bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physiological demands and signaling associated with snake venom production and storage illustrated by transcriptional analyses of venom glands
Authors: Perry Blair W. , Schield Drew R. , Westfall Aundrea K. , Mackessy Stephen P. , Castoe Todd A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractDespite the extensive body of research on snake venom, many facets of snake venom systems, such as the physiology and regulation of the venom gland itself, remain virtually unstudied. Here, we use time series gene expression analyses of the rattlesnake venom gland in comparison with several non-venom tissues to characterize physiological and cellular processes associated with venom production and to highlight key distinctions of venom gland cellular and physiological function. We find consistent evidence for activation of stress response pathways in the venom gland, suggesting that mitigation of cellular stress is a crucial component of venom production. Additionally, we demonstrate evidence for an unappreciated degree of cellular and secretory activity in the steady state venom gland relative to other secretory tissues and identify vacuolar ATPases as the likely mechanisms driving acidification of the venom gland lumen during venom production and storage.
Cosmological reconstruction and energy constraints in generalized Gauss–Bonnet-scalar–kinetic–matter couplings
Authors: Kaczmarek Adam Z. , Szczęśniak Dominik 
Published: October 2020

AbstractRecently introduced $$f(\mathcal {G},T)$$

f
(
G
,
T
)

theory is generalized by adding dependence on the arbitrary scalar field $$\phi $$
ϕ
and its kinetic term $$(\nabla \phi )^2$$

(
∇
ϕ
)

2

, to explore non-minimal interactions between geometry, scalar and matter fields in context of the Gauss–Bonnet theories. The field equations for the resulting $$f\left( \mathcal {G},\phi ,(\nabla \phi )^2,T\right) $$

f

G
,
ϕ
,

(
∇
ϕ
)

2

,
T

theory are obtained and show that particles follow non-geodesic trajectories in a perfect fluid surrounding. The energy conditions in the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) spacetime are discussed for the generic function $$f\left( \mathcal {G},\phi ,(\nabla \phi )^2,T\right) $$

f

G
,
ϕ
,

(
∇
ϕ
)

2

,
T

. As an application of the introduced extensions, using the reconstruction techniques we obtain functions that satisfy common cosmological models, along with the equations describing energy conditions for the reconstructed $$f\left( \mathcal {G},\phi ,(\nabla \phi )^2,T\right) $$

f

G
,
ϕ
,

(
∇
ϕ
)

2

,
T

gravity. The detailed discussion of the energy conditions for the de Sitter and power-law spacetimes is provided in terms of the fixed kinetic term i.e. in the $$f\left( \mathcal {G},\phi ,T\right) $$

f

G
,
ϕ
,
T

case. Moreover, in order to check viability of the reconstructed models, we discuss the energy conditions in the specific cases, namely the $$f(R,\phi ,(\nabla \phi )^2)$$

f
(
R
,
ϕ
,

(
∇
ϕ
)

2

)

and $$f=\gamma (\phi ,X)\mathcal {G}+\mu T^{1/2}$$

f
=
γ

(
ϕ
,
X
)

G
+
μ

T

1
/
2

approaches. We show, that for the appropriate choice of parameters and constants, the energy conditions can be satisfied for the discussed scenarios.
High colloidal stability ZnO nanoparticles independent on solvent polarity and their application in polymer solar cells
Authors: Lee Woojin , Yeop Jiwoo , Heo Jungwoo , Yoon Yung Jin , Park Song Yi , Jeong Jaeki , Shin Yun Seop , Kim Jae Won , An Na Gyeong , Kim Dong Suk , Park Jongnam , Kim Jin Young 
Published: October 2020

AbstractSignificant aggregation between ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) dispersed in polar and nonpolar solvents hinders the formation of high quality thin film for the device application and impedes their excellent electron transporting ability. Herein a bifunctional coordination complex, titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) (Ti(acac)2) is employed as efficient stabilizer to improve colloidal stability of ZnO NPs. Acetylacetonate functionalized ZnO exhibited long-term stability and maintained its superior optical and electrical properties for months aging under ambient atmospheric condition. The functionalized ZnO NPs were then incorporated into polymer solar cells with conventional structure as n-type buffer layer. The devices exhibited nearly identical power conversion efficiency regardless of the use of fresh and old (2 months aged) NPs. Our approach provides a simple and efficient route to boost colloidal stability of ZnO NPs in both polar and nonpolar solvents, which could enable structure-independent intense studies for efficient organic and hybrid optoelectronic devices.
Association of gamma-glutamyl transferase with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis and cardiac outcomes in non-alcoholics
Authors: Kim Yong-Giun , Park Gyung-Min , Lee Seung Bum , Yang Dong Hyun , Kang Joon-Won , Lim Tae-Hwan , Kim Hong-Kyu , Choe Jaewon , Lee Seung-Whan , Kim Young-Hak 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIn an asymptomatic population, we determined the relationship between serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and subclinical atherosclerosis, using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). This was a retrospective observational cohort study which analyzed 5120 consecutive asymptomatic individuals with no prior history of coronary artery disease or significant alcohol intake who voluntarily underwent CCTA as part of a general health examination. All subjects were stratified into tertiles based on GGT levels. Degree and extent of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis were evaluated using CCTA. Cardiac events were a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, and coronary revascularization. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, there were no significant differences among GGT tertiles in terms of adjusted odds ratios for non-calcified and mixed plaques. The risk of any atherosclerotic and calcified plaques, significant stenosis, multi-vessel disease, and significant stenosis in the left main or proximal left anterior descending artery was higher in the third GGT tertile than in the first tertile (all p < 0.05). Over a median 5.4-year follow-up, the third GGT tertile had significant adjusted hazards ratios for cardiac events than did the first GGT tertile, even after stepwise adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors (all p < 0.01). In asymptomatic individuals, elevated GGT was independently associated with high-risk feature atherosclerosis and poorer cardiac outcomes.
Graphene oxide and its derivatives as promising In-vitro bio-imaging platforms
Authors: Esmaeili Yasaman , Bidram Elham , Zarrabi Ali , Amini Abbas , Cheng Chun 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIntrinsic fluorescence and versatile optical properties of Graphene Oxide (GO) in visible and near-infrared range introduce this nanomaterial as a promising candidate for numerous clinical applications for early-diagnose of diseases. Despite recent progresses in the impact of major features of GO on the photoluminescence properties of GO, their modifications have not yet systematically understood. Here, to study the modification effects on the fluorescence behavior, poly ethylene glycol (PEG) polymer, metal nanoparticles (Au and Fe3O4) and folic acid (FA) molecules were used to functionalize the GO surface. The fluorescence performances in different environments (water, DMEM cell media and phosphate buffer with two different pH values) were assessed through fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescent microscopy, while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to evaluate the modifications of chemical structures. The modification of GO with desired molecules improved the photoluminescence property. The synthesized platforms of GO-PEG, GO-PEG-Au, GO-PEG-Fe3O4and GO-PEG-FA illustrated emissions in three main fluorescence regions (blue, green and red), suitable for tracing and bio-imaging purposes. Considering MTT results, these platforms potentially positioned themselves as non-invasive optical sensors for the diagnosis alternatives of traditional imaging agents.
Optimizing target nodes selection for the control energy of directed complex networks
Authors: Chen Hong , Yong Ee Hou 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe energy needed in controlling a complex network is a problem of practical importance. Recent works have focused on the reduction of control energy either via strategic placement of driver nodes, or by decreasing the cardinality of nodes to be controlled. However, optimizing control energy with respect to target nodes selection has yet been considered. In this work, we propose an iterative method based on Stiefel manifold optimization of selectable target node matrix to reduce control energy. We derive the matrix derivative gradient needed for the search algorithm in a general way, and search for target nodes which result in reduced control energy, assuming that driver nodes placement is fixed. Our findings reveal that the control energy is optimal when the path distances from driver nodes to target nodes are minimized. We corroborate our algorithm with extensive simulations on elementary network topologies, random and scale-free networks, as well as various real networks. The simulation results show that the control energy found using our algorithm outperforms heuristic selection strategies for choosing target nodes by a few orders of magnitude. Our work may be applicable to opinion networks, where one is interested in identifying the optimal group of individuals that the driver nodes can influence.
Quantitative MRI using relaxometry in malignant gliomas detects contrast enhancement in peritumoral oedema
Authors: Blystad I. , Warntjes J. B. M. , Smedby Ö , Lundberg P. , Larsson E.-M. , Tisell A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMalignant gliomas are primary brain tumours with an infiltrative growth pattern, often with contrast enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, it is well known that tumour infiltration extends beyond the visible contrast enhancement. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is contrast enhancement not detected visually in the peritumoral oedema of malignant gliomas by using relaxometry with synthetic MRI. 25 patients who had brain tumours with a radiological appearance of malignant glioma were prospectively included. A quantitative MR-sequence measuring longitudinal relaxation (R1), transverse relaxation (R2) and proton density (PD), was added to the standard MRI protocol before surgery. Five patients were excluded, and in 20 patients, synthetic MR images were created from the quantitative scans. Manual regions of interest (ROIs) outlined the visibly contrast-enhancing border of the tumours and the peritumoral area. Contrast enhancement was quantified by subtraction of native images from post GD-images, creating an R1-difference-map. The quantitative R1-difference-maps showed significant contrast enhancement in the peritumoral area (0.047) compared to normal appearing white matter (0.032), p = 0.048. Relaxometry detects contrast enhancement in the peritumoral area of malignant gliomas. This could represent infiltrative tumour growth.
Effect of androgen deprivation therapy on cardiovascular function in Chinese patients with advanced prostate cancer: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Ng Chi-fai , Chiu Peter K. F. , Yee Chi-hang , Lau Becky S. Y. , Leung Steven C. H. , Teoh Jeremy Y. C. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAndrogen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer, but its effect on cardiovascular and metabolic function in Asian patients is still inconclusive. We prospectively assess the effects of ADT on 36 patients with advanced prostate cancer, with reference to another 24 prostate cancer patients not requiring ADT, for 2 years. Patients’ anthropometric, metabolic and vascular parameters were assessed every six-monthly. The baseline parameters of the two groups were comparable. There was a significant negative effect of the usage of ADT on the changes in BMI (p = 0.020), waist to hip ratio (p = 0.005), body fat percentage (p = 0.012), and high-density-lipoprotein (p = 0.012). ADT-patients were 4.9 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome at 24 months. (CI 0.889–27.193, p = 0.068). The Framingham risk score (p = 0.018) and pulse-wave-velocity (p = 0.024) for ADT-group were also significantly higher than controls, which signified increase in cardiovascular risk. Although there was no statistically significant difference in ischemic cardiovascular events between two groups, a trend for more events in ADT-group was observed. Therefore, Asian patients have increased cardiovascular and metabolic risks after being treated with ADT for two years. Appropriate counselling and monitoring of associated complications with ADT are essential.
Using advanced oxidation protein products and ischaemia-modified albumin to monitor oxidative stress levels in patients with drug-induced liver injury
Authors: Xiao Lan-Lan , Zhang Fen , Zhao Ya-Lei , Zhang Ling-Jian , Xie Zhong-Yang , Huang Kai-Zhou , Ouyang Xiao-Xi , Wu Xiao-Xin , Xu Xiao-Wei , Li Lan-Juan 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIncreased oxidative stress levels play a key role in idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) pathogenesis. To investigated whether advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) and ischaemia-modified albumin (IMA) can be used to monitor oxidative stress in DILI patients and to assess disease severity. We performed spectrophotometric assays to assess AOPPs and IMA in 68 DILI patients with severity grade 0–2 (non-severe group), 60 with severity grade 3–5 (severe group), and 38 healthy controls. The results showed that baseline AOPPs and IMA serum levels and AOPPs/albumin and IMA/albumin ratios were significantly higher in DILI patients than in healthy controls. Besides, in comparison to the non-severe group, the severe group showed higher baseline AOPPs and IMA serum levels and AOPPs/albumin and IMA/albumin ratios. AOPPs and IMA serum levels and AOPPs/albumin and IMA/albumin ratios decreased after treatment in both patient groups. Combining the correlation analysis and areas under the receiver operating curve (AUROCs) analysis results, that IMA outperformed to be one is the most reliable marker to assess disease severity of DILI. Our findings indicated that AOPPs and IMA can serve as key biomarkers for monitoring oxidative stress levels in DILI patients and can indicate disease severity. The IMA outperformed to be one of the most reliable oxidative stress biomarkers to assess disease severity of DILI.
TLR9–IL-2 axis exacerbates allergic asthma by preventing IL-17A hyperproduction
Authors: Murakami Yusuke , Ishii Takashi , Nunokawa Hiroki , Kurata Keigo , Narita Tomoya , Yamashita Naomi 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAllergic asthma is one of most famous allergic diseases, which develops lung and airway inflammation. Recent studies have revealed the relationship between the pathology of allergic asthma and the increase of host-derived DNA in inflamed lung, but the role of the DNA-recognizing innate immune receptor for the inflammation is unknown well. Here we investigated the role of Toll-Like Receptor 9 in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma without synthesized CpG-ODNs. To examine that, we analyzed the pathology and immunology of house-dust-mite (HDM)-induced allergic asthma in Tlr9–/– mice and TLR9-inhibitory-antibody-treated mice. In Tlr9–/– mice, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and the number of eosinophils decreased, and production of the Th2 cytokines IL-13, IL-5, and IL-4 was suppressed, compared with in wild-type mice. Interestingly, unlike Th2 cytokine production, IL-17A production was increased in Tlr9–/– mice. Furthermore, production of IL-2, which decreases IL-17A production, was reduced in Tlr9–/– mice. Blockade of TLR9 by treatment with TLR9-inhibitory-antibody, NaR9, effectively suppressed the development of allergic asthma pathology. IL-17A production in NaR9-treated mice was enhanced, which is comparable to Tlr9-/- mice. These results suggest that the TLR9–IL-2 axis plays an important role in Th2 inflammation by modulating IL-17A production in HDM-induced allergic asthma and that targeting of TLR9 might be a novel therapeutic method for allergic asthma.
Deep time-delay Markov network for prediction and modeling the stress and emotions state transition
Authors: Prasetio Barlian Henryranu , Tamura Hiroki , Tanno Koichi 
Published: October 2020

AbstractTo recognize stress and emotion, most of the existing methods only observe and analyze speech patterns from present-time features. However, an emotion (especially for stress) can change because it was triggered by an event while speaking. To address this issue, we propose a novel method for predicting stress and emotions by analyzing prior emotional states. We named this method the deep time-delay Markov network (DTMN). Structurally, the proposed DTMN contains a hidden Markov model (HMM) and a time-delay neural network (TDNN). We evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed DTMN by comparing it with several state transition methods in predicting an emotional state from time-series (sequences) speech data of the SUSAS dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed DTMN can accurately predict present emotional states by outperforming the baseline systems in terms of the prediction error rate (PER). We then modeled the emotional state transition using a finite Markov chain based on the prediction result. We also conducted an ablation experiment to observe the effect of different HMM values and TDNN parameters on the prediction result and the computational training time of the proposed DTMN.
Identification of DHX9 as a cell cycle regulated nucleolar recruitment factor for CIZ1
Authors: Thacker Urvi , Pauzaite Tekle , Tollitt James , Twardowska Maria , Harrison Charlotte , Dowle Adam , Coverley Dawn , Copeland Nikki A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractCIP1-interacting zinc finger protein 1 (CIZ1) is a nuclear matrix associated protein that facilitates a number of nuclear functions including initiation of DNA replication, epigenetic maintenance and associates with the inactive X-chromosome. Here, to gain more insight into the protein networks that underpin this diverse functionality, molecular panning and mass spectrometry are used to identify protein interaction partners of CIZ1, and CIZ1 replication domain (CIZ1-RD). STRING analysis of CIZ1 interaction partners identified 2 functional clusters: ribosomal subunits and nucleolar proteins including the DEAD box helicases, DHX9, DDX5 and DDX17. DHX9 shares common functions with CIZ1, including interaction with XIST long-non-coding RNA, epigenetic maintenance and regulation of DNA replication. Functional characterisation of the CIZ1-DHX9 complex showed that CIZ1-DHX9 interact in vitro and dynamically colocalise within the nucleolus from early to mid S-phase. CIZ1-DHX9 nucleolar colocalisation is dependent upon RNA polymerase I activity and is abolished by depletion of DHX9. In addition, depletion of DHX9 reduced cell cycle progression from G1 to S-phase in mouse fibroblasts. The data suggest that DHX9-CIZ1 are required for efficient cell cycle progression at the G1/S transition and that nucleolar recruitment is integral to their mechanism of action.
Volumetric breast density estimation on MRI using explainable deep learning regression
Authors: van der Velden Bas H. M. , Janse Markus H. A. , Ragusi Max A. A. , Loo Claudette E. , Gilhuijs Kenneth G. A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractTo purpose of this paper was to assess the feasibility of volumetric breast density estimations on MRI without segmentations accompanied with an explainability step. A total of 615 patients with breast cancer were included for volumetric breast density estimation. A 3-dimensional regression convolutional neural network (CNN) was used to estimate the volumetric breast density. Patients were split in training (N = 400), validation (N = 50), and hold-out test set (N = 165). Hyperparameters were optimized using Neural Network Intelligence and augmentations consisted of translations and rotations. The estimated densities were evaluated to the ground truth using Spearman’s correlation and Bland–Altman plots. The output of the CNN was visually analyzed using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Spearman’s correlation between estimated and ground truth density was ρ = 0.81 (N = 165, P < 0.001) in the hold-out test set. The estimated density had a median bias of 0.70% (95% limits of agreement = − 6.8% to 5.0%) to the ground truth. SHAP showed that in correct density estimations, the algorithm based its decision on fibroglandular and fatty tissue. In incorrect estimations, other structures such as the pectoral muscle or the heart were included. To conclude, it is feasible to automatically estimate volumetric breast density on MRI without segmentations, and to provide accompanying explanations.
Spatiotemporal mapping of malaria prevalence in Madagascar using routine surveillance and health survey data
Authors: Arambepola Rohan , Keddie Suzanne H. , Collins Emma L. , Twohig Katherine A. , Amratia Punam , Bertozzi-Villa Amelia , Chestnutt Elisabeth G. , Harris Joseph , Millar Justin , Rozier Jennifer , Rumisha Susan F. , Symons Tasmin L. , Vargas-Ruiz Camilo , Andriamananjara Mauricette , Rabeherisoa Saraha , Ratsimbasoa Arsène C. , Howes Rosalind E. , Weiss Daniel J. , Gething Peter W. , Cameron Ewan 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMalaria transmission in Madagascar is highly heterogeneous, exhibiting spatial, seasonal and long-term trends. Previous efforts to map malaria risk in Madagascar used prevalence data from Malaria Indicator Surveys. These cross-sectional surveys, conducted during the high transmission season most recently in 2013 and 2016, provide nationally representative prevalence data but cover relatively short time frames. Conversely, monthly case data are collected at health facilities but suffer from biases, including incomplete reporting and low rates of treatment seeking. We combined survey and case data to make monthly maps of prevalence between 2013 and 2016. Health facility catchment populations were estimated to produce incidence rates from the case data. Smoothed incidence surfaces, environmental and socioeconomic covariates, and survey data informed a Bayesian prevalence model, in which a flexible incidence-to-prevalence relationship was learned. Modelled spatial trends were consistent over time, with highest prevalence in the coastal regions and low prevalence in the highlands and desert south. Prevalence was lowest in 2014 and peaked in 2015 and seasonality was widely observed, including in some lower transmission regions. These trends highlight the utility of monthly prevalence estimates over the four year period. By combining survey and case data using this two-step modelling approach, we were able to take advantage of the relative strengths of each metric while accounting for potential bias in the case data. Similar modelling approaches combining large datasets of different malaria metrics may be applicable across sub-Saharan Africa.