bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antarctic sponges from the Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) host a diversified bacterial community
Authors: Savoca Serena , Lo Giudice Angelina , Papale Maria , Mangano Santina , Caruso Consolazione , Spanò Nunziacarla , Michaud Luigi , Rizzo Carmen 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSponges represent important habitats for a community of associated (micro)organisms. Even if sponges dominate vast areas of the Antarctic shelves, few investigations have been performed on Antarctic sponge-associated bacteria. Using a culture-dependent approach, the composition of the bacterial communities associated with 14 Antarctic sponge species from different sites within the Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) area was analyzed. Overall, isolates were mainly affiliated to Gammaproteobacteria, followed by Actinobacteria and CF group of Bacteroidetes, being the generaPseudoalteromonas,ArthrobacterandGillisiapredominant, respectively. Alphaproteobacteria and Firmicutes were less represented. Cluster analyses highlighted similarities/differences among the sponge-associated bacterial communities, also in relation to the sampling site. The gammaproteobacterialPseudoalteromonassp. SER45,Psychrobactersp. SER48, andShewanellasp. SER50, and the actinobacterialArthrobactersp. SER44 phylotypes occurred in association with almost all the analyzed sponge species. However, except for SER50, these phylotypes were retrieved also in seawater, indicating that they may be transient within the sponge body. The differences encountered within the bacterial communities may depend on the different sites of origin, highlighting the importance of the habitat in structuring the composition of the associated bacterial assemblages. Our data support the hypothesis of specific ecological interactions between bacteria and Porifera.
Metabolic acidosis is associated with pulse wave velocity in chronic kidney disease: Results from the KNOW-CKD Study
Authors: Kim Hyo Jin , Kang Eunjeong , Ryu Hyunjin , Han Miyeun , Lee Kyu-Beck , Kim Yong-Soo , Sung Suah , Ahn Curie , Oh Kook-Hwan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMetabolic acidosis is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and may have various deleterious consequences. Arterial stiffness in CKD patients is associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between serum bicarbonate and arterial stiffness using the baseline cross-sectional data set of a large-scale Korean CKD cohort. 2,238 CKD patients were enrolled in the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease (KNOW-CKD) from 2011 to 2016. The present study was conducted on 1,659 patients included in this cohort with baseline serum bicarbonate and brachial-to-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) data. Metabolic acidosis was defined as a serum bicarbonate level of <22 mmol/L, and baPWV was used as a surrogate of arterial stiffness. Mean serum bicarbonate was 25.8 ± 3.6 mmol/L. 210 (12.7%) patients had metabolic acidosis. baPWV was significantly higher in patients with metabolic acidosis (P < 0.001) and showed a significant inverse correlation with serum bicarbonate (Unstandardized β −16.0 cm/sec; 95% CI −20.5, −11.4; P < 0.001) in an unadjusted model, which was retained after adjustment (Unstandardized β −5.4 cm/sec; 95% CI −9.9, −1.0; P = 0.017). Metabolic acidosis was found to be associated with a high baPWV in pre-dialysis CKD patients.
The Combined Strategy for iron uptake is not exclusive to domesticated rice (Oryza sativa)
Authors: Wairich Andriele , de Oliveira Ben Hur Neves , Arend Ezequiel Barth , Duarte Guilherme Leitão , Ponte Lucas Roani , Sperotto Raul Antonio , Ricachenevsky Felipe Klein , Fett Janette Palma 
Published: November 2019

AbstractIron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient that is frequently inaccessible to plants. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants employ the Combined Strategy for Fe uptake, which is composed by all features of Strategy II, common to all Poaceae species, and some features of Strategy I, common to non-Poaceae species. To understand the evolution of Fe uptake mechanisms, we analyzed the root transcriptomic response to Fe deficiency in O. sativa and its wild progenitor O. rufipogon. We identified 622 and 2,017 differentially expressed genes in O. sativa and O. rufipogon, respectively. Among the genes up-regulated in both species, we found Fe transporters associated with Strategy I, such as IRT1, IRT2 and NRAMP1; and genes associated with Strategy II, such as YSL15 and IRO2. In order to evaluate the conservation of these Strategies among other Poaceae, we identified the orthologs of these genes in nine species from the Oryza genus, maize and sorghum, and evaluated their expression profile in response to low Fe condition. Our results indicate that the Combined Strategy is not specific to O. sativa as previously proposed, but also present in species of the Oryza genus closely related to domesticated rice, and originated around the same time the AA genome lineage within Oryza diversified. Therefore, adaptation to Fe2+ acquisition via IRT1 in flooded soils precedes O. sativa domestication.
Naturally-primed life strategy plasticity of dimorphic Aethionema arabicum facilitates optimal habitat colonization
Authors: Bhattacharya Samik , Sperber Katja , Özüdoğru Barış , Leubner-Metzger Gerhard , Mummenhoff Klaus 
Published: November 2019

AbstractPlasticity in plant dispersal traits can maximise the ability of a plant species to survive in stressful environments during colonization.Aethionema arabicum(Brassicaceae) is a dimorphic annual species that is hypothesized to survive stressful conditions during colonization due to adaptive plasticity in life-phase (vegetative vs sexual) and fruit morph (dehiscent [DEH] vs indehiscent fruits [IND]). We tested for adaptive plasticity in life-phase and fruit morphs along laboratory environmental stress gradients found in the natural habitats ofAe. arabicum. We considered optimal environmental conditions (750–2000 m above sea level) to be those that resulted in the following fitness parameters: higher biomass and a higher total number of fruits compared to stressful habitats. We found evidence of plasticity in life-phase and fruit-morph along a stressful environmental gradient. High hydrothermal stress proportionally increased the number of dehiscent morphs and non-dormant seeds germinating in autumn. This offsets natural phenology towards dry and cold winter (less hydrothermal stress), yielding fewer fruits that dehisce in the next generation. We conclude that the plastic responses ofAe. arabicumto natural stress gradients constitute a strategy of long-term adaptive benefits and favouring potential pathways of colonisation of the optimal habitat.
Feed intake of the sow and playful creep feeding of piglets influence piglet behaviour and performance before and after weaning
Authors: Middelkoop Anouschka , Costermans Natasja , Kemp Bas , Bolhuis J. Elizabeth 
Published: November 2019

AbstractCreep feed intake is variable and may be partly homeostatically and exploratory driven. We studied effects of maternal feed restriction and a ‘play-feeder’ on piglet behaviour and performance. 37 Litters received creep feed in a conventional (CON) or play-feeder (PL) and their sows were full-fed (FF) or restrictedly-fed (RES). Eaters were determined via rectal swabs. At weaning (d24) four piglets from the same treatment were grouped (n = 36 pens). RES hindered piglet growth by 41 g/d and enhanced time eating, creep feed intake and percentage of eaters at weaning versus FF. RES-PL had the largest proportion of moderate and good eaters. PL stimulated feeder exploration and attracted more piglets to the feeder than CON. Post-weaning, RES increased exploratory behaviours, feed intake between d0–5, and growth between d0–2, and reduced body lesions between d0–2 (within CON), drinking and ear biting. PL increased ingestive behaviours, feed intake and growth between d0–15, and BW at d15 post-weaning by 5%. PL also lowered the prevalence of watery diarrhoea, number of body lesions and piglets with ear (within FF) and tail (within RES) damage at d15 post-weaning. Treatments did not affect FCR. To conclude, RES and particularly PL (broader and for longer) result in less weaning-associated-problems.
Surface stabilized atorvastatin nanocrystals with improved bioavailability, safety and antihyperlipidemic potential
Authors: Sharma Manu , Mehta Isha 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAtorvastatin, a favored option for hyperlipidemia exhibits the problem of poor gastric solubility and low absolute bioavailability (12%) along with higher pre-systemic clearance (>80%). Therefore, to circumvent these limitations, atorvastatin nanocrystals were prepared using poloxamer-188 as stabilizer via high pressure homogenization technique followed by lyophilization. Various variables like drug to poloxamer-188 ratio, homogenization cycle, homogenization pressure, type and concentration of cryoprotectant were optimized to achieve uniform nanosized crystals with good dispersibility. Solid state characterization by ATR-FTIR and DSC revealed no incompatible physicochemical interaction between drug and excipients in formulation while DSC and PXRD collectively corroborated the reduced crystallinity of drug in nanocrystals. Size analysis and SEM confirmed nanometric size range of nanocrystals (225.43 ± 24.36 nm). Substantial improvement in gastric solubility (~40 folds) and dissolution rate of drug in nanocrystals was observed. Pharmacokinetic study in wistar rats revealed significant improvement in oral bioavailability (~2.66 folds) with atorvastatin nanocrystals compared to pure drug. Furthermore, reduction in serum total lipid cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride content justified the effectiveness of formulation at 50% less dose of atorvastatin along with improved plasma safety profile in comparison of pure drug. In conclusion, atorvastatin nanocrystals are safe and efficacious drug delivery system confirming potent competence in treatment of hyperlipidemic conditions with ease of scalability for commercialization.
Closing the Loop of Satellite Soil Moisture Estimation via Scale Invariance of Hydrologic Simulations
Authors: Mascaro Giuseppe , Ko Ara , Vivoni Enrique R. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSurface soil moisture plays a crucial role on the terrestrial water, energy, and carbon cycles. Characterizing its variability in space and time is critical to increase our capability to forecast extreme weather events, manage water resources, and optimize agricultural practices. Global estimates of surface soil moisture are provided by satellite sensors, but at coarse spatial resolutions. Here, we show that the resolution of satellite soil moisture products can be increased to scales representative of ground measurements by reproducing the scale invariance properties of soil moisture derived from hydrologic simulations at hyperresolutions of less than 100 m. Specifically, we find that surface soil moisture is scale invariant over regimes extending from a satellite footprint to 100 m. We use this evidence to calibrate a statistical downscaling algorithm that reproduces the scale invariance properties of soil moisture and test the approach against 1-km aircraft remote sensing products and through comparisons of downscaled satellite products to ground observations. We demonstrate that hyperresolution hydrologic models can close the loop of satellite soil moisture downscaling for local applications such as agricultural irrigation, flood event prediction, and drought and fire management.
Production of reactive species in alginate hydrogels for cold atmospheric plasma-based therapies
Authors: Labay Cédric , Hamouda Inès , Tampieri Francesco , Ginebra Maria-Pau , Canal Cristina 
Published: November 2019

AbstractIn the last years, great advances have been made in therapies based in cold atmospheric plasmas (CAP). CAP generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) which can be transferred to liquids. These CAP activated liquids display the same biological efficacy (i.e. on killing cancer cells) as CAP themselves, opening the door for minimally invasive therapies. However, injection of a liquid in the body results in fast diffusion due to extracellular fluids and blood flow. Therefore, the development of efficient vehicles which allow local confinement and delivery of RONS to the diseased site is a fundamental requirement. In this work, we investigate the generation of RONS (H2O2, NO2−, short-lived RONS) in alginate hydrogels by comparing two atmospheric pressure plasma jets: kINPen and a helium needle, at a range of plasma treatment conditions (time, gas flow, distance to the sample). The physic-chemical properties of the hydrogels remain unchanged by the plasma treatment, while the hydrogel shows several-fold larger capacity for generation of RONS than a typical isotonic saline solution. Part of the RONS are quickly released to a receptor media, so special attention has to be put on the design of hydrogels within-situcrosslinking. Remarkably, the hydrogels show capacity for sustained release of the RONS. The plasma-treated hydrogels remain fully biocompatible (due the fact that the species generated by plasma are previously washed away), indicating that no cytotoxic modifications have occurred on the polymer. Moreover, the RONS generated in alginate solutions showed cytotoxic potential towards bone cancer cells. These results open the door for the use of hydrogel-based biomaterials in CAP-associated therapies.
Physiological and economic benefits of abandoning invasive surgical procedures and enhancing animal welfare in swine production
Authors: Morgan Liat , Itin-Shwartz Beata , Koren Lee , Meyer Jerrold S. , Matas Devorah , Younis Ahmad , Novak Shiri , Weizmann Nathalie , Rapaic Olja , Abu Ahmad Weissam , Klement Eyal , Raz Tal 
Published: November 2019

AbstractFood-animal welfare is a major ethical and social concern. Pork is the most consumed meat worldwide, with over a billion pigs slaughtered annually. Most of these pigs routinely undergo painful surgical procedures (surgical castration, tail docking, teeth clipping), which farmers often reluctant to avoid, claiming it would increase cost and reduce production efficiency. Herein, this study indicates that these procedures compromise pigs’ health and condition. Replacing surgical castration with immunocastration, avoiding tail docking and teeth clipping, and providing environmental enrichment, resulted in significant increase in weight gain, lowered risks for injuries and death, and reduced saliva and hair cortisol, both biomarkers for stress. Testosterone and DHEA analyses confirmed that immunocastration was an effective alternative to surgical castration. Economic models for the entire US swine market revealed that following across-the-board acceptance of this management, pork meat price is expected to drop, while the total annual social welfare (combined consumer and producer surplus) is expected to increase by $US 1.48 to 1.92 billion. In conclusion, sustainable swine farming management can be beneficial for both animals and farmers. Applying such welfare-friendly management is expected to reduce stress, enhance piglet/pig welfare and production, and improve the economics of swine operations in the global agro-food system.
Fat cadherins in mouse models of degenerative ataxias
Authors: Baron Olga , Grieshober Denise , Dias Catarina , Fanto Manolis 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAutophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that plays an essential role in neuronal homeostasis and is perturbed in many neurological diseases. Transcriptional downregulation of fat was previously observed in a Drosophila model of the polyglutamine disease Dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) and this was shown to be partially responsible for autophagy defects and neurodegeneration. However, it is still unclear whether a downregulation of mammalian Fat orthologues is associated with neurodegeneration in mice. We hereby show that all four Fat orthologues are transcriptionally downregulated in the cerebellum in a mouse model of DRPLA. To elucidate the possible roles of single Fat genes, this study concentrates on Fat3. This fat homologue is shown to be the most widely expressed in the brain. Conditional knockout (KO) of Fat3 in brains of adult mice was attempted using the inducible Thy1Cre(ERT2) SLICK H line. Behavioral and biochemical analysis revealed that mice with conditional KO of Fat3 in the brain display no abnormalities. This may be ascribed either to the limited efficiency of the KO strategy pursued or to the lack of effect of Fat3 KO on autophagy.
Structural analysis of human SEPHS2 protein, a selenocysteine machinery component, over-expressed in triple negative breast cancer
Authors: Nunziata Carmine , Polo Andrea , Sorice Angela , Capone Francesca , Accardo Marina , Guerriero Eliana , Marino Federica Zito , Orditura Michele , Budillon Alfredo , Costantini Susan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSelenophosphate synthetase 2 (SEPHS2) synthesizes selenide and ATP into selenophosphate, the selenium donor for selenocysteine (Sec), which is cotranslationally incorporated into selenoproteins. The action and regulatory mechanisms of SEPHS2 as well as its role in carcinogenesis (especially breast cancer) remain ambiguous and need further clarification. Therefore, lacking an experimentally determined structure for SEPHS2, we first analyzed the physicochemical properties of its sequence, modeled its three-dimensional structure and studied its conformational behavior to identify the key residues (named HUB nodes) responsible for protein stability and to clarify the molecular mechanisms by which it induced its function. Bioinformatics analysis evidenced higher amplification frequencies of SEPHS2 in breast cancer than in other cancer types. Therefore, because triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is biologically the most aggressive breast cancer subtype and its treatment represents a challenge due to the absence of well-defined molecular targets, we evaluated SEPHS2 expression in two TNBC cell lines and patient samples. We demonstrated mRNA and protein overexpression to be correlated with aggressiveness and malignant tumor grade, suggesting that this protein could potentially be considered a prognostic marker and/or therapeutic target for TNBC.
Understanding charge compensation mechanisms in Na0.56Mg0.04Ni0.19Mn0.70O2
Authors: Ma Le Anh , Massel Felix , Naylor Andrew J. , Duda Laurent-C. , Younesi Reza 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSodium-ion batteries have become a potential alternative to Li-ion batteries due to the abundance of sodium resources. Sodium-ion cathode materials have been widely studied with particular focus on layered oxide lithium analogues. Generally, the capacity is limited by the redox processes of transition metals. Recently, however, the redox participation of oxygen gained a lot of research interest. Here the Mg-doped cathode material P2-Na0.56Mg0.04Ni0.19Mn0.70O2 is studied, which is shown to exhibit a good capacity (ca. 120 mAh/g) and high average operating voltage (ca. 3.5 V vs. Na+/Na). Due to the Mg-doping, the material exhibits a reversible phase transition above 4.3 V, which is attractive in terms of lifetime stability. In this study, we combine X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectroscopy techniques to shed light on both, cationic and anionic contributions towards charge compensation.
Vectorial dispersive shock waves in optical fibers
Authors: Nuño J. , Finot C. , Xu G. , Millot G. , Erkintalo M. , Fatome J. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDispersive shock waves are a universal phenomenon encountered in many fields of science, ranging from fluid dynamics, Bose-Einstein condensates and geophysics. It has been established that light behaves as a perfect fluid when propagating in an optical medium exhibiting a weakly self-defocusing nonlinearity. Consequently, this analogy has become attractive for the exploration of dispersive shock wave phenomena. Here, we observe of a novel class of vectorial dispersive shock waves in nonlinear fiber optics. Analogous to blast-waves, identified in inviscid perfect fluids, vectorial dispersive shock waves are triggered by a non-uniform double piston imprinted on a continuous-wave probe via nonlinear cross-phase modulation, produced by an orthogonally-polarized pump pulse. The nonlinear phase potential imparted on the probe results in the formation of an expanding zone of zero intensity surrounded by two repulsive oscillating fronts, which move away from each other with opposite velocities.
Specialized pro-resolving mediators in diabetes: novel therapeutic strategies
Authors: Brennan Eoin P. , Mohan Muthukumar , Andrews Darrell , Bose Madhura , Kantharidis Phillip 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important metabolic disorder characterized by persistent hyperglycemia resulting from inadequate production and secretion of insulin, impaired insulin action, or a combination of both. Genetic disorders and insulin receptor disorders, environmental factors, lifestyle choices and toxins are key factors that contribute to DM. While it is often referred to as a metabolic disorder, modern lifestyle choices and nutrient excess induce a state of systemic chronic inflammation that results in the increased production and secretion of inflammatory cytokines that contribute to DM. It is chronic hyperglycemia and the low-grade chronic-inflammation that underlies the development of microvascular and macrovascular complications leading to damage in a number of tissues and organs, including eyes, vasculature, heart, nerves, and kidneys. Improvements in the management of risk factors have been beneficial, including focus on intensified glycemic control, but most current approaches only slow disease progression. Even with recent studies employing SGLT2 inhibitors demonstrating protection against cardiovascular and kidney diseases, kidney function continues to decline in people with established diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Despite the many advances and a greatly improved understanding of the pathobiology of diabetes and its complications, there remains a major unmet need for more effective therapeutics to prevent and reverse the chronic complications of diabetes. More recently, there has been growing interest in the use of specialised pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) as an exciting therapeutic strategy to target diabetes and the chronic complications of diabetes.
Toward Understanding the Lexical–Morphological Networks of Children With Specific Language Impairment: Analysis of Responses on a Morphological Production Task
Authors: Krimm Hannah , Werfel Krystal L. , Schuele C. Melanie 
Published: November 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to characterize the lexical–morphological networks of children with specific language impairment (SLI) compared to children with typical language by analyzing responses on a morphological derived form production task.

Method

School-age children with SLI (
n
= 32) and peers with typical language (
n
= 40) completed an oral cloze derived form production task (
Carlisle, 2000
). On this task, children were expected to complete verbally presented sentences with a derived form of a provided morphological stem. Responses were coded as correct or incorrect following
Carlisle's (2000)
stated correct responses. Incorrect responses were coded as scorable or unscorable, and then scorable responses were coded as pseudowords or real words. Real words were further coded according to whether they were repetitions of the given stem.

Results

There was a statistically significant between-group difference for mean correct responses (
d
= 1.43). The scorable incorrect responses of children with SLI included a lower mean proportion of pseudowords than did the incorrect responses of children with typical language (
d
= 0.76).

Conclusion
Because children with SLI produced a lower proportion of pseudowords as scorable incorrect responses than peers with typical language, we conclude that they have less developed lexical–morphological networks and, thus, less derivational morphology knowledge than peers with typical language.