High pressure effect on structure, electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of MoS2_2

We systematically study the effect of high pressure on the structure, electronic structure and transport properties of 2H-MoS$_2$, based on first-principles density functional calculations and the Boltzmann transport theory. Our calculation shows a vanishing anisotropy in the rate of structural change at around 25 GPa, in agreement with the experimental data. A conversion from van der Waals(vdW) to covalent-like bonding is seen. Concurrently, a transition from semiconductor to metal occurs at 25 GPa from band structure calculation. Our transport calculations also find pressure-enhanced electrical conductivities and significant values of the thermoelectric figure of merit over a wide temperature range. Our study supplies a new route to improve the thermoelectric performance of MoS$_2$ and of other transition metal dichalcogenides by applying hydrostatic pressure.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures; published in JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 113, xxxx (2013

Experimental Quantum Communication without a Shared Reference Frame

We present an experimental realization of a robust quantum communication scheme [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 220501 (2004)] using pairs of photons entangled in polarization and time. Our method overcomes errors due to collective rotation of the polarization modes (e.g., birefringence in optical fiber or misalignment), is insensitive to the phase's fluctuation of the interferometer, and does not require any shared reference frame including time reference, except the need to label different photons. The practical robustness of the scheme is further shown by implementing a variation of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 quantum key distribution protocol over 1 km optical fiber.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Experimental quantum "Guess my Number" protocol using multiphoton entanglement

We present an experimental demonstration of a modified version of the entanglement-assisted "Guess my Number" protocol for the reduction of communication complexity among three separated parties. The results of experimental measurements imply that the separated parties can compute a function of distributed inputs by exchanging less classical information than by using any classical strategy. And the results also demonstrate the advantages of entanglement-enhanced communication, which is very close to quantum communication. The advantages are based on the properties of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Self and Peer Assessment in K–12 Chinese Language Classrooms: Teachers’ Perceptions and Implementation

This is the final version. Available on open access from Van Yuzuncu Yil University via the link in this recordLittle research has been conducted on self and peer assessment (hereafter, SA and PA) in Chinese language education in the United States, despite the fact that both forms of assessment have multiple benefits for language learning and it is argued they should be an integral component of language teachers’ repertoire of classroom assessment. Particularly, little is known about Chinese language teachers’ perceptions of SA and PA and their classroom SA and PA practices. To address this knowledge gap, this study aimed at exploring Chinese language teachers’ perceptions and implementation of SA and PA and establishing a ground for future research in this field. Using a qualitative methodology, we interviewed ten K–12 Chinese language teachers in US schools. By examining the interview responses of those teachers, this study revealed some important findings. Notably, all the teachers realized the benefits of SA and PA for student learning. Yet, there was rare use of them in most teachers’ classrooms. We discussed this gap by drawing upon the probed responses of the teachers as well as our inferences. The findings of this study inform SA and PA of Chinese language in K–12 classrooms and professional development for Chinese language teachers in US schools.US Department of EducationMichigan State University (MSU), College of Educatio

K-12 Chinese Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Classroom Portfolio Assessment

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the link in this record As an approach of assessment as learning, classroom portfolio assessment (CPA) has received much attention in the language assessment community. In this study, ten K-12 Chinese language teachers in U.S. schools were interviewed to examine their understandings, perceptions, and implementations of CPA. Overall, corroborating the findings of previous questionnaire studies on the assessment literacy of language teachers, the participants demonstrated rather limited knowledge of CPA (i.e., a knowledge gap). In addition, while the benefits of CPA were recognized by the participants, they showed little interest in implementing it in their classrooms (i.e., a gap between teacher thinking and classroom practice). These two gaps are discussed in light of the importance of a strong knowledge base for effective implementation of CPA and external factors that may affect teachers’ motivation, intention, or decision to implement CPA. It is recommended that language teachers be provided with systematic initial training and professional development in CPA; and that contextual constraints on the implementation of CPA be recognized and support be provided to teachers to promote their professional learning of language assessment

Background noise estimation of the geomagnetic signal

A fast Fourier transform was applied to fit the geomagnetic diurnal variation. Fitting results showed that when the polynomial degree was greater than 160, the residual error was close to 0 nT. White noise is the main component of the residual error when the polynomial degree was greater than 160, so this method was adopted to calculate the background noise of the geomagnetic field. Spectrum analysis further demonstrated that the noise estimation result is reliable.</p

Efficient Derivation of Human Cardiac Precursors and Cardiomyocytes from Pluripotent Human Embryonic Stem Cells with Small Molecule Induction

To date, the lack of a suitable human cardiac cell source has been the major setback in regenerating the human myocardium, either by cell-based transplantation or by cardiac tissue engineering. Cardiomyocytes become terminally-differentiated soon after birth and lose their ability to proliferate. There is no evidence that stem/progenitor cells derived from other sources, such as the bone marrow or the cord blood, are able to give rise to the contractile heart muscle cells following transplantation into the heart. The need to regenerate or repair the damaged heart muscle has not been met by adult stem cell therapy, either endogenous or via cell delivery. The genetically stable human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have unlimited expansion ability and unrestricted plasticity, proffering a pluripotent reservoir for in vitro derivation of large supplies of human somatic cells that are restricted to the lineage in need of repair and regeneration. Due to the prevalence of cardiovascular disease worldwide and acute shortage of donor organs, there is intense interest in developing hESC-based therapies as an alternative approach. However, how to channel the wide differentiation potential of pluripotent hESCs efficiently and predictably to a desired phenotype has been a major challenge for both developmental study and clinical translation. Conventional approaches rely on multi-lineage inclination of pluripotent cells through spontaneous germ layer differentiation, resulting in inefficient and uncontrollable lineage-commitment that is often followed by phenotypic heterogeneity and instability, hence, a high risk of tumorigenicity (see a schematic in Fig. 1A). In addition, undefined foreign/animal biological supplements and/or feeders that have typically been used for the isolation, expansion, and differentiation of hESCs may make direct use of such cell-specialized grafts in patients problematic. To overcome these obstacles, we have resolved the elements of a defined culture system necessary and sufficient for sustaining the epiblast pluripotence of hESCs, serving as a platform for de novo derivation of clinically-suitable hESCs and effectively directing such hESCs uniformly towards clinically-relevant lineages by small molecules (see a schematic in Fig. 1B). After screening a variety of small molecules and growth factors, we found that such defined conditions rendered nicotinamide (NAM) sufficient to induce the specification of cardiomesoderm direct from pluripotent hESCs that further progressed to cardioblasts that generated human beating cardiomyocytes with high efficiency (Fig. 2). We defined conditions for induction of cardioblasts direct from pluripotent hESCs without an intervening multi-lineage embryoid body stage, enabling well-controlled efficient derivation of a large supply of human cardiac cells across the spectrum of developmental stages for cell-based therapeutics

Strain prioritization and genome mining for enediyne natural products

The enediyne family of natural products has had a profound impact on modern chemistry, biology, and medicine, and yet only 11 enediynes have been structurally characterized to date. Here we report a genome survey of 3,400 actinomycetes, identifying 81 strains that harbor genes encoding the enediyne polyketide synthase cassettes that could be grouped into 28 distinct clades based on phylogenetic analysis. Genome sequencing of 31 representative strains confirmed that each clade harbors a distinct enediyne biosynthetic gene cluster. A genome neighborhood network allows prediction of new structural features and biosynthetic insights that could be exploited for enediyne discovery. We confirmed one clade as new C-1027 producers, with a significantly higher C-1027 titer than the original producer, and discovered a new family of enediyne natural products, the tiancimycins (TNMs), that exhibit potent cytotoxicity against a broad spectrum of cancer cell lines. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of rapid discovery of new enediynes from a large strain collection. IMPORTANCE Recent advances in microbial genomics clearly revealed that the biosynthetic potential of soil actinomycetes to produce enediynes is underappreciated. A great challenge is to develop innovative methods to discover new enediynes and produce them in sufficient quantities for chemical, biological, and clinical investigations. This work demonstrated the feasibility of rapid discovery of new enediynes from a large strain collection. The new C-1027 producers, with a significantly higher C-1027 titer than the original producer, will impact the practical supply of this important drug lead. The TNMs, with their extremely potent cytotoxicity against various cancer cells and their rapid and complete cancer cell killing characteristics, in comparison with the payloads used in FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), are poised to be exploited as payload candidates for the next generation of anticancer ADCs. Follow-up studies on the other identified hits promise the discovery of new enediynes, radically expanding the chemical space for the enediyne family

Cap inflammation leads to higher plaque cap strain and lower cap stress: An MRI-PET/CT-based FSI modeling approach.

Plaque rupture may be triggered by extreme stress/strain conditions. Inflammation is also implicated and can be imaged using novel imaging techniques. The impact of cap inflammation on plaque stress/strain and flow shear stress were investigated. A patient-specific MRI-PET/CT-based modeling approach was used to develop 3D fluid-structure interaction models and investigate the impact of inflammation on plaque stress/strain conditions for better plaque assessment. 18FDG-PET/CT and MRI data were acquired from 4 male patients (average age: 66) to assess plaque characteristics and inflammation. Material stiffness for the fibrous cap was adjusted lower to reflect cap weakening causing by inflammation. Setting stiffness ratio (SR) to be 1.0 (fibrous tissue) for baseline, results for SR=0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 were obtained. Thin cap and hypertension were also considered. Combining results from the 4 patients, mean cap stress from 729 cap nodes was lowered by 25.2% as SR went from 1.0 to 0.1. Mean cap strain value for SR=0.1 was 0.313, 114% higher than that from SR=1.0 model. The thin cap SR=0.1 model had 40% mean cap stress decrease and 81% cap strain increase compared with SR=1.0 model. The hypertension SR=0.1 model had 19.5% cap stress decrease and 98.6% cap strain increase compared with SR=1.0 model. Differences of flow shear stress with 4 different SR values were limited (<10%). Cap inflammation may lead to large cap strain conditions when combined with thin cap and hypertension. Inflammation also led to lower cap stress. This shows the influence of inflammation on stress/strain calculations which are closely related to plaque assessment.This work was supported in part by NIH grants NIH/NIBIB R01 EB004759, NIH/NHLBI R01 HL071021, and National Natural Sciences Foundation of China grant 11672001, 11171030