bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ms3 dominant genetic male sterility for wheat improvement with molecular breeding
Authors: Guttieri Mary J. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractGenetic dominant male sterility (DMS) has not been widely used as a breeding tool in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), although DMS‐facilitated backcross, mass selection, half‐sib selection, and S1 family recurrent selection strategies have been described, and Ms2‐facilitated recurrent selection has been used in China. Our objective was to revisit these strategies using the tools of molecular breeding. Development of a mechanism for seedling identification of sterile progeny was a key component of designing practical DMS‐facilitated molecular breeding systems. The DMS gene Ms3 was previously localized to the centromeric region of chromosome 5A. The centromeric location is an advantage because recombination rates are very low. Once identified, a broadly informative marker would reliably predict the male‐sterile phenotype. A set of 429 hybrids incorporating Ms3 were constructed, both within US hard winter wheats, and between these winter wheats and Asian spring wheats. Association of the male‐sterile phenotype with those polymorphic DNA sequence tags that localized to chromosome 5A was tested using case‐control association analysis. Two highly significant (logarithm of odds [LOD] > 30) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)–trait associations were obtained. One SNP was developed into a highly sensitive, reliable marker for the Ms3‐associated male‐sterile phenotype. Previously described breeding strategies using DMS were updated for trait‐targeted marker‐assisted backcrossing and gene pyramiding, S1 recurrent selection, and early‐generation genomic selection. Application of DMS to association mapping, with the particular use case of the multiparent advanced generation intercross population, is also described.
Identification of the immune checkpoint signature of multiple myeloma using mass cytometry‐based single‐cell analysis
Authors: Wang Jinheng , Zheng Yongjiang , Tu Chenggong , Zhang Hui , Vanderkerken Karin , Menu Eline , Liu Jinbao 
Published: April 2020

AbstractObjectivesNew targets or strategies are needed to increase the success of immune checkpoint‐based immunotherapy for multiple myeloma (MM). However, immune checkpoint signals in MM microenvironment have not been fully elucidated. Here, we aimed to have a broad overview of the different immune subsets and their immune checkpoint status, within the MM microenvironment, and to provide novel immunotherapeutic targets to treat MM patients.MethodsWe performed immune checkpoint profiling of bone marrow (BM) samples from MM patients and healthy controls using mass cytometry. With high‐dimensional single‐cell analysis of 30 immune proteins containing 10 pairs of immune checkpoint axes in 0.55 million of BM cells, an immune landscape of MM was mapped.ResultsWe identified an abnormality of immune cell composition by demonstrating a significant increase in activated CD4 T, CD8 T, CD8+ natural killer T‐like and NK cells in MM BM. Our data suggest a correlation between MM cells and immune checkpoint phenotypes and expand the view of MM immune signatures. Specifically, several critical immune checkpoints, such as programmed cell death 1 (PD‐1)/PD ligand 2, galectin‐9/T‐cell immunoglobulin mucin‐3, and inducible T‐cell costimulator (ICOS)/ICOS ligand, on both MM and immune effector cells and a number of activated PD‐1+ CD8 T cells lacking CD28 were distinguished in MM patients.ConclusionA clear interaction between MM cells and the surrounding immune cells was established, leading to immune checkpoint dysregulation. The analysis of the immune landscape enhances our understanding of the MM immunological milieu and proposes novel targets for improving immune checkpoint blockade‐based MM immunotherapy.
IgG3+ B cells are associated with the development of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Marsh‐Wakefield Felix , Ashhurst Thomas , Trend Stephanie , McGuire Helen M , Juillard Pierre , Zinger Anna , Jones Anderson P , Kermode Allan G , Hawke Simon , Grau Georges E , Hart Prue H , Byrne Scott N 
Published: April 2020

AbstractObjectivesDisease‐modifying therapies (DMTs) targeting B cells are amongst the most effective for preventing multiple sclerosis (MS) progression. IgG3 antibodies and their uncharacterised B‐cell clones are predicted to play a pathogenic role in MS. Identifying subsets of IgG3+ B cells involved in MS progression could improve diagnosis, could inform timely disease intervention and may lead to new DMTs that target B cells more specifically.MethodsWe designed a 31‐parameter B‐cell‐focused mass cytometry panel to interrogate the role of peripheral blood IgG3+ B cells in MS progression of two different patient cohorts: one to investigate the B‐cell subsets involved in conversion from clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to MS; and another to compare MS patients with inactive or active stages of disease. Each independent cohort included a group of non‐MS controls.ResultsNine distinct CD20+IgD−IgG3+ B‐cell subsets were identified. Significant changes in the proportion of CD21+CD24+CD27−CD38− and CD27+CD38hiCD71hi memory B‐cell subsets correlated with changes in serum IgG3 levels and time to conversion from CIS to MS. The same CD38− double‐negative B‐cell subset was significantly elevated in MS patients with active forms of the disease. A third CD21+CD24+CD27+CD38− subset was elevated in patients with active MS, whilst narrowband UVB significantly reduced the proportion of this switched‐memory B‐cell subset.ConclusionWe have identified previously uncharacterised subsets of IgG3+ B cells and shown them to correlate with autoimmune attacks on the central nervous system (CNS). These results highlight the potential for therapies that specifically target IgG3+ B cells to impact MS progression.
Quantitative determination of colistin A/B and colistin methanesulfonate in biological samples using hydrophilic interaction chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Qi Bing , Gijsen Matthias , Van Brantegem Pieter , De Vocht Tom , Deferm Neel , Abza Getahun B. , Nauwelaerts Nina , Wauters Joost , Spriet Isabel , Annaert Pieter 
Published: April 2020

AbstractColistin (polymyxin E) is a polycation antibiotic which is increasingly used (administered as colistin methanesulfonate, CMS) as a salvage therapy in critically ill patients with multidrug resistant Gram‐negative infections. Even though colistin has been used for more than 50 years, its metabolic fate is poorly understood. One of the current challenges for studying the pharmacokinetics (PK) is the precise and accurate determination of colistin in in vitro and in vivo studies. In the present study, we developed and validated a series of sensitive and robust liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) methods for analysing biological samples obtained from in vitro and in vivo disposition assays. After a zinc acetate‐mediated precipitation, hydrophilic–lipophilic‐balanced solid phase extraction (HLB‐SPE) was used for the extraction of colistin. The compounds were retained on a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column and were detected by MS/MS. CMS was quantified by determining the produced amount of colistin during acidic hydrolysis. The developed methods are sensitive with lower limits of quantification varying between 0.009 μg/mL and 0.071 μg/mL for colistin A, and 0.002 μg/mL to 0.013 μg/mL for colistin B. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were within ±15%. Calibration curves of colistin were linear (0.063 μg/mL to 8.00 μg/mL) within clinically relevant concentration ranges. Zinc acetate‐mediated precipitation and the use of a HILIC column were found to be essential. The developed methods are sensitive, accurate, precise, highly efficient and allow monitoring colistin and CMS in biological samples without the need for an internal standard.
Dry conifer forest restoration benefits Colorado Front Range avian communities
Authors: Latif Quresh S. , Truex Richard L. , Sparks Robert A. , Pavlacky, David C. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractFire suppression has increased stand density and risk of severe, stand‐replacing wildfire in lower elevation dry conifer forests of western North America, threatening ecological function. The U.S. Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) aims to mitigate impacts to ecological function, while mandating effectiveness monitoring to verify restoration success. Expected benefits include improved conditions for biodiversity, but relatively few empirical studies evaluate restoration effects on biodiversity. We applied the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions program to survey birds in relation to CFLRP treatments along the Colorado Front Range in 2015–2017. We employed hierarchical models to analyze species occupancy and richness at 1972 points nested within 141 1‐km2grid cells. Our objectives were to investigate (1) species occupancy relationships with treatments at local (point) and landscape (grid) spatial scales, (2) potential mechanisms for treatment relationships considering species and treatment relationships with forest structure and composition (i.e., habitat relationships), and (3) treatment and habitat relationships with species richness. The data supported positive and negative point‐level treatment relationships, suggesting uneven species distributions between treated and untreated points. At the grid scale, however, we only found positive species relationships with percent area treated, and accordingly, grid‐level species richness increased with treatment extent. Potential mechanisms for treatment relationships included treatments generating foraging opportunities for aerial insectivores by opening the canopy, improving conditions for ground‐associated species by increasing herbaceous growth, and limiting opportunities for shrub‐nesting species by reducing shrub cover. Landscape‐scale patterns suggest CFLRP treatments can benefit avian communities by generating habitat for open‐forest species without necessarily eliminating habitat for closed‐forest species. Our results provide evidence for a commonly expected but rarely verified pattern of increased species richness with forest heterogeneity. We suggest restoration treatments will most benefit forest bird diversity by reducing canopy cover, encouraging herbaceous ground cover, limiting ladder fuel species, and encouraging shrub diversity in canopy openings, while maintaining some dense forest stands on the landscape.
Activation of the descending pain modulatory system using cuff pressure algometry: Back translation from man to rat
Authors: Cummins Tatum M. , Kucharczyk Mateusz M. , Graven‐Nielsen Thomas , Bannister Kirsty 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundDiffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) as measured in rat and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), the supposed psychophysical paradigm of DNIC measured in humans, are unique manifestations of an endogenous descending modulatory pathway that is activated by the application of a noxious conditioning stimulus. The predictive value of the human CPM processing is crucial when deliberating the translational worth of the two phenomena.MethodsFor CPM or DNIC measurement, test and conditioning stimuli were delivered using a computer‐controlled cuff algometry system or manual inflation of neonate blood pressure cuffs, respectively. In humans (n = 20), cuff pain intensity (for pain detection and pain tolerance thresholds) was measured using an electronic visual analogue scale. In isoflurane‐anaesthetized naïve rats, nociception was measured by recording deep dorsal horn wide dynamic range (WDR) neuronal firing rates (n = 7) using in vivo electrophysiology.ResultsA painful cuff‐pressure conditioning stimulus on the leg increased pain detection and pain tolerance thresholds recorded by cuff stimulation on the contralateral leg in humans by 32% ± 3% and 24% ± 2% (mean ± SEM) of baseline responses, respectively (p < .001). This finding was back‐translated by revealing that a comparable cuff‐pressure conditioning stimulus (40 kPa) on the hind paw inhibited the responses of WDR neurons to noxious contralateral cuff test stimulation to 42% ± 9% of the baseline neuronal response (p = .003).ConclusionsThese data substantiate that the noxious cuff pressure paradigm activates the descending pain modulatory system in rodent (DNIC) and man (CPM), respectively. Future back and forward translational studies using cuff pressure algometry may reveal novel mechanisms in varied chronic pain states.SignificanceThis study provides novel evidence that a comparable noxious cuff pressure paradigm activates a unique form of endogenous inhibitory control in healthy rat and man. This has important implications for the forward translation of bench and experimental pain research findings to the clinical domain. If translatable mechanisms underlying dysfunctional endogenous inhibitory descending pathway expression (previously evidenced in painful states in rat and man) were revealed using cuff pressure algometry, the identification of new analgesic targets could be expedited.
Evaluation of chiral separation based on bovine serum albumin–conjugated carbon nanotubes as stationary phase in capillary electrochromatography
Authors: Bai Qiufang , Zhang Chenning , Zhao Yanyan , Wang Chao , Maihemuti Mairewaniguli , Sun Chengpeng , Qi Yan , Peng Jinyong , Guo Xingjie , Zhang Zhen , Fang Linlin 
Published: April 2020

AbstractIn this work, we utilized adsorbed BSA and multiwalled carbon nanoparticles (BSA/MWCNTs) as a stationary phase in open tubular (OT) capillary for separation of chiral drugs. (3‐Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane was used to assist fabrication of BSA/MWCNTs‐coated OT column by covalent bonding. Incorporation of MWCNTs nanomaterials into a polymer matrix could increase the phase ratio and take advantage of the easy preparation of an open tubular CEC column. SEM was carried out to characterize the BSA/MWCNTs OT columns. The electrochromatographic performance of the OT columns was evaluated by separation of ketoprofen, ibuprofen, uniconazole, and hesperidin. The effects of MWCNTs concentration, background solution pH and concentration, and applied voltage on separation were investigated. Chiral separations of ketoprofen, ibuprofen, uniconazole, and hesperidin were achieved using the BSA/MWCNTs‐coated OT column with resolutions of 24.20, 12.81, 1.50, and 1.85, respectively. Their optimas were found in the 30 mM phosphate buffers at pH 5.0, 6.5, 7.0, and 6.5, respectively. In addition, the columns demonstrated good repeatability and stability with the run‐to‐run, day‐to‐day, and batch‐to‐batch RSDs of migration times less than 3.5%.
The control of wind strength on the barchan to parabolic dune transition
Authors: Zhang Deguo , Liang Peng , Yang Xiaoping , Li Hongwei 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe evolution of barchan‐to‐parabolic dunes can be driven by vegetation establishment, which may be linked to climate change and/or human activity. However, little is known of the impact of changes in wind strength on vegetation development and the resulting impacts on the evolution of dune morphology and sedimentological characteristics. To address this issue, we studied the morphology and grain‐size characteristics of barchan, barchan‐to‐parabolic and parabolic dunes in the Mu Us Desert in north China, which was combined with an analysis of changes in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and climatic variables during 1982–2018. The results reveal a trend of increasing growing‐season NDVI which was related to a significant decrease in drift potential (DP). Therefore, we suggest that the initiation of dune transformation was caused by the reduced wind strength which favored the establishment and development of vegetation. To reveal the response of sedimentological reorganization during the processes of dune transformation, grain‐size characteristics along the longitudinal profile of the three different types of dunes were examined. The decreasing wind strength led to the transport of fine sands on the upper part of the windward face of the dunes, resulting in a progressive coarsening of the grain‐size distribution (GSD) and a reduction in dune height at the crest area. No distinct trend in sorting and mean grain‐size was observed on the windward slope of the barchan‐to‐parabolic dune, indicating that the sand in transit had little influence on the GSD. Conversely, progressive sorting and coarsening of the sand occurred towards the crest of the parabolic dune. This indicates that vegetation development limited the transport of sand from upwind of the dune, and affected a shift in the dune source material to the underlying source deposits, or to reworked pre‐existing aeolian deposits, and resulted in the trapping of sand in the crest area. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Use of terrestrial photosieving and airborne topographic LiDAR to assess bed grain size in large rivers: a study on the Rhine River
Authors: Chardon Valentin , Schmitt Laurent , Piégay Hervé , Lague Dimitri 
Published: April 2020

AbstractMost grain size monitoring is still being conducted by manual sampling in the field, which is time consuming and has low spatial representation. Due to new remote sensing methods, some limitations have been partly overcome, but methodological progress is still needed for large rivers as well as in underwater conditions. In this article, we tested the reliability of two methods along the Old Rhine River (France/Germany) to estimate the grain size distribution (GSD) in above‐water conditions: (i) a low‐cost terrestrial photosieving method based on an automatic procedure using Digital Grain Size (DGS) software and (ii) an airborne LiDAR topo‐bathymetric survey. We also tested the ability of terrestrial photosieving to estimate the GSD in underwater conditions. Field pebble counts were performed to compare and calibrate both methods. The results showed that the automatic procedure of terrestrial photosieving is a reliable method to estimate the GSD of sediment patches in both above‐water and underwater conditions with clean substrates. Sensitivity analyses showed that environmental conditions, including solar lighting conditions and petrographic variability, significantly influence the GSD from the automatic procedure in above‐water conditions. The presence of biofilm in underwater conditions significantly altered the GSD estimation using the automatic procedure, but the proposed manual procedure overcame this problem. The airborne LiDAR topographic survey is an accurate method to estimate the GSD of above‐water bedforms and is able to generate grain size maps. The combination of terrestrial photosieving and airborne topographic LiDAR methods is adapted to assess the GSD over several kilometers long reaches of large rivers. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Differential privacy location data release based on quadtree in mobile edge computing
Authors: Liu Gang , Tang Ziwen , Wan Bo , Li Yanfei , Liu Yan 
Published: April 2020

AbstractTo preserve user privacy in the release of location data, some researchers have proposed a distributed data release framework and a location data release algorithm based on mobile edge computing. This framework can preserve location privacy even if location‐based service providers are not trusted. However, the proposed algorithm fails to balance the noise error and the uniform hypothesis error and fails to take the query consistency constraint into account, so query accuracy needs to be improved. Therefore, we follow this framework and propose a differential privacy quadtree partitioning algorithm based on data uniformity heuristic adjustment to further improve query accuracy. First, a differential privacy complete quadtree is constructed, and then the quadtree is heuristically adjusted based on the predefined noise count threshold and the data uniformity threshold to balance the two types of error. Finally, query consistency processing is performed to further improve query accuracy. Experiments based on real‐world datasets are conducted to study the impact of two thresholds on query accuracy. Compared with the previous quadtree‐based differential privacy partitioning algorithm, our proposed algorithm has higher query accuracy while preserving location privacy. In addition, to address the problem of location privacy leakage in the query process, a range counting query framework based on the Hilbert curve is proposed to preserve location privacy in the query process.
Preliminary comparative analysis of kynurenine pathway metabolites in chronic ketamine users, schizophrenic patients, and healthy controls
Authors: Zhang Zhaohua , Zhang Minling , Luo Yayan , Ni Xiaojia , Lu Haoyang , Wen Yuguan , Fan Ni 
Published: April 2020

AbstractObjectiveThe serum kynurenine pathway metabolites kynurenic acid (KYNA), kynurenine (KYN), and tryptophan (TRP) were examined in chronic ketamine users and in schizophrenic patients. The correlations of the metabolites with sociodemographic data, clinical characteristics, and drug use status were analyzed.MethodsSeventy‐nine healthy controls, 78 ketamine users, and 80 schizophrenic patients were recruited. Serum TRP, KYN, and KYNA levels were measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography following tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).ResultsSerum levels of TRP, KYNA, and KYN (in ketamine users only) were lower in ketamine users and schizophrenic patients than in controls (p < .05). TRP and KYN were lower in ketamine users than in schizophrenic patients (p < .01). KYNA levels were positively correlated with the current frequency of ketamine use in ketamine users (p = .031), and serum KYNA levels were negatively correlated with the duration of schizophrenia (p = .015).ConclusionTRP, KYNA, and KYN were lower in chronic ketamine users than in controls, and the alterations were in the same direction as those observed in schizophrenic patients.
Analysis of vaginal delivery outcomes among pregnant women in Wuhan, China during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Liao Jing , He Xiaoyan , Gong Qing , Yang Lingyun , Zhou Chunhua , Li Jiafu 
Published: April 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo study vaginal delivery outcomes and neonatal prognosis and summarize the management of vaginal delivery during the COVID‐19 pandemic.MethodsA retrospective analysis of medical records and comparison of vaginal delivery outcomes between 10 pregnant women with clinical diagnosis of COVID‐19 and 53 pregnant women without COVID‐19 admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University between January 20 and March 2, 2020. Results of laboratory tests, imaging tests, and SARS‐CoV‐2 nucleic acid tests were also analyzed in neonates delivered by pregnant women with clinical diagnosis of COVID‐19.ResultsThere were no significant differences in gestational age, postpartum hemorrhage, and perineal resection rates between the two groups. There were no significant differences in birth weight of neonates and neonatal asphyxia rates between the two groups. Neonates delivered by pregnant women with clinical diagnosis of COVID‐19 tested negative for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.ConclusionsUnder the premise of full evaluation of vaginal delivery conditions and strict protection measures, pregnant women with ordinary type COVID‐19 can try vaginal delivery without exacerbation of COVID‐19 and without increasing the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in neonates.