bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metabolite identification in fecal microbiota transplantation mouse livers and combined proteomics with chronic unpredictive mild stress mouse livers
Authors: Li Bo , Guo Kenan , Zeng Li , Zeng Benhua , Huo Ran , Luo Yuanyuan , Wang Haiyang , Dong Meixue , Zheng Peng , Zhou Chanjuan , Chen Jianjun , Liu Yiyun , Liu Zhao , Fang Liang , Wei Hong , Xie Peng
Published: January 2018

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mood disorder. Gut microbiota may be involved in the pathogenesis of depression via the microbe–gut–brain axis. Liver is vulnerable to exposure of bacterial products translocated from the gut via the portal vein and may be involved in the axis. In this study, germ-free mice underwent fecal microbiota transplantation from MDD patients and healthy controls. Behavioral tests verified the depression model. Metabolomics using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry determined the influence of microbes on liver metabolism. With multivariate statistical analysis, 191 metabolites were distinguishable in MDD mice from control (CON) mice. Compared with CON mice, MDD mice showed lower levels for 106 metabolites and higher levels for 85 metabolites. These metabolites are associated with lipid and energy metabolism and oxidative stress. Combined analyses of significantly changed proteins in livers from another depression model induced by chronic unpredictive mild stress returned a high score for the Lipid Metabolism, Free Radical Scavenging, and Molecule Transports network, and canonical pathways were involved in energy metabolism and tryptophan degradation. The two mouse models of depression suggest that changes in liver metabolism might be involved in the pathogenesis of MDD. Conjoint analyses of fecal, serum, liver, and hippocampal metabolites from fecal microbiota transplantation mice suggested that aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis significantly changed and fecal metabolites showed a close relationship with the liver. These findings may help determine the biological mechanisms of depression and provide evidence about “depression microbes” impacting on liver metabolism.
Transcriptional decomposition reveals active chromatin architectures and cell specific regulatory interactions
Authors: Rennie Sarah , Dalby Maria , van Duin Lucas , Andersson Robin
Published: January 2018

Transcriptional regulation is tightly coupled with chromosomal positioning and three-dimensional chromatin architecture. However, it is unclear what proportion of transcriptional activity is reflecting such organisation, how much can be informed by RNA expression alone and how this impacts disease. Here, we develop a computational transcriptional decomposition approach separating the proportion of expression associated with genome organisation from independent effects not directly related to genomic positioning. We show that positionally attributable expression accounts for a considerable proportion of total levels and is highly informative of topological associating domain activities and organisation, revealing boundaries and chromatin compartments. Furthermore, expression data alone accurately predict individual enhancer–promoter interactions, drawing features from expression strength, stabilities, insulation and distance. We characterise predictions in 76 human cell types, observing extensive sharing of domains, yet highly cell-type-specific enhancer–promoter interactions and strong enrichments in relevant trait-associated variants. Overall, our work demonstrates a close relationship between transcription and chromatin architecture.
Tunable metal-insulator transition, Rashba effect and Weyl Fermions in a relativistic charge-ordered ferroelectric oxide
Authors: He Jiangang , Di Sante Domenico , Li Ronghan , Chen Xing-Qiu , Rondinelli James M. , Franchini Cesare
Published: January 2018

Controllable metal–insulator transitions (MIT), Rashba–Dresselhaus (RD) spin splitting, and Weyl semimetals are promising schemes for realizing processing devices. Complex oxides are a desirable materials platform for such devices, as they host delicate and tunable charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedoms. Here, using first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis, we identify an electric-field tunable MIT, RD effect, and Weyl semimetal in a known, charge-ordered, and polar relativistic oxide Ag2BiO3 at room temperature. Remarkably, a centrosymmetric BiO6 octahedral-breathing distortion induces a sizable spontaneous ferroelectric polarization through Bi3+/Bi5+ charge disproportionation, which stabilizes simultaneously the insulating phase. The continuous attenuation of the Bi3+/Bi5+ disproportionation obtained by applying an external electric field reduces the band gap and RD spin splitting and drives the phase transition from a ferroelectric RD insulator to a paraelectric Dirac semimetal, through a topological Weyl semimetal intermediate state. These findings suggest that Ag2BiO3 is a promising material for spin-orbitonic applications.
Disentangling entanglements in biopolymer solutions
Authors: Lang Philipp , Frey Erwin
Published: January 2018

Reptation theory has been highly successful in explaining the unusual material properties of entangled polymer solutions. It reduces the complex many-body dynamics to a single-polymer description, where each polymer is envisaged to be confined to a tube through which it moves in a snake-like fashion. For flexible polymers, reptation theory has been amply confirmed by both experiments and simulations. In contrast, for semiflexible polymers, experimental and numerical tests are either limited to the onset of reptation, or were performed for tracer polymers in a fixed, static matrix. Here, we report Brownian dynamics simulations of entangled solutions of semiflexible polymers, which show that curvilinear motion along a tube (reptation) is no longer the dominant mode of dynamics. Instead, we find that polymers disentangle due to correlated constraint release, which leads to equilibration of internal bending modes before polymers diffuse the full tube length. The physical mechanism underlying terminal stress relaxation is rotational diffusion mediated by disentanglement rather than curvilinear motion along a tube.
Salmonella Enteritidis ST183: emerging and endemic biotypes affecting western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) and people in Great Britain
Authors: Lawson Becki , Franklinos Lydia H. V. , Rodriguez-Ramos Fernandez Julia , Wend-Hansen Clare , Nair Satheesh , Macgregor Shaheed K. , John Shinto K. , Pizzi Romain , Núñez Alejandro , Ashton Philip M. , Cunningham Andrew A. , M. de Pinna Elizabeth
Published: January 2018

The impacts of hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) Salmonella infection on public health and on animal welfare and conservation are unknown. We isolated Salmonella Enteritidis multi-locus sequence-type (ST)183 from 46/170 (27%) hedgehog carcasses (27 S. Enteritidis phage type (PT)11, 18 of a novel PT66 biotype and one with co-infection of these PTs) and from 6/208 (3%) hedgehog faecal samples (4 PT11, 2 PT66) from across Great Britain, 2012–2015. Whole genome phylogenetic analysis of the hedgehog isolates and ST183 from people in England and Wales found that PT11 and PT66 form two divergent clades. Hedgehog and human isolates were interspersed throughout the phylogeny indicating that infections in both species originate from a common population. PT11 was recovered from hedgehogs across England and Scotland, consistent with endemic infection. PT66 was isolated from Scotland only, possibly indicating a recent emergence event. People infected with ST183 were four times more likely to be aged 0–4 years than people infected by the more common ST11 S. Enteritidis. Evidence for human ST183 infection being non-foodborne included stronger correlation between geographic and genetic distance, and significantly increased likelihood of infection in rural areas, than for ST11. These results are consistent with hedgehogs acting as a source of zoonotic infection.
Ecophysiological response of native and exotic salt marsh vegetation to waterlogging and salinity: Implications for the effects of sea-level rise
Authors: Li Shi-Hua , Ge Zhen-Ming , Xie Li-Na , Chen Wei , Yuan Lin , Wang Dong-Qi , Li Xiu-Zhen , Zhang Li-Quan
Published: January 2018

The ecophysiological characteristics of native Phragmites australis and exotic Spartina alterniflora grown under waterlogging and salinity were investigated to explore their adaptation potential to sea level rise. The seasonal course of phenotypic traits, photosynthetic activity and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of P. australis did not change remarkably under shallow flooding, whereas these variables were sensitive to increasing salinity. Waterlogging exacerbated the negative effects of salinity on shoot growth and photosynthetic activity of P. australis, and the combined stresses led to an absence of tassel and reproductive organs. By contrast, S. alterniflora performed well under both stresses and showed an obvious adaptation of salt secretion with increasing salinity. Light salinity was the optimal condition for S. alterniflora, and the tassel growth, chlorophyll content and fluorescence characters under moderate stresses did not differ notably. The Na+ and Cl− concentrations in leaves of both species increased, and the K+ content decreased in response to salinity. Under moderate and high saline levels, the ion concentrations in S. alterniflora were maintained at relatively consistent levels with increased salt secretion. We expect the degradation of P. australis and further colonization of S. alterniflora under prolonged flooding and saltwater intrusion from sea level rise on the coastline of China.
Development of a yeast internal-subunit eGFP labeling strategy and its application in subunit identification in eukaryotic group II chaperonin TRiC/CCT
Authors: Zang Yunxiang , Wang Huping , Cui Zhicheng , Jin Mingliang , Liu Caixuan , Han Wenyu , Wang Yanxing , Cong Yao
Published: January 2018

Unambiguous subunit assignment in a multicomponent complex is critical for thorough understanding of the machinery and its functionality. The eukaryotic group II chaperonin TRiC/CCT folds approximately 10% of cytosolic proteins and is important for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. TRiC consists of two rings and each ring has eight homologous but distinct subunits. Unambiguous subunit identification of a macromolecular machine such as TRiC through intermediate or low-resolution cryo-EM map remains challenging. Here we present a yeast internal-subunit eGFP labeling strategy termed YISEL, which can quickly introduce an eGFP tag in the internal position of a target subunit by homologous recombination, and the tag labeled protein can be expressed in endogenous level. Through this method, the labeling efficiency and tag-occupancy is ensured, and the inserted tag is usually less mobile compared to that fused to the terminus. It can also be used to bio-engineer other tag in the internal position of a protein in yeast. By applying our YISEL strategy and combined with cryo-EM 3D reconstruction, we unambiguously identified all the subunits in the cryo-EM map of TRiC, demonstrating the potential for broad application of this strategy in accurate and efficient subunit identification in other challenging complexes.
Transcriptome sequence analysis and mining of SSRs in Jhar Ber (Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight & Arn) under drought stress
Authors: Yadav Radha , Lone Showkat Ahmad , Gaikwad Kishor , Singh Nagendra Kumar , Padaria Jasdeep Chatrath
Published: January 2018

Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight & Arn., a perennial shrub that thrives in the arid regions, is naturally tolerant to drought. However, there are limited studies on the genomics of drought tolerance in Ziziphus sp. In this study, RNA-sequencing of one month old seedlings treated with PEG 6000 was performed using Roche GS-FLX454 Titanium pyrosequencing. A total of 367,176 raw sequence reads were generated, and upon adapter trimming and quality filtration 351,872 reads were assembled de novo into 32,739 unigenes. Further characterization of the unigenes indicated that 73.25% had significant hits in the protein database. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes database (KEGG) identified 113 metabolic pathways from the obtained unigenes. A large number of drought-responsive genes were obtained and among them differential gene expression of 16 highly induced genes was validated by qRT-PCR analysis. To develop genic-markers, 3,425 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in 2,813 unigene sequences. The data generated shall serve as an important reservoir for the identification and characterization of drought stress responsive genes for development of drought tolerant crops.
Insulin-degrading enzyme is not secreted from cultured cells
Authors: Song Eun Suk , Rodgers David W. , Hersh Louis B.
Published: January 2018

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) functions in the catabolism of bioactive peptides. Established roles include degrading insulin and the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ), linking it to diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. IDE is primarily located in the cytosol, and a longstanding question is how it gains access to its peptide substrates. Reports suggest that IDE secreted by an unconventional pathway participates in extracellular hydrolysis of insulin and Aβ. We find that IDE release from cultured HEK-293 or BV-2 cells represents only ~1% of total cellular IDE, far less than has been reported previously. Importantly, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and other cytosolic enzymes are released at the same relative level, indicating that extracellular IDE results from a loss of cell integrity, not secretion. Lovastatin increases IDE release from BV-2 cells as reported, but this release is mirrored by LDH release. Cell viability assays indicate lovastatin causes a loss of cell integrity, explaining its effect on IDE release. IDE is present in an exosome-enriched fraction from BV-2 cell conditioned media, however it represents only ~0.01% of the total cellular enzyme and is unlikely to be a significant source of IDE. These results call into question the secretion of IDE and its importance in extracellular peptide degradation.
Silver nanoparticles have lethal and sublethal adverse effects on development and longevity by inducing ROS-mediated stress responses
Authors: Mao Bin-Hsu , Chen Zi-Yu , Wang Ying-Jang , Yan Shian-Jang
Published: January 2018

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in the household, medical and industrial sectors due to their effective bactericidal activities and unique plasmonic properties. Despite the promising advantages, safety concerns have been raised over the usage of AgNPs because they pose potential hazards. However, the mechanistic basis behind AgNPs toxicity, particularly the sublethal effects at the organismal level, has remained unclear. In this study, we used a powerful in vivo platform Drosophila melanogaster to explore a wide spectrum of adverse effects exerted by dietary AgNPs at the organismal, cellular and molecular levels. Lethal doses of dietary AgNPs caused developmental delays and profound lethality in developing animals and young adults. In contrast, exposure to sublethal doses, while not deadly to developing animals, shortened the adult lifespan and compromised their tolerance to oxidative stress. Importantly, AgNPs mechanistically resulted in tissue-wide accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activated the Nrf2-dependent antioxidant pathway, as demonstrated by an Nrf2 activity reporter in vivo. Finally, dietary AgNPs caused a variety of ROS-mediated stress responses, including apoptosis, DNA damage, and autophagy. Altogether, our study suggests that lethal and sublethal doses of AgNPs, have acute and chronic effects, respectively, on development and longevity by inducing ROS-mediated stress responses.
Intracellular calcium signal at the leading edge regulates mesodermal sheet migration during Xenopus gastrulation
Authors: Hayashi Kentaro , Yamamoto Takamasa S. , Ueno Naoto
Published: January 2018

During the gastrulation stage in animal embryogenesis, the cells leading the axial mesoderm migrate toward the anterior side of the embryo, vigorously extending cell protrusions such as lamellipodia. It is thought that the leading cells sense gradients of chemoattractants emanating from the ectodermal cells and translate them to initiate and maintain the cell movements necessary for gastrulation. However, it is unclear how the extracellular information is converted to the intracellular chemical reactions that lead to motion. Here we demonstrated that intracellular Ca2+ levels in the protrusion-forming leading cells are markedly higher than those of the following cells and the axial mesoderm cells. We also showed that inhibiting the intracellular Ca2+ significantly retarded the gastrulation cell movements, while increasing the intracellular Ca2+ with an ionophore enhanced the migration. We further found that the ionophore treatment increased the active form of the small GTPase Rac1 in these cells. Our results suggest that transient intracellular Ca2+ signals play an essential role in the active cell migration during gastrulation.
The dramatic enhancement of ferromagnetism and band gap in Fe-doped In2O3 nanodot arrays
Authors: Jiang Feng-Xian , Chen Dan , Zhou Guo-Wei , Wang Ya-Nan , Xu Xiao-Hong
Published: January 2018

Ordered Fe-doped In2O3 nanodot arrays with diameters between 35 nm and 80 nm are fabricated using pulsed laser deposition with the aid of ultrathin porous anodized aluminumoxide templates. The 5 at.% Fe doped In2O3 nanodot arrays are shown to consist of the cubic bixbyite structure of In2O3. The nanodot arrays are demonstrated to be doped by Fe ions with mixed valences of +2 and +3, ruling out the presence of cluster and secondary phase related to Fe. The nanodot arrays exhibit the ferromagnetism at room temperature, where the magnetic moment increases as the dot size is reduced, rising to a maximum of about 230 emu/cm3 (equivalent to an average moment on the Fe ions of 15.30 µB/Fe). This indicates an effect due to the surface of the nanodot arrays. The optical band width is also increased to 4.55 eV for the smallest dot array, thus indicating that the surface states are responsible for the magnetism and also enhance the band gap due to Burstein-Moss effect. Our results will be benefit for understanding the physical properties of oxide semiconductor nanostructures in the application of nano-spintronics devices.
Unidirectional molecular assembly alignment on graphene enabled by nanomechanical symmetry breaking
Authors: Hong Liu , Nishihara Taishi , Hijikata Yuh , Miyauchi Yuhei , Itami Kenichiro
Published: January 2018

Precise fabrication of molecular assemblies on a solid surface has long been of central interest in surface science. Their perfectly oriented growth only along a desired in-plane direction, however, remains a challenge, because of the thermodynamical equivalence of multiple axis directions on a solid-surface lattice. Here we demonstrate the successful fabrication of an in-plane, unidirectional molecular assembly on graphene. Our methodology relies on nanomechanical symmetry breaking effects under atomic force microscopy tip scanning, which has never been used in molecular alignment. Individual one-dimensional (1D) molecular assemblies were aligned along a selected symmetry axis of the graphene lattice under finely-tuned scanning conditions after removing initially-adsorbed molecules. Experimental statistics and computational simulations suggest that the anisotropic tip scanning locally breaks the directional equivalence of the graphene surface, which enables nucleation of the unidirectional 1D assemblies. Our findings will open new opportunities in the molecular alignment control on various atomically flat surfaces.
River self-organisation inhibits discharge control on waterfall migration
Authors: Baynes Edwin R. C. , Lague Dimitri , Attal Mikaël , Gangloff Aurélien , Kirstein Linda A. , Dugmore Andrew J.
Published: January 2018

The action of rivers within valleys is fundamentally important in controlling landscape morphology, and how it responds to tectonic or climate change. The response of landscapes to external forcing usually results in sequential changes to river long profiles and the upstream migration of waterfalls. Currently, models of this response assume a relationship between waterfall retreat rate and drainage area at the location of the waterfall. Using an experimental study, we show that this assumption has limited application. Due to a self-regulatory response of channel geometry to higher discharge through increasing channel width, the bed shear stress at the lip of the experimental waterfall remains almost constant, so there was no observed change in the upstream retreat rate despite an order of magnitude increase in discharge. Crucially, however, the strength of the bedrock material exhibits a clear control on the magnitude of the mean retreat rate, highlighting the importance of lithology in setting the rate at which landscapes respond to external forcing. As a result existing numerical models of landscape evolution that simulate the retreat of waterfalls as a function of drainage area with a fixed erodibility constant should be re-evaluated to consider spatial heterogeneity in erodibility and channel self-organisation.
Microparticles produced by human papillomavirus type 16 E7-expressing cells impair antigen presenting cell function and the cytotoxic T cell response
Authors: Zhang J. , Burn C. , Young K. , Wilson M. , Ly K. , Budhwani M. , Tschirley A. , Braithwaite A. , Baird M. , Hibma M.
Published: January 2018

High-risk, cancer-causing human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause infections of the epidermis that may progress to cancer, including cervical cancer. Viral persistence, contributed to by viral evasion of the host immune response, is associated with the likelihood of cancer developing. Langerhans cells (LCs) are the only professional antigen presenting cells located in the epidermis, therefore may influence the antiviral immune response. Microparticles, or microvesicles, are small membrane particles shed by cells that can exert effects on other cells at both a local and systemic level. We found increased numbers of microparticles were shed from human or mouse keratinocytes expressing the HPV16 E7 oncoprotein, compared with control keratinocytes. Co-culture of LCs with microparticles from E7-expressing cells suppressed the cytotoxic T cell response. We attributed this, at least in part, to the reduction in surface of CD40 and intracellular pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-12 p40 subunit that we measured in the LCs. The evidence provided here shows that co-culture of E7-microparticles with LCs inhibits antigen-specific cytotoxicity. This is an important finding, suggesting that microparticles from HPV-infected cells could suppress the T cell response by regulating LCs, potentially contributing to persistence of HPV infection and cancer.
A novel small deletion in the NHS gene associated with Nance-Horan syndrome
Authors: Li Huajin , Yang Lizhu , Sun Zixi , Yuan Zhisheng , Wu Shijing , Sui Ruifang
Published: January 2018

Nance-Horan syndrome is a rare X-linked recessive inherited disease with clinical features including severe bilateral congenital cataracts, characteristic facial and dental abnormalities. Data from Chinese Nance-Horan syndrome patients are limited. We assessed the clinical manifestations of a Chinese Nance-Horan syndrome pedigree and identified the genetic defect. Genetic analysis showed that 3 affected males carried a novel small deletion in NHS gene, c.263_266delCGTC (p.Ala89TrpfsTer106), and 2 female carriers were heterozygous for the same variant. All 3 affected males presented with typical Nance-Horan syndrome features. One female carrier displayed lens opacities centered on the posterior Y-suture in both eyes, as well as mild dental abnormalities. We recorded the clinical features of a Chinese Nance-Horan syndrome family and broadened the spectrum of mutations in the NHS gene.
The spin structures of interlayer coupled magnetic films with opposite chirality
Authors: Kang S. P. , Kim N. J. , Kwon H. Y. , Choi J. W. , Min B. C. , Won C.
Published: January 2018

Using Monte-Carlo simulations and micromagnetic simulations, we reveal how the spin structural correlation and the skyrmion dynamics are affected by the interlayer coupling in a chiral magnetic bilayer system, in which the two layers have opposite chirality. The interaction through interlayer coupling between chiral magnetic structures influences the static and dynamics properties profoundly. The competition between the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and the interlayer interaction allows multiple magnetic structures to be energetically stable, which includes sole skyrmion states (skyrmion appears in only one of the layers) and skyrmion pair states (coupled skyrmions in top and bottom layers). When current driven spin transfer torques are applied to each state, the sole skyrmion state is mainly propelled by a spin transfer torque causing the skyrmion hall effect, but the skyrmion pair state is propelled by a torque from skyrmion-skyrmion interaction and not influenced by the skyrmion hall effect. Also upon application of an external magnetic field, we found the skyrmions in a skyrmion pair state extinguish in an exclusive way, as the annihilation of a skyrmion in one of the layers stabilizes the once paired skyrmion in the other layer, i.e. the skyrmion lattice sites have only one skyrmion in either layer.
Microscale Gene Expression Analysis of Tumor-Associated Macrophages
Authors: Attri Kuldeep S. , Mehla Kamiya , Shukla Surendra K. , Singh Pankaj K.
Published: January 2018

Macrophages, apart from being the key effector cells of the innate immune system, also play critical roles during the development and progression of various complex diseases, including cancer. Tumor-associated macrophages, infiltrate tumors during different stages of cancer progression to regulate motility, invasion, and intravasation to metastatic sites. Macrophages can exist in different polarization states associated with unique function in tumors. Since tumor-associated macrophages constitute a very small proportion of tumor cells, analysis of gene expression pattern using normal extraction buffer-based methods remains a challenging task. Therefore, it is imperative to develop low-throughput strategies to investigate transcriptional regulations from a small number of immune cells. Here, we describe an efficient, sensitive, and cost-effective approach for gene expression analysis of a small number of fluorescence-activated sorted tumor-associated macrophages. Our analyses from the different number of stable, primary, and sorted macrophages suggest 5,000 cells is an optimal number for performing quantitative, real-time PCR analysis of multiple genes. Our studies could detect expression of macrophage-specific genes from cultured primary macrophages, and FACS-sorted macrophages from different biological tissues without introducing biases in comparative gene expression ratios. In conclusion, our kit-based method for quantitative gene expression analysis from a small number of cells found in biological tissues will provide an opportunity to study cell-specific, transcriptional changes.
CPAP3 proteins in the mineralized cuticle of a decapod crustacean
Authors: Abehsera Shai , Zaccai Shir , Mittelman Binyamin , Glazer Lilah , Weil Simy , Khalaila Isam , Davidov Geula , Bitton Ronit , Zarivach Raz , Li Shihao , Li Fuhua , Xiang Jianhai , Manor Rivka , Aflalo Eliahu D. , Sagi Amir
Published: January 2018

The pancrustacean theory groups crustaceans and hexapods (once thought to comprise separate clades within the Arthropoda) into a single clade. A key feature common to all pancrustaceans is their chitinous exoskeleton, with a major contribution by cuticular proteins. Among these, are the CPAP3’s, a family of cuticular proteins, first identified in the hexapod Drosophila melanogaster and characterized by an N-terminal signaling peptide and three chitin-binding domains. In this study, CPAP3 proteins were mined from a transcriptomic library of a decapod crustacean, the crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus. Phylogenetic analysis of other CPAP3 proteins from hexapods and other crustaceans showed a high degree of conservation. Characterization of the crayfish proteins, designated CqCPAP3’s, suggested a major role for CPAP3’sin cuticle formation. Loss-of-function experiments using RNAi supported such a notion by demonstrating crucial roles for several CqCPAP3 proteins during molting. A putative mode of action for the CqCPAP3 proteins –theoretically binding three chitin strands– was suggested by the structural data obtained from a representative recombinant CqCPAP3. The similarities between the CqCPAP3 proteins and their hexapod homologues further demonstrated common genetic and proteinaceous features of cuticle formation in pancrustaceans, thereby reinforcing the linkage between these two highly important phylogenetic groups.
Microplasma Jet Arrays as a Therapeutic Choice for Fungal Keratitis
Authors: Park Hyun Jung , Kim Soon Hee , Ju Hyung Woo , Lee Hyesook , Lee Yoonjin , Park Sehyun , Yang Heejun , Park Sung-Jin , Eden J. Gary , Yang Jaewook , Park Chan Hum
Published: January 2018

The clinical impact of microplasma jets on rabbit eyes infected by Candida albicans has been investigated. Arrays of such jets produce low-temperature plasma micro-columns suitable for ophthalmic therapeutics and fungal infections, in particular, and the technology is capable of being scaled to surface areas of at least 10 cm2. Keratitis was induced in the right central corneas of rabbits, whereas the left eyes served as a normal group. The rabbits were divided into the plasma non-treated group (control) and plasma treatment group. Histologic analyses of both groups showed marked reductions in the thickness, angiogenesis, and opacity of all rabbit corneas following plasma treatment. Indeed, for treatment times beyond 14 days, infected eyes exhibited no significant differences from the normal group. Healing of rabbit eyes infected by Candida albicans apparently proceeds by disrupting corneal epithelial proliferation, and by reducing fibrotic changes in the stroma. This study demonstrates that low-temperature plasma jets are remarkably effective in healing Candida albicans-infected corneas, thereby providing a promising medical treatment option for keratitis.
HOXD3 targeted by miR-203a suppresses cell metastasis and angiogenesis through VEGFR in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells
Authors: Wang Lumin , Tong Dongdong , Guo Qingqing , Wang Xiaofei , Wu Fei , Li Qian , Yang Juan , Zhao Lingyu , Qin Yannan , Liu Yingxun , Huang Chen
Published: January 2018

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common aggressive tumors worldwide has a relatively high mortality rate among malignant tumors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), acting as tumor suppressors, are involved in the regulation of invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis of tumor cells. However, a potential role for miR-203a in HCC has not been described yet. In this study, we show that miR-203a markedly suppresses HCC cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. In addition, the transcription factor HOXD3 appears to be a direct target of miR-203a. HOXD3 knockdown substantially decreased HCC cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis, effects similar to those seen for miR-203a expression. Rescuing the function of HOXD3 attenuated the effect of miR-203a overexpression in HCC cells. Furthermore, HOXD3 can directly target the promoter region of VEGFR and increase VEGFR expression. Taken together, our findings indicate that miR-203a inhibits HCC cell invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis by negatively targeting HOXD3 and suppressing cell signaling through the VEGFR pathway, suggesting that miR-203a might represent a potential therapeutic target for HCC intervention.
Spatiotemporal organization of cilia drives multiscale mucus swirls in model human bronchial epithelium
Authors: Khelloufi Mustapha-Kamel , Loiseau Etienne , Jaeger Marc , Molinari Nicolas , Chanez Pascal , Gras Delphine , Viallat Annie
Published: January 2018

Mucociliary clearance is a biomechanical mechanism of airway protection. It consists of the active transport along the bronchial tree of the mucus, a fluid propelled by the coordinated beating of a myriad of cilia on the epithelial surface of the respiratory tract. The physics of mucus transport is poorly understood because it involves complex phenomena such as long-range hydrodynamic interactions, active collective ciliary motion, and the complex rheology of mucus. We propose a quantitative physical analysis of the ciliary activity and mucus transport on a large panel of human bronchial cultures from control subjects, patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease obtained from endobronchial biopsies. Here we report on the existence of multiple ciliary domains with sizes ranging from the tens of a micron to the centimeter, where ciliary beats present a circular orientational order. These domains are associated with circular mucus flow patterns, whose size scales with the average cilia density. In these domains, we find that the radial increase of the ciliated cell density coupled with the increase in the orientational order of ciliary beats result in a net local force proportional to the mucus velocity. We propose a phenomenological physical model that supports our results.
Comparison between two post-dentin bond strength measurement methods
Authors: Zhu Laikuan , Li Yuping , Chen Yung-Chung , Carrera Carola A. , Wu Chong , Fok Alex
Published: January 2018

The push-out (PO) test and the diametral compression (DC) test were performed to compare the merits of two post-dentin bond strength measurement methods. Compared with the push-out test, the disk in DC provided post-dentin bond strength measurements that were more precise. The load-displacement curves from the DC test were much smoother and more linear up to the point of fracture when compared to those from the PO test. Compared to the PO test, DC is easier to perform for determining the bond strength between posts and dentin. No specimen alignment is needed in the DC test, and it produces a smaller standard deviation in the measured bond strength. The main disadvantage of the DC test, however, is that finite element analysis (FEA) is required to calculate the bond strength. The shear bond strength given by the PO test based on the simple formula is not valid, though, and the peak failure load is dependent on friction at the post-dentin interface.
Detecting neurodegenerative disorders from web search signals
Authors: White Ryen W. , Doraiswamy P. Murali , Horvitz Eric
Published: January 2018

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are important public health problems warranting early detection. We trained machine-learned classifiers on the longitudinal search logs of 31,321,773 search engine users to automatically detect neurodegenerative disorders. Several digital phenotypes with high discriminatory weights for detecting these disorders are identified. Classifier sensitivities for PD detection are 94.2/83.1/42.0/34.6% at false positive rates (FPRs) of 20/10/1/0.1%, respectively. Preliminary analysis shows similar performance for AD detection. Subject to further refinement of accuracy and reproducibility, these findings show the promise of web search digital phenotypes as adjunctive screening tools for neurodegenerative disorders.
Australia’s continental-scale acoustic tracking database and its automated quality control process
Authors: Hoenner Xavier , Huveneers Charlie , Steckenreuter Andre , Simpfendorfer Colin , Tattersall Katherine , Jaine Fabrice , Atkins Natalia , Babcock Russ , Brodie Stephanie , Burgess Jonathan , Campbell Hamish , Heupel Michelle , Pasquer Benedicte , Proctor Roger , Taylor Matthew D. , Udyawer Vinay , Harcourt Robert
Published: January 2018

Our ability to predict species responses to environmental changes relies on accurate records of animal movement patterns. Continental-scale acoustic telemetry networks are increasingly being established worldwide, producing large volumes of information-rich geospatial data. During the last decade, the Integrated Marine Observing System’s Animal Tracking Facility (IMOS ATF) established a permanent array of acoustic receivers around Australia. Simultaneously, IMOS developed a centralised national database to foster collaborative research across the user community and quantify individual behaviour across a broad range of taxa. Here we present the database and quality control procedures developed to collate 49.6 million valid detections from 1891 receiving stations. This dataset consists of detections for 3,777 tags deployed on 117 marine species, with distances travelled ranging from a few to thousands of kilometres. Connectivity between regions was only made possible by the joint contribution of IMOS infrastructure and researcher-funded receivers. This dataset constitutes a valuable resource facilitating meta-analysis of animal movement, distributions, and habitat use, and is important for relating species distribution shifts with environmental covariates.
Determination of volatile organic compounds in child care centers by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
Authors: Vu Danh C. , Ho Thi L. , Vo Phuc H. , Carlo Gustavo , McElroy Jane A. , Davis Alexandra N. , Nagel Susan C. , Lin Chung-Ho
Published: January 2018

Children are among the most vulnerable to certain air pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds.
An analytical method for protease activity geared towards field study
Authors: Jiao Y. L. , Wu Y.
Published: January 2018

A simple and practical method for detecting and measuring the protease activity of unknown samples was developed.
Synthesis, isomerisation and biological properties of mononuclear ruthenium complexes containing the bis[4(4′-methyl-2,2′-bipyridyl)]-1,7-heptane ligand
Authors: Sun Biyun , Southam Hannah M. , Butler Jonathan A. , Poole Robert K. , Burgun Alexandre , Tarzia Andrew , Keene F. Richard , Collins J. Grant
Published: January 2018

The strained complexes cis-β-[Ru(phen′)(bb7)]2+ isomerise to the corresponding cis-α isomers, with cis-α-[Ru(Me4phen)(bb7)]2+ showing good antibacterial activity.
Superwetting copper meshes based on self-organized robust CuO nanorods: efficient water purification for in situ oil removal and visible light photodegradation
Authors: Li Xiangyu , Zhang Weifeng , Liu Na , Qu Ruixiang , Wei Yen , Feng Lin
Published: January 2018

Water pollution has become a prominent environmental problem and insoluble oils and soluble dyes are the primary pollution sources.
Towards substrate engineering of graphene–silicon Schottky diode photodetectors
Authors: Selvi Hakan , Unsuree Nawapong , Whittaker Eric , Halsall Matthew P. , Hill Ernie W. , Thomas Andrew , Parkinson Patrick , Echtermeyer Tim J.
Published: January 2018

We present a systematic study of the performance of graphene–silicon Schottky diode photodetectors under varying operating conditions, demonstrating the influence of the substrate and interfacial oxide layer.
Amino acid-derived stimuli-responsive polymers and their applications
Authors: Bauri Kamal , Nandi Mridula , De Priyadarsi
Published: January 2018

The recent advances achieved in the study of various stimuli-responsive polymers derived from natural amino acids have been reviewed.
Cooperation of copper and dioxygen for the site-selective construction of benzo[1,5]diazocin-6(5H)-ones from indoles and enaminone analogues
Authors: Cao Wen-Bin , Liu Bei-Bei , Xu Xiao-Ping , Ji Shun-Jun
Published: January 2018

A new route for the preparation of benzo[1,5]diazocines from indoles and enaminone analogues is described.
Fabrication of tough epoxy with shape memory effects by UV-assisted direct-ink write printing
Authors: Chen Kaijuan , Kuang Xiao , Li Vincent , Kang Guozheng , Qi H. Jerry
Published: January 2018

3D printing of epoxy-based shape memory polymers with high mechanical strength, excellent thermal stability and chemical resistance is highly desirable for practical applications.
Correction: General optimization procedure towards the design of a new family of minimal parameter spin-component-scaled double-hybrid density functional theory
Authors: Roch Loïc M. , Baldridge Kim K.
Published: January 2018

Correction for ‘General optimization procedure towards the design of a new family of minimal parameter spin-component-scaled double-hybrid density functional theory’ by Loïc M. Roch and Kim K. Baldridge, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017, 19, 26191–26200.
Promoting Peer Interaction for Preschool Children With Complex Communication Needs and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Therrien Michelle C. S. , Light Janice C.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

This study investigates the impact of a multicomponent intervention on the social communication and engagement of preschool children with complex communication needs (CCN) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and peers without disabilities.

Method

Five dyads of children participated in this research. A multiple probe design across dyads was used to evaluate the effects of intervention on the frequency of communicative turns expressed by children with CCN and ASD in interactions with peers. Frequency of peer turns, percentage of turns taken by peers, and joint engagement were investigated to assess the quality of the interaction. The intervention included (a) provision of a communication app on an Apple iPad Air 2 and (b) dyadic turn-taking training.

Results

Four of the 5 participants with CCN completed training and increased independent communicative turn-taking with peers. The 5th participant showed increased turn-taking during training but little change in independent turn-taking. All peers took more turns in intervention than in baseline, with no negative impact on the turn balance between participants. Average joint engagement increased for all dyads, although session-to-session variability was high.

Conclusion

The results from this study provide support for the use of this intervention to promote peer interaction for children with CCN and ASD.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5829678
Early evolution of viscous and self-gravitating circumstellar disks with a dust component
Authors: Vorobyov Eduard I. , Akimkin Vitaly , Stoyanovskaya Olga , Pavlyuchenkov Yaroslav , Liu Hauyu Baobab
Published: January 2018

Context. Aims. The long-term evolution of a circumstellar disk starting from its formation and ending in the T Tauri phase was simulated numerically with the purpose of studying the evolution of dust in the disk with distinct values of the viscous α-parameter and dust fragmentation velocity vfrag.

Methods. We solved numerical hydrodynamics equations in the thin-disk limit, which were modified to include a dust component consisting of two parts: sub-micron-sized dust, and grown dust with a maximum radius ar. The former is strictly coupled to the gas, while the latter interacts with the gas through friction. Dust growth, dust self-gravity, and the conversion of small to grown dust were also considered.

Results. We found that the process of dust growth that is known for the older protoplanetary phase also holds for the embedded phase of the disk evolution. The dust growth efficiency depends on the radial distance from the star – ar is largest in the inner disk and gradually declines with radial distance. In the inner disk, ar is limited by the dust fragmentation barrier. The process of small-to-grown dust conversion is very fast once the disk is formed. The total mass of the grown dust in the disk (beyond 1 AU) reaches tens or even hundreds of Earth masses as soon as in the embedded phase of star formation, and an even greater amount of grown dust drifts in the inner, unresolved 1 AU of the disk. Dust does not usually grow to radii greater than a few cm. A notable exception are models with α ≤ 10−3, in which case a zone with reduced mass transport develops in the inner disk and dust can grow to meter-sized boulders in the inner 10 AU. Grown dust drifts inward and accumulates in the inner disk regions. This effect is most pronounced in the α ≤ 10−3 models, where several hundreds of Earth masses can be accumulated in a narrow region of several AU from the star by the end of embedded phase. The efficiency of grown dust accumulation in spiral arms is stronger near corotation where the azimuthal velocity of dust grains is closest to the local velocity of the spiral pattern. In the framework of the adopted dust growth model, the efficiency of small-to-grown dust conversion was found to increase for lower values of α and vfrag.
KMOS LENsing Survey (KLENS): Morpho-kinematic analysis of star-forming galaxies at z ~ 2
Authors: Girard M. , Dessauges-Zavadsky M. , Schaerer D. , Cirasuolo M. , Turner O. J. , Cava A. , Rodríguez-Muñoz L. , Richard J. , Pérez-González P. G.
Published: January 2018

We present results from the KMOS LENsing Survey (KLENS), which is exploiting gravitational lensing to study the kinematics of 24 star-forming galaxies at 1.4 < z < 3.5 with a median mass of log(M⋆∕M⊙) = 9.6 and a median star formation rate (SFR) of 7.5 M⊙ yr−1. We find that 25% of these low mass/low SFR galaxies are rotation-dominated, while the majority of our sample shows no velocity gradient. When combining our data with other surveys, we find that the fraction of rotation-dominated galaxies increases with the stellar mass, and decreases for galaxies with a positive offset from the main sequence (higher specific star formation rate). We also investigate the evolution of the intrinsic velocity dispersion, σ0, as a function of the redshift, z, and stellar mass, M⋆, assuming galaxies in quasi-equilibrium (Toomre Q parameter equal to 1). From the z − σ0 relation, we find that the redshift evolution of the velocity dispersion is mostly expected for massive galaxies (log(M⋆∕M⊙) > 10). We derive a M⋆ − σ0 relation, using the Tully–Fisher relation, which highlights that a different evolution of the velocity dispersion is expected depending on the stellar mass, with lower velocity dispersions for lower masses, and an increase for higher masses, stronger at higher redshift. The observed velocity dispersions from this work and from comparison samples spanning 0 < z < 3.5 appear to follow this relation, except at higher redshift (z > 2), where we observe higher velocity dispersions for low masses (log(M⋆∕M⊙) ~ 9.6) and lower velocity dispersions for high masses (log(M⋆∕M⊙) ~ 10.9) than expected. This discrepancy could, for instance, suggest that galaxies at high redshift do not satisfy the stability criterion, or that the adopted parametrization of the specific star formation rate and molecular properties fail at high redshift.