bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ChemInform Abstract: Studies on Sugar Nitro‐olefins. Part 5. Reactions of Sugar Nitro‐alkenes with Acetoacetic Esters.
Authors: SANCHEZ A. G. , MANCERA M. , ROSADO F. , RICO M.
Published: May 2016

Die Addition der Heptenitole (I) an die β‐Dicarbonylverbindungen (II) führt zu den Michael‐Addukten (III).
ChemInform Abstract: HYDROGENOLYSIS OF SOME METHYL 4,6‐O‐BENZYLIDENE‐α‐D‐MANNOPYRANOSIDE DERIVATIVES: UNAMBIGUOUS SYNTHESIS OF THE 2,4‐ AND 3,4‐DIMETHYL ETHERS OF METHYL α‐D‐MANNOPYRANOSIDE
Authors: NOUMI K. , KITAGAWA S. , KONDO Y. , HIRANO S.
Published: May 2016

Die Reduktion der Benzyliden‐mannoside (I) führt zu den Dibenzylethern (II), aus denen nach Methylierung zu (III) und katalytischer Hydrierung die Zielverbindungen (IV) erhalten werden.
ChemInform Abstract: SYNTHETIC TRANSFORMATIONS OF TRANSIENT PURINYL RADICALS: FORMATION OF MONO‐ AND DIARYLATED AND HETEROARYLATED NUCLEOSIDES
Authors: NAIR V. , YOUNG D. A.
Published: May 2016

Guanosin (I) liefert nach Chlorierung "und Acetylierung das Chlor‐amino‐purin (II), das über das Diazoniumsalz in das Chlor‐iod‐purin (III) übergeführt wird.
ChemInform Abstract: AMINO ACIDS AND PEPTIDES. CLXXXIX. CYCLIC MELANOTROPINS. VIII. MODIFICATION ION OF THE DISULFIDE BRIDGE IN CYCLIC MELANOTROPINS
Authors: LEBL M. , CODY W. L. , WILKES B. C. , HRUBY V. J. , DE L. CASTRUCCI A. M. , HADLEY M. E.
Published: May 2016

Ein cyclisches Analoges (llc), das eine Thiomethylenbrücke zwischen den Bausteinen 4 und l0 anstatt der S‐S‐Brücke im α‐Melanotropin (I)‐Analogen (IIb) aufweist, wird synthetisiert [(Ilb) bzw. (IIc) leiten sich vom hochaktiven (I)‐Analogen (IIa) ab].
ChemInform Abstract: CROSS‐COUPLING OF VINYL CUPRATES AND ALLYLIC HALIDES AND SYNTHESIS OF THE COMSTOCK MEALYBUG PHEROMONE VIA PHOTOOXIDATION OF 2,6‐DIMETHYL‐2,5‐HEPTADIENE
Authors: BAECKSTROEM P. + , BJOERKLING F. + , HOEGBERG H.‐E. + , NORIN T.
Published: May 2016

Über das aus (I) erhaltene Li‐Cuprat (III) wird das Dien (V) dargestellt, dessen Photooxidation die Alkohole (VII) und (VIII) liefert.
ChemInform Abstract: STEREOSPECIFIC SYNTHESIS OF TABTOXIN
Authors: BALDWIN J. E. , BAILEY P. D. , GALLACHER G. , OTSUKA M. , SINGLETON K. A. , WALLACE P. M. , PROUT K. , WOLF W. M.
Published: May 2016

Die Titelverbindung (VII), das für die Erkrankung von Tabakpflanzen verantwortliche Exotoxin von Pseudomonas tabaci, wird auf dem beschriebenen Weg synthetisiert.
ChemInform Abstract: STEREOSPECIFIC SYNTHESIS OF EXO‐TRISUBSTITUTED OLEFINS. THE HIGHLY EFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF CARBACYCLINS
Authors: SHIBASAKI M. , SODEOKA M. , OGAWA Y.
Published: May 2016

Das O1e?n (1) wird reduktiv mit Hilfe des Komplexes (II) in das expcyclische ungesättigte Bicyclooctan (III) übergeführt.
ChemInform Abstract: PROPERTIES AND STRUCTURE OF LANTHANUM BORATE GLASSES
Authors: CHAKRABORTY I. N. , SHELBY J. E. , CONDRATE R. A. SEN.
Published: May 2016

Stabile Nichtmischbar‐ keit verhindert die Bildung von klaren La2O3‐B2O3‐Gläsern im Bereich zwischen 0 und 20 mol‐% La2O3, in dem eine Zweiphasenmorphologie überwiegt, während zwischen 20 und 28 mol‐% La2O3 Gläser von hoher Qualität hergestellt werden können.
2‐D approximation of a structured packed bed column
Authors: Sahu Pankaj Kumar , Schulze Sebastian , Nikrityuk Petr
Published: May 2016

One of the challenges in the numerical modelling of chemically reacting multi‐phase flows, e.g. including solid particles and a gas phase, is the complexity of transport processes occurring on the particle surface. This complexity is the result of coupling between the gas flow in the void spaces, which is three‐dimensional a priori, and heterogeneous reactions on the particle surface. This complexity and three‐dimensionality of the flow requires the use of computationally expensive numerical grids to resolve the particle surface and the void space between particles. Thus, as of yet it is not feasible to simulate the heat and mass transfer in different fixed‐bed reactors (with as many as hundreds of thousands of particles) resolving all particles. At the same time, the accuracy of existing 1‐D models depends on the empirical closure relations describing the heat and mass transfer between particles and the fluid flow. In this view, one way to solve this problem applied to a structured packed bed is to approximate the particulate beds using 2‐D geometry, which will still allow us to calculate the heat and mass transfer directly without using any empirical relations. Thus, the main subject of this work is the development and validation of an axisymmetric representative element approximating the heat and species transport, and gas flow in a 3‐D structured fixed bed with different porosities. Comparative analysis of 3‐D and 2‐D simulations shows acceptable agreement. Finally, we explore the influence of the void fraction on the gas‐phase temperature behaviour between particles.
Electrophilic 5‐Substituted Uracils as Potential Radiosensitizers: A Density Functional Theory Study
Authors: Makurat Samanta , Chomicz‐Mańka Lidia , Rak Janusz
Published: May 2016

Although 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (5BrdU) possesses significant radiosensitizing power in vitro, clinical studies do not confirm any advantages of radiotherapy employing 5BrdU. This situation calls for a continuous search for efficient radiosensitizers. Using the proposed mechanism of radiosensitization by 5BrdU, we propose a series of 5‐substituted uracils, XYU, that should undergo efficient dissociative electron attachment. The DFT‐calculated thermodynamic and kinetic data concerning the XYU degradations induced by electron addition suggests that some of the scrutinized derivatives have much better characteristics than 5BrdU itself. Synthesis of these promising candidates for radiosensitizers, followed by studies of their radiosensitizing properties in DNA context, and ultimately in cancer cells, are further steps to confirm their potential applicability in anticancer treatment.
Transcriptome‐Based Analysis of Molecular Pathways for Clusterin Functions in Kidney Cells
Authors: Dairi Ghida , Guan Qiunong , Roshan‐Moniri Mani , Collins Colin C. , Ong Christopher J. , Gleave Martin E. , Nguan Christopher Y.C. , Du Caigan
Published: May 2016

Clusterin (CLU) is a chaperone‐like protein and plays a protective role against renal ischemia‐reperfusion injury (IRI); however, the molecular pathways for its functions in the kidney are not fully understood. This study was designed to investigate CLU‐mediating pathways in kidney cells by using bioinformatics analysis. CLU null renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) expressing human CLU cDNA (TEC‐CLUhCLU) or empty vector (TEC‐CLU−/−) were exposed to normoxia or hypoxia (1% O2). Transcriptome profiling with a significant twofold change was performed using SurePrint G3 Mouse Gene Expression 8 × 60 K microarray, and the signaling pathways was ranked by using Ingenuity pathway analysis. Here, we showed that compared to CLU null controls, ectopic expression of human CLU in CLU null kidney cells promoted cell growth but inhibited migration in normoxia, and enhanced cell survival in hypoxia. CLU expression affected expression of 3864 transcripts (1893 up‐regulated) in normoxia and 3670 transcripts (1925 up‐regulated) in hypoxia. CLU functions in normoxia were associated mostly with AKT2/PPP2R2B‐dependent PI3K/AKT, PTEN, VEGF, and ERK/MAPK signaling and as well with GSK3B‐mediated cell cycle progression. In addition to unfolded protein response (UPR) and/or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, CLU‐enhanced cell survival in hypoxia was also associated with PIK3CD/MAPK1‐dependent PI3K/AKT, HIF‐α, PTEN, VEGF, and ERK/MAPK signaling. In conclusion, our data showed that CLU functions in kidney cells were mainly mediated in a cascade manner by PI3K/AKT, PTEN, VEGF, and ERK/MAPK signaling, and specifically by activation of UPR/ER stress in hypoxia, providing new insights into the protective role of CLU in the kidney. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 2628–2638, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effects of cobalt content on mechanical and corrosion properties of electroless Ni‐Co‐P/TiN nanocomposite coatings
Authors: Shi L.T. , Hu J. , Fang L. , Wu F. , Liao X. L. , Meng F. M.
Published: May 2016

Ternary Ni‐Co‐P/TiN (20 nm) nanocomposite coatings with Co content in the range of 0–23 wt% were successfully co‐deposited on Al alloys by electroless plating. The morphology, composition, microstructure, micro‐hardness, wear behavior, and corrosion properties of the coatings were tested using SEM, EDS, XRD, Vickers hardness, ball‐on‐disc wear tester, and electrochemical workstation, respectively. The effect of Co content on the tribological and corrosion properties of Ni‐Co‐P/TiN coatings was studied. It is found that all the coatings have a compact and rough granular structure with sub‐micro globules non‐uniformly distributed on the surface. The grain size and the content of Ni and P decrease, but the micro‐hardness, adhesion force, friction coefficient, and corrosion resistance correspondingly enhance with the increase of Co content in Ni‐Co‐P/TiN coatings. The improved corrosion resistance of Ni‐Co‐P/TiN coating is due to the passivation behavior and small grain caused by the introduction of Co. Based on the excellent properties on the wear and corrosion resistance, ternary Ni‐Co23‐P/TiN coating with high Co content, may be applied as an optimum protective coating for Al alloys.
Evaluating the intergranular corrosion susceptibility of Al‐Mg‐Si‐Cu alloys using electrochemical methods
Authors: Schnatterer C. , Bulinger A. , Zander D.
Published: May 2016

The susceptibility of the 6056 aluminum alloy in the solution annealed (T4) and artificially aged (T6) condition to intergranular corrosion (IGC) was investigated utilizing the established testing standard ISO 11846 B and an electrochemical procedure specified as ISO 11846C. The first method showed significant differences in the corrosion properties of the materials, namely a high pitting susceptibility of the T4 treated material and an exclusive intergranular attack in the artificially aged samples. The electrochemical technique was not suitable to confirm these distinct corrosion properties. However, an alloy specific adaption of the standard was conducted to give comparable results and to qualify the method for high Cu containing 6000 alloys.
Determination of the corrosion rate inside historical brass wind instruments – Proof of concept
Authors: Elsener B. , Cocco F. , Fantauzzi M. , Palomba S. , Rossi A.
Published: May 2016

An electrochemical sensor has been tested on brass reference samples and applied on a mouthpiece of a historical brass instrument. Using a phosphate buffer solution pH 7 with 10−2, 10−3 and 10−4 M NaCl, the electrochemical response (open circuit potential, polarisation resistance) of the sensor corresponds to the results obtained in a traditional electrochemical cell. XPS surface analysis has shown that the brass surface composition after 7 min contact with the sensor is not altered when using 10−3 or 10−4 M NaCl. The sensor is fit for purpose and has already been applied in brass wind instruments.
Initial weight loss goals: have they changed and do they matter?
Authors: Lent M. R. , Vander Veur S. S. , Peters J. C. , Herring S. J. , Wyatt H. R. , Tewksbury C. , Wojtanowski A. C. , Hill J. O. , Foster G. D.
Published: May 2016

Objective

Nearly 20 years ago, participants in behavioural weight loss programmes reported goals that greatly exceeded the amount of weight typically produced by these programmes. Whether having unrealistic weight loss goals impacts weight loss or attrition is unclear. The intent of the current study was to revisit current weight loss goals and examine whether goals impact outcomes.

Methods

Adults (N = 308, BMI = 33.7 ± 4.2 kg/m2) participated in a 12‐month behavioural weight management programme and completed questionnaires about their goals.

Results

Participants' weight loss goal was 19.8 ± 7.9% of their body weight, and 90.4% selected a goal ≥10%. Weight goals were not associated with weight loss at 3 (p = 0.75) or 12 months (p = 0.47), or from 3 to 12 months (p = 0.55). Weight loss goals were not related to attrition at 3 (p = 0.91) or 12 months (p = 0.86). Participants believed that weight reduction would positively impact their health and psychosocial functioning.

Conclusion

Weight loss goals have decreased, but still greatly exceed what can be expected by most. Unrealistic goals, however, had no impact on weight loss or attrition. These results question the utility of counseling people with obesity to set more realistic weight loss goals, which is typically practiced in behavioural weight management.
Brief report: A confirmatory approach to the validation of the peer group norm questionnaire
Authors: Marshall‐Denton Rhea , Véronneau Marie‐Hélène , Dishion Thomas J.
Published: May 2016

This study evaluates the internal validity of the “Perception of Peer Group Norms Questionnaire” (PPGNQ), a 17‐item measure that assesses middle school students' perceptions of positive and negative norms among their grade mates. The sample consisted of 1073 Grade 6 students. The factorability of the two hypothesized factors was assessed with Exploratory Factor Analysis and a clear two‐factor structure emerged. Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis this two‐factor model evidenced good fit once items of similar wording and subject matter were permitted to correlate. Support was found for metric, strict, scalar, construct and latent means invariance between genders, suggesting that boys and girls perceived items similarly. The results indicate that the PPGNQ may be recommended as a research questionnaire that demonstrates high internal validity and measurement invariance, and can be used to study the influence of the perception of both negative and positive norms on adolescent behavior in school settings.
The Sexual Impact of Infertility Among Women Seeking Fertility Care
Authors: Winkelman William D. , Katz Patricia P. , Smith James F. , Rowen Tami S.
Published: May 2016

Introduction

Infertility affects approximately 6.7 million women in the United States. Couples with infertility have significantly more anxiety, depression, and stress. This is compounded by the fact that almost 40% of couples undergoing assisted reproduction technology still cannot conceive, which can have an ongoing effect on quality of life, marital adjustment, and sexual impact.

Aim

To assess the sexual impact of infertility in women undergoing fertility treatment.

Methods

This study is a cross-sectional analysis of women in infertile couples seeking treatment at academic or private infertility clinics. Basic demographic information was collected. Respondents were surveyed regarding sexual impact and perception of their infertility etiology. Multivariate regression analyses were used to identify factors independently associated with increased sexual impact.

Main Outcome Measure

Sexual impact of perceived fertility diagnosis.

Results

In total, 809 women met the inclusion criteria, of whom 437 (54%) agreed to participate and 382 completed the sexual impact items. Most of the infertility was female factor only (58.8%), whereas 30.4% of infertility was a combination of male and female factors, 7.3% was male factor only, and 3.5% was unexplained infertility. In bivariate and multivariate analyses, women who perceived they had female factor only infertility reported greater sexual impact compared with woman with male factor infertility (P = .01). Respondents who were younger than 40 years experienced a significantly higher sexual impact than respondents older than 40 years (P < .01). When stratified by primary and secondary infertility, respondents with primary infertility overall reported higher sexual impact scores.

Conclusion

In women seeking fertility treatment, younger age and female factor infertility were associated with increased sexual impact and thus these women are potentially at higher risk of sexual dysfunction. Providers should consider the role young age and an infertility diagnosis plays in a women’s sexual well-being.
Learning curves for laparoscopic hysterectomy after implementation of minimally invasive surgery
Authors: Mavrova Russalina , Radosa Julia C. , Wagenpfeil Gudrun , Hamza Amr , Solomayer Erich‐Franz , Juhasz‐Böss Ingolf
Published: May 2016

Objective

To evaluate the learning process for total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) and laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH) for benign uterine pathologies among surgeons inexperienced in laparoscopy.

Methods

A retrospective comparative study was conducted of all hysterectomies performed by four attending surgeons and three resident surgeons at a tertiary university center in Homburg/Saar, Germany. Laparoscopic procedures were assessed between October 1, 2009, and October 31, 2010 (period A); November 1, 2010, and March 31, 2012 (period B); and April 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013 (period C). Data were obtained by medical chart review.

Results

Overall, 269 patients underwent TLH and 165 underwent LSH. Duration of surgery for all surgeons decreased from 136 ± 60 minutes in period A to 118 ± 44 minutes in period B (P= 0.013), but increased to 122 ± 56 minutes in period C (A vs C:P= 0.067). Among attending surgeons, the duration of surgery seemed to decrease after 20 TLH procedures and after 10 LSH procedures. Among resident surgeons, duration decreased after 10 LSH procedures; no fall was apparent for TLH.

Conclusion

Both TLH and LSH were readily adopted among a group of surgeons inexperienced in laparoscopy, although LSH might be easier to learn. Experienced surgeons have a steeper learning curve than do their inexperienced counterparts.
Interleukin‐6, intracellular adhesion molecule‐1, and glycodelin A levels in serum and peritoneal fluid as biomarkers for endometriosis
Authors: Mosbah Alaa , Nabiel Yasmin , Khashaba Eman
Published: May 2016

Objective

To compare levels of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), intracellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1), and glycodelin A in serum and peritoneal fluid of patients with and without endometriosis, and to correlate levels with disease stage.

Methods

An observational study was undertaken at Mansoura University Hospital, Egypt, between March 2014 and June 2015. Patients aged 21–48 years laparoscopically diagnosed with endometriosis and those without endometriosis who underwent laparoscopy for tubal ligation were included. Levels of IL‐6, ICAM‐1, and glycodelin A were measured in samples of serum and peritoneal fluid. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy.

Results

Forty‐eight women with endometriosis and 20 without the disorder were included. IL‐6 and glycodelin A levels in serum and peritoneal fluid were higher in the endometriosis group than in the control group (P < 0.001 for all); ICAM‐1 levels did not differ. The sensitivity and specificity values were 93.8% and 80.0% for serum IL‐6, 58.3% and 60.0% for serum ICAM‐1, and 91.7% and 75.0% for serum glycodelin A. The corresponding values for peritoneal fluid markers were 85.4% and 89.0%, 60.4% and 50.0%, and 89.6% and 90.0%, respectively. IL‐6 and glycodelin A levels in serum and peritoneal fluid increased with disease stage (P < 0.001 for all).

Conclusion

IL‐6 and glycodelin A, but not ICAM‐1, are potential biomarkers for endometriosis and are positively correlated with the disease stage.
Factors predictive of mortality in a cohort of women surgically treated for breast cancer from 1997 to 2014
Authors: García‐Fernández Antonio , Barco Israel , Fraile Manel , Lain José M. , Carmona Ana , Gonzalez Sonia , Pessarrodona Antoni , Giménez Nuria , García‐Font Marc
Published: May 2016

Objective

To determine whether previously reported factors predictive of breast cancer mortality are effectively linked with mortality, particularly breast‐cancer‐specific mortality.

Methods

In a prospective study, clinical, surgical, and follow‐up data were assessed for consecutive patients with breast cancer who underwent surgery between 1997 and 2014 at two centers in Barcelona, Spain. Predictors of mortality were assessed by multivariate analysis.

Results

Overall, 2134 patients were treated for 2206 breast tumors. Overall mortality was 15.0% (n=319), and breast‐cancer‐specific mortality was 9.0% (n=191). On multivariate analysis, the most significant factors associated with breast‐cancer‐specific mortality were clinical stage, inmunohistochemical profile, locoregional relapse, and lymphovascular invasion (all P<0.001). Age at onset, participation in the mass‐screening program, histologic grade, and multicentricity were not significant. Patients with three or more positive axillary nodes sustained a specific mortality significantly higher than did node‐negative patients or those with fewer than three positive nodes.

Conclusion

Factors predictive of breast cancer mortality were clinical stage, locoregional relapse, molecular classification, lymphovascular invasion, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. As a single factor, nodal disease becomes relevant only when three or more lymph nodes are involved.
Pain-related distress and clinical depression in chronic pain: A comparison between two measures
Authors: Rusu Adina C. , Santos Rita , Pincus Tamar
Published: May 2016

Background and purpose

Depression is a frequent co-morbid diagnosis in chronic pain, and has been shown to predict poor outcome. Several reviews have described the difficulty in accurate and appropriate measurement of depression in pain patients, and have proposed a distinction between pain-related distress and clinical depression. Aims of the current study were to compare (a) the overlap and differential categorisation of pain patients as depressed, and (b) the relationship to disability between the Structured Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-Depression module) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D).

Methods

Seventy-eight chronic back pain patients were administered the SCID-D, the HADS-D and the Pain Disability Index (PDI).

Results

Significantly more patients were categorised with possible and probable depression by the HADS than the SCID-D. Results from Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that the HADS-D provided better discriminatory ability to detect disability, demonstrating a better balance between sensitivity and specificity compared to the SCID-D, although a direct comparison between the two measurements showed no difference.

Conclusions

The HADS-D is a reasonably accurate indicator of pain-related distress in chronic pain patients, and captures the link between disability and mood.

Implications

It is likely that the SCID-D is better suited to identifying sub-groups with more pronounced psychiatric disturbance.

Perspective

Several reviews have proposed a distinction between pain-related distress and clinical depression. This study compared the overlap and differential categorisation of pain patients as depressed and the relationship to disability between the Structured Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-D; Depression module) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D).

© 2016 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Paleomagnetic secular variation and environmental magnetism of Holocene-age sediments from Tulare Lake, CA
Authors: Roza Janine , Jackson Brandon , Heaton Eric , Negrini Rob
Published: May 2016

The lake-level record from Tulare Lake, CA has been shown to provide valuable constraints on late Pleistocene and Holocene runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountain range into the San Joaquin Valley of California, one of the world's most prolific agricultural centers. This project uses the magnetic properties of the Tulare Lake sediments in order to date the sediments and to constrain the relative lake level at the time of deposition. Shallowing lake conditions were identified leading up to a prominent unconformity; magnetic mineralogy and grain size indicators, primarily decreasing ARM/IRM and S-Ratio values suggest coarser grain sizes and more oxidizing conditions. Approximately half of the samples possessed well-behaved paleomagnetic directions suitable for paleomagnetic secular variation dating. The results indicate that the sediments below the unconformity were deposited approximately 7600–8500 cal yr BP, and the sediments above the unconformity were deposited approximately 2500–800 cal yr BP. The ages of the corresponding sediments are consistent with the time intervals during which previous studies indicate that lake level was above the elevation of this site, before and after a mid Holocene regression.
Sexual differences in morphology and aboveground biomass allocation in relation to branch number in Morus alba saplings
Authors: Huan Huihui , Wang Bixia , Liu Gang , Xu Xiao , He Xinhua
Published: May 2016

The effect of branch number on crown size and biomass accumulation has been reported for many trees, but knowledge about sexual differences in growth and aboveground biomass allocation related to branch number is still limited. Morus alba L. is a dioecious plant of economic importance, and was employed as a model species in our study. Thirty male and 30 female 1-month-old M. alba saplings with single or multiple (five) primary branches were cultivated for one growing season. Sexual differences in gas exchange, morphology, biomass accumulation and allocation, and relationships among morphological and biomass traits were investigated. Branch multiplication significantly increased the total leaf number, total leaf area, total leaf mass, aboveground mass, leaf : stem biomass ratio and specific leaf area at the plant level but decreased net photosynthetic rate (Pn), leaf number, mean single-leaf area, stem length, basal diameter and branch biomass at the branch level. Five-branch male saplings exhibited a significantly higher Pn, total leaf number, total leaf area, total leaf mass and aboveground biomass than did female ones. No such between plant sex differences were found in single-branch saplings. Further, branch number was positively correlated with aboveground mass in male saplings only. Our results demonstrate that branch multiplication might result in sexual differences in morphology and biomass accumulation and male saplings may allocate greater resources than females to aboveground parts for vegetative growth.
Papain and its inhibitor E-64 reduce camelid semen viscosity without impairing sperm function and improve post-thaw motility rates
Authors: Kershaw C. M. , Evans G. , Rodney R. , Maxwell W. M. C.
Published: May 2016

In camelids, the development of assisted reproductive technologies is impaired by the viscous nature of the semen. The protease papain has shown promise in reducing viscosity, although its effect on sperm integrity is unknown. The present study determined the optimal papain concentration and exposure time to reduce seminal plasma viscosity and investigated the effect of papain and its inhibitor E-64 on sperm function and cryopreservation in alpacas. Papain (0.1 mg mL–1, 20 min, 37°C) eliminated alpaca semen viscosity while maintaining sperm motility, viability, acrosome integrity and DNA integrity. Furthermore E-64 (10 µM at 37°C for 5 min after 20 min papain) inhibited the papain without impairing sperm function. Cryopreserved, papain-treated alpaca spermatozoa exhibited higher total motility rates after chilling and 0 and 1 h after thawing compared with control (untreated) samples. Papain treatment, followed by inhibition of papain with E-64, is effective in reducing alpaca seminal plasma viscosity without impairing sperm integrity and improves post-thaw motility rates of cryopreserved alpaca spermatozoa. The use of the combination of papain and E-64 to eliminate the viscous component of camelid semen may aid the development of assisted reproductive technologies in camelids.
Localized structural frustration for evaluating the impact of sequence variants
Authors: Kumar Sushant , Clarke Declan , Gerstein Mark
Published: May 2016

The rapidly declining costs of sequencing human genomes and exomes are providing deeper insights into genomic variation than previously possible. Growing sequence datasets are uncovering large numbers of rare single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in coding regions, many of which may even be unique to single individuals. The rarity of such variants makes it difficult to use conventional variant-phenotype associations as a means of predicting their potential impacts. As such, protein structures may help to provide the needed means for inferring otherwise difficult-to-discern rare SNV-phenotype associations. Previous efforts have sought to quantify the effects of SNVs on structures by evaluating their impacts on global stability. However, local perturbations can severely impact functionality (such as catalysis, allosteric regulation, interactions and specificity) without strongly disrupting global stability. Here, we describe a workflow in which localized frustration (which quantifies unfavorable residue-residue interactions) is employed as a metric to investigate such effects. We apply frustration to study the impacts of a large number of SNVs available throughout a number of next-generation sequencing datasets. Most of our observations are intuitively consistent: we observe that disease-associated SNVs have a strong proclivity to induce strong changes in localized frustration, and rare variants tend to disrupt local interactions to a larger extent than do common variants. Furthermore, we observe that somatic SNVs associated with oncogenes induce stronger perturbations at the surface, whereas those associated with tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) induce stronger perturbations in the interior. These findings are consistent with the notion that gain-of-function (for oncogenes) and loss-of-function events (for TSGs) may act through changes in regulatory interactions and basic functionality, respectively
Denoising Genome-wide Histone ChIP-seq with Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Koh Pang Wei , Pierson Emma , Kundaje Anshul
Published: May 2016

Motivation

Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiments are commonly used to obtain genome-wide profiles of histone modifications associated with different types of functional genomic elements. However, the quality of histone ChIP-seq data is affected by a myriad of experimental parameters such as the amount of input DNA, antibody specificity, ChIP enrichment, and sequencing depth. Making accurate inferences from chromatin profiling experiments that involve diverse experimental parameters is challenging.

Results

We introduce a convolutional denoising algorithm, Coda, that uses convolutional neural networks to learn a mapping from suboptimal to high-quality histone ChIP-seq data. This overcomes various sources of noise and variability, substantially enhancing and recovering signal when applied to low-quality chromatin profiling datasets across individuals, cell types, and species. Our method has the potential to improve data quality at reduced costs. More broadly, this approach – using a high-dimensional discriminative model to encode a generative noise process – is generally applicable to other biological domains where it is easy to generate noisy data but difficult to analytically characterize the noise or underlying data distribution.

Availability

https://github.com/kundajelab/coda

Contact

akundaje@stanford.edu
Transcriptomic analysis of diplomonad parasites reveals a trans-spliced intron in a helicase gene inGiardia
Authors: Roy Scott William
Published: May 2016

Gene expression is the central preoccupation of molecular biology, thus newly discovered facets of gene expression are of great interest. Recently, ourselves and others reported that in the diplomonad protistGiardia lamblia, the coding regions of several mRNAs are produced by ligation of independent RNA species expressed from distinct genomic loci. Such trans-splicing of introns was found to affect nearly as many genes in this organism as does classical cis-splicing of introns. These findings raised questions about the incidence of intron trans-splicing both across theG. lambliatranscriptome and across diplomonad diversity, however a dearth of transcriptomic data at the time prohibited systematic study of these questions. Here, I leverage newly available transcriptomic data fromG. lambliaand the related diplomonadSpironucleus salmonicidato search for trans-spliced introns. My computational pipeline recovers all four previously reported trans-spliced introns inG. lamblia, suggesting good sensitivity. Scrutiny of thousands of potential cases revealed only a single additional trans-spliced intron inG. lamblia, in the p68 helicase gene, and no cases inS. salmonicida. The p68 intron differs from the previously reported trans-spliced introns in its high degree of streamlining: the core features ofG. lambliatrans-spliced introns closely packed together, revealing striking efficiency in the implementation of a seemingly inherently inefficient molecular mechanism. These results serve to circumscribe the role of trans-splicing both in terms of genes effected and taxonomically. Future work should focus on the molecular mechanisms, evolutionary origins and phenotypic implications of this intriguing phenomenon.
Drosophilapoised enhancers are generated during tissue patterning with the help of repression
Authors: Koenecke Nina , Johnston Jeff , He Qiye , Zeitlinger Julia
Published: May 2016

Histone modifications are frequently used as markers for enhancer states, but how to interpret enhancer states in the context of embryonic development is not clear. The poised enhancer signature, involving H3K4me1 and low levels of H3K27ac, has been reported to mark inactive enhancers that are poised for future activation. However, future activation is not always observed and alternative reasons for the widespread occurrence of this enhancer signature have not been investigated. By analyzing enhancers during dorsal-ventral (DV) axis formation in theDrosophilaembryo, we find that the poised enhancer signature is specifically generated during patterning in the tissue where the enhancers are not induced, including at enhancers that are known to be repressed by a transcriptional repressor. These results suggest that, rather than serving simply as an intermediate step before future activation, the poised enhancer state may mark enhancers for spatial activation during tissue patterning. We discuss the possibility that the poised enhancer state is more generally the result of repression by transcriptional repressors.
GPCRdb: the G protein‐coupled receptor database – an introduction
Authors: Munk C , Isberg V , Mordalski S , Harpsøe K , Rataj K , Hauser A S , Kolb P , Bojarski A J , Vriend G , Gloriam D E
Published: May 2016

GPCRs make up the largest family of human membrane proteins and of drug targets. Recent advances in GPCR pharmacology and crystallography have shed new light on signal transduction, allosteric modulation and biased signalling, translating into new mechanisms and principles for drug design. The GPCR database, GPCRdb, has served the community for over 20 years and has recently been extended to include a more multidisciplinary audience. This review is intended to introduce new users to the services in GPCRdb, which meets three overall purposes: firstly, to provide reference data in an integrated, annotated and structured fashion, with a focus on sequences, structures, single‐point mutations and ligand interactions. Secondly, to equip the community with a suite of web tools for swift analysis of structures, sequence similarities, receptor relationships, and ligand target profiles. Thirdly, to facilitate dissemination through interactive diagrams of, for example, receptor residue topologies, phylogenetic relationships and crystal structure statistics. Herein, these services are described for the first time; visitors and guides are provided with good practices for their utilization. Finally, we describe complementary databases cross‐referenced by GPCRdb and web servers with corresponding functionality.
Association of Common Variants in eNOS Gene with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Xiang Yang , Dong Yi , Li Xuan , Tang Xin
Published: May 2016

Purpose. To clarify the association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).Methods. After a systematic literature search in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Science databases, all relevant studies evaluating the association between the polymorphisms (rs2070744 and rs1799983) of eNOS gene and POAG were screened and included. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of each single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in five genetic models were estimated using fixed-effect model ifI2<50%in the test for heterogeneity; otherwise the random-effects model was used.Results. Thirty-one records were obtained, with five being suitable for meta-analysis. The overall results showed that both TT genotype in rs2070744 and GG genotype in rs1799983 are associated with decreased risk of POAG susceptibility. Stratified analysis based on ethnicity showed that the association of rs2070744 with POAG remained only in Caucasians. Results of subgroup analysis by sex indicated association between both polymorphisms and POAG in female group, but not in male group.Conclusions. TT genotype and/or T-allele in rs2070744, as well as GG genotype and/or G-allele in rs1799983, was associated with decreased risk for POAG overall and in female group.
Short Wavelength Cone Opsin Is Not Expressed in the Retina of Arboreal African Pangolin (Manis tricuspis)
Authors: Adekanmbi Adejoke J. , Adekanmbi Adefisayo A. , Akinola Oluwole B.
Published: May 2016

This paper reports a study of cone photoreceptors present in the retina ofManis tricuspis. Specifically, the LWS (L-) opsin expressed in longwave-sensitive cones and SWS1 (S-) opsin shortwave-sensitive cones were targeted. Vertical sections revealed reactivity to a cone marker, peanut agglutinin (PNA), and to an LWS antibody, but not to an SWS1 antibody. This suggests that theManis tricuspisvisual system is not able to discriminate shorter wavelengths from longer wavelengths because the short wavelength cones are not expressed in their retina.
Trace Operators on Wiener Amalgam Spaces
Authors: Cunanan Jayson , Tsutsui Yohei
Published: May 2016

The paper deals with trace operators of Wiener amalgam spaces using frequency uniform decomposition operators and maximal inequalities, obtaining sharp results. Additionally, we provide the embedding between standard and anisotropic Wiener amalgam spaces.
Off-Grid Radar Coincidence Imaging Based on Variational Sparse Bayesian Learning
Authors: Zhou Xiaoli , Wang Hongqiang , Cheng Yongqiang , Qin Yuliang
Published: May 2016

Radar coincidence imaging (RCI) is a high-resolution staring imaging technique motivated by classical optical coincidence imaging. In RCI, sparse reconstruction methods are commonly used to achieve better imaging result, while the performance guarantee is based on the general assumption that the scatterers are located at the prediscretized grid-cell centers. However, the widely existing off-grid problem degrades the RCI performance considerably. In this paper, an algorithm based on variational sparse Bayesian learning (VSBL) is developed to solve the off-grid RCI. Applying Taylor expansion, the unknown true dictionary is approximated accurately to a linear model. Then target reconstruction is reformulated as a joint sparse recovery problem that recovers three groups of sparse coefficients over three known dictionaries with the constraint of the common support shared by the groups. VSBL is then applied to solve the problem by assigning appropriate priors to the three groups of coefficients. Results of numerical experiments demonstrate that the algorithm can achieve outstanding reconstruction performance and yield superior performance both in suppressing noise and in adapting to off-grid error.
Coupling Mechanism and Decoupled Suspension Control Model of a Half Car
Authors: Zhang Hailong , Zhang Ning , Min Fuhong , Rakheja Subhash , Su Chunyi , Wang Enrong
Published: May 2016

A structure decoupling control strategy of half-car suspension is proposed to fully decouple the system into independent front and rear quarter-car suspensions in this paper. The coupling mechanism of half-car suspension is firstly revealed and formulated with coupled damping force (CDF) in a linear function. Moreover, a novel dual dampers-based controllable quarter-car suspension structure is proposed to realize the independent control of pitch and vertical motions of the half car, in which a newly added controllable damper is suggested to be installed between the lower control arm and connection rod in conventional quarter-car suspension structure. The suggested damper constantly regulates the half-car pitch motion posture in a smooth and steady operation condition meantime achieving the expected completely structure decoupled control of the half-car suspension, by compensating the evolved CDF.
Throughput and Delay Analysis of an Underwater CSMA/CA Protocol with Multi-RTS and Multi-DATA Receptions
Authors: Hwang Ho Young , Cho Ho-Shin
Published: May 2016

We propose an underwater CSMA/CA protocol with multi-RTS and multi-DATA receptions using the long underwater propagation delay. We analyze the throughput and delay of the proposed underwater CSMA/CA protocol through a ring-based underwater network modeling. The proposed protocol does not need to maintain the information of internode propagation delay for each pair of underwater nodes. In the proposed protocol, when there are simultaneous transmissions of RTS frames from different underwater sensors to an underwater sink as their back-off counters reach zero, the sink can recover some RTS frames which are not overlapped at the sink in the time domain due to the long underwater propagation delay. Then, the sink transmits CTS frame containing the DATA transmission order and the IDs of the sensors which transmitted the recovered RTS frames. Sensors which correspond to the IDs contained by the CTS frame can transmit DATA frame to the sink according to the DATA transmission order. We evaluate the throughput and delay performance of the proposed protocol with varying the number of sensors and the contention window size compared to the conventional protocols. The analytical results agree with the simulation results well for the proposed protocol with various numbers of sensors and contention window sizes. The analytical and simulation results show that the proposed protocol outperforms the conventional protocols.
Risk of Dumping Syndrome after Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Early Results of a Multicentre Prospective Study
Authors: Ramadan M. , Loureiro M. , Laughlan K. , Caiazzo R. , Iannelli A. , Brunaud L. , Czernichow S. , Nedelcu M. , Nocca D.
Published: May 2016

Background. Bariatric surgery is an important field of surgery. An important complication of bariatric surgery is dumping syndrome (DS).Aims. To evaluate the incidence of DS in patients undergoing bariatric surgery.Methods. 541 patients included from 5 nutrition and bariatric centers in France underwent either LSG or LRYGB. They were evaluated at 1 month (M1) and 6 months (M6) postoperatively by an interview and completion of a dumping syndrome questionnaire.Results. 268 patients underwent LSG (Group A) and 273 underwent LRYGB. From the LRYGB patients 229 had mechanical gastrojejunoanal anastomosis with 30 mm linear stapler (Group B) and 44 had manual (hand sewn) 15 mm gastrojejunal anastomosis (Group C). Overall incidence of DS was 8.5% at M1 and M6. In LSG group (Group A), only 4 patients (1.49%) reported episodes of DS at M1 and 3 (1.12%) at M6. In Group B, 41 patients (17.90%) reported episodes of DS at M1 and 43 (18.78%) at M6. Group C experienced one case (2.27%) of DS at M1 and none (0%) at M6.Conclusions. Patients undergoing LRYGB, especially with larger gastrojejunal anastomosis, are more prone to developing DS following surgery than patients undergoing LSG or LRYGB with calibrated manual anastomosis.
(Z)‐5‐(2,4‐Dihydroxybenzylidene)thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione Prevents UVB‐Induced Melanogenesis and Wrinkle Formation through Suppressing Oxidative Stress in HRM‐2 Hairless Mice
Authors: Lee Bonggi , Moon Kyoung Mi , Kim Seong Jin , Kim So Hee , Kim Dae Hyun , An Hye Jin , Jeong Ji Won , Kim Ye Ra , Son Sujin , Kim Min Jo , Chung Ki Wung , Lee Eun Kyeong , Chun Pusoon , Ha Young Mi , Kim Min-Sun , Mo Sang Hyun , Moon Hyung Ryong , Chung Hae Young
Published: May 2016

Background. Uncontrolled melanogenesis and wrinkle formation are an indication of photoaging. Our previous studies demonstrated that (Z)‐5‐(2,4‐dihydroxybenzylidene)thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione (MHY498) inhibited tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in vitro. Objective. To examine in vivo effects of MHY498 as an antiaging compound on UVB‐induced melanogenesis and wrinkle formation, we topically applied MHY498 on dorsal skin of HRM‐2 hairless mice. Methods. Using histological analysis, we evaluated effects of MHY498 on melanogenesis and wrinkle formation after UVB exposure. In addition, related molecular signaling pathways were examined using western blotting, fluorometric assay, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Results. MHY498 suppressed UVB‐induced melanogenesis by inhibiting phosphorylation of CREB and translocation of MITF protein into the nucleus, which are key factors for tyrosinase expression. Consistently, tyrosinase protein levels were notably reduced in the dorsal skin of the hairless mice by MHY498 treatment. Furthermore, MHY498 inhibited UVB‐induced wrinkle formation and collagen fiber destruction by increasing type 1 procollagen concentration and decreasing protein expression levels of MMPs, which play an essential role in collagen fiber degradation. As a mechanism, MHY498 notably ameliorated UVB‐induced oxidative stress and NF‐κB activation in the dermal skin of the hairless mice. Conclusion. Our study suggests that MHY498 can be used as a therapeutic or cosmetic agent for preventing uncontrolled melanogenesis and wrinkle formation.
Amlodipine Ameliorates Ischemia-Induced Neovascularization in Diabetic Rats through Endothelial Progenitor Cell Mobilization
Authors: Sun Jiayin , Xie Jun , Kang Lina , Ferro Albert , Dong Li , Xu Biao
Published: May 2016

Objectives. We investigated whether amlodipine could improve angiogenic responses in a diabetic rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) through improving bone marrow endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) mobilization, in the same way as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.Methods. After induction of AMI by coronary artery ligation, diabetic rats were randomly assigned to receive perindopril (2 mgkg−1 day−1), amlodipine (2.5 mgkg−1 day−1), or vehicle by gavage (n=20per group). Circulating EPC counts before ligation and on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 28 after AMI were measured in each group. Microvessel density, cardiac function, and cardiac remodeling were assessed 4 weeks after treatment. The signaling pathway related to EPC mobilization was also measured.Results. Circulating EPC count in amlodipine- and perindopril-treated rats peaked at day 7, to an obvious higher level than the control group peak which was reached earlier (at day 5). Rats treated with amlodipine showed improved postischemia neovascularization and cardiac function, together with reduced cardiac remodeling, decreased interstitial fibrosis, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Amlodipine treatment also increased cardiac SDF-1/CXCR4 expression and gave rise to activation of VEGF/Akt/eNOS signaling in bone marrow.Conclusions. Amlodipine promotes neovascularization by improving EPC mobilization from bone marrow in diabetic rats after AMI, and activation of VEGF/Akt/eNOS signaling may in part contribute to this.