bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Analysis of Midgut Regeneration Capacity and Resistance to Oral Infection in Three Disease-Vector Mosquitoes
Authors: Janeh Maria , Osman Dani , Kambris Zakaria
Published: October 2019

Mosquitoes acquire the pathogens they transmit through ingestion, and the insects’ gut constitutes the first line of defense against invading pathogens. Indeed the gut epithelium acts as a physical barrier, activates local antimicrobial peptides production and triggers the systemic immune response. Consequently, gut epithelium is constantly confronted to stress and often suffers cellular damage. We have previously shown that regenerative cells are present in the guts of adultAedes albopictus, and that chemical damage or bacterial infection leads to the proliferation of these regenerative cells in the midgut. In this study, we extended the analysis of gut cells response to stress to two other important disease vector mosquitoes:Culex pipiensandAnopheles gambiae. We fed mosquitoes on sucrose solutions or on sucrose supplemented with pathogenic bacteria or with damage-inducing chemicals. We also assayed the survival of mosquitoes following the ingestion of pathogenic bacteria. We found that in adultC. pipiens, dividing cells exist in the digestive tract and that these cells proliferate in the midgut after bacterial or chemical damage, similarly to what we previously observed inA. albopictus. In sharp contrast, we did not detect any mitotic cell in the midguts ofA. gambiaemosquitoes, neither in normal situation nor after the induction of gut damage. In agreement with this observation,A. gambiaemosquitoes were more sensitive to oral bacterial infections compared toA. albopictusandC. pipiens. This work provides evidence that major differences in gut physiological responses exist between different mosquitoes. The presence of regenerative cells in the mosquito guts and their ability to multiply after gut damage affect the mosquito survival to oral infections, and is also likely to affect its vectorial capacity.
Biarticular muscles are most responsive to upper-body pitch perturbations in human standing
Authors: Schumacher Christian , Berry Andrew , Lemus Daniel , Rode Christian , Seyfarth André , Vallery Heike
Published: October 2019

Balancing the upper body is pivotal for upright and efficient gait. While models have identified potentially useful characteristics of biarticular thigh muscles for postural control of the upper body, experimental evidence for their specific role is lacking. Based on theoretical findings, we hypothesised that biarticular muscle activity would increase strongly in response to upper-body perturbations. To test this hypothesis, we used a novel Angular Momentum Perturbator (AMP) that, in contrast to existing methods, perturbs the upper-body posture with only minimal effect on Centre of Mass (CoM) excursions. The impulse-like AMP torques applied to the trunk of subjects resulted in upper-body pitch deflections of up to 17° with only small CoM excursions below 2 cm. Biarticular thigh muscles (biceps femoris long head and rectus femoris) showed the strongest increase in muscular activity (mid- and long-latency reflexes, starting 100 ms after perturbation onset) of all eight measured leg muscles which highlights the importance of biarticular muscles for restoring upper-body balance. These insights could be used for improving technological aids like rehabilitation or assistive devices, and the effectiveness of physical training for fall prevention e.g. for elderly people.
Low human and murine Mcl-1 expression leads to a pro-apoptotic plaque phenotype enriched in giant-cells
Authors: Fontaine Margaux A. C. , Westra Marijke M. , Bot Ilze , Jin Han , Franssen Aimée J. P. M. , Bot Martine , de Jager Saskia C. A. , Dzhagalov Ivan , He You-Wen , van Vlijmen Bart J. M. , Gijbels Marion J. J. , Reutelingsperger Chris P. , van Berkel Theo J. C. , Sluimer Judith C. , Temmerman Lieve , Biessen Erik A. L.
Published: October 2019

The anti-apoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) plays an important role in survival and differentiation of leukocytes, more specifically of neutrophils. Here, we investigated the impact of myeloid Mcl-1 deletion in atherosclerosis. Western type diet fed LDL receptor-deficient mice were transplanted with either wild-type (WT) or LysMCre Mcl-1fl/fl (Mcl-1−/−) bone marrow. Mcl-1 myeloid deletion resulted in enhanced apoptosis and lipid accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques. In vitro, Mcl-1 deficient macrophages also showed increased lipid accumulation, resulting in increased sensitivity to lipid-induced cell death. However, plaque size, necrotic core and macrophage content were similar in Mcl-1−/− compared to WT mice, most likely due to decreased circulating and plaque-residing neutrophils. Interestingly, Mcl-1−/− peritoneal foam cells formed up to 45% more multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) in vitro compared to WT, which concurred with an increased MGC presence in atherosclerotic lesions of Mcl-1−/− mice. Moreover, analysis of human unstable atherosclerotic lesions also revealed a significant inverse correlation between MGC lesion content and Mcl-1 gene expression, coinciding with the mouse data. Taken together, these findings suggest that myeloid Mcl-1 deletion leads to a more apoptotic, lipid and MGC-enriched phenotype. These potentially pro-atherogenic effects are however counteracted by neutropenia in circulation and plaque.
Fucosylated α1-acid glycoprotein as a biomarker to predict prognosis following tumor immunotherapy of patients with lung cancer
Authors: Yokobori Takehiko , Yazawa Shin , Asao Takayuki , Nakazawa Nobuhiro , Mogi Akira , Sano Rie , Kuwano Hiroyuki , Kaira Kyoichi , Shirabe Ken
Published: October 2019

Immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoint molecules has provided remarkable clinical benefits in cancer patients but no clinically relevant biomarker for predicting treatment outcomes exists. Recently, we demonstrated that glycan structures of serum α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) changed dramatically in cancer patients and that α1,3fucosylated AGP (fAGP) levels increased along with disease progression and decreased responding to chemotherapy treatments. Here, the fAGP was analyzed in sera prospectively obtained from 39 patients with advanced lung cancer who underwent immunotherapy with anti-PD-1 antibody, nivolumab. Twenty-three patients had significantly high fAGP levels above the cut-off value (H-fAGP) at one month after starting the treatment and 20 patients in this group, whose tumor sizes did not decrease, maintained high fAGP levels continuously and subsequently died. However, the other 16 patients, whose fAGP levels decreased or maintained below the cut-off value (L-fAGP), survived during a 2-year observation even though 5 patients in this group had no tumor shrinkage. Accordingly, the overall survival rate was found to significantly correlate with the fAGP level. Multivariate analyses revealed that the H-fAGP was an independent risk factor for cancer progression. Therefore, the fAGP level appeared to be a reliable biomarker for predicting clinical efficacy of immunotherapy with nivolumab.
Down-regulation of CK2α correlates with decreased expression levels of DNA replication minichromosome maintenance protein complex (MCM) genes
Authors: Schaefer Susanne , Doktor Thomas K. , Frederiksen Sabrina B. , Chea Kathleen , Hlavacova Mirka , Bruun Gitte H. , Rabjerg Maj , Andresen Brage S. , Dominguez Isabel , Guerra Barbara
Published: October 2019

Protein kinase CK2 is a serine/threonine kinase composed of two catalytic subunits (CK2α and/or CK2α’) and two regulatory subunits (CK2β). It is implicated in every stage of the cell cycle and in the regulation of various intracellular pathways associated with health and disease states. The catalytic subunits have similar biochemical activity, however, their functions may differ significantly in cells andin vivo. In this regard, homozygous deletion ofCK2αleads to embryonic lethality in mid-gestation potentially due to severely impaired cell proliferation. To determine the CK2α-dependent molecular mechanisms that control cell proliferation, we established a myoblast-derived cell line with inducible silencing of CK2α and carried out a comprehensive RNA-Seq analysis of gene expression. We report evidence that CK2α depletion causes delayed cell cycle progression through the S-phase and defective response to replication stress. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that the down-regulated genes were enriched in pathways implicated in cell cycle regulation, DNA replication and DNA damage repair. Interestingly, the genes coding for the minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCMs), which constitute the core of the replication origin recognition complex, were among the most significantly down-regulated genes. These findings were validated in cells and whole mouse embryos. Taken together, our study provides new evidence for a critical role of protein kinase CK2 in controlling DNA replication initiation and the expression levels of replicative DNA helicases, which ensure maintenance of proliferative potential and genome integrity in eukaryotic cells.
NSAIDs disrupt intestinal homeostasis by suppressing macroautophagy in intestinal epithelial cells
Authors: Chamoun-Emanuelli Ana M. , Bryan Laura K. , Cohen Noah D. , Tetrault Taylor L. , Szule Joseph A. , Barhoumi Rola , Whitfield-Cargile Canaan M.
Published: October 2019

Small intestinal damage induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) remains an under-recognized clinical disorder. The incomplete understanding of the pathophysiology has hampered the development of prevention and treatment strategies leading to the high morbidity and mortality rates. NSAIDs are known to modulate macroautophagy, a process indispensable for intestinal homeostasis. Whether NSAIDs stimulate or repress macroautophagy and how this correlates with the clinical manifestations of NSAID enteropathy, however, remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine whether NSAIDs impaired macroautophagy and how this affects macroautophagy-regulated intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) processes essential for intestinal homeostasis (i.e., clearance of invading pathogens, secretion and composition of mucus building blocks, and inflammatory response). We show that NSAID treatment of IECs inhibits macroautophagy in vitro and in vivo. This inhibition was likely attributed to a reduction in the area and/or distribution of lysosomes available for degradation of macroautophagy-targeted cargo. Importantly, IEC regulatory processes necessary for intestinal homeostasis and dependent on macroautophagy were dysfunctional in the presence of NSAIDs. Since macroautophagy is essential for gastrointestinal health, NSAID-induced inhibition of macroautophagy might contribute to the severity of intestinal injury by compromising the integrity of the mucosal barrier, preventing the clearance of invading microbes, and exacerbating the inflammatory response.
The interplay between chondrocyte spheroids and mesenchymal stem cells boosts cartilage regeneration within a 3D natural-based hydrogel
Authors: Scalzone Annachiara , Ferreira Ana M. , Tonda-Turo Chiara , Ciardelli Gianluca , Dalgarno Kenny , Gentile Piergiorgio
Published: October 2019

Articular cartilage (AC) lacks the ability to self-repair and cell-based approaches, primarily based on using chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are emerging as effective technology to restore cartilage functionality, because cells synergic functionality may support the maintenance of chondrogenic phenotype and promote extracellular matrix regeneration. This work aims to develop a more physiologically representative co-culture system to investigate the influence of MSCs on the activity of chondrocytes. A thermo-sensitive chitosan-based hydrogel, ionically crosslinked with β–glycerophosphate, is optimised to obtain sol/gel transition at physiological conditions within 5 minutes, high porosity with pores diameter <30 µm, and in vitro mechanical integrity with compressive and equilibrium Young’s moduli of 37 kPa and 17 kPa, respectively. Live/dead staining showed that after 1 and 3 days in culture, the encapsulated MSCs into the hydrogels are viable and characterised by round-like morphology. Furthermore chondrocyte spheroids, seeded on top of gels that contained either MSCs or no cells, show that the encapsulated MSCs stimulate chondrocyte activity within a gel co-culture, both in terms of maintaining the coherence of chondrocyte spheroids, leading to a larger quantity of CD44 (by immunofluorescence) and a higher production of collagen and glycosaminoglycans (by histology) compared with the mono-culture.
Altered metabolic gene expression in the brain of a triprolyl-human amylin transgenic mouse model of type 2 diabetes
Authors: Nie Tina , Zhang Shaoping , Vazhoor Amarsingh Greeshma , Liu Hong , McCann Mark J. , Cooper Garth J. S.
Published: October 2019

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major health concern worldwide; however, the molecular mechanism underlying its development is poorly understood. The hormone amylin is postulated to be involved, as human amylin forms amyloid in the pancreases of diabetic patients, and oligomers have been shown to be cytotoxic to β-cells. As rodent amylin is non-amyloidogenic, mice expressing human amylin have been developed to investigate this hypothesis. However, it is not possible to differentiate the effects of amylin overexpression from β-cell loss in these models. We have developed transgenic mice that overexpress [25, 28, 29 triprolyl]human amylin, a non-amyloidogenic variant of amylin, designated the Line 44 model. This model allows us to investigate the effects of chronic overexpression of non-cytotoxic amylin. We characterised this model and found it developed obesity, hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia. This phenotype was associated with alterations in the expression of genes involved in the amylin, insulin and leptin signalling pathways within the brain. This included genes such as c-Fos (a marker of amylin activation); Socs3 (a leptin inhibitor); and Cart, Pomc and Npy (neuropeptides that control appetite). We also examined Socs3 protein expression and phosphorylated Stat3 to determine if changes at the mRNA level would be reflected at the protein level.
Sensitivities to global change drivers may correlate positively or negatively in a foundational marine macroalga
Authors: Al-Janabi Balsam , Wahl Martin , Karsten Ulf , Graiff Angelika , Kruse Inken
Published: October 2019

Ecological impact of global change is generated by multiple synchronous or asynchronous drivers which interact with each other and with intraspecific variability of sensitivities. In three near-natural experiments, we explored response correlations of full-sibling germling families of the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus towards four global change drivers: elevated CO2 (ocean acidification, OA), ocean warming (OW), combined OA and warming (OAW), nutrient enrichment and hypoxic upwelling. Among families, performance responses to OA and OW as well as to OAW and nutrient enrichment correlated positively whereas performance responses to OAW and hypoxia anti-correlated. This indicates (i) that families robust to one of the three drivers (OA, OW, nutrients) will also not suffer from the two other shifts, and vice versa and (ii) families benefitting from OAW will more easily succumb to hypoxia. Our results may imply that selection under either OA, OW or eutrophication would enhance performance under the other two drivers but simultaneously render the population more susceptible to hypoxia. We conclude that intraspecific response correlations have a high potential to boost or hinder adaptation to multifactorial global change scenarios.
Modelling bacterial twitching in fluid flows: a CFD-DEM approach
Authors: Jayathilake Pahala Gedara , Li Bowen , Zuliani Paolo , Curtis Tom , Chen Jinju
Published: October 2019

Bacterial habitats are often associated with fluid flow environments. Bacterial twitching is important for initial bacterial colonization and biofilm formation. The existing research about bacteria twitching is largely experimental orientated. There is a lack of models of twitching motility of bacteria in shear flows, which could provide fundamental understanding about how bacterial twitching would be affected by bacteria associated properties such as number of pili and their distribution on the cell body and environmental factors such as flow and surface patterns. In this work, a three-dimensional modelling approach of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) coupled with the Discrete Element Method (DEM) proposed to study bacterial twitching on flat and groove surfaces under shear flow conditions. Rod-shaped bacteria are modelled as groups of spherical particles and Type IV pili attached to bacteria are modelled as dynamic springs which can elongate, retract, attach and detach. The CFD-DEM model of rod-shape bacteria is validated against orbiting of immotile bacteria in shear flows. The effects of fluid flow rate and surface topography on twitching motility are studied. The model can successfully predict upstream twitching motility of rod-shaped bacteria in shear flows. Our model can predict that there would be an optimal range of wall shear stress in which bacterial upstream twitching is most efficient. The results also indicate that when bacteria twitch on groove surfaces, they are likely to accumulate around the downstream side of the groove walls.
Characterization of the FMDV-serotype-O isolates collected during 1962 and 1997 discloses new topotypes, CEY-1 and WCSA-1, and six new lineages
Authors: Ranaweera Lahiru Thilanka , Wijesundara Upendra Kumari , Jayarathne Hashan Sri-Madhubashana , Knowles Nick , Wadsworth Jemma , Mioulet Valerie , Adikari Jayantha , Weebadde Cholani , Sooriyapathirana Suneth S.
Published: October 2019

The genetic diversity of the FMD viruses collected from the outbreaks during the second half of the 20th Century in Sri Lanka was assessed in the present study. We sequenced the VP1 genomic region of the samples collected during FMDV epidemics caused by serotype O in Sri Lanka during 1962 and 1997. For comparison, we sequenced the VP1 of the related viral isolates collected from other Asian countries. We analyzed the VP1 sequences of the viral strains using the UPGMA method with uncorrected pairwise distances. Nucleotide divergence (ND) thresholds of 15%–20% and 5%–<15% were used to differentiate topotypes and lineages, respectively. We calibrated the divergence times and lineage-specific substitution rates using Bayesian-skyline models. Based on the ND estimations and phylogenetic relationships, we identified and named two new topotypes [CEYLON 1 (CEY-1) and WEST, CENTRAL AND SOUTH ASIA 1 (WCSA-1)] and six new lineages (Syr-62, Srl-77, Tur-69, May-78, Tai-87 and Bur-77) of serotype O. We believe that the novel topotypes and lineages named may have disappeared although they have similar substitution rates for epizootic outbreaks. Because the amino acid selection analysis revealed that the two topotypes and six lineages identified were under purifying selection during the outbreaks.
The age distribution of facial metrics in two large Korean populations
Authors: Lee Hae-Young , Cha Seongwon , Ban Hyo-Jeong , Kim In-Young , Park Bo-Reum , Kim Ig-Jae , Hong Kyung-Won
Published: October 2019

Growth and alterations in craniofacial morphology have attracted interest in many fields of science, especially physical anthropology, genetics and forensic sciences. We performed an analysis of craniofacial morphology alterations by gender and ageing stage in Korean populations. We studied 15 facial metrics using two large Korean populations (1,926 samples from the Korea Medicine Data Center cohort and 5,643 samples from the Ansan-Ansung cohort). Among the 15 metrics, 12 showed gender differences and tended to change with age. In both of the independent populations, brow ridge height, upper lip height, nasal tip height, and profile nasal length tended to increase with age, whereas outer canthal width, right palpebral fissure height, left palpebral fissure height, right upper lip thickness, left upper lip thickness, nasal tip protrusion, facial base width, and lower facial width tended to decrease. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ageing (past 40 years of age) might affect eye size, nose length, upper lip thickness, and facial width, possibly due to loss of elasticity in the face. Therefore, these facial metric changes could be applied to individual age prediction and aesthetic facial care.
Accuracy and performance of a new handheld ultrasound machine with wireless system
Authors: Zardi Enrico Maria , Franceschetti Edoardo , Giorgi Chiara , Palumbo Alessio , Franceschi Francesco
Published: October 2019

We verified the accuracy and performance of a new handheld ultrasound machine, in comparison to a high-end sonographic machine. We performed bilateral measurements of the following tendon districts (supraspinatus, flexor of the middle finger, patellar and Achilles) and of the cross sectional area of the median nerve in 21 patients using a musculoskeletal ultrasound linear scanner of a handheld sonographic machine and a high-end sonographic machine. Two tail T test was used to evaluate whether there were differences in the measurements between the two sonographic machines. Agreement was evaluated by Pearson’s correlation. The mean time requested for the examinations was 18 and 9 minutes for the handheld and high-end sonographic machines, respectively. No significant differences were found between the measurements obtained with the handheld ultrasound machine and those with the high-end sonographic machine (p value ranging between 0.31 and 0.97, according to the examined district), whereas, a moderate correlation was found (r coefficient ranging between 0.43 and 0.77, according to the examined district). Although the examination with the handheld ultrasound machine took more time, it showed adequate accuracy and performance; this palmar tool might be also useful in operating rooms.
Prognostic Value of Right Ventricular Dysfunction and Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients with Severe Low-Flow Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Zilberszac Robert , Gleiss Andreas , Schweitzer Ronny , Bruno Piergiorgio , Andreas Martin , Stelzmüller Marlies , Massetti Massimo , Wisser Wilfried , Laufer Günther , Binder Thomas , Gabriel Harald , Rosenhek Raphael
Published: October 2019

Long and mid-term data in Low-Flow Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis (LFLG-AS) are scarce. The present study sought to identify predictors of outcome in a sizeable cohort of patients with LFLG-AS. 76 consecutive patients with LFLG-AS (defined by a mean gradient <40 mmHg, an aortic valve area ≤1 cm2 and an ejection fraction ≤50%) were prospectively enrolled and followed at regular intervals. Events defined as aortic valve replacement (AVR) and death were assessed and overall survival was determined. 44 patients underwent AVR (10 transcatheter and 34 surgical) whilst intervention was not performed in 32 patients, including 9 patients that died during a median waiting time of 4 months. Survival was significantly better after AVR with survival rates of 91.8% (CI 71.1–97.9%), 83.0% (CI 60.7–93.3%) and 56.3% (CI 32.1–74.8%) at 1,2 and 5 years as compared to 84.3% (CI 66.2–93.1%), 52.9% (CI 33.7–69.0%) and 30.3% (CI 14.6–47.5%), respectively, for patients managed conservatively (p = 0.017). The presence of right ventricular dysfunction (HR 3.47 [1.70–7.09]) and significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) (HR 2.23 [1.13–4.39]) independently predicted overall mortality while the presence of significant TR (HR 3.40[1.38–8.35]) and higher aortic jet velocity (HR 0.91[0.82–1.00]) were independent predictors of mortality and survival after AVR. AVR is associated with improved long-term survival in patients with LFLG-AS. Treatment delays are associated with excessive mortality, warranting urgent treatment in eligible patients. Right ventricular involvement characterized by the presence of TR and/or right ventricular dysfunction, identifies patients at high risk of mortality under both conservative management and after AVR.
Hepatospecific ablation of p38α MAPK governs liver regeneration through modulation of inflammatory response to CCl4-induced acute injury
Authors: Fortier Manon , Cadoux Mathilde , Boussetta Nadia , Pham Sandrine , Donné Romain , Couty Jean-Pierre , Desdouets Chantal , Celton-Morizur Séverine
Published: October 2019

Mammalian p38α MAPK (Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase) transduces a variety of extracellular signals that regulate cellular processes, such as inflammation, differentiation, proliferation or apoptosis. In the liver, depending of the physiopathological context, p38α acts as a negative regulator of hepatocyte proliferation as well as a promotor of inflammatory processes. However, its function during an acute injury, in adult liver, remains uncharacterized. In this study, using mice that are deficient in p38α specifically in mature hepatocytes, we unexpectedly found that lack of p38α protected against acute injury induced by CCl4 compound. We demonstrated that the hepatoprotective effect alleviated ROS accumulation and shaped the inflammatory response to promote efficient tissue repair. Mechanistically, we provided strong evidence that Ccl2/Ccl5 chemokines were crucial for a proper hepatoprotective response observed secondary to p38α ablation. Indeed, antibody blockade of Ccl2/Ccl5 was sufficient to abrogate hepatoprotection through a concomitant decrease of both inflammatory cells recruitment and antioxidative response that result ultimately in higher liver damages. Our findings suggest that targeting p38α expression and consequently orientating immune response may represent an attractive approach to favor tissue recovery after acute liver injury.
Molecular recognition of ubiquitin and Lys63-linked diubiquitin by STAM2 UIM-SH3 dual domain: the effect of its linker length and flexibility
Authors: Nguyen Minh-Ha , Martin Marie , Kim Henry , Gabel Frank , Walker Olivier , Hologne Maggy
Published: October 2019

Multidomain proteins represent a broad spectrum of the protein landscape and are involved in various interactions. They could be considered as modular building blocks assembled in distinct fashion and connected by linkers of varying lengths and sequences. Due to their intrinsic flexibility, these linkers provide proteins a subtle way to modulate interactions and explore a wide range of conformational space. In the present study, we are seeking to understand the effect of the flexibility and dynamics of the linker involved in the STAM2 UIM-SH3 dual domain protein with respect to molecular recognition. We have engineered several constructs of UIM-SH3 with different length linkers or domain deletion. By means of SAXS and NMR experiments, we have shown that the modification of the linker modifies the flexibility and the dynamics of UIM-SH3. Indeed, the global tumbling of both the UIM and SH3 domain is different but not independent from each other while the length of the linker has an impact on the ps-ns time scale dynamics of the respective domains. Finally, the modification of the flexibility and dynamics of the linker has a drastic effect on the interaction of UIM-SH3 with Lys63-linked diubiquitin with a roughly eight-time weaker dissociation constant.
Temporal and Spatial Expression of Arabidopsis Gene Homologs Control Daylength Adaptation and Bulb Formation in Onion (Allium cepa L.)
Authors: Rashid Md. Harun Ar , Cheng Wei , Thomas Brian
Published: October 2019

Genetic studies aimed at onion improvement have been limited because of high heterozygosity, a very large genome size with a high level of repetitive DNA and a biennial life cycle. Onion bulb initiation is daylength-dependent, which places a significant barrier to adapting new varieties for growth at different latitudes. Compared to the photoperiodic regulation of flowering, relatively little is known about genetic regulation of the bulbing process. This study aims to identify the role of gene sequences involved in daylength-regulated bulb formation and tissue specific expression of onion. A comprehensive set of developmental and spatial quantitative mRNA expression experiments were carried out to investigate expression of onionFLOWERING LOCUS T(AcFT),LEAFY(AcLFY) andGIBBERELLIN-3 OXIDASE(GA3ox1) during the bulbing response. Bulbing ratios were used to measure the response of onion plants under long day (LD) and short day (SD) conditions.AcFT1was expressed in LD, which induces bulb formation, whileAcFT4was expressed in SD, which inhibits bulb formation.AcFT5andAcFT6were expressed in LD and might also be involved in bulb formation itself. AllAcFT, AcLFYandGA3ox1genes showed distinctive patterns of tissue specific expression in onion, withAcFTgenes found primarily in the sites of perception in the leaf and LFY in the basal tissues, the site of response. The results are consistent withAcFT1expression being the signal for LD-induced bulb initiation andAcFT4, being involved in suppressing bulbing in SD.
Pre-operative Localisation of the Parathyroid Glands in Secondary Hyperparathyroidism: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Hiramitsu Takahisa , Tomosugi Toshihide , Okada Manabu , Futamura Kenta , Tsujita Makoto , Goto Norihiko , Narumi Shunji , Watarai Yoshihiko , Tominaga Yoshihiro , Ichimori Toshihiro
Published: October 2019

Complete parathyroidectomy (PTx) is essential during total PTx for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) to prevent recurrent and persistent hyperparathyroidism. Pre-operative imaging evaluations, including computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US), and Tc-99m sestamibi (MIBI) scans, are commonly performed. Between June 2009 and January 2016, 291 patients underwent PTx for SHPT after pre-operative evaluations involving CT, US, and MIBI scans, and the diagnostic accuracies of these imaging modalities for identifying the parathyroid glands were evaluated in 177 patients whose intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were <9 pg/mL after the initial PTx. Additional PTx procedures were performed on 7 of 114 patients whose intact PTH levels were >9 ng/mL after PTx, and the diagnostic validities of the imaging modalities for the remnant parathyroid glands were evaluated. A combination of CT, US, and MIBI scans achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy (75%) for locating bilateral upper and lower parathyroid glands before initial PTx. The accuracies of CT, US, and MIBI scans with respect to locating remnant parathyroid glands before additional PTx were 100%, 28.6%, and 100%, respectively. A combination of CT, US, and MIBI scans is useful for initial PTx for SHPT, and CT and MIBI scans are useful imaging modalities for additional PTx procedures.
A one-step synthesis of novel high pH-sensitive nitrogen-doped yellow fluorescent carbon dots and their detection application in living cells
Authors: Shen Lian , Hou Changjun , Li Jaiwei , Wang Xianfeng , Zhao Yanan , Yang Huiling , Yang Siyi , Yang Mei , Luo Xiaogang , Huo Danqun
Published: October 2019

Monitoring the pH in living cells is of great significance for a deeper understanding of cellular functions for effective disease diagnosis.
Design and in situ synthesis of hierarchical SAPO-34@kaolin composites as catalysts for methanol to olefins
Authors: Zhang Lina , Liu Haiyan , Yue Yuanyuan , Olsbye Unni , Bao Xiaojun
Published: October 2019

An in situ synthesis strategy to fabricate SAPO-34@kaolin composites from kaolin microspheres as catalysts for methanol to olefins is developed.
Structural stability of liposome-stabilized oil-in-water pickering emulsions and their fate during in vitro digestion
Authors: Liu Weilin , Liu Jianhua , Salt Louise J. , Ridout Mike J. , Han Jianzhong , Wilde Peter J.
Published: October 2019

An interesting liposome-stabilized oil-in-water Pickering emulsion shows pH-controllable and surfactant-dependent deformability whilst displaying dual delivery routes under external environment and oral-gastrointestinal conditions.
A network-based approach reveals novel invasion and Maurer's clefts-related proteins in Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Das Dibyajyoti , Krishnan Sowmya Ramaswamy , Roy Arijit , Bulusu Gopalakrishnan
Published: October 2019

To understand disease pathogenesis, all the disease-related proteins must be identified. In this work, known proteins were used to identify related novel proteins using RWR method on a dynamic P. falciparum protein–protein interaction network.
Frustrated Lewis pairs photocatalyst for visible light-driven reduction of CO to multi-carbon chemicals
Authors: Chen Zhe , Zhao Jia , Zhao Jingxiang , Chen Zhongfang , Yin Lichang
Published: October 2019

The as-designed frustrated Lewis pairs photocatalyst with the pull–push function efficiently converts CO into C2H4 and C3H6 under visible light irradiation.
Dual-drug delivery based charge-conversional polymeric micelles for enhanced cellular uptake and combination therapy
Authors: Liao Jianhong , Song Yajing , Liu Can , Li Dan , Zheng Hua , Lu Bo
Published: October 2019

We herein report on the synthesis and characterization of a dual-drug conjugated prodrug, and the self-assembled micelles showed a charge-conversion behavior and synergistic effectin vitro.
Effects of Sm on Fe–Mn catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis
Authors: Han Zhonghao , Qian Weixin , Ma Hongfang , Zhang Haitao , Sun Qiwen , Ying Weiyong
Published: October 2019

The effect of samarium on iron-based catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis was investigated.
Facile synthesis of mesoporous carbon microspheres/graphene composites in situ for application in supercapacitors
Authors: Chen Jing , Cheng Youliang , Zhang Qingling , Fang Changqing , Wu Linlin , Bai Mengsha , Yao Yongtao
Published: October 2019

MCMG were in situ synthesized via a soft template method and subsequent thermal reduction by using CTAB as structure-directing agent, AMP and GO as carbon sources. As-prepared MCMG samples exhibited excellent electrochemical performances.
Optimization of metal–organic (citric acid) frameworks for controlled release of nutrients
Authors: Wu Ke , Du Changwen , Ma Fei , Shen Yazhen , Zhou Jianmin
Published: October 2019

Novel MOFs were fabricated to control nutrient release under hydrothermal conditions, providing new strategies for the development of controlled-release fertilizers with relative low cost, simple production processes and little environmental impact.
Accelerating Adolescent Vocabulary Growth: Development of an Individualized, Web-Based, Vocabulary Instruction Program
Authors: Adlof Suzanne M. , Baron Lauren S. , Scoggins Joanna , Kapelner Adam , McKeown Margaret G. , Perfetti Charles A. , Miller Elaine , Soterwood Jeanine , Petscher Yaacov
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Improving vocabulary knowledge is important for many adolescents, but there are few evidence-based vocabulary instruction programs available for high school students. The purpose of this article is to describe the iterative development of the DictionarySquared research platform, a web-based vocabulary program that provides individualized vocabulary instruction, and to report the results of 2 pilot studies examining the feasibility of implementation and potential effectiveness with high school students.

Method

We describe our theory of change and 5 phases of iterative development. In Phases 1 and 2, we evaluated the initial implementation of DictionarySquared and revised the instructional materials. In Phase 3, we conducted a feasibility study involving 169 high school students who used the program for 4 weeks. Student usage data and feedback from teachers were used to guide program revisions in Phase 4. In Phase 5, we examined potential effectiveness for 264 high school students who were assigned to use the program for 1 semester.

Results

Results of the Phase 3 study indicated that implementation of the program was feasible, although usage was below assigned levels. Results of the Phase 5 study indicated that the duration of active program usage significantly predicted posttest vocabulary scores on the proximal assessment after controlling for pretest standardized vocabulary scores. Analyses using propensity score matching revealed positive, but nonsignificant, gains on standardized assessments between pre- and posttests.

Conclusion

Together, the results of early-stage pilot studies are promising and suggest that a more rigorous test of efficacy is warranted. Successful implementation of the DictionarySquared research program, as well as lessons learned from the program development process, will expand the range of evidence-based treatment options that clinicians and educators can use to improve adolescent vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9765161
Hybrid zero‐forcing for correlated and semi‐orthogonal multi‐user MU‐MIMO channels
Authors: Dhakal Sunil , Martin Philippa A. , Smith Peter
Published: October 2019

Fifth generation cellular networks must support dense user environments where close proximity users and highly correlated channels are prevalent. This study presents a novel decorrelating zero‐forcing (DZF) scheme. It improves downlink zero‐forcing (ZF) performance over multi‐user multiple‐input multiple‐output channels when highly correlated users are present. DZF groups correlated users into pairs where the stronger user is labelled ‘near’ and the weaker user, ‘far’. For the far and unpaired users, the proposed design is similar to conventional ZF (CZF) in that the base station performs traditional ZF and the users employ the leading left singular vectors of the channel for processing. In contrast, the near users employ the second strongest left singular vector which decorrelates their effective channel with the paired far user. This reduces the noise inflation inherent in ZF for correlated channels. From simulations and analysis the authors demonstrate that DZF has both rate and fairness advantages over CZF when highly correlated users are present. Furthermore, they design a hybrid ZF (HZF) scheme, which harnesses the advantages of both CZF and DZF, hence providing robustness against the joint scheduling of semi‐orthogonal and highly correlated users with very little additional complexity. Simulations clearly demonstrate that HZF has higher rates than CZF and DZF.
Adaptive learning feature pyramid for object detection
Authors: Wong Fukoeng , Hu Haifeng
Published: October 2019

Inconsistent detection performance for objects of different scales lies in many state‐of‐the‐art object detection models. The feature pyramid network (FPN) alleviates this problem by fusing multi‐scale feature maps through a top‐down path. However, the features fusion strategy used in FPN lacks learning ability, which may result in suboptimal performance of the model. In this study, the authors propose a cross‐scale feature fusion network (CSFF) to fuse the low‐level location feature maps with the high‐level semantic feature maps. The CSFF first embeds a dilated convolution and deconvolution layer into the top‐down path of the FPN to enhance the learning ability of feature fusion. After that, an attention module is applied to suppress distraction and interference in the feature map. Each component of the CSFF is highly decoupled and can easily cooperate with a base network in an end‐to‐end training manner. In this study, they combine the CSFF with faster region with convolutional neural network and conduct a series of experiments on the PASCAL VOC 2007 and 2012 object detection datasets. Without any bells and whistles, the CSFF achieves a considerable detection improvement over the baseline network.
Pyridox(am)ine 5′-Phosphate Oxidase Deficiency: Severe Prenatal Presentation with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
Authors: Alghamdi Malak , Arold Stefan T. , Hasan Hamdi , Bashiri Fahad
Published: October 2019

Pyridox(am)ine 5′-phosphate oxidase (PNPO) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive vitamin-responsive epileptic encephalopathy that manifests with a clinically and electrographically observable antiepileptic response to pyridoxine or pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (P5P). We report a preterm infant who presented with fetal distress and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) as well as seizures that responded to pyridoxine in the first day of life. The patient was diagnosed with PNPO deficiency and homozygosity for a missense-mutation in exon 7 of the PNPO gene, c.673 c > T (Arg225Cys), which disrupts the P5P binding site on PNPO. P5P with folinic acid achieved good control of the seizures. Riboflavin was introduced in the second year of life. The patient continued to have episodes of breakthrough seizures with sickness. P5P therapy resulted in marked seizure cessation but did not improve neurocognitive function in this patient, who had significant global psychomotor delay at the age of 3 years despite early treatment. We conclude from this report and other reports that HIE is a co-occurring condition with some inborn errors of metabolism. Therefore, PNPO deficiency should be investigated and P5P trial should be considered in case of presumed HIE particularly with familial recurrence of epileptic encephalopathy and refractory seizure.
Collision frequency and mean free path for plasmas described by kappa distributions
Authors: Livadiotis G.
Published: October 2019

The paper shows the surprising result of the universality of the mean-free-path formulation for plasmas described by kappa distributions. In particular, the ratio of the mean-free-path over the Debye length depends only on the Debye number – the number of particles within the Debye length scale. The derived formula appears to be identical for the cases of Maxwell-Boltzmann and kappa distributed plasmas; thus, it is not explicitly depended on kappa – the parameter that labels and governs the kappa distributions. The key aspect of these results is the specific functional dependence of the mean-free-path on the polytropic index; this is inextricably linked to the dependence of the Debye length on the polytropic index. The importance of the dependence of the mean-free-path on the polytropic index is demonstrated with applications in the solar wind plasma.
Optical modulators fabricated on silicon to work at low temperatures
Authors: Gasparini Allison
Published: October 2019

Researchers have demonstrated that heterogeneous optical modulator can operates successfully at temperatures as low as 77 K, increasing the range of possible applications for silicon photonics.
Convergence analysis of (statistical) inverse problems under conditional stability estimates
Authors: Werner Frank , Hofmann Bernd
Published: October 2019

Conditional stability estimates require additional regularization for obtaining stable approximate solutions if the validity area of such estimates is not completely known. In this context, we consider ill-posed nonlinear inverse problems in Hilbert scales satisfying conditional stability estimates characterized by general concave index functions. For that case, we exploit Tikhonov regularization and provide convergence and convergence rates of regularized solutions for both deterministic and stochastic noise. We further discuss a priori and a posteriori parameter choice rules and illustrate the validity of our assumptions in different model and real world situations.
Revisiting assessments of ecosystem drought recovery
Authors: Liu Laibao , Gudmundsson Lukas , Hauser Mathias , Qin Dahe , Li Shuangcheng , Seneviratne Sonia I
Published: October 2019

The time taken for ecosystems to recover from drought (drought recovery time) is critically important for the ecosystem state. However, recent literature presents contradictory conclusions on this feature: one study concludes that drought recovery time in the tropics and high northern latitudes is shortest (<4 months) but another concludes that it is longest (>12 months) in these regions. Here we explore the reasons for these contradictory results and revisit assessments of drought recovery time. We find that the study period, drought identification method and recovery level definition are main factors contributing to the contradictory conclusions. Further, we emphasize that including droughts that did not decrease ecosystem production or using a period of abnormal water availability to define ecosystem recovery level can strongly bias drought recovery time estimates. Based on our refined methods, we find the drought recovery time is also longest in some tropical regions but not in high northern latitudes during 1901–2010. Our study helps to resolve the recent controversy and provides insight for future drought recovery assessments.
Changes in the trends of vegetation net primary productivity in China between 1982 and 2015
Authors: Feng Yuhao , Zhu Jianxiao , Zhao Xia , Tang Zhiyao , Zhu Jiangling , Fang Jingyun
Published: October 2019

China has been experiencing significant climate and land use changes over the past decades. The way in which these changes, particularly a warming hiatus and national ecological restoration projects that occurred almost concurrently in the late 1990s, have influenced vegetation net primary productivity (NPP), is not well documented. Here, we estimated annual and seasonal changes in China’s NPP between 1982 and 2015 using the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model and examined their shifting years (SHYs) caused by the switch in climatic factors and the restoration projects. Our analyses revealed that the growth of annual, spring and summer NPP stalled in 1997 or 1998, while the trend of autumn NPP increased in 1992 at the national scale. We also showed that the changes in the NPP trends were more sensitive to the warming hiatus in spring and autumn, as well as in the temperate monsoonal region and the Tibetan Plateau, while the larger trend of autumn NPP in eastern China after the SHY was strongly coupled with increased monsoonal precipitation. Although the starting years of the restoration projects were partially consistent with the SHYs of the NPP trends, the projects were likely playing minor roles in enhancing NPP increase. Our findings can be applied for ecological risk assessment and future management of ecological restoration projects in the context of global change.
Shorebird feeding specialists differ in how environmental conditions alter their foraging time
Authors: van der Kolk Henk-Jan , Ens Bruno J , Oosterbeek Kees , Bouten Willem , Allen Andrew M , Frauendorf Magali , Lameris Thomas K , Oosterbeek Thijs , Deuzeman Symen , de Vries Kelly , Jongejans Eelke , van de Pol Martijn
Published: October 2019

Feeding specialization is a common cause of individual variation. Fitness payoffs of specialization vary with environmental conditions, but the underlying behavioral mechanisms are poorly understood. Such mechanistic knowledge, however, is crucial to reliably predict responses of heterogeneous populations to environmental change. We quantified spatiotemporal allocation of foraging behavior in wintering Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus), a species in which feeding specialization can be inferred from bill shape. We combined global positioning system (GPS) and accelerometer data to quantify foraging time of 64 individuals for every tidal period in one or two winter seasons. Individuals varied widely in foraging time (3.7–6.5 h per tidal period) and individuals that spend more time foraging had lower inferred survival. Feeding specialization appeared a major determinant of individual variation in foraging time and its spatiotemporal allocation. Visually hunting worm specialists foraged more during day time and complemented intertidal foraging with grassland foraging when the exposure of intertidal flats was limited and nights were well illuminated. Shellfish specialists increased total foraging time in cold weather, whereas foraging time of worm specialists decreased as frosty grasslands became inaccessible. Our results imply that worm specialists may be most sensitive to cold snaps and daytime disturbance, whereas shellfish specialists are most sensitive to high water levels. These behavioral responses can be implemented in population models to predict the vulnerability of heterogeneous populations to environmental change and, thereby, provide a shortcut to long-term population studies that require fitness data across many years and conditions to make similar projections.