bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Discovery of antimicrobials by massively parallelized growth assays (Mex)
Authors: Koch Philipp , Schmitt Steven , Cardner Mathias , Beerenwinkel Niko , Panke Sven , Held Martin
Published: March 2022

The number of newly approved antimicrobial compounds has been steadily decreasing over the past 50 years emphasizing the need for novel antimicrobial substances. Here we present Mex, a method for the high-throughput discovery of novel antimicrobials, that relies on E. coli self-screening to determine the bioactivity of more than ten thousand naturally occurring peptides. Analysis of thousands of E. coli growth curves using next-generation sequencing enables the identification of more than 1000 previously unknown antimicrobial peptides. Additionally, by incorporating the kinetics of growth inhibition, a first indication of the mode of action is obtained, which has implications for the ultimate usefulness of the peptides in question. The most promising peptides of the screen are chemically synthesized and their activity is determined in standardized susceptibility assays. Ten out of 15 investigated peptides efficiently eradicate bacteria at a minimal inhibitory concentration in the lower µm or upper nm range. This work represents a step-change in the high-throughput discovery of functionally diverse antimicrobials.
Neoadjuvant therapy of metformin is associated with good tumor response after preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer
Authors: Han Jeonghee , Kim Jong Ho , Lee Jin-Won , Han Sang Hyup , Kim Haesung
Published: March 2022

Metformin is associated with good tumor response in preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for rectal cancer. This study aims to demonstrate that the timing of metformin is related to the tumor response on preoperative CCRT for rectal cancer. From January 2010 to December 2017, 232 patients who underwent curative resection after preoperative CCRT were reviewed. Patients were divided into groups with or without diabetes or metformin. The timing of metformin administration was divided based on before and from initiation of CCRT. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors for tumor response. Tumor downstaging (p = 0.02) and good response rates of tumor regression grade (TRG) (p = 0.008) were significantly higher in the group administered metformin before CCRT than other groups. In the multivariate analysis, metformin administration before CCRT was a significant factor in predicting tumor downstaging [odds ratio (OR) 10.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.76–102.08, p = 0.02] and good TRG (OR 12.55, 95% CI 2.38–80.24, p = 0.004). In patients with rectal cancer who underwent preoperative CCRT, neoadjuvant therapy of metformin before CCRT was significantly associated with good tumor response.
Higher heart rate variability as a predictor of atrial fibrillation in patients with hypertension
Authors: Kim San Ha , Lim Kyoung Ree , Seo Jeong-Hun , Ryu Dong Ryeol , Lee Bong-Ki , Cho Byung-Ryul , Chun Kwang Jin
Published: March 2022

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the meaning of higher heart rate variability (HRV) in predicting AF remains unclear. Among 2100 patients in the Holter registry, a total of 782 hypertensive patients were included in this study. Baseline HRV was measured by time domain and frequency domain methods using 24-h Holter monitoring. The primary outcome was the development of AF. During an average follow-up of 1.1 years, 44 patients developed AF. Higher HRV parameters including high-frequency (P < 0.001), the square root of the mean squared differences of successive NN intervals (P < 0.001), and the percentage of NN intervals that are more than 50 ms different from the previous interval (P < 0.001) were associated with the occurrence of AF in univariate analysis. Premature atrial contractions burden, lower baseline heart rate, age, hemodialysis, coronary artery disease, and chronic heart failure were also associated with AF. In Cox regression analysis, higher HRV (representing excessive autonomic fluctuation) was an independent risk factor for AF. Excessive autonomic fluctuation represented by higher HRV in patients with hypertension was associated with an increased risk of AF.
Predicting individual perceptual scent impression from imbalanced dataset using mass spectrum of odorant molecules
Authors: Debnath Tanoy , Nakamoto Takamichi
Published: March 2022

Predicting odor impression is considered an important step towards measuring the quality of scent in the food, perfume, and cosmetic industries. In odor impression identification and classification, the main target is to predict scent impression while identifying non-target odor impressions are less significant. However, the effectiveness of predictive models depends on the quality of data distribution. Since it is difficult to collect large scale sensory data to create an evenly distributed positive (target odor) and negative (non-target odor) samples, a method is necessary to predict the individual characteristics of scent according to the number of positive samples. Moreover, it is required to predict large number of individual odor impressions from such kind of imbalanced dataset. In this study, we used mass spectrum of flavor molecules and their corresponding odor impressions which have a very disproportioned ratio of positive and negative samples. Thus, we used One-class Classification Support Vector Machine (OCSVM) and Cost-Sensitive MLP (CSMLP) to precisely classify target scent impression. Our experimental results show satisfactory performance in terms of AUCROC to detect the olfactory impressions of 89 odor descriptors from the mass spectra of flavor molecules.
A population-based study of mortality due to muscular dystrophies across a 36-year period in Spain
Authors: Llamosas-Falcón Laura , Sánchez-Díaz Germán , Gallego Elisa , Villaverde-Hueso Ana , Arias-Merino Greta , Posada de la Paz Manuel , Alonso-Ferreira Verónica
Published: March 2022

Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a group of rare hereditary degenerative diseases. Our aim was to analyze the mortality pattern in Spain from 1981 to 2016 to assess the temporal trend and discern possible geographic differences using population-based data. Annual deaths related to MD were obtained from the National Statistics Institute with codes 359.1 of the ICD-9 (1981–1998) and G71.0 of the ICD-10 (1999–2016). Age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated and changes in mortality trends were identified. The standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated by district for 1999–2016. Smoothed SMRs and posterior probability were also assessed and then mapped to look for patterns or geographic distribution. All rates were expressed per 1,000,000 inhabitants. A total of 2,512 deaths (73.8% men) were identified. The age-adjusted mortality rates varied from 0.63 (95% CI 0.40–0.95) in 1981 to 1.51 (95% CI 1.17–1.93) in 2016. MD mortality showed a significant increase of 8.81% per year (95% CI 5.0–12.7) from 1981 to 1990, remaining stable afterwards. Areas with risk of death higher than expected for Spain as a whole were identified, not showing a specific regional pattern. In conclusion, the rising trend in MD mortality might be attributable to advanced improvements in diagnostic techniques leading to a rise in prevalence. Further research on the districts with the highest mortality would be necessary.
Exploring agricultural land-use and childhood malaria associations in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Shah Hiral Anil , Carrasco Luis Roman , Hamlet Arran , Murray Kris A.
Published: March 2022

Agriculture in Africa is rapidly expanding but with this comes potential disbenefits for the environment and human health. Here, we retrospectively assess whether childhood malaria in sub-Saharan Africa varies across differing agricultural land uses after controlling for socio-economic and environmental confounders. Using a multi-model inference hierarchical modelling framework, we found that rainfed cropland was associated with increased malaria in rural (OR 1.10, CI 1.03–1.18) but not urban areas, while irrigated or post flooding cropland was associated with malaria in urban (OR 1.09, CI 1.00–1.18) but not rural areas. In contrast, although malaria was associated with complete forest cover (OR 1.35, CI 1.24–1.47), the presence of natural vegetation in agricultural lands potentially reduces the odds of malaria depending on rural–urban context. In contrast, no associations with malaria were observed for natural vegetation interspersed with cropland (veg-dominant mosaic). Agricultural expansion through rainfed or irrigated cropland may increase childhood malaria in rural or urban contexts in sub-Saharan Africa but retaining some natural vegetation within croplands could help mitigate this risk and provide environmental co-benefits.
Automated pancreas segmentation and volumetry using deep neural network on computed tomography
Authors: Lim Sang-Heon , Kim Young Jae , Park Yeon-Ho , Kim Doojin , Kim Kwang Gi , Lee Doo-Ho
Published: March 2022

Pancreas segmentation is necessary for observing lesions, analyzing anatomical structures, and predicting patient prognosis. Therefore, various studies have designed segmentation models based on convolutional neural networks for pancreas segmentation. However, the deep learning approach is limited by a lack of data, and studies conducted on a large computed tomography dataset are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to perform deep-learning-based semantic segmentation on 1006 participants and evaluate the automatic segmentation performance of the pancreas via four individual three-dimensional segmentation networks. In this study, we performed internal validation with 1,006 patients and external validation using the cancer imaging archive pancreas dataset. We obtained mean precision, recall, and dice similarity coefficients of 0.869, 0.842, and 0.842, respectively, for internal validation via a relevant approach among the four deep learning networks. Using the external dataset, the deep learning network achieved mean precision, recall, and dice similarity coefficients of 0.779, 0.749, and 0.735, respectively. We expect that generalized deep-learning-based systems can assist clinical decisions by providing accurate pancreatic segmentation and quantitative information of the pancreas for abdominal computed tomography.
A high gain multiband offset MIMO antenna based on a planar log-periodic array for Ku/K-band applications
Authors: Fakharian Mohammad M. , Alibakhshikenari Mohammad , See Chan Hwang , Abd-Alhameed Raed
Published: March 2022

An offset quad-element, two-port, high-gain, and multiband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) planar antenna based on a log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) for Ku/K-band wireless communications is proposed, in this paper. A single element antenna has been designed starting from Carrel’s theory and then optimized with a 50-Ω microstrip feed-line with two orthogonal branches that results mainly in a broadside radiation pattern and improves diversity parameters. For experimental confirmation, the designed structure is printed on an RT-5880 substrate with a thickness of 1.57 mm. The total substrate dimensions of the MIMO antenna are 55 × 45 mm2. According to the measured results, the designed structure is capable of working at 1.3% (12.82–12.98 GHz), 3.1% (13.54–13.96 GHz), 2.3% (14.81–15.15 GHz), 4.5% (17.7–18.52 GHz), and 4.6% (21.1–22.1 GHz) frequency bands. Additionally, the proposed MIMO antenna attains a peak gain of 4.2–10.7 dBi with maximum element isolation of 23.5 dB, without the use of any decoupling structure. Furthermore, the analysis of MIMO performance metrics such as the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and mean effective gain (MEG) validates good characteristics, and field correlation performance over the operating band. The proposed design is an appropriate option for multiband MIMO applications for various wireless systems in Ku/K-bands.
ACE2 protein expression in lung tissues of severe COVID-19 infection
Authors: Gheware Atish , Ray Animesh , Rana Deeksha , Bajpai Prashant , Nambirajan Aruna , Arulselvi S. , Mathur Purva , Trikha Anjan , Arava Sudheer , Das Prasenjit , Mridha Asit Ranjan , Singh Geetika , Soneja Manish , Nischal Neeraj , Lalwani Sanjeev , Wig Naveet , Sarkar Chitra , Jain Deepali
Published: March 2022

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a key host protein by which severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters and multiplies within cells. The level of ACE2 expression in the lung is hypothesised to correlate with an increased risk of severe infection and complications in COrona VIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). To test this hypothesis, we compared the protein expression status of ACE2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in post-mortem lung samples of patients who died of severe COVID-19 and lung samples obtained from non-COVID-19 patients for other indications. IHC for CD61 and CD163 was performed for the assessment of platelet-rich microthrombi and macrophages, respectively. IHC for SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen was also performed. In a total of 55, 44 COVID-19 post-mortem lung samples were tested for ACE2, 36 for CD163, and 26 for CD61, compared to 15 non-covid 19 control lung sections. Quantification of immunostaining, random sampling, and correlation analysis were used to substantiate the morphologic findings. Our results show that ACE2 protein expression was significantly higher in COVID-19 post-mortem lung tissues than in controls, regardless of sample size. Histomorphology in COVID-19 lungs showed diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), acute bronchopneumonia, and acute lung injury with SARS-CoV-2 viral protein detected in a subset of cases. ACE2 expression levels were positively correlated with increased expression levels of CD61 and CD163. In conclusion, our results show significantly higher ACE2 protein expression in severe COVID-19 disease, correlating with increased macrophage infiltration and microthrombi, suggesting a pathobiological role in disease severity.
Exposure to 1800 MHz LTE electromagnetic fields under proinflammatory conditions decreases the response strength and increases the acoustic threshold of auditory cortical neurons
Authors: Souffi Samira , Lameth Julie , Gaucher Quentin , Arnaud-Cormos Délia , Lévêque Philippe , Edeline Jean-Marc , Mallat Michel
Published: March 2022

Increased needs for mobile phone communications have raised successive generations (G) of wireless technologies, which could differentially affect biological systems. To test this, we exposed rats to single head-only exposure of a 4G long-term evolution (LTE)-1800 MHz electromagnetic field (EMF) for 2 h. We then assessed the impact on microglial space coverage and electrophysiological neuronal activity in the primary auditory cortex (ACx), under acute neuroinflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide. The mean specific absorption rate in the ACx was 0.5 W/kg. Multiunit recording revealed that LTE-EMF triggered reduction in the response strength to pure tones and to natural vocalizations, together with an increase in acoustic threshold in the low and medium frequencies. Iba1 immunohistochemistry showed no change in the area covered by microglia cell bodies and processes. In healthy rats, the same LTE-exposure induced no change in response strength and acoustic threshold. Our data indicate that acute neuroinflammation sensitizes neuronal responses to LTE-EMF, which leads to an altered processing of acoustic stimuli in the ACx.
CX-5461 induces radiosensitization through modification of the DNA damage response and not inhibition of RNA polymerase I
Authors: Lehman Stacey L. , Schwartz Kayla R. , Maheshwari Shrankhla , Camphausen Kevin , Tofilon Philip J.
Published: March 2022

Increased ribosome biogenesis is a distinguishing feature of cancer cells, and small molecule inhibitors of ribosome biogenesis are currently in clinical trials as single agent therapy. It has been previously shown that inhibiting ribosome biogenesis through the inhibition of nuclear export of ribosomal subunits sensitizes tumor cells to radiotherapy. In this study, the radiosensitizing potential of CX-5461, a small molecule inhibitor of RNA polymerase I, was tested. Radiosensitization was measured by clonogenic survival assay in a panel of four tumor cell lines derived from three different tumor types commonly treated with radiation. 50 nM CX-5461 radiosensitized PANC-1, U251, HeLa, and PSN1 cells with dose enhancement factors in the range of 1.2–1.3. However, 50 nM CX-5461 was not sufficient to inhibit 45S transcription alone or in combination with radiation. The mechanism of cell death with the combination of CX-5461 and radiation occurred through mitotic catastrophe and not apoptosis. CX-5461 inhibited the repair and/or enhanced the initial levels of radiation-induced DNA double strand breaks. Understanding the mechanism of CX-5461-induced radiosensitization should be of value in the potential application of the CX-5461/radiotherapy combination in cancer treatment.
A deep learning-driven low-power, accurate, and portable platform for rapid detection of COVID-19 using reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification
Authors: Waheed Waqas , Saylan Sueda , Hassan Taimur , Kannout Hussain , Alsafar Habiba , Alazzam Anas
Published: March 2022

This paper presents a deep learning-driven portable, accurate, low-cost, and easy-to-use device to perform Reverse-Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) to facilitate rapid detection of COVID-19. The 3D-printed device—powered using only a 5 Volt AC-DC adapter—can perform 16 simultaneous RT-LAMP reactions and can be used multiple times. Moreover, the experimental protocol is devised to obviate the need for separate, expensive equipment for RNA extraction in addition to eliminating sample evaporation. The entire process from sample preparation to the qualitative assessment of the LAMP amplification takes only 45 min (10 min for pre-heating and 35 min for RT-LAMP reactions). The completion of the amplification reaction yields a fuchsia color for the negative samples and either a yellow or orange color for the positive samples, based on a pH indicator dye. The device is coupled with a novel deep learning system that automatically analyzes the amplification results and pays attention to the pH indicator dye to screen the COVID-19 subjects. The proposed device has been rigorously tested on 250 RT-LAMP clinical samples, where it achieved an overall specificity and sensitivity of 0.9666 and 0.9722, respectively with a recall of 0.9892 for Ct < 30. Also, the proposed system can be widely used as an accurate, sensitive, rapid, and portable tool to detect COVID–19 in settings where access to a lab is difficult, or the results are urgently required.
The dynamics of disease mediated invasions by hosts with immune reproductive tradeoff
Authors: Young Matthew J. , Fefferman Nina H.
Published: March 2022

The modern world involves both increasingly frequent introduction of novel invasive animals into new habitat ranges and novel epidemic-causing pathogens into new host populations. Both of these phenomena have been well studied. Less well explored, however, is how the success of species invasions may themselves be affected by the pathogens they bring with them. In this paper, we construct a simple, modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model for a vector-borne pathogen affecting two annually reproducing hosts. We consider an invasion scenario in which a susceptible native host species is invaded by a disease-resistant species carrying a vector-borne infection. We assume the presence of abundant, but previously disease-free, competent vectors. We find that the success of invasion is critically sensitive to the infectivity of the pathogen. The more the pathogen is able to spread, the more fit the invasive host is in competition with the more vulnerable native species; the pathogen acts as a ‘wingman pathogen,’ enhancing the probability of invader establishment. While not surprising, we provide a quantitative predictive framework for the long-term outcomes from these important coupled dynamics in a world in which compound invasions of hosts and pathogens are increasingly likely.
Structural and immunoendocrine remodeling in gut, pancreas and thymus in weaning rats fed powdered milk diets rich in Maillard reactants
Authors: Dereke J. , Ekblad E. , Weström B. , Erlanson-Albertsson C. , Landin-Olsson M. , Sjöholm I. , Hillman M.
Published: March 2022

Western diet is extending worldwide and suspected to be associated with various metabolic diseases. Many food products have skim milk powder added to it and, during processing, lactose reacts with milk proteins and Maillard reaction products (MRPs) are formed. Dietary MRPs are suggested risk factors for metabolic dysregulation, but the mechanisms behind are still enigmatic. Here we describe that weaning rats fed diets rich in MRPs are affected in both their immune and endocrine systems. Marked structural changes in pancreas, intestine and thymus are noted already after 1 week of exposure. The pancreatic islets become sparser, the intestinal mucosa is thinner, and thymus displays increased apoptosis and atrophy. Glucagon- like peptide-1 (GLP-1) seems to play a key role in that the number of GLP-1 expressing cells is up-regulated in endocrine pancreas but down-regulated in the intestinal mucosa. Further, intestinal GLP-1-immunoreactive cells are juxta positioned not only to nerve fibres and tuft cells, as previously described, but also to intraepithelial CD3 positive T cells, rendering them a strategic location in metabolic regulation. Our results suggest dietary MRPs to cause metabolic disorders, dysregulation of intestinal GLP-1- immunoreactive cells, arrest in pancreas development and thymus atrophy.
Inhibition of RANKL and Sema4D improves residual ridge resorption in mice
Authors: Hisamoto Meri , Kimura Shunsuke , Iwata Kai , Iwanaga Toshihiko , Yokoyama Atsuro
Published: March 2022

Residual ridge resorption (RRR) is a chronic and progressive bone resorption following tooth loss. It causes deterioration of the oral environments and leads to the pathogenesis of various systemic diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms and risk factors for RRR progression are still unclear and controversial. In this study, we developed a tooth extraction model using mice for analyzing long-term morphological and gene expression changes in the alveolar bone. We further applied ovariectomy to this model to elucidate the effects of osteoporosis on RRR progression. As a result, the alveolar bone loss was biphasic and consisted of rapid loss in the early stages and subsequently slow and sustained bone loss over a long period. Histological analysis indicated that ovariectomy prolonged the activation of osteoclasts in the alveolar bone. Furthermore, the expressions of Tnfsf11 and Sema4d kept increasing for a long time in OVX mice. Administration of neutralization antibodies for receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) effectively suppressed RRR. Similarly, inhibition of Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) also improved alveolar bone loss. This study demonstrated that reduced ovarian function may be a risk factor for RRR and that RANKL and Sema4D suppression are potential treatments.
Prediction of surgical margin status and location after radical prostatectomy using positive biopsy sites on 12-core standard prostate biopsy
Authors: Jeong Hyeon , Choo Min Soo , Cho Min Chul , Son Hwancheol , Yoo Sangjun
Published: March 2022

We evaluated the surgical margin status after radical prostatectomy according to sites positive for prostate cancer on standard 12-core transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy. Among patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at Boramae Medical Center, 520 patients with preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level < 20 ng/mL and locally confined prostate cancer on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, treated with nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, were included in the analysis. The surgical margin was positive for cancer in 166 (31.9% of the total) patients. The preoperative PSA level (9.3 vs. 8.0, ng/mL p = 0.001) and number of positive cores on 12-core prostate biopsy (4.1 vs. 3.4, p = 0.003) were significantly higher in patients with positive surgical margins. Moreover, the biopsy Gleason grade was higher in patients with positive surgical margins (p = 0.001). However, the pathologic Gleason grade and tumor volume were equivalent between the 2 groups. On multivariate analysis, the detection of prostate cancer on anterior lateral biopsy was associated with an increased rate of positive surgical margins (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.781, p = 0.008) after adjusting for other variables. Anterior lateral (HR: 1.919, p = 0.020), basal lateral (HR: 9.176, p < 0.001), basal medial (HR: 3.302, p = 0.031), and mid lateral (HR: 2.501, p = 0.044) biopsies were associated with positive apical, posterior, basal, and lateral surgical margins, respectively, after adjusting for other variables. The sites of prostate cancer on standard 12-core prostate biopsy could be useful for predicting surgical margin positivity after radical prostatectomy. In other words, clinicians should consider the sites of prostate cancer on prostate biopsy to reduce margin positivity after radical prostatectomy.
Exploring the mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branch structure based on 3D point cloud analysis and the finite element method
Authors: Tsugawa Satoru , Teratsuji Kaname , Okura Fumio , Noshita Koji , Tateno Masaki , Zhang Jingyao , Demura Taku
Published: March 2022

Trees are thought to have acquired a mechanically optimized shape through evolution, but a scientific methodology to investigate the mechanical rationality of tree morphology remains to be established. The aim of this study was to develop a new method for 3D reconstruction of actual tree shape and to establish a theoretical formulation for elucidating the structure and function of tree branches. We obtained 3D point cloud data of tree shape of Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) using the NavVis Lidar scanner, then applied a cylinder structure extraction from point cloud data with error estimation. We then formulated the mechanical stress of branches under gravity using the elastic theory, and performed finite element method simulations to evaluate the mechanical characteristics. Subsequently, we constructed a mechanics-based theoretical formulation of branch development that ensures constant bending stress produces various branching patterns depending on growth properties. The derived theory recapitulates the trade-off among branch growth anisotropy, stress-gravity length, and branch shape, which may open the quantitative way to evaluate mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branches.
Preparation of mixed-mode stationary phase for separation of peptides and proteins in high performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Alharthi Sarah , Ali Ashraf , Iqbal Muzaffar , Ibrar Aliya , Ahmad Bashir , Nisa Sobia , Mabood Fazal
Published: March 2022

Porous silica particles were prepared by sol–gel method with some modification to get wide-pore particles. These particles were derivatized with N-phenylmaleimide-methylvinylisocyanate (PMI) and styrene by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to prepare N-phenylmaleimide embedded polystyrene (PMP) stationary phases. Narrow bore stainless steel column (100 × 1.8 mm i.d) was packed by slurry packing method. The chromatographic performance of PMP column was evaluated for the separation of synthetic peptides mixture composed of five peptides (Gly-Tyr, Gly-Leu-Tyr, Gly-Gly-Tyr-Arg, Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg, Leucine enkephalin) and tryptic digest of human serum albumin (HAS) respectively. Number of theoretical plates as high as 280,000 plates/m were obtained for peptides mixture at optimum elution condition. Separation performance of the developed column was compared with commercial Ascentis Express RP-Amide column and it was observed that separation performance of PMP column was better than commercial column in terms of separation efficiency and resolution.
Elevated mid-pregnancy plasma levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in women prior to the development of preeclampsia
Authors: Junus Katja , Björk Ragnarsdóttir Inger , Nordlöf Callbo Paliz , Bergman Lina , Lager Susanne , Wikström Anna-Karin
Published: March 2022

Preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) share multiple features and risk factors. Circulating angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is increased in CVD and mediates SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells, causing COVID-19 infection. The role of ACE2 in preeclampsia pathophysiology is unknown. We hypothesized that circulating ACE2 is increased in mid-pregnancy in women later developing preeclampsia. We included 296 women later developing preeclampsia (cases) and 333 women with a continuous healthy pregnancy (controls). Circulating ACE2 was measured with an immunoassay based on proximity extension assay technology, with levels being expressed as relative quantification on a log2 scale. Median (interquartile range) ACE2 levels were higher in cases than in controls; 3.84 (3.50–4.24) vs. 3.72 (3.45–4.04), p = 0.002. Adjusted logistic regression models showed a 60% increased risk for later development of preeclampsia with one unit elevation of ACE2 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.60, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.17–2.18). Preterm preeclampsia (diagnosis before 37 gestational weeks, n = 97) seemed to have a stronger ACE2 association than term preeclampsia, n = 199 (aORs, 95% Cis 2.14, 1.15–3.96 and 1.52, 1.04–2.23, respectively). Circulating ACE2 is increased at mid-pregnancy in women later developing preeclampsia, particularly preterm preeclampsia. Thus, our finding indicates a partly shared pathophysiological pathway between preeclampsia and CVD.
The tripartite quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation and upper bound on shareability of quantum discord
Authors: Dolatkhah Hazhir , Mohammadi Abolhassan , Haseli Soroush
Published: March 2022

Quantum discord and quantum uncertainty are two important features of the quantum world. In this work, the relation between entropic uncertainty relation and the shareability of quantum discord is studied. By using tripartite quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation, an upper bound for the shareability of quantum discord among different parties of a composite system is obtained. It is also shown that, for a specific class of tripartite states, the obtained relation could be expressed as monogamy of quantum discord. Moreover, it is illustrated that the relation could be generalized and an upper bound for the shareability of quantum discord for multipartite states is derived.
CBRAM technology: transition from a memory cell to a programmable and non-volatile impedance for new radiofrequency applications
Authors: López-Soriano Sergio , Methapettyparambu Purushothama Jayakrishnan , Vena Arnaud , Perret Etienne
Published: March 2022

Electrical resistance control programming of conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM) radio frequency (RF) switches could benefit the development of electronically controlled non-volatile RF attenuators and other reconfigurable devices. The object of this study is to adapt a conventional CBRAM based memory cell to be used as an RF switch, and to demonstrate the feasibility of programming non-volatile RF CBRAM switches to achieve specific target resistances within a range of continuous values. The memory-RF technologic transition implies a drastic increase of the geometry in order to handle a much higher power, a decrease of the transition capacitance in order to operate at much higher frequencies, and a decrease of the LRS to a few ohms, which is critical for RF applications. These studies are initially performed on an in-house made RF CBRAM cell array at DC frequency, and then extended successfully to a co-planar waveguide (CPW) based shunt mode RF switch with an integrated CBRAM cell. Reliability of the proposed technique is validated through detailed analysis of factors like repeatability of the process, time stability of programmed states, and statistics of time taken to converge to a desired resistance value for an arbitrary RF CBRAM switch.
An efficient self-attention network for skeleton-based action recognition
Authors: Qin Xiaofei , Cai Rui , Yu Jiabin , He Changxiang , Zhang Xuedian
Published: March 2022

There has been significant progress in skeleton-based action recognition. Human skeleton can be naturally structured into graph, so graph convolution networks have become the most popular method in this task. Most of these state-of-the-art methods optimized the structure of human skeleton graph to obtain better performance. Based on these advanced algorithms, a simple but strong network is proposed with three major contributions. Firstly, inspired by some adaptive graph convolution networks and non-local blocks, some kinds of self-attention modules are designed to exploit spatial and temporal dependencies and dynamically optimize the graph structure. Secondly, a light but efficient architecture of network is designed for skeleton-based action recognition. Moreover, a trick is proposed to enrich the skeleton data with bones connection information and make obvious improvement to the performance. The method achieves 90.5% accuracy on cross-subjects setting (NTU60), with 0.89M parameters and 0.32 GMACs of computation cost. This work is expected to inspire new ideas for the field.
Weakened resilience of benthic microbial communities in the face of climate change
Authors: Seidel Laura , Ketzer Marcelo , Broman Elias , Shahabi-Ghahfarokhi Sina , Rahmati-Abkenar Mahboubeh , Turner Stephanie , Ståhle Magnus , Bergström Kristofer , Manoharan Lokeshwaran , Ali Ashfaq , Forsman Anders , Hylander Samuel , Dopson Mark
Published: March 2022

Increased ocean temperature associated with climate change is especially intensified in coastal areas and its influence on microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling is poorly understood. In this study, we sampled a Baltic Sea bay that has undergone 50 years of warmer temperatures similar to RCP5-8.5 predictions due to cooling water release from a nuclear power plant. The system demonstrated reduced oxygen concentrations, decreased anaerobic electron acceptors, and higher rates of sulfate reduction. Chemical analyses, 16S rRNA gene amplicons, and RNA transcripts all supported sediment anaerobic reactions occurring closer to the sediment-water interface. This resulted in higher microbial diversities and raised sulfate reduction and methanogenesis transcripts, also supporting increased production of toxic sulfide and the greenhouse gas methane closer to the sediment surface, with possible release to oxygen deficient waters. RNA transcripts supported prolonged periods of cyanobacterial bloom that may result in increased climate change related coastal anoxia. Finally, while metatranscriptomics suggested increased energy production in the heated bay, a large number of stress transcripts indicated the communities had not adapted to the increased temperature and had weakened resilience. The results point to a potential feedback loop, whereby increased temperatures may amplify negative effects at the base of coastal biochemical cycling.
Selection of healthy sperm based on positive rheotaxis using a microfluidic device
Authors: Sharma Sandhya , Kabir Md. Alamgir , Asghar Waseem
Published: March 2022

The developed microfluidic chip is a novel design that facilitates varying shear stress generated by the fluid flow in different parts of the chip for the rheotaxis-based separation of functional human sperm directly from raw semen.
Insights into the electronic structure of hydroxyl on Ag(110) under near ambient conditions
Authors: F. S. Codeço Camilla , Klyushin Alexander Yu. , Carbonio Emilia A. , Knop-Gericke Axel , Schlögl Robert , Jones Travis , Rocha Tulio C. R.
Published: March 2022

Electronic structure and bonding configuration of surface hydroxyl probed byin situX-ray spectroscopy combined with DFT.
The C-terminus of the GKY20 antimicrobial peptide, derived from human thrombin, plays a key role in its membrane perturbation capability
Authors: Oliva Rosario , Campanile Marco , Del Vecchio Pompea , Pizzo Elio , Bosso Andrea , Winter Roland , Petraccone Luigi
Published: March 2022

The C-terminus region of the antimicrobial peptide GKY20 plays a leading role in the interaction with membranes and in its perturbation characteristics of the lipid double layer.
Template-free synthesis of Bi2O2CO3 hierarchical nanotubes self-assembled from ordered nanoplates for promising photocatalytic applications
Authors: Li Liexiao , Sun Xiaofeng , Xian Tao , Gao Huajing , Wang Shifa , Yi Zao , Wu Xianwen , Yang Hua
Published: March 2022

In this study, we have adopted a one-step hydrothermal route to synthesize an interesting type of Bi2O2CO3 hierarchical nanotubes self-assembled from ordered nanosheets.
Intercalation of organics into layered structures enables superior interface compatibility and fast charge diffusion for dendrite-free Zn anodes
Authors: Peng Huili , Liu Changhui , Wang Nana , Wang Chenggang , Wang Dongdong , Li Yanlu , Chen Bo , Yang Jian , Qian Yitai
Published: March 2022

The intercalation of n-butylamine into layer-structured α-ZrP benefits the formation of a dense layer, reduces the transfer barrier of Zn2+ and increases the local concentration of Zn2+, leading to enhanced electrochemical performances for Zn anodes.
The structural evolution of 3D-RGO with reduction temperature and its effect on capacitive deionization performance
Authors: Liu Kun , Chen Bingbing , Feng Aihu , Deng Ruixiang , Hu Xuebing , Zhou Jianer , Yu Yun
Published: March 2022

The structure control of electrode materials was one of the sticking points in capacitive deionization (CDI).
Anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenetic and antiviral activities of dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins from the roots of Panax notoginseng
Authors: Zheng Yuan-ru , Fan Chun-lin , Chen Ye , Quan Jing-yu , Shi Ling-zhu , Tian Chun-yang , Shang Xiao , Xu Ni-shan , Ye Wen-cai , Yu Lin-zhong , Liu Jun-shan
Published: March 2022

Fifteen dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins including one new compound isolated from P. notoginseng exhibited anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenetic and antiviral activities.
Preparation and adsorption properties of hyperbranched polyethyleneimine-cellulose nanofiber aerogel
Authors: Fang Yanyuan , He Hua , Dong Kaiqiang , Yang Jisheng , Qin Zhiyong
Published: March 2022

A novel cellulose-based aerogel was prepared by a chemical cross-linking reaction and hydrogen bonding between cellulose nanofibers (CNF), polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (PEGDE), and hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (HPEI).
Ag3VO4/g-C3N4/diatomite ternary compound reduces Cr(vi) ion in aqueous solution effectively under visible light
Authors: Jiang Zhuhuan , Zhu Haitao , Guo Wanmi , Ren Qifang , Ding Yi , Chen Shaohua , Chen Jing , Jia Xinyu
Published: March 2022

The Ag3VO4/g-C3N4/diatomite (AVO/CN/DT) ternary composite was synthesized by annealing-precipitation method. In the photocatalytic reaction system, diatomite provided reaction sites for AVO and CN and promoted the photoreduction of Cr(vi).
Synergistic Brønsted/Lewis acid catalyzed aromatic alkylation with unactivated tertiary alcohols or di-tert-butylperoxide to synthesize quaternary carbon centers
Authors: Pan Aaron , Chojnacka Maja , Crowley Robert , Göttemann Lucas , Haines Brandon E. , Kou Kevin G. M.
Published: March 2022

Dual Brønsted/Lewis acid catalysis involving environmentally benign, readily accessible protic acid and iron promotes site-selective tert-alkylation of arenes using di-tert-butylperoxide and tertiary alcohols.
Proteomic and metabolomic profiling combined with in vitro studies reveal the antiproliferative mechanism of silver nanoparticles in MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells
Authors: Nirmala J. Grace , Meher Kimaya , Lopus Manu
Published: March 2022

Tryptone-stabilized silver nanoparticles kill breast cancer cells by perturbing the structural integrity of tubulin and downregulating lipid metabolism.
Correction: Transplantation of collagen sponge-based three-dimensional neural stem cells cultured in a RCCS facilitates locomotor functional recovery in spinal cord injury animals
Authors: Zou Yunlong , Yin Yanyun , Xiao Zhifeng , Zhao Yannan , Han Jin , Chen Bing , Xu Bai , Cui Yi , Ma Xu , Dai Jianwu
Published: March 2022

Correction for ‘Transplantation of collagen sponge-based three-dimensional neural stem cells cultured in a RCCS facilitates locomotor functional recovery in spinal cord injury animals’ by Yunlong Zou et al., Biomater. Sci., 2022, 10, 915–924. DOI: 10.1039/D1BM01744F.
Accelerated discovery of thermostable high-energy materials with intramolecular donor–acceptor building blocks
Authors: Ma Qing , Cheng Zhen , Yang Lei , Du Wei , Yin Yilin , Ma Wenqiang , Fan Guijuan , Li Jinshan
Published: March 2022

To accelerate the discovery of thermostable high-energy materials with intramolecular donor–acceptor building blocks, a simple and effective strategy was employed through assisted database search and facile synthesis.
Reactive oxygen species-responsive RNA interference
Authors: Rühle Jennifer , Klemt Insa , Abakumova Tatiana , Sergeeva Olga , Vetosheva Polina , Zatsepin Timofei , Mokhir Andriy
Published: March 2022

We have developed siRNAs that are activated in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Since the ROS amount is higher in cancer than in normal cells, these reagents can be used for the cancer-specific suppression of gene expression. We have demonstrated the activation of our siRNAs in in vitro and in vivo.
Tracking local and global structural changes in a protein by cold ion spectroscopy
Authors: Zviagin Andrei , Kopysov Vladimir , Nagornova Natalia S. , Boyarkin Oleg V.
Published: March 2022

The tertiary structure of ubiquitin in the gas phase is tracked using cold ion spectroscopy of the bare and microhydrated protein.
Correction: The molecular structure of the surface of water–ethanol mixtures
Authors: Kirschner Johannes , Gomes Anderson H. A. , Marinho Ricardo R. T. , Björneholm Olle , Ågren Hans , Carravetta Vincenzo , Ottosson Niklas , de Brito Arnaldo Naves , Bakker Huib J.
Published: March 2022

Correction for ‘The molecular structure of the surface of water–ethanol mixtures’ by Johannes Kirschner et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2021, 23, 11568–11578, DOI: 10.1039/D0CP06387H.
MoS2 nanosheets for the detoxification of Hg2+ in living cells
Authors: Xing Shanshan , Xia Chunqiu , Liu Xinyi , Guo Liangqia , Fu Fengfu
Published: March 2022

MoS2 nanosheets were exfoliated using sodium phytate as an auxiliary reagent and applied for the detoxification of Hg2+ in living HepG2 cells.
Novel hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquids as efficient catalysts for the conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonates under metal/halogen/cocatalyst/solvent-free conditions
Authors: Yue Shuang , Qu Hong-Liu , Song Xin-Xin , Feng Xuan-Nuo
Published: March 2022

Environmentally friendly synthesis route to carbonates from CO2 and epoxides catalysed by novel hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquids under metal/halogen/cocatalyst/solvent-free conditions.
Regulating the proton conductivity of metal organic framework materials through solvent control
Authors: Wang Xinxin , Wang Fengdong , Zhang Chenxi , Wang Qinglun
Published: March 2022

MOFs were used as probes through changes in the proton conductivity caused by changes in solvent molecules.
Twist-angle-controlled neutral exciton annihilation in WS2 homostructures
Authors: Xu Lujie , Duan Wenrui , Liu Yuanshuang , Wang Jiangcai , Zhao Yuanxi , Li Huanglong , Liu Huan , Liu Dameng
Published: March 2022

The dynamics of exciton–exciton annihilation in WS2 homostructures can be flexibly controlled by changing the interlayer twist angle. Exciton-exciton annihilation is strongly suppressed at a small interlayer twist angle.
Update and critical reanalysis of IUPAC benchmark propagation rate coefficient data
Authors: Beuermann Sabine , Harrisson Simon , Hutchinson Robin A. , Junkers Tanja , Russell Gregory T.
Published: March 2022

The dataset used to generate IUPAC benchmark Arrhenius parameters for propagation rate coefficients in radical polymerization is extended and reanalyzed, taking into account systematic interlaboratory variation.
A monocarbocyclic sesterterpenoid biosynthetic precursor of leucosceptroids from Leucosceptrum canum and its metabolic isomerization by a specialist insect
Authors: Guo Kai , Luo Shi-Hong , Guo Da-Le , Li De-Sen , Hua Juan , Liu Yan Chun , Liu Yan , Li Sheng-Hong
Published: March 2022

A biosynthetic precursor of leucosceptrane-type sesterterpenoids was discovered, and its metabolic isomerization by a specialist insect was reported.
Divergent synthesis of fused N-heterocyclesviarhodium-catalysed [4 + 2] cyclization of pyrazolidinones with iodonium ylides
Authors: Li Run , Hou Ye-Xing , Xu Ji-Hang , Gao Yang , Hu Xiao-Qiang
Published: March 2022

We developed a catalytic system-controlled tunable strategy for the divergent synthesis of cinnolines and pyrazolo[1,2-a]cinnolinesviathe rhodium-catalyzed [4 + 2] cyclization of easily available pyrazolidinones and iodonium ylides.
Significant structural change in human c-Myc promoter G-quadruplex upon peptide binding in potassium
Authors: Kundu Nikita , Sharma Taniya , Kaur Sarvpreet , Singh Mamta , Kumar Vinit , Sharma Uttam , Jain Aklank , Shankaraswamy Jadala , Miyoshi Daisuke , Saxena Sarika
Published: March 2022

We selected the G-quadruplex motif located in the nuclease-hypersensitive elements (NHE) III1 region of the c-Myc promoter and for the first time performed its interaction studies with a designed peptide (QW10).
A novel high-energy-density lithium-free anode dual-ion battery and in situ revealing the interface structure evolution
Authors: Wu Li-Na , Wang Zheng-Rong , Dai Peng , Xie Yu-Xiang , Hou Cheng , Zheng Wei-Chen , Han Fa-Ming , Huang Ling , Chen Wei , Sun Shi-Gang
Published: March 2022

A novel lithium-free anode dual-ion battery is fabricated based on a carbon paper anode. In situ EIS, XRD and OEMS demonstrate the multi-functional effects of LiFSI on the performance of the Li-free CGDIB.
Correction: The morphology and surface charge-dependent cellular uptake efficiency of upconversion nanostructures revealed by single-particle optical microscopy
Authors: Zhang Di , Wei Lin , Zhong Meile , Xiao Lehui , Li Hung-Wing , Wang Jianfang
Published: March 2022

Correction for ‘The morphology and surface charge-dependent cellular uptake efficiency of upconversion nanostructures revealed by single-particle optical microscopy’ by Di Zhang et al., Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 5260–5269, DOI: 10.1039/C8SC01828F.
Skin epithelial cells change their mechanics and proliferation upon snail-mediated EMT signalling
Authors: Hosseini Kamran , Trus Palina , Frenzel Annika , Werner Carsten , Fischer-Friedrich Elisabeth
Published: March 2022

This study describes how epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) alters the actin cortex-regulated cell mechanics and proliferation in a benign tumor model of skin epithelial cells mediated by snail signalling.
Bi catalysts supported on GaN nanowires toward efficient photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction
Authors: Dong Wan Jae , Navid Ishtiaque Ahmed , Xiao Yixin , Lee Tae Hyung , Lim Jin Wook , Lee Donghwa , Jang Ho Won , Lee Jong-Lam , Mi Zetian
Published: March 2022

Bi catalysts supported on GaN nanowires/Si photocathode induce favorable activity toward CO2 reduction to HCOOH.