Pseudospins and topological edge states for fundamental antisymmetric Lamb modes in snowflakelike phononic crystal slabs.

The topological transport of Lamb wave in phononic crystal slabs provides a great potential in reinforcing nondestructive testing, high sensitivity sensing, and information processing. In this paper, the authors investigate the pseudospins edge states of fundamental antisymmetric Lamb waves in a snowflakelike phononic slab. Significantly, the fourfold Dirac degeneracy for antisymmetric Lamb mode is accidentally formed at the Γ point with the critical angle of the snowflakelike holes, which does not require the folding of the lattices.

Thermally tunable topological edge states for in-plane bulk waves in solid phononic crystals.

The remarkable properties of topological insulators have inspired numerous studies on topological transport for bulk waves, but the demonstrations of topological edge states with tunable frequency are few attempts. Here, we report on the active frequency tunability of topologically protected edge states for in-plane bulk waves by applying a thermal field. We find that the center frequency of topological band gap is shifted down and the band width is enlarged as the temperature increases.

Variability of functional outcome measures used in animal models of stroke and vascular cognitive impairment - a review of contemporary studies.

Despite promising preclinical data, few novel stroke therapies have shown efficacy in man. Efforts to improve standards in conduct and reporting of preclinical research are ongoing. In clinical trials, inconsistency in outcome measures led to regulatory agencies and funders mandating use of a core set of functional outcomes.

High expression levels of the D686N Parkinson's disease mutation in VPS35 induces α-synuclein-dependent toxicity in yeast.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that affects ~2% of the human population aged >65. α‑synuclein serves a role in the pathogenesis of PD as it is a primary component of Lewy bodies, a pathological feature of PD. Endosomal‑lysosomal dysfunction may be a key factor involved in the pathophysiology of PD, and may cause PD‑associated neurodegeneration via α‑synuclein‑dependent and ‑independent mechanisms.

Xyloketal-derived small molecules show protective effect by decreasing mutant Huntingtin protein aggregates in Caenorhabditis elegans model of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease is an autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorder, with chorea as the most prominent manifestation. The disease is caused by abnormal expansion of CAG codon repeats in the IT15 gene, which leads to the expression of a glutamine-rich protein named mutant Huntingtin (Htt). Because of its devastating disease burden and lack of valid treatment, development of more effective therapeutics for Huntington's disease is urgently required.

Absence of mutations in exon 6 of the TARDBP gene in 207 Chinese patients with sporadic amyotrohic lateral sclerosis.

Mutations in the TARDBP gene, which encodes the Tar DNA binding protein, have been shown to causes of both familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) and sporadic ALS (SALS). Recently, several novel TARDBP exon 6 mutants have been reported in patients with ALS in Europe and America but not in Asia. To further examine the spectrum and frequency of TARDBP exon 6 mutations, we investigated their frequency in ethnic Chinese patients with sporadic ALS.