bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Flexible control of movement in plants
Authors: Guerra Silvia , Peressotti Alessandro , Peressotti Francesca , Bulgheroni Maria , Baccinelli Walter , D’Amico Enrico , Gómez Alejandra , Massaccesi Stefano , Ceccarini Francesco , Castiello Umberto 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAlthough plants are essentially sessile in nature, these organisms are very much in tune with their environment and are capable of a variety of movements. This may come as a surprise to many non-botanists, but not to Charles Darwin, who reported that plants do produce movements. Following Darwin’s specific interest on climbing plants, this paper will focus on the attachment mechanisms by the tendrils. We draw attention to an unsolved problem in available literature: whether during the approach phase the tendrils of climbing plants consider the structure of the support they intend to grasp and plan the movement accordingly ahead of time. Here we report the first empirical evidence that this might be the case. The three-dimensional (3D) kinematic analysis of a climbing plant (Pisum sativum L.) demonstrates that the plant not only perceives the support, but it scales the kinematics of tendrils’ aperture according to its thickness. When the same support is represented in two-dimensions (2D), and thus unclimbable, there is no evidence for such scaling. In these circumstances the tendrils’ kinematics resemble those observed for the condition in which no support was offered. We discuss these data in light of the evidence suggesting that plants are equipped with sensory mechanisms able to provide the necessary information to plan and control a movement.
Atrial Fibrillation in the Elderly: The Role of Sub-Clinical Isolated Cardiac Amyloidosis
Authors: Krishnappa Darshan , Dykoski Richard , Can Ilknur , Mbai Mackenzie , Anand Inder S. , Florea Viorel , Chandrashekar Y. S. , Li Jian-Ming , Tholakanahalli Venkatakrishna N. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAmyloid infiltration of the atrium is described in patients with valvular heart disease and is associated with an increased risk for atrial fibrillation(AF) while amyloid deposits in the ventricles is increasingly being diagnosed in patients with HFpEF. The role of amyloid deposits in patients with AF without valvular heart disease, which represents the most common form of AF globally, is undefined. In this study, we sought to assess the prevalence of sub-clinical isolated cardiac amyloidosis (ICA) at autopsy and the odds of AF in these patients. A total of 1083 patients were included in the study and 3.1% of patients were found to have asymptomatic ICA. Patients with ICA were older and had a higher odds of AF independent of age and CHA2DS2VASc score. Amongst patients with AF, those with ICA were more likely to have persistent forms of AF and had a lower sinus rhythm P-wave amplitude. Further studies are required to further define this entity, identify imaging modalities to aid in antemortem diagnosis of ICA and to establish the optimal management strategies in these patients.
Insulin enhancement of the antitumor activity of chemotherapeutic agents in colorectal cancer is linked with downregulating PIK3CA and GRB2
Authors: Agrawal Siddarth , Woźniak Marta , Łuc Mateusz , Makuch Sebastian , Pielka Ewa , Agrawal Anil Kumar , Wietrzyk Joanna , Banach Joanna , Gamian Andrzej , Pizon Monika , Ziółkowski Piotr 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe present state of cancer chemotherapy is unsatisfactory. New anticancer drugs that marginally improve the survival of patients continue to be developed at an unsustainably high cost. The study aimed to elucidate the effects of insulin (INS), an inexpensive drug with a convincing safety profile, on the susceptibility of colon cancer to chemotherapeutic agents: 5-fluorouracil (FU), oxaliplatin (OXA), irinotecan (IRI), cyclophosphamide (CPA) and docetaxel (DOC). To examine the effects of insulin on cell viability and apoptosis, we performed an in vitro analysis on colon cancer cell lines Caco-2 and SW480. To verify the results, we performed in vivo analysis on mice bearing MC38 colon tumors. To assess the underlying mechanism of the therapy, we examined the mRNA expression of pathways related to the signaling downstream of insulin receptors (INSR). Moreover, we performed Western blotting to confirm expression patterns derived from the genetic analysis. For the quantification of circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood, we used the maintrac method. The results of our study show that insulin-pretreated colon cancer cells are significantly more susceptible to commonly used chemotherapeutics. The apoptosis ratio was also enhanced when INS was administered complementary to the examined drugs. The in vivo study showed that the combination of INS and FU resulted in significant inhibition of tumor growth and reduction of the number of circulating tumor cells. This combination caused a significant downregulation of the key signaling substrates downstream of INSR. The results indicate that the downregulation of PIK3CA (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha), which plays a critical role in cell signaling and GRB2 (growth factor receptor-bound protein 2), a regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation may be responsible for the sensitizing effect of INS. These findings were confirmed at protein levels by Western blotting. In conclusion, these results suggest that INS might be potentially applied to clinical use to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs. The findings may become a platform for the future development of new and inexpensive strategies for the clinical chemotherapy of tumors.
Adjusting ventilator settings to relieve dyspnoea modifies brain activity in critically ill patients: an electroencephalogram pilot study
Authors: Raux Mathieu , Navarro-Sune Xavier , Wattiez Nicolas , Kindler Felix , Le Corre Marine , Decavele Maxens , Demiri Suela , Demoule Alexandre , Chavez Mario , Similowski Thomas 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDyspnoea is frequent and distressing in patients receiving mechanical ventilation, but it is often not properly evaluated by caregivers. Electroencephalographic signatures of dyspnoea have been identified experimentally in healthy subjects. We hypothesized that adjusting ventilator settings to relieve dyspnoea in MV patients would induce EEG changes. This was a first-of-its-kind observational study in a convenience population of 12 dyspnoeic, mechanically ventilated patients for whom a decision to adjust the ventilator settings was taken by the physician in charge (adjustments of pressure support, slope, or trigger). Pre- and post-ventilator adjustment electroencephalogram recordings were processed using covariance matrix statistical classifiers and pre-inspiratory potentials. The pre-ventilator adjustment median dyspnoea visual analogue scale was 3.0 (interquartile range: 2.5–4.0; minimum-maximum: 1–5) and decreased by (median) 3.0 post-ventilator adjustment. Statistical classifiers adequately detected electroencephalographic changes in 8 cases (area under the curve ≥0.7). Previously present pre-inspiratory potentials disappeared in 7 cases post-ventilator adjustment. Dyspnoea improvement was consistent with electroencephalographic changes in 9 cases. Adjusting ventilator settings to relieve dyspnoea produced detectable changes in brain activity. This paves the way for studies aimed at determining whether monitoring respiratory-related electroencephalographic activity can improve outcomes in critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation.
Multifold pressure-induced increase of electric conductivity in LiFe0.75V0.10PO4 glass
Authors: Baranowski Piotr , Starzonek Szymon , Drozd-Rzoska Aleksandra , Rzoska Sylwester J. , Bockowski Michal , Keblinski Pawel , Pietrzak Tomasz K. , Garbarczyk Jerzy E. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractWe investigated the impact of high pressure and high-temperature annealing on lithium-vanadium-iron-phosphate (LiFe0.75V0.10PO4) glass materials, proposed for the use in cathodes for high-performance batteries. The treatment was carried out below the glass transition temperature (Tg≈ 483 °C) atP = 1 GPa pressure, in an argon atmosphere. It led to the multifold electrical conductivity increase. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) measurements before and after the process revealed the strong DC-conductivity increase across the whole studied frequency range by two orders of magnitude. The phenomenon is explained using Mott’s theory of polaron hopping in disordered solids containing transition metal oxides. The pressure evolution of the glass transition temperature and the crystallisation temperature aboveTgis shown.
Dietary short-chain fatty acid intake improves the hepatic metabolic condition via FFAR3
Authors: Shimizu Hidenori , Masujima Yuki , Ushiroda Chihiro , Mizushima Rina , Taira Satsuki , Ohue-Kitano Ryuji , Kimura Ikuo 
Published: November 2019

AbstractFermented foods represent a significant portion of human diets with several beneficial effects. Foods produced by bacterial fermentation are enriched in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are functional products of dietary fibers via gut microbial fermentation. In addition to energy sources, SCFAs also act as signaling molecules via G-protein coupled receptors such as FFAR2 and FFAR3. Hence, dietary SCFAs in fermented foods may have a direct influence on metabolic functions. However, the detailed mechanism by dietary SCFAs remains unclear. Here, we show that dietary SCFAs protected against high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice in parallel with increased plasma SCFAs without changing cecal SCFA or gut microbial composition. Dietary SCFAs suppressed hepatic weight and lipid synthesis. These effects were abolished in FFAR3-deficient mice but not FFAR2-deficient. Thus, SCFAs supplementation improved hepatic metabolic functions via FFAR3 without influencing intestinal environment. These findings could help to promote the development of functional foods using SCFAs.
Time-coursed transcriptome analysis identifies key expressional regulation in growth cessation and dormancy induced by short days in Paulownia
Authors: Wang Jiayuan , Wang Hongyan , Deng Tao , Liu Zhen , Wang Xuewen 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMaintaining the viability of the apical shoot is critical for continued vertical growth in plants. Terminal shoot of tree species Paulownia cannot regrow in subsequent years. The short day (SD) treatment leads to apical growth cessation and dormancy. To understand the molecular basis of this, we further conducted global RNA-Seq based transcriptomic analysis in apical shoots to check regulation of gene expression. We obtained ~219 million paired-end 125-bp Illumina reads from five time-courses and de novo assembled them to yield 49,054 unigenes. Compared with the untreated control, we identified 1540 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) which were found to involve in 116 metabolic pathways. Expression of 87% of DEGs exhibited switch-on or switch-off pattern, indicating key roles in growth cessation. Most DEGs were enriched in the biological process of gene ontology categories and at later treatment stages. The pathways of auxin and circadian network were most affected and the expression of associated DEGs was characterised. During SD induction, auxin genes IAA, ARF and SAURs were down-regulated and circadian genes including PIF3 and PRR5 were up-regulated. PEPC in photosynthesis was constitutively upregulated, suggesting a still high CO2 concentrating activity; however, the converting CO2 to G3P in the Calvin cycle is low, supported by reduced expression of GAPDH encoding the catalysing enzyme for this step. This indicates a de-coupling point in the carbon fixation. The results help elucidate the molecular mechanisms for SD inducing dormancy and cessation in apical shoots.
Distribution of aquaporins and sodium transporters in the gastrointestinal tract of a desert hare, Lepus yarkandensis
Authors: Zhang Jianping , Li Shuwei , Deng Fang , Baikeli Buheliqihan , Yu Weijiang , Liu Guoquan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractLepus yarkandensis is a desert hare of the Tarim Basin in western China, and it has strong adaptability to arid environments. Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of water channel proteins that facilitate transmembrane water transport. Gastrointestinal tract AQPs are involved in fluid absorption in the small intestine and colon. This study aimed to determine the distribution of AQPs and sodium transporters in the gastrointestinal tract of L. yarkandensis and to compare the expression of these proteins with that in Oryctolagus cuniculus. Immunohistochemistry was performed to analyse the cellular distribution of these proteins, and the acquired images were analysed with IpWin32 software. Our results revealed that AQP1 was located in the colonic epithelium, central lacteal cells, fundic gland parietal cells, and capillary endothelial cells; AQP3 was located in the colonic epithelium, small intestinal villus epithelium, gastric pit and fundic gland; AQP4 was located in the fundic gland, small intestinal gland and colonic epithelium; and epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and Na+-K+-ATPase were located in the epithelial cells, respectively. The higher expression levels of AQP1, AQP3, ENaC and Na+-K+-ATPase in the colon of L. yarkandensis compared to those in O. cuniculus suggested that L. yarkandensis has a higher capacity for faecal dehydration.
Strongly confined localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) bands of Pt, AgPt, AgAuPt nanoparticles
Authors: Sui Mao , Kunwar Sundar , Pandey Puran , Lee Jihoon 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMulti-metallic alloy nanoparticles (NPs) can enable the advanced applications in the energy, biology, electronics, optics and catalysis due to their multi-functionality, wide tunable range and electronic heterogeneity. In this work, various mono-, bi- and tri-metallic nanostructures composed of Ag, Au and Pt are demonstrated on transparent c-plane sapphire (0001) substrates and the corresponding morphological and optical characteristics are thoroughly investigated. The resulting Pt and AuPt NPs in this study demonstrate much enhanced LSPR responses as compared to the pure Pt NPs from the previous studies, which was contributed by the synergistic effect of Au and Pt and improved surface morphology. These results are sharply distinct in terms of surface morphology and elemental variability from those obtained by the dewetting of monometallic Ag, Au and Pt films under the similar growth conditions, which is due to the distinct dewetting kinetics of the bi-layer and tri-layer films. These NPs exhibit strongly enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) bands in the UV-VIS wavelengths such as dipolar, quadrupolar, multipolar and higher order resonance modes depending upon the size and elemental composition of NPs. The LSPR bands are much stronger with the high Ag content and gradually attenuated with the Ag sublimation. Furthermore, the VIS region LSPR bands are readily blue shifted along with the reduction of NP size. The Ag/Pt bi-layers and Ag/Au/Pt tri-layers are systematically dewetted and transformed into various AgPt and AgAuPt nanostructures such as networked, elongated and semispherical configurations by means of enhanced surface diffusion, intermixing and energy minimization along with the temperature control. The sublimation of Ag atoms plays a significant role in the structural and elemental composition of NPs such that more isolated and semispherical Pt and AuPt NPs are evolved from the AgPt and AgAuPt NPs respectively.
Activation of PXR by alantolactone ameliorates DSS-induced experimental colitis via suppressing NF-κB signaling pathway
Authors: Ren Yijing , Yue Bei , Ren Gaiyan , Yu Zhilun , Luo Xiaoping , Sun Aning , Zhang Jingjing , Han Mengqing , Wang Zhengtao , Dou Wei 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAlantolactone (ALA) is a sesquiterpene lactone with potent anti-inflammatory activity. However, the effect of ALA on intestinal inflammation remains largely unknown. The present study demonstrated that ALA significantly ameliorated the clinical symptoms of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mice colitis as determined by body weight loss, diarrhea, colon shortening, inflammatory infiltration and histological injury. In mice exposed to DSS, ALA treatment significantly lowered pro-inflammatory mediators, including nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation. In vitro, ALA inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation and dose-dependently activated human/mouse pregnane X receptor (PXR), a key regulator gene in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. However, the pocket occluding mutants of the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of hPXR, abrogated ALA-mediated activation of the receptor. Overexpression of hPXR inhibited NF-κB-reporter activity and in this setting, ALA further enhanced the hPXR-mediated inhibition of NF-κB-reporter activity. Furthermore, silencing hPXR gene demonstrated the necessity for hPXR in downregulation of NF-κB activation by ALA. Finally, molecular docking studies confirmed the binding affinity between hPXR-LBD and ALA. Collectively, the current study indicates a beneficial effect of ALA on experimental IBD possibly via PXR-mediated suppression of the NF-κB inflammatory signaling.
Monitoring LC3- or GABARAP-positive autophagic membranes using modified RavZ-based probes
Authors: Park Sang-Won , Jeon Pureum , Jun Yong-Woo , Park Ju-Hui , Lee Seung-Hwan , Lee Sangkyu , Lee Jin-A. , Jang Deok-Jin 
Published: November 2019

AbstractXenophagy is a selective lysosomal degradation pathway for invading pathogens in host cells. However, invading bacteria also develop survival mechanisms to inhibit host autophagy. RavZ is a protein secreted by Legionella that irreversibly delipidates mammalian autophagy-related protein 8 (mATG8) on autophagic membranes in host cells via efficient autophagic membrane targeting. In this study, we leveraged the autophagic membrane-targeting mechanism of RavZ and generated a new autophagosome probe by replacing the catalytic domain of RavZ with GFP. This probe is efficiently localized to mATG8-positive autophagic membranes via a synergistic combination between mATG8 protein-binding mediated by the LC3-interacting region (LIR) motifs and phosphoinositide-3-phosphate (PI3P) binding mediated by the membrane-targeting (MT) domain. Furthermore, the membrane association activity of this new probe with an MT domain was more efficient than that of probes with a hydrophobic domain that were previously used in LIR-based autophagosome sensors. Finally, by substituting the LIR motifs of RavZ with selective LIR motifs from Fyco1 or ULK2, we developed new probes for detecting LC3A/B- or GABARAP subfamily-positive autophagic membranes, respectively. We propose that these new RavZ-based sensors will be useful for monitoring and studying the function of mATG8-positive autophagic membranes in different cellular contexts for autophagy research.
Integrative analysis of clinical and bioinformatics databases to identify anticancer properties of digoxin
Authors: Yokoyama Satoshi , Sugimoto Yasuhiro , Nakagawa Chihiro , Hosomi Kouichi , Takada Mitsutaka 
Published: November 2019

AbstractCardiac glycosides, such as digoxin, inhibit Na+/K+-ATPases and cause secondary activation of Na+/Ca2+ exchangers. Preclinical investigations have suggested that digoxin may have anticancer properties. In order to clarify the functional mechanisms of digoxin in cancer, we performed an integrative analysis of clinical and bioinformatics databases. The US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System and the Japan Medical Data Center claims database were used as clinical databases to evaluate reporting odds ratios and adjusted sequence ratios, respectively. The BaseSpace Correlation Engine and Connectivity Map bioinformatics databases were used to investigate molecular pathways related to digoxin anticancer mechanisms. Clinical database analyses suggested an inverse association between digoxin and four cancers: gastric, colon, prostate and haematological malignancy. The bioinformatics database analysis suggested digoxin may exert an anticancer effect via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and apoptotic caspase cascade pathways. Our integrative analysis revealed the possibility of digoxin as a drug repositioning candidate for cancers.
Energy dissipation evaluation of temperature swing adsorption (TSA) cycle based on thermodynamic entropy insights
Authors: Li Shuangjun , Deng Shuai , Zhao Li , Xu Weicong , Yuan Xiangzhou , Guo Zhihao , Du Zhenyu 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) on global warming of 1.5 °C marks a critical point in climate negotiations, which emphasizes the importance to control the CO2 level in the atmosphere. The current technology cluster of CO2 capture is still energy-intensive which results in a substantial increase in costs, thus the efficient conversion among various forms of energy is the major topic of research. Considering that most of the existing research are primarily based on the viewpoint of energy conservation on a specific case study, the results thus could not be efficiently generalized as a condensed mechanism of energy dissipation. In this work, the entropy generation evaluation of a 4-step temperature swing adsorption (TSA) process was presented as a sample. The values and contribution distributions of various entropy generation in the thermodynamic cycle were calculated to evaluate the major energy dissipation. The results on contribution distribution of entropy generation and heat required were compared, the entropy generation distribution contributed by heat transfer decreases from 63.27% to 53.72% with internal heat recovery (IHR) method integrated. Thus the entropy generation saving potential of IHR method could be proved.
SIW cavity‐backed self‐diplexing leaky‐wave antenna
Authors: Shi Shujie , Qian Zuping , Cao Wenquan 
Published: November 2019

A novel substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity‐backed self‐diplexing leaky‐wave antenna (LWA) is presented. The proposed design consists of 16 SIW cavity‐backed slot elements. The SIW cavity‐backed slot element can be fed by two separate ports to resonate at two different frequencies and offer good intrinsic isolation between two input ports. The proposed element is a typical self‐diplexing antenna. By lining up these cavity‐backed slot elements in a column, serial feeding the lower parts and the upper parts of these cavities separately, the SIW cavity‐backed self‐diplexing LWA can be achieved. The upper part of the proposed antenna works in 11–13.9 GHz with beam scanning from −5° to 39°. Meanwhile, the lower part works in 7.1–9.4 GHz with beam scanning from −43° to 56°. The isolation between two input ports is better than 20 dB. The measured results of the fabricated antenna prototype verify the simulation analysis.