bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Highly Sensitive Closed Loop Enclosed Split Ring Biosensor With High Field Confinement for Aqueous and Blood-Glucose Measurements
Authors: Kandwal Abhishek , Igbe Tobore , Li Jingzhen , Liu Yuhang , Li Sinan , Liu Louis W. Y. , Nie Zedong 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThis paper presents a highly sensitive closed loop enclosed split ring biosensor operating in microwave frequencies for measuring blood glucose levels in the human body. The proposed microwave glucose biosensor, working on the principle of high field confinement and concentrated energy, has been tested using both in-vitro and in-vivo methods. This principle allows the sensor to concentrate energy at the surface which results in improved accuracy of measurements. For in-vitro measurements, the biosensor has been tested using de-ionized water glucose solutions of different concentrations. The miniaturized micrometer scale biosensor is fabricated over a thin Si-substrate using photolithographic technique. The biosensor has been designed in a way to operate at desired microwave frequencies. Highly confined fields and concentrated energy inside the closed loop line containing the split ring resonators are responsible for the sensitivity enhancement. This new biosensor has obtained a high sensitivity of 82 MHz/mgmL−1 within the clinical diabetic range during in-vivo testing over the human body. In addition, the subjects (undergoing experiments) steady state has been continuously monitored throughout the experiment which helps in improving the accuracy of the results. The proposed biosensor has further obtained a low detection limit of <0.05 wt.% and can be useful for continuous non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.
Delineation of Genotype-by-Environment interactions for identification and validation of resistant genotypes in mungbean to root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) using GGE biplot
Authors: Singh Bansa , Das Arpita , Parihar A. K. , Bhagawati B. , Singh Deepak , Pathak K. N. , Dwivedi Kusum , Das Niranjan , Keshari Nishi , Midha R. L. , Kumar Raju , Pratap Aditya , Kumar Vaibhav , Gupta Sanjeev 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSusceptibility to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) is one of the major factors limiting mungbean production in South and South-East Asia. Host-pest-environment interaction in mungbean and root-knot nematode (M. incognita) was investigated in multi-location field evaluation using 38 promising mungbean genotypes extracted from initial evaluation of 250 genotypes under sick plots considering second stage freshly hatched juvenile as inoculants. The extent of environmental and genotype-by-environment interactions (GGE) was assessed to comprehend the dynamism of resistance and identification of durable resistant mungbean genotypes. Among environmental factors, nematode activity was highly influenced by rainfall and minimum temperature. The GGE biplot and multiple comparison tests detected a higher proportion of genotype × environment (GE) interaction followed by genotype and environment on number of nematode galls, gall index and reproduction factor. The first two principal components (PCs) explained 64.33% and 66.99% of the total variation of the environment-centered gall scoring and reproduction factor data, respectively. The high GE variation indicated the presence of non-cross over interactions which justify the necessities of multi-location testing. Detection of non-redundant testing locations would expedite optimum resource utilization in future. The GGE biplot analysis identified genotypes such as PM-10-12, IPM-410-3 and NVL-641 as the outperforming and desirable genotypes with durable resistance against M. incognita which can be exploited in mungbean breeding programmes globally. On the contrary, the highest gall scoring and reproduction factor were recorded in genotype IPM-9901-8. Computation of confidence interval (CI) at 95% level through bootstrapping increased precision of GGE biplot towards genotype recommendation. Furthermore, total phenol content, ascorbic acid, phenlylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities were also higher in identified resistant genotypes and this information would be useful for devising mungbean breeding strategies in future for resistance against root-knot nematodes.
Interface Chemistry of Graphene/Cu Grafted By 3,4,5-Tri-Methoxyphenyl
Authors: Ambrosio Gina , Drera Giovanni , Di Santo Giovanni , Petaccia Luca , Daukiya Lakshya , Brown Anton , Hirsch Brandon , De Feyter Steven , Sangaletti Luigi , Pagliara Stefania 
Published: March 2020

AbstractChemical reaction with diazonium molecules has revealed to be a powerful method for the surface chemical modification of graphite, carbon nanotubes and recently also of graphene. Graphene electronic structure modification using diazonium molecules is strongly influenced by graphene growth and by the supporting materials. Here, carrying on a detailed study of core levels and valence band photoemission measurements, we are able to reconstruct the interface chemistry of trimethoxybenzenediazonium-based molecules electrochemically grafted on graphene on copper. The band energy alignment at the molecule-graphene interface has been traced revealing the energy position of the HOMO band with respect to the Fermi level.
Photoinduced damage of AsLOV2 domain is accompanied by increased singlet oxygen production due to flavin dissociation
Authors: Petrenčáková Martina , Filandr František , Hovan Andrej , Yassaghi Ghazaleh , Man Petr , Kožár Tibor , Schwer Marc-Simon , Jancura Daniel , Plückthun Andreas , Novák Petr , Miškovský Pavol , Bánó Gregor , Sedlák Erik 
Published: March 2020

AbstractFlavin mononucleotide (FMN) belongs to the group of very efficient endogenous photosensitizers producing singlet oxygen, 1O2, but with limited ability to be targeted. On the other hand, in genetically-encoded photosensitizers, which can be targeted by means of various tags, the efficiency of FMN to produce 1O2 is significantly diminished due to its interactions with surrounding amino acid residues. Recently, an increase of 1O2 production yield by FMN buried in a protein matrix was achieved by a decrease of quenching of the cofactor excited states by weakening of the protein-FMN interactions while still forming a complex. Here, we suggest an alternative approach which relies on the blue light irradiation-induced dissociation of FMN to solvent. This dissociation unlocks the full capacity of FMN as 1O2 producer. Our suggestion is based on the study of an irradiation effect on two variants of the LOV2 domain from Avena sativa; wild type, AsLOV2 wt, and the variant with a replaced cysteine residue, AsLOV2 C450A. We detected irradiation-induced conformational changes as well as oxidation of several amino acids in both AsLOV2 variants. Detailed analysis of these observations indicates that irradiation-induced increase in 1O2 production is caused by a release of FMN from the protein. Moreover, an increased FMN dissociation from AsLOV2 wt in comparison with AsLOV2 C450A points to a role of C450 oxidation in repelling the cofactor from the protein.
Preoperative Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy to Portal Vein Tumour Thrombus in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Clinical and Pathological Analysis
Authors: Kishi Noriko , Kanayama Naoyuki , Hirata Takero , Ohira Shingo , Wada Kentaro , Kawaguchi Yoshifumi , Konishi Koji , Nagata Shigenori , Nakatsuka Shin-ichi , Marubashi Shigeru , Tomokuni Akira , Wada Hiroshi , Kobayashi Shogo , Tomita Yasuhiko , Teshima Teruki 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumour thrombus (PVTT) is poor. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tri-modality therapy, including preoperative stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and surgery, followed by hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) in HCC patients with PVTT. In this report, we investigated the pathology of the irradiated PVTT specimen in resected cases and SBRT-related acute toxicity. A total of 8 HCC patients with PVTT received preoperative SBRT targeting the PVTT at a dose of 48 Gy in 4 fractions at our institute from 2012 to 2016. Of the eight patients, six underwent surgery, while the remaining two did not because of disease progression. At the pathological examination, all patients’ irradiated PVTT specimens showed necrotic tissue, and three of six patients showed complete pathological response. Two patients showed 30% necrosis with high degeneration and one patient, with 30% necrosis without degeneration, was the only recurrent case found during the follow-up period (median: 22.5, range: 5.9–49.6 months). No SBRT-related acute toxicity worse than grade 2 was observed from SBRT to surgery. In conclusion, the preoperative SBRT for HCC was pathologically effective and the acute toxicities were tolerable.
(Cu2O-Au) – Graphene - Au layered structures as efficient near Infra - Red SERS substrates
Authors: Nair Radhika V. , Murukeshan V. M. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractNear Infra-Red Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (NIR SERS) has gained huge attention in recent years as the conventional visible SERS suffers from overwhelming fluorescence background from the fluorophore resulting in the masking of Raman signals. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-layered SERS substrate- (Cu2O - Au) - Graphene – Au - for efficient NIR SERS applications. The proposed structure has a monolayer of Cu2O - Au core-shell particles on a Au substrate with 1 nm thick graphene spacer layer. Mie simulations are used to optimize the aspect ratios of core-shell particles to shift their plasmon resonances to NIR region using MieLab software. Further, Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations using Lumerical software are used for the design of the multiparticle layered SERS substrate as MieLab software works only for single particle systems. Designed structure is shown to provide high field enhancement factor of the order of 108 at an excitation of 1064 nm thus ensuring the possibility of using the proposed structure as efficient NIR SERS substrate which could probably be used for various NIR sensing applications.
Patterns and predictors of co-morbidities in Tuberculosis: A cross-sectional study in the Philippines
Authors: White Laura V. , Edwards Tansy , Lee Nathaniel , Castro Mary C. , Saludar Naomi R. , Calapis Rugaiya W. , Faguer Benjamin N. , Fuente Nelson Dela , Mayoga Ferdinand , Saito Nobuo , Ariyoshi Koya , Garfin Anna Marie Celina G. , Solon Juan A. , Cox Sharon E. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractDiabetes and undernutrition are common risk factors for TB, associated with poor treatment outcomes and exacerbated by TB. We aimed to assess non-communicable multimorbidity (co-occurrence of two or more medical conditions) in Filipino TB outpatients, focusing on malnutrition and diabetes. In a cross-sectional study, 637 adults (70% male) from clinics in urban Metro Manila (N = 338) and rural Negros Occidental (N = 299) were enrolled. Diabetes was defined as HbA1c of ≥6.5% and/or current diabetes medication. Study-specific HIV screening was conducted. The prevalence of diabetes was 9.2% (54/589, 95%CI: 7.0–11.8%) with 52% newly diagnosed. Moderate/severe undernutrition (body mass index (BMI) <17 kg/2) was 20.5% (130/634, 95%CI: 17.4–23.9%). Forty percent of participants had at least one co-morbidity (diabetes, moderate/severe undernutrition or moderate/severe anaemia (haemoglobin <11 g/dL)). HIV infection (24.4%, 74/303) was not associated with other co-morbidities (but high refusal in rural clinics). Central obesity assessed by waist-to-hip ratio was more strongly associated with diabetes (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 6.16, 95%CI: 3.15–12.0) than BMI. Undernutrition was less common in men (AOR = 0.44, 95%CI: 0.28–0.70), and associated with previous history of TB (AOR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.28–3.04) and recent reduced food intake. The prevalence of multimorbidity was high demonstrating a significant unmet need. HIV was not a risk factor for increased non-communicable multimorbidity.
Effects of chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT) on Th2/Th17-related immune modulation in an atopic dermatitis mouse model
Authors: Go Han-Na , Lee Seung-Hwa , Cho Hyun-Ju , Ahn Jae-Rin , Kang Mi-Jin , Lee So-Yeon , Hong Soo-Jong 
Published: March 2020

AbstractExposure to chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT) has been associated with allergic contact dermatitis and occupational asthma. Despite this association however, no study has investigated the effects of CMIT/MIT exposure on the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). This study was conducted to investigate the influence of epicutaneous exposure to CMIT/MIT on AD in a mouse model and the underlying biological mechanisms. BALB/C mice were exposed to CMIT/MIT for 3 weeks and AD was developed using ovalbumin (OVA) epidermal sensitization. CMIT/MIT epicutaneous exposure in normal mice significantly enhanced AD-like phenotypes (e.g., transepidermal water loss, clinical score, total serum immunoglobulin E level and infiltration of inflammatory cells). In addition, CMIT/MIT exposure significantly augmented the mRNA expression level of T helper (Th) 2-related cytokines (thymic stromal lymphopoietin, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-13), Th2 chemokine (chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 17) and the population of CD4+IL-4+ cells in the skin. Moreover, mice exposed to CMIT/MIT in the OVA challenge had greater AD-like phenotypes, higher IL-4 and IL-17A skin mRNA expression levels, and a larger population of CD4+IL-4+- and IL-17A+-producing cells in the skin-draining lymph nodes. Our current findings in a mouse model thus suggest that CMIT/MIT exposure may cause AD symptoms through the dysregulation of Th2/Th17-related immune responses.
Alterations in histamine responses between juvenile and adult urinary bladder urothelium, lamina propria and detrusor tissues
Authors: Stromberga Zane , Chess-Williams Russ , Moro Christian 
Published: March 2020

AbstractInflammatory mediators may have a role in various lower urinary tract disorders. Histamine is known to induce significant increases in both the tension and frequency of spontaneous phasic contractions in both urothelium with lamina propria (U&LP) and detrusor muscle via the activation of H1 receptor in juvenile animal models. However, it is unclear whether age affects these contractile responses to histamine. This study assessed the histamine receptor subtypes mediating contraction in juvenile and adult porcine bladders and compared the urothelium with lamina propria and detrusor responses to histamine. Isolated tissue bath studies were conducted using strips of porcine U&LP and detrusor obtained from juvenile (6 months) and adult (3 years) animals exposed to histamine receptor agonists and antagonists. Treatment with histamine (100 µM) in U&LP of juvenile animals caused increases in baseline tension by 47.84 ± 6.52 mN/g (p < 0.001, n = 51) and by 50.76 ± 4.10 mN/g (p < 0.001, n = 55) in adult animals. Furthermore, the frequency of spontaneous phasic contractions was significantly enhanced in response to histamine in U&LP of both juvenile and adult tissues (p < 0.001 for both age groups). Treatment with an H2 agonist in U&LP of juvenile animals decreased baseline tension by 13.97 ± 3.45 mN/g (n = 12, p < 0.05), but had no effect in adult animals. Inhibition of H1 receptors resulted in significantly reduced contractile responses of U&LP and detrusor to histamine in both juvenile and adult animals (p < 0.05). Treatment with an H2 receptor antagonist significantly enhanced contractions in juvenile preparations (n = 10, p < 0.05) but had no effect in adult preparations (n = 8). In detrusor, treatment with histamine (100 µM) in juvenile tissues showed a significantly higher increase in baseline tension of 19.10 ± 4.92 mN/g (n = 51) when compared to adult tissues exhibiting increases of 8.21 ± 0.89 mN/g (n = 56, p < 0.05). The increases in the baseline tension were significantly inhibited by the presence of H1 receptor antagonists in both juvenile and adult detrusor preparations. Treatment with either the H2 receptor antagonist or agonist in detrusor had no effect on both juvenile and adult tissues. Therefore, the histamine receptor system may play an essential role in the maintenance of bladder function or in bladder dysfunction observed in some lower urinary tract disorders.
A pilot trial of Convolution Neural Network for automatic retention-monitoring of capsule endoscopes in the stomach and duodenal bulb
Authors: Gan Tao , Liu Shuaicheng , Yang Jinlin , Zeng Bing , Yang Li 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe retention of a capsule endoscope (CE) in the stomach and the duodenal bulb during the examination is a troublesome problem, which can make the medical staff spend several hours observing whether the CE enters the descending segment of the duodenum (DSD). This paper investigated and evaluated the Convolution Neural Network (CNN) for automatic retention-monitoring of the CE in the stomach or the duodenal bulb. A trained CNN system based on 180,000 CE images of the DSD, stomach, and duodenal bulb was used to assess its recognition of the accuracy by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC), sensitivity and specificity. The AUC for distinguishing the DSD was 0.984. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the CNN were 97.8%, 96.0%, 96.1% and 97.8%, respectively, at a cut-off value of 0.42 for the probability score. The deviated rate of the time into the DSD marked by the CNN at less than ±8 min was 95.7% (P < 0.01). These results indicate that the CNN for automatic retention-monitoring of the CE in the stomach or the duodenal bulb can be used as an efficient auxiliary measure in the clinical practice.
Estimating the price at which hepatitis C treatment with direct-acting antivirals would be cost-saving in Japan
Authors: Zhuo Yueran , Hayashi Tomoyuki , Chen Qiushi , Aggarwal Rakesh , Hutin Yvan , Chhatwal Jagpreet 
Published: March 2020

AbstractIn Japan, 1.5–2 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. New direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) offer an unprecedented opportunity to cure HCV. While the price of HCV treatment decreased recently in most countries, it remains one of the highest in Japan. Our objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HCV treatment in patients of different age groups and to estimate the price at which DAAs become cost-saving in Japan. A previously developed microsimulation model was adapted to the Japanese population and updated with Japan-specific health utilities and costs. Our model showed that compared with no treatment, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of DAAs at a price USD 41,046 per treatment was USD 9,080 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained in 60-year-old patients. HCV treatment became cost-effective after 9 years of starting treatment. However, if the price of DAAs is reduced by 55–85% (USD 6,730 to 17,720), HCV treatment would be cost-saving within a 5 to 20-year time horizon, which should serve to increase the uptake of DAA-based HCV treatment. The payers of health care in Japan could examine ways to procure DAAs at a price where they would be cost-saving.
Characterization of tomato protein kinases embedding guanylate cyclase catalytic center motif
Authors: Rahman Hafizur , Wang Xin-Yao , Xu You-Ping , He Yu-Han , Cai Xin-Zhong 
Published: March 2020

AbstractGuanylate cyclases (GCs) are enzymes that catalyze the reaction to produce cyclic GMP (cGMP), a key signaling molecule in eukaryotes. Nevertheless, systemic identification and functional analysis of GCs in crop plant species have not yet been conducted. In this study, we systematically identified GC genes in the economically important crop tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and analyzed function of two putative tomato GC genes in disease resistance. Ninety-nine candidate GCs containing GC catalytic center (GC-CC) motif were identified in tomato genome. Intriguingly, all of them were putative protein kinases embedding a GC-CC motif within the protein kinase domain, which was thus tentatively named as GC-kinases here. Two homologs of Arabidopsis PEPRs, SlGC17 and SlGC18 exhibited in vitro GC activity. Co-silencing of SlGC17 and SlGC18 genes significantly reduced resistance to tobacco rattle virus, fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000. Moreover, co-silencing of these two genes attenuated PAMP and DAMP-triggered immunity as shown by obvious decrease of flg22, chitin and AtPep1-elicited Ca2+ and H2O2 burst in SlGC-silenced plants. Additionally, silencing of these genes altered the expression of a set of Ca2+ signaling genes. Furthermore, co-silencing of these GC-kinase genes exhibited stronger effects on all above regulations in comparison with individual silencing. Collectively, our results suggest that GC-kinases might widely exist in tomato and the two SlPEPR-GC genes redundantly play a positive role in resistance to diverse pathogens and PAMP/DAMP-triggered immunity in tomato. Our results provide insights into composition and functions of GC-kinases in tomato.
Digoxin-amiodarone Combination is Associated With Excess All-cause Mortality in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Chiang Jiun-Yang , Chen Pau-Chung , Yang Yao-Hsu , Chang Chin-Hao , Chu Fang-Ying , Chen Jien-Jiun , Wu Cho-Kai , Hwang Juey-Jen , Chiang Fu-Tien , Lin Lian-Yu , Lin Jiunn-Lee 
Published: March 2020

AbstractCombination use of digoxin and other medications might lead to worse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to investigate whether digoxin-amiodarone combination would lead to worse outcome than digoxin alone in patients with AF. Adult patients with AF and received digoxin treatment from random samples of 1,000,000 individuals covered by the National Health Insurance in Taiwan were included. Baseline characteristics including risk factors and medications were matched by propensity score (PS) in those with and without addition of amiodarone treatment. A total of 5,040 AF patients taking digoxin therapy was included. PS matching identified 1,473 patients receiving digoxin-amiodarone combination and 2,660 patients receiving digoxin with a median follow-up of 1,331 days. Digoxin-amiodarone combination was associated with increased all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 1.640, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.470–1.829, P < 0.001). The risk of mortality increased regardless of duration of combination. Risk of sudden cardiac death was not increased in the combination group (HR: 1.304, 95% CI: 1.049–1.622, P = 0.017). Death due to non-arrhythmic cardiac disease, cerebrovascular disease, and other vascular disease were higher in the combination group than the digoxin group. In conclusion, in patients with AF, digoxin-amiodarone combination therapy is associated with excess mortality than digoxin alone.