bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Benzene-Exposed Army Soldiers: Nasal Cytology as a Screening Tool
Authors: Bruno Ernesto , De Berardinis Rita , di Folco Francesco , Russo Carmelo , Tatangelo Pietro 
Published: December 2020

Objective:
Assessment of the nasal cytology in revealing early nasal mucosa alteration of workers exposed to benzene.

Methods:
Nasal cytology was compared among non-exposed and exposed workers to benzene. A comparison of the two groups was performed considering rhino-cytological features.

Results:
In the exposed group neutrophils count range was 14 to 70, compared to 2 to 5 in control group. Ciliated cells ratio range was respectively 0.28 to 2.8 and 0.25 to 0.31. In subjects exposed to benzene >10 years, nasal mucosa showed an inflammatory status and an ongoing mucipar metaplasia, defined by an alteration of mucipar/ciliated cells ratio.

Conclusions:
Nasal cytology may be a useful research tool for the health surveillance of workers exposed to benzene and may be applied to study the effects of other upper airways chemicals irritants.
Association between plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) 4G/5G polymorphism and risk of Alzheimer's disease, metabolic syndrome, and female infertility
Authors: Zhang Xin , Gao Bai , Xu Bing 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background:
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is considered to be involved in the physiopathological mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD), metabolic syndrome (MetS), and female infertility. Previous studies investigating the association between PAI-14G/5G (rs1799889) gene polymorphism and the risk of AD, MetS, and female infertility have reported inconsistent results. The aim of the present study was to investigate possible associations.

Methods:
Eligible studies were retrieved through PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, CNKI, and WANFANG databases. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the associations. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity and mean age, sensitivity analyses, and publication bias were performed.

Results:
Five studies (four articles) for AD, six studies (six articles) for MetS, and four studies (four articles) for female infertility were included in this meta-analysis. Our results showed no significant associations between the PAI-14G/5G polymorphism and the risk of AD and female infertility in five genetic models. For the risk of MetS, the PAI-1 4G/5G (rs1799889) polymorphism may be associated with the risk of MetS (4G vs 5G, OR = 1.31, 95%CI = 1.04–1.64, P = .021), especially in Asians (4G/4G vs 4G/5G+5G/5G, OR = 1.38, 95%CI = 1.01–1.87, P = .041) and patients with mean age > 50 years old (4G/4G vs 4G/5G+5G/5G, OR = 1.36, 95%CI = 1.03–1.78, P = .029).

Conclusion:
The present meta-analysis suggested that the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism might be associated with the risk of MetS, but no evidence was detected for AD and female infertility.
Phytotoxic tryptoquialanines producedin vivobyPenicillium digitatumare exported in extracellular vesicles
Authors: Costa Jonas Henrique , Bazioli Jaqueline Moraes , Barbosa Luidy Darllan , dos Santos Júnior Pedro Luis Theodoro , Reis Flavia C. G. , Klimeck Tabata , Crnkovic Camila Manoel , Berlinck Roberto G. S. , Sussulini Alessandra , Rodrigues Marcio L. , Fill Taícia Pacheco 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACTPenicillium digitatumis the most aggressive pathogen of citrus fruits. Tryptoquialanines are major indole alkaloids produced byP. digitatum. It is unknown if tryptoquialanines are involved in the damage of citrus fruits caused byP. digitatum. To investigate the pathogenic roles of tryptoquialanines, we initially asked if tryptoquialanines could affect the germination ofCitrus sinensisseeds. Exposure of the citrus seeds to tryptoquialanine A resulted in a complete inhibition of germination and an altered metabolic response. Since this phytotoxic effect requires the extracellular export of tryptoquialanine A, we investigated the mechanisms of extracellular delivery of this alkaloid inP. digitatum. We detected extracellular vesicles (EVs) released byP. digitatumboth in culture and during infection of citrus fruits. Compositional analysis of EVs produced during infection revealed the presence of a complex cargo, which included tryptoquialanines and the mycotoxin fungisporin. The EVs also presented phytotoxicity activityin vitro, and caused damage to the tissues of citrus seeds. Through molecular networking, it was observed that the metabolites present in theP. digitatumEVs are produced in all of its possible hosts. Our results reveal a novel phytopathogenic role ofP. digitatumEVs and tryptoquialanine A, implying that this alkaloid is exported in EVs during plant infection.IMPORTANCEDuring the post-harvest period, citrus fruits can be affected by phytopathogens such asPenicillium digitatum, which causes the green mold disease and is responsible for up to 90 % of the total citrus losses. Chemical fungicides are widely used to prevent the green mold disease, leading to concerns about environmental and health risks. To develop safer alternatives to control phytopathogens, it is necessary to understand the molecular basis of infection during the host-pathogen interaction. In theP. digitatummodel, the virulence strategies are poorly known. Here, we describe the production of phytotoxic extracellular vesicles (EVs) byP. digitatumduring the infection of citrus fruits. We also characterized the secondary metabolites in the cargo of EVs and found in this set of molecules an inhibitor of seed germination. Since EVs and secondary metabolites have been related to virulence mechanisms in other host-pathogen interactions, our data are important for the comprehension of howP. digitatumcauses damage to its primary hosts.
Exploiting a PAX3-FOXO1-induced synthetic lethal ATR dependency for rhabdomyosarcoma therapy
Authors: García Heathcliff Dorado , Bei Yi , von Stebut Jennifer , Ibáñez Glorymar , Imami Koshi , Gürgen Dennis , Rolff Jana , Helmsauer Konstantin , Timme Natalie , Bardinet Victor , González Rocío Chamorro , MacArthur Ian C. , Pusch Fabian , Chen Celine Y. , Schulz Joachim , Wengner Antje M. , Furth Christian , Lala Birgit , Eggert Angelika , Seifert Georg , Hundsoerfer Patrick , Kirchner Marieluise , Mertins Philipp , Selbach Matthias , Lissat Andrej , Schulte Johannes H. , Haase Kerstin , Scheer Monika , Ortiz Michael V. , Henssen Anton G. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractPathognomonic PAX3-FOXO1 fusion oncogene expression is associated with poor outcome in rhabdomyosarcoma. Combining genome-wide CRISPR screening with cell- based functional genetic approaches, we here provide evidence that PAX3-FOXO1 induces replication stress, resulting in a synthetic lethal dependency to ATR-mediated DNA damage-response signaling in rhabdomyosarcoma. Expression of PAX3-FOXO1 in muscle progenitor cells was not only sufficient to induce hypersensitivity to ATR inhibition, but PAX3-FOXO1-expressing rhabdomyosarcoma cells also exhibited increased sensitivity to structurally diverse inhibitors of ATR, a dependency that could be validated genetically. Mechanistically, ATR inhibition led to replication stress exacerbation, decreased BRCA1 phosphorylation and reduced homologous recombination-mediated DNA repair pathway activity. Consequently, ATR inhibitor treatment increased sensitivity of rhabdomyosarcoma cells to PARP inhibitionin vitro, and combined ATR and PARP inhibition induced regression of primary patient-derived alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma xenograftsin vivo. Moreover, a genome-wide CRISPR activation screen (CRISPRa) identifiedFOSgene family members as inducers of resistance against ATR inhibitors. Mechanistically,FOSgene family members reduced replication stress in rhabdomyosarcoma cells. Lastly, compassionate use of ATR inhibitors in two pediatric patients suffering from relapsed PAX3-FOXO1-expressing alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma showed signs of tolerability, paving the way to clinically exploit this novel synthetic lethal dependency in rhabdomyosarcoma.
Cross-species examination of X-chromosome inactivation highlights domains of escape from silencing
Authors: Balaton Bradley P , Fornes Oriol , Wasserman Wyeth W , Brown Carolyn J 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBackgroundX-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in eutherian mammals is the epigenetic inactivation of one of the two X chromosomes in XX females in order to compensate for dosage differences with XY males. Not all genes are inactivated, and the proportion escaping from inactivation varies between human and mouse (the two species that have been extensively studied).ResultsWe used DNA methylation to predict the XCI status of X-linked genes with CpG islands across 12 different species: human, chimp, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan, mouse, cow, sheep, goat, pig, horse and dog. We determined the XCI status of 342 CpG islands on average per species, with most species having 80-90% of genes subject to XCI. Mouse was an outlier, with a higher proportion of genes subject to XCI than found in other species. Sixteen genes were found to have discordant X-chromosome inactivation statuses across multiple species, with five of these showing primate-specific escape from XCI. These discordant genes tended to cluster together within the X chromosome, along with genes with similar patterns of escape from XCI. CTCF- binding, ATAC-seq signal and LTR repeats were enriched at genes escaping XCI when compared to genes subject to XCI; however, enrichment was only observed in three or four of the species tested. LINE and DNA repeats showed enrichment around subject genes, but again not in a consistent subset of species.ConclusionsIn this study we determined XCI status across 12 species, showing mouse to be an outlier with few genes that escape inactivation. Inactivation status is largely conserved across species. The clustering of genes that change XCI status across species implicates a domain-level control. In contrast, the relatively consistent, but not universal correlation of inactivation status with enrichment of repetitive elements or CTCF binding at promoters demonstrates gene-based influences on inactivation state. This study broadens enrichment analysis of regulatory elements to species beyond human and mouse.
The linkage of methionine addiction, overmethylation of histone H3 lysines and malignancy demonstrated when cancer cells revert to methionine-independence
Authors: Yamamoto Jun , Inubushi Sachiko , Han Qinghong , Tashiro Yoshihiko , Sugisawa Norihiko , Hamada Kazuyuki , Aoki Yusuke , Miyake Kentaro , Matsuyama Ryusei , Bouvet Michael , Clarke Steven G. , Endo Itaru , Hoffman Robert M. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMethionine addiction is a fundamental and general hallmark of cancer and is an area of current intense interest. Methionine addiction results from the overuse of methionine by cancer cells for excess transmethylation reactions. In order to identify excess transmethylation reactions in cancer and further understand the basis of methionine addiction, we compared the histone H3 lysine-methylation status and malignancy between methionine-addicted cancer cells and their methionine-independent revertants which have regained the ability to grow on low levels of methionine or independently of exogenous methionine. The levels of trimethylated histone H3 lysine marks were reduced in methionine-independent revertants compared to parental cancer cellsin vitro. Tumorigenicity and experimental metastatic potential in nude mice were also highly reduced in the methionine-independent revertants compared to the parental cells. Our present results demonstrate that overmethylation of histone H3 lysines is linked with methionine addiction of cancer and to malignancy which suggests a possible causal relationship.
Task dependence of neural representations of scene attributes but not scene categories in the prefrontal cortex
Authors: Jung Yaelan , Walther Dirk B. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractNatural scenes deliver rich sensory information about the world. Decades of research has shown that the scene-selective network in the visual cortex represents various aspects of scenes. However, less is known about how such complex scene information is processed beyond the visual cortex, such as in the prefrontal cortex. It is also unknown how task context impacts the process of scene perception, modulating which scene content is represented in the brain. In this study, we investigate these questions using scene images from four natural scene categories, which also depict two types of scene attributes, temperature (warm or cold), and sound level (noisy or quiet). A group of healthy human subjects from both sexes participated in the present study using fMRI. In the study, participants viewed scene images under two different task conditions; temperature judgment and sound-level judgment. We analyzed how these scene attributes and categories are represented across the brain under these task conditions. Our findings show that scene attributes (temperature and sound-level) are only represented in the brain when they are task-relevant. However, scene categories are represented in the brain, in both the parahippocampal place area and the prefrontal cortex, regardless of task context. These findings suggest that the prefrontal cortex selectively represents scene content according to task demands, but this task selectivity depends on the types of scene content; task modulates neural representations of scene attributes but not of scene categories.Significance statementResearch has shown that visual scene information is processed in scene-selective regions in the occipital and temporal cortices. Here, we ask how scene content is processed and represented beyond the visual brain, in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We show that both scene categories and scene attributes are represented in PFC, with interesting differences in task dependency: Scene attributes are only represented in PFC when they are task-relevant, but scene categories are represented in PFC regardless of the task context. Taken together, our work shows that scene information is processed beyond the visual cortex, and scene representation in PFC reflects how adaptively our minds extract relevant information from a scene.
Distinct neural representations of content and ordinal structure in auditory sequence memory
Authors: Fan Ying , Han Qiming , Guo Simeng , Luo Huan 
Published: December 2020

AbstractTwo forms of information – frequency (content) and ordinal position (structure) – have to be stored when retaining a sequence of auditory tones in working memory (WM). However, the neural representations and coding characteristics of content and structure, particularly during WM maintenance, remain elusive. Here, in two electroencephalography (EEG) studies, by transiently perturbing the ‘activity-silent’ WM retention state and decoding the reactivated WM information, we demonstrate that content and structure are stored in a dissociative manner with distinct characteristics throughout WM process. First, each tone in the sequence is associated with two codes in parallel, characterizing its frequency and ordinal position, respectively. Second, during retention, a structural retrocue successfully reactivates structure but not content, whereas a following white noise triggers content but not structure. Third, structure representation remains stable whereas content code undergoes a dynamic transformation through memory progress. Finally, the noise-triggered content reactivations during retention correlate with subsequent WM behavior. Overall, our results support distinct content and structure representations in auditory WM and provide a novel approach to access the silently stored WM information in the human brain. The dissociation of content and structure could facilitate efficient memory formation via generalizing stable structure to new auditory contents.
Food allergy knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among restaurant's staff in Jordan: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Elsahoryi Nour Amin , Alkurd Refat , Ahmad Leena , Olaimat Amin N. , Hammad Fwzieh , Holley Richard 
Published: December 2020

PurposePeople with food allergies rely to a great extent on restaurant staff to have a safe meal. The purpose of this paper is to acquire novel data to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices of food allergy among the restaurant's staff and factors that could be associated with these domains.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study involving 306 restaurant staff in Amman City, Jordan was conducted using a validated self-reported questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP).FindingsThe results showed that most restaurant staff had moderate to excellent knowledge, positive attitudes, low to moderate risk practices regarding food allergy. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the staff's age, position, education level and restaurant class. Further, attitude level was significantly associated with staff age, experience, gender, education level, restaurant class and whether the restaurant held food safety certificates. Similarly, staff behavioral practices were significantly associated with staff position, restaurant class and the presence of valid food safety certificates.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that more training for the staff in restaurants would be associated with a lower risk of providing unsafe meals.Originality/valueThis study demonstrated the need for the pre-employment theoretical and practical tests for restaurants’ staff to determine their knowledge level and provide them mandatory developing training programs to support and facilitate food allergy risk management and to develop food allergy policies.
An econometric analysis of the factors affecting consumers' bread waste and consumption behaviour: a case study of Isparta province, Turkey
Authors: Sarica Deniz , Demircan Vecdi , Erturk Aybike , Arslantas Nilay 
Published: December 2020

PurposeThe purpose of the research is to identify the various factors affecting bread wastage and bread consumption of consumers in Isparta, Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the categorical regression (CATREG) model to estimate the driving forces of bread waste and consumption. The study concentrates on data obtained from 384 respondents speaking for the same number of households placed in the province of Isparta in Turkey.FindingsThe results indicate that both models are statistically significant at the 1% level. Parents' profession, storage method, type of bread consumed, daily bread expenditure, monthly income and the idea of “bread is cheap” are the most important variables affecting bread wastage. Regarding bread consumption, parents' profession, fathers' education level, monthly income, inadequate control in bakeries, household size and the idea of “bread makes people fat” are found to play significant roles.Practical implicationsThe results could be helpful to develop influential policies on healthy eating and aiming plans to reduce bread consumption to healthy levels and prevent bread waste.Social implicationsThis research contributes to knowledge regarding the underlying causes of the bread consumption and wastage of Turkish consumers in the light of the data analysis for Isparta province.Originality/valueThis paper contains unique and original understandings concerning bread consumption and wastage attitudes and determinants for consumers from Isparta, Turkey. The novel findings of this research have conduced to a better understanding of the key factors that affect bread consumption and waste. The paper also applies an econometric analysis using a CATREG model to analyse the factors influencing consumers' bread waste and consumption behaviour in Isparta province, Turkey.
Experimental analysis of UV-activated ethanol sensor based on the formation of organic/inorganic heterojunction
Authors: Sankararajan Radha , Savarimuthu Kirubaveni , Murugesan Sudha , Ramany Kiruthika , Rajamanickam Govindaraj , Narendhiran Santhosh 
Published: December 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to fabricate an ethanol sensor which has bio-friendly and eco-friendly properties compared to the commercially available ethanol sensors.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the construction of a highly sensitive ethanol sensor with low ppm level detection at room temperature by integrating three techniques. The first deals with the formation of organic/inorganic p-n heterojunction. Second, tuning of structural parameters such as length, diameter and density of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructure was achieved through introduction of the Fe dopant into a pure ZnO seed layer. Furthermore, ultra-violet (UV) light photoactivation approach was used for enhancing the sensing performance of the fabricated sensors. Four different sensors were fabricated by combing the above approaches. The structural, morphological, optical and material compositions were characterized using different characterization techniques. Sensing behavior of the fabricated sensors toward ethanol was experimented at room temperature with and without UV illumination combined with stability studies. It was observed that all the fabricated sensors showed enhanced sensing performance for 10 ppm of ethanol. In specific, FNZ (Fe-doped ZnO seeded Ni-doped Zn nanorods) sensor exhibited a higher response at 2.2 and 13.5 s for 5 ppm and 100 ppm of ethanol with UV light illumination at room temperature, respectively. The photoactivated FNZ sensor showed quick response and speedy recovery at 18 and 30 s, respectively, for 100 ppm ethanol.

Findings
In this study, the authors have experimentally analyzed the effect of Fe (in ZnO seed layer and ZnO NRs) and Ni (in ZnO NRs) dopants in the room temperature sensing performance (with and without UV light) of the fabricated ethanol sensors. Important sensing parameters like sensitivity, recovery and response time of all the fabricated sensors are reported.

Originality/value
The Fe doped ZnO seeded Ni doped Zn nanorods (FNZ sample) showed a higher response at 2.2 s and 13.5 s for very low 5 ppm and 10 ppm of ethanol at room temperature under UV light illumination when compared to the other fabricated sensors in this paper. Similarly, this sensor also had quick response (18 s) and speedy recovery (30 s) for 100 ppm ethanol.
Novel center potential based analytical sub-threshold model for dual metal broken gate TFET
Authors: Chowdhury Joy , Sarkar Angsuman , Mahapatra Kamalakanta , Das Jitendra Kumar 
Published: December 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an improved model based on center potential instead of surface potential which is physically more relevant and accurate. Also, additional analytic insights have been provided to make the model independent and robust so that it can be extended to a full range compact model.

Design/methodology/approach
The design methodology used is center potential based analytical modeling using Psuedo-2D Poisson equation, with ingeniously developed boundary conditions, which help achieve reasonably accurate results. Also, the depletion width calculation has been suitably remodeled, to account for proper physical insights and accuracy.

Findings
The proposed model has considerable accuracy and is able to correctly predict most of the physical phenomena occurring inside the broken gate Tunnel FET structure. Also, a good match has been observed between the modeled data and the simulation results. Ion/Iambipolar ratio of 10^(−8) has been achieved which is quintessential for low power SOCs.

Originality/value
The modeling approach used is different from the previously used techniques and uses indigenous boundary conditions. Also, the current model developed has been significantly altered, using very simple but intuitive technique instead of complex mathematical approach.