bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A network model of Italy shows that intermittent regional strategies can alleviate the COVID-19 epidemic
Authors: Della Rossa Fabio , Salzano Davide , Di Meglio Anna , De Lellis Francesco , Coraggio Marco , Calabrese Carmela , Guarino Agostino , Cardona-Rivera Ricardo , De Lellis Pietro , Liuzza Davide , Lo Iudice Francesco , Russo Giovanni , di Bernardo Mario 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe COVID-19 epidemic hit Italy particularly hard, yielding the implementation of strict national lockdown rules. Previous modelling studies at the national level overlooked the fact that Italy is divided into administrative regions which can independently oversee their own share of the Italian National Health Service. Here, we show that heterogeneity between regions is essential to understand the spread of the epidemic and to design effective strategies to control the disease. We model Italy as a network of regions and parameterize the model of each region on real data spanning over two months from the initial outbreak. We confirm the effectiveness at the regional level of the national lockdown strategy and propose coordinated regional interventions to prevent future national lockdowns, while avoiding saturation of the regional health systems and mitigating impact on costs. Our study and methodology can be easily extended to other levels of granularity to support policy- and decision-makers.
Adaptive thermogenesis enhances the life-threatening response to heat in mice with an Ryr1 mutation
Authors: Wang Hui J. , Lee Chang Seok , Yee Rachel Sue Zhen , Groom Linda , Friedman Inbar , Babcock Lyle , Georgiou Dimitra K. , Hong Jin , Hanna Amy D. , Recio Joseph , Choi Jong Min , Chang Ting , Agha Nadia H. , Romero Jonathan , Sarkar Poonam , Voermans Nicol , Gaber M. Waleed , Jung Sung Yun , Baker Matthew L. , Pautler Robia G. , Dirksen Robert T. , Riazi Sheila , Hamilton Susan L. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMutations in the skeletal muscle Ca2+release channel, the type 1 ryanodine receptor (RYR1), cause malignant hyperthermia susceptibility (MHS) and a life-threatening sensitivity to heat, which is most severe in children. Mice with an MHS-associated mutation inRyr1(Y524S, YS) display lethal muscle contractures in response to heat. Here we show that the heat response in the YS mice is exacerbated by brown fat adaptive thermogenesis. In addition, the YS mice have more brown adipose tissue thermogenic capacity than their littermate controls. Blood lactate levels are elevated in both heat-sensitive MHS patients withRYR1mutations and YS mice due to Ca2+driven increases in muscle metabolism. Lactate increases brown adipogenesis in both mouse and human brown preadipocytes. This study suggests that simple lifestyle modifications such as avoiding extreme temperatures and maintaining thermoneutrality could decrease the risk of life-threatening responses to heat and exercise in individuals withRYR1pathogenic variants.
Synthetic lethality of RB1 and aurora A is driven by stathmin-mediated disruption of microtubule dynamics
Authors: Lyu Junfang , Yang Eun Ju , Zhang Baoyuan , Wu Changjie , Pardeshi Lakhansing , Shi Changxiang , Mou Pui Kei , Liu Yifan , Tan Kaeling , Shim Joong Sup 
Published: October 2020

AbstractRB1 mutational inactivation is a cancer driver in various types of cancer including lung cancer, making it an important target for therapeutic exploitation. We performed chemical and genetic vulnerability screens in RB1-isogenic lung cancer pair and herein report that aurora kinase A (AURKA) inhibition is synthetic lethal in RB1-deficient lung cancer. Mechanistically, RB1−/− cells show unbalanced microtubule dynamics through E2F-mediated upregulation of the microtubule destabilizer stathmin and are hypersensitive to agents targeting microtubule stability. Inhibition of AURKA activity activates stathmin function via reduced phosphorylation and facilitates microtubule destabilization in RB1−/− cells, heavily impacting the bipolar spindle formation and inducing mitotic cell death selectively in RB1−/− cells. This study shows that stathmin-mediated disruption of microtubule dynamics is critical to induce synthetic lethality in RB1-deficient cancer and suggests that upstream factors regulating microtubule dynamics, such as AURKA, can be potential therapeutic targets in RB1-deficient cancer.
Machine learning approach to integrated endometrial transcriptomic datasets reveals biomarkers predicting uterine receptivity in cattle at seven days after estrous
Authors: Rabaglino Maria B. , Kadarmideen Haja N. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe main goal was to apply machine learning (ML) methods on integrated multi-transcriptomic data, to identify endometrial genes capable of predicting uterine receptivity according to their expression patterns in the cow. Public data from five studies were re-analyzed. In all of them, endometrial samples were obtained at day 6–7 of the estrous cycle, from cows or heifers of four different European breeds, classified as pregnant (n = 26) or not (n = 26). First, gene selection was performed through supervised and unsupervised ML algorithms. Then, the predictive ability of potential key genes was evaluated through support vector machine as classifier, using the expression levels of the samples from all the breeds but one, to train the model, and the samples from that one breed, to test it. Finally, the biological meaning of the key genes was explored. Fifty genes were identified, and they could predict uterine receptivity with an overall 96.1% accuracy, despite the animal’s breed and category. Genes with higher expression in the pregnant cows were related to circadian rhythm, Wnt receptor signaling pathway, and embryonic development. This novel and robust combination of computational tools allowed the identification of a group of biologically relevant endometrial genes that could support pregnancy in the cattle.
Origin of enhanced chemical precompression in cerium hydride $$\hbox {CeH}_{{9}}$$
Authors: Jeon Hyunsoo , Wang Chongze , Yi Seho , Cho Jun-Hyung 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe rare-earth metal hydrides with clathrate structures have been highly attractive because of their promising high-$$T_{\rm{c}}$$

T
c

superconductivity at high pressure. Recently, cerium hydride $$\hbox {CeH}_9$$

CeH
9

composed of Ce-encapsulated clathrate H cages was synthesized at much lower pressures of 80–100 GPa, compared to other experimentally synthesized rare-earth hydrides such as $$\hbox {LaH}_{{10}}$$

LaH
10

and $$\hbox {YH}_6$$

YH
6

. Based on density-functional theory calculations, we find that the Ce 5p semicore and 4f/5d valence states strongly hybridize with the H 1s state, while a transfer of electrons occurs from Ce to H atoms. Further, we reveal that the delocalized nature of Ce 4f electrons plays an important role in the chemical precompression of clathrate H cages. Our findings not only suggest that the bonding nature between the Ce atoms and H cages is characterized as a mixture of ionic and covalent, but also have important implications for understanding the origin of enhanced chemical precompression that results in the lower pressures required for the synthesis of $$\hbox {CeH}_9$$

CeH
9

.
A porous collagen-based hydrogel and implantation method for corneal stromal regeneration and sustained local drug delivery
Authors: Xeroudaki Maria , Thangavelu Muthukumar , Lennikov Anton , Ratnayake Anjula , Bisevac Jovana , Petrovski Goran , Fagerholm Per , Rafat Mehrdad , Lagali Neil 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBiomaterials designed to replace the diseased cornea could be used to treat corneal blindness where human donor tissue is in short supply, but challenges are the integration of biomaterials with host tissue and cells, avoiding a rapid material degradation and maintaining corneal transparency. Additionally, implantation surgery often triggers an aggressive wound healing response that can lead to corneal thinning and opacity. Here, we report a collagen-based hydrogel with transparency and mechanical properties suitable for replacing a substantial portion of a damaged or diseased corneal stroma. The porous hydrogel permitted migration and population by host cells while maintaining transparency and thickness six months after surgical implantation in an in vivo model of human corneal surgery. With a novel hybrid surgical implantation technique inspired by LASIK refractive surgery, rapid wound healing occurred around implants to maintain biomaterial integrity, transparency and function. Host stromal cell repopulation and regeneration of host epithelium and nerves were observed, as necessary steps towards corneal regeneration. Finally, as a proof-of-principle, the hydrogel loaded with a neuroregenerative drug achieved sustained slow-release drug delivery in vitro. The proposed hydrogel and novel implantation technique together represent a therapeutic approach with translational potential for replacing and regenerating diseased corneal stromal tissue.
Association between free-living sleep and memory and attention in healthy adolescents
Authors: Stefansdottir Runa , Gundersen Hilde , Rognvaldsdottir Vaka , Lundervold Alexander S. , Gestsdottir Sunna , Gudmundsdottir Sigridur L. , Chen Kong Y. , Brychta Robert J. , Johannsson Erlingur 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIn laboratory studies, imposed sleep restriction consistently reduces cognitive performance. However, the association between objectively measured, free-living sleep and cognitive function has not been studied in older adolescents. To address this gap, we measured one week of sleep with a wrist-worn GT3X+ actigraph in 160 adolescents (96 girls, 17.7 ± 0.3 years) followed by assessment of working memory with an n-back task and visual attention with a Posner cue-target task. Over the week, participants spent 7.1 ± 0.8 h/night in bed and slept 6.2 ± 0.8 h/night with 88.5 ± 4.8% efficiency and considerable intra-participant night-to-night variation, with a standard deviation in sleep duration of 1.2 ± 0.7 h. Sleep measures the night before cognitive testing were similar to weekly averages. Time in bed the night before cognitive testing was negatively associated with response times during the most challenging memory task (3-back; p = 0.005). However, sleep measures the night before did not correlate with performance on the attention task and weekly sleep parameters were not associated with either cognitive task. Our data suggests shorter acute free-living sleep may negatively impact difficult memory tasks, however the relationship between free-living sleep and cognitive task performance in healthy adolescents is less clear than that of laboratory findings, perhaps due to high night-to-night sleep variation.
Lacticaseibacillus casei AMBR2 modulates the epithelial barrier function and immune response in a donor-derived nasal microbiota manner
Authors: De Rudder Charlotte , Garcia-Tímermans Cristina , De Boeck Ilke , Lebeer Sarah , Van de Wiele Tom , Calatayud Arroyo Marta 
Published: October 2020

AbstractLive biotherapeutic products (LBP) are emerging as alternative treatment strategies for chronic rhinosinusitis. The selection of interesting candidate LBPs often involves model systems that do not include the polymicrobial background (i.e. the host microbiota) in which they will be introduced. Here, we performed a screening in a simplified model system of upper respiratory epithelium to assess the effect of nasal microbiota composition on the ability to attach and grow of a potential LBP, Lacticaseibacillus casei AMBR2, in this polymicrobial background. After selecting the most permissive and least permissive donor, L. casei AMBR2 colonisation in their respective polymicrobial backgrounds was assessed in more physiologically relevant model systems. We examined cytotoxicity, epithelial barrier function, and cytokine secretion, as well as bacterial cell density and phenotypic diversity in differentiated airway epithelium based models, with or without macrophage-like cells. L. casei AMBR2 could colonize in the presence of both selected donor microbiota and increased epithelial barrier resistance in presence of donor-derived nasal bacteria, as well as anti-inflammatory cytokine secretion in the presence of macrophage-like cells. This study highlights the potential of L. casei AMBR2 as LBP and the necessity to employ physiologically relevant model systems to investigate host–microbe interaction in LBP research.
Direct currents stimulate carbonate mineralization for soil improvement under various chemical conditions
Authors: Terzis Dimitrios , Hicher Patrick , Laloui Lyesse 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe present study integrates direct electric currents into traditional calcium carbonate mineralization to investigate electrochemical interactions and the subsequent crystalline growth of CaCO3bonds in sand. A specific line of focus refers to the effect of three chemical reactive species involved in the stimulated geo-chemo-electric system, namely CaCl2, Ca(CH3COO)2and Ca(CH3CH2(OH)COO)2. By altering treatment conditions and the applied electric field, we capture distinctive trends related to the: (i) overall reaction efficiencies and distribution of CaCO3crystals is sand samples; (ii) promotion of CaCO3mineralization due to DC (iii) crystallographic and textural properties of mineralized bonds. The study introduces the concept of EA-MICP which stands for Electrically Assisted Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation as a means of improving the efficiency of soil bio-cementation compared to traditional MICP-based works. Results reveal both the detrimental and highly beneficial effects that electric currents can hold in the complex, reactive and transport processes involved. An interesting observation refers to the “doped” morphology of CaCO3crystals, which precipitate under electric fields, validated by crystallographic analyses and microstructural observations.
Preparation, characterisation and biological evaluation of biopolymer-coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes for sustained-delivery of silibinin
Authors: Tan Julia Meihua , Bullo Saifullah , Fakurazi Sharida , Hussein Mohd Zobir 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis research work represents the first major step towards constructing an effective therapeutic silibinin (SB) in cancer treatment using oxidised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) functionalised with biocompatible polymers as the potential drug carrier. In an attempt to increase the solubility and dispersibility of SB-loaded nanotubes (MWSB), four water-soluble polymers were adopted in the preparation process, namely polysorbate 20 (T20), polysorbate 80 (T80), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and chitosan (CHI). From the geometry point of view, the hydrophobic regions of the nanotubes were loaded with water-insoluble SB while the hydrophilic polymers functionalised on the outer surfaces of the nanotubes serve as a protective shell to the external environment. The chemical interaction between MWSB nanocomposites and polymer molecules was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. Besides, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and UV–visible spectrophotometry were also employed to characterise the synthesised nanocomposites. The morphological study indicated that the polymers were deposited on the external surfaces of MWSB and the nanocomposites were seen to preserve their tubular structures even after the coating process was applied. The TGA results revealed that the incorporation of biopolymers practically improved the overall thermal stability of the coated MWSB nanocomposites. Evaluation of the in vitro effect on drug release rate by the nanocomposites was found to follow a biphasic release manner, showing a fast release at an initial stage and then a sustained-release over 2500 min. Besides, the drug release mechanisms of the nanocomposites demonstrated that the amount of SB released in the simulated environment was governed by pseudo-second order in which, the rate-limiting step mainly depends on diffusion of drug through chemisorption reaction. Finally, MTT assay showed that the coated MWSB nanocomposites on 3T3 cells were very much biocompatible at a concentration up to 100 g/mL, which is an evidence of MWSB reduced cytotoxicity.
Spouses’ faces are similar but do not become more similar with time
Authors: Tea-makorn Pin Pin , Kosinski Michal 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe widely disseminated convergence in physical appearance hypothesis posits that long-term partners’ facial appearance converges with time due to their shared environment, emotional mimicry, and synchronized activities. Although plausible, this hypothesis is incompatible with empirical findings pertaining to a wide range of other traits—such as personality, intelligence, attitudes, values, and well-being—in which partners show initial similarity but do not converge over time. We solve this conundrum by reexamining this hypothesis using the facial images of 517 couples taken at the beginning of their marriages and 20 to 69 years later. Using two independent methods of estimating their facial similarity (human judgment and a facial recognition algorithm), we show that while spouses’ faces tend to be similar at the beginning of marriage, they do not converge over time, bringing facial appearance in line with other personal characteristics.
Light environments affect herbivory patterns but not reproductive performance of a multivoltine specialist moth, Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata
Authors: Uyi Osariyekemwen O. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractUnravelling the responses of insect herbivores to light-environment-mediated variation in the traits of their host plants is central to our understanding of the nutritional ecology of, and factors driving the population dynamics in, these species. This study examined the effect of light environment (shaded vs full-sun habitat) on leaf toughness and leaf nutritional quality in Chromolaena odorata (an invasive species in West Africa) and related these attributes to the abundance, herbivory patterns and reproductive performance of a multivoltine specialist moth, Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata (a biological control agent). In this system, plants growing in shaded areas in the field experienced more herbivory and had higher herbivore abundance than those growing in full-sun. In the laboratory, P. pseudoinsulata larvae consumed significantly greater amounts of shaded foliage relative to full-sun foliage. However, reproductive performance metrics such as mating success, pre-oviposition period, number of eggs laid, duration of egg laying, egg hatchability, and adult longevity in P. pseudoinsulata did not differ according to foliage types. Reduced leaf toughness, increased water and nitrogen contents in shaded leaves coincided with increased leaf consumption by the larvae of P. pseudoinsulata. In summary, this study showed for the first time that light environments affect herbivory patterns but not reproductive performance of P. pseudoinsulata and hypothesized that high foliar nitrogen and water contents in shaded leaves resulted in feedback and necessity consumption patterns.
Generative machine learning for robust free-space communication
Authors: Lohani Sanjaya , Knutson Erin M. , Glasser Ryan T. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractFree-space optical communications systems suffer from turbulent propagation of light through the atmosphere, attenuation, and receiver detector noise. These effects degrade the quality of the received state, increase cross-talk, and decrease symbol classification accuracy. We develop a state-of-the-art generative neural network (GNN) and convolutional neural network (CNN) system in combination, and demonstrate its efficacy in simulated and experimental communications settings. Experimentally, the GNN system corrects for distortion and reduces detector noise, resulting in nearly identical-to-desired mode profiles at the receiver, requiring no feedback or adaptive optics. Classification accuracy is significantly improved when these generated modes are demodulated using a CNN that is pre-trained with undistorted modes. Using the GNN and CNN system exclusively pre-trained with simulated optical profiles, we show a reduction in cross-talk between experimentally-detected noisy/distorted modes at the receiver. This scalable scheme may provide a concrete and effective demodulation technique for establishing long-range classical and quantum communication links.
microRNA regulation of pluripotent state transition
Authors: Wang Shao-Hua , Zhang Chao , Wang Yangming 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
microRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and early embryo development. The exact mechanism by which miRNAs regulate cell fate transition during embryo development is still not clear. Recent studies have identified and captured various pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) that share similar characteristics with cells from different stages of pre- and post-implantation embryos. These PSCs provide valuable models to understand miRNA functions in early mammalian development. In this short review, we will summarize recent work towards understanding the function and mechanism of miRNAs in regulating the transition or conversion between different pluripotent states. In addition, we will highlight unresolved questions and key future directions related to miRNAs in pluripotent state transition. Studies in these areas will further our understanding of miRNA functions in early embryo development, and may lead to practical means to control human PSCs for clinical applications in regenerative medicine.
Kalkayotl: A cluster distance inference code
Authors: Olivares J. , Sarro L. M. , Bouy H. , Miret-Roig N. , Casamiquela L. , Galli P. A. B. , Berihuete A. , Tarricq Y. 
Published: October 2020

Context. The high-precision parallax data of the Gaia mission allows for significant improvements in the distance determination to stellar clusters and their stars. In order to obtain accurate and precise distance determinations, systematics such as parallax spatial correlations need to be accounted for, especially with regard to stars in small sky regions.
Aims. Our aim is to provide the astrophysical community with a free and open code designed to simultaneously infer cluster parameters (i.e., distance and size) and distances to the cluster stars using Gaia parallax measurements. The code includes cluster-oriented prior families and it is specifically designed to deal with the Gaia parallax spatial correlations.
Methods. A Bayesian hierarchical model is created to allow for the inference of both the cluster parameters and distances to its stars.
Results. Using synthetic data that mimics Gaia parallax uncertainties and spatial correlations, we observe that our cluster-oriented prior families result in distance estimates with smaller errors than those obtained with an exponentially decreasing space density prior. In addition, the treatment of the parallax spatial correlations minimizes errors in the estimated cluster size and stellar distances, and avoids the underestimation of uncertainties. Although neglecting the parallax spatial correlations has no impact on the accuracy of cluster distance determinations, it underestimates the uncertainties and may result in measurements that are incompatible with the true value (i.e., falling beyond the 2σ uncertainties).
Conclusions. The combination of prior knowledge with the treatment of Gaia parallax spatial correlations produces accurate (error < 10%) and trustworthy estimates (i.e., true values contained within the 2σ uncertainties) of cluster distances for clusters up to ∼5 kpc, along with cluster sizes for clusters up to ∼1 kpc.