bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A robust electrophysiological marker of spontaneous numerical discrimination
Authors: Georges Carrie , Guillaume Mathieu , Schiltz Christine 
Published: October 2020

AbstractHumans have a Number Sense that enables them to represent and manipulate numerical quantities. Behavioral data suggest that the acuity of numerical discrimination is predictively associated with math ability—especially in children—but some authors argued that its assessment is problematic. In the present study, we used frequency-tagged electroencephalography to objectively measure spontaneous numerical discrimination during passive viewing of dot or picture arrays in healthy adults. During 1-min sequences, we introduced periodic numerosity changes and we progressively increased the magnitude of such changes every ten seconds. We found significant brain synchronization to the periodic numerosity changes from the 1.2 ratio over medial occipital regions, and amplitude strength increased with the numerical ratio. Brain responses were reliable across both stimulus formats. Interestingly, electrophysiological responses also mirrored performances on a number comparison task and seemed to be linked to math fluency. In sum, we present a neural marker of numerical acuity that is passively evaluated in short sequences, independent of stimulus format and that reflects behavioural performances on explicit number comparison tasks.
MiR-155/GSK-3β mediates anti-inflammatory effect of Chikusetsusaponin IVa by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cell
Authors: Xin Yi , Yuan Qin , Liu Chaoqi , Zhang Changcheng , Yuan Ding 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIt has been demonstrated that Chikusetsusaponin IVa (CsIVa) possesses abundant biological activities. Herein, using LPS to establish acute inflammation model of mouse liver and cell line inflammation model, we investigated whether miR-155/GSK-3β regulated NF-κB signaling pathway, and CsIVa exerted anti-inflammatory effects by regulating miR-155/GSK-3β signaling pathway. Our results showed that LPS induced high expression of miR-155 and miR-155 promoted macrophage activation through GSK-3β. In addition, CsIVa inhibited inflammatory responses in LPS-induced mouse liver and RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CsIVa improved the inflammatory response in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells by inhibiting miR-155, increasing GSK-3β expression, and inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway. In conclusion, our study reveals that CsIVa suppresses LPS-triggered immune response by miR-155/GSK-3β-NF-κB signaling pathway.
Genetic signatures of high-altitude adaptation and geographic distribution in Tibetan sheep
Authors: Liu Jianbin , Yuan Chao , Guo Tingting , Wang Fan , Zeng Yufeng , Ding Xuezhi , Lu Zengkui , Renqing Dingkao , Zhang Hao , Xu Xilan , Yue Yaojing , Sun Xiaoping , Niu Chune , Zhuoga Deqing , Yang Bohui 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMost sheep breeding programs designed for the tropics and sub-tropics have to take into account the impacts of environmental adaptive traits. However, the genetic mechanism regulating the multiple biological processes driving adaptive responses remains unclear. In this study, we applied a selective sweep analysis by combing 1% top values of Fst and ZHp on both altitude and geographic subpopulations (APS) in 636 indigenous Tibetan sheep breeds. Results show that 37 genes were identified within overlapped genomic regions regarding Fst significantly associated with APS. Out of the 37 genes, we found that 8, 3 and 6 genes at chromosomes (chr.) 13, 23 and 27, respectively, were identified in the genomic regions with 1% top values of ZHp. We further analyzed the INDEL variation of 6 genes at chr.27 (X chromosome) in APS together with corresponding orthologs of 6 genes in Capra, Pantholops, and Bos Taurus. We found that an INDEL was located within 5′UTR region of HAG1 gene. This INDEL of HAG1 was strongly associated with the variation of APS, which was further confirmed by qPCR. Sheep breeds carrying “C-INDEL” of HAG1 have significantly greater body weight, shear amount, corpuscular hemoglobin and globulin levels, but lower body height, than those carrying “CA-INDEL” of HAG1. We concluded that “C-INDEL” variation of HAG1 gene confers better hypoxia tolerance in the highlands of Tibetan and explains well geographic distributions in this population. These results contribute to our understanding of adaptive responses to altitude and geographic adaptation in Tibetan sheep populations and will help to guide future conservation programs for Tibetan sheep native to Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
Direct observation of lithium metal dendrites with ceramic solid electrolyte
Authors: Golozar Maryam , Paolella Andrea , Demers Hendrix , Savoie Sylvio , Girard Gabriel , Delaporte Nicolas , Gauvin Raynald , Guerfi Abdelbast , Lorrmann Henning , Zaghib Karim 
Published: October 2020

AbstractDendrite formation, which could cause a battery short circuit, occurs in batteries that contain lithium metal anodes. In order to suppress dendrite growth, the use of electrolytes with a high shear modulus is suggested as an ionic conductive separator in batteries. One promising candidate for this application is Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) because it has excellent mechanical properties and chemical stability. In this work, in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique was employed to monitor the interface behavior between lithium metal and LLZO electrolyte during cycling with pressure. Using the obtained SEM images, videos were created that show the inhomogeneous dissolution and deposition of lithium, which induce dendrite growth. The energy dispersive spectroscopy analyses of dendrites indicate the presence of Li, C, and O elements. Moreover, the cross-section mapping comparison of the LLZO shows the inhomogeneous distribution of La, Zr, and C after cycling that was caused by lithium loss near the Li electrode and possible side reactions. This work demonstrates the morphological and chemical evolution that occurs during cycling in a symmetrical Li–Li cell that contains LLZO. Although the superior mechanical properties of LLZO make it an excellent electrolyte candidate for batteries, the further improvement of the electrochemical stabilization of the garnet–lithium metal interface is suggested.
NMR microsystem for label-free characterization of 3D nanoliter microtissues
Authors: Grisi Marco , Conley Gaurasundar M. , Rodriguez Kyle J. , Riva Erika , Egli Lukas , Moritz Wolfgang , Lichtenberg Jan , Brugger Jürgen , Boero Giovanni 
Published: October 2020

AbstractPerforming chemical analysis at the nanoliter (nL) scale is of paramount importance for medicine, drug development, toxicology, and research. Despite the numerous methodologies available, a tool for obtaining chemical information non-invasively is still missing at this scale. Observer effects, sample destruction and complex preparatory procedures remain a necessary compromise. Among non-invasive spectroscopic techniques, one able to provide holistic and highly resolved chemical information in-vivo is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). For its renowned informative power and ability to foster discoveries and life-saving applications, efficient NMR at microscopic scales is highly sought after, but so far technical limitations could not match the stringent necessities of microbiology, such as biocompatible handling, ease of use, and high throughput. Here we introduce a novel microsystem, which combines CMOS technology with 3D microfabrication, enabling nL NMR as a platform tool for non-invasive spectroscopy of organoids, 3D cell cultures, and early stage embryos. In this study we show its application to microlivers models simulating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, demonstrating detection of lipid metabolism dynamics in a time frame of 14 days based on 117 measurements of single 3D human liver microtissues.
TzanckNet: a convolutional neural network to identify cells in the cytology of erosive-vesiculobullous diseases
Authors: Noyan Mehmet Alican , Durdu Murat , Eskiocak Ali Haydar 
Published: October 2020

AbstractTzanck smear test is a low-cost, rapid and reliable tool which can be used for the diagnosis of many erosive-vesiculobullous, tumoral and granulomatous diseases. Currently its use is limited mainly due to lack of experience in interpretation of the smears. We developed a deep learning model, TzanckNet, that can identify cells in Tzanck smear test findings. TzanckNet was trained on a retrospective development dataset of 2260 Tzanck smear images collected between December 2006 and December 2019. The finalized model was evaluated using a prospective validation dataset of 359 Tzanck smear images collected from 15 patients during January 2020. It is designed to recognize six cell types (acantholytic cells, eosinophils, hypha, multinucleated giant cells, normal keratinocytes and tadpole cells). For 359 images and 6 cell types, TzanckNet made 2154 predictions. The accuracy was 94.3% (95% CI 93.4–95.3), the sensitivity was 83.7% (95% CI 80.3–87.0) and the specificity was 97.3% (95% CI 96.5–98.1). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.974. Our results show that TzanckNet has the potential to lower the experience barrier needed to use this test, broadening its user base, and hence improving patient well-being.
High-quality sugar production by osgcs1 rice
Authors: Honma Yujiro , Adhikari Prakash Babu , Kuwata Keiko , Kagenishi Tomoko , Yokawa Ken , Notaguchi Michitaka , Kurotani Kenichi , Toda Erika , Bessho-Uehara Kanako , Liu Xiaoyan , Zhu Shaowei , Wu Xiaoyan , Kasahara Ryushiro D. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractCarbohydrates (sugars) are an essential energy-source for all life forms. They take a significant share of our daily consumption and are used for biofuel production as well. However, sugarcane and sugar beet are the only two crop plants which are used to produce sugar in significant amounts. Here, we have discovered and fine-tuned a phenomenon in rice which leads them to produce sugary-grain. We knocked-out GCS1 genes in rice by using CRISPR technology, which led to fertilization failure and pollen tube-dependent ovule enlargement morphology (POEM) phenomenon. Apparently, the POEMed-like rice ovule (‘endosperm-focused’) can grow near-normal seed-size unlike earlier observations in Arabidopsis in which gcs1 ovules (‘embryo-focused’) were aborted quite early. The POEMed-like rice ovules contained 10–20% sugar, with extremely high sucrose content (98%). Trancriptomic analysis revealed that the osgcs1 ovules had downregulation of starch biosynthetic genes, which would otherwise have converted sucrose to starch. Overall, this study shows that pollen tube content release is sufficient to trigger sucrose unloading at rice ovules. However, successful fertilization is indispensable to trigger sucrose-starch conversion. These findings are expected to pave the way for developing novel sugar producing crops suited for diverse climatic regions.
Two Late Cretaceous sauropods reveal titanosaurian dispersal across South America
Authors: Hechenleitner E. Martín , Leuzinger Léa , Martinelli Agustín G. , Rocher Sebastián , Fiorelli Lucas E. , Taborda Jeremías R. A. , Salgado Leonardo 
Published: October 2020

AbstractSouth American titanosaurians have been central to the study of the evolution of Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs. Despite their remarkable diversity, the fragmentary condition of several taxa and the scarcity of records outside Patagonia and southwestern Brazil have hindered the study of continental-scale paleobiogeographic relationships. We describe two new Late Cretaceous titanosaurians from Quebrada de Santo Domingo (La Rioja, Argentina), which help to fill a gap between these main areas of the continent. Our phylogenetic analysis recovers both new species, and several Brazilian taxa, within Rinconsauria. The data suggest that, towards the end of the Cretaceous, this clade spread throughout southern South America. At the same locality, we discovered numerous accumulations of titanosaurian eggs, likely related to the new taxa. With eggs distributed in three levels along three kilometres, the new site is one of the largest ever found and provides further evidence of nesting site philopatry among Titanosauria.
Comparative ACE2 variation and primate COVID-19 risk
Authors: Melin Amanda D. , Janiak Mareike C. , Marrone Frank , Arora Paramjit S. , Higham James P. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has caused over a million human deaths and massive global disruption. The viral infection may also represent a threat to our closest living relatives, nonhuman primates. The contact surface of the host cell receptor, ACE2, displays amino acid residues that are critical for virus recognition, and variations at these critical residues modulate infection susceptibility. Infection studies have shown that some primate species develop COVID-19-like symptoms; however, the susceptibility of most primates is unknown. Here, we show that all apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), exhibit the same set of twelve key amino acid residues as human ACE2. Monkeys in the Americas, and some tarsiers, lemurs and lorisoids, differ at critical contact residues, and protein modeling predicts that these differences should greatly reduce SARS-CoV-2 binding affinity. Other lemurs are predicted to be closer to catarrhines in their susceptibility. Our study suggests that apes and African and Asian monkeys, and some lemurs, are likely to be highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Urgent actions have been undertaken to limit the exposure of great apes to humans, and similar efforts may be necessary for many other primate species.
Bi-reflection of spin waves
Authors: Hioki Tomosato , Hashimoto Yusuke , Saitoh Eiji 
Published: October 2020

AbstractWhen a light wave is refracted at a boundary between two different media, it may split into two rays due to optical anisotropy, a phenomenon called birefringence. On the other hand, for a reflected light wave in an ordinary medium, the angle of reflection is always the same as the incident angle as expected from the law of reflection. Here, we report the observation of a split of reflected spin-waves, or bi-reflection of spin-waves, where a spin-wave refers to a wavy motion of electron spins in a magnetic material. We measured the spin-wave propagation in a magnetic garnet Lu2Bi1Fe3.4Ga1.6O12 by using time-resolved magneto-optical microscopy and found that the spin-wave splits in two as a result of reflection at the sample edge of an out-of-plane magnetized film. Systematic measurements combined with calculations unveiled that the bi-reflection is due to the hybridization with elastic waves.
Molecular bending as a vital step toward transforming planar PAHs to fullerenes and tubular structures
Authors: Chen Tao , Wang Yang 
Published: October 2020

Context. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fullerenes are the largest molecules found in the interstellar medium (ISM). They are abundant and widespread in various astronomical environments. However, the detailed connection between these two species is unknown; in particular, no quantum chemical studies have been performed.
Aims. In this work, we investigate a vital step in transforming planar PAHs to fullerenes, that is, the tubulation processes of PAHs.
Methods. We used density functional theory for this study. The molecular structures and vibrational frequencies were calculated using the hybrid density functional B3LYP method. To better describe intermolecular forces, we considered Grimme’s dispersion correction in the calculations for this work. Intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations were also performed to confirm that the transition state structures are connected to their corresponding local potential energy surface minima.
Results. As expected, we find that it is easier to bend a molecule as it gets longer, whereas it is harder to bend the molecule if it gets “wider” (i.e., with more rows of benzene rings). The change of multiplicity slightly alters the bending energies, while (a complete) dehydrogenation alleviates the bending barrier significantly and facilitates the formation of pentagons, which may act as an indispensable step in the formation of fullerenes in the ISM.
Knorpel-Knochenmark-Mikro-Konnektoren im subchondralen Knochen
Authors: Taheri Shahed , Böker Kai O. , Lehmann Wolfgang , Schilling Arndt Friedrich 
Published: October 2020

ZusammenfassungDie Interaktion des subchondralen Knochens mit dem Gelenkknorpel ist von grundlegender Bedeutung für die Gelenkphysiologie. Studien an Tier- und Humanmodellen haben gezeigt, dass der untere Rand des Gelenkknorpels über kleine Defekte oder Mikrokanäle mit der Markhöhle verbunden ist. Obwohl diese Knorpel-Knochenmark-Mikro-Konnektoren (KKMK
) möglicherweise für den molekularen Austausch, den Knochen-Knorpel-Crosstalk und sogar die Knorpelernährung von entscheidender Bedeutung sein können, ist das derzeitige Wissen über sie begrenzt und inkohärent. Diese Übersicht fasst die bisher beschriebenen Merkmale dieser anatomischen Mikroarchitektur bei verschiedenen Spezies zusammen, untersucht wiederkehrende Muster in der Literatur und erörtert ihre potenzielle Funktionalität.
Maternal Hypothyroidism Increases the Risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the Offspring
Authors: Peltier Morgan R. , Fassett Michael J. , Chiu Vicki Y. , Getahun Darios 
Published: October 2020

Objective This study aimed to determine if hypothyroidism prior to, or during, pregnancy increases the risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the child and how the association may be modified by preterm birth, sex of the child, and race-ethnicity.
Study Design Data were abstracted from linked maternal–child medical records. Incidence rate differences (IRDs), adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to evaluate the association of maternal hypothyroidism with childhood ADHD risk. Stratified analyses were used to evaluate whether the association is affected by timing of first diagnosis, gestational age at birth (term vs. preterm), sex, and race-ethnicity.
Results Hypothyroidism diagnosed prior to (IRD = 1.30), or during (IRD = 0.59) pregnancy increases the risk of ADHD in the children (aHR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.15, 1.41, and 1.17; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.38). The association was strongest when diagnosed during the first trimester (IRD = 0.97 and aHR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.58). For children born preterm, there was significantly increased risk of ADHD if their mothers were diagnosed prior to (IRD = 3.06 and aHR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.88), but not during pregnancy. The effect of maternal hypothyroidism on increased risk of ADHD was stronger for boys (IRD = 1.84 and aHR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.40) than it was for girls (IRD = 0.48 and aHR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.40) and for Hispanic children (IRD = 1.60 and aHR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.25, 1.68) compared with other race ethnicities.
Conclusion Exposure to maternal hypothyroidism during the periconceptual period significantly increases the risk of ADHD and that the association varies with gestational age at delivery, child sex, and race-ethnicity.
Key Points
Echolocating bats detect but misperceive a multidimensional incongruent acoustic stimulus
Authors: Danilovich Sasha , Shalev Gal , Boonman Arjan , Goldshtein Aya , Yovel Yossi 
Published: October 2020

Significance
How do we build a perception from incoming sensory information? To accurately perceive the environment, the brain has to integrate information across different sensory modalities and to analyze multiple sensory dimensions within a sensory modality. We studied this integration in echolocating bats, the masters of active acoustic sensing. By presenting them with targets whose acoustic dimensions were incoherent, we managed to induce misperception, which caused the bats to repeatedly try to fly through a wall even though they detected it with their echolocation. We demonstrate that certain relations between the dimensions must hold to allow accurate perception. Nevertheless, adult bats can learn new relations rapidly. Notably, no misperception was observed in pups, confirming that these relations are not innate.
Fine-scale spatial clustering of measles nonvaccination that increases outbreak potential is obscured by aggregated reporting data
Authors: Masters Nina B. , Eisenberg Marisa C. , Delamater Paul L. , Kay Matthew , Boulton Matthew L. , Zelner Jon 
Published: October 2020

Significance
The United States witnessed large, persistent measles outbreaks in 2019, nearly losing its elimination status, despite achieving national measles vaccination coverage above the World Health Organization recommendation of 95%. Previous research showed that measles outbreaks in high-coverage contexts are driven by spatially clustered nonvaccination, locally depressing immunity levels. We perform a series of computational experiments to assess the impact of clustering of nonvaccination on outbreak potential and how disease risk predictions might be biased by measuring vaccination rates at coarse spatial scales. When nonvaccination is locally clustered, reporting aggregated data can result in substantial underestimates of outbreak risk. This research illustrates that finer-scale vaccination data should be collected to prevent a return to endemic measles transmission in the United States.
Evolution of regulatory signatures in primate cortical neurons at cell-type resolution
Authors: Kozlenkov Alexey , Vermunt Marit W. , Apontes Pasha , Li Junhao , Hao Ke , Sherwood Chet C. , Hof Patrick R. , Ely John J. , Wegner Michael , Mukamel Eran A. , Creyghton Menno P. , Koonin Eugene V. , Dracheva Stella 
Published: October 2020

Significance
The cerebral cortex of the human brain is a highly complex, heterogeneous tissue that contains many cell types that are exquisitely regulated at the level of gene expression by noncoding regulatory elements, presumably in a cell-type–dependent manner. However, assessing the regulatory elements in individual cell types is technically challenging, and therefore most of the previous studies on gene regulation were performed with bulk brain tissue. Here we analyze two major types of neurons isolated from the cerebral cortex of humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques, and report complex patterns of cell-type–specific evolution of the regulatory elements in numerous genes. Many genes with evolving regulation are implicated in language abilities as well as psychiatric disorders.
The critical role of cloud–infrared radiation feedback in tropical cyclone development
Authors: Ruppert James H. , Wing Allison A. , Tang Xiaodong , Duran Erika L. 
Published: October 2020

SignificanceThe deep clouds that make up tropical disturbances, the precursors to more intense tropical cyclones (TCs) (including hurricanes and typhoons), effectively trap infrared radiation emitted by Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere. Our results demonstrate that the local atmospheric warming caused by this “cloud greenhouse effect” is a key trigger for promoting and accelerating the evolution of such precursor storms into intense TCs. The forecasting of TC formation remains extremely challenging, while the representation of cloud processes and their feedback with radiation is a large source of uncertainty in the numerical models that forecasts rely upon. Our results suggest that focusing future research on constraining these processes in models holds promise for key progress in the prediction of these devastating storms.