bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metagenomic and metabolomic analyses unveil dysbiosis of gut microbiota in chronic heart failure patients
Authors: Cui Xiao , Ye Lei , Li Jing , Jin Ling , Wang Wenjie , Li Shuangyue , Bao Minghui , Wu Shouling , Li Lifeng , Geng Bin , Zhou Xin , Zhang Jian , Cai Jun
Published: January 2018

Previous studies suggested a possible gut microbiota dysbiosis in chronic heart failure (CHF). However, direct evidence was lacking. In this study, we investigated the composition and metabolic patterns of gut microbiota in CHF patients to provide direct evidence and comprehensive understanding of gut microbiota dysbiosis in CHF. We enrolled 53 CHF patients and 41 controls. Metagenomic analyses of faecal samples and metabolomic analyses of faecal and plasma samples were then performed. We found that the composition of gut microbiota in CHF was significantly different from controls. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii decrease and Ruminococcus gnavus increase were the essential characteristics in CHF patients’ gut microbiota. We also observed an imbalance of gut microbes involved in the metabolism of protective metabolites such as butyrate and harmful metabolites such as trimethylamine N-oxide in CHF patients. Metabolic features of both faecal and plasma samples from CHF patients also significantly changed. Moreover, alterations in faecal and plasma metabolic patterns correlated with gut microbiota dysbiosis in CHF. Taken together, we found that CHF was associated with distinct gut microbiota dysbiosis and pinpointed the specific core bacteria imbalance in CHF, along with correlations between changes in certain metabolites and gut microbes.
Collagen Type 1 Accelerates Healing of Ruptured Fetal Membranes
Authors: Mogami Haruta , Kishore Annavarapu Hari , Word R. Ann
Published: January 2018

Preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) is a major cause of preterm birth. Recently, extracellular matrix-directed treatment is applied for wound healing. Here, we used a pregnant mouse model to test the efficacy of collagen type 1 gel for healing of the prematurely ruptured fetal membranes. Although injection of PBS into the ruptured fetal membranes resulted in 40% closure, injection of collagen type 1 improved closure rates to 90% within 72 h. Macrophages of the M2 wound healing phenotype were entrapped in the collagen layer. In primary human amnion mesenchymal cells, collagen type 1 gels activated collagen receptor discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) to induce myosin light chain phosphorylation and migration of injured amnion mesenchymal cells. These findings define the mechanisms for matrix-directed therapeutics for pPROM.
Visual learning with reduced adaptation is eccentricity-specific
Authors: Harris Hila , Sagi Dov
Published: January 2018

Visual learning is known to be specific to the trained target location, showing little transfer to untrained locations. Recently, learning was shown to transfer across equal-eccentricity retinal-locations when sensory adaptation due to repetitive stimulation was minimized. It was suggested that learning transfers to previously untrained locations when the learned representation is location invariant, with sensory adaptation introducing location-dependent representations, thus preventing transfer. Spatial invariance may also fail when the trained and tested locations are at different distance from the center of gaze (different retinal eccentricities), due to differences in the corresponding low-level cortical representations (e.g. allocated cortical area decreases with eccentricity). Thus, if learning improves performance by better classifying target-dependent early visual representations, generalization is predicted to fail when locations of different retinal eccentricities are trained and tested in the absence sensory adaptation. Here, using the texture discrimination task, we show specificity of learning across different retinal eccentricities (4–8°) using reduced adaptation training. The existence of generalization across equal-eccentricity locations but not across different eccentricities demonstrates that learning accesses visual representations preceding location independent representations, with specificity of learning explained by inhomogeneous sensory representation.
Each protomer of a dimeric YidC functions as a single membrane insertase
Authors: Spann Dirk , Pross Eva , Chen Yuanyuan , Dalbey Ross E. , Kuhn Andreas
Published: January 2018

The membrane insertase YidC catalyzes the entrance of newly synthesized proteins into the lipid bilayer. As an integral membrane protein itself, YidC can be found as a monomer, a dimer or also as a member of the holotranslocase SecYEGDF-YajC-YidC. To investigate whether the dimeric YidC is functional and whether two copies cooperate to insert a single substrate, we constructed a fusion protein where two copies of YidC are connected by a short linker peptide. The 120 kDa protein is stable and functional as it supports the membrane insertion of the M13 procoat protein, the C-tailed protein SciP and the fusion protein Pf3-Lep. Mutations that inhibit either protomer do not inactivate the insertase and rather keep it functional. When both protomers are defective, the substrate proteins accumulate in the cytoplasm. This suggests that the dimeric YidC operates as two insertases. Consistent with this, we show that the dimeric YidC can bind two substrate proteins simultaneously, suggesting that YidC indeed functions as a monomer.
Competition among the attentional networks due to resource reduction in Tibetan indigenous residents: evidence from event-related potentials
Authors: Zhang Delong , Zhang Xinjuan , Ma Hailin , Wang Yan , Ma Huifang , Liu Ming
Published: January 2018

This study used the attention network test (ANT) to evaluate the alerting, orienting, and executive network efficiencies of attention related to indigenous residents who were born and raised until early adulthood in different high-altitude areas (2900-m, 3700-m, and 4200-m) at the same location (3700-m) where these residents had been living for approximately 2 years in Tibet. We further applied the event-related potential (ERP) method to identify the underlying neurophysiological basis. Based on the ANT, we found that, in the 4200-m residents, executive function was increased but the orienting function was decreased, and the executive and orienting network scores were oppositely correlated. The behavioral findings were supported by the ERP data, showing that the P3 amplitude changes indicated that the executive function was over-active under conflict conditions and that the N1 amplitude change indicated a decreased orienting function in the 4200-m residents. In addition, the changed P3 amplitudes were significantly correlated with intelligence performance across the residents only in the 4200-m group. The present study provided evidence for competition among the attentional networks due to high-altitude exposure in indigenous residents, and showed the existence of a threshold of the influence of high altitudes on attentional function in the brain.
An insight into intestinal mucosal microbiota disruption after stroke
Authors: Stanley Dragana , Moore Robert J. , Wong Connie H. Y.
Published: January 2018

Recent work from our laboratory has provided evidence that indicates selective bacterial translocation from the host gut microbiota to peripheral tissues (i.e. lung) plays a key role in the development of post-stroke infections. Despite this, it is currently unknown whether mucosal bacteria that live on and interact closely with the host intestinal epithelium contribute in regulating bacterial translocation after stroke. Here, we found that the microbial communities within the mucosa of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) were significantly different between sham-operated and post-stroke mice at 24 h following surgery. The differences in microbiota composition were substantial in all sections of the GIT and were significant, even at the phylum level. The main characteristics of the stroke-induced shift in mucosal microbiota composition were an increased abundance ofAkkermansia muciniphilaand an excessive abundance of clostridial species. Furthermore, we analysed the predicted functional potential of the altered mucosal microbiota induced by stroke using PICRUSt and revealed significant increases in functions associated with infectious diseases, membrane transport and xenobiotic degradation. Our findings revealed stroke induces far-reaching and robust changes to the intestinal mucosal microbiota. A better understanding of the precise molecular events leading up to stroke-induced mucosal microbiota changes may represent novel therapy targets to improve patient outcomes.
Glucose-independent segmental phase angles from multi-frequency bioimpedance analysis to discriminate diabetes mellitus
Authors: Jun Min-Ho , Kim Soochan , Ku Boncho , Cho JungHee , Kim Kahye , Yoo Ho-Ryong , Kim Jaeuk U.
Published: January 2018

We investigated segmental phase angles (PAs) in the four limbs using a multi-frequency bioimpedance analysis (MF-BIA) technique for noninvasively diagnosing diabetes mellitus. We conducted a meal tolerance test (MTT) for 45 diabetic and 45 control subjects stratified by age, sex and body mass index (BMI). HbA1c and the waist-to-hip-circumference ratio (WHR) were measured before meal intake, and we measured the glucose levels and MF-BIA PAs 5 times for 2 hours after meal intake. We employed a t-test to examine the statistical significance and the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) to test the classification accuracy using segmental PAs at 5, 50, and 250 kHz. Segmental PAs were independent of the HbA1c or glucose levels, or their changes caused by the MTT. However, the segmental PAs were good indicators for noninvasively screening diabetes In particular, leg PAs in females and arm PAs in males showed best classification accuracy (AUC = 0.827 for males, AUC = 0.845 for females). Lastly, we introduced the PA at maximum reactance (PAmax), which is independent of measurement frequencies and can be obtained from any MF-BIA device using a Cole-Cole model, thus showing potential as a useful biomarker for diabetes.
Improved Resolution Optical Time Stretch Imaging Based on High Efficiency In-Fiber Diffraction
Authors: Wang Guoqing , Yan Zhijun , Yang Lei , Zhang Lin , Wang Chao
Published: January 2018

Most overlooked challenges in ultrafast optical time stretch imaging (OTSI) are sacrificed spatial resolution and higher optical loss. These challenges are originated from optical diffraction devices used in OTSI, which encode image into spectra of ultrashort optical pulses. Conventional free-space diffraction gratings, as widely used in existing OTSI systems, suffer from several inherent drawbacks: limited diffraction efficiency in a non-Littrow configuration due to inherent zeroth-order reflection, high coupling loss between free-space gratings and optical fibers, bulky footprint, and more importantly, sacrificed imaging resolution due to non-full-aperture illumination for individual wavelengths. Here we report resolution-improved and diffraction-efficient OTSI using in-fiber diffraction for the first time to our knowledge. The key to overcome the existing challenges is a 45° tilted fiber grating (TFG), which serves as a compact in-fiber diffraction device offering improved diffraction efficiency (up to 97%), inherent compatibility with optical fibers, and improved imaging resolution owning to almost full-aperture illumination for all illumination wavelengths. 50 million frames per second imaging of fast moving object at 46 m/s with improved imaging resolution has been demonstrated. This conceptually new in-fiber diffraction design opens the way towards cost-effective, compact and high-resolution OTSI systems for image-based high-throughput detection and measurement.
Flux of the biogenic volatiles isoprene and dimethyl sulfide from an oligotrophic lake
Authors: Steinke Michael , Hodapp Bettina , Subhan Rameez , Bell Thomas G. , Martin-Creuzburg Dominik
Published: January 2018

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) affect atmospheric chemistry, climate and regional air quality in terrestrial and marine atmospheres. Although isoprene is a major BVOC produced in vascular plants, and marine phototrophs release dimethyl sulfide (DMS), lakes have been widely ignored for their production. Here we demonstrate that oligotrophic Lake Constance, a model for north temperate deep lakes, emits both volatiles to the atmosphere. Depth profiles indicated that highest concentrations of isoprene and DMS were associated with the chlorophyll maximum, suggesting that their production is closely linked to phototrophic processes. Significant correlations of the concentration patterns with taxon-specific fluorescence data, and measurements from algal cultures confirmed the phototrophic production of isoprene and DMS. Diurnal fluctuations in lake isoprene suggested an unrecognised physiological role in environmental acclimation similar to the antioxidant function of isoprene that has been suggested for marine biota. Flux estimations demonstrated that lakes are a currently undocumented source of DMS and isoprene to the atmosphere. Lakes may be of increasing importance for their contribution of isoprene and DMS to the atmosphere in the arctic zone where lake area coverage is high but terrestrial sources of BVOCs are small.
New generation of drug delivery systems based on ginsenoside Rh2-, Lysine- and Arginine-treated highly porous graphene for improving anticancer activity
Authors: Zare-Zardini Hadi , Taheri-Kafrani Asghar , Amiri Ahmad , Bordbar Abdol-Khalegh
Published: January 2018

In this study, Rh2–treated graphene oxide (GO-Rh2), lysine-treated highly porous graphene (Gr-Lys), arginine-treated Gr (Gr-Arg), Rh2–treated Gr-Lys (Gr-Lys-Rh2) and Rh2–treated Gr-Arg (Gr-Arg-Rh2) were synthesized. MTT assay was used for evaluation of cytotoxicity of samples on ovarian cancer (OVCAR3), breast cancer (MDA-MB), Human melanoma (A375) and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cell lines. The percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The hemolysis and blood coagulation activity of nanostructures were performed. Interestingly, Gr-Arg, Gr-Lys, Gr-Arg-Rh2, and Gr-Lys-Rh2were more active against cancer cell lines in comparison with their cytotoxic activity against normal cell lines (MSCs) with IC50values higher than 100 μg/ml. The results of TUNEL assay indicates a significant increase in the rates of TUNEL positive cells by increasing the concentrations of nanomaterials. Results were also shown that aggregation and changes of RBCs morphology were occurred in the presence of GO, GO-Rh2, Gr-Arg, Gr-Lys, Gr-Arg-Rh2, and Gr-Lys-Rh2. Note that all the samples had effect on blood coagulation system, especially on PTT. All nanostrucure act as antitumor drug so that binding of drugs to a nostructures is irresolvable and the whole structure enter to the cell as a drug.
Inactivated rotavirus vaccine by parenteral administration induces mucosal immunity in mice
Authors: Resch Theresa K. , Wang Yuhuan , Moon Sung-Sil , Joyce Jessica , Li Song , Prausnitz Mark , Jiang Baoming
Published: January 2018

To improve the safety and efficacy of oral rotavirus vaccines, we developed an inactivated rotavirus vaccine (IRV) for parenteral administration. Since it remains unknown whether parenteral vaccination can induce mucosal immunity, we performed a comprehensive assessment of immune responses to IRV in mice with an adjuvant-free dissolving polymer MN patch or by alum-adjuvanted IM injection. We demonstrated that IRV induced the expression of the gut homing receptor LPAM-1 on T and B cells in spleen and mLN of vaccinated mice. MN patch IRV vaccination induced a slight Th1 phenotype while IM vaccination induced a balanced Th1/Th2 phenotype. In addition, a dose-sparing effect was seen for rotavirus-specific serum IgG and neutralizing activity for both vaccination routes. Our study is the first to show that parenterally administered IRV can induce mucosal immunity in the gut, in addition to strong serum antibody response, and is a promising candidate vaccine in achieving global immunization against rotavirus.
Large-scale aggregation analysis of eukaryotic proteins reveals an involvement of intrinsically disordered regions in protein folding
Authors: Uemura Eri , Niwa Tatsuya , Minami Shintaro , Takemoto Kazuhiro , Fukuchi Satoshi , Machida Kodai , Imataka Hiroaki , Ueda Takuya , Ota Motonori , Taguchi Hideki
Published: January 2018

A subset of the proteome is prone to aggregate formation, which is prevented by chaperones in the cell. To investigate whether the basic principle underlying the aggregation process is common in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, we conducted a large-scale aggregation analysis of ~500 cytosolic budding yeast proteins using a chaperone-free reconstituted translation system, and compared the obtained data with that of ~3,000 Escherichia coli proteins reported previously. Although the physicochemical properties affecting the aggregation propensity were generally similar in yeast and E. coli proteins, the susceptibility of aggregation in yeast proteins were positively correlated with the presence of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). Notably, the aggregation propensity was not significantly changed by a removal of IDRs in model IDR-containing proteins, suggesting that the properties of ordered regions in these proteins are the dominant factors for aggregate formation. We also found that the proteins with longer IDRs were disfavored by E. coli chaperonin GroEL/ES, whereas both bacterial and yeast Hsp70/40 chaperones have a strong aggregation-prevention effect even for proteins possessing IDRs. These results imply that a key determinant to discriminate the eukaryotic proteomes from the prokaryotic proteomes in terms of protein folding would be the attachment of IDRs.
Aquaglyceroporin PbAQP is required for efficient progression through the liver stage of Plasmodium infection
Authors: Promeneur Dominique , Mlambo Godfree , Agre Peter , Coppens Isabelle
Published: January 2018

The discovery of aquaglyceroporins (AQP) has highlighted a new mechanism of membrane solute transport that may hold therapeutic potential for controlling parasitic infections, including malaria.Plasmodiumparasites express a single AQP at the plasma membrane that functions as a channel for water, nutrients and waste into and out cells. We previously demonstrated thatPlasmodium bergheitargeted forPbAQPdeletion are deficient in glycerol import and less virulent than wild-type parasites during the blood developmental stage. Here, we have examined the contribution of PbAQP to the infectivity ofP.bergheiin the liver.PbAQPis expressed in the sporozoite mosquito stage and is detected at low levels in intrahepatic parasites at the onset of hepatocyte infection. As the parasites progress to late hepatic stages,PbAQPtranscription increases and PbAQP localizes to the plasma membrane of hepatic merozoites. Compared to wild-type parasites, PbAQP-null sporozoites exhibit a delay in blood stage infection due to slower replication in hepatocytes, resulting in retardation of merosome production. Furthermore,PbAQPdisruption results in a significant reduction in erythrocyte infectivity by hepatocyte-derived merozoites. Hepatic merozoites incorporate exogenous glycerol into glycerophospholipids and PbAQP-null merozoites contain less phosphatidylcholine than wild-type merozoites, underlining the contribution ofPlasmodiumAQP to phospholipid syntheses.
Mechanisms controlling the impact of multi-year drought on mountain hydrology
Authors: Bales Roger C. , Goulden Michael L. , Hunsaker Carolyn T. , Conklin Martha H. , Hartsough Peter C. , O’Geen Anthony T. , Hopmans Jan W. , Safeeq Mohammad
Published: January 2018

Mountain runoff ultimately reflects the difference between precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET), as modulated by biogeophysical mechanisms that intensify or alleviate drought impacts. These modulating mechanisms are seldom measured and not fully understood. The impact of the warm 2012–15 California drought on the heavily instrumented Kings River basin provides an extraordinary opportunity to enumerate four mechanisms that controlled the impact of drought on mountain hydrology. Two mechanisms intensified the impact: (i) evaporative processes have first access to local precipitation, which decreased the fractional allocation of P to runoff in 2012–15 and reduced P-ET by 30% relative to previous years, and (ii) 2012–15 was 1 °C warmer than the previous decade, which increased ET relative to previous years and reduced P-ET by 5%. The other two mechanisms alleviated the impact: (iii) spatial heterogeneity and the continuing supply of runoff from higher elevations increased 2012–15 P-ET by 10% relative to that expected for a homogenous basin, and iv) drought-associated dieback and wildfire thinned the forest and decreased ET, which increased 2016 P-ET by 15%. These mechanisms are all important and may offset each other; analyses that neglect one or more will over or underestimate the impact of drought and warming on mountain runoff.
Testing density-functional approximations on a lattice and the applicability of the related Hohenberg-Kohn-like theorem
Authors: França Vivian V. , Coe Jeremy P. , D’Amico Irene
Published: January 2018

We present a metric-space approach to quantify the performance of approximations in lattice density-functional theory for interacting many-body systems and to explore the regimes where the Hohenberg-Kohn-type theorem on fermionic lattices is applicable. This theorem demonstrates the existence of one-to-one mappings between particle densities, wave functions and external potentials. We then focus on these quantities, and quantify how far apart in metric space the approximated and exact ones are. We apply our method to the one-dimensional Hubbard model for different types of external potentials, and assess the regimes where it is applicable to one of the most used approximations in density-functional theory, the local density approximation (LDA). We find that the potential distance may have a very different behaviour from the density and wave function distances, in some cases even providing the wrong assessments of the LDA performance trends. We attribute this to the systems reaching behaviours which are borderline for the applicability of the one-to-one correspondence between density and external potential. On the contrary the wave function and density distances behave similarly and are always sensitive to system variations. Our metric-based method correctly predicts the regimes where the LDA performs fairly well and the regimes where it fails. This suggests that our method could be a practical tool for testing the efficiency of density-functional approximations.
The interaction network of the YidC insertase with the SecYEG translocon, SRP and the SRP receptor FtsY
Authors: Petriman Narcis-Adrian , Jauß Benjamin , Hufnagel Antonia , Franz Lisa , Sachelaru Ilie , Drepper Friedel , Warscheid Bettina , Koch Hans-Georg
Published: January 2018

YidC/Oxa1/Alb3 are essential proteins that operate independently or cooperatively with the Sec machinery during membrane protein insertion in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotic organelles. Although the interaction between the bacterial SecYEG translocon and YidC has been observed in multiple studies, it is still unknown which domains of YidC are in contact with the SecYEG translocon. By in vivo and in vitro site-directed and para-formaldehyde cross-linking we identified the auxiliary transmembrane domain 1 of E. coli YidC as a major contact site for SecY and SecG. Additional SecY contacts were observed for the tightly packed globular domain and the C1 loop of YidC, which reveals that the hydrophilic cavity of YidC faces the lateral gate of SecY. Surprisingly, YidC-SecYEG contacts were only observed when YidC and SecYEG were present at about stoichiometric concentrations, suggesting that the YidC-SecYEG contact in vivo is either very transient or only observed for a very small SecYEG sub-population. This is different for the YidC-SRP and YidC-FtsY interaction, which involves the C1 loop of YidC and is efficiently observed even at sub-stoichiometric concentrations of SRP/FtsY. In summary, our data provide a first detailed view on how YidC interacts with the SecYEG translocon and the SRP-targeting machinery.
Application of Hydrazine-Embedded Heterocyclic Compounds to High Voltage Rechargeable Lithium Organic Batteries
Authors: Shimizu Takeshi , Yamamoto Koji , Pandit Palash , Yoshikawa Hirofumi , Higashibayashi Shuhei
Published: January 2018

Hydrazine-embedded heterocyclic compounds with dimeric dimethylacridine (1b), carbazole (2b), and phenothiazine (3b) skeletons were applied to cathode active materials of rechargeable lithium organic batteries, and the performance of the batteries was evaluated. The charge/discharge curves exhibited clear plateaus in the high voltage range of 3.3–3.7 V. The capacities of the plateau regions were comparable to the calculated capacities corresponding to the one-electron redox of the molecules. The amount of the active compound 3b could be increased up to 30 wt% in the electrode composite, and fast charge/discharge performance was also observed.
Turning a normal microscope into a super-resolution instrument using a scanning microlens array
Authors: Huszka Gergely , Gijs Martin A. M.
Published: January 2018

We report dielectric microsphere array-based optical super-resolution microscopy. A dielectric microsphere that is placed on a sample is known to generate a virtual image with resolution better than the optical diffraction limit. However, a limitation of such type of super-resolution microscopy is the restricted field-of-view, essentially limited to the central area of the microsphere-generated image. We overcame this limitation by scanning a micro-fabricated array of ordered microspheres over the sample using a customized algorithm that moved step-by-step a motorized stage, meanwhile the microscope-mounted camera was taking pictures at every step. Finally, we stitched together the extracted central parts of the virtual images that showed super-resolution into a mosaic image. We demonstrated 130 nm lateral resolution (~λ/4) and 5 × 105 µm2 scanned surface area using a two by one array of barium titanate glass microspheres in oil-immersion environment. Our findings may serve as a basis for widespread applications of affordable optical super-resolution microscopy.
The Impact of COMT and Childhood Maltreatment on Suicidal Behaviour in Affective Disorders
Authors: Bernegger Alexandra , Kienesberger Klemens , Carlberg Laura , Swoboda Patrick , Ludwig Birgit , Koller Romina , Inaner Michelle , Zotter Melanie , Kapusta Nestor , Aigner Martin , Haslacher Helmuth , Kasper Siegfried , Schosser Alexandra
Published: January 2018

The inconsistent findings on the association between COMT (catecholamine-O-methyl-transferase) and suicidal behaviour gave reason to choose a clear phenotype description of suicidal behaviour and take childhood maltreatment as environmental factor into account. The aim of this candidate-gene-association study was to eliminate heterogeneity within the sample by only recruiting affective disorder patients and find associations between COMT polymorphisms and defined suicidal phenotypes. In a sample of 258 affective disorder patients a detailed clinical assessment (e.g. CTQ, SCAN, HAMD, SBQ-R, VI-SURIAS, LPC) was performed. DNA of peripheral blood samples was genotyped using TaqMan® SNP Genotyping Assays. We observed that the haplotype GAT of rs737865, rs6269, rs4633 is significantly associated with suicide attempt (p = 0.003 [pcorr = 0.021]), and that there is a tendency towards self-harming behaviour (p = 0.02 [pcorr = 0.08]) and also NSSI (p = 0.03 [pcorr = 0.08]), though the p values did not resist multiple testing correction. The same effect we observed with the 4-marker slide window haplotype, GATA of rs737865, rs6269, rs4633, rs4680 (p = 0.009 [pcorr = 0.045]). The findings support an association between the COMT gene and suicidal behaviour phenotypes with and without childhood maltreatment as environmental factor.
Evidence of s-wave superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric La7Ir3
Authors: Li B. , Xu C. Q. , Zhou W. , Jiao W. H. , Sankar R. , Zhang F. M. , Hou H. H. , Jiang X. F. , Qian B. , Chen B. , Bangura A. F. , Xu Xiaofeng
Published: January 2018

Superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric compounds has attracted sustained interest in the last decades. Here we present a detailed study on the transport, thermodynamic properties and the band structure of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor La 7 Ir 3 (T
c
 ~ 2.3 K) that was recently proposed to break the time-reversal symmetry. It is found that La7Ir3 displays a moderately large electronic heat capacity (Sommerfeld coefficient γ
n
 ~ 53.1 mJ/mol K2) and a significantly enhanced Kadowaki-Woods ratio (KWR ~32 μΩ cm mol2 K2 J−2) that is greater than the typical value (~10 μΩ cm mol2 K2 J−2) for strongly correlated electron systems. The upper critical field Hc2 was seen to be nicely described by the single-band Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg model down to very low temperatures. The hydrostatic pressure effects on the superconductivity were also investigated. The heat capacity below T
c
reveals a dominant s-wave gap with the magnitude close to the BCS value. The first-principles calculations yield the electron-phonon coupling constant λ = 0.81 and the logarithmically averaged frequency ω
ln
 = 78.5 K, resulting in a theoretical T
c
 = 2.5 K, close to the experimental value. Our calculations suggest that the enhanced electronic heat capacity is more likely due to electron-phonon coupling, rather than the electron-electron correlation effects. Collectively, these results place severe constraints on any theory of exotic superconductivity in this system.
FDXR is a biomarker of radiation exposure in vivo
Authors: O’Brien Gráinne , Cruz-Garcia Lourdes , Majewski Matthäus , Grepl Jakub , Abend Michael , Port Matthias , Tichý Aleš , Sirak Igor , Malkova Andrea , Donovan Ellen , Gothard Lone , Boyle Sue , Somaiah Navita , Ainsbury Elizabeth , Ponge Lucyna , Slosarek Krzysztof , Miszczyk Leszek , Widlak Piotr , Green Edward , Patel Neel , Kudari Mahesh , Gleeson Fergus , Vinnikov Volodymyr , Starenkiy Viktor , Artiukh Sergii , Vasyliev Leonid , Zaman Azfar , Badie Christophe
Published: January 2018

Previous investigations in gene expression changes in blood after radiation exposure have highlighted its potential to provide biomarkers of exposure. Here, FDXR transcriptional changes in blood were investigated in humans undergoing a range of external radiation exposure procedures covering several orders of magnitude (cardiac fluoroscopy, diagnostic computed tomography (CT)) and treatments (total body and local radiotherapy). Moreover, a method was developed to assess the dose to the blood using physical exposure parameters. FDXR expression was significantly up-regulated 24 hr after radiotherapy in most patients and continuously during the fractionated treatment. Significance was reached even after diagnostic CT 2 hours post-exposure. We further showed that no significant differences in expression were found between ex vivo and in vivo samples from the same patients. Moreover, potential confounding factors such as gender, infection status and anti-oxidants only affect moderately FDXR transcription. Finally, we provided a first in vivo dose-response showing dose-dependency even for very low doses or partial body exposure showing good correlation between physically and biologically assessed doses. In conclusion, we report the remarkable responsiveness of FDXR to ionising radiation at the transcriptional level which, when measured in the right time window, provides accurate in vivo dose estimates.
Targeting melanoma stem cells with the Vitamin E derivative δ-tocotrienol
Authors: Marzagalli Monica , Moretti Roberta Manuela , Messi Elio , Marelli Marina Montagnani , Fontana Fabrizio , Anastasia Alessia , Bani Maria Rosa , Beretta Giangiacomo , Limonta Patrizia
Published: January 2018

The prognosis of metastatic melanoma is very poor, due to the development of drug resistance. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) may play a crucial role in this mechanism, contributing to disease relapse. We first characterized CSCs in melanoma cell lines. We observed that A375 (but not BLM) cells are able to form melanospheres and show CSCs traits: expression of the pluripotency markers SOX2 and KLF4, higher invasiveness and tumor formation capability in vivo with respect to parental adherent cells. We also showed that a subpopulation of autofluorescent cells expressing the ABCG2 stem cell marker is present in the A375 spheroid culture. Based on these data, we investigated whether δ-TT might target melanoma CSCs. We demonstrated that melanoma cells escaping the antitumor activity of δ-TT are completely devoid of the ability to form melanospheres. In contrast, cells that escaped vemurafenib treatment show a higher ability to form melanospheres than control cells. δ-TT also induced disaggregation of A375 melanospheres and reduced the spheroidogenic ability of sphere-derived cells, reducing the expression of the ABCG2 marker. These data demonstrate that δ-TT exerts its antitumor activity by targeting the CSC subpopulation of A375 melanoma cells and might represent a novel chemopreventive/therapeutic strategy against melanoma.
Induction of protein citrullination and auto-antibodies production in murine exposed to nickel nanomaterials
Authors: Mohamed Bashir M. , Boyle Noreen T. , Schinwald Anja , Murer Bruno , Ward Ronan , Mahfoud Omar K. , Rakovich Tatsiana , Crosbie-Staunton Kieran , Gray Steven G. , Donaldson Ken , Volkov Yuri , Prina-Mello Adriele
Published: January 2018

Citrullination, or the post-translational deimination of polypeptide-bound arginine, is involved in several pathological processes in the body, including autoimmunity and tumorigenesis. Recent studies have shown that nanomaterials can trigger protein citrullination, which might constitute a common pathogenic link to disease development. Here we demonstrated auto-antibody production in serum of nanomaterials-treated mice. Citrullination-associated phenomena and PAD levels were found to be elevated in nanomaterials -treated cell lines as well as in the spleen, kidneys and lymph nodes of mice, suggesting a systemic response to nanomaterials injection, and validated in human pleural and pericardial malignant mesothelioma (MM) samples. The observed systemic responses in mice exposed to nanomaterials support the evidence linking exposure to environmental factors with the development of autoimmunity responses and reinforces the need for comprehensive safety screening of nanomaterials. Furthermore, these nanomaterials induce pathological processes that mimic those observed in Pleural MM, and therefore require further investigations into their carcinogenicity.
Automatic segmentation of the solid core and enclosed vessels in subsolid pulmonary nodules
Authors: Charbonnier Jean-Paul , Chung Kaman , Scholten Ernst T. , van Rikxoort Eva M. , Jacobs Colin , Sverzellati Nicola , Silva Mario , Pastorino Ugo , van Ginneken Bram , Ciompi Francesco
Published: January 2018

Subsolid pulmonary nodules are commonly encountered in lung cancer screening and clinical routine. Compared to other nodule types, subsolid nodules are associated with a higher malignancy probability for which the size and mass of the nodule and solid core are important indicators. However, reliably measuring these characteristics on computed tomography (CT) can be hampered by the presence of vessels encompassed by the nodule, since vessels have similar CT attenuation as solid cores. This can affect treatment decisions and patient management. We present a method based on voxel classification to automatically identify vessels and solid cores in given subsolid nodules on CT. Three experts validated our method on 170 screen-detected subsolid nodules from the Multicentric Italian Lung Disease trial. The agreement between the proposed method and the observers was substantial for vessel detection and moderate for solid core detection, which was similar to the inter-observer agreement. We found a relatively high variability in the inter-observer agreement and low method-observer agreements for delineating the borders of vessels and solid cores, illustrating the difficulty of this task. However, 92.4% of the proposed vessel and 80.6% of the proposed solid core segmentations were labeled as usable in clinical practice by the majority of experts.
SESN2 facilitates mitophagy by helping Parkin translocation through ULK1 mediated Beclin1 phosphorylation
Authors: Kumar Ashish , Shaha Chandrima
Published: January 2018

Mitophagy, the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy, is crucial for the maintenance of healthy mitochondrial pool in cells. The critical event in mitophagy is the translocation of cytosolic Parkin, a ubiquitin ligase, to the surface of defective mitochondria. This study elucidates a novel role of SESN2/Sestrin2, a stress inducible protein, in mitochondrial translocation of PARK2/Parkin during mitophagy. The data demonstrates that SESN2 downregulation inhibits BECN1/Beclin1 and Parkin interaction, thereby preventing optimum mitochondrial accumulation of Parkin. SESN2 interacts with ULK1 (unc-51 like kinase 1) and assists ULK1 mediated phosphorylation of Beclin1 at serine-14 position required for binding with Parkin prior to mitochondrial translocation. The trigger for SESN2 activation and regulation of Parkin translocation is the generation of mitochondrial superoxide. Scavenging of mitochondrial superoxide lower the levels of SESN2, resulting in retardation of Parkin translocation. Importantly, we observe that SESN2 mediated cytosolic interaction of Parkin and Beclin1 is PINK1 independent but mitochondrial translocation of Parkin is PINK1 dependent. Together, these findings suggest the role of SESN2 as a positive regulator of Parkin mediated mitophagy.
HyphaTracker: An ImageJ toolbox for time-resolved analysis of spore germination in filamentous fungi
Authors: Brunk Michael , Sputh Sebastian , Doose Sören , van de Linde Sebastian , Terpitz Ulrich
Published: January 2018

The dynamics of early fungal development and its interference with physiological signals and environmental factors is yet poorly understood. Especially computational analysis tools for the evaluation of the process of early spore germination and germ tube formation are still lacking. For the time-resolved analysis of conidia germination of the filamentous ascomycete Fusarium fujikuroi we developed a straightforward toolbox implemented in ImageJ. It allows for processing of microscopic acquisitions (movies) of conidial germination starting with drift correction and data reduction prior to germling analysis. From the image time series germling related region of interests (ROIs) are extracted, which are analysed for their area, circularity, and timing. ROIs originating from germlings crossing other hyphae or the image boundaries are omitted during analysis. Each conidium/hypha is identified and related to its origin, thus allowing subsequent categorization. The efficiency of HyphaTracker was proofed and the accuracy was tested on simulated germlings at different signal-to-noise ratios. Bright-field microscopic images of conidial germination of rhodopsin-deficient F. fujikuroi mutants and their respective control strains were analysed with HyphaTracker. Consistent with our observation in earlier studies the CarO deficient mutant germinated earlier and grew faster than other, CarO expressing strains.
The RacGAP β-Chimaerin is essential for cerebellar granule cell migration
Authors: Estep Jason A. , Wong Wenny , Wong Yiu-Cheung E. , Loui Brian M. , Riccomagno Martin M.
Published: January 2018

During mammalian cerebellar development, postnatal granule cell progenitors proliferate in the outer part of the External Granule Layer (EGL). Postmitotic granule progenitors migrate tangentially in the inner EGL before switching to migrate radially inward, past the Purkinje cell layer, to achieve their final position in the mature Granule Cell Layer (GCL). Here, we show that the RacGAP β-chimaerin is expressed by a small population of late-born, premigratory granule cells. β-chimaerin deficiency causes a subset of granule cells to become arrested in the EGL, where they differentiate and form ectopic neuronal clusters. These clusters of granule cells are able to recruit aberrantly projecting mossy fibers. Collectively, these data suggest a role for β-chimaerin as an intracellular mediator of Cerebellar Granule Cell radial migration.
Missing Value Imputation Approach for Mass Spectrometry-based Metabolomics Data
Authors: Wei Runmin , Wang Jingye , Su Mingming , Jia Erik , Chen Shaoqiu , Chen Tianlu , Ni Yan
Published: January 2018

Missing values exist widely in mass-spectrometry (MS) based metabolomics data. Various methods have been applied for handling missing values, but the selection can significantly affect following data analyses. Typically, there are three types of missing values, missing not at random (MNAR), missing at random (MAR), and missing completely at random (MCAR). Our study comprehensively compared eight imputation methods (zero, half minimum (HM), mean, median, random forest (RF), singular value decomposition (SVD), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), and quantile regression imputation of left-censored data (QRILC)) for different types of missing values using four metabolomics datasets. Normalized root mean squared error (NRMSE) and NRMSE-based sum of ranks (SOR) were applied to evaluate imputation accuracy. Principal component analysis (PCA)/partial least squares (PLS)-Procrustes analysis were used to evaluate the overall sample distribution. Student’s t-test followed by correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects on univariate statistics. Our findings demonstrated that RF performed the best for MCAR/MAR and QRILC was the favored one for left-censored MNAR. Finally, we proposed a comprehensive strategy and developed a public-accessible web-tool for the application of missing value imputation in metabolomics (https://metabolomics.cc.hawaii.edu/software/MetImp/).
Spatially selective responses to Kanizsa and occlusion stimuli in human visual cortex
Authors: de Haas Benjamin , Schwarzkopf Dietrich Samuel
Published: January 2018

Early visual cortex responds to illusory contours in which abutting lines or collinear edges imply the presence of an occluding surface, as well as to occluded parts of an object. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and population receptive field (pRF) analysis to map retinotopic responses in early visual cortex using bar stimuli defined by illusory contours, occluded parts of a bar, or subtle luminance contrast. All conditions produced retinotopic responses in early visual field maps even though signal-to-noise ratios were very low. We found that signal-to-noise ratios and coherence with independent high-contrast mapping data increased from V1 to V2 to V3. Moreover, we found no differences of signal-to-noise ratios or pRF sizes between the low-contrast luminance and illusion conditions. We propose that all three conditions mapped spatial attention to the bar location rather than activations specifically related to illusory contours or occlusion.
Virtual Genome Walking across the 32 Gb Ambystoma mexicanum genome; assembling gene models and intronic sequence
Authors: Evans Teri , Johnson Andrew D. , Loose Matthew
Published: January 2018

Large repeat rich genomes present challenges for assembly using short read technologies. The 32 Gb axolotl genome is estimated to contain ~19 Gb of repetitive DNA making an assembly from short reads alone effectively impossible. Indeed, this model species has been sequenced to 20× coverage but the reads could not be conventionally assembled. Using an alternative strategy, we have assembled subsets of these reads into scaffolds describing over 19,000 gene models. We call this method Virtual Genome Walking as it locally assembles whole genome reads based on a reference transcriptome, identifying exons and iteratively extending them into surrounding genomic sequence. These assemblies are then linked and refined to generate gene models including upstream and downstream genomic, and intronic, sequence. Our assemblies are validated by comparison with previously published axolotl bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) sequences. Our analyses of axolotl intron length, intron-exon structure, repeat content and synteny provide novel insights into the genic structure of this model species. This resource will enable new experimental approaches in axolotl, such as ChIP-Seq and CRISPR and aid in future whole genome sequencing efforts. The assembled sequences and annotations presented here are freely available for download fromhttps://tinyurl.com/y8gydc6n. The software pipeline is available fromhttps://github.com/LooseLab/iterassemble.
Emergency water treatment with ferrate(vi) in response to natural disasters
Authors: Cui Junkui , Zheng Lei , Deng Yang
Published: January 2018

The frequency and magnitude of natural disasters (e.g. hurricanes) have increased globally over the past century.
In situ tribochemical sulfurization of molybdenum oxide nanotubes
Authors: Rodríguez Ripoll Manel , Tomala Agnieszka , Gabler Christoph , Dražić Goran , Pirker Luka , Remškar Maja
Published: January 2018

Sulfurization of MoO3 precursors during sliding in sulphur-containing lubricants results in the in situ formation of low friction MoS2 tribofilms.
Insights into the efficient charge separation and transfer efficiency of La,Cr-codoped SrTiO3 modified with CoP as a noble-metal-free co-catalyst for superior visible-light driven photocatalytic hydrogen generation
Authors: Tan Pengfei , Zhu Anquan , Liu Yi , Ma Yongjin , Liu Wenwen , Cui Hao , Pan Jun
Published: January 2018

Doped SrTiO3 modified with CoP as a co-catalyst for photocatalytic H2 evolution was designed and fabricated in this work.
Cycloaddition/annulation strategies for the construction of multisubstituted pyrrolidines and their applications in natural product synthesis
Authors: Li Jundong , Ye Yilin , Zhang Yandong
Published: January 2018

Pyrrolidines are privileged substructures of numerous bioactive natural products and drugs.
Controlled synthesis of Cu nanoparticle arrays with surface enhanced Raman scattering effect performance
Authors: Ding Qianqian , Hang Lifeng , Ma Liang
Published: January 2018

Herein, we report the synthesis of a 350 nm Cu nanoparticle array with different period combinations by a method based on a monolayer and have further investigated its surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties experimentally.
Ionic cellulose-stabilized gold nanoparticles and their application in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol
Authors: Hwang J. , Siddique A. B. , Kim Y. J. , Lee H. , Maeng J. H. , Ahn Y. , Lee J. S. , Kim H. S. , Lee H.
Published: January 2018

Gold nanoparticles (GNP) were highly stabilized by water soluble ionic cellulose by the strong interaction of GNP with the phosphite groups and showed extremely high catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol.
Novel insensitive energetic-cocrystal-based BTO with good comprehensive properties
Authors: Tao Jingjing , Jin Bo , Chu Shijin , Peng Rufang , Shang Yu , Tan Bisheng
Published: January 2018

Combining a layer construction strategy with cocrystallization techniques, we designed and prepared an unusual energetic cocrystal, which confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.
Isoxazolidine derivatives as corrosion inhibitors for low carbon steel in HCl solution: experimental, theoretical and effect of KI studies
Authors: Alhaffar Mouheddin T. , Umoren Saviour A. , Obot Ime. B. , Ali Shaikh A.
Published: January 2018

Two isoxazolidine derivatives (BDMTI and HMBTI) were synthesized and characterized using FTIR, C-NMR, H-NMR and elemental analysis and evaluated as corrosion inhibitors for X60 steel in 1 M HCl solution.
An ESIPT based naphthalimide chemosensor for visualizing endogenous ONOO− in living cells
Authors: Fu Yunshuang , Nie Hailiang , Zhang Rubo , Xin Fangyun , Tian Yong , Jing Jing , Zhang Xiaoling
Published: January 2018

An ESIPT based naphthalimide chemosensor with high sensitivity and selectivity for visualizing endogenous ONOO− in living cells was developed.