bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ultrasound imaging links soleus muscle neuromechanics and energetics during human walking with elastic ankle exoskeletons
Authors: Nuckols R. W. , Dick T. J. M. , Beck O. N. , Sawicki G. S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractUnpowered exoskeletons with springs in parallel to human plantar flexor muscle-tendons can reduce the metabolic cost of walking. We used ultrasound imaging to look ‘under the skin’ and measure how exoskeleton stiffness alters soleus muscle contractile dynamics and shapes the user’s metabolic rate during walking. Eleven participants (4F, 7M; age: 27.7 ± 3.3 years) walked on a treadmill at 1.25 m s−1 and 0% grade with elastic ankle exoskeletons (rotational stiffness: 0–250 Nm rad−1) in one training and two testing days. Metabolic savings were maximized (4.2%) at a stiffness of 50 Nm rad−1. As exoskeleton stiffness increased, the soleus muscle operated at longer lengths and improved economy (force/activation) during early stance, but this benefit was offset by faster shortening velocity and poorer economy in late stance. Changes in soleus activation rate correlated with changes in users’ metabolic rate (p = 0.038, R2 = 0.44), highlighting a crucial link between muscle neuromechanics and exoskeleton performance; perhaps informing future ‘muscle-in-the loop’ exoskeleton controllers designed to steer contractile dynamics toward more economical force production.
Action information contributes to metacognitive decision-making
Authors: Wokke Martijn E. , Achoui Dalila , Cleeremans Axel 
Published: February 2020

AbstractMetacognitive abilities allow us to adjust ongoing behavior and modify future decisions in the absence of external feedback. Although metacognition is critical in many daily life settings, it remains unclear what information is actually being monitored and what kind of information is being used for metacognitive decisions. In the present study, we investigated whether response information connected to perceptual events contribute to metacognitive decision-making. Therefore, we recorded EEG signals during a perceptual color discrimination task while participants were asked to provide an estimate about the quality of their decision on each trial. Critically, the moment participants provided their confidence judgments varied across conditions, thereby changing the amount of action information (e.g., response competition or response fluency) available for metacognitive decisions. Results from three experiments demonstrate that metacognitive performance improved when first-order action information was available at the moment metacognitive decisions about the perceptual task had to be provided. This behavioral effect was accompanied by enhanced functional connectivity (beta phase synchrony) between motor areas and prefrontal regions, exclusively observed during metacognitive decision-making. Our findings demonstrate that action information contributes to metacognitive decision-making, thereby painting a picture of metacognition as a process that integrates sensory evidence and information about our interactions with the world.
Thermal stability of tungsten based metamaterial emitter under medium vacuum and inert gas conditions
Authors: Chirumamilla Manohar , Krishnamurthy Gnanavel Vaidhyanathan , Rout Surya Snata , Ritter Martin , Störmer Michael , Petrov Alexander Yu , Eich Manfred 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCommercial deployment of thermophotovoltaics (TPV) is lacking behind the implementation of solar PV technology due to limited thermal stability of the selective emitter structures. Most of the TPV emitters demonstrated so far are designed to operate under high vacuum conditions (~10−6 mbar vacuum pressure), whereas under medium vacuum conditions (~10−2 mbar vacuum pressure), which are feasible in technical implementations of TPV, these emitters suffer from oxidation due to significant O2 partial pressure. In this work, the thermal stability of 1D refractory W-HfO2 based multilayered metamaterial emitter structure is investigated under different vacuum conditions. The impact of the O2 partial pressure on thermal stability of the emitters is experimentally quantified. We show that, under medium vacuum conditions, i.e. ~10−2 mbar vacuum pressure, the emitter shows unprecedented thermal stability up to 1300 °C when the residual O2 in the annealing chamber is minimized by encapsulating the annealing chamber with Ar atmosphere. This study presents a significant step in the experimental implementation of high temperature stable emitters under medium vacuum conditions, and their potential in construction of economically viable TPV systems. The high TPV efficiency, ~50% spectral efficiency for GaSb PV cell at 1300 °C, and high temperature stability make this platform well suited for technical application in next-generation TPV systems.
Allograft inflammatory factor-1-like is not essential for age dependent weight gain or HFD-induced obesity and glucose insensitivity
Authors: Parikh Dippal , Riascos-Bernal Dario F. , Egaña-Gorroño Lander , Jayakumar Smitha , Almonte Vanessa , Chinnasamy Prameladevi , Sibinga Nicholas E. S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe allograft inflammatory factor (AIF) gene family consists of two identified paralogs – AIF1 and AIF1-like (AIF1L). The encoded proteins, AIF1 and AIF1L, are 80% similar in sequence and show conserved tertiary structure. While studies in human populations suggest links between AIF1 and metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, such associations with AIF1L have not been reported. Drawing parallels based on structural similarity, we postulated that AIF1L might contribute to metabolic disorders, and studied it using mouse models. Here we report that AIF1L is expressed in major adipose depots and kidney but was not detectable in liver or skeletal muscle; in notable contrast to AIF1, AIF1L was also not found in spleen. Studies of AIF1L deficient mice showed no obvious postnatal developmental phenotype. In response to high fat diet (HFD) feeding for 6 or 18 weeks, WT and AIF1L deficient mice gained weight similarly, showed no differences in fat or lean mass accumulation, and displayed no changes in energy expenditure or systemic glucose handling. These findings indicate that AIF1L is not essential for the development of obesity or impaired glucose handling due to HFD, and advance understanding of this little-studied gene and its place in the AIF gene family.
Reconstruction of residents’ thyroid equivalent doses from internal radionuclides after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident
Authors: Ohba Takashi , Ishikawa Tetsuo , Nagai Haruyasu , Tokonami Shinji , Hasegawa Arifumi , Suzuki Gen 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThere is concern among residents that their children might suffer from thyroid cancer in the near future after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station (FDNPS) accident. However, the demographic and geographical distribution of thyroid equivalent doses was not thoroughly evaluated, and direct thyroid measurements were conducted only for 1,200 children, whose individual thyroid doses were assessed on the basis of those measurements accounting for the dynamics of radioiodine intake. We conducted hierarchical clustering analyses of 100 or 300 randomly sampled behavioural questionnaire sheets of children from each of seven municipalities in the evacuation area to reconstruct evacuation scenarios associated with high or low exposures to plumes. In total 896 behaviour records in the Fukushima Health Management Survey were analysed to estimate thyroid equivalent doses via inhalation, using a spatiotemporal radionuclides concentration database constructed by atmospheric dispersion simulations. After a decontamination factor for sheltering and a modifying factor for the dose coefficient—to reflect lower iodine uptake rate in Japanese—were applied, estimated thyroid equivalent doses were close to those estimated from direct thyroid measurement. The median and 95th percentile of thyroid equivalent doses of 1-year-old children ranged from 0.6 to 16 mSv and from 7.5 to 30 mSv, respectively. These results are useful for future epidemiological studies of thyroid cancer in Fukushima.
A Markov chain method for counting and modelling migraine attacks
Authors: Barra Mathias , Dahl Fredrik A. , Vetvik Kjersti Grøtta , MacGregor E. Anne 
Published: February 2020

AbstractTo ensure reproducibility in research quantifying episodic migraine attacks, and identifying attack onset, a sound theoretical model of a migraine attack, paired with a uniform standard for counting them, is necessary. Many studies report on migraine frequencies—e.g. the fraction of migraine-days of the observed days—without paying attention to the number of discrete attacks. Furthermore, patients’ diaries frequently contain single, migraine-free days between migraine-days, and we argue here that such ‘migraine-locked days’ should routinely be interpreted as part of a single attack. We tested a simple Markov model of migraine attacks on headache diary data and estimated transition probabilities by mapping each day of each diary to a unique Markov state. We explored the validity of imputing migraine days on migraine-locked entries, and estimated the effect of imputation on observed migraine frequencies. Diaries from our patients demonstrated significant clustering of migraine days. The proposed Markov chain model was shown to approximate the progression of observed migraine attacks satisfactorily, and imputing on migraine-locked days was consistent with the conceptual model for the progression of migraine attacks. Hence, we provide an easy method for quantifying the number and duration of migraine attacks, enabling researchers to procure data of high inter-study validity.
Integrated metabolome analysis reveals novel connections between maternal fecal metabolome and the neonatal blood metabolome in women with gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Zhao Chunchao , Ge Jun , Li Xia , Jiao Ruifen , Li Yuan , Quan Huili , Li Jianguo , Guo Qing , Wang Wenju 
Published: February 2020

AbstractGestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), which is correlated with changes in the gut microbiota, is a risk factor for neonatal inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs). Maternal hyperglycemia exerts epigenetic effects on genes that encode IEM-associated enzymes, resulting in changes in the neonatal blood metabolome. However, the relationship between maternal gut microbiota and the neonatal blood metabolome remains poorly understood. This study aimed at understanding the connections between maternal gut microbiota and the neonatal blood metabolome in GDM. 1H-NMR-based untargeted metabolomics was performed on maternal fecal samples and targeted metabolomics on the matched neonatal dry blood spots from a cohort of 40 pregnant women, including 22 with GDM and 18 controls. Multi-omic association methods (including Co-Inertia Analysis and Procrustes Analysis) were applied to investigate the relationship between maternal fecal metabolome and the neonatal blood metabolome. Both maternal fecal metabolome and the matched neonatal blood metabolome could be separated along the vector of maternal hyperglycemia. A close relationship between the maternal and neonatal metabolomes was observed by multi-omic association approaches. Twelve out of thirty-two maternal fecal metabolites with altered abundances from 872 1H- NMR features (Bonferroni-adjusted P < 0.05) in women with GDM and the controls were identified, among which 8 metabolites contribute (P < 0.05 in a 999-step permutation test) to the close connection between maternal and the neonatal metabolomes in GDM. Four of these eight maternal fecal metabolites, including lysine, putrescine, guanidinoacetate, and hexadecanedioate, were negatively associated (Spearman rank correlation, coefficient value < −0.6, P < 0.05) with maternal hyperglycemia. Biotin metabolism was enriched (Bonferroni-adjusted P < 0.05 in the hypergeometric test) with the four-hyperglycemia associated fecal metabolites. The results of this study suggested that maternal fecal metabolites contribute to the connections between maternal fecal metabolome and the neonatal blood metabolome and may further affect the risk of IEMs.
Phosphate Adsorption by Silver Nanoparticles-Loaded Activated Carbon derived from Tea Residue
Authors: Trinh Van Tuyen , Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong , Van Huu Tap , Hoang Le Phuong , Nguyen Tien Vinh , Ha L. T. , Vu Xuan Hoa , Pham T. T. , Nguyen Thi Nu , Quang N. V. , Nguyen X. C. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis study presents the removal of phosphate from aqueous solution using a new silver nanoparticles-loaded tea activated carbon (AgNPs-TAC) material. In order to reduce costs, the tea activated carbon was produced from tea residue. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of impregnation ratio of AgNPs and TAC, pH solution, contact time, initial phosphate concentration and dose of AgNPs-AC on removing phosphate from aqueous solution. Results show that the best conditions for phosphate adsorption occurred at the impregnation ratio AgNPs/TAC of 3% w/w, pH 3, and contact time lasting 150 min. The maximum adsorption capacity of phosphate on AgNPs-TAC determined by the Langmuir model was 13.62 mg/g at an initial phosphate concentration of 30 mg/L. The adsorption isotherm of phosphate on AgNPs-TAC fits well with both the Langmuir and Sips models. The adsorption kinetics data were also described well by the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models with high correlation coefficients of 0.978 and 0.966, respectively. The adsorption process was controlled by chemisorption through complexes and ligand exchange mechanisms. This study suggests that AgNPs-TAC is a promising, low cost adsorbent for phosphate removal from aqueous solution.
Applicability of crAssphage, pepper mild mottle virus, and tobacco mosaic virus as indicators of reduction of enteric viruses during wastewater treatment
Authors: Tandukar Sarmila , Sherchan Samendra P. , Haramoto Eiji 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of crAssphage, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as indicators of the reduction of human enteric viruses during wastewater treatment. Thirty-nine samples were collected from three steps at a wastewater treatment plant (raw sewage, secondary-treated sewage, and final effluent) monthly for a 13-month period. In addition to the three indicator viruses, eight human enteric viruses [human adenoviruses, JC and BK polyomaviruses, Aichi virus 1 (AiV-1), enteroviruses, and noroviruses of genogroups I, II, and IV] were tested by quantitative PCR. Indicator viruses were consistently detected in the tested samples, except for a few final effluents for crAssphage and TMV. The mean concentrations of crAssphage were significantly higher than those of most tested viruses. The concentrations of crAssphage in raw sewage were positively correlated with the concentrations of all tested human enteric viruses (p <0.05), suggesting the applicability of crAssphage as a suitable indicator to estimate the concentrations of human enteric viruses in raw sewage. The reduction ratios of AiV-1 (1.8 ± 0.7 log10) were the lowest among the tested viruses, followed by TMV (2.0 ± 0.3 log10) and PMMoV (2.0 ± 0.4 log10). Our findings suggested that the use of not only AiV-1 and PMMoV but also TMV as indicators of reductions in viral levels can be applicable during wastewater treatment.
Clinical outcomes of self-expandable metallic stents for malignant obstructive atelectasis
Authors: Bi Yonghua , Zhu Xiaoyan , Yu Zepeng , Yi Mengfei , Han Xinwei , Ren Jianzhuang 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSelf-expandable metallic stents (SEMSs) have been widely used in the treatment of malignant central airway obstruction. However, few reports focus on the treatment of atelectasis and how to estimate the prior probability of success via SEMSs placement, This current study aimed to study the safety and effectiveness of SEMSs for the treatment of obstructive atelectasis, and the value of preoperative CT enhancement for ventilation of atelectasis via SEMSs placement. A total of 35 patients with obstructive atelectasis (29 male and 6 female) was included from February 2012 to March 2018. The procedures were performed under fluoroscopic guidance, and bronchoscopic laser resection was performed for severe restenosis cases after SEMSs placement. Clinical and functional pulmonary data were recorded before and 3 months after the procedure. Follow-up involved clinical data and radiographic techniques at 48 h and at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month intervals. Thirty-eight SEMSs were successfully implanted in 34 patients, included 29 Y type tracheal stents, 4 small y stents, and 5 straight airway stents. After stenting, 26 cases showed full ventilation, and 3 cases were partially ventilated. The technical success and clinical success was 97.1% and 82.9%, respectively. A higher maximum enhancement CT value was found in patients with full ventilation. Mean follow-up time was 18.8 ± 4.0 months. Eight cases showed restenosis and received endoscopic laser resection, included 1 case underwent removal and 3 cases received second stenting. There were 2 cases of perioperative non-operative death, and 11 cases of post-discharge death (2 cardiac deaths and 9 malignant tumors). The survival rates of 3 months, 1 year and 2 years were 78.6%, 58.5% and 58.5%, respectively. In conclusion, SEMSs placement is safe and effective for obstructive atelectasis, and the preoperative CT enhancement played an important role in estimating the prior probability of success in the treatment of atelectasis via SEMSs placement.
Limonene nanoemulsified with soya lecithin reduces the intensity of non-isothermal treatments for inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Garre Alberto , Espín Jennifer F. , Huertas Juan-Pablo , Periago Paula M. , Palop Alfredo 
Published: February 2020

AbstractConsumers’ demands for ready-to-eat, fresh-like products are on the rise during the last years. This type of products have minimal processing conditions that can enable the survival and replication of pathogenic microorganisms. Among them, Listeria monocytogenes is of special concern, due to its relatively high mortality rate and its ability to replicate under refrigeration conditions. Previous research works have shown that nanoemulsified essential oils in combination with thermal treatments are effective for inactivating L. monocytogenes. However, previous research works were limited to isothermal conditions, whereas actual processing conditions in industry are dynamic. Under dynamic conditions, microorganism can respond unexpectedly to the thermal stress (e.g. adaptation, acclimation or increased sensitivity). In this work, we assess the combination of nanoemulsified D-limonene with thermal treatments under isothermal and dynamic conditions. The nanoemulsion was prepared following an innovative methodology using soya lecithin, a natural compound as well as the essential oil. Under isothermal heating conditions, the addition of the antimicrobial enables a reduction of the treatment time by a factor of 25. For time-varying treatments, dynamic effects were relevant. Treatments with a high heating rate (20 °C/min) are more effective than those with a slow heating rate (1 °C/min). This investigation demonstrates that the addition of nanoemulsified D-limonene can greatly reduce the intensity of the thermal treatments currently applied in the food industry. Hence, it can improve the product quality without impacting its safety.
Speckle-tracking echocardiography combined with imaging mass spectrometry assesses region-dependent alterations
Authors: Pappritz Kathleen , Grune Jana , Klein Oliver , Hegemann Niklas , Dong Fengquan , El-Shafeey Muhammad , Lin Jie , Kuebler Wolfgang M. , Kintscher Ulrich , Tschöpe Carsten , Van Linthout Sophie 
Published: February 2020

AbstractLeft ventricular (LV) contraction is characterized by shortening and thickening of longitudinal and circumferential fibres. To date, it is poorly understood how LV deformation is altered in the pathogenesis of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus-associated diabetic cardiomyopathy and how this is associated with changes in cardiac structural composition. To gain further insights in these LV alterations, eight-week-old C57BL6/j mice were intraperitoneally injected with 50 mg/kg body weight STZ during 5 consecutive days. Six, 9, and 12 weeks (w) post injections, echocardiographic analysis was performed using a Vevo 3100 device coupled to a 30-MHz linear-frequency transducer. Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) demonstrated impaired global longitudinal peak strain (GLS) in STZ versus control mice at all time points. 9w STZ animals displayed an impaired global circumferential peak strain (GCS) versus 6w and 12w STZ mice. They further exhibited decreased myocardial deformation behaviour of the anterior and posterior base versus controls, which was paralleled with an elevated collagen I/III protein ratio. Additionally, hypothesis-free proteome analysis by imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) identified regional- and time-dependent changes of proteins affecting sarcomere mechanics between STZ and control mice. In conclusion, STZ-induced diabetic cardiomyopathy changes global cardiac deformation associated with alterations in cardiac sarcomere proteins.
Impact of different stabilization methods on RT-qPCR results using human lung tissue samples
Authors: Esteva-Socias Margalida , Gómez-Romano Fernando , Carrillo-Ávila José Antonio , Sánchez-Navarro Alicia Loreto , Villena Cristina 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAiming to increase the reproducibility of biomedical research results, biobanks obtain human tissues of the highest quality and carry out different storage methods adapted to the needs of analytical technique to be performed by the biomedical researchers. However, there is much controversy and little data concerning the real impact of different stabilization methods on tissue quality, integrity and functionality of derived biomolecules. The influence of four stabilization methods [RNAlater (RNL), snap freezing (SF), snap freezing using Optimal Cutting Tissue compound (SF-OCT) and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE)] on RNA quality and integrity was evaluated in paired samples of lung tissue. RNA integrity was evaluated through PCR-endpoint assays amplifying six fragments of different length of the HPRT1 gene and RNA Integrity Number (RIN). To evaluate the difference of tissue functionality among the stabilization methods tested, RT-qPCRs were performed focusing on the differential expression of the HPRT1, SNRPD3 and Jun genes. RNA from the samples preserved with the RNL or SF-OCT method showed better integrity compared to SF and FFPE, measured by PCR-endpoint and RT-qPCR assays. However, only statistically significant differences were observed between the RNA from FFPE and other stabilization methods when gene expression of HPRT1, SNRPD3 and Jun housekeeping genes were determined by RT-qPCR. For the three mentioned genes, Cq and RIN values were highly correlated. The present work describes the fragility of SF samples, being critical the moment just before RNA extraction, although further experiments of tissue RNA are needed. Standardization pre-analytic workflow can lead to improved reproducibility between biomedical research studies. The present study demonstrated clear evidences about the impact of the stabilization method on RNA derived from lung human tissue samples.