bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Caveolin-1 temporal modulation enhances antibody drug efficacy in heterogeneous gastric cancer
Authors: Pereira Patrícia M. R. , Mandleywala Komal , Monette Sébastien , Lumish Melissa , Tully Kathryn M. , Panikar Sandeep Surendra , Cornejo Mike , Mauguen Audrey , Ragupathi Ashwin , Keltee Nai C. , Mattar Marissa , Janjigian Yelena Y. , Lewis Jason S.
Published: May 2022

Resistance mechanisms and heterogeneity in HER2-positive gastric cancers (GC) limit Trastuzumab benefit in 32% of patients, and other targeted therapies have failed in clinical trials. Using patient samples, patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), partially humanized biological models, and HER2-targeted imaging technologies we demonstrate the role of caveolin-1 (CAV1) as a complementary biomarker in GC selection for Trastuzumab therapy. In retrospective analyses of samples from patients enrolled on Trastuzumab trials, the CAV1-high profile associates with low membrane HER2 density and low patient survival. We show a negative correlation between CAV1 tumoral protein levels – a major protein of cholesterol-rich membrane domains – and Trastuzumab-drug conjugate TDM1 tumor uptake. Finally, CAV1 depletion using knockdown or pharmacologic approaches (statins) increases antibody drug efficacy in tumors with incomplete HER2 membranous reactivity. In support of these findings, background statin use in patients associates with enhanced antibody efficacy. Together, this work provides preclinical justification and clinical evidence that require prospective investigation of antibody drugs combined with statins to delay drug resistance in tumors.
Modulating the evolutionary trajectory of tolerance using antibiotics with different metabolic dependencies
Authors: Zheng Erica J. , Andrews Ian W. , Grote Alexandra T. , Manson Abigail L. , Alcantar Miguel A. , Earl Ashlee M. , Collins James J.
Published: May 2022

Antibiotic tolerance, or the ability of bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment in the absence of genetic resistance, has been linked to chronic and recurrent infections. Tolerant cells are often characterized by a low metabolic state, against which most clinically used antibiotics are ineffective. Here, we show that tolerance readily evolves against antibiotics that are strongly dependent on bacterial metabolism, but does not arise against antibiotics whose efficacy is only minimally affected by metabolic state. We identify a mechanism of tolerance evolution in E. coli involving deletion of the sodium-proton antiporter gene nhaA, which results in downregulated metabolism and upregulated stress responses. Additionally, we find that cycling of antibiotics with different metabolic dependencies interrupts evolution of tolerance in vitro, increasing the lifetime of treatment efficacy. Our work highlights the potential for limiting the occurrence and extent of tolerance by accounting for antibiotic dependencies on bacterial metabolism.
Integrated assessment of CO2-ECBM potential in Jharia Coalfield, India
Authors: Asif Mohammad , Wang Lei , Panigrahi D. C. , Ojha Keka , Hazlett Randy
Published: May 2022

Coalbed methane (CBM) production is effectively achieved by utilizing two processes, viz. primary and secondary recovery. In this paper, the primary recovery of CBM was studied using the adsorption isotherm while CO2-ECBM process for the secondary recovery was simulated with realistic parameters. The adsorption isotherm for CH4 was drawn up to the pressure of 1200 psi for four coal samples and Langmuir isotherm curves for both CH4 and CO2 was measured for one sample up to 2000 psi. The adsorption isotherm of four samples was further utilized for finding the primary recovery factor of methane, showing that the average primary recovery is ~ 54% with the highest recovery factor of ~ 76% for one sample. Hence, CO2-ECBM process could be further implemented to enhance gas recovery. Then, a 3D heterogeneous coalbed model at a depth of 3219 ft was constructed using the COMET3 simulator to demonstrate the potential of CO2-ECBM recovery technique. A concept of break-even time was introduced in this study for the comprehension of CO2-ECBM process. It is found that coalbed reservoirs may opt to implement this technology with economically sound recovery.
Performance and milk quality parameters of Jersey crossbreds in low-input dairy systems
Authors: Ormston Sabrina , Davis Hannah , Butler Gillian , Chatzidimitriou Eleni , Gordon Alan W. , Theodoridou Katerina , Huws Sharon , Yan Tianhai , Leifert Carlo , Stergiadis Sokratis
Published: May 2022

Previous work has demonstrated some benefit from alternative breeds in low-input dairying, although there has been no systematic analysis of the simultaneous effect of Jersey crossbreeding on productivity, health, fertility parameters or milk nutritional quality. This work aimed to understand the effects of, and interactions/interrelations between, dairy cow genotypes (Holstein-Friesian (HF), Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbreds (HF × J)) and season (spring, summer, autumn) on milk yield; basic composition; feed efficiency, health, and fertility parameters; and milk fatty acid (FA) profiles. Milk samples (n = 219) and breed/diet data were collected from 74 cows in four UK low-input dairy farms between March and October 2012. HF × J cows produced milk with more fat (+ 3.2 g/kg milk), protein (+ 2.9 g/kg milk) and casein (+ 2.7 g/kg milk); and showed higher feed, fat, and protein efficiency (expressed as milk, fat and protein outputs per kg DMI) than HF cows. Milk from HF × J cows contained more C4:0 (+ 2.6 g/kg FA), C6:0 (+ 1.9 g/kg FA), C8:0 (+ 1.3 g/kg FA), C10:0 (+ 3.0 g/kg FA), C12:0 (+ 3.7 g/kg FA), C14:0 (+ 4.6 g/kg FA) and saturated FA (SFA; + 27.3 g/kg milk) and less monounsaturated FA (MUFA; -23.7 g/kg milk) and polyunsaturated FA (− 22.3 g/kg milk). There was no significant difference for most health and fertility parameters, but HF × J cows had shorter calving interval (by 39 days). The superior feed, fat and protein efficiency of HF × J cows, as well as shorter calving interval can be considered beneficial for the financial sustainability of low-input dairy farms; and using such alternative breeds in crossbreeding schemes may be recommended. Although statistically significant, it is difficult to determine if differences observed between HF and HF × J cows in fat composition are likely to impact human health, considering average population dairy fat intakes and the relatively small difference. Thus, the HF × J cow could be used in low-input dairying to improve efficiency and productivity without impacting milk nutritional properties.
Exploring influencing factors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on elastic net and Bayesian network
Authors: Quan Dichen , Ren Jiahui , Ren Hao , Linghu Liqin , Wang Xuchun , Li Meichen , Qiao Yuchao , Ren Zeping , Qiu Lixia
Published: May 2022

This study aimed to construct Bayesian networks (BNs) to analyze the network relationships between COPD and its influencing factors, and the strength of each factor's influence on COPD was reflected through network reasoning. Elastic Net and Max-Min Hill-Climbing (MMHC) algorithm were adopted to screen the variables on the surveillance data of COPD among residents in Shanxi Province, China from 2014 to 2015, and construct BNs respectively. 10 variables finally entered the model after screening by Elastic Net. The BNs constructed by MMHC showed that smoking status, household air pollution, family history, cough, air hunger or dyspnea were directly related to COPD, and Gender was indirectly linked to COPD through smoking status. Moreover, smoking status, household air pollution and family history were the parent nodes of COPD, and cough, air hunger or dyspnea represented the child nodes of COPD. In other words, smoking status, household air pollution and family history were related to the occurrence of COPD, and COPD would make patients’ cough, air hunger or dyspnea worse. Generally speaking, BNs could reveal the complex network linkages between COPD and its relevant factors well, making it more convenient to carry out targeted prevention and control of COPD.
Left atrium phasic impairments in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking
Authors: Mojica-Pisciotti Mary Luz , Panovský Roman , Masárová Lucia , Pešl Martin , Stárek Zdeněk , Holeček Tomáš , Feitová Věra , Opatřil Lukáš , Doležalová Katarína , Kincl Vladimír
Published: May 2022

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an abnormal and irregular heartbeat caused by uncoordinated electrical impulses in the left atrium (LA), which could induce lasting changes in the heart tissue or could be a consequence of underlying cardiac disease. This study aimed to assess the left atrial phasic function and deformation in paroxysmal AF (PAF) patients—who had not received radiofrequency ablation and had no signs of permanent AF—using the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) feature-tracking (FT) technique. Fifty subjects (27 PAF patients and 23 controls) were included and examined with CMR. Their LA volume, LA function, LA longitudinal strain (LS) and LA strain rate were assessed in the LA reservoir, conduit, and contractile phases. PAF patients exhibited higher LA volumes than controls, while their LA emptying fraction and LA LS was significantly lower in all three phases. In contrast, the corresponding emptying volumes (total, passive and active) were similar in both groups. The LA volumetric rates from CMR-derived volume curves differed significantly in PAF patients vs controls in the reservoir and contractile phases. In contrast, the equivalent LV volumetric rates were similar. This study suggests that assessing the LA phasic function could offer insight into early LA impairments for PAF patients.
Estimating and explaining cross-country variation in the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions during COVID-19
Authors: Banholzer Nicolas , Feuerriegel Stefan , Vach Werner
Published: May 2022

To control the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world have implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as school closures or stay-at-home orders. Previous work has estimated the effectiveness of NPIs, yet without examining variation in NPI effectiveness across countries. Based on data from the first epidemic wave of$$n=40$$n=40countries, we estimate country-specific differences in the effectiveness of NPIs via a semi-mechanistic Bayesian hierarchical model. Our estimates reveal substantial variation between countries, indicating that NPIs have been more effective in some countries (e. g. Switzerland, New Zealand, and Iceland) as compared to others (e. g. Singapore, South Africa, and France). We then explain differences in the effectiveness of NPIs through 12 country characteristics (e. g. population age, urbanization, employment, etc.). A positive association with country-specific effectiveness of NPIs was found for government effectiveness, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, population ages 65+, and health expenditures. Conversely, a negative association with effectiveness of NPIs was found for the share of informal employment, average household size and population density. Overall, the wealth and demographic structure of a country can explain variation in the effectiveness of NPIs.
Environmental transfer parameters of strontium for soil to cow milk pathway for tropical monsoonal climatic region of the Indian subcontinent
Authors: Ujwal P. , Yashodhara I. , Sudeep Kumara K. , Ravi P. M. , Karunakara N.
Published: May 2022

The radionuclide transfer between compartments is commonly described by transfer parameters representing the ratio of concentrations of an element in two compartments for equilibrium conditions. This is a comprehensive study on the soil-to-grass transfer factor (Fv) and grass-to-cow milk transfer coefficient (Fm) for stable strontium (Sr) for soil-grass (pasture)-cow (Bos taurus) milk environmental pathway under field conditions for a high rainfall tropical monsoonal climatic region of the Indian subcontinent. The study was conducted in the vicinity of the Kaiga nuclear power plant (NPP), situated ~ 58 km inland of the West Coast of the Indian subcontinent. A grass field was developed exclusively for this study, and two cows of the native breed were raised to graze on it. The soil, grass, and milk were analyzed to evaluate the Fv and the Fm values for the stable Sr. For comparison, several pasture lands and the cows raised by the villagers and a dairy farm were also studied. The Fv values were in the range 0.18—8.6, the geometric mean (GM) being 1.8. The correlations of Fv values with a range of physicochemical parameters are presented. The GM values for Fm were 2.2 × 10–3 d L-1 and 7.2 × 10–3 d L-1 for the two cows raised for this study, 2.6 × 10–3 d L-1 for those raised by the villagers, and 4.2 × 10–3 d L-1 for the dairy farm. The site-specific Fm value for the region was determined as 3.2 × 10–3 d L-1. The concentration ratio (CR), defined as the ratio of Sr concentration in milk to that in feed under equilibrium conditions, exhibited less variability (1.8 × 10–2—5.4 × 10–2) among the three categories of cows.
Antimicrobial adhesive films by plasma-enabled polymerisation of m-cresol
Authors: Hartl Hugo , Li Wenshao , Michl Thomas Danny , Anangi Raveendra , Speight Robert , Vasilev Krasimir , Ostrikov Kostya Ken , MacLeod Jennifer
Published: May 2022

This work reveals a versatile new method to produce films with antimicrobial properties that can also bond materials together with robust tensile adhesive strength. Specifically, we demonstrate the formation of coatings by using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma to convert a liquid small-molecule precursor, m-cresol, to a solid film via plasma-assisted on-surface polymerisation. The films are quite appealing from a sustainability perspective: they are produced using a low-energy process and from a molecule produced in abundance as a by-product of coal tar processing. This process consumes only 1.5 Wh of electricity to create a 1 cm2 film, which is much lower than other methods commonly used for film deposition, such as chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Plasma treatments were performed in plain air without the need for any carrier or precursor gas, with a variety of exposure durations. By varying the plasma parameters, it is possible to modify both the adhesive property of the film, which is at a maximum at a 1 min plasma exposure, and the antimicrobial property of the film against Escherichia coli, which is at a maximum at a 30 s exposure.
Ultrastructure of setae of a planktonic diatom, Chaetoceros coarctatus
Authors: Owari Yuka , Nakamura Fumi , Oaki Yuya , Tsuda Hiroyuki , Shimode Shinji , Imai Hiroaki
Published: May 2022

Silica frustules of most planktonic diatoms have many shallow holes in which the length (L) is smaller than the width (W). The present study focuses on a silica ultrastructure of setae of a planktonic diatom having deep (L/W > 1) holes. Here, we characterized microscopically patterned nanoholes on the silica walls of thick, robust, and hollow setae of a colony of Chaetoceros coarctatus. Basically, tetragonal poroid arrangements with and without a costa pattern are observed on the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, for three kinds of curving hollow setae attached to the anterior, intercalary, and posterior parts of the colony. The seta structures including specific poroid arrangements and continuity of deep nanoholes depend on the location. The deep nanoholes ∼90 nm wide are elongated from 150 to 1500 nm (L/W ∼17) with an increase in the wall thickness of the polygonal tubes of the setae. The inside poroid array, with a period of 190 nm in the extension direction of setae, is lined by parallel plates of the costae. However, the poroid arrangement on the outer surface is disordered, with several holes obstructed with increasing wall thickness of the posterior terminal setae. According to the movement of a colony in a fluid microchannel, the thick curving terminal setae is suggested to involve attitude control and mechanical protection. Using an optical simulation, the patterned deep through-holes on the intercalary setae were suggested to contribute anti-reflection of blue light in the wavelength range of 400 to 500 nm for the promotion of photosynthesis in seawater.
Global coordination level in single-cell transcriptomic data
Authors: Amit Guy , Vaknin Ben Porath Dana , Levy Orr , Hamdi Omer , Bashan Amir
Published: May 2022

Genes are linked by underlying regulatory mechanisms and by jointly implementing biological functions, working in coordination to apply different tasks in the cells. Assessing the coordination level between genes from single-cell transcriptomic data, without a priori knowledge of the map of gene regulatory interactions, is a challenge. A ‘top-down’ approach has recently been developed to analyze single-cell transcriptomic data by evaluating the global coordination level between genes (called GCL). Here, we systematically analyze the performance of the GCL in typical scenarios of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. We show that an individual anomalous cell can have a disproportionate effect on the GCL calculated over a cohort of cells. In addition, we demonstrate how the GCL is affected by the presence of clusters, which are very common in scRNA-seq data. Finally, we analyze the effect of the sampling size of the Jackknife procedure on the GCL statistics. The manuscript is accompanied by a description of a custom-built Python package for calculating the GCL. These results provide practical guidelines for properly pre-processing and applying the GCL measure in transcriptional data.
Chitinase-3-like protein-1 at hospital admission predicts COVID-19 outcome: a prospective cohort study
Authors: De Lorenzo Rebecca , Sciorati Clara , Lorè Nicola I. , Capobianco Annalisa , Tresoldi Cristina , Cirillo Daniela M. , Ciceri Fabio , Rovere-Querini Patrizia , Manfredi Angelo A.
Published: May 2022

Infectious and inflammatory stimuli elicit the generation of chitinase-3-like protein-1 (CHI3L1), involved in tissue damage, repair and remodeling. We evaluated whether plasma CHI3L1 at disease onset predicts clinical outcome of patients with Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease. Blood from 191 prospectively followed COVID-19 patients were collected at hospital admission between March 18th and May 5th, 2020. Plasma from 80 survivors was collected one month post-discharge. Forty age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers served as controls. Primary outcome was transfer to intensive care unit (ICU) or death. CHI3L1 was higher in COVID-19 patients than controls (p < 0.0001). Patients with unfavorable outcome (41 patients admitted to ICU, 47 died) had significantly higher CHI3L1 levels than non-ICU survivors (p < 0.0001). CHI3L1 levels abated in survivors one month post-discharge, regardless of initial disease severity (p < 0.0001), although remaining higher than controls (p < 0.05). Cox regression analysis revealed that CHI3L1 levels predict primary outcome independently of age, sex, comorbidities, degree of respiratory insufficiency and systemic inflammation or time from symptom onset to sampling (p < 0.0001). Kaplan–Meier curve analysis confirmed that patients with CHI3L1 levels above the median (361 ng/mL) had a poorer prognosis (log rank test, p < 0.0001). Plasma CHI3L1 is increased in COVID-19 patients and predicts adverse outcome.
Particulate matter (PM10) induces in vitro activation of human neutrophils, and lung histopathological alterations in a mouse model
Authors: Valderrama Andrés , Ortiz-Hernández Paul , Agraz-Cibrián Juan Manuel , Tabares-Guevara Jorge H. , Gómez Diana M. , Zambrano-Zaragoza José Francisco , Taborda Natalia A. , Hernandez Juan C.
Published: May 2022

The epidemiological association between exposure to particulate matter (PM10) and various respiratory and cardiovascular problems is well known, but the mechanisms driving these effects remain unclear. Neutrophils play an essential role in immune defense against foreign agents and also participate in the development of inflammatory responses. However, the role of these cells in the PM10induced inflammatory response is not yet fully established. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the effect of PM10on the neutrophil-mediated inflammatory response. For this, neutrophils from healthy adult human donors were in vitro exposed to different concentrations of PM10. The cell viability and cytotoxic activity were evaluated by MTT. LDH, propidium iodide and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were quantified by flow cytometry. Interleukin 8 (IL-8) expression, peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and neutrophil elastase (NE) expression were measured by RT-PCR. IL-8 was also quantified by ELISA. Fluorescence microscopy was used to evaluate neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) release. The in vivo inflammatory responses were assessed in BALB/c mice exposed to PM10by histopathology and RT-PCR. The analysis shows that PM10exposure induced a cytotoxic effect on neutrophils, evidenced by necrosis and LDH release at high PM10concentrations. ROS production, IL-8, MPO, NE expression, and NETs release were increased at all PM10concentrations assessed. Neutrophil infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), histopathological changes with inflammatory cell infiltration, and CXCL1 expression were observed in PM10-treated mice. The results suggest that lung inflammation in response to PM10could be mediated by neutrophils activation. In this case, these cells migrate to the lungs and release pro-inflamatory mediators, including ROS, IL-8, and NETs. Thus, contributing to the exacerbation of respiratory pathologies, such as allergies, infectious and obstructive diseases.
Phenomic data-facilitated rust and senescence prediction in maize using machine learning algorithms
Authors: DeSalvio Aaron J. , Adak Alper , Murray Seth C. , Wilde Scott C. , Isakeit Thomas
Published: May 2022

Current methods in measuring maize (Zea mays L.) southern rust (Puccinia polyspora Underw.) and subsequent crop senescence require expert observation and are resource-intensive and prone to subjectivity. In this study, unoccupied aerial system (UAS) field-based high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) was employed to collect high-resolution aerial imagery of elite maize hybrids planted in the 2020 and 2021 growing seasons, with 13 UAS flights obtained from 2020 and 17 from 2021. In total, 36 vegetation indices (VIs) were extracted from mosaicked aerial images that served as temporal phenomic predictors for southern rust scored in the field and senescence as scored using UAS-acquired mosaic images. Temporal best linear unbiased predictors (TBLUPs) were calculated using a nested model that treated hybrid performance as nested within flights in terms of rust and senescence. All eight machine learning regressions tested (ridge, lasso, elastic net, random forest, support vector machine with radial and linear kernels, partial least squares, and k-nearest neighbors) outperformed a general linear model with both higher prediction accuracies (92–98%) and lower root mean squared error (RMSE) for rust and senescence scores (linear model RMSE ranged from 65.8 to 2396.5 across all traits, machine learning regressions RMSE ranged from 0.3 to 17.0). UAS-acquired VIs enabled the discovery of novel early quantitative phenotypic indicators of maize senescence and southern rust before being detectable by expert annotation and revealed positive correlations between grain filling time and yield (0.22 and 0.44 in 2020 and 2021), with practical implications for precision agricultural practices.
Fluoxetine exposure throughout neurodevelopment differentially influences basilar dendritic morphology in the motor and prefrontal cortices
Authors: Maloney Susan E. , Tabachnick Dora R. , Jakes Christine , Avdagic Selma , Bauernfeind Amy L. , Dougherty Joseph D.
Published: May 2022

The significance of serotonin (5HT) in mental health is underscored by the serotonergic action of many classes of psychiatric medication. 5HT is known to have a significant role in neurodevelopment, thus 5HT disruption during development may have a long term impact on brain structure and circuits. We previously generated a model of 5HT alteration throughout neurodevelopment by maternal administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. We found resulting social behavior alterations in the offspring during both postnatal and adult ages. Previous work by others has indicated that early 5HT disruption influences neuronal morphology. Therefore, in the current study we sought to determine if dendritic morphological changes occur in areas involved in the social behavior deficits we previously observed, specifically the primary motor (M1) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices. We quantified dendritic morphology of projection neurons in M1 and mPFC at postnatal day (P)10 and P79 in mice exposed to fluoxetine. Basilar dendritic complexity and spine density were persistently decreased in M1 fluoxetine-exposed neurons while in the mPFC, similar reductions were observed at P79 but were not present at P10. Our findings underscore that the developing brain, specifically the projection cortex, is vulnerable to 5HT system perturbation, which may be related to later behavioral disruptions.
Myofibrillar protein synthesis rates are increased in chronically exercised skeletal muscle despite decreased anabolic signaling
Authors: Langer Henning T. , West Daniel , Senden Joan , Spuler Simone , van Loon Luc J. C. , Baar Keith
Published: May 2022

The molecular responses to acute resistance exercise are well characterized. However, how cellular signals change over time to modulate chronic adaptations to more prolonged exercise training is less well understood. We investigated anabolic signaling and muscle protein synthesis rates at several time points after acute and chronic eccentric loading. Adult rat tibialis anterior muscle was stimulated for six sets of ten repetitions, and the muscle was collected at 0 h, 6 h, 18 h and 48 h. In the last group of animals, 48 h after the first exercise bout a second bout was conducted, and the muscle was collected 6 h later (54 h total). In a second experiment, rats were exposed to four exercise sessions over the course of 2 weeks. Anabolic signaling increased robustly 6 h after the first bout returning to baseline between 18 and 48 h. Interestingly, 6 h after the second bout mTORC1 activity was significantly lower than following the first bout. In the chronically exercised rats, we found baseline anabolic signaling was decreased, whereas myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) was substantially increased, 48 h after the last bout of exercise. The increase in MPS occurred in the absence of changes to muscle fiber size or mass. In conclusion, we find that anabolic signaling is already diminished after the second bout of acute resistance type exercise. Further, chronic exposure to resistance type exercise training results in decreased basal anabolic signaling but increased overall MPS rates.
The increased frequency of combined El Niño and positive IOD events since 1965s and its impacts on maritime continent hydroclimates
Authors: Xiao He-Ming , Lo Min-Hui , Yu Jin-Yi
Published: May 2022

The Indian and Pacific Oceans surround the Maritime Continent (MC). Major modes of sea surface temperature variability in both oceans, including the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), can strongly affect precipitation on the MC. The prevalence of fires in the MC is closely associated with precipitation amount and terrestrial water storage in September and October. Precipitation and terrestrial water storage, which is a measurement of hydrological drought conditions, are significantly modulated by Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño events. We utilize long-term datasets to study the combined effects of ENSO and the IOD on MC precipitation during the past 100 years (1900–2019) and find that the reductions in MC precipitation and terrestrial water storage are more pronounced during years when El Niño and a positive phase of the IOD (pIOD) coincided. The combined negative effects are produced mainly through an enhanced reduction of upward motion over the MC. Coincident El Niño-pIOD events have occurred more frequently after 1965. However, climate models do not project a higher occurrence of coincident El Niño-pIOD events in a severely warming condition, implying that not the global warming but the natural variability might be the leading cause of this phenomenon.
No-ozone cold plasma can kill oral pathogenic microbes in H2O2-dependent and independent manner
Authors: Park Nam-Sook , Yun Se-Eun , Lee Hyun-Young , Lee Hae June , Choi Jeong-Hae , Kim Gyoo-Cheon
Published: May 2022

To apply the sterilisation effect of low-temperature plasma to the oral cavity, the issue of ozone from plasma must be addressed. In this study, a new technology for generating cold plasma with almost no ozone is developed and is named Nozone (no-ozone) Cold Plasma (NCP) technology. The antimicrobial efficacy of the NCP against four oral pathogens is tested, and its specific mechanism is elucidated. The treatment of NCP on oral pathogenic microbes on a solid medium generated a growth inhibition zone. When NCP is applied to oral pathogens in a liquid medium, the growth of microbes decreased by more than 105 colony forming units, and the bactericidal effect of NCP remained after the installation of dental tips. The bactericidal effect of NCP in the liquid medium is due to the increase in hydrogen peroxide levels in the medium. However, the bactericidal effect of NCP in the solid medium depends on the charged elements of the NCP. Furthermore, the surface bactericidal efficiency of the dental-tip-installed NCP is proportional to the pore size of the tips and inversely proportional to the length of the tips. Overall, we expect this NCP device to be widely used in dentistry in the near future.
A dual-band CPW-fed miniature planar antenna for S-, C-, WiMAX, WLAN, UWB, and X-band applications
Authors: Alam Md. Mottahir , Azim Rezaul , Sobahi Nebras M. , Khan Asif Irshad , Islam Mohammad Tariqul
Published: May 2022

A miniature planar antenna is a vital component of any portable wireless communication device. The antenna in portable devices should provide wide/multiple operating bands to cover a good number of narrowband services as a multi-band antenna not only reduces the number of antennas but also lessens the system complexity, cost, and device size. To operate over S-, C-, WiMAX, WLAN, UWB, and X-communication bands, in this paper, a dual-band CPW-fed antenna is presented. The anticipated antenna is made up of a vertical bow-tie-shaped patch and two asymmetric ground planes and etched on the same side of the single-sided standard substrate material. To generate two distinct operating bands, an inverted L-shaped parasitic element is inserted within the modified U-shaped coplanar ground plane. The antenna achieved dual operating bands of 3.24–8.29 GHz and 9.12–11.25 GHz in measurement which helps the proposed antenna to cover S-, C-, WiMAX, WLAN, 4G LTE, 5G sub-6 GHz, UWB, and X-communication bands. In the two operating bands, the antenna realized a peak gain of 4.33 dBi, and 4.80 dBi, the maximum radiation efficiency of 86.6%, and 72.6%, and exhibits symmetric radiation patterns. In the operating bands, the antenna also exhibits good time-domain behavior which helps it to transmit the signal with minimum distortion.
Functional divergence of the pigmentation gene melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) in six endemic Macaca species on Sulawesi Island
Authors: Yan Xiaochan , Terai Yohey , Widayati Kanthi Arum , Itoigawa Akihiro , Purba Laurentia Henrieta Permita Sari , Fahri Fahri , Suryobroto Bambang , Imai Hiroo
Published: May 2022

Coat color is often highly variable within and between animal taxa. Among hundreds of pigmentation-related genes, melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) plays key roles in regulating the synthesis of the dark eumelanin and the red–yellow pheomelanin. The six species of macaques that inhabit Sulawesi Island diverged rapidly from their common ancestor, M. nemestrina. Unlike most macaques, Sulawesi macaques commonly have a dark coat color, with divergence in shade and color pattern. To clarify the genetic and evolutionary basis for coat color in Sulawesi macaques, we investigated the MC1R sequences and functional properties, including basal cAMP production and α-MSH-induced activity in vitro. We found fixed non-synonymous substitutions in MC1R in each species. Furthermore, we found that six species-specific variants corresponded with variation in agonist-induced and basal activity of MC1R. Inconsistent with the dark coat color, four substitutions independently caused decreases in the basal activity of MC1R in M. hecki, M. nigra, M. tonkeana, and M. ochreata. Selective analysis suggested MC1R of M. nigra and M. nigrescens underwent purifying selection. Overall, our results suggest that fixed differences in MC1R resulted in different functional characteristics and might contribute to divergence in color among the six Sulawesi macaque species.
Reaching alignment-profile-based accuracy in predicting protein secondary and tertiary structural properties without alignment
Authors: Singh Jaspreet , Paliwal Kuldip , Litfin Thomas , Singh Jaswinder , Zhou Yaoqi
Published: May 2022

Protein language models have emerged as an alternative to multiple sequence alignment for enriching sequence information and improving downstream prediction tasks such as biophysical, structural, and functional properties. Here we show that a method called SPOT-1D-LM combines traditional one-hot encoding with the embeddings from two different language models (ProtTrans and ESM-1b) for the input and yields a leap in accuracy over single-sequence-based techniques in predicting protein 1D secondary and tertiary structural properties, including backbone torsion angles, solvent accessibility and contact numbers for all six test sets (TEST2018, TEST2020, Neff1-2020, CASP12-FM, CASP13-FM and CASP14-FM). More significantly, it has a performance comparable to profile-based methods for those proteins with homologous sequences. For example, the accuracy for three-state secondary structure (SS3) prediction for TEST2018 and TEST2020 proteins are 86.7% and 79.8% by SPOT-1D-LM, compared to 74.3% and 73.4% by the single-sequence-based method SPOT-1D-Single and 86.2% and 80.5% by the profile-based method SPOT-1D, respectively. For proteins without homologous sequences (Neff1-2020) SS3 is 80.41% by SPOT-1D-LM which is 3.8% and 8.3% higher than SPOT-1D-Single and SPOT-1D, respectively. SPOT-1D-LM is expected to be useful for genome-wide analysis given its fast performance. Moreover, high-accuracy prediction of both secondary and tertiary structural properties such as backbone angles and solvent accessibility without sequence alignment suggests that highly accurate prediction of protein structures may be made without homologous sequences, the remaining obstacle in the post AlphaFold2 era.
Determination of a distinguished interferon gamma epitope recognized by monoclonal antibody relating to autoantibody associated immunodeficiency
Authors: Yasamut Umpa , Wisitponchai Tanchanok , Lee Vannajan Sanghiran , Yamabhai Montarop , Rangnoi Kuntalee , Thongkum Weeraya , Chupradit Koollawat , Tayapiwatana Chatchai
Published: May 2022

Anti-interferon gamma autoantibodies (anti-IFN-γ autoAbs) neutralize the IFN-γ-mediated functions, contributing to immunodeficiency. A particular autoAb in patient serum had been previously demonstrated to recognize the same determinant on IFN-γ as the neutralizing anti-IFN-γ monoclonal antibody clone B27 (B27 mAb). This study explored the epitope recognized by B27 mAb. The specific peptide sequence recognized by B27 mAb, TDFLRMMLQEER, was retrieved from a phage display random peptide library. Sequence alignment and homology modeling demonstrated that the queried phage peptide sequence and structure were similar to amino acids at position 27–40 (TLFLGILKNWKEES) of the human IFN-γ. This determinant resides in the contact surface of IFN-γ and interferon gamma receptor 1. To elucidate the crucial amino acids, mutations were introduced by substituting T27 and T27F29L30 with alanine or deleting the amino acid residues T27–L33. The binding of B27 mAb to IFN-γ T27A using western blotting was lesser than that to wild-type. The interaction with triple mutant and T27–L33 deletion mutant using western blotting and sandwich ELISA was abolished. The finding demonstrated that T27, F29, and L30 are critical residues in the B27 antigenic determinant. Identification of the functional domain of IFN-γ decrypted the relevance of neutralizing autoAb in adult-onset immunodeficiency.
Optimising the photothrombotic model of stroke in the C57BI/6 and FVB/N strains of mouse
Authors: Knezic Adriana , Broughton Brad R. S. , Widdop Robert E. , McCarthy Claudia A.
Published: May 2022

The photothrombotic stroke model relies on the interaction between photosensitive-dye and light for clot formation. Interestingly, the relationship between the length of light exposure and stroke-outcome has never been examined. This model has yet to be established in the FVB/N strain, even though stroke-outcomes are strain-specific. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of different lengths of light exposure in two strains of mice on photothrombotic stroke. Male FVB/N and C57Bl/6 mice were subjected to stroke using 15, 18, or 20-min light exposure. Mice underwent functional testing for up to 7 days. Infarct volume was assessed with thionin staining, and cellular responses to injury analysed via immunofluorescence at 7-days post-stroke. Blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown was assessed using Evans blue dye at 4.5-h post-stroke. Increasing light exposure from 15 to 20-min increased infarct volume but not functional deficit. Interestingly, there were strain-specific differences in functional outcomes, with FVB/N mice having less deficit on the hanging wire test than C57BI/6 after 15-min of light exposure. The opposite was seen in the adhesive removal test. There was no difference in the number of neurons, astrocytes, microglia, macrophages, and T cells between the strains, despite FVB/N mice demonstrating greater BBB breakdown and an enlarged spleen post-stroke. Increasing light exposure systematically increases infarct volume but does not worsen functional outcomes. FVB/N and C57Bl/6 mice exhibit subtle differences in functional outcomes post stroke, which highlights the need to choose tests which are appropriate for the mouse strain being used.
A low-dimensional representation of arm movements and hand grip forces in post-stroke individuals
Authors: Kanzler Christoph M. , Averta Giuseppe , Schwarz Anne , Held Jeremia P. O. , Gassert Roger , Bicchi Antonio , Santello Marco , Lambercy Olivier , Bianchi Matteo
Published: May 2022

Characterizing post-stroke impairments in the sensorimotor control of arm and hand is essential to better understand altered mechanisms of movement generation. Herein, we used a decomposition algorithm to characterize impairments in end-effector velocity and hand grip force data collected from an instrumented functional task in 83 healthy control and 27 chronic post-stroke individuals with mild-to-moderate impairments. According to kinematic and kinetic raw data, post-stroke individuals showed reduced functional performance during all task phases. After applying the decomposition algorithm, we observed that the behavioural data from healthy controls relies on a low-dimensional representation and demonstrated that this representation is mostly preserved post-stroke. Further, it emerged that reduced functional performance post-stroke correlates to an abnormal variance distribution of the behavioural representation, except when reducing hand grip forces. This suggests that the behavioural repertoire in these post-stroke individuals is mostly preserved, thereby pointing towards therapeutic strategies that optimize movement quality and the reduction of grip forces to improve performance of daily life activities post-stroke.
Learning induces coordinated neuronal plasticity of metabolic demands and functional brain networks
Authors: Klug Sebastian , Godbersen Godber M. , Rischka Lucas , Wadsak Wolfgang , Pichler Verena , Klöbl Manfred , Hacker Marcus , Lanzenberger Rupert , Hahn Andreas
Published: May 2022

The neurobiological basis of learning is reflected in adaptations of brain structure, network organization and energy metabolism. However, it is still unknown how different neuroplastic mechanisms act together and if cognitive advancements relate to general or task-specific changes. Therefore, we tested how hierarchical network interactions contribute to improvements in the performance of a visuo-spatial processing task by employing simultaneous PET/MR neuroimaging before and after a 4-week learning period. We combined functional PET and metabolic connectivity mapping (MCM) to infer directional interactions across brain regions. Learning altered the top-down regulation of the salience network onto the occipital cortex, with increases in MCM at resting-state and decreases during task execution. Accordingly, a higher divergence between resting-state and task-specific effects was associated with better cognitive performance, indicating that these adaptations are complementary and both required for successful visuo-spatial skill learning. Simulations further showed that changes at resting-state were dependent on glucose metabolism, whereas those during task performance were driven by functional connectivity between salience and visual networks. Referring to previous work, we suggest that learning establishes a metabolically expensive skill engram at rest, whose retrieval serves for efficient task execution by minimizing prediction errors between neuronal representations of brain regions on different hierarchical levels.
Arabidopsis nitrate-induced aspartate oxidase gene expression is necessary to maintain metabolic balance under nitrogen nutrient fluctuation
Authors: Saito Moriaki , Konishi Mineko , Miyagi Atsuko , Sakuraba Yasuhito , Kawai-Yamada Maki , Yanagisawa Shuichi
Published: May 2022

Nitrate is a nutrient signal that regulates growth and development through NLP transcription factors in plants. Here we identify the L-aspartate oxidase gene (AO) necessary forde novoNAD+biosynthesis as an NLP target in Arabidopsis. We investigated the physiological significance of nitrate-inducedAOexpression by expressingAOunder the control of the mutantAOpromoter lacking the NLP-binding site in theaomutant. Despite morphological changes and severe reductions in fresh weight, the loss of nitrate-inducedAOexpression resulted in minimum effects on NAD(H) and NADP(H) contents, suggesting compensation of decreasedde novoNAD+biosynthesis by reducing the growth rate. Furthermore, metabolite profiling and transcriptome analysis revealed that the loss of nitrate-inducedAOexpression causes pronounced impacts on contents of TCA cycle- and urea cycle-related metabolites, gene expression profile, and their modifications in response to changes in the nitrogen nutrient condition. These results suggest that proper maintenance of metabolic balance requires the coordinated regulation of multiple metabolic pathways by NLP-mediated nitrate signaling in plants.
Electropolymerization of EDOT in an anionic surfactant-stabilized hydrophobic ionic liquid-based microemulsion
Authors: Gao Na , Huang Xirong
Published: May 2022

The electrochemical performance of the deposited PEDOT depends on the water content in the microemulsion (μE).
Improvement in the metabolic markers of prediabetic subjects due to the partial substitution of Taiken9 rice by RD43 rice in their daily diet: a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Suklaew Phim on , Han Yi-Chun , Chusak Charoonsri , Lin Wen-Chien , Wu Yi-Hsiu , Wang Jyun-Syong , Chang Ya Chu , Lin Yu-Ju , Zhuang Shu-Ru , Chuang Hui-Ju , Adisakwattana Sirichai , Wang Chin-Kun
Published: May 2022

Consuming RD43 rice for 12 weeks potentially reduces the value of glycemic parameters such as fasting glucose and insulin, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR, as well as body weight, BMI, total fat mass, and waist circumference in overweight prediabetic people.
Bioavailability evaluation of the intestinal absorption and liver accumulation of torularhodin using a rat postprandial model
Authors: Li Jiayi , Qian He , Pi Fuwei , Wang Ben-Xin
Published: May 2022

Torularhodin, as a new functional carotenoid, possesses great application potential in disease intervention.
Synergistic engineering of shell thickness and core ordering to boost the oxygen reduction performance
Authors: Zhong Lijie , Zhang Xingming , Wang Liang , Yuan Dingwang , Deng Huiqiu , Tang Jianfeng , Deng Lei
Published: May 2022

Compared with Pt(111), ten candidates with tailored skin thickness and substrate ordering exhibit slightly weaker adsorption and stronger cohesion properties, and thus improved or identical durability but 10-fold enhanced ORR activity.
PBA-derived high-efficiency iron-based catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation
Authors: Cai Zhenyu , Zhang Fenglei , Yu Sibing , He Zhipeng , Cao Xinjie , Zhang Lei , Huang Kai
Published: May 2022

The PBA-derived iron based catalyst effectively converts CO2 to hydrocarbons, especially C5+ hydrocarbons.
Earth-abundant and environmentally benign Ni–Zn iron oxide intercalated in a polyaniline based nanohybrid as an ultrafast photodetector
Authors: Singh Anshika , Verma Arpit , Yadav B. C. , Chauhan Pratima
Published: May 2022

Nickel–zinc iron oxide (NZF) was introduced into a polyaniline (PANI) matrix by anin-situchemical oxidation polymerization approach. This nanohybrid was used to fabricate a photodetector device on a biodegradable and flexible paper substrate.
FADS1 overexpression promotes fatty acid synthesis and triacylglycerol accumulation via inhibiting the AMPK/SREBP1 pathway in goat mammary epithelial cells
Authors: Huang Jiangtao , Shao Yuexin , Zong Xueyang , Zhang Huawen , Zhang Xian , Zhang Zhifei , Shi Huaiping
Published: May 2022

During lactation, FADS1 is up-regulated, then inhibits the phosphorylation of AMPK. The downregulation of p-AMPK promotes SREBP1 nuclear translocation, and induces SREBP1 target gene FASN and ACC expression in GMEC, leading to increased lipogenesis.
Templated electrodeposition as a scalable and surfactant-free approach to the synthesis of Au nanoparticles with tunable aspect ratios
Authors: Abbondanza Giuseppe , Larsson Alfred , Linpé Weronica , Hetherington Crispin , Carlá Francesco , Lundgren Edvin , Harlow Gary S.
Published: May 2022

We synthesised ordered arrays of low-dimensional Au with controllable aspect ratio and morphology. The surfactant-free fabrication, the size-dependent strain state and the twinning defects could be beneficial for catalysis.
Rational design of multi-functional thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters for both sensor and OLED applications
Authors: Zhu Aiyun , Yu Jianmin , Zhou Tao , Zhang Kaizhi , Qiu Suyu , Ban Xinxin , Wang Yuanchu , Shen Zhouzhou , Da Shiji , Gao Xuzhu
Published: May 2022

Non-conjugated linking as a molecular design strategy to construct multifunctional structures to achieve the TADF feature and sensor properties in a single system.
Synergistic impacts of sonolysis aided photocatalytic degradation of water pollutant over perovskite-type CeNiO3nanospheres
Authors: Maridevaru Madappa C , Aljafari Belqasem , Anandan Sambandam , Ashokkumar Muthupandian
Published: May 2022

The current study reports on the preparation of perovskite-type CeNiO3nanostructures as a sonophotocatalystviaa facile hydrothermal approach followed by annealing at 800 °C.
Synthesis of 2-acetal-1,3-enynes by Sonogashira reaction of bromovinyl acetals with alkynes: application to the formal synthesis of a glucagon antagonist
Authors: Bacheley Lucas , Llopis Quentin , Westermeyer Anne , Guillamot Gérard , Phansavath Phannarath , Ratovelomanana-Vidal Virginie
Published: May 2022

The preparation of functionalized 1,3-enynes bearing an acetal moiety at the 2-position has been studied through Sonogashira reaction of bromovinyl acetals with various alkyl- and aryl-substituted terminal alkynes.