bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
cis-regulatory variation modulates susceptibility to enteric infection in the Drosophila genetic reference panel
Authors: Frochaux Michael V. , Bou Sleiman Maroun , Gardeux Vincent , Dainese Riccardo , Hollis Brian , Litovchenko Maria , Braman Virginie S. , Andreani Tommaso , Osman Dani , Deplancke Bart
Published: January 2020

Background

Resistance to enteric pathogens is a complex trait at the crossroads of multiple biological processes. We have previously shown in theDrosophilaGenetic Reference Panel (DGRP) that resistance to infection is highly heritable, but our understanding of how the effects of genetic variants affect different molecular mechanisms to determine gut immunocompetence is still limited.

Results

To address this, we perform a systems genetics analysis of the gut transcriptomes from 38 DGRP lines that were orally infected withPseudomonas entomophila. We identify a large number of condition-specific, expression quantitative trait loci (local-eQTLs) with infection-specific ones located in regions enriched for FOX transcription factor motifs. By assessing the allelic imbalance in the transcriptomes of 19 F1 hybrid lines from a large round robin design, we independently attribute a robustcis-regulatory effect to only 10% of these detectedlocal-eQTLs. However, additional analyses indicate that manylocal-eQTLs may act intransinstead. Comparison of the transcriptomes of DGRP lines that were either susceptible or resistant toPseudomonas entomophilainfection revealsnutcrackeras the only differentially expressed gene. Interestingly, we find thatnutcrackeris linked to infection-specific eQTLs that correlate with its expression level and to enteric infection susceptibility. Further regulatory analysis reveals one particular eQTL that significantly decreases the binding affinity for the repressor Broad, driving differential allele-specificnutcrackerexpression.

Conclusions

Our collective findings point to a large number of infection-specificcis-andtrans-acting eQTLs in the DGRP, including one common non-coding variant that lowers enteric infection susceptibility.
Enteric infection induces Lark-mediated intron retention at the 5′ end of Drosophila genes
Authors: Bou Sleiman Maroun , Frochaux Michael Vincent , Andreani Tommaso , Osman Dani , Guigo Roderic , Deplancke Bart
Published: January 2020

Background

RNA splicing is a key post-transcriptional mechanism that generates protein diversity and contributes to the fine-tuning of gene expression, which may facilitate adaptation to environmental challenges. Here, we employ a systems approach to study alternative splicing changes upon enteric infection in females from classical Drosophila melanogaster strains as well as 38 inbred lines.

Results

We find that infection leads to extensive differences in isoform ratios, which results in a more diverse transcriptome with longer 5′ untranslated regions (5′UTRs). We establish a role for genetic variation in mediating inter-individual splicing differences, with local splicing quantitative trait loci (local-sQTLs) being preferentially located at the 5′ end of transcripts and directly upstream of splice donor sites. Moreover, local-sQTLs are more numerous in the infected state, indicating that acute stress unmasks a substantial number of silent genetic variants. We observe a general increase in intron retention concentrated at the 5′ end of transcripts across multiple strains, whose prevalence scales with the degree of pathogen virulence. The length, GC content, and RNA polymerase II occupancy of these introns with increased retention suggest that they have exon-like characteristics. We further uncover that retained intron sequences are enriched for the Lark/RBM4 RNA binding motif. Interestingly, we find that lark is induced by infection in wild-type flies, its overexpression and knockdown alter survival, and tissue-specific overexpression mimics infection-induced intron retention.

Conclusion

Our collective findings point to pervasive and consistent RNA splicing changes, partly mediated by Lark/RBM4, as being an important aspect of the gut response to infection.
Plant hormone induced enrichment of Chlorella sp. omega-3 fatty acids
Authors: Sivaramakrishnan Ramachandran , Incharoensakdi Aran
Published: January 2020

Background

Omega-3 fatty acids have various health benefits in combating against neurological problems, cancers, cardiac problems and hypertriglyceridemia. The main dietary omega-3 fatty acids are obtained from marine fish. Due to the pollution of marine environment, recently microalgae are considered as the promising source for the omega-3 fatty acid production. However, the demand and high production cost associated with microalgal biomass make it necessary to implement novel strategies in improving the biomass and omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae.

Results

Four plant hormones zeatin, indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GBA) and abscisic acid (ABA) were investigated for their effect on the production of biomass and lipid in isolatedChlorellasp. The cells showed an increase of the biomass and lipid content after treatments with the plant hormones where the highest stimulatory effect was observed in ABA-treated cells. On the other hand, IAA showed the highest stimulatory effect on the omega-3 fatty acids content, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (23.25%) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (26.06%). On the other hand, cells treated with ABA had highest lipid content suitable for the biodiesel applications. The determination of ROS markers, antioxidant enzymes, and fatty acid biosynthesis genes after plant hormones treatment helped elucidate the mechanism underlying the improvement in biomass, lipid content and omega-3 fatty acids. All four plant hormones upregulated the fatty acid biosynthesis genes, whereas IAA particularly increased omega-3-fatty acids as a result of the upregulation of omega-3 fatty acid desaturase.

Conclusions

The contents of omega-3 fatty acids, the clinically important compounds, were considerably improved in IAA-treated cells. The highest lipid content obtained from ABA-treated biomass can be used for biodiesel application according to its biodiesel properties. The EPA and DHA enriched ethyl esters are an approved form of omega-3 fatty acids by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which can be utilized as the therapeutic treatment for the severe hypertriglyceridemia.
A dockerized framework for hierarchical frequency-based document clustering on cloud computing infrastructures
Authors: Kotouza Maria Th. , Psomopoulos Fotis E. , Mitkas Pericles A.
Published: January 2020

Scalable big data analysis frameworks are of paramount importance in the modern web society, which is characterized by a huge number of resources, including electronic text documents. Document clustering is an important field in text mining and is commonly used for document organization, browsing, summarization and classification. Hierarchical clustering methods construct a hierarchy structure that, combined with the produced clusters, can be useful in managing documents, thus making the browsing and navigation process easier and quicker, and providing only relevant information to the users’ queries by leveraging the structure relationships. Nevertheless, the high computational cost and memory usage of baseline hierarchical clustering algorithms render them inappropriate for the vast number of documents that must be handled daily. In this paper, we propose a new scalable hierarchical clustering framework, which uses the frequency of the topics in the documents to overcome these limitations. Our work consists of a binary tree construction algorithm that creates a hierarchy of the documents using three metrics (Identity, Entropy, Bin Similarity), and a branch breaking algorithm which composes the final clusters by applying thresholds to each branch of the tree. The clustering algorithm is followed by a meta-clustering module which makes use of graph theory to obtain insights in the leaf clusters’ connections. The feature vectors representing each document derive from topic modeling. At the implementation level, the clustering method has been dockerized in order to facilitate its deployment on cloud computing infrastructures. Finally, the proposed framework is evaluated on several datasets of varying size and content, achieving significant reduction in both memory consumption and computational time over existing hierarchical clustering algorithms. The experiments also include performance testing on cloud resources using different setups and the results are promising.
Secure VM management with strong user binding in semi-trusted clouds
Authors: Inokuchi Keisuke , Kourai Kenichi
Published: January 2020

In Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) clouds, remote users access provided virtual machines (VMs) via the management server. The management server is managed by cloud operators, but not all the cloud operators are trusted in semi-trusted clouds. They can execute arbitrary management commands to users’ VMs and redirect users’ commands to malicious VMs. We call the latter attack the VM redirection attack. The root cause is that the binding of remote users to their VMs is weak. In other words, it is difficult to enforce the execution of only users’ management commands to their VMs. In this paper, we propose UVBond for strongly binding users to their VMs to address this issue. UVBond boots user’s VM by decrypting its encrypted disk inside the trusted hypervisor. Then it issues a VM descriptor to securely identify that VM. To bridge the semantic gap between high-level management commands and low-level hypercalls, UVBond uses hypercall automata, which accept the sequences of hypercalls issued by commands. We have implemented UVBond in Xen and created hypercall automata for various management commands. Using UVBond, we confirmed that a VM descriptor and hypercall automata prevented insider attacks and that the overhead was not large in remote VM management.
Research on retention forestry in Northern Europe
Authors: Gustafsson Lena , Hannerz Mats , Koivula Matti , Shorohova Ekaterina , Vanha-Majamaa Ilkka , Weslien Jan
Published: January 2020

Retention approaches in forest management are today common in several North European countries, integrated into the clearcutting practice as a way to promote biodiversity and maintain ecosystem functions. Individual green trees and retention patches (tree groups) are retained at final harvest, and deadwood is left at site or created. Here, we review research on retention in Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Baltic States, and NW Russia, with special focus on biodiversity. Following the first publication in 1994, about 180 peer-reviewed articles have been published. We present results from a systematic search of the retention literature, separated into the following topics: buffer zones, retention patches, high stumps, other types of deadwood, European aspenPopulus tremula, and cost-efficiency. Russian literature is synthesized separately since studies from this region have so far almost exclusively been published in the Russian language. Furthermore, we describe six ongoing large-scale, replicated experiments with varying retention levels, five in Finland and one in Sweden, and summarize their main results. Among main conclusions for practice from the literature and experiments are that retention patches as large as 0.5 ha and 10-m-wide buffers to watercourses are not enough to maintain pre-harvest species composition but survival of forest species is still larger than on conventional clearcuts. Deadwood on clearcuts may present important habitats to saproxylic species, including rare and red-listed ones and a prioritization of tree species per stand is recommended. We identify several important future research directions including switch of focus towards the landscape as well as the species population level. Surveys in parts of European Russia where retention has been unintentionally implemented already for a century would indicate possible future trajectories of biodiversity and their drivers in other regions of Northern Europe. A stronger link to ecological theory would help in study designs and in the formulation of predicted outcomes.
Evaluation of Out-of-Plane Response of R/C Structural Wall Boundary Edges Detailed with Maximum Code-Prescribed Longitudinal Reinforcement Ratio
Authors: Chrysanidis Theodoros A.
Published: January 2020

One type of failure of reinforced concrete seismic walls is out-of-plane buckling. This type of failure appears at the compressive cycle of loading during the cyclic seismic loading. This work is mainly experimental and tries to investigate the influence of the mechanical factor of tensile deformation on the behavior of seismic walls and particularly on the phenomenon of lateral buckling. Five test specimens are constructed simulating the confined boundary regions of structural walls. They are reinforced using the maximum longitudinal reinforcement ratio (4.02%) prescribed by modern seismic and concrete codes for boundary ends. Apart from the investigation of the factor of elongation degree, this method tries to examine if the detailing of walls using maximum allowable reinforced ratio for longitudinal reinforcement inhibits the appearance of transverse buckling. Each prism specimen was strained under different tensile deformation. Degrees of elongation used were equal to 0‰, 10‰, 20‰, 30‰ and 50‰. After the first tensile cycle of loading, a second compression loading cycle was applied on each specimen, till their failure. Thus, nine experiments were carried out in total-two for each specimen apart from the first specimen which suffered zero elongation. Empirical equations are derived trying to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity and the normalized axial deformation at failure for the different tensile degrees.
Co-expression network analysis predicts a key role of microRNAs in the adaptation of the porcine skeletal muscle to nutrient supply
Authors: Mármol-Sánchez Emilio , Ramayo-Caldas Yuliaxis , Quintanilla Raquel , Cardoso Tainã Figueiredo , González-Prendes Rayner , Tibau Joan , Amills Marcel
Published: January 2020

Background

The role of non-coding RNAs in the porcine muscle metabolism is poorly understood, with few studies investigating their expression patterns in response to nutrient supply. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the changes in microRNAs (miRNAs), long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) and mRNAs muscle expression before and after food intake.

Results

We measured the miRNA, lincRNA and mRNA expression levels in thegluteus mediusmuscle of 12 gilts in a fasting condition (AL-T0) and 24 gilts fedad libitumduring either 5 h. (AL-T1,N = 12) or 7 h. (AL-T2,N = 12) prior to slaughter. The small RNA fraction was extracted from muscle samples retrieved from the 36 gilts and sequenced, whereas lincRNA and mRNA expression data were already available. In terms of mean and variance, the expression profiles of miRNAs and lincRNAs in the porcine muscle were quite different than those of mRNAs. Food intake induced the differential expression of 149 (AL-T0/AL-T1) and 435 (AL-T0/AL-T2) mRNAs, 6 (AL-T0/AL-T1) and 28 (AL-T0/AL-T2) miRNAs and none lincRNAs, while the number of differentially dispersed genes was much lower. Among the set of differentially expressed miRNAs, we identified ssc-miR-148a-3p, ssc-miR-22-3p and ssc-miR-1, which play key roles in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. Besides, co-expression network analyses revealed several miRNAs that putatively interact with mRNAs playing key metabolic roles and that also showed differential expression before and after feeding. One case example was represented by seven miRNAs (ssc-miR-148a-3p, ssc-miR-151-3p, ssc-miR-30a-3p, ssc-miR-30e-3p, ssc-miR-421-5p, ssc-miR-493-5p and ssc-miR-503) which putatively interact with thePDK4mRNA, one of the master regulators of glucose utilization and fatty acid oxidation.

Conclusions

As a whole, our results evidence that microRNAs are likely to play an important role in the porcine skeletal muscle metabolic adaptation to nutrient availability.
Predicting high-cost care in a mental health setting
Authors: Colling Craig , Khondoker Mizanur , Patel Rashmi , Fok Marcella , Harland Robert , Broadbent Matthew , McCrone Paul , Stewart Robert
Published: January 2020

Background

The density of information in digital health records offers new potential opportunities for automated prediction of cost-relevant outcomes.

Aims

We investigated the extent to which routinely recorded data held in the electronic health record (EHR) predict priority service outcomes and whether natural language processing tools enhance the predictions. We evaluated three high priority outcomes: in-patient duration, readmission following in-patient care and high service cost after first presentation.

Method

We used data obtained from a clinical database derived from the EHR of a large mental healthcare provider within the UK. We combined structured data with text-derived data relating to diagnosis statements, medication and psychiatric symptomatology. Predictors of the three different clinical outcomes were modelled using logistic regression with performance evaluated against a validation set to derive areas under receiver operating characteristic curves.

Results

In validation samples, the full models (using all available data) achieved areas under receiver operating characteristic curves between 0.59 and 0.85 (in-patient duration 0.63, readmission 0.59, high service use 0.85). Adding natural language processing-derived data to the models increased the variance explained across all clinical scenarios (observed increase inr2= 12–46%).

Conclusions

EHR data offer the potential to improve routine clinical predictions by utilising previously inaccessible data. Of our scenarios, prediction of high service use after initial presentation achieved the highest performance.
Standards-Based Clinical Decision Support Platform to Manage Patients Who Meet Guideline-Based Criteria for Genetic Evaluation of Familial Cancer
Authors: Del Fiol Guilherme , Kohlmann Wendy , Bradshaw Richard L. , Weir Charlene R. , Flynn Michael , Hess Rachel , Schiffman Joshua D. , Nanjo Claude , Kawamoto Kensaku
Published: January 2020

PURPOSE

The ubiquitous adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) with family health history (FHH) data provides opportunities for tailoring cancer screening strategies to individuals. We aimed to enable a standards-based clinical decision support (CDS) platform for identifying and managing patients who meet guidelines for genetic evaluation of hereditary cancer.

METHODS

The CDS platform ( www.opencds.org ) was used to implement algorithms based on the 2018 National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for genetic evaluation of hereditary breast/ovarian and colorectal cancer. The platform was designed to be interfaced with different EHR systems via the Health Level Seven International Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standard. The platform was integrated with the Epic EHR and evaluated in a pilot study at an academic health care system.

RESULTS

The CDS platform was executed against a target population of 143,012 patients; 5,245 (3.7%) met criteria for genetic evaluation based on the FHH recorded in the EHR. In a clinical pilot study, genetic counselors attempted to reach out to 71 of the patients. Of those patients, 25 (35%) scheduled an appointment, 10 (14%) declined, 2 (3%) did not need genetic counseling, 7 (10%) said they would consider it in the future, and 27 (38%) were unreachable. To date, 13 (52%) of the scheduled patients completed visits, and 2 (15%) of those were found to have pathogenic variants in cancer predisposition genes.

CONCLUSION

A standards-based CDS platform integrated with EHR systems is a promising population-based approach to identify patients who are appropriate candidates for genetic evaluation of hereditary cancers.
Brain Differences in the Prefrontal Cortex, Amygdala, and Hippocampus in Youth with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Authors: Herting Megan M , Azad Anisa , Kim Robert , Tyszka J Michael , Geffner Mitchell E , Kim Mimi S
Published: January 2020

Context

Classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency results in hormone imbalances present both prenatally and postnatally that may impact the developing brain.

Objective

To characterize gray matter morphology in the prefrontal cortex and subregion volumes of the amygdala and hippocampus in youth with CAH as compared to controls.

Design

A cross-sectional study of 27 CAH youth (16 female; 12.6 ± 3.4 years) and 35 typically developing, healthy controls (20 female; 13.0 ± 2.8 years) with 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scans. Brain volumes of interest included bilateral prefrontal cortex and 9 amygdala and 6 hippocampal subregions. Between-subject effects of group (CAH vs. control) and sex, and their interaction (group-by-sex) on brain volumes, were studied while controlling for intracranial volume (ICV) and group differences in body mass index and bone age.

Results

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia youth had smaller ICV and increased cerebrospinal fluid volume compared to controls. In fully-adjusted models, CAH youth had smaller bilateral superior and caudal middle frontal volumes, and smaller left lateral orbitofrontal volumes compared to controls. Medial temporal lobe analyses revealed that the left hippocampus was smaller in fully-adjusted models. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia youth also had significantly smaller lateral nucleus of the amygdala and hippocampal subiculum and CA1 subregions.

Conclusions

This study replicates previous findings of smaller medial temporal lobe volumes in CAH patients and suggests that the lateral nucleus of the amygdala, as well as subiculum and subfield CA1 of the hippocampus, are particularly affected within the medial temporal lobes in CAH youth.
Induction of vitellogenesis, MF synthesis and ecdysteroidogenesis in two edible crabs by arachidonic acid and prostaglandins
Authors: Swetha C. H. , Girish B. P. , Hemalatha M. , Reddy P. Sreenivasula
Published: January 2020

The present study investigated the effect of arachidonic acid (AA) and selected prostaglandins on the regulation of vitellogenesis, ecdysteroidogenesis and methyl farnesoate synthesis in the fresh water crab, Oziotelphusa senex senex and the giant mud crab, Scylla serrata. Administration of AA and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) significantly increased ovarian index, oocyte diameter and ovarian vitellogenin levels and ecdysteroid and methyl farnesoate levels in the hemolymph of crabs. Secretions of methyl farnesoate (MF) and ecdysteroids from in vitro cultured mandibular organs (MO) and Y-organs (YO) isolated from intermolt crabs injected with AA, PGF2α and PGE2 were greater when compared with controls. In contrast, injection of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) had no effect on vitellogenesis, ecdysteroid and MF levels in circulation. In vitro secretion of MF from MO explants isolated from avitellogenic crabs incubated with AA, PGF2α, PGE2 increased in a time dependent manner. Conversely, incubation of YOs isolated from avitellogenic crabs with AA, PGF2α and PGE2 had no effect on secretion of ecdsyteroids. These studies implicate prostaglandins in the regulation of reproduction by inducing the synthesis of methyl farnesoate and consequent ecdysteroid synthesis in brachyuran crabs and provide an alternative molecular intervention mechanism to the traditional eyestalk ablation methodology to induce vitellogenesis and ovarian maturation in crustaceans.
Maintenance of hindgut reabsorption during cold exposure is a key adaptation for Drosophila cold tolerance
Authors: Andersen Mads Kuhlmann , Overgaard Johannes
Published: January 2020

Maintaining extracellular osmotic and ionic homeostasis is crucial for organismal function. In insects, hemolymph volume and ion content is regulated by the secretory Malpighian tubules and reabsorptive hindgut. When exposed to stressful cold, homeostasis is gradually disrupted, characterized by a debilitating increase in extracellular K+ concentration (hyperkalemia). Accordingly, studies have found a strong link between the species-specific cold tolerance and their ability to maintain ion and water homeostasis at low temperature. This is also true for drosophilids where inter- and intra-specific differences in cold tolerance are linked to the secretory capacity of Malpighian tubules. There is, however, little information on the reabsorptive capacity of the hindgut in Drosophila. To address this, we developed a novel method that permits continued measurements of hindgut ion and fluid reabsorption in Drosophila. We demonstrate that this assay is temporally stable (∼ 2 hours) and responsive to cAMP stimulation and pharmacological intervention in accordance with the current insect hindgut reabsorption model. We then investigated how cold acclimation or cold adaptation affected hindgut reabsorption at benign (24°C) and low temperature (3°C). Cold tolerant Drosophila species and cold-acclimated D. melanogaster maintain superior fluid and Na+ reabsorption at low temperature. Furthermore, cold adaptation and acclimation caused a relative reduction in K+ reabsorption at low temperature. These characteristic responses of cold adaptation/ acclimation will promote maintenance of ion and water homeostasis at low temperature. Our study of hindgut function therefore provides evidence to suggest that adaptations in osmoregulatory capacity of insects are critical for their ability to tolerate cold.
Short-term dehydration influences baseline, but not stress-induced corticosterone levels in the House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Authors: Brischoux François , Beaugeard Erika , Mohring Bertille , Parenteau Charline , Angelier Frédéric
Published: January 2020

Future environmental variations linked to climate change are expected to influence precipitation regimes, and thus drinking water availability. Dehydration can be a particularly challenging physiological state for most organisms, yet no study has examined the effect of dehydration on the functioning of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis in wild endothermic animals, despite its central role in maintaining homeostasis. In this study, we experimentally imposed a temporary water shortage (∼20 hours) to captive House sparrows in order to investigate the consequences of short-term dehydration on baseline and stress-induced corticosterone levels. As expected, water-deprived birds displayed higher plasma osmolality and haematocrit. Additionally, water-deprived birds had lower defecation rates, suggesting that the mechanisms allowing cecal water absorption may be triggered very rapidly during water-deprivation. Baseline, but not stress-induced corticosterone levels were higher in water-deprived birds. Taken together, these results suggest that water-restriction may have critical consequences on several corticosterone-related traits such as energy budget (protein catabolism and possibly feeding reduction), enhanced mobility (to promote water acquisition) and potential responses to predators (thirst threshold overriding the acute stress response). Owing to the possible fitness consequences of such components of the day-to-day life of birds, future studies should aim at investigating the influence of future changes in precipitation regimes and drinking water availability on bird populations.
The role of interleukin-17 gene polymorphism (RS612242 C11139G) in the formation of the cryoglobulinemic syndrome in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Authors: Kalashnyk K. V. , Riabokon Yu. Yu.
Published: January 2020

Background. Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is characterized by the development of extrahepatic symptom manifestations, which leads to an increased risk of mortality in these patients. Today, the factors contributing to the development of extrahepatic manifestations of CHC are being studied. Particular attention is paid to determining the clinical significance of cytokine gene polymorphism. Therefore, the aim of our work was study the role of interleukin-17 gene polymorphism (rs612242 C11139G) in the mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) formation and manifestation of cryoglobulinemic syndrome in patients with chronic hepatitis C.Materials and methods. The study included 149 patients with CHC and 45 healthy people. Determination of single-nucleotide IL-17 gene polymorphism (rs 612242 C11139G) was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Statistical processing was performed in program "STATISTICA for Windows 13" (StatSoft Inc., No. JPZ804I382130ARCN10-J).Results. We found that most often in patients with CHC (140 - 94.0%) and in healthy people (39 - 86.7%) was detected СС-genotype. It was found that the GG genotype was found to be significantly more likely in healthy subjects (χ2=20.5, p<0.0001). It was determined that patients with MC were significantly more likely to have a CC-genotype compared with healthy people (χ2=5.08, p<0.05), but the frequency of detection of this genotype was not statistically different compared with patients without MC (p>0.05). In patients with CHC carriers of the CC genotype of the IL-17 gene polymorphism significantly more likely (p<0.05), clinical signs associated with MC, namely weakness (65.6% vs. 40.0%), arthralgia (58.9% vs. 30.0%), vasculitis (14.4% vs. 2.0%) with the formation of the Meltzer’s triad (14.4% vs. no formation). It was showed that type 2 diabetes was significantly more likely to be detected in patients without MC (χ2=5.52, p<0.05).Conclusion. Allele C of the IL-17 gene polymorphism has an effect on the chronicity of hepatitis C according to a multiplicative model of inheritance. The CC-genotype plays a role in the formation of HCV-associated MC. Weakness, arthralgia and vasculitis with the formation of the Meltzer’s triad are the most common manifestations of cryoglobulinemic syndrome.
The role of prooxidative and antioxidant processes in periodontal tissue in the mechanisms of formation of adrenalin damage of myocardium and experimental periodontitis and their correction with Corvitin
Authors: Horodetskyy Oleh
Published: January 2020

The aim of our study was to determine the antioxidant activity and prooxidative processes in the formation mechanisms in periodontal adrenalin myocardial damage and experimental periodontitis and their correction with corvitin. For this purpose, we conducted a study on 54 nonlinear white male rats, which were divided into six groups. First - control, second, third, fourth and fifth - a group of animals with adrenaline injury of myocarditis during the course of experimental periodontitis before correction of corvitin to according to the 1st, 7th, 10th and 17th days of the experiment and the sixth group - animals with adrenaline injury of myocarditis during the course of experimental periodontitis after adjustment corvitin. The results showed that when combined pathology antioxidant activity of prooxidative processes going towards depression of antioxidant protection against the growing LPO. After entering corvitin - reduced rates of LPO and increases the activity of enzymes AOC, that indicating the antioxidant and cardioprotective properties of the drug.
TNF-α and TNF-R-1 level in pregnancy with ecotopic pregnancy
Authors: Yakymchuk Yu. B. , Boychuk A. V. , Franchuk A. Yu. , Koptyuk V. I. , Yakymchuk O. M.
Published: January 2020

The aim of our work was to study the relationship of tumor necrotic factor and receptor 1 to tumor necrotic factor in physiological uterine pregnancy in the first trimester and in pregnant women with ectopic pregnancy who received different doses of cytostatic methotrexate for its treatment.Methods and materialsWe analyzed the results of special research methods and examined 30 pregnant women with advanced uterine pregnancy in the first trimester and 40 pregnant women with advanced ectopic pregnancy treated with methotrexate, depending on the dose of methotrexate patients were divided into 2 groups of 20 women. The first group (M1) received 75-100 mg (based on kg of weight) of methotrexate intramuscularly, and the second group (M2) received methotrexate at a dose of 75-100 mg twice after 7 days.Research resultsIn healthy pregnant women with physiological pregnancy for 3-4 weeks, the level of TNF-α in blood neutrophils was within 2.02 ± 0.16 ng / ml and in pregnant women with ectopic pregnancy - 2.64 ± 0.19 ng / ml. In the M1 group, TNF-α level was slightly higher (5.49 ± 0.24 ng / ml, p <0.01) than in the group of women with ectopic pregnancy before treatment (2.64 ± 0.19) ng / ml, whereas in the methotrexate (M2) reintroduction group this indicator increased almost 4 times (10.30 ± 0.26 ng / ml) and in the M1 group almost 2.3 times (5.49 ± 0.24) ng / ml). The number of activated TNF-R1 neutrophils in the M1 group was (11.16 ± 0.30) ng / ml, versus (16.26 ± 0.43) ng / ml in the M2 group (p <0.05).ConclusionsNeutrophil blood cells are sensitive cells of the body to study the assessment of the depth of action of cytostatic at the body level as a whole.Indicators of tumor necrotic factor and receptor 1 tumor necrotic factor can be used as a marker of activity of cytotoxic action of different doses of methotrexate for the treatment of progressing ectopic pregnancy.
Consumer Protection on Kickstarter
Authors: Blaseg Daniel , Schulze Christian , Skiera Bernd
Published: January 2020

This article investigates consumer protection on Kickstarter; it shows that broken price advertising claims pose a substantial, persistent, and unresolved problem.
Penalizing the Underdogs? Employment Protection and the Competitive Dynamics of Firm Innovation
Authors: Keum Dongil D.
Published: January 2020

This study examines how constraining a firm’s ability to adjust resources affects innovation and underscores a firm’s competitive position as a critical contingency to the competing demands for flexibility and efficiency. In response to losing competitiveness, lagging firms must release obsolete resources and increase experimentation with new resources. Limiting the pace and efficiency at which they can do so impedes their ability to innovate and challenge leading firms. I explore these ideas empirically by exploiting the staggered adoption of employment protection laws. Employment protection indeed reduces innovation by lagging firms, driven by a decrease in radical innovations. In contrast, I find a small yet positive effect on leading firms in low-velocity sectors, which prioritize the efficient use of existing resources. This study extends the prior contingency approach based on industry and task characteristics to incorporate a firm’s competitive position and provides a much more dynamic account of when and how firms experiment with new inventors, resources, and radical innovations.
História das Propriedades e Direitos de Acesso
Authors: Machado Marina Monteiro , Alveal Carmen
Published: January 2020

Apresentação. Revista Maracanan, Rio de Janeiro, n. 22 - "História das Propriedades e do Direito de Acesso", jan.-abr. 2020.
Toward free-running operation of dual-comb fiber lasers for methane sensing
Authors: Guay Philippe , Tourigny-Plante Alex , Bourbeau Hébert Nicolas , Michaud-Belleau Vincent , Larouche Steeve , Fdil Khaoula , Genest Jérôme
Published: January 2020

The phase information provided by the beat note between frequency combs and two continuous-wave lasers is used to extrapolate the phase evolution of comb modes found in a spectral region obtained via nonlinear broadening. This thereafter enables using interferogram self-correction to fully retrieve the coherence of a dual-comb beat note between two independent fiber lasers. This approach allows the

f
−
2
f

self-referencing of both combs, which is a significant simplification. Broadband near-infrared methane spectroscopy has been conducted to demonstrate the simplified system’s preserved performance.
Toward a locally adaptive optical protection filtering for human eyes and technical vision sensors
Authors: Ezhov Vasily , Vasilieva Natalia , Ivashkin Peter , Galstian Alexander
Published: January 2020

In the presence of direct sunlight or superbright light from artificial
optical sources, the distribution of light intensity (brightness) over
perceived scene objects typically has a dynamic range several orders
of magnitude greater than the dynamic range of most optical
sensors. In this paper, the locally adaptive optical protection (LAOP)
filtering systems for technical vision sensors and human eyes (human
visual system) are suggested. The LAOP filtering provides the reliable
perception of the perceived scene objects with normal brightness
simultaneously with preventing saturation (“blinding”) of the optical
sensors by light from the brightest objects. The characteristics of
the key components of the LAOP filtering systems are discussed and
tested experimentally.
Color variance and achromatic settings
Authors: Rajendran Siddhart S. , Webster Michael A.
Published: January 2020

The average color in a scene is a potentially important cue to the illuminant and thus for color constancy, but it remains unknown how well and in what ways observers can estimate the mean chromaticity. We examined this by measuring the variability in “achromatic” settings for stimuli composed of different distributions of colors with varying contrast ranges along the luminance, SvsLM, and LvsM cardinal axes. Observers adjusted the mean chromaticity of the palette to set the average to gray. Variability in the settings increased as chromatic contrast or (to a lesser extent) luminance contrast increased. Signals along the cardinal axes are relatively independent in many detection and discrimination tasks, but showed strong interference in the white estimates. This “cross-masking” and the effects of chromatic variance in general may occur because observers cannot explicitly perceive or represent the mean of a set of qualitatively different hues (e.g., that red and green hues average to gray), and thus may infer the mean only indirectly (e.g., from the relative saturation of different hues).
Comparison of two methods of hue scaling
Authors: Matera Courtney N. , Emery Kara J. , Volbrecht Vicki J. , Vemuri Kavita , Kay Paul , Webster Michael A.
Published: January 2020

Hue-scaling functions are designed to characterize color appearance by assessing the relative strength of the red versus green and blue versus yellow opponent sensations comprising different hues. However, these judgments can be non-intuitive and may pose difficulties for measurement and analysis. We explored an alternative scaling method based on positioning a dial to represent the relative similarity or distance of each hue from the labeled positions for the opponent categories. The hue-scaling and hue-similarity rating methods were compared for 28 observers. Settings on both tasks were comparable though the similarity ratings showed less inter-observer variability and weaker categorical bias, suggesting that these categorical biases may reflect properties of the task rather than the percepts. Alternatively, properties that are concordant for the two paradigms provide evidence for characteristics that do reflect color appearance. Individual differences on both tasks suggest that color appearance depends on multiple, narrowly tuned color processes, which are inconsistent with conventional color-opponent theory.
Mid-IR Dirac-cone dispersion relation materialized in SOI photonic crystal slabs
Authors: Yao Yuanzhao , Ikeda Naoki , Kuroda Takashi , Mano Takaaki , Koyama Hiromi , Sugimoto Yoshimasa , Sakoda Kazuaki
Published: January 2020

We materialized the isotropic Dirac-cone dispersion relation in the mid-infrared range by fabricating photonic crystal slabs of the C4v symmetry in SOI (silicon-on-insulator) wafers by electron beam lithography. The dispersion relation was examined by the angle-resolved reflection spectra with our home-made high-resolution apparatus, which showed a good agreement with the dispersion relation and the reflection spectra calculated by the finite element method. The reflection spectra also agreed with the selection rules derived from the spatial symmetry of the Dirac-cone modes, which proved to be a powerful tool for the mode assignment.
Propagation characteristics of orbital angular momentum and its time evolution carried by a Laguerre-Gaussian beam in supersonic turbulent boundary layer
Authors: Xu Lingfei , Xin Yu , Zhou Zhichao , Ren Tianrong , Han Bing
Published: January 2020

In a supersonic turbulent boundary layer, the characteristics of the refractive index cannot be described well using a statistical approach. Therefore, we theoretically and numerically investigate the evolution of the total orbital angular momentum (OAM) and the spiral spectrum of the OAM mode with respect to space and time when a Laguerre-Gaussian beam propagates through a supersonic turbulent boundary layer. The numerical results of a shock-wave-turbulent boundary layer interaction flow in a supersonic 24° compression ramp with a 2.9 Ma free stream are used. The distribution of the refractive index is obtained by direct numerical simulation of the Navier–Stokes equations. Our results show that the total OAM varies and the spiral spectrum of the OAM mode is asymmetric.
Path integration (PI) method for the parameter-retrieval of aircraft wake vortex by Lidar
Authors: Li Jianbing , Shen Chun , Gao Hang , Chan P. W. , Hon K. K. , Wang Xuesong
Published: January 2020

Aircraft wake is a pair of strong counter-rotating vortices generated behind a flying aircraft. It might be very hazardous to a following aircraft and the real-time detection of it is of great interest in aviation safety field. Vortex-core positions and velocity circulations, which respectively represent the location and strength of a wake, are two characteristic parameters that have attracted the main attention in wake vortex detection. This paper introduces a new algorithm, the Path Integration (PI) method, to retrieve the characteristic parameters of wake vortex. The method uses Doppler velocity distribution to locate the vortex-core positions, and the integration of Doppler velocity along a LOS (line-of-sight) is derived as a linear expression about the circulations. From this expression, the circulations can be solved with the least square method. Moreover, an vortex-core position adjusting method is proposed to compensate the compressing and expanding effects of wake vortex caused by the scanning of Lidar beam. Basically, the use of Doppler velocity integration can improve the method’s adaptability in turbulence environment and mitigate the impact of noise. Numerical examples and field detection data from Hong Kong international airport and Tsingtao Liuting airport have well verified the good performance of the method, in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.
Predicted annual energy yield of III-V/c-Si tandem solar cells: modelling the effect of changing spectrum on current-matching
Authors: Mathews Ian , Lei Shenghui , Frizzell Ronan
Published: January 2020

High efficiencies of >30% are predicted for series-connected tandem solar cells when current-matching is achieved between the wide-bandgap top cell and silicon bottom cell. Sub-cells are typically optimized for current-matching based on the standard AM1.5G spectrum, but in practice, the incident radiation on a solar cell can be very different from this standard due to the effects of the sun’s location in the sky, atmospheric conditions, total diffuse element etc. The resulting deviations in spectral content from optimum conditions lead to current mismatch between tandem cell layers that adversely affects the device’s performance. To investigate the impact of this issue the energy yield (%) of tandem solar cells comprising a III-V wide-bandgap solar cell connected electrically and optically in series with a silicon bottom cell was simulated over a full year using measured spectral data from Denver, CO. Top cells with bandgaps from 1.5-1.9 eV were modelled using an external radiative efficiency method. The predicted annual energy yields were as high as 31% with an optimum 1.8 eV top cell, only 2.8% lower (absolute) than the AM1.5G predicted efficiency. The annual energy yield of tandem cells with no current-matching constraint, i.e. parallel-connected devices, was also simulated. Here the difference between series and parallel connections were only significant for non-optimum bandgap combinations. Our results indicate that AM1.5G based optimization of sub-cells can be effectively employed to achieve high energy yields of >25% for III-V/Si tandem solar cells in mid-latitude US locations, despite the continuous variation in spectra throughout a calendar year.
Raman tensor of AlN bulk single crystal: erratum
Authors: Zheng Wei , Zheng Ruisheng , Huang Feng , Wu Honglei , Li Fadi
Published: January 2020

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in Photon. Res. 3, 38 (2015)PRHEIZ2327-912510.1364/PRJ.3.000038 related to the polarization of the experimental optical path and a few typos.
The role of incretin-based therapies in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus: perspectives on the past, present and future
Authors: Meier Juris J.
Published: January 2020

The ever-increasing burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) worldwide, has led to the emergence of several antidiabetes drugs with different modes of action. Incretin hormones and their effect on glucose metabolism and pathogenesis of T2DM has been a landmark discovery in the management of this increasingly prevalent metabolic disorder. Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are the two major classes of incretin-based therapies that regulate glucose mechanism through multiple pathways, demonstrate weight loss (GLP-1 receptor agonists) or a weight-neutral effect (DPP-4 inhibitors), and are associated with a low risk of hypoglycaemia and other adverse events. In addition, evidence reflects their possible therapeutic potential in the treatment of other clinical conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and liver disorders. This review explores the availability and the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors as potential therapeutic strategies for T2DM along with their future in the landscape of diabetes management and other clinical conditions.
Liderazgos transformadores para alcanzar los ODS
Authors: Pes Ángel
Published: January 2020

Los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible, (ODS), constituyen la mejor alternativa para superar los retos sociales y medio ambientales que tenemos planteados. Para conseguirlos en el plazo previsto, (para el año 2030), sin dejar a nadie atrás, resulta imprescindible contar con el liderazgo político y empresarial para transformar la economía y la sociedad. La digitalización y la adopción de un modelo de economía circular son condiciones necesarias para situar la economía en la senda del desarrollo sostenible. Igualmente, establecer las normas para una transición justa del mercado laboral actual hacia el que requiere una economía digital, y para la transición hacia una economía con cero emisiones de CO2, sostenible para los recursos naturales, resulta ineludible para alcanzar los ODS.
Efficiency of Internal Marketing Dimensions in Private Universities of Kurdistan Region to Achieve the Organizational Commitment
Authors: Thabit Thabit H. , Younus Saif Q.
Published: January 2020

The current paper attempts to study the effectiveness of internal marketing (IM) dimensions as an effective internal tool for the economic unit to enhance the organizational commitment (OC) in the private universities of Kurdistan Region. The importance of the research can be stemmed from the important role of IM in the economic unit, which can increase the activity of economic unit and achieve the OC in private universities of Kurdistan Region. So, the applying of IM in the economic unit effectively can help to strengthen the loyalty of the employees and help economic units to keep their employees. The researchers concluded that there is a good level of agreement for the employees of private universities in Kurdistan Region of Iraq about the activities of IM in the study sample and their role to enhance OC. The researchers recommended making more efforts for meeting the material and moral needs of the employees and gaining their satisfaction to ensure their continued work and keep them from thinking about moving to other economic units.