bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prolonged Exercise Test in Patients With History of Thyrotoxicosis
Authors: Tan Hui-Ting , Tan Cheng-Yin , Teong Chee-Sin , Ratnasingam Jeyakantha , Goh Khean-Jin 
Published: August 2020

Purpose:
Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is characterized by recurrent episodes of reversible, severe proximal muscle weakness associated with hypokalemia and hyperthyroidism. Prolonged exercise test is an easy, noninvasive method of demonstrating abnormal muscle membrane excitability in periodic paralyses. Although abnormal in thyrotoxic periodic paralysis patients, the effects thyroid hormone levels in non-thyrotoxic periodic paralysis thyrotoxicosis patients have not been well studied. The study aims to evaluate thyrotoxicosis patients (regardless of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis history) with prolonged exercise test and correlate it with their thyroid status.

Methods:
This is a prospective, cross-sectional study of consecutive thyrotoxicosis patients seen at the endocrine clinic of a tertiary medical center. Thyroid status was determined biochemically before prolonged exercise test. Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes postexercise were compared against pre-exercise amplitudes and recorded as percentage of mean baseline CMAP amplitude. Comparisons of time-dependent postexercise CMAP amplitudes and mean CMAP amplitude decrement were made between hyperthyroid and nonhyperthyroid groups.

Results:
Seventy-four patients were recruited, 23 (31%) men, 30 (41%) Chinese, and the mean age was 48.5 ± 16.8 years. Of 74 patients, 32 (43%) were hyperthyroid and 42 (57%) were nonhyperthyroid viz. euthyroid and hypothyroid. Time-dependent CMAP amplitudes from 10 to 45 minutes after exercise were significantly lower in hyperthyroid patients compared with nonhyperthyroid patients (P < 0.01). Mean CMAP amplitude decrement postexercise was significantly greater in hyperthyroid than nonhyperthyroid patients (23.4% ± 11.4% vs. 17.3% ± 10.5%; P = 0.02).

Conclusions:
Compound muscle action potential amplitude declines on prolonged exercise test were significantly greater in hyperthyroid patients compared with nonhyperthyroid patients. Muscle membrane excitability is highly influenced by thyroid hormone level. Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis occurs from increased levels of thyroid hormone activity in susceptible patients.
Deinococcus terrestris sp. nov., a gamma ray- and ultraviolet-resistant bacterium isolated from soil
Authors: Wang Jing-jing , Wu Shu-ge , Chen Qi , Sheng Duo-hong , Du Zong-jun , Li Yue-zhong 
Published: August 2020

Strain SDU3-2T was isolated from a soil sample collected in Shandong Province, PR China. Cells of SDU3-2T were spherical, Gram-stain-positive, aerobic and non-motile. Cellular growth of the strain occurred at 25–45 °C, pH 5.5–8.5 and with 0–1.5 % (w/v) of NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SDU3-2T was closest to the type strain

Deinococcus murrayi

ALT-1bT with a similarity of 95.2 %. The draft genome was 3.49 Mbp long with 69.2 mol% G+C content. Strain SDU3-2T exhibited high resistance to gamma radiation (D10 >12 kGy) and UV (D10 >900 J m−2). The strain encoded many genes for resistance to radiation and oxidative stress, which were highly conserved with other

Deinococcus

species, but possessed interspecific properties. The major fatty acids of SDU3-2T cells were C15 : 1
ω6c, C16 : 1
ω7c/C16 : 1
ω6c, and C17 : 1
ω8c, the major menaquinone was menaquinone-8, and the major polar lipids were an unidentified phosphoglycolipid, four unidentified glycolipids and an unidentified phospholipid. The average nucleotide identity and DNA–DNA hybridization results further indicated that strain SDU3-2T represents a new species in the genus

Deinococcus

, for which the name Deinococcus terrestris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SDU3-2T (=CGMCC 1.17147T=KCTC 43098T).
Regulatory signatures of drought response in stress resilientSorghum bicolor
Authors: Parvathaneni Rajiv K. , Kumar Indrajit , Braud Max , Ozersky Philip , Mockler Todd C. , Eveland Andrea L. 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTThe effects of drought stress can be devastating to crop production worldwide. A grand challenge facing agriculture is development of crop varieties with improved drought resilience through breeding or biotechnology. To accelerate this, a mechanistic understanding is needed of the regulatory networks underlying drought response in crop genomes and the genetic elements that modulate them. Here, we explore the regulatory landscape of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench] in response to controlled-environment drought stress. Sorghum is a C4cereal crop with innate drought resilience. To define molecular signatures of drought response, we mapped genome-wide chromatin accessibility using an Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin by sequencing and analyzed parallel transcriptional profiles in drought-stressed sorghum shoot and root tissues. Drought-responsive changes in accessibility were largely in proximal promoters of differentially expressed genes and also in distal regions. Data were integrated to infer gene network connections andcis-regulatory modules underlying drought response and the transcription factors that control them. Inspection of pan-genomic data and phenotyping across sorghum diversity revealed variation in genomic signatures that associated with water use efficiency. Our analyses provide drought-inducible regulatory modules in sorghum that can be leveraged for fine-tuning responses to stress, mining for advantageous alleles, and translating across species.
The Rcs stress response system modulatesSerratia marcescensinduced inflammation and bacterial proliferation in a rabbit keratitis model
Authors: Romanowski Eric G. , Stella Nicholas A. , Romanowski John , Yates Kathleen A. , Dhaliwal Deepinder K. , Shanks Robert M. Q. 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTIn this study, we tested the hypothesis that the conserved bacterial Rcs stress response system mediates corneal pathogenesis associated withSerratia marcescensocular infections. This was accomplished by modifying Rcs activity using mutant strains. These include a mutant that has a hyper-active Rcs system due to deletion of the IgaA family gene,gumB, and agumB rcsCdouble mutant that is defective for Rcs signaling. The role of the Rcs system and bacterial stress response systems for microbial keratitis is not known. Here we observed that the Rcs-activatedgumBmutant had a >50-fold reduction in proliferation compared to the wild type within rabbit corneas at 48 h, and demonstrated a notable reduction in inflammation based on inflammatory signs and proinflammatory markers measured at the RNA and protein levels. ThegumBmutant phenotypes could be complemented by wild-typegumBon a plasmid and partially complemented by restoration ofshlAcytolysin expression and elimination of capsular polysaccharide production. We observed that inactivation of the Rcs stress response system completely restored corneal virulence to thegumBmutant. NanoString transcriptional analysis of bacterial genes expressed during microbial keratitis demonstrated expression ofgumB, rcsB, shlA, and three metalloprotease genes. Data suggest that the bacterial capsular polysaccharide is not necessary for infection, but capsule overexpression reduces inflammation. Together, these data indicate that GumB regulates virulence factor production through the Rcs system and this overall stress response system is a key mediator of a bacterium’s ability to induce vision-threatening keratitis.
RNAcmap: A Fully Automatic Method for Predicting Contact Maps of RNAs by Evolutionary Coupling Analysis
Authors: Zhang Tongchuan , Singh Jaswinder , Litfin Thomas , Zhan Jian , Paliwal Kuldip , Zhou Yaoqi 
Published: August 2020

AbstractMotivationThe accuracy of RNA secondary and tertiary structure prediction can be significantly improved by using structural restraints derived from evolutionary or direct coupling analysis. Currently, these coupling analyses relied on manually curated multiple sequence alignments collected in the Rfam database, which contains 3016 families. By comparison, millions of non-coding RNA sequences are known. Here, we established RNAcmap, a fully automatic method that enables evolutionary coupling analysis for any RNA sequences. The homology search was based on the covariance model built by Infernal according to two secondary structure predictors: a folding-based algorithm RNAfold and the latest deep-learning method SPOT-RNA.ResultsWe show that the performance of RNAcmap is less dependent on the specific evolutionary coupling tool but is more dependent on the accuracy of secondary structure predictor with the best performance given by RNAcmap (SPOT-RNA). The performance of RNAcmap (SPOT-RNA) is comparable to that based on Rfam-supplied alignment and consistent for those sequences that are not in Rfam collections. Further improvement can be made with a simple meta predictor RNAcmap (SPOT-RNA/RNAfold) depending on which secondary structure predictor can find more homologous sequences. Reliable base-pairing information generated from RNAcmap, for RNAs with high effective homologous sequences, in particular, will be useful for aiding RNA structure prediction.Availability and implementationRNAcmap is available as a web server athttps://sparks-lab.org/server/rnacmap/) and as a standalone application along with the datasets athttps://github.com/sparks-lab-org/RNAcmap.
ATP-responsive biomolecular condensates tune bacterial kinase signaling
Authors: Saurabh Saumya , Chong Trisha N. , Bayas Camille , Dahlberg Peter D. , Cartwright Heather N. , Moerner W. E. , Shapiro Lucy 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBiomolecular condensates formed via phase separation enable spatial and temporal organization of enzyme activity. The emergent properties of many condensates have been shown to be responsive to intracellular Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, although the consequences of such mechanisms on enzyme activity are unknown. Here, we show that ATP depletion promotes phase separation in condensates composed of a disordered protein, thereby enhancing the activity of a client kinase enabling robust signaling and maintenance of viability under the stress posed by nutrient scarcity. We propose that a diverse repertoire of condensates can serve as control knobs to tune multivalency and reactivity in response to the metabolic state of bacterial cells.One Sentence SummaryBacterial condensates boost kinase activity under ATP depletion
Zbtb16regulates social cognitive behaviors and neocortical development
Authors: Usui Noriyoshi , Berto Stefano , Konishi Ami , Kondo Makoto , Konopka Genevieve , Matsuzaki Hideo , Shimada Shoichi 
Published: August 2020

AbstractRecent genetic studies have underscored the pleiotropic effects of single genes to multiple cognitive disorders. Mutations ofZBTB16are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia (SCZ), but how the function of ZBTB16 is related to ASD or SCZ remains unknown. Here we show the deletion ofZbtb16in mice leads to both ASD- and SCZ-like behaviors such as social impairment, repetitive behaviors, risk-taking behaviors, and cognitive impairment. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the behavioral phenotypes, we carried out histological studies and observed impairments in thinning of neocortical layer 6 (L6) and a reduction of TBR1+ neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) ofZbtb16KO mice. Furthermore, we found increased dendritic spines and microglia as well as developmental defects in oligodendrocytes and neocortical myelination in the PFC ofZbtb16KO mice. Using a genomics approach, we identified theZbtb16-transcriptome that includes genes involved in both ASD and SCZ pathophysiology and neocortical maturation such as neurogenesis and myelination. Co-expression networks further identifiedZbtb16-correlated modules that are unique to ASD or SCZ respectively. Our study provides insight into the differential role ofZBTB16in ASD and SCZ.
Emergent properties of a mitotic Kif18b-MCAK-EB network
Authors: McHugh Toni , Welburn Julie P.I. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe precise regulation of microtubule length during mitosis is essential to assemble and position the mitotic spindle and segregate chromosomes. Prior work has identified key molecular players in this process, including the kinesin-18 Kif18b and the kinesin-13 Kif2C/MCAK, which both promote microtubule depolymerization. MCAK acts as a potent microtubule depolymerase diffusing short distances on microtubules, while Kif18b is a mitotic processive motor with weak depolymerase activity. However the individual activities of these factors cannot explain the dramatic increase in microtubule dynamics in mitosis. Usingin vitroreconstitution and single molecule imaging, we demonstrate that Kif18b, MCAK and the plus-end tracking protein EB3 act in an integrated manner to potently promote microtubule depolymerization. We find Kif18b acts as a microtubule plus end delivery factor for its cargo MCAK, and that Kif18b also promotes EB accumulation to plus ends independently of lattice nucleotide state. Together, our work defines the mechanistic basis for a cooperative Kif18b-EB-MCAK network with emergent properties, that acts to efficiently shorten microtubules in mitosis.
Chloroform-injection (CI) and Spontaneous-phase-transition (SPT) are Novel Methods, Simplifying the Fabrication Liposomes
Authors: Khan Muhammad Ijaz , Ahmed Naveed , Umer Muhammad Farooq , Riaz Amina , Ahmad Nasir Mehmood , Khan Gul Majid 
Published: August 2020

AbstractIntricate formulation methods and/or use of sophisticated equipment limit the prevalence of liposomal dosage-forms. Simple techniques are developed to assemble amphiphiles into globular lamellae while transiting from immiscible organic to the aqueous phase. Various parameters are optimized by injecting chloroform solution of amphiphiles into the aqueous phase and subsequent removal of the organic phase. Further simplification is achieved by reorienting amphiphiles through a spontaneous phase transition in a swirling biphasic system during evaporation of the organic phase under vacuum. Although the chloroform injection yields smaller size and PDI yet spontaneous phase transition method overrides simplicity and productivity. The size distribution of liposomes and solid/solvent ratio in both or any phases of formulation show direct relation. Surface charge dependant large unilamellar vesicles with a narrow distribution have PDI <0.4 in 10 μM saline. As small and monodisperse liposomes are prerequisites in targeted drug delivery strategies. Hence the desired size distribution <200 d.nm and PDI <0.15 is obtained through serial membrane-filtration method. Phosphatidylcholine/water 4 μmol/ml is achieved at a temperature of 10°C below the phase-transition temperature of phospholipids ensuing suitability for thermolabile entities and high entrapment efficiency. Both methods furnish the de-novo rearrangement of amphophiles into globular lamellae aiding in the larger entrapped volume. The immiscible organic phase facilitates faster and complete removable of the organic phase. High cholesterol content (55.6 mol%) imparts stability in primary hydration medium at 5+3°C for 6 months in light-protected type-1 glass vial. Collectively the reported methods are novel, scalable, time-efficient yielding high productivity in simple equipment.
Anti-diabetic Potential of Aqueous Extract ofMoringa oleifera, Ocimum gratissimumandVernonia amygdalinain Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats
Authors: Ayobami A. L. , Kade E. A. , Oladimeji K. A. , Kehinde S. , Gurpreet K. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing globally and it is a major source of concern. This study was undertaken to assess the antidiabetic effect of the aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera, Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina. Sixty adult Wistar rats with body weight of 120-150 g were randomly assigned to groups of five rats each (n=12). Groups 1 served as normal control; Groups 2-5 were diabetic groups; group 2 served as negative control; group 3-5 received 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of triherbal formula respectively. The body weight (BW) and fasting blood glucose level (FBSL) of the rats were monitored weekly. At the end of the experiment, all the rats were anaesthetized intraperitoneally (I.P) and blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis. There was an increase in the BW of the control group and varying doses of tri-herbal formation. It caused 88.0% decrease in FBSL; 371.7%, 386.6% and 296.0% with respect to 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg. Sub-chronic study of the effect of the extract showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in packed cell volume (PCV), white blood counts in rat induced diabetes. The histological studies showed that the diabetic rats with the architecture of the pancreas distorted, was restored to normal by the extract. Its LD50 was found to be greater than 1000 mg/kg indicating its safety in rats. This study has shown that triherbal formula has hypoglycemic and haematogical effects.
Diversity and biogeography of Woesearchaeota: A comprehensive analysis of multi-environment data
Authors: Xiao Jing , Zhang Yu , Chen Wanning , Xu Yanbing , Zhao Rui , Tao Liwen , Wu Yuanqi , Zhang Yida , Xiao Xiang , Zhu Ruixin 
Published: August 2020

AbstractWoesearchaeota is a newly proposed archaeal phylum frequently detected in various environments. Due to the limited systematical study, little is known about their distribution, taxonomy, and metabolism. Here, we conducted a comprehensive study for Woesearchaeota with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing data of 27,709 samples and metagenomic whole genome sequencing (WGS) data of 1,266 samples. We find that apart from free-living environments, Woesearchaeota also widely distribute in host-associated environments. And host-associated environmental parameters greatly affect their distribution. 81 Woesearchaeota genomes, including 33 genomes firstly reconstructed in this project, were assigned to 59 Woesearchaeota species, suggesting their high taxonomic diversity. Comparative analysis indicated that Woesearchaeota have an open pan-genome with small core genome. Metabolic reconstruction showed that particular metabolic pathway absence in specific environments, demonstrated the metabolic diversity of Woesearchaeota varies in differences environments. These results have placed host-associated environments into the global biogeography of Woesearchaeota and have demonstrated their genomic diversity for future investigation of adaptive evolution.
Identification of QTLs for dynamic and steady state photosynthetic traits in a barley mapping population
Authors: Salter William T. , Li Si , Dracatos Peter M. , Barbour Margaret M. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractEnhancing the photosynthetic induction response to fluctuating light has been suggested as a key target for improvement in crop breeding programs, with the potential to substantially increase whole canopy carbon assimilation and contribute to crop yield potential. Rubisco activation may be the main physiological process that will allow us to achieve such a goal. In this study, we phenotypically assessed the rubisco activation rate in a doubled haploid (DH) barley mapping population [131 lines from a Yerong/Franklin (Y/F) cross] after a switch from moderate to saturating light. Rates of rubisco activation were found to be highly variable across the mapping population, with a median activation rate of 0.1 min−1in the slowest genotype and 0.74 min−1in the fastest genotype. A QTL for rubisco activation rate was identified on chromosome 7H. This is the first report on the identification of a QTL for rubisco activation ratein plantaand the discovery opens the door to marker assisted breeding to improve whole canopy photosynthesis of barley. Further strength is given to this finding as this QTL colocalised with QTLs identified for steady state photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Several other distinct QTLs were identified for these steady state traits, with a common overlapping QTL on chromosome 2H, and distinct QTLs for photosynthesis and stomatal conductance identified on chromosomes 4H and 5H respectively. Future work should aim to validate these QTLs under field conditions so that they can be used to aid plant breeding efforts.HighlightSignificant variation exists in the photosynthetic induction response after a switch from moderate to saturating light across a barley doubled haploid population. A QTL for rubisco activation rate was identified on chromosome 7H, as well as overlapping QTLs for steady state photosynthesis and stomatal conductance.
Neonatal LPS exposure reduces ATP8A2 level in the prefrontal cortex in mice via increasing IFN-γ level
Authors: Deng Jiapeng , Song Linyang , Yang Zhiqin , Zheng Sixie , Du Zhuolin , Luo Li , Liu Jing , Jin Xiaobao , Yang Junhua 
Published: August 2020

AbstractNeonatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure can cause depressive-like behaviors in rodents involving elevated interferon (IFN)-γ. Studies have linked down-regulation of prefrontal cortex (PFC) ATPase phospholipid transporting 8A2(ATP8A2) expression to depressive-like behaviors. In non-neuronal cells, IFN-γ could reduce ATP8A2 expression. We therefore hypothesized that neonatal LPS exposure might induce PFC ATP8A2 down-regulation by increasing IFN-γ level. Here, C57BL6/J mice of both sexes received 3-dose-injections of LPS (50μg/kg bodyweight, i.p.) on postnatal day (PND)5, PND7 and PND9. LPS-treated mice showed a transiently decreased PFC ATP8A2 expression. Moreover, a negative correlation of PFC ATP8A2 expression was found with IFN-γ level. Using neutralizing mAb, IFN-γ was identified as the key mediator of LPS-induced PFC ATP8A2 decrease. Besides, neutralizing IFN-γ during neonatal LPS exposure attenuated the depressive-like behaviors in adulthood. In sum, neonatal LPS exposure reduced ATP8A2 level in PFC in mice via increasing IFN-γ level, maybe associated with mechanism underlying LPS-induced brain and behavior impairments.
A simple Ca2+-imaging approach to neural network analysis in cultured neurons
Authors: Sun Zijun , Südhof Thomas C. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackgroundCa2+-imaging is a powerful tool to measure neuronal dynamics and network activity. To monitor network-level changes in cultured neurons, neuronal activity is often evoked by electrical or optogenetic stimulation and assessed using multi-electrode arrays or sophisticated imaging. Although such approaches allow detailed network analyses, multi-electrode arrays lack single-cell precision, whereas optical physiology generally requires advanced instrumentation.New MethodHere we developed a simple, stimulation-free protocol with associated Matlab algorithms that enables scalable analyses of network activity in cultured human and mouse neurons. The approach allows analysis of overall networks and single-neuron dynamics, and is amenable to scale-up for screening purposes.ResultsWe validated the protocol by assessing human neurons with a heterozygous conditional deletion of Munc18-1, and mouse neurons with a homozygous conditional deletion of neurexins. The approach described here enabled identification of differential changes in these mutant neurons at the network level and of the amplitude and frequency of calcium peaks at the single-neuron level. These results demonstrate the utility of the approach.Comparison with existing methodCompared with current imaging platforms, our method is simple, scalable, and easy to implement. It enables quantification of more detailed parameters than multi-electrode arrays, but does not have the resolution and depth of more sophisticated yet labour-intensive analysis methods, such as electrophysiology.ConclusionThis method is scalable for a rapid assessment of neuronal function in culture, and can be applied to both human and mouse neurons. Thus, the method can serve as a basis for phenotypical analysis of mutations and for drug discovery efforts.