Nature Communications - 6 November 2013

Weekly Content Alert 06 November 2013  Featured image: Tuffen et al. present the first observations of an active rhytolitic lava flow field and show how efficient thermal insulation prolonged lava advance. Latest content: Articles Corrigendum Erratum Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement nature.com webcasts Macmillan Science Communication presents a custom webcast on: The latest innovations in real-time imaging of cells with Super Resolution Microscopy   Thursday November 7th at 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm GMT / 5pm CET   Register for the free webcast followed by our live Q & A session    Sponsored by:          Latest Articles View all Articles     Methylphenidate amplifies the potency and reinforcing effects of amphetamines by increasing dopamine transporter expression Erin S. Calipari, Mark J. Ferris, Ali Salahpour, Marc G. Caron and Sara R. Jones Methylphenidate, the active compound in Ritalin, is used to treat attention and hyperactivity disorders, but it is also taken for recreational use. Calipari et al. show that high-dose methylphenidate leads to enhanced dopaminergic responses to amphetamines, and enhanced amphetamine-seeking behaviour in rats. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3720 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Neuroscience  Selective cancer targeting with prodrugs activated by histone deacetylases and a tumour-associated protease Nobuhide Ueki, Siyeon Lee, Nicole S. Sampson and Michael J. Hayman Selective targeting of cancer cells may improve therapeutic efficacy while reducing adverse effects. Here, Ueki et al. report selective activation of an anticancer drug upon removal of an acetylated lysine group by histone deacetylases and the tumour-associated protease cathepsin L. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3735 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Chemical biology  Medical research  Omnidirectional spin-wave nanograting coupler OPEN Haiming Yu, G. Duerr, R. Huber, M. Bahr, T. Schwarze, F. Brandl and D. Grundler Spin waves can provide efficient alternatives to microelectronics in applications such as image processing, but are difficult to realize on the nanoscale. Here, the authors develop a magnonic grating coupler, which allows for the conversion of microwaves to short-wavelength spin waves with large amplitudes. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3702 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Microscopic response to inhomogeneous deformations in curvilinear coordinates Massimiliano Stengel The electrostatic response of materials to macroscopic deformations is crucial for the operation of sensors and actuators. Here, the author combines ideas from transformation optics and density-functional perturbation theory to achieve a general description of surface flexoelectric effects. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3693 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Mepenzolate bromide displays beneficial effects in a mouse model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Ken-Ichiro Tanaka, Tomoaki Ishihara, Toshifumi Sugizaki, Daisuke Kobayashi, Yasunobu Yamashita, Kayoko Tahara, Naoki Yamakawa, Kumiko Iijima, Kaoru Mogushi, Hiroshi Tanaka, Keizo Sato, Hidekazu Suzuki and Tohru Mizushima Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious respiratory disease that is resistant to many forms of treatment. Tanake et al. screen compounds from a library of medicines and find that mepenzolate bromide reduces inflammatory responses and improves respiration in a mouse model of COPD. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3686 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Fast ultrahigh-density writing of low-conductivity patterns on semiconducting polymers Marco Farina, Tengling Ye, Guglielmo Lanzani, Andrea di Donato, Giuseppe Venanzoni, Davide Mencarelli, Tiziana Pietrangelo, Antonio Morini and Panagiotis E. Keivanidis The morphology of organic thin films has a strong influence on their practical device properties. Farina et al. demonstrate a patterning technique that modifies the conductivity of polymer thin films without affecting their morphology, which could be useful for non-volatile storage applications. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3668 Physical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Subnanoradian X-ray phase-contrast imaging using a far-field interferometer of nanometric phase gratings OPEN Han Wen, Andrew A. Gomella, Ajay Patel, Susanna K. Lynch, Nicole Y. Morgan, Stasia A. Anderson, Eric E. Bennett, Xianghui Xiao, Chian Liu and Douglas E. Wolfe Phase-contrast imaging has become popular for medical diagnostic purposes because of the ability to see transparent structures at relatively small radiation energy dosed to samples. Wen et al. further develop this technique using nanometric phase gratings to achieve subnanoradian sensitivity. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3659 Physical Sciences  Biophysics  Optical physics  Huge critical current density and tailored superconducting anisotropy in SmFeAsO0.8F0.15 by low-density columnar-defect incorporation L. Fang, Y. Jia, V. Mishra, C. Chaparro, V. K. Vlasko-Vlasov, A. E. Koshelev, U. Welp, G. W. Crabtree, S. Zhu, N. D. Zhigadlo, S. Katrych, J. Karpinski and W. K. Kwok Iron-based superconductors could be useful in the development of superconducting magnets and related applications. Fang et al. show that a low density of columnar defects in SmFeAsO0.8F0.15 can increase its critical current to record-high values and reduce its superconducting anisotropy. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3655 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nematic twist-bend phase with nanoscale modulation of molecular orientation OPEN V. Borshch, Y.-K. Kim, J. Xiang, M Gao, A Jákli, V. P. Panov, J. K. Vij, C. T. Imrie, M. G. Tamba, G. H. Mehl and O. D. Lavrentovich Theories predict the existence of a nematic liquid crystal phase with a local twist-bend structure, but no experimental proof is available over the past 40 years. Borshch et al. identify this phase for the first time in two different materials containing dimeric molecules. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3635 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Tuning the range and stability of multiple phenotypic states with coupled positive–negative feedback loops Maier S. Avendaño, Chad Leidy and Juan M. Pedraza Interlocking positive and negative feedback loops are common in biological networks. By engineering separate external controls for both loops within the yeast galactose uptake system, Avendaño et al. show that this motif confers dual regulation of range and switching frequency between phenotypes. 05 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3605 Biological Sciences  Bioengineering  Molecular biology  Systems biology  Templated three-dimensional growth of quasicrystalline lead H. R. Sharma, K. Nozawa, J. A. Smerdon, P. J. Nugent, I. McLeod, V. R. Dhanak, M. Shimoda, Y. Ishii, A. P. Tsai and R. McGrath Quasicrystals are of significant interest due to their ordered yet non-periodic atomic structure. Here, the authors report on a three-dimensional single-element quasicrystal formed by atomic deposition of lead onto a quasicrystalline Ag-In-Yb template. 04 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3715 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Structural determinants of HIV-1 Vif susceptibility and DNA binding in APOBEC3F Karen K. Siu, Azmiri Sultana, Farshad C. Azimi and Jeffrey E. Lee APOBEC3F is a DNA cytosine deaminase involved in restriction of HIV-1, but its activity can be suppressed by the viral protein Vif. Here, the authors provide insights into the interaction between these two proteins by determining the structure of the APOBEC3F Vif-binding domain. 04 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3593 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Virology  Engineering particle trajectories in microfluidic flows using particle shape William E. Uspal, H Burak Eral and Patrick S. Doyle Control over microparticle motions in flows allows the high throughput performance of operations on individual flowing objects. Uspal et al. show that particles with asymmetric shape can be focused to the centreline of microfluidic channels when driven by flow without the help of external forces. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3666 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Fluids and plasma physics  Flexible and twistable non-volatile memory cell array with all-organic one diode–one resistor architecture Yongsung Ji, David F. Zeigler, Dong Su Lee, Hyejung Choi, Alex K.-Y. Jen, Heung Cho Ko and Tae-Wook Kim Flexible organic memory devices are promising candidates for data storage applications. Here, Ji et al. develop a flexible all-organic 64-bit memory cell array possessing one diode–one resistor architecture, which can maintain its memory characteristics even under large mechanical distortions. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3707 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Functionalization of the living diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii with thiol moieties Yvonne Lang, Francisco del Monte, Liam Collins, Brian J. Rodriguez, Kerry Thompson, Peter Dockery, David P. Finn and Abhay Pandit Biomineralization processes have inspired the design of synthetic silica structures in vitro. Here, the authors use a living diatom to fabricate organo-silica constructs and are able to incorporate thiol moieties into the diatom frustule without the loss of nano-scale architectural features. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3683 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Nanorings and rods interconnected by self-assembly mimicking an artificial network of neurons Martha V. Escárcega-Bobadilla, Gustavo A. Zelada-Guillén, Sergey V. Pyrlin, Marcin Wegrzyn, Marta M.D. Ramos, Enrique Giménez, Andrew Stewart, Gerhard Maier and Arjan W. Kleij Molecularly interconnected networks are the building blocks for molecular circuits in nanoelectronic devices, but a mass production with tunable properties is difficult. Escárcega–Bobadilla et al. develop an approach to form interconnected self-assembled nano-rings, which resemble a network of neurons. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3648 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Quantum teleportation from a propagating photon to a solid-state spin qubit W.B. Gao, P. Fallahi, E. Togan, A. Delteil, Y.S. Chin, J. Miguel-Sanchez and A. Imamoğlu Future quantum technologies will require interfaces between photons transmitting information and solid-state devices storing and manipulating it. Towards this aim, Gao et al. show the transfer of information from a single photon to a semiconductor quantum dot through quantum teleportation protocols. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3744 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Muscle function and hydrodynamics limit power and speed in swimming frogs Christofer J. Clemente and Christopher Richards Muscle power limits animal speed, but the extent of the effect is unknown. Here, the authors examine the relationship between swimming speed, size and muscle function in the aquatic frog Xenopus laevis, and find that muscle–environmental interactions vary with body size, limiting muscle power and swimming speed. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3737 Biological Sciences  Zoology  Palaeoclimate reconstructions reveal a strong link between El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Tropical Pacific mean state Aleksey Yu Sadekov, Raja Ganeshram, Laetitia Pichevin, Rose Berdin, Erin McClymont, Henry Elderfield and Alexander W. Tudhope The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is one of the largest sources of global climate variability, yet our understanding relative to the Topical Pacific mean state is poor. Here, geochemical analyses of marine plankton reveal a strong link between zonal sea-surface temperatures and ENSO variability. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3692 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Oceanography  High-sensitivity accelerometer composed of ultra-long vertically aligned barium titanate nanowire arrays Aneesh Koka and Henry A. Sodano Aligned piezoelectric nanowires show great promise for sensing applications. Here, the authors demonstrate the synthesis of vertically aligned arrays of ultra-long barium titanate nanowires and their application in a high-sensitivity nano-electromechanical accelerometer. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3682 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Exceptional mobility of an advancing rhyolitic obsidian flow at Cordón Caulle volcano in Chile Hugh Tuffen, Mike R. James, Jonathan M. Castro and C. Ian Schipper Obsidian lava flows accompanied some of Earth's most powerful eruptions, yet an active advancing flow field has never been observed. Tuffen et al. present four-dimensional models of the lava flow following the 2011 eruption of Cordón Caulle, Chile, and provide new insights into silicic lava flow dynamics. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3709 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Probing water micro-solvation in proteins by water catalysed proton-transfer tautomerism Jiun-Yi Shen, Wei-Chih Chao, Chun Liu, Hsiao-An Pan, Hsiao-Ching Yang, Chi-Lin Chen, Yi-Kang Lan, Li-Ju Lin, Jinn-Shyan Wang, Jyh-Feng Lu, Steven Chun-Wei Chou, Kuo-Chun Tang and Pi-Tai Chou Detailed knowledge of the water environment within proteins may lead to an increased understanding of protein folding and function. Here, the authors present a tryptophan analogue with remarkable water catalysed proton-transfer properties that may be exploited for site-specific water sensing. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3611 Chemical Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Chemical biology  Atomically perfect torn graphene edges and their reversible reconstruction Kwanpyo Kim, Sinisa Coh, C Kisielowski, M. F. Crommie, Steven G. Louie, Marvin L. Cohen and A. Zettl The atomic structure of graphene edges is critical in determining their physical and chemical properties, but they are typically far from ideal. Here, the authors fabricate atomically perfect graphene edges via electron beam mechanical rupture or tearing in high vacuum conditions. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3723 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Hemichordate neurulation and the origin of the neural tube Norio Miyamoto and Hiroshi Wada The evolutionary origins of the chordate neural tube and notochord are unclear. Here, the authors show the expression patterns of chordate patterning genes in a hemichordate, which suggest that the hemichordate endoderm and collar cord might be homologous to the chordate notochord and neural tube, respectively. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3713 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Evolution  Evidence for massive bulk Dirac fermions in Pb1-xSnxSe from Nernst and thermopower experiments Tian Liang, Quinn Gibson, Jun Xiong, Max Hirschberger, Sunanda P. Koduvayur, R.J. Cava and N.P. Ong Topological surface states in lead-doped tin selenide are assumed to arise from massive Dirac states in the bulk, but this has not been demonstrated to date. Using thermoelectric transport measurements, Liang et al. now close this gap, and further show a sign anomaly in the Nernst signal due to band inversion. 01 November 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3696 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Rapid regional perturbations to the recent global geomagnetic decay revealed by a new Hawaiian record OPEN L. V. de Groot, A. J. Biggin, M. J. Dekkers, C. G. Langereis and E. Herrero-Bervera The Earth's geomagnetic field has weakened in recent centuries, leading to calls for historic reconstructions; however, records are sparse and unevenly distributed. de Groot et al. provide a new, high-quality record from Hawaiian lavas, revealing crucial insights into past geomagnetic field fluctuations. 31 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3727 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Planetary sciences  Tumour-on-a-chip provides an optical window into nanoparticle tissue transport Alexandre Albanese, Alan K. Lam, Edward A. Sykes, Jonathan V. Rocheleau and Warren C.W. Chan The interaction of nanoparticles with target tissues is important in the design of nanoparticle-based therapies. Here, the authors develop a microfluidic chip to assess the interaction of nanoparticles with tumour tissues and demonstrate its capacity to predict in vivo nanoparticle behaviour. 31 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3718 Chemical Sciences  Cancer  Materials science  Nanotechnology  A correlated nickelate synaptic transistor Jian Shi, Sieu D. Ha, You Zhou, Frank Schoofs and Shriram Ramanathan Neuromorphic memory devices are modelled on biological design and open up new possibilities in computing. Here, the authors report the use of a nickelate as a channel material in a three-terminal device, controllable by varying stoichiometry in situ via ionic liquid gating. 31 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3676 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Stochastic switching of cantilever motion Warner J. Venstra, Hidde J. R. Westra and Herre S. J. van der Zant Microcantilevers made from flexible materials exhibit nonlinear dynamic behaviour such as bistability. Venstra et al. describe how noise induces transitions between the states in a strongly nonlinear vibrating cantilever and exploit the noisy environment to improve the signal transduction. 31 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3624 Physical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Confinement of pyridinium hemicyanine dye within an anionic metal-organic framework for two-photon-pumped lasing OPEN Jiancan Yu, Yuanjing Cui, Hui Xu, Yu Yang, Zhiyu Wang, Banglin Chen and Guodong Qian Two-photon-pumped dye lasers are useful for applications such as biological imaging; however, loss processes reduce their efficiency. Here, metal-organic frameworks, into which the laser dye is incorporated, demonstrate enhanced laser operation because losses such as dye aggregation-caused quenching are reduced. 30 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3719 Physical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Optical physics  Evidence for the alkaline nature of parental carbonatite melts at Oka complex in Canada Wei Chen, Vadim S. Kamenetsky and Antonio Simonetti With the exception of one occurrence, carbonatites worldwide are curiously deficient in alkalis. Here, Chen et al. present new melt inclusion data from plutonic relics in Canada that hint at a wider prevalence of alkali-enriched parental carbonatite in the geological record than previously thought. 30 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3687 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Full randomness from arbitrarily deterministic events Rodrigo Gallego, Lluis Masanes, Gonzalo De La Torre, Chirag Dhara, Leandro Aolita and Antonio Acín Classical physics says it should be impossible to generate a string of truly random numbers using any process that isn't completely random. However, Gallego et al. show that using quantum non-locality it should be possible to amplify the indeterminism of an imperfectly random source to do exactly this. 30 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3654 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Acute emergence and reversion of influenza A virus quasispecies within CD8+ T cell antigenic peptides Sophie A. Valkenburg, Sergio Quiñones-Parra, Stephanie Gras, Naomi Komadina, Jodie McVernon, Zhongfang Wang, Hanim Halim, Pina Iannello, Catherine Cole, Karen Laurie, Anne Kelso, Jamie Rossjohn, Peter C. Doherty, Stephen J. Turner and Katherine Kedzierska Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells provide one level of protection against influenza infection. Here, the authors present evidence, in mice and humans, for the emergence and reversion of influenza A virus escape mutants associated with the immune pressure from cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes. 30 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3663 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Virology    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Post-Doctoral Fellow University of Michigan Postdoctoral Scientist University of Oxford Postdoctoral fellowship Regional Blood Center de Ribeirão Preto Postdoctoral position University Hospital Zurich 1-2 Science Fellows Aalto University PhD studentship University of Essex Postdoctoral Fellow University of Southern California Research Fellow University of Edinburgh Research Fellow University of Leeds Post-doctoral fellow Trinity College Dublin More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Clinical Genomics 2014 28.01.14 Boston, USA More science events from       Latest Corrigendum     Corrigendum: Experimental realization of an optical second with strontium lattice clocks R. Le Targat, L. Lorini, Y. Le Coq, M. Zawada, J. Guéna, M. Abgrall, M. Gurov, P. Rosenbusch, D. G. Rovera, B. Nagórny, R. Gartman, P. G. Westergaard, M. E. Tobar, M. Lours, G. Santarelli, A. Clairon, S. Bize, P. Laurent, P. Lemonde and J. Lodewyck et al. 31 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3782 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics        Latest Erratum     Erratum: Diminishing returns and tradeoffs constrain the laboratory optimization of an enzyme Nobuhiko Tokuriki, Colin J. Jackson, Livnat Afriat-Jurnou, Kirsten T. Wyganowski, Renmei Tang and Dan S. Tawfik 30 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3678 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Bioengineering  Evolution      Advertisement Choose Scientific Reports for fast, efficient, open access publishing  94% of authors said they are likely or very likely to recommend Scientific Reports to their colleagues* 91% of authors would publish in Scientific Reports again*  SUBMIT your paper today!  *Nature Publishing Group author survey, data correct as of September 2013   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available here. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on natureevents.com. For event advertising opportunities across the Nature Publishing Group portfolio please contact natureevents@nature.com  More Nature Events You have been sent this Table of Contents Alert because you have opted in to receive it. 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