bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A novel quantum neural network based on multi-level activation function
Authors: Niu Xu-Feng , Ma Wen-Ping
Published: January 2021

Since the multi-level activation function quantum neural network (QNN) for pattern recognition was firstly proposed by Purushothaman and Karayiannis, more and more researches have been conducted on improving it. However, they all ignore that the QNN only uses multi-level activation function to simulate the concept of quantum superposition rather than really using quantum computing. In this paper, we propose a real QNN model based on multi-layer activation function. In addition, we present algorithms for updating weight parameters and quantum intervals, and also improve the learning algorithm for weight parameters using famous Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. We also use the QNN for lie detection, and the simulation results of MATLAB prove that the performance of the model based on the corresponding algorithm are very strong.
Dual-wavelength filamentation with a fraction of fundamental laser frequency as a wideband THz source
Authors: Nikolaeva I A , Shipilo D E , Panov N A , Kosareva O G
Published: January 2021

We study the generation of terahertz (THz) radiation from a dual-color filament in air for a Ti:sapphire pump and with different wavelengths of the seed pulse using the unidirectional pulse propagation equation (UPPE). The local transient photocurrent model indicates that the most efficient THz generation corresponds to the seed with either halved or doubled pump frequency compared with the other seed frequencies studied. However, UPPE simulations reveal the crucial decrease in the effective interaction area of the pump and the seed pulses in the case of lower-frequency seeds, due to the strong diffraction of the seed radiation on the plasma obstacle formed by the pump pulse. As the result, the energy of THz radiation drops from 260 nJ for the double frequency to 7 nJ for the halved one.
Crystallization evolution and relaxation behavior of high entropy bulk metallic glasses using microalloying process
Authors: Li Danhong , Jiang Changyong , Li Hui , Pandey Mahander
Published: January 2021

The role of the microalloying process in relaxation behavior and crystallization evolution of Zr20Cu20Ni20Ti20Hf20 high entropy bulk metallic glass (HEBMG) was investigated. We selected Al and Nb elements as minor elements, which led to the negative and positive effects on the heat of mixing in the master HEBMG composition, respectively. According to the results, both elements intensified β relaxation in the structure; however, α relaxation remained stable. By using different frequencies in dynamic mechanical analysis, it was revealed that the activation energy of β relaxation for the Nb-added sample was much higher, which was due to the creation of significant structural heterogeneity under the microalloying process. Moreover, it was found that Nb addition led to a diversity in crystallization stages at the supercooled liquid region. It was suggested that the severe structural heterogeneity in the Nb-added sample provided multiple energy-level sites in the structure for enhancing the crystallization stages.
Calculations of atomic polarizability for beryllium using MCDHF method*
Authors: Dong Hui , Jiang Jun , Wu Zhongwen , Dong Chenzhong , Gaigalas Gediminas
Published: January 2021

Based on the fully relativistic multiconfiguration Dirac–Hartree–Fock (MCDHF) method and the corresponding program package GRASP2018, a new program for calculating the polarizabilities is developed. As the first application, the static electric-dipole polarizabilities of the ground state 2s2
1
S
0 and excited state 2s2p 3
P
0 of beryllium are calculated. By means of these polarizabilities, the blackbody radiation (BBR) shift of the 2s2p 3
P
0 → 2s2
1
S
0 clock transition is determined. The present results agree very well with other available theoretical results.
Constructing reduced model for complex physical systems via interpolation and neural networks*
Authors: Lai Xuefang , Wang Xiaolong , Nie Yufeng
Published: January 2021

The work studies model reduction method for nonlinear systems based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM). Instead of using the classical DEIM to directly approximate the nonlinear term of a system, our approach extracts the main part of the nonlinear term with a linear approximation before approximating the residual with the DEIM. We construct the linear term by Taylor series expansion and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), respectively, so as to obtain a more accurate reconstruction of the nonlinear term. In addition, a novel error prediction model is devised for the POD-DEIM reduced systems by employing neural networks with the aid of error data. The error model is cheaply computable and can be adopted as a remedy model to enhance the reduction accuracy. Finally, numerical experiments are performed on two nonlinear problems to show the performance of the proposed method.
Effective Hamiltonian of the Jaynes–Cummings model beyond rotating-wave approximation*
Authors: Wang Yi-Fan , Yin Hong-Hao , Yang Ming-Yue , Ji An-Chun , Sun Qing
Published: January 2021

The Jaynes–Cummings model with or without rotating-wave approximation plays a major role to study the interaction between atom and light. We investigate the Jaynes–Cummings model beyond the rotating-wave approximation. Treating the counter-rotating terms as periodic drivings, we solve the model in the extended Floquet space. It is found that the full energy spectrum folded in the quasi-energy bands can be described by an effective Hamiltonian derived in the high-frequency regime. In contrast to the Z
2 symmetry of the original model, the effective Hamiltonian bears an enlarged U(1) symmetry with a unique photon-dependent atom-light detuning and coupling strength. We further analyze the energy spectrum, eigenstate fidelity and mean photon number of the resultant polaritons, which are shown to be in accordance with the numerical simulations in the extended Floquet space up to an ultra-strong coupling regime and are not altered significantly for a finite atom-light detuning. Our results suggest that the effective model provides a good starting point to investigate the rich physics brought by counter-rotating terms in the frame of Floquet theory.
The phase diagram of ultra quantum liquids
Authors: Son Dam Thanh , Stephanov Mikhail , Yee Ho-Ung
Published: January 2021

We discuss the dependence of the phase diagram of a hypothetical isotope of helium with nuclear mass less than 4 atomic mass units. We argue that with decreasing nucleus mass, the temperature of the superfluid phase transition (about 2.2 K in real 4He) increases, while that of the liquid–gas critical point (about 5.2 K in real 4He) decreases. We discuss various scenarios that may occur when the two temperatures approach each other and the order parameters of the superfluid and the liquid–gas phase transitions interact with each other. The simplest scenario, in which both order parameters become critical at particular values of the nuclear mass, temperature, and pressure, can be ruled out through on an analysis of the Landau theory. We argue that in the most likely scenario, as the nuclear mass decreases, first, a tricritical point appears on the line separating the superfluid and the normal fluid phase, then the critical point disappears under the first-order part of superfluid phase transition line, and in the end the tricritical point disappears. The last change in the phase diagram occurs when the two-body scattering length crosses zero, which corresponds to the nuclear mass of about 1.55 u. We develop a quantitative theory that allows one to determine the phase diagram in the vicinity of this point. Finally, we discuss several ways to physically realize such liquids.
Typical relaxation of perturbed quantum many-body systems
Authors: Dabelow Lennart , Reimann Peter
Published: January 2021

We substantially extend our relaxation theory for perturbed many-body quantum systems from ((2020) Phys. Rev. Lett.
124 120602) by establishing an analytical prediction for the time-dependent observable expectation values which depends on only two characteristic parameters of the perturbation operator: its overall strength and its range or band width. Compared to the previous theory, a significantly larger range of perturbation strengths is covered. The results are obtained within a typicality framework by solving the pertinent random matrix problem exactly for a certain class of banded perturbations and by demonstrating the (approximative) universality of these solutions, which allows us to adopt them to considerably more general classes of perturbations. We also verify the prediction by comparison with several numerical examples.
Application of soft regularized markov clustering for analyzing protein-protein interaction in sars-cov-2 and other related coronavirus
Authors: Pratiwi S A , Bustamam A , Sarwinda D
Published: January 2021

Covid-19 is a global disease that has already infected people in the various parts of the world with increasing cases each day. So far, there has been around 20 million cases of Covid-19 that have occurred around the world. Furthermore, a lot of research has been conducted to overcome and cure this disease. One of the studies was uses protein-protein interactions (PPI) in Sars-Cov-2 and other coronavirus to analyze the interactions on the virus which can be used to find out more about how this virus interacts with each other. In this study, we used Markov Clustering (MCL) to analyze this virus. There are many variations of Markov Clustering that have been used in various studies, one of the variations that used in this study is Soft Regularized Markov Clustering (SR-MCL). This model is used to ensure that modules on protein interactions do not overlap and can be used for better analysis. The result shows that SR-MCL can be used to determine the cluster from PPI of Sars-Cov-2 and the other related coronavirus.
Classification of rice leaf diseases using artificial neural network
Authors: Gunawan P A , Kencana E N , Sari K
Published: January 2021

Rice is one of the important food crops for humans. The yield of this crop is affected by several factors, one of them is climate change. The irregularities of climate can cause the crops were infected by various diseases. By knowing the diseases through its unusual characteristics, fast remedial actions could be expected. The purpose of this essay is to find the best artificial neural network (ANN) architecture in classifying brown spot and leaf smut diseases on rice crops, two common types of diseases attack rice plant, based on the leaf images. Two features of rice leaf images i.e. shape and color were extracted to classify both diseases. The result of this research demonstrated the best ANN architecture to classify the diseases is the architecture with 4 neurons in the input layer, 5 neurons in one single hidden layer, and one neuron in the output layer. This architecture has accuracy as much as 66.3 percent.
Sentiment analysis towards Jokowi`s government using twitter data with convolutional neural network method
Authors: Tsaniya H , Rosadi R , Abdullah A S
Published: January 2021

In this current digital era, internet has become commonly uses in the society, it become an important aspect in life, one of its function are as a communication platform and channel for public opinion. In which utilize social media platforms. Indonesia really active in communication and conveyor expression using social media. In such a way that indonesia’s government takes advantage of it as a way to communicate and get feedback from indonesian people. In this research, as jokowi lead his second periode as a president of indonesian’s government, we try to see how indonesian sentiment toward his leadership. Using Convolutional Neural Network method from 7228 row data crawled from twitter obtained 38% positive sentiment, 51% negative sentiment, and 18% neutral sentiment. Overall we have 57% prediction accuracy using CNN model.
Global stability of varicella model
Authors: Nugraha E S , Hidayat D
Published: January 2021

Varicella is a disease caused by the varicella-zooster virus. This disease is common in children under 10 years of age and is not a fatal condition. However, some cases of varicella in adults are more dangerous because they can cause pneumonia. Here, discussion about analysis of varicella epidemic model is presented. This model is expressed in the form of 6th order differential equation with state variables as follows susceptible, exposed, infected, quarantine, recovered, and vaccination. Apart vaccination and isolation intervention, this model also consider disinfectant spray an¡d ventilation. Our analysis shows that varicella dynamic behavior depends on the basic reproduction number (R
0). The model has two equilibria, namely, free disease and endemic equilibria. By using the Lyapunov function, we demonstrate that when R
0 ≤1, disease-free is globally asymptotically stable, and when R
0
> 1 disease-free becomes unstable while endemic is globally asymptotically stable. This results indicate more effective each intervention, the better the control of varicella.
Effects of reactive nitrogen gases on the aerosol formation in Beijing from late autumn to early spring
Authors: Wen Zhang , Xu Wen , Pan Xingyi , Han Mengjuan , Wang Chen , Benedict Katie , Tang Aohan , Collett Jr Jeffrey Lee , Liu Xuejun
Published: January 2021

To investigate the formation and evolution mechanism of haze pollution in Beijing cold days, we measured reactive nitrogen gases (e.g. NH3 and HNO3), SO2 and major water-soluble inorganic ions of PM2.5 simultaneously in a two-year (from November to April) study. We found that NH3 and NO3
− have the highest concentrations among the gaseous precursors and inorganic components of PM2.5, respectively. The total NH
x
(gaseous NH3 and particle NH4
+) was mostly in excess the need to neutralize acid compounds. During the whole study period, the aerosol pH with an average value of 4.05. From normal period into haze episodes, the aerosol pH tends to decrease and the concentration of all species (gases and particles) increases. Meanwhile, declined gas fractions exhibited that enhanced partitioning from HNO3, NH3 and SO2 to their corresponding particle phases. Under the heavy haze period, most HNO3 (79%) has entered into NO3
−, about 41% NH3 remaining as free NH3, while only about 51% of SO2 has been oxidized to SO4
2−, implying the severe Nr pollution in atmosphere of Beijing in winter. Further analysis shows relative humidity (RH) plays an important driving role on the SNA (sulfate (SO4
2−), nitrate (NO3
−), ammonium (NH4
+)) formation and particulate NO3
− formed at a relatively low RH (20%–60%) and SO4
2− at a high RH (40%–80%). Thus, synchronized abatement of multi-pollutants emissions especially for NH3 emission reduction at a regional scale is necessary for mitigating megacities ambient PM2.5 pollution and achieving the UN sustainable development goal through improving N use efficiency in agriculture.
Induced plant immunity as a factor of an integrated winter wheat disease protection system
Authors: Michno L A , Schutko A P , Tuturzhans L V
Published: January 2021

The study deals with the system of integrated protection of winter wheat against phytopathogenic organisms. This includes the use of quaternary ammonium compounds combined with nanosilver in two stages: 1) pre-sowing treatment of seeds with the tank mixture of fungicide (difenoconazole + cyproconazole) and didecyldimethylammonium bromide enriched by nanosilver (0.15 %); 2) spraying of plants with immunity inducer at the end of the tillering – the beginning of booting. The leading role both in terms of protection and yield capacity belongs to early spring spraying with didecyldimethylammonium bromide enriched by nanosilver (0.3 %). This technique allowed obtaining the biological yield of winter wheat equal to 9.52 t/ha.
Effectiveness of polyfunctional microbial preparations in growing Pisum sativum L. in the South of Russia
Authors: Didovich S V , Ptashnik O P , Pashtetskiy V S
Published: January 2021

The possibility of obtaining high yields of pea (Pisum sativum L.) with bacterial pre-sowing treatment without the use of mineral fertilizers in the steppe zone of the Crimea was shown. Effectiveness of microbial preparations in unfavorable climatic conditions in 2015, 2017 and favorable conditions in 2016 in the steppe zone of the Crimea was determined. On average, for 2015-2017, the use of pre-sowing treatment with Cyano-rhizobial consortium was provided a significant increase in 1000 seeds weight by 18.92 g (8.7%) compared to the variant with a mineral fertilizer Amophos (Duncan’s test, p = 0.000053). Application of polyfunctional complex Rhizobofit + Phosfoenterin + Biopolicyd and Cyano-rhizobial consortium contributed to a significant increase in seed yield by 0.14-0.16 t/ha (5.47-6.257%) compared to a mineral fertilizer Amophos (Duncan’s test, p = 0.000077; p = 0.000226). These preparations are recommended for growing pea in the steppe zone of the Crimea.
Biotechnology for the production of Iris spuria L. plant material with a specified content of extractives
Authors: Tikhomirova L I , Ponomareva J V
Published: January 2021

The study was aimed at the establishment of stock plant material of Iris spuria L. (Art And Soul) through biotechnological methods and its primary phytochemical analysis. For the first time, a series of studies aimed at multiplying plant materials Iris spuria L. (Art And Soul) resulted in the development of culture media and cultivation schemes. In the stage of micropropagation as such, the most optimal content in culture media was found to be 2.5-5.0 µm BAP. To ensure a more complete realization of morphogenetic potentials, it is necessary to alternate phytohormone and hormone-free media. In this case, L-glutamine and adenine sulfate should be added to hormone-free media in the amount of 100 mg/l (MS+100 mg/l L-glutamine+100 mg/l adenine sulfate). Qualitative and quantitative compositions of extractives removed in a Soxhlet apparatus from the technological plant material of Iris spuria depends on the solvent polarity. The amount of extractives increases with accelerated solvent polarity (96% ethanol → 60% ethanol → water). In this case, phenols, condensed and hydrolyzable tannins, alkaloids, glycosides were extracted. The study proves the relationship between the accumulation of quercetin and the hormonal composition of culture media, which allows for the regulation of these polyphenols being accumulated in the production of the plant material of Iris spuria L. (Art And Soul).
Developing a technology for ground meat low-fat semi-products
Authors: Danyliv M M , Vasilenko O A , Ozherelyeva O N , Stanislavskaya E B
Published: January 2021

In this research work, a method of technology for ground meat products with a low fat content is presented. The authors studied the market of ground meat semi-finished products of the Voronezh region (Russia). The analysis showed that 43.75 % of the sold semi-products contain no more than 15 % of fat, 20.83 % contain no more than 15–20 % of fat, 16.67 % – 20–25 %, 14.58 – 25–30 %, 4.17 % – 40 %. Using mathematical modeling, the recipes for new ground semi-finished products were developed and their desirability function was determined, which amounted to 0.94 for Domashnie legkie rissoles, 1.04 for Babushkiny plus rissoles, and 0.86 for Govyazhii dieticheskie (beef diet) rissoles, which is within normal limits. The study of the fatty acid composition of the fat from the produced rissoles showed a shift in the balance of fatty acids towards unsaturated ones and an increase in the omega 3-6-9 complex by 7.7 %.
Changes in humus content in forest-steppe soils of Western Siberia
Authors: Bobrenko I A , Matveychik O A , Bobrenko E G , Popova V I
Published: January 2021

The research is based on the results of local monitoring in 1990-2018 on reference plots of agricultural lands and archival materials of a large-scale agrochemical survey. The purpose of the research is to identify patterns of change in the humus content of arable soils of the forest-steppe in the Omsk region after prolonged use in agriculture. The objects of research were the soils of the forest-steppe zone of the Omsk Region: ordinary chernozem low-power low-humus heavy loamy soil; meadow-chernozem medium-thick medium-humus heavy loamy soil; solonetz meadow chernozemic deep low humus clay soil. The largest area on the last round of agrochemical survey of 1194.3 thousand ha (58.9%) has an average humus content (4.1-6.0%), it increased significantly from 784.5 thousand ha (38.7%). The increased and high (> 6%) humus content significantly decreased over the study period by 416.5 thousand ha from 1118.5 (55.1%) to 702.0 thousand ha (34.6% of the surveyed area). The weighted average humus content over 28 years has changed: from 6.2 to 6.0% in the northern forest-steppe, from 6.0 to 5.3% in the southern forest-steppe, on average it is by 0.5%. A tendency toward a decrease in the humus content of soils remains in the soils of the Omsk Priirtyshye region. The main reason for this is both the ongoing water and wind erosion of soils, and the very low level of organic fertilizers use. The authors revealed the gradual decrease in the content of humus in ordinary chernozems and meadow chernozem soils. There was a stable humus content in the arable horizon of the solonetzes of deep meadow-chernozem soils.
Specular-reflection photonic hook generation under oblique illumination of a super-contrast dielectric microparticle
Authors: Geints Yu E , Zemlyanov A A , Minin I V , Minin O V
Published: January 2021

The possibility of overcoming the critical condition for localized photonic nanojet (PNJ) upon plane optical wave diffraction at mesoscale dielectric particle, which is commonly known as ‘the refractive index contrast is less than two’, was recently reported in our works. To this end, the novel geometrical scheme of PNJ generation in ‘reflection mode’ was proposed recently based on a super-contrast microparticle

(
n
≈
2
)

placed near a flat mirror. In this paper, through the numerical FDTD calculations of optical near-field structure of 2D and 3D dielectric microparticles (cylinder, sphere) we extend our considerations to the case of oblique particle-at-mirror illumination and present new physical phenomena arising in the considered photonic geometry. Specifically, we report on the generation of a quasi-retrograde PNJ which follows the inclined particle illumination and propose a new principle for obtaining a curvilinear photonic flux in the form of a ‘specular-reflection photonic hook’ (s-Hook) in the opposite to the illuminated wavevector direction. Two different regimes of s-Hook formation are analyzed by changing the direction of light incidence on a dielectric particle and by flat mirror inclination. Self-bending property of PNJ at oblique illumination is investigated.
The irradiation variation of amorphous alloy FeSiB using for fusion devices induced by 2 MeV He ions
Authors: ZHANG Xiaonan , MEI Xianxiu , LI Shanshan
Published: January 2021

Because of its unique long range disordered structure and numerous free volume, amorphous alloy is considered to be able to accommodate the damage caused by ion bombardment and has good irradiation resistance. 2 MeV He+ ions were selected to irradiate amorphous alloy Fe80Si7B13, and it was found that the arrangement of atoms in the amorphous alloy became uneven. In the bubble layer located near the He ion range which was about 3.5 μm from the surface, the local atoms had a tendency of ordered arrangement. Under the irradiation, no obvious damage could be observed on the surface of the amorphous alloy, while the surface roughness increased, which reduced the surface relative reflectivity of the amorphous alloy. After the irradiation, the Fe-based amorphous alloy maintained the soft magnetic performance. The variation of atomic arrangement in the amorphous alloy enhanced its saturation magnetic induction intensity.
Accurate prediction of multi-label protein subcellular localization through multi-view feature learning with RBRL classifier
Authors: Zhang Qi , Zhang Yandan , Li Shan , Han Yu , Jin Shuping , Gu Haiming , Yu Bin
Published: January 2021

Multi-label proteins can participate in carrier transportation, enzyme catalysis, hormone regulation and other life activities. Meanwhile, they play a key role in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, gene and cell therapy. This article proposes a prediction method called Mps-mvRBRL to predict the subcellular localization (SCL) of multi-label protein. Firstly, pseudo position-specific scoring matrix, dipeptide composition, position specific scoring matrix-transition probability composition, gene ontology and pseudo amino acid composition algorithms are used to obtain numerical information from different views. Based on the contribution of five individual feature extraction methods, differential evolution is used for the first time to learn the weight of single feature, and then these original features use a weighted combination method to fuse multi-view information. Secondly, the fused high-dimensional features use a weighted linear discriminant analysis framework based on binary weight form to eliminate irrelevant information. Finally, the best feature vector is input into the joint ranking support vector machine and binary relevance with robust low-rank learning classifier to predict the SCL. After applying leave-one-out cross-validation, the overall actual accuracy (OAA) and overall location accuracy (OLA) of Mps-mvRBRL on the training set of Gram-positive bacteria are both 99.81%. The OAA on the test sets of plant, virus and Gram-negative bacteria datasets are 97.24%, 98.55% and 98.20%, respectively, and the OLA are 97.16%, 97.62% and 98.28%, respectively. The results show that the model achieves good prediction performance for predicting the SCL of multi-label protein.
Octopodoidea as predators near the end of the Mesozoic Marine Revolution
Authors: Klompmaker Adiël A , Landman Neil H
Published: January 2021

Octopodoidea are a highly versatile and diverse group of marine predators comprising > 200 species today; however, their diversity and ecology in deep time are virtually unknown. Because these soft-bodied cephalopods have a low preservation potential, only a single body fossil species has been documented. Unlike other modern cephalopods, octopodoids leave behind a characteristic drill hole on their molluscan and crustacean prey. These traces provide a means to track their presence and behaviour in deep time. Although severely understudied, some of such holes have been documented from the Eocene–Pleistocene fossil record. We document the oldest recognized drill holes attributed to octopodoids, found in lucinid bivalves from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of South Dakota, USA. These observations demonstrate that the drilling habit of these animals evolved early in the evolutionary history of Octopodoidea, ~25 Myr earlier than was previously known. The drilled lucinids lived in cold methane seeps in the Western Interior Seaway. These predation traces have never been found in fossil seeps previously, thus adding a new predator to the food web of cold seeps. Finally, our results provide direct evidence that Octopodoidea were an integral component of the rise of shell-destroying predators during the Mesozoic Marine Revolution.
Implication of Ataxia-Telangiectasia-mutated kinase in epithelium-mesenchyme transition
Authors: Miao Tianyu , Peng Changsheng , Tang Zizhi , Zeng Ming , Wang Shi , Wang Xiaojun , Guo Liandi , Wang Xiaobo , Zhao Jichun , Zhao Mingcai , Chen Jie , Liu Cong
Published: January 2021

Impairment of genome instability drives the development of cancer by disrupting anti-cancer barriers. Upon genotoxic insults, DNA damage responsive factors, notably ATM kinase, is crucial to protect genomic integrity while promoting cell death. Meanwhile, cytotoxic therapy-inducing DNA lesions is double-edged sword by causing cancer metastasis based on animal models and clinical observations. The underlying mechanisms for the procancer effect of cytotoxic therapies are poorly understood. Here, we report that cancer cells subjected to cytotoxic treatments elicit dramatic alteration of gene expression controlling the potential of epithelium-mesenchyme transition (EMT). Resultantly, EMT-dependent cell mobility is potently induced upon DNA damage. This stimulation of EMT is mainly Ataxia-Telangiectasia-mutated (ATM)-dependent, as the chemical inhibitor specifically inhibiting ATM kinase activity can suppress the EMT gene expression and thus cell mobility. At last, we show that cancer cells with ATM activation display increased metastatic potential in ovarian cancer tissues. Taken together, we reveal a novel role of ATM in promoting metastatic potential of cancer cells by favoring EMT gene expression.
Serum phosphorus and calcium levels, and kidney disease progression in immunoglobulin A nephropathy
Authors: Yu Guizhen , Cheng Jun , Jiang Yan , Li Heng , Li Xiayu , Chen Jianghua
Published: January 2021

Background

Disorders of calcium and phosphorus metabolism have been reported to be associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients requiring long-term dialysis therapy. However, its role in disease progression is not well established in patients without dialysis, especially in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy. We aim to evaluate the association of serum phosphorus and calcium and progression of IgA nephropathy.

Methods

We assessed 2567 patients with IgA nephropathy at the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University. Serum phosphorus and calcium were collected at the time of kidney biopsy and at each visit. The associations of serum phosphorus and serum calcium with composite kidney disease progression events, defined as 50% estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline and kidney failure, were examined using Cox models and restricted cubic splines.

Results

During a median follow-up of 31.9 months, 248 (10%) patients reached composite kidney disease progression events. A linear relationship was observed between serum phosphorus and composite kidney disease progression events. With higher levels of phosphorus, the risk of kidney disease progression events increased {hazard ratio [HR] 3.54 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37–9.12]; P = 0.009}. Compared with the first quartile group, the HR of kidney disease progression events was 1.66 (95% CI 0.91–301) for the second quartile, 1.67 (95% CI 0.91–3.08) for the third and 2.62 (95% CI 1.44–4.77) for the fourth (P for trend = 0.002). The association between serum phosphorus and kidney disease progression was detectable [HR 8.94 (95% CI 2.33–34.21); P = 0.001] within the subgroup with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 but not among patients with eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 [HR 0.87 (95% CI 0.17–4.44); P = 0.87]. After adjustment for traditional risk factors, a higher level of serum calcium was not associated with kidney disease progression events [HR 0.33 (95% CI 0.10–1.09)].

Conclusions

Higher serum phosphorus rather than serum calcium was independently associated with kidney disease progression in IgA nephropathy.
An update on the roles of immune system-derived microRNAs in cardiovascular diseases
Authors: Roberts Luke B , Kapoor Puja , Howard Jane K , Shah Ajay M , Lord Graham M
Published: January 2021

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of human death worldwide. Over the past two decades, the emerging field of cardioimmunology has demonstrated how cells of the immune system play vital roles in the pathogenesis of CVD. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical regulators of cellular identity and function. Cell-intrinsic, as well as cell-extrinsic, roles of immune and inflammatory cell-derived miRNAs have been, and continue to be, extensively studied. Several ‘immuno-miRNAs’ appear to be specifically expressed or demonstrate greatly enriched expression within leucocytes. Identification of miRNAs as critical regulators of immune system signalling pathways has posed the question of whether and how targeting these molecules therapeutically, may afford opportunities for disease treatment and/or management. As the field of cardioimmunology rapidly continues to advance, this review discusses findings from recent human and murine studies which contribute to our understanding of how leucocytes of innate and adaptive immunity are regulated—and may also regulate other cell types, via the actions of the miRNAs they express, in the context of CVD. Finally, we focus on available information regarding miRNA regulation of regulatory T cells and argue that targeted manipulation of miRNA regulated pathways in these cells may hold therapeutic promise for the treatment of CVD and associated risk factors.
Physiological and pathological roles of protein kinase A in the heart
Authors: Liu Yuening , Chen Jingrui , Fontes Shayne K , Bautista Erika N , Cheng Zhaokang
Published: January 2021

Protein kinase A (PKA) is a central regulator of cardiac performance and morphology. Myocardial PKA activation is induced by a variety of hormones, neurotransmitters, and stress signals, most notably catecholamines secreted by the sympathetic nervous system. Catecholamines bind β-adrenergic receptors to stimulate cAMP-dependent PKA activation in cardiomyocytes. Elevated PKA activity enhances Ca2+ cycling and increases cardiac muscle contractility. Dynamic control of PKA is essential for cardiac homeostasis, as dysregulation of PKA signalling is associated with a broad range of heart diseases. Specifically, abnormal PKA activation or inactivation contributes to the pathogenesis of myocardial ischaemia, hypertrophy, heart failure, as well as diabetic, takotsubo, or anthracycline cardiomyopathies. PKA may also determine sex-dependent differences in contractile function and heart disease predisposition. Here, we describe the recent advances regarding the roles of PKA in cardiac physiology and pathology, highlighting previous study limitations and future research directions. Moreover, we discuss the therapeutic strategies and molecular mechanisms associated with cardiac PKA biology. In summary, PKA could serve as a promising drug target for cardioprotection. Depending on disease types and mechanisms, therapeutic intervention may require either inhibition or activation of PKA. Therefore, specific PKA inhibitors or activators may represent valuable drug candidates for the treatment of heart diseases.
Influence of aneurysmal aortic root geometry on mechanical stress to the aortic valve leaflet
Authors: Hayashi Hideyuki , Itatani Keiichi , Akiyama Koichi , Zhao Yanling , Kurlansky Paul , DeRoo Scott , Sanchez Joseph , Ferrari Giovanni , Yuzefpolskaya Melana , Colombo Paolo C. , Takeda Koji , Wu Isaac Y , Kainuma Atsushi , Takayama Hiroo
Published: January 2021

Aims

While mechanical stress caused by blood flow, e.g. wall shear stress (WSS), and related parameters, e.g. oscillatory shear index (OSI), are increasingly being recognized as key moderators of various cardiovascular diseases, studies on valves have been limited because of a lack of appropriate imaging modalities. We investigated the influence of aortic root geometry on WSS and OSI on the aortic valve (AV) leaflet.

Methods and results

We applied our novel approach of intraoperative epi-aortic echocardiogram to measure the haemodynamic parameters of WSS and OSI on the AV leaflet. Thirty-six patients were included, which included those who underwent valve-sparing aortic root replacement (VSARR) with no significant aortic regurgitation (n = 17) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) with normal AV (n = 19). At baseline, those who underwent VSARR had a higher systolic WSS (0.52 ± 0.12 vs. 0.32 ± 0.08 Pa, respectively, P < 0.001) and a higher OSI (0.37 ± 0.06 vs. 0.29 ± 0.04, respectively, P < 0.001) on the aortic side of the AV leaflet than those who underwent CABG. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the size of the sinus of Valsalva had a significant association with WSS and OSI. Following VSARR, WSS and OSI values decreased significantly compared with the baseline values (WSS: 0.29 ± 0.12 Pa, P < 0.001; OSI: 0.26 ± 0.09, P < 0.001), and became comparable to the values in those who underwent CABG (WSS, P = 0.42; OSI, P = 0.15).

Conclusions

Mechanical stress on the AV gets altered in correlation with the size of the aortic root. An aneurysmal aortic root may expose the leaflet to abnormal fluid dynamics. The VSARR procedure appeared to reduce these abnormalities.
THE DISTRIBUTION AND EFFECTS OF GENES CAUSING F1 WEAKNESS IN ORYZA BREVILIGULATA AND O. GLABERRIMA
Authors: Chu Yaw-En , Oka Hiko-Ichi
Published: January 2021

Weakness of F1 plants is frequently found in hybrids between strains of Oryza breviligulata (wild) and O. glaberrima (cultivated rice) endemic to West Africa. A set of two complementary dominant weakness genes, W1 and W2, was found to control the observed F1 weakness. Many breviligulata strains had W1, while most of the glaberrima and semi-wild strains had W2 or were free of both. In the weak F1 plants, tissue differentiation in adventitious roots seemed to be disturbed. Modifier genes affecting the expression of the weakness genes appear to be present also.
SITE OF ACTION OF 3',5'-CYCLIC ADENOSINE MONOPHOSPHATE IN PRODUCTION OF TRYPTOPHANASE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI
Authors: Immken LaDonna , Apirion David
Published: January 2021

3″,5″ cyclic-AMP (cAMP) will stimulate the rate of tryptophanase synthesis in Escherichia coli cultures induced with tryptophan. Adding cAMP after the initiation of messenger RNA synthesis was blocked by rifampicin, did not stimulate tryptophanase synthesis. This indicates that cAMP acts at initiation of either transcription or translation and not at the level of chain elongation of either the messenger or the polypeptide chain.
INCOMPATIBILITY OF INTEGRATED SEX FACTORS IN DOUBLE MALE STRAINS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI
Authors: Kaney Anthony R , Atwood K C
Published: January 2021

Several strains of Escherichia coli K-12 harboring two F factors were isolated from Hfr x Hfr crosses. These strains were transiently capable of initiating chromosome transfer from two separate points of origin, and of transferring two different sex factors as integrated chromosomal markers. Each strain tested invariably reverted to a simple Hfr by loss of one of the inherited F factors. The F factor persisting in the revertant was, in nearly every case, that which had been inherited from the recipient Hfr parent.
INBREEDING EFFECTS UPON GROWTH AND MATERNAL ABILITY IN LABORATORY MICE
Authors: White J M
Published: January 2021

The effects of systematically increasing levels of inbreeding upon growth and postnatal maternal ability were determined in laboratory mice by utilizing the reciprocal crossfostering technique. Two experiments were conducted. The first included postnatal dams which were inbred 0, 12, 25 and 38% while corresponding levels in the litter were 0, 22, 38 and 50%, respectively. The second experiment included 0, 25, 50 and 73% inbred dams with litters inbred 0, 38, 59 and 79%, respectively. Increasing the level of inbreeding was found to linearly depress postnatal maternal performance. Young which had been suckled by the more inbred dams were smaller at 12 and 21 days of age than those which had been nursed by the more outbred dams. In the second experiment, these effects were carried over into the postweaning period. Increasing levels of inbreeding in the litter significantly depressed birth weight and weight at 12, 21, 42 and 56 days. The depressing effects of inbreeding in the litter were primarily linear for both males and females under the conditions of the more moderate levels of inbreeding included in the first experiment, but were curvilinear for females and linear for males in the second experiment. The curvilinearity in females was due to the general lack of depression until inbreeding had reached 50 to 60%, after which significant inbreeding depression developed.
COLONY MUTANTS OF COMPATIBLE NOCARDIAE DISPLAYING VARIATIONS IN RECOMBINING CAPACITY
Authors: Brownell George H , Walsh Richard S
Published: January 2021

Colonial morphology mutants of Nocardia erythropolis were isolated following ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The alleles rou-1/smo-1 were located by recombinant analysis and found to be linked to previously mapped characters. On the basis of recombinant class type patterns obtained from various selective characters it was postulated that the rou-1 allele may span a region of unique nucleotides in the Mat-Ce genome. Recombination frequencies of rou-1 and smo-2 bearing mutants of the Mat-Ce mating type were found to differ by over 1000 fold. Attempts to demonstrate that low recombination frequencies produced by the Smo mutants were due to Rec- genes were unsuccessful. No increased sensitivity to either UV or X irradiation was observed by the Smo mutants. Acriflavine treatment of either Rou or Smo colony mutants failed to accelerate reversion or to alter the recombining potentials of the mutants.
THE TEMPORAL SEQUENCE OF SYNAPTIC INITIATION, CROSSING OVER AND SYNAPTIC COMPLETION
Authors: Maguire Marjorie P
Published: January 2021

Questions are raised as to the validity of arguments that crossover positions have been demonstrated to be normally established only during pachytene (after synapsis is maximal). An alternative and testable hypothesis is that crossover commitment can occur at events of synaptic initiation.—Measurements are presented of extents of pachytene synapsis and failure in and around a region of maize chromosome heterozygous for a short paracentric inversion, and these are compared to conjectured expectations from observations of crossover frequencies within the inversion. Various hypotheses consistent with the results are considered. It is pointed out that the hypothesis that increases in crossover frequency in the synapsed region of the inversion are compensatory to crossover inhibitions elsewhere requires complex assumptions: that the adjustment must take place among, not within cells and that the enhancement is preferentially expressed within the inversion instead of elsewhere in the genome. The hypothesis that the fixing and squashing procedure forces apart non-crossover regions previously synapsed but lacking a crossover also requires complex assumptions. The simplest hypothesis proposes that crossover commitment may determine synaptic expression. A role of the synaptonemal complex in the establishment of crossover sites is questioned or minimized.—Evidence is also presented with respect to conceivable function of the telomere in synaptic initiation. Restrictions on such a function, if it exists, seem to be required to account for the observations.
SUPER SUPPRESSORS IN NEUROSPORA CRASSA I. INDUCTION, GENETIC LOCALIZATION AND RELATIONSHIP TO A MISSENSE SUPPRESSOR
Authors: Seale Thomas W
Published: January 2021

Genetic analyses have been made to test the feasibility of using coincident reversions to prototrophy of multiple mutants to select super suppressors (ssu) in Neurospora crassa. Of five double-mutant strains examined, only those mutant combinations in which both members had the properties of nonsense mutations did revert coincidently. Forty-eight genetically purified coincident revertants were crossed to the wild type, and each was shown to contain a suppressor mutation. Five super suppressors were examined more thoroughly. Tetrad and random spore analysis was used to demonstrate that each behaved as a single gene in crosses. Two super suppressors, ssu-1 and ssu-4 were localized respectively on the right and left arm of linkage group 7. Two others, ssu-2 and ssu-3, appear to map on the right arm of linkage group 1. The fifth super suppressor mapped, ssu-7, lies between ad-8 and ylo-1 on linkage group 6. One super suppressor, ssu-1, was interesting because it mapped near the location reported for the suppressor of the missense mutant tryp-3(td201) (Yourno and Suskind 1964a). However, no overlap was found in action spectrum of the two suppressors. Tetrad analysis showed the two suppressors were located about 10 map units apart, the missense suppressor being the more distal to the centromere.
INTERGROUP PHYLOGENIES IN DROSOPHILA AS DETERMINED BY COMPARISONS OF SALIVARY BANDING PATTERNS
Authors: Stalker Harrison D
Published: January 2021

A salivary gland chromosome phylogeny is presented which summarizes the evolutionary relationships of twenty-two species belonging to the sub-genus Drosophila, and members of the twelve species groups: D. melanica, D. repleta, D. carbonaria, D. polychaeta, D. annulimana, D. robusta, D. carsoni, D. virilis, D. funebris and the "picture-wing," D. mimica and D. crassifemur groups (of Hawaii).—Photographic salivary chromosome maps were prepared for all twenty-two species studied. While the chromosomes of different species belonging to the same group can usually be homologized almost completely, so that construction of intragroup phylogenies is easy, chromosomes of members of different groups are so modified structurally that in most cases only short sections can be fully homologized, and these in only one or two chromosome elements.—Broadly homologous chromosome elements were compared for three species at a time, and on the basis of overlapping homologous sections, or overlapping inversions included within homologous sections, the trio of chromosomes, and the species to which they belonged can often be arranged in a two-step phylogenetic series. Detection of many such ordered trios permits construction of a single phylogenetic scheme encompassing all species.—D. nigromelanica, of the D. melanica group is found to be chromosomally intermediate between the rest of its group and the species belonging to other groups, suggesting that it is the most nearly ancestral member of its group. When trios of species including D. nigromelanica and members of two other species groups are compared, it is found that in twelve of fourteen such comparisons the chromosomes of D. nigromelanica are structurally intermediate between those of the members of the other two species groups, indicating the central position of D. nigromelanica in the phylogeny as a whole.—Available cytological evidence indicates that among the nine continental groups studied, it is the D. robusta group which is chromosomally closest to the Hawaiian "picture-wing" groups. Among the members of the Hawaiian groups it is D. primaeva and D. attigua which are found to be closest to the continental species. This finding tends to confirm the earlier conclusion of Carson and Stalker, based on different evidence, that the above two species were in an ancestral position in the Hawaiian phylogeny.—The relationship of the D. robusta and D. melanica groups demonstrated in this paper, the phylogenies within each of these two groups earlier worked out by Narayanan and by Stalker, and the present geographical distributions of the species within them, require that at least three Asiatic–New World migrations must have occurred during the evolution of the two groups.
GENES INFLUENCING SELECTIVE FERTILIZATION IN NEUROSPORA CRASSA
Authors: Egashira Takeshi , Nakamura Kuzuo
Published: January 2021

The mutual attraction of conidia to protoperithecia of the opposite mating type was studied genetically in crosses where a mixture of conidia from two different strains, one of which was marked by an ascospore color mutant gene tan spore (ts), was applied to protoperithecia. Selective fertilization was measured as the frequency of perithecia fertilized by conidia from one strain in competition with conidia from another strain. Selective fertilization by a given strain varied throughout the range from 10 to 97% according to the strains of protoperithecial parent. The selective fertilization was revealed to be under the control of two or more loci, which appeared to have multiplicative action. No indication of a cytoplasmic effect on selective fertilization was obtained. The strength of the mutual attraction between conidia and protoperithecia decreased as genetic similarity increased.