bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Timing variability and midfrontal ~4 Hz rhythms correlate with cognition in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Singh Arun , Cole Rachel C. , Espinoza Arturo I. , Evans Aron , Cao Scarlett , Cavanagh James F. , Narayanan Nandakumar S. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPatients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can have significant cognitive dysfunction; however, the mechanisms for these cognitive symptoms are unknown. Here, we used scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the cortical basis for PD-related cognitive impairments during interval timing, which requires participants to estimate temporal intervals of several seconds. Time estimation is an ideal task demand for investigating cognition in PD because it is simple, requires medial frontal cortical areas, and recruits basic executive processes such as working memory and attention. However, interval timing has never been systematically studied in PD patients with cognitive impairments. We report three main findings. First, 71 PD patients had increased temporal variability compared to 37 demographically matched controls, and this variability correlated with cognitive dysfunction as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). Second, PD patients had attenuated ~4 Hz EEG oscillatory activity at midfrontal electrodes in response to the interval-onset cue, which was also predictive of MOCA. Finally, trial-by-trial linear mixed-effects modeling demonstrated that cue-triggered ~4 Hz power predicted subsequent temporal estimates as a function of PD and MOCA. Our data suggest that impaired cue-evoked midfrontal ~4 Hz activity predicts increased timing variability that is indicative of cognitive dysfunction in PD. These findings link PD-related cognitive dysfunction with cortical mechanisms of cognitive control, which could advance novel biomarkers and neuromodulation for PD.
A quantum algorithm for string matching
Authors: Niroula Pradeep , Nam Yunseong 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAlgorithms that search for a pattern within a larger data-set appear ubiquitously in text and image processing. Here, we present an explicit, circuit-level implementation of a quantum pattern-matching algorithm that matches a search string (pattern) of length M inside a longer text of length N. Our algorithm has a time complexity of $$\tilde{O}(\sqrt{N})$$

O

̃

(

N

)

, while the space complexity remains modest at O(N + M). We report the quantum gate counts relevant for both pre-fault-tolerant and fault-tolerant regimes.
Tropical cyclone simulations over Bangladesh at convection permitting 4.4 km & 1.5 km resolution
Authors: Steptoe Hamish , Savage Nicholas Henry , Sadri Saeed , Salmon Kate , Maalick Zubair , Webster Stuart 
Published: February 2021

AbstractHigh resolution simulations at 4.4 km and 1.5 km resolution have been performed for 12 historical tropical cyclones impacting Bangladesh. We use the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting 5thgeneration Re-Analysis (ERA5) to provide a 9-member ensemble of initial and boundary conditions for the regional configuration of the Met Office Unified Model. The simulations are compared to the original ERA5 data and the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) tropical cyclone database for wind speed, gust speed and mean sea-level pressure. The 4.4 km simulations show a typical increase in peak gust speed of 41 to 118 knots relative to ERA5, and a deepening of minimum mean sea-level pressure of up to −27 hPa, relative to ERA5 and IBTrACS data. The downscaled simulations compare more favourably with IBTrACS data than the ERA5 data suggesting tropical cyclone hazards in the ERA5 deterministic output may be underestimated. The dataset is freely available fromhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3600201.
Social connectedness and negative affect uniquely explain individual differences in response to emotional ambiguity
Authors: Neta Maital , Brock Rebecca L. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractNegativity bias is not only central to mood and anxiety disorders, but can powerfully impact our decision-making across domains (e.g., financial, medical, social). This project builds on previous work examining negativity bias using dual-valence ambiguity. Specifically, although some facial expressions have a relatively clear negative (angry) or positive valence (happy), surprised expressions are interpreted negatively by some and positively by others, providing insight into one’s valence bias. Here, we examine putative sources of variability that distinguish individuals with a more negative versus positive valence bias using structural equation modeling. Our model reveals that one’s propensity toward negativity (operationalized as temperamental negative affect and internalizing symptomology) predicts valence bias particularly in older adulthood when a more positive bias is generally expected. Further, variability in social connectedness (a propensity to seek out social connections, use those connections to regulate one’s own emotions, and be empathic) emerges as a notable and unique predictor of valence bias, likely because these traits help to override an initial, default negativity. We argue that this task represents an important approach to examining variability in affective bias, and can be specifically useful across the lifespan and in populations with internalizing disorders or even subclinical symptomology.
T cell-tropic HIV efficiently infects alveolar macrophages through contact with infected CD4+ T cells
Authors: Schiff Abigail E. , Linder Alice H. , Luhembo Shillah N. , Banning Stephanie , Deymier Martin J. , Diefenbach Thomas J. , Dickey Amy K. , Tsibris Athe M. , Balazs Alejandro B. , Cho Josalyn L. , Medoff Benjamin D. , Walzl Gerhard , Wilkinson Robert J. , Burgers Wendy A. , Corleis Björn , Kwon Douglas S. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAlveolar macrophages (AMs) are critical for defense against airborne pathogens and AM dysfunction is thought to contribute to the increased burden of pulmonary infections observed in individuals living with HIV-1 (HIV). While HIV nucleic acids have been detected in AMs early in infection, circulating HIV during acute and chronic infection is usually CCR5 T cell-tropic (T-tropic) and enters macrophages inefficiently in vitro. The mechanism by which T-tropic viruses infect AMs remains unknown. We collected AMs by bronchoscopy performed in HIV-infected, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive and uninfected subjects. We found that viral constructs made with primary HIV envelope sequences isolated from both AMs and plasma were T-tropic and inefficiently infected macrophages. However, these isolates productively infected macrophages when co-cultured with HIV-infected CD4+ T cells. In addition, we provide evidence that T-tropic HIV is transmitted from infected CD4+ T cells to the AM cytosol. We conclude that AM-derived HIV isolates are T-tropic and can enter macrophages through contact with an infected CD4+ T cell, which results in productive infection of AMs. CD4+ T cell-dependent entry of HIV into AMs helps explain the presence of HIV in AMs despite inefficient cell-free infection, and may contribute to AM dysfunction in people living with HIV.
Multispecies for multifunctions: combining four complementary species enhances multifunctionality of sown grassland
Authors: Suter Matthias , Huguenin-Elie Olivier , Lüscher Andreas 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAssessing the overall performance of ecosystems requires a quantitative evaluation of multifunctionality. We investigated plant species diversity effects on individual functions and overall multifunctionality in a grassland experiment with sown monocultures and mixtures comprising four key grass and legume species. Nitrogen fertilisation rates were 50, 150, and 450 kg N ha−1 yr−1 (N50, N150, N450). Ten functions were measured representing forage production, N cycling, and forage quality, all being related to either productivity or environmental footprint. Multifunctionality was analysed by a novel approach using the mean log response ratio across functions. Over three experimental years, mixture effects benefited all forage production and N cycling functions, while sustaining high forage quality. Thus, mixture effects did not provoke any trade-off among the analysed functions. High N fertilisation rates generally diminished mixture benefits. Multifunctionality of four-species mixtures was considerably enhanced, and mixture overall performance was up to 1.9 (N50), 1.8 (N150), and 1.6 times (N450) higher than in averaged monocultures. Multifunctionality of four-species mixtures at N50 was at least as high as in grass monocultures at N450. Sown grass–legume mixtures combining few complementary species at low to moderate N fertilisation sustain high multifunctionality and are a ‘ready-to-use’ option for the sustainable intensification of agriculture.
Temporal and cultural limits of privacy in smartphone app usage
Authors: Sekara Vedran , Alessandretti Laura , Mones Enys , Jonsson Håkan 
Published: February 2021

AbstractLarge-scale collection of human behavioural data by companies raises serious privacy concerns. We show that behaviour captured in the form of application usage data collected from smartphones is highly unique even in large datasets encompassing millions of individuals. This makes behaviour-based re-identification of users across datasets possible. We study 12 months of data from 3.5 million people from 33 countries and show that although four apps are enough to uniquely re-identify 91.2% of individuals using a simple strategy based on public information, there are considerable seasonal and cultural variations in re-identification rates. We find that people have more unique app-fingerprints during summer months making it easier to re-identify them. Further, we find significant variations in uniqueness across countries, and reveal that American users are the easiest to re-identify, while Finns have the least unique app-fingerprints. We show that differences across countries can largely be explained by two characteristics of the country specific app-ecosystems: the popularity distribution and the size of app-fingerprints. Our work highlights problems with current policies intended to protect user privacy and emphasizes that policies cannot directly be ported between countries. We anticipate this will nuance the discussion around re-identifiability in digital datasets and improve digital privacy.
Breakup of a long-period comet as the origin of the dinosaur extinction
Authors: Siraj Amir , Loeb Abraham 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe origin of the Chicxulub impactor, which is attributed as the cause of the K/T mass extinction event, is an unsolved puzzle. The background impact rates of main-belt asteroids and long-period comets have been previously dismissed as being too low to explain the Chicxulub impact event. Here, we show that a fraction of long-period comets are tidally disrupted after passing close to the Sun, each producing a collection of smaller fragments that cross the orbit of Earth. This population could increase the impact rate of long-period comets capable of producing Chicxulub impact events by an order of magnitude. This new rate would be consistent with the age of the Chicxulub impact crater, thereby providing a satisfactory explanation for the origin of the impactor. Our hypothesis explains the composition of the largest confirmed impact crater in Earth’s history as well as the largest one within the last million years. It predicts a larger proportion of impactors with carbonaceous chondritic compositions than would be expected from meteorite falls of main-belt asteroids.
Exercise alters the mitochondrial proteostasis and induces the mitonuclear imbalance and UPRmt in the hypothalamus of mice
Authors: Braga Renata R. , Crisol Barbara M. , Brícola Rafael S. , Sant’ana Marcella R. , Nakandakari Susana C. B. R. , Costa Suleyma O. , Prada Patrícia O. , da Silva Adelino S. R. , Moura Leandro P. , Pauli José R. , Cintra Dennys E. , Ropelle Eduardo R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe maintenance of mitochondrial activity in hypothalamic neurons is determinant to the control of energy homeostasis in mammals. Disturbs in the mitochondrial proteostasis can trigger the mitonuclear imbalance and mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) to guarantee the mitochondrial integrity and function. However, the role of mitonuclear imbalance and UPRmt in hypothalamic cells are unclear. Combining the transcriptomic analyses from BXD mice database and in vivo experiments, we demonstrated that physical training alters the mitochondrial proteostasis in the hypothalamus of C57BL/6J mice. This physical training elicited the mitonuclear protein imbalance, increasing the mtCO-1/Atp5a ratio, which was accompanied by high levels of UPRmt markers in the hypothalamus. Also, physical training increased the maximum mitochondrial respiratory capacity in the brain. Interestingly, the transcriptomic analysis across several strains of the isogenic BXD mice revealed that hypothalamic mitochondrial DNA-encoded genes were negatively correlated with body weight and several genes related to the orexigenic response. As expected, physical training reduced body weight and food intake. Interestingly, we found an abundance of mt-CO1, a mitochondrial DNA-encoded protein, in NPY-producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus nucleus of exercised mice. Collectively, our data demonstrated that physical training altered the mitochondrial proteostasis and induced the mitonuclear protein imbalance and UPRmt in hypothalamic cells.
Lag synchronization of coupled time-delayed FitzHugh–Nagumo neural networks via feedback control
Authors: Ibrahim Malik Muhammad , Kamran Muhammad Ahmad , Mannan Malik Muhammad Naeem , Jung Il Hyo , Kim Sangil 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSynchronization plays a significant role in information transfer and decision-making by neurons and brain neural networks. The development of control strategies for synchronizing a network of chaotic neurons with time delays, different direction-dependent coupling (unidirectional and bidirectional), and noise, particularly under external disturbances, is an essential and very challenging task. Researchers have extensively studied the synchronization mechanism of two coupled time-delayed neurons with bidirectional coupling and without incorporating the effect of noise, but not for time-delayed neural networks. To overcome these limitations, this study investigates the synchronization problem in a network of coupled FitzHugh–Nagumo (FHN) neurons by incorporating time delays, different direction-dependent coupling (unidirectional and bidirectional), noise, and ionic and external disturbances in the mathematical models. More specifically, this study investigates the synchronization of time-delayed unidirectional and bidirectional ring-structured FHN neuronal systems with and without external noise. Different gap junctions and delay parameters are used to incorporate time-delay dynamics in both neuronal networks. We also investigate the influence of the time delays between connected neurons on synchronization conditions. Further, to ensure the synchronization of the time-delayed FHN neuronal networks, different adaptive control laws are proposed for both unidirectional and bidirectional neuronal networks. In addition, necessary and sufficient conditions to achieve synchronization are provided by employing the Lyapunov stability theory. The results of numerical simulations conducted for different-sized multiple networks of time-delayed FHN neurons verify the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive control schemes.
CRISPR/Cas9 mediated mutagenesis of MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 1 in tomato confers resistance to root parasitic weed Phelipanche aegyptiaca
Authors: Bari Vinay Kumar , Nassar Jackline Abu , Aly Radi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractRoot parasitic weeds infect numerous economically important crops, affecting total yield quantity and quality. A lack of an efficient control method limits our ability to manage newly developing and more virulent races of root parasitic weeds. To control the parasite induced damage in most host crops, an innovative biotechnological approach is urgently required. Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones derived from carotenoids via a pathway involving the Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase (CCD) 7, CCD8 and More Axillary Growth 1 (MAX1) genes. SLs act as branching inhibitory hormones and strictly required for the germination of root parasitic weeds. Here, we demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targted editing of SL biosynthetic gene MAX1, in tomato confers resistance against root parasitic weed Phelipanche aegyptiaca. We designed sgRNA to target the third exon of MAX1 in tomato plants using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The T0 plants were edited very efficiently at the MAX1 target site without any non-specific off-target effects. Genotype analysis of T1 plants revealed that the introduced mutations were stably passed on to the next generation. Notably, MAX1-Cas9 heterozygous and homozygous T1 plants had similar morphological changes that include excessive growth of axillary bud, reduced plant height and adventitious root formation relative to wild type. Our results demonstrated that, MAX1-Cas9 mutant lines exhibit resistance against root parasitic weed P. aegyptiaca due to reduced SL (orobanchol) level. Moreover, the expression of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway gene PDS1 and total carotenoid level was altered, as compared to wild type plants. Taking into consideration, the impact of root parasitic weeds on the agricultural economy and the obstacle to prevent and eradicate them, the current study provides new aspects into the development of an efficient control method that could be used to avoid germination of root parasitic weeds.
Palladin isoforms 3 and 4 regulate cancer-associated fibroblast pro-tumor functions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Alexander J. I. , Vendramini-Costa D. B. , Francescone R. , Luong T. , Franco-Barraza J. , Shah N. , Gardiner J. C. , Nicolas E. , Raghavan K. S. , Cukierman E. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a five-year survival under 10%. Treatment is compromised due to a fibrotic-like stromal remodeling process, known as desmoplasia, which limits therapeutic perfusion, supports tumor progression, and establishes an immunosuppressive microenvironment. These processes are driven by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), functionally activated through transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFβ1). CAFs produce a topographically aligned extracellular matrix (ECM) that correlates with reduced overall survival. Paradoxically, ablation of CAF populations results in a more aggressive disease, suggesting CAFs can also restrain PDAC progression. Thus, unraveling the mechanism(s) underlying CAF functions could lead to therapies that reinstate the tumor-suppressive features of the pancreatic stroma. CAF activation involves the f-actin organizing protein palladin. CAFs express two palladin isoforms (iso3 and iso4) which are up-regulated in response to TGFβ1. However, the roles of iso3 and iso4 in CAF functions remain elusive. Using a CAF-derived ECM model, we uncovered that iso3/iso4 are required to sustain TGFβ1-dependent CAF activation, secrete immunosuppressive cytokines, and produce a pro-tumoral ECM. Findings demonstrate a novel role for CAF palladin and suggest that iso3/iso4 regulate both redundant and specific tumor-supportive desmoplastic functions. This study highlights the therapeutic potential of targeting CAFs to restore fibroblastic anti-tumor activity in the pancreatic microenvironment.
Preventable fractions of cancer incidence attributable to 7-years weight gain in the Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) study
Authors: da Silva Marisa , Laaksonen Maarit A. , Lissner Lauren , Weiderpass Elisabete , Rylander Charlotta 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThere is a lack of tangible measures for directed public health action to halt the increase in weight and cancer. We estimated the fraction and preventable cases of all and major body fatness-related cancers attributable to 7-years weight gain (≥ 2 kg). We assessed validated self-reported anthropometrics from 44,114 women aged 34–49 years at the enrolment in 1991–1992 and from a second questionnaire in 1998, with follow-up through December 31, 2015. Over 18 years, 3216 body fatness-related cancers and 2041 deaths were reported. Nearly 70% of women experienced weight gain and the average weight change was 4 kg. We observed a substantial proportional impact of weight gain on pancreatic cancer with a population attributable fraction (PAF) of 41.8% (95% CI 8.1–63.1) and a high absolute impact on postmenopausal breast cancer with 4403 preventable cases (95% CI 1064–7299) and a PAF of 16.8% (95% CI 4.1–27.8), and colorectal cancer with 3857 preventable cases (95% CI 1313–5990) and a PAF of 22.6% (95% CI 7.7–35.1). Avoiding weight gain over seven years in middle adulthood could have prevented a considerable proportion of the cancer burden and thousands of cancer cases in women in Norway.
Entropy generation and dissipative heat transfer analysis of mixed convective hydromagnetic flow of a Casson nanofluid with thermal radiation and Hall current
Authors: Sahoo A. , Nandkeolyar R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe present article provides a detailed analysis of entropy generation on the unsteady three-dimensional incompressible and electrically conducting magnetohydrodynamic flow of a Casson nanofluid under the influence of mixed convection, radiation, viscous dissipation, Brownian motion, Ohmic heating, thermophoresis and heat generation. At first, similarity transformation is used to transform the governing nonlinear coupled partial differential equations into nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations, and then the resulting highly nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations are numerically solved by the utilization of spectral quasi-linearization method. Moreover, the effects of pertinent flow parameters on velocity distribution, temperature distribution, concentration distribution, entropy generation and Bejan number are depicted prominently through various graphs and tables. It can be analyzed from the graphs that the Casson parameter acts as an assisting parameter towards the temperature distribution in the absence of viscous and Joule dissipations, while it has an adverse effect on temperature under the impacts of viscous and Joule dissipations. On the contrary, entropy generation increases significantly for larger Brinkman number, diffusive variable and concentration ratio parameter, whereas the reverse effects of these parameters on Bejan number are examined. Apart from this, the numerical values of some physical quantities such as skin friction coefficients in x and z directions, local Nusselt number and Sherwood number for the variation of the values of pertinent parameters are displayed in tabular forms. A quadratic multiple regression analysis for these physical quantities has also been carried out to improve the present model’s effectiveness in various industrial and engineering areas. Furthermore, an appropriate agreement is obtained on comparing the present results with previously published results.