bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of feeding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on productive performance and blood components of lactating Holstein dairy cows
Authors: Banadaky M. Dehghan , Khah A. Nik , Zali A.
Published: June 2019

Antibiotics have widely been used in animal feeding. However, because of the growing concern of consumers towards more natural modes of production, interest in the use of direct fed microbials is now considerable. In dairy production, the Yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been studied and used. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiaeSC47) on productive performonce of Holstein dairy cows.
Effect of energy source and supplementation pattern on feed intake and microbial-N supply in dual purpose cows (Bos indicus x B. taurus)
Authors: Tercero J. C. Ordóñez , Avilés L. Ramírez , Perez C. Aguilar , Sandoval-Castro C. A.
Published: June 2019

The microbial protein synthesis is variable and depend of several of factors, one the most important being the energy sources. Numerous investigations have evaluated individual sugars. However, few quantitative information is available describing the impact of sucrose or its monosacharides (glucose and fructose) and how they compare with other carbohydrate such as starch (Heldt et al., 1999). Chamberlain and Choung (1995) mention that sugar supplementation results in a higher microbial nitrogen supply (MNS) than starch. On the other hand, the amount of nutrients that ruminants can remove from feeds, may be modified by others feeds eaten the same day (Gill and Powell, 1993). Thus, feeding pattern might also affect microbial-N supply (Chamberlain and Choung, 1995). Therefore, the objective of the present work was to compare maize and sugarcane molasses as energy sources as well as the change of feeding pattern (CFP) on DM intake and MNS.
The use of 17 RAPD primers in some of Iranian sheep breeds
Authors: Tahmoorespur M. , Nassiry M. R. , Mohammady A.
Published: June 2019

The randomly amplified polymorphic DNA technique was developed by Williams et al,(1990) and Welsh and McClelland et al.(1990). The technique is based on polymerase chain reaction using primers homologous to random target sites in the genome. The main advantages of RAPD assays are that it is simple, less labour intensive, comparatively less expensive and safe than other methods. The RAPD hase been used for various applications including species identification, establishing genetic relationships, estimating genetic diversity and genome mapping in various livestock species including sheep. These studies reflected the effectiveness of rapd as potential genetic marker. The objective of the current study was to investigate RAPD marker development to distinguish genetic differences and similarity between and within some Iranian sheep breeds.
Effect of fungal treatment on the chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and in sacco degradability of wheat straw
Authors: Fazaeli H. , Azizi A. , Jelan Z. A. M. , Mirhadi S. A.
Published: June 2019

Fungal treatment has been recently considered as a promising method for improving the nutritive value of straw (Zadrazil et al., 1997). Several studies have been conducted to identify species of white-rot fungi for assessing their ability to improve the nutritive value of straw (Yamakamwa et al., 1992). Since there are many species of fungi in nature, there is an interest in characterising of some species. The objectives of this experiment were to study the effect of five Pleurotus fungi on the chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and in sacco degradability of wheat straw and evaluate their effect in upgrading the nutritive value of lignicellulosic materials.
Estimation of the nutritive value of silage from grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and forage tree mixtures
Authors: Cardenas Medina J. V. , Sandoval-Castro C. A. , Sánchez F. J. Solorio
Published: June 2019

Silage is recognized as a viable option to cope with seasonal fluctuations in forage availability. Due to the reduced nutrient contents (N and soluble CHO’s) of tropical grasses, the resulting silage is usually of low quality. This factor plays a major role in the adoption of this technology by farmers in developing countries. The inclusion of forage trees to improve the nutritive value of silage is seen as a viable alternative, as forage trees are locally available and farmers are increasingly implementing its use as supplement. Silage resulting from grass/tree mixtures might allow reduced use of conventional grain-based supplement without jeopardizing animal performance (Solet al., 2002a,b). However, few data is available about adequate inclusion levels of forage tree and grass for silage making. Thus, the objective of the present work was to assess changes in silage quality associated with the inclusion level of forage tree.
The effects of mineral block ingredients when offered to ewes in late pregnancy on Immunoglobulin G (IgG) absorption in their lambs
Authors: Boland T. M. , Brophy P. O. , Callan J. J. , Quinn P. J. , Nowakowski P. , Crosby T. F.
Published: June 2019

Lambs are born hypoimmunocompetent as the placenta prevents the transfer of maternal immunity to the foetus of the ruminant. Colostrum is the source of imunoglobulins for the young lamb and any interference with the absorption of immunoglobulins from colostrum would have important consequences for lamb liveability in early life. Recent experiments at this institute found that when ewes had access to mineral blocks in late pregnancy the absorption of immunoglobulin (IgG) by their offspring was reduced (Keane 2001). This author also stated that the lamb was preprogrammed in-utero for lowered IgG absorption efficiency. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether it was the mineral or molasses component of the mineral block which caused the reduced IgG absorption by the lamb.
Introduction to functional foods
Authors: Adams C. A.
Published: June 2019

It is axiomatic that adequate supplies of good quality food is beneficial for health. Conversely it has also long been recognised that populations suffering from malnutrition are more susceptible to various diseases and have poor health. However the concept of functional foods, as foods that offer some health-associated advantage over conventional foodstuffs is a relatively recent innovation into the human nutrition market. Functional foods are generally defined as foods that have an effect on well-being and health or result in reduction in disease risk. The advantages offered by functional foods are generally related to disease avoidance and health maintenance rather than to therapeutic effects of foods. Functional foods are now part of a worldwide nutrition market estimated at $156 billion in 2001 (Starling, 2002). However, they can only become significant in societies where food security is assured and basic foodstuffs are relatively cheap. Consequently the major markets are North America, Europe and Japan.
Cow’s milk components with anti-cancer potential
Authors: Palmquist Donald L. , Parodi Peter W.
Published: June 2019

Environmental effects are estimated to cause three-fourths of cancer deaths, of which one-third could be reduced by diet modification. Though dairy products are promoted for their nutritional value, and also condemned for alleged health risks, attention is turning to dairy products as sources of functional foods for cancer prevention.
Genetic improvement programs for aquaculture species
Authors: Gjerde B. , Villanueva B.
Published: June 2019

The high yields obtained in agriculture rely heavily on the use of domesticated and genetically improved breeds and varieties. Until quite recently this has not been the case for most farmed aquaculture species that, in the genetic sense, are still much closer to the wild state than are the major terrestrial animals and food crops. Less than 10 % of the total world aquaculture production is based on improved strains. Due to a growing human population and a decline in production from capture fisheries, there is therefore a great disparity between the need for increased aquaculture production and the genetic quality of the strains available to meet that need. Moreover, full benefits of investments in management improvements (feed and feeding practices, control of diseases, etc.) can only be obtained through the use of genetically improved animals.
Aquaculture nutrition – a brief and topical review
Authors: Jauncey K.
Published: June 2019

Aquaculture is a rapidly expanding and extremely diverse form of animal production. Aquaculture takes place in systems that cover an enormous range of levels of intensification from extensively managed low input static ponds to super-intensive high exchange rate silos with liquid oxygen injection. Appropriate nutritional strategies are required for each level of intensification.
The Road to Song Mao: Transnational Litigation from Southeast Asia to the United Kingdom
Authors: Mohan Mahdev
Published: June 2019

Anxieties about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. should not eclipse the fact that redress can, and at times should, be secured elsewhere. Amajor effect of Kiobel is to adjust the aperture of transnational corporate accountability away from the United States–which generally has been the default venue–and toward regional and foreign jurisdictions where violations occur or where responsible beneficiaries of the wrongdoings reside or conduct their businesses.
Evolution at all Scales in the Vertebrate Fossil Record
Authors: Hunter John P.
Published: June 2019

The fossil record of vertebrates provides abundant evidence for both the fact and the theory of evolution (Carroll, 1997; Prothero and Schoch, 1994). In support of the fact that evolution has indeed occurred, the vertebrate fossil record clearly documents evolutionary change alonglineages, that is, along direct lines of ancestors and descendents. The fossil record also shows step-wise evolutionary changes resulting in the emergence of new kinds of vertebrates from pre-existing kinds, for example, the origin of mammals from the “mammal-like” reptiles. In support of the theory that natural selection, in particular, has been largely responsible for evolutionary change, the fossil record shows that the numerous “transitional” forms that lived in the past — far from being nonviable “monsters” — were functionally integrated organisms that were well adapted to their ecological roles. Finally, the vertebrate fossil record preserves certain large-scale phenomena, such as radiations and trends, which show that evolutionary forces can act over very large time scales.
Plate Tectonics and Evolution
Authors: Jablonski David
Published: June 2019

The realization that the continents are mobile and not fixed in position, and the discovery of the processes driving that mobility, is one of the great scientific achievements of the 20th Century. From the outset, fossil evidence has been important in reconstructing past continental positions, usually by providing data on ancient similarities and differences that appear at odds with present-day geographies. However, the fossil record does much more than provide evidence on ancient continental positions: it shows the diverse evolutionary effects that the dynamics of the Earth's crust have had on the passengers inhabiting those mobile continents.
Shortening Accommodated by Thrust and Strike‐Slip Faults in the Ili Basin, Northern Tien Shan
Authors: Grützner C. , Campbell G. , Walker R.T. , Jackson J. , Mackenzie D. , Abdrakhmatov K. , Mukambayev A.
Published: June 2019

The Tien Shan accommodates a significant portion of the India‐Eurasia N‐S convergence. In its northern part a zigzag pattern of mountain ranges bounds the western Ili Basin. The role of this basin in the overall shortening and the regional kinematics is not well understood. Geodetic data and instrumental seismicity are not sufficient to infer the role of individual faults and fault systems. We analyze GPS data and earthquake slip vectors and present the results of fault mapping based on remote sensing and field campaigns in the western Ili Basin. These observations indicate that E‐W thrust faults are active at the basin margins, and oblique and strike‐slip faults, both in the basin and in the Paleozoic rocks within the mountain ranges, have been active in the Late Quaternary. We propose a regional tectonic model in which the left‐lateral strike‐slip faults at the NW margin of the basin accommodate ~3‐mm/year NE‐SW shear. Smaller right‐lateral oblique faults transfer the motion in between the left‐lateral faults, and also take up shortening by rotations about vertical axes. We see the onset of internal deformation within the Ili Basin, although it has a strong basement. Our kinematic model is consistent with geodetic data, earthquake seismology, historical, and prehistorical surface faulting, and describes the first‐order features of active deformation that can be observed in the northern Tien Shan. Our study illustrates the importance of combining these different data sets to understand the regional tectonics.
Empirical Stream Thermal Sensitivities May Underestimate Stream Temperature Response to Climate Warming
Authors: Leach Jason A. , Moore R. Dan
Published: June 2019

Stream temperature has been increasing in tandem with air temperature, with potentially negative impacts on cold‐water fish such as salmon. Assessing future stream temperature change is critical for developing effective management responses. Empirical models of stream thermal sensitivity generally predict less future warming compared to physically based models. Here we reconcile these discrepancies by using a process‐based hydrology and temperature model to simulate daily flow and water temperature for forested headwater catchments in a maritime region under both historic and projected future climatic conditions. The primary reason that the empirical approach underestimates thermal response to climate change is that it does not account for thermal memory in the catchment, especially related to the effect of snow cover. Empirical thermal sensitivities thus may underestimate stream temperature response to future climate warming. In addition, groundwater‐fed streams may only resist warming in the short‐medium term, due to lagged response of groundwater temperature. More process‐based understanding and modeling of stream thermal regimes is needed to effectively manage aquatic ecosystems.
Possible Increases in Flood Frequency Due to the Loss of Eastern Hemlock in the Northeastern United States: Observational Insights and Predicted Impacts
Authors: Knighton James , Conneely Justin , Walter M. Todd
Published: June 2019

Trees exert a fundamental control on the hydrologic cycle, yet previous research is unclear about the nuanced relationship between forest cover and riverine flood frequency. In the Northeastern United States, warming air temperatures have resulted in a decline of Eastern Hemlock (EH), and subsequent increases in observed catchment water yield. We evaluated the possibility of EH loss leading to a changed flooding regime. We first investigated plant hydraulic regulation by root water uptake in EH and American Beech (AB; a candidate successional species) through stable isotope analysis of stream, soil water, and plant xylem water. EH xylem water showed evidence of deeper soil water uptake than AB during both wet and dry seasons, suggesting species succession may be an important mechanism for altering catchment “plant accessible water.” Next, we estimated catchment flood frequency with mechanistic hydrologic simulations for present conditions, and two hypothetical cases where all EH is succeeded by AB. The largest change to catchment extreme discharge after AB succession coincided with fall season tropical moisture export‐derived precipitation. We observed reduced sensitivity under future climatic forcing with an ensemble simulation of five localized constructed analogs downscaled general circulation models. Thus, the influence of forest composition on the flood regime may be most related to the temporal alignment of the synoptic‐scale processes that generate Atlantic Basin tropical cyclones and regional plant phenology of the Northeast United States. Our results provide a justification for using physically based hydrologic models incorporating plant hydraulic regulation when evaluating future flooding frequency.
Suspended Sediment Mineralogy and the Nature of Suspended Sediment Particles in Stormflow of the Southern Piedmont of the USA
Authors: River Mark , Richardson Curtis J.
Published: June 2019

The majority of annual sediment flux is transported during storm events in many watersheds across the world. Using X‐ray diffraction, we analyzed the mineralogy of grab samples of suspended sediment during different stages of storm hydrographs in the Southern Piedmont. Mineralogy of suspended sediment changes drastically from quartz‐dominated during the rising limb to clay dominated during the late falling limb/baseflow. Changes in mineralogy can shed insight into turbidity relationships, suspended sediment sources, energy versus supply‐limited sediment transport, and other suspended sediment parameters such as anion exchange capacity and trace element chemistry. An unexpected key finding, confirmed by X‐ray diffraction and electron microscopy, is that both kaolinite and quartz are primarily transported as discrete crystalline minerals of different size classes in our watersheds; this contrasts with existing scientific literature stating that in most fluvial systems suspended sediment is transported primarily as composite particles composed of a heterogeneous mix of all particle sizes. Our findings also support existing literature that turbidity can be a good proxy for elements such as P, which are preferentially adsorbed onto iron oxide coatings thus in situ turbidity probes have great potential to provide relatively inexpensive estimates of P flux when calibrated for specific watersheds.
Changing Climate Over Chad: Is the Rainfall Over the Major Cities Recovering?
Authors: Pattnayak Kanhu Charan , Abdel‐Lathif Ahmat Younous , Rathakrishnan K. V. , Singh Muskan , Dash Renuka , Maharana Pyarimohan
Published: June 2019

Chad is the largest country of the Sahel region with different climatic zones, varying from arid in the north to tropical in the south. These climatic zones respond differently to climate change signals. Therefore, their detection over major cities, which are scattered within different climatic zones, is of utmost importance. The changes in hydroclimatic fields such as rainfall and temperature were examined over the major cities in various regions for the period 1950 to 2014. Rainfall shows a significant decreasing trend especially over cities close to Lake Chad (Lere, Mondou, Mongo, and Sarh), whereas no significant trend is observed for cities farther from the Lake. However, a consistently increasing trend in temperature is found across all cities. The cities in the north (Faya, Abeche, and Ati) receive far less rainfall than those located in southern Chad. All cities (except Faya and Lere) received higher rainfall during 1950–1965 (wet period), entering a dry regime between 1966 and 1990 (dry period) and subsequently recovering rainfall totals, toward previous levels, between 1991 and 2014 (recovery phase). A substantial rise in air temperature is observed after 1980–1985, reflecting the gradual rise of temperature in recent times. In summary, rainfall is recovering from a dry regime and temperature is rising over all the major cities of Chad. More researches in this region is needed to develop local scale mitigation strategies and adaptation technology.
Using GPS Sensors to Capture Key Snowpack Properties
Authors: Stanley Sarah
Published: June 2019

A low-cost, two-antenna GPS setup could enable valuable snow measurements in remote locations, improving predictions of runoff and avalanche risk.
EMIC Waves in the Outer Magnetosphere: Observations of an Off‐Equator Source Region
Authors: Vines S. K. , Allen R. C. , Anderson B. J. , Engebretson M. J. , Fuselier S. A. , Russell C. T. , Strangeway R. J. , Ergun R. E. , Lindqvist P. A. , Torbert R. B. , Burch J. L.
Published: June 2019

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves at large L shells were observed away from the magnetic equator by the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission nearly continuously for over four hours on 28 October 2015. During this event, the wave Poynting vector direction systematically changed from parallel to the magnetic field (toward the equator), to bidirectional, to antiparallel (away from the equator). These changes coincide with the shift in the location of the minimum in the magnetic field in the southern hemisphere from poleward to equatorward of MMS. The local plasma conditions measured with the EMIC waves also suggest that the outer magnetospheric region sampled during this event was generally unstable to EMIC wave growth. Together, these observations indicate that the bidirectionally propagating wave packets were not a result of reflection at high latitudes but that MMS passed through an off‐equator EMIC wave source region associated with the local minimum in the magnetic field.
Dust Radiative Effects on Climate by Glaciating Mixed‐Phase Clouds
Authors: Shi Yang , Liu Xiaohong
Published: June 2019

Mineral dust plays an important role in the primary formation of ice crystals in mixed‐phase clouds by acting as ice nucleating particles (INPs). It can influence the cloud phase transition and radiative forcing of mixed‐phase clouds, both of which are crucial to global energy budget and climate. In this study, we investigate the dust indirect effects on mixed‐phase clouds through heterogeneous ice nucleation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM). Dust and INP concentrations simulated from two versions of E3SM with three ice nucleation parameterizations were evaluated against observations in the Northern Hemisphere. Constrained by these observations, E3SM shows that dust INPs induce a global mean net cloud radiative effect of 0.05 to 0.26 W/m2 with the predominant warming appearing in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes. However, a cooling effect is found in the Arctic due to reduced longwave cloud forcing.
Deep Learning for Picking Seismic Arrival Times
Authors: Wang Jian , Xiao Zhuowei , Liu Chang , Zhao Dapeng , Yao Zhenxing
Published: June 2019

Arrival times of seismic phases contribute substantially to the study of the inner working of the Earth. Despite great advances in seismic data collection, the usage of seismic arrival times is still insufficient because of the overload manual picking tasks for human experts. In this work we employ a deep‐learning method (PickNet) to automatically pick much more P and S wave arrival times of local earthquakes with a picking accuracy close to that by human experts, which can be used directly to determine seismic tomography. A large number of high‐quality seismic arrival times obtained with the deep‐learning model may contribute greatly to improve our understanding of the Earth's interior structure.
Solute Transport With Linear Reactions in Porous Media With Layered Structure: A Semianalytical Model
Authors: Liang Xiuyu , Zhang You‐Kuan , Liu Jin , Ma Enze , Zheng Chunmiao
Published: June 2019

Layered heterogeneous media widely exist in subsurface environment. They commonly give rise to preferential flow that provides a fast path for water and solute transport in soils and aquifers. One‐dimensional (1‐D) double‐region models are frequently used to simulate solute transport in heterogeneous media by adopting a mass transfer coefficient, rather than transverse dispersion, to represent interaction between two zones. A two‐dimensional (2‐D) solute transport model considering transverse dispersion and linear reactions in a layered medium where water in the two regions is mobile was presented, and its semianalytical solution was derived. The solution was tested using a numerical solution and an existing analytical solution. The results indicated that the mass exchange between the two zones was induced by the contrast in properties of the two zones and determined by the transverse dispersion across the interface. When solutes pass through the two‐layer medium, part of the solutes in the fast flow zone will migrate into the slow flow zone in the beginning, and later this mass exchange will be reversed; that is, part of the solutes in the slow flow zone will migrate back to the fast flow zone. The magnitude of the mass exchange was determined by the property difference in the two zones. The reaction of the solute has significant impacts on the mass interaction between the two zones. The solution was applied to previous laboratory experiments and compared to the 1‐D double‐region model as well. The 2‐D model matched the observed breakthrough curves better than the 1‐D model.
Antidepressant treatment, not depression, leads to reductions in behavioral and neural responses to pain empathy
Authors: Rütgen Markus , Pletti Carolina , Tik Martin , Kraus Christoph , Pfabigan Daniela Melitta , Sladky Ronald , Klöbl Manfred , Woletz Michael , Vanicek Thomas , Windischberger Christian , Lanzenberger Rupert , Lamm Claus
Published: June 2019

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been hypothesized to lead to impairments in empathy. Previous cross-sectional studies did not disentangle effects of MDD itself and antidepressant treatment. In this first longitudinal neuroimaging study on empathy in depression, 29 patients with MDD participated in two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions before and after 3 months of antidepressant therapy. We compared their responses to an empathy for pain task to a group of healthy controls (N = 35). All participants provided self-report ratings targeting cognitive (perspective taking) and affective (unpleasant affect) aspects of empathy. To control for general effects on processing of negative affective states, participants additionally underwent an electrical pain task. Before treatment, we found no differences in empathic responses between controls and patients with MDD. After treatment, patients showed significant decreases in both affective empathy and activity of three a priori selected brain regions associated with empathy for pain. Decreases in affective empathy were moreover correlated with symptom improvement. Moreover, functional connectivity during the empathy task between areas associated with affective (anterior insula) and cognitive (precuneus) empathy decreased between sessions in the MDD group. Neither cognitive empathy nor responses to painful electrical shocks were changed after treatment. These findings contradict previous cross-sectional reports of empathy deficits in acute MDD. Rather, they suggest that antidepressant treatment reduces the aversive responses triggered by exposure to the suffering of others. Importantly, this cannot be explained by a general blunting of negative affect, as treatment did not change self-experienced pain.
H3.3K27M-induced chromatin changes drive ectopic replication through misregulation of the JNK pathway in C. elegans
Authors: Delaney Kamila , Strobino Maude , Wenda Joanna M. , Pankowski Andrzej , Steiner Florian A.
Published: June 2019

Substitution of lysine 27 with methionine in histone H3.3 is a recently discovered driver mutation of pediatric high-grade gliomas. Mutant cells show decreased levels and altered distribution of H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3). How these chromatin changes are established genome-wide and lead to tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here we show that H3.3K27M-mediated alterations in H3K27me3 distribution result in ectopic DNA replication and cell cycle progression of germ cells in Caenorhabditis elegans. By genetically inducing changes in the H3.3 distribution, we demonstrate that both H3.3K27M and pre-existing H3K27me3 act locally and antagonistically on Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) in a concentration-dependent manner. The heterochromatin changes result in extensive gene misregulation, and genetic screening identified upregulation of JNK as an underlying cause of the germcell aberrations. Moreover, JNK inhibition suppresses the replicative fate in human tumor-derived H3.3K27M cells, thus establishing C. elegans as a powerful model for the identification of potential drug targets for treatment of H3.3K27M tumors.
Importance of potassium ions for ribosome structure and function revealed by long-wavelength X-ray diffraction
Authors: Rozov Alexey , Khusainov Iskander , El Omari Kamel , Duman Ramona , Mykhaylyk Vitaliy , Yusupov Marat , Westhof Eric , Wagner Armin , Yusupova Gulnara
Published: June 2019

The ribosome, the largest RNA-containing macromolecular machinery in cells, requires metal ions not only to maintain its three-dimensional fold but also to perform protein synthesis. Despite the vast biochemical data regarding the importance of metal ions for efficient protein synthesis and the increasing number of ribosome structures solved by X-ray crystallography or cryo-electron microscopy, the assignment of metal ions within the ribosome remains elusive due to methodological limitations. Here we present extensive experimental data on the potassium composition and environment in two structures of functional ribosome complexes obtained by measurement of the potassium anomalous signal at the K-edge, derived from long-wavelength X-ray diffraction data. We elucidate the role of potassium ions in protein synthesis at the three-dimensional level, most notably, in the environment of the ribosome functional decoding and peptidyl transferase centers. Our data expand the fundamental knowledge of the mechanism of ribosome function and structural integrity.
Mesenchymal stem cell therapy induces FLT3L and CD1c+ dendritic cells in systemic lupus erythematosus patients
Authors: Yuan Xinran , Qin Xiaodong , Wang Dandan , Zhang Zhuoya , Tang Xiaojun , Gao Xiang , Chen Wanjun , Sun Lingyun
Published: June 2019

Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exhibit immunoregulatory function in human autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here we show that the number of peripheral tolerogenic CD1c+ dendritic cells (DCs) and the levels of serum FLT3L are significantly decreased in SLE patients especially with lupus nephritis, compared to healthy controls. Transplantation of allogeneic umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) significantly up-regulates peripheral blood CD1c+DCs and serum FLT3L. Mechanistically, UC-MSCs express FLT3L that binds to FLT3 on CD1c+DCs to promote the proliferation and inhibit the apoptosis of tolerogenic CD1c+DCs. Conversely, reduction of FLT3L with small interfering RNA in MSCs abolishes the up-regulation of tolerogenic CD1c+DCs in lupus patients treated with MSCs. Interferon-γ induces FLT3L expression in UC-MSCs through JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Thus, allogeneic MSCs might suppress inflammation in lupus through up-regulating tolerogenic DCs.
Adaptation of the human auditory cortex to changing background noise
Authors: Khalighinejad Bahar , Herrero Jose L. , Mehta Ashesh D. , Mesgarani Nima
Published: June 2019

Speech communication in real-world environments requires adaptation to changing acoustic conditions. How the human auditory cortex adapts as a new noise source appears in or disappears from the acoustic scene remain unclear. Here, we directly measured neural activity in the auditory cortex of six human subjects as they listened to speech with abruptly changing background noises. We report rapid and selective suppression of acoustic features of noise in the neural responses. This suppression results in enhanced representation and perception of speech acoustic features. The degree of adaptation to different background noises varies across neural sites and is predictable from the tuning properties and speech specificity of the sites. Moreover, adaptation to background noise is unaffected by the attentional focus of the listener. The convergence of these neural and perceptual effects reveals the intrinsic dynamic mechanisms that enable a listener to filter out irrelevant sound sources in a changing acoustic scene.
Development and validation of a deep learning algorithm for improving Gleason scoring of prostate cancer
Authors: Nagpal Kunal , Foote Davis , Liu Yun , Chen Po-Hsuan Cameron , Wulczyn Ellery , Tan Fraser , Olson Niels , Smith Jenny L. , Mohtashamian Arash , Wren James H. , Corrado Greg S. , MacDonald Robert , Peng Lily H. , Amin Mahul B. , Evans Andrew J. , Sangoi Ankur R. , Mermel Craig H. , Hipp Jason D. , Stumpe Martin C.
Published: June 2019

For prostate cancer patients, the Gleason score is one of the most important prognostic factors, potentially determining treatment independent of the stage. However, Gleason scoring is based on subjective microscopic examination of tumor morphology and suffers from poor reproducibility. Here we present a deep learning system (DLS) for Gleason scoring whole-slide images of prostatectomies. Our system was developed using 112 million pathologist-annotated image patches from 1226 slides, and evaluated on an independent validation dataset of 331 slides. Compared to a reference standard provided by genitourinary pathology experts, the mean accuracy among 29 general pathologists was 0.61 on the validation set. The DLS achieved a significantly higher diagnostic accuracy of 0.70 (p = 0.002) and trended towards better patient risk stratification in correlations to clinical follow-up data. Our approach could improve the accuracy of Gleason scoring and subsequent therapy decisions, particularly where specialist expertise is unavailable. The DLS also goes beyond the current Gleason system to more finely characterize and quantitate tumor morphology, providing opportunities for refinement of the Gleason system itself.
Benchmark on a large cohort for sleep-wake classification with machine learning techniques
Authors: Palotti Joao , Mall Raghvendra , Aupetit Michael , Rueschman Michael , Singh Meghna , Sathyanarayana Aarti , Taheri Shahrad , Fernandez-Luque Luis
Published: June 2019

Accurately measuring sleep and its quality with polysomnography (PSG) is an expensive task. Actigraphy, an alternative, has been proven cheap and relatively accurate. However, the largest experiments conducted to date, have had only hundreds of participants. In this work, we processed the data of the recently published Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep study to have both PSG and actigraphy data synchronized. We propose the adoption of this publicly available large dataset, which is at least one order of magnitude larger than any other dataset, to systematically compare existing methods for the detection of sleep-wake stages, thus fostering the creation of new algorithms. We also implemented and compared state-of-the-art methods to score sleep-wake stages, which range from the widely used traditional algorithms to recent machine learning approaches. We identified among the traditional algorithms, two approaches that perform better than the algorithm implemented by the actigraphy device used in the MESA Sleep experiments. The performance, in regards to accuracy and F1 score of the machine learning algorithms, was also superior to the device’s native algorithm and comparable to human annotation. Future research in developing new sleep-wake scoring algorithms, in particular, machine learning approaches, will be highly facilitated by the cohort used here. We exemplify this potential by showing that two particular deep-learning architectures, CNN and LSTM, among the many recently created, can achieve accuracy scores significantly higher than other methods for the same tasks.
Measurement of ligand coverage on cadmium selenide nanocrystals and its influence on dielectric dependent photoluminescence intermittency
Authors: Fisher Aidan A. E. , Osborne Mark A. , Day Iain J. , Lucena Alcalde Guillermo
Published: June 2019

Photoluminescent quantum dots are used in a range of applications that exploit the unique size tuneable emission, light harvesting and quantum efficient properties of these semiconductor nanocrystals. However, optical instabilities such as photoluminescence intermittency, the stochastic switching between bright, emitting states and dark states, can hinder quantum dot performance. Correlations between this blinking of emission and the dielectric properties of the nanoenvironment between the quantum dot interface and host medium, suggest surface ligands play a role in modulating on-off switching rates. Here we elucidate the nature of the cadmium selenide nanocrystal surface, by combining magic angle spinning NMR and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine ligand surface densities, with molecular dynamics simulation to assess net ligand filling at the nanocrystal interface. Results support a high ligand coverage and are consistent with photoluminescence intermittency measurements that indicate a dominant contribution from surface ligand to the dielectric properties of the local quantum dot environment.
Fluorescent visual quantitation of cell-secreted sialoglycoconjugates by chemoselective recognition and hybridization chain reaction
Authors: Xiong Yingying , Chen Yunlong , Ding Lin , Liu Xiaoqiang , Ju Huangxian
Published: June 2019

A fluorescent visual method is developed for the quantitation of cell-secreted sialoglycoconjugates by chemoselective recognition and hybridization chain reaction.
Fluorescence imaging of stained red blood cells with simultaneous resonance Raman photostability analysis
Authors: Talib Ansam J. , Fisher Andrew , Voronine Dmitri V. , Sinyukov Alexander M. , Bustamante Lopez Sandra C. , Ambardar Sharad , Meissner Kenith E. , Scully Marlan O. , Sokolov Alexei V.
Published: June 2019

Simultaneous fluorescence and resonance Raman imaging of R6G-stained red blood cells with optimal laser power.
Unveiling the active sites of Ni–Fe phosphide/metaphosphate for efficient oxygen evolution under alkaline conditions
Authors: Huang Can , Zou Ying , Ye Ya-Qian , Ouyang Ting , Xiao Kang , Liu Zhao-Qing
Published: June 2019

The highly active and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance of Ni–Fe phosphide/metaphosphate (Ni1−xFex-P/PO3) can originate from in situ generated Fe doped γ-NiOOH.
Hydrothermally synthesized homogeneous Ni–Mo–S structures on Ni-foam cathodes for thermal batteries
Authors: Choi Yusong , Ahn Tae-Young , Ha Sang-Hyeon , Cho Jang-Hyeon
Published: June 2019

It is well known that Mo and S are found on Ni-foam after hydrothermal synthesis as a MoS2/Ni3S2 heterogeneous structure; however, we found that Ni, Mo, and S are homogeneously distributed on the foam framework. The Ni–Mo–S cathode shows a specific capacity more than thrice that of FeS2.
Fast growth of high quality AlN films on sapphire using a dislocation filtering layer for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes
Authors: Zhang Yi , Long Hanling , Zhang Jun , Tan Bo , Chen Qian , Zhang Shuang , Shan Maochen , Zheng Zhihua , Dai Jiangnan , Chen Changqing
Published: June 2019

A simple strategy for the mass production of high-quality AlN epilayers on flat sapphire by utilizing a dislocation filtering layer.
Solvation and self-aggregation of chiral alcohols: how hydrogen bonding affects their VCD spectral signatures
Authors: Weirich Luisa , Merten Christian
Published: June 2019

IR and VCD spectra of chiral alcohols in different solvents are analyzed with DFT spectra calculations. We show that for ACN or DMSO explicit solvation is needed to reproduce experimental spectra.
Magnetically-induced current density investigation in carbohelicenes and azahelicenes
Authors: Cherni Emna , Champagne Benoît , Ayadi Sameh , Liégeois Vincent
Published: June 2019

3D streamline plot of the current density (left) and total induced current (right) for [6]-helicene molecule.
Tuning the electronic properties of the γ-Al2O3surface by phosphorus doping
Authors: Acikgoz Muhammed , Khoshi M. Reza , Harrell Jaren , Genova Alessandro , Chawla Rupali , He Huixin , Pavanello Michele
Published: June 2019

Tuning the electronic properties of oxide surfaces is of pivotal importance, because they find applicability in a variety of industrial processes, including catalysis.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticulate system: synthesis, targeting, drug delivery and therapy in cancer
Authors: Palanisamy Sathyadevi , Wang Yun-Ming
Published: June 2019

Usefulness of Superparamagnetic Iron oxide Nanoparticulate system for biomedical applications through targeting, drug delivery and therapy.
Light-stable polypyridine silver(i) complexes of 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) and 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane-7-sulfide (PTAS): significant antiproliferative activity of representative examples in aqueous media
Authors: Jaros Sabina W. , Śliwińska-Hill Urszula , Białońska Agata , Nesterov Dmytro S. , Kuropka Piotr , Sokolnicki Jerzy , Bażanów Barbara , Smoleński Piotr
Published: June 2019

A series of novel silver polypyridine complexes containing PTA or PTAS have been synthesized and fully characterized. Representative light-stable and water-soluble complexes were evaluated for their cytotoxic and the antitumor activity.
Phosphine-functionalised tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligands and their mono- and heterobimetallic complexes
Authors: Wagner Hanna E. , Hohnstein Silvia , Schußmann Max G. , Steppe Lukas A. , Breher Frank
Published: June 2019

New phosphine-functionalised tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligands, their coordination flexibility and their ability to generate heterobimetallic complexes are presented.
Customizing a Li–metal battery that survives practical operating conditions for electric vehicle applications
Authors: Hwang Jang-Yeon , Park Seong-Jin , Yoon Chong S. , Sun Yang-Kook
Published: June 2019

We customized a combination of cathode, anode, and electrolyte to develop an LMB capable of cycling both at a high loading capacity and at a high current density that satisfy the capacity and charging rate requirements for future electric vehicles.
Ultralong cycle life and outstanding capacitive performance of a 10.8 V metal free micro-supercapacitor with highly conducting and robust laser-irradiated graphene for an integrated storage device
Authors: Kamboj Navpreet , Purkait Taniya , Das Manisha , Sarkar Subhajit , Hazra Kiran Shankar , Dey Ramendra Sundar
Published: June 2019

Interconnected conducting porous graphene as supercapacitive material as well as current collector for integrated metal-free microsupercapacitor (MSC) having ultra-long cycle life and outstanding capacitive performance.
A facile multi-material direct laser writing strategy
Authors: Lamont Andrew C. , Restaino Michael A. , Kim Matthew J. , Sochol Ryan D.
Published: June 2019

We present an accessible strategy for printing multi-material 3D nanostructured components via microfluidic two-photon direct laser writing.
Vortex fluidic mediated transformation of graphite into highly conducting graphene scrolls
Authors: Vimalanathan Kasturi , Suarez-Martinez Irene , Peiris M. Chandramalika R. , Antonio Joshua , de Tomas Carla , Zou Yichao , Zou Jin , Duan Xiaofei , Lamb Robert N. , Harvey David P. , Alharbi Thaar M. D. , Gibson Christopher T. , Marks Nigel A. , Darwish Nadim , Raston Colin L.
Published: June 2019

A facile one step process has been developed to fabricate high yield graphene scrolls directly from graphite flakes using a sustainable metrics, with the 3D nanomaterial having remarkable properties, unraveling into buckled graphene sheets >450 °C and forming highly conducting electrical contacts.
Convertible and conformationally constrained nucleic acids (C2NAs)
Authors: Escudier Jean-Marc , Payrastre Corinne , Gerland Béatrice , Tarrat Nathalie
Published: June 2019

Convertible and Constrained Nucleic Acids (C2NAs) allow for decoration and stabilization of nucleic acid secondary structures such as a duplex when α is locked in the gauche(−) conformation or hairpin when α is constrained to the gauche(+) conformation.
Polysaccharides fromPolygonatum sibiricumDelar. ex Redoute induce an immune response in the RAW264.7 cell lineviaan NF-κB/MAPK pathway
Authors: Zhang Jiaozhen , Liu Na , Sun Chao , Sun Deqing , Wang Yongjie
Published: June 2019

Polysaccharides induce an immune responseviaan NF-κB/MAPK pathway.
Photo-redox reactivity of titanium-oxo clusters: mechanistic insight into a two-electron intramolecular process, and structural characterisation of mixed-valent Ti(iii)/Ti(iv) products
Authors: Krämer Tobias , Tuna Floriana , Pike Sebastian. D.
Published: June 2019

The photo-reactivity of titanium-oxo clusters is investigated, revealing an intramolecular, solvent assisted, two-electron redox process that generates blue-coloured Ti(iii)/Ti(iv) clusters.
Enantioselective photoredox dehalogenative protonation
Authors: Hou Meimei , Lin Lu , Chai Xiangpei , Zhao Xiaowei , Qiao Baokun , Jiang Zhiyong
Published: June 2019

We report an enantioselective photoredox dehalogenative protonation as a new type of asymmetric protonation.
An inner-electropolymerization method for preparing electrochromic devices with various shapes and a large size
Authors: Guan Shian , Wang Wenjing , Li Baozhang , Zheng Jianming , Xu Chunye
Published: June 2019

Inner-electropolymerization strategy is put forward to prepare organic ECDs by electrochemical polymerization of EC monomers inside the device cell. Large size ECDs with various shapes and excellent electrochromic performances are fabricated successfully.
Electromagnetic‐based maximum output power control in new two‐layer BLDC generator using optimal control of turn‐on and turn‐off angles in variable speed applications
Authors: CheshmehBeigi Hassan Moradi , Karami Ehsan , Rouzbehi Kumars
Published: June 2019

In this study, by using the electromagnetic field analysis, the design of brushless DC generator with a novel construction and controller, appropriate for variable speed applications, is proposed. In the proposed machine, unlike the conventional structure, an assisted DC field coil is employed instead of permanent magnet excitation to provide a regulated voltage. Results of the electromagnetic field analysis show that including the DC field coil increases the controllability of the flux in different machine parts which provide a regulated terminal voltage in a wide speed range appropriate for variable speed applications. Moreover, the maximum power point tracking is achieved by controlling the DC field current along with producing optimal turn‐on and turn‐off angles for stator winding using the electromagnetic analysis based on optimal finite element analysis. Also, an appropriate controller is designed to control the DC field coil current. To verify the actual performance of the proposed configuration, a 1.5 Kw machine is manufactured and tested followed by the discussion on results. The obtained experimental results are in good agreement with the results of the electromagnetic analysis which confirm the maximum power trackability and robust output voltage regulation of the proposed conversion system under different shaft speeds and load conditions.