bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterisation and Modelling of Ultrashort Laser-Driven Electromagnetic Pulses
Authors: Nelissen Kwinten , Liszi Máté , Marco Massimo De , Ospina Valeria , Drotár István , Gatti Giancarlo , Kamperidis Christos , Volpe Luca
Published: February 2020

Recent advances on laser technology have enabled the generation of ultrashort (fs) high power (PW) laser systems. For such large scale laser facilities there is an imperative demand for high repetition rate operation in symbiosis with beamlines or end-stations. In such extreme conditions the generation of electromagnetic pulses (EMP) during high intense laser target interaction experiments can tip the scale for the good outcome of the campaign. The EMP effects are several including interference with diagnostic devices and actuators as well as damage of electrical components. The EMP issue is quite known in the picosecond (ps) pulse laser experiments but no systematic study on EMP issues at multi-Joule fs-class lasers has been conducted thus far. In this paper we report the first experimental campaign for EMP-measurements performed at the 200 TW laser system (VEGA 2) at CLPU laser center. EMP pulse energy has been measured as a function of the laser intensity and energy together with other relevant quantities such as (i) the charge of the laser-driven protons and their maximum energy, as well as (ii) the X-ray Kα emission coming from electron interaction inside the target. Analysis of experimental results demonstrate (and confirm) a direct correlation between the measured EMP pulse energy and the laser parameters such as laser intensity and laser energy in the ultrashort pulse duration regime. Numerical FEM (Finite Element Method) simulations of the EMP generated by the target holder system have been performed and the simulations results are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental ones.
Prospective diagnostic accuracy study of plasma soluble ST2 for diagnosis of acute aortic syndromes
Authors: Morello Fulvio , Bartalucci Alice , Bironzo Marco , Santoro Marco , Pivetta Emanuele , Ianniello Alice , Rumbolo Francesca , Mengozzi Giulio , Lupia Enrico
Published: February 2020

Acute aortic syndromes (AASs) are difficult to diagnose emergencies. Plasma soluble ST2 (sST2), a prognostic biomarker for heart failure, has been proposed as a diagnostic biomarker of AASs outperforming D-dimer, the current diagnostic standard. We performed a prospective diagnostic accuracy study of sST2 for AASs in the Emergency Department (ED). In 2017–2018, patients were enrolled if they had ≥1 red-flag symptoms (chest/abdominal/back pain, syncope, perfusion deficit) and a clinical suspicion of AAS. sST2 was detected with the Presage® assay. Adjudication was based on computed tomography angiography (CTA) or on diagnostic outcome inclusive of 30-day follow-up. 297 patients were enrolled, including 88 with AASs. The median age was 67 years. In 162 patients with CTA, the median sST2 level was 41.7 ng/mL (IQR 29.4–103.2) in AASs and 34.6 ng/mL (IQR 21.4–51.5) in alternative diagnoses (P = 0.005). In ROC analysis, the AUC of sST2 was 0.63, as compared to 0.82 of D-dimer (P < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity values of sST2 associated with different cutoffs were: 95.5% and 10.8% (≥12 ng/mL), 84.1% and 29.7% (≥23.7 ng/mL), 35.2% and 85.1% (≥66.5 ng/mL). Results were similar in the full cohort. In conclusion, in patients from a European ED, plasma sST2 provided modest accuracy for diagnosis of AASs.
Direct Reduction of Graphene Oxide/Nanofibrillated Cellulose Composite Film and its Electrical Conductivity Research
Authors: Chen Junjun , Li Hailong , Zhang Lihui , Du Chao , Fang Tao , Hu Jian
Published: February 2020

With the rapid development of wearable and portable electronic devices, it is increasingly important to develop conductive paper-like films (CPFs) with the characteristics of light, thin and self-supporting. In this paper, nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) was used as reinforcing phase of film-forming to combine with graphene oxide (GO). Then graphene-based CPFs were prepared by directly reducing the GO/NFC composite film without any additional adhesives, which effectively avoided the difficulties of dispersion and combination with other materials caused by direct using of high content graphene. Meanwhile, three representative reduction methods for direct reduction of GO/NFC composite films were also compared. The results show that 450 °C thermal reduction and hydroiodic acid reduction were more effective than ascorbic acid reduction. On this basis, hydroiodic acid reduction and thermal reduction were used to discuss the effect of NFC addition to the conductivity of the film. This occured when increasing the content of NFC from 10% to 50%, the electrical conductivity of the composite film by hydroiodic acid reduction decreased from 153.8 S/m to 22.2 S/m. While the conductivity of composite film increased first and then decreased after thermal reduction both at 450 °C and 550 °C. What’s more, when NFC content was about 16.6% the electrical conductivity reached a high level which was 86.21 S/m and 168.9 S/m, respectively. This study provides a groundwork for the further development of graphene-based CPFs with low square resistance and high conductivity in large-scale preparation.
Comparative in-silico proteomic analysis discerns potential granuloma proteins of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
Authors: Aswal Manisha , Garg Anjali , Singhal Neelja , Kumar Manish
Published: February 2020

Yersinia pseudotuberculosisis one of the three pathogenic species of the genusYersinia. Most studies regarding pathogenesis ofY. pseudotuberculosisare based on the proteins related to Type III secretion system, which is a well-known primary virulence factor in pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria, includingY. pseudotuberculosis. Information related to the factors involved inY. pseudotuberculosisgranuloma formation is scarce. In the present study we have used a computational approach to identify proteins that might be potentially involved in formation ofY. pseudotuberculosisgranuloma. A comparative proteome analysis and conserved orthologous protein identification was performed between two different genera of bacteria -MycobacteriumandYersinia, their only common pathogenic trait being ability to form necrotizing granuloma. Comprehensive analysis of orthologous proteins was performed in proteomes of seven bacterial species. This includedM. tuberculosis,M. bovisandM. avium paratuberculosis- the known granuloma formingMycobacteriumspecies,Y. pestisandY. frederiksenii- the non-granuloma formingYersiniaspecies and,Y. enterocolitica- that forms micro-granuloma and,Y. pseudotuberculosis- a prominent granuloma formingYersiniaspecies.In silicoproteome analysis indicated that seven proteins (UniProt id A0A0U1QT64, A0A0U1QTE0, A0A0U1QWK3, A0A0U1R1R0, A0A0U1R1Z2, A0A0U1R2S7, A7FMD4) might play some role inY. pseudotuberculosisgranuloma. Validation of the probable involvement of the seven proposedY. pseudotuberculosisgranuloma proteins was done using transcriptome data analysis and, by mapping on a composite protein-protein interaction map of experimentally provedM. tuberculosisgranuloma proteins (RD1 locus proteins, ESAT-6 secretion system proteins and intra-macrophage secreted proteins). Though, additional experiments involving knocking out of each of these seven proteins are required to confirm their role inY. pseudotuberculosisgranuloma our study can serve as a basis for further studies onY. pseudotuberculosisgranuloma.
S-endoglin expression is induced in hyperoxia and contributes to altered pulmonary angiogenesis in bronchopulmonary dysplasia development
Authors: Lee Yeongseok , Lee Juyoung , Nam Soo Kyung , Hoon Jun Yong
Published: February 2020

Altered pulmonary angiogenesis contributes to disrupted alveolarization, which is the main characteristic of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) plays an important role during lung vascular development, and recent studies have demonstrated that endoglin is engaged in the modulation of TGFβ downstream signalling. Although there are two different isoforms of endoglin, L- and S-endoglin, little is known about the effect of S-endoglin in developing lungs. We analysed the expression of both L- and S-endoglin in the lung vasculature and its contribution to TGFβ-activin-like kinase (ALK)-Smad signalling with respect to BPD development. Hyperoxia impaired pulmonary angiogenesis accompanied by alveolar simplification in neonatal mouse lungs. S-endoglin, phosphorylated Smad2/3 and connective tissue growth factor levels were significantly increased in hyperoxia-exposed mice, while L-endoglin, phosphor-Smad1/5 and platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 levels were significantly decreased. Hyperoxia suppressed the tubular growth of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (ECs), and the selective inhibition of ALK5 signalling restored tubular growth. These results indicate that hyperoxia alters the balance in two isoforms of endoglin towards increased S-endoglin and that S-endoglin attenuates TGFβ-ALK1-Smad1/5 signalling but stimulates TGFβ-ALK5-Smad2/3 signalling in pulmonary ECs, which may lead to impaired pulmonary angiogenesis in developing lungs.
A Nonpeptide Oxytocin Receptor Agonist for a Durable Relief of Inflammatory Pain
Authors: Hilfiger Louis , Zhao Qian , Kerspern Damien , Inquimbert Perrine , Andry Virginie , Goumon Yannick , Darbon Pascal , Hibert Marcel , Charlet Alexandre
Published: February 2020

Oxytocin possesses several physiological and social functions, among which an important analgesic effect. For this purpose, oxytocin binds mainly to its unique receptor, both in the central nervous system and in the peripheral nociceptive terminal axon in the skin. However, despite its interesting analgesic properties and its current use in clinics to facilitate labor, oxytocin is not used in pain treatment. Indeed, it is rapidly metabolized, with a half-life in the blood circulation estimated at five minutes and in cerebrospinal fluid around twenty minutes in humans and rats. Moreover, oxytocin itself suffers from several additional drawbacks: a lack of specificity, an extremely poor oral absorption and distribution, and finally, a lack of patentability. Recently, a first non-peptide full agonist of oxytocin receptor (LIT-001) of low molecular weight has been synthesized with reported beneficial effect for social interactions after peripheral administration. In the present study, we report that a single intraperitoneal administration of LIT-001 in a rat model induces a long-lasting reduction in inflammatory pain-induced hyperalgesia symptoms, paving the way to an original drug development strategy for pain treatment.
Keel bone fractures induce a depressive-like state in laying hens
Authors: Armstrong E. A. , Rufener C. , Toscano M. J. , Eastham J. E. , Guy J. H. , Sandilands V. , Boswell T. , Smulders T. V.
Published: February 2020

In commercial flocks of laying hens, keel bone fractures (KBFs) are prevalent and associated with behavioural indicators of pain. However, whether their impact is severe enough to induce a depressive-like state of chronic stress is unknown. As chronic stress downregulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) in mammals and birds, we employ this measure as a neural biomarker of subjective welfare state. Radiographs obtained longitudinally from Lohmann Brown laying hens housed in a commercial multi-tier aviary were used to score the severity of naturally-occurring KBFs between the ages of 21–62 weeks. Individual birds’ transitions between aviary zones were also recorded. Focal hens with severe KBFs at 3–4 weeks prior to sampling (n = 15) had lower densities of immature doublecortin-positive (DCX+) multipolar and bipolar neurons in the hippocampal formation than focal hens with minimal fractures (n = 9). KBF severity scores at this time also negatively predicted DCX+cell numbers on an individual level, while hens that acquired fractures earlier in their lives had fewer DCX+neurons in the caudal hippocampal formation. Activity levels 3–4 weeks prior to sampling were not associated with AHN. KBFs thus lead to a negative affective state lasting at least 3–4 weeks, and management steps to reduce their occurrence are likely to have significant welfare benefits.
Vaginal microbiota diverges in sows with low and high reproductive performance after porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome vaccination
Authors: Sanglard L. P. , Schmitz-Esser S. , Gray K. A. , Linhares D. C. L. , Yeoman C. J. , Dekkers J. C. M. , Niederwerder M. C. , Serão N. V. L.
Published: February 2020

Previous studies have demonstrated evidence for a relationship between the vaginal microbiome and reproductive performance, suggesting the vaginal microbiota may serve as a tool to predict farrowing outcomes in commercial pigs. In this study, we compared the vaginal microbiome in sows with low and high farrowing performance and used it to classify animals with contrasting reproductive outcomes in commercial sows following immune challenge with porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome (PRRS) vaccination. Eighteen microbes were differentially abundant (q-value < 0.05) between the Low and High farrowing performance groups. Among them, Campylobacter, Bacteroides, Porphyromonas, Lachnospiraceae unclassified, Prevotella, and Phascolarctobacterium were also selected in the discriminant and linear regression analyses, and could be used as potential biomarkers for reproductive outcomes. The correct classification rate in the two groups was 100%. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that vaginal microbiota collected after PRRS vaccination could be potentially used to classify sows into having low or high farrowing performance in commercial herds.
Dual functional highly luminescence B, N Co-doped carbon nanodots as nanothermometer and Fe3+/Fe2+ sensor
Authors: Mohammed Lazo Jazaa , Omer Khalid M.
Published: February 2020

Dual functional fluorescence nanosensors have many potential applications in biology and medicine. Monitoring temperature with higher precision at localized small length scales or in a nanocavity is a necessity in various applications. As well as the detection of biologically interesting metal ions using low-cost and sensitive approach is of great importance in bioanalysis. In this paper, we describe the preparation of dual-function highly fluorescent B, N-co-doped carbon nanodots (CDs) that work as chemical and thermal sensors. The CDs emit blue fluorescence peaked at 450 nm and exhibit up to 70% photoluminescence quantum yield with showing excitation-independent fluorescence. We also show that water-soluble CDs display temperature-dependent fluorescence and can serve as highly sensitive and reliable nanothermometers with a thermo-sensitivity 1.8% °C−1, and wide range thermo-sensing between 0–90 °C with excellent recovery. Moreover, the fluorescence emission of CDs are selectively quenched after the addition of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions while show no quenching with adding other common metal cations and anions. The fluorescence emission shows a good linear correlation with concentration of Fe2+ and Fe3+ (R2 = 0.9908 for Fe2+ and R2 = 0.9892 for Fe3+) with a detection limit of of 80.0 ± 0.5 nM for Fe2+ and 110.0 ± 0.5 nM for Fe3+. Considering the high quantum yield and selectivity, CDs are exploited to design a nanoprobe towards iron detection in a biological sample. The fluorimetric assay is used to detect Fe2+ in iron capsules and total iron in serum samples successfully.
Ablation of Myeloid Cell MRP8 Ameliorates Nephrotoxic Serum-induced Glomerulonephritis by Affecting Macrophage Characterization through Intraglomerular Crosstalk
Authors: Hata Yusuke , Kuwabara Takashige , Mori Kiyoshi , Kan Youngna , Sato Yuki , Umemoto Shuro , Fujimoto Daisuke , Kanki Tomoko , Nishiguchi Yoshihiko , Yokoi Hideki , Kakizoe Yutaka , Izumi Yuichiro , Yanagita Motoko , Mukoyama Masashi
Published: February 2020

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and one of its endogenous ligands myeloid-related protein 8 (MRP8 or S100A8), especially expressed in macrophages, play an important role in diabetic nephropathy and autoimmune disorders. However, detailed mechanisms and consequence of MRP8 expression remain unknown, partly due to embryonic lethality of MRP8 knockout mice. In this study, Myeloid lineage cell-specific MRP8 knockout mice were generated, and nephrotoxic serum-induced glomerulonephritis was developed. Mice with conditional ablation of MRP8 gene in myeloid cells exhibited less severe histological damage, proteinuria and inflammatory changes compared to control mice. Mechanism of MRP8 upregulation was investigated using cultured cells. Co-culture of macrophages with mesangial cells or mesangial cell-conditioned media, but not with proximal tubules, markedly upregulated MRP8 gene expression and inflammatory M1 phenotype in macrophages, which was attenuated in MRP8-deleted bone marrow-derived macrophages. Effects of MRP8 deletion was further studied in the context of macrophage-inducible C-type lectin (Mincle), which is critically involved in maintenance of M1 phenotype of macrophages. MRP8 ablation in myeloid cells suppressed the induction of Mincle expression on macrophages in glomerulonephritis. Thus, we propose that intraglomerular crosstalk between mesangial cells and macrophages plays a role in inflammatory changes in glomerulonephritis, and MRP8-dependent Mincle expression in macrophage may be involved in the process.
New participant stratification and combination of urinary biomarkers and confounders could improve diagnostic accuracy for overactive bladder
Authors: Firouzmand Sepinoud , Ajori Ladan , Young John S.
Published: February 2020

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a highly prevalent symptom complex characterised by symptoms of urinary urgency, increased frequency, nocturia, with or without urge incontinence; in the absence of proven infection or other obvious pathology. The underlying pathophysiology of idiopathic OAB is not clearly known and the existence of several phenotypes has been proposed. Current diagnostic approaches are based on discordant measures, suffer from subjectivity and are incapable of detecting the proposed OAB phenotypes. In this study, cluster analysis was used as an objective approach for phenotyping participants based on their OAB characteristic symptoms and led to the identification of a low OAB symptomatic score group (cluster 1) and a high OAB symptomatic score group (cluster 2). Furthermore, the ability of several potential OAB urinary biomarkers including ATP, ACh, nitrite, MCP-1 and IL-5 and participants’ confounders, age and gender, in predicting the identified high OAB symptomatic score group was assessed. A combination of urinary ATP and IL-5 plus age and gender was shown to have clinically acceptable and improved diagnostic accuracy compared to urodynamically-observed detrusor overactivity. Therefore, this study provides the foundation for the development of novel non-invasive diagnostic tools for OAB phenotypes that may lead to personalised treatment.
Machine learning improves our knowledge about miRNA functions towards plant abiotic stresses
Authors: Asefpour Vakilian Keyvan
Published: February 2020

During the last two decades, human has increased his knowledge about the role of miRNAs and their target genes in plant stress response. Biotic and abiotic stresses result in simultaneous tissue-specific up/down-regulation of several miRNAs. In this study, for the first time, feature selection algorithms have been used to investigate the contribution of individual plant miRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana response towards different levels of several abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, cold, and heat. Results of information theory-based feature selection revealed that miRNA-169, miRNA-159, miRNA-396, and miRNA-393 had the highest contributions to plant response towards drought, salinity, cold, and heat, respectively. Furthermore, regression models, i.e., decision tree (DT), support vector machines (SVMs), and Naïve Bayes (NB) were used to predict the plant stress by having the plant miRNAs’ concentration. SVM with Gaussian kernel was capable of predicting plant stress (R2 = 0.96) considering miRNA concentrations as input features. Findings of this study prove the performance of machine learning as a promising tool to investigate some aspects of miRNAs’ contribution to plant stress responses that have been undiscovered until today.
Impaired DNA-binding affinity of novel PAX6 mutations
Authors: Lee Seowhang , Lee Seung-Han , Heo Hwan , Oh Eun Hye , Shin Jin-Hong , Kim Hyang-Sook , Jung Jae-Ho , Choi Seo Young , Choi Kwang-Dong , Lee Hakbong , Lee Changwook , Choi Jae-Hwan
Published: February 2020

Mutations in human PAX6 gene are associated with various congenital eye malformations including aniridia, foveal hypoplasia, and congenital nystagmus. These various phenotypes may depend on the mutation spectrums that can affect DNA-binding affinity, although this hypothesis is debatable. We screened PAX6 mutations in two unrelated patients with congenital nystagmus, and measured DNA-binding affinity through isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). To elucidate phenotypic differences according to DNA-binding affinity, we also compared DNA-binding affinity among the previously reported PAX6 missense mutations within the linker region between two subdomains of the paired domain (PD). We identified two novel mutations of PAX6 gene: c.214 G > T (p.Gly72Cys) and c.249_250delinsCGC (p.Val84Alafs*8). Both were located within the linker region between the two subdomains of the PD. ITC measurement revealed that the mutation p.Val84Alafs*8 had no DNA-binding affinity, while the p.Gly72Cys mutation showed a decreased binding affinity (Kd = 0.58 μM) by approximately 1.4 times compared to the wild type-PAX6 (Kd = 0.41 μM). We also found that there was no close relationship between DNA-binding affinity and phenotypic differences. Our results suggest that the DNA-binding affinity alone might be insufficient to determine PAX6-related phenotypes, and that other modifier genes or environmental factors might affect phenotypes of the PAX6 gene.
Breaking limitation of quantum annealer in solving optimization problems under constraints
Authors: Ohzeki Masayuki
Published: February 2020

Quantum annealing is a generic solver for optimization problems that uses fictitious quantum fluctuation. The most groundbreaking progress in the research field of quantum annealing is its hardware implementation, i.e., the so-called quantum annealer, using artificial spins. However, the connectivity between the artificial spins is sparse and limited on a special network known as the chimera graph. Several embedding techniques have been proposed, but the number of logical spins, which represents the optimization problems to be solved, is drastically reduced. In particular, an optimization problem including fully or even partly connected spins suffers from low embeddable size on the chimera graph. In the present study, we propose an alternative approach to solve a large-scale optimization problem on the chimera graph via a well-known method in statistical mechanics called the Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation or its variants. The proposed method can be used to deal with a fully connected Ising model without embedding on the chimera graph and leads to nontrivial results of the optimization problem. We tested the proposed method with a number of partition problems involving solving linear equations and the traffic flow optimization problem in Sendai and Kyoto cities in Japan.
Neural Functions Play Different Roles in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) and non-TNBC
Authors: Tan Renbo , Li Haoyang , Huang Zhenyu , Zhou Yi , Tao Mingxin , Gao Xin , Xu Ying
Published: February 2020

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the most malignant subtype of breast cancer, and yet our understanding about its unique biology remains elusive. We have conducted a comparative computational analysis of transcriptomic data of TNBC and non-TNBC (NTNBC) tissue samples from the TCGA database, focused on genes involved in neural functions. Our main discoveries are: (1) while both subtypes involve neural functions, TNBC has substantially more up-regulated neural genes than NTNBC, suggesting that TNBC is more complex than NTNBC; (2) non-neural functions related to cell-microenvironment interactions and intracellular damage processing are key inducers of the neural genes in both TNBC and NTNBC, but the inducer-responder relationships are different in the two cancer subtypes; (3) key neural functions such as neural crest formation are predicted to enhance adaptive immunity in TNBC while glia development, along with a few other neural functions, induce both innate and adaptive immunity in NTNBC. These results reveal key differences in the biology between the two cancer subtypes, particularly in terms of the roles that neural functions play. Our findings may open new doors for further investigation of the distinct biology of TNBC vs. NTNBC.
Routes to control diffusive pathways and thermal expansion in Ti-alloys
Authors: Bönisch Matthias , Stoica Mihai , Calin Mariana
Published: February 2020

β-stabilized Ti-alloys present several unexplored and intriguing surprises in relation to orthorhombic α″ phases. Among them are (i) the diffusion-controlled formation of transitional α″iso, α″lean and α″rich phases and ii) the highly anisotropic thermal expansion of martensitic α″. Using the prototypical Ti-Nb system, we demonstrate that the thermodynamic energy landscape reveals formation pathways for the diffusional forms of α″ and may lead to a stable β-phase miscibility gap. In this way, we derive temperature-composition criteria for the occurrence of α″iso and resolve reaction sequences during thermal cycling. Moreover, we show that the thermal expansion anisotropy of martensitic α″ gives rise to directions of zero thermal strain depending on Nb content. Utilizing this knowledge, we propose processing routes to achieve null linear expansion in α″ containing Ti-alloys. These concepts are expected to be transferable to other Ti-alloys and offer new avenues for their tailoring and technological exploitation.
A Machine-learning Approach to Forecast Aggravation Risk in Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Clinical Indicators
Authors: Peng Junfeng , Chen Chuan , Zhou Mi , Xie Xiaohua , Zhou Yuqi , Luo Ching-Hsing
Published: February 2020

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) repeat acute exacerbations (AE). Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) is only available for patients in stable phase. Currently, there is a lack of assessment and prediction methods for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients during hospitalization. To enhance the monitoring and treatment of AECOPD patients, we develop a novel C5.0 decision tree classifier to predict the prognosis of AECOPD hospitalized patients with objective clinical indicators. The medical records of 410 hospitalized AECOPD patients are collected and 28 features including vital signs, medical history, comorbidities and various inflammatory indicators are selected. The overall accuracy of the proposed C5.0 decision tree classifier is 80.3% (65 out of 81 participants) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI):(0.6991, 0.8827) and Kappa 0.6054. In addition, the performance of the model constructed by C5.0 exceeds the C4.5, classification and regression tree (CART) model and the iterative dichotomiser 3 (ID3) model. The C5.0 decision tree classifier helps respiratory physicians to assess the severity of the patient early, thereby guiding the treatment strategy and improving the prognosis of patients.
Effects of a High-Intensity Exercise Program on Weight Regain and Cardio-metabolic Profile after 3 Years of Bariatric Surgery: A Randomized Trial
Authors: Marc-Hernández A. , Ruiz-Tovar J. , Aracil A. , Guillén S. , Moya-Ramón M.
Published: February 2020

Weight regain is one of the most common problems in the long-term after bariatric surgery. It is unknown if high-intensity exercise programs applied in late phases of post-surgical follow-up could counteract this trend. After a 3-year follow-up, 21 patients underwent sleeve gastrectomy were randomized into an exercise group (EG, n = 11), that performed a 5-month supervised exercise program, and a control group (CG, n = 10), that followed the usual care. Body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, glycaemia and blood cholesterol were evaluated before and after the intervention. Finally, the EG repeated the evaluations 2 months after the end of the exercise program. Both groups reached their maximum weight loss at the first year after surgery and showed significant weight regain by the end of the follow-up. After the exercise program, the EG showed reductions in fat mass (−2.5 ± 2.6  kg, P < 0.05), glycaemia (−13.4 ± 8.7  mg·dL−1,P < 0.01) and blood cholesterol (−24.6 ± 29.1  mg·dL−1, P < 0.05), whereas the CG during the same period showed increases in weight (1.5 ± 1.3  kg, P < 0.05) and fat mass (1.8 ± 0.9, P < 0.01). Two months after the end of the program, EG had increases in weight (1.1 ± 1.2  kg, P < 0.05), fat mass (2.6 ± 2.2  kg, P < 0.01), glycaemia (8.2 ± 11.6  mg·dL−1, P < 0.05) and blood cholesterol (20.0 ± 22.1  mg·dL−1, P < 0.05), when compared with the values after the exercise program. Therefore, in the medium-term after sleeve gastrectomy exercise may contribute to prevent weight regain and to reduce fat mass, glycaemia, and blood cholesterol.
Anterior cruciate ligament remnant cells have different potentials for cell differentiation based on their location
Authors: Lee Jin Kyu , Jo Sungsin , Lee Young Lim , Park Hyosun , Song Jun-Seob , Sung Il-Hoon , Kim Tae-Hwan
Published: February 2020

Histological and cytological observations of the human anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) had been described, but the differentiation potency based on their location is still unknown. To determine and compare proliferation and differentiation potential of cells derived from distal and middle thirds of the ACL remnant, ACL remnant was initially marked at the distal third (within 10  mm from the tibial insertion) and middle third (between 10–20  mm from the tibial insertion) and then dissected. Both the middle and distal third regions of ACL remnant were analyzed using CD34+ cell counting. Cell proliferation rate did not differ in both middle and distal third regions of ACL remnant, but they showed different characteristics in cell differentiation depending on their location. The distal third region of the ACL remnant had a tendency for chondrogenic differentiation with higher expression of CD34+ cells. On the other hand, the middle third region of ACL remnant had a strong tendency for osteogenic and ligamentous differentiation. Characteristics of the ACL remnant tissues should be considered when performing remnant-preserving or harvesting ACL remnants for tissue engineering.
Histone demethylase KDM4D cooperates with NFIB and MLL1 complex to regulate adipogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Choi Jang Hyun , Lee Hansol
Published: February 2020

The coordinated and sequential actions of lineage-specific transcription factors and epigenetic regulators are essential for the initiation and maintenance of cellular differentiation. We here report KDM4D histone demethylase as a key regulator of adipogenesis in C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells. The depletion of KDM4D results in impaired differentiation, which can be rescued by exogenous KDM4D, PPARγ, and C/EBPα, but not by C/EBPβ. In addition, KDM4D interacts physically and functionally with both NFIB and MLL1 complex to regulate C/EBPα and PPARγ expression upon adipogenic hormonal induction. Although KDM4D is dispensable for the binding of both NFIB and MLL1 complex to the target promoters, the demethylation of tri-methylated H3K9 by KDM4D is required for NFIB and MLL1 complex to deposit tri-methylated H3K4 and activate PPARγ and C/EBPα expression. Taken together, our data provide a molecular framework for lineage-specific transcription factor and histone modifiers to cooperate in adipogenic differentiation, in which KDM4D removes repressive histone marks at genes with a bivalent chromatin domain and allows NFIB and MLL1 complex to promote the expression of key adipogenic regulators.
Identification of networking quantum teleportation on 14-qubit IBM universal quantum computer
Authors: Huang Ni-Ni , Huang Wei-Hao , Li Che-Ming
Published: February 2020

Quantum teleportation enables networking participants to move an unknown quantum state between the nodes of a quantum network, and hence constitutes an essential element in constructing large-sale quantum processors with a quantum modular architecture. Herein, we propose two protocols for teleporting qubits through an N-node quantum network in a highly-entangled box-cluster state or chain-type cluster state. The proposed protocols are systematically scalable to an arbitrary finite number N and applicable to arbitrary size of modules. The protocol based on a box-cluster state is implemented on a 14-qubit IBM quantum computer for N up to 12. To identify faithful networking teleportation, namely that the elements on real devices required for the networking teleportation process are all qualified for achieving teleportation task, we quantify quantum-mechanical processes using a generic classical-process model through which any classical strategies of mimicry of teleportation can be ruled out. From the viewpoint of achieving a genuinely quantum-mechanical process, the present work provides a novel toolbox consisting of the networking teleportation protocols and the criteria for identifying faithful teleportation for universal quantum computers with modular architectures and facilitates further improvements in the reliability of quantum-information processing.
The influence of attractor stability of intrinsic coordination patterns on the adaptation to new constraints
Authors: Yamamoto Kota , Shinya Masahiro , Kudo Kazutoshi
Published: February 2020

In most human movement tasks, the same goal can be achieved by a diversity of coordination patterns. For instance, when learning to juggle, individuals adopt their own unique coordination patterns in the early stages of acquiring the fundamental skills of juggling. These individual differences in the learning paths lead to differences in adaptability to new constraints. However, the reason for these differences in adaptability is still unknown. To address this problem, we quantified these differences in terms of attractor stability of the coordination patterns of expert jugglers using Recurrence Quantification Analysis. Furthermore, we quantified the attractor stability of intermediate jugglers and examined adaptability in a sensorimotor synchronization task. We found differences in attractor stability among coordination patterns of expert jugglers, as well as a difference in attractor stability between intrinsic coordination patterns of intermediate jugglers. Whereas, almost no significant direct correlation between attractor stability and adaptability of intermediate jugglers was found, suggesting a difference in both attractor stability and adaptability between intrinsic coordination patterns such that the difference in attractor stability might affect adaptability to new constraints. We submit that the learning path selected by each learner in the early stages of learning plays an important role in the subsequent development of expertise.
Assessment of adverse events related to anti-influenza neuraminidase inhibitors using the FDA adverse event reporting system and online patient reviews
Authors: Han Nayoung , Oh Jung Mi , Kim In-Wha
Published: February 2020

The recommended antiviral drugs available for the treatment and prevention of influenza are neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs). The aim of this study was to evaluate age-related clinical manifestations of adverse events (AEs) related to NAIs. FAERS and WebMD data were downloaded. The available NAIs selected for the analysis were oseltamivir, peramivir, zanamivir, and laninamivir. Disproportionality was analyzed using the proportional reporting ratio (PRR), the reporting odds ratio (ROR), and the information component (IC) methods. In total, 16729 AEs from 4598 patients and 575 AEs from 440 patients in the FAERS and WebMD, respectively, were included in the analysis. In the FAERS, AEs were more common among those who were younger (<19 years) for zanamivir, while for those who were older (>65 years) for peramivir. A disproportionality analysis showed that signals for vomiting and hallucinations were detected in younger patients given oseltamivir, while an abnormal hepatic function, cardiac failure, shock, and cardio-respiratory arrest were detected in older patients given peramivir. Psychiatric disorders were most common in younger and older patients, while gastrointestinal disorders were most common in adult given oseltamivir in the WebMD. Adverse symptoms related to NAIs varied and depended on the drugs used and the age of the patient.
Assessment of a rapid diagnostic test to exclude bacteraemia and effect on clinical decision-making for antimicrobial therapy
Authors: Yui Samuel , Bercades Georgia , Muzslay Monika , Blackburn Emma , Ali Shanom , Smyth Deborah , Macklin Alison , Ryu Jung Hyun , Bassett Paul , MacCallum Niall , Brealey David , Wilson Peter
Published: February 2020

Unnecessary antimicrobial treatment promotes the emergence of resistance. Early confirmation that a blood culture is negative could shorten antibiotic courses. The Cognitor Minus test, performed on blood culture samples after 12 hours incubation has a negative predictive value (NPV) of 99.5%. The aim of this study was to determine if earlier confirmation of negative blood culture result would shorten antibiotic treatment. Paired blood cultures were taken in the Critical Care Unit at a teaching hospital. The Cognitor Minus test was performed on one set >12 hours incubation but results kept blind. Clinicians were asked after 24 and 48 hours whether a result excluding bacteraemia or fungaemia would affect decisions to continue or stop antimicrobial treatment. Over 6 months, 125 patients were enrolled. The median time from start of incubation to Cognitor Minus test was 27.1 hours. When compared to 5 day blood culture results from both the control and test samples, Cognitor Minus gave NPVs of 99% and 100% respectively. Test results would have reduced antibiotic treatment in 14% (17/119) of patients at 24 and 48 hours (24% at either time) compared with routine blood culture. The availability of rapid tests to exclude bacteraemia may be of benefit in antimicrobial stewardship.
Author Correction: Biotic soil-plant interaction processes explain most of hysteretic soil CO2 efflux response to temperature in cross-factorial mesocosm experiment
Authors: Dusza Yann , Sanchez-Cañete Enrique P. , Galliard Jean-François Le , Ferrière Régis , Chollet Simon , Massol Florent , Hansart Amandine , Juarez Sabrina , Dontsova Katerina , Haren Joost Van , Troch Peter , Pavao-Zuckerman Mitchell A. , Hamerlynck Erik , Barron-Gafford Greg A.
Published: February 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Mechanism underlying starvation-dependent modulation of olfactory behavior in Drosophila larva
Authors: Slankster Eryn , Kollala Sai , Baria Dominique , Dailey-Krempel Brianna , Jain Roshni , Odell Seth R. , Mathew Dennis
Published: February 2020

Starvation enhances olfactory sensitivity that encourage animals to search for food. The molecular mechanisms that enable sensory neurons to remain flexible and adapt to a particular internal state remain poorly understood. Here, we study the roles of GABA and insulin signaling in starvation-dependent modulation of olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) function in the Drosophila larva. We show that GABAB-receptor and insulin-receptor play important roles during OSN modulation. Using an OSN-specific gene expression analysis, we explore downstream targets of insulin signaling in OSNs. Our results suggest that insulin and GABA signaling pathways interact within OSNs and modulate OSN function by impacting olfactory information processing. We further show that manipulating these signaling pathways specifically in the OSNs impact larval feeding behavior and its body weight. These results challenge the prevailing model of OSN modulation and highlight opportunities to better understand OSN modulation mechanisms and their relationship to animal physiology.
Author Correction: Revealing the complex genetic structure of cultivated amaryllis (Hippeastrum hybridum) using transcriptome-derived microsatellite markers
Authors: Wang Yi , Chen Defeng , He Xiaofeng , Shen Jiangxian , Xiong Min , Wang Xian , Zhou Di , Wei Zunzheng
Published: February 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Action execution and action observation elicit mirror responses with the same temporal profile in human SII
Authors: Del Vecchio Maria , Caruana Fausto , Sartori Ivana , Pelliccia Veronica , Zauli Flavia Maria , Lo Russo Giorgio , Rizzolatti Giacomo , Avanzini Pietro
Published: February 2020

The properties of the secondary somatosensory area (SII) have been described by many studies in monkeys and humans. Recent studies on monkeys, however, showed that beyond somatosensory stimuli, SII responds to a wider number of stimuli, a finding requiring a revision that human SII is purely sensorimotor. By recording cortical activity with stereotactic electroencephalography (stereo-EEG), we examined the properties of SI and SII in response to a motor task requiring reaching, grasping and manipulation, as well as the observation of the same actions. Furthermore, we functionally characterized this area with a set of clinical tests, including tactile, acoustical, and visual stimuli. The results showed that only SII activates both during execution and observation with a common temporal profile, whereas SI response were limited to execution. Together with their peculiar response to tactile stimuli, we conclude that the role of SII is pivotal also in the observation of actions involving haptic control.
Paper-based electrodes modified with cobalt phthalocyanine colloid for the determination of hydrogen peroxide and glucose
Authors: Sánchez-Calvo A. , Costa-García A. , Blanco-López M. C.
Published: February 2020

Cobalt(ii) phthalocyanine (CoPc) was suspended in aqueous medium and the colloidal system was used as catalyst for the electrochemical determination of hydrogen peroxide on paper-based electrodes modified with carbon nanomaterials.
Colloidal-sized zirconium porphyrin metal–organic frameworks with improved peroxidase-mimicking catalytic activity, stability and dispersity
Authors: Wang Junning , Wei Tianxiang , Liu Yichen , Bao Mengyuan , Feng Rui , Qian Yuxuan , Yang Xue , Si Ling , Dai Zhihui
Published: February 2020

A new and facile method was developed to synthesize a sub-100 nm zirconium porphyrin metal–organic framework with improved peroxidase-mimicking catalytic activity, stability and dispersity.
A nanostructured paper-based device for phenylalanine neonatal screening by LED-induced fluorescence
Authors: Moreira Cristian M. , Marín-Barroso Evelyn , Pereira Sirley V. , Raba Julio , Messina Germán A. , Bertolino Franco A.
Published: February 2020

In this work, a novel paper-based analytical device (PAD) coupled with LED-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection (fPAD) for the rapid, selective, and sensitive quantification of phenylalanine (Phe) in neonatal samples was developed.
One-pot oxidative hydrolysis-oxidative cleavage of 7-borylindoles enables access to o-amidophenols and 4-acylbenzoxazoles
Authors: Anderson Kirsty , Eastabrook Andrew S. , Sperry Jonathan
Published: February 2020

7-Borylindoles undergo a one-pot oxidative hydrolysis-oxidative cleavage process to give o-amidophenols, that in turn undergo facile cyclisation to give 4-acylbenzoxazoles.
A quasi-plane IrB18− cluster with high stability
Authors: Wei Donghe , Ren Mengxue , Lu Cheng , Bi Jie , Maroulis George
Published: February 2020

A quasi-plane anionic IrB18− cluster with high stability is uncovered by a CALYPSO structural search method.
Molecular dynamics simulations of alkaline earth metal ions binding to DNA reveal ion size and hydration effects
Authors: Long Makenzie Provorse , Alland Serra , Martin Madison E. , Isborn Christine M.
Published: February 2020

Classical molecular dynamics simulations reveal size-dependent trends of alkaline earth metal ions binding to DNA are due to ion size and hydration behavior.
Reply to the ‘Comment on “Revisiting π backbonding: the influence of d orbitals on metal–CO bonds and ligand red shifts”’ by G. Frenking and S. Pan, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2019, 22, DOI: 10.1039/C9CP05951B
Authors: Koch Daniel , Chen Yingqian , Golub Pavlo , Manzhos Sergei
Published: February 2020

We respond to the comment by Pan and Frenking with regard to our investigation on transition and alkaline earth metal d orbital influence on their bonding to carbonyl ligands to clarify misconceptions.
Raman shift, Néel temperature, and optical band gap of NiO nanoparticles
Authors: Pan Bai , Meng Xianshang , Xia Yidong , Lu Haiming , Li Hui
Published: February 2020

Unified models were developed to describe size dependences of Raman shift, Néel temperature and optical band gap for NiO nanoparticles.
Enhancing 31P NMR relaxation rates with a kinetically inert gadolinium complex
Authors: Tear Louise R. , Maguire Mahon L. , Tropiano Manuel , Yao Kezi , Farrer Nicola J. , Faulkner Stephen , Schneider Jurgen E.
Published: February 2020

The heptadentate gadolinium complex Gd.pDO3A (1.Gd) generates significant 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation enhancement of biologically relevant phosphate species; adenosine triphosphate (ATP), phosphocreatine (PCr) and inorganic phosphate.
Cellulose nanocrystal/silver (CNC/Ag) thin-film nanocomposite nanofiltration membranes with multifunctional properties
Authors: Xu Chunyan , Chen Wensi , Gao Haiping , Xie Xing , Chen Yongsheng
Published: February 2020

Multifunctional CNC/Ag thin film nanocomposite nanofiltration membranes with high flux, high rejection, and excellent antifouling and antibacterial performance.
Buffering capacity of commercially available foods is influenced by composition and initial properties in the context of gastric digestion
Authors: Mennah-Govela Yamile A. , Cai Hongchang , Chu Joseph , Kim Kaela , Maborang Mycalia-Keila , Sun Weiyi , Bornhorst Gail M.
Published: February 2020

Buffering capacity in commercially available food products is mainly influenced by protein content, and by the interaction of protein and fat content, initial pH, and particle size distribution.
Functional angiogenesis requires microenvironmental cues balancing endothelial cell migration and proliferation
Authors: Wang William Y. , Lin Daphne , Jarman Evan H. , Polacheck William J. , Baker Brendon M.
Published: February 2020

The formation of functional microvasculature results from physical and soluble microenvironmental cues that balance endothelial cell migration with proliferation during multicellular sprouting morphogenesis.
Synthesis and optoelectronics of mixed-dimensional Bi/Te binary heterostructures
Authors: Zhang Ye , Guo Jia , Xu Yiguo , Huang Weichun , Li Chao , Gao Lingfeng , Wu Leiming , Shi Zhe , Ma Chunyang , Ge Yanqi , Zhang Xiuwen , Zhang Han
Published: February 2020

0D Bi QDs were distributed on 2D Te NSs to prepare mixed-dimensional Bi/Te heterostructure. The studies demonstrate that Bi/Te shows excellent self-power photo-response behaviors as well as the great potential for ultrafast photonic devices.
Synthesis of chiral propargyl alcohols following the base-induced elimination protocol: application in the total synthesis of natural products
Authors: Gonela Uma Maheshwar , Yadav Jhillu S.
Published: February 2020

Synthesis of enantiomerically pure propargyl alcohols is one of the most important tools in organic synthesis and “base-induced elimination of β-alkoxy chlorides” could offer the enantiomerically pure propargyl alcohols.