bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Outward Foreign Direct Investment on Domestic Investment: The Cases of Brazil and China
Authors: Gondim Igor , Ogasavara Mario Henrique , Masiero Gilmar
Published: May 2018

Policymakers face a dilemma over their investment‐promotion strategies for becoming more competitive in international markets. Encouraging firms to invest abroad could reduce domestic economic activity. We investigate this issue by analysing the long‐ and short‐run relationships between outward foreign direct investment and domestic investment for Brazil and China. We use a time series approach, namely autoregressive distributed lag for the period between 1975 and 2013. Our findings indicate a crowding‐in effect of outward foreign direct investment on domestic investment for both countries. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chronic periodontitis and oral health‐related quality of life in Chinese adults: A population‐based, cross‐sectional study
Authors: He Songlin , Wei Shicheng , Wang Jinhua , Ji Ping
Published: May 2018

Background

This population‐based, cross‐sectional study explored the association between chronic periodontitis and oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) in Chinese adults, independently of sociodemographic factors and other common oral conditions.

Methods

The present study was carried out in a sample population of 480 adults aged 35 to 74 years from Chongqing municipality. A multi‐stage stratified random sampling approach was adopted to select participants. The Chinese version of the short‐form oral health impact profile (OHIP‐14) was used to assess OHRQoL. Chronic periodontitis was trichotomized into mild, moderate, and severe periodontitis. Logistic regression models were adopted to explore the association between the severity of chronic periodontitis and OHIP‐14 scores.

Results

After adjustment for sociodemographic factors and other common clinical conditions, participants with severe and moderate chronic periodontitis, respectively, had 1.63‐ (95% CI: 1.41 to 1.98) and 1.42‐fold (95% CI: 1.29 to 1.63) higher odds for the OHIP‐14 scores being above the median compared with participants without chronic periodontitis. However, participants with mild periodontitis did not have significantly higher odds for the OHIP‐14 scores being above the median than participants without chronic periodontitis. Certain sociodemographic variables, including higher age, lower education level, number of missing teeth, and current smoker, had negative associations with OHRQoL.

Conclusions

Chronic periodontitis was associated with poorer OHRQoL in Chinese adults. In addition, the impairment in OHRQoL showed a significant correlation with the severity of chronic periodontitis.
Lymphatic growth factors are expressed in human gingiva and upregulated in gingival fibroblasts after stimulation
Authors: Bletsa Athanasia , Abdalla Hisham , Løes Sigbjørn , Berggreen Ellen
Published: May 2018

Background

The lymphatic growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐C and ‐D are important for maintenance and growth of lymphatic vessels (lymphangiogenesis), but their localization in human gingiva is unknown. This study investigated the expression of VEGF‐C and ‐D in human gingiva and isolated human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). In addition, the localization of their main receptor VEGFR‐3 was explored.

Methods

Non‐inflamed gingiva from six donors was used for immunohistochemistry or isolation of HGFs. HGFs were stimulated with either E.coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or IL‐6/soluble IL‐6 receptor (sIL‐6R) complex for 1, 6, and 24 hours. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) was used to quantify the relative changes in gene expression of VEGF‐A, ‐C, and ‐D and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantification of protein levels.

Results

VEGF‐C, ‐D and VEGFR‐3 were seen in keratinocytes, blood vessels and in scattered single cells in gingiva. VEGFR‐3 was also found in lymphatic vessels and VEGF‐C in cells with fibroblastic appearance. Gene analysis showed no expression of VEGF‐D in the HGFs, but showed constitutive expression of VEGF‐C and ‐A. Stimulation of HGFs with LPS or IL‐6/sIL‐6R complex was followed by gene upregulation of VEGF‐C and ‐A and increased protein levels in cell culture supernatant (P ≤0.05).

Conclusions

The localization of VEGF‐C, ‐D, and VEGFR‐3 expression imply that signaling via VEGFR‐3 is linked to vascular homeostasis and keratinocyte function under normal conditions in gingiva. Inflammatory stimulation of HGFs upregulates VEGF‐C and ‐A expression and may contribute to angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.
The root coverage esthetic score: Intra‐examiner reliability among dental students and dental faculty
Authors: Isaia Federica , Gyurko Robert , Roomian Tamar C. , Hawley Charles E.
Published: May 2018

Background

The root coverage esthetic score (RES) was published in 2009 as an esthetic scoring system to measure visible final outcomes of root coverage procedures performed on Miller I and II recession defects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra‐examiner, intra‐group, and inter‐examiner reliability of the RES when used among periodontal faculty, post‐graduate students in periodontology, and pre‐doctoral DMD students when using the RES at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM).

Methods

Thirty‐three participants (12 second‐year DMD students, 11 periodontal residents, and 10 faculty members) were assembled to evaluate 25 baseline and 6‐month post‐treatment outcomes of mucogingival surgeries using the RES. Each projection was shown for 30 seconds during which the participants were asked to use the RES scoring system to evaluate the surgical outcomes. The results were then recorded on a standardized worksheet grid. To test intra‐examiner reliability, seven of the 25 projections were shown twice. Intra‐examiner reliability and inter‐examiner reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient using a two‐way mixed effect model, and stratified by education level.

Results

Post‐graduate (PG) residents had the highest tendency to agree with each other with an interclass correlation (ICC) of 0.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36 to 0.74). DMD students had an ICC: 0.51 (95% CI: 0.33 to 0.75), and PG faculty members produced an ICC: 0.41 (95% CI: 0.24 to 0.64). There was no statistically significant difference in ICC among the three groups of participants (Kruskal‐Wallis test, P = 0.2440). When the data for each RES element were then combined, the mean ICC for the total inter‐rater agreement for RES was 0.48 (95% CI: 0.32 to 0.71). This corresponds to an overall moderate agreement among all participants using the RES to evaluate the 25 surgical outcomes. The intra‐examiner reliability within each of the three groups was quite high. The highest mean ICC was produced by PG faculty (0.908). The mean ICCs for PG residents was 0.867, and the mean ICC for DMD students was 0.855. The Kruskal‐Wallis test (P = 0.46) failed to find any statistical difference in intra‐examiner reliability among the three groups of participants.

Conclusions

The RES is a “moderately” reliable scoring system for mucogingival treatments in a dental school setting and can be used even by operators with different levels of periodontal experience. This scoring system can be repeated by the same examiner to obtain reliable results.
Prevalence of daily flossing among adults by selected risk factors for periodontal disease—United States, 2011–2014
Authors: Fleming Eleanor B. , Nguyen Duong , Afful Joseph , Carroll Margaret D. , Woods Phillip D.
Published: May 2018

Background

Daily flossing prevalence was determined among adults ≥30 years old in the United States, by demographic and risk factors for periodontal disease, including current tobacco use and diabetes.

Methods

Data from the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed for 8,356 adults. Flossing prevalence was estimated. Logistic regression analysis examined the association between daily flossing and demographic and risk factors for periodontal diseases.

Results

Daily flossing among adults was 31.6% (standard error [SE] = 0.8). There were significant differences among the categories of flossing according to age, sex, race/Hispanic origin, poverty status, education, current tobacco use, and diabetes status. In adjusted analyses, current tobacco users (odds ratio [OR]: 0.82; 95% confidence index [CI] 0.68, 0.99) had lower odds of daily flossing than non‐tobacco users; there was no significant difference between adults with and without diabetes (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.52, 1.08).

Conclusion

Approximately one‐third of adults in the United States reported that they floss daily. Daily flossing was higher among women, those with higher income, and non‐Hispanic Asian and Hispanic adults, but it was lower among current tobacco users.
High serum procalcitonin levels in patients with periodontitis and chronic migraine
Authors: Leira Yago , Ameijeira Pablo , Domínguez Clara , Leira Rogelio , Blanco Juan
Published: May 2018

Background

To evaluate the contribution of chronic periodontitis (CP) to serum procalcitonin (proCT) levels in chronic migraine (CM) patients in a cross‐sectional study.

Methods

We included 138 subjects divided into 4 groups based on clinical features of CM and periodontal parameters: systemically and periodontally healthy individuals (n = 37), systemically healthy and CP patients (n = 19), CM and periodontally healthy patients (n = 34), and CM+CP patients (n = 48). Demographic, neurological, clinical data as well as full‐mouth periodontal records were obtained. ProCT and high sensitive C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) serum levels were determined from blood samples taken during migraine interictal period.

Results

Patients from the CP+CM group (0.056±0.006 ng/mL) had significantly higher serum proCT levels in comparison with the systemically and periodontally healthy group (0.029±0.019 ng/mL), CM group (0.041±0.002 ng/mL), or CP group (0.034±0.014 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in hs‐CRP between groups (p = 0.081). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that CP was associated with increased proCT levels in CM patients (R2 = 0.293, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

CP independently contributes to elevated serum proCT levels in CM patients. These findings suggest that CP could play a role in migraine chronification.
Thiol‐ene click derived structurally well‐defined per(3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoylated cationic cyclodextrin separation material for achiral and chiral chromatography
Authors: Tang Xiaoying , Li Xiaoxuan , Sun Yuwei , Xiao Yin , Wang Yong
Published: May 2018

In this work, a novel single sulfoether‐bridged cationic per(3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoylated‐β‐cyclodextrin separation material was prepared by thiol‐ene click chemistry and characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy, solid‐state 13C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, which confirmed the correct structure. The separation material exhibited a good achiral separation performance for benzene homologues and phenylamine analogs, especially o‐xylene and m‐xylene, and m‐phenylenediamine and o‐phenylenediamine can be discriminated by the (3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoyl cyclodextrins. The chiral resolving ability of the separation material was evaluated by discriminating various isoxazolines, flavonoids, and β‐blockers in reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. For isoxazolines, the material showed the best chiral discrimination toward 3‐aryl‐5‐(2‐oxopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐isoxazolines, where the resolution for 3ClPh‐OPr  reached 6.03. For flavonoids, it exhibited more efficient separation to the ones with more hydrophobic substituents, with a resolution of 5.93 for 6‐hydroxyflavanone. β‐Blockers were also enantioseparated satisfactorily on the material. The as‐prepared separation material is a good member of the thiol‐ene click derived cyclodextrin stationary phase family.
Surgical management of neck pain and headache associated with pediatric hashimoto's thyroiditis
Authors: Krakovitz Paul , Cairns Christine , Schweiger Bahareh Michelle , Burkey Brian
Published: May 2018

Objectives/Hypothesis

Case reports of a painful variant of Hashimoto's thyroiditis exist in the literature; however, these cases have only been documented in adult patients and there are no standard treatment guidelines. The aim of this study was to describe an alternative management for Hashimoto's thyroiditis associated with medically intractable head and neck pain in the pediatric population.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Methods

The study was conducted in the Section of Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Cleveland Clinic. We retrospectively analyzed pediatric patients (ages 0–18 years) with painful thyroiditis and/or headache who underwent total thyroidectomy from 2005 to 2014 with a clinical diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. A thorough chart review was performed, including medical and family history, presenting symptoms, laboratory values, medical and surgical treatment strategies, operative reports, and surgical pathology.

Results

There were 0.02% of patients (5 of 305) who met the criteria of intractable head and or neck pain. All five underwent total thyroidectomy with confirmation of Hashimoto's thyroiditis on surgical pathology. Surgical treatment resulted in complete cervical pain relief and improved headaches with a minimum follow‐up of 36 months.

Conclusions

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a relatively common form of autoimmune thyroiditis in pediatric patients that uncommonly results in intractable neck pain or headache. In this case series, thyroidectomy was an effective alternative treatment in the pediatric population for medical failures in chronic painful Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Level of Evidence

4. Laryngoscope, 128:2213–2217, 2018
Bitter melon juice exerts its efficacy against pancreatic cancer via targeting both bulk and cancer stem cells
Authors: Dhar Deepanshi , Deep Gagan , Kumar Sushil , Wempe Michael F. , Raina Komal , Agarwal Chapla , Agarwal Rajesh
Published: May 2018

Pancreatic cancer (PanC) is one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide and frontline treatment with gemcitabine becomes eventually ineffective due to increasing PanC resistance, suggesting additional approaches are needed to manage PanC. Recently, we have shown the efficacy of bitter melon juice (BMJ) against PanC cells, including those resistant to gemcitabine. As cancer stem cells (CSCs) are actively involved in PanC initiation, progression, relapse and drug‐resistance, here we assessed BMJ ability in targeting pancreatic cancer‐associated cancer stem cells (PanC‐CSCs). We found BMJ efficacy against CD44+/CD24+/EpCAMhigh enriched PanC‐CSCs in spheroid assays; BMJ also increased the sensitivity of gemcitabine‐resistant PanC‐CSCs. Exogenous addition of BMJ to PanC‐CSC generated spheroids (not pre‐exposed to BMJ) also significantly reduced spheroid number and size. Mechanistically, BMJ effects were associated with a decrease in the expression of genes and proteins involved in PanC‐CSC renewal and proliferation. Specifically, immunofluorescence staining showed that BMJ decreases protein expression/nuclear localization of CSC‐associated transcription factors SOX2, OCT4 and NANOG, and CSC marker CD44. Immunohistochemical analysis of MiaPaCa2 xenografts from BMJ treated animals also showed a significant decrease in the levels of CSC‐associated transcription factors. Together, these results show BMJ potential in targeting PanC‐CSC pool and associated regulatory pathways, suggesting the need for further investigation of its efficacy against PanC growth and progression including gemcitabine‐resistant PanC.
Recent advances in the discovery and development of factor XI/XIa inhibitors
Authors: Al‐Horani Rami A. , Afosah Daniel K.
Published: May 2018

Factor XIa (FXIa) is a serine protease homodimer that belongs to the intrinsic coagulation pathway. FXIa primarily catalyzes factor IX activation to factor IXa, which subsequently activates factor X to factor Xa in the common coagulation pathway. Growing evidence suggests that FXIa plays an important role in thrombosis with a relatively limited contribution to hemostasis. Therefore, inhibitors targeting factor XI (FXI)/FXIa system have emerged as a paradigm‐shifting strategy so as to develop a new generation of anticoagulants to effectively prevent and/or treat thromboembolic diseases without the life‐threatening risk of internal bleeding. Several inhibitors of FXI/FXIa proteins have been discovered or designed over the last decade including polypeptides, active site peptidomimetic inhibitors, allosteric inhibitors, antibodies, and aptamers. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), which ultimately reduce the hepatic biosynthesis of FXI, have also been introduced. A phase II study, which included patients undergoing elective primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty, revealed that a specific FXI ASO effectively protects patients against venous thrombosis with a relatively limited risk of bleeding. Initial findings have also demonstrated the potential of FXI/FXIa inhibitors in sepsis, listeriosis, and arterial hypertension. This review highlights various chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological aspects of FXI/FXIa inhibitors with the goal of advancing their development toward clinical use.
A note for the global nonexistence of semirelativistic equations with nongauge invariant power type nonlinearity
Authors: Fujiwara Kazumasa
Published: May 2018

The nonexistence of global solutions for semirelativistic equations with nongauge invariant power type nonlinearity is revisited by a relatively direct way with a pointwise estimate of fractional derivative of some test functions.
Well‐posed fractional calculus operator: Obtaining new transformations formulas involving Gauss hypergeometric functions with rational quadratic, cubic, and higher degree arguments
Authors: Tremblay R. , Gaboury S.
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we propose a systematic method for discovering new transformation formulas for the Gauss hypergeometric function with quadratic and rational (quadratic, cubic, and of higher degree) arguments. These new transformation formulas are obtained from known transformation formulas given in 1881 by Goursat (E. Goursat, Sur l'Équation différentielle linéaire qui admet pour intégrale la série hypergéométrique, Annales scientifique de l'É. N. S., 2e série tome 10 [1881], 3–142). This method relies on the use of the well‐posed fractional calculus operator
introduced by Tremblay (R. Tremblay, Une contribution à la théorie de la dérivée fractionnaire, Doctoral thesis, Université Laval, Québec, Canada [1974]). We illustrate the effectiveness of the method by giving several presumably new transformation formulas for the Gauss hypergeometric function.
Errors in 1H‐MRS estimates of brain metabolite concentrations caused by failing to take into account tissue‐specific signal relaxation
Authors: Gasparovic Charles , Chen Hongji , Mullins Paul G.
Published: May 2018

Accurate measurement of brain metabolite concentrations with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐MRS) can be problematic because of large voxels with mixed tissue composition, requiring adjustment for differing relaxation rates in each tissue if absolute concentration estimates are desired. Adjusting for tissue‐specific metabolite signal relaxation, however, also requires a knowledge of the relative concentrations of the metabolite in gray (GM) and white (WM) matter, which are not known a priori. Expressions for the estimation of the molality and molarity of brain metabolites with 1H‐MRS are extended to account for tissue‐specific relaxation of the metabolite signals and examined under different assumptions with simulated and real data. Although the modified equations have two unknowns, and hence are unsolvable explicitly, they are nonetheless useful for the estimation of the effect of tissue‐specific metabolite relaxation rates on concentration estimates under a range of assumptions and experimental parameters using simulated and real data. In simulated data using reported GM and WM T1 and T2 times for N‐acetylaspartate (NAA) at 3 T and a hypothetical GM/WM NAA ratio, errors of 6.5–7.8% in concentrations resulted when TR = 1.5 s and TE = 0.144 s, but were reduced to less than 0.5% when TR = 6 s and TE = 0.006 s. In real data obtained at TR/TE = 1.5 s/0.04 s, the difference in the results (4%) was similar to that obtained with simulated data when assuming tissue‐specific relaxation times rather than GM–WM‐averaged times. Using the expressions introduced in this article, these results can be extrapolated to any metabolite or set of assumptions regarding tissue‐specific relaxation. Furthermore, although serving to bound the problem, this work underscores the challenge of correcting for relaxation effects, given that relaxation times are generally not known and impractical to measure in most studies. To minimize such effects, the data should be acquired with pulse sequence parameters that minimize the effect of signal relaxation.
Frequency‐dependent shear properties of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus by magnetic resonance elastography
Authors: Beauchemin P.F. , Bayly P.V. , Garbow J.R. , Schmidt J.L.S. , Okamoto R.J. , Chériet F. , Périé D.
Published: May 2018

Aging and degeneration are associated with changes in mechanical properties in the intervertebral disc, generating interest in the establishment of mechanical properties as early biomarkers for the degenerative cascade. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of the intervertebral disc is usually limited to the nucleus pulposus, as the annulus fibrosus is stiffer and less hydrated. The objective of this work was to adapt high‐frequency needle MRE to the characterization of the shear modulus of both the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus. Bovine intervertebral discs were removed from fresh oxtails and characterized by needle MRE. The needle was inserted in the center of the disc and vibrations were generated by an amplified piezoelectric actuator. MRE acquisitions were performed on a 4.7‐T small‐animal MR scanner using a spin echo sequence with sinusoidal motion encoding gradients. Acquisitions were repeated over a frequency range of 1000–1800 Hz. The local frequency estimation inversion algorithm was used to compute the shear modulus. Stiffness maps allowed the visualization of the soft nucleus pulposus surrounded by the stiffer annulus fibrosus surrounded by the homogeneous gel. A significant difference in shear modulus between the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus, and an increase in the shear modulus with excitation frequency, were observed, in agreement with the literature. This study demonstrates that global characterization of both the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc is possible with needle MRE using a preclinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. MRE can be a powerful method for the mapping of the complex properties of the intervertebral disc. The developed method could be adapted for in situ use by preserving adjacent vertebrae and puncturing the side of the intervertebral disc, thereby allowing an assessment of the contribution of osmotic pressure to the mechanical behavior of the intervertebral disc.
Multicenter randomized, double‐blind controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of laser therapy for the treatment of severe oral mucositis induced by chemotherapy in children: laMPO RCT
Authors: Gobbo Margherita , Verzegnassi Federico , Ronfani Luca , Zanon Davide , Melchionda Fraia , Bagattoni Simone , Majorana Alessandra , Bardellini Elena , Mura Rosamaria , Piras Alessandra , Petris Maria Grazia , Mariuzzi Maria Livia , Barone Angelica , Merigo Elisabetta , Decembrino Nunzia , Vitale Marina Consuelo , Berger Massimo , Defabianis Patrizia , Biasotto Matteo , Ottaviani Giulia , Zanazzo Giulio Andrea
Published: May 2018

Objectives

To demonstrate the efficacy of laser photobiomodulation (PBM) compared to that of placebo on severe oral mucositis (OM) in pediatric oncology patients. The primary objective was the reduction of OM grade (World Health Organization [WHO] scale) 7 days after starting PBM. Secondary objectives were reduction of pain, analgesic consumption, and incidence of side effects.

Methods

One hundred and one children with WHO grade > 2 chemotherapy‐induced OM were enrolled in eight Italian hospitals. Patients were randomized to either PBM or sham treatment for four consecutive days (days +1 to +4). On days +4, +7, and +11, OM grade, pain (following a 0–10 numeric pain rating scale, NRS) and need for analgesics were evaluated by an operator blinded to treatment.

Results

Fifty‐one patients were allocated to the PBM group, and 50 were allocated to the sham group. In total, 93.7% of PBM patients and 72% of sham patients had OM grade < 3 WHO on day +7 (P = 0.01). A significant reduction of pain was registered on day +7 in the PBM versus sham group (NRS 1 [0–3] vs. 2.5 [1–5], P < 0.006). Reduced use of analgesics was reported in the PBM group, although it was not statistically significant. No significant adverse events attributable to treatment were recorded.

Conclusions

PBM is a safe, feasible, and effective treatment for children affected by chemotherapy‐induced OM, as it accelerates mucosal recovery and reduces pain.
Microbiome characteristics of induced sputum compared to bronchial fluid and upper airway samples
Authors: An Shi‐qi , Warris Adilia , Turner Steve
Published: May 2018

Objective

The study of the community of microorganisms (the microbiota) in the lower airways in children is restricted to opportunistic sampling in children undergoing elective general anaesthetic. Here we tested the hypothesis that induced sputum is a valid alternative to directly sampling the lower airways to study lower airway microbiota.

Methods

Children scheduled for elective operations were recruited. Pre‐operatively a sample of induced sputum was obtained. After anaesthesia was induced, a bronchial brushing and swabs of the upper respiratory tract were obtained. Bacterial community analysis was performed by amplification of the V3–V4 16S rRNA gene region.

Results

Twenty children were recruited, mean age 10.7 years. Induced sputum samples were obtained from 12 children, bronchial brushing from 14 and nasal, mouth, and throat samples in 15, 16, and 17 children. The profile of bacterial communities was similar in the mouth, throat, and sputum samples with the nose and bronchial samples being different. Actinobacteria species dominated the nose and mouth, Fusobacteria were the dominant species in the throat and sputum while Proteobacteria species dominated in bronchial samples. Forty‐one percent of detected bacteria in bronchial samples were unclassified. Bacterial communities from the mouth, throat, and induced sputum were tightly clustered and were distinct from nose and those found in bronchial communities.

Conclusions

Induced sputum may not be a valid surrogate for microbiome assessment of the lower airways in all individuals. Many bacteria in bronchial samples were not recognized by standard testing, suggesting that our understanding of the lower airway microbiota in children remains rudimentary.
Role of glycans in cholesteryl ester transfer protein revealed by molecular dynamics simulation
Authors: Hao Dongxiao , Yang Zhiwei , Gao Teng , Tian Zhiqi , Zhang Lei , Zhang Shengli
Published: May 2018

Current cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors are designed based on the unglycosylated crystal structure, and most of them have failed to cure cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is particularly important for us to investigate the glycosylation structure of CETP (CETP‐G) and effect of glycans on the structure and function of CETP. Here, we used a total of 3.0‐μs molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories of nascent structure of CETP (CETP‐N) and CETP‐G to study their structural differentiations, to shed new light on the CETP‐mediated lipid exchange. In accordance with our simulations and previous mutation studies, relative to CETP‐N, CETP‐G adopts a more stretched shape with higher hydrophobic and hydrophilic solvent‐accessible surface area (SASA) of N‐terminal oscillating with larger amplitude, in which Glycan88 provides partial assistance for CEs through the N‐terminal. Glycan341 reduces the flexibility of neck flap, with the interference of CEs through the neck region. Besides, Glycan240 reduces the flexibility of Helix‐X to interfere the CEs transfer. Glycan396 decreases the flexibility and increases the hydrophobic SASA of C‐terminal. Overall, these glycans affect the dynamics and structure of CETP through forming H‐bonds with surrounding residues, and the sampled conformations of glycan is also affected by its surrounding residues. Thus, glycans are an integral part of CETP, further studies on the CETP inhibition and treatment of CVD should fully consider the effect of glycans.
Escherichia coli survival and transfer in estuarine bed sediments
Authors: Schang C. , Lintern A. , Cook P. L. M. , Rooney G. , Coleman R. , Murphy H. M. , Deletic A. , McCarthy D.
Published: May 2018

Bed sediment resuspension is a potential source of faecal microorganisms in the water column of estuaries. As such, it is important to identify the survival of faecal microorganisms in these bed sediments and understand how bed sediment resuspension impacts the quality of estuarine waters. This study explores the effect of bed sediment resuspension on Escherichia coli concentrations in the water column and the persistence of E. coli in the water column and bed sediments of the Yarra River estuary in South‐Eastern Australia. Using sediment cores, we identified that the resuspension of both surficial sediments (e.g., by tidal movements) and deeper bed sediments (e.g., by large storm events) can increase E. coli concentrations in the water column by up to 20 times in estuaries in oceanic climates. Bed sediment resuspension can result in increased E. coli concentrations in the water column even up to 24 days after E. coli first enters the estuarine water. This study demonstrates that faecal microorganisms, such as E. coli, can persist for extended periods in estuarine bed sediments, which may then be re‐entrained into the water column via recreational activities, high flow events, or tidal fluctuations. If the survival and resuspension processes observed here hold true for pathogenic microorganisms, the resuspension of bed sediments may indeed represent an increased public health risk.
Spectral synchronicity in brain signals
Authors: Euán Carolina , Ombao Hernando , Ortega Joaquín
Published: May 2018

This paper addresses the problem of identifying brain regions with similar oscillatory patterns detected from electroencephalograms. We introduce the hierarchical spectral merger (HSM) clustering method where the feature of interest is the spectral curve and the similarity metric used is the total variance distance. The HSM method is compared with clustering using features derived from independent‐component analysis. Moreover, the HSM method is applied to 2 different electroencephalogram datasets. The first was recorded at resting state where the participant was not engaged in any cognitive task; the second was recorded during a spontaneous epileptic seizure. The results of the analyses using the HSM method demonstrate that clustering could evolve over the duration of the resting state and during epileptic seizure.
Di‐μ‐acetato Diuranyl(VI) Complexes with N‐(2‐pyridyl)‐N′‐(5‐R‐salicylidene)hydrazines: Syntheses, Structures, Properties and Extraction Studies
Authors: Ghosh Sabari , Kurapati Sathish Kumar , Ghosh Arpita , Srivastava Ankit Kumar , Pal Samudranil
Published: May 2018

Reactions of equimolar amounts of UO2(OAc)2⋅2H2O and N‐(2‐pyridyl)‐N′‐(5‐R‐salicylidene)hydrazines (HLn; n=1–3 for R = H, Me, and OMe, respectively) in methanol produced [(UO2)2(μ‐OAc)2(Ln)2] (1‐3 for n=1–3) in ∼70% yields. Elemental analysis, various spectroscopic, and electrochemical measurements were used to characterize 1‐3. X‐ray crystal structures revealed an 8‐membered U(OCO)2U ring with a chair conformation and pentagonal‐bipyramidal UN2O5 coordination spheres in each of 1‐3. The N,N,O‐donor (Ln)‐ and the two O‐atoms of the two bridging (OAc)‐ form the pentagonal plane around the U‐atom of trans‐(UO2)2+. Intermolecular H‐bonding assisted self‐assembly of the complexes lead to 1‐ and 2‐dimensional supramolecular structures. Infrared (IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectra of 1‐3 are consistent with their molecular structures. The electronic spectra showed four strong absorption bands in the range 466‐288 nm. The complexes undergo two irreversible reductions near ‐0.65 and ‐0.88 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Time‐dependent density functional theory (TD‐DFT) calculations suggest that a ligand centered transition causes the highest energy absorption band, while, the remaining three are ligand‐to‐metal charge transfer (LMCT) bands and the two successive reductions are due to U(VI)‐U(VI) → U(V)‐U(VI) → U(V)‐U(V) processes. A maximum extraction of 98% of trans‐(UO2)2+ from the aqueous layer was observed in two‐phase extraction studies.
The role of deliberate practice in development of essential sonography skills
Authors: Edwards Christopher , Chamunyonga Crispen , Clarke Jillian
Published: May 2018

The role of deliberate practice (DP) theory in the development of expert performance has been widely studied. This paper reviews the concept of DP and the various factors that could impact the development or refining of essential sonography skills for students and practitioners. In this article, the authors review the concept of DP for its potential benefits and limitations in Medical Sonography education and its potential impact on the future calibre of practitioners. The paper encourages both novice and experienced practitioners to rethink how DP could enhance the notion of grasping a skill. Evidence from various areas of practice including the health professions has been used to argue that sonographers can successfully incorporate DP. This review opens up the opportunity for further conversations on how various skills could be isolated and improved using DP theory, with the primary aim of improving the quality of patient care in sonography practice.
Ontology‐based model‐driven development of a destination management portal: Experience and lessons learned
Authors: Mili Hafedh , Valtchev Petko , Szathmary Laszlo , Boubaker Anis , Leshob Abderrahmane , Charif Yasmine , Martin Louis
Published: May 2018

We present a case study inmodel‐driven developmentof ane‐tourism portalthat we chose to develop throughgenerationfrom adomain modelencoded as anontology. We present (1) the requirements of e‐tourism portal, which dictated its high‐level design; (2) the principles behind our implementation strategy, including the use of adomain ontologyas a starting model within the context of a model‐driven transformational approach; (3) the ontology development process and the code generation strategy used; and (4) the lessons learned. In particular, we compare our experiences to those reported in the model‐driven engineering (MDE) literature along 3 dimensions, ie, (1) the impact of MDE on the development process, (2) the choice of the modeling approach, and (3) the impact of code generation on design and code quality and testing. Overall, our experiences corroboratedsomeof thetheoretical claimsandmanyof thepractical experienceswith MDE. Key findings include (1) model‐driven development makes maintenance, not development, more efficient; (2) it does require a higher skill level than traditional development; (3) clients and managers need to be educated into whatincrementalitymeans in agenerative approach; (4) UML is neither necessary nor sufficient to handle the required representational flexibility; (5) it is difficult to build models that are good for both human consumption and code generation; and (6) it is difficult to generate code that is, simultaneously, efficient, pretty, and easy to maintain. We conclude by summarizing the findings of the paper.
Interspecies Incompatibilities Limit the Immunomodulatory Effect of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Rat
Authors: Lohan Paul , Treacy Oliver , Morcos Maurice , Donohoe Ellen , O'donoghue Yvonne , Ryan Aideen E. , Elliman Stephen J. , Ritter Thomas , Griffin Matthew D.
Published: May 2018

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) are an immunomodulatory cell population which are under preclinical and clinical investigation for a number of inflammatory conditions including transplantation. In this study, a well-established rat corneal transplantation model was used to test the ability of human MSC to prolong corneal allograft rejection-free survival using a pre-transplant intravenous infusion protocol previously shown to be efficacious with allogeneic rat MSC. Surprisingly, pre-transplant administration of human MSC had no effect on corneal allograft survival. In vitro, human MSC failed to produce nitric oxide and upregulate IDO and, as a consequence, could not suppress rat T-cell proliferation. Furthermore, human MSC were not activated by rat pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus, interspecies incompatibility in cytokine signaling leading to failure of MSC licensing may explain the lack of in vivo efficacy of human MSC in a rat tissue allotransplant model. Interspecies incompatibilities should be taken into consideration when interpreting preclinical data efficacy data in the context of translation to clinical trial.
Induced expression of the alcohol acetyltransferase gene ATF1 in industrial yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus TUM 34/70
Authors: Fischer S. , Büchner K.R. , Becker T.
Published: May 2018

Targeted induced gene expression for industrial fermentation processes in food and beverage production could fulfill future demands. To avoid metabolic burden and disturbances owing to the fermentation procedure, induced gene expression is necessary for combating stress, such as that caused by temperature shifts that occur during the transition from fermentation to maturation in the brewing process. The aim of this study was to target gene expression in industrial yeast using stress‐responsive promoters and homologues of the selection marker SMR1. Self‐cloning strains of the industrial brewing yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus TUM 34/70 were constructed to overexpress the alcohol acetyltransferase (ATF1) gene under the control of inducible promoters PSSA3, PHSP104 and PUBI4. Transcription analysis shows the highest induction after 72 h of shock situation for PHSP104 with 1.3‐fold and PUBI4 with 2.2‐fold. Further, at the end of shock situation the concentrations of ethyl acetate were 1.2‐ and 1.3‐fold higher than the wild type for PHSP104 and PUBI4, respectively. In addition, the influence of the final temperature and temporal sequence of temperature shock to 4°C had a major impact on expression patterns. Therefore, these data show that temperature‐induced gene expression of self‐cloning industrial yeast could be an option for optimization of the beverage fermentation.
Symmetry realization via a dynamical inverse Higgs mechanism
Authors: Rothstein Ira Z. , Shrivastava Prashant
Published: May 2018

Abstract

The Ward identities associated with spontaneously broken symmetries can be saturated by Goldstone bosons. However, when space-time symmetries are broken, the number of Goldstone bosons necessary to non-linearly realize the symmetry can be less than the number of broken generators. The loss of Goldstones may be due to a redundancy or the generation of a gap. In either case the associated Goldstone may be removed from the spectrum. This phenomena is called an Inverse Higgs Mechanism (IHM) and its appearance has a well defined mathematical condition. However, there are cases when a Goldstone boson associated with a broken generator does not appear in the low energy theory despite the lack of the existence of an associated IHM. In this paper we will show that in such cases the relevant broken symmetry can be realized, without the aid of an associated Goldstone, if there exists a proper set of operator constraints, which we call a Dynamical Inverse Higgs Mechanism (DIHM). We consider the spontaneous breaking of boosts, rotations and conformal transformations in the context of Fermi liquids, finding three possible paths to symmetry realization: pure Goldstones, no Goldstones and DIHM, or some mixture thereof. We show that in the two dimensional degenerate electron system the DIHM route is the only consistent way to realize spontaneously broken boosts and dilatations, while in three dimensions these symmetries could just as well be realized via the inclusion of non-derivatively coupled Goldstone bosons. We present the action, including the leading order non-linearities, for the rotational Goldstone (angulon), and discuss the constraint associated with the possible DIHM that would need to be imposed to remove it from the spectrum. Finally we discuss the conditions under which Goldstone bosons are non-derivatively coupled, a necessary condition for the existence of a Dynamical Inverse Higgs Constraint (DIHC), generalizing the results for Vishwanath and Wantanabe.
Awake Tracheostomy: Indications, Complications and Outcome
Authors: Sagiv Doron , Nachalon Yuval , Mansour Jobran , Glikson Eran , Alon Eran E. , Yakirevitch Arkadi , Bachar Gideon , Wolf Michael , Primov‐Fever Adi
Published: May 2018

Background

Awake tracheostomy (AT) is aimed at securing the airway of patients with upper airway obstruction when other means are not feasible or have failed. Reports on AT in the literature are scarce. The goal of this study was to review our experience with the indications, complications and outcome of AT.

Methods

A retrospective chart review was conducted on all ATs performed between 2010 and 2016 in two university‐affiliated, tertiary medical centers. Data on demographics, indications, techniques, urgency and postoperative complications were retrieved from the medical charts.

Results

The 37 of the 1023 recorded tracheostomies (3.62%) that were ATs comprised the study group (mean age of the patients 60.3 years, 32 [86.5%] males). The most common indication was head and neck (HN) malignancy (oncologic group, 70.3%), with the larynx (53.8%) being the most commonly involved site. Patients in the non‐oncologic group (n = 11) were significantly younger (P = 0.048) and had a significantly higher prevalence of urgent surgery compared to the oncologic group (P = 0.0009). Major postoperative complications included tube dislodgement (n = 2) and pneumothorax (n = 1) that were managed successfully. One of the two patients with severe hypoxia and arrhythmia that necessitated cardiopulmonary resuscitation died.

Conclusion

Whether the etiology of the AT was related to HN oncological disease or not was the most important clinical factor in our cohort. The non‐oncologic group was significantly younger, suffered from more urgent events and tended to have more complications (nonsignificant). ATs had a 97.3% rate of immediate survival, a 5.4% risk of major irreversible complications and a 2.7% risk of mortality.
Improvedl-ornithine production inCorynebacterium crenatumby introducing an artificial linear transacetylation pathway
Authors: Shu Qunfeng , Xu Meijuan , Li Jing , Yang Taowei , Zhang Xian , Xu Zhenghong , Rao Zhiming
Published: May 2018

l-Ornithine is a non-protein amino acid with extensive applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, we performed metabolic pathway engineering of an l-arginine hyper-producing strain of Corynebacterium crenatum for L-ornithine production. First, we amplified the L-ornithine biosynthetic pathway flux by blocking the competing branch of the pathway. To enhance L-ornithine synthesis, we performed site-directed mutagenesis of the ornithine-binding sites to solve the problem of l-ornithine feedback inhibition for ornithine acetyltransferase. Alternatively, the genes argA from Escherichia coli and argE from Serratia marcescens, encoding the enzymes N-acetyl glutamate synthase and N-acetyl-l-ornithine deacetylase, respectively, were introduced into Corynebacterium crenatum to mimic the linear pathway of L-ornithine biosynthesis. Fermentation of the resulting strain in a 5-L bioreactor allowed a dramatically increased production of L-ornithine, 40.4 g/L, with an overall productivity of 0.673 g/L/h over 60 h. This demonstrates that an increased level of transacetylation is beneficial for L-ornithine biosynthesis.
Fractal regulation and incident Alzheimer's disease in elderly individuals
Authors: Li Peng , Yu Lei , Lim Andrew S.P. , Buchman Aron S. , Scheer Frank A.J.L. , Shea Steven A. , Schneider Julie A. , Bennett David A. , Hu Kun
Published: May 2018

Introduction

Healthy physiological systems exhibit fractal regulation (FR), generating similar fluctuation patterns in physiological outputs across different time scales. FR in motor activity is degraded in dementia, and the degradation correlates to cognitive decline. We tested whether degraded FR predicts Alzheimer's dementia.

Methods

FR in motor activity was assessed in 1097 nondemented older adults at baseline. Cognition was assessed annually for up to 11 years.

Results

Participants with an FR metric at the 10th percentile in this cohort had a 1.8‐fold Alzheimer's disease risk (equivalent to the effect of being ∼5.2 years older) and 1.3‐fold risk for mild cognitive impairment (equivalent to the effect of being ∼3.0 years older) than those at the 90th percentile. Consistently, degraded FR predicted faster cognitive decline. These associations were independent of physical activity, sleep fragmentation, and stability of daily activity rhythms.

Discussion

FR may be a useful tool for predicting Alzheimer's dementia.
Multiple bifurcations of the flow over stalled airfoils when changing the Reynolds number
Authors: Rossi E. , Colagrossi A. , Oger G. , Le Touzé D.
Published: May 2018

In the present study, the sudden changes of the flow field past stalled airfoils for small variations of the Reynolds number are investigated numerically. A vortex particle method has been used for the simulations in a two-dimensional framework. The most critical configurations found with this solver are verified through the comparison with the solution given by a mesh-based finite volume solver. The airfoils considered are the NACA0010 and a narrow ellipse with the same thickness. The angle of attack is fixed to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=30^{\circ }$ for which complex dynamics of the flow can take place in the different viscous regimes inspected. The Reynolds number ranges between $Re=100$ and $Re=3000$ and, within this interval, numerous bifurcations of the solution are observed in terms of mean lift and drag coefficients, Strouhal number and downstream wake. An analysis of these bifurcations is provided and links are made between the wake structures observed. On this base the flow patterns can be classified in different modes similarly to the analysis by Kurtulus (Intl J. Micro Air Vehicles, vol. 7(3), 2015, pp. 301–326; vol. 8(2), 2016, pp. 109–139). A discussion of the vortical evolution of the flow in the vicinity of the suction side of the airfoil is also provided.
Non-premixed swirl-type tubular flames burning liquid fuels
Authors: Sauer Vinicius M. , Fachini Fernando F. , Dunn-Rankin Derek
Published: May 2018

Tubular flames represent a canonical combustion configuration that can simplify reacting flow analysis and also be employed in practical power generation systems. In this paper, a theoretical model for non-premixed tubular flames, with delivery of liquid fuel through porous walls into a swirling flow field, is presented. Perturbation theory is used to analyse this new tubular flame configuration, which is the non-premixed equivalent to a premixed swirl-type tubular burner – following the original classification of premixed tubular systems into swirl and counterflow types. The incompressible viscous flow field is modelled with an axisymmetric similarity solution. Axial decay of the initial swirl velocity and surface mass transfer from the porous walls are considered through the superposition of laminar swirling flow on a Berman flow with uniform mass injection in a straight pipe. The flame structure is obtained assuming infinitely fast conversion of reactants into products and unity Lewis numbers, allowing the application of the Shvab–Zel’dovich coupling function approach.