bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of a poor-prognostic-mutations derived immune prognostic model for acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Dao Feng-Ting , Wang Jun , Yang Lu , Qin Ya-Zhen 
Published: March 2021

AbstractLeukemia cell-intrinsic somatic mutations and cytogenetic abnormalities have been used to define risk categories in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In addition, since the immune microenvironment might influence prognosis and somatic mutations have been demonstrated to modulate the immune microenvironment in AML, there is need for developing and evaluating an immune prognostic model (IPM) derived from mutations associated with poor prognosis. Based on AML cases with intermediate and adverse-cytogenetic risk in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, 64 immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among patients with RUNX1, TP53, or ASXL1 mutations and patients without these mutations were identified. After Cox proportional hazards analysis, an IPM composed of PYCARD and PEAR1 genes was constructed. IPM defined high-risk (IPM-HR) independently predicted lower 2-year overall survival (OS) rates in both patients with intermediate and adverse-cytogenetic risks and non-M3 patients in the TCGA AML cohort. The poor prognostic impact of IPM-HR on OS was further validated by GSE71014, 37642, and 10358 downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Furthermore, IPM-HR was remarkably associated with higher proportions of CD8+ T cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs), lower proportions of eosinophils, and higher expression of the checkpoint molecules CTLA-4, PD-1, and LAG3 in the TCGA non-M3 AML cohort. In summary, we developed and validated an IPM derived from mutations related with poor prognosis in AML, which would provide new biomarkers for patient stratification and personalized immunotherapy.
Entangled and correlated photon mixed strategy for social decision making
Authors: Maeda Shion , Chauvet Nicolas , Saigo Hayato , Hori Hirokazu , Bachelier Guillaume , Huant Serge , Naruse Makoto 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCollective decision making is important for maximizing total benefits while preserving equality among individuals in the competitive multi-armed bandit (CMAB) problem, wherein multiple players try to gain higher rewards from multiple slot machines. The CMAB problem represents an essential aspect of applications such as resource management in social infrastructure. In a previous study, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that entangled photons can physically resolve the difficulty of the CMAB problem. This decision-making strategy completely avoids decision conflicts while ensuring equality. However, decision conflicts can sometimes be beneficial if they yield greater rewards than non-conflicting decisions, indicating that greedy actions may provide positive effects depending on the given environment. In this study, we demonstrate a mixed strategy of entangled- and correlated-photon-based decision-making so that total rewards can be enhanced when compared to the entangled-photon-only decision strategy. We show that an optimal mixture of entangled- and correlated-photon-based strategies exists depending on the dynamics of the reward environment as well as the difficulty of the given problem. This study paves the way for utilizing both quantum and classical aspects of photons in a mixed manner for decision making and provides yet another example of the supremacy of mixed strategies known in game theory, especially in evolutionary game theory.
Root characteristics of spring wheat under drip irrigation and their relationship with aboveground biomass and yield
Authors: Chen Rui , Xiong Xing-peng , Cheng Wen-han 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe objectives of this two-year field experiment were (1) to study the effect of irrigation frequency and irrigation amount on the root characteristics of drip-irrigated spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and (2) to determine the relationship between these root characteristics and aboveground biomass and yield. A split-plot design was used with two wheat cultivars (Xinchun 6 and Xinchun 22). The irrigation treatments consisted of three irrigation intervals (D1, 13 d; D2, 10 d; and D3, 7 d) and three water amounts (W1, 3750 m3/ha; W2, 6000 m3/ha; and W3, 8250 m3/ha). The results showed that root length density (RLD) and root weight density (RWD) were greater at 0–20 cm than at 20–40 cm at flowering. The RLD was greater in D1 and D2 than in D3 in the shallow soil layer and did not differ among the treatments with different irrigation frequencies in deep soil. The RLD at the 0–20 cm depth of W3 was 17.9% greater than that of W2 and 53.8% greater than that of W1, and the RLD trend was opposite at the 20–40 cm depth. The root–shoot ratio was significantly higher in D2 than in the other treatment, whereas the RLD, RWD, leaf Pn and LAI were significantly greater in D3. Leaf Pn and LAI both increased as the irrigation amount increased. Regression analysis showed a natural logarithmic relationship between RWD and aboveground biomass (R2 > 0.60, P < 0.05) and binomial relationships of the RWD at 0–20 cm depth (R2 = 0.43, P < 0.05) and the RLD at 20–40 cm depth (R2 = 0.34, P < 0.05) with grain yield. We found that with the optimum irrigation amount (W2), increasing drip irrigation frequency can increase wheat root length and root weight and aboveground biomass accumulation, thereby improving yield and water use efficiency.
Use of bladder antimuscarinics is associated with an increased risk of dementia: a retrospective population-based case–control study
Authors: Harnod Tomor , Yang Yu-Cih , Chiu Lu-Ting , Wang Jen-Hung , Lin Shinn-Zong , Ding Dah-Ching 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe association between bladder antimuscarinic use and dementia development is unclear. We used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to determine the association between the exposure dose and duration of bladder antimuscarinics and the subsequent dementia risk. We enrolled participants aged 55 years or more and defined a dementia cohort (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes 290, 294.1, and 331.0). We used a propensity score matching method, and randomly enrolled two controls without dementia. We evaluated dementia risk with respect to the exposure dose and duration of treatment with seven bladder antimuscarinics (oxybutynin, propiverine, tolterodine, solifenacin, trospium, darifenacin, and fesoterodine) used for at least 1 year before the index date, after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, and medications. The dementia risk was 2.46-fold (95% confidence interval: 2.22–2.73) higher in Taiwanese patients who used bladder antimuscarinics for ≥ 1 year than in those who were not exposed to this treatment. The risk proportionally increased with increasing doses of antimuscarinics for less than 4 years. Taiwanese patients aged 55 years or more on bladder antimuscarinics exhibited a higher risk of dementia. Additional studies in other countries are required to determine whether this result is valid worldwide.
Cholesterol loading suppresses the atheroinflammatory gene polarization of human macrophages induced by colony stimulating factors
Authors: Lappalainen Jani , Yeung Nicolas , Nguyen Su D. , Jauhiainen Matti , Kovanen Petri T. , Lee-Rueckert Miriam 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn atherosclerotic lesions, blood-derived monocytes differentiate into distinct macrophage subpopulations, and further into cholesterol-filled foam cells under a complex milieu of cytokines, which also contains macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and granulocyte–macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Here we generated human macrophages in the presence of either M-CSF or GM-CSF to obtain M-MØ and GM-MØ, respectively. The macrophages were converted into cholesterol-loaded foam cells by incubating them with acetyl-LDL, and their atheroinflammatory gene expression profiles were then assessed. Compared with GM-MØ, the M-MØ expressed higher levels of CD36, SRA1, and ACAT1, and also exhibited a greater ability to take up acetyl-LDL, esterify cholesterol, and become converted to foam cells. M-MØ foam cells expressed higher levels of ABCA1 and ABCG1, and, correspondingly, exhibited higher rates of cholesterol efflux to apoA-I and HDL2. Cholesterol loading of M-MØ strongly suppressed the high baseline expression of CCL2, whereas in GM-MØ the low baseline expression CCL2 remained unchanged during cholesterol loading. The expression of TNFA, IL1B, and CXCL8 were reduced in LPS-activated macrophage foam cells of either subtype. In summary, cholesterol loading converged the CSF-dependent expression of key genes related to intracellular cholesterol balance and inflammation. These findings suggest that transformation of CSF-polarized macrophages into foam cells may reduce their atheroinflammatory potential in atherogenesis.
Endothelin-1 mediated vasoconstriction leads to memory impairment and synaptic dysfunction
Authors: Diwakar Latha , Gowaikar Ruturaj , Chithanathan Keerthana , Gnanabharathi Barathan , Tomar Deepika Singh , Ravindranath Vijayalakshmi 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCerebrovascular lesions seen as white matter hyperintensity in MRI of elderly population caused due to micro-infracts and micro-bleeds contributes to vascular dementia. Such vascular insult caused by impairment in blood flow to specific area in brain involving small vessels can gradually worsen the pathology leading to cognitive deficits. In the present study we developed a transient model of vaso-constriction to study the impact of such pathology by bilateral injection of ET-1 (Endothelin-1; a 21 amino acid vasoconstricting peptide) into lateral ventricles of C57 mice. The impediment in cerebral blood flow decreased CD31 expression in endothelial cells lining the blood vessels around the hippocampal region, leading to memory deficits after 7 days. Activity dependent protein translation, critical for synaptic plasticity was absent in synaptoneurosomes prepared from hippocampal tissue. Further, Akt1- mTOR signaling cascade was downregulated indicating the possible cause for loss of activity dependent protein translation. However, these effects were reversed after 30 days indicating the ephemeral nature of deficits following a single vascular insult. Present study demonstrates that vasoconstriction leading to memory deficit and decline in activity dependent protein translation in hippocampus as a potential molecular mechanism impacting synaptic plasticity.
Computational property predictions of Ta–Nb–Hf–Zr high-entropy alloys
Authors: Mishra Shashank , Maiti Soumyadipta , Rai Beena 
Published: March 2021

AbstractRefractory high entropy alloys (R-HEAs) are becoming prominent in recent years because of their properties and uses as high strength and high hardness materials for ambient and high temperature, aerospace and nuclear radiation tolerance applications, orthopedic applications etc. The mechanical properties like yield strength and ductility of TaNbHfZr R-HEA depend on the local nanostructure and chemical ordering, which in term depend on the annealing treatment. In this study we have computationally obtained various properties of the equimolar TaNbHfZr alloy like the role of configurational entropy in the thermodynamic property, rate of evolution of nanostructure morphology in thermally annealed systems, dislocation simulation based quantitative prediction of yield strength, nature of dislocation movement through short range clustering (SRC) and qualitative prediction of ductile to brittle transition behavior. The simulation starts with hybrid Monte Carlo/Molecular Dynamics (MC/MD) based nanostructure evolution of an initial random solid solution alloy structure with BCC lattice structure created with principal axes along [1 1 1], [− 1 1 0] and [− 1 − 1 2] directions suitable for simulation of ½[1 1 1] edge dislocations. Thermodynamic properties are calculated from the change in enthalpy and configurational entropy, which in term is calculated by next-neighbor bond counting statistics. The MC/MD evolved structures mimic the annealing treatment at 1800 °C and the output structures are replicated in periodic directions to make larger 384,000 atom structures used for dislocation simulations. Edge dislocations were utilized to obtain and explain for the critically resolved shear stress (CRSS) for the structures with various degrees of nanostructure evolution by annealing, where extra strengthening was observed because of the formations of SRCs. Lastly the MC/MD evolved structures containing dislocations are subjected to a high shear stress beyond CRSS to investigate the stability of the dislocations and the lattice structures to explain the experimentally observed transition from ductile to brittle behavior for the TaNbHfZr R-HEA.
The potential risk of exposure to Borrelia garinii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti in the Wolinski National Park (north-western Poland)
Authors: Asman Marek , Witecka Joanna , Korbecki Jan , Solarz Krzysztof 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIxodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodida) is the main vector in Europe of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti. Wolinski National Park (WNP) is situated by the Baltic Sea and is frequently visited by tourists. The aim of the study was to determine the potential risk of exposure to tick borne infection with B. burgdorferi s.l., A. phagocytophilum and B. microti on the areas of WNP. In total, 394 I. ricinus were tested. The pathogens in ticks were detected by PCR, nested PCR, RFLP and sequencing. Altogether, pathogens were detected in 12.69% of the studied ticks. B. burgdorferi s.l., was shown in 0.25% of the studied I. ricinus, while A. phagocytophilum and B. microti were detected in 1.01% and 10.65% of studied ticks, respectively. Co-infection by A. phagocytophilum and B. microti was shown in only one I. ricinus nymph. Analysis of B. burgdorferi s.l., genospecies showed that 0.25% of the studied ticks were infected with Borrelia garinii. The obtained results show the potentially high human risk of exposure to tick-borne infection with B. microti, and the low potential risk of infection with B. garinii and A. phagocytophilum on the studied areas of WNP.
Complementary mechanisms stabilize national food production
Authors: Mahaut Lucie , Violle Cyrille , Renard Delphine 
Published: March 2021

AbstractEnsuring the temporal stability of national food production is crucial for avoiding sharp drops in domestic food availability. The average stability of individual crop yields and asynchrony among crop yield fluctuations are two candidate mechanisms to stabilize national food production. However, the quantification of their respective influence on the stability of national food production is lacking, as is the identification of the factors regulating both mechanisms. Using yield data for 138 crops and 115 countries over a 50-year period, we first show that the stability of total national yield mostly relies on the fluctuations of the yield of crops covering the largest share of cropland. The average yield stability of these crops exert a stabilizing effect on national food production that is twice as important as the one of the asynchronous yield fluctuations among them. Climate variability reduces the stability of national food production by synchronizing yield fluctuations among crops and destabilizing the yield of individual crops. However, our results suggest that increasing crop diversity can counteract the synchronizing effects of climate variability by enhancing asynchronous dynamics among crops. Irrigation can promote the average stability of individual crop yields but cannot compensate for the destabilizing effect of climate variability. Considering both the response of each crop to climatic variations and the dynamics emerging from crop baskets will help agricultural policies to ensure stable food supply at the national level.
Local hyperactivation of L-type Ca2+ channels increases spontaneous Ca2+ release activity and cellular hypertrophy in right ventricular myocytes from heart failure rats
Authors: Medvedev Roman Y. , Sanchez-Alonso Jose L. , Mansfield Catherine A. , Judina Aleksandra , Francis Alice J. , Pagiatakis Christina , Trayanova Natalia , Glukhov Alexey V. , Miragoli Michele , Faggian Giuseppe , Gorelik Julia 
Published: March 2021

AbstractRight ventricle (RV) dysfunction is an independent predictor of patient survival in heart failure (HF). However, the mechanisms of RV progression towards failing are not well understood. We studied cellular mechanisms of RV remodelling in a rat model of left ventricle myocardial infarction (MI)-caused HF. RV myocytes from HF rats show significant cellular hypertrophy accompanied with a disruption of transverse-axial tubular network and surface flattening. Functionally these cells exhibit higher contractility with lower Ca2+ transients. The structural changes in HF RV myocytes correlate with more frequent spontaneous Ca2+ release activity than in control RV myocytes. This is accompanied by hyperactivated L-type Ca2+ channels (LTCCs) located specifically in the T-tubules of HF RV myocytes. The increased open probability of tubular LTCCs and Ca2+ sparks activation is linked to protein kinase A-mediated channel phosphorylation that occurs locally in T-tubules. Thus, our approach revealed that alterations in RV myocytes in heart failure are specifically localized in microdomains. Our findings may indicate the development of compensatory, though potentially arrhythmogenic, RV remodelling in the setting of LV failure. These data will foster better understanding of mechanisms of heart failure and it could promote an optimized treatment of patients.
Pulmonary blood volume estimation in mice by magnetic particle imaging and magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Kaul Michael Gerhard , Mummert Tobias , Graeser Matthias , Salamon Johannes , Jung Caroline , Tahir Enver , Ittrich Harald , Adam Gerhard , Peldschus Kersten 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis methodical work describes the measurement and calculation of pulmonary blood volume in mice based on two imaging techniques namely by using magnetic particle imaging (MPI) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Besides its feasibility aspects that may influence quantitative analysis are studied. Eight FVB mice underwent cardiac MRI to determine stroke volumes and anatomic MRI as morphological reference for functional MPI data. Arrival time analyses of boli of 1 µl of 1 M superparamagnetic tracer were performed by MPI. Pulmonary transit time of the bolus was determined by measurements in the right and left ventricles. Pulmonary blood volume was calculated out of stroke volume, pulmonary transit time and RR-interval length including a maximal error analysis. Cardiac stroke volume was 31.7 µl ± 2.3 µl with an ejection fraction of 71% ± 6%. A sharp contrast bolus profile was observed by MPI allowing subdividing the first pass into three distinct phases: tracer arrival in the right ventricle, pulmonary vasculature, and left ventricle. The bolus full width at half maximum was 578 ms ± 144 ms in the right ventricle and 1042 ms ± 150 ms in the left ventricle. Analysis of pulmonary transit time revealed 745 ms ± 81 ms. Mean RR-interval length was 133 ms ± 12 ms. Pulmonary blood volume resulted in 177 µl ± 27 µl with a mean maximal error limit of 27 µl. Non-invasive assessment of the pulmonary blood volume in mice was feasible. This technique can be of specific value for evaluation of pulmonary hemodynamics in mouse models of cardiac dysfunction or pulmonary disease. Pulmonary blood volume can complement cardiac functional parameters as a further hemodynamic parameter.
Influenza vaccination reduces incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease
Authors: Hu Ping-Jen , Chen Chia-Hsien , Wong Chung-Shun , Chen Tzu-Ting , Wu Mei-Yi , Sung Li-Chin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAn influenza vaccination might reduce the risk of incident peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but supporting evidence is limited. This case-crossover study analyzed data from Taiwan’s real-world National Health Insurance Research Database. This study included elderly (≥ 67 years old) patients with CKD having incident PAOD from January 1, 2006, to June 30, 2015. We defined 1 year before PAOD onset as the index date for the self-control group. A conditional logistic regression model was used to investigate exposure to an influenza vaccination for estimating the risk for incident PAOD following vaccination. In total, this study included 46,782 elderly patients with CKD having incident PAOD. The odds ratios for incident PAOD were 0.85 (95% confidence interval 0.77–0.94), 0.85 (0.79–0.92), 0.84 (0.79–0.90), and 0.85 (0.81–0.90) at 1, 2, 3, and 4 months after an influenza vaccination, respectively. We observed consistent results for the subgroups of patients with CKD and concomitant diabetes. However, we did not observe any beneficial effects of influenza vaccination in patients with advanced CKD or end-stage renal disease. This study demonstrated that influenza vaccination may be associated with a reduced risk of incident PAOD among patients with early-stage CKD.
Understanding the abnormal thermal behavior of nanofluids through infrared thermography and thermo-physical characterization
Authors: Svobodova-Sedlackova Adela , Calderón Alejandro , Barreneche Camila , Gamallo Pablo , Fernández A. Inés 
Published: March 2021

AbstractNanofluids (NFs) are colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles (NPs) within a base fluid. Unlike conventional mixtures, NFs exhibit dramatically enhanced properties, such as an abnormal increase in heat capacity at low concentration of NPs (e.g., Cp values 30% higher than the base material value). Understanding the thermo-physical behavior of NFs is essential for their application as thermal energy storage systems. In this study, we analyze a sodium nitrate ionic system containing 1 wt%, 3 wt% and 7 wt% of SiO2 NPs with different techniques like infrared thermography, infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in order to shed light on the mechanism behind the increase of Cp. The themographies reveal the presence of a colder layer on top of the NF with 1 wt% of NPs whereas this layer does not appear at higher concentrations of NPs. The IR spectrum of this foamy top layer evidences the high amount of SiO2 bonds suggesting the clustering of the NPs into this layer linked by the nitrate ions. The linking is enhanced by the presence of hydroxyls in the NPs’ surface (i.e., hydroxilated NPs) that once mixed in the NF suffer ionic exchange between OH− and NO3− species, leading to O2–Si–O–NO2 species at the interface where a thermal boundary resistance or Kapitza resistance appears (RT = 2.2 m2 K kW−1). Moreover, the presence of an exothermic reactive processes in the calorimetry of the mixture with 1 wt% of NPs evidences a reactive process (ionic exchange). These factors contribute to the heat capacity increase and thus, they explain the anomalous behavior of the heat capacity in nanofluids.