bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developmental characterization of Zswim5 expression in the progenitor domains and tangential migration pathways of cortical interneurons in the mouse forebrain
Authors: Chang Chuan‐Chie , Kuo Hsiao‐Ying , Chen Shih‐Yun , Lin Wan‐Ting , Lu Kuan‐Ming , Saito Tetsuichiro , Liu Fu‐Chin 
Published: March 2020

AbstractGABAergic interneurons play an essential role in modulating cortical networks. The progenitor domains of cortical interneurons are localized in developing ventral forebrain, including the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE), caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE), preoptic area (POA), and preoptic hypothalamic border domain (POH). Here, we characterized the expression pattern of Zswim5, an MGE‐enriched gene in the mouse forebrain. At E11.5–E13.5, prominent Zswim5 expression was detected in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of MGE, POA, and POH, but not CGE of ventral telencephalon where progenitors of cortical interneurons resided. At E15.5 and E17.5, Zswim5 expression remained in the MGE/pallidum primordium and ventral germinal zone. Zswim5 mRNA was markedly decreased after birth and was absent in the adult forebrain. Interestingly, the Zswim5 expression pattern resembled the tangential migration pathways of cortical interneurons. Zswim5‐positive cells in the MGE appeared to migrate from the MGE through the SVZ of LGE to overlying neocortex. Indeed, Zswim5 was co‐localized with Nkx2.1 and Lhx6, markers of progenitors and migratory cortical interneurons. Double labeling showed that Ascl1/Mash1‐positive cells co‐expressed Zswim5. Zswim5 expressing cells contained none or at most low levels of Ki67 but co‐expressed Tuj1 in the SVZ of MGE. These results suggest that Zswim5 is immediately upregulated as progenitors exiting cell cycle become postmitotic. Given that recent studies have elucidated that the cell fate of cortical interneurons is determined shortly after becoming postmitotic, the timing of Zswim5 expression in early postmitotic interneurons suggests a potential role of Zswim5 in regulation of neurogenesis and tangential migration of cortical interneurons.
Hybrid Solvation Model with First Solvation Shell for Calculation of Solvation Free Energy
Authors: Xin Xin , Niu Xiao , Liu Wanqi , Wang Dunyou 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWe present a hybrid solvation model with first solvation shell to calculate solvation free energies. This hybrid model combines the quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics methods with the analytical expression based on the Born solvation model to calculate solvation free energies. Based on calculated free energies of solvation and reaction profiles in gas phase, we set up a unified scheme to predict reaction profiles in solution. The predicted solvation free energies and reaction barriers are compared with experimental results for twenty bimolecular nucleophilic substitution reactions. These comparisons show that our hybrid solvation model can predict reliable solvation free energies and reaction barriers for chemical reactions of small molecules in aqueous solution.
Amino Acid Residues Vary the Self‐Assembly and Photophysical Properties of Diphenylamine‐Cyanostilbene‐Capped Amphiphiles
Authors: Yeh Mei‐Yu , Tseng Tzu‐Yu , Hsieh Hui‐Chun , Wu Bao‐Xing , Liao Yi‐Shun , Yeh Yao‐Chun , Liu Jyun‐Cheng 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAlthough fluorescent materials based on diphenylamine (DPA) conjugated with cyanostilbene (CS) have been developed for biological applications as aggregation‐induced emission chromophores with long‐wavelength emissions, only DPACS derivatives of very high polarity and low polarity have been investigated previously. Herein, we report three DPACS‐capped amino acid amphiphiles – DPACS‐G, DPACS‐S, and DPACS‐D – of various hydrophobicities. Their self‐assembly and photophysical properties in aqueous media are dependent upon the nature of their amino acid residues. Interestingly, under alkaline conditions, the introduction of a serine (S) residue in the DPACS chromophore (i. e., DPACS‐S) resulted in a self‐assembled hydrogel and the formation of nanorods with aggregation‐induced emission enhancement characteristics. Experimental and theoretical studies of DPACS‐S revealed that π–π stacking, electrostatic interactions, and extended intermolecular hydrogen bonding were the main driving forces behind its self‐assembly.
In situ dry matter and crude protein disappearance dynamics in stockpiled limpograss
Authors: Wallau Marcelo O. , Vendramini João M.B. , Sollenberger Lynn E. , van Santen Edzard , Aguiar Andre D. , Cunha Odislei F. R. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractStockpiling warm‐season perennial grasses for winter grazing is an important management practice for beef cattle production systems in tropical and subtropical regions. Limpograss [Hemarthria altissima (Poir.) Stapf et C.E. Hubb.] has greater digestibility at late maturity than other commonly used warm‐season perennial grasses; however, decreased crude protein (CP) concentration may limit livestock performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in situ dry matter (DM) and CP ruminal disappearance kinetics of stockpiled limpograss herbage. Forage for the in situ study derived from a 2‐yr field experiment in which treatments were the factorial combinations of three cultivars (‘Kenhy’, ‘Gibtuck’, or ‘Floralta’) and three stockpiling periods (8, 12, or 16 wk) distributed in three replicates of a randomized complete block design. Effective degradability of DM was greater for Kenhy and Gibtuck compared with Floralta (614 and 611 vs. 575 g kg−1), and it declined linearly as stockpiling period increased from 8 to 16 wk (623 vs. 586 g kg−1). Herbage CP concentration (48–32 g kg−1 DM) also declined linearly from 8 to 16 wk, but rumen‐unavailable CP increased during stockpiling (257–438 g kg−1 CP), causing effective CP degradability to decrease (637–489 g kg−1 CP). Limpograss is a good option for stockpiled forage, and both new releases outperformed Floralta; however, concentration and availability of CP must be considered when defining a supplementation strategy.
Modulation of ion sound excitations in electron–ion plasmas with double spectral index distribution function
Authors: Ullah Shakir , Masood W. , Siddiq M. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractTheoretical investigation of amplitude modulation of ion sound waves is presented here for an electron–ion plasma where the electrons are dictated by the double spectral index (r, q) distribution function. Using the standard reductive perturbative technique, a non‐linear Schrödinger (NLS) equation is derived that describes the evolution of modulated ion sound envelope excitations. Stability analysis of the NLS equation shows that the ion sound waves remain stable for the flat‐topped and kappa‐like distributions, but they can become unstable for the spiky electron velocity distribution. It is shown that changing the electron population in regions of low and high phase space density regions results in remarkable features that have no equivalent in ion sound waves with Boltzmannian electrons. Different types of localized ion sound excitations are plotted for the different shapes of the distribution functions controlled by the double spectral indices, and the underlying physics is discussed in detail. The present investigation may be beneficial to understand ion sound excitations in space plasmas where the distribution functions of the shapes presented here are frequently encountered by the satellite missions.
A role for metabolomics in the antidoping toolbox?
Authors: Narduzzi Luca , Dervilly Gaud , Audran Michel , Le Bizec Bruno , Buisson Corinne 
Published: March 2020

AbstractEvidence of the continuous rise of novel doping agents and novel doping strategies calls for the development of more accurate multi‐target screening methods. Direct multi‐target screening approaches are restricted to the targeted substances and their turnover. The development of effective “indirect” screening methods requires a priori a deep understanding of the metabolism of the substance. The biological passport has been demonstrated to be very effective, but it is limited to about 20 indirect parameters. The standard antidoping analytical methods are hence targeted and do not aim directly to identify unknown substances. Also, the detection of doping agents is limited by the excretion of the substance. This study considers metabolomics for the screening of performance enhancing hormone abuse by athletes, based on the following pieces of evidence: (1) hormones have a strong influence on human metabolism, changing several parameters in many tissues, organs, and bio‐fluids; (2) metabolomics has been demonstrated to be a very accurate tool to depict the metabolic status of several organisms, tissues, and for several human diseases, including hormone deficiencies; (3) metabolomics has been demonstrated to be able to distinguish hormone‐treated animals from controls in many species, without the need for a priori knowledge of the metabolism for the specific substance. The literature shows that metabolomics could be an appropriate tool to detect hormone abuse, keeping in mind the strength and the limitation of such an approach.
Three critical factors affecting automated image species recognition performance for camera traps
Authors: Schneider Stefan , Greenberg Saul , Taylor Graham W. , Kremer Stefan C. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractEcological camera traps are increasingly used by wildlife biologists to unobtrusively monitor an ecosystems animal population. However, manual inspection of the images produced is expensive, laborious, and time‐consuming. The success of deep learning systems using camera trap images has been previously explored in preliminary stages. These studies, however, are lacking in their practicality. They are primarily focused on extremely large datasets, often millions of images, and there is little to no focus on performance when tasked with species identification in new locations not seen during training. Our goal was to test the capabilities of deep learning systems trained on camera trap images using modestly sized training data, compare performance when considering unseen background locations, and quantify the gradient of lower bound performance to provide a guideline of data requirements in correspondence to performance expectations. We use a dataset provided by Parks Canada containing 47,279 images collected from 36 unique geographic locations across multiple environments. Images represent 55 animal species and human activity with high‐class imbalance. We trained, tested, and compared the capabilities of six deep learning computer vision networks using transfer learning and image augmentation: DenseNet201, Inception‐ResNet‐V3, InceptionV3, NASNetMobile, MobileNetV2, and Xception. We compare overall performance on “trained” locations where DenseNet201 performed best with 95.6% top‐1 accuracy showing promise for deep learning methods for smaller scale research efforts. Using trained locations, classifications with <500 images had low and highly variable recall of 0.750 ± 0.329, while classifications with over 1,000 images had a high and stable recall of 0.971 ± 0.0137. Models tasked with classifying species from untrained locations were less accurate, with DenseNet201 performing best with 68.7% top‐1 accuracy. Finally, we provide an open repository where ecologists can insert their image data to train and test custom species detection models for their desired ecological domain.
Repeated fire shifts carbon and nitrogen cycling by changing plant inputs and soil decomposition across ecosystems
Authors: Pellegrini Adam F. A. , Hobbie Sarah E. , Reich Peter B. , Jumpponen Ari , Brookshire E. N. Jack , Caprio Anthony C. , Coetsee Corli , Jackson Robert B. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractFires shape the biogeochemistry and functioning of many ecosystems, and fire frequencies are changing across much of the globe. Frequent fires can change soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage by altering the quantity and chemistry of plant inputs through changes in plant biomass and composition as well as the decomposition of soil organic matter. How decomposition rates change with shifting inputs remains uncertain because most studies focus on the effects of single fires, where transient responses may not reflect responses to decadal changes in burning frequencies. Here, we sampled seven sites exposed to different fire frequencies. In four of the sites, we intensively sampled both soils and plant communities across four ecosystems in North America and Africa spanning tropical savanna, temperate coniferous savanna, temperate broadleaf savanna, and temperate coniferous forest ecosystems. Each site contained multiple plots burned frequently for 33–61 years and nearby plots that had remained unburned over the same period replicated at the landscape scale. Across all sites, repeatedly burned plots had 25–185% lower bulk soil C and N concentrations but also 2–10‐fold lower potential decomposition of organic matter compared to unburned sites. Soil C and N concentrations and extracellular enzyme activities declined with frequent fire because fire reduced both plant biomass inputs into soils and dampened the localized enrichment effect of tree canopies. Examination of soil extracellular enzyme activities revealed that fire decreased the potential turnover of organic matter in the forms of cellulose, starch, and chitin (P < 0.0001) but not polyphenol and lignin (P = 0.09), suggesting a shift in soil C and N cycling. Inclusion of δ13C data from three additional savanna sites (19–60 years of altered fire frequencies) showed that soil C losses were largest in sites where estimated tree inputs into soils declined the most (r2 = 0.91, P < 0.01). In conclusion, repeated burning reduced C and N storage, consistent with previous studies, but fire also reduced potential decomposition, likely contributing to slower C and N cycling. Trees were important in shaping soil C and N responses across sites, but the magnitude of tree effects differed and depended on how tree biomass inputs into soil responded to fire.
The importance of climatic variability and human influence in driving aspects of temporarily open‐closed estuaries
Authors: Brooker Ben , Scharler Ursula M. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractFreshwater availability is a major topic in scientific literature and the public domain. Estuaries are complex and dynamic ecosystems that depend on freshwater inflow from their catchments and exchange with the marine environment. Catchment forcings are subject to shifts in frequency and intensity due to regional hydrological variability over time. Human manipulation of freshwater regimes may further alter this beyond natural variability through flow abstraction and additional inputs in the form of wastewater. To elucidate the effect of climate variability and human activities, we conducted a time series investigation on hydrological drivers into a small South African estuary (uMdloti), representative of temporarily open‐closed estuaries. Subsequently, we investigated the ability of the hydrological variables to drive physical parameters and microalgae in the estuary. Freshwater abstraction caused a disconnect between rainfall and river flow, and increased lag times during dry spells, peaking at 115 days. Annual seasonal peaks in rainfall were not represented in river flow due to the dam. Wastewater discharges equate to 4% of the mean annual runoff from the catchment, which has reduced from a natural runoff of 85.8 to 71.9 Mm−3year−1. Due to this and damming of catchment flows, wastewater discharging into the estuary was the most important driver of water quality in the system, resulting in increased nutrient and decreased dissolved oxygen concentrations, whereas river flow was an important driver at high flow volumes. An understanding of interaction effects between climatic variability and catchment flow manipulation is vitally important to estuarine management and their ecological viability.
Effects of evolocumab therapy and low LDL‐C levels on vitamin E and steroid hormones in Chinese and global patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Blom Dirk J. , Chen Jiyan , Yuan Zuyi , Borges Joao L. C. , Monsalvo Maria L. , Wang Nan , Hamer Andrew W. , Ge Junbo 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAimsWe assessed the change from baseline in vitamin E, steroid hormones, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and gonadotropins, overall and by lowest achieved low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C) level, in patients with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidaemia after 12 weeks of treatment with evolocumab.Materials and MethodsThis was a prespecified analysis of vitamin E, cortisol, ACTH, gonadal hormones and gonadotropins in the 12‐week, placebo‐controlled BERSON trial of evolocumab in patients with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidaemia. In BERSON, 981 (451 in China) patients on daily atorvastatin 20 mg were randomized to placebo or one of two doses of evolocumab. We measured analyte levels at baseline and week 12 (vitamin E in all patients; steroid/gonadal hormones only in Chinese patients).ResultsIn both the global and Chinese populations, absolute vitamin E levels decreased from baseline to week 12 by approximately 6 μmol/L (P < .0001) among evolocumab‐treated patients; however, when normalized for LDL‐C, apoB or non–HDL‐C, we observed no decrease in vitamin E levels. In Chinese patients, levels of cortisol and ACTH as well as the cortisol:ACTH ratio did not change significantly from baseline to week 12. No patient had a cortisol:ACTH ratio <3.0 (nmol/pmol), suggestive of adrenocortical deficiency. We did not observe clinically relevant changes for gonadal hormones and gonadotropins (oestradiol and testosterone in female and male patients, respectively, luteinizing and follicle‐stimulating hormones for both).ConclusionsIn the BERSON study, evolocumab did not adversely affect vitamin E, steroid hormone or gonadotropin levels in the Chinese or global type 2 diabetic populations.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02662569.
SOCS3 is a suppressor of γc cytokine signaling and constrains generation of murine Foxp3+ regulatory T cells
Authors: Luckey Megan A. , Kim Tae‐Hyoun , Prakhar Praveen , Keller Hilary R. , Crossman Assiatu , Choi Seeyoung , Love Paul E. , Walsh Scott T.R. , Park Jung‐Hyun 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSOCS3 is a cytosolic inhibitor of cytokine signaling that suppresses the activation of cytokine receptor‐associated JAK kinases. Mechanistically, SOCS3 is recruited to a site in the cytokine receptors known as the SOCS3‐interaction motif, and then binds JAK molecules to inhibit their kinase activity. The SOCS3‐interaction motif is found in receptors of the gp130 cytokine family but mostly absent from other cytokine receptors, including γc. Thus, SOCS3 has been considered a selective suppressor of gp130 family cytokines, but not γc cytokines. Considering that γc signaling induces SOCS3 expression in T cells, here we revisited the role of SOCS3 on γc signaling. Using SOCS3 transgenic mice, we found that increased abundance of SOCS3 not only suppressed signaling of the gp130 family cytokine IL‐6, but also signaling of the γc family cytokine IL‐7. Consequently, SOCS3 transgenic mice were impaired in IL‐7‐dependent T cell development in the thymus and the homeostasis of mature T cells in peripheral tissues. Moreover, enforced SOCS3 expression interfered with the generation of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells that requires signaling by the γc family cytokine IL‐2. Collectively, we report an underappreciated role for SOCS3 in suppressing γc cytokine signaling, effectively expanding its scope of target cytokines in T cell immunity.
Long INterspersed element‐1 mobility as a sensor of environmental stresses
Authors: Del Re Brunella , Giorgi Gianfranco 
Published: March 2020

AbstractLong INterspersed element (LINE‐1, L1) retrotransposons are the most abundant transposable elements in the human genome, constituting approximately 17%. They move by a “copy‐paste” mechanism, involving reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate and insertion of its cDNA copy at a new site in the genome. L1 retrotransposition (L1‐RTP) can cause insertional mutations, alter gene expression, transduce exons, and induce epigenetic dysregulation. L1‐RTP is generally repressed; however, a number of observations collected over about 15 years revealed that it can occur in response to environmental stresses. Moreover, emerging evidence indicates that L1‐RTP can play a role in the onset of several neurological and oncological diseases in humans. In recent years, great attention has been paid to the exposome paradigm, which proposes that health effects of an environmental factor should be evaluated considering both cumulative environmental exposures and the endogenous processes resulting from the biological response. L1‐RTP could be an endogenous process considered for this application. Here, we summarize the current understanding of environmental factors that can affect the retrotransposition of human L1 elements. Evidence indicates that L1‐RTP alteration is triggered by numerous and various environmental stressors, such as chemical agents (heavy metals, carcinogens, oxidants, and drugs), physical agents (ionizing and non‐ionizing radiations), and experiential factors (voluntary exercise, social isolation, maternal care, and environmental light/dark cycles). These data come from in vitro studies on cell lines and in vivo studies on transgenic animals: future investigations should be focused on physiologically relevant models to gain a better understanding of this topic.
A multiple‐input‐multiple‐output on‐chip Quasi‐Yagi‐Uda antenna for multigigabit communications: Preliminary study
Authors: Sultan Kamel S. , Abdallah Esmat A. , El Hennawy Hadia 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThis article presents a solution for the low gain and the poor efficiency of the on‐chip antennas (OCA). The four elements of Quasi‐Yagi‐Uda antennas (QYUA) are introduced based on the diversity technique to reduce the interference between the elements. In addition, these antennas achieve high isolations between them due to the use of reflector for each antenna. The QYUA is selected to improve the radiation properties of the end‐fire radiator in the millimeter‐wave range for on‐chip systems. The proposed MIMO antenna is used for the point to point communications. The complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor with 180 nm standard is used in the antenna design with six metal layers. The QYUA combines three parts (driven element, reflector, and director); the driven consists of two meander lines fed by coplanar‐slot and operates as a dipole, the reflector is an arc likes a semicircle to prevent the back radiation and increase the front to back ratio, and the director is a meander line to directive the radiation into the proposed direction (front end‐fire direction). All MIMO parameters such as envelope correlation coefficient, channel capacity loss, diversity gain, and total active reflection coefficient in addition to the different configurations of the MIMO are presented. All results are verified by computer simulation technology and high‐frequency structure simulator. The contribution of this article is the MIMO antenna design for point to point communications to serve multigiga communications systems with high data rate and high gain. This MIMO system is considered here to solve the problems of OCA designs.