bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A novel E-Subgroup Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein DEK55 is Responsible for RNA Editing at 15 Sites and Splicing of nad1 and nad4 in Maize
Authors: Ren Ru Chang , Yan Xu Wei , Zhao Ya Jie , Wei Yi Ming , Lu Xiaoduo , Zang Jie , Wu Jia Wen , Zheng Guang Ming , Ding Xin Hua , Zhang Xian Sheng , Zhao Xiang Yu 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins is a large protein family, which participate in RNA processing in organelles and plant growth. Previous reports have generally considered E-subgroup PPR proteins as an editing factors for RNA editing. However, the underlying mechanisms and effects of E-subgroup PPR proteins remain to be investigated.Results In this study, we recognized and identified a new maize kernel mutant with arrested embryo and endosperm development, defective kernel 55 (dek55). Genetic and molecular evidences suggest that the defective kernels resulted from a mononucleotide alteration (C to T) at + 449 in the open reading frame (ORF) of Zm00001d014471 (hereafter referred to as DEK55). DEK55 encodes an E-subgroup PPR protein within mitochondria. Molecular analyses suggest that DEK55 plays crucial roles in RNA editing at multiple sites of ribosomal protein S13, ATP synthase subunit1, NADH dehydrogenase-6 (nad6), and nad9 transcripts as well as in splicing of nad1 and nad4. The mutation of DEK55 lead to the dysfunction of mitochondrial complex I.Conclusions Our results demonstrate that the DEK55 mutation is responsible for the dek55 mutant phenotypes, as it affects mitochondrial function that is essential for maize kernel development. This study also provides novel insight into the molecular function of E-subgroup PPR proteins in plant organellar RNA metabolism.
Immigration of Sogatella Furcifera from the Greater Mekong Subregion into Northern China Revealed by 2b-RAD Sequencing
Authors: Yang Nan , Dong Zhaoke , Chen Aidong , Yin Yanqiong , Li Xiangyong , Chu Dong 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background The white-backed planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) (Hemiptera, Delphacidae), is a migratory pest of rice in Asia. Shandong Province, in northern China, is located on the migration pathway of WBPH between southern and northeast China. The potential sources of WBPH in northern China are poorly understood. We studied the sources of WBPH in Shandong Province by determining the population genetic structure of WBPH in 18 sites distributed in Shandong and in six regions of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). We used mitochondrial gene and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers (2b-RAD sequencing) for analysis.Results All of the WBPH populations studied in the seven regions had low genetic diversity. Pairwise FST values ranged from − 0.061 to 0.285, while FST based on SNP data ranged from − 0.007 to 0.009. These two molecular markers revealed that 4.40% (mtDNA) and 0.19% (SNP) genetic variation could be explained by the interpopulation variation, while the rest came from intrapopulation variation. The populations in the seven geographic regions comprised four hypothetical genetic clusters (K = 4) not associated with geographic location. Eighty-four of 129 individuals distributed across the given area were designated as recent migrants or of admixed ancestry. Although the substantial migration presented, a weak but significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances was found (r = 0.083, P = 0.004).Conclusion GMS was the main source of WBPH in Shandong, while other source populations may also exist. The genetic structure of WBPH is shaped by both migration and geographic barriers. These results help clarify the migration route and the source of WBPH in northern China.
Forest communities and factors responsible for vegetation pattern in the legally protected areas of the Kashmir Himalaya, India
Authors: Haq Sheikh Marifatul , Yaqoob Umer , Qazi Hilal 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background

The protected areas (PAs) of any region are contributing people’s livelihoods and are proving to be the backbone of all forms of biodiversity conservation. The reforms in protection rules at global level and legal protection at local level has contributed a lot to the conservation of forests and other associated biodiversity. However, due to various anthropogenic activities and other climatic changes, protected areas and other species rich sites are being exposed to a continuous threat. Realizing the future perspective of potential and economic value of these protected forests, the phytosociological investigations were carried out in protected forests of Jammu and Kashmir in Kashmir Himalaya.
Results

Floristically, a total of 84 species belonging to 71 genera in 39 families were recorded. The floristic analysis revealed that the dominant plant families in the study area comprises of Rosaceae with (14%) species, followed by Asteraceae (8%) species and Poaceae (7%) species. Species richness of the vascular plants varied from 38–55, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index value of scrub forest type was statistically lower than that of the coniferous forest and other forest types. The average tree density of 890 individual’s ha− 1 was recorded throughout the study area.
Conclusions

The diversity of various plant species differed across the dimensions. The phytosociological parameters are being affected by discrete levels within soil parameters. Plant community composition displayed a significant change within forest types even when species richness didn’t alter. Furthermore, the prototype of conservation biology has got shifted towards updated patter of biodiversity safeguarding by highlighting various multi-scale approaches. There are some critical abiotic factors, which prove very much helpful in understanding the mechanisms operating at a specific level to create variation in species diversity as well as in community composition.
Effects of different sufentanil target concentrations on the MACBAR of sevoflurane in patients with carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum stimulus
Authors: Guo Yanxia , Wang Dan , Yang Xiao-lin , Jiang Pingping , Xu Juan , Zhang Guoyuan 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background:The objective of this study is to observe the effects of different target controlled plasma sufentanil concentrations on the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of sevoflurane for blocking adrenergic response (BAR) in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy with carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum stimulation.Methods: Eighty-five patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, aged 18-65 years, with American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ-Ⅱ, were enrolled in this study. All the patients were randomly divided into 5 groups (S0, S1, S2, S3, S4) with different sufentanil plasma target concentration (0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 ng ml-1). Anaesthesia was induced by inhalation of 8% sevoflurane in 100% oxygen, and 0.6 mg kg-1 of rocuronium was intravenously injected to facilitate the insertion of laryngeal mask airway. The end-tidal sevoflurane concentration and sufentanil plasma target concentration were adjusted according to respective preset value in each group. The hemodynamic response to pneumoperitoneum stimulus was observed after the end-tidal sevoflurane concentration had been maintained stable at least for 15 min. The MACBAR of sevoflurane was measured by a sequential method. Meanwhile, epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations in the blood were also determined before and after pneumoperitoneum stimulus in each group.Results:The basic MACBAR of sevoflurane in group S0 was 5.33% (confidence interval[CI] 95%: 5.19-5.47%), which was decreased 15%, 46%, 58% and 60% by the infusion of sufentanil with 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 ng ml-1 plasma target concentration, respectively. But the decreased degree had no significant difference between 0.5 and 0.7 ng ml-1 of sufentanil plasma target concentrations. No significant difference was found in the change of epinephrine or norepinephrine concentration between before and after pneumoperitoneum stimulation in each group.Conclusions: The MACBAR of sevoflurane can be decreased with increasing sufentanil plasma target concentrations. A capping effect of the decrease occurred at a sufentanil plasma target concentration of 0.5 ng ml-1. When the sympathetic adrenergic response was inhibited in half patients to pneumoperitoneum stimulation in each group, the changes of epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations showed no significant differences.Trial registration: The study was registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR1800015819, 23, April, 2018) .
Kernel principal components based cascade forest towards disease identiﬁcation with human microbiota
Authors: Zhou Jiayu , Wang Xuwen , Ye Yanqing , Jiang Jiang 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Numerous pieces of clinical evidence have shown that many phenotypic traits of human disease are related to their gut microbiome. Through supervised classification, it is feasible to determine the human disease states by revealing the intestinal microbiota compositional information. However, the abundance matrix of microbiome data is so sparse, an interpretable deep model is crucial to further represent and mine the data for expansion, such as the deep forest. What's more, overfitting can still exist in the original deep forest model when dealing with such “large p, small n” biology data. Feature reduction is considered to improve the ensemble forest model especially towards the disease identification in the human microbiota. In this work, we propose the kernel principal components based cascade forest method, so-called KPCCF, to classify the disease states of patients by using taxonomic profiles of the microbiome at the family level. In detail, the kernel principal components analysis method is first used to reduce the original dimension of human microbiota datasets. Besides, the processed data is fed into the cascade forest to preliminarily discriminate the disease state of the samples. Thus, the proposed KPCCF algorithm can represent the small-scale and high-dimension human microbiota datasets with the sparse feature matrix. Systematic comparison experiments demonstrate that our method consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art methods with the comparative study on 4 datasets. Additionally, compared to other dimensionality reduction methods, kernel principal components analysis method is more suitable for microbiota datasets.
Deletion of Pgi Gene in E. coli Increases Tolerance to Furfural and 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural in Media Containing Glucose-Xylose Mixture
Authors: Jilani Syed Bilal , Dev Chandra , Eqbal Danish , Jawed Kamran , Prasad Rajendra , Yazdani Syed Shams 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background: Furfural and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF) are key furan inhibitors that are generated due to breakdown of lignocellulosic sugars at high temperature and acidic treatment conditions. Both furfural and 5-HMF act in a synergistic manner to inhibit microbial metabolism and resistance to both is a desirable characteristic for efficient conversion of lignocellulosic carbon to ethanol. Genetic manipulations targeted toward increasing cellular NADPH pools have successfully imparted tolerance against furfural and 5-HMF. In present study, deletion of pgi gene as a strategy to augment carbon flow through pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) was studied in ethanologenic Escherichia coli strain SSK101 to impart tolerance towards either furfural or 5-HMFor both inhibitors together.Results: A key gene of EMP pathway, pgi, was deleted in an ethanologenic E. coli strain SSK42 to yield strain SSK101. In presence of 1 g/L furfural in minimal AM1 media, the rate of biomass formation for strain SSK101 was up to 1.9-fold higher as compared to parent SSK42 strain, and it was able to clear furfural in half the time. Tolerance to inhibitor was associated with glucose as carbon source and not xylose, and the tolerance advantage of SSK101 was neutralized in LB media. Bioreactor studies were performed under binary stress of furfural and 5-HMF (1 g/L each) and different glucose concentrations in a glucose-xylose mixture with final sugar concentration of 5.5%, mimicking major components of dilute acid treated biomass hydrolysate. In the mixture having 6 g/L and 12 g/L glucose, SSK101 strain produced ~ 18 g/L and 20 g/L ethanol, respectively. Interestingly, the maximum ethanol productivity was better at lower glucose load with 0.46 g/(L.h) between 96–120 h, as compared to higher glucose load where it was 0.33 g/(L.h) between 144–168 h. Importantly, parent strain SSK42 did not exhibit significant metabolic activity under similar conditions of inhibitor load and sugar concentration.Conclusions: E. coli strain SSK101 with pgi deletion had enhanced tolerance against both furfural and 5-HMF, which was associated with presence of glucose in media. Strain SSK101 also had improved fermentation characteristics under both hyperosmotic as well as binary stress of furfural and 5-HMF in media containing glucose-xylose mixture.
Dynamics and Transcriptome Analysis of Starch and Sucrose Metabolism During Corm Development in Freesia Hybrida
Authors: Ma Li , Ding Suqin , Yan Zi , Tang Dongqin 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background Starch and sucrose metabolism plays a crucial role in the formation and development of bulbs in bulbous plants, which, however, remains unclear and unexplored in the corms of Freesia hybrida, one kind of famous bulbous flower. Herein, we investigated the dynamics of the major form of carbohydrates and related enzyme activities and profiled the transcriptome of freesia corms at four developmental stages with the aim to reveal the relation of starch and sucrose metabolism to corm development and the transcriptional regulation of this metabolic process.Results The content of starch, sucrose and soluble sugars followed an overall upward trend across the corm developmental stages. Activities of the adenosine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase, starch branching enzyme and β-amylase generally followed the pattern of the starch and sucrose level. Activities of sucrose phosphate synthase increased from corm formation till the initial swelling stage and subsequently reached a plateau. Activities of invertase and sucrose synthase peaked at the later rapid swelling stage. Transcriptome analysis revealed a total of 100,999 unigenes, out of which 44,405 unigenes were annotated. Analysis based on Clusters of Orthologous Groups suggested that carbohydrate transport and metabolism (9.34% of the sequences) was prominent across the corm developmental process. Totally 3427 differentially expressed genes were identified and the enrichment analysis directed starch and sucrose metabolism a critical pathway in corm development especially at the rapid swelling stage. Genes encoding key carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes were identified and their differential expression related to corm development was explored.Conclusions The comparative transcriptome analysis discloses essential roles of starch and sucrose metabolism and the genetic mechanism related to the corm development. The results construct a valuable resource pool for further molecular-level studies, which are helpful for metabolic regulation of carbohydrates and improvement in molecular breeding of Freesia hybrida.
High prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in adults living in Greece: The EMENO National Health Examination Survey
Authors: Touloumi Giota , Karakosta Argiro , Kalpourtzi Natasa , Gavana Magda , Vantarakis Apostolos , Kantzanou Maria , Hajichristodoulou Christos , Chlouverakis Grigoris , Trypsianis Grigoris , Voulgari Paraskevi V. , Alamanos Yannis , Makrilakis Konstantinos , Liatis Stavros , Chatzipanagiotou Stylianos , Stergiou George 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background
Nationwide data on cardiovascular risk factors prevalence is lacking in Greece. This work presents the findings of the national health examination survey EMENO regarding the prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity and smoking.
Methods
A random sample of adults (≥ 18 years) was drawn by multistage stratified random sampling based on 2011 Census. All EMENO participants with ≥ 1 measurement of interest [blood pressure (BP), fasting glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol (TC), Body Mass Index (BMI)] were included. Hypertension was defined as BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg and/or antihypertensive treatment; diabetes as fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL and/or HbA1c ≥ 6.5% or self-reported diabetes; hypercholesterolemia as TC ≥ 190 mg/dL. Sampling weights were applied to adjust for study design and post-stratification weights to match sample age and sex distribution to population one. Non-response was adjusted by inverse probability weighting.
Results
Of 6,006 EMENO participants, 4,822 were included (51.5% females, median age:47.9 years). The prevalence of hypertension was 40.5%, higher in men (44.6%) than in women (36.6%); of hypercholesterolemia 60.2%, similar in men (59.5%) and women (60.9%); of diabetes 11.6%, similar men (12.4%) and women (10.9%); of obesity 32.1%, higher in women (33.5% vs 30.2%), although in subjects aged 18–40 year it was higher in men; of current smoking 38.2%, higher in men (44.0%) than in women (32.7%). The prevalence of all risk factors increased substantially with age, except smoking, which followed an inverse U shape.
Conclusions
The burden of cardiovascular risk factors among Greek adults is alarming. There is considerable preventive potential and actions at health care and societal level are urgently needed.
TNFAIP8 variants as a potential epidemiological and predictive biomarker in ovarian cancer
Authors: Gao Hongyu , Zhang Zhiran , Jiang Liangliang , Zhang Lei , Qin Ling , Yang Shanshan , Liu Tianbo 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background
This research aimed to investigate the association between tumor necrosis factor-a-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8) polymorphisms and ovarian cancer (OC) susceptibility.
Methods
A case-control study of 210 patients with OC and 231 healthy controls was conducted to assess the association between TNFAIP8 polymorphisms (rs11064, rs1045241, and rs1045242) and OC risk in Heilongjiang Province of China. Logistic regression analysis was applied to illustrate the underlying association.
Results
Our research found that TNFAIP8 rs11064 and rs1045242 were significantly connected with the susceptibility of OC. Additionally, rs1045242 increased the risk of OC, while rs11064 performed a protective role in the risk of OC. Data revealed that rs1045242 strongly related with advanced FIGO stage, larger residual tumor, and the presence of recurrence.
Conclusions
TNFAIP8 genetic variants, which may play difference roles, were significantly associated with OC susceptibility. The underlying molecular mechanism needs be clarified with scientific evidence.
Apolipoprotein C1 stimulates the malignant process of renal cell carcinoma via the Wnt3a signaling
Authors: Jiang Hao , Tang Jing-Yuan , Xue Dong , Chen Yi-Meng , Wu Ting-Chun , Zhuang Qian-Feng , He Xiao-Zhou 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background
RCC is a clinically common tumor in the urinary system, showing an upward trend of both incidence and mortality. APOC1 has been identified as a vital regulator in tumor progression. This study aims to uncover the biological function of APOC1 in RCC process and the underlying mechanism.
Methods
Differential levels of APOC1 in RCC samples and controls in a downloaded TCGA profile and clinical samples collected in our center were detected by qRT-PCR. The prognostic value of APOC1 in RCC was assessed by depicting Kaplan-Meier survival curves. After transfection of sh-APOC1 or oe-APOC1, cell phenotypes were examined through CCK-8, colony formation, Transwell assay and flow cytometry. Subsequently, EMT-related genes influenced by APOC1 were determined by Western blot. The involvement of Wnt3a in APOC1-regulated malignant process of RCC was then examined through a series of rescue experiments. Finally, a xenograft model was generated in nude mice for clarifying the in vivo function of APOC1 in RCC process.
Results
APOC1 was upregulated in RCC samples. Notably, its level was correlated to overall survival of RCC patients, displaying a certain prognostic value. APOC1 was able to stimulate proliferative and metastatic abilities in RCC cells. Wnt3a signaling was identified to be involved in APOC1-mediated RCC process. Notably, Wnt3a was able to reverse the regulatory effects of APOC1 on RCC cell phenotypes. In vivo knockdown of APOC1 slowed down the growth of RCC.
Conclusions
APOC1 stimulates the malignant process of RCC via targeting the Wnt3a signaling.
N-α-Acetyltransferase 10 protein inhibits invasion and metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma via regulating Pirh2-p53 signaling pathway
Authors: Wang Fazhan , Zheng Jun , Yang Yongyong , Yang Jie , Luo Ting , Xu Jiang , Gu Yongqing , Zeng Yan 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background

Naa10p (N-α-Acetyltransferase 10 protein) was reported to be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis in several of tumors. However, the role and mechanism of Naa10p mediated invasion and metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains undetermined.
Methods

The functional role of Naa10p in OSCC cells were determined using Transwell assay in vitro and xenograft tumorigenesis in nude mice. Immunoprecipitation, GST-pull down assays and immunofluorescence were performed to confirm the interaction between Naa10p and RelA/p65 in OSCC cells. Lastly, luciferase reporter assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and western blot were used to evalute the effect of Naa10p expression on the Pirh2-p53 signaling pathway.
Results

Naa10p inhibits cell migration and invasion in vitro and attenuates the xenograft tumorigenesis in nude mice. Mechanistically, there is a physical interaction between Naa10p and RelA/p65 in OSCC cells, thereby preventing RelA/p65-mediated transcriptional activation of Pirh2. Consequently, inhibition of Pirh2 increased p53 level and suppressed the expression of p53 downstream targets, MMP-2 and MMP-9.
Conclusion

Naa10p function as a tumor metastasis suppressor in the progression of OSCC by targeting Pirh2-p53 axis, and might be a prognostic marker as well as a therapeutic target for OSCC.
Neuroprotective effects of Shende’an tablet in the Parkinson’s disease model
Authors: Sheng Yan Xiao , Yang Yuan Shui , Wen Min Xiao , Zhang Xin , Ye Feng Yong , Zhao Peng , Zang Min Li , Peng Kang , Du Ming En , Li Sai 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background
Shende’an tablet (SDA) is a newly developed Chinese herbs formula derived from the chinese traditional medicine Zhenganxifeng Decoction, which is approved for treatment of neurasthenia and insomnia in China. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo neuroprotective effects of SDA against Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Methods
In the present work, PC12 cells transfected with or without A53T α-syn genes and MPTP-induced PD mice were used as models to elucidate protective effects of SDA on dopamine (DA) neurons, and the involvement of PGC-1α/Nrf2 signaling in α-syn clearance in PC12/α-syn cells stimulated with Doxycycline (Dox) and reversal of MPTP-induced toxicity in PD mice.
Results
Our results demonstrated that SDA had neuroprotection effect in dopaminergic PC12 cells with 6-OHDA. It had also displayed efficient dopaminergic neuronal protection and motor behavior alleviation properties in MPTP-induced PD mice. In the PC12/α-syn cells and MPTP-induced PD animal models, SDA was highly efficacious in α-syn clearance associated with activation of PGC-1α/Nrf2 signal pathway.
Conclusion
The results of our study suggest that SDA could be a potential therapeutic drug for PD through protecting dopamine neurons and alleviating the motor symptoms, and the mechanism might be related to the activation of PGC-1α/Nrf2 signal pathway.