bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chirality-assisted lateral momentum transfer for bidirectional enantioselective separation
Authors: Shi Yuzhi , Zhu Tongtong , Zhang Tianhang , Mazzulla Alfredo , Tsai Din Ping , Ding Weiqiang , Liu Ai Qun , Cipparrone Gabriella , Sáenz Juan José , Qiu Cheng-Wei 
Published: April 2020

AbstractLateral optical forces induced by linearly polarized laser beams have been predicted to deflect dipolar particles with opposite chiralities toward opposite transversal directions. These “chirality-dependent” forces can offer new possibilities for passive all-optical enantioselective sorting of chiral particles, which is essential to the nanoscience and drug industries. However, previous chiral sorting experiments focused on large particles with diameters in the geometrical-optics regime. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, the robust sorting of Mie (size ~ wavelength) chiral particles with different handedness at an air–water interface using optical lateral forces induced by a single linearly polarized laser beam. The nontrivial physical interactions underlying these chirality-dependent forces distinctly differ from those predicted for dipolar or geometrical-optics particles. The lateral forces emerge from a complex interplay between the light polarization, lateral momentum enhancement, and out-of-plane light refraction at the particle-water interface. The sign of the lateral force could be reversed by changing the particle size, incident angle, and polarization of the obliquely incident light.
PD-L1 is a direct target of cancer-FOXP3 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and combined immunotherapy with antibodies against PD-L1 and CCL5 is effective in the treatment of PDAC
Authors: Wang Xiuchao , Li Xin , Wei Xunbin , Jiang Haiping , Lan Chungen , Yang Shengyu , Wang Han , Yang Yanhui , Tian Caijuan , Xu Zanmei , Zhang Jiangyan , Hao Jihui , Ren He 
Published: April 2020

AbstractHigh expression of PD-L1 marks the poor prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). However, the regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 remains elusive. We recently reported that cancer Forkhead box protein 3 (Cancer-FOXP3 or C-FOXP3) promoted immune evasion of PDAC by recruiting Treg cells into PDAC via upregulation of CCL5. In this study, we confirmed that PD-L1 was overexpressed in PDAC samples from two independent cohorts of patients with radical resection. Moreover, C-FOXP3 was colocalized and correlated with the expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells at the mRNA and protein levels, and this finding was confirmed by the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) revealed that C-FOXP3 directly bound to the promoter region of PD-L1 in pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, overexpression of C-FOXP3 activated the luciferase reporter gene under the control of the PD-L1 promoter. However, mutation of the binding motif-a completely reversed the luciferase activity. In addition, C-FOXP3-induced upregulation of PD-L1 effectively inhibited the activity of CD8+ T cells. Based on our recent finding that the CCL-5 antibody achieved a better response to PDAC models with high C-FOXP3 levels, we further demonstrated that the PD-L1 antibody strengthened the antitumor effect of CCL-5 blockade in xenograft and orthotopic mouse models with high C-FOXP3 levels. In conclusion, C-FOXP3 directly activates PD-L1 and represents a core transcription factor that mediates the immune escape of PDAC. Combined blockade of PD-L1 and CCL-5 may provide an effective therapy for patients with PDAC that have high C-FOXP3 levels.
A novel homozygous missense SLC25A20 mutation in three CACT-deficient patients: clinical and autopsy data
Authors: Chinen Yasutsugu , Yanagi Kumiko , Nakamura Sadao , Nakayama Noriko , Kamiya Motoko , Nakayashiro Mami , Kaname Tadashi , Naritomi Kenji , Nakanishi Koichi 
Published: April 2020

AbstractCarnitine-acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) deficiency is a fatty acid ß-oxidation disorder of the carnitine shuttle in mitochondria, with a high mortality rate in childhood. We evaluated three patients, including two siblings, with neonatal-onset CACT deficiency and revealed identical homozygous missense mutations of p.Arg275Gln within the SLC25A20 gene. One patient died from hypoglycemia and arrhythmia at 26 months; his pathological autopsy revealed increased and enlarged mitochondria in the heart but not in the liver.
The effect of optimistic expectancies on attention bias: Neural and behavioral correlates
Authors: Singh Laura , Schüpbach Laurent , Moser Dominik A. , Wiest Roland , Hermans Erno J. , Aue Tatjana 
Published: April 2020

AbstractOptimism bias and positive attention bias are important features of healthy information processing. Recent findings suggest dynamic bidirectional optimism-attention interactions, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain to be identified. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, therefore, investigated the neural mechanisms underlying causal effects of optimistic expectancies on attention. We hypothesized that expectancies guide attention to confirmatory evidence in the environment, with enhanced salience and executive control network (SN/ECN) activity for unexpected information. Moreover, based on previous findings, we anticipated optimistic expectancies to more strongly impact attention and SN/ECN activity than pessimistic expectancies. Expectancies were induced with visual cues in 50 participants; subsequent attention to reward and punishment was assessed in a visual search task. As hypothesized, cues shortened reaction times to expected information, and unexpected information enhanced SN/ECN activity. Notably, these effects were stronger for optimistic than pessimistic expectancy cues. Our findings suggest that optimistic expectancies involve particularly strong predictions of reward, causing automatic guidance of attention to reward and great surprise about unexpected punishment. Such great surprise may be counteracted by visual avoidance of the punishing evidence, as revealed by prior evidence, thereby reducing the need to update (over)optimistic reward expectancies.
Measurement and prediction on thermal conductivity of fused quartz
Authors: Zhang Xin Rui , Kong Gang Qiang , Wang Le Hua , Xu Xiao Liang 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThermal conductivity of soil is a basic physical property related to heat conduction, and also is one of parameters widely applied in geotechnical engineering. The effect of gradation on the thermal conductivity of fused quartz was analyzed by thermal needle tests. The different particle size with the same uniformity coefficient (Cu = 3.2) and different uniformity coefficient for the same particle size (0.10~1.00 mm) were considered in this study. It shows that the thermal conductivity of fused quartz decreases with the decreasing of the mean particle size and with the increasing of the porosity. Simple modified methods to estimate the value of thermal conductivity are proposed, and had been demonstrated successfully by conducting fused quartz, carbonate sand and Ottawa sand.
Role of aldehyde dehydrogenases, alcohol dehydrogenase 1B genotype, alcohol consumption, and their combination in breast cancer in East-Asian women
Authors: Park Boyoung , Kim Ji-Hyun , Lee Eun Sook , Jung So-Youn , Lee See Youn , Kang Han-Sung , Lee Eun-Gyeong , Han Jai Hong 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe associations between genetic polymorphisms in ADH1B (rs1229984) and ALDH2 (rs671), alcohol consumption, the effect of a combination of the two polymorphisms, and breast cancer risk were studied in a population of East-Asian women. In this study, 623 breast cancer cases and 1845 controls, aged 40 or above, were included. The association between ALDH2 polymorphism and breast cancer risk was validated in 2143 breast cancer cases and 3977 controls. Alcohol consumption increased the risk of breast cancer regardless of ADH1B and ALDH2 genotypes. The rs671 polymorphism of ALDH2 was independently associated with increased breast cancer risk (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.02–1.58 per increment of A). The ADH1B rs1229984 polymorphism, and combined effects of the rs671 and rs1229984 polymorphisms, did not reveal any significant association with breast cancer. Stratification by menopausal status revealed that rs671 gene polymorphisms were significantly associated with breast cancer only in postmenopausal women (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.03–2.05 per increment of A). This is the first study to demonstrate an independent association between ALDH2 gene variants and breast cancer in Asian women. Further studies are warranted to further elucidate the etiology of breast cancer as it relates to alcohol consumption in Asian women.
Influence of genetic factors in elbow tendon pathology: a case-control study
Authors: Alakhdar Mohmara Yasser , Cook Jill , Benítez-Martínez Josep C. , McPeek Emily R. , Aguilar Antonio Alberola , Olivas Emilio Soria , Hernandez-Sanchez Sergio 
Published: April 2020

AbstractElbow tendinopathy is a common pathology of the upper extremity that impacts both athletes and workers. Some research has examined the genetic component as a risk factor for tendinopathy, mainly in the lower limbs. A case-control study was designed to test for a relationship between certain collagen gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and elbow tendon pathology. A sample of 137 young adult athletes whose sports participation involves loading of the upper limb were examined for the presence of structural abnormalities indicative of pathology in the tendons of the lateral and medial elbow using ultrasound imaging and genotyped for the following SNPs: COL5A1 rs12722, COL11A1 rs3753841, COL11A1 rs1676486, and COL11A2 rs1799907. Anthropometric measurements and data on participants’ elbow pain and dysfunction were collected using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand and the Mayo Clinic Performance Index for the Elbow questionnaires. Results showed that participants in the structural abnormality group had significantly higher scores in pain and dysfunction. A significant relationship between COL11A1 rs3753841 genotype and elbow tendon pathology was found (p = 0.024), with the CT variant associated with increased risk of pathology.
Modified Drude model for small gold nanoparticles surface plasmon resonance based on the role of classical confinement
Authors: Kheirandish Asef , Sepehri Javan Nasser , Mohammadzadeh Hosein 
Published: April 2020

AbstractIn this paper, we study the effect of restoration force caused by the limited size of a small metallic nanoparticle (MNP) on its linear response to the electric field of incident light. In a semi-classical phenomenological Drude-like model for small MNP, we consider restoration force caused by the displacement of conduction electrons with respect to the ionic positive background taking into account a free coefficient as a function of diameter of nanoparticle (NP) in the force term obtained by the idealistic Thomson model in order to adjust the classical approach. All important mechanisms of the energy dissipation such as electron-electron, electron-phonon and electron-NP surface scatterings and radiation are included in the model. In addition a correction term added to the damping factor of mentioned mechanisms in order to rectify the deficiencies of theoretical approaches. For determining the free parameters of model, the experimental data of extinction cross section of gold NPs with different sizes doped in the glass host medium are used and a good agreement between experimental data and results of our model is observed. It is shown that by decreasing the diameter of NP, the restoration force becomes larger and classical confinement effect becomes more dominant in the interaction. According to experimental data, the best fitted parameter for the coefficient of restoration force is a third order negative powers function of diameter. The fitted function for the correction damping factor is proportional to the inverse squared wavelength and third order power series of NP diameter. Based on the model parameters, the real and imaginary parts of permittivity for different sizes of gold NPs are presented and it is seen that the imaginary part is more sensitive to the diameter variations. Increase in the NP diameter causes increase in the real part of permittivity (which is negative) and decrease in the imaginary part.
Efficient Drug Screening and Nephrotoxicity Assessment on Co-culture Microfluidic Kidney Chip
Authors: Yin Lei , Du Guanru , Zhang Bing , Zhang Hongbo , Yin Ruixue , Zhang Wenjun , Yang Shih-Mo 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe function and susceptibility of various drugs are tested with renal proximal tubular epithelial cells; yet, replicating the morphology and kidneys function using the currently available in vitro models remains difficult. To overcome this difficulty, in the study presented in this paper, a device and a three-layer microfluidic chip were developed, which provides a simulated environment for kidney organs. This device includes two parts: (1) microfluidic drug concentration gradient generator and (2) a flow-temperature controlled platform for culturing of kidney cells. In chip study, renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (RPTECs) and peritubular capillary endothelial cells (PCECs) were screened with the drugs to assess the drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Unlike cells cultured in petri dishes, cells cultured in the microfluidic device exhibited higher performance in terms of both cell growth and drug nephrotoxicity evaluation. It is worth mentioning that a significant decrease in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity was found because of the intervention of cimetidine in the microfluidic device. In conclusion, the different in the cell performance between the microfluidic device and the petri dishes demonstrates the physiological relevance of the nephrotoxicity screening technology along with the microfluidic device developed in this study. Furthermore, this technology can also facilitate the development of reliable kidney drugs and serve as a useful and efficient test-bed for further investigation of the drug nephrotoxicity evaluation.
Founder BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 pathogenic variants in French-Canadian breast cancer cases and controls
Authors: Behl Supriya , Hamel Nancy , de Ladurantaye Manon , Lepage Stéphanie , Lapointe Réjean , Mes-Masson Anne-Marie , Foulkes William D. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractInherited germline pathogenic variants are responsible for ~5% of breast cancer globally. Through rapid expansion and isolation since immigration in the early 17th century, French Canadians are a relatively genetically homogenous founder population and therefore represent a unique demographic for genetic contributions to disease. To date, twenty variants in BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2 that predispose families to breast and ovarian cancer have been identified as recurring in the French-Canadian founder population. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and validity of targeted genetic testing for these variants in Montreal French Canadians. A total of 555 breast cancer cases unselected for family history or age of diagnosis were genotyped, along with 1940 controls without a personal or family history of cancer. A Sequenom genotyping assay identified a pathogenic variant in 0.2% (5 of 1940) of cancer-free controls, and 3.8% (21/555) of breast cancer cases. Almost 10% (12/113) of early onset cases were heterozygous for founder BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variant. Of twenty variants tested, only seven were identified in this study. The option of providing this test as population-based screening is discussed.
Reproducibility of flutter-range vibrotactile detection and discrimination thresholds
Authors: Mikkelsen Mark , He Jason , Tommerdahl Mark , Edden Richard A. E. , Mostofsky Stewart H. , Puts Nicolaas A. J. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractSomatosensory processing can be probed empirically through vibrotactile psychophysical experiments. Psychophysical approaches are valuable for investigating both normal and abnormal tactile function in healthy and clinical populations. To date, the test-retest reliability of vibrotactile detection and discrimination thresholds has yet to be established. This study sought to assess the reproducibility of vibrotactile detection and discrimination thresholds in human adults using an established vibrotactile psychophysical battery. Fifteen healthy adults underwent three repeat sessions of an eleven-task battery that measured a range of vibrotactile measures, including reaction time, detection threshold, amplitude and frequency discrimination, and temporal order judgement. Coefficients of variation and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for the measures in each task. Linear mixed-effects models were used to test for length and training effects and differences between tasks within the same domain. Reaction times were shown to be the most reproducible (ICC: ~0.9) followed by detection thresholds (ICC: ~0.7). Frequency discrimination thresholds were the least reproducible (ICC: ~0.3). As reported in prior studies, significant differences in measures between related tasks were also found, demonstrating the reproducibility of task-related effects. These findings show that vibrotactile detection and discrimination thresholds are reliable, further supporting the use of psychophysical experiments to probe tactile function.
Preserving Airway Smooth Muscle Contraction in Precision-Cut Lung Slices
Authors: Li Guang , Cohen Jonathan A. , Martines Carolina , Ram-Mohan Sumati , Brain Joseph D. , Krishnan Ramaswamy , Ai Xingbin , Bai Yan 
Published: April 2020

AbstractPrecision-cut lung slices (PCLS) are ideal for measuring small airway contraction. However, these measurements are currently limited to acute exposure scenarios that typically last a few minutes to a few hours. Using an insulin-supplemented culture medium, we prolong the small airway contractility in mouse PCLS for up to two weeks. Compared to conventional culture medium, insulin-supplemented culture medium provides no additional benefit in preserving cellular viability or airway structure. However, it protects the airway smooth muscle (ASM) against a loss of smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SMMHC) expression. We elucidate the significance of this new culture medium for chronic disease modeling of IL-13-induced airway hyper-responsiveness.
X-ray irradiated cultures of mouse cortical neural stem/progenitor cells recover cell viability and proliferation with dose-dependent kinetics
Authors: Licursi Valerio , Anzellotti Silvia , Favaro Jessica , Sineri Serena , Carucci Nicoletta , Cundari Enrico , Fiore Mario , Guarguaglini Giulia , Pippa Simone , Nisi Paola S. , Vernì Fiammetta , Biagioni Stefano , Cacci Emanuele , Amendola Roberto , Lupo Giuseppe , Negri Rodolfo 
Published: April 2020

AbstractExposure of the developing or adult brain to ionizing radiation (IR) can cause cognitive impairment and/or brain cancer, by targeting neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs). IR effects on NSPCs include transient cell cycle arrest, permanent cell cycle exit/differentiation, or cell death, depending on the experimental conditions. In vivo studies suggest that brain age influences NSPC response to IR, but whether this is due to intrinsic NSPC changes or to niche environment modifications remains unclear. Here, we describe the dose-dependent, time-dependent effects of X-ray IR in NSPC cultures derived from the mouse foetal cerebral cortex. We show that, although cortical NSPCs are resistant to low/moderate IR doses, high level IR exposure causes cell death, accumulation of DNA double-strand breaks, activation of p53-related molecular pathways and cell cycle alterations. Irradiated NSPC cultures transiently upregulate differentiation markers, but recover control levels of proliferation, viability and gene expression in the second week post-irradiation. These results are consistent with previously described in vivo effects of IR in the developing mouse cortex, and distinct from those observed in adult NSPC niches or in vitro adult NSPC cultures, suggesting that intrinsic differences in NSPCs of different origins might determine, at least in part, their response to IR.
Oligomeric amyloid-β induces early and widespread changes to the proteome in human iPSC-derived neurons
Authors: Sackmann Christopher , Hallbeck Martin 
Published: April 2020

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia globally and is characterized by aberrant accumulations of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau proteins. Oligomeric forms of these proteins are believed to be most relevant to disease progression, with oligomeric amyloid-β (oAβ) particularly implicated in AD. oAβ pathology spreads among interconnected brain regions, but how oAβ induces pathology in these previously unaffected neurons requires further study. Here, we use well characterized iPSC-derived human neurons to study the early changes to the proteome and phosphoproteome after 24 h exposure to oAβ 1-42. Using nLC-MS/MS and label-free quantification, we identified several proteins that are differentially regulated in response to acute oAβ challenge. At this early timepoint, oAβ induced the decrease of TDP-43, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs), and coatomer complex I (COPI) proteins. Conversely, increases were observed in 20 S proteasome subunits and vesicle associated proteins VAMP1/2, as well as the differential phosphorylation of tau at serine 208. These changes show that there are widespread alterations to the neuronal proteome within 24 h of oAβ uptake, including proteins previously not shown to be related to neurodegeneration. This study provides new targets for the further study of early mediators of AD pathogenesis.
CLEAR: A Holistic Figure-of-Merit for Post- and Predicting Electronic and Photonic-based Compute-system Evolution
Authors: Sun Shuai , Narayana Vikram K. , Miscuglio Mario , Kimerling Lionel C. , El-Ghazawi Tarek , Sorger Volker J. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractContinuing demands for increased computing efficiency and communication bandwidth have pushed the current semiconductor technology to its limit. This led to novel technologies with the potential to outperform conventional electronic solutions such as photonic pre-processors or accelerators, electronic-photonic hybrid circuits, and neural networks. However, the efforts made to describe and predict the performance evolution of compute-performance fall short to accurately predict and thereby explain the actually observed development pace with time; that is all proposed metrics eventually deviate from their development trajectory after several years from when they were originally proposed. This discrepancy demands a figure-of-merit that includes a holistic set of driving forces of the compute-system evolution. Here we introduce the Capability-to-Latency-Energy-Amount-Resistance (CLEAR) metric encompassing synchronizing speed, energy efficiency, physical machine size scaling, and economic cost. We show that CLEAR is the only metric to accurately describe the historical compute-system development. We find that even across different technology options CLEAR matches the observed (post-diction) constant rate-of-growth, and also fits proposed future compute-system (prediction). Therefore, we propose CLEAR to serve as a guide to quantitatively predict required compute-system demands at a given time in the future.