bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvement of Streptococcus suis glutamate dehydrogenase expression in Escherichia coli through genetic modification of acetate synthesis pathway
Authors: Wang J. , Shang Q. , Zhao C. , Zhang S. , Li Z. , Lin C. , Shen Z. , Cheng L. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Escherichia coli generates acetate as an undesirable by-product that has several negative effects on protein expression, and the reduction of acetate accumulation by modifying genes of acetate synthesis pathway can improve the expression of recombinant proteins. In the present study, the effect of phosphotransacetylase (pta) or/and acetate kinase (ackA) deletion on glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) expression was investigated. The results indicated that the disruptions of pta or/and ackA decreased the acetate accumulation and synthesis of per gram cell, and increased cell density, and GDH expression and synthesis of per gram cell. The pta gene was more important for acetate formation than the ackA gene. Using the strain with deletions of pta-ackA (SSGPA) for GDH expression, acetate accumulation (2·61 g l−1) and acetate synthesis of per gram cell (0·229 g g−1) were lowest, decreasing by 28·29 and 41·43% compared with those of the parental strain (SSG) respectively. The flux of acetate synthesis (6·6%) was decreased by 72·15% compared with that of SSG, and the highest cell density (11·38 g l−1), GDH expression (2·78 mg ml−1), and GDH formation of per gram cell (0·2442 mg mg−1) were obtained, which were 1·22-, 1·43- and 1·17-times higher than the parental strain respectively.

Significance and Impact of the Study
Significance and Impact of the Study: Acetate is the key undesirable by-product in Escherichia coli cultivation, and both biomass and production of desired products are increased by the reduction of acetate accumulation. In the present study, the strains with deletions of pta or/and ackA were constructed to reduce the acetate accumulation and improve the GDH expression, and the highest expression level of GDH was obtained using the strain with lesion in pta-ackA that was 1·17-times higher than that of the parental strain. The construction strategy of recombinant E. coli for decreasing the acetate excretion can be used for high expression level of other desired products.
Clinical outcome indicators in chronic hepatitis B and C: A primer for value‐based medicine in hepatology
Authors: Strazzabosco Mario , Cortesi Paolo A. , Conti Sara , Okolicsanyi Stefano , Rota Matteo , Ciaccio Antonio , Cozzolino Paolo , Fornari Carla , Gemma Marta , Scalone Luciana , Cesana Giancarlo , Fabris Luca , Colledan Michele , Fagiuoli Stefano , Ideo Gaetano , Zavaglia Claudio , Perricone Giovanni , Munari Luca M. , Mantovani Lorenzo G. , Belli Luca S. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractBackground & AimsChronic liver diseases (CLDs) are major health problems that require complex and costly treatments. Liver‐specific clinical outcome indicators (COIs) able to assist both clinicians and administrators in improving the value of care are presently lacking. The Value‐Based Medicine in Hepatology (VBMH) study aims to fill this gap, devising and testing a set of COIs for CLD, that could be easily collected during clinical practice. Here we report the COIs generated and recorded for patients with HBV or HCV infection at different stages of the disease.Methods/ResultsIn the first phase of VBMH study, COIs were identified, based on current international guidelines and literature, using a modified Delphi method and a RAND 9‐point appropriateness scale. In the second phase, COIs were tested in an observational, longitudinal, prospective, multicentre study based in Lombardy, Italy. Eighteen COIs were identified for HBV and HCV patients. Patients with CLD secondary to HBV (547) or HCV (1391) were enrolled over an 18‐month period and followed for a median of 4 years. The estimation of the proposed COIs was feasible in the real‐word clinical practice and COI values compared well with literature data. Further, the COIs were able to capture the impact of new effective treatments like direct‐acting antivirals (DAAs) in the clinical practice.ConclusionsThe COIs efficiently measured clinical outcomes at different stages of CLDs. While specific clinical practice settings and related healthcare systems may modify their implementation, these indicators will represent an important component of the tools for a value‐based approach in hepatology and will positively affect care delivery.
The importance of diversity in cognitive neuroscience
Authors: Dotson Vonetta M. , Duarte Audrey 
Published: October 2019

AbstractThe vast majority of what is known about the neural underpinnings of human cognition comes from studies limited to racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically homogeneous samples. Furthermore, although most studies include both males and females in their samples, sex differences in patterns of brain activity and performance are rarely evaluated. We discuss recent research suggesting that one's socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and sex contribute to individual differences in neural structure, function, and related cognitive performance across a variety of cognitive domains. These studies make it clear that findings from decades of cognitive neuroscience research are likely not generalizable to a population that is much more diverse than the samples tested. We argue that these demographics cannot be ignored if we want to understand the neural substrates of human cognition for the diverse, general population. Cognitive neuroscience has been, and continues to be, used to inform education policy and clinical practice. We argue that greater diversity in cognitive neuroscience research is needed to improve reproducibility and to serve the treatment needs of a diverse population. We discuss the challenges to achieving this goal, including consideration of confounding and correlated variables, recruitment, necessary costs, and best practices for dealing with them.
How Much is Too Much? The Effect of Offline Call Intensity on Online Purchase of Digital Services
Authors: Zhang Xingyue , Yao Yuliang 
Published: October 2019

Use a unique dataset collected from a large classified ads website, we empirically examine the effect of the offline call intensity on the online consumer purchase probability of digital services and the carryover effect of the call intensity. We find that the online consumer purchase probability is increasing in the call intensity but at a decreasing rate. We further demonstrate that the decreasing rate is sizable enough that the relationship between the online consumer purchase probability and the call intensity is an inverted U‐shaped curve. In addition, there exists a strong carryover effect where the online call intensity in the past 4 weeks does not fade away but has a positive effect on recent consumer purchases. Our estimations show that both too much and too little call intensity will result in considerably worse outcomes. As compared with the call intensity at the optimal level, too much call intensity potentially reduces the online consumer purchase probability by 29.11%, and too little call intensity potentially reduces the online consumer purchase probability by 54.90%. Furthermore, making calls every week for 4 weeks can increase consumer purchase probability by 10.69 times as compared with just initiating calls with the consumers.
Identification of true Gloiopeltis furcata (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) and preliminary analysis of its biogeography
Authors: Hanyuda Takeaki , Yamamura Kensho , Boo Ga H. , Miller Kathy A. , Vinogradova Kira L. , Kawai Hiroshi 
Published: October 2019

SUMMARYIn the red algal genus Gloiopeltis, five species (G. complanata, G. dura, G. frutex, G. furcata and G. tenax) are currently recognized, but genetic analyses have suggested considerably greater species diversity. Gloiopeltis specimens formed nine highly supported clades, six of which are morphologically referable to G. furcata. In order to identify the clade corresponding to true G. furcata, we examined the morphology and genetics of the type specimen of Dumontia furcata Postels & Ruprecht, the basionym of G. furcata, housed in the Herbarium of V.L. Komarov Botanical Institute (LE). A clade comprising the type and specimens from the northwestern to northeastern Pacific Ocean was determined to correspond G. furcata. We concluded that the type locality of G. furcata is Sitka, Alaska, based on the identity of haplotypes. We investigated the genetic divergence of populations within this species, using specimens covering most of its distributional range. We confirmed the merger of G. minuta and G. dura with G. furcata.
miRNA sequencing reveals miRNA‐4508 from peripheral blood lymphocytes as potential diagnostic biomarker for silica‐related pulmonary fibrosis: A multistage study
Authors: Chu Minjie , Wu Shuangshuang , Wang Wei , Mao Liping , Yu Yuhui , Jiang Liying , Yuan Weiyan , Zhang Mingjiong , Sang Lingli , Huang Qiqing , Tian Tian , Han Lei , Zhuang Xun , Zhang Zuo‐Feng , Wu Jianqing 
Published: October 2019

ABSTRACTBackground and objectiveThis study aimed to identify miRNA as potential diagnostic biomarkers for silica‐related pulmonary fibrosis (SPF).MethodsWe first performed a comprehensive miRNA‐seq screening in PBL of eight subjects exposed to silica dust (four individuals with SPF and four healthy controls). The promising miRNA were then evaluated in the first‐stage validation using an independent GEO data set (GSE80555) of 6 subjects (3 individuals with SPF and 3 healthy controls), followed by a second‐stage validation using 120 subjects exposed to silica dust (60 individuals with SPF and 60 healthy controls).ResultsThirty‐five miRNA showed strong expression differences in miRNA‐seq screening, while miRNA‐4508 (P = 9.52 × 10−3) was retained as a candidate after the first‐stage validation (GSE80555), which was further confirmed in the second‐stage validation with similar and strong effect (P = 9.93 × 10−17). ROC analysis showed that miRNA‐4508 could distinguish SPF cases from healthy controls with high AUC (0.886), with sensitivity of 81.7% and specificity of 86.7%. In addition, the miRNA‐4508 upstream rs6576457 mutant A allele exhibited a strong association with susceptibility to SPF (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.20–2.23, P = 0.002), while eQTL analysis revealed a potential association between different genotypes of rs6576457 and miRNA‐4508 expression (P = 0.068) in 60 healthy subjects with silica dust exposure.ConclusionmiRNA‐4508 may be a potential diagnostic marker for SPF, and rs6576457, a functional variant of miRNA‐4508, may affect SPF susceptibility. The detailed mechanism of action of this miRNA remains to be elucidated.
Tax havens compliance with international standards: A temporal perspective
Authors: Pieretti Patrice , Pulina Giuseppe , Zanaj Skerdilajda 
Published: October 2019

AbstractThis paper contributes to the debate centering on the fight against aggressive tax avoidance practices through the release of international standards. We develop a model in which identical tax havens decide upon their compliance date while competing for onshore capital. The timing of these decisions depends on the effects of two opposing forces. One force is linked to the tax sensitivity of international capital and the other to the reaction of nearby potential capital. When the former force dominates, asynchronous compliance arises, which occurs even with identical tax havens and perfect information. However, when the latter force dominates, tax havens comply simultaneously. In any case, the loss of tax base within the onshore region is minimized when compliance is simultaneous and occurs at the earliest possible date. Surprisingly, compliance of just one tax haven is not necessarily better than no compliance at all.
Association between eccentric knee flexor strength and hamstring injury risk in 185 elite Gaelic football players
Authors: Roe Mark , Delahunt Eamonn , McHugh Malachy , Gissane Conor , Malone Shane , Collins Kieran , Blake Catherine 
Published: October 2019

Hamstring strains are the most common time‐loss injury in elite Gaelic football affecting over 20% of players per season. Thus, there is a need to identify factors contributing to the onset of hamstring injuries in order to inform injury risk management strategies. The current study investigated whether eccentric knee flexor strength and between‐limb imbalances were associated with increased risk of sustaining a time‐loss hamstring injury in elite Gaelic football players. A total of 185 elite male players (26.9 ± 2.7 years, 86.4 ± 6.2 kg, 183.4 ± 5.6) were prospectively followed for 12 weeks from the day of testing. Injury data were provided by the team medical staff. Twenty‐eight players (16%) sustained a time‐loss hamstring injury following testing. Players that did not sustain a hamstring injury had greater average between‐limb asymmetries (uninjured = 9.1%, 95% CI 7.8‐10.1; injured = 5.1%, 95% CI 3.7‐6.7; P = .001). Eccentric knee flexor strength profiles were not associated with increased or decreased risk of sustaining a hamstring injury and did not alter the post‐test probability of sustaining a hamstring injury across the investigation period. These findings do not support the use of eccentric knee flexor strength metrics in managing hamstring injury risk in elite male Gaelic football players.
No association between perceived exertion and session duration with hamstring injury occurrence in professional football
Authors: Lolli Lorenzo , Bahr Roald , Weston Matthew , Whiteley Rodney , Tabben Montassar , Bonanno Daniele , Gregson Warren , Chamari Karim , Di Salvo Valter , van Dyk Nicol 
Published: October 2019

Training and competition loads have emerged as modifiable composite risk factors of non‐contact injury. Hamstring strains are the most common injuries in football with substantial burden on the individual player and club. Nevertheless, robust evidence of a consistent load‐hamstring injury relationship in professional football is lacking. Using available data from the Qatar Stars League over three competitive seasons, this study investigated the separate and combined effects of perceived exertion and session duration on hamstring injury occurrence in a sample of 30 outfield football players. Load variables were calculated into 7‐day, 14‐day, 21‐day, 28‐day periods of data, and week‐to‐week changes for average ratings of perceived exertion (RPE; au) score and session‐RPE (s‐RPE; session‐duration score), plus the cumulative training and match minutes and s‐RPE, respectively. Conditional logistic regression models estimated load‐injury relationships per 2‐within‐subject standard deviation increments in each candidate variable. Associations were declared practically important based on the location of the confidence interval in relation to thresholds of 0.90 and 1.11 defining small beneficial and harmful effects, respectively. The uncertainty for the corrected odds ratios show that typically high within‐subject increments in each candidate variable were not practically important for training‐ and match‐related hamstring injury (95% confidence intervals range: 0.85 to 1.16). We found limited exploratory evidence regarding the value of perceived exertion and session duration as etiological factors of hamstring injury in Middle‐East professional football. Monitoring remains valuable to inform player load management strategies, but our exploratory findings suggest its role for type‐specific injury risk determination appears empirically unsupported.
Experimental infections in humans—historical and ethical reflections
Authors: Metzger W. G. , Ehni H.‐J. , Kremsner P. G. , Mordmüller B. G. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractVaccine efficacy and prophylactic treatment of infections are tested best when the vaccinated or treated individual is challenged through deliberate infection with the respective pathogen. However, this trial design calls for particular ethical caution. Awareness of the history of challenge trials is indispensable, including trials that were problematic or even connected to abuse. We briefly introduce historical aspects of experimental infections in humans and the ethical debate around them and give estimates of the numbers of volunteers participating in human experimental infection models. Challenge models can offer a great chance and benefit for the development of medical interventions to fight infectious diseases, but only when they are appropriately controlled and regulated.
Preliminary assessment of serum clusterin as a potential biomarker for canine lymphoma
Authors: McNaught Katie A. , Morris Joanna S. , McLaughlin Mark 
Published: October 2019

AbstractClusterin (CLU), also known as apolipoprotein J, is a widely expressed, heterodimeric, glycoprotein, important in tumourigenesis, apoptosis and immunoregulation. In humans, CLU expression has been associated with anaplastic large cell and Hodgkin's lymphoma. In this study, serum CLU levels in dogs with multicentric lymphoma (MLSA) were compared with healthy control dogs, using both western blot and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blot confirmed the presence of CLU in dog sera at the predicted molecular weight and the relative levels detected correlated with the levels detected by ELISA. CLU level analysis by ELISA found treatment naïve dogs with MLSA had a significantly (P < .001) lower serum CLU level compared with healthy controls. However, there was no significant difference between MLSA dogs prior to treatment and in complete remission. The wide variation in serum CLU levels may limit its potential as a single candidate biomarker for MLSA, although any prognostic predictive value of serum CLU concentrations has yet to be assessed.
Regional activation in the human longissimus thoracis pars lumborum muscle
Authors: Abboud Jacques , Kuo Calvin , Descarreaux Martin , Blouin Jean‐Sébastien 
Published: October 2019

Key points
Longissimus activity in the lumbar region was measured using indwelling electromyography to characterize the territory of its motor units.
The distribution of motor units in the longissimus pars lumborum muscle was mainly grouped into two distinct regions.
Regional activation of the longissimus pars lumborum was also observed during functional tasks involving trunk movements.
The regional activation of the longissimus pars lumborum muscle may play a role in segmental stabilization of the lumbar spine.
AbstractThe longissimus pars lumborum contributes to lumbar postural control and movement. While animal studies suggest a segmental control of this muscle, the territory of motor units constituting the human longissimus pars lumborum remains unknown. The aims of this study were to identify the localization of motor unit territories in the longissimus and assess the activation of this muscle during functional tasks. Eight healthy participants were recruited. During isometric back extension contractions, single motor‐unit (at L1, L2, L3 and L4) and multi‐unit indwelling recordings (at L1, L1‐L2, L2, L2‐L3, L3, L3‐L4 and L4) were used to estimate motor unit territories in the longissimus pars lumborum based on the motor‐unit spike‐triggered averages from fine‐wire electrodes. A series of functional tasks involving trunk and arm movements were also performed. A total of 73 distinct motor units were identified along the length of the longissimus: only two motor units spanned all recording sites. The majority of the recorded motor units had muscle fibres located in two main rostro‐caudal territories (32 motor units spanned L1 to L3 and 30 spanned ∼L3 to L4) and 11 had muscle fibres outside these two main territories. We also observed distinct muscle activation between the rostral and caudal regions of the longissimus pars lumborum during a trunk rotation task. Our results show clear rostral and caudal motor unit territories in the longissimus pars lumborum muscle and suggest that the central nervous system can selectively activate regions of the superficial lumbar muscles to provide local stabilization of the spine.
Optical Coherence Tomography-Based Modeling of Stent Deployment in Heavily Calcified Coronary Lesion
Authors: Dong Pengfei , Mozafari Hozhabr , Prabhu David , Bezerra Hiram G. , Wilson David L. , Gu Linxia 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
In this work, a heavily calcified coronary artery model was reconstructed from optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to investigate the impact of calcification characteristics on stenting outcomes. The calcification was quantified at various cross sections in terms of angle, maximum thickness, and area. The stent deployment procedure, including the crimping, expansion, and recoil, was implemented. The influence of calcification characteristics on stent expansion, malapposition, and lesion mechanics was characterized. Results have shown that the minimal lumen area following stenting occurred at the cross section with the greatest calcification angle. The calcification angle constricted the stretchability of the lesion and thus resulted in a small lumen area. The maximum principal strain and von Mises stress distribution patterns in both the fibrotic tissue and artery were consistent with the calcification profiles. The radially projected region of the calcification tends to have less strain and stress. The peak strain and stress of the fibrotic tissue occurred near the interface with the calcification. It is also the region with a high risk of tissue dissection and strut malapposition. In addition, the superficial calcification with a large angle aggregated the malapposition at the middle of the calcification arc. These detailed mechanistic quantifications could be used to provide a fundamental understanding of the role of calcification in stent expansions, as well as to exploit their potential for enhanced pre- and post-stenting strategies.
Singularity: A maple Library for Local Zero Bifurcation Control of Scalar Smooth Maps
Authors: Gazor Majid , Kazemi Mahsa 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Singularity theory is designed for the local bifurcation analysis and control of singular phenomena. The theory has a significant technical computational burden. However, there does not exist any (symbolic) computer library for this purpose. We suitably generalize some powerful tools from algebraic geometry for correct implementation of the results in singularity theory. We provide some required criteria along with rigorous proofs for efficient and cognitive computer implementation. Our results also address permissible truncation degrees in Taylor expansions of smooth bifurcation maps. Accordingly, an end-user friendly maple library, named “singularity,” is developed for an efficient bifurcation analysis and control of real zeros of scalar smooth maps. We have further written a comprehensive user guide for singularity. The main features of our developed maple library are briefly illustrated along with a few examples.