bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Candida albicans cell wall as a target of action for the protein–carbohydrate fraction from coelomic fluid of Dendrobaena veneta
Authors: Fiołka Marta J. , Mieszawska Sylwia , Czaplewska Paulina , Szymańska Aneta , Stępnik Katarzyna , Sofińska-Chmiel Weronika , Buchwald Tomasz , Lewtak Kinga 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe protein–polysaccharide fraction (AAF) isolated from the coelomic fluid of the earthworm Dendrobaena veneta destroys C. albicans cells by changing their morphology, disrupting cell division, and leading to cell death. Morphological changes in C. albicans cells induced by treatment with AAF were documented using DIC, SEM, and AFM. Congo Red staining showed that the fungal wall structure was changed after incubation with AAF. The effect on C. albicans cell walls was shown by AFM analysis of the surface roughness of fungal cell walls and changes in the wall thickness were visualized using Cryo-SEM. The FTIR analysis of C. albicans cells incubated with AAF indicated attachment of protein or peptide compounds to the fungal walls. The intact LC–ESI–MS analysis allowed accurate determination of the masses of molecules present in AAF. As shown by the chromatographic study, the fraction does not cross biological membranes. The Cryo-TEM analysis of AAF demonstrated the ability of smaller subunits to combine into larger agglomerates. AAF is thermally stable, which was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. AAF can be considered as a potential antifungal antibiotic with activity against clinical C. albicans strains.
Observed and projected changes in the climate based decay hazard of timber in the United Kingdom
Authors: Curling S. F. , Ormondroyd G. A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractCurrent climate projections suggest that the UK will experience warmer and wetter winters and warmer and dryer summers. This change in the climate could affect the incidence or severity of microbiological attack on exposed timber and have significant impact on buildings and construction. One method of assessing the geographical climate based hazard is to use the Scheffer Climate index, which relates temperature and rain variables. There was a considerable increase in the Scheffer climate indices for various locations of the UK from 1990 to 2019. The highest index values are seen in the Northern and western areas of the United Kingdom, but increases are seen across the country. The paper also uses representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios to project future climate decay indices for the United Kingdom until the end of the twenty-first century. The projections show an increase in the Scheffer index even in the lowest RCP scenario, with indices in all regions of the UK increasing to indicate very high hazard of decay. The major implication is that to ensure serviceability of wood and wooden structures exposed to the environment the use of good design, durable woods and properly treated or modified woods will be paramount.
Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289 ameliorates chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis
Authors: Gupta Nitasha , Ferreira Joao , Hong Catherine Hsu Ling , Tan Kai Soo 
Published: October 2020

AbstractOral mucositis (OM) is a common complication of cancer therapy, however OM management remains unsatisfactory. There is a growing interest in the therapeutic potential of probiotics in OM due to positive findings of its use in intestinal mucositis. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of the probiotic combination Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289 strains in chemotherapy-induced OM. Mice were divided into 4 groups. PBS/water and PBS/LR groups comprised of mice injected with PBS intraperitoneally (i.p.), and were given water or the mixture of L. reuteri (LR) DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289 in water respectively. The 5-FU/water and 5-FU/LR groups comprised of mice injected with 5-FU i.p., and were given water or L. reuteri DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289 in water respectively. Histopathological analysis revealed that the oral epithelia of the 5-FU/water and 5-FU/LR groups were thinner compared to PBS/water and PBS/LR groups. However, epithelial damage was significantly reduced in the 5-FU/LR compared to 5-FU/water group. Additionally, the 5-FU/LR group showed reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in the oral mucosa. We further showed that L. reuteri reduced oxidative stress through the nuclear factor E2-related factor-2 (Nrf-2) signalling. There was no evidence of translocation of L. reuteri systemically. This study demonstrated for the first time that L. reuteri protected oral mucosa against damage induced by chemotherapy.
Characteristics of pachychoroid neovasculopathy
Authors: Tagawa Miho , Ooto Sotaro , Yamashiro Kenji , Tamura Hiroshi , Oishi Akio , Miyata Manabu , Hata Masayuki , Yoshikawa Munemitsu , Yoshimura Nagahisa , Tsujikawa Akitaka 
Published: October 2020

AbstractRecently, several research groups have reported a newly recognized clinical entity of choroidal neovascularization, termed pachychoroid neovasculopathy. However, its characteristics have yet to be well described. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and genetic characteristics of pachychoroid neovasculopathy regardless of treatment modality. This study included 99 eyes of 99 patients with treatment-naïve pachychoroid neovasculopathy. Mean initial best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.20 ± 0.32 logMAR, and did not change (P = 0.725) during follow-up period (mean ± SD, 37.0 ± 17.6 months). Subretinal hemorrhage (SRH) (≥ 4 disc areas in size) occurred in 20 eyes (20.2%) during follow-up. Age, initial BCVA, central retinal thickness, SRH (≥ 4 disc areas in size) and treatment (aflibercept monotherapy) were significantly associated with the final BCVA (P = 0.024, < 0.001, 0.031, < 0.001, and 0.029, respectively). Multiple regression analysis showed initial BCVA and presence of SRH to be significant predictors of final BCVA (bothP < 0.001). Polypoidal lesions were more common in the SRH group than in the non-SRH group (85.0% vs 48.1%,P = 0.004). There was no significant difference in the frequency of the risk allele inARMS2A69S,CFHI62V,CFHY402H between these groups (P = 0.42, 0.77, and 0.85, respectively). SRH (29.1% vs 9.1%,P = 0.014) and choroidal vascular hyperpermiability (65.5% vs 43.2%,P = 0.027) were seen more frequently in the polypoidal lesion (+) group than in the polypoidal lesion (−) group. There was considerable variation in lesion size and visual function in patients with pachychoroid neovasculopathy, and initial BCVA and presence of SRH at the initial visit or during the follow-up period were significant predictors of final BCVA.
Edge-guided second-order total generalized variation for Gaussian noise removal from depth map
Authors: Li Shuaihao , Zhang Bin , Yang Xinfeng , Zhu Weiping 
Published: October 2020

AbstractTotal generalized variation models have recently demonstrated high-quality denoising capacity for single image. In this paper, we present an accurate denoising method for depth map. Our method uses a weighted second-order total generalized variational model for Gaussian noise removal. By fusing an edge indicator function into the regularization term of the second-order total generalized variational model to guide the diffusion of gradients, our method aims to use the first or second derivative to enhance the intensity of the diffusion tensor. We use the first-order primal–dual algorithm to minimize the proposed energy function and achieve high-quality denoising and edge preserving result for depth maps with high -intensity noise. Extensive quantitative and qualitative evaluations in comparison to bench-mark datasets show that the proposed method provides significant higher accuracy and visual improvements than many state-of-the-art denoising algorithms.
Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer tissues have increased base excision repair capacity
Authors: Somuncu Berna , Keskin Selcuk , Antmen Fatma Merve , Saglican Yesim , Ekmekcioglu Aysegul , Ertuzun Tugce , Tuna Mustafa Bilal , Obek Can , Wilson David M. , Ince Umit , Kural Ali Riza , Muftuoglu Meltem 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of bladder cancer (BC) are complex and have not been fully elucidated. Alterations in base excision repair (BER) capacity, one of several DNA repair mechanisms assigned to preserving genome integrity, have been reported to influence cancer susceptibility, recurrence, and progression, as well as responses to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We report herein that non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) tissues exhibit increased uracil incision, abasic endonuclease and gap-filling activities, as well as total BER capacity in comparison to normal bladder tissue from the same patient (p < 0.05). No significant difference was detected in 8-oxoG incision activity between cancer and normal tissues. NMIBC tissues have elevated protein levels of uracil DNA glycosylase, 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, AP endonuclease 1 and DNA polymerase β protein. Moreover, the fold increase in total BER and the individual BER enzyme activities were greater in high-grade tissues than in low-grade NMIBC tissues. These findings suggest that enhanced BER activity may play a role in the etiology of NMIBC and that BER proteins could serve as biomarkers in disease prognosis, progression or response to genotoxic therapeutics, such as Bacillus Calmette–Guérin.
Higher groundwater levels in western Europe characterize warm periods in the Common Era
Authors: Tegel Willy , Seim Andrea , Skiadaresis Georgios , Ljungqvist Fredrik Charpentier , Kahle Hans-Peter , Land Alexander , Muigg Bernhard , Nicolussi Kurt , Büntgen Ulf 
Published: October 2020

AbstractHydroclimate, the interplay of moisture supply and evaporative demand, is essential for ecological and agricultural systems. The understanding of long-term hydroclimate changes is, however, limited because instrumental measurements are inadequate in length to capture the full range of precipitation and temperature variability and by the uneven distribution of high-resolution proxy records in space and time. Here, we present a tree-ring-based reconstruction of interannual to centennial-scale groundwater level (GWL) fluctuations for south-western Germany and north-eastern France. Continuously covering the period of 265–2017 CE, our new record from the Upper Rhine Valley shows that the warm periods during late Roman, medieval and recent times were characterized by higher GWLs. Lower GWLs were found during the cold periods of the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA; 536 to ~ 660 CE) and the Little Ice Age (LIA; between medieval and recent warming). The reconstructed GWL fluctuations are in agreement with multidecadal North Atlantic climate variability derived from independent proxies. Warm and wet hydroclimate conditions are found during warm states of the Atlantic Ocean and positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation on decadal scales.
Tax1BP1 limits hepatic inflammation and reduces experimental hepatocarcinogenesis
Authors: Waidmann Oliver , Pleli Thomas , Weigert Andreas , Imelmann Esther , Kakoschky Bianca , Schmithals Christian , Döring Claudia , Frank Matthias , Longerich Thomas , Köberle Verena , Hansmann Martin-Leo , Brüne Bernhard , Zeuzem Stefan , Piiper Albrecht , Dikic Ivan 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe nuclear factor kappa beta (NFκB) signaling pathway plays an important role in liver homeostasis and cancer development. Tax1-binding protein 1 (Tax1BP1) is a regulator of the NFκB signaling pathway, but its role in the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is presently unknown. Here we investigated the role of Tax1BP1 in liver cells and murine models of HCC and liver fibrosis. We applied the diethylnitrosamine (DEN) model of experimental hepatocarcinogenesis in Tax1BP1+/+ and Tax1BP1−/− mice. The amount and subsets of non-parenchymal liver cells in in Tax1BP1+/+ and Tax1BP1−/− mice were determined and activation of NFκB and stress induced signaling pathways were assessed. Differential expression of mRNA and miRNA was determined. Tax1BP1−/− mice showed increased numbers of inflammatory cells in the liver. Furthermore, a sustained activation of the NFκB signaling pathway was found in hepatocytes as well as increased transcription of proinflammatory cytokines in isolated Kupffer cells from Tax1BP1−/− mice. Several differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs in livers of Tax1BP1−/− mice were found, which are regulators of inflammation or are involved in cancer development or progression. Furthermore, Tax1BP1−/− mice developed more HCCs than their Tax1BP1+/+ littermates. We conclude that Tax1BP1 protects from liver cancer development by limiting proinflammatory signaling.
SENP7 knockdown inhibited pyroptosis and NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway activation in Raw 264.7 cells
Authors: Li Xun , Jiao Fangzhou , Hong Jia , Yang Fan , Wang Luwen , Gong Zuojiong 
Published: October 2020

AbstractPyroptosis is a kind of necrotic and inflammatory programmed cell death induced by inflammatory caspases. SENP7 is a SUMO-specific protease, which mainly acts on deconjugation of SUMOs from substrate proteins. We evaluated the effect of SENP7 knockdown on pyroptosis, NF-κB signaling pathway, and NLRP3 inflammasome in Raw 264.7 cells. The results showed that the GSDMD protein mainly expressed in the cytoplasm nearby nuclei of Raw 264.7 cells. It migrated to cytomembrane with the numbers of Raw 264.7 cell decreased when LPS + ATP were administrated. Which was inhibited by SENP7 knockdown. In addition, not only the pyroptosis of Raw 264.7 cells was inhibited, the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome were also attenuated by SENP7 knockdown. The mechanism may be associated with the over SUMOylation of proteins induced by SENP7 knockdown.
Fuzzy sets allow gaging the extent and rate of species range shift due to climate change
Authors: Chamorro Darío , Real Raimundo , Muñoz Antonio-Román 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe recent modification of species distribution ranges in response to a warmer climate has constituted a major and generalized biogeographic change. The main driver of the shift in distribution is the disequilibrium of the species ranges with their climatic favourability. Most species distribution modelling approaches assume equilibrium of the distribution with the environment, which hinders their applicability to the analysis of this change. Using fuzzy set theory we assessed the response to climate change of a historically African species, the Atlas Long-legged Buzzard. With this approach we were able to quantify that the Buzzard’s distribution is in a latitudinal disequilibrium of the species distribution with the current climate of 4 km, which is driving the species range northwards at a speed of around 1.3 km/year, i.e., it takes 3 years for the species to occupy new climatically favourable areas. This speed is expected to decelerate to 0.5 km/year in 2060–2080.
Interplay of filling fraction and coherence in symmetry broken graphene p-n junction
Authors: Paul Arup Kumar , Sahu Manas Ranjan , Kumar Chandan , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Das Anindya 
Published: October 2020

AbstractGraphene p–n junction (PNJ) with co-propagating spin-valley polarized quantum Hall (QH) edges is a promising platform for studying electron interferometry. Though several conductance measurements have been attempted for such PNJs, the edge dynamics of the spin-valley symmetry broken edge states remain unexplored. In this work, we present the measurements of conductance together with shot noise, an ideal tool to unravel the dynamics, at low temperature, in a dual graphite gated hexagonal boron nitride encapsulated high mobility graphene device. The conductance data show that the symmetry broken QH edges at the PNJ follow spin selective equilibration. The shot noise results as a function of both p and n side filling factors reveal the unique dependence of the scattering mechanism. Remarkably, the scattering is found to be fully tunable from incoherent to coherent regime with the increasing number of QH edges at the PNJ, shedding crucial insights of edge dynamics.
Perceptual Benefits of Extended Bandwidth Hearing Aids With Children: A Within-Subject Design Using Clinically Available Hearing Aids
Authors: Van Eeckhoutte Maaike , Scollie Susan , O'Hagan Robin , Glista Danielle 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe aim of the study was to investigate the achieved audibility with clinically available, modern, high-end, behind-the-ear hearing aids fitted using the Desired Sensation Level v5.0 child prescription for a clinical sample of children with hearing impairment and the effect of the extended bandwidth provided by the hearing aids on several outcome measures.MethodThe achieved audibility was measured using the maximum audible output frequency method. Twenty-eight children (7–17 years old) with mild to severe hearing losses completed this study. Two hearing aid conditions were fitted for each participant: an extended bandwidth condition, which was fitted to targets as closely as possible, and a restricted bandwidth condition, for which aided output was restricted above 4.5 kHz. Consonant discrimination in noise, subjective preference, aided loudness growth, and preferred listening levels were evaluated in both conditions.ResultsThe extended bandwidth hearing aid fittings provided speech audibility above 4.5 kHz for all children, with an average maximum audible output frequency of 7376 Hz (SD= 1669 Hz). When compared to a restricted bandwidth, the extended bandwidth condition led to an improvement of 5.4% for consonant discrimination in noise scores, mostly attributable to /s/, /z/, and /t/ phoneme perception. Aided loudness results and preferred listening levels were not significantly different across bandwidth conditions; however, 65% of the children indicated a subjective preference for the extended bandwidth.ConclusionThe study suggests that providing the full bandwidth available, with modern, behind-the-ear hearing aids, leads to improved audibility, when compared to restricted bandwidth hearing aids, and that it leads to beneficial outcomes for children who use hearing aids, fitted to the Desired Sensation Level v5.0 child prescription, without causing significant increases in their loudness perception.
Lupus DANCe
Authors: Galli P. A. B. , Bouy H. , Olivares J. , Miret-Roig N. , Vieira R. G. , Sarro L. M. , Barrado D. , Berihuete A. , Bertout C. , Bertin E. , Cuillandre J.-C. 
Published: October 2020

Context. Lupus is recognised as one of the closest star-forming regions, but the lack of trigonometric parallaxes in the pre-Gaia era hampered many studies on the kinematic properties of this region and led to incomplete censuses of its stellar population.
Aims. We use the second data release of the Gaia space mission combined with published ancillary radial velocity data to revise the census of stars and investigate the 6D structure of the Lupus complex.
Methods. We performed a new membership analysis of the Lupus association based on astrometric and photometric data over a field of 160 deg2 around the main molecular clouds of the complex and compared the properties of the various subgroups in this region.
Results. We identified 137 high-probability members of the Lupus association of young stars, including 47 stars that had never been reported as members before. Many of the historically known stars associated with the Lupus region identified in previous studies are more likely to be field stars or members of the adjacent Scorpius-Centaurus association. Our new sample of members covers the magnitude and mass range from G ≃ 8 to G ≃ 18 mag and from 0.03 to 2.4 M⊙, respectively. We compared the kinematic properties of the stars projected towards the molecular clouds Lupus 1–6 and showed that these subgroups are located at roughly the same distance (about 160 pc) and move with the same spatial velocity. Our age estimates inferred from stellar models show that the Lupus subgroups are coeval (with median ages ranging from about 1 to 3 Myr). The Lupus association appears to be younger than the population of young stars in the Corona-Australis star-forming region recently investigated by our team using a similar methodology. The initial mass function of the Lupus association inferred from the distribution of spectral types shows little variation compared to other star-forming regions.
Conclusions. In this paper, we provide an updated sample of cluster members based on Gaia data and construct the most complete picture of the 3D structure and 3D space motion of the Lupus complex.
Cortical photosynthesis as a physiological marker for grape breeding: methods and approaches
Authors: Smolova Tatiana , Khorobrykh Andrew , Savchenko Tatyana 
Published: October 2020

Photosynthesis occurring in chlorenchymal tissues of lignified branches of perennial plants (cortical photosynthesis) has a significant impact on their productivity and resistance to adverse environmental conditions, such as water deficiency and low temperatures. Cortical photosynthesis occurring under the outer bark of a lignified grape vine can become a convenient marker for breeding freeze-tolerant varieties. The following approaches can be undertaken to assess the functional state of the cortical photosynthetic apparatus: (1) analysis of the variable chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and (2) biochemical analysis of photosynthetic membrane preparations. To evaluate these approaches, in this work we have carried out the comparative analysis of characteristics of the cortical photosynthetic apparatus in grape varieties differing in freeze tolerance.
This work was supported by grant №18-04-00079 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
Sulfonated Tetraphenylethylene-Based Hypercrosslinked Polymer as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of Symmetrical Triarylmethanes via a Dual C–C Bond-Cleaving Path
Authors: Kalita Gitumoni , Deka Namrata , Paul Dipankar , Dutta Gitish K. , Chatterjee Paresh Nath , Thapa Loknath 
Published: October 2020

AbstractA sulfonic acid functionalized tetraphenylethylene-based hypercrosslinked polymer (THP-SO3H) with a well-developed porous network and accessible sulfonic acid sites was synthesized and characterized by different analytical techniques. The catalytic prowess of the synthesized material THP-SO3H was investigated in a challenging dual C–C bond-breaking reaction for the synthesis of symmetrical triarylmethanes (TRAMs) in high yield. The scope of the developed metal-free method was also explored with a wide variety of substrates. The organocatalyst can be easily recovered by filtration and reused up to five consecutive cycles without substantial loss in its catalytic efficacy.
Are Organozirconium Reagents Applicable in Current Organic Synthesis?
Authors: Némethová Ivana , Šebesta Radovan 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe search for mild, user-friendly, easily accessible, and robust organometallic reagents is an important feature of organometallic chemistry. Ideally, new methodologies employing organometallics should be developed with respect to practical applications in syntheses of target compounds. In this short review, we investigate if organozirconium reagents can fulfill these criteria. Organozirconium compounds are typically generated via in situ hydrozirconation of alkenes or alkynes with the Schwartz reagent. Alkyl and alkenylzirconium reagents have proven to be convenient in conjugate additions, allylic substitutions, cross-coupling reactions, and additions to carbonyls or imines. Furthermore, the Schwartz reagent itself is a useful reducing agent for polar functional groups.1	Introduction2	Synthesis and Generation of the Schwartz Reagent3	Structure and Properties of Cp2Zr(H)Cl4	Reactivity of Organozirconium Reagents4.1	Asymmetric Conjugate Addition4.2	Asymmetric Allylic Alkylations4.3	Desymmetrization Reactions4.4	Cross-Coupling Reactions4.5	1,2-Additions5	Conclusions