bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Blattella germanica displays a large arsenal of antimicrobial peptide genes
Authors: Silva Francisco J. , Muñoz-Benavent Maria , García-Ferris Carlos , Latorre Amparo 
Published: December 2020

AbstractDefence systems against microbial pathogens are present in most living beings. The German cockroach Blattella germanica requires these systems to adapt to unhealthy environments with abundance of pathogenic microbes, in addition to potentially control its symbiotic systems. To handle this situation, four antimicrobial gene families (defensins, termicins, drosomycins and attacins) were expanded in its genome. Remarkably, a new gene family (blattellicins) emerged recently after duplication and fast evolution of an attacin gene, which is now encoding larger proteins with the presence of a long stretch of glutamines and glutamic acids. Phylogenetic reconstruction, within Blattellinae, suggests that this duplication took place before the divergence of Blattella and Episymploce genera. The latter harbours a long attacin gene (pre-blattellicin), but the absence of the encoded Glx-region suggests that this element evolved recently in the Blattella lineage. A screening of AMP gene expression in available transcriptomic SR projects of B. germanica showed that, while some AMPs are expressed during almost the whole development, others are restricted to shorter periods. Blattellicins are highly expressed only in adult females. None of the available SR tissue projects could be associated with blattellicins’ expression, suggesting that it takes place in other tissues, maybe the gut.
A novel reverse two-hybrid method for the identification of missense mutations that disrupt protein–protein binding
Authors: Vincent Olivier , Gutierrez-Nogués Angel , Trejo-Herrero Adrían , Navas María-Angeles 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe reverse two-hybrid system is a powerful method to select mutations that disrupt the interaction between two proteins and therefore to identify the residues involved in this interaction. However, the usefulness of this technique has been limited by its relative complexity when compared to the classical two-hybrid system, since an additional selection step is required to eliminate the high background of uninformative truncation mutants. We have developed a new method that combines the classical and reverse two-hybrid systems to select loss-of-binding missense mutations in a single step. The strategy used to select against truncation mutants is based on the two-hybrid interaction between a C-terminal fusion peptide and the Tsg101 protein. We have applied this method to identify mutations in human glucokinase (GK) that disrupt glucokinase regulatory protein (GKRP) binding. Our results indicate that this method is very efficient and eliminates all the truncation mutants and false positives. The mutated residues identified in GK are involved in the GKRP binding interface or in stabilizing the super-open conformation of GK that binds GKRP. This technique offers an improvement over existing methods in terms of speed, efficiency and simplicity and can be used to study any detectable protein interaction in the two-hybrid system.
Linking diverse salinity responses of 14 almond rootstocks with physiological, biochemical, and genetic determinants
Authors: Sandhu Devinder , Kaundal Amita , Acharya Biswa R. , Forest Thomas , Pudussery Manju V. , Liu Xuan , Ferreira Jorge F. S. , Suarez Donald L. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractFourteen commercial almond rootstocks were tested under five types of irrigation waters to understand the genetic, physiological, and biochemical bases of salt-tolerance mechanisms. Treatments included control (T1) and four saline water treatments dominant in sodium-sulfate (T2), sodium-chloride (T3), sodium-chloride/sulfate (T4), and calcium/magnesium-chloride/sulfate (T5). T3 caused the highest reduction in survival rate and trunk diameter, followed by T4 and T2, indicating that Na and, to a lesser extent, Cl were the most toxic ions to almond rootstocks. Peach hybrid (Empyrean 1) and peach-almond hybrids (Cornerstone, Bright’s Hybrid 5, and BB 106) were the most tolerant to salinity. Rootstock’s performance under salinity correlated highly with its leaf Na and Cl concentrations, indicating that Na+and Cl-exclusion is crucial for salinity tolerance inPrunus. Photosynthetic rate correlated with trunk diameter and proline leaf ratio (T3/T1) significantly correlated with the exclusion of Na+and Cl-, which directly affected the survival rate. Expression analyses of 23 genes involved in salinity stress revealed that the expression differences among genotypes were closely associated with their performance under salinity. Our genetic, molecular, and biochemical analyses allowed us to characterize rootstocks based on component traits of the salt-tolerance mechanisms, which may facilitate the development of highly salt-tolerant rootstocks.
Assessment of the nutritional status of 6–36-month-old infants in Xinjiang and analysis of the influencing factors
Authors: Wei Meng , Li Jing , Yan Mei , Rena Maimaiti , Zhang Hui , Dong Ju 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe health of infants is not only related to family happiness, but also to the future and development of the country. Therefore, it is still a very important public health problem to pay attention to the nutritional health level of infants. This article explores the nutritional health levels of infants and reveals the related risk factors. Stratified and multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select 3949 infants and young children in Xinjiang for the study. Survey staff conducted face-to-face questionnaire surveys to investigate their demographic characteristics, complementary food feeding, and related risk factors affecting their nutritional status. Study results showed that compared with the Han nationality, the Uygur and other nationalities were independent risk factors for malnutrition, as odds ratio (OR) values were 2.456 and 1.747, respectively (P < 0.05). When the feeders were not maternal, and their educational background was junior high school or below, OR values were 2.122 and 1.810, respectively (P <  0.05). The scores for non-breastfeeding and feeding behaviors were independent risk factors, and OR values were 1.983 and 2.709, respectively (P <  0.05). When infant minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet were unqualified, these indices were independent risk factors, and OR values were 2.281, 2.315, and 1.865, respectively (P <  0.05). The healthy growth of Han infants is better than that of other ethnic groups, which may be related to varying living environments, customs, social/economic development levels, educational levels, and other factors. In the future, the focus of our work should be to cooperate with the superior health organization to strengthen and improve the nutritional health level of infants.
Vestibular Infant Screening (VIS)–Flanders: results after 1.5 years of vestibular screening in hearing-impaired children
Authors: Martens Sarie , Dhooge Ingeborg , Dhondt Cleo , Vanaudenaerde Saartje , Sucaet Marieke , Rombaut Lotte , Boudewyns An , Desloovere Christian , Janssens de Varebeke Sebastien , Vinck Anne-Sophie , Vanspauwen Robby , Verschueren Dominique , Foulon Ina , Staelens Charlotte , Van den Broeck Karen , De Valck Claudia , Deggouj Naima , Lemkens Nele , Haverbeke Lisa , De Bock Mieke , Öz Okan , Declau Frank , Devroede Benoit , Verhoye Christoph , Maes Leen 
Published: December 2020

AbstractDue to the close anatomical relationship between the auditory and vestibular end organs, hearing-impaired children have a higher risk for vestibular dysfunction, which can affect their (motor) development. Unfortunately, vestibular dysfunction often goes unnoticed, as vestibular assessment in these children is not standard of care nowadays. To timely detect vestibular dysfunction, the Vestibular Infant Screening–Flanders (VIS–Flanders) project has implemented a basic vestibular screening test for hearing-impaired infants in Flanders (Belgium) with a participation rate of 86.7% during the first year and a half. The cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMP) test was applied as vestibular screening tool to map the occurrence of vestibular (mainly saccular) dysfunction in this population. At the age of 6 months, 184 infants were screened. No refers on vestibular screening were observed in infants with permanent conductive hearing loss. In infants with permanent sensorineural hearing loss, a cVEMP refer rate of 9.5% was observed. Failure was significantly more common in infants with severe-profound compared to those with mild-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (risk ratio = 9.8). Since this is the first regional study with a large sample size and successful participation rate, the VIS–Flanders project aims to set an example for other regions worldwide.
Repurposing of FDA approved ring systems through bi-directional target-ring system dual screening
Authors: Kumar Surendra , Jang Cheongyun , Subedi Lalita , Kim Sun Yeou , Kim Mi-hyun 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn drug repurposing approaches, the chemically diverse and potentially safe molecules can be explored as therapeutic potential beyond those originally targeted indications. However, accessible information on a limited number of drug pipelines can lead to competitive over-heating issues, and intellectual property rights also restrict the free investigation in chemical space. As a complementary approach to the drawbacks, ring systems of approved drugs (instead of clinical drugs) can be optimized and used for repurposing purposes. In this study, bi-directional target (T) and ring system (R) dual screening (TR screening) was developed for the repurposing of their rarely used ring systems from FDA approved drugs. The TR screening suggested RAR β and cyproheptadine as the best pair of target and ring system to escape a saddle point. The selected ring system was virtually grown and elaborated with the defined criteria: synthesizability, drug-likeness, and docking pose showing the top scores. The achieved compounds were synthesized and biologically tested with an acceptable ADME/T profile.
Size distribution of virus laden droplets from expiratory ejecta of infected subjects
Authors: Anand S. , Mayya Y. S. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractFor rebooting economic activities in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic scenario, it is important to pay detailed attention to infection transfer mechanisms during interaction of people in enclosed environments. Utmost concern is the possibility of aerosol mediated infection transfer, which is largely governed by the size distributions of virus laden droplets, termed as virusols in this work, ejected from humans. We expand on the well-known theory of Poisson fluctuations which acts as statistical barrier against formation of virusols. Analysis suggests that for viral loads < 2 × 105 RNA copies/mL, often corresponding to mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19, droplets of diameter < 20 µm at the time of emission (equivalent to ~ 10 µm desiccated residue diameter) are unlikely to be of consequence in carrying infections. Cut-off diameters below which droplets will be practically free of contamination, are presented as a function of viral loading. The median diameters of virus laden polydisperse droplet distributions will be 1.5 to 20 times higher depending upon the geometric standard deviation. The studies have implications to risk assessment as well as residence time estimates of airborne infections in indoor environments. Additionally, it will be also helpful for performance evaluation of sanitization and control technologies to mitigate infection risks in workplaces.
The impact of Fe atom on the spin-filter and spin thermoelectric properties of Au-Fe@C20-Au monomer and dimer systems
Authors: Khalatbari H. , Vishkayi S. Izadi , Soleimani H. Rahimpour 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBased on density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism, we explore the effect of Fe atom in Au-Fe@C20-Au monomer and dimer systems in comparison with the C20fullerene molecular junctions. We calculate the spin-dependent transmission coefficient, spin polarization and also their spin thermoelectric coefficients to investigate magnetic properties in the system. Our results indicate that the presence of Fe atoms enhances substantially the spin-filter and increases the spin figure of merit in the dimer system. We suggest that the Au-(Fe@C20)2-Au system is a suitable junction for designing spin-filtering and spin thermoelectric devices and eventually it is a good candidate for spintronic applications.
Removal of zinc(II) from livestock and poultry sewage by a zinc(II) resistant bacteria
Authors: Huang Jiang , Wang Jihong , Jia Lan 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn order to remediate Zn-contaminated livestock and poultry sewage, a zinc-resistant bacterial strain was screened and isolated from the manure of livestock and poultry and identified by molecular biology. The optimal conditions for removing zinc(II) from strain XZN4 were determined by single-factor experiments as follows: within 3 times of repeated use, pH value was 5, initial concentration of zinc(II) was 100 mg/L, the amount of bacteria was 6 g/L, the temperature was 25–30 °C, and the removal equilibrium time was 60 min. Then, through adsorption isotherm model, scanning electron microscope image, energy dispersive spectrum analysis, infrared spectrum analysis and sterilization control experiment, it was found that the removal of zinc(II) by bacteria was single-molecule layer adsorption, which was carried out in coordination with degradation. The influence of different concentrations of copper(II), ammonia nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlortetracycline on the removal of zinc(II) from livestock and poultry sewage by XZN4 strain in the actual application was discussed. The bacteria can reduce the concentration of zinc(II) from the complex livestock and poultry waste water to below the discharge standard, and has a strong environmental tolerance, the highest removal rate reached 88.6% and the highest removal amount reached 10.30 mg/L. The screening and application of XZN4 strain can thus be of great significance for the microbial treatment of zinc(II) in complex livestock and poultry sewage. The results will provide guidance for the microbial remediation of heavy metal pollution.
Degenerative cervical myelopathy presenting as subjective lower limb weakness could be a trap towards misdiagnosis
Authors: Luo Chi-An , Lu Meng-Ling , Kaliya-Perumal Arun-Kumar , Chen Lih-Huei , Chen Wen-Jer , Niu Chi-Chien 
Published: December 2020

AbstractWhen patients presenting with subjective lower limb weakness (SLLW) are encountered, it is natural to suspect a lumbar pathology and proceed with related clinical examination, investigations and management. However, SLLW could be a sign of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) due to an evolving cord compression. In such circumstances, if symptoms are not correlated to myelopathy at the earliest, there could be potential complications over time. In this study, we intend to analyse the outcomes after surgical management of the cervical or thoracic cord compression in patients with SLLW. Retrospectively, patients who presented to our center during the years 2010–2016 with sole complaint of bilateral SLLW but radiologically diagnosed to have a solitary cervical or thoracic stenosis, or tandem spinal stenosis and underwent surgical decompression procedures were selected. Their clinical presentation was categorised into three types, myelopathy was graded using Nurick’s grading and JOA scoring; in addition, their lower limb functional status was assessed using the lower extremity functional scale (LEFS). Functional recovery following surgery was assessed at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, one year, and two years. Selected patients (n = 24; Age, 56.4 ± 10.1 years; range 32–78 years) had SLLW for a period of 6.4 ± 3.2 months (range 2–13 months). Their preoperative JOA score was 11.3 ± 1.8 (range 7–15), and LEFS was 34.4 ± 7.7 (range 20–46). Radiological evidence of a solitary cervical lesion and tandem spinal stenosis was found in 6 and 18 patients respectively. Patients gradually recovered after surgical decompression with LEFS 59.8 ± 2.7 (range 56–65) at 1 year and JOA score 13.6 ± 2.7 (range − 17 to 100) at 2 years. The recovery rate at final follow up was 47.5%. Our results indicate the importance of clinically suspecting SLLW as an early non-specific sign of DCM to avoid misdiagnosis, especially in patients without conventional upper motor neuron signs. In such cases, surgical management of the cord compression resulted in significant functional recovery and halted the progression towards permanent disability.
Estimating visual field loss from monoscopic optic disc photography using deep learning model
Authors: Lee Jinho , Kim Yong Woo , Ha Ahnul , Kim Young Kook , Park Ki Ho , Choi Hyuk Jin , Jeoung Jin Wook 
Published: December 2020

AbstractVisual field assessment is recognized as the important criterion of glaucomatous damage judgement; however, it can show large test–retest variability. We developed a deep learning (DL) algorithm that quantitatively predicts mean deviation (MD) of standard automated perimetry (SAP) from monoscopic optic disc photographs (ODPs). A total of 1200 image pairs (ODPs and SAP results) for 563 eyes of 327 participants were enrolled. A DL model was built by combining a pre-trained DL network and subsequently trained fully connected layers. The correlation coefficient and mean absolute error (MAE) between the predicted and measured MDs were calculated. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the detection ability for glaucomatous visual field (VF) loss. The data were split into training/validation (1000 images) and testing (200 images) sets to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The predicted MD showed a strong correlation and good agreement with the actual MD (correlation coefficient = 0.755; R2 = 57.0%; MAE = 1.94 dB). The model also accurately predicted the presence of glaucomatous VF loss (AUC 0.953). The DL algorithm showed great feasibility for prediction of MD and detection of glaucomatous functional loss from ODPs.
Application of Raman spectroscopy and Machine Learning algorithms for fruit distillates discrimination
Authors: Berghian-Grosan Camelia , Magdas Dana Alina 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThrough this pilot study, the association between Raman spectroscopy and Machine Learning algorithms were used for the first time with the purpose of distillates differentiation with respect to trademark, geographical and botanical origin. Two spectral Raman ranges (region I—200–600 cm−1 and region II—1200–1400 cm−1) appeared to have the higher discrimination potential for the investigated distillates. The proposed approach proved to be a very effective one for trademark fingerprint differentiation, a model accuracy of 95.5% being obtained (only one sample was misclassified). A comparable model accuracy (90.9%) was achieved for the geographical discrimination of the fruit spirits which can be considered as a very good one taking into account that this classification was made inside Transylvania region, among neighbouring areas. Because the trademark fingerprint is the prevailing one, the successfully distillate type differentiation, with respect to the fruit variety, was possible to be made only inside of each producing entity.
Marker assisted improvement of low soil phosphorus tolerance in the bacterial blight resistant, fine-grain type rice variety, Improved Samba Mahsuri
Authors: Swamy H. K. Mahadeva , Anila M. , Kale R. R. , Rekha G. , Bhadana V. P. , Anantha M. S. , Brajendra P. , Balachiranjeevi C. H. , Hajira S. K. , Prasanna B. Laxmi , Pranathi K. , Dilip T. , Kousik M. B. V. N. , Harika G. , Surekha K. , Kumar R. Mahender , Cheralu C. , Shankar V. Gouri , Laha G. S. , Prasad M. S. , Rao L. V. Subba , Madhav M. S. , Balachandran S. M. , Sundaram R. M. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractImproved-Samba-Mahsuri (ISM), a high-yielding, popular bacterial blight resistant (possessing Xa21, xa13, and xa5), fine-grain type, low glycemic index rice variety is highly sensitive to low soil phosphorus (P). We have deployed marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB) approach for targeted transfer of Pup1, a major QTL associated with low soil P tolerance, using Swarna as a donor. A new co-dominant marker, K20-1-1, which is specific for Pup1 was designed and used for foreground selection along with functional markers specific for the bacterial blight resistance genes, Xa21, xa13, and xa5. A set of 66 polymorphic SSR marker were used for the background selection along with a pair of flanking markers for the recombination selection in backcross derived progenies and in BC2F2 generation, 12 plants, which are homozygous for Pup1, all the three bacterial blight resistance genes and possessing agro-morphological traits equivalent to or better than ISM were selected and selfed to produce BC2F3s. They were evaluated in plots with low soil P and normal soil P at ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad for their low soil P tolerance, and bacterial blight resistance and superior lines were advanced to BC2F6. One of the lines, when tested at multiple locations in India was found promising under both normal as well as low soil P conditions.
Mitochondrial dysfunction in sepsis is associated with diminished intramitochondrial TFAM despite its increased cellular expression
Authors: Rahmel Tim , Marko Britta , Nowak Hartmuth , Bergmann Lars , Thon Patrick , Rump Katharina , Kreimendahl Sebastian , Rassow Joachim , Peters Jürgen , Singer Mervyn , Adamzik Michael , Koos Björn 
Published: December 2020

AbstractSepsis is characterized by a dysregulated immune response, metabolic derangements and bioenergetic failure. These alterations are closely associated with a profound and persisting mitochondrial dysfunction. This however occurs despite increased expression of the nuclear-encoded transcription factor A (TFAM) that normally supports mitochondrial biogenesis and functional recovery. Since this paradox may relate to an altered intracellular distribution of TFAM in sepsis, we tested the hypothesis that enhanced extramitochondrial TFAM expression does not translate into increased intramitochondrial TFAM abundance. Accordingly, we prospectively analyzed PBMCs both from septic patients (n = 10) and lipopolysaccharide stimulated PBMCs from healthy volunteers (n = 20). Extramitochondrial TFAM protein expression in sepsis patients was 1.8-fold greater compared to controls (p = 0.001), whereas intramitochondrial TFAM abundance was approximate 80% less (p < 0.001). This was accompanied by lower mitochondrial DNA copy numbers (p < 0.001), mtND1 expression (p < 0.001) and cellular ATP content (p < 0.001) in sepsis patients. These findings were mirrored in lipopolysaccharide stimulated PBMCs taken from healthy volunteers. Furthermore, TFAM-TFB2M protein interaction within the human mitochondrial core transcription initiation complex, was 74% lower in septic patients (p < 0.001). In conclusion, our findings, which demonstrate a diminished mitochondrial TFAM abundance in sepsis and endotoxemia, may help to explain the paradox of lacking bioenergetic recovery despite enhanced TFAM expression.