bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploration of Predictive Biomarkers for Sudden Unexplained Cardiac Death in Nonelderly People
Authors: Kentaro Sakai , Kimiharu Iwadate , Sari Matsumoto , Shojiro Takasu , Yuko Kanto
Published: November 2017

Sudden unexplained cardiac death (SUCD) can occasionally occur in nonelderly patients with epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, or no medical history. This study was conducted to aim to analyze whether values of the biomarkers for heart failure are associated with the SUCD. Serum concentrations of N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and tumor necrosis factor α were analyzed in 57 nonelderly patients with SUCD who was diagnosed at medicolegal autopsy. The subjects were divided into 3 subgroups according to the medical history: (1) epilepsy, (2) psychiatric disorders, and (3) no specific medical history. The results showed that serum hs-CRP levels were significantly high in patients with epilepsy (P = 0.01) or psychiatric disorders (P = 0.01) as compared with the controls. Also, significantly high concentrations of hs-CRP were observed in psychiatric patients with schizophrenia, compared with the controls (P = 0.003) or the other psychiatric diseases (P = 0.01). The level of N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide and tumor necrosis factor α did not show a significant difference between the SUCD and the controls. These results might suggest the association between high serum hs-CRP levels and the potential impairment of the cardiac function before the fatal event.
Application of Laparoscopic Gastrectomy in Obese Patients (BMI≥30 kg/m2) with Gastric Cancer: A Comparison With Open Gastrectomy Regarding Short-term Outcomes
Authors: Chen Ke , Pan Yu , Yu Wei-hua , Zheng Xue-yong , Zhu Ling-hua , Wang Xian-fa
Published: November 2017

Objective:

Few studies have compared the surgical outcomes of laparoscopic (LG) and open (OG) gastrectomy in obese patients (BMI≥30 kg/m2) with gastric cancer. The current study aimed to investigate the short-term outcomes of LG in this group of patients.

Methods:

A total of 33 LG cases and 23 OG cases (BMI≥30 kg/m2) were identified from our gastric cancer database. Clinicopathologic features, operative details, laboratory examination, and postoperative outcomes were compared between both groups. Regression analysis was used to determine the effects of BMI on intraoperative outcomes.

Results:

The 2 groups had comparable clinicopathologic characteristics. LG was associated with significantly lesser blood loss, whereas both also groups had a similar operative time, and number of harvested lymph nodes. However, regression analysis indicated that increased BMI affected the operative time and blood loss in patients that underwent OG but had little effect on patients who received LG. The elevation of inflammatory factors (WBC, CRP) was lower in LG than in OG, postoperatively. Postoperative hepatic (alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, albumin) and renal (creatinine, blood urea nitrogen) functions in the LG group were not worse than in the OG group. The time to first flatus, initiation of diet, hospitalization, and postoperative complications seemed superior in LG than in OG, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

LG can be safely performed in obese gastric cancer patients. Compared with conventional OG, LG is less invasive and is characterized by less blood loss and milder surgical trauma. LG is also less adversely affected by increased BMI.
Morphological and genetic evidence for a new karst specialist lizard from New Guinea (Cyrtodactylus: Gekkonidae)
Authors: Nielsen Stuart V. , Oliver Paul M.
Published: November 2017

Exposed limestone karst landscapes, especially in the tropics, are often home to distinctive and specialized biotas. Among vertebrates, a particularly large number of karst-associated lizard taxa have been described, but for the vast majority, evidence of specific adaptions to karst is lacking. A number of studies, however, have provided evidence of consistent morphological trends in lizards that use complex, three-dimensional, saxicoline habitats such as those that typify karst areas. Here we combine morphological and genetic data to test whether a newly discovered gecko from an extremely rugged karst area in New Guinea shows morphological trends matching those observed in other lizards associated with complex rock habitats such as karst and caves. Consistent with predictions, the new species' head is flatter and narrower than similar-sized relatives, and it has proportionally larger eyes and longer limbs. These trends indicate this taxon represents the second documented instance of karst specialization in a New Guinean vertebrate, and suggest morphological traits to test for evidence of specialized ecological associations in the many karst-associatedCyrtodactylustaxa from Southeast Asia.
Effective harvesting of microalgae by coagulation–flotation
Authors: Xia Ling , Li Yinta , Huang Rong , Song Shaoxian
Published: November 2017

This study developed a coagulation–flotation process for microalgae
Chlorella
sp. XJ-445 harvesting, which was composed of algal surface modification by combined use of Al
3+
and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and followed dispersed bubble flotation. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the medium was firstly characterized and mainly consisted of hydrophilic low molecular weight molecules. The dosage of collector (CTAB) and coagulant (Al
3+
) were optimized, and with the pretreatment of 40 mg Al
3+
and 60 mg CTAB per 1 g dry biomass without pH adjustment, a maximum flotation recovery efficiency of 98.73% can be achieved with the presence of DOM. Algal cells characterization results showed that the combined use of CTAB and Al
3+
largely enhanced the algal floc size, and exhibited higher degree of hydrophobicity, which favoured the flotation, and can be interpreted by DLVO (Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey and Overbeek) modelling. A benefit in fatty acid conversion was further found with the optimized coagulation–flotation process. It was suggested that this coagulation based flotation is a promising strategy for high-efficiency harvesting of microalgae.
Emotion appraisal dimensions inferred from vocal expressions are consistent across cultures: a comparison between Australia and India
Authors: Nordström Henrik , Laukka Petri , Thingujam Nutankumar S. , Schubert Emery , Elfenbein Hillary Anger
Published: November 2017

This study explored the perception of emotion appraisal dimensions on the basis of speech prosody in a cross-cultural setting. Professional actors from Australia and India vocally portrayed different emotions (anger, fear, happiness, pride, relief, sadness, serenity and shame) by enacting emotion-eliciting situations. In a balanced design, participants from Australia and India then inferred aspects of the emotion-eliciting situation from the vocal expressions, described in terms of appraisal dimensions (novelty, intrinsic pleasantness, goal conduciveness, urgency, power and norm compatibility). Bayesian analyses showed that the perceived appraisal profiles for the vocally expressed emotions were generally consistent with predictions based on appraisal theories. Few group differences emerged, which suggests that the perceived appraisal profiles are largely universal. However, some differences between Australian and Indian participants were also evident, mainly for ratings of norm compatibility. The appraisal ratings were further correlated with a variety of acoustic measures in exploratory analyses, and inspection of the acoustic profiles suggested similarity across groups. In summary, results showed that listeners may infer several aspects of emotion-eliciting situations from the non-verbal aspects of a speaker's voice. These appraisal inferences also seem to be relatively independent of the cultural background of the listener and the speaker.
Curcumin improves glycolipid metabolism through regulating peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ signalling pathway in high-fat diet-induced obese mice and 3T3-L1 adipocytes
Authors: Pan Yanyun , Zhao Dandan , Yu Na , An Tian , Miao Jianan , Mo Fangfang , Gu Yujie , Zhang Dongwei , Gao Sihua , Jiang Guangjian
Published: November 2017

Curcumin is an active component derived from
Curcuma longa
L. which is a traditional Chinese medicine that is widely used for treating metabolic diseases through regulating different molecular pathways. Here, in this study, we aimed to comprehensively investigate the effects of curcumin on glycolipid metabolism
in vivo
and
in vitro
and then determine the underlying mechanism. Male C57BL/6 J obese mice and 3T3-L1 adipocytes were used for
in vivo
and
in vitro
study, respectively. Our results demonstrated that treatment with curcumin for eight weeks decreased body weight, fat mass and serum lipid profiles. Meanwhile, it lowered fasting blood glucose and increased the insulin sensitivity in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. In addition, curcumin stimulated lipolysis and improved glycolipid metabolism through upregulating the expressions of adipose triglyceride lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ/α (PPARγ/α) and CCAAT/enhancer binding proteinα (C/EBPα) in adipose tissue of the mice. In differentiated 3T3-L1 cells, curcumin reduced glycerol release and increased glucose uptake via upregulating PPARγ and C/EBPα. We concluded that curcumin has the potential to improve glycolipid metabolism disorders caused by obesity through regulating PPARγ signalling pathway.
The Minor fall, the Major lift: inferring emotional valence of musical chords through lyrics
Authors: Kolchinsky Artemy , Dhande Nakul , Park Kengjeun , Ahn Yong-Yeol
Published: November 2017

We investigate the association between musical chords and lyrics by analysing a large dataset of user-contributed guitar tablatures. Motivated by the idea that the emotional content of chords is reflected in the words used in corresponding lyrics, we analyse associations between lyrics and chord categories. We also examine the usage patterns of chords and lyrics in different musical genres, historical eras and geographical regions. Our overall results confirm a previously known association between Major chords and positive valence. We also report a wide variation in this association across regions, genres and eras. Our results suggest possible existence of different emotional associations for other types of chords.
Diesel production from lignocellulosic feed: the bioCRACK process
Authors: Treusch K. , Ritzberger J. , Schwaiger N. , Pucher P. , Siebenhofer M.
Published: November 2017

The bioCRACK process is a promising technology for the production of second generation biofuels. During this process, biomass is pyrolized in vacuum gas oil and converted into gaseous, liquid and solid products. In cooperation with the Graz University of Technology, the liquid phase pyrolysis process was investigated by BDI – BioEnergy International AG at an industrial pilot plant, fully integrated in the OMV refinery in Vienna/Schwechat. The influence of various biogenous feedstocks and the influence of the temperature on the product distribution in the temperature range of 350°C to 390°C was studied. It was shown that the temperature has a major impact on the product formation. With rising temperature, the fraction of liquid products, namely liquid CHO-products, reaction water and hydrocarbons, increases and the fraction of biochar decreases. At 390°C, 39.8 wt% of biogenous carbon was transferred into a crude hydrocarbon fractions. The type of lignocellulosic feedstock has a minor impact on the process. The biomass liquefaction concept of the bioCRACK process was in pilot scale compatible with oil refinery processes.
Graphene oxide electrochemistry: the electrochemistry of graphene oxide modified electrodes reveals coverage dependent beneficial electrocatalysis
Authors: Brownson Dale A. C. , Smith Graham C. , Banks Craig E.
Published: November 2017

The modification of electrode surfaces is widely implemented in order to try and improve electron transfer kinetics and surface interactions, most recently using graphene related materials. Currently, the use of ‘as is’ graphene oxide (GO) has been largely overlooked, with the vast majority of researchers choosing to reduce GO to graphene or use it as part of a composite electrode. In this paper, ‘as is’ GO is explored and electrochemically characterized using a range of electrochemical redox probes, namely potassium ferrocyanide(II), N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), dopamine hydrochloride and epinephrine. Furthermore, the electroanalytical efficacy of GO is explored towards the sensing of dopamine hydrochloride and epinephrine via cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical response of GO is benchmarked against pristine graphene and edge plane-/basal plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG and BPPG respectively) alternatives, where the GO shows an enhanced electrochemical/electroanalytical response. When using GO as an electrode material, the electrochemical response of the analytes studied herein deviate from that expected and exhibit altered electrochemical responses. The oxygenated species encompassing GO strongly influence and dominate the observed voltammetry, which is crucially coverage dependent. GO electrocatalysis is observed, which is attributed to the presence of beneficial oxygenated species dictating the response in specific cases, demonstrating potential for advantageous electroanalysis to be realized. Note however, that crucial coverage based regions are observed at GO modified electrodes, owing to the synergy of edge plane sites and oxygenated species. We report the true beneficial electrochemistry of GO, which has enormous potential to be beneficially used in various electrochemical applications ‘as is’ rather than be simply used as a precursor to making graphene and is truly a fascinating member of the graphene family.
Return of a giant: DNA from archival museum samples helps to identify a unique cutthroat trout lineage formerly thought to be extinct
Authors: Peacock Mary M. , Hekkala Evon R. , Kirchoff Veronica S. , Heki Lisa G.
Published: November 2017

Currently one small, native population of the culturally and ecologically important Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi, LCT, Federally listed) remains in the Truckee River watershed of northwestern Nevada and northeastern California. The majority of populations in this watershed were extirpated in the 1940s due to invasive species, overharvest, anthropogenic water consumption and changing precipitation regimes. In 1977, a population of cutthroat trout discovered in the Pilot Peak Mountains in the Bonneville basin of Utah, was putatively identified as the extirpated LCT lacustrine lineage native to Pyramid Lake in the Truckee River basin based on morphological and meristic characters. Our phylogenetic and Bayesian genotype clustering analyses of museum specimens collected from the large lakes (1872–1913) and contemporary samples collected from populations throughout the extant range provide evidence in support of a genetically distinct Truckee River basin origin for this population. Analysis of museum samples alone identified three distinct genotype clusters and historical connectivity among water bodies within the Truckee River basin. Baseline data from museum collections indicate that the extant Pilot Peak strain represents a remnant of the extirpated lacustrine lineage. Given the limitations on high-quality data when working with a sparse number of preserved museum samples, we acknowledge that, in the end, this may be a more complicated story. However, the paucity of remnant populations in the Truckee River watershed, in combination with data on the distribution of morphological, meristic and genetic data for Lahontan cutthroat trout, suggests that recovery strategies, particularly in the large lacustrine habitats should consider this lineage as an important part of the genetic legacy of this species.
Comment on ‘Age of enlightenment: long-term effects of outdoor aesthetic lights on bats in churches’
Authors: Onkelinx Thierry
Published: November 2017

This comment reanalyses the data presented in Rydell (Rydell 2017R. Soc. open. sci.4, 161077. (doi:10.1098/rsos.161077)) which were analysed using only very basic statistics like Fisher’s exact test and McNemar’s test. We demonstrate how the use of more advanced statistical methods can make better use of the available data, quantify the observed effects and strengthen the conclusions in Rydell (Rydell 2017R. Soc. open. sci.4, 161077. (doi:10.1098/rsos.161077)). We have no intention to discredit the original authors. Their analyses were basic but correct.
Surface modification of poly(vinylidene fluoride) hollow fibre membranes for biogas purification in a gas–liquid membrane contactor system
Authors: Jin Pengrui , Huang Chuan , Li Jiaxiang , Shen Yadong , Wang Liao
Published: November 2017

The wetting of hollow fibre membranes decreases the performance of the liquid–gas membrane contactor for CO
2
capture in biogas upgrading. To solve this problem, in this work, a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fibre membrane for a liquid–gas membrane contactor was coated with a superhydrophobic layer composed of a combination of hydrophobic SiO
2
nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by the method of spray deposition. A rough layer of SiO
2
deposited on the PVDF membrane resulted in an enhanced surface hydrophobicity. The surface structure of the pristine PVDF significantly affected the homogeneity of the generated SiO
2
layer. A uniform surface coating on the PVDF upper layer resulted from the presence of micrometre and nanometre-sized roughness on the surface of the PVDF membrane, which was achieved with a SiO
2
concentration of 4.44 mg ml
−1
(0.2 g/45 ml) in the coating solution. As a result, the water contact angle of the modified surface was recorded as 155 ± 3°, which is higher than that of the pristine surface. The high contact angle is advantageous for reducing the wetting of the membrane. Additional mass transfer resistance was introduced by the superhydrophobic layer. In addition, continuous CO
2
absorption tests were carried out in original and modified PVDF hollow fibre membrane contactors, using monoethanolamine (MEA) solution as the absorbent. A long-term stability test revealed that the modified PVDF hollow fibre membrane contactor was able to outperform the original membrane contactor and demonstrated outstanding long-term stability, suggesting that spray deposition is a promising approach to obtain superhydrophobic PVDF membranes for liquid–gas membrane absorption.
Risk-aware multi-armed bandit problem with application to portfolio selection
Authors: Huo Xiaoguang , Fu Feng
Published: November 2017

Sequential portfolio selection has attracted increasing interest in the machine learning and quantitative finance communities in recent years. As a mathematical framework for reinforcement learning policies, the stochastic multi-armed bandit problem addresses the primary difficulty in sequential decision-making under uncertainty, namely the
exploration
versus
exploitation
dilemma, and therefore provides a natural connection to portfolio selection. In this paper, we incorporate risk awareness into the classic multi-armed bandit setting and introduce an algorithm to construct portfolio. Through filtering assets based on the topological structure of the financial market and combining the optimal multi-armed bandit policy with the minimization of a coherent risk measure, we achieve a balance between risk and return.
Range-wide parallel climate-associated genomic clines in Atlantic salmon
Authors: Jeffery Nicholas W. , Stanley Ryan R. E. , Wringe Brendan F. , Guijarro-Sabaniel Javier , Bourret Vincent , Bernatchez Louis , Bentzen Paul , Beiko Robert G. , Gilbey John , Clément Marie , Bradbury Ian R.
Published: November 2017

Clinal variation across replicated environmental gradients can reveal evidence of local adaptation, providing insight into the demographic and evolutionary processes that shape intraspecific diversity. Using 1773 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms we evaluated latitudinal variation in allele frequency for 134 populations of North American and European Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We detected 84 (4.74%) and 195 (11%) loci showing clinal patterns in North America and Europe, respectively, with 12 clinal loci in common between continents. Clinal single nucleotide polymorphisms were evenly distributed across the salmon genome and logistic regression revealed significant associations with latitude and seasonal temperatures, particularly average spring temperature in both continents. Loci displaying parallel clines were associated with several metabolic and immune functions, suggesting a potential basis for climate-associated adaptive differentiation. These climate-based clines collectively suggest evidence of large-scale environmental associated differences on either side of the North Atlantic. Our results support patterns of parallel evolution on both sides of the North Atlantic, with evidence of both similar and divergent underlying genetic architecture. The identification of climate-associated genomic clines illuminates the role of selection and demographic processes on intraspecific diversity in this species and provides a context in which to evaluate the impacts of climate change.
Influenza A virus: sampling of the unique shorebird habitat at Delaware Bay, USA
Authors: Poulson Rebecca L. , Luttrell Page M. , Slusher Morgan J. , Wilcox Benjamin R. , Niles Lawrence J. , Dey Amanda D. , Berghaus Roy D. , Krauss Scott , Webster Robert G. , Stallknecht David E.
Published: November 2017

Delaware (DE) Bay, in the northeastern USA, has long been recognized as a hotspot for avian influenza A virus (IAV); every spring, this coastal region serves as a brief stopover site for thousands of long-distance migrating shorebirds, en route to breeding grounds in the Arctic. During these stopovers, IAV has been consistently recovered from ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres) that are likely to become infected as they feed by probing sand and cobble in search of food. In May 2010–2012, we successfully isolated 19 IAV from environmental samples (sand,n = 18; horseshoe crab eggs,n = 1) obtained from DE Bay sites. Two of these viruses were subjected to laboratory conditions similar to those in the DE Bay spring-time environment, and remained infectious for 7 days. Here, through the recovery of IAV from environmental samples, temperature monitoring at and below the sand surface and simulated laboratory trials, we provide evidence that the beach environment may enable localized transmission and short-term maintenance of IAV in this unique ecosystem.
Advection and Taylor–Aris dispersion in rivulet flow
Authors: Al Mukahal F. H. H. , Duffy B. R. , Wilson S. K.
Published: November 2017

Motivated by the need for a better understanding of the transport of solutes in microfluidic flows with free surfaces, the advection and dispersion of a passive solute in steady unidirectional flow of a thin uniform rivulet on an inclined planar substrate driven by gravity and/or a uniform longitudinal surface shear stress are analysed. Firstly, we describe the short-time advection of both an initially semi-infinite and an initially finite slug of solute of uniform concentration. Secondly, we describe the long-time Taylor–Aris dispersion of an initially finite slug of solute. In particular, we obtain the general expression for the effective diffusivity for Taylor–Aris dispersion in such a rivulet, and discuss in detail its different interpretations in the special case of a rivulet on a vertical substrate.
Female vervet monkeys fine-tune decisions on tolerance versus conflict in a communication network
Authors: Borgeaud Christèle , Schnider Alessandra , Krützen Michael , Bshary Redouan
Published: November 2017

Group living promotes opportunities for both cooperation and competition. Selection on the ability to cope with such opposing social opportunities has been proposed as a driving force in the evolution of large brains in primates and other social species. However, we still know little about the degree of complexity involved in such social strategies. Here, we report advanced social strategies in wild vervet monkeys. Building on recent experimental evidence that subordinate females trade grooming for tolerance from higher-ranking individuals during foraging activities, we show that the audience composition strongly affects this trade. First, tolerance was lower if the audience contained individuals that outranked the subordinate partner, independently of audience size and kinship relationships. Second, we found a significant interaction between previous grooming and relative rank of bystanders: dominant subjects valued recent grooming by subordinates while intermediate ranked subjects valued the option to aggress subordinate partners in the presence of a dominant audience. Aggressors were also more likely to emit coalition recruitment calls if the audience contained individuals that outranked the subordinate partner. In conclusion, vervet monkeys include both recent grooming and knowledge about third-party relationships to make complex decisions when trading grooming for tolerance, leading to a finely balanced trade-off between reciprocation and opportunities to reinforce rank relationships.
Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives
Authors: Lymbery Samuel J. , Simmons Leigh W.
Published: November 2017

Sexual conflict occurs when reproductive partners have different fitness optima, and can lead to the evolution of traits in one sex that inflict fitness costs on the opposite sex. Recently, it has been proposed that antagonism by males towards females should be reduced when they compete with relatives, because reducing the future productivity of a female would result in an indirect fitness cost for a harmful male. We tested this prediction in the seed beetle
Callosobruchus maculatus
, the males of which harm females with genital spines and pre-copulatory harassment. We compared lifespan, lifetime egg production and lifetime offspring production among females housed with groups of males that varied in their familiarity and relatedness. Females produced significantly more eggs and offspring when grouped with males who were both related and familiar to each other. There was no effect of male relatedness or familiarity on female lifespan. Our results suggest that males plastically adjust their harmfulness towards females in response to changes in inclusive fitness payoffs, and that in this species both genetic relatedness and social familiarity mediate this effect.
Regulation of hepatitis C virus replication via threonine phosphorylation of the NS5A protein
Authors: Goonawardane Niluka , Ross-Thriepland Douglas , Harris Mark
Published: November 2017

The hepatitis C virus non-structural 5A (NS5A) protein is highly phosphorylated and plays roles in both virus genome replication and assembly of infectious virus particles. NS5A comprises three domains separated by low complexity sequences (LCS). Mass spectrometry analysis of NS5A revealed the existence of a singly phosphorylated tryptic peptide corresponding to the end of LCS I and the beginning of domain II that contained a number of potential phosphorylatable residues (serines and threonines). Here we use a mutagenic approach to investigate the potential role of three of these threonine residues. Phosphomimetic mutations of two of these (T242E and T244E) resulted in significant reductions in virus genome replication and the production of infectious virus, suggesting that the phosphorylation of these residues negatively regulated virus RNA synthesis. Mutation of T245 had no effect, however when T245E was combined with the other two phosphomimetic mutations (TripleE) the inhibitory effect on replication was less pronounced. Effects of the mutations on the ratio of basally/hyperphosphorylated NS5A, together with the apparent molecular weight of the basally phosphorylated species were also observed. Lastly, two of the mutations (T245A and TripleE) resulted in a perinuclear restricted localization of NS5A. These data add further complexity to NS5A phosphorylation and suggest that this analysis be extended outwith the serine-rich cluster within LCS I.
3D label-free imaging and analysis of Pinus pollen grains using optical diffraction tomography
Authors: Kim Geon , Lee SangYun , Shin Seungwoo , Park YongKeun
Published: November 2017

The structure of pollen grains is related to the reproductive function of the plants. Here, three-dimensional (3D) refractive index maps were obtained for individual conifer pollen grains using optical diffraction tomography (ODT).

The 3D morphological features of pollen grains from pine trees were investigated using measured refractive index maps, in which distinct substructures were clearly distinguished and analyzed.

Morphological and physiochemical parameters of the pollen grains were quantified from the obtained refractive index (RI) maps and used to quantitatively study the interspecific differences of pollen grains from different strains.

Our results demonstrate that ODT can assess the structure of pollen grains. This label-free and rapid 3D imaging approach may provide a new platform for understanding the physiology of pollen grains.
Advances in computer-assisted syndrome recognition and differentiation in a set of metabolic disorders
Authors: Pantel Jean Tori , Zhao Max , Mensah Martin Atta , Hajjir Nurulhuda , Hsieh Tzung-Chien , Hanani Yair , Fleischer Nicole , Kamphans Tom , Mundlos Stefan , Gurovich Yaron , Krawitz Peter M.
Published: November 2017

Significant improvements in automated image analysis have been achieved over the recent years and tools are now increasingly being used in computer-assisted syndromology. However, the recognizability of the facial gestalt might depend on the syndrome and may also be confounded by severity of phenotype, size of available training sets, ethnicity, age, and sex. Therefore, benchmarking and comparing the performance of deep-learned classification processes is inherently difficult. For a systematic analysis of these influencing factors we chose the lysosomal storage diseases Mucolipidosis as well as Mucopolysaccharidosis type I and II, that are known for their wide and overlapping phenotypic spectra. For a dysmorphic comparison we used Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome as a metabolic disease and Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome as another disorder that is also characterized by coarse facies. A classifier that was trained on these five cohorts, comprising 288 patients in total, achieved a mean accuracy of 62%. The performance of automated image analysis is not only significantly higher than randomly expected but also better than in previous approaches. In part this might be explained by our large training sets. We therefore set up a simulation pipeline that is suited to analyze the effect of different potential confounders, such as cohort size, age, sex, or ethnic background on the recognizability of phenotypes. We found that the true positive rate increases for all analyzed disorders for growing cohorts (n=[10...40]) while ethnicity and sex have no significant influence. The dynamics of the accuracies strongly suggest that the maximum recognizability is a phenotype-specific value, that has not been reached yet for any of the studied disorders. This should also be a motivation to further intensify data sharing efforts, as computer-assisted syndrome classification can still be improved by enlarging the available training sets.
Modeling Enhancer-Promoter Interactions with Attention-Based Neural Networks
Authors: Mao Weiguang , Kostka Dennis , Chikina Maria
Published: November 2017

Background

Gene regulatory sequences play critical roles in ensuring tightly controlled RNA expression patterns that are essential in a large variety of biological processes. Specifically, enhancer sequences drive expression of their target genes, and the availability of genome-wide maps of enhancer-promoter interactions has opened up the possibility to use machine learning approaches to extract and interpret features that define these interactions in different biological contexts.

Methods

Inspired by machine translation models we develop an attention-based neural network model, EPIANN, to predict enhancer-promoter interactions based on DNA sequences. Codes and data are available at https://github.com/wgmao/EPIANN.

Results

Our approach accurately predicts enhancer-promoter interactions across six cell lines. In addition, our method generates pairwise attention scores at the sequence level, which specify how short regions in the enhancer and promoter pair-up to drive the interaction prediction. This allows us to identify over-represented transcription factors (TF) binding sites and TF-pair interactions in the context of enhancer function.
On the stacking disorder of DL-norleucine
Authors: Czech Christian , Glinnemann Jürgen , Johansson Kristoffer E. , Bolte Michael , Schmidt Martin U.
Published: November 2017

DL-Norleucine (2-aminohexanoic acid, C6H13NO2) forms a double-layer structure in all known phases (α, β, γ). The crystal structure of the β-phase was redetermined at 173 K. Diffraction patterns of the α- and β-phases frequently show diffuse streaks parallel to c*, which indicates a stacking disorder of the layers. A symmetry analysis was carried out to derive possible stacking sequences. Lattice-energy minimizations by force fields and by dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) were performed on a set of ordered model structures with Z = 4, 8 and 16 with different stacking sequences. The calculated energies depend not only on the arrangement of neighbouring double layers, but also of next-neighbouring double layers. Stacking probabilities were calculated from the DFT-D energies. According to the calculated stacking probabilities large models containing 100 double layers were constructed. Their simulated diffraction patterns show sharp reflections for h + k = 2n and diffuse streaks parallel to c* through all reflections with h + k = 2n + 1. Experimental single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that at 173 K norleucine exists in the β-phase with stacking disorder. After reheating to room temperature, the investigated crystal showed a diffraction pattern with strong diffuse scattering parallel to c* through all reflections with h + k = 2n + 1, which is in good agreement with the simulated disordered structure.
New superprotonic crystals with dynamically disordered hydrogen bonds: cation replacements as the alternative to temperature increase
Authors: Selezneva Elena V. , Makarova Irina P. , Malyshkina Inna A. , Gavrilova Nadezhda D. , Grebenev Vadim V. , Novik Vitalii K. , Komornikov Vladimir A.
Published: November 2017

Investigations of new single crystals grown in the K3H(SO4)2–(NH4)3H(SO4)2–H2O system from solutions with different K:NH4 concentration ratios have been carried out. Based on the X-ray diffraction data, the atomic structure of the crystals was determined at room temperature taking H atoms into account. It has been determined that [K0.43(NH4)0.57]3H(SO4)2 crystals are trigonal at ambient conditions such as the superprotonic phase of (NH4)3H(SO4)2 at high temperature. A distribution of the K and N atoms in the crystal was modelled on the basis of the refined occupancies of K/N positions. Studies of dielectric properties over the temperature range 223–353 K revealed high values of conductivity of the crystals comparable with the conductivity of known superprotonic compounds at high temperatures, and an anomaly corresponding to a transition to the phase with low conductivity upon cooling.
Effect of processing parameters on microstructural properties of lead magnesium niobates
Authors: Bhakar Ashok , Pandey Adityanarayan H. , Singh M. N. , Upadhyay Anuj , Sinha A. K. , Gupta S. M. , Ganguli Tapas , Rai S. K.
Published: November 2017

The synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and subsequent detailed Rietveld analysis of lead magnesium niobate (PMN) samples were performed to study the microstructural properties of polar nanoregions (PNRs) of the R3m phase. PMN samples were synthesized under different sample processing conditions. The line profile broadening analysis of room-temperature synchrotron powder XRD patterns was performed using the multi-phase Rietveld refinement method for isotropic microstructural evaluation of different PMN samples. The two phases of perovskite PMN considered in the Rietveld refinement approach for satisfactorily fitting the XRD patterns are the paraelectric cubic phase (Pm\overline 3m) and the local rhombohedral phase (R3m) which corresponds to the PNRs. It is observed that the contributions of the Gaussian component of size broadening of the polar rhombohedral phase (R3m) and the Lorentzian component of strain broadening of the paraelectric cubic phase (Pm\overline 3m) are apposite for satisfactory Rietveld refinement of the synchrotron XRD data for all PMN samples. The volume-average crystallite size of PNRs (R3m phase) is almost invariant (approximately 12 nm) with increasing processing temperature while their weight percentage increases. The values of the apparent microstrain in the paraelectric cubic phase (Pm\overline 3m) are larger for hot-pressed samples.
Construction of weavings in the plane
Authors: Miro Eden Delight , Zambrano Aliw-iw , Garciano Agnes
Published: November 2017

This work develops, in graph-theoretic terms, a methodology for systematically constructing weavings of overlapping nets derived from 2-colorings of the plane. From a 2-coloring, two disjoint simple, connected graphs called nets are constructed. The union of these nets forms an overlapping net, and a weaving map is defined on the intersection points of the overlapping net to form a weaving. Furthermore, a procedure is given for the construction of mixed overlapping nets and for deriving weavings from them.
Corporate culture and ethics: from words to actions
Authors: Enciso Sarah , Milikin Carlson , O’Rourke James Scofield
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Business organizations should strive to create ethical cultures to win consumer loyalty and thus safeguard long-term performance success. Management bears ultimate responsibility for promoting ethical behavior. By rewarding ethical behaviors and punishing transgressions, management will reinforce morally upright behavior and create a positive company culture. Successful promotion of corporate ethics, in turn, will boost employee morale, increase performance beyond bare minimums and retain employees in the long run. With a well-structured ethics code and strong reward system, management has all the tools necessary to create an ethical company culture.

Design/methodology/approach

This viewpoint paper, while advocating for a systematic approach to ethical behavior in a business organization, carefully reviews both well-established literature in this area as well as current best practices. The aim is to provide senior managers with a sense of how the best corporate ethics programs are organized and structured.

Findings

A successful corporate ethics program must involve all employees from executives to hourly wage workers, with each taking personal responsibility for his or her own performance and results. While no guarantees of success are offered, one reasonably certain path to failure is for an organization to post an ethics code and then ignore it. Ethics must be discussed, modified from time to time and actively integrated into the life of every organization that hopes to avoid ethical missteps.

Originality/value

This paper offers a fresh viewpoint on both the value and the organization of a potentially successful corporate ethics program. While time-honored ideas serve as the foundation for our discussion, a thorough review of current issues and best practices form the directional heading for the paper’s conclusions.
Return on investment in healthcare leadership development programs
Authors: Jeyaraman Maya M. , Qadar Sheikh Muhammad Zeeshan , Wierzbowski Aleksandra , Farshidfar Farnaz , Lys Justin , Dickson Graham , Grimes Kelly , Phillips Leah A. , Mitchell Jonathan I. , Van Aerde John , Johnson Dave , Krupka Frank , Zarychanski Ryan , Abou-Setta Ahmed M.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Strong leadership has been shown to foster change, including loyalty, improved performance and decreased error rates, but there is a dearth of evidence on effectiveness of leadership development programs. To ensure a return on the huge investments made, evidence-based approaches are needed to assess the impact of leadership on health-care establishments. As a part of a pan-Canadian initiative to design an effective evaluative instrument, the purpose of this paper was to identify and summarize evidence on health-care outcomes/return on investment (ROI) indicators and metrics associated with leadership quality, leadership development programs and existing evaluative instruments.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a scoping review using the Arksey and O’Malley framework, searching eight databases from 2006 through June 2016.

Findings

Of 11,868 citations screened, the authors included 223 studies reporting on health-care outcomes/ROI indicators and metrics associated with leadership quality (73 studies), leadership development programs (138 studies) and existing evaluative instruments (12 studies). The extracted ROI indicators and metrics have been summarized in detail.

Originality/value

This review provides a snapshot in time of the current evidence on ROI indicators and metrics associated with leadership. Summarized ROI indicators and metrics can be used to design an effective evaluative instrument to assess the impact of leadership on health-care organizations.
Two cases of infundibular squamous cell carcinoma on the nose with aggressive clinical behavior: Case report and review of the published work
Authors: Kiyohara Takahiro , Nakamaru Sei , Nagano Naoko , Terai Sayaka , Makimura Kaoru , Suzuki Kenji , Iwai Hiroshi , Tanimura Hirotsugu
Published: November 2017

Case 1 was a 75‐year‐old Japanese man who presented with a poorly demarcated, dark‐red nodule with a destructive defect in the center, measuring 3 cm × 2 cm on the right wing of his nose. The histological diagnosis was a common form of infundibular squamous cell carcinoma. Atypical neoplastic cells radiated from the wall of a follicular infundibulum. The majority of neoplastic cells were positive for AE1/AE3 and 34βE12. Cytokeratin 17 expression was seen in the suprabasal cells of the deeply situated neoplastic components. Case 2 was a 73‐year‐old Japanese man who presented with a poorly demarcated, dark‐red nodule with an irregularly shaped ulcer in the center, measuring 3 cm × 2 cm on the left wing of his nose. The histological diagnosis was a crater form of infundibular squamous cell carcinoma. Atypical neoplastic cells radiated from the broad base of the central keratin‐filled crater, continuous with two infundibular canals. In both cases, some of the more deeply situated aggregations were composed of neoplastic keratinocytes with eosinophilic glassy or pale cytoplasm. In addition, no atypical keratinocytes could be seen in the interfollicular epidermis. In case 1, a hematogenous metastasis to the vocal cord and the forehead occurred in addition to a lymph node metastasis. In case 2, a local recurrence occurred with an intralymphatic dissemination. We describe two cases of infundibular squamous cell carcinoma on the nose with aggressive clinical behavior, one of which was accompanied by a hematogenous metastasis while another revealed a local recurrence.
Patient reported outcomes of slow, single arc rotation: Do we need rotating gantries?
Authors: Whelan Brendan , Welgampola Miriam , McGarvie Leigh , Makhija Kuldeep , Turner Robin M , Holloway Lois , Feain Ilana , Jackson Michael , Barton Michael , Keall Paul
Published: November 2017

Introduction

Patient rotation could greatly simplify radiation therapy delivery, with particularly important ramifications for fixed beam treatment with protons, heavy ions, MRI‐Linacs, and low cost Linacs. Patient tolerance is often cited as a barrier to widespread implementation to patient rotation; however, no quantitative data addressing this issue exists. In this study, patient reported experiences of slow, single arc rotation in upright (sitting) and lying orientations are reported.

Methods

Fifteen patients currently or previously treated for cancer were slowly (~2 rpm) rotated in upright and lying orientations using an existing medical device. Patients were rotated 360° in 45° increments. Rotation was paused for 30 seconds at each angle to simulate beam delivery. Claustrophobia, anxiety and motion sickness were monitored via validated questionnaires. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to test for significant differences in anxiety and motion sickness before, during and after the study.

Results

No significant differences in anxiety or motion sickness were found between before and after the study, or upright and lying rotation (P > 0.05). The median percentage scores for anxiety and motion sickness immediately following the study were both 0. In general, anxiety and motion sickness scores were low throughout the study. All patients except one completed the study.

Conclusions

Slow, single arc rotation in upright and lying orientations was well tolerated in this study. These results support the need for further studies into the clinical implementation of patient rotation, which could have a major impact on the practice and cost of radiotherapy.
A theoretical insight into selectivity of inhibitors toward two domains of bromodomain‐containing protein 4 using molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Su Jing , Liu Xinguo , Zhang Shaolong , Yan Fangfang , Zhang Qinggang , Chen Jianzhong
Published: November 2017

Bromodomains (BRDs) have been an attractive candidate for development of efficient inhibitors toward gene transcription. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations followed by principal component (PC) analysis were performed to investigate binding selectivity of inhibitors RVX297, BSP, JQ1, SF2523, and CPD2 toward two domains (BD1 and BD2) of bromodomain‐containing protein 4 (BRD4). The results show that inhibitor bindings exert different effect on motions of the BC‐loops in BD1 and BD2. The rank of binding free energies calculated using molecular mechanics Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM‐PBSA) method agrees with the one determined by experiment. The results also suggest that the binding ability of RVX297, BSP, and JQ1 to BD2 is stronger than that of them to BD1, while the binding ability of SF2523 to BD2 is obviously weaker than that of SF2523 to BD1. Alanine mutation calculations and the calculated inhibitor–residue interaction spectrum prove that the current five inhibitors have obvious binding selectivity toward BD1 and BD2. This study is not only helpful for further understanding the differences in internal dynamics of BD1 and BD2 caused by inhibitor bindings, but also can theoretically contribute significant guidance to designs of effective and high selective anticancer drugs targeting BD1 and BD2 in BRD4.