bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nutrient Starvation Sensitizes Human Ovarian Cancer SKOV3 Cells to BH3 Mimetic via Modulation of Mitochondrial Dynamics
Authors: Wang Si , Mao Ying , Xi Song , Wang Xinxue , Sun Liankun
Published: August 2016

The aberrant proliferation of tumor cells necessitates compensatory changes in tumor metabolic processes. Previous studies on tumor growth and metabolism have established a relationship between nutrient stress and Bcl‐2 anti‐apoptotic proteins, although the mechanisms connecting these processes remain unclear. We induced nutrient deprivation in human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells by culturing cells in Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) as a starvation model. We used EBSS treatment with the BH3 domain of Bcl‐2 family proteins (BH3) mimetic ABT737, which targets Bcl‐2/Bcl‐xL, to examine mitochondrial dynamics and the interactive regulatory mechanisms between nutrition and Bcl‐2 proteins. We found that EBSS combined with ABT737 can promote SKOV3 cells to undergo apoptosis and convert tubular mitochondria into small, fragmented morphologies. Bcl‐2 family proteins participated in the regulation of mitochondrial fusion and fission through apoptosis, and the decrease of Mcl‐1 expression was the key to ABT737 sensitization. Our findings showed that nutrient stress could sensitize SKOV3 cells to ABT737 via regulation of the mitochondrial dynamic balance and interaction of Bcl‐2 family proteins. Our data suggest that nutrient starvation combined with the BH3 mimetic ABT737 could reduce the required effective dose of ABT737, and that inhibition of Bcl‐2 and Mcl‐1 together with nutrient starvation could serve as an effective strategy for the treatment of human ovarian cancer. Anat Rec, 300:326–339, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Behagliches Raumklima – Wohnen in halboffenen Räumen in ariden Regionen
Authors: Teimourtash Shabnam
Published: August 2016

Die traditionellen Stadtgebiete der ariden Regionen sind von Innenhöfen geprägt. Sie vermitteln den Eindruck, aus introvertierten Einheiten gebaut zu sein. Das Wohnen in Hofhäusern steht jedoch in enger Verbindung mit dem Außenbereich. Trotz der klimatischen Belastungen gehören offene und halboffene Räume zu den Hauptwohnräumen, wobei die Innenhöfe den Außenbereich dafür bilden. Einer der am weitesten verbreiteten halboffenen Räume der traditionellen Architektur ist der Iwan (īwān). Der folgende Artikel befasst sich mit der Frage, wie der Iwan als klimaeffizienter Wohnraum funktioniert hat. Dafür wurden an 30 Fallbeispielen aus vier Städten der ariden Region im Iran Kriterien zur Steigerung der thermischen Behaglichkeit im Iwan untersucht, die jeweilige Position des Iwan im Grundriss analysiert und der Zusammenhang zwischen Windtürmen, Wasserbecken und Hauptwindrichtungen in den warmen Jahreszeiten und deren Einwirkung auf die Raumtemperatur im Iwan studiert.

Climate comfort in traditional residential buildings – Living in semi‐open spaces in arid regions. The traditional urban areas in the arid regions are characterized by courtyard houses. This creates the impression of being built of introvert units with less connection to the outdoors. However, life within the courtyard houses is to a large extent combined with open spaces. Open and semi‐open spaces belongs to main living spaces despite the restrictive climate conditions in the arid region, while internal courtyards create the main outdoor. One of the widespread semi‐open spaces in the traditional architecture of the arid regions is Iwan (īwān). This paper studies how the Iwan has worked as a climate efficient space in the arid region. It explores the factors enhancing the thermal comfort in Iwan, the position of Iwan in the floor plan, and the impact of the interaction between wind catchers, water ponds and prevailing winds in warm seasons to reduce the air temperature in Iwan. The analysis is based on 30 case studies from four different cities in the arid region of Iran.
Kinetic Study on Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of Aryl Diphenylphosphinates with Butane‐2,3‐dione Monoximate and Aryloxide Anions: Reaction Mechanism and Origin of the α‐Effect
Authors: Um Ik‐Hwan , Han Jeong‐Yoon
Published: August 2016

A kinetic study is reported for nucleophilic substitution reactions of X‐substituted‐phenyl diphenylphosphinates (3a–3f) with butane‐2,3‐dione monoximate (Ox−) and a series of Y‐substituted‐phenoxide (Y‐PhO−) ions in 50 mol % H2O/50 mol % DMSO at 25.0 ± 0.1°C. The reactions of 3a–3f with Ox− and 4‐chlorophenoxide (4‐ClPhO−) result in linear Brønsted‐type plots with βlg = −0.70 and −0.64, respectively, a typical βlg value for reactions reported previously to proceed through a concerted mechanism. The Brønsted‐type plots for the reactions of 4‐chloro‐2‐nitrophenyl diphenylphosphinate (3a), 4‐nitrophenyl diphenylphosphinate (3b), and 4‐acetylphenyl diphenylphosphinate (3d) with Y‐PhO− are also linear with βnuc = 0.15–0.35. The current reactions have been concluded to proceed through a concerted mechanism in which the bond formation is much less advanced than the bond rupture in the TS on the basis of the βlg and βnuc values. The α‐effect observed in this study is very small (i.e., the / ratio = 16.4 – 43.5) and is independent of the leaving‐group basicity. It has been concluded that the α‐effect shown by Ox− in the current reactions is mainly due to desolvation of Ox− in the reaction medium (ground‐state contribution) rather than stabilization of the transition‐state (TS contribution) on the basis of the kinetic results.
Preparation of High‐Quality ZnO Nanorods by Electrodeposition Using a Rotating Cathode and Improvements in their UV Sensing Properties
Authors: Park Youngbin , Leem Jae‐Young
Published: August 2016

In this study, we prepared ZnO nanorods on Si substrates by electrodeposition using a rotating cathode and investigated the effects of the rotating cathode on the properties of the electrodeposited ZnO nanorods and those of an ultraviolet (UV) detector based on ZnO nanorods. When the cathode was rotated at 250 rpm, the resulting ZnO nanorods exhibited improved vertical orientation, higher aspect ratio, and greater number density confirmed by scanning electron microscopy as well as improved directional growth along the (002) crystallographic plane. Furthermore, improved crystallinity was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction and photoluminescence analyses. A UV detector based on these ZnO nanorods electrodeposited using the rotating cathode at 250 rpm showed faster photoresponse growth, faster and higher photosensitivity compared to a detector based on ZnO nanorods electrodeposited using a non‐rotating cathode. This proposed method is suitable for growing dense and high‐quality ZnO nanorods and should allow for the fabrication of fast‐response UV detectors with high photosensitivities.
Temperature‐responsive Hydrogels Synthesized from Photo‐Polymerizable Poloxamer Macromers for Topical Skin Moisturizing
Authors: Lee Jun Bae , Lee Yea Ram , Nam Yoon Sung , Kim Jin Woong
Published: August 2016

Temperature‐responsive hydrogels were fabricated by the photo‐polymerization of bis‐acryloyl poloxamer tri‐block copolymers, and their temperature‐responsive behavior and physiological effect on skin were investigated. For this, poloxamer macromers were prepared by end‐capping both terminal hydroxyl groups of poloxamer tri‐block copolymers with acrylates. They were then photo‐polymerized to generate polymeric hydrogels with structural integrity that allowed excellent stability against dilution in an aqueous environment. The resulting hydrogels exhibited dramatic reversible swelling behavior upon changes in temperature. A demonstration experiment, in which the hydrogels were applied topically to the skin, showed that they shrank rapidly as a result of the increase in temperature, owing to the contact with the skin surface, highlighting their effectiveness for instantaneously moisturizing the skin.
Hexane Extract of Echinops spinosissimus Turra subsp. spinosus from Tunisia: A Potential Source of Acetylated Sterols – Investigation of its Biological Activities
Authors: Bouattour Emna , Fakhfakh Jawhar , Frikha Dammak Donyez , Jabou Khaled , Damak Mohamed , Mezghani Jarraya Raoudha
Published: August 2016

The hexane extract of Echinops spinosissimus Turra subsp. spinosus flower heads was analyzed for its fatty acid and sterol composition. Its physicochemical characteristics were also studied. The saponification, iodine and peroxide values were determined as 255 mg KOH/g, 42.57 g I2/100 g and 110 m equiv. O2/kg of oil, respectively. The oleic (C18:1; 61.14%), palmitic (C16:0; 21.36%) and linoleic (C18:2; 10.45%) acids were the dominant fatty acids. This extract was also found to contain high levels of β‐sitosterol and stigmasterol (44.97% and 34.95% of total sterols, respectively). On the other hand, the identification of terpenoid compounds was investigated by using GC/MS, which revealed fourteen major terpenoids mainly taraxasterol, lupeol, pseudotaraxasterol, lup‐22(29)‐en‐3‐yl acetate, taraxasteryl acetate, α‐amyrin, β‐amyrin, pseudotaraxasteryl acetate, hop‐20(29)‐en3‐β‐ol, α‐amirenone, along with β‐sitosterol and stigmasterol. Moreover, we have evaluated the in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of the unsaponifiable matter and a fraction isolated from this extract. These activities were conducted using the diffusion disc methods and broth microdilution assay. The resulted fraction from this extract showed the highest antibacterial activity with significant minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values 125.0 μg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus. However, it did exhibit no substantial antifungal activity.
SUPPRESSION OF SEISMIC RANDOM NOISE BASED ON STEERABLE FILTERS
Authors: Mei‐Hong HUANG , Yue LI
Published: August 2016

For seismic random noise suppression, this work designs a steerable filter by taking advantage of elongated Hermite‐Gauss functions. According to the different directional responses between valid signal and random noise, we can reconstruct signal by the local characteristics of selected data. With the added directional selectivity, the filtering process can match different direction axes, which makes sure that noise is suppressed without reducing the signal fidelity. The property of directional steerability makes computation more efficient and requires less storage space. Simulation results show that we can get better signal amplitude and denoising effects than traditional wavelet transform and Curvelet transform algorithm by using this method. At –5 db SNR, this method can ensure that the average amplitude reaches 92.99% and SNR enhances 221.774%, which can significantly suppress noise as well as keep the useful signal in processing of real seismic signals.
Comparative effectiveness of primary tumor resection in patients with stage IV colon cancer
Authors: Alawadi Zeinab , Phatak Uma R. , Hu Chung‐Yuan , Bailey Christina E. , You Y. Nancy , Kao Lillian S. , Massarweh Nader N. , Feig Barry W. , Rodriguez‐Bigas Miguel A. , Skibber John M. , Chang George J.
Published: August 2016

BACKGROUND

Although the safety of combination chemotherapy without primary tumor resection (PTR) in patients with stage IV colon cancer has been established, questions remain regarding a potential survival benefit with PTR. The objective of this study was to compare mortality rates in patients who had colon cancer with unresectable metastases who did and did not undergo PTR.

METHODS

An observational cohort study was conducted among patients with unresectable metastatic colon cancer identified from the National Cancer Data Base (2003‐2005). Multivariate Cox regression analyses with and without propensity score weighting (PSW) were performed to compare survival outcomes. Instrumental variable analysis, using the annual hospital‐level PTR rate as the instrument, was used to account for treatment selection bias. To account for survivor treatment bias, in situations in which patients might die soon after diagnosis from different reasons, a landmark method was used.

RESULTS

In the total cohort, 8641 of 15,154 patients (57%) underwent PTR, and 73.8% of those procedures (4972 of 6735) were at landmark. PTR was associated with a significant reduction in mortality using Cox regression (hazard ratio [HR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44‐0.47) or PSW (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0. 44‐0.49). However, instrumental variable analysis revealed a much smaller effect (relative mortality rate, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.87‐0.96). Although a smaller benefit was observed with the landmark method using Cox regression (HR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.55‐0.64) and PSW (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.54‐0.64), instrumental variable analysis revealed no survival benefit (relative mortality rate, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.87‐1.06).

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients with unresectable metastatic colon cancer, after adjustment for confounder effects, PTR was not associated with improved survival compared with systemic chemotherapy; therefore, routine noncurative PTR is not recommended. Cancer 2017;123:1124–1133. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
BRGP: a balanced RDF graph partitioning algorithm for cloud storage
Authors: Leng Yonglin , Zhikui Chen , Zhong Fangming , Li Xiongjiu , Hu Yueming , Yang Chao
Published: August 2016

The continuous growth of resource description framework (RDF) data poses an important challenge on RDF data partitioning that is a vital technique for effective cloud storage. Recently, many partitioning algorithms for large RDF data have been developed, and most of them are based on graph partitioning. However, existing graph partitioning methods could not partition asymmetric RDF data effectively, resulting in a lower performance for cloud storage. This paper proposes a balanced RDF graph partitioning algorithm for storing massive RDF data on cloud. We first devise a modularity‐based multi‐level label propagation algorithm (MMLP) to partition RDF graph roughly and then use a balanced K‐mediods clustering algorithm for final k‐way partitioning. Balanced RDF graph partitioning algorithm designs an effective label update rule and a balanced modification strategy to achieve a high quality coarsening result and make the partition as equilibrium as possible. Experiments are carried on two representative RDF benchmarks and one real RDF dataset by comparison with two representative graph partitioning methods, that is, METIS and MLP+METIS. Results demonstrate that our proposed scheme can produce a high‐quality partition for massive RDF data storage on cloud. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
SC‐OCR: similarity‐based clustering and optimum cache replacement approach
Authors: Malli Subramanian Sabitha , Soundarajan Vijayalakshmi
Published: August 2016

Big data is a new term used to identify the large scale and complex datasets. Big data is now rapidly expanding in all science and engineering domains, owing to the fast development of networking, data storage, and data collection capacity. Big data mining is the capability of extracting useful information from these large datasets. Nowadays, the integration of cloud computing with the data mining for the big data mining process is a challenging task. In order to process the huge amount of data, it is necessary to concentrate the improvement on the big data computation. Most of the existing approaches use the MapReduce to compute the big data. The increase in the computational cost and memory consumption are the main drawbacks of the existing approaches. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a similarity‐based clustering and optimum cache replacement approach for big data computing applications. The job recovery process is initiated by copying the data in the cloud server and forwarding the data copy for further processing. Then, the job is divided into clusters based on the similarity‐based clustering approach. Finally, the cache concept is introduced with the optimum cache replacement algorithm to avoid repeated execution of the jobs by queue management. The proposed approach is compared with the existing Spark and Hadoop approaches. The proposed approach achieves better performance in terms of iteration time, query response time, job completion time, and clustering accuracy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rapid Preparation of a Plasma Membrane Fraction: Western Blot Detection of Translocated Glucose Transporter 4 from Plasma Membrane of Muscle and Adipose Cells and Tissues
Authors: Yamamoto Norio , Yamashita Yoko , Yoshioka Yasukiyo , Nishiumi Shin , Ashida Hitoshi
Published: August 2016

Membrane proteins account for 70% to 80% of all pharmaceutical targets, indicating their clinical relevance and underscoring the importance of identifying differentially expressed membrane proteins that reflect distinct disease properties. The translocation of proteins from the bulk of the cytosol to the plasma membrane is a critical step in the transfer of information from membrane‐embedded receptors or transporters to the cell interior. To understand how membrane proteins work, it is important to separate the membrane fraction of cells. This unit provides a protocol for rapidly obtaining plasma membrane fractions for western blot analysis. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Transformer‐coupled π‐network differential CMOS oscillator circuit topology
Authors: Chlis Ilias , Pepe Domenico , Zito Domenico
Published: August 2016

This paper reports a novel oscillator circuit topology based on a transformer‐coupled π‐network. As a case study, the proposed oscillator topology has been designed and studied for 60 GHz applications in the frame of the emerging fifth generation wireless communications. The analytical expression of the oscillation frequency is derived and validated through circuit simulations. The root‐locus analysis shows that oscillations occur only at that resonant frequency of the LC tank. Moreover, a closed‐form expression for the quality factor (Q) of the LC tank is derived which shows the enhancement of the equivalent quality factor of the LC tank due to the transformer‐coupling. Last, a phase noise analysis is reported and the analytical expressions of phase noise due to flicker and thermal noise sources are derived and validated by the results obtained through SpectreRF simulations in the Cadence design environment with a 28 nm CMOS process design kit commercially available. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The marmoset: An emerging model to unravel the evolution and development of the primate neocortex
Authors: Homman‐Ludiye Jihane , Bourne James A.
Published: August 2016

Throughout evolution, the neocortex has undergone a dramatic expansion providing the substrate for increasingly complex cognitive abilities, culminating with humans. The enlargement of the neocortex did not affect its' basic organization, which is remarkably conserved from rodents to primates. The mouse has thus proven an advantageous model to decipher the molecular and cellular mechanisms supporting neocortical development. However, it is of limited benefit when studying the mechanisms leading to the inclusion of higher order association areas, which form the largest fraction of the primate neocortex. In the quest for a suitable nonhuman primate model to study the developmental mechanism of neocortical patterning and expansion, researchers focussed on the Old World macaque, routinely employed in functional and behavioral studies. However, the species has many limitations making studies difficult and/or impractical. Therefore, in the past couple of decades, the New World common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) has drawn much attention and become an accepted model. The marmoset has the advantage of a smooth neocortical sheet, enabling the direct correspondence between developing cortices and the comprehensive map established for the adult, with a significant amount of cortical maturation occurring during the postnatal period. This review presents the contributions of recent marmoset studies to our understanding of the mechanisms regulating corticogenesis in a complex species, the molecular control of neocortical patterning and the sequential maturation of visual cortical areas while commenting on the future of the species in the field. Furthermore, while these new findings are relevant to developmental biology, in order to understand how new cortical areas have emerged to expand cognitive abilities, they also represent a foundation for the better understanding of developmental cognitive disorders. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 263–272, 2017
Pyrylium‐based dye and charge tagging in proteomics
Authors: Bayer Malte , König Simone
Published: August 2016

The pyrylium group is a selective reagent for ε‐amino groups in proteins. In particular, for fluorescence labeling, a number of advantages over traditional N‐hydroxysuccinimidyl ester chemistry were recognized such as the rapid prestaining procedure. Here, we have investigated the labeling reaction for the fluorogenic pyrylium dye Py‐1 using liquid chromatography coupled to MS with the aim of determining its specificity and possible side products. Peptides containing no, one, and two lysine residue and a choice of no or one cysteine residue were labeled with Py‐1 at yields > 30%. Gas phase fragmentation proved both labeling of lysine residues as well as that of the N‐terminus also in peptides that contained a lysine residue. Evidence for cysteine labeling was not found, but several other products were detected such as the results of rearrangements with adjacent acidic amino acids. Apart from the use as a fluorogenic label, Py‐1 recommends itself for N‐terminal charge tagging as alternative to the commonly used quaternary ammonium salts. Predominantly a‐ and b‐type ion series were observed for N‐terminally labeled peptides. Further applications include chromophore tagging since the labeled product is not only fluorescent but also colored red.
Estimating the potential benefits of green stormwater infrastructure on developed sites using hydrologic model simulation
Authors: Dietrich Anthony , Yarlagadda Rahul , Gruden Cyndee
Published: August 2016

This manuscript outlines a novel approach to predicting green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) performance by utilizing continuous simulations with the Environmental Protection Agency's Stormwater Management Model (SWMM). Simulations using continuous rain data were used to estimate the long‐term (annual) benefits of implementing bioretention cells (BRCs) at selected sites instead of focusing on their performance during large events (e.g., 10 yr storm) for which these practices were not designed. In addition, the simulations (66 total) provided estimates of potential runoff volume reduction (22%–76% of runoff volume) for comparing BRC implementation on a wide range of soil types (saturated hydraulic conductivity 0.07–18.18 cm/h). This study indicates that soils (Types A, B, and C) with saturated hydraulic conductivity of 0.3 cm/h can result in a minimum of 50% reduction in annual runoff. For soils with hydraulic conductivities of less than 0.3 cm/h, the soil property, effective suction at the wetting front (Sf), was an important indicator of infiltration rate since those soils in the “higher” range of effective suction at the wetting front, resulted in substantially higher infiltration. The models for this work were built and tested based on the geographic information system (GIS) analysis of readily available parcel data (e.g., geographic location, soil, and area) and remote sensing data (e.g., site imperviousness) for Lucas County, Ohio. It was estimated that over 60% of the developed land in Lucas County, OH is suitable for installing bioretention cells, which could significantly (>70%) reduce stormwater runoff from parking lots. This transferable approach can be used to identify preferred sites for installing green stormwater infrastructure, where the hydrologic performance benefits are maximized. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 557–564, 2017
The role of long‐term human impact on avulsion and fan development
Authors: Heyvaert Vanessa Mary An , Walstra Jan
Published: August 2016

This study aims to understand (mainly qualitatively) the long‐term role of human impact on avulsion processes and the development of fluvial (mega‐) fans in semi‐arid environments. In this paper we refer to human impact as the direct influences of actions on the river's hydraulics (i.e. flow regulation, flow diversion and channel engineering). In five case‐studies drawn from the Khuzestan plains in southwest Iran we have analysed the setup and triggering conditions of specific avulsions that occurred in the past (timescale of millennia) and identified the role of human interference in their causation. Our analysis is based on the integration of historical, archaeological, geomorphological and geological data. Through this study we demonstrate that avulsions in the Khuzestan plains are the result of long‐term and complex interplay between multiple human‐induced and natural causes. In similar ways human‐induced actions may play important roles during different phases of avulsion development. The ‘success‘ of an avulsion in the post‐triggering phase may be defined by human‐induced setup causes as well as morphodynamic processes. We suggest that present‐day flood events may be partly inherited from long‐term human alterations of the natural processes. These finding could have implications for any fluvial system (e.g. distributive fluvial systems, deltas) where avulsion plays a major role in their development and research tends to emphasize on natural mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Barriers to and opportunities for landward migration of coastal wetlands with sea‐level rise
Authors: Enwright Nicholas M , Griffith Kereen T , Osland Michael J
Published: August 2016

In the 21st century, accelerated sea‐level rise and continued coastal development are expected to greatly alter coastal landscapes across the globe. Historically, many coastal ecosystems have responded to sea‐level fluctuations via horizontal and vertical movement on the landscape. However, anthropogenic activities, including urbanization and the construction of flood‐prevention infrastructure, can produce barriers that impede ecosystem migration. Here we show where tidal saline wetlands have the potential to migrate landward along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, one of the most sea‐level rise sensitive and wetland‐rich regions of the world. Our findings can be used to identify migration corridors and develop sea‐level rise adaptation strategies to help ensure the continued availability of wetland‐associated ecosystem goods and services.
A sensory assessment of color and textural quality of refrigerated tomatoes preserved with different concentrations of potassium permanganate
Authors: Wabali Victor C. , Esiri Akpevwe , Zitte Leelee
Published: August 2016

Freshly harvested mature tomato fruits were treated with different concentrations of potassium permanganate to evaluate their effect on color and texture of the fruits. This was to determine the degree of acceptability and shelf life of the tomatoes. Fifty grams of mature unripe tomato fruits was washed and weighed into a transparent plastic container containing different concentrations of potassium permanganate (control, 2.5 ppm, 5.0 ppm, 7.5 ppm. 10.0 ppm, 12.5 ppm, and 15.0 ppm). The experiment was carried out in a complete randomized design and replicated four times. All the treatments were refrigerated at a temperature range 14–18°C and a sensory assessment of color and textural changes was carried out through a team of selected panelists using the hedonic scale ranking to determine the degree of acceptability. Results obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance DMRT at 5% level of probability and least significant difference (LSD). Results obtained indicated that 7.5 ppm of potassium permanganate had a preservative effect on color and texture of refrigerated tomatoes. Therefore, the tomatoes were of acceptable color and texture for a period of 21 days as revealed in the result. Color quality had a mean score of 1.64 and texture ranking was 1.73 after 3 weeks of storage.
Comparative wellbore integrity evaluation across a complex of oil and gas fields within the Michigan Basin and implications for CO2storage
Authors: Haagsma Autumn , Weber Stephanie , Moody Mark , Sminchak Joel , Gerst Jacqueline , Gupta Neeraj
Published: August 2016

Wellbore integrity is a fundamental aspect of site characterization and selection for storage in areas with existing or abandoned oil and gas wells. The condition of well cement, installed casing strings, and plugs determine if a well can sustain optimal hydrostatic pressures and prevent fluid migration. This is a necessary but underappreciated aspect of assessing potential storage sites when optimal and sustainable pressure conditions are critical for success. To apply the systematic wellbore integrity evaluation to realistic CO2storage conditions, seven fields in the Michigan Basin were selected which were actively being used for CO2injection for enhanced oil recovery. Data on wellbore construction were collected for wells on and surrounding the reefs and were evaluated to determine the overall condition of boreholes in the study area using EPA guidelines and industry standards. Available cement bond logs were also reviewed to assess the quantity and quality of cement in the wells. The majority of the wells in the study area were shallow and did not penetrate the confining layers, thus, posing little to no risk. Most of the deep wells demonstrated sufficient plugs and cement quality that meet the desired standards. Some wells have missing or incomplete records and inadequate cement and/or plugs making them candidates for further evaluation, should large‐scale CO2storage be considered in the area. The results of the study show that readily available well records and cement bond logs can be used to efficiently evaluate and characterize CO2storage study sites for overall wellbore integrity. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Three New Abietane‐type Diterpenes from the Bark of Cryptomeria japonica
Authors: Chang Chi‐I , Chen Chien‐Chih , Wang Sheng‐Yang , Chao Che‐Yi , Chao Louis Kuoping , Chen Jih‐Jung , Ko Horng‐Huey , Chen Cheng‐Chi , Kuo Yueh‐Hsiung
Published: August 2016

Three new abietane‐type diterpenoids, 7β‐acetoxy‐12‐methoxyabieta‐8,11,13‐triene‐6α,11‐diol (1), 7α‐acetoxy‐12‐methoxyabieta‐8,11,13‐triene‐6α,11‐diol (2), and 6α‐acetoxy‐12‐methoxyabieta‐8,11,13‐triene‐7α,11‐diol (3), as well as two known abietane‐type diterpenoids, 12‐methoxyabieta‐8,11,13‐triene‐6α,7β,11‐triol (4) and 6α‐acetoxy‐12‐methoxyabieta‐8,11,13‐triene‐7β,11‐diol (5), were isolated from the MeOH extract of the bark of Cryptomeria japonica. Their structures were determined by analysis of spectroscopic data and comparison of NMR data with those of related metabolites.
A differing bidirectional impact on the recognition accuracy of facial expression
Authors: Wang Jingjing , Li Weijian , Li Xinyu , Li Ping , Zhang Yuchi , Jia Xiaoyu , Chen Yue , Vanhoy Mickie , Sun Binghai
Published: August 2016

This study explored a bidirectional impact on the recognition accuracy of various facial expressions deriving from both the observer and sender in a sample of Chinese participants. A facial manipulation task was used to examine the ability of an observer's facial feedback to modulate the recognition of various facial expressions. Furthermore, the effect of a sender's facial expression with an open or closed mouth on recognition accuracy was investigated. The results showed that only recognition accuracy of a sad facial expression was influenced simultaneously by bidirectional sources from a sender and observer. Moreover, the impact of the unidirectional cue of a sender's facial feature (i.e., mouth openness) on happy and neutral faces was found to influence the recognition accuracy of these faces, but not the observer's bodily state. These findings indicate that the bidirectional impact derived from an observer and sender on facial expression recognition accuracy differs for emotional and neutral expressions.
Proteasomal Dysfunction Induced By Diclofenac Engenders Apoptosis Through Mitochondrial Pathway
Authors: Amanullah Ayeman , Upadhyay Arun , Chhangani Deepak , Joshi Vibhuti , Mishra Ribhav , Yamanaka Koji , Mishra Amit
Published: August 2016

Diclofenac is the most commonly used phenylacetic acid derivative non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID) that demonstrates significant analgesic, antipyretic, and anti‐inflammatory effects. Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated anti‐proliferative activity of NSAIDs and examined their apoptotic induction effects in different cancer cell lines. However, the precise molecular mechanisms by which these pharmacological agents induce apoptosis and exert anti‐carcinogenic properties are not well known. Here, we have observed that diclofenac treatment induces proteasome malfunction and promotes accumulation of different critical proteasome substrates, including few pro‐apoptotic proteins in cells. Exposure of diclofenac consequently elevates aggregation of various ubiquitylated misfolded proteins. Finally, we have shown that diclofenac treatment promotes apoptosis in cells, which could be because of mitochondrial membrane depolarization and cytochrome c release into cytosol. This study suggests possible beneficial insights of NSAIDs‐induced apoptosis that may improve our existing knowledge in anti‐proliferative interspecific strategies development. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1014–1027, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Characterising variation in five genetic loci of cytomegalovirus during treatment for congenital infection
Authors: Kadambari Seilesh , Atkinson Claire , Luck Suzanne , Macartney Malcolm , Conibear Tim , Harrison Ian , Booth Clare , Sharland Mike , Griffiths Paul D.
Published: August 2016

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common congenital infection in humans and a leading cause of sensorineural hearing loss. Ganciclovir (6 mg/kg twice daily for 42 days) has been shown to reduce hearing deterioration and is used in clinical practice. Vaccines and passive administration of antibody are being evaluated in randomized controlled trials in allograft candidates, women of childbearing age, and pregnant women with primary CMV infection. To help define genetic variation in each of the targets of these therapeutic interventions, we amplified and sequenced genes UL97 (site utilised for ganciclovir phosphorylation), UL55 (glycoprotein B (gB) vaccine target) and UL128, UL130, and UL131a (specific monoclonal antibody targets). Serial blood, saliva, and urine samples (total 120) obtained from nine infants with symptomatic congenital CMV treated with 42 days’ ganciclovir were analyzed. All samples tested were UL97 wild type at baseline and none developed mutations during treatment, showing no selection of resistance. The prevalences of UL55 genotypes were 28% gB1, 22% gB2, 1% gB3, and mixed in 20% samples. No mutations were noted in UL128‐131a. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that sequences with variations were found in multiple body sites of individual patients, so there was no evidence of body site compartmentalization of particular strains of CMV. The significance of these results for changes in diagnostic practices and therapeutic interventions against CMV are discussed. J. Med. Virol. 89:502–507, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis and tribological behaviour of oleic acid‐capped lanthanum borate/graphene oxide nanocomposites
Authors: Li Wei , Cheng Zhi‐Lin , Liu Zan
Published: August 2016

The lanthanum borate/graphene oxide (LB/GO) nanocomposites were obtained by GO decorated by LB using an eco‐friendly hydrothermal method. For improving the oil solubility of the LB/GO nanocomposites, the oleic acid (OA)‐capped LB/GO (OA–LB/GO) nanocomposites were achieved. The as‐prepared nanocomposites were determined by a series of characterisations such as Fourier transform‐infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman, UV‐vis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and SEM. The results indicated that most of LB nanoparticles with the size of 50–100 nm were well loaded on the surface of GO nanosheets. In addition, the tribological properties of the as‐prepared nanocomposites were tested by a four‐ball friction machine. The results demonstrated that the OA–LB/GO nanocomposites were of good anti‐wear ability and excellent load‐carrying capacity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Krüppel‐like factor 8 promotes cancer stem cell‐like traits in hepatocellular carcinoma through Wnt/β‐catenin signaling
Authors: Shen Yi‐Nan , He Hai‐Guan , Shi Yang , Cao Jian , Yuan Jian‐Yong , Wang Zhou‐Chong , Shi Chun‐Feng , Zhu Nan , Wei Yong‐Peng , Liu Fang , Huang Jia‐Li , Yang Guang‐Shun , Lu Jun‐Hua
Published: August 2016

Krüppel‐like factor 8 (KLF8) is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and contributes to tumor initiation and progression by promoting HCC cell proliferation and invasion. However, the role of KLF8 in liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) is not known. In the current study, we investigated the role of KLF8 in LCSCs to determine if KLF8 is a novel marker of these cells. We found that KLF8 was highly expressed in primary HCC tumors, distant migrated tissues, and LCSCs. Patients with high KLF8 expression had a poor prognosis. KLF8 promoted stem cell‐like features through activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway. Cell apoptosis was significantly increased in HCC cells with knockdown of KLF8 compared with the control cells when treated with the same doses of sorafenib or cisplatin. Taken together, our study shows that KLF8 plays a potent oncogenic role in HCC tumorigenesis by maintaining stem cell‐like features through activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway and promoting chemoresistance. Thus, targeting KLF8 may provide an effective therapeutic approach to suppress tumorigenicity of HCC. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Low‐frequency nonsynonymous variants in FKBPL and ARPC1B genes are associated with breast cancer risk in Chinese women
Authors: Zhou Wen , Jiang Yue , Zhu Meng , Hang Dong , Chen Jiaping , Zhou Jing , Dai Juncheng , Ma Hongxia , Hu Zhibin , Jin Guangfu , Sha Jiahao , Shen Hongbing
Published: August 2016

Genome‐wide association studies have reported more than 100 independent common loci associated with breast cancer risk. The contribution of low‐frequency or rare variants to breast cancer susceptibility has not been well explored. Thus, we applied exome chip to genotype >200 000 low‐frequency and rare variants in 1064 breast cancer cases and 1125 cancer‐free controls and subsequently validated promising associations in another 1040 breast cancer cases and 1240 controls. We identified two low‐frequency nonsynonymous variants at FKBPL (rs200847762, OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.20–0.57, P = 4.31 × 10−5) and ARPC1B (rs1045012, OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.43–0.74, P = 4.30 × 10−5) associated with breast cancer risk. In stratification analyses, we found that the protective effect of rs200847762 was stronger in ER‐positive breast cancer (OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.06–0.42) than that in ER‐negative one (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.31–1.05). Our findings indicate that low‐frequency variants may also contribute to breast cancer susceptibility and genetic variants in 6p21.33 and 7q22.1 are important in breast carcinogenesis. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Infimal convolution of total generalized variation functionals for dynamic MRI
Authors: Schloegl Matthias , Holler Martin , Schwarzl Andreas , Bredies Kristian , Stollberger Rudolf
Published: August 2016

Purpose

To accelerate dynamic MR applications using infimal convolution of total generalized variation functionals (ICTGV) as spatio‐temporal regularization for image reconstruction.

Theory and Methods

ICTGV comprises a new image prior tailored to dynamic data that achieves regularization via optimal local balancing between spatial and temporal regularity. Here it is applied for the first time to the reconstruction of dynamic MRI data. CINE and perfusion scans were investigated to study the influence of time dependent morphology and temporal contrast changes. ICTGV regularized reconstruction from subsampled MR data is formulated as a convex optimization problem. Global solutions are obtained by employing a duality based non‐smooth optimization algorithm.

Results

The reconstruction error remains on a low level with acceleration factors up to 16 for both CINE and dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI data. The GPU implementation of the algorithm suites clinical demands by reducing reconstruction times of one dataset to less than 4 min.

Conclusion

ICTGV based dynamic magnetic resonance imaging reconstruction allows for vast undersampling and therefore enables for very high spatial and temporal resolutions, spatial coverage and reduced scan time. With the proposed distinction of model and regularization parameters it offers a new and robust method of flexible decomposition into components with different degrees of temporal regularity. Magn Reson Med 78:142–155, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Prenatal exposure to antidepressants and risk of epilepsy in childhood
Authors: Mao Yanyan , Pedersen Lars Henning , Christensen Jakob , Vestergaard Mogens , Zhou Weijin , Olsen Jørn , Sun Yuelian
Published: August 2016

Purpose

This study aimed to estimate the association between prenatal exposure to antidepressants and risk of epilepsy in childhood, taking maternal depression into account.

Methods

We conducted a population‐based cohort study including all Danish singletons born alive between 1997 and 2008 (n = 734 237). Information on antidepressant medication and diagnosis of depression and epilepsy was obtained from Danish National Registers. The exposed group comprised children of mothers who used antidepressants from 30 days before pregnancy until the date of birth. The reference group comprised children of mothers who used no antidepressants from 6 months before pregnancy to birth. We estimated the hazard ratios (HR) of epilepsy and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Cox proportional hazard models.

Results

We identified 12 438 (1.7%) children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy (including 30 days before pregnancy) and 5829 (0.8%) children diagnosed with epilepsy in the follow‐up time (mean: 6.7 years). Children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy had a 27% higher risk of epilepsy (aHR: 1.27; 95%CI: 1.05–1.54) than children in the reference group. The estimate of this association was 1.71 (95%CI: 1.10–2.66) if their mothers also had a registry‐based hospital diagnosis of depression in the 6 months before pregnancy or during pregnancy and 1.14 (95%CI: 0.91–1.43) if their mothers had no registry‐based hospital diagnosis of depression. Children of mothers who used antidepressants from 2 to 6 months before pregnancy (but not during pregnancy) had an increased risk of epilepsy (aHR: 1.36; 95%CI: 1.07–1.73).

Conclusions

Antidepressant use during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of epilepsy among children whose mothers had also a registry‐based hospital diagnosis of depression during pregnancy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of low affinity Fcγ receptor biotinylation under controlled reaction conditions by mass spectrometry and ligand binding analysis
Authors: Geuijen Karin P.M. , Egging David F. , Bartels Stefanie , Schouten Jan , Schasfoort Richard B. , Eppink Michel H.
Published: August 2016

Chemical protein biotinylation and streptavidin or anti‐biotin‐based capture is regularly used for proteins as a more controlled alternative to direct coupling of the protein on a biosensor surface. On biotinylation an interaction site of interest may be blocked by the biotin groups, diminishing apparent activity of the protein. Minimal biotinylation can circumvent the loss of apparent activity, but still a binding site of interest can be blocked when labeling an amino acid involved in the binding. Here, we describe reaction condition optimization studies for minimal labeling. We have chosen low affinity Fcγ receptors as model compounds as these proteins contain many lysines in their active binding site and as such provide an interesting system for a minimal labeling approach. We were able to identify the most critical parameters (protein:biotin ratio and incubation pH) for a minimal labeling approach in which the proteins of choice remain most active toward analyte binding. Localization of biotinylation by mass spectrometric peptide mapping on minimally labeled material was correlated to protein activity in binding assays. We show that only aiming at minimal labeling is not sufficient to maintain an active protein. Careful fine‐tuning of critical parameters is important to reduce biotinylation in a protein binding site.
Role of W181 in modulating kinetic properties of Plasmodium falciparum hypoxanthine guanine xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase
Authors: Roy Sourav , Karmakar Tarak , Nagappa Lakshmeesha K. , Prahlada Rao Vasudeva S. , Balasubramanian Sundaram , Balaram Hemalatha
Published: August 2016

Hypoxanthine‐guanine‐xanthine phosphoribosyltransference (HGXPRT), a key enzyme in the purine salvage pathway of the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), catalyses the conversion of hypoxanthine, guanine, and xanthine to their corresponding mononucleotides; IMP, GMP, and XMP, respectively. Out of the five active site loops (I, II, III, III', and IV) in PfHGXPRT, loop III' facilitates the closure of the hood over the core domain which is the penultimate step during enzymatic catalysis. PfHGXPRT mutants were constructed wherein Trp 181 in loop III' was substituted with Ser, Thr, Tyr, and Phe. The mutants (W181S, W181Y and W181F), when examined for xanthine phosphoribosylation activity, showed an increase in Km for PRPP by 2.1‐3.4 fold under unactivated condition and a decrease in catalytic efficiency by more than 5‐fold under activated condition as compared to that of the wild‐type enzyme. The W181T mutant showed 10‐fold reduced xanthine phosphoribosylation activity. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations of WT and in silico W181S/Y/F/T PfHGXPRT mutants bound to IMP.PPi.Mg2+ have been carried out to address the effect of the mutation of W181 on the overall dynamics of the systems and identify local changes in loop III'. Dynamic cross‐correlation analyses show a communication between loop III' and the substrate binding site. Differential cross‐correlation maps indicate altered communication among different regions in the mutants. Changes in the local contacts and hydrogen bonding between residue 181 with the nearby residues cause altered substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency of the mutant enzymes. Proteins 2016; 84:1658–1669. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analysis of proton wires in the enzyme active site suggests a mechanism of c‐di‐GMP hydrolysis by the EAL domain phosphodiesterases
Authors: Grigorenko Bella L. , Knyazeva Marina A , Nemukhin Alexander V.
Published: August 2016

We report for the first time a hydrolysis mechanism of the cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c‐di‐GMP) by the EAL domain phosphodiesterases as revealed by molecular simulations. A model system for the enzyme‐substrate complex was prepared on the base of the crystal structure of the EAL domain from the BlrP1 protein complexed with c‐di‐GMP. The nucleophilic hydroxide generated from the bridging water molecule appeared in a favorable position for attack on the phosphorus atom of c‐di‐GMP. The most difficult task was to find a pathway for a proton transfer to the O3' atom of c‐di‐GMP to promote the O3'P bond cleavage. We show that the hydrogen bond network extended over the chain of water molecules in the enzyme active site and the Glu359 and Asp303 side chains provides the relevant proton wires. The suggested mechanism is consistent with the structural, mutagenesis, and kinetic experimental studies on the EAL domain phosphodiesterases. Proteins 2016; 84:1670–1680. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.