bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pyrroloquinoline quinone prevents developmental programming of microbial dysbiosis and macrophage polarization to attenuate liver fibrosis in offspring of obese mice
Authors: Friedman Jacob E. , Dobrinskikh Evgenia , Alfonso‐Garcia Alba , Fast Alexander , Janssen Rachel C. , Soderborg Taylor K. , Anderson Aimee L. , Reisz Julie A. , D'Alessandro Angelo , Frank Daniel N. , Robertson Charles E. , de la Houssaye Becky A. , Johnson Linda K. , Orlicky David J. , Wang Xiaoxin X. , Levi Moshe , Potma Eric O. , El Kasmi Karim C. , Jonscher Karen R.
Published: January 2018

Increasingly, evidence suggests that exposure to maternal obesity creates an inflammatory environment in utero, exerting long‐lasting postnatal signatures on the juvenile innate immune system and microbiome that may predispose offspring to development of fatty liver disease. We found that exposure to a maternal Western‐style diet (WD) accelerated fibrogenesis in the liver of offspring and was associated with early recruitment of proinflammatory macrophages at 8‐12 weeks and microbial dysbiosis as early as 3 weeks of age. We further demonstrated that bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMDMs) were polarized toward an inflammatory state at 8 weeks of age and that a potent antioxidant, pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), reversed BMDM metabolic reprogramming from glycolytic toward oxidative metabolism by restoring trichloroacetic acid cycle function at isocitrate dehydrogenase. This resulted in reduced inflammation and inhibited collagen fibril formation in the liver at 20 weeks of age, even when PQQ was withdrawn at 3 weeks of age. Beginning at 3 weeks of age, WD‐fed mice developed a decreased abundance of Parabacteroides and Lactobacillus, together with increased Ruminococcus and decreased tight junction gene expression by 20 weeks, whereas microbiota of mice exposed to PQQ retained compositional stability with age, which was associated with improved liver health. Conclusion: Exposure to a maternal WD induces early gut dysbiosis and disrupts intestinal tight junctions, resulting in BMDM polarization and induction of proinflammatory and profibrotic programs in the offspring that persist into adulthood. Disrupted macrophage and microbiota function can be attenuated by short‐term maternal treatment with PQQ prior to weaning, suggesting that reshaping the early gut microbiota in combination with reprogramming macrophages during early weaning may alleviate the sustained proinflammatory environment, preventing the rapid progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in offspring of obese mothers. (Hepatology Communications 2018;2:313‐328)
Incorporation of bacteriophages in polycaprolactone/collagen fibers for antibacterial hemostatic dual‐function
Authors: Cheng Weilu , Zhang Zhongyang , Xu Ruodan , Cai Panpan , Kristensen Peter , Chen Menglin , Huang Yudong
Published: January 2018

Effective and affordable, antibacterial and hemostatic materials are of great interests in clinical wound care practices. Herein, Enterobacteria phage T4 were incorporated in polycaprolactone/collagen I (PCL‐ColI) nanofibers via electrospinning in order to eradicate Escherichia coli infection and meanwhile establish hemostasis. Tensile strength of the membrane was significantly enhanced with increased PCL ratio. Those with a collagen component above 70% were demonstrated to be more hemostatic with shorter hemostatic time and smaller amount of bleeding. On the other hand, the T4 phage incorporated PCL‐ColI membrane (PCL:ColI = 30%/70%, w/w) exhibited the optimal antibacterial efficiency (above 90%). The in vivo evaluation indicated that the PCL‐ColI B (30%:70%, w/w) membrane fully degraded in 8 weeks and no obvious pathological reaction to muscle and subcutaneous layer tissues in the back of rabbit was found. The novel fibrous hemostatic materials coupled with phage therapy hold great promise in designing novel antibacterial, hemostatic wound dressings that addresses concerns of antibiotic resistance. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 2588–2595, 2018.
Synthesis of a New Series of N‐Mannich Bases and Polyhydroxy Mannich Bases of Pharmaceutical Interest Related to Isatin and Its Schiff Bases
Authors: Afsah Elsayed M. , Fadda Ahmad A. , Hanash Ahlam H.
Published: January 2018

The reaction of isatin 1 with benzaldehyde and a sec‐amine or the appropriate aldimine afforded the N‐Mannich bases 2–3 and the bis‐base 4. Treatment of 1 with glutaric dialdehyde and morpholine gave the bis‐base 5. Mannich reaction of the Schiff bases 6a–f derived from 1, led to the new Mannich bases and bis‐bases 7–9. The use of N‐methyl‐D‐glucamine as the amine component in the Mannich reaction with 6b–f led to the polyhydroxy Mannich bases 11–13.
Risk network approaches to locating undiagnosed HIV cases in Odessa, Ukraine
Authors: Smyrnov Pavlo , Williams Leslie D , Korobchuk Ania , Sazonova Yana , Nikolopoulos Georgios K , Skaathun Britt , Morgan Ethan , Schneider John , Vasylyeva Tetyana I , Friedman Samuel R
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Providing HIV healthcare and Treatment as Prevention both depend on diagnosing HIV cases, preferably soon after initial infection. We hypothesized that tracing risk networks recruits higher proportions of undiagnosed positives than outreach‐based testing or respondent‐driven sampling (RDS) in Odessa, Ukraine.

Methods

The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) used risk network tracing to recruit sexual and injection networks of recently‐infected and longer‐term infected (LTs) seeds (2013 to 2016). Integrated Biobehavioural Surveillance (IBBS) (2013) used RDS to recruit people who inject drugs (PWID). Outreach Testing tested PWID for HIV at community outreach sites (2013 to 2016). Proportions of undiagnosed positives among those tested were compared TRIP versus IBBS; TRIP versus Outreach Testing and between TRIP arms. Costs were compared across the projects.

Results

TRIP tested 1252 people (21% women) in seeds’ risk networks; IBBS tested 400 (18% women); Outreach Testing 13,936 (31% women). TRIP networks included a higher proportion of undiagnosed positives (14.6%) than IBBS (5.0%) or Outreach Testing (2.4%); odds ratio (OR) 3.25 (95% CI 2.07, 5.12) versus IBBS and 7.03 (CI 5.95, 8.31) versus Outreach Testing respectively. Findings remained significant in analyses stratified by sex and when PWID in TRIP networks were compared with Outreach Testing and IBBS. Within TRIP, recently‐infected participants’ networks contained higher proportions of undiagnosed positives (16.3%) than LTs’ networks (12.2%); OR 1.41 (CI 1.01, 1.95). TRIP located undiagnosed positives less expensively than did RDS or Outreach Testing.

Conclusions

TRIP's recruiting techniques, including prioritizing networks of the recently infected, find undiagnosed HIV‐positive people efficiently. They should be integrated with standard practice to improve case‐finding. Research should test these techniques in other socio‐epidemiologic contexts.

Clinical trial registry

Registered ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01827228.
Optical coherence tomography angiography of normal skin and inflammatory dermatologic conditions
Authors: Deegan Anthony J. , Talebi‐Liasi Faezeh , Song Shaozhen , Li Yuandong , Xu Jingjiang , Men Shaojie , Shinohara Michi M. , Flowers Mary E. , Lee Stephanie J. , Wang Ruikang K.
Published: January 2018

Background

In clinical dermatology, the identification of subsurface vascular and structural features known to be associated with numerous cutaneous pathologies remains challenging without the use of invasive diagnostic tools.

Objective

To present an advanced optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) method to directly visualize capillary‐level vascular and structural features within skin in vivo.

Methods

An advanced OCTA system with a 1310 nm wavelength was used to image the microvascular and structural features of various skin conditions. Subjects were enrolled and OCTA imaging was performed with a field of view of approximately 10 × 10 mm. Skin blood flow was identified using an optical microangiography (OMAG) algorithm. Depth‐resolved microvascular networks and structural features were derived from segmented volume scans, representing tissue slabs of 0–132, 132–330, and 330–924 μm, measured from the surface of the skin.

Results

Subjects with both healthy and pathological conditions, such as benign skin lesions, psoriasis, chronic graft‐versus‐host‐disease (cGvHD), and scleroderma, were OCTA scanned. Our OCTA results detailed variations in vascularization and local anatomical characteristics, for example, depth‐dependent vascular, and structural alterations in psoriatic skin, alongside their resolve over time; vascular density changes and distribution irregularities, together with corresponding structural depositions in the skin of cGvHD patients; and vascular abnormalities in the nail folds of a patient with scleroderma.

Conclusion

OCTA can image capillary blood flow and structural features within skin in vivo, which has the potential to provide new insights into the pathophysiology, as well as dynamic changes of skin diseases, valuable for diagnoses, and non‐invasive monitoring of disease progression and treatment. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:183–193, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Proline‐rich transmembrane protein 2–negative paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia: Clinical and genetic analyses of 163 patients
Authors: Tian Wo‐Tu , Huang Xiao‐Jun , Mao Xiao , Liu Qing , Liu Xiao‐Li , Zeng Sheng , Guo Xia‐Nan , Shen Jun‐Yi , Xu Yang‐Qi , Tang Hui‐Dong , Yin Xiao‐Meng , Zhang Mei , Tang Wei‐Guo , Liu Xiao‐Rong , Tang Bei‐Sha , Chen Sheng‐Di , Cao Li
Published: January 2018

Background: Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia is the most common type of paroxysmal dyskinesia. Approximately half of the cases of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia worldwide are attributable to proline‐rich transmembrane protein 2 mutations.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate potential causative genes and clinical characteristics in proline‐rich transmembrane protein 2–negative patients with paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia.

Methods: We analyzed clinical manifestations and performed exome sequencing in a cohort of 163 proline‐rich transmembrane protein 2–negative probands, followed by filtering data with a paroxysmal movement disorders gene panel. Sanger sequencing, segregation analysis, and phenotypic reevaluation were used to substantiate the findings.

Results: The clinical characteristics of the enrolled 163 probands were summarized. A total of 39 heterozygous variants were identified, of which 33 were classified as benign, likely benign, and uncertain significance. The remaining 6 variants (3 novel, 3 documented) were pathogenic and likely pathogenic. Of these, 3 were de novo (potassium calcium‐activated channel subfamily M alpha 1, c.1534A>G; solute carrier family 2 member 1, c.418G>A; sodium voltage‐gated channel alpha subunit 8, c.3640G>A) in 3 sporadic individuals, respectively. The other 3 (paroxysmal nonkinesiogenic dyskinesia protein, c.956dupA; potassium voltage‐gated channel subfamily A member 1, c.765C>A; Dishevelled, Egl‐10, and Pleckstrin domain containing 5, c.3311C>T) cosegregated in 3 families. All 6 cases presented with typical paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia characteristics, except for the Dishevelled, Egl‐10, and Pleckstrin domain containing 5 family, where the proband's mother had abnormal discharges in her temporal lobes in addition to paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia episodes.

Conclusions: Our findings extend the genotypic spectrum of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia and establish the associations between paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia and genes classically related to other paroxysmal movement disorders. De novo variants might be a cause of sporadic paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
High‐Performance Photovoltaic Detector Based on MoTe2/MoS2 Van der Waals Heterostructure
Authors: Chen Yan , Wang Xudong , Wu Guangjian , Wang Zhen , Fang Hehai , Lin Tie , Sun Shuo , Shen Hong , Hu Weida , Wang Jianlu , Sun Jinglan , Meng Xiangjian , Chu Junhao
Published: January 2018

Van der Waals heterostructures based on 2D layered materials have received wide attention for their multiple applications in optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, light‐emitting devices, and photodiodes. In this work, high‐performance photovoltaic photodetectors based on MoTe2/MoS2 vertical heterojunctions are demonstrated by exfoliating‐restacking approach. The fundamental electric properties and band structures of the junction are revealed and analyzed. It is shown that this kind of photodetectors can operate under zero bias with high on/off ratio (>105) and ultralow dark current (≈3 pA). Moreover, a fast response time of 60 µs and high photoresponsivity of 46 mA W−1 are also attained at room temperature. The junctions based on 2D materials are expected to constitute the ultimate functional elements of nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic applications.
Electrolytes, SEI Formation, and Binders: A Review of Nonelectrode Factors for Sodium‐Ion Battery Anodes
Authors: Bommier Clement , Ji Xiulei
Published: January 2018

Through intense effort in recent years, knowledge of Na‐ion batteries has been advanced significantly, pertaining to electrodes. Often, such progress has been accompanied by using a convenient choice of electrolyte or binder. Nevertheless, it has been witnessed that “external” factors to electrodes, such as electrolytes, solid electrolyte interphase, and binders, affect the functions of electrodes profoundly. And generally, certain types of electrodes favor some electrolytes or binders. With a rapidly increasing number of publications in the area, trends in terms of electrolytes and binders are possibly exploitable. Unfortunately, the field has yet to see a review article that devotes itself to these nonelectrode aspects of Na‐ion batteries. Here, the gap is filled by conducting a comprehensive review of these nonelectrode external factors, especially by looking into their correlation with electrochemical properties, such as cycle life, and first cycle coulombic efficiency. Not only are the representative reports reviewed, but also quantitative analyses on the database that are constructed are provided. With such analyses, some new data‐driven perspectives are postulated, which are of great value to the community.
Scalable Synthesis of Triple‐Core–Shell Nanostructures of TiO2@MnO2@C for High Performance Supercapacitors Using Structure‐Guided Combustion Waves
Authors: Shin Dongjoon , Shin Jungho , Yeo Taehan , Hwang Hayoung , Park Seonghyun , Choi Wonjoon
Published: January 2018

Core–shell nanostructures of metal oxides and carbon‐based materials have emerged as outstanding electrode materials for supercapacitors and batteries. However, their synthesis requires complex procedures that incur high costs and long processing times. Herein, a new route is proposed for synthesizing triple‐core–shell nanoparticles of TiO2@MnO2@C using structure‐guided combustion waves (SGCWs), which originate from incomplete combustion inside chemical‐fuel‐wrapped nanostructures, and their application in supercapacitor electrodes. SGCWs transform TiO2 to TiO2@C and TiO2@MnO2 to TiO2@MnO2@C via the incompletely combusted carbonaceous fuels under an open‐air atmosphere, in seconds. The synthesized carbon layers act as templates for MnO2 shells in TiO2@C and organic shells of TiO2@MnO2@C. The TiO2@MnO2@C‐based electrodes exhibit a greater specific capacitance (488 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1) and capacitance retention (97.4% after 10 000 cycles at 1.0 V s−1), while the absence of MnO2 and carbon shells reveals a severe degradation in the specific capacitance and capacitance retention. Because the core‐TiO2 nanoparticles and carbon shell prevent the deformation of the inner and outer sides of the MnO2 shell, the nanostructures of the TiO2@MnO2@C are preserved despite the long‐term cycling, giving the superior performance. This SGCW‐driven fabrication enables the scalable synthesis of multiple‐core–shell structures applicable to diverse electrochemical applications.
3D‐Printed Biomaterials for Guided Tissue Regeneration
Authors: Zhang Ben , Song Jie
Published: January 2018

Fabrication of 3D scaffolds with interconnected macro‐/microporosity, compositional gradient, biological cues, and precise geometric configurations matching with that of a tissue defect, along with the choice of appropriate biomaterials, is central to the success of scaffold‐guided tissue‐regeneration strategies. Customized high‐speed 3D‐printing technology enables efficient fabrication of 3D scaffolds for regenerative‐medicine applications. In addition to recent technological advances in 3D‐printing methods and instrumentation, progress has been made in the expansion of printable biomaterials and cell‐laden bioinks. Here, a brief overview of the 3D‐printing techniques most commonly used for biomedical applications is given, followed by a discussion of common bioceramics, natural biopolymers, and synthetic degradable thermoplastic polymers, as well as their cell/biofactor‐laden composites used for 3D printing. Advantages and limitations of these printing techniques and bioinks for various tissue repair/regeneration applications are highlighted.
Water Sorption Kinetics of Wheat Flour Noodles with Added Chemically Modified Starch
Authors: Katsuki Kazutaka , Ogawa Takenobu , Adachi Shuji
Published: January 2018

To clarify the water sorption behavior of Japanese wheat noodles (udon) to which a modified starch has been added, noodles are prepared with different starch types and amounts of added starch, and the changes in the moisture content, the noodle diameter, and the loss of noodle mass during cooking are measured. The changes in the moisture content can be empirically represented by a hyperbolic equation, regardless of the type and amount of starch added. The relationship between the amount of added starch and the equilibrium moisture content of the noodles suggests that the swelling of the added starch is suppressed by the gluten network, even at an equilibrium state. The change of the diameter suggests that the swelling in the longitudinal direction progress in the late stages of water sorption for the noodles containing unmodified starch, but it is suppressed for the noodles containing hydroxypropylated starch. The transient changes in the loss of noodle mass can be empirically expressed by an exponential equation, regardless of the type and amount of starch added. The relationship between the amount of added starch and the equilibrium loss of noodle mass suggests that the adhesiveness of the noodles with added modified starch is stronger than that of the noodles with added unmodified starch.
A real‐time alarm and early warning model for windage yaw of cat‐head type tower
Authors: Wang Junhua , Tang Yake , Shao Jianwei , Long Mengjiao
Published: January 2018

In recent years, accidents involving windage yaw flashover have been occurring on transmission lines frequently, affecting the operational security and the power supply reliability seriously. Moreover, it is expensive and difficult to reduce the windage yaw flashover by modifying the towers and transmission lines. Therefore, a real‐time alarm and dynamic early warning model for windage yaw of a cat‐head type tower is proposed in this paper from the perspective of operation. Starting with the side‐phase and the medium‐phase conductors of the cat‐head type tower, which are common and prone to accidents due to windage flashover, the windage yaw angle of the suspension insulator string in the real‐time alarm is provided by the inclination angle measuring instrument, while in the early warning scenario that is calculated based on meteorological forecasting information. Then the minimum gap between the line and tower is calculated. Finally, the model issues windage yaw alarms or warnings by comparing the calculated minimum gap with the minimum permissible clearance corrected by rain density and gives the operations corresponding to each alarm and warning. The correct predictions in three time intervals and the feasibility of the model can meet the requirement of engineering application. Because of the limitation of the numerical weather prediction (NWP) model and accuracy, the prediction result is not very good when the time interval is long; it could improve the prediction result when more accurate NWP data is employed. © 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Decreased production of inflammatory mediators in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes by conjugated linoleic acids
Authors: Shen Chwan‐Li , Dunn Dale M. , Henry Jack H. , Li Yong , Watkins Bruce A.
Published: January 2018

Osteoarthritic chondrocytes (OC) produce excessive prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO), which function as inflammation mediators in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). This study examined the effect of CLA alone and in combination with other PUFA on the FA composition and the production of PGE2 and NO in OC cultures isolated from OA patients. Human OC were grown in monolayer and treated with one of the following PUFA treatments: CLA, CLA+arachidonic acid (CLA/AA), CLA_EPA (CLA/EPA), linoleic acid (LA), LA+AA (LA/AA), LA+EPA (LA/EPA), and ethanol (as a vehicle control) at 10 and 20 μM for 6 d. Supplementation of PUFA at 10 μM for 6 d did not introduce any cytotoxic effects or morphological changes in OC, whereas 20 μM resulted in apoptosis. Cultures of OC treated with CLA, CLA/AA, and CLA/EPA had higher concentrations of CLA isomers, and these isomers were not detected in other treatments. Supplementation of CLA or LA alone to the OC led to a lower PGE2 production compared to the control. Combination of CLA/EPA resulted in the lowest PGE2 production in cultured OC. OC cultures treated with CLA were lower in NO production than the control, whereas the LA/AA treatment demonstrated the lowest NO production. The fact that CLA alone or in combination with other PUFA modulated PGE2 and NO production in human OC cultures suggests that these 18∶2 isomers may have the potential to influence OA pathogenesis.
Synthesis, isolation, and GC analysis of all the 6,8‐to 13,15‐cis/trans conjugated linoleic acid isomers
Authors: Delmonte P. , Roach J. A. G. , Mossoba M. M. , Losi G. , Yurawecz M. P.
Published: January 2018

Octadecadienoic acids with conjugated double bonds are often referred to as conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. CLA is of considerable interest because of potentially beneficial effects reported from animal studies. Analysis of CLA is usually carried out by GC elution of FAME. If the presence of low‐level isomers is of interest, a complementary technique such as silverion HPLC is also used. These analyses have been hindered by a lack of well‐characterized commercially available reference materials. Described here are the synthesis and isolation of selected 6,8‐through 13,15‐positional CLA isomers, followed by isomerization of these CLA isomers with iodine to produce all the possible cis,cis,cis,trans,trans,cis, and trans,trans combinations. Also present are the GC retention times of the CLA FAME relative to γ‐linolenic acid (6c,9c,12c‐octadecatrienoic acid) FAME using a 100‐m CP Sil‐88 capillary column (Varian Inc., Lake Forest, CA). These data include all the CLA isomers that have been identified thus far in foods and dietary supplements and should greatly aid in the future analysis of CLA in these products.
Pearling barley and rye to produce phytosterol‐rich fractions
Authors: Lampi Anna‐Maija , Moreau Robert A. , Piironen Vieno , Hicks Kevin B.
Published: January 2018

Because of the positive health effects of phytosterols, phytosterol‐enriched foods and foods containing elevated levels of natural phytosterols are being developed. Phytosterol contents in cereals are moderate, whereas their levels in the outer layers of the kernels are higher. The phytosterols in cereals are currently underutilized; thus, there is a need to create or identify processing fractions that are enriched in phytosterols. In this study, pearling of hulless barley and rye was investigated as a potential process to make fractions with higher levels of phytosterols. The grains were pearled with a laboratory‐scale pearler to produce pearling fines and pearled grains. Lipids were extracted by accelerated solvent extraction, and nonpolar lipids were analyzed by normal‐phase HPLC with ELSD and UV detection. Total sterol analyses were performed by GC. After a 90‐s pearling, the amounts of pearling fines from hulless barley and rye were 14.6 and 20.1%, respectively, of the original kernel weights. During pearling, higher levels of phytosterols and other lipids were fractionated into the fines. The contents of free sterols and sterols esterified with FA in the fines were at least double those in the whole grains. Pearling fines of hulless barley and rye contained >2mg/g phytosterol compounds, which makes them a good source of phytosterols and thus valuable raw materials for health‐promoting foods.
Recovery of sterols as fatty acid steryl esters from waste material after purification of tocopherols
Authors: Nagao Toshihiro , Hirota Yoshinori , Watanabe Yomi , Kobayashi Takashi , Kishimoto Noriaki , Fujita Tokio , Kitano Motohiro , Shimada Yuji
Published: January 2018

Tocopherols are purified industrially from soybean oil deodorizer distillate by a process comprising distillation and ethanol fractionation. The waste material after ethanol fractionation (TC waste) contains 75% sterols, but a purification process has not yet been developed. We thus attempted to purify sterols by a process including a lipase‐catalyzed reaction. Candida rugosa lipase efficiently esterified sterols in TC waste with oleic acid (OA). After studying several factors affecting esterification, the reaction conditions were determined as follows: ratio of TC waste/OA, 1∶2 (wt/wt); water content, 30%; amount of lipase, 120 U/g‐reaction mixture; temperature, 40°C. Under these conditions, the degree of esterification reached 82.7% after 24 h. FA steryl esters (steryl esters) in the oil layer were purified successfully by short‐path distillation (purity, 94.9%; recovery, 73.1%). When sterols in TC waste were esterified with FFA originating from olive, soybean, rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, and linseed oils, the FA compositions of the steryl esters differed somewhat from those of the original oils: The content of saturated FA was lower and that of unsaturated FA was higher. The m.p. of the steryl esters synthesized (21.7–36.5°C) were remarkably low compared with those of the steryl esters purified from high‐b.p. soybean oil deodorizer distillate substances (56.5°C; JAOCS 80, 341–346, 2003). The low‐m.p. steryl esters were soluble in rapeseed oil even at a final concentration of 10%.
Identification of genes leading to glucocorticoid‐induced leukemic cell death
Authors: Thompson E. B. , Webb M. S. , Miller A. L. , Fofanov Y. , Johnson B. H.
Published: January 2018

Glucocorticoidal steroids (GC) are capable of causing apoptotic death of many varieties of lymphoid cells; consequently, GC are used in therapy for many lymphoid malignancies. Gene transcription in the GC‐treated cells is required for subsequent apoptosis, but only a few of the actual genes involved have been identified. We employed gene microarray analysis to find the network of genes involved in GC‐evoked cell death, using three clones derived from the CEM lymphoid leukemia cell line. Clone C1–15 was resistant to GC‐evoked apoptosis, although not necessarily to GC‐induced gene transcription; the other two underwent apoptosis in the presence of GC. Clone C7–14 was subcloned from the apoptosis‐sensitive parental C7 clone to establish karyotypic uniformity. The second sensitive clone, C1–6, was a spontaneous revertant from parental resistant clone C1. A period of ≥24 h in the constant presence of receptor‐occupying concentrations of synthetic GC dexamethasone (Dex) was necessary for apoptosis to begin. To identify the steps leading to this dramatic event, we identified the changes in gene expression in the 20‐h period preceding the onset of overt apoptosis. Cells in the log phase of growth were treated with 10−6 M Dex, and 2–20 h later, mRNA was prepared and analyzed using the Affymetrix HG_U95Av2 chip, containing probes for about 12,600 genes. Of these, approximately 6,000 were expressed above background. Comparisons of the basal and expressed genes in the three clones led to several conclusions: The dex‐sensitive clones shared the regulation of a limited set of genes. The apoptosis‐resistant clone C1–15 showed Dex effects on a largely different set of genes. Promoter analysis of the regulated genes suggested that primary gene targets for GC often lack a classic GC response element.
Cottonseed extraction with a new solvent system: Isohexane and alcohol mixtures
Authors: Kuk M. S. , Hron R. J.
Published: January 2018

A solvent system, consisting of isohexane and 5 to 25% alcohol, either ethanol (EtOH) or isopropyl alcohol (IPA), was tested for extracting gossypol and oil from cottonseed. The test results indicate that this new solvent system not only is effective in removing free and total gossypol but also is as efficient as n‐hexane when extracting oil. The amino acid analysis of cottonseed meal, produced by the new solvent system, is similar to that produced by commercial n‐hexane. Present commercial cottonseed extraction and downstream processing of cottonseed oil refining may need little change to adopt this new solvent system. This new solvent system may lead to a solution to the gossypol problem of cottonseed extraction.
The composition of new zealand milk fat triacylglycerols by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Robinson N. P. , MacGibbon A. K. H.
Published: January 2018

A reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the purpose of analyzing milk fat triacylglycerols by evaporative light scattering detection. With a binary solvent system, comprising dichloromethane and acetonitrile, the method allowed a separation of 61 distinct peaks, on the basis of chainlength and number of double bonds. Triacylglycerols of differing partition numbers were clearly resolved, and the resolution between peaks of the same partition number was high. An argentation thin‐layer chromatography method, separating triacylglycerols on the basis of chainlength and degree of unsaturation, provided nine band extracts that were analyzed by HPLC. By using existing fatty acid methyl ester data of these bands, an identity for each HPLC peak has been proposed.
Influence of oxygen and copper concentration on lipid oxidation in rapeseed oil
Authors: Andersson Kristina , Lingnert Hans
Published: January 2018

The influence of oxygen concentration and copper on lipid oxidation in rapeseed oil during storage at 40°C was investigated. The oil was stored in air, or with 1.1%, 0.17%, or 0.04% oxygen in the headspace, and 70 or 0.07 ppm copper was added. Volatile oxidation products and oxygen consumption were monitored. Addition of 70 ppm copper to the sample in air resulted in a 70‐fold higher hexanal concentration after 35 d of storage, compared to the sample without added copper. The addition of 0.07 ppm copper to the sample stored in air gave a doubled hexanal concentration, compared to the sample without copper, after 35 d of storage. For the samples with 70 ppm copper at 0.17% and 0.04% oxygen, all oxygen was consumed after 7 d of storage. The results show the importance of minimizing the oxygen available for oxidation, especially when pro‐oxidants are present. In the sample with 70 ppm added copper, in air, the hexanal increase was 65 times larger than for the same sample in 0.04% oxygen. A comparison of the effect of oxygen or copper on oxidation shows that the addition of 70 ppm copper to the 0.04% oxygen sample gave the same increase in hexanal content as an oxygen increase to 0.17%.
Effect of ethanol on monoglyceride monolayers at the air‐aqueous phase interface
Authors: Domínguez Manuela Ruiz , Rodríguez Patino Juan M.
Published: January 2018

We have studied the behavior of monopalmitin and monoolein monolayers, spread at the air‐aqueous phase interface, as a function of temperature and surface pressure. The subphases were aqueous ethanol solutions at 0.5 and 1 mol/L. The structural characteristics of these films at interface were deduced from the π‐A isotherms, as measured with an automated Langmuir‐type film balance. The monolayer structure and stability were functions of hydrocarbon chain length and the presence of a double bond. Generally, the factors that decreased monolayer stability produced transformations toward configurations with more expanded structures. Changes in the subphase composition had a direct influence on the monolayer molecular structure. This study showed the existence of interactions between film and ethanol molecules at the interface. As a consequence of these interactions, a contraction in the monolayer structure was observed. The magnitude of interactions between monoglyceride and ethanol molecules at the interface depends on the surface pressure, temperature, and surface composition. Stronger film‐substrate interactions produced changes in monolayer stability. Relationships between film elasticity and structural characteristics are also discussed.
Capturing Taylor–Görtler vortices in a streamwise-rotating channel at very high rotation numbers
Authors: Yang Zixuan , Wang Bing-Chen
Published: January 2018

In this paper, we study the scales and dynamics of Taylor–Görtler (TG) vortices in streamwise-rotating turbulent channel flows at moderate and high rotation numbers ($Ro_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}=7.5$, 15, 30, 75 and 150) with a fixed Reynolds number. In order to precisely capture TG vortices in the streamwise and spanwise directions, direct numerical simulations have been performed on 15 test cases of different domain sizes and rotation numbers. A two-layer pattern of TG vortices is identified, and the characteristic length scales of TG vortices are quantified using the premultiplied energy spectra. It is observed that as the rotation number increases, the spanwise scale of TG vortices remains stable but the streamwise scale increases rapidly. Three criteria have been used for judging a domain-size-independent solution in both physical and spectral spaces. The weakest criterion ensures accurate predictions of the first- and second-order statistical moments of the velocity, which requires a minimum streamwise domain size of $L_{1}=64\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}h$, where $h$ is one-half the channel height. However, the streamwise domain size needs to be stretched drastically to $L_{1}=512\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}h$ if the most stringent criterion is considered, which demands that all energetic eddies be fully captured based on a predefined threshold value (i.e. $12.5\,\%$ of the peak value) of the premultiplied two-dimensional energy spectrum. The effects of streamwise system rotation on the scales and dynamics of TG vortices are investigated by comparing the statistical results of rotating and non-rotating channel flows, and through the analysis of two-point correlations, premultiplied energy spectra, and budget balance of turbulent stresses.
Epistemic authority, episodic memory, and the sense of self
Authors: Nagel Jennifer
Published: January 2018

The distinctive feature of episodic memory is autonoesis, the feeling that one's awareness of particular past events is grounded in firsthand experience. Autonoesis guides us in sharing our experiences of past events, not by telling us when our credibility is at stake, but by telling us what others will find informative; it also supports the sense of an enduring self.
Misconceptions about adaptive function
Authors: Redshaw Jonathan , Suddendorf Thomas
Published: January 2018

Mahr & Csibra (M&C) fail to make the important distinction between why a trait originally evolved, why it was maintained over time, and what its current utility is. Here we point out that episodic memory may have originally evolved as a by-product of a general metarepresentational capacity, and that it may have current functions beyond the communicative domain.
Sensitisation to mitoxantrone-induced apoptosis by the oncolytic adenovirus Ad∆∆ through Bcl-2-dependent attenuation of autophagy
Authors: Aguirre-Hernández Carmen , Maya-Pineda Héctor , Millán Julia San , Man Y. K. Stella , Lu Yong-Jie , Halldén Gunnel
Published: January 2018

Anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 is frequently activated in human malignant cells to promote cell survival and inhibit cell death. Replication-selective oncolytic adenoviruses deleted in the functional Bcl-2 homologue E1B19K potently synergise with apoptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic drugs, including mitoxantrone for prostate cancer. Here, we demonstrate that our previously generated oncolytic mutant Ad∆∆ (E1B19K- and E1ACR2-deleted) caused potent synergistic apoptotic cell death in both drug-sensitive 22Rv1, and drug-insensitive PC3 and PC3M prostate cancer cells. The synergistic cell killing was dependent on Bcl-2 expression and was prevented by Bcl-2 knockdown, which led to activation of the autophagy pathway. Mitoxantrone-induced autophagy, which was decreased in combination with Ad∆∆-infection resulting in increased apoptosis. Expression of the viral E1A12S protein alone mimicked the synergistic effects with Ad∆∆ in combination with mitoxantrone while intact wild-type virus (Ad5) had no effect. Early and late-stage inhibition of autophagy by Atg7 knockdown and chloroquine respectively, promoted apoptotic cell killing with mitoxantrone similar to Ad∆∆. These findings revealed currently unexplored actions of E1B19K-deleted oncolytic adenoviruses and the central role of Bcl-2 in the synergistic cell killing. This study suggests that cancers with functional Bcl-2 expression may be selectively re-sensitised to drugs by Ad∆∆.
Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase predicts survival and response to interferon-α in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Zhu Wei-Ping , Liu Ze-Yang , Zhao Yi-Ming , He Xi-Gan , Pan Qi , Zhang Ning , Zhou Jia-Min , Wang Long-Rong , Wang Miao , Zhan Di-Hua , Ma De-Ning , Wang Lu
Published: January 2018

Metastasis and recurrence contribute to poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, we reported that interferon-α (IFN-α) can suppress metastasis of HCC; however, the underlying mechanism has not been fully described. In this study, we demonstrated that expression of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD), a pyrimidine catabolic enzyme, was dose-dependently downregulated by IFN-α in HCC tissues from nude mice. Notably, DPYD expression was found to be significantly increased in HCC cell lines with higher metastatic potentials compared with their controls. Moreover, upregulation of DPYD in HCC cells could promote in vitro migration, invasion, and in vivo lung metastasis, and inducing changes characteristic of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In contrast, knockdown of DPYD inhibited these processes. Mechanistically, DPYD functioned as a positive regulator of EMT in HCC by targeting the p38/NF-κB/Snail1 pathway. Clinically, tissue microarray analysis showed that high DPYD expression was positively associated with aggressive tumor characteristics, including larger tumor size, tumor recurrence, and advanced tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, and independently correlated with poorer overall survival times after curative resection. HCC patients with low DPYD expression have better response to IFN-α therapy. Taken together, our findings elucidate that IFN-α could downregulate DPYD expression to inhibit EMT and HCC metastasis, and suggest that DPYD might be a potential prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for HCC.
Pathological hydrogen peroxide triggers the fibrillization of wild-type SOD1 via sulfenic acid modification of Cys-111
Authors: Xu Wen-Chang , Liang Jin-Zhao , Li Cheng , He Zhi-Xin , Yuan Han-Ye , Huang Ben-Yan , Liu Xiao-Ling , Tang Bo , Pang Dai-Wen , Du Hai-Ning , Yang Yi , Chen Jie , Wang Lei , Zhang Min , Liang Yi
Published: January 2018

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involves the abnormal posttranslational modifications and fibrillization of copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and TDP-43. However, how SOD1-catalyzed reaction product hydrogen peroxide affects amyloid formation of SOD1 and TDP-43 remains elusory. 90% of ALS cases are sporadic and the remaining cases are familial ALS. In this paper, we demonstrate that H2O2 at pathological concentrations triggers the fibrillization of wild-type SOD1 both in vitro and in SH-SY5Y cells. Using an anti-dimedone antibody that detects sulfenic acid modification of proteins, we found that Cys-111 in wild-type SOD1 is oxidized to C-SOH by pathological concentration of H2O2, followed by the formation of sulfenic acid modified SOD1 oligomers. Furthermore, we show that such SOD1 oligomers propagate in a prion-like manner, and not only drive wild-type SOD1 to form fibrils in the cytoplasm but also induce cytoplasm mislocalization and the subsequent fibrillization of wild-type TDP-43, thereby inducing apoptosis of living cells. Thus, we propose that H2O2 at pathological concentrations triggers the fibrillization of wild-type SOD1 and subsequently induces SOD1 toxicity and TDP-43 toxicity in neuronal cells via sulfenic acid modification of Cys-111 in SOD1. Our Western blot and ELISA data demonstrate that sulfenic acid modified wild-type SOD1 level in cerebrospinal fluid of 15 sporadic ALS patients is significantly increased compared with 6 age-matched control patients. These findings can explain how H2O2 at pathologic concentrations regulates the misfolding and toxicity of SOD1 and TDP-43 associated with ALS, and suggest that sulfenic acid modification of wild-type SOD1 should play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of sporadic ALS.
PLZF inhibits proliferation and metastasis of gallbladder cancer by regulating IFIT2
Authors: Shen Hui , Zhan Ming , Zhang Yonglong , Huang Shuai , Xu Sunwang , Huang Xince , He Min , Yao Yanhua , Man Mohan , Wang Jian
Published: January 2018

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a malignant cancer with very poor prognosis. Although promyelocytic leukemia zinc-finger protein (PLZF) was reported to be deregulated in numerous cancers and also relevant to clinical prognosis, its role in GBC progression has been little known. In this study, we found PLZF expression was decreased in GBC, correlating to advanced TNM stage, distant metastasis, and shorter overall survival. Moreover, ectopic PLZF expression in GBC cells (NOZ and GBC-SD) significantly reduced the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Consistently, overexpression of PLZF in xenograft mice model could suppress tumor growth and liver metastasis. Mechanical investigations verified PLZF could regulate the expression of cell cycle arrest-associated gene p21 and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes (E-cadherin and N-cadherin) in GBC cell lines. Importantly, PLZF remarkably increased the mRNA transcription of interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeat 2 (IFIT2) by increasing STAT1 protein level, a known factor involved in tumor progression. Furthermore, ablation of IFIT2 in PLZF overexpression cells abrogated the tumor-suppressive function of PLZF, at least partially, leading to impaired tumor growth and EMT program. These studies indicated PLZF inhibited the proliferation and metastasis via regulation of IFIT2. In conclusion, our study demonstrated PLZF could be a promising tumor biomarker for GBC, and also be a potential therapeutic target.
Impairment of Fas-ligand–caveolin-1 interaction inhibits Fas-ligand translocation to rafts and Fas-ligand-induced cell death
Authors: Glukhova Xenia A. , Trizna Julia A. , Proussakova Olga V. , Gogvadze Vladimir , Beletsky Igor P.
Published: January 2018

Fas-ligand/CD178 belongs to the TNF family proteins and can induce apoptosis through death receptor Fas/CD95. The important requirement for Fas-ligand-dependent cell death induction is its localization to rafts, cholesterol- and sphingolipid-enriched micro-domains of membrane, involved in regulation of different signaling complexes. Here, we demonstrate that Fas-ligand physically associates with caveolin-1, the main protein component of rafts. Experiments with cells overexpressing Fas-ligand revealed a FasL N-terminal pre-prolin-rich region, which is essential for the association with caveolin-1. We found that the N-terminal domain of Fas-ligand bears two caveolin-binding sites. The first caveolin-binding site binds the N-terminal domain of caveolin-1, whereas the second one appears to interact with the C-terminal domain of caveolin-1. The deletion of both caveolin-binding sites in Fas-ligand impairs its distribution between cellular membranes, and attenuates a Fas-ligand-induced cytotoxicity. These results demonstrate that the interaction of Fas-ligand and caveolin-1 represents a molecular basis for Fas-ligand translocation to rafts, and the subsequent induction of Fas-ligand-dependent cell death. A possibility of a similar association between other TNF family members and caveolin-1 is discussed.
BIM and NOXA are mitochondrial effectors of TAF6δ-driven apoptosis
Authors: Delannoy Aurélie , Wilhelm Emmanuelle , Eilebrecht Sebastian , Alvarado-Cuevas Edith Milena , Benecke Arndt G , Bell Brendan
Published: January 2018

TAF6δ is a pro-apoptotic splice variant of the RNA polymerase II general transcription factor, TAF6, that can dictate life vs. death decisions in animal cells. TAF6δ stands out from classical pro-apoptotic proteins because it is encoded by a gene that is essential at the cellular level, and because it functions as a component of the basal transcription machinery. TAF6δ has been shown to modulate the transcriptome landscape, but it is not known if changes in gene expression trigger apoptosis nor which TAF6δ-regulated genes contribute to cell death. Here we used microarrays to interrogate the genome-wide impact of TAF6δ on transcriptome dynamics at temporal resolution. The results revealed changes in pro-apoptotic BH3-only mitochondrial genes that correlate tightly with the onset of cell death. These results prompted us to test and validate a role for the mitochondrial pathway by showing that TAF6δ expression causes cytochrome c release into the cytoplasm. To further dissect the mechanism by which TAF6δ drives apoptosis, we pinpointed BIM and NOXA as candidate effectors. siRNA experiments showed that both BIM and NOXA contribute to TAF6δ-dependent cell death. Our results identify mitochondrial effectors of TAF6δ-driven apoptosis, thereby providing the first of mechanistic framework underlying the atypical TAF6δ apoptotic pathway’s capacity to intersect with the classically defined apoptotic machinery to trigger cell death.
Kruppel-like factor 4-dependent Staufen1-mediated mRNA decay regulates cortical neurogenesis
Authors: Moon Byoung-San , Bai Jinlun , Cai Mingyang , Liu Chunming , Shi Jiandang , Lu Wange
Published: January 2018

Kruppel-like factor 4 (Klf4) is a zinc-finger-containing protein that plays a critical role in diverse cellular physiology. While most of these functions attribute to its role as a transcription factor, it is postulated that Klf4 may play a role other than transcriptional regulation. Here we demonstrate that Klf4 loss in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) leads to increased neurogenesis and reduced self-renewal in mice. In addition, Klf4 interacts with RNA-binding protein Staufen1 (Stau1) and RNA helicase Ddx5/17. They function together as a complex to maintain NPC self-renewal. We report that Klf4 promotes Stau1 recruitment to the 3′-untranslated region of neurogenesis-associated mRNAs, increasing Stau1-mediated mRNA decay (SMD) of these transcripts. Stau1 depletion abrogated SMD of target mRNAs and rescued neurogenesis defects in Klf4-overexpressing NPCs. Furthermore, Ddx5/17 knockdown significantly blocked Klf4-mediated mRNA degradation. Our results highlight a novel molecular mechanism underlying stability of neurogenesis-associated mRNAs controlled by the Klf4/Ddx5/17/Stau1 axis during mammalian corticogenesis.