bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Climate change models predict decreases in the range of a microendemic freshwater fish in Honduras
Authors: McMahan Caleb D. , Fuentes-Montejo César E. , Ginger Luke , Carrasco Juan Carlos , Chakrabarty Prosanta , Matamoros Wilfredo A. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDespite their incredible diversity, relatively little work has been done to assess impacts of climate change on tropical freshwater organisms. Chortiheros wesseli is a species of Neotropical cichlid (Cichlidae: Cichlinae) restricted to only a few river drainages in the Caribbean-slope of Honduras. Little is known about this species and few specimens had been collected until recently; however, our work with this species in the wild has led to a better understanding of its ecology and habitat preferences making it an excellent model for how freshwater fishes can be affected by climate change. This study assesses the distribution and habitats of Chortiheros wesseli using a combination of field data and species distribution modeling. Results indicate this species is largely limited to its current range, with no realistic suitable habitat nearby. Empirical habitat data show that this species is limited to narrow and shallow flowing waters with rapids and boulders. This habitat type is highly influenced by precipitation, which contributed the greatest influence on the models of present and future habitat suitability. Although several localities are within boundaries of national protected areas, species distribution models all predict a reduction in the range of this freshwater fish based on climate change scenarios. The likelihood of a reduced range for this species will be intensified by adverse changes to its preferred habitats.
Role of HSP70 in response to (thermo)radiotherapy: analysis of gene expression in canine osteosarcoma cells by RNA-seq
Authors: Nytko Katarzyna J. , Thumser-Henner Pauline , Russo Giancarlo , Weyland Mathias S. , Rohrer Bley Carla 
Published: July 2020

AbstractPre-treatment of tumors with hyperthermia is often used to increase the efficacy of radiotherapy. One of the main proteins induced in response to hyperthermia is heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). The aim of our study was to investigate up- and down-regulated genes in response to (thermo)radiotherapy in HSP70 proficient and deficient canine osteosarcoma cell line (Abrams), and functional role of HSP70 in the mechanism of thermoradiosensitization. Cells were transfected with negative control siRNA or siRNA targeting HSP70 and treated with hyperthermia (HT), radiotherapy (RT), and thermoradiotherapy (HTRT). RNA sequencing was used to analyze gene expression. Hyperthermia and thermoradiotherapy, but not radiotherapy alone, induced differential gene expression. We identified genes differentially expressed only in HSP70 knockdown (thus HSP70-dependent) cells in response to hyperthermia and thermoradiotherapy. Interestingly, cell proliferation but not clonogenicity and apoptosis/necrosis was affected by the HSP70 knockdown in response to thermoradiotherapy. The results suggest that HSP70 regulates expression of specific genes in response to hyperthermia and thermoradiotherapy. Further investigations into the role of specific genes regulated in a HSP70-dependent manner in response to thermoradiotherapy could pave a way into new, combinatorial treatment options for (canine) osteosarcoma and other cancer types.
Running towards amblyopia recovery
Authors: Sansevero Gabriele , Torelli Claudia , Mazziotti Raffaele , Consorti Alan , Pizzorusso Tommaso , Berardi Nicoletta , Sale Alessandro 
Published: July 2020

AbstractAmblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder of the visual cortex arising from abnormal visual experience early in life which is a major cause of impaired vision in infants and young children (prevalence around 3.5%). Current treatments such as eye patching are ineffective in a large number of patients, especially when applied after the juvenile critical period. Physical exercise has been recently shown to enhance adult visual cortical plasticity and to promote visual acuity recovery. With the aim to understand the potentialities for translational applications, we investigated the effects of voluntary physical activity on recovery of depth perception in adult amblyopic rats with unrestricted binocular vision; visual acuity recovery was also assessed. We report that three weeks of voluntary physical activity (free running) induced a marked and long-lasting recovery of both depth perception and visual acuity. In the primary visual cortex, ocular dominance recovered both for excitatory and inhibitory cells and was linked to activation of a specific intracortical GABAergic circuit.
Disturbances in primary dental enamel in Polish autistic children
Authors: Kurek Marta , Borowska Beata , Lubowiedzka-Gontarek Beata , Rosset Iwona , Żądzińska Elżbieta 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDental enamel is a structure that is formed as a result of the regular functioning of ameloblasts. The knowledge of the patterns of enamel secretion allows an analysis of their disruptions manifested in pronounced additional accentuated lines. These lines represent a physiological response to stress experienced during enamel development. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of accentuated lines in the tooth enamel of autistic boys. The width of the neonatal line and the periodicity of the striae of Retzius were also assessed. The study material consisted of longitudinal ground sections of 56 primary teeth (incisors and molars): 22 teeth from autistic children and 34 teeth from the control group. The Mann–Whitney U test indicates that the accentuated lines were found significantly more often in autistic children (Z = 3.03; p = 0.002). No differentiation in the rate of enamel formation and in the rate of regaining homeostasis after childbirth were found. The obtained results may indicate a higher sensitivity of autistic children to stress factors, manifested in more frequent disturbances in the functioning of ameloblasts or may be a reflection of differences in the occurrence of stress factors in the first years of life in both analyzed groups.
Estimation of pure quantum states in high dimension at the limit of quantum accuracy through complex optimization and statistical inference
Authors: Zambrano Leonardo , Pereira Luciano , Niklitschek Sebastián , Delgado Aldo 
Published: July 2020

AbstractQuantum tomography has become a key tool for the assessment of quantum states, processes, and devices. This drives the search for tomographic methods that achieve greater accuracy. In the case of mixed states of a single 2-dimensional quantum system adaptive methods have been recently introduced that achieve the theoretical accuracy limit deduced by Hayashi and Gill and Massar. However, accurate estimation of higher-dimensional quantum states remains poorly understood. This is mainly due to the existence of incompatible observables, which makes multiparameter estimation difficult. Here we present an adaptive tomographic method and show through numerical simulations that, after a few iterations, it is asymptotically approaching the fundamental Gill–Massar lower bound for the estimation accuracy of pure quantum states in high dimension. The method is based on a combination of stochastic optimization on the field of the complex numbers and statistical inference, exceeds the accuracy of any mixed-state tomographic method, and can be demonstrated with current experimental capabilities. The proposed method may lead to new developments in quantum metrology.
Summary of discordant results between rapid diagnosis tests, microscopy, and polymerase chain reaction for detecting Plasmodium mixed infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Kotepui Manas , Kotepui Kwuntida Uthaisar , De Jesus Milanez Giovanni , Masangkay Frederick Ramirez 
Published: July 2020

AbstractMalaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are widely used to detect malaria parasites among patients who suspected malaria infections in malaria-endemic areas where microscopy is unavailable. Nevertheless, little is known about the performance of RDTs in detecting Plasmodium mixed infections. The present study aimed to evaluate the discordant results between RDTs and microscopy/polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in detecting Plasmodium mixed infections. The PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, and Scopus databases were systematically reviewed to identify related studies that reported the performance of RDTs in detecting Plasmodium mixed infections. Studies were grouped according to the different RDT types including RDT type 2 (pf-HRP2/pan-aldolase), RDT type 3 (pf-HRP2/pan-pLDH), RDT type 4 (Pf-LDH/pan-pLDH), RDT type 5 (Pf/Pv-pLDH), and RDT type 6 (pf-HRP2/Pv-pLDH) for subgroup analysis. The estimates of the different proportions in each analysis group that were visually summarized in a forest plot showed the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Plots were drawn using RevMan (version 5.3; Cochrane Community). Twenty-eight studies were included in the present study. Overall, the meta-analysis showed that RDTs could detect a significantly higher proportion of Plasmodium mixed infections than microscopy (p = 0.0007, OR = 3.33, 95% CI 1.66–6.68). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that only RDTs targeting Pf-specific histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2)/pan-specific lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) could detect a significantly higher proportion of Plasmodium mixed infections than microscopy (p = 0.004, OR = 8.46, 95% CI 2.75–26.1). The subgroup analysis between RDTs and PCR methods demonstrated that RDTs targeting Pf-specific HRP2/Pv-specific LDH could detect a significantly lower proportion of Plasmodium mixed infections than PCR methods (p = 0.0005, OR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.26–0.68). This is the first study to summarize the discordant results between RDTs and microscopy/PCR in detecting Plasmodium mixed infections. Malaria RDTs targeting Pf-HRP2/pan-pLDH could detect a higher proportion of Plasmodium mixed infections than microscopy, while RDTs targeting Pf-HRP2/Pv-specific LDH could detect a lower proportion of Plasmodium mixed infections than PCR methods. The results of this study will support the selection and careful interpretations of RDTs for a better diagnosis of Plasmodium mixed-species infections and appropriate treatment of malaria patients in endemic and non-endemic settings.
Characterization of pressure fluctuations within a controlled-diffusion blade boundary layer using the equilibrium wall-modelled LES
Authors: Boukharfane Radouan , Parsani Matteo , Bodart Julien 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIn this study, the generation of airfoil trailing edge broadband noise that arises from the interaction of turbulent boundary layer with the airfoil trailing edge is investigated. The primary objectives of this work are: (i) to apply a wall-modelled large-eddy simulation (WMLES) approach to predict the flow of air passing a controlled-diffusion blade, and (ii) to study the blade broadband noise that is generated from the interaction of a turbulent boundary layer with a lifting surface trailing edge. This study is carried out for two values of the Mach number, $${{\rm Ma}}_{\infty } = 0.3$$Ma∞=0.3 and 0.5, two values of the chord Reynolds number, $${{\rm Re}}=8.30 \times 10^5$$Re=8.30×105 and $$2.29 \times 10^6$$2.29×106, and two angles of attack, AoA $$=4^\circ$$=4∘ and $$5^\circ$$5∘. To examine the influence of the grid resolution on aerodynamic and aeroacoustic quantities, we compare our results with experimental data available in the literature. We also compare our results with two in-house numerical solutions generated from two wall-resolved LES (WRLES) calculations, one of which has a DNS-like resolution. We show that WMLES accurately predicts the mean pressure coefficient distribution, velocity statistics (including the mean velocity), and the traces of Reynolds tensor components. Furthermore, we observe that the instantaneous flow structures computed by the WMLES resemble those found in the reference WMLES database, except near the leading edge region. Some of the differences observed in these structures are associated with tripping and the transition to a turbulence mechanism near the leading edge, which are significantly affected by the grid resolution. The aeroacoustic noise calculations indicate that the power spectral density profiles obtained using the WMLES compare well with the experimental data.
ABCC8 mRNA expression is an independent prognostic factor for glioma and can predict chemosensitivity
Authors: Zhou Kaijia , Liu Yanwei , Zhao Zheng , Wang Yinyuan , Huang Lijie , Chai Ruichao , Li Guanzhang , Jiang Tao 
Published: July 2020

AbstractGlioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor and is associated with very low survival rates. The development of reliable biomarkers can help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in glioma development. Here the expression of ABCC8 mRNA, clinical characteristics, and survival information based on 1893 glioma samples from four independent databases were analyzed. The expression patterns of ABCC8 mRNA were compared by a Chi square test. The overall survival rate of gliomas was evaluated according to the expression level of ABCC8 mRNA. The prognostic value of this marker in gliomas was tested using Cox single factor and multi factor regression analyses. We found patients with low WHO grade, oligodendrocytoma, low molecular grade, IDH mutation, and 1p19q combined deletion had high ABCC8 mRNA expression. The patients with high expression of ABCC8 mRNA had longer survival. ABCC8 mRNA expression was a new independent prognostic index for glioma. Temozolomide chemotherapy was an independent index to prolong overall survival in high ABCC8 mRNA expression glioma patients, whereas in patients with low expression, there was no significant difference. So ABCC8 mRNA expression could be an independent prognostic indicator for glioma patients and could predict the sensitivity of glioma to temozolomide.
Single amino acid utilization for bacterial categorization
Authors: Liu Yi-Kai , Kuo Hung-Chih , Lai Chih-Ho , Chou Chi-Chung 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDespite great advancement in genetic typing, phenotyping is still an indispensable tool for categorization of bacteria. Certain amino acids may be essential for bacterial survival, growth, pathogenicity or toxin production, which prompts the idea that the intrinsic ability to utilize single amino acid under live-or-die situation could be a basis for differentiation of bacteria species. In this study, we determined the single amino acid consumption profiles of 7 bacterial species, and demonstrated that most bacteria have species-specific pattern of amino acid consumption. We also discovered that bacterial strains from different hosts, toxigenicity, and antibiotic-resistance presented distinct preference for certain amino acids. Taken altogether, the amino acid consumption profiles showed potential to be a novel tool complementary to study not only bacterial categorization but also biochemical characteristics of the bacteria such that its phenotyping can be used to uncover strategies for nutritional, pharmaceutical, taxonomic, and evolutionary aspects of bacterial researches.
The potential role of peak nasal inspiratory flow to evaluate active sinonasal inflammation and disease severity
Authors: Araújo-Martins José , Brás-Geraldes Carlos , Neuparth Nuno 
Published: July 2020

AbstractAlthough the pathophysiology of nasal polyposis is incompletely understood, rhinologists have seldom studied it with rhinomanometry or peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) due to technical limitations and the perception that polyp size might impair reproducibility and the usefulness of recordings. The objective of this study is to assess how measures of rhinomanometry and PNIF relate to disease activity. Nineteen patients with polyps, 15 patients with chronic sinusitis without polyps and 11 negative controls were evaluated with active anterior rhinomanometry and PNIF. Sinusitis and polyp patients were re-evaluated after medical treatment. Polyp patients had the highest median Lund-Mackay score (14) and a median Johansen score of 1. PNIF and its variation after treatment were also lowest in this group (median 90 L/min before and after treatment; median variation of 0 L/min). Nasal resistance was similar between groups, and only correlated with Johansen score (Spearman = 0.517, p = 0.048) after treatment. Our study suggests that evaluating polyp patients using rhinomanometry and PNIF may provide useful and reproducible data. Several findings considered together suggest that polyp size is not the main determinant of nasal functional changes in these patients, warranting further studies to verify whether PNIF changes reflect sinus inflammation or merely airway obstruction.
Electro-haptic stimulation enhances speech recognition in spatially separated noise for cochlear implant users
Authors: Fletcher Mark D. , Song Haoheng , Perry Samuel W. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractHundreds of thousands of profoundly hearing-impaired people perceive sounds through electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve using a cochlear implant (CI). However, CI users are often poor at understanding speech in noisy environments and separating sounds that come from different locations. We provided missing speech and spatial hearing cues through haptic stimulation to augment the electrical CI signal. After just 30 min of training, we found this “electro-haptic” stimulation substantially improved speech recognition in multi-talker noise when the speech and noise came from different locations. Our haptic stimulus was delivered to the wrists at an intensity that can be produced by a compact, low-cost, wearable device. These findings represent a significant step towards the production of a non-invasive neuroprosthetic that can improve CI users’ ability to understand speech in realistic noisy environments.
Three-dimensional bright-field microscopy with isotropic resolution based on multi-view acquisition and image fusion reconstruction
Authors: Calisesi Gianmaria , Candeo Alessia , Farina Andrea , D’Andrea Cosimo , Magni Vittorio , Valentini Gianluca , Pistocchi Anna , Costa Alex , Bassi Andrea 
Published: July 2020

AbstractOptical Projection Tomography (OPT) is a powerful three-dimensional imaging technique used for the observation of millimeter-scaled biological samples, compatible with bright-field and fluorescence contrast. OPT is affected by spatially variant artifacts caused by the fact that light diffraction is not taken into account by the straight-light propagation models used for reconstruction. These artifacts hinder high-resolution imaging with OPT. In this work we show that, by using a multiview imaging approach, a 3D reconstruction of the bright-field contrast can be obtained without the diffraction artifacts typical of OPT, drastically reducing the amount of acquired data, compared to previously reported approaches. The method, purely based on bright-field contrast of the unstained sample, provides a comprehensive picture of the sample anatomy, as demonstrated in vivo on Arabidopsis thaliana and zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, this bright-field reconstruction can be implemented on practically any multi-view light-sheet fluorescence microscope without complex hardware modifications or calibrations, complementing the fluorescence information with tissue anatomy.
Synthesis of benzylidenemalononitrile by Knoevenagel condensation through monodisperse carbon nanotube-based NiCu nanohybrids
Authors: Zengin Nursefa , Burhan Hakan , Şavk Aysun , Göksu Haydar , Şen Fatih 
Published: July 2020

AbstractMonodisperse nickel/copper nanohybrids (NiCu@MWCNT) based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were prepared for the Knoevenagel condensation of aryl and aliphatic aldehydes. The synthesis of these nanohybrids was carried out by the ultrasonic hydroxide assisted reduction method. NiCu@MWCNT nanohybrids were characterized by analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. According to characterization results, NiCu@MWCNT showed that these nanohybrids form highly uniform, crystalline, monodisperse, colloidally stable NiCu@MWCNT nanohybrids were successfully synthesized. Thereafter, a model reaction was carried out to obtain benzylidenemalononitrile derivatives using NiCu@MWCNT as a catalyst, and showed high catalytic performance under mild conditions over 10–180 min.
Preparation of efficient photothermal materials from waste coffee grounds for solar evaporation and water purification
Authors: Wang Chih-Feng , Wu Chih-Lin , Kuo Shiao-Wei , Hung Wei-Song , Lee Kuo-Jung , Tsai Hsieh-Chih , Chang Chi-Jung , Lai Juin-Yih 
Published: July 2020

AbstractEffective water use is currently a critical global challenge needed to prevent water shortages and has attracted significant research attention. The realization of solar-driven water evaporation by using effective converters has attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to its potential for seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. Consequently, this paper proposes a simple two-step method to prepare low-cost and self-floating photothermal converters from waste coffee grounds. First, the coffee grounds were carbonized at 1,000 °C to develop broadband absorption, and the carbonized coffee grounds were modified using hydrophobic silane to enhance the water-floatation property of the grounds. The prepared hydrophobic carbonized coffee grounds exhibited good performance for desalination and water purification under sunlight irradiation. The self-floatation ability, low cost, well solar evaporation performance, and easy preparation contribute to the promising potential of using hydrophobic carbonized coffee grounds infuture steps toward eco-friendly desalination procedures.
Association of rs662799 variant and APOA5 gene haplotypes with metabolic syndrome and its components: a meta-analysis in North Africa
Authors: Hechmi Meriem , Dallali Hamza , Gharbi Meriem , Jmel Haifa , Fassatoui Meriem , Ben Halima Yossra , Bahri Sonia , Bahlous Afaf , Abid Abdelmajid , Jamoussi Henda , Barakat Abdelhamid , Kefi Rym 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) has been linked to metabolic syndrome (MetS) in several populations. In North Africa, only the Tunisian and Moroccan populations were investigated. Our aim is to assess the association between APOA5 gene variant (rs662799) and haplotypes with MetS in Tunisian population and to perform a meta-analysis in North Africa. A total of 594 Tunisian participants were genotyped for polymorphism rs662799 using KASPar technology. Two polymorphisms rs3135506 and rs651821 in APOA5 gene genotyped in our previous study, were used in addition to rs662799 to assess the haplotype association with MetS. The genotype of 875 participants was used for the meta-analysis. Statistical analyses were performed with R software.
The rs662799 increases the risk of MetS under the dominant (P=0.018) and the additive models (P=0.028) in the Tunisian population. After stratification of the cohort following the sex and the geographic origin, a positive association of rs662799 with MetS was found for participant from the Northern region and for the women group. Only the haplotype AGT showed a significant association with MetS by decreasing the risk of the disease.
The meta-analysis reported a significant association of rs662799 and rs3135506 with MetS.
Our results showed a significant association between the APOA5 gene variants rs662799 and haplotypes with MetS and its traits in Tunisia. An impact of the sex and the geographic origin on the genotype distribution was highlighted. Our funding emphasizes the role of APOA5 in the development of MetS in North Africa.