Northwestern University

About: Northwestern University is a education organization based out in Evanston, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 75430 authors who have published 188857 publications receiving 9463252 citations. The organization is also known as: Northwestern & NU.

Team assembly mechanisms determine collaboration network structure and team performance.

Abstract: Agents in creative enterprises are embedded in networks that inspire, support, and evaluate their work. Here, we investigate how the mechanisms by which creative teams self-assemble determine the structure of these collaboration networks. We propose a model for the self-assembly of creative teams that has its basis in three parameters: team size, the fraction of newcomers in new productions, and the tendency of incumbents to repeat previous collaborations. The model suggests that the emergence of a large connected community of practitioners can be described as a phase transition. We find that team assembly mechanisms determine both the structure of the collaboration network and team performance for teams derived from both artistic and scientific fields.

Recent developments in myofibroblast biology: paradigms for connective tissue remodeling.

Abstract: The discovery of the myofibroblast has opened new perspectives for the comprehension of the biological mechanisms involved in wound healing and fibrotic diseases. In recent years, many advances have been made in understanding important aspects of myofibroblast basic biological characteristics. This review summarizes such advances in several fields, such as the following: i) force production by the myofibroblast and mechanisms of connective tissue remodeling; ii) factors controlling the expression of α-smooth muscle actin, the most used marker of myofibroblastic phenotype and, more important, involved in force generation by the myofibroblast; and iii) factors affecting genesis of the myofibroblast and its differentiation from precursor cells, in particular epigenetic factors, such as DNA methylation, microRNAs, and histone modification. We also review the origin and the specific features of the myofibroblast in diverse fibrotic lesions, such as systemic sclerosis; kidney, liver, and lung fibrosis; and the stromal reaction to certain epithelial tumors. Finally, we summarize the emerging strategies for influencing myofibroblast behavior in vitro and in vivo, with the ultimate goal of an effective therapeutic approach for myofibroblast-dependent diseases.

The Collaborative Cross, a community resource for the genetic analysis of complex traits

Abstract: The goal of the Complex Trait Consortium is to promote the development of resources that can be used to understand, treat and ultimately prevent pervasive human diseases. Existing and proposed mouse resources that are optimized to study the actions of isolated genetic loci on a fixed background are less effective for studying intact polygenic networks and interactions among genes, environments, pathogens and other factors. The Collaborative Cross will provide a common reference panel specifically designed for the integrative analysis of complex systems and will change the way we approach human health and disease.

Chain Length Dependence and Sensing Capabilities of the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Silver Nanoparticles Chemically Modified with Alkanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayers

Abstract: In this paper, we explore the optical properties of Ag nanoparticles chemically modified with alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) by measuring the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectrum using UV−vis extinction spectroscopy. For all the experiments presented here, the Ag nanoparticles were fabricated using the technique of nanosphere lithography (NSL) and had in-plane widths of 100 nm and out-of-plane heights of 50 nm. We first demonstrate that unmodified nanoparticles are extremely susceptible to slight changes in 3-dimensional structure when exposed to various solvents. These structural effects can have dramatic effects on the extinction maximum, λmax, of the LSPR shifting it to the blue by over 100 nm. The significant discovery reported here is that λmax for NSL fabricated Ag nanoparticles is extremely sensitive to the SAM properties. We will demonstrate the following new features: (1) λmax of the LSPR linearly shifts to the red 3 nm for every carbon atom in the alkane chain; (2) ...

Large-scale screening of hypothetical metal-organic frameworks

Abstract: Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials constructed from modular molecular building blocks, typically metal clusters and organic linkers. These can, in principle, be assembled to form an almost unlimited number of MOFs, yet materials reported to date represent only a tiny fraction of the possible combinations. Here, we demonstrate a computational approach to generate all conceivable MOFs from a given chemical library of building blocks (based on the structures of known MOFs) and rapidly screen them to find the best candidates for a specific application. From a library of 102 building blocks we generated 137,953 hypothetical MOFs and for each one calculated the pore-size distribution, surface area and methane-storage capacity. We identified over 300 MOFs with a predicted methane-storage capacity better than that of any known material, and this approach also revealed structure–property relationships. Methylfunctionalized MOFs were frequently top performers, so we selected one such promising MOF and experimentally confirmed its predicted capacity.