bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Animal Silk-Derived Amorphous Carbon Fibers for Electricity Generation and Solar Steam Evaporation
Authors: Qi Ping , Ren Jing , Ling Shengjie
Published: June 2021

Animal silk-derived carbon materials are of interest to various applications, such as smart cloth and wearable sensors. However, it remains a challenge to massively transform silks into continuous carbon fibers. In this work, carbon fibers based on two kinds of animal silks, i.e., Bombyx mori (B. mori) silk and Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) silk, are prepared by using a large-scale-capable one-step heating process without any additives or activation process. These carbon fibers and yarns are electroconductive and mechanically robust. To expand the application of these carbonized silks, we further weaved them with cotton yarns to obtain composite fabrics with different textures and evaluated their performance for solar steam evaporation. Our results confirmed that the advantages of these composite fabrics in light absorption, large surface area, and hierarchical liquid transport channels allowed them to be used as a solar steam generation for desalination and sewage treatment. In addition, we reported that these conductive carbon fibers could be assembled into fluidic nanogenerators to generate electricity from the water flow. This work is expected to guide a large-scale preparation and use of animal silk-derived amorphous carbon fibers.
Do Cross-Language Script Differences Enable Bilinguals to Function Selectively When Speaking in One Language Alone?
Authors: Hoshino Noriko , Beatty-Martínez Anne L. , Navarro-Torres Christian A. , Kroll Judith F.
Published: June 2021

The present study examined the role of script in bilingual speech planning by comparing the performance of same and different-script bilinguals. Spanish-English bilinguals (Experiment 1) and Japanese-English bilinguals (Experiment 2) performed a picture-word interference task in which they were asked to name a picture of an object in English, their second language, while ignoring a visual distractor word in Spanish or Japanese, their first language. Results replicated the general pattern seen in previous bilingual picture-word interference studies for the same-script, Spanish-English bilinguals but not for the different-script, Japanese-English bilinguals. Both groups showed translation facilitation, whereas only Spanish-English bilinguals demonstrated semantic interference, phonological facilitation, and phono-translation facilitation. These results suggest that when the script of the language not in use is present in the task, bilinguals appear to exploit the perceptual difference as a language cue to direct lexical access to the intended language earlier in the process of speech planning.
Distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems at the South Sandwich Islands: Results From the Blue Belt Discovery Expedition 99 Deep-Water Camera Surveys
Authors: Downie Anna-Leena , Vieira Rui P. , Hogg Oliver T. , Darby Chris
Published: June 2021

The South Sandwich Islands (SSI) are a chain of volcanic islands located to the east of the Scotia Sea, approximately 700 km south-east of South Georgia. To date, knowledge of the SSI benthic environment remains limited. In this context, the Blue Belt Programme conducted a scientific survey in the SSI Marine Protected Area (MPA) during February/March 2019 to examine the biodiversity and distribution of benthic communities and their potential vulnerability to licensed longline research fisheries. Here we report results from analysis of multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and drop camera imagery data collected in selected locations around the SSI. A total of eight vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) indicator morphotaxa were mapped along the slopes of the SSI, showing a substantial variation in taxon composition and frequency of occurrence, both along bathymetric and latitudinal gradients. Our results suggest that VME indicator taxa are mostly restricted to waters shallower than 700 m. As such, based on our present understanding of the region’s benthic environment the MPA, as currently established, offers effective protection for the majority of the VME indicator taxa.
IMPROVE 1.0: Individual Monitoring of Psoriasis Activity by Regular Online App Questionnaires and Outpatient Visits
Authors: Garzorz-Stark Natalie , Beicht Sarah , Baghin Veronika , Stark Sebastian P. , Biedermann Tilo , Lauffer Felix
Published: June 2021

Smartphone apps gain more and more importance in supporting management of chronic diseases. Psoriasis is a highly prevalent, lifelong chronic inflammatory skin disease with a high impact on patient's quality of life. Disease management includes regular topical and systemic treatment of skin lesions as well as co-treatment of metabolic and psychologic disorders. In this study, we investigated the potential of a new smartphone app (IMPROVE 1.0) for individual monitoring of disease activity and disease influencing factors. Twelve out of 50 psoriasis patients asked for study participation performed self-assessment of psoriasis severity, life quality, and stress scores using the app over a period of 1 year. Every 2 months, study participants were carefully examined by a dermatologist in order to control the quality of app-reported data. We found that psoriasis severity and life quality values as entered in the app closely correlate to physician's examination. Furthermore, we detected strong correlations of disease activity with life quality and psoriasis serum biomarker. Temporal relations between psoriasis aggravation and previous changes of lifestyle factors, such as increased stress levels, were observed in individual patients, indicating a high potential for preventive interventions in future psoriasis apps. The vast majority of study participants evaluated IMPROVE 1.0 app positively and wish to include the app into their daily life. Hence, we demonstrate that smartphone apps are a useful tool to raise self-awareness for the dimensions of complex diseases and fully integrate psoriasis patients into individual disease management. These data are important to develop more advanced digital tools supporting the management of chronic diseases in the future.
Tapping Into Actinobacterial Genomes for Natural Product Discovery
Authors: Singh Tanim Arpit , Passari Ajit Kumar , Jajoo Anjana , Bhasin Sheetal , Gupta Vijai Kumar , Hashem Abeer , Alqarawi Abdulaziz A. , Abd_Allah Elsayed Fathi
Published: June 2021

The presence of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) makes actinobacteria well-known producers of diverse metabolites. These ubiquitous microbes are extensively exploited for their ability to synthesize diverse secondary metabolites. The extent of their ability to synthesize various molecules is yet to be evaluated. Current advancements in genome sequencing, metabolomics, and bioinformatics have provided a plethora of information about the mechanism of synthesis of these bioactive molecules. Accessing the biosynthetic gene cluster responsible for the production of metabolites has always been a challenging assignment. The genomic approach developments have opened a new gateway for examining and manipulating novel antibiotic gene clusters. These advancements have now developed a better understanding of actinobacterial physiology and their genetic regulation for the prolific production of natural products. These new approaches provide a unique opportunity to discover novel bioactive compounds that might replenish antibiotics’ exhausted stock and counter the microbes’ resistance crisis.
Herbicides Tolerance in a Pseudomonas Strain Is Associated With Metabolic Plasticity of Antioxidative Enzymes Regardless of Selection
Authors: Rovida Amanda Flávia da Silva , Costa Gessica , Santos Mariana Inglês , Silva Caroline Rosa , Freitas Paloma Nathane Nunes , Oliveira Elizangela Paz , Pileggi Sônia Alvim Veiga , Olchanheski Ricardo Luiz , Pileggi Marcos
Published: June 2021

Agriculture uses many food production chains, and herbicides participate in this process by eliminating weeds through different biochemical strategies. However, herbicides can affect non-target organisms such as bacteria, which can suffer damage if there is no efficient control of reactive oxygen species. It is not clear, according to the literature, whether the efficiency of this control needs to be selected by the presence of xenobiotics. Thus, the Pseudomonas sp. CMA 6.9 strain, collected from biofilms in an herbicide packaging washing tank, was selected for its tolerance to pesticides and analyzed for activities of different antioxidative enzymes against the herbicides Boral®, absent at the isolation site, and Heat®, present at the site; both herbicides have the same mode of action, the inhibition of the enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase. The strain showed tolerance to both herbicides in doses up to 45 times than those applied in agriculture. The toxicity of these herbicides, which is greater for Boral®, was assessed by means of oxidative stress indicators, growth kinetics, viability, and amounts of peroxide and malondialdehyde. However, the studied strain showed two characteristic antioxidant response systems for each herbicide: glutathione-s-transferase acting to control malondialdehyde in treatments with Boral®; and catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and guaiacol peroxidase in the control of peroxide induced by Heat®. It is possible that this modulation of the activity of different enzymes independent of previous selection characterizes a system of metabolic plasticity that may be more general in the adaptation of microorganisms in soil and water environments subjected to chemical contaminants. This is relevant to the impact of pesticides on the diversity and abundance of microbial species as well as a promising line of metabolic studies in microbial consortia for use in bioremediation.
Large-Scale Computational Discovery of Binding Motifs in tRNA Fragments
Authors: Guan Lingyu , Lam Vincent , Grigoriev Andrey
Published: June 2021

Accumulating evidence has suggested that tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) could be loaded to Argonaute proteins and function as regulatory small RNAs. However, their mode of action remains largely unknown, and investigations of their binding mechanisms have been limited, revealing little more than microRNA-like seed regions in a handful of tRFs and a few targets. Here, we identified such regions of potential interaction on a larger scale, using in vivo formed hybrids of guides and targets in crosslinked chimeric reads in two orientations. We considered “forward pairs” (with guides located on the 5′ ends and targets on the 3′ ends of hybrids) and “reverse pairs” (opposite orientation) and compared them as independent sets of biological constructs. We observed intriguing differences between the two chimera orientations, including the paucity of tRNA halves and abundance of polyT-containing targets in forward pairs. We found a total of 197 quality-ranked motifs supported by ∼120,000 tRF–mRNA chimeras, with 103 interacting motifs common in forward and reverse pairs. By analyzing T→C conversions in human and mouse PAR-CLIP datasets, we detected Argonaute crosslinking sites in tRFs, conserved across species. We proposed a novel model connecting the formation of asymmetric pairs in two sets to the potential binding mechanisms of tRFs, involving the identified interaction motifs and crosslinking sites to Argonaute proteins. Our results suggest the way forward for further experimental elucidation of tRF-binding mechanisms.
Mutational Analysis of the GXXXG/A Motifs in the Human Na+/Taurocholate Co-Transporting Polypeptide NTCP on Its Bile Acid Transport Function and Hepatitis B/D Virus Receptor Function
Authors: Palatini Massimo , Müller Simon Franz , Lowjaga Kira Alessandra Alicia Theresa , Noppes Saskia , Alber Jörg , Lehmann Felix , Goldmann Nora , Glebe Dieter , Geyer Joachim
Published: June 2021

Homodimerization is essential for plasma membrane sorting of the liver bile acid transporter NTCP and its function as Hepatitis B/D Virus (HBV/HDV) receptor. However, the protein domains involved in NTCP dimerization are unknown. NTCP bears two potential GXXXG/A dimerization motifs in its transmembrane domains (TMDs) 2 and 7. The present study aimed to analyze the role of these GXXXG/A motifs for the sorting, function, and dimerization of NTCP. The NTCP mutants G60LXXXA64L (TMD2), G233LXXXG237L (TMD7) and a double mutant were generated and analyzed for their interaction with wild-type NTCP using a membrane-based yeast-two hybrid system (MYTH) and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP). In the MYTH system, the TMD2 and TMD7 mutants showed significantly lower interaction with the wild-type NTCP. In transfected HEK293 cells, membrane expression and bile acid transport activity were slightly reduced for the TMD2 mutant but were completely abolished for the TMD7 and the TMD2/7 mutants, while co-IP experiments still showed intact protein-protein interactions. Susceptibility for in vitro HBV infection in transfected HepG2 cells was reduced to 50% for the TMD2 mutant, while the TMD7 mutant was not susceptible for HBV infection at all. We conclude that the GXXXG/A motifs in TMD2 and even more pronounced in TMD7 are important for proper folding and sorting of NTCP, and so indirectly affect glycosylation, homodimerization, and bile acid transport of NTCP, as well as its HBV/HDV receptor function.
A New Residual Dense Network for Dance Action Recognition From Heterogeneous View Perception
Authors: Yang Xue , Lyu Yin , Sun Yang , Zhang Chen
Published: June 2021

At present, part of people's body is in the state of sub-health, and more people pay attention to physical exercise. Dance is a relatively simple and popular activity, it has been widely concerned. The traditional action recognition method is easily affected by the action speed, illumination, occlusion and complex background, which leads to the poor robustness of the recognition results. In order to solve the above problems, an improved residual dense neural network method is used to study the automatic recognition of dance action images. Firstly, based on the residual model, the features of dance action are extracted by using the convolution layer and pooling layer. Then, the exponential linear element (ELU) activation function, batch normalization (BN) and Dropout technology are used to improve and optimize the model to mitigate the gradient disappearance, prevent over-fitting, accelerate convergence and enhance the model generalization ability. Finally, the dense connection network (DenseNet) is introduced to make the extracted dance action features more rich and effective. Comparison experiments are carried out on two public databases and one self-built database. The results show that the recognition rate of the proposed method on three databases are 99.98, 97.95, and 0.97.96%, respectively. It can be seen that this new method can effectively improve the performance of dance action recognition.
Using Monozygotic Twins to Dissect Common Genes in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Migraine
Authors: Bainomugisa Charlotte K. , Sutherland Heidi G. , Parker Richard , Mcrae Allan F. , Haupt Larisa M. , Griffiths Lyn R. , Heath Andrew , Nelson Elliot C. , Wright Margaret J. , Hickie Ian B. , Martin Nicholas G. , Nyholt Dale R. , Mehta Divya
Published: June 2021

Epigenetic mechanisms have been associated with genes involved in Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD often co-occurs with other health conditions such as depression, cardiovascular disorder and respiratory illnesses. PTSD and migraine have previously been reported to be symptomatically positively correlated with each other, but little is known about the genes involved. The aim of this study was to understand the comorbidity between PTSD and migraine using a monozygotic twin disease discordant study design in six pairs of monozygotic twins discordant for PTSD and 15 pairs of monozygotic twins discordant for migraine. DNA from peripheral blood was run on Illumina EPIC arrays and analyzed. Multiple testing correction was performed using the Bonferroni method and 10% false discovery rate (FDR). We validated 11 candidate genes previously associated with PTSD including DOCK2, DICER1, and ADCYAP1. In the epigenome-wide scan, seven novel CpGs were significantly associated with PTSD within/near IL37, WNT3, ADNP2, HTT, SLFN11, and NQO2, with all CpGs except the IL37 CpG hypermethylated in PTSD. These results were significantly enriched for genes whose DNA methylation was previously associated with migraine (p-value = 0.036). At 10% FDR, 132 CpGs in 99 genes associated with PTSD were also associated with migraine in the migraine twin samples. Genes associated with PTSD were overrepresented in vascular smooth muscle, axon guidance and oxytocin signaling pathways, while genes associated with both PTSD and migraine were enriched for AMPK signaling and longevity regulating pathways. In conclusion, these results suggest that common genes and pathways are likely involved in PTSD and migraine, explaining at least in part the co-morbidity between the two disorders.
Small, Seeding-Competent Huntingtin Fibrils Are Prominent Aggregate Species in Brains of zQ175 Huntington’s Disease Knock-in Mice
Authors: Schindler Franziska , Praedel Nicole , Neuendorf Nancy , Kunz Severine , Schnoegl Sigrid , Mason Michael A. , Taxy Bridget A. , Bates Gillian P. , Khoshnan Ali , Priller Josef , Grimm Jan , Maier Marcel , Boeddrich Annett , Wanker Erich E.
Published: June 2021

The deposition of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein aggregates in neurons of patients is a pathological hallmark of Huntington’s disease (HD). Previous investigations in cell-free and cell-based disease models showed mHTT exon-1 (mHTTex1) fragments with pathogenic polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts (>40 glutamines) to self-assemble into highly stable, β-sheet-rich protein aggregates with a fibrillar morphology. HD knock-in mouse models have not been extensively studied with regard to mHTT aggregation. They endogenously produce full-length mHTT with a pathogenic polyQ tract as well as mHTTex1 fragments. Here, we demonstrate that seeding-competent, fibrillar mHTT aggregates can be readily detected in brains of zQ175 knock-in HD mice. To do this, we applied a highly sensitive FRET-based protein amplification assay that is capable of detecting seeding-competent mHTT aggregate species down to the femtomolar range. Furthermore, we show that fibrillar structures with an average length of ∼200 nm can be enriched with aggregate-specific mouse and human antibodies from zQ175 mouse brain extracts through immunoprecipitations, confirming that such structures are formed in vivo. Together these studies indicate that small, fibrillar, seeding-competent mHTT structures are prominent aggregate species in brains of zQ175 mice.
Acute Kidney Injury is Aggravated in Aged Mice by the Exacerbation of Proinflammatory Processes
Authors: Marquez-Exposito Laura , Tejedor-Santamaria Lucia , Santos-Sanchez Laura , Valentijn Floris A. , Cantero-Navarro Elena , Rayego-Mateos Sandra , Rodrigues-Diez Raul R. , Tejera-Muñoz Antonio , Marchant Vanessa , Sanz Ana B. , Ortiz Alberto , Goldschmeding Roel , Ruiz-Ortega Marta
Published: June 2021

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is more frequent in elderly patients. Mechanisms contributing to AKI (tubular cell death, inflammatory cell infiltration, impaired mitochondrial function, and prolonged cell-cycle arrest) have been linked to cellular senescence, a process implicated in regeneration failure and progression to fibrosis. However, the molecular and pathological basis of the age-related increase in AKI incidence is not completely understood. To explore these mechanisms, experimental AKI was induced by folic acid (FA) administration in young (3-months-old) and old (1-year-old) mice, and kidneys were evaluated in the early phase of AKI, at 48 h. Tubular damage score, KIM-1 expression, the recruitment of infiltrating immune cells (mainly neutrophils and macrophages) and proinflammatory gene expression were higher in AKI kidneys of old than of young mice. Tubular cell death in FA-AKI involves several pathways, such as regulated necrosis and apoptosis. Ferroptosis and necroptosis cell-death pathways were upregulated in old AKI kidneys. In contrast, caspase-3 activation was only found in young but not in old mice. Moreover, the antiapoptotic factor BCL-xL was significantly overexpressed in old, injured kidneys, suggesting an age-related apoptosis suppression. AKI kidneys displayed evidence of cellular senescence, such as increased levels of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p16ink4a and p21cip1, and of the DNA damage response marker γH2AX. Furthermore, p21cip1 mRNA expression and nuclear staining for p21cip1 and γH2AX were higher in old than in young FA-AKI mice, as well as the expression of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) components (Il-6, Tgfb1, Ctgf, and Serpine1). Interestingly, some infiltrating immune cells were p21 or γH2AX positive, suggesting that molecular senescence in the immune cells (“immunosenescence”) are involved in the increased severity of AKI in old mice. In contrast, expression of renal protective factors was dramatically downregulated in old AKI mice, including the antiaging factor Klotho and the mitochondrial biogenesis driver PGC-1α. In conclusion, aging resulted in more severe AKI after the exposure to toxic compounds. This increased toxicity may be related to magnification of proinflammatory-related pathways in older mice, including a switch to a proinflammatory cell death (necroptosis) instead of apoptosis, and overactivation of cellular senescence of resident renal cells and infiltrating inflammatory cells.
Toward an Individual Binaural Loudness Model for Hearing Aid Fitting and Development
Authors: Pieper Iko , Mauermann Manfred , Kollmeier Birger , Ewert Stephan D.
Published: June 2021

The individual loudness perception of a patient plays an important role in hearing aid satisfaction and use in daily life. Hearing aid fitting and development might benefit from individualized loudness models (ILMs), enabling better adaptation of the processing to individual needs. The central question is whether additional parameters are required for ILMs beyond non-linear cochlear gain loss and linear attenuation common to existing loudness models for the hearing impaired (HI). Here, loudness perception in eight normal hearing (NH) and eight HI listeners was measured in conditions ranging from monaural narrowband to binaural broadband, to systematically assess spectral and binaural loudness summation and their interdependence. A binaural summation stage was devised with empirical monaural loudness judgments serving as input. While NH showed binaural inhibition in line with the literature, binaural summation and its inter-subject variability were increased in HI, indicating the necessity for individualized binaural summation. Toward ILMs, a recent monaural loudness model was extended with the suggested binaural stage, and the number and type of additional parameters required to describe and to predict individual loudness were assessed. In addition to one parameter for the individual amount of binaural summation, a bandwidth-dependent monaural parameter was required to successfully account for individual spectral summation.
The Impact of Gender, Nativeness, and Subject Matter on the English as a Second Language University Students’ Perception of Instructor Credibility and Engagement: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Rezvani Reza , Miri Parisa
Published: June 2021

In instructional contexts, instructor credibility or ethos is deemed to play a paramount role in teacher–student interaction and relationships. Much effort has been devoted to instructor credibility conceptualization, measurement, and its association with other instructional variables of interest in dominantly quantitative inquiries. However, little research has been undertaken in second-language education in which communication is both a means and an end. This qualitative research set out to explore the perception of the students of instructor credibility in the context of higher English education and how gender, nativeness, and subject matter might impact their perceptions. It also aimed to study how instructor credibility could, in turn, influence the engagement and success of the students. Thirteen senior students of English as a foreign language from a university in Iran participated in this study. They were given a scenario about their prospective professors for two courses of “Research Methodology” and “Essay Writing.” The professors included four native English- and Persian-speaking male and female PhD holders. The participants were, then, interviewed about their perceptions of instructor credibility, their choices of instructors, and how they would affect their engagement. The data were recorded, transcribed, and recursively analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis. While instructor credibility is commonly characterized as a three-dimensional construct, involving competence, character, and caring, the data analysis generated a new component of performance concerned with the effectiveness of classroom knowledge presentation and activity organization. Caring also emerged as a constituent of a more inclusive component of rapport. Interestingly, albeit they viewed native English professors as generally more competent due to their nativeness, they perceived non-native professors as more credible for both courses, mainly because of their rapport building and familiarity with the needs and challenges of the students. Most of the participants also viewed male professors as more competent and communicative for both courses. The participants also tended to argue that perceived instructor credibility would encourage them to put in more effort in their academic undertakings and to engage in class activities. This would ultimately enhance their academic achievements and success. The paper discusses the findings and implications for second-language instructor credibility conceptualization and practice.
Novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Method for Accurate Diagnosis of Meniere's Disease
Authors: Ito Taeko , Inoue Takashi , Inui Hiroshi , Miyasaka Toshiteru , Yamanaka Toshiaki , Kichikawa Kimihiko , Takeda Noriaki , Kasahara Masato , Kitahara Tadashi , Naganawa Shinji
Published: June 2021

Background: Pathologically, Meniere's disease symptoms are considered to be associated with endolymphatic hydrops. Examinations revealing endolymphatic hydrops can be useful for accurate Meniere's disease diagnosis. We previously reported a quantitative method for evaluating endolymphatic hydrops, i.e., by measuring the volume of the endolymphatic space using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the inner ear. This study aimed to confirm the usefulness of our methods for diagnosing Meniere's disease. Here, we extracted new explanatory factors for diagnosing Meniere's disease by comparing the volume of the endolymphatic space between healthy volunteers and patients with Meniere's disease. Additionally, we validated our method by comparing its diagnostic accuracy with that of the conventional method.

Methods and Findings: This is a prospective diagnostic accuracy study performed at vertigo/dizziness centre of our university hospital, a tertiary hospital. Eighty-six patients with definite unilateral Meniere's disease and 47 healthy volunteers (25 and 33 males, and 22 and 53 females in the control and patient groups, respectively) were enrolled. All participants underwent 3-Tesla MRI 4 h after intravenous injection of gadolinium to reveal the endolymphatic space. The volume of the endolymphatic space was measured and a model for Meniere's disease diagnosis was constructed and compared with models using conventional criteria to confirm the effectiveness of the methods used. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the method proposed in this study was excellent (0.924), and significantly higher than that derived using the conventional criteria (0.877). The four indices, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value, were given at the threshold; all of these indices achieved higher scores for the 3D model compared to the 2D model. Cross-validation of the models revealed that the improvement was due to the incorporation of the semi-circular canals.

Conclusions: Our method showed high diagnostic accuracy for Meniere's disease. Additionally, we revealed the importance of observing the semi-circular canals for Meniere's disease diagnosis. The proposed method can contribute toward providing effective symptomatic relief in Meniere's disease.
Sperm Functional Genome Associated With Bull Fertility
Authors: Özbek Memmet , Hitit Mustafa , Kaya Abdullah , Jousan Frank Dean , Memili Erdogan
Published: June 2021

Bull fertility is an important economic trait in sustainable cattle production, as infertile or subfertile bulls give rise to large economic losses. Current methods to assess bull fertility are tedious and not totally accurate. The massive collection of functional data analyses, including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics, helps researchers generate extensive knowledge to better understand the unraveling physiological mechanisms underlying subpar male fertility. This review focuses on the sperm phenomes of the functional genome and epigenome that are associated with bull fertility. Findings from multiple sources were integrated to generate new knowledge that is transferable to applied andrology. Diverse methods encompassing analyses of molecular and cellular dynamics in the fertility-associated molecules and conventional sperm parameters can be considered an effective approach to determine bull fertility for efficient and sustainable cattle production. In addition to gene expression information, we also provide methodological information, which is important for the rigor and reliability of the studies. Fertility is a complex trait influenced by several factors and has low heritability, although heritability of scrotal circumference is high and that it is a known fertility maker. There is a need for new knowledge on the expression levels and functions of sperm RNA, proteins, and metabolites. The new knowledge can shed light on additional fertility markers that can be used in combination with scrotal circumference to predict the fertility of breeding bulls. This review provides a comprehensive review of sperm functional characteristics or phenotypes associated with bull fertility.
Metabolome-Microbiome Responses of Growing Pigs Induced by Time-Restricted Feeding
Authors: Wang Hongyu , Xia Pengke , Lu Zhiyang , Su Yong , Zhu Weiyun
Published: June 2021

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) mode is a potential strategy in improving the health and production of farm animals. However, the effect of TRF on microbiota and their metabolism in the large intestine of the host remains unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the responses of microbiome and metabolome induced by TRF based on a growing-pig model. Twelve crossbred growing barrows were randomly allotted into two groups with six replicates (1 pig/pen), namely, the free-access feeding group (FA) and TRF group. Pigs in the FA group were fed free access while the TRF group were fed free access within a regular time three times per day at 07:00–08:00, 12:00–13:00, and 18:00–19:00, respectively. Results showed that the concentrations of NH4-N, putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine, total biogenic amines, isobutyrate, butyrate, isovalerate, total SCFA, and lactate were increased while the pH value in the colonic digesta and the concentration of acetate was decreased in the TRF group. The Shannon index was significantly increased in the TRF group; however, no significant effects were found in the Fisher index, Simpson index, ACE index, Chao1 index, and observed species between the two groups. In the TRF group, the relative abundances of Prevotella 1 and Eubacterium ruminantium group were significantly increased while the relative abundances of Clostridium sensu sticto 1, Lactobacillus, and Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group were decreased compared with the FA group. PLS-DA analysis revealed an obvious and regular variation between the FA and TRF groups, further pathway enrichment analysis showed that these differential features were mainly enriched in pyrimidine metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, and fructose and mannose metabolism. In addition, Pearson's correlation analysis indicated that the changes in the microbial genera were correlated with the colonic metabolites. In conclusion, these results together indicated that although the overall microbial composition in the colon was not changed, TRF induced the gradient changes of the nutrients and metabolites which were correlated with certain microbial genera including Lactobacillus, Eubacterium_ruminantium group, Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group, Prevotella 1, and Clostridium sensu sticto 1. However, more studies are needed to understand the impacts of TRF on the health and metabolism of growing pigs.
Improved Sliding Mode-Active Disturbance Rejection Control of Electromagnetic Linear Actuator for Direct-Drive System
Authors: Lu Yingtao , Tan Cao , Ge Wenqing , Li Bo , Lu Jiayu
Published: June 2021

The electromagnetic linear actuator is used as the core drive unit to achieve high precision and high response in the direct-drive actuation system. In order to improve the response performance and control accuracy of the linear drive unit, an improved sliding mode-active disturbance rejection control (ISM-ADRC) method was proposed. A motor model was established based on improved LuGre dynamic friction. The position loop adopts the improved integral traditional sliding mode control based on an extended state observer, and the current loop adopts PI control. The stability of the system is verified based on the Lyapunov theory. A nonlinear dilated state observer is used to effectively observe the electromagnetic linear actuator position and velocity information while estimating and compensating the internal and external uncertainty perturbations. At the same time, the saturation function sat(s) is used to replace the sign(s) and introduce the power function of the displacement error variable. The improved integral sliding mode control law further improves the response speed and control accuracy of the controller while reducing the jitter inherent in the conventional sliding mode. Simulation and experimental data show that the proposed improved sliding mode-active disturbance rejection control reduces the 8-mm step response time of the electromagnetic linear actuator by 21.9% and the steady-state error by less than 0.01 mm compared with the conventional sliding-mode control, while the system has 49.4% less adjustment time for abrupt load changes and is more robust to different loads and noise.
Genomic Epidemiology of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from the Livestock-Food-Human Interface in South America
Authors: Galarce Nicolás , Sánchez Fernando , Escobar Beatriz , Lapierre Lisette , Cornejo Javiera , Alegría-Morán Raúl , Neira Víctor , Martínez Víctor , Johnson Timothy , Fuentes-Castillo Danny , Sano Elder , Lincopan Nilton
Published: June 2021

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are zoonotic pathogens responsible for causing food-borne diseases in humans. While South America has the highest incidence of human STEC infections, information about the genomic characteristics of the circulating strains is scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze genomic data of STEC strains isolated in South America from cattle, beef, and humans; predicting the antibiotic resistome, serotypes, sequence types (STs), clonal complexes (CCs) and phylogenomic backgrounds. A total of 130 whole genome sequences of STEC strains were analyzed, where 39.2% were isolated from cattle, 36.9% from beef, and 23.8% from humans. The ST11 was the most predicted (20.8%) and included O-:H7 (10.8%) and O157:H7 (10%) serotypes. The successful expansion of non-O157 clones such as ST16/CC29-O111:H8 and ST21/CC29-O26:H11 is highlighted, suggesting multilateral trade and travel. Virulome analyses showed that the predominant stx subtype was stx2a (54.6%); most strains carried ehaA (96.2%), iha (91.5%) and lpfA (77.7%) genes. We present genomic data that can be used to support the surveillance of STEC strains circulating at the livestock-food-human interface in South America, in order to control the spread of critical clones “from farm to table”.
Environmental Streptococcus uberis Associated with Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows: Virulence Traits, Antimicrobial and Biocide Resistance, and Epidemiological Typing
Authors: Abd El-Aziz Norhan K. , Ammar Ahmed M. , El Damaty Hend M. , Abd Elkader Rehab A. , Saad Hosam A. , El-Kazzaz Waleed , Khalifa Eman
Published: June 2021

Mastitis remains a serious problem for dairy animals. The misappropriation of antimicrobial agents helps accelerate resistance, which poses a serious challenge in controlling environmental S. uberis infection. Here, we study the virulence attributes, antimicrobial and biocide resistance, and epidemiological typing of S. uberis recovered from bovine clinical mastitis in dairy farms of diverse hygienic interventions in Egypt. The overall S. uberis infection rate was 20.59%; all were multidrug-resistant (MDR). The sua gene was the most frequent virulence gene (42.02%), followed by pauA (40.57%), cfu (21.73%), skc (20.28%), and opp (11.59%). The erm(B) gene served as the predominant antimicrobial-resistant gene (75.36%), followed by fexA (52.63%) and tet(M), blaZ, and aac(6′)aph(2″) genes (46.38% each). Of note, 79.71%, 78.26%, and 18.84% of S. uberis isolates harbored qacED1, qacC/D, and qacA/B genes, respectively. All analyzed isolates were S. uberis type I by their unique RFLP–PCR pattern. In conclusion, the sustained presence of pauA and sua genes throughout the investigated farms contributes to a better understanding of the bacterium’s pathogenicity. Furthermore, MDR coupled with the existence of biocide resistance genes indicates the importance of S. uberis surveillance and the prudent use of antimicrobials in veterinary clinical medicine to avoid the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.
Gastrocnemius Muscle Structural and Functional Changes Associated with Domestication in the Turkey
Authors: Stover Kristin K. , Sleboda David A. , Brainerd Elizabeth L. , Roberts Thomas J.
Published: June 2021

Selection for increased muscle mass in domestic turkeys has resulted in muscles twice the size of those found in wild turkeys. This study characterizes muscle structural changes as well as functional differences in muscle performance associated with selection for increased muscle mass. We compared peak isometric force production, whole muscle and individual fiber cross-sectional area (CSA), connective tissue collagen concentration and structure of the lateral gastrocnemius (LG) muscle in wild and adult domestic turkeys. We also explored changes with age between juvenile and adult domestic turkeys. We found that the domestic turkey’s LG muscle can produce the same force per cross-sectional area as a wild turkey; however, due to scaling, domestic adults produce less force per unit body mass. Domestic turkey muscle fibers were slightly smaller in CSA (3802 ± 2223 μm2) than those of the wild turkey (4014 ± 1831 μm2, p = 0.013), indicating that the absolutely larger domestic turkey muscles are a result of an increased number of smaller fibers. Collagen concentration in domestic turkey muscle (4.19 ± 1.58 μg hydroxyproline/mg muscle) was significantly lower than in the wild turkeys (6.23 ± 0.63 μg/mg, p = 0.0275), with visible differences in endomysium texture, observed via scanning electron microscopy. Selection for increased muscle mass has altered the structure of the LG muscle; however, scaling likely contributes more to hind limb functional differences observed in the domestic turkey.
Molecular Identification and Antibacterial Activity Analysis of Blue Fox (Vulpes lagopus) β-Defensins 108 and 122
Authors: Li Ling-Ling , Liu Tao-Lin , Wu Ping , Du Nian-Yan , Tian Li-Hong , Hou Zhi-Jun
Published: June 2021

The blue fox (Vulpes lagopus), a fur-bearing animal, is an important component of the breeding industry in China. Semen quality is a key factor for the reproductive process and the breeding effectiveness of the farmed blue fox. However, bacterial contamination in semen samples utilized in artificial fertilization is very common. The β-defensins, a class of important antimicrobial peptides in mammals, could protect the reproductive system of male animals from bacterial invasion, maintain the stability of the genital tract microenvironment and improve semen quality. In this study, molecular cloning and bioinformatics analysis were conducted to analyze the protein structure and function of blue fox β-defensin 108 (Vulpes lagopus beta-defensin 108, vBD108) and 122 (Vulpes lagopus beta-defensin 122, vBD122). To evaluate the bacteriostatic effect of recombinant vBDs (Vulpes lagopus beta-defensins) protein, varying concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100, 200 µg/mL) were taken to evaluate the effects on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at different times (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 h). The results showed that vBD108 and vBD122 existed in different forms in protein structure and had antibacterial activity. Both proteins, at 50 µg/mL, had efficacious bacteriostatic activity. This study shows that recombinant vBD108 and vBD122 proteins have good antibacterial activity in vitro. This implies a potential role in improving semen quality and hygienic measures in the process of artificial insemination as an extender of semen dilution with antibacterial activity.
Higher PD-L1 Immunohistochemical Detection Signal in Frozen Compared to Matched Paraffin-Embedded Formalin-Fixed Tissues
Authors: Ghebeh Hazem , Mansour Fatmah A. , Colak Dilek , Alfuraydi Akram A. , Al-Thubiti Amal A. , Monies Dorota , Al-Alwan Monther , Al-Tweigeri Taher , Tulbah Asma
Published: June 2021

Purpose: Response to anti-PD-L1/PD-1 immunotherapy correlates with PD-L1 expression in breast cancer. However, the prevalence of PD-L1 positive breast cancer is variable, which could be due to differences in the population/cohort of patients tested or the preservation/detection technology used. To investigate this variability, we examined the effect of two tissue preservation methods on PD-L1 immunohistochemical detection in breast cancer. Methods: We compared PD-L1 expression in patient-matched frozen (FR) and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues of breast cancer patients. PD-L1 expression was assessed using tumor proportion score (TPS, simply PD-L1 score), and case positivity was determined with PD-L1 score ≥5. Results: In FFPE tissues, PD-L1 was positive in 7–10% of tested patients, depending on the antibody used. In patient-matched FR tissues, the same antibodies showed positive PD-L1 expression in 20–30% of cases. The impact of the antibody tested on the rate of PD-L1 positivity (% of PDL1 positive cases) was minor, as evident in the near perfect concordance between PD-L1 score obtained using the different antibodies whether tested in FR or FFPE tissues. However, there was a systematic drop by an average of 13–20% in the PD-L1 score obtained in FFPE tissues compared to their patient-matched FR tissues. Conclusions: In the tested patient-matched cohort, there was consistently a higher PD-L1 score in FR than FFPE tissues, regardless of the antibody used, demonstrating a significant effect on PD-L1 detection due to the preservation method. These findings should inspire further work to improve the sensitivity of PD-L1 detection and possibly search for more sensitive antibodies in FFPE tissues.
Microfluidic Tools for Enhanced Characterization of Therapeutic Stem Cells and Prediction of Their Potential Antimicrobial Secretome
Authors: Marrazzo Pasquale , Pizzuti Valeria , Zia Silvia , Sargenti Azzurra , Gazzola Daniele , Roda Barbara , Bonsi Laura , Alviano Francesco
Published: June 2021

Antibiotic resistance is creating enormous attention on the development of new antibiotic-free therapy strategies for bacterial diseases. Mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSCs) are the most promising candidates in current clinical trials and included in several cell-therapy protocols. Together with the well-known immunomodulatory and regenerative potential of the MSC secretome, these cells have shown direct and indirect anti-bacterial effects. However, the low reproducibility and standardization of MSCs from different sources are the current limitations prior to the purification of cell-free secreted antimicrobial peptides and exosomes. In order to improve MSC characterization, novel label-free functional tests, evaluating the biophysical properties of the cells, will be advantageous for their cell profiling, population sorting, and quality control. We discuss the potential of emerging microfluidic technologies providing new insights into density, shape, and size of live cells, starting from heterogeneous or 3D cultured samples. The prospective application of these technologies to studying MSC populations may contribute to developing new biopharmaceutical strategies with a view to naturally overcoming bacterial defense mechanisms.
Rhamnolipids Nano-Micelles as a Potential Hand Sanitizer
Authors: Bakkar Marwa Reda , Faraag Ahmed Hassan Ibrahim , Soliman Elham R. S. , Fouda Manar S. , Sarguos Amir Mahfouz Mokhtar , McLean Gary R. , Hebishy Ali M. S. , Elkhouly Gehad E. , Raya Nermeen R. , Abo-zeid Yasmin
Published: June 2021

COVID-19 is a pandemic disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2, which continues to cause global health and economic problems since emerging in China in late 2019. Until now, there are no standard antiviral treatments. Thus, several strategies were adopted to minimize virus transmission, such as social distancing, face covering protection and hand hygiene. Rhamnolipids are glycolipids produced formally by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and as biosurfactants, they were shown to have broad antimicrobial activity. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of rhamnolipids against selected multidrug resistant bacteria and SARS-CoV-2. Rhamnolipids were produced by growing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain LeS3 in a new medium formulated from chicken carcass soup. The isolated rhamnolipids were characterized for their molecular composition, formulated into nano-micelles, and the antibacterial activity of the nano-micelles was demonstrated in vitro against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive drug resistant bacteria. In silico studies docking rhamnolipids to structural and non-structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 was also performed. We demonstrated the efficient and specific interaction of rhamnolipids with the active sites of these proteins. Additionally, the computational studies suggested that rhamnolipids have membrane permeability activity. Thus, the obtained results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 could be another target of rhamnolipids and could find utility in the fight against COVID-19, a future perspective to be considered.