bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Curcumin and Colorectal Cancer: From Basic to Clinical Evidences
Authors: Pricci Maria , Girardi Bruna , Giorgio Floriana , Losurdo Giuseppe , Ierardi Enzo , Di Leo Alfredo
Published: April 2020

Curcumin diffuses through cell membranes into the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and nucleus, where it exerts actions, as an antioxidant property. Therefore, its use has been advocated for chemopreventive, antimetastatic, and anti-angiogenic purposes. We conducted a literature review to summarize studies investigating the relationship between curcumin and colorectal cancer (CRC). In vitro studies, performed on human colon cancer cell lines, showed that curcumin inhibited cellular growth through cycle arrest at the G2/M and G1 phases, as well as stimulated apoptosis by interacting with multiple molecular targets. In vivo studies have been performed in inflammatory and genetic CRC animal models with a chemopreventive effect. To improve curcumin bioavailability, it has been associated with small particles that increase its absorption when orally administered with excellent results on both inflammation and carcinogenesis. Curcumin has been used, moreover, as a component of dietetic formulations for CRC chemoprevention. These combinations showed in vitro and in vivo anticarcinogenetic properties in inflammation-related and genetic CRC. A synergic effect was suggested using an individual constituent dosage, which was lower than that experimentally used “in vivo” for single components. In conclusion, curcumin falls within the category of plant origin substances able to prevent CRC in animals. This property offers promising expectations in humans.
Health Impact of Silver Nanoparticles: A Review of the Biodistribution and Toxicity Following Various Routes of Exposure
Authors: Ferdous Zannatul , Nemmar Abderrahim
Published: April 2020

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have gained huge importance in technological advancements over the past few years. Among the various ENMs, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have become one of the most explored nanotechnology-derived nanostructures and have been intensively investigated for their unique physicochemical properties. The widespread commercial and biomedical application of nanosilver include its use as a catalyst and an optical receptor in cosmetics, electronics and textile engineering, as a bactericidal agent, and in wound dressings, surgical instruments, and disinfectants. This, in turn, has increased the potential for interactions of AgNPs with terrestrial and aquatic environments, as well as potential exposure and toxicity to human health. In the present review, after giving an overview of ENMs, we discuss the current advances on the physiochemical properties of AgNPs with specific emphasis on biodistribution and both in vitro and in vivo toxicity following various routes of exposure. Most in vitro studies have demonstrated the size-, dose- and coating-dependent cellular uptake of AgNPs. Following NPs exposure, in vivo biodistribution studies have reported Ag accumulation and toxicity to local as well as distant organs. Though there has been an increase in the number of studies in this area, more investigations are required to understand the mechanisms of toxicity following various modes of exposure to AgNPs.
Novel Mutations in the TMPRSS3 Gene May Contribute to Taiwanese Patients with Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss
Authors: Wong Swee-Hee , Yen Yung-Chang , Li Shuan-Yow , Yang Jiann-Jou
Published: April 2020

A previous study indicated that mutations in the transmembrane protease serine 3 (TMPRSS3) gene, which encodes a transmembrane serine protease, cause nonsyndromic hearing loss (NSHL). This was the first description of a serine protease involved in hearing loss (HL). In Taiwan, however, data on the TMPRSS3 gene’s association with NSHL is still insufficient. In this study, we described 10 mutations of TMPRSS3 genes found in 14 patients after screening 230 children with NSHL. The prevalence of the TMPRSS3 mutation appeared to be 6.09% (14/230). Of the 10 mutations, three were missense mutations: c.239G>A (p.R80H), c.551T>C (p.L184S), and 1253C>T (p.A418V); three were silent mutations, and four were mutations in introns. To determine the functional importance of TMPRSS3 mutations, we constructed plasmids carrying TMPRSS3 mutations of p.R80H, p.L184S, and p.A418V. TMPRSS3 function can be examined by secretory genetic assay for site-specific proteolysis (sGASP) and Xenopus oocyte expression system. Our results showed that p.R80H, p.L184S, and p.A418V TMPRSS3 mutations gave ratios of 19.4%, 13.2%, and 27.6%, respectively, via the sGASP system. Moreover, these three TMPRSS3 mutations failed to activate the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in the Xenopus oocyte expression system. These results indicate that the p.R80H, p.L184S, and p.A418V missense mutations of TMPRSS3 resulted in greatly diminishing the proteolytic activity of TMPRSS3. Our study provides information for understanding the importance of TMPRSS3 in the NSHL of Taiwanese children and provides a novel molecular explanation for the role of TMPRSS3 in HL.
Chitosan Modified Zeolite Molecular Sieve Particles as a Filter for Ammonium Nitrogen Removal from Water
Authors: Gao Yunan , Zhang Jiayu
Published: April 2020

Drinking water containing a high amount of ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) is not effectively removed by conventional treatment processes and can cause eutrophication. In this research, a composite adsorbent based on chitosan crosslink with zeolite molecular sieve (CTS-ZMS) was prepared for NH4+-N removal through dynamic adsorption filter experiments. Effect of bed depth (30, 50 and 70 cm), flow rate (32, 49 and 65 mL/min), initial pH value (4.5, 6.5 and 8.5) and influent NH4+-N concentration (3, 5 and 7 mg/L) was examined by using a filter column packed with CTS-ZMS particles. The Thomas model was applied to study the breakthrough curves and adsorption capacity. The optimal process parameters of the aforementioned factors were obtained at bed depth of 70 cm, flow rate of 32 mL/min, pH of 6.5 and initial NH4+-N concentration of 7 mg/L. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were investigated to analyze the structure and morphology of the CTS-ZMS adsorbents before and after 3 months running. The EDS and FTIR results showed Na+ and the active functional groups of -OH, -NH2 and -COO− on CTS-ZMS adsorbent particles reacted with ammonium nitrogen. The results of this study supported the use of CTS-ZMS to improve drinking water filtration processes by increasing ammonium nitrogen reductions.
Genome and Transcriptome Sequencing of casper and roy Zebrafish Mutants Provides Novel Genetic Clues for Iridophore Loss
Authors: Bian Chao , Chen Weiting , Ruan Zhiqiang , Hu Zhe , Huang Yu , Lv Yunyun , Xu Tengfei , Li Jia , Shi Qiong , Ge Wei
Published: April 2020

casper has been a widely used transparent mutant of zebrafish. It possesses a combined loss of reflective iridophores and light-absorbing melanophores, which gives rise to its almost transparent trunk throughout larval and adult stages. Nevertheless, genomic causal mutations of this transparent phenotype are poorly defined. To identify the potential genetic basis of this fascinating morphological phenotype, we constructed genome maps by performing genome sequencing of 28 zebrafish individuals including wild-type AB strain, roy orbison (roy), and casper mutants. A total of 4.3 million high-quality and high-confidence homozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the present study. We also identified a 6.0-Mb linkage disequilibrium block specifically in both roy and casper that was composed of 39 functional genes, of which the mpv17 gene was potentially involved in the regulation of iridophore formation and maintenance. This is the first report of high-confidence genomic mutations in the mpv17 gene of roy and casper that potentially leads to defective splicing as one major molecular clue for the iridophore loss. Additionally, comparative transcriptomic analyses of skin tissues from the AB, roy and casper groups revealed detailed transcriptional changes of several core genes that may be involved in melanophore and iridophore degeneration. In summary, our updated genome and transcriptome sequencing of the casper and roy mutants provides novel genetic clues for the iridophore loss. These new genomic variation maps will offer a solid genetic basis for expanding the zebrafish mutant database and in-depth investigation into pigmentation of animals.
TMEM16A: An Alternative Approach to Restoring Airway Anion Secretion in Cystic Fibrosis?
Authors: Danahay Henry , Gosling Martin
Published: April 2020

The concept that increasing airway hydration leads to improvements in mucus clearance and lung function in cystic fibrosis has been clinically validated with osmotic agents such as hypertonic saline and more convincingly with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) repair therapies. Although rapidly becoming the standard of care in cystic fibrosis (CF), current CFTR modulators do not treat all patients nor do they restore the rate of decline in lung function to normal levels. As such, novel approaches are still required to ensure all with CF have effective therapies. Although CFTR plays a fundamental role in the regulation of fluid secretion across the airway mucosa, there are other ion channels and transporters that represent viable targets for future therapeutics. In this review article we will summarise the current progress with CFTR-independent approaches to restoring mucosal hydration, including epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) blockade and modulators of SLC26A9. A particular emphasis is given to modulation of the airway epithelial calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC), TMEM16A, as there is controversy regarding whether it should be positively or negatively modulated. This is discussed in light of a recent report describing for the first time bona fide TMEM16A potentiators and their positive effects upon epithelial fluid secretion and mucus clearance.
A Peptidomimetic Fluorescent Probe to Detect the Trypsin β2 Subunit of the Human 20S Proteasome
Authors: Wysocka Magdalena , Romanowska Anita , Gruba Natalia , Michalska Michalina , Giełdoń Artur , Lesner Adam
Published: April 2020

This work describes the chemical synthesis, combinatorial selection, and enzymatic evaluation of peptidomimetic fluorescent substrates specific for the trypsin-like (β2) subunit of the 20S human proteasome. After deconvolution of a library comprising nearly 6000 compounds composed of peg substituted diaminopropionic acid DAPEG building blocks, the sequence ABZ–Dap(O2(Cbz))–Dap(GO1)–Dap(O2(Cbz))–Arg–ANB–NH2, where ABZ is 2-aminobenzoic acid, and ANB- 5 amino 2- nitro benzoic acid was selected. Its cleavage followed sigmoidal kinetics, characteristic for allosteric enzymes, with Km = 3.22 ± 0.02 μM, kcat = 245 s−1, and kcat/Km = 7.61 × 107 M−1 s−1. This process was practically halted when a selective inhibitor of the β2 subunit of the 20S human proteasome was supplemented to the reaction system. Titration of the substrate resulting in decreased amounts of proteasome 20S produced a linear signal up to 10−11 M. Using this substrate, we detected human proteasome 20S in human urine samples taken from the bladders of cancer patients. This observation could be useful for the noninvasive diagnosis of this severe disease.
Treatment of Delirium in Older Persons: What We Should Not Do!
Authors: Lauretani Fulvio , Bellelli Giuseppe , Pelà Giovanna , Morganti Simonetta , Tagliaferri Sara , Maggio Marcello
Published: April 2020

The presentation of common acute diseases in older age is often referred to as “atypical”. Frequently, the symptoms are neither single nor tissue related. In most cases, the onset of symptoms and diseases is the expression of a diminished reserve with a failure of the body system and imbalance of brain function. Delirium is one of the main devastating and prevalent atypical symptoms and could be considered as a geriatric syndrome. It encompasses an array of neuropsychiatric symptoms and represents a disarrangement of the cerebral function in response to one or more stressors. The most recent definition, reported in the DSM-V, depicts delirium as a clear disturbance in attention and awareness. The deficit is to be developed in a relatively short time period (usually hours or days). The attention disorder must be associated with another cognitive impairment in memory, orientation, language, visual-spatial or perception abilities. For the treatment, it is imperative to remove the potential causes of delirium before prescribing drugs. Even a non-pharmacological approach to reducing the precipitating causes should be identified and planned. When we are forced to approach the pharmacological treatment of hyperactive delirium in older persons, we should select highly cost-effective drugs. High attention should be devoted to the correct balance between improvement of psychiatric symptoms and occurrence of side effects. Clinicians should be guided in the correct choice of drugs following cluster symptoms presentation, excluding drugs that could potentially produce complications rather than advantages. In this brief point-of-view, we propose a novel pharmacological flow-chart of treatment in relation to the basic clusters of diseases of an older patient acutely admitted to the hospital and, in particular, we emphasize “What We Should Not Do!”, with the intention of avoiding possible side effects of drugs used.
Trefoil Factor Family (TFF) Modules Are Characteristic Constituents of Separate Mucin Complexes in the Xenopus laevis Integumentary Mucus: In Vitro Binding Studies with FIM-A.1
Authors: Stürmer René , Reising Jana , Hoffmann Werner
Published: April 2020

The skin of the frog Xenopus laeevis is protected from microbial infections by a mucus barrier that contains frog integumentary mucins (FIM)-A.1, FIM-B.1, and FIM-C.1. These gel-forming mucins are synthesized in mucous glands consisting of ordinary mucous cells and one or more cone cells at the gland base. FIM-A.1 and FIM-C.1 are unique because their cysteine-rich domains belong to the trefoil factor family (TFF). Furthermore, FIM-A.1 is unusually short (about 400 amino acid residues). In contrast, FIM-B.1 contains cysteine-rich von Willebrand D (vWD) domains. Here, we separate skin extracts by the use of size exclusion chromatography and analyze the distribution of FIM-A.1 and FIM-C.1. Two mucin complexes were detected, i.e., a high-molecular-mass Complex I, which contains FIM-C.1 and little FIM-A.1, whereas Complex II is of lower molecular mass and contains the bulk of FIM-A.1. We purified FIM-A.1 by a combination of size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and anion-exchange chromatography and performed first in vitro binding studies with radioactively labeled FIM-A.1. Binding of 125I-labeled FIM-A.1 to the high-molecular-mass Complex I was observed. We hypothesize that the presence of FIM-A.1 in Complex I is likely due to lectin interactions, e.g., with FIM-C.1, creating a complex mucus network.
Targeting PKCθ Promotes Satellite Cell Self-Renewal
Authors: Benedetti Anna , Fiore Piera Filomena , Madaro Luca , Lozanoska-Ochser Biliana , Bouché Marina
Published: April 2020

Skeletal muscle regeneration following injury depends on the ability of satellite cells (SCs) to proliferate, self-renew, and eventually differentiate. The factors that regulate the process of self-renewal are poorly understood. In this study we examined the role of PKCθ in SC self-renewal and differentiation. We show that PKCθ is expressed in SCs, and its active form is localized to the chromosomes, centrosomes, and midbody during mitosis. Lack of PKCθ promotes SC symmetric self-renewal division by regulating Pard3 polarity protein localization, without affecting the overall proliferation rate. Genetic ablation of PKCθ or its pharmacological inhibition in vivo did not affect SC number in healthy muscle. By contrast, after induction of muscle injury, lack or inhibition of PKCθ resulted in a significant expansion of the quiescent SC pool. Finally, we show that lack of PKCθ does not alter the inflammatory milieu after acute injury in muscle, suggesting that the enhanced self-renewal ability of SCs in PKCθ-/- mice is not due to an alteration in the inflammatory milieu. Together, these results suggest that PKCθ plays an important role in SC self-renewal by stimulating their expansion through symmetric division, and it may represent a promising target to manipulate satellite cell self-renewal in pathological conditions.
Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Stress and Hormone Responsive Patterns of JAZ Family Genes in Camellia Sinensis
Authors: Shen Jiazhi , Zou Zhongwei , Xing Hongqing , Duan Yu , Zhu Xujun , Ma Yuanchun , Wang Yuhua , Fang Wanping
Published: April 2020

JAZ (Jasmonate ZIM-domain) proteins play pervasive roles in plant development and defense reaction. However, limited information is known about the JAZ family in Camellia sinensis. In this study, 12 non-redundant JAZ genes were identified from the tea plant genome database. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the 12 JAZ proteins belong to three groups. The cis-elements in promoters of CsJAZ genes and CsJAZ proteins interaction networks were also analyzed. Quantitative RT–PCR analysis showed that 7 CsJAZ genes were preferentially expressed in roots. Furthermore, the CsJAZ expressions were differentially induced by cold, heat, polyethylene glycol (PEG), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and gibberellin (GA) stimuli. The Pearson correlations analysis based on expression levels showed that the CsJAZ gene pairs were differentially expressed under different stresses, indicating that CsJAZs might exhibit synergistic effects in response to various stresses. Subcellular localization assay demonstrated that CsJAZ3, CsJAZ10, and CsJAZ11 fused proteins were localized in the cell nucleus. Additionally, the overexpression of CsJAZ3, CsJAZ10, and CsJAZ11 in E. coli enhanced the growth of recombinant cells under abiotic stresses. In summary, this study will facilitate the understanding of the CsJAZ family in Camellia sinensis and provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of tea plant response to abiotic stresses and hormonal stimuli.
Alpha-l-Locked Nucleic Acid-Modified Antisense Oligonucleotides Induce Efficient Splice Modulation In Vitro
Authors: Raguraman Prithi , Wang Tao , Ma Lixia , Jørgensen Per Trolle , Wengel Jesper , Veedu Rakesh N.
Published: April 2020

Alpha-l-Locked nucleic acid (α-l-LNA) is a stereoisomeric analogue of locked nucleic acid (LNA), which possesses excellent biophysical properties and also exhibits high target binding affinity to complementary oligonucleotide sequences and resistance to nuclease degradations. Therefore, α-l-LNA nucleotides could be utilised to develop stable antisense oligonucleotides (AO), which can be truncated without compromising the integrity and efficacy of the AO. In this study, we explored the potential of α-l-LNA nucleotides-modified antisense oligonucleotides to modulate splicing by inducing Dmd exon-23 skipping in mdx mouse myoblasts in vitro. For this purpose, we have synthesised and systematically evaluated the efficacy of α-l-LNA-modified 2′-O-methyl phosphorothioate (2′-OMePS) AOs of three different sizes including 20mer, 18mer and 16mer AOs in parallel to fully-modified 2′-OMePS control AOs. Our results demonstrated that the 18mer and 16mer truncated AO variants showed slightly better exon-skipping efficacy when compared with the fully-23 modified 2′-OMePS control AOs, in addition to showing low cytotoxicity. As there was no previous report on using α-l-LNA-modified AOs in splice modulation, we firmly believe that this initial study could be beneficial to further explore and expand the scope of α-l-LNA-modified AO therapeutic molecules.
Clinical-Grade Human Pluripotent Stem Cells for Cell Therapy: Characterization Strategy
Authors: Rehakova Daniela , Souralova Tereza , Koutna Irena
Published: April 2020

Human pluripotent stem cells have the potential to change the way in which human diseases are cured. Clinical-grade human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells have to be created according to current good manufacturing practices and regulations. Quality and safety must be of the highest importance when humans’ lives are at stake. With the rising number of clinical trials, there is a need for a consensus on hPSCs characterization. Here, we summarize mandatory and ′for information only′ characterization methods with release criteria for the establishment of clinical-grade hPSC lines.
Characterization of Carbonic Anhydrase In Vivo Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Authors: Tomar Jyoti Singh , Shen Jun
Published: April 2020

Carbonic anhydrase is a ubiquitous metalloenzyme that catalyzes the reversible interconversion of CO2/HCO3−. Equilibrium of these species is maintained by the action of carbonic anhydrase. Recent advances in magnetic resonance spectroscopy have allowed, for the first time, in vivo characterization of carbonic anhydrase in the human brain. In this article, we review the theories and techniques of in vivo 13C magnetization (saturation) transfer magnetic resonance spectroscopy as they are applied to measuring the rate of exchange between CO2 and HCO3− catalyzed by carbonic anhydrase. Inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase have a wide range of therapeutic applications. Role of carbonic anhydrases and their inhibitors in many diseases are also reviewed to illustrate future applications of in vivo carbonic anhydrase assessment by magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Palm Date Leaf Clipping: A New Method to Reduce PAPR in OFDM Systems
Authors: Bakkas Brahim , Benkhouya Reda , Chana Idriss , Ben-Azza Hussain
Published: April 2020

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is the key technology used in high-speed communication systems. One of the major drawbacks of OFDM systems is the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmitted signal. The transmitted signal with a high PAPR requires a very large linear range of the Power Amplifier (PA) on the transmitter side. In this paper, we propose and study a new clipping method named Palm Clipping (Palm date leaf) based on hyperbolic cosine. To evaluate and analyze its performance in terms of the PAPR and Bit Error Rate (BER), we performed some computer simulations by varying the Clipping Ratio (CR) and modulation schemes. The obtained results show that it is possible to achieve a gain of between 7 and 9 dB in terms of PAPR reduction depending on the type of modulation. In addition, comparison with several techniques in terms of PAPR and BER shows that our method is a strong alternative that can be adopted as a PAPR reduction technique for OFDM-based communication systems.
Immune Response of Drosophila suzukii Larvae to Infection with the Nematobacterial Complex Steinernema carpocapsae–Xenorhabdus nematophila
Authors: Garriga Anna , Mastore Maristella , Morton Ana , Garcia del Pino Fernando , Brivio Maurizio Francesco
Published: April 2020

Entomopathogenic nematodes have been proposed as biological agents for the control of Drosophila suzukii, an invasive pest of small-stone and soft-skinned fruits. Larvae of the fly are susceptible to Steinernema carpocapsae infection but the reaction of immune defenses of the host are unknown. To determine the immune response, larvae were infected with S. carpocapsae and Xenorhabdus nematophila to evaluate the effector mechanisms of both humoral and cellular processes. The symbiont bacteria presented an inhibitory effect on the phenoloxidase cascade with a low level of melanization. Besides, X. nematophila activated the synthesis of putative antimicrobial peptides on the hemolymph of infected larvae. However, those peptides presented a lower antimicrobial activity compared to hemolymph from larvae infected with non-symbiont bacteria. Xenorhabdus nematophila avoided also the phagocytosis response of hemocytes. During in vitro and in vivo assays, S. carpocapsae was not encapsulated by cells, unless the cuticle was damaged with a lipase-treatment. Hemocyte counts confirmed differentiation of lamellocytes in the early phase of infection despite the unrecognition of the nematodes. Both X. nematophila and S. carpocapsae avoided the cellular defenses of D. suzukii larvae and depressed the humoral response. These results confirmed the potential of entomopathogenic nematodes to control D. suzukii.
Use of Molecular Gut Content Analysis to Decipher the Range of Food Plants of the Invasive Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula
Authors: Avanesyan Alina , Lamp William O.
Published: April 2020

Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), is an introduced highly invasive insect pest in the US that poses a significant risk to forestry and agriculture. Assessing and predicting plant usage of the lanternfly has been challenging, and little is known regarding the lanternfly nymph association with its host plants. In this study, we focused on: (a) providing a protocol for using molecular markers for food plant identification of L. delicatula; (b) determining whether the ingested plant DNA corresponds with DNA of the plants from which the lanternfly was collected; and, (c) investigating the spectrum of ingested plants. We utilized gut contents of third and fourth instar nymphs that were collected from multiple plants; we isolated ingested plant DNA and identified consumed plants. We demonstrated that (a) up to 534 bp of the rbcL gene from ingested plants can be detected in L. delicatula guts, (b) ingested plants in ~93% of the nymphs did not correspond with the plants from which the nymphs were collected, and (c) both introduced and native plants, as well as woody and non-woody plants, were ingested. This information will aid effective the monitoring and management of the lanternfly, as well as predict the lanternfly host plants with range expansion.
Host Plants Influence the Symbiont Diversity of Eriosomatinae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
Authors: Xu Ting-Ting , Jiang Li-Yun , Chen Jing , Qiao Ge-Xia
Published: April 2020

Eriosomatinae is a particular aphid group with typically heteroecious holocyclic life cycle, exhibiting strong primary host plant specialization and inducing galls on primary host plants. Aphids are frequently associated with bacterial symbionts, which can play fundamental roles in the ecology and evolution of their host aphids. However, the bacterial communities in Eriosomatinae are poorly known. In the present study, using high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene, we surveyed the bacterial flora of eriosomatines and explored the associations between symbiont diversity and aphid relatedness, aphid host plant and geographical distribution. The microbiota of Eriosomatinae is dominated by the heritable primary endosymbiont Buchnera and several facultative symbionts. The primary endosymbiont Buchnera is expectedly the most abundant symbiont across all species. Six facultative symbionts were identified. Regiella was the most commonly identified facultative symbiont, and multiple infections of facultative symbionts were detected in the majority of the samples. Ordination analyses and statistical tests show that the symbiont community of aphids feeding on plants from the family Ulmaceae were distinguishable from aphids feeding on other host plants. Species in Eriosomatinae feeding on different plants are likely to carry different symbiont compositions. The symbiont distributions seem to be not related to taxonomic distance and geographical distance. Our findings suggest that host plants can affect symbiont maintenance, and will improve our understanding of the interactions between aphids, their symbionts and ecological conditions.
Gbx1 and Gbx2 Are Essential for Normal Patterning and Development of Interneurons and Motor Neurons in the Embryonic Spinal Cord
Authors: Buckley Desirè M. , Burroughs-Garcia Jessica , Kriks Sonja , Lewandoski Mark , Waters Samuel T.
Published: April 2020

The molecular mechanisms regulating neurogenesis involve the control of gene expression by transcription factors. Gbx1 and Gbx2, two members of the Gbx family of homeodomain-containing transcription factors, are known for their essential roles in central nervous system development. The expression domains of mouse Gbx1 and Gbx2 include regions of the forebrain, anterior hindbrain, and spinal cord. In the spinal cord, Gbx1 and Gbx2 are expressed in PAX2+ interneurons of the dorsal horn and ventral motor neuron progenitors. Based on their shared domains of expression and instances of overlap, we investigated the functional relationship between Gbx family members in the developing spinal cord using Gbx1−/−, Gbx2−/−, and Gbx1−/−/Gbx2−/− embryos. In situ hybridization analyses of embryonic spinal cords show upregulation of Gbx2 expression in Gbx1−/− embryos and upregulation of Gbx1 expression in Gbx2−/− embryos. Additionally, our data demonstrate that Gbx genes regulate development of a subset of PAX2+ dorsal inhibitory interneurons. While we observe no difference in overall proliferative status of the developing ependymal layer, expansion of proliferative cells into the anatomically defined mantle zone occurs in Gbx mutants. Lastly, our data shows a marked increase in apoptotic cell death in the ventral spinal cord of Gbx mutants during mid-embryonic stages. While our studies reveal that both members of the Gbx gene family are involved in development of subsets of PAX2+ dorsal interneurons and survival of ventral motor neurons, Gbx1 and Gbx2 are not sufficient to genetically compensate for the loss of one another. Thus, our studies provide novel insight to the relationship harbored between Gbx1 and Gbx2 in spinal cord development.
Evaluation of Automatic Facial Wrinkle Detection Algorithms
Authors: Elbashir Remah Mutasim , Hoon Yap Moi
Published: April 2020

Facial wrinkles (considered to be natural features) appear as people get older. Wrinkle detection is an important aspect of applications that depend on facial skin changes, such as face age estimation and soft biometrics. While existing wrinkle detection algorithms focus on forehead horizontal lines, it is necessary to develop new methods to detect all wrinkles (vertical and horizontal) on whole face. Therefore, we evaluated the performance of wrinkle detection algorithms on the whole face and proposed an enhancement technique to improve the performance. More specifically, we used 45 images of the Face Recognition Technology dataset (FERET) and 25 images of the Sudanese dataset. For ground truth annotations, the selected images were manually annotated by the researcher. The experiments showed that the method with enhancement performed better at detecting facial wrinkles when compared to the state-of-the-art methods. When evaluated on FERET, the average Jaccard similarity indices were 56.17%, 31.69% and 15.87% for the enhancement method, Hybrid Hessian Filter and Gabor Filter, respectively.
Lateral Vibrations in Deep Hole Drilling Due to Land Width Variation
Authors: Volz Marcel , Abele Eberhard , Weigold Matthias
Published: April 2020

In drilling processes, self-excited vibrations have a negative influence on the achievable drilling qualities and tool life. Low-frequency radial vibrations are characterised by oscillating movements of the tool tip and the generation of lobed holes in drilling. This study focuses on the participation and influence of the land widths of twisted drilling tools on these vibrations. Therefore, drilling tools with different land widths and a length-to-diameter ratio of 12 are used, and different parameters, such as feed rate, cutting speed, coolant pressure, pre-hole diameter, and chuck selection, are varied in a drill-out process. The results show that the land widths have a statistically significant influence on the formation of lateral vibrations and the generation of lobed holes.
Improving the Performance of Dynamic Ship Positioning Systems: A Review of Filtering and Estimation Techniques
Authors: Selimović Denis , Lerga Jonatan , Prpić-Oršić Jasna , Kenji Sasa
Published: April 2020

Various operations at sea, such as maintaining a constant ship position and direction, require a complex control system. Under such conditions, the ship needs an efficient positioning technique. Dynamic positioning (DP) systems provide such an application with a combination of the actuators mechanism, analyses of crucial ship variables, and environmental conditions. The natural forces of induced nonlinear waves acting on a ship’s hull interfere with the systems. To generate control signals for actuators accurately, sensor measurements should be filtered and processed. Furthermore, for safe and green routing, the forces and moments acting on the ship’s hull should be taken into account in terms of their prediction. Thus, the design of such systems takes into account the problem of obtaining data about the directional wave spectra (DWS). Sensor systems individually cannot provide high accuracy and reliability, so their measurements need to be combined and complemented. Techniques based on the recursive Kalman filter (KF) are used for this purpose. When some measurements are unavailable, the estimation procedure should predict them and, based on the comparison of theoretical and measured states, reduce the error variance of the analyzed signals. Different approaches for improving estimation algorithms have evolved over the years with the indication of improvement. This paper gives an overview of the state-of-the-art estimation and filtering techniques for providing optimum estimation states in DP systems.
Exposure of Aspergillus fumigatus to Atorvastatin Leads to Altered Membrane Permeability and Induction of an Oxidative Stress Response
Authors: Ajdidi Ahmad , Sheehan Gerard , Kavanagh Kevin
Published: April 2020

Aspergillus fumigatus is a serious cause of disease in immune-deficient patients and in those with pulmonary malfunction (e.g., cystic fibrosis (CF), asthma). Atorvastatin is a member of the statin drug family, which are the main therapeutic agents used to decrease high serum cholesterol levels by inhibiting (HMG-CoA) reductase enzyme. The aim of the work presented here was to analyse the antifungal activity of atorvastatin and assess its effect on the virulence of A. fumigatus. Atorvastatin demonstrated strong antifungal activity and reduced the growth and viability of A. fumigatus. Exposure of A. fumigatus to atorvastatin led to a reduction in ergosterol content and increased membrane permeability, as evidenced by the release of protein, amino acids and gliotoxin. Proteomic analysis revealed an increased abundance of proteins associated with an oxidative stress response, such as the glutathione s-transferase family protein (+8.43-fold), heat shock protein Hsp30/Hsp42 (+2.02-fold) and 5-demethoxyubiquinone hydroxylase, mitochondrial (+1.73-fold), as well as secondary metabolites such as isocyanide synthase A icsA (+8.52-fold) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase fmpE (+3.06-fold). The results presented here indicate that atorvastatin has strong antifungal properties and may have potential application in the treatment of A. fumigatus infections alone or in combination with existing antifungal agents.
Board-Gender Diversity, Family Ownership, and Dividend Announcement: Evidence from Asian Emerging Economies
Authors: Mustafa Adeel , Saeed Abubakr , Awais Muhammad , Aziz Shahab
Published: April 2020

In eras of intense debates on the appointment of women on corporate boards, this research sheds light on the structure of board in Asian emerging economies by examining how women on board of family businesses separately and collectively affect the dividend announcement of business organizations. On the basis of the panel data of four Asian emerging economies—China, Malaysia, Pakistan, and India—for the period 2010–2018, the results from our Tobit regression showed the adverse (negative) and significant impact of women on boards and in family businesses upon dividend announcement. It is important that policymakers should not view firms with one eye. There should be a spillover on board gender diversity from international to domestic levels, and international firms should be set as an example for domestic firms for the inclusion of women on boards. It might be the best time for Asian emerging economies to take productive action for balancing the gender in boardroom settings, and to set a minimum mass of women on boards for better and more effective decision making.
A Wavelet-Based Analysis of the Co-Movement between Sukuk Bonds and Shariah Stock Indices in the GCC Region: Implications for Risk Diversification
Authors: Nasreen Samia , Naqvi Syed Asif Ali , Tiwari Aviral Kumar , Hammoudeh Shawkat , Shah Syed Ale Raza
Published: April 2020

Investors are interested in knowing whether sukuk bonds and shariah stock indices in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) region are related. This study examines the connectedness between the sukuk- and shariah-compliant stock indices in the GCC financial markets. Bivariate and multivariate wavelet approaches are applied to the daily data covering the period 10 July 2008 to 15 May 2017. The empirical findings demonstrate a strong correlation between these GCC sukuk bond indices and shariah stock indices. The degree of connectedness between these sukuk and shariah stock indices varies across time and scale. A strong and positive association is observed in the short term and a negative association is evident in the long term. The same findings are observed, using the wavelet cohesion approach that also validates the existence of portfolio diversification opportunities at a short-time horizon. The multivariate cross-correlation analysis reveals that these sukuk and shariah stock markets are highly integrated across time and scale. Furthermore, the value at risk (VaR) for the sukuk bond–shariah stocks portfolio is performed to highlight the significance of the wavelet analysis. The outcomes show that portfolio stocks are variable with respect to time or scale (time diversification). Overall, analyzing the sukuk bond–shariah stock index returns in the GCC at a multiscale level makes it easier for financial agents dealing with heterogeneous trading horizons to assess the benefits of diversifications.
Improving Many Volatility Forecasts Using Cross-Sectional Volatility Clusters
Authors: Coretto Pietro , La Rocca Michele , Storti Giuseppe
Published: April 2020

The inhomogeneity of the cross-sectional distribution of realized assets’ volatility is explored and used to build a novel class of GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) models. The inhomogeneity of the cross-sectional distribution of realized volatility is captured by a finite Gaussian mixture model plus a uniform component that represents abnormal variations in volatility. Based on the cross-sectional mixture model, at each time point, memberships of assets to risk groups are retrieved via maximum likelihood estimation, as well as the probability that an asset belongs to a specific risk group. The latter is profitably used for specifying a state-dependent model for volatility forecasting. We propose novel GARCH-type specifications the parameters of which act “clusterwise” conditional on past information on the volatility clusters. The empirical performance of the proposed models is assessed by means of an application to a panel of U.S. stocks traded on the NYSE. An extensive forecasting experiment shows that, when the main goal is to improve overall many univariate volatility forecasts, the method proposed in this paper has some advantages over the state-of-the-arts methods.
Minimization of IEEE 802.11p Packet Collision Interference through Transmission Time Shifting
Authors: Klapez Martin , Grazia Carlo Augusto , Casoni Maurizio
Published: April 2020

V2I communications are characterized by the presence of network nodes in vehicles and in the infrastructures that these vehicles use, as well as by the wireless interactions among them. Safety-related applications demand stringent requirements in terms of latency and packet delivery probability, especially when safety messages have to be delivered to vehicles by the infrastructure. Interference issues stem from the typical characteristics of wireless communications, i.e., the noise of the wireless medium, the limited communication range of the wireless entities, and the receiver passivity of all the conventional wireless transceivers during transmissions. This paper presents a synchronization mechanism to artificially replicate at a host premises destructive interference due to hidden terminals, together with an application-level technique to minimize that interference by shifting the packet transmission time, similarly to the MAC TDMA channel access method. As both have been field-tested, the paper also analyzes the results of these tests, all performed with real hardware on IEEE 802.11p over different frequencies and transmission powers, and with repeatability in mind. The resulting figures attest that interference effects due to hidden terminals may indeed take place on real IEEE 802.11p networks, and that carefully designed time-shifting mechanisms can actively mitigate them.
Public Perception of Wilderness in Iceland
Authors: Ólafsdóttir Rannveig , Sæþórsdóttir Anna
Published: April 2020

In recent years, there has been a gradually growing emphasis on the protection of wilderness in Iceland. This is highlighted in the current preparation of a new national park in the Icelandic central highlands, which will become Europe’s largest national park. However, in order to protect the wilderness, a mutual understanding, both on what it is and where it is, is needed. This paper seeks to evaluate Icelanders’ perception and understanding of wilderness. Furthermore, to assess the value of wilderness for the Icelandic public and determine what lies behind the valuation, an online survey aided by maps from Google Earth and photographic scenarios of different landscapes was sent out to a nationally representative sample of Icelanders. The survey respondents mapped their perceived scope of Icelandic wilderness and furthermore chose between several landscape scenarios they thought most and least suited to their perception of wilderness. The results show that nearly all land located above the 300 m elevation line is perceived as wilderness, reflecting the country’s uninhabited highlands areas. The results also show that for the general public in Iceland it is chiefly an open and vast landscape, uninhabited areas, and the absence of anthropogenic features that bestow an area with the status of wilderness. The results demonstrate that any sign of anthropogenic interference, aside from archaeological remains, decrease Icelanders’ perception of wilderness. Moreover, despite being mostly categorized as urbanists or neutralists according to the purism scale, the majority of Icelanders still consider services, such as petrol stations, hotels, shops, restaurants, and diverse leisure services, along with energy production, to negatively impact the value of wilderness. Most Icelanders thus seem to regard wilderness as a valuable asset from the economic, cultural, and environmental perspectives, which underscores its uniqueness.
Implementation of a Renal Precision Medicine Program: Clinician Attitudes and Acceptance
Authors: Spiech Katherine M. , Tripathy Purnima R. , Woodcock Alex M. , Sheth Nehal A. , Collins Kimberly S. , Kannegolla Karthik , Sinha Arjun D. , Sharfuddin Asif A. , Pratt Victoria M. , Khalid Myda , Hains David S. , Moe Sharon M. , Skaar Todd C. , Moorthi Ranjani N. , Eadon Michael T.
Published: April 2020

A precision health initiative was implemented across a multi-hospital health system, wherein a panel of genetic variants was tested and utilized in the clinical care of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Pharmacogenomic predictors of antihypertensive response and genomic predictors of CKD were provided to clinicians caring for nephrology patients. To assess clinician knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to act on genetic testing results, a Likert-scale survey was sent to and self-administered by these nephrology providers (N = 76). Most respondents agreed that utilizing pharmacogenomic-guided antihypertensive prescribing is valuable (4.0 ± 0.7 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 indicates strong agreement). However, the respondents also expressed reluctance to use genetic testing for CKD risk stratification due to a perceived lack of supporting evidence (3.2 ± 0.9). Exploratory sub-group analyses associated this reluctance with negative responses to both knowledge and attitude discipline questions, thus suggesting reduced exposure to and comfort with genetic information. Given the evolving nature of genomic implementation in clinical care, further education is warranted to help overcome these perception barriers.
Synthesis of Perovskite by Solid-Phase Method with Metatitanic Acid and Calcium Carbonate and Its Pigment Properties Investigation
Authors: Zhang Han , Sun Sijia , Liu Wei , Ding Hao , Zhang Jianmeng
Published: April 2020

Synthetic perovskite powder (SPP) was synthesized by the solid-phase method using metatitanic acid (TiO2·nH2O) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as raw materials, and its structure, morphology, pigment properties and application in architectural coatings were studied. When TiO2·nH2O and CaCO3 were mixed and ground at a molar ratio of TiO2:CaO = 1:1, and then calcined at 900–1100 °C, SPP with a single perovskite phase was obtained. The characterization results displayed that the unit particle size of SPP was 50–150 nm, the aggregate size was 1–2 μm, and its particles were well dispersed. The SPP also had a whiteness of 90.5%, and an oil absorption of 35.03 g/100 g. The hiding power of SPP was 24.02 g/m2, which was 81.6% of pure TiO2 hiding power (19.60 g/m2). When adding SPP to prepare a building exterior wall coating, the contrast ratio of the coating film was 0.92, which met the requirements of the Chinese national standard GB/T 9755-2014 and was equivalent to adding rutile titanium dioxide. Thus, perovskite synthesized from TiO2·nH2O and CaCO3 by the solid-phase method significantly improved the pigment properties of TiO2 in the same proportion.
Effective Bio-Slime Coating Technique for Concrete Surfaces under Sulfate Attack
Authors: Yang Keun-Hyeok , Lim Hee-Seob , Kwon Seung-Jun
Published: April 2020

The service life of concretes exposed to sulfate decreases as the concrete body expands due to the formation of gypsum and ettringite. Bacteria-based repair coating layers, which have been studied lately, are aerobic and very effective on the sulfate attack. In this study, bio-slime repair coating layers were fabricated using bacteria, and chloride diffusion experiments were performed. In addition, the service life of concrete under sulfate attack was evaluated using time-dependent diffusivity and a multi-layer technique. Chloride diffusivity was compared with sulfate diffusivity based on literature review, and the results were used to consider the reduction in the diffusion coefficient. In the analysis results, the service life of concrete was evaluated to be 38.5 years without bio-slime coating layer, but it was increased to 41.5–54.3 years using it. In addition, when the thickness of the bio-slime coating layer is 2.0 mm, the service life can be increased by 1.31–2.15 times if the sulfate diffusion coefficient of the layer is controlled at a level of 0.1 ~ 0.3 × 10−12 m2/s. Eco-friendly and aerobic bio-slime coating layers are expected to effectively resist sulfate under appropriate construction conditions.