bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Differences in expression of Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor-γ in early-onset preeclampsia and late-onset preeclampsia
Authors: Permadi W. , Mantilidewi K. I. , Khairani A. F. , Lantika U. A. , Ronosulistyo A. R. , Bayuaji H. 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Objective
PPARγ is a ligand-binding transcription factor that has been reported to be implicated in lipid metabolism, immune function, and cellular growth and differentiation. It has been suspected to play a role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, although the mechanism is yet to be elaborated. This study aims to investigate the expression of PPARγ in early onset preeclampsia (EOPE), late onset preeclampsia (LOPE), and normal pregnancy. We conducted this study using primary trophoblastic cell culture incubated with serum from EOPE, LOPE, and normal pregnancy. The expression of PPARγ in these cells was analyzed using Western Blot. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni’s post hoc test. p < 0.05 is considered significant.

Results
Serum from normal pregnant women and EOPE did not induce any difference in the expression of PPAR-γ (p > 0.05). In contrast, expression of PPAR-γ was increased in those cells induced by serum from LOPE (p < 0.001). Therefore, we conclude that hypothetically PPAR-γ might play role in the pathophysiology of LOPE but not in EOPE. Other possibility is the activity of PPAR-γ in EOPE is inversely correlated with its expression, therefore the high enzymatic activity of PPAR-γ is tightly regulated by attenuating its expression.
Bacterial delivery of the anti-tumor azurin-like protein Laz to glioblastoma cells
Authors: Mansour Manar , Ismail Shehab , Abou-Aisha Khaled 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSalmonella typhimurium VNP-20009 (VNP) is a non-pathogenic attenuated strain, which, as a facultative anaerobe, preferentially accumulates in hypoxic regions of solid tumors. Here, VNP was utilized as a delivery vehicle of the anti-tumor protein Lipidated azurin, Laz, which is produced by the meningitis-causing bacterium Neisseria meningitides. In brain cancer cells, Laz has been demonstrated to induce apoptosis through an interaction with the tumor suppressor protein p53. In this study, the laz gene, including its signal sequence, was cloned downstream of a hypoxia inducible promoter (HIP-1), before being electroporated into VNP. Successful ectopic expression and export of the Laz protein by VNP under hypoxic conditions were confirmed by Western blot analysis of the cell-free culture medium. Effective expression of Laz by VNP was investigated in two glioblastoma cell lines: LN-229 and U-373, with the latter line carrying a mutated version of p53; as well as in the breast cancer line MCF-7. Cytotoxicity of the VNP-Laz was assessed by determining the fluorescence of the apoptotic marker caspases 3/7. Compared to the purified Laz, VNP-Laz, significantly induced apoptosis in MCF-7, LN-229 and, to a much lower extent in U-373 cells, suggesting a p53-linked mechanism. Our results might represent a new approach of targeted gene delivery and suggest a potential application in brain tumor therapy.
Thyroid hormone receptor beta is critical for intestinal remodeling during Xenopus tropicalis metamorphosis
Authors: Shibata Yuki , Tanizaki Yuta , Shi Yun-Bo 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background
Thyroid hormone (T3) is critical for development in all vertebrates. The mechanism underlying T3 effect has been difficult to study due to the uterus-enclosed nature of mammalian embryos. Anuran metamorphosis, which is dependent on T3 but independent of maternal influence, is an excellent model to study the roles of T3 and its receptors (TRs) during vertebrate development. We and others have reported various effects of TR knockout (TRα and TRβ) during Xenopus tropicalis development. However, these studies were largely focused on external morphology.

Results
We have generated TRβ knockout animals containing an out-frame-mutation of 5 base deletion by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and observed that TRβ knockout does not affect premetamorphic tadpole development. We have found that the basal expression of direct T3-inducible genes is increased but their upregulation by T3 is reduced in the intestine of premetamorphic homozygous TRβ knockout animals, accompanied by reduced target binding by TR. More importantly, we have observed reduced adult stem cell proliferation and larval epithelial apoptosis in the intestine during T3-induced metamorphosis.

Conclusions
Our data suggest that TRβ plays a critical role in intestinal remodeling during metamorphosis.
Clinical implications of recurrent gene mutations in acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Yu Jifeng , Li Yingmei , Zhang Danfeng , Wan Dingming , Jiang Zhongxing 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a genetically heterogeneous clonal malignancy characterized by recurrent gene mutations. Genomic heterogeneity, patients’ individual variability, and recurrent gene mutations are the major obstacles among many factors that impact treatment efficacy of the AML patients. With the application of cost- and time-effective next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, an enormous diversity of genetic mutations has been identified. The recurrent gene mutations and their important roles in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) pathogenesis have been studied extensively. In this review, we summarize the recent development on the gene mutation in patients with AML.
Design of knee support device based on four-bar linkage and hydraulic artificial muscle
Authors: Kittisares Sarin , Nabae Hiroyuki , Endo Gen , Suzumori Koichi , Sakurai Ryo 
Published: March 2020

AbstractOne of the main challenges for the elderly is insufficient lower limb strength during sit-to-stand movement, which may be improved by supporting the joint externally. Existing lower extremity exoskeletons use perfect revolute joints as knee joints, which do not match with human joint biomechanics. They also require a complex control system to produce the required torque at the corresponding joint angle. In this study, a knee support device using four-bar joint mechanism and hydraulic artificial muscle (HAM) was designed. A previously proposed four-bar linkage joint was modified to accommodate the HAM. In addition, the Angled Bar was proposed to exploit HAM’s force-contraction relationship to generate the desired torque at the corresponding angle only by applying constant hydraulic pressure without the use of a complex control system. The device was able to generate a maximum output of 126.55 Nm torque at 100$$^{\circ }$$∘ knee joint angle during loading and 70.69 Nm torque at 100$$^{\circ }$$∘ during unloading at 3 MPa pressure. The root-mean-square error of the knee extension torque curve was 13.01 Nm. Experiment with a healthy participant showed significant reduction in muscle activity with the assist from the device. The maximum processed EMG signal with and without assist were 52.10 and 20.93 $${\upmu \mathrm{V}}$$μV, respectively.
Ant colony optimization for slope stability analysis applied to an embankment failure in eastern India
Authors: Mishra Mayank , Basson Mandeep Singh , Ramana Gunturi Venkata , Vassallo Roberto 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe safety of road embankments is mainly assessed in the engineering practice by limit equilibrium analyses. Locating the critical slip surface of embankments and calculating the corresponding factor of safety is a crucial task. In this paper, the continuous ant colony optimisation algorithm is used to analyse the stability of slopes with non-circular slip surfaces. To illustrate the proposed procedure, one example from published literature and another engineering case study of a landslide at a road construction site in India is analysed. This latter study is supplemented by the results of geotechnical investigations performed before and after the failure of the embankment. The results demonstrate that the proposed technique identifies correctly the critical slip surface and can thus be used for engineering applications.
Political views on a further deregulation of the European road haulage market
Authors: Keuchel Stephan , Beckschwarte Thomas , Ernst Fabian 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWithin the broad ongoing review of the legislation of the European road haulage market the European Commission presented in May 2017 several proposals to clarify the regulation of the market, especially market access, driving and rest periods, and the application of the posted workers directive. The paper aims to show economic implications of the suggested regulation on the basis of two round trip models and to outline the differences of political and regional interests by analysing the ammendments to the proposals handed in by members of the political groups of the different Member States.The proposed regulation can be viewed as a further deregulation of the market with further shifts of markets shares in international and cabotage markets. This in turn is reflected by distinct regional differences of amendments of members within the different political groups.
Silicon modulates multi-layered defense against powdery mildew in Arabidopsis
Authors: Wang Lili , Dong Min , Zhang Qiong , Wu Ying , Hu Liang , Parson James F. , Eisenstein Edward , Du Xiangge , Xiao Shunyuan 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSilicon (Si) has been widely employed in agriculture to enhance resistance against pathogens in many crop plants. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of Si-mediated resistance remain elusive. In this study, the Arabidopsis-powdery mildew pathosystem was employed to investigate possible defense mechanisms of Si-mediated resistance. Because Arabidopsis lacks efficient Si transporters and thus is a low Si-accumulator, two heterologous Si influx transporters (from barley and muskmelon) were individually expressed in wild-type Arabidopsis Col-0 and a panel of mutants defective in different immune signaling pathways. Results from infection tests showed that while very low leaf Si content slightly induced salicylic acid (SA)-dependent resistance, high Si promoted PAD4-dependent but largely EDS1- and SA-independent resistance against the adapted powdery mildew isolate Golovinomyces cichoracearum UCSC1. Intriguingly, our results also showed that high Si could largely reboot non-host resistance in an immune-compromised eds1/pad4/sid2 triple mutant background against a non-adapted powdery mildew isolate G. cichoracearum UMSG1. Taken together, our results suggest that assimilated Si modulates distinct, multi-layered defense mechanisms to enhance plant resistance against adapted and no-adapted powdery mildew pathogens, possibly via synergistic interaction with defense-induced callose.
Missed expectations: teacher and coach tensions at the boundary of STEM integration in an elementary classroom
Authors: McFadden Justin , Roehrig Gillian 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe current study explored how a STEM coach supported an elementary teacher during the implementation of an integrated curriculum that culminated with an engineering design challenge. The findings of the case study reported, detail how the reflective nature of the coaching moves employed failed to fully meet the needs of the teacher given the distinct challenges that arose upon implementation of the co-developed curriculum. By closely examining two primary data sources: (1) five extended coaching sessions, and (2) the coach’s pre-post coaching log reflections; analysis identifies and explores how the pair’s missed expectations produced unanticipated tensions that hindered the potentials of the teacher-coach relationship. Insights related to an elementary teacher’s conceptions of STEM integration are also revealed within the data presented. Finally, analysis enabled discussion of strategies that might be employed to strategically support elementary teachers working with coaches; specifically exploring how differentiated supports based on prior experiences might be instituted.
If not now, when?
Authors: Poole Norman A. 
Published: March 2020

SummaryThe editor of the BJPsych Bulletin reflects on the extraordinary recent events triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health professionals are at the front line of managing the pandemic and emergency changes should lead to a much needed refocus on what is really vital. In these unsettling times we ought to review how we manage the crisis, and its aftermath, both personally and professionally.
MLCD: A Unified Software Package for Cancer Diagnosis
Authors: Wu Wenjun , Li Beibin , Mercan Ezgi , Mehta Sachin , Bartlett Jamen , Weaver Donald L. , Elmore Joann G. , Shapiro Linda G. 
Published: March 2020

PURPOSE Machine Learning Package for Cancer Diagnosis (MLCD) is the result of a National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI)-sponsored project for developing a unified software package from state-of-the-art breast cancer biopsy diagnosis and machine learning algorithms that can improve the quality of both clinical practice and ongoing research. METHODS Whole-slide images of 240 well-characterized breast biopsy cases, initially assembled under R01 CA140560, were used for developing the algorithms and training the machine learning models. This software package is based on the methodology developed and published under our recent NIH/NCI-sponsored research grant (R01 CA172343) for finding regions of interest (ROIs) in whole-slide breast biopsy images, for segmenting ROIs into histopathologic tissue types and for using this segmentation in classifiers that can suggest final diagnoses. RESULT The package provides an ROI detector for whole-slide images and modules for semantic segmentation into tissue classes and diagnostic classification into 4 classes (benign, atypia, ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive cancer) of the ROIs. It is available through the GitHub repository under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology license and will later be distributed with the Pathology Image Informatics Platform system. A Web page provides instructions for use. CONCLUSION Our tools have the potential to provide help to other cancer researchers and, ultimately, to practicing physicians and will motivate future research in this field. This article describes the methodology behind the software development and gives sample outputs to guide those interested in using this package.
Causes of Cancer Re-Admissions: A Patient-Centered Approach
Authors: Zibelli Allison , Holland Katie , Wei Emily 
Published: March 2020

PURPOSE: Patients with a cancer diagnosis have a high risk of re-admission during the 30 days after discharge. Clinicians, payers, and patients consider this to be an indicator of care quality. The causes of re-admission remain poorly understood. Retrospective chart reviews, used in most re-admission research, provide limited information regarding the causes of, and methods to reduce, re-admissions. This project sought to elicit the insights of those most affected by re-admission: the patients themselves. METHODS: We interviewed patients with cancer who were re-admitted to 2 urban teaching hospitals when they were hospitalized during their second admission. Trained interviewers used a semistructured interview guide to gather information on events just before the second admission, the patients’ understanding of the cause of re-admission, and the patients’ views about their readiness for discharge at the previous admission. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed, and themes were identified and explored. RESULTS: Three major themes were identified. First, most patients saw their re-admission as caused by problems that could not be treated in an outpatient setting. Second, the patients felt that they did not have sufficient resources at home to manage their care. Furthermore, the patients did not see the outpatient care team as a resource that they could call on for assistance. As a result, most of the decisions to return to the hospital were made by the patients themselves. CONCLUSION: The decision that leads to re-admission often happens at home, in response to unmanageable needs. Strengthening the bond between the care team and the patient, with the aim of providing care in the most appropriate setting, could decrease re-admissions in patients with cancer. Possible interventions include home visits, enhanced discharge planning, and telehealth services.
Health Literacy, Language, and Cancer-Related Needs in the First 6 Months After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Authors: Gunn Christine M. , Paasche-Orlow Michael K. , Bak Sharon , Wang Na , Pamphile Jennifer , Nelson Kerrie , Morton Samantha , Battaglia Tracy A. 
Published: March 2020

PURPOSE: Low health literacy (HL) and language negatively affect cancer screening and prevention behaviors; less is known about how they affect the patient’s experience during cancer treatment. This study explores associations among HL, spoken language, and dimensions of cancer-related needs within 6 months of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Women speaking English, Spanish, or Haitian Creole, enrolled in a patient navigation study at diagnosis, completed a survey in their primary spoken language at baseline and 6 months to characterize their cancer-related needs. HL was measured using the Brief Health Literacy Screening Tool. Outcomes included the Cancer Needs Distress Inventory (CaNDI; n = 38 items) and the Communication and Attitudinal Self-Efficacy scale (CASE-Cancer) for cancer (n = 12 items). Linear regressions measured the impact of HL and language on total CaNDI and CASE-Cancer scale for cancer scores and subscales, adjusted for demographics. RESULTS: At baseline, 262 women participated and 228 (87%) followed up at 6 months. Of these, 38% had adequate HL, 33% had marginal HL, and 29% had inadequate HL. Women with inadequate or marginal HL had higher median baseline CaNDI scores ( P = .02) and lower self-efficacy scores ( P = .008), relative to those with adequate HL. Haitian-Creole speakers had significantly lower CANDI scores at baseline ( P = .03). Adjusting for demographics, differences in CaNDI scores at baseline remained significant for those with lower HL and Haitian-Creole speakers. At 6 months, differences in self-efficacy persisted for Haitian-Creole speakers. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that interventions oriented to mitigating HL and language barriers might reduce distress at the time of diagnosis and improve self-efficacy over the course of treatment.
Mocking Medieval French Fashion
Authors: Heller Sarah-Grace 
Published: March 2020

AbstractA debate poem (partimen PC 16,17) from the early thirteenth century richly demonstrates attitudes toward medieval French fashion, debating who was better, the “French” of France and England for their sumptuous apparel and generous feasts or the “Catalan” Occitan speakers for whom acquisition meant jovial pillage. Fashion appears as a preoccupation of the north, in contrast with southern poverty. Examined in context with political sirventes poems celebrating plunder, the Chanson de la croisade albigeoise (ca. 1210–12), which expresses pathos through clothing tropes, and the hyperbolic fair in Flamenca (ca. 1223), this study places these representations in the context of the military culture of Languedoc and Provence and its developing markets. This troubadour mockery of pretentious French display also expresses implicit envy and criticizes the damage the pillage ideal imposed on the fashion economy of the Midi.Un partimen (PC 16,17) du début du treizième siècle présente un aperçu très riche des attitudes à l'égard de la mode française médiévale, en mettant en débat la question suivante: qui étaient les meilleurs, les « Français » de France et d'Angleterre avec leurs somptueux habits et leurs fêtes généreuses, ou bien les « Catalans » (à savoir les Occitans situés de chaque côté des Pyrénées), qui acquéraient des objets en pillant plutôt qu'en les achetant ? A cette époque, la mode apparaît davantage comme une préoccupation en région septentrionale qu'en région méridionale, plus pauvre. En comparant des sirventes politiques célébrant le pillage et le pathos vestimentaire dans la Chanson de la croisade albigeoise (c. 1210–12) et la foire hyperbolique dans Flamenca (c. 1223), cette étude situe ces représentations dans le contexte des guerres et des industries textiles naissantes en Languedoc et en Provence. Le rire troubadour vis-à-vis de l'ostentation française trahit la convoitise des Occitans à l'égard des Français tout en critiquant aussi les dommages occasionnés par l'idéal de pillage sur l'économie de la mode dans le Midi.
Feminized Commodities, Female Communities
Authors: Hiner Susan 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThis article uncovers the backstory of two of the most important fashion-plate illustrators of nineteenth-century France, Héloïse and Anaïs Colin, in relation to their artistic and commercial production. By exploring how the sisters' commercial art is linked to their early “self-portrait,” produced in the studio of their artist father, in which female community is foregrounded, the article argues that their fashion plates express at once a personal response to their exclusion from the male-dominated world of fine arts and a pragmatic trajectory toward professionalization for women in the fashion sector. While largely conventional, some of their plates elicit readings reaching beyond an explicit commercial aim and suggest disruptions of the seamless norms of bourgeois femininity. Likewise, critical analysis of these plates expands to a consideration of the layered work practices of other women in the growing fashion industry of the period.Cet article offre un portrait de deux des plus importants illustrateurs de mode français du dix-neuvième siècle, Héloïse et Anaïs Colin, replacé dans le contexte plus large de leur production artistique et commerciale. Comme point de départ, il prend l'autoportrait de jeunesse des deux sœurs, peint dans l'atelier de leur père, un tableau qui met en valeur leur idée de communauté féminine tout en préfigurant aussi leur art commercial. Leurs gravures de mode expriment à la fois leur réponse personnelle à leur exclusion du monde masculin des beaux-arts, tout en reflétant aussi leur parcours, alors représentatif de la professionnalisation des femmes dans le domaine de la mode. Bien que conventionnelles pour la plupart, certaines des gravures suscitent une interprétation qui dépasse le cadre de la question commerciale et aborde celle de la transgression de la norme de la féminité bourgeoise. Plus loin, l'analyse critique de ces gravures touche plus largement aux pratiques complexes du travail réalisé par d'autres femmes dans l'industrie croissante de la mode.
Arabidopsis DIACYLGLYCEROL KINASE4 is involved in nitric oxide-dependent pollen tube guidance and fertilization
Authors: Wong Aloysius , Donaldson Lara , Portes Maria Teresa , Eppinger Jörg , Feijó José A. , Gehring Christoph 
Published: March 2020

ABSTRACT
Nitric oxide (NO) is a key signaling molecule that regulates diverse biological processes in both animals and plants, including important roles in male gamete physiology. In plants, NO is generated in pollen tubes (PTs) and affects intracellular responses through the modulation of Ca2+ signaling, actin organization, vesicle trafficking and cell wall deposition, bearing consequences in pollen-stigma interactions and PT guidance. In contrast, the NO-responsive proteins that mediate these responses remain elusive. Here, we show that PTs of Arabidopsis thaliana mutants impaired in the pollen-specific DIACYLGLYCEROL KINASE4 (DGK4) grow slower and become partially insensitive to NO-dependent growth inhibition and re-orientation responses. Recombinant DGK4 protein yields NO-responsive spectral and catalytic changes in vitro that are compatible with a role in NO perception and signaling in PTs. In addition to the expected phosphatidic acid-producing kinase activity, DGK4 recombinant protein also revealed guanylyl cyclase activity, as inferred by sequence analysis. Our results are compatible with a role for the fast-diffusible NO gas in signaling and cell-cell communication via the modulation of DGK4 activity during the progamic phase of angiosperm reproduction.