bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Plasma Technology Reduces Blood Loss in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Piazzolla Andrea , Bizzoca Davide , Solarino Giuseppe , Parato Claudia , Moretti Biagio 
Published: June 2020

Study Design: Prospective randomized clinical trial. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of PEAK Plasmablade (PPB), compared with bipolar sealer and standard electrocautery, in the posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion (PSF) surgery performed for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods: Ninety-three patients undergoing PSF surgery for AIS were randomized in 2 groups: group-A patients (n = 45) underwent PSF surgery using PPB; group-B patients (n = 48) were treated with bipolar sealer and standard electrocautery. Demographic and surgical data was recorded. All the patients underwent serial blood tests on the day before surgery (T0) and at 24 (T1), 48 (T2), 72 (T3), and 96 (T4) hours postoperatively. Visual analogue scale for pain (VAS) score, the percentage of paracetamol assumption, and the blood transfusion rate were recorded in the time-lapse T1 to T4. Intergroup variability was assessed. Pearson correlation test was performed. A P value <.05 was considered significant. Results: In group A, a significantly shorter total operative time ( P = .0087), a significantly lower total intraoperative blood loss (TBL) ( P = .001), and a higher postoperative hemoglobin (Hb) ( P = .01) were recorded. A significant higher mean Hb concentration and mean albumin value was recorded in group A at 24 and 48 hours postoperatively. A significant correlation between TBL and hospital stay was recorded in both groups (group A, P = .00 001; group B, P = .00 006); moreover, in both groups, a significant correlation was observed between TBL and mean VAS at 72 hours postoperatively (group A, P = .0009; group B, P = .0001) and at 96 hours postoperatively (group A, P = .000 044; group B, P = .00 001). Conclusions: PPB reduces the intraoperative blood loss in PSF performed for AIS, thus allowing a patient’s faster recovery.
British Colonial Commonality: East Africa and India
Authors: Kumar Ajit 
Published: June 2020

This note examines aspects of colonial commonality between British colonised East Africa and India. Community development as a rural development programme, its presence in academic institutions and its use as an expression in development discourse are some of these commonalities. With the passage of time, British East Africa and India have diverged on some of these commonalities. In India, community development began with great developmental hopes in 1952, but it ended miserably and was soon abandoned as a rural development programme. While it vanished from India’s development lexicon, community development still retains a place in the development discourse of Botswana. It also seems to resonate in the mainstream life of some East African countries unlike in India. But one commonality still continues. Community development finds some place in the halls of academe in both Botswana and India today. To discuss these aspects of colonial commonality, this article moves back-and-forth among Botswana, India and British East Africa. This article needs to be read in the historical context of de-colonisation struggles over developmental ideas in British East Africa and India and the role of the native elites in this process.
Endogenous TCR promotes in vivo persistence of CD19-CAR-T cells compared to a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated TCR knockout CAR
Authors: Stenger Dana , Stief Tanja A. , Kaeuferle Theresa , Willier Semjon , Rataj Felicitas , Schober Kilian , Vick Binje , Lotfi Ramin , Wagner Beate , Grünewald Thomas G. P. , Kobold Sebastian , Busch Dirk H. , Jeremias Irmela , Blaeschke Franziska , Feuchtinger Tobias 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells showed significant antileukemic activity in B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Allogeneic, HLA-mismatched off-the-shelf third-party donors may offer ideal fitness of the effector cells, but carry the risk of graft-versus-host disease. Knockout (KO) of the endogenous T-cell receptor (TCR) in CD19-CAR-T cells may be a promising solution. Here, we induced a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated KO of the TCRβ chain in combination with a second-generation retroviral CAR transduction including a 4-1BB costimulatory domain in primary T cells. This tandem engineering led to a highly functional population of TCR-KO-CAR-T cells with strong activation (CD25, interferon γ), proliferation, and specific killing upon CD19 target recognition. TCR-KO-CAR-T cells had a balanced phenotype of central memory and effector memory T cells. KO of the endogenous TCR in T cells strongly ablated alloreactivity in comparison with TCR-expressing T cells. In a patient-derived xenograft model of childhood ALL, TCR-KO-CAR-T cells clearly controlled CD19+ leukemia burden and improved survival in vivo. However, coexpression of endogenous TCR plus CAR led to superior persistence of T cells and significantly prolonged leukemia control in vivo, confirmed by a second in vivo model using the leukemia cell line NALM6. These results point toward an essential role of the endogenous TCR for longevity of the response at the price of alloreactivity. In conclusion, anti-CD19 CAR T cells with a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated TCR-KO are promising candidates for nonmatched third-party adoptive T-cell transfer with high antileukemic functionality in the absence of alloreactivity, but long-term persistence in vivo is better in the presence of the endogenous TCR.
Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of erenumab for the preventive treatment of persistent post-traumatic headache attributed to mild traumatic brain injury: an open-label study
Authors: Ashina Håkan , Iljazi Afrim , Al-Khazali Haidar Muhsen , Eigenbrodt Anna Kristina , Larsen Eigil Lindekilde , Andersen Amalie Middelboe , Hansen Kevin John , Bräuner Karoline Bendix , Mørch-Jessen Thomas , Chaudhry Basit , Antic Sonja , Christensen Casper Emil , Ashina Messoud , Amin Faisal Mohammad , Schytz Henrik Winther 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of post-traumatic headache (PTH), which raises the prospect for therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies targeting CGRP or its receptor. Therefore, we decided to assess the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of erenumab for prevention of persistent PTH attributed to mild traumatic brain injury.

Methods
A single-center, non-randomized, single-arm, open-label study of erenumab for adults aged 18–65 years with persistent PTH. Patients were assigned to receive 140-mg erenumab monthly by two subcutaneous 1-mL injections, given every 4 weeks for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the mean change in number of monthly headache days of moderate to severe intensity from baseline (4-week pretreatment period) to week 9 through 12. Tolerability and safety endpoints were adverse events (i.e. number and type).

Results
Eighty-nine of 100 patients completed the open-label trial. At baseline, the mean monthly number of headache days of moderate to severe intensity was 15.7. By week 9 through 12, the number was reduced by 2.8 days. The most common adverse events were constipation (n = 30) and injection-site reactions (n = 15). Of 100 patients who received at least one dose of erenumab, two patients discontinued the treatment regimen due to adverse events.

Conclusions
Among patients with persistent PTH, erenumab resulted in a lower frequency of moderate to severe headache days in this 12-week open-label trial. In addition, erenumab was well-tolerated as discontinuations due to adverse events were low. Placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials are needed to adequately evaluate the efficacy and safety of erenumab in patients with persistent PTH.

Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.Gov, NCT03974360. Registered on April 17, 2019 - Retrospectively registered
Production Assessment and Genome Comparison Revealed High Yield Potential and Novel Specific Alleles Associated with Fertility and Yield in Neo-Tetraploid Rice
Authors: Yu Hang , Shahid Muhammad Qasim , Li Qihang , Li Yudi , Li Cong , Lu Zijun , Wu Jinwen , Zhang Zemin , Liu Xiangdong 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Neo-tetraploid rice (NTR) is a new tetraploid rice germplasm that developed from the crossing and directional selection of different autotetraploid rice lines, which showed high fertility and promising yield potential. However, systematic yield assessment, genome composition and functional variations associated with fertility and yield remain elusive.

Results
Two season’s field trials of 15 NTRs and 27 autotetraploid rice (ATR) lines revealed that the improvement of YPP (yield per plant, 4.45 g increase) were significantly associated with the increase of SS (seed setting, 29.44% increase), and yield and seed setting of NTRs improved significantly compared to parental lines. Whole genome resequencing of 13 NTR sister lines and their parents at about 48.63 depth were conducted and genome compositions were illustrated using inherited chromosomal blocks. Interestingly, 222 non-parental genes were detected between NTRs and their low fertility parental lines, which were conserved in 13 NTRs. These genes were overlapped with yield and fertility QTLs, and RNA-Seq analysis revealed that 81 of them were enriched in reproductive tissues. CRISPR/Cas9 gene knockout was conducted for 9 non-parental genes to validate their function. Knockout mutants showed on an average 25.63% and 4.88 g decrease in SS and YPP, respectively. Notably, some mutants showed interesting phenotypes, e.g., kin7l (kinesin motor gene) and kin14m (kinesin motor gene), bzr3 (BES1/BZR1 homolog) and nrfg4 (neo-tetraploid rice fertility related gene) exhibited 44.65%, 24.30%, 24.42% and 28.33% decrease in SS and 8.81 g, 4.71 g, 5.90 g, 6.22 g reduction in YPP, respectively.

Conclusion
Comparative genomics provides insights into genome composition of neo-tetraploid rice and the genes associated with fertility and yield will play important role to reveal molecular mechanisms for the improvement of tetraploid rice.
Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation of Wild Oryza Species Using Immature Embryos
Authors: Shimizu-Sato Sae , Tsuda Katsutoshi , Nosaka-Takahashi Misuzu , Suzuki Toshiya , Ono Seijiro , Ta Kim Nhung , Yoshida Yuri , Nonomura Ken-Ichi , Sato Yutaka 
Published: June 2020

AbstractGenetic transformation is one of the most important technologies for revealing or modulating gene function. It is used widely in both functional genomics and molecular breeding of rice. Demands on its use in wild Oryza species is increasing because of their high genetic diversity. Given the difficulties in genetic crosses between distantly related species, genetic transformation offers a way to alter or transfer genetic traits in wild rice accessions. However, transformation of wild Oryza accessions by conventional methods using calli induced from scutellum tissue of embryos in mature seeds often fails. Here, we report methods using immature embryos for the genetic transformation of a broad range of Oryza species. First, we investigated the ability of callus induction and regeneration from immature embryos of 192 accessions in 20 species under several culture conditions. We regenerated plants from immature embryos of 90 accessions in 16 species. Next, we optimized the conditions of Agrobacterium infection using a vector carrying the GFP gene driven by the maize ubiquitin promoter. GFP signals were observed in 51 accessions in 11 species. We analyzed the growth and seed set of transgenic plants of O. barthii, O. glumaepatula, O. rufipogon, and O. brachyantha. The plants grew to maturity and set seeds normally. Southern blot analyses using DNA from T0 plants showed that all GFP plants were derived from independent transformation events. We confirmed that the T-DNAs were transmitted to the next generation through the segregation of GFP signals in the T1 generation. These results show that many Oryza species can be transformed by using modified immature-embryo methods. This will accelerate the use of wild Oryza accessions in molecular genetic analyses and molecular breeding.
The nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of Frieseomelitta varia – a highly eusocial stingless bee (Meliponini) with a permanently sterile worker caste
Authors: de Paula Freitas Flávia C. , Lourenço Anete P. , Nunes Francis M. F. , Paschoal Alexandre R. , Abreu Fabiano C. P. , Barbin Fábio O. , Bataglia Luana , Cardoso-Júnior Carlos A. M. , Cervoni Mário S. , Silva Saura R. , Dalarmi Fernanda , Del Lama Marco A. , Depintor Thiago S. , Ferreira Kátia M. , Gória Paula S. , Jaskot Michael C. , Lago Denyse C. , Luna-Lucena Danielle , Moda Livia M. , Nascimento Leonardo , Pedrino Matheus , Oliveira Franciene Rabiço , Sanches Fernanda C. , Santos Douglas E. , Santos Carolina G. , Vieira Joseana , Barchuk Angel R. , Hartfelder Klaus , Simões Zilá L. P. , Bitondi Márcia M. G. , Pinheiro Daniel G. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundMost of our understanding on the social behavior and genomics of bees and other social insects is centered on the Western honey bee,Apis mellifera.The genusApis,however, is a highly derived branch comprising less than a dozen species, four of which genomically characterized. In contrast, for the equally highly eusocial, yet taxonomically and biologically more diverse Meliponini, a full genome sequence was so far available for a singleMeliponaspecies only. We present here the genome sequence ofFrieseomelitta varia, a stingless bee that has, as a peculiarity, a completely sterile worker caste.ResultsThe assembly of 243,974,526 high quality Illumina reads resulted in a predicted assembled genome size of 275 Mb composed of 2173 scaffolds. A BUSCO analysis for the 10,526 predicted genes showed that these represent 96.6% of the expected hymenopteran orthologs. We also predicted 169,371 repetitive genomic components, 2083 putative transposable elements, and 1946 genes for non-coding RNAs, largely long non-coding RNAs. The mitochondrial genome comprises 15,144 bp, encoding 13 proteins, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs. We observed considerable rearrangement in the mitochondrial gene order compared to other bees. For an in-depth analysis of genes related to social biology, we manually checked the annotations for 533 automatically predicted gene models, including 127 genes related to reproductive processes, 104 to development, and 174 immunity-related genes. We also performed specific searches for genes containing transcription factor domains and genes related to neurogenesis and chemosensory communication.ConclusionsThe total genome size forF. variais similar to the sequenced genomes of other bees. Using specific prediction methods, we identified a large number of repetitive genome components and long non-coding RNAs, which could provide the molecular basis for gene regulatory plasticity, including worker reproduction. The remarkable reshuffling in gene order in the mitochondrial genome suggests that stingless bees may be a hotspot for mtDNA evolution. Hence, while being just the second stingless bee genome sequenced, we expect that subsequent targeting of a selected set of species from this diverse clade of highly eusocial bees will reveal relevant evolutionary signals and trends related to eusociality in these important pollinators.
Identification of genetic loci associated with higher resistance to pancreas disease (PD) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)
Authors: Hillestad Borghild , Makvandi-Nejad Shokouh , Krasnov Aleksei , Moghadam Hooman K. 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Pancreas disease (PD) is a contagious disease caused by salmonid alphavirus (SAV) with significant economic and welfare impacts on salmon farming. Previous work has shown that higher resistance against PD has underlying additive genetic components and can potentially be improved through selective breeding. To better understand the genetic basis of PD resistance in Atlantic salmon, we challenged 4506 smolts from 296 families of the SalmoBreed strain. Fish were challenged through intraperitoneal injection with the most virulent form of the virus found in Norway (i.e., SAV3). Mortalities were recorded, and more than 900 fish were further genotyped on a 55 K SNP array.

Results
The estimated heritability for PD resistance was 0.41 ± 0.017. The genetic markers on two chromosomes, ssa03 and ssa07, showed significant associations with higher disease resistance. Collectively, markers on these two QTL regions explained about 60% of the additive genetic variance. We also sequenced and compared the cardiac transcriptomics of moribund fish and animals that survived the challenge with a focus on candidate genes within the chromosomal segments harbouring QTL. Approximately 200 genes, within the QTL regions, were found to be differentially expressed. Of particular interest, we identified various components of immunoglobulin-heavy-chain locus B (IGH-B) on ssa03 and immunoglobulin-light-chain on ssa07 with markedly higher levels of transcription in the resistant animals. These genes are closely linked to the most strongly QTL associated SNPs, making them likely candidates for further investigation.

Conclusions
The findings presented here provide supporting evidence that breeding is an efficient tool for increasing PD resistance in Atlantic salmon populations. The estimated heritability is one of the largest reported for any disease resistance in this species, where the majority of the genetic variation is explained by two major QTL. The transcriptomic analysis has revealed the activation of essential components of the innate and the adaptive immune responses following infection with SAV3. Furthermore, the complementation of the genomic with the transcriptomic data has highlighted the possible critical role of the immunoglobulin loci in combating PD virus.
Distinctions between sex and time in patterns of DNA methylation across puberty
Authors: Moore Sarah Rose , Humphreys Kathryn Leigh , Colich Natalie Lisanne , Davis Elena Goetz , Lin David Tse Shen , MacIsaac Julia Lynn , Kobor Michael Steffen , Gotlib Ian Henry 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
There are significant sex differences in human physiology and disease; the genomic sources of these differences, however, are not well understood. During puberty, a drastic neuroendocrine shift signals physical changes resulting in robust sex differences in human physiology. Here, we explore how shifting patterns of DNA methylation may inform these pathways of biological plasticity during the pubertal transition. In this study we analyzed DNA methylation (DNAm) in saliva at two time points across the pubertal transition within the same individuals. Our purpose was to compare two domains of DNAm patterns that may inform processes of sexual differentiation 1) sex related sites, which demonstrated differences between males from females and 2) time related sites in which DNAm shifted significantly between timepoints. We further explored the correlated network structure sex and time related DNAm networks and linked these patterns to pubertal stage, assays of salivary testosterone, a reliable diagnostic of free, unbound hormone that is available to act on target tissues, and overlap with androgen response elements.

Results
Sites that differed by biological sex were largely independent of sites that underwent change across puberty. Time-related DNAm sites, but not sex-related sites, formed correlated networks that were associated with pubertal stage. Both time and sex DNAm networks reflected salivary testosterone levels that were enriched for androgen response elements, with sex-related DNAm networks being informative of testosterone levels above and beyond biological sex later in the pubertal transition.

Conclusions
These results inform our understanding of the distinction between sex- and time-related differences in DNAm during the critical period of puberty and highlight a novel linkage between correlated patterns of sex-related DNAm and levels of salivary testosterone.
PCR-based screening, isolation, and partial characterization of motile lactobacilli from various animal feces
Authors: Suzuki Shunya , Fujita Koki , Maeno Shintaro , Shiwa Yuh , Endo Akihito , Yokota Kenji , Igimi Shizunobu , Kajikawa Akinobu 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Most lactobacilli found in animal intestines are generally non-motile, but there are few exceptions. Our previous work showed that Lactobacillus agilis BKN88, which is a highly motile strain originating from a chicken, takes advantage of motility in gut colonization in murine models, and thus motile lactobacilli likely have unique ecological characteristics conferred by motility. However, the ecology and habitat of gut-derived motile lactobacilli are still rarely understood. In addition, the limited availability of motile Lactobacillus isolates is one of the major obstacles for further studies. To gain insight into the ecology and habitat of the motile lactobacilli, we established a routinely applicable detection method for motile lactobacilli using PCR and subsequent selective isolation in semi-solid MRS medium for the collection of additional motile lactobacilli from animal feces.

Results
We applied the PCR detection using motile lactobacilli-specific primers, based on the motor switch protein gene (fliG) of flagella, to 120 animal feces, followed by selective isolation performed using 45 animal feces. As a result, motile lactobacilli were detected in 44 animal feces. In the selective isolation, 29 isolates of L. agilis and 2 isolates of L. ruminis were obtained from 8 animal species.

Conclusions
These results indicated that motile lactobacilli are distributed in different animal species. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis of the L. agilis isolates suggests co-evolution with the host, and adaptation to a particular environmental niche.