bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
REFLECT – ein Interventionsprogramm zum Aufbau von Lehrkräftekompetenzen für Reflexive Koedukation
Authors: Kollmayer Marlene , Pfaffel Andreas , Schultes Marie-Therese , Lüftenegger Marko , Finsterwald Monika , Popper Vera , Jöstl Gregor , Spiel Christiane , Schober Barbara
Published: May 2020

Zusammenfassung. Studien zeigen, dass geschlechterstereotype Annahmen und Erwartungen von Lehrkräften die Bildungskarrieren ihrer Schüler_innen beeinflussen. Systematisch evaluierte Interventionen, die Lehrkräfte dabei unterstützen, eigene Geschlechterstereotype zu reflektieren und Mädchen und Jungen gleichermaßen zu fördern, existieren jedoch kaum. Das Interventionsprogramm REFLECT zielt darauf ab, bei Lehrkräften die Kompetenzen für Reflexive Koedukation aufzubauen. Dazu setzt es an deren objektivem Handlungsrepertoire (Wissen, Unterrichtsgestaltung) und subjektivem Handlungsraum (Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung, Implizite Theorien über Geschlechtsunterschiede) an. In einer Pilotstudie wurde die Wirksamkeit von REFLECT anhand eines Zwei-Gruppen-Prä-Post-Designs evaluiert. Die 38 Lehrkräfte der Interventionsgruppe zeigten einen stärkeren Zuwachs im Wissen über Geschlechtsunterschiede und in der auf Autonomieförderung abzielenden Unterrichtsgestaltung als die 76 Lehrkräfte der Kontrollgruppe. Zudem war in der Interventionsgruppe ein stärkerer Zuwachs in der Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung bzgl. Motivationsförderung und eine stärkere Abnahme der Überzeugung, dass Geschlechtsunterschiede unveränderbar sind, zu beobachten. Insgesamt ist REFLECT ein vielversprechender Ansatz, um Lehrkräfte zu Reflexiver Koedukation zu befähigen und die Genderfairness der Schule zu erhöhen.
Magnetopause Compressibility at Saturn with Internal Drivers
Authors: Hardy Flavien , Achilleos Nicholas , Guio Patrick
Published: May 2020

We use magnetopause crossings of the Cassini spacecraft to study the response of Saturn's magnetosphere to changes in external and internal drivers. We explain how solar wind pressure can be corrected to account for the local variability in internal plasma particle pressure. The physics‐based method is applied to perform the most robust estimation of magnetopause compressibility at Saturn to date, using 7 years' worth of magnetometer data from the Cassini mission and accounting for variable internal drivers—particle pressure and azimuthal ring current. The concept of magnetopause compressibility is generalized to quantitatively account for its detailed variation with respect to the position of the magnetopause. An analytical fit is provided to map the compressibility index to values of the stand‐off distance. In particular, the procedure shows that the Kronian system appears to behave similarly to that of Jupiter when expanded outwards and more like the Earth's magnetopause when compressed.
Dayside Field‐Aligned Current Impacts on Ionospheric Irregularities
Authors: Fæhn Follestad A. , Herlingshaw K. , Ghadjari H. , Knudsen D. J. , McWilliams K. A. , Moen J. I. , Spicher A. , Wu J. , Oksavik Kjellmar
Published: May 2020

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are subject to disturbances caused by plasma irregularities in the ionosphere. Studies have suggested that in addition to the gradient drift and Kelvin‐Helmholtz instabilities, electron precipitation may be important for phase scintillations in the dayside auroral region. This study combines in situ Swarm data with ground GNSS observations to investigate the potential role of filamentary field‐aligned currents (FACs) on phase scintillations in the dayside auroral region by analyzing 22 events with phase scintillations exceeding 0.45 radians. We observe colocation between regions of severe phase scintillations and highly filamented FACs with fluctuations measured in the spacecraft frame of the order of 20 Hz. The observations indicate that filamentary FACs are crucial drivers for irregularities responsible for creating severe phase scintillations measured in the dayside auroral region and are thus of significant importance in the context of space weather impact on satellite communication.
Reversible Compaction in Sheared Granular Flows and Its Significance for Nonlocal Rheology
Authors: Taylor S. E. , Brodsky E. E.
Published: May 2020

Naturally occurring granular flows like landslides often have a gas‐like rapidly moving layer immediately adjacent to a slower quasistatic layer. Determining the nature of coupling between these regimes is critical to capturing flow behavior. Using image analysis and a rheometer, we measure dilation, acoustic energy, and velocity profiles for quartz sand sheared in a geometry that imposes multiple flow regimes at once. We show that acoustic energy resulting from grain collisions in the fastest part of flow causes (a) weakening and compaction of the transitional regime layer between quasistatic and fast flow and (b) increasing slow flow via reduced friction. Thus, the volume of the entire shear zone is governed by competing effects of dilation near the boundary and compaction in the more distant transitional layer. This understanding of the partition of volume change across the shear layer can guide models of natural shear zones and interpretation of deposits.
Effects of Nonlinear Resonance Broadening on Interactions Between Electrons and Whistler Mode Waves
Authors: Cai Bin , Wu Yifan , Tao Xin
Published: May 2020

Effects of nonlinear resonance broadening on diffusion coefficients for interactions between parallel propagating whistler mode waves and relativistic electrons in a uniform magnetic field are investigated in this work using test particle simulations. In quasi‐linear theory, variations of pitch angle and energy are calculated along the unperturbed trajectory, resulting in difficulties when the pitch angle is near 90° or when wave amplitudes are large. Using a test particle simulation code, we investigate effects of nonlinear resonance broadening on scattering of electrons and compare the results with a previous nonlinear theory by Karimabadi et al. We demonstrate that Karimabadi et al.'s theory gives better agreement with test particle simulations compared with standard quasi‐linear theory, provided that the resonance broadening width is allowed to vary. Our result suggests further development of the nonlinear theory and should be useful to improve radiation belt modeling.
Hydraulic Continuation of the Abyssal Flow From the Vema Channel in the Southwestern Part of the Brazil Basin
Authors: Tarakanov Roman Y. , Morozov Eugene G. , Frey Dmitry I.
Published: May 2020

In 2013 and 2018, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology performed 12 stations with conductivity‐temperature‐depth and lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) profiling in the southwestern part of the Brazil Basin in order to find continuations of hydraulic controlled flow of the coldest Antarctic bottom water that propagates along the deepest bed of the Vema Channel. Comparison of these measurements with the historical database and our previous measurements in the Vema Extension region (27°S, 34°W) showed that such a continuation of the flow does not exist in the valley directed to the east, which seemed to be a topographic extension of the Vema Channel. Continuation of the flow was found over the section at 25°34′S across the meridionally oriented channel (depth up to 4,950 m) approximately along 33°30′W north of the Vema Extension region. Northward velocity speeds exceeding 35 cm/s were measured in the bottom flow (100–150 m thick above the bottom), which is displaced to the western slope of the meridional channel. Transport in the high‐speed core (velocity speed greater than 10 cm/s, potential temperature less than 0.62°C) in this channel was estimated at 0.150 ± 0.007 Sv on the basis of the LADCP measurements. There are several indirect indications of the formation of a local spillway (or a cascade of spillways) here in the regime of hydraulic control overflow.
Interpretation of omics data analyses
Authors: Yamada Ryo , Okada Daigo , Wang Juan , Basak Tapati , Koyama Satoshi
Published: May 2020

Omics studies attempt to extract meaningful messages from large-scale and high-dimensional data sets by treating the data sets as a whole. The concept of treating data sets as a whole is important in every step of the data-handling procedures: the pre-processing step of data records, the step of statistical analyses and machine learning, translation of the outputs into human natural perceptions, and acceptance of the messages with uncertainty. In the pre-processing, the method by which to control the data quality and batch effects are discussed. For the main analyses, the approaches are divided into two types and their basic concepts are discussed. The first type is the evaluation of many items individually, followed by interpretation of individual items in the context of multiple testing and combination. The second type is the extraction of fewer important aspects from the whole data records. The outputs of the main analyses are translated into natural languages with techniques, such as annotation and ontology. The other technique for making the outputs perceptible is visualization. At the end of this review, one of the most important issues in the interpretation of omics data analyses is discussed. Omics studies have a large amount of information in their data sets, and every approach reveals only a very restricted aspect of the whole data sets. The understandable messages from these studies have unavoidable uncertainty.
Mapping global urban land for the 21st century with data-driven simulations and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
Authors: Gao Jing , O’Neill Brian C.
Published: May 2020

Urban land expansion is one of the most visible, irreversible, and rapid types of land cover/land use change in contemporary human history, and is a key driver for many environmental and societal changes across scales. Yet spatial projections of how much and where it may occur are often limited to short-term futures and small geographic areas. Here we produce a first empirically-grounded set of global, spatial urban land projections over the 21st century. We use a data-science approach exploiting 15 diverse datasets, including a newly available 40-year global time series of fine-spatial-resolution remote sensing observations. We find the global total amount of urban land could increase by a factor of 1.8–5.9, and the per capita amount by a factor of 1.1–4.9, across different socioeconomic scenarios over the century. Though the fastest urban land expansion occurs in Africa and Asia, the developed world experiences a similarly large amount of new development.
Epigenome environment interactions accelerate epigenomic aging and unlock metabolically restricted epigenetic reprogramming in adulthood
Authors: Treviño Lindsey S. , Dong Jianrong , Kaushal Ahkilesh , Katz Tiffany A. , Jangid Rahul Kumar , Robertson Matthew J. , Grimm Sandra L. , Ambati Chandra Shekar R. , Putluri Vasanta , Cox Aaron R. , Kim Kang Ho , May Thaddeus D. , Gallo Morgan R. , Moore David D. , Hartig Sean M. , Foulds Charles E. , Putluri Nagireddy , Coarfa Cristian , Walker Cheryl Lyn
Published: May 2020

Our early-life environment has a profound influence on developing organs that impacts metabolic function and determines disease susceptibility across the life-course. Using a rat model for exposure to an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), we show that early-life chemical exposure causes metabolic dysfunction in adulthood and reprograms histone marks in the developing liver to accelerate acquisition of an adult epigenomic signature. This epigenomic reprogramming persists long after the initial exposure, but many reprogrammed genes remain transcriptionally silent with their impact on metabolism not revealed until a later life exposure to a Western-style diet. Diet-dependent metabolic disruption was largely driven by reprogramming of the Early Growth Response 1 (EGR1) transcriptome and production of metabolites in pathways linked to cholesterol, lipid and one-carbon metabolism. These findings demonstrate the importance of epigenome:environment interactions, which early in life accelerate epigenomic aging, and later in adulthood unlock metabolically restricted epigenetic reprogramming to drive metabolic dysfunction.
Tuning the activities of cuprous oxide nanostructures via the oxide-metal interaction
Authors: Huang Wugen , Liu Qingfei , Zhou Zhiwen , Li Yangsheng , Ling Yunjian , Wang Yong , Tu Yunchuan , Wang Beibei , Zhou Xiaohong , Deng Dehui , Yang Bo , Yang Yong , Liu Zhi , Bao Xinhe , Yang Fan
Published: May 2020

Despite tremendous importance in catalysis, the design of oxide-metal interface has been hampered by the limited understanding of the nature of interfacial sites and the oxide-metal interaction (OMI). Through construction of well-defined Cu2O/Pt, Cu2O/Ag and Cu2O/Au interfaces, we find that Cu2O nanostructures (NSs) on Pt exhibit much lower thermal stability than on Ag and Au, although they show the same structure. The activities of these interfaces are compared for CO oxidation and follow the order of Cu2O/Pt > Cu2O/Au > Cu2O/Ag. OMI is found to determine the activity and stability of supported Cu2O NSs, which could be described by the formation energy of interfacial oxygen vacancy. Further, electronic interaction between Cu+ and metal substrates is found center to OMI, where the d band center could be used as a key descriptor. Our study provides insight for OMI and for the development of Cu-based catalysts for low temperature oxidation reactions.
Imaging radiation dose in breast radiotherapy by X-ray CT calibration of Cherenkov light
Authors: Hachadorian R. L. , Bruza P. , Jermyn M. , Gladstone D. J. , Pogue B. W. , Jarvis L. A.
Published: May 2020

Imaging Cherenkov emission during radiation therapy cancer treatments can provide a real-time, non-contact sampling of the entire dose field. The emitted Cherenkov signal generated is proportional to deposited dose, however, it is affected by attenuation from the intrinsic tissue optical properties of the patient, which in breast, ranges from primarily adipose to fibroglandular tissue. Patients being treated with whole-breast X-ray radiotherapy (n = 13) were imaged for 108 total fractions, to establish correction factors from the linear relationships between Cherenkov light and CT number (HU). This study elucidates this relationship in vivo, and a correction factor approach is used to scale each image to improve the linear correlation between Cherenkov emission intensity and dose ($$R_{6X}^2 = 0.85,\,R_{10X}^2 = 0.95$$R6X2=0.85,R10X2=0.95). This study provides a major step towards direct quantitative radiation dose imaging in humans by utilizing non-contact camera sensing of Cherenkov emission during the radiation therapy treatment.
Sequential Ras/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways recruitment drives basal extrusion in the prostate-like gland of Drosophila
Authors: Rambur Amandine , Lours-Calet Corinne , Beaudoin Claude , Buñay Julio , Vialat Marine , Mirouse Vincent , Trousson Amalia , Renaud Yoan , Lobaccaro Jean-Marc A. , Baron Silvère , Morel Laurent , de Joussineau Cyrille
Published: May 2020

One of the most important but less understood step of epithelial tumourigenesis occurs when cells acquire the ability to leave their epithelial compartment. This phenomenon, described as basal epithelial cell extrusion (basal extrusion), represents the first step of tumour invasion. However, due to lack of adequate in vivo model, implication of emblematic signalling pathways such as Ras/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathways, is scarcely described in this phenomenon. We have developed a unique model of basal extrusion in the Drosophila accessory gland. There, we demonstrate that both Ras/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways are necessary for basal extrusion. Furthermore, as in prostate cancer, we show that these pathways are co-activated. This occurs through set up of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Insulin Receptor (InR) dependent autocrine loops, a phenomenon that, considering human data, could be relevant for prostate cancer.
Helical supramolecular polymers with rationally designed binding sites for chiral guest recognition
Authors: Salikolimi Krishnachary , Praveen Vakayil K. , Sudhakar Achalkumar Ammathnadu , Yamada Kuniyo , Horimoto Noriko Nishizawa , Ishida Yasuhiro
Published: May 2020

Since various helical supramolecular polymers became available, their application to molecular chirality recognition have been anticipated but not extensively studied. So far, only a few examples of chiral reactions have been reported, but none for chiral separation. Here, we report the application of a helical supramolecular polymer to the enantio-separation of chiral guest molecules. The monomer of this supramolecular polymer is the salt-pair of a dendritic carboxylic acid with an enantiopure amino alcohol. In an apolar solvent, this salt-pair stacks via hydrogen bonds to form a helical polymer. In conjunction with this carboxylic acid, various amino alcohols afford supramolecular polymers, whose helical handedness is determined by the stereochemistry of the amino alcohols. When two salts with the same chirality are mixed, they undergo copolymerization, while those with opposite chirality do not. Owing to this stereoselective copolymerizability, the helical supramolecular polymer could bias the enantiomeric composition of chiral amino alcohols.
Acoustic analogues of three-dimensional topological insulators
Authors: He Cheng , Lai Hua-Shan , He Bo , Yu Si-Yuan , Xu Xiangyuan , Lu Ming-Hui , Chen Yan-Feng
Published: May 2020

Topological insulators (TIs) can host an insulating gapped bulk with conducting gapless boundary states in lower dimensions than the bulk. To date, various kinds of classical wave TIs with gapless symmetry-protected boundary states have been discovered, promising for the efficient confinement and robust guiding of waves. However, for airborne sound, an acoustic analogue of a three-dimensional TI has not been achieved due to its spinless nature. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a three-dimensional topological acoustic crystal with pseudospins using bilayer chiral structures, in which multi-order topological bandgaps are generated step by step via elaborately manipulating the corresponding spatial symmetries. We observe acoustic analogues of 1st-order (two-dimensional gapless surface Dirac cones) and 2nd-order (one-dimensional gapless hinge Dirac dispersion) TIs in three dimensions, supporting robust surface or hinge sound transport. Based solely on spatial symmetry, our work provides a route to engineer the hierarchies of TIs and explore topological devices for three-dimensional spinless systems.
Plasma membrane damage causes NLRP3 activation and pyroptosis during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Authors: Beckwith Kai S. , Beckwith Marianne S. , Ullmann Sindre , Sætra Ragnhild S. , Kim Haelin , Marstad Anne , Åsberg Signe E. , Strand Trine A. , Haug Markus , Niederweis Michael , Stenmark Harald A. , Flo Trude H.
Published: May 2020

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a global health problem in part as a result of extensive cytotoxicity caused by the infection. Here, we show how M. tuberculosis causes caspase-1/NLRP3/gasdermin D-mediated pyroptosis of human monocytes and macrophages. A type VII secretion system (ESX-1) mediated, contact-induced plasma membrane damage response occurs during phagocytosis of bacteria. Alternatively, this can occur from the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane after phagosomal rupture in infected macrophages. This damage causes K+ efflux and activation of NLRP3-dependent IL-1β release and pyroptosis, facilitating the spread of bacteria to neighbouring cells. A dynamic interplay of pyroptosis with ESCRT-mediated plasma membrane repair also occurs. This dual plasma membrane damage seems to be a common mechanism for NLRP3 activators that function through lysosomal damage.
Exploring dynamic interactions of single nanoparticles at interfaces for surface-confined electrochemical behavior and size measurement
Authors: Ma Hui , Chen Jian-Fu , Wang Hai-Feng , Hu Pei-Jun , Ma Wei , Long Yi-Tao
Published: May 2020

With the development of new instruments and methodologies, the highly dynamic behaviors of nanoparticle at the liquid-solid interface have been studied. However, the dynamic nature of the electrochemical behavior of individual nanoparticles on the electrode interface is still poorly understood. Here, we generalize scaling relations to predict nanoparticle-electrode interactions by examining the adsorption energy of nanoparticles at an ultramicroelectrode interface. Based on the theoretical predictions, we investigate the interaction-modulated dynamic electrochemical behaviors for the oxidation of individual Ag nanoparticles. Typically, significantly distinct current traces are observed owing to the adsorption-mediated motion of Ag nanoparticles. Inspired by restraining the stochastic paths of particles in the vicinity of the electrode interface to produce surface-confined current traces, we successfully realize high-resolution size measurements of Ag nanoparticles in mixed-sample systems. This work offers a better understanding of dynamic interactions of nanoparticles at the electrochemical interface and displays highly valuable applications of single-entity electrochemistry.
Light-powered Escherichia coli cell division for chemical production
Authors: Ding Qiang , Ma Danlei , Liu Gao-Qiang , Li Yang , Guo Liang , Gao Cong , Hu Guipeng , Ye Chao , Liu Jia , Liu Liming , Chen Xiulai
Published: May 2020

Cell division can perturb the metabolic performance of industrial microbes. The C period of cell division starts from the initiation to the termination of DNA replication, whereas the D period is the bacterial division process. Here, we first shorten the C and D periods of E. coli by controlling the expression of the ribonucleotide reductase NrdAB and division proteins FtsZA through blue light and near-infrared light activation, respectively. It increases the specific surface area to 3.7 μm−1 and acetoin titer to 67.2 g·L−1. Next, we prolong the C and D periods of E. coli by regulating the expression of the ribonucleotide reductase NrdA and division protein inhibitor SulA through blue light activation-repression and near-infrared (NIR) light activation, respectively. It improves the cell volume to 52.6 μm3 and poly(lactate-co-3-hydroxybutyrate) titer to 14.31 g·L−1. Thus, the optogenetic-based cell division regulation strategy can improve the efficiency of microbial cell factories.
Author Correction: TFPa/HADHA is required for fatty acid beta-oxidation and cardiolipin re-modeling in human cardiomyocytes
Authors: Miklas Jason W. , Clark Elisa , Levy Shiri , Detraux Damien , Leonard Andrea , Beussman Kevin , Showalter Megan R. , Smith Alec T. , Hofsteen Peter , Yang Xiulan , Macadangdang Jesse , Manninen Tuula , Raftery Daniel , Madan Anup , Suomalainen Anu , Kim Deok-Ho , Murry Charles E. , Fiehn Oliver , Sniadecki Nathan J. , Wang Yuliang , Ruohola-Baker Hannele
Published: May 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Chemical modification of proteins by insertion of synthetic peptides using tandem protein trans-splicing
Authors: Khoo K. K. , Galleano I. , Gasparri F. , Wieneke R. , Harms H. , Poulsen M. H. , Chua H. C. , Wulf M. , Tampé R. , Pless S. A.
Published: May 2020

Manipulation of proteins by chemical modification is a powerful way to decipher their function. However, most ribosome-dependent and semi-synthetic methods have limitations in the number and type of modifications that can be introduced, especially in live cells. Here, we present an approach to incorporate single or multiple post-translational modifications or non-canonical amino acids into proteins expressed in eukaryotic cells. We insert synthetic peptides into GFP, NaV1.5 and P2X2 receptors via tandem protein trans-splicing using two orthogonal split intein pairs and validate our approach by investigating protein function. We anticipate the approach will overcome some drawbacks of existing protein enigineering methods.
Publisher Correction: Plate-nanolattices at the theoretical limit of stiffness and strength
Authors: Crook Cameron , Bauer Jens , Guell Izard Anna , Santos de Oliveira Cristine , Martins de Souza e Silva Juliana , Berger Jonathan B. , Valdevit Lorenzo
Published: May 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Therapeutic vaccination with IDLV-SIV-Gag results in durable viremia control in chronically SHIV-infected macaques
Authors: Blasi Maria , Wescott Elizabeth C. , Baker Erich J. , Mildenberg Benjamin , LaBranche Celia , Rountree Wes , Haynes Barton F. , Saunders Kevin O. , Moody M. Anthony , Negri Donatella , Santra Sampa , Cara Andrea , Klotman Mary E.
Published: May 2020

Despite incredible scientific efforts, there is no cure for HIV infection. While antiretroviral treatment (ART) can help control the virus and prevent transmission, it cannot eradicate HIV from viral reservoirs established before the initiation of therapy. Further, HIV-infected individuals reliably exhibit viral rebound when ART is interrupted, suggesting that the host immune response fails to control viral replication in persistent reservoirs. Therapeutic vaccines are one current approach to improving antiviral host immune responses and enhance long term virus control. In the present study, we used an integrase defective lentiviral vector (IDLV) expressing SIV-Gag to boost anti-Gag specific immune responses in macaques chronically infected with the tier-2 SHIV-1157(QNE)Y173H. A single immunization with IDLV-SIV-Gag induced durable (>20 weeks) virus control in 55% of the vaccinated macaques, correlating with an increased magnitude of SIV-Gag specific CD8+ T-cell responses. IDLV-based therapeutic vaccines are therefore an effective approach to improve virus specific CD8+ T-cell responses and mediate virus control.
Reactants, products, and transition states of elementary chemical reactions based on quantum chemistry
Authors: Grambow Colin A. , Pattanaik Lagnajit , Green William H.
Published: May 2020

Reaction times, activation energies, branching ratios, yields, and many other quantitative attributes are important for precise organic syntheses and generating detailed reaction mechanisms. Often, it would be useful to be able to classify proposed reactions as fast or slow. However, quantitative chemical reaction data, especially for atom-mapped reactions, are difficult to find in existing databases. Therefore, we used automated potential energy surface exploration to generate 12,000 organic reactions involving H, C, N, and O atoms calculated at the ωB97X-D3/def2-TZVP quantum chemistry level. We report the results of geometry optimizations and frequency calculations for reactants, products, and transition states of all reactions. Additionally, we extracted atom-mapped reaction SMILES, activation energies, and enthalpies of reaction. We believe that this data will accelerate progress in automated methods for organic synthesis and reaction mechanism generation—for example, by enabling the development of novel machine learning models for quantitative reaction prediction.
Post-treatment levels of plasma 25- and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D and mortality in men with aggressive prostate cancer
Authors: Nair-Shalliker Visalini , Bang Albert , Egger Sam , Clements Mark , Gardiner Robert A. , Kricker Anne , Seibel Markus J. , Chambers Suzanne K. , Kimlin Michael G. , Armstrong Bruce K. , Smith David P.
Published: May 2020

Vitamin D may reduce mortality from prostate cancer (PC). We examined the associations of post-treatment plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentrations with PC mortality. Participants were PC cases from the New South Wales Prostate Cancer Care. All contactable and consenting participants, at 4.9 to 8.6 years after diagnosis, were interviewed and had plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) measured in blood specimens. Cox regression allowing for left-truncation was used to calculate adjusted mortality hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for all-cause and PC-specific mortality in relation to vitamin D levels and other potentially-predictive variables. Of the participants (n = 111; 75·9% response rate), there were 198 deaths from any cause and 41 from PC in the study period. Plasma 25(OH)D was not associated with all-cause or PC-specific mortality (p-values > 0·10). Plasma 1,25(OH)2D was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (HR for highest relative to lowest quartile = 0·45; 95% CI: 0·29–0·69), and PC-specific mortality (HR = 0·40; 95% CI: 0·14–1·19). These associations were apparent only in men with aggressive PC: all-cause mortality HR = 0·28 (95% CI·0·15–0·52; p-interaction = 0·07) and PC-specific mortality HR = 0·26 (95% CI: 0·07–1.00). Time spent outdoors was also associated with lower all-cause (HR for 4th relative to 1st exposure quartile = 0·42; 95% CI: 0·24–0·75) and PC-specific (HR = 0·48; 95% CI: 0·14–1·64) mortality, although the 95% CI for the latter was wide. The inverse association between post-treatment plasma 1,25(OH)2D levels and all-cause and PC-specific mortality in men with aggressive PC, suggest a possible beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation in these men.
Author Correction: Projected distribution and climate refugia of endangered Kashmir musk deer Moschus cupreus in greater Himalaya, South Asia
Authors: Singh Paras Bikram , Mainali Kumar , Jiang Zhigang , Thapa Arjun , Subedi Naresh , Awan Muhammad Naeem , Ilyas Orus , Luitel Himal , Zhou Zhixin , Hu Huijian
Published: May 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Mutualistic cross-feeding in microbial systems generates bistability via an Allee effect
Authors: Vet Stefan , Gelens Lendert , Gonze Didier
Published: May 2020

In microbial ecosystems, species not only compete for common resources but may also display mutualistic interactions as a result from metabolic cross-feeding. Such mutualism can lead to bistability. Depending on the initial population sizes, species will either survive or go extinct. Various phenomenological models have been suggested to describe bistability in mutualistic systems. However, these models do not account for interaction mediators such as nutrients. In contrast, nutrient-explicit models do not provide an intuitive understanding of what causes bistability. Here, we reduce a theoretical nutrient-explicit model of two mutualistic cross-feeders in a chemostat, uncovering an explicit relation to a growth model with an Allee effect. We show that the dilution rate in the chemostat leads to bistability by turning a weak Allee effect into a strong Allee effect. This happens as long as there is more production than consumption of cross-fed nutrients. Thanks to the explicit relationship of the reduced model with the underlying experimental parameters, these results allow to predict the biological conditions that sustain or prevent the survival of mutualistic species.
Assessment of soil fertility and potato crop nutrient status in central and eastern highlands of Kenya
Authors: Mugo James. N. , Karanja Nancy N. , Gachene Charles K. , Dittert Klaus , Nyawade Shadrack O. , Schulte-Geldermann Elmar
Published: May 2020

Inherent low soil fertility remains a hindrance to potato production in Kenya and continues to pose a threat to food security. A study was conducted in Nyandarua and Meru counties to assess the soil fertility status in smallholder potato farms. Soil and plant tissue samples were collected and analysed for selected nutrients (pH, OC, N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Zn, B and Cu) from 198 farms. Critical nutrient levels were used to assess the sufficiency levels of nutrients for potato growth. Soils in the sampled farms were weakly to strongly acidic (pH-CaCl2 3.9–6.6) and had low to high soil organic matter content (1.5–97.5 g Kg−1). The percent of farms in Meru and Nyandarua with nutrient contents below critical levels were 66% and 20% for N, 46% and 85% for P, 67% and 31% for S, 9% and 51% for Cu, and 87% and 80% for B, respectively. Low tissue nutrient concentrations were observed for N, P, K, and S irrespective of the sites. Soil pH correlated strongly with majority of the analyzed soil and tissue nutrients. These results affirm the need to design integrative soil fertility management strategies to correct the impoverished soil fertility status in the study area.
Differentiation of Hispanic biogeographic ancestry with 80 ancestry informative markers
Authors: Setser Casandra H. , Planz John V. , Barber Robert C. , Phillips Nicole R. , Chakraborty Ranajit , Cross Deanna S.
Published: May 2020

Ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can identify biogeographic ancestry (BGA); however, population substructure and relatively recent admixture can make differentiation difficult in heterogeneous Hispanic populations. Utilizing unrelated individuals from the Genomic Origins and Admixture in Latinos dataset (GOAL, n = 160), we designed an 80 SNP panel (Setser80) that accurately depicts BGA through STRUCTURE and PCA. We compared our Setser80 to the Seldin and Kidd panels via resampling simulations, which models data based on allele frequencies. We incorporated Admixed American 1000 Genomes populations (1000 G, n = 347), into a combined populations dataset to determine robustness. Using multinomial logistic regression (MLR), we compared the 3 panels on the combined dataset and found overall MLR classification accuracies: 93.2% Setser80, 87.9% Seldin panel, 71.4% Kidd panel. Naïve Bayesian classification had similar results on the combined dataset: 91.5% Setser80, 84.7% Seldin panel, 71.1% Kidd panel. Although Peru and Mexico were absent from panel design, we achieved high classification accuracy on the combined populations for Peru (MLR = 100%, naïve Bayes = 98%), and Mexico (MLR = 90%, naïve Bayes = 83.4%) as evidence of the portability of the Setser80. Our results indicate the Setser80 SNP panel can reliably classify BGA for individuals of presumed Hispanic origin.
Generation of few-cycle multi-millijoule 2.5 μm pulses from a single-stage Cr2+:ZnSe amplifier
Authors: Wu Yi , Zhou Fangjie , Larsen Esben W. , Zhuang Fengjiang , Yin Yanchun , Chang Zenghu
Published: May 2020

Lasers capable of generating attosecond X-ray pulses in the water window (282 to 533 eV) through high-order harmonic generation are normally based on inefficient, multi-stage optical parametric amplifiers or optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers pumped by femtosecond or picosecond lasers. Here we report a very efficient single amplification stage laser based on traditional chirped pulse amplification capable of producing 4 mJ, near-transform limited 44 fs (<6 cycles), 1 kHz pulses centered at 2.5 μm. The ≈90 GW peak power is the highest value ever reached at this wavelength. In order to fully compress the laser pulses our system is built in a nitrogen box. Our system utilizes water cooled chromium doped zinc selenide (Cr2+:ZnSe) as the gain medium and is pumped by a commercial nanosecond holmium doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser.
Trait impulsivity and acute stress interact to influence choice and decision speed during multi-stage decision-making
Authors: Raio Candace M. , Konova Anna B. , Otto A. Ross
Published: May 2020

Impulsivity and stress exposure are two factors that are associated with changes in reward-related behavior in ways that are relevant to both healthy and maladaptive decision-making. Nonetheless, little empirical work has examined the possible independent and joint effects of these factors upon reward learning. Here, we sought to examine how trait impulsivity and acute stress exposure affect participants’ choice behavior and decision speed in a two-stage sequential reinforcement-learning task. We found that more impulsive participants were more likely to repeat second-stage choices after previous reward, irrespective of stress condition. Exposure to stress, on the other hand, was associated with an increased tendency to repeat second-stage choices independent of whether these choices previously led to a reward, and this tendency was exacerbated in more impulsive individuals. Such interaction effects between stress and impulsivity were also found on decision speed. Stress and impulsivity levels interacted to drive faster choices overall (again irrespective of reward) at both task stages, while reward received on the previous trial slowed subsequent first-stage choices, particularly among impulsive individuals under stress. Collectively, our results reveal novel, largely interactive effects of trait impulsivity and stress exposure and suggest that stress may reveal individual differences in decision-making tied to impulsivity that are not readily apparent in the absence of stress.
Surgical Outcomes of Patients with Diagnostic Preoperative Monocular Occlusion in Intermittent Exotropia
Authors: Lee Jin Young , Song Ji Eun , Chang Hae Ran , Choi Chul Young , Han So Young
Published: May 2020

We evaluated surgical outcomes of bilateral rectus (BLR) recession in patients with intermittent exotropia who underwent diagnostic monocular occlusion. Records of patients with intermittent exotropia who were preoperatively examined one-hour monocular occlusion and underwent BLR recession were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were classified into two groups based on change in exodeviation angle: responders (≥5 change in prism diopters [PD] after occlusion) or non-responders (<5 PD change after occlusion). BLR recession amount was determined by maximal angle deviation after occlusion tests in both groups. Overall follow-up period was 38.81 ± 24.09 months for non-responders (n = 106) and 38.52 ± 19.87 months for responders (n = 142) (p = 0.766). There was no difference in deviation before monocular occlusion between the two groups. Mean angle of deviation at distance (24.23 ± 6.27 PD) and near fixation (25.46 ± 6.78 PD) increased to distance (29.95 ± 6.43 PD) and near deviation (32.15 ± 6.17 PD) after occlusion in the responder group. At postoperative 1 year, surgical success rate was higher in responders (71.1%) than in non-responders (52.8%) (p = 0.003). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed significantly higher surgical success in responders (p = 0.001, log-rank test). Preoperative diagnostic monocular occlusion in patients with intermittent exotropia can influence surgical outcomes by identifying the latent exodeviation angle.
Cork oak and climate change: Disentangling drought effects on cork chemical composition
Authors: Leite Carla , Oliveira Vanda , Miranda Isabel , Pereira Helena
Published: May 2020

Climate change induces in the Mediterranean region more frequent and extreme events, namely, heat waves and droughts, disturbing forest species and affecting their productivity and product quality. The cork oak (Quercus suber) is present along the western Mediterranean basin and its outer bark (cork) is sustainably collected and used for several products, mainly wine bottle stoppers. Since most cork properties arise from its chemical composition, this research studies the effect of drought on cork chemical composition (suberin, lignin, polysaccharides and extractives) and on polysaccharide and suberin monomeric composition. Three sets of cork samples, from the same site, were examined: in one set the cork grew without drought; in another two drought events occurred during cork growth and in the third one drought event happened. The results show that, in general, drought does not affect the proportion of the main components of cork, the monomers of suberin or of polysaccharides, with few exceptions e.g. drought increased ethanol extractives and xylose in polysaccharides and decreased arabinose in polysaccharides. The variability associated to the tree is much more relevant than the effect of drought conditions and affects all the parameters analyzed. Therefore, our research suggests that the tree genetic information, or its expression, plays a much more important role on the chemical composition of cork than the drought conditions occurring during cork growth. In practical terms, the potential increased occurrence of droughts arising from climatic changes will not compromise the performance of cork as a sealant for wine bottles.
Feasibility between Bifidobacteria Targeting and Changes in the Acoustic Environment of tumor Tissue for Synergistic HIFU
Authors: Xu Die , Zou Wenjuan , Luo Yong , Gao Xuan , Jiang Binglei , Wang Yaotai , Jiang Fujie , Xiong Jie , Chen Chun , Tang Yu , Qiao Hai , Li Huanan , Zou Jianzhong
Published: May 2020

High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been recently shown as a rapidly developing new technique for non-invasive ablation of local tumors whose therapeutic efficiency can be significantly improved by changing the tissue acoustic environment (AET). Currently, the method of changing AET is mainly to introduce a medium with high acoustic impedance, but there are some disadvantages such as low retention of the introduced medium in the target area and a short residence time during the process. In our strategy, anaerobic bacterium Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum) which can colonize selectively in hypoxic regions of the animal body was successfully localized and shown to proliferate in the hypoxic zone of tumor tissue, overcoming the above disadvantages. This study aimed to explore the effects of Bifidobacteria on AET (including the structure and acoustic properties of tumor tissues) and HIFU ablation at different time. The results show that the injection of Bifidobacteria increased the collagen fibre number, elastic modulus and sound velocity and decreased neovascularization in tumor tissues. The number of collagen fibres and neovascularization decreased significantly over time. Under the same HIFU irradiation intensity, the B. longum injection increased the coagulative necrosis volume and decreased the energy efficiency factor (EEF). This study confirmed that Bifidobacteria can change the AET and increase the deposition of ultrasonic energy and thereby the efficiency of HIFU. In addition, the time that Bifidobacteria stay in the tumor area after injection is an important factor. This research provides a novel approach for synergistic biologically targeted HIFU therapy.
Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying working memory encoding and retrieval in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Ortega Rodrigo , López Vladimir , Carrasco Ximena , Escobar María Josefina , García Adolfo M. , Parra Mario A. , Aboitiz Francisco
Published: May 2020

Working memory (WM) impairments in ADHD have been consistently reported along with deficits in attentional control. Yet, it is not clear which specific WM processes are affected in this condition. A deficient coupling between attention and WM has been reported. Nevertheless, most studies focus on the capacity to retain information rather than on the attention-dependent stages of encoding and retrieval. The current study uses a visual short-term memory binding task, measuring both behavioral and electrophysiological responses to characterize WM encoding, binding and retrieval comparing ADHD and non-ADHD matched adolescents. ADHD exhibited poorer accuracy and larger reaction times than non-ADHD on all conditions but especially when a change across encoding and test displays occurred. Binding manipulation affected equally both groups. Encoding P3 was larger in the non-ADHD group. Retrieval P3 discriminated change only in the non-ADHD group. Binding-dependent ERP modulations did not reveal group differences. Encoding and retrieval P3 were significantly correlated only in non-ADHD. These results suggest that while binding processes seem to be intact in ADHD, attention-related encoding and retrieval processes are compromised, resulting in a failure in the prioritization of relevant information. This new evidence can also inform recent theories of binding in visual WM.
Assessment of haptoglobin alleles in autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Cupaioli Francesca Anna , Mosca Ettore , Magri Chiara , Gennarelli Massimo , Moscatelli Marco , Raggi Maria Elisabetta , Landini Martina , Galluccio Nadia , Villa Laura , Bonfanti Arianna , Renieri Alessandra , Fallerini Chiara , Minelli Alessandra , Marabotti Anna , Milanesi Luciano , Fasano Alessio , Mezzelani Alessandra
Published: May 2020

Gene-environment interactions, by means of abnormal macromolecular intestinal adsorption, is one of the possible causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) predominantly in patients with gastrointestinal disorders. Pre-haptoglobin-2 (zonulin), encoded by theHaptoglobin(HP) allele-2 gene, enhances the intestinal permeability by modulation of intercellular tight junctions. The two alleles ofHP,HP1andHP2, differ for 2 extra exons inHP2that result in exon duplication undetectable by classic genome-wide association studies. To evaluate the role ofHP2in ASD pathogenesis and to set up a method to discriminateHPalleles, Italian subjects with ASD (n = 398) and healthy controls (n = 379) were genotyped by PCR analysis; subsequently, the PCR results were integrated with microarray genotypes (Illumina Human Omni 1S-8), obtained using a subset from the same subjects, and then we developed a computational method to predictHPalleles. On the contrary to our expectations, there was no association betweenHP2and ASD (P > 0.05), and there was no significant allele association in subjects with ASD with or without gastrointestinal disorders (P > 0.05). With the aid of bioinformatics analysis, from a window frame of ~2 Mb containing 314 SNPs, we obtain imputation accuracy (r2) between 0.4 and 0.9 (median 0.7) and correct predictions were between 70% and 100% (median 90%). The conclusions endorse that enhanced intestinal permeability in subjects with ASD should not be imputed toHP2but to other members of the zonulin family and/or to environmental factors.
Relevance of Caspase-1 and Nlrp3 Inflammasome on Inflammatory Bone Resorption in A Murine Model of Periodontitis
Authors: Rocha Fernanda R G. , Delitto Andrea E. , de Souza Joao A. Chaves , González-Maldonado Laura A. , Wallet Shannon M. , Rossa Junior Carlos
Published: May 2020

This study investigates the role of NLRP3 inflammasome and its main effector Caspase-1 in inflammation and alveolar bone resorption associated with periodontitis. Heat-killed Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) was injected 3x/week (4 weeks) into gingival tissues of wild-type (WT), Nlrp3-KO and Caspase1-KO mice. Bone resorption was measured by µCT and osteoclast number was determined by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. Inflammation was assessed histologically (H/E staining and immunofluorescence of CD45 and Ly6G). In vitro studies determined the influence of Nlrp3 and Caspase-1 in Rankl-induced osteoclast differentiation and activity and on LPS-induced expression of inflammation-associated genes. Bone resorption was significantly reduced in Casp1-KO but not in Nlrp3-KO mice. Casp1-KO mice had increased in osteoclast numbers, whereas the inflammatory infiltrate or on gene expression were similar to those of WT and Nlrp3-KO mice. Strikingly, osteoclasts differentiated from Nlrp3-deficient macrophages had increased resorbing activity in vitro. LPS-induced expression of Il-10, Il-12 and Tnf-α was significantly reduced in Nlrp3- and Casp1-deficient macrophages. As an inceptive study, these results suggest that Nlrp3 inflammasome does not play a significant role in inflammation and bone resorption in vivo and that Caspase-1 has a pro-resorptive role in experimental periodontal disease.