bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Size structure and pigment composition of phytoplankton communities in different hydrographic zones in Hong Kong's coastal seas
Authors: Tang Chi Hung , Wong Chong Kim , Lie Alle An Ying , Yung Ying Kit
Published: March 2015

The abundance and community composition of phytoplankton are influenced by a suite of interacting environmental factors. Hong Kong's marine environment features a hydrographic gradient from an estuarine zone in the west to a transition zone in the middle and an oceanic zone in the east. Size fractionation combined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment analyses were used to investigate the phytoplankton communities in different hydrographic zones during summer (July–August 2009) and winter (December 2009–January 2010). Clear temporal and spatial variations in environmental parameters occurred among hydrographic zones. Results of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the major deviating factors among hydrographic zones were turbidity and salinity in summer and nitrate and phosphate in winter. Phytoplankton abundance showed significant temporal variations, but no zonal variations. Phytoplankton communities in all hydrographic zones were dominated by cells >5 µm in both summer and winter. Chlorophyllaconcentrations for most size fractions correlated significantly with temperature. The high concentration of fucoxanthin indicated that the phytoplankton community was dominated by diatoms in both summer and winter, while dinoflagellates, cryptophytes, cyanobacteria and other minor groups occurred sporadically in low abundance. The spatial pattern of phytoplankton in Hong Kong's coastal seas did not reflect the hydrographic zonation, but the phytoplankton in the semi-enclosed Tolo Harbour and Deep Bay were different from those in the other zones.
Early Shiite hermeneutics and the dating ofKitāb Sulaym ibn Qays
Authors: Gleave Robert
Published: March 2015

TheKitāb Sulaym ibn Qays, a collection of sayings attributed to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, was supposedly collected by the (otherwise unknown) Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī (d. 76/678); the work is generally recognized as an important source for early Shīʿī thought. There has been much debate, both within the Shīʿī tradition and outside of it, over when its contents reached their current form and how representative they were of Shīʿī views in the early centuries of Islam. Here, I take one passage from theKitāb Sulaymand set it against the development of early Muslim hermeneutics in an attempt to establish a tentative dating for this passage. The result is a dating between late eighth centuryce(second centuryah) and the early ninth centuryce(early third centuryah), roughly contemporary with, and perhaps postdating the revolutionary hermeneutic work of Muḥammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī (d. 204/820). This conclusion tallies, to some extent, with an analysis of the report's variousisnāds.
Numerical modeling of quantum beam generation from ultra-intense laser-matter interactions
Authors: Nakamura Tatsufumi , Hayakawa Takehito
Published: March 2015

When intense laser beams interact with solid targets, high-energy photons are effectively generated via radiation reaction effect. These photons receive a large portion of the incident laser energy, and the energy transport by photons through the target is crucial for the understanding of the laser–matter interactions. In order to understand the energy transport, we newly developed a Particle-in-Cell code which includes the photon–matter interactions by introducing photon macro-particles. Test simulations are performed and compared with simulations using a particle transport code, which shows a good agreement.
Influence of ethnicity on presentation and outcome of first episode psychosis
Authors: Ademola Foluso , Harte Kenneth , Kennedy Noel
Published: March 2015

We describe a young African male presenting to an Irish psychiatric service with first episode psychosis with an acute onset, no prodromal features and early and complete remission. Migrant and ethnic minority groups may differ in their clinical presentation, course and outcome of psychosis compared with the Caucasian population. This has implications for assessment and treatment of ethnic minority patients in an Irish context given the recent migration into a previously homogeneous population.
High levels of contamination and antimicrobial-resistant non-typhoidalSalmonellaserovars on pig and poultry farms in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam
Authors: TU L. T. P. , HOANG N. V. M. , CUONG N. V. , CAMPBELL J. , BRYANT J. E. , HOA N. T. , KIET B. T. , THOMPSON C. , DUY D. T. , PHAT V. V. , HIEN V. B. , THWAITES G. , BAKER S. , CARRIQUE-MAS J. J.
Published: March 2015

We investigated the prevalence, diversity, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of non-typhoidalSalmonella(NTS) and associated risk factors on 341 pig, chicken, and duck farms in Dong Thap province (Mekong Delta, Vietnam). Sampling was stratified by species, district (four categories), and farm size (three categories). Pooled faeces, collected using boot swabs, were tested using ISO 6575: 2002 (Annex D). Isolates were serogrouped; group B isolates were tested by polymerase chain reaction to detectS.Typhimurium and (monophasic) serovar 4,[5],12:i:- variants. The farm-level adjusted NTS prevalence was 64·7%, 94·3% and 91·3% for chicken, duck and pig farms, respectively. Factors independently associated with NTS were duck farms [odds ratio (OR) 21·2], farm with >50 pigs (OR 11·9), pig farm with 5–50 pigs (OR 4·88) (vs. chickens), and frequent rodent sightings (OR 2·3). BothS. Typhimurium and monophasicS.Typhimurium were more common in duck farms. Isolates had a high prevalence of resistance (77·6%) against tetracycline, moderate resistance (20–30%) against chloramphenicol, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, ampicillin and nalidixic acid, and low resistance (<5%) against ciprofloxacin and third-generation cephalosporins. Multidrug resistance (resistance against ⩾3 classes of antimicrobial) was independently associated with monophasicS.Typhimurium and other group B isolates (excludingS. Typhimurium) and pig farms. The unusually high prevalence of NTS on Mekong Delta farms poses formidable challenges for control.
Recovery of Antarctic stream epilithon from simulated scouring events
Authors: Kohler Tyler J. , Chatfield Ethan , Gooseff Michael N. , Barrett John E. , McKnight Diane M.
Published: March 2015

Microbial mats are common in polar streams and often dominate benthic biomass. Climate change may be enhancing the variability of stream flows in the Antarctic, but so far studies investigating mat responses to disturbance have been limited in this region. Mat regrowth was evaluated following disturbance by experimentally scouring rocks from an ephemeral McMurdo Dry Valley stream over two summers (2001–02 and 2012–13). Mats were sampled at the beginning and resampled at the end of the flow season. In 2012–13, mats were additionally resampled mid-season along with previously undisturbed controls. In 2001–02 rocks regained 47% of chlorophyll a and 40% of ash-free dry mass by the end of the summer, while in 2012–13 rocks regrew 18% and 27%, respectively. Mat stoichiometry differed between summers, and reflected differences in biomass and discharge. Oscillatoria spp. were greatest on scoured rocks and Phormidium spp. on undisturbed rocks. Small diatoms Humidophila and Fistulifera spp. increased throughout the summer in all mats, with the latter more abundant in scoured communities. Collectively, these data suggest that mats are variable intra-annually, responsive to hydrology and require multiple summers to regrow initial biomass once lost. These results will aid the interpretation of long-term data, as well as inform Antarctic Specially Managed Area protocols.
Testing the Doran summer climate rules in Upper Wright Valley, Antarctica
Authors: McKay Christopher P.
Published: March 2015

Based on data from low elevation lake sites, previous studies have suggested three quantitative relationships related to summer (December, January and February) air temperatures in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica: i) decrease with altitude at the dry lapse rate of 9.8°C km-1, ii) increase with distance from the coast at a rate of 0.09°C km-1, and iii) degree-days above freezing during the summer months is logarithmically proportional to the maximum summer air temperature. Here, we tested the first two of these rules at high elevation sites in Upper Wright Valley. Direct measurements confirmed that the summer lapse rate followed the dry lapse rate. For the three furthest stations, Tyrol Valley, Mount Fleming and Horseshoe Crater, the average difference between the measurements and the predicted summer monthly averages are -2.1±1.4°C, -0.5±1.0°C and -0.4±0.9°C, respectively. By contrast, at Linnaeus Terrace (54 km from the coast) the monthly average is warmer than predicted by several degrees: +4.3±1.3°C. The inland temperature gradient at these high elevation sites may result from sunlight effects rather than coastal wind as previously shown for the lower valleys. The warm conditions observedc. 50 km from the coast may reflect a zone affected by both sunlight and coastal wind.
RECENT ADVANCES IN THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF PRETERM LABOUR: OXYTOCIN ANTAGONISTS AND THE SILICONE (ARABIN) PESSARY
Authors: KAY O. , HUGHES A. , SAADE G. , BENNETT P. , TERZIDOU V. , THORNTON S.
Published: March 2015

Preterm birth may be spontaneous or medically indicated for maternal or fetal reasons. Around 20–25% of preterm births (PTB) follow preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM), however the cause of preterm labour is often unknown. It may represent early maturation and activation of the normal labour process or it may be precipitated by pathological causes. The normal process of labour has a diurnal variation with more deliveries occurring at night. Evidence demonstrating that the diurnal variation persists in preterm deliveries suggest that at least a proportion are due to early maturation of the normal process and the logical assumption is that these may be amenable to prevention or effective treatment. Whatever the cause of preterm delivery, there appears to be a common pathway resulting in activation of inflammatory processes. It is important to distinguish the physiological and pathological causes of preterm labour and not to assume that all inflammation is pathological. The distinction is clinically important since pathological causes may be associated with an adverse intrauterine environment, which would be a contraindication to delaying delivery.
Foetal dilated cardiomyopathy with left ventricular thrombosis
Authors: Barberato Marcia F. A. , Barberato Silvio H.
Published: March 2015

Serial foetal echocardiography showed the development of severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction and thrombosis in a previously healthy foetus. Normal cardiac findings in a mid-trimester foetus do not exclude subsequent dilated cardiomyopathy.
The neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: a new analysis
Authors: Fineberg Naomi A. , Day Grace A. , de Koenigswarter Nica , Reghunandanan Samar , Kolli Sangeetha , Jefferies-Sewell Kiri , Hranov Georgi , Laws Keith R.
Published: March 2015

Background

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is characterized by perfectionism, need for control, and cognitive rigidity. Currently, little neuropsychological data exist on this condition, though emerging evidence does suggest that disorders marked by compulsivity, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are associated with impairment in cognitive flexibility and executive planning on neurocognitive tasks.

Aim

The current study investigated the neurocognitive profile in a nonclinical community-based sample of people fulfilling diagnostic criteria for OCPD in the absence of major psychiatric comorbidity.

Method

Twenty-one nonclinical subjects who fulfilledDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for OCPD were compared with 15 healthy controls on selected clinical and neurocognitive tasks. OCPD was measured using the Compulsive Personality Assessment Scale (CPAS). Participants completed tests from the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery including tests of set shifting (Intra-Extra Dimensional [IED] Set Shifting) executive planning (Stockings of Cambridge [SOC]), and decision making (Cambridge Gamble Task [CGT]).

Results

The OCPD group made significantly more IED-ED shift errors and total shift errors, and also showed longer mean initial thinking time on the SOC at moderate levels of difficulty. No differences emerged on the CGT.

Conclusions

Nonclinical cases of OCPD showed significant cognitive inflexibility coupled with executive planning deficits, whereas decision-making remained intact. This profile of impairment overlaps with that of OCD and implies that common neuropsychological changes affect individuals with these disorders.
Antidepressant medication use, depression, and the risk of preeclampsia
Authors: Avalos Lyndsay Ammon , Chen Hong , Li De-Kun
Published: March 2015

Objective

To assess the effects of depression and antidepressant medication use during pregnancy on the risk of preeclampsia.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study that linked automated clinical and pharmacy databases including comprehensive electronic medical records of 21,589 pregnant Kaiser Permanente Northern California members between 2010 and 2012.

Results

The overall risk of preeclampsia was 4.5%. The timing of antidepressant medication exposure was an important factor. A significant increase in the risk of preeclampsia emerged for women with a depression diagnosis who took antidepressant medications during the second trimester compared to women with untreated depression (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.39) and to women without depression (aRR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.30, 2.23). Similar associations existed for women who took antidepressant medications, but without depression. In contrast, depressed women with psychotherapy showed no increased risk of preeclampsia compared to women with untreated depression or no depression. There was also a statistically significant relationship between the duration of antidepressant medication use and preeclampsia. The observed association appeared stronger for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use, although a nonsignificant trend was also noted for use of norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

Conclusion

Study findings suggest that antidepressant use during pregnancy may increase the risk of preeclampsia, especially use during the second trimester.
Global warming as a detectable thermodynamic marker of Earth-like extrasolar civilizations: the case for a telescope like Colossus
Authors: Kuhn Jeff R. , Berdyugina Svetlana V.
Published: March 2015

Earth-like civilizations generate heat from the energy that they utilize. The thermal radiation from this heat can be a thermodynamic marker for civilizations. Here we model such planetary radiation on Earth-like planets and propose a strategy for detecting such an alienunintentionalthermodynamic electromagnetic biomarker. We show that astronomical infrared (IR)civilization biomarkersmay be detected within an interestingly large cosmic volume using a 70 m-class or larger telescope. In particular, the Colossus telescope with achievable coronagraphic and adaptive optics performance may reveal Earth-like civilizations from visible and IR photometry timeseries’ taken during an exoplanetary orbit period. The detection of an alien heat signature will have far-ranging implications, but even a null result, given 70 m aperture sensitivity, could also have broad social implications.
First identification of core accessions ofJatropha curcasfrom India based on molecular genetic diversity
Authors: Sinha Pratima , Islam Md Aminul , Negi Madan Singh , Tripathi Shashi Bhushan
Published: March 2015

We report on identification of core collection from 192 accessions collected from 12 Indian states and five other countries based on 109 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Pairwise Jaccard's similarity coefficient for accessions varied from 0.25 to 1 with a maximum genetic distance of 0.75 obtained between accessions Jc428 (from Mexico) and J204 (from Madurai, Tamil Nadu). Both UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method of Arithmetic Averages) clustering and principal coordinate analyses showed similar grouping of accessions in three major clusters in which Mexican accessions clustered separately from Indian, Chinese and African accessions. Results obtained from analysis of molecular variance indicated that 59% of the genetic variation was distributed among the populations, while 41% of variation was within the populations. A total of 16 (8.3% of the entire collection) core accessions were identified, which contained the entire allelic diversity of 192 accessions with respect to the sampled AFLP loci. The core accessions would be highly useful for future genetic improvement ofJatropha. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on identification of core accessions inJatropha.
Can Information Alter Perceptions about Women's Chances of Winning Office? Evidence from a Panel Study
Authors: Dowling Conor M. , Miller Michael G.
Published: March 2015

When the 113th Congress convened in January 2013, women occupied only 17.9% of the 435 seats in the U.S. House, ranking the United States 80th globally in terms of the percentage of women serving in the lower legislative assembly. The underrepresentation of women is particularly puzzling, as political scientists since the 1990s have consistently shown that women candidates are not of demonstrably less quality than men on average (see Fulton 2012, 2014; Fulton et al. 2006; Lawless and Fox 2010), do not suffer from a gender-related funding disadvantage (Berch 1996; Burrell 2008; Gaddie and Bullock 1995; Fox 2010; Herrick 1995, 1996), and do about as well as men at the polls, accounting for differences in incumbency status (Fox 2010; Smith and Fox 2001).
Invigorating Democracy in Turkey: The Agency of Organized Islamist Women
Authors: Aksoy Hürcan Aslı
Published: March 2015

The Islamist Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, henceforth AKP) came to power in 2002 with the promise of consolidating democracy and strengthening civil society to further Turkey's bid to join the European Union (EU). To this end, in its first term in the parliament (2002–2007), the AKP implemented a set of political reforms that lifted the restrictions on political and civil rights such as the freedom of assembly, associations, and expression and improved the rule of law (Kubicek 2005; Müftüler-Baç 2005). The AKP, as it has promised in its election campaigns, also engaged civil society into policy-making processes. In the initial years of the AKP, diverse civil society actors gathered on broad civil society platforms and worked with the AKP government to consolidate Turkish democracy (Keyman 2010; Kubicek 2005). Although the Islamist segments of civil society began to integrate into the secular political sphere and to voice their demands more freely, Islamist women's civil society organizations (CSOs) have not fully benefited from this transforming political atmosphere under the AKP.
Redetermination of the rate coefficient for the reaction of O(1D) with N2
Authors: Ravishankara A. R. , Dunlea E. J. , Blitz M. A. , Dillon T. J. , Heard D. E. , Pilling M. J. , Strekowski R. S. , Nicovich J. M. , Wine P. H.
Published: March 2015

The rate coefficient for the reaction of O(1D) with N2 at 295 K has been measured in three laboratories to be 3.1 × 10−11 cm3 molecule−1 s−1, with an uncertainty of 10% at the 95% confidence level, and to be 2.1 × 10−11 exp {(115 ± 10) /T} cm3 molecule−1 s−1 as a function of temperature. (The quoted uncertainty in E/R will allow calculation of the uncertainty in the rate constant at various temperatures.) The implications of this finding are to decrease the calculated OH production rate via the reaction of O(1D) with H2O in the atmosphere by roughly 15% in the mid‐troposphere and above and to greatly reduce the uncertainties in the calculated HOx and NOx production rates in the atmosphere.
Quasi‐3‐day Kelvin wave and the OI(5577 Å), OH(6,2) Meinel, and O2(0,1) emissions
Authors: Lichstein G. S. , Forbes J. M. , Angelats i Coll M. , Takahashi H. , Gobbi D. , Buriti R. A.
Published: March 2015

Ground‐based zenith photometric observations at São João do Cariri (7°S, 37°W), Brazil, reveal the existence of ∼25–40% quasi‐3‐day oscillations in OI(5577Å), O2(0,1), and OH (6,2) emissions and upper mesospheric temperatures (∼6K) during June and July, 1998. A previous numerical model study [Forbes, 2000] has reported on the global characteristics of a 3‐day Kelvin wave with zonal wavenumber s = 1, and consistency with satellite and radar observations. Herein we present the results of a one‐dimensional dynamical‐chemical simulation that demonstrates that the photometric observations are consistent with a Kelvin wave interpretation. Thus, a connection is made for the first time between convective processes in the tropical troposphere, and upper atmospheric airglow emissions.
Sea Level Rise Added $2 Billion to Sandy's Toll in New York City
Authors: Leifert Harvey
Published: March 2015

The storm surge affected 11.4% more people and 11.6% more housing units than it would have without sea level rise.
Epigenomics of autoimmune diseases
Authors: Gupta Bhawna , Hawkins R David
Published: March 2015

Autoimmune diseases are complex disorders of largely unknown etiology. Genetic studies have identified a limited number of causal genes from a marginal number of individuals, and demonstrated a high degree of discordance in monozygotic twins. Studies have begun to reveal epigenetic contributions to these diseases, primarily through the study of DNA methylation, but chromatin and non‐coding RNA changes are also emerging. Moving forward an integrative analysis of genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic data, with the latter two coming from specific cell types, will provide an understanding that has been missed from genetics alone. We provide an overview of the current state of the field and vision for deriving the epigenomics of autoimmunity.
Chemokine‐mediated immune responses in the female genital tract mucosa
Authors: Deruaz Maud , Luster Andrew D
Published: March 2015

The genital tract mucosa is the site where sexually transmitted infections gain entry to the host. The immune response at this site is thus critical to provide innate protection against pathogens that are seen for the very first time as well as provide long‐term pathogen‐specific immunity, which would be required for an effective vaccine against sexually transmitted infection. A finely regulated immune response is therefore required to provide an effective barrier against pathogens without compromising the capacity of the genital tract to allow for successful conception and fetal development. We review recent developments in our understanding of the immune response in the female genital tract to infectious pathogens, using herpes simplex virus‐2, human immunodeficiency virus‐1 and Chlamydia trachomatis as examples, with a particular focus on the role of chemokines in orchestrating immune cell migration necessary to achieve effective innate and adaptive immune responses in the female genital tract.
Delayed control of herpes simplex virus infection and impaired CD4+ T‐cell migration to the skin in mouse models of DOCK8 deficiency
Authors: Flesch Inge E A , Randall Katrina L , Hollett Natasha A , Di Law Hsei , Miosge Lisa A , Sontani Yovina , Goodnow Christopher C , Tscharke David C
Published: March 2015

DOCK8 deficiency in humans and mice leads to multiple defects in immune cell numbers and function. Patients with this immunodeficiency have a high morbidity and mortality, and are distinguished by chronic cutaneous viral infections, including those caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). The underlying mechanism of the specific susceptibility to these chronic cutaneous viral infections is currently unknown, largely because the effect of DOCK8 deficiency has not been studied in suitable models. A better understanding of these mechanisms is required to underpin the development of more specific therapies. Here we show that DOCK8‐deficient mice have poor control of primary cutaneous herpes simplex lesions and this is associated with increased virus loads. Furthermore, DOCK8‐deficient mice showed a lack of CD4+ T‐cell infiltration into HSV‐infected skin.
The epigenetic mechanisms that underlie health and disease
Authors: Allan Rhys S
Published: March 2015

The March 2015 issue contains a Special Feature on the epigenetic mechanisms underlying health and disease. Epigenetic modifications to chromatin influence the transcriptional status of our genes. Thus, understanding the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate immune cell fate are of great importance as they will provide insight into not only how to boost immune responses but also alter harmful ones such as autoimmunity and cancer. Immunology and Cell Biology thanks the coordinators of this Special Feature ‐ Rhys Allan ‐ for his planning and input.
Erratum: A Winogradsky-based culture system shows an association between microbial fermentation and cystic fibrosis exacerbation
Authors: Quinn Robert A , Whiteson Katrine , Lim Yan-Wei , Salamon Peter , Bailey Barbara , Mienardi Simone , Sanchez Savannah E , Blake Don , Conrad Doug , Rohwer Forest
Published: March 2015

Correction to: The ISME Journal advance online publication, 16 December 2014; doi:10.1038/ismej.2014.234 Since the publication of this article, the authors have identified an error concerning the acknowledgements, namely that ‘Cystic Fibrosis Research Inc.’ was incorrectly listed as ‘Cystic FibrosisResearch Foundation’.
Genetic structure characterization of Chileans reflects historical immigration patterns
Authors: Eyheramendy Susana , Martinez Felipe I. , Manevy Federico , Vial Cecilia , Repetto Gabriela M.
Published: March 2015

Identifying the ancestral components of genomes of admixed individuals helps uncovering the genetic basis of diseases and understanding the demographic history of populations. We estimate local ancestry on 313 Chileans and assess the contribution from three continental populations. The distribution of ancestry block-length suggests an average admixing time around 10 generations ago. Sex-chromosome analyses confirm imbalanced contribution of European men and Native-American women. Previously known genes under selection contain SNPs showing large difference in allele frequencies. Furthermore, we show that assessing ancestry is harder at SNPs with higher recombination rates and easier at SNPs with large difference in allele frequencies at the ancestral populations. Two observations, that African ancestry proportions systematically decrease from North to South, and that European ancestry proportions are highest in central regions, show that the genetic structure of Chileans is under the influence of a diffusion process leading to an ancestry gradient related to geography.
A retrospective analysis of negative diffusion-weighted image results in patients with acute cerebral infarction
Authors: Zuo Lian , Zhang Yue , Xu Xiahong , Li Ying , Bao Huan , Hao Junjie , Wang Xin , Li Gang
Published: March 2015

We aimed to investigate the clinicoradiologic determinants of negative diffusion-weighted image (DWI) results in patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). The medical records were reviewed of ACI patients. Patients were divided to the DWI positive and negative group. Positive DWI was used as independent variable and patients' clinicoradiologic factors were used as co-variables for multivariate logistic regression analysis. 349 patients received initial cerebral MRI within 72 hours of admission. Lacunar infarction was most common (42.1%) followed by posterior circulation infarction (30.1%) and partial anterior circulation infarction (18.1%). The majority of the patients (72.2%) had an NIHSS score of less than 5 at admission. 316 patients (90.54%) were positive on initial DWI. Patients with smoking, initial SBP ≥ 140 or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg, initial fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥7.0 mmol/L, initial MRI from onset of disease >1 d and anterior circulation infarction were liable to show positive DWI. Furthermore, DWI negative patients had significantly lower NIHSS scores (IQR 0,1,2) than DWI positive patients (IQR 1,2,4) (P= 0.000) at two weeks post onset of acute cerebral infarction. In conclusion, multiple clinicoradiologic factors are associated with negative and positive DWI and further delineation of these factors is required in future prospective studies.
N-Acetylaspartate Reduction in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Following 8 weeks of Risperidone Treatment in First-Episode Drug-Naïve Schizophrenia Patients
Authors: Zong Xiaofen , Hu Maolin , Li Zongchang , Cao Hongbao , He Ying , Liao Yanhui , Zhou Jun , Sang Deen , Zhao Hongzeng , Tang Jinsong , Lv Luxian , Chen Xiaogang
Published: March 2015

It is unclear whether N-acetylaspartate (NAA) depletions documented in schizophrenia patients might be due to the disease progression or medications. Here we investigated longitudinal NAA changes in drug-naïve first-episode patients (FEP) who are relatively free from chronicity. Forty-two drug-naïve FEP and 38 controls were enrolled in this study to explore the effect of 8-week risperidone monotherapy on NAA. All spectra were obtained from the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) on a 3.0 T MRI and analyzed with LCModel. At baseline, patients presented no significant differences in NAA (P = 0.084) or NAA/Cr + Pcr (P = 0.500) compared to controls; NAA levels were negatively correlated with PANSS total scores (P = 0.001) and WCST-PE (P = 0.041). After treatment, patients demonstrated significant reductions of NAA (P < 0.001) and NAA/Cr + Pcr (P < 0.001) and significant improvement in PANSS-P (P < 0.001) and PANSS-G (P < 0.001) symptoms. We detected no significant correlations between NAA alterations and PANSS-P (P = 0.679) or PANSS-G (P = 0.668) symptom changes; nor did NAA/Cr + Pcr changes with alterations in PANSS-P (P = 0.677) and PANSS-G (P = 0.616). This is the first evidence that short-term risperidone treatment induces an acute reduction of MPFC NAA during the early phase of schizophrenia, which may be a previously unavailable biomarker to indicate risperidone with a similar pharmacological mechanism, although the functional significance is still unclear.
Coherence time limit of the biphotons generated in a dense cold atomcloud
Authors: Han Zhiguang , Qian Peng , Zhou L. , Chen J. F. , Zhang Weiping
Published: March 2015

Biphotons with narrow bandwidth and long coherence time can enhance light-atominteraction, which leads to strong coupling between photonic and atomic qubits.Such strong coupling is desirable in quantum information processing, quantumstorage and communication. In particular, paired photons with a long coherencetime over submicroseconds facilitate the direct manipulation of biphoton wavefunction.In this paper, we report the narrow-band biphotons with a coherence time of2.34 μs generated from spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM)in a dense cold atom cloud, in which the anti-Stokes photons go through anarrow electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) window. In our knowledge,this is the best record of coherence time for paired photons achieved so far.A number of factors limiting the coherence time are analyzed in detail. Wefind the EIT coherence plays an essential role in determining the coherencetime for paired photons. The EIT dephasing rate is the ultimate limit to thecoherence time and an ultra-long coherence time above ten microseconds ispossible by further improvement of the dephasing rate below 100 kHz.
Mitochondrial superoxide in osteocytes perturbs canalicular networks in the setting of age-related osteoporosis
Authors: Kobayashi Keiji , Nojiri Hidetoshi , Saita Yoshitomo , Morikawa Daichi , Ozawa Yusuke , Watanabe Kenji , Koike Masato , Asou Yoshinori , Shirasawa Takuji , Yokote Koutaro , Kaneko Kazuo , Shimizu Takahiko
Published: March 2015

Osteocytes are major bone cells that play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of and healing damage to bone tissue. The number of living osteocytes and canalicular networks declines in an age-dependent manner. However, the pathological effects of mitochondrial redox imbalances on osteocytes and bone metabolism have not been fully elucidated. We generated mice lacking mitochondrial superoxide dismutase 2 (Sod2) in osteocytes. Like an aged bone,Sod2depletion in the osteocytes positively enhanced the production of cellular superoxidein vivo. A bone morphological analysis demonstrated that theSod2-deficient femurs showed remarkable bone loss in an age-dependent manner. Interestingly,Sod2loss induced markedly disorganized osteocytic canalicular networks and decreased the number of live osteocytes. Furthermore,Sod2deficiency significantly suppressed bone formation and increased bone resorption concomitant with the upregulation of sclerostin and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL).In vitroexperiments also revealed that treatment with paraquat, a superoxide inducer in mitochondria, promoted the RANKL expression via, in part, ERK phosphorylation. These findings demonstrate that the mitochondrial superoxide induced in osteocytes bySod2ablation causes age-related bone loss due to the impairment of canalicular networks and bone metabolism via the deregulation of the sclerostin and RANKL expression.
Sex differences in skeletal muscle Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) levels: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Samaan M. Constantine , Anand Sonia S. , Sharma Arya M. , Samjoo Imtiaz A. , Tarnopolsky Mark A.
Published: March 2015

Women have higher adiposity but maintain insulin sensitivity when compared to men. Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) inhibits insulin signaling, but it is not known if PTEN regulate insulin resistance in a sex-specific manner. In this cross-sectional study, muscle biopsies from participants in the Molecular Study of Health and Risk in Ethnic Groups (Mol-SHARE) were used to test for sex differences in PTEN expression. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to determine PTEN gene expression (n = 53) and western blotting detected total and phosphorylated PTEN protein (n = 36). Study participants were comparable in age and body mass index. Women had higher fat mass percentage compared to men (40.25 ± 9.9% in women versus 27.6 ± 8.8% in men; mean difference −0.18, 95%CI (−0.24, −0.11), p-value <0.0001), with similar HOMA-IR (2.46 ± 2.05 in men versus 2.34 ± 3.06 in women; mean difference 0.04; 95% CI (−0.12, 0.21), p-value 0.59). Women had significant downregulation of PTEN gene expression (p-value 0.01) and upregulation of PTEN protein phosphorylation (inactivation) (p-value 0.001) when compared to men after correction for age, ethnicity, HOMA-IR, fat mass and sex. We conclude that the downregulation of muscle PTEN may explain the retention of insulin sensitivity with higher adiposity in women compared to men.
Structural conservation among the rhodopsin-like and other G protein-coupled receptors
Authors: Kinoshita Mikitaka , Okada Tetsuji
Published: March 2015

Intramolecular remote coupling within the polypeptide backbones of membrane proteins is difficult to analyze owing to the limited structural information available at the atomic level. Nonetheless, recent progress in the crystallographic study of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has provided an unprecedented opportunity for understanding the sophisticated architecture of heptahelical transmembrane (7TM) bundles. These 7TM bundles can respond to a wide range of extracellular stimuli while retaining the common function of binding trimeric G proteins. Here we have systematically analyzed select sets of inactive-like 7TM bundles to highlight the structural conservation of the receptors, in terms of intramolecular Cα-Cα distances. Distances with the highest scores were found to be dominated by the intrahelical distances of helix III, regardless of the choice of bundles in the set, indicating that the intracellular half of this helix is highly conserved. Unexpectedly, the distances between the cytoplasmic side of helix I and the extracellular region of helix VI provided the largest contribution to the high score populations among the interhelical pairs in most of the selected sets, including class B, C and frizzled receptors. These findings are expected to be valuable in further studies of GPCRs with unknown structure and of other protein families.
Topological analysis of the Escherichia coli WcaJ protein reveals a new conserved configuration for the polyisoprenyl-phosphate hexose-1-phosphate transferase family
Authors: Furlong Sarah E. , Ford Amy , Albarnez-Rodriguez Lorena , Valvano Miguel A.
Published: March 2015

WcaJ is an Escherichia coli membrane enzyme catalysing the biosynthesis of undecaprenyl-diphosphate-glucose, the first step in the assembly of colanic acid exopolysaccharide. WcaJ belongs to a large family of polyisoprenyl-phosphate hexose-1-phosphate transferases (PHPTs) sharing a similar predicted topology consisting of an N-terminal domain containing four transmembrane helices (TMHs), a large central periplasmic loop and a C-terminal domain containing the fifth TMH (TMH-V) and a cytosolic tail. However, the topology of PHPTs has not been experimentally validated. Here, we investigated the topology of WcaJ using a combination of LacZ/PhoA reporter fusions and sulfhydryl labelling by PEGylation of novel cysteine residues introduced into a cysteine-less WcaJ. The results showed that the large central loop and the C-terminal tail both reside in the cytoplasm and are separated by TMH-V, which does not fully span the membrane, likely forming a "hairpin" structure. Modelling of TMH-V revealed that a highly conserved proline might contribute to a helix-break-helix structure in all PHPT members. Bioinformatic analyses show that all of these features are conserved in PHPT homologues from Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Our data demonstrate a novel topological configuration for PHPTs, which is proposed as a signature for all members of this enzyme family.
New Insights into the Diverse Electronic Phases of a Novel Vanadium Dioxide Polymorph: A Terahertz Spectroscopy Study
Authors: Lourembam James , Srivastava Amar , La-o-vorakiat Chan , Rotella H. , Venkatesan T. , Chia Elbert E. M.
Published: March 2015

A remarkable feature of vanadium dioxide is that it can be synthesized in a number of polymorphs. The conductivity mechanism in the metastable layered polymorph VO2(B) thin films has been investigated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). In VO2(B), a critical temperature of 240 K marks the appearance of a non-zero Drude term in the observed complex conductivity, indicating the evolution from a pure insulating state towards a metallic state. In contrast, the THz conductivity of the well-known VO2(M1) is well fitted only by a modification of the Drude model to include backscattering. We also identified two different THz conductivity regimes separated by temperature in these two polymorphs. The electronic phase diagram is constructed, revealing that the width and onset of the metal-insulator transition in the B phase develop differently from the M1 phase.
A magnetic anti-cancer compound for magnet-guided delivery and magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Eguchi Haruki , Umemura Masanari , Kurotani Reiko , Fukumura Hidenobu , Sato Itaru , Kim Jeong-Hwan , Hoshino Yujiro , Lee Jin , Amemiya Naoyuki , Sato Motohiko , Hirata Kunio , Singh David J. , Masuda Takatsugu , Yamamoto Masahiro , Urano Tsutomu , Yoshida Keiichiro , Tanigaki Katsumi , Yamamoto Masaki , Sato Mamoru , Inoue Seiichi , Aoki Ichio , Ishikawa Yoshihiro
Published: March 2015

Research on controlled drug delivery for cancer chemotherapy has focused mainly on ways to deliver existing anti-cancer drug compounds to specified targets, e.g., by conjugating them with magnetic particles or encapsulating them in micelles. Here, we show that an iron-salen, i.e., μ-oxoN,N'- bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine iron (Fe(Salen)), but not other metal salen derivatives, intrinsically exhibits both magnetic character and anti-cancer activity. X-Ray crystallographic analysis and first principles calculations based on the measured structure support this. It promoted apoptosis of various cancer cell lines, likely, via production of reactive oxygen species. In mouse leg tumor and tail melanoma models, Fe(Salen) delivery with magnet caused a robust decrease in tumor size and the accumulation of Fe(Salen) was visualized by magnetic resonance imaging. Fe(Salen) is an anti-cancer compound with magnetic property, which is suitable for drug delivery and imaging. We believe such magnetic anti-cancer drugs have the potential to greatly advance cancer chemotherapy for new theranostics and drug-delivery strategies.
Imbalanced functional link between executive control network and reward network explain the online-game seeking behaviors in Internet gaming disorder
Authors: Dong Guangheng , Lin Xiao , Hu Yanbo , Xie Chunming , Du Xiaoxia
Published: March 2015

Literatures have shown that Internet gaming disorder (IGD) subjects show impaired executive control and enhanced reward sensitivities than healthy controls. However, how these two networks jointly affect the valuation process and drive IGD subjects' online-game-seeking behaviors remains unknown. Thirty-five IGD and 36 healthy controls underwent a resting-states scan in the MRI scanner. Functional connectivity (FC) was examined within control and reward network seeds regions, respectively. Nucleus accumbens (NAcc) was selected as the node to find the interactions between these two networks. IGD subjects show decreased FC in the executive control network and increased FC in the reward network when comparing with the healthy controls. When examining the correlations between the NAcc and the executive control/reward networks, the link between the NAcc - executive control network is negatively related with the link between NAcc - reward network. The changes (decrease/increase) in IGD subjects' brain synchrony in control/reward networks suggest the inefficient/overly processing within neural circuitry underlying these processes. The inverse proportion between control network and reward network in IGD suggest that impairments in executive control lead to inefficient inhibition of enhanced cravings to excessive online game playing. This might shed light on the mechanistic understanding of IGD.
A Nomogram for Predicting the Benefit of Adjuvant Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell Immunotherapy in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Pan Qiu-Zhong , Wang Qi-Jing , Dan Jia-Qiang , Pan Ke , Li Yong-Qiang , Zhang Yao-Jun , Zhao Jing-Jing , Weng De-Sheng , Tang Yan , Huang Li-Xi , He Jia , Chen Shi-Ping , Ke Miao-La , Chen Min-Shan , Wicha Max S. , Chang Alfred E. , Zeng Yi-Xin , Li Qiao , Xia Jian-Chuan
Published: March 2015

The benefits of adjuvant cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain mixed among patients. Here, we constructed a prognostic nomogram to enable individualized predictions of survival benefit of adjuvant CIK cell treatment for HCC patients. Survival analysis showed that the median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for patients in the hepatectomy/CIK combination group were 41 and 16 months, respectively, compared to 28 and 12 months for patients in the hepatectomy alone group (control). Based on multivariate analysis of the entire cohort, independent factors for OS were tumor size, tumor capsule, pathological grades, total bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time, alpha-fetoprotein and tumor number, which were incorporated into the nomogram. The survival prediction model performed well, as assessed by the c-index and calibration curve. Internal validation revealed a c-index of 0.698, which was significantly greater than the c-index value of the TNM (tumor–node–metastasis) staging systems of 0.634. The calibration curves fitted well. In conclusions, our developed nomogram resulted in more accurate individualized predictions of the survival benefit from adjuvant CIK cell treatment after hepatectomy. The model may provide valuable information to aid in the decision making regarding the application of adjuvant CIK cell immunotherapy.
A platform for rapid generation of single and multiplexed reporters in human iPSC lines
Authors: Pei Ying , Sierra Guadalupe , Sivapatham Renuka , Swistowski Andrzej , Rao Mahendra S. , Zeng Xianmin
Published: March 2015

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are important tools for drug discovery assays and toxicology screens. In this manuscript, we design high efficiency TALEN and ZFN to target two safe harbor sites on chromosome 13 and 19 in a widely available and well-characterized integration-free iPSC line. We show that these sites can be targeted in multiple iPSC lines to generate reporter systems while retaining pluripotent characteristics. We extend this concept to making lineage reporters using a C-terminal targeting strategy to endogenous genes that express in a lineage-specific fashion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that we can develop a master cell line strategy and then use a Cre-recombinase induced cassette exchange strategy to rapidly exchange reporter cassettes to develop new reporter lines in the same isogenic background at high efficiency. Equally important we show that this recombination strategy allows targeting at progenitor cell stages, further increasing the utility of the platform system. The results in concert provide a novel platform for rapidly developing custom single or dual reporter systems for screening assays.
One-pot synthesis of hierarchical FeZSM-5 zeolites from natural aluminosilicates for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3
Authors: Yue Yuanyuan , Liu Haiyan , Yuan Pei , Yu Chengzhong , Bao Xiaojun
Published: March 2015

Iron-modified ZSM-5 zeolites (FeZSM-5s) have been considered to be a promising catalyst system to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, one of the most important global environmental issues, but their synthesis faces enormous economic and environmental challenges. Herein we report a cheap and green strategy to fabricate hierarchical FeZSM-5 zeolites from natural aluminosilicate minerals via a nanoscale depolymerization-reorganization method. Our strategy is featured by neither using any aluminum-, silicon-, or iron-containing inorganic chemical nor involving any mesoscale template and any post-synthetic modification. Compared with the conventional FeZSM-5 synthesized from inorganic chemicals with the similar Fe content, the resulting hierarchical FeZSM-5 with highly-dispersed iron species showed superior catalytic activity in the selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3.
Inferring Cuisine - Drug Interactions Using the Linked Data Approach
Authors: Jovanovik Milos , Bogojeska Aleksandra , Trajanov Dimitar , Kocarev Ljupco
Published: March 2015

Food - drug interactions are well studied, however much less is known about cuisine - drug interactions. Non-native cuisines are becoming increasingly more popular as they are available in (almost) all regions in the world. Here we address the problem of how known negative food - drug interactions are spread in different cuisines. We show that different drug categories have different distribution of the negative effects in different parts of the world. The effects certain ingredients have on different drug categories and in different cuisines are also analyzed. This analysis is aimed towards stressing out the importance of cuisine - drug interactions for patients which are being administered drugs with known negative food interactions. A patient being under a treatment with one such drug should be advised not only about the possible negative food - drug interactions, but also about the cuisines that could be avoided from the patient's diet.