bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Once-monthly paliperidone palmitate compared with conventional and atypical daily oral antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Kim Edward , Correll Christoph U. , Mao Lian , Starr H. Lynn , Alphs Larry
Published: September 2016

Objective

This analysis of the Paliperidone Palmitate Research in Demonstrating Effectiveness (PRIDE) study (NCT01157351) compared outcomes after administration of once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP) vs conventional oral antipsychotics (COAs) or atypical oral antipsychotics (AOAs).

Methods

PRIDE was a 15-month study of 444 individuals with schizophrenia and a history of incarceration. They were randomly assigned to PP or to 1 of 7 commonly prescribed OAs. Primary endpoint was time to first treatment failure (TF). Event-free probabilities were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method; treatment group differences (PP vs COAs, PP vs AOAs, and PP vs oral paliperidone/risperidone) were assessed using a log-rank test. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. No adjustment was made for multiplicity.

Results

Compared with PP, risk for first TF was 34% higher with COAs (HR: 1.34; 95% CI: 0.80–2.25), 41% higher with AOAs (HR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.06–1.88), and 39% higher with paliperidone/risperidone (HR: 1.39; 95% CI: 0.97–1.99). Incidences of extrapyramidal symptom–related adverse events (AEs) were 45.7%, 13.7%, and 10.6% in the COA, AOA, and oral paliperidone/risperidone groups vs 23.9% in the PP group. Incidences of prolactin-related AEs were 5.7%, 3.8%, and 3.5% vs 23.5%, and incidences of ≥7% weight increase were 11.4%, 14.9%, and 16.0% vs 32.4%.

Conclusions

Results suggest a lower risk of TF but a higher rate of some AEs after treatment with PP vs COAs, AOAs, and paliperidone/risperidone. Deselection of specific OAs and low patient-compliance rates with OAs likely biased the safety results.
The double-edged sword of corporatisation in the hospital sector: evidence from Indonesia
Authors: Maharani Asri , Tampubolon Gindo
Published: September 2016

Hoping to improve their health system performance, many countries have corporatised their hospitals in the past 20 years. What this means for hospital performance remains as yet largely unknown. This study looks into the association of corporatisation and hospital performance in Indonesia. We apply panel data regression analysis to survey data on 54 public hospitals in East Java province. Our analysis suggests that corporatisation is associated with higher hospital income and expenditure, but fails to improve efficiency and equity. These findings suggest that hospital corporatisation policy in Indonesia should increase emphasis on efficiency and equity rather than on financial performance alone.
Relationships between childhood growth parameters and adult blood pressure: the Fels Longitudinal Study
Authors: Sabo R. T. , Wang A. , Deng Y. , Sabo C. S. , Sun S. S.
Published: September 2016

Previous research has shown that childhood body size is associated with blood pressure in adulthood, and that early and rapid growth rates are correlated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Our objectives are to estimate associations between childhood body size growth parameters and adult blood pressure, and to examine the effect of early attainment of critical growth milestones on adult blood pressure, relative to normal or late attainment. Lifetime height and body mass index (BMI) measurements in childhood, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) measurements in adulthood are taken from participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study. Childhood growth curves are estimated separately for stature and BMI using the Preece–Baines and third-degree polynomial models, respectively. Associations between the resulting parameter estimates and adult blood pressure are then examined using linear mixed models. Our findings show that the ages of achievement of the stature-based growth onset and peak velocity, as well as the age of achievement of the BMI-based adiposity rebound, are negatively associated with adult blood pressure, implying that early height or BMI growth can lead to increased blood pressure in adulthood. There were subtle differences in these relationships based on age and gender, and also between SBP and DBP. These results expand on the existing literature, showing that not only childhood body size, but also the timing of childhood growth can have a deleterious effect on adult cardiovascular health.
Worry Activation Impairs Intelligence Test Performance Only Under Ego Depletion
Authors: Englert Chris , Bertrams Alex
Published: September 2016

Abstract. The detrimental effects of anxiety on cognitive performance have been explained by the activation of worry, which detracts attention away from the task at hand. However, recent research showed that anxiety is related to performance only when self-control capacity is low (i.e., ego depletion). The present work extends these findings by showing that activation of worry interferes with cognitive performance more strongly when self-control capacity is momentarily depleted as compared to intact. After manipulations of self-control capacity and worry activation, 70 undergraduates completed a standardized intelligence test. As expected, activation of worry was associated with poorer performance when self-control capacity was depleted, but had no effect on performance when self-control capacity was intact. The findings indicate that worry may play a causal role in the anxiety–performance relationship, but only when its regulation by self-control is momentarily hindered.
IL-13Rα2 uses TMEM219 in chitinase 3-like-1-induced signalling and effector responses
Authors: Lee Chang-Min , He Chuan Hua , Nour Adel M. , Zhou Yang , Ma Bing , Park Jin Wook , Kim Kyung Hee , Cruz Charles Dela , Sharma Lokesh , Nasr Mahmoud L. , Modis Yorgo , Lee Chun Geun , Elias Jack A.
Published: September 2016

Recent studies demonstrated that chitinase 3-like-1 (Chi3l1) binds to and signals via IL-13Rα2. However, the mechanism that IL-13Rα2 uses to mediate the effects of Chi3l1 has not been defined. Here, we demonstrate that the membrane protein, TMEM219, is a binding partner of IL-13Rα2 using yeast two-hybrid, co-immunoprecipitation, co-localization and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. Furthermore, fluorescence anisotropy nanodisc assays revealed a direct physical interaction between TMEM219 and IL-13Rα2-Chi3l1 complexes. Null mutations or siRNA silencing of TMEM219 or IL-13Rα2 similarly decreased Chi3l1-stimulated epithelial cell HB-EGF production and macrophage MAPK/Erk and PKB/Akt activation. Null mutations of TMEM219 or IL-13Rα2 also phenocopied one another as regards the ability of Chi3l1 to inhibit oxidant-induced apoptosis and lung injury, promote melanoma metastasis and stimulate TGF-β1. TMEM219 also contributed to the decoy function of IL-13Rα2. These studies demonstrate that TMEM219 plays a critical role in Chi3l1-induced IL-13Rα2 mediated signalling and tissue responses.
Nonlinear spectra of spinons and holons in short GaAs quantum wires
Authors: Moreno M , Ford C. J. B. , Jin Y. , Griffiths J. P. , Farrer I. , Jones G. A. C. , Ritchie D. A. , Tsyplyatyev O. , Schofield A. J.
Published: September 2016

One-dimensional electronic fluids are peculiar conducting systems, where the fundamental role of interactions leads to exotic, emergent phenomena, such as spin-charge (spinon-holon) separation. The distinct low-energy properties of these 1D metals are successfully described within the theory of linear Luttinger liquids, but the challenging task of describing their high-energy nonlinear properties has long remained elusive. Recently, novel theoretical approaches accounting for nonlinearity have been developed, yet the rich phenomenology that they predict remains barely explored experimentally. Here, we probe the nonlinear spectral characteristics of short GaAs quantum wires by tunnelling spectroscopy, using an advanced device consisting of 6000 wires. We find evidence for the existence of an inverted (spinon) shadow band in the main region of the particle sector, one of the central predictions of the new nonlinear theories. A (holon) band with reduced effective mass is clearly visible in the particle sector at high energies.
An experimental phylogeny to benchmark ancestral sequence reconstruction
Authors: Randall Ryan N. , Radford Caelan E. , Roof Kelsey A. , Natarajan Divya K. , Gaucher Eric A.
Published: September 2016

Ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) is a still-burgeoning method that has revealed many key mechanisms of molecular evolution. One criticism of the approach is an inability to validate its algorithms within a biological context as opposed to a computer simulation. Here we build an experimental phylogeny using the gene of a single red fluorescent protein to address this criticism. The evolved phylogeny consists of 19 operational taxonomic units (leaves) and 17 ancestral bifurcations (nodes) that display a wide variety of fluorescent phenotypes. The 19 leaves then serve as ‘modern’ sequences that we subject to ASR analyses using various algorithms and to benchmark against the known ancestral genotypes and ancestral phenotypes. We confirm computer simulations that show all algorithms infer ancient sequences with high accuracy, yet we also reveal wide variation in the phenotypes encoded by incorrectly inferred sequences. Specifically, Bayesian methods incorporating rate variation significantly outperform the maximum parsimony criterion in phenotypic accuracy. Subsampling of extant sequences had minor effect on the inference of ancestral sequences.
Vaccination of domestic animals with a novel oral vaccine prevents Giardia infections, alleviates signs of giardiasis and reduces transmission to humans
Authors: Serradell Marianela C , Saura Alicia , Rupil Lucia L , Gargantini Pablo R , Faya Marcela I , Furlan Paulina J , Lujan Hugo D
Published: September 2016

Giardia lamblia is a human intestinal parasite and one of the most frequent enteric pathogen of companion animals. Clinical manifestations of giardiasis, such as diarrhoea, anorexia, weight loss and lethargy, have been associated with Giardia infections in both domestic and farm animals. A few anti-parasitic drugs are routinely used to treat giardiasis, but re-infections are common and drug-resistant strains have already been reported. Unfortunately, efficient vaccines against Giardia are not available. Giardia undergoes antigenic variation; through this mechanism, parasites can avoid the host’s immune defenses, causing chronic infections and/or re-infections. Antigenic variation is characterised by a continuous switch in the expression of members of a homologous family of genes encoding surface antigens. In a previous report, we indicated that in Giardia, the mechanism responsible for the exchange of variant-specific surface proteins (VSPs) involves the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. From a repertoire of ~200 VSP genes, only one is expressed on the surface of single trophozoites; however, RNAi machinery disruption generates trophozoites that express the complete VSP repertoire. We also demonstrated that gerbils orally immunised with VSPs isolated from these altered parasites showed high levels of protection. Here we tested this vaccine in cats and dogs, and found that it is highly efficient in preventing new infections and reducing chronic giardiasis in domestic animals both in experimental and natural infections. Remarkably, immunisation of dogs in a highly endemic area strongly decreased the percentage of infected children in the community, suggesting that this vaccine would block the zoonotic transmission of the disease.
Dielectric relaxation and pinning phenomenon of (Sr,Pb)TiO3 ceramics for dielectric tunable device application
Authors: Huang Xian-Xiong , Zhang Tian-Fu , Tang Xin-Gui , Jiang Yan-Ping , Liu Qiu-Xiang , Feng Zu-Yong , Zhou Qi-Fa
Published: September 2016

The behavior of ferroelectric domain under applied electric field is very sensitive to point defects, which can lead to high temperature dielectric relaxation behaviors. In this work, the phases, dielectric properties and ferroelectric switching behavior of strontium lead titanate ceramics were investigated. The structural characterization is confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The high dielectric tunability and high figure of merit of ceramics, especially Sr0.7Pb0.3TiO3 (SPT), imply that SPT ceramics are promising materials for tunable capacitor applications. Oxygen vacancies induced dielectric relaxation phenomenon is observed. Pinched shape hysteresis loops appeared in low temperature, low electric field or high frequency, whereas these pinched hysteresis loops also can become normal by rising temperature, enhancing electric field or lowering frequency. The pinning and depinning effect can be ascribed to the interaction between oxygen vacancies and domain switching. A qualitative model and a quantitative model are used to explain this phenomenon. Besides, polarization and oxygen treated experiment can exert an enormous influence on pinning effect and the machanisms are also discussed in this work.
Identification of a novel sesquiterpene biosynthetic machinery involved in astellolide biosynthesis
Authors: Shinohara Yasutomo , Takahashi Shunji , Osada Hiroyuki , Koyama Yasuji
Published: September 2016

Esterified drimane-type sesquiterpene lactones such as astellolides display various biological activities and are widely produced by plants and fungi. Given their low homology to known sesquiterpene cyclases, the genes responsible for their biosynthesis have not been uncovered yet. Here, we identified the astellolide gene cluster from Aspergillus oryzae and discovered a novel sesquiterpene biosynthetic machinery consisting of AstC, AstI, and AstK. All these enzymes are annotated as haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolases, whereas AstC also contains a DxDTT motif conserved in class II diterpene cyclases. Based on enzyme reaction analyses, we found that AstC catalysed the protonation-initiated cyclisation of farnesyl pyrophosphate into drimanyl pyrophosphate. This was successively dephosphorylated by AstI and AstK to produce drim-8-ene-11-ol. Moreover, we also identified and characterised a unique non-ribosomal peptide synthetase, AstA, responsible for esterifying aryl acids to drimane-type sesquiterpene lactones. In this study, we highlight a new biosynthetic route for producing sesquiterpene and its esterified derivative. Our findings shed light on the identification of novel sesquiterpenes via genome mining.
The electron donating capacity of biochar is dramatically underestimated
Authors: Prévoteau Antonin , Ronsse Frederik , Cid Inés , Boeckx Pascal , Rabaey Korneel
Published: September 2016

Biochars have gathered considerable interest for agronomic and engineering applications. In addition to their high sorption ability, biochars have been shown to accept or donate considerable amounts of electrons to/from their environment via abiotic or microbial processes. Here, we measured the electron accepting (EAC) and electron donating (EDC) capacities of wood-based biochars pyrolyzed at three different highest treatment temperatures (HTTs: 400, 500, 600 °C) via hydrodynamic electrochemical techniques using a rotating disc electrode. EACs and EDCs varied with HTT in accordance with a previous report with a maximal EAC at 500 °C (0.4 mmol(e−).gchar−1) and a large decrease of EDC with HTT. However, while we monitored similar EAC values than in the preceding study, we show that the EDCs have been underestimated by at least 1 order of magnitude, up to 7 mmol(e−).gchar−1 for a HTT of 400 °C. We attribute this existing underestimation to unnoticed slow kinetics of electron transfer from biochars to the dissolved redox mediators used in the monitoring. The EDC of other soil organic constituents such as humic substances may also have been underestimated. These results imply that the redox properties of biochars may have a much bigger impact on soil biogeochemical processes than previously conjectured.
Fine-tuning of amino sugar homeostasis by EIIANtr in Salmonella Typhimurium
Authors: Yoo Woongjae , Yoon Hyunjin , Seok Yeong-Jae , Lee Chang-Ro , Lee Hyung Ho , Ryu Sangryeol
Published: September 2016

The nitrogen-metabolic phosphotransferase system, PTSNtr, consists of the enzymes INtr, NPr and IIANtr that are encoded by ptsP, ptsO, and ptsN, respectively. Due to the proximity of ptsO and ptsN to rpoN, the PTSNtr system has been postulated to be closely related with nitrogen metabolism. To define the correlation between PTSNtr and nitrogen metabolism, we performed ligand fishing with EIIANtr as a bait and revealed that D-glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (GlmS) directly interacted with EIIANtr. GlmS, which converts D-fructose-6-phosphate (Fru6P) into D-glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN6P), is a key enzyme producing amino sugars through glutamine hydrolysis. Amino sugar is an essential structural building block for bacterial peptidoglycan and LPS. We further verified that EIIANtr inhibited GlmS activity by direct interaction in a phosphorylation-state-dependent manner. EIIANtr was dephosphorylated in response to excessive nitrogen sources and was rapidly degraded by Lon protease upon amino sugar depletion. The regulation of GlmS activity by EIIANtr and the modulation of glmS translation by RapZ suggest that the genes comprising the rpoN operon play a key role in maintaining amino sugar homeostasis in response to nitrogen availability and the amino sugar concentration in the bacterial cytoplasm.
The Lattice Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation of Atomic Diffusion and Structural Transition for Gold
Authors: He Xiang , Cheng Feng , Chen Zhao-Xu
Published: September 2016

For the kinetic simulation of metal nanoparticles, we developed a self-consistent coordination-averaged energies for Au atoms based on energy properties of gold bulk phases. The energy barrier of the atom pairing change is proposed and holds for the microscopic reversibility principle. By applying the lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulation on gold films, we found that the atomic diffusion of Au on the Au(111) surface undergoes a late transition state with an energy barrier of about 0.2 eV and a prefactor between 40~50 Å2/ps. This study also investigates the structural transition from spherical to faceted gold nanoparticles upon heating. The temperatures of structural transition are in agreement with the experimental melting temperatures of gold nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 2 nm to 8 nm.
Palladium-catalyzed direct arylation and cyclization of o-iodobiaryls to a library of tetraphenylenes
Authors: Zhu Chendan , Zhao Yue , Wang Di , Sun Wei-Yin , Shi Zhuangzhi
Published: September 2016

Aryl–aryl bond formation constitutes one of the most important subjects in organic synthesis. The recent developments in direct arylation reactions forming aryl–aryl bond have emerged as very attractive alternatives to traditional cross-coupling reactions. Here, we describe a general palladium-catalyzed direct arylation and cyclization of o-iodobiaryls to build a library of tetraphenylenes. This transformation represents one of the very few examples of C-H activation process that involves simultaneous formation of two aryl–aryl bonds. Oxygen plays a vital role by ensuring high reactivity, with air as the promoter furnished the best results. We anticipate this ligand-free and aerobic catalytic system will simplify the synthesis of tetraphenylenes as many of the reported methods involve use of preformed organometallic reagents and will lead to the discovery of highly efficient new direct arylation process.
Building better lithium-sulfur batteries: from LiNO3 to solid oxide catalyst
Authors: Ding Ning , Zhou Lan , Zhou Changwei , Geng Dongsheng , Yang Jin , Chien Sheau Wei , Liu Zhaolin , Ng Man-Fai , Yu Aishui , Hor T. S. Andy , Sullivan Michael B. , Zong Yun
Published: September 2016

Lithium nitrate (LiNO3) is known as an important electrolyte additive in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. The prevailing understanding is that LiNO3 reacts with metallic lithium anode to form a passivation layer which suppresses redox shuttles of lithium polysulfides, enabling good rechargeability of Li-S batteries. However, this view is seeing more challenges in the recent studies, and above all, the inability of inhibiting polysulfide reduction on Li anode. A closely related issue is the progressive reduction of LiNO3 on Li anode which elevates internal resistance of the cell and compromises its cycling stability. Herein, we systematically investigated the function of LiNO3 in redox-shuttle suppression, and propose the suppression as a result of catalyzed oxidation of polysulfides to sulfur by nitrate anions on or in the proximity of the electrode surface upon cell charging. This hypothesis is supported by both density functional theory calculations and the nitrate anions-suppressed self-discharge rate in Li-S cells. The catalytic mechanism is further validated by the use of ruthenium oxide (RuO2, a good oxygen evolution catalyst) on cathode, which equips the LiNO3-free cell with higher capacity and improved capacity retention over 400 cycles.
Multifunctional 3D printing of heterogeneous hydrogel structures
Authors: Nadernezhad Ali , Khani Navid , Skvortsov Gözde Akdeniz , Toprakhisar Burak , Bakirci Ezgi , Menceloglu Yusuf , Unal Serkan , Koc Bahattin
Published: September 2016

Multimaterial additive manufacturing or three-dimensional (3D) printing of hydrogel structures provides the opportunity to engineer geometrically dependent functionalities. However, current fabrication methods are mostly limited to one type of material or only provide one type of functionality. In this paper, we report a novel method of multimaterial deposition of hydrogel structures based on an aspiration-on-demand protocol, in which the constitutive multimaterial segments of extruded filaments were first assembled in liquid state by sequential aspiration of inks into a glass capillary, followed by in situ gel formation. We printed different patterned objects with varying chemical, electrical, mechanical, and biological properties by tuning process and material related parameters, to demonstrate the abilities of this method in producing heterogeneous and multi-functional hydrogel structures. Our results show the potential of proposed method in producing heterogeneous objects with spatially controlled functionalities while preserving structural integrity at the switching interface between different segments. We anticipate that this method would introduce new opportunities in multimaterial additive manufacturing of hydrogels for diverse applications such as biosensors, flexible electronics, tissue engineering and organ printing.
Island building in the South China Sea: detection of turbidity plumes and artificial islands using Landsat and MODIS data
Authors: Barnes Brian B. , Hu Chuanmin
Published: September 2016

The South China Sea is currently in a state of intense geopolitical conflict, with six countries claiming sovereignty over some or all of the area. Recently, several countries have carried out island building projects in the Spratly Islands, converting portions of coral reefs into artificial islands. Aerial photography and high resolution satellites can capture snapshots of this construction, but such data are lacking in temporal resolution and spatial scope. In contrast, lower resolution satellite sensors with regular repeat sampling allow for more rigorous assessment and monitoring of changes to the reefs and surrounding areas. Using Landsat-8 data at ≥15-m resolution, we estimated that over 15 km2 of submerged coral reef area was converted to artificial islands between June 2013 and December 2015, mostly by China. MODIS data at ≥250-m resolution were used to locate previously underreported island building activities, as well as to assess resulting in-water turbidity plumes. The combined spatial extent of observed turbidity plumes for island building activities at Mischief, Subi, and Fiery Cross Reefs was over 4,300 km2, although nearly 40% of this area was only affected once. Together, these activities represent widespread damage to coral ecosystems through physical burial as well as indirect turbidity effects.
STYK1 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma through MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling
Authors: Wang Zhaowen , Qu Lei , Deng Biao , Sun Xing , Wu Shaohan , Liao Jianhua , Fan Junwei , Peng Zhihai
Published: September 2016

Serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase 1 (STYK1) is known to be involved in tumor progression. However, its molecular role and mechanism in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. We evaluated the effect of STYK1 expression in HCC tissues and investigated the underlying mechanisms associated with progression. HCC tissues expressed greater levels of STYK1 than paired non-tumor tissues. Patients with HCC expressing low levels of STYK1 showed both, greater disease-free (p < 0.0001) and overall (p = 0.0004) survival than those expressing high levels of STYK1. Decreased expression of STYK1 was significantly associated with decreased cell proliferation, reduced migratory capability, and reduced invasive capability. Overexpression of STYK1 was significantly associated with increased cell proliferation, migratory capability, and invasive capability in vitro, as well as increased volume of tumor, weight of tumor, and number of pulmonary metastases in vivo. Furthermore, STYK1’s mechanism of promoting cancer cell mobility and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was found to be via the MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways, resulting in increased expression of mesenchymal protein markers: snail, fibronectin, and vimentin, and decreased E-cadherin expression. Our results suggest that STYK1 acts as an oncogene by inducing cell invasion and EMT via the MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways and it therefore may be a potential therapeutic target in HCC.
In-hive Pesticide Exposome: Assessing risks to migratory honey bees from in-hive pesticide contamination in the Eastern United States
Authors: Traynor Kirsten S. , Pettis Jeffery S. , Tarpy David R. , Mullin Christopher A. , Frazier James L. , Frazier Maryann , vanEngelsdorp Dennis
Published: September 2016

This study measured part of the in-hive pesticide exposome by analyzing residues from live in-hive bees, stored pollen, and wax in migratory colonies over time and compared exposure to colony health. We summarized the pesticide burden using three different additive methods: (1) the hazard quotient (HQ), an estimate of pesticide exposure risk, (2) the total number of pesticide residues, and (3) the number of relevant residues. Despite being simplistic, these models attempt to summarize potential risk from multiple contaminations in real-world contexts. Colonies performing pollination services were subject to increased pesticide exposure compared to honey-production and holding yards. We found clear links between an increase in the total number of products in wax and colony mortality. In particular, we found that fungicides with particular modes of action increased disproportionally in wax within colonies that died. The occurrence of queen events, a significant risk factor for colony health and productivity, was positively associated with all three proxies of pesticide exposure. While our exposome summation models do not fully capture the complexities of pesticide exposure, they nonetheless help elucidate their risks to colony health. Implementing and improving such models can help identify potential pesticide risks, permitting preventative actions to improve pollinator health.
DNA damage and Repair Modify DNA methylation and Chromatin Domain of the Targeted Locus: Mechanism of allele methylation polymorphism
Authors: Russo Giusi , Landi Rosaria , Pezone Antonio , Morano Annalisa , Zuchegna Candida , Romano Antonella , Muller Mark T. , Gottesman Max E. , Porcellini Antonio , Avvedimento Enrico V.
Published: September 2016

We characterize the changes in chromatin structure, DNA methylation and transcription during and after homologous DNA repair (HR). We find that HR modifies the DNA methylation pattern of the repaired segment. HR also alters local histone H3 methylation as well chromatin structure by inducing DNA-chromatin loops connecting the 5′ and 3′ ends of the repaired gene. During a two-week period after repair, transcription-associated demethylation promoted by Base Excision Repair enzymes further modifies methylation of the repaired DNA. Subsequently, the repaired genes display stable but diverse methylation profiles. These profiles govern the levels of expression in each clone. Our data argue that DNA methylation and chromatin remodelling induced by HR may be a source of permanent variation of gene expression in somatic cells.
Positive Effects of Specific Exercise and Novel Turning-based Treadmill Training on Turning Performance in Individuals with Parkinson’s disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Cheng Fang-Yu , Yang Yea-Ru , Chen Li-Mei , Wu Yih-Ru , Cheng Shih-Jung , Wang Ray-Yau
Published: September 2016

Two different training strategies to improve turning performance in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) were designed and investigated in this study. Subjects were randomly assigned to a specific exercise group, turning-based training group, or control group to receive training that emphasized balance and strengthening, turning-based treadmill training, and general exercise training, respectively. A total of 12 30-min training sessions followed by 10 min of turning training on a level surface were administered over 4 to 6 weeks. The results (n = 12 for each group) showed that both the specific exercise and turning-based training group experienced improved turning performance, the primary outcome, compared with the control group (specific exercise, 33% change, p = 0.016; turning-based training, 35% change, p = 0.021). For the secondary outcomes, the specific exercise group performed better than the control group on the Tinetti balance scale, limit of stability test and lower extremity extensor and abductor strength. The turning-based training groups performed better than the control group in sensory organization and ankle plantar flexor strength. In summary, specific exercise training and turning-based treadmill training were both effective in improving turning performance in participants with PD. However, the improvements in turning performance of these two groups resulted from improving different aspects of impairment in individuals with PD.
Elevated hemoglobin A1c Is Associated with Carotid Plaque Vulnerability: Novel Findings from Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Hypertensive Stroke Patients
Authors: Sun Beibei , Zhao Huilin , Liu Xiaosheng , Lu Qing , Zhao Xihai , Pu Jun , Xu Jianrong
Published: September 2016

The association between hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and carotid plaque vulnerability has been rarely studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The present study of MRI-identified carotid atherosclerotic lesions in hypertensive patients with acute stroke therefore sought to determine the associations between HbA1c level and plaque morphological and compositional characteristics and acute cerebral infarction (ACI) severity. Eighty hypertensive patients with acute stroke were enrolled; stratified into high (≥6.5%) and low (<6.5%) HbA1c groups; and underwent carotid and brain MRI to assess carotid plaque features and ACI volume in the region supplied by the internal carotid artery (ICA) in the symptomatic side. Plaque burden [percent wall volume (PWV), max wall thickness (max-WT)] and lipid-rich necrotic core (LRNC) were larger in the high as compared to the low HbA1c group. High HbA1c was an independent risk factor for the presence of plaque (odds ratio [OR] = 3.71) and LRNC plaque (OR = 7.08). HbA1c independently correlated with ACI severity among patients with ICA region cerebral infarction and carotid plaque. Our study suggested that an elevated HbA1c may have an adverse effect on carotid plaque vulnerability especially those with larger LRNC volumes in hypertensive stroke patients, which might exacerbate the severity of ACIs.
Giant Two-photon Absorption in Circular Graphene Quantum Dots in Infrared Region
Authors: Feng Xiaobo , Li Zhisong , Li Xin , Liu Yingkai
Published: September 2016

We investigate theoretically the two-photon absorption (TPA) for circular graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with the edge of armchair and zigzag on the basis of electronic energy states obtained by solving the Dirac-Weyl equation numerically under finite difference method. The expressions for TPA cross section are derived and the transition selection rules are obtained. Results reveal that the TPA is significantly greater in GQDs than conventional semiconductor QDs in infrared spectrum (2–6 um) with a resonant TPA cross section of up to 1011 GM. The TPA peaks are tuned by the GQDs’ size, edge and electron relaxation rate.
Low genetic diversity and recent demographic expansion in the red starfish Echinaster sepositus (Retzius 1816)
Authors: Garcia-Cisneros Alex , Palacín Creu , Ben Khadra Yousra , Pérez-Portela Rocío
Published: September 2016

Understanding the phylogeography and genetic structure of populations and the processes responsible of patterns therein is crucial for evaluating the vulnerability of marine species and developing management strategies. In this study, we explore how past climatic events and ongoing oceanographic and demographic processes have shaped the genetic structure and diversity of the Atlanto-Mediterranean red starfishEchinaster sepositus. The species is relatively abundant in some areas of the Mediterranean Sea, but some populations have dramatically decreased over recent years due to direct extraction for ornamental aquariums and souvenir industries. Analyses across most of the distribution range of the species based on the mitochondrial cytochromecoxidase subunit I gene and eight microsatellite loci revealed very low intraspecific genetic diversity. The species showed a weak genetic structure within marine basins despite thea priorilow dispersal potential of its lecithotrophic larva. Our results also revealed a very recent demographic expansion across the distribution range of the species. The genetic data presented here indicate that the species might be highly vulnerable, due to its low intraspecific genetic diversity.
Controllable quantum dynamics of inhomogeneous nitrogen-vacancy center ensembles coupled to superconducting resonators
Authors: Song Wan-lu , Yang Wan-li , Yin Zhang-qi , Chen Chang-yong , Feng Mang
Published: September 2016

We explore controllable quantum dynamics of a hybrid system, which consists of an array of mutually coupled superconducting resonators (SRs) with each containing a nitrogen-vacancy center spin ensemble (NVE) in the presence of inhomogeneous broadening. We focus on a three-site model, which compared with the two-site case, shows more complicated and richer dynamical behavior, and displays a series of damped oscillations under various experimental situations, reflecting the intricate balance and competition between the NVE-SR collective coupling and the adjacent-site photon hopping. Particularly, we find that the inhomogeneous broadening of the spin ensemble can suppress the population transfer between the SR and the local NVE. In this context, although the inhomogeneous broadening of the spin ensemble diminishes entanglement among the NVEs, optimal entanglement, characterized by averaging the lower bound of concurrence, could be achieved through accurately adjusting the tunable parameters.
Blue-green tunable color of Ce3+/Tb3+ coactivated NaBa3La3Si6O20 phosphor via energy transfer
Authors: Jia Zhen , Xia Mingjun
Published: September 2016

A series of color tunable phosphors NaBa3La3Si6O20:Ce3+, Tb3+ were synthesized via the high-temperature solid-state method. NaBa3La3Si6O20 crystallizes in noncentrosymmetric space group Ama2 with the cell parameters of a = 14.9226(4) Å, b = 24.5215(5) Å and c = 5.6241(2) Å by the Rietveld refinement method. The Ce3+ ions doped NaBa3La3Si6O20 phosphors have a strong absorption band from 260 to 360 nm and show near ultraviolet emission light centered at 378 nm. The Ce3+ and Tb3+ ions coactivated phosphors exhibit color tunable emission light from deep blue to green by adjusting the concentration of the Tb3+ ions. An energy transfer of Ce3+ → Tb3+ investigated by the photoluminescence properties and lifetime decay, is demonstrated to be dipole–quadrupole interaction. These results indicate the NaBa3La3Si6O20:Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphors can be considered as potential candidates for blue-green components for white light emitting diodes.
Prolonged California aridity linked to climate warming and Pacific sea surface temperature
Authors: MacDonald Glen M. , Moser Katrina A. , Bloom Amy M. , Potito Aaron P. , Porinchu David F. , Holmquist James R. , Hughes Julia , Kremenetski Konstantine V.
Published: September 2016

California has experienced a dry 21st century capped by severe drought from 2012 through 2015 prompting questions about hydroclimatic sensitivity to anthropogenic climate change and implications for the future. We address these questions using a Holocene lake sediment record of hydrologic change from the Sierra Nevada Mountains coupled with marine sediment records from the Pacific. These data provide evidence of a persistent relationship between past climate warming, Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) shifts and centennial to millennial episodes of California aridity. The link is most evident during the thermal-maximum of the mid-Holocene (~8 to 3 ka; ka = 1,000 calendar years before present) and during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) (~1 ka to 0.7 ka). In both cases, climate warming corresponded with cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific despite differences in the factors producing increased radiative forcing. The magnitude of prolonged eastern Pacific cooling was modest, similar to observed La Niña excursions of 1o to 2 °C. Given differences with current radiative forcing it remains uncertain if the Pacific will react in a similar manner in the 21st century, but should it follow apparent past behavior more intense and prolonged aridity in California would result.
Acoustic indices provide information on the status of coral reefs: an example from Moorea Island in the South Pacific
Authors: Bertucci Frédéric , Parmentier Eric , Lecellier Gaël , Hawkins Anthony D. , Lecchini David
Published: September 2016

Different marine habitats are characterised by different soundscapes. How or which differences may be representative of the habitat characteristics and/or community structure remains however to be explored. A growing project in passive acoustics is to find a way to use soundscapes to have information on the habitat and on its changes. In this study we have successfully tested the potential of two acoustic indices, i.e. the average sound pressure level and the acoustic complexity index based on the frequency spectrum. Inside and outside marine protected areas of Moorea Island (French Polynesia), sound pressure level was positively correlated with the characteristics of the substratum and acoustic complexity was positively correlated with fish diversity. It clearly shows soundscape can be used to evaluate the acoustic features of marine protected areas, which presented a significantly higher ambient sound pressure level and were more acoustically complex than non-protected areas. This study further emphasizes the importance of acoustics as a tool in the monitoring of marine environments and in the elaboration and management of future conservation plans.
siRNA capsulated brain-targeted nanoparticles specifically knock down OATP2B1 in mice: a mechanism for acute morphine tolerance suppression
Authors: Yang Zi-Zhao , Li Li , Wang Lu , Xu Ming-Cheng , An Sai , Jiang Chen , Gu Jing-Kai , Wang Zai-Jie Jim , Yu Lu-Shan , Zeng Su
Published: September 2016

Regulating main brain-uptake transporter of morphine may restrict its tolerance generation, then modify its antinociception. In this study, more than 2 fold higher intracellular uptake concentrations for morphine and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) were observed in stable expression cells, HEK293-hOATP2B1 than HEK293-MOCK. Specifically, the Km value of morphine to OATP2B1 (57.58 ± 8.90 μM) is 1.4-time more than that of M6G (80.31 ± 21.75 μM); Cyclosporine A (CsA), an inhibitor of OATP2B1, can inhibit their intracellular accumulations with IC50 = 3.90 ± 0.50 μM for morphine and IC50 = 6.04 ± 0.86 μM for M6G, respectively. To further investigate the role of OATP2B1 in morphine brain transport and tolerance, the novel nanoparticles of DGL-PEG/dermorphin capsulated siRNA (OATP2B1) were applied to deliver siRNA into mouse brain. Along with OATP2B1 depressed, a main reduction was found for each of morphine or M6G in cerebrums or epencephalons of acute morphine tolerance mice. Furthermore, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) in mouse prefrontal cortex (mPFC) underwent dephosphorylation at Thr286. In conclusion, OATP2B1 downregulation in mouse brain can suppress tolerance via blocking morphine and M6G brain transport. These findings might help to improve the pharmacological effects of morphine.
Engineering optical mode ferromagnetic resonance in FeCoB films with ultrathin Ru insertion
Authors: Li Shandong , Wang Cuiling , Chu Xian-Ming , Miao Guo-Xing , Xue Qian , Zou Wenqin , Liu Meimei , Xu Jie , Li Qiang , Dai Youyong , Yan Shishen , Kang Shishou , Long Yunze , Lü Yueguang
Published: September 2016

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in soft magnetic films (SMFs) to a large extent determines the maximum working frequency of magnetic devices. The FMR frequency (fr) in an optical mode is usually much higher than that in the corresponding acoustic mode for exchange coupled ferromagnet/nonmagnet/ferromagnet (FM/NM/FM) trilayers. In this study, we prepared a 50 nm FeCoB film with uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA), showing a high acoustic mode fr of 4.17 GHz. When an ultrathin Ru spacer was inserted in the very middle of the UMA-FeCoB film, the zero-field FMR was abruptly switched from an acoustic mode to an optical one with fr dramatically enhanced from 4.17 GHz to 11.32 GHz. Furthermore, the FMR mode can be readily tuned to optical mode only, acoustic mode only, or double mode by simply varying the applied filed, which provides a flexible way to design multi-band microwave devices.
A space network structure constructed by tetraneedlelike ZnO whiskers supporting boron nitride nanosheets to enhance comprehensive properties of poly(L-lacti acid) scaffolds
Authors: Feng Pei , Peng Shuping , Wu Ping , Gao Chengde , Huang Wei , Deng Youwen , Shuai Cijun
Published: September 2016

In this study, the mechanical strength and modulus of poly(L-lacti acid) (PLLA) scaffolds were enhanced with the mechanical properties of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) and tetraneedlelike ZnO whiskers (T-ZnOw). The adhesion and proliferation of cells were improved as well as osteogenic differentiation of stem cells was increased. Their dispersion statues in PLLA matrix were improved through a space network structure constructed by three-dimensional T-ZnOw supporting two-dimensional BNNSs. The results showed that the compressive strength, modulus and Vickers hardness of the scaffolds with incorporation of 1 wt% BNNSs and 7 wt% T-ZnOw together were about 96.15%, 32.86% and 357.19% higher than that of the PLLA scaffolds, respectively. This might be due to the effect of the pull out and bridging of BNNSs and T-ZnOw as well as the crack deflection, facilitating the formation of effective stress transfer between the reinforcement phases and the matrix. Furthermore, incorporation of BNNSs and T-ZnOw together into PLLA scaffolds was beneficial for attachment and viability of MG-63 cells. More importantly, the scaffolds significantly increased proliferation and promoted osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). The enhanced mechanical and biological properties provide the potentials of PLLA/BNNSs/T-ZnOw scaffolds for the application into bone tissue engineering.
Unique roles of the unfolded protein response pathway in fungal development and differentiation
Authors: Jung Kwang-Woo , So Yee-Seul , Bahn Yong-Sun
Published: September 2016

Cryptococcus neoformans, a global fungal meningitis pathogen, employs the unfolded protein response pathway. This pathway, which consists of an evolutionarily conserved Ire1 kinase/endoribonuclease and a unique transcription factor (Hxl1), modulates the endoplasmic reticulum stress response and pathogenicity. Here, we report that the unfolded protein response pathway governs sexual and unisexual differentiation of C. neoformans in an Ire1-dependent but Hxl1-independent manner. The ire1∆ mutants showed defects in sexual mating, with reduced cell fusion and pheromone-mediated formation of the conjugation tube. Unexpectedly, these mating defects did not result from defective pheromone production because expression of the mating pheromone gene (MFα1) was strongly induced in the ire1∆ mutant. Ire1 controls sexual differentiation by modulating the function of the molecular chaperone Kar2 and by regulating mating-induced localisation of mating pheromone transporter (Ste6) and receptor (Ste3/Cprα). Deletion of IRE1, but not HXL1, also caused significant defects in unisexual differentiation in a Kar2-independent manner. Moreover, we showed that Rim101 is a novel downstream factor of Ire1 for production of the capsule, which is a unique structural determinant of C. neoformans virulence. Therefore, Ire1 uniquely regulates fungal development and differentiation in an Hxl1-independent manner.
Patterns of cooperation during collective emergencies in the help-or-escape social dilemma
Authors: Moussaïd Mehdi , Trauernicht Mareike
Published: September 2016

Although cooperation is central to the organisation of many social systems, relatively little is known about cooperation in situations of collective emergency. When groups of people flee from a danger such as a burning building or a terrorist attack, the collective benefit of cooperation is important, but the cost of helping is high and the temptation to defect is strong. To explore the degree of cooperation in emergencies, we develop a new social game, the help-or-escape social dilemma. Under time and monetary pressure, players decide how much risk they are willing to take in order to help others. Results indicated that players took as much risk to help others during emergencies as they did under normal conditions. In both conditions, most players applied an egalitarian heuristic and helped others until their chance of success equalled that of the group. This strategy is less efficient during emergencies, however, because the increased time pressure results in fewer people helped. Furthermore, emergencies tend to amplify participants’ initial tendency to cooperate, with prosocials becoming even more cooperative and individualists becoming even more selfish. Our framework offers new opportunities to study human cooperation and could help authorities to better manage crowd behaviours during mass emergencies.