bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
IL-34 causes inflammation and beta cell apoptosis and dysfunction in gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Piao Chenghao , Wang Xiaojie , Peng Shiqiao , Guo Xinyu , Zhao Hui , He Li , Zeng Yan , Zhang Fan , Zhu Kewen , Wang Yiwei 
Published: October 2019

Objective
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterized by glucose intolerance during gestation. It is associated with a series of maternal and foetal complications. Interleukin (IL)-34 is a recently discovered pro-inflammatory cytokine that functions as a ligand for colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R). The contribution of IL-34 in the development of multiple chronic inflammatory diseases and autoimmune diseases has been recently discovered. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether IL-34 participates in the pathogenesis of GDM.

Method
A total of 120 women were enrolled in this study, which included 60 GDM patients and age- and sex-matched healthy pregnant women. The expression of IL-34 in serum, cord blood and placental tissues was analysed by ELISA and Western blot assays. The association between IL-34 levels and clinical features was also studied. We additionally evaluated the effect of recombinant mouse IL-34 (rmIL-34) on apoptosis and pancreatic β cell function.

Results
We found that IL-34 expression is highly increased in serum, cord blood and placental tissues in patients with GDM. In addition, there was a positive association between serum IL-34 and insulin resistance and glucose concentrations. Our data also revealed that IL-34 contributes to the apoptosis of pancreatic β cells in GDM caused by CSF-1R. Furthermore, functional studies found that IL-34 inhibited pancreatic β cell function and cell viability, while CSF-1R inhibitor blocked this effect.

Conclusion
IL-34 plays a crucial role in the development of GDM by targeting CSF-1R, insulin production and β cell function.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated thyroid dysfunction: a disproportionality analysis using the WHO Adverse Drug Reaction Database, VigiBase
Authors: Bai Xuefeng , Chen Xiaoyu , Wu Xiaohong , Huang Yinqiong , Zhuang Yong , Lin Xiahong 
Published: October 2019

Objective
Our study aimed to identify and characterize thyroid dysfunctions associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Design
Data were obtained from VigiBase, between January 1, 2011 to March 6, 2019.

Methods
All thyroid drug-adverse events are classified by group queries according to the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities. Information component (IC) and reporting odds ratio (ROR) were considered as measures of disproportionality for the assessment of association between ICIs and thyroid dysfunctions. We used IC to identify meaningful drug-adverse events while using ROR to compare differences in the reporting of drug-adverse events caused by different ICI subgroups. Positive IC values are deemed significant.

Results
Compared with the full database, the following ICI-associated thyroid dysfunctions were over-reported: hypothyroidism (1125 reports for ICIs vs 12495 for all drugs; Information Component 4.28 (95% CI: 4.18–4.35)), hyperthyroidism (926 vs 7538; 4.66 (95% CI: 4.55–4.74)), thyroiditis (294 vs 1237; 5.40 (95% CI: 5.21–5.54)), thyrotoxic crisis (11 vs 288; 3.55 (95% CI: 2.61–4.20)). Hypothyroidism was over-reported for patients treated with ICI combination therapy versus those treated with ICI monotherapy (ROR 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1–1.7)), and the same was observed for hyperthyroidism (ROR: 1.9 (95% CI: 1.5–2.4)), thyroiditis (ROR: 3.3 (95% CI: 2.3–4.8)), thyrotoxic crisis (ROR: 11.5 (95% CI: 2.4–53.8)). All 11 thyrotoxic crisis cases were malignant melanoma patients, of which seven occurred under ICI combination therapy.

Conclusions
Thyroid dysfunction may occur after ICI therapies, and severe thyrotoxic crisis may even occur. Raising awareness of ICI-associated thyroid dysfunction can improve the detection and treatment of these diseases.
Network-Based Functional Prediction Augments Genetic Association To Predict Candidate Genes for Histamine Hypersensitivity in Mice
Authors: Tyler Anna L , Raza Abbas , Krementsov Dimitry N , Case Laure K , Huang Rui , Ma Runlin Z , Blankenhorn Elizabeth P , Teuscher Cory , Mahoney J Matthew 
Published: October 2019

AbstractGenetic mapping is a primary tool of genetics in model organisms; however, many quantitative trait loci (QTL) contain tens or hundreds of positional candidate genes. Prioritizing these genes for validation is often ad hoc and biased by previous findings. Here we present a technique for prioritizing positional candidates based on computationally inferred gene function. Our method uses machine learning with functional genomic networks, whose links encode functional associations among genes, to identify network-based signatures of functional association to a trait of interest. We demonstrate the method by functionally ranking positional candidates in a large locus on mouse Chr 6 (45.9 Mb to 127.8 Mb) associated with histamine hypersensitivity (Histh). Histh is characterized by systemic vascular leakage and edema in response to histamine challenge, which can lead to multiple organ failure and death. Although Histh risk is strongly influenced by genetics, little is known about its underlying molecular or genetic causes, due to genetic and physiological complexity of the trait. To dissect this complexity, we ranked genes in the Histh locus by predicting functional association with multiple Histh-related processes. We integrated these predictions with new single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association data derived from a survey of 23 inbred mouse strains and congenic mapping data. The top-ranked genes included Cxcl12, Ret, Cacna1c, and Cntn3, all of which had strong functional associations and were proximal to SNPs segregating with Histh. These results demonstrate the power of network-based computational methods to nominate highly plausible quantitative trait genes even in challenging cases involving large QTL and extreme trait complexity.
The Nehari Manifold for p-Laplacian Equation with Dirichlet Boundary Condition
Authors: Afrouzi G. A. A. , Mahdavi S. , Naghizadeh Z. 
Published: October 2019

The Nehari manifold for the equation −∆pu(x) = λu(x)|u(x)|p−2 + b(x)|u(x)|γ−2u(x) for x ∈ Ω together with Dirichlet boundary condition is investigated in the case where 0 < γ < p. Exploiting the relationship between the Nehari manifold and fibrering maps (i.e., maps of the form of t → J(tu) where J is the Euler functional associated with the equation), we discuss how the Nehari manifold changes as λ changes, and show how existence results for positive solutions of the equation are linked to the properties of Nehari manifold.
Conjugate Effects of Heat and Mass Transfer on Natural Convection Flow Across an Isothermal Horizontal Circular Cylinder With Chemical Reaction
Authors: Hye Md. A. A. , Molla Md. M. M. , Khan M. A. H. A. H. 
Published: October 2019

Natural convection flow across an isothermal cylinder immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid in the presence of species concentration and chemical reaction has been investigated. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a system of non-dimensional equations and the resulting nonlinear system of partial differential equations is reduced to a system of local non-similarity boundary layer equations, which is solved numerically by a very efficient implicit finite difference method together with the Keller-box scheme. Numerical results are presented by the velocity, temperature and species concentration profiles of the fluid as well as the local skin-friction coefficient, local heat transfer rate and local species concentration transfer rate for a wide range of chemical reaction parameter γ (γ = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0), buoyancy ratio parameter N (N = −1.0, −0.5, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0), Schmidt number Sc (Sc = 0.7, 10.0, 50.0, 100.0) andPrandtl number Pr (Pr = 0.7, 7.0).
Mathematical Modelling of Nitric Oxide Release Caused by Exocytosis and Determination of a Stellate Neuron Activity Function in Rat Brain
Authors: Oleinick A. , Amatore C. , Klymenko O. , Svir I. 
Published: October 2019

In this work we report the results of the mathematical modelling of NO◦ -release by neurons considering a series of Gaussian bursts, together with its transport in the brain by diffusion. Our analysis relies on the NO◦ -release from a neuron monitored before, during and after its patch-clamp stimulation as detected by an ultramicroelectrode introduced into a slice of living rat’s brain. The parameters of the neuron activity function have been obtained by numerical fitting of experimental data with simulated theoretical results. Within our initial hypothesis about the Gaussian decomposition of NO◦ -release that allowed drawing qualitative and quantitative conclusions about the considered neuron activity function. It is noted that since the activity function can be readily modified this signal processing may be adapted to the treatment of other and maybe more physiologically relevant hypotheses.
Conjugate Heat Transfer for a Vertical Flat Plate with Heat Generation Effect
Authors: Mamun A. A. A. , Chowdhury Z. R. R. , Azim M. A. A. , Maleque M. A. A. 
Published: October 2019

The heat generation effect on natural convection flow along and conduction inside a vertical flat plate is investigated. The developed governing equations with the associated boundary conditions for this analysis are transferred to dimensionless forms using a local non-similar transformation. The transformed non-linear equations of the non-dimensional equations are then solved using the implicit finite difference method with Keller box-scheme. Numerical results are found for different values of the heat generation parameter, conjugate conduction parameter and Prandtl number. The overall investigation of the velocity, temperature, skin friction and heat transfer rate are presented graphically.
Improving the Performance of the Continued Fractions Method Using New Bounds of Positive Roots
Authors: Akritas A. G. G. , Strzebonski A. W. W. , Vigklas P. S. S. 
Published: October 2019

In this paper we compare four implementations of the Vincent-AkritasStrzebo´nski Continued Fractions (VAS-CF) real root isolation method using four different (two linear and two quadratic complexity) bounds on the values of the positive roots of polynomials. The quadratic complexity bounds were included to see if the quality of their estimates compensates for their quadratic complexity. Indeed, experimentation on various classes of special and random polynomials revealed that the VAS-CF implementation using LMQ, the Quadratic complexity variant of our Local Max bound, achieved an overall average speed-up of 40 % over the original implementation using Cauchy’s linear bound.
Theoretical Analysis of Radiative Effects on Transient Free Convection Heat Transfer past a Hot Vertical Surface in Porous Media
Authors: Ghosh S. K. K. , Anwar Beg O. 
Published: October 2019

The purpose of the present investigation deals with the unsteady free convective flow of a viscous incompressible gray, absorbing-emitting but non-scattering, optically-thick fluid occupying a semi-infinite porous regime adjacent to an infinite moving hot vertical plate with constant velocity. We employ a Darcian viscous flow model for the porous medium. The momentum and thermal boundary layer equations are non-dimensionalized using appropriate transformations and then solved subject to physically realistic boundary conditions using the Laplace transform technique. Thermal radiation effects are simulated via a radiation-conduction parameter, Kr, based on the Rosseland diffusion approximation. The influence of Grashof (free convection) number, radiation-conduction parameter (Kr), inverse permeability parameter (Kp) and dimensionless time (t) are studied graphically. We observe that increasing thermal radiation parameter causes a noticeable increase in the flow velocity, u. Temperature, θ, is significantly increased within the boundary layer with a rise in Kr since the latter represents the relative contribution of thermal radiation heat transfer to thermal conduction heat transfer. Increased radiation therefore augments heat transfer, heats the fluid and increases the thickness of the momentum and thermal boundary layers. Velocity is found to decrease with an increase in Kp (inverse permeability parameter) as are shear stress function ( ∂u/∂y | y=0) magnitudes owing to greater resistance of the porous medium for lower permeabilities, which decelerate the flow. An increase in Kr however boosts the shear stress function magnitudes i.e. serves to accelerate the flow. Temperature gradient, ∂θ/∂y | y=0 is also positively affected by an increase in thermal radiation (Kr) and with time. The present study has applications in geological convection, forest fire propagation, glass heat treatment processes at high temperature, metallurgical processing etc.
Front Dynamics with Delays in a Spatially Extended Bistable System: Computer Simulation
Authors: Jasaitis V. , Ivanauskas F. , Bakanas R. 
Published: October 2019

Front dynamics with delays in a spatially extended bistable system of the reaction-diffusion type is studied by the use of nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) of the parabolic type. The response of the self-ordered front, joining two steady states of the different stability in the system, to the multi-harmonic (step-like) force is examined. The relaxation rate of the system, that characterizes the delayed response of the front to the alternating current (ac) drive, is found to be sensitive to the peculiarities (shape) of the rate function (nonlinearity) of the governing PDE. By using computer simulations of the drift motion of the ac driven bistable front (BF) we are able to show that the characteristic relaxation time of the system decreases with the increasing outer slope parameters of the rate function and is not sensitive to the inner one.
Effects of Temperature Dependent Thermal Conductivity on Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Free Convection Flow along a Vertical Flat Plate with Heat Conduction
Authors: Rahman M. M. M. , Mamun A. A. A. , Azim M. A. A. , Alim M. A. A. 
Published: October 2019

MHD natural convection flow of an electrically conducting fluid along a vertical flat plate with temperature dependent thermal conductivity and conduction effects is analyzed. The governing equations with associated boundary conditions for this phenomenon are converted to dimensionless forms using a suitable transformation. The transformed non-linear equations are then solved using the implicit finite difference method with Keller-box scheme. Numerical results of the velocity, temperature, skin friction coefficient and surface temperature for different values of the magnetic parameter, thermal conductivity variation parameter, Prandtl number and conjugate conduction parameter are presented graphically. Detailed discussion is given for the effects of the aforementioned parameters.
A One-Sex Population Dynamics Model with Discrete Set of Offsprings and Child Care
Authors: Skakauskas V. 
Published: October 2019

We present a one-sex age-structured population dynamics deterministic model with a discrete set of offsprings, child care, environmental pressure, and spatial migration. All individuals have pre-reproductive, reproductive, and post-reproductive age intervals. Individuals of reproductive age are divided into fertile single and taking child care groups. All individuals of pre-reproductive age are divided into young (under maternal care) and juvenile (offspring who can live without maternal care) classes. It is assumed that all young offsprings move together with their mother and that after the death of mother all her young offsprings are killed. The model consists of integro-partial differential equations subject to the conditions of the integral type. Number of these equations depends on a biologically possible maximal newborns number of the same generation produced by an individual. The existence and uniqueness theorem is proved, separable solutions are studied, and the long time behavior is examined for the solution with general type of initial distributions in the case of non-dispersing population. Separable and more general (nonseparable) solutions, their large time behavior, and steady-state solutions are studied for the population with spatial dispersal, too.
Oxidatively modified proteins in kidneys of rats fed with glyphosate-resistant genetically modified soybean and the herbicide Roundup
Authors: Chorna I. V. , Dronik G. B. , Lukashiv T. O. , Yuzkova V. D. 
Published: October 2019

Genetic technologies have become a tool for achieving the desired properties of plant crops instead of traditional breeding in recent decades. They consist in artificial editing of a plant genome (genetic modification) by inserting the genes encoding desired features from the DNA of one organism in another, often unrelated, species. One of the most popular crops is soybean containing up to 38–42% of proteins in its seeds, and its most common type is GTS 40-3-2 (Monsanto Canada Inc.) line of transgenic soybean. The genetically modified soybean "Roundup Ready" is resistant to the action of herbicide "Roundup" (it continues to grow when it is cultivated with this herbicide). Therefore, the study of individual and combined effects of both factors on the free radical oxidation processes in biomolecules is very relevant. Experimental research was performed on 4-month Wistar rats to study the long-term effects of feeding with genetically modified soybean and herbicide "Roundup", both separately and together, on the rat kidneys. The results of the study showed that after 12 months of feeding with genetically modified soybean treated with herbicide "Roundup" (IV group) and receiving the herbicide with drinkable water (V group), there was an increase in the level of carbonyl derivatives in the rat kidney homogenates in the first (F0) and in subsequent generations (F1, F2) of rats. The research results showed that the highest level of carbonyl derivatives was noted in the kidneys of the third generation of rats. Along with the increase in oxidatively modified proteins in the rat kidney homogenates, there was a decrease in the content of sulfhydryl groups and proteolytic enzymes in the IV and V groups, the lowest level was observed in the third generation. The use of the same transgenic soybean variety not treated with any herbicide did not lead to an increase in the level of carbonyl derivatives and a decrease in the content of sulfhydryl groups compared to control group rats. Thus, the obtained experimental data indicate that both feeding with the genetically modified soybean treated with the herbicide and receiving the herbicide "Roundup" with drinkable water lead to the initiation of free radical processes in the kidneys of rats of all three generations and imbalance of the oxidant–antioxidant system, most notably in the third generation of rats. Such research results indicate the negative effects of the investigated factors and indicate that the herbicide "Roundup" may be accumulated in the seeds of transgenic soybean and also it may increase the oxidative modification of proteins in the rat kidneys. Hence, it is necessary to carry out a detailed study of the effects of these factors on histochemical changes in the kidney and liver structure and an investigation of antioxidant enzyme activity in these organs.
The influence of clonal micropropagation on productivity and differentiation of Mentha pіperіta plant tissues
Authors: Talankova-Sereda T. E. , Kolomiets J. V. , Holubenko A. V. , Nuzhyna N. V. 
Published: October 2019

Peppermint grass, as a raw medicinal plant material, has great importance for the pharmaceutical industry. The influence of clonal micropropagation and chemotherapy has been established in vitro on six breeds of Ukrainian selection peppermint plants, in particular on the sprouts’ conductive system structure and tissue development, general biomass accumulation, and in vivo productivity of breeds. The influence of clonal micropropagation and chemotherapy on important productivity indices of the plants has been established in vitro in six breeds of Ukrainian selection peppermint plants as pharmacopeial plants. The linear meter method, the microscopic method, the standard histochemical methods, and the statistical analysis method were used in the studies. A clear tendency to increase in the leaf cover, air-dry leafage and rhizome was observed in breeds of Ukrainian selection peppermint to which propagation and in vitro improvement technology was applied. The air-dry leafage yield significantly increased after in vitro culture from 7.6% in the Lidiia breed to 51.4% in the Chornolysta breed recognized as a state mint standard in Ukraine. The leaf cover increased from 8% to 21% in peppermint plants improved in іn vitro culture. This method promoted essential oil quantity increase from 9.8 to 28.6 kg per hectare. The rhizome yield increased by 6.3–40.4% in all peppermint plants breeds after improvement in in vitro culture on average within one vegetation year. The Lebedyna Pisnіa and Mama breeds were characterised by the most intensive development of all investigated anatomic and morphological indices after in vitro culture: rhizomes yield increased by 40.4% and 40.1%, air-dry leafage by 37.1% and 26.6%, leaf cover by 21.0% and 13.0%, and essential oil quantity per hectare increased by 38.1% and 28.5% accordingly. Anatomical and histochemical studies of sprouts of Ukrainian selection peppermint plants breeds confirmed increase in xylogenesis intensity in the majority of the studied breeds (except Lidiia and Ukrains’ka Pertseva) after in vitro culture improvement. The xylogenesis process was most expressed in the Mama and Chornolysta breeds. Air-dry leafage, rhizome yield, and leaf cover increased in all peppermint plants breeds after in vitro improvement, which could be critical for the pharmaceutical industry.
Whitening Domestic Spaces: Enacting Female Roles in Anzia Yezierska's The Lost Beautifulness
Authors: Campos Ferreras Rebeca 
Published: October 2019

The aim of this research is to give an accurate account of how female stereotypes around the concept of hygiene and domesticity in early 20thC North American context influenced newly arrived Eastern European immigrants. Located in New York’s Lower East Side ghetto and determined by their Jewish background, these immigrants’ arrival caused them a cultural shock to the point that they started shaping their identities according to the new standard of beauty and cleanliness related to the Americanness they were eager to perform. For this purpose, Anzia Yezierska’s short story The Lost Beautifulness serves as a referent because it demonstrates the failure of Americanization as the prospective means through which the American Dream could be experienced, a credo which, according to the author, would only reinforce classist policies instead of cancelling them. To this effect, Yezierska depicts the actual consequences for these Jewish female immigrants after attempting to Americanize their private household spaces and maintain, thus, the standard of cleanliness necessary to validate their accurate adaptation to the American culture from their ghettoized and marginalized context.
Keywords: Americanization, Anzia Yezierska, female stereotypes, whitening, domesticity, American Dream