nitride

© 2017 IEEE. We demonstrates engineering of quantum emitters in hBN multi-layers using either electron beam irradiation or annealing. The defects exhibit a broad range of multicolor room-temperature single photon emissions across the visible and the near-infrared ranges

Spatiotemporal analysis of forest cover change and associated environmental challenges: a case study in the Central Highlands of Vietnam

Spatiotemporal regression combining Theil-Sen median trend and Man-Kendall tests was applied to MODIS time-series data to quantify the trend and rate of change to forest cover in the Central Highlands, Vietnam from 2001 to 2019. Several MODIS data products, including Percent Tree Cover (PTC), Evapotranspiration (ET), Land Surface Temperature (LST), and Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) were selected as indicators for forest cover and climate and carbon cycle patterns. Emerging hot spot analysis was applied to identify patterns of long-term deforestation. Spatial regression analysis using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) was performed to understand variations in the relationship between vegetation changes and trends in LST, ET, and GPP. Our analysis reveals that deforestation occurred significantly in the study area with a total decrease of 14.5% in PTC and a total of 7314 deforestation hot spots were identified. Results indicate that forest cover loss explains 72.9%, 67.7%, and 89.4% of the changes in ET, GPP, and LST, respectively, and the levels of influence are heterogenous across space and dependent on the types of deforestation hot spots. The approach introduced in our study can be performed worldwide to address complex research questions about environmental challenges that emerge from deforestation.Publishe

Primary cilia elongation in response to interleukin-1 mediates the inflammatory response

Primary cilia are singular, cytoskeletal organelles present in the majority of mammalian cell types where they function as coordinating centres for mechanotransduction, Wnt and hedgehog signalling. The length of the primary cilium is proposed to modulate cilia function, governed in part by the activity of intraflagellar transport (IFT). In articular cartilage, primary cilia length is increased and hedgehog signaling activated in osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we examine primary cilia length with exposure to the quintessential inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1), which is up-regulated in OA. We then test the hypothesis that the cilium is involved in mediating the downstream inflammatory response. Primary chondrocytes treated with IL-1 exhibited a 50 % increase in cilia length after 3 h exposure. IL-1-induced cilia elongation was also observed in human fibroblasts. In chondrocytes, this elongation occurred via a protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent mechanism. G-protein coupled adenylate cyclase also regulated the length of chondrocyte primary cilia but not downstream of IL-1. Chondrocytes treated with IL-1 exhibit a characteristic increase in the release of the inflammatory chemokines, nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2. However, in cells with a mutation in IFT88 whereby the cilia structure is lost, this response to IL-1 was significantly attenuated and, in the case of nitric oxide, completely abolished. Inhibition of IL-1-induced cilia elongation by PKA inhibition also attenuated the chemokine response. These results suggest that cilia assembly regulates the response to inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, the cilia proteome may provide a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory pathologies, including OA

Proteomic identification of immunodiagnostic antigens for <i>Trypanosoma vivax </i>infections in cattle and generation of a proof-of-concept lateral flow test diagnostic device

Trypanosoma vivax is one of the causative agents of Animal African Trypanosomosis in cattle, which is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and transmitted primarily by the bite of the tsetse fly vector. The parasite can also be mechanically transmitted, and this has allowed its spread to South America. Diagnostics are limited for this parasite and in farm settings diagnosis is mainly symptom-based. We set out to identify, using a proteomic approach, candidate diagnostic antigens to develop into an easy to use pen-side lateral flow test device. Two related members the invariant surface glycoprotein family, TvY486_0045500 and TvY486_0019690, were selected. Segments of these antigens, lacking N-terminal signal peptides and C-terminal transmembrane domains, were expressed in E. coli. Both were developed into ELISA tests and one of them, TvY486_0045500, was developed into a lateral flow test prototype. The tests were all evaluated blind with 113 randomised serum samples, taken from 37 calves before and after infection with T. vivax or T. congolense. The TvY486_0045500 and TvY486_0019690 ELISA tests gave identical sensitivity and specificity values for T. vivax infection of 94.5% (95% CI, 86.5% to 98.5%) and 88.0% (95% CI, 75.7% to 95.5%), respectively, and the TvY486_0045500 lateral flow test prototype a sensitivity and specificity of 92.0% (95% CI, 83.4% to 97.0%) and 89.8% (95% CI, 77.8% to 96.6%), respectively. These data suggest that recombinant TvY486_0045500 shows promise for the development of a pen-side lateral flow test for the diagnosis of T. vivax animal African trypanosomosis

Public health interventions for Aedes control in the time of Zikavirus- A metareview on effectiveness of vector control strategies

Background: There is renewed interest in effective control measures to control Zika and dengue vectors. A synthesis of published systematic reviews with a focus on grading of intervention evidence is warranted to determine the reliability of evidence for control strategies. Methodology: We conducted a meta-review (a systematic review of systematic reviews) assessing the effectiveness of any Aedes control measure. We searched Scopus and Medline for relevant reviews through to 11 May 2016. Titles, abstracts and full texts were assessed independently for inclusion by two authors. Data extraction was performed independently in duplicate using a standardised form and validity of the evidence in each review was assessed using GRADE criteria. Findings: 13 eligible systematic reviews that investigated the effect of community interventions on entomological parameters (such as vector density) or disease incidence were included. Quality of evidence was mostly low to very low due to poor reporting of study design, observational methodologies, heterogeneity, and indirect outcomes, hindering an evidence-based recommendation. Biological controls seem to achieve better reduction of entomological indices than chemical controls, while educational campaigns can reduce breeding habitats and interrupt disease transmission cycle. Integrated control strategies may not add efficiency to educational campaigns. Conclusions: Despite decades of Aedes mosquito abatement programmes, mosquito populations are widely established and abundant, and associated with a significant disease burden. The efficiency of any control programme is dependent on local settings and resources. More good quality primary studies for the control of Aedes transmitted diseases are still required

DNA resection in eukaryotes: deciding how to fix the break

DNA double-strand breaks are repaired by different mechanisms, including homologous recombination and nonhomologous end-joining. DNA-end resection, the first step in recombination, is a key step that contributes to the choice of DSB repair. Resection, an evolutionarily conserved process that generates single-stranded DNA, is linked to checkpoint activation and is critical for survival. Failure to regulate and execute this process results in defective recombination and can contribute to human disease. Here, I review recent findings on the mechanisms of resection in eukaryotes, from yeast to vertebrates, provide insights into the regulatory strategies that control it, and highlight the consequences of both its impairment and its deregulation

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV