Nature Communications - 8 January 2014

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Weekly Content Alert 08 January 2014  Featured image: Mailoa et al. fabricate gold-doped silicon with an optoelectronic response to infrared light at room-temperature. Latest content: Articles Corrigendum Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement nature.com webcasts  Nature Protocols presents a webcast on: Transformative Technologies in Neuroscience: Optogenetics Thursday January 23 at 9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET  Register for the free webcast followed by our live Q & A session  This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1348284.     Latest Articles View all Articles     Anthropogenic radionuclides in atmospheric air over Switzerland during the last few decades J. A. Corcho Alvarado, P. Steinmann, S. Estier, F. Bochud, M. Haldimann and P. Froidevaux Plutonium and caesium radioisotopes have been injected into the atmosphere during nuclear weapon tests and via other anthropogenic sources. Alvarado et al. show that volcanic eruptions can redistribute those isotopes in the lower atmosphere, using the Eyjafjallajökull eruption as an example. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4030 Earth Sciences  Atmospheric science  Wafer-scale design of lightweight and transparent electronics that wraps around hairs Giovanni A. Salvatore, Niko Münzenrieder, Thomas Kinkeldei, Luisa Petti, Christoph Zysset, Ivo Strebel, Lars Büthe and Gerhard Tröster Realising flexible, lightweight and transparent electronics is a continuous challenge. Here, the authors report a process to create such transistor devices, which can be transferred onto various flexible substrates, and continue to function when wrapped around human hairs. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3982 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Submicron structures provide preferential spots for carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils OPEN Cordula Vogel, Carsten W. Mueller, Carmen Höschen, Franz Buegger, Katja Heister, Stefanie Schulz, Michael Schloter and Ingrid Kögel-Knabner Clay-sized particles bind organic matter and sequester carbon and nitrogen in soils, yet extent and localization of organic matter coverage remain unclear. Using NanoSIMS, Vogel et al. chemically image soils at ultra-high resolution and show that only particles with rough surfaces react with organic matter. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3947 Earth Sciences  Biogeochemistry  Climate science  Two new susceptibility loci 1q24.2 and 11p11.2 confer risk to severe acne Li He, Wen-Juan Wu, Jian-Kang Yang, Hui Cheng, Xian-Bo Zuo, Wei Lai, Tian-Wen Gao, Cui-Lin Ma, Na Luo, Jian-Qing Huang, Feng-Yan Lu, Ye-Qiang Liu, Yi-Jin Huang, Qian-Jin Lu, Huai-Liang Zhang, Lin Wang, Wei-Zhen Wang, Mei-Mei Wang, Sheng-Xiang Xiao, Qing Sun et al. Severe acne is a common skin disease characterized by chronic inflammation and potential scarring. Here, the authors have identified genetic variants at two loci associated with severe acne and provide insight into the genetic architecture and biological pathways underlying the disease. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3870 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Osmotic-pressure-controlled concentration of colloidal particles in thin-shelled capsules Shin-Hyun Kim, Jin-Gyu Park, Tae Min Choi, Vinothan N. Manoharan and David A. Weitz The potential control over the properties of colloidal crystals makes them interesting for applications in optical devices as photonic crystals. Here, Kim et al. demonstrate that the optical properties of rubber capsules in a microfluidic device can be tuned via osmotic pressure. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4068 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Optical physics  Photoactuators and motors based on carbon nanotubes with selective chirality distributions Xiaobo Zhang, Zhibin Yu, Chuan Wang, David Zarrouk, Jung-Woo Ted Seo, Jim C. Cheng, Austin D. Buchan, Kuniharu Takei, Yang Zhao, Joel W. Ager, Junjun Zhang, Mark Hettick, Mark C. Hersam, Albert P. Pisano, Ronald S. Fearing and Ali Javey Materials that can alter their structure in response to light have potential as functional materials such as motors and actuators. Here the authors describe a low-cost system capable of rapid, reversible and wavelength-selective responses to light. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3983 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Orthogonally modulated molecular transport junctions for resettable electronic logic gates OPEN Fanben Meng, Yves-Marie Hervault, Qi Shao, Benhui Hu, Lucie Norel, Stéphane Rigaut and Xiaodong Chen Molecular transport junctions show promising applications in the fabrication of computing nanocircuits. Meng et al. design a family of organometallic compounds and use them in logic gates whereby molecular conductivity can be orthogonal and stepwise controlled by light and electrochemical potential. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4023 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Kinetic modelling indicates that fast-translating codons can coordinate cotranslational protein folding by avoiding misfolded intermediates Edward P. O’Brien, Michele Vendruscolo and Christopher M. Dobson The speed of codon translation at the ribosome has a large bearing on the structure of the final protein, with faster rates thought to promote misfolding. Here the authors present a theoretical analysis suggesting that in some cases fast-translating codons may instead improve cotranslational folding. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3988 Physical Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Multinuclear nanoliter one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy with a single non-resonant microcoil Raluca M. Fratila, M. Victoria Gomez, Stanislav Sýkora and Aldrik H. Velders Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool, but suffers from low resolution and the need for complex equipment. Fratila et al. develop a non-resonant planar transceiver microcoil that enables low-volume heteronuclear detection in a broad frequency range with high resolution. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4025 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Imaging live cell in micro-liquid enclosure by X-ray laser diffraction OPEN Takashi Kimura, Yasumasa Joti, Akemi Shibuya, Changyong Song, Sangsoo Kim, Kensuke Tono, Makina Yabashi, Masatada Tamakoshi, Toshiyuki Moriya, Tairo Oshima, Tetsuya Ishikawa, Yoshitaka Bessho and Yoshinori Nishino Live cell imaging at high resolution is very challenging because cells die upon prolonged radiation exposure. Kimura et al. overcome this problem by using pulsed coherent X-ray diffraction to image live microbacterium in a nanofabricated liquid enclosure at resolution far exceeding optical methods. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4052 Physical Sciences  Biophysics  microRNA-181a has a critical role in ovarian cancer progression through the regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition OPEN Aditya Parikh, Christine Lee, Peronne Joseph, Sergio Marchini, Alessia Baccarini, Valentin Kolev, Chiara Romualdi, Robert Fruscio, Hardik Shah, Feng Wang, Gavriel Mullokandov, David Fishman, Maurizio D’Incalci, Jamal Rahaman, Tamara Kalir, Raymond W. Redline, Brian D. Brown, Goutham Narla and Analisa DiFeo Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage when metastasis has already occurred. In this study, Parikh et al. show that mir-181a is involved in mediating the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer, leading to activation of the TGF-β signalling pathway and metastasis. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3977 Biological Sciences  Cancer  A molecular brake controls the magnitude of long-term potentiation Yubin Wang, Guoqi Zhu, Victor Briz, Yu-Tien Hsu, Xiaoning Bi and Michel Baudry Suprachiasmatic nucleus circadian oscillatory protein (SCOP) is implicated in long-term potentiation. Here, the authors show that μ-calpain-mediated SCOP degradation contributes to long-term potentiation induction, whereas m-calpain-mediated stimulation of SCOP synthesis restricts long-term potentiation. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4051 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Monolithic focused reference beam X-ray holography OPEN J. Geilhufe, B. Pfau, M. Schneider, F. Büttner, C. M. Günther, S. Werner, S. Schaffert, E. Guehrs, S. Frömmel, M. Kläui and S. Eisebitt There is a trade-off between image contrast and spatial resolution in Fourier transform holography, which limits its application in single-shot X-ray imaging. Here Geilhufe et al. use a Fresnel zone plate to decouple these two factors, which improves the efficiency of high-resolution holography imaging. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4008 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  The pseudogene TUSC2P promotes TUSC2 function by binding multiple microRNAs OPEN Zina Jeyapalan Rutnam, William W. Du, Weining Yang, Xiangling Yang and Burton B. Yang Non-coding RNAs have recently emerged as crucial regulators of gene expression. Here Rutnam et al. identify a pseudogene complementary to the 3'-UTR of the TUSC2 tumour suppressor that regulates TUSC2 levels by acting as a decoy for endogenous microRNAs and thereby inhibits tumorigenesis. 07 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3914 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Bulk magnetoelectricity in the hexagonal manganites and ferrites Hena Das, Aleksander L. Wysocki, Yanan Geng, Weida Wu and Craig J. Fennie Numerous unusual effects like topological defects and coupling of different ferroic orders go hand in hand with improper ferroelectricity. Using various theoretical methods, the authors show that improper ferroelectricity also induces a bulk magnetization and a bulk magnetoelectric effect. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3998 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Tuning a Schottky barrier in a photoexcited topological insulator with transient Dirac cone electron-hole asymmetry M Hajlaoui, E Papalazarou, J Mauchain, L Perfetti, A Taleb-Ibrahimi, F Navarin, M Monteverde, P Auban-Senzier, C.R. Pasquier, N Moisan, D Boschetto, M Neupane, M.Z. Hasan, T Durakiewicz, Z Jiang, Y Xu, I Miotkowski, Y.P. Chen, S Jia, H.W. Ji et al. The excited states of three-dimensional topological insulators can be accessed by ultrafast light pulses, which opens new possibilities for current transmission. Here, the authors show that a non-equilibrium gas of relativistic fermions with a long lifetime can emerge in a photoexcited topological insulator. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4003 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Merging of metal nanoparticles driven by selective wettability of silver nanostructures Michael Grouchko, Polina Roitman, Xi Zhu, Inna Popov, Alexander Kamyshny, Haibin Su and Shlomo Magdassi The welding and sintering of nanoparticles is relevant, for example, to establish electrical contacts between particles in printed electronic devices. Here, using electron microscopy and computer simulations, Grouchko et al. discover a room-temperature sintering process driven by a selective wettability of silver nanoparticles independent of their shape. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3994 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Structure-based mechanism for Na+/melibiose symport by MelB OPEN Abdul S. Ethayathulla, Mohammad S. Yousef, Anowarul Amin, Gérard Leblanc, H. Ronald Kaback and Lan Guan The bacterial symporter MelB transports galactosides with Na+, Li+ or H+ ions. Ethayathulla et al. present crystal structures of MelB in two distinct conformations, providing the first structural insights into the transport mechanism of a sodium-coupled permease of the major facilitator superfamily. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4009 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Light-regulated gene repositioning in Arabidopsis Chun-Miao Feng, Yongjian Qiu, Elise K. Van Buskirk, Emily J. Yang and Meng Chen Light induces the expression of many plant genes including chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins—CABs—but whether this occurs via altered genomic organization is unknown. Here, Feng et al. use a rolling-circle amplification model to show that CAB genes undergo nuclear repositioning in response to light. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4027 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Plant sciences  Highly stable organic polymer field-effect transistor sensor for selective detection in the marine environment Oren Knopfmacher, Mallory L. Hammock, Anthony L. Appleton, Gregor Schwartz, Jianguo Mei, Ting Lei, Jian Pei and Zhenan Bao Field-effect transistors are widely used for environmental sensing and monitoring applications. Here, the authors present an organic field-effect transistor with the inherent advantages of low-cost and scalable fabrication, and which is sufficiently stable to be deployed in marine environments. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3954 Physical Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Applied physics  Materials science  Familial Alzheimer’s mutations within APPTM increase Aβ42 production by enhancing accessibility of ε-cleavage site Wen Chen, Eric Gamache, David J. Rosenman, Jian Xie, Maria M. Lopez, Yue-Ming Li and Chunyu Wang In Alzheimer’s disease, familial mutations of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) can increase the production of the toxic cleavage product Aß42. Here, Chen et al. show that mutations within the transmembrane domain of APP favour Aß42 production by increasing the accessibility of the ε-cleavage site. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4037 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Neuroscience  Fast coherent manipulation of three-electron states in a double quantum dot Zhan Shi, C. B. Simmons, Daniel R. Ward, J. R. Prance, Xian Wu, Teck Seng Koh, John King Gamble, D. E. Savage, M. G. Lagally, Mark Friesen, S. N. Coppersmith and M. A. Eriksson Electron spins in quantum dots are a promising platform for quantum information technologies. Using a double quantum dot system with three electrons, Shi et al. show that certain pulse sequences allow for fast rotations to all possible states, improving the performance compared with the two electron case. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4020 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  The structural basis for the negative regulation of thioredoxin by thioredoxin-interacting protein OPEN Jungwon Hwang, Hyun-Woo Suh, Young Ho Jeon, Eunha Hwang, Loi T. Nguyen, Jeonghun Yeom, Seung-Goo Lee, Cheolju Lee, Kyung Jin Kim, Beom Sik Kang, Jin-Ok Jeong, Tae-Kwang Oh, Inpyo Choi, Jie-Oh Lee and Myung Hee Kim The protein thioredoxin regulates the activity of many signalling molecules. Here, Hwang et al. report structural and biochemical evidence that the interaction between thioredoxin and its inhibitor thioredoxin-interacting protein is regulated by a redox-dependent disulphide bond-switching mechanism. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3958 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  An ultra-sensitive resistive pressure sensor based on hollow-sphere microstructure induced elasticity in conducting polymer film Lijia Pan, Alex Chortos, Guihua Yu, Yaqun Wang, Scott Isaacson, Ranulfo Allen, Yi Shi, Reinhold Dauskardt and Zhenan Bao The development of artificial skins needs ultra-sensitive pressure sensors. Pan and coworkers show a method to impart elasticity to a rigid conducting polymer film by forming hollow-sphere microstructure for piezoresistive sensor applications, which can sense less than 1Pa at rapid response. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4002 Physical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Full open-framework batteries for stationary energy storage Mauro Pasta, Colin D. Wessells, Nian Liu, Johanna Nelson, Matthew T. McDowell, Robert A. Huggins, Michael F. Toney and Yi Cui Battery technologies are promising for grid-scale applications, but existing batteries in general operate at low rates, have limited cycle life and are expensive. Pasta et al. develop a grid-scale battery based on Prussian Blue electrodes, which shows potential in overcoming these problems. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4007 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Nanotwin-assisted grain growth in nanocrystalline gold films under cyclic loading Xue-Mei Luo, Xiao-Fei Zhu and Guang-Ping Zhang Nano-grained materials are known to demonstrate different physical properties to coarse grained materials, due to changes in mechanism. Here, the authors find a new mechanism, revealing that grain growth in nano-grained gold is assisted by twin formation during cyclic loading. 03 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4021 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  FOXL2 posttranslational modifications mediated by GSK3β determine the growth of granulosa cell tumours Jae-Hong Kim, Yong-Hak Kim, Hong-Man Kim, Ho-Oak Park, Nam-Chul Ha, Tae Heon Kim, Mira Park, Kangseok Lee and Jeehyeon Bae The majority of ovarian granulosa tumours harbour the C134W mutation in FOXL2 but the mechanism of tumorigenesis is largely unknown. Here, Kim et al. show that mutant FOXL2 is hyperphosphorylated by GSK3ß, which targets the protein for degradation, and find that GSK3ß inhibition represses the growth of ovarian granulosa cells. 03 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3936 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  The MHF complex senses branched DNA by binding a pair of crossover DNA duplexes Qi Zhao, Dorina Saro, Aristidis Sachpatzidis, Thiyam Ramsing Singh, Daniel Schlingman, Xiao-Feng Zheng, Andrew Mack, Miaw-Sheue Tsai, Simon Mochrie, Lynne Regan, Amom Ruhikanta Meetei, Patrick Sung and Yong Xiong The conserved MHF1/MHF2 DNA-processing complex is essential for DNA repair in response to genotoxic stress. Here, Zhao et al. report the crystal structure of a human MHF–DNA complex that provides insight into how MHF recognizes branched DNA—a feature important for cellular resistance to DNA damage. 03 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3987 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Tuning the electron transport at single donors in zinc oxide with a scanning tunnelling microscope Hao Zheng, Alexander Weismann and Richard Berndt A gate electrode is normally required to perform tunable transport measurement via scanning tunnelling microscopy. Here, the authors use the tip of the microscope itself as the gate, inducing band bending in zinc oxide, and is used to study charging transitions, binding energies and vibrational excitations. 03 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3992 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Persistent 400,000-year variability of Antarctic ice volume and the carbon cycle is revealed throughout the Plio-Pleistocene B. de Boer, Lucas J. Lourens and Roderik S.W. van de Wal The precise contributions of solar forcing, the carbon cycle and glaciation to the pacing of global climate remains unresolved. Using four 3D ice-sheet models, de Boer et al. show that Antarctic ice volume and carbon-cycle dynamics varied coherently during the Pleistocene, as has been observed in the Miocene. 02 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3999 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Room-temperature sub-band gap optoelectronic response of hyperdoped silicon Jonathan P. Mailoa, Austin J. Akey, Christie B. Simmons, David Hutchinson, Jay Mathews, Joseph T. Sullivan, Daniel Recht, Mark T. Winkler, James S. Williams, Jeffrey M. Warrender, Peter D. Persans, Michael J. Aziz and Tonio Buonassisi Extending the optical response of silicon below the band gap towards infrared wavelengths is of interest for applications such as imaging. Here Mailoa et al. achieve room-temperature infrared photoresponse from silicon doped with supersaturated concentrations of gold impurities. 02 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4011 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Optical physics  High yield exfoliation of two-dimensional chalcogenides using sodium naphthalenide Jian Zheng, Han Zhang, Shaohua Dong, Yanpeng Liu, Chang Tai Nai, Hyeon Suk Shin, Hu Young Jeong, Bo Liu and Kian Ping Loh Molybdenum disulphide may be prepared by lithiation and exfoliation; however the process requires a long lithiation and produces low yields. Here, the authors show that metal naphthalenides may be used for the intercalation, and that the resulting products are of high quality and may be inkjet-printed. 02 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3995 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Nanotechnology    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Post Doctoral Fellow The Wistar Institute Post-doctoral researcher University of Patras PhD posititon - Immunology University Hospital Erlangen Postdoctoral Scientist University of Oxford PhD Student Danish Cancer Society Research Center Research Associate (Fixed Term) University of Cambridge Postdoctoral Fellow University of Alberta Postdoctoral Scientist John Innes Centre Open PhD position KU Leuven Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Michigan University of Michigan More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Next Generation Sequencing 13.04.14 Cambridge, UK More science events from       Latest Corrigendum     Corrigendum: Insights into the role of DNA methylation in diatoms by genome-wide profiling in Phaeodactylum tricornutum Alaguraj Veluchamy, Xin Lin, Florian Maumus, Maximo Rivarola, Jaysheel Bhavsar, Todd Creasy, Kimberly O’Brien, Naomi A. Sengamalay, Luke J. Tallon, Andrew D. Smith, Edda Rayko, Ikhlak Ahmed, Stéphane Le Crom, Gregory K. Farrant, Jean-Yves Sgro, Sue A. Olson, Sandra Splinter Bondurant, Andrew E. Allen, Pablo D. Rabinowicz, Michael R. Sussman et al. 06 January 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4028 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Microbiology      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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