bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
PKA-RIIβ autophosphorylation modulates PKA activity and seizure phenotypes in mice
Authors: Zhang Jingliang , Zhang Chenyu , Chen Xiaoling , Wang Bingwei , Ma Weining , Yang Yang , Zheng Ruimao , Huang Zhuo 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is one of the most common and intractable neurological disorders in adults. Dysfunctional PKA signaling is causally linked to the TLE. However, the mechanism underlying PKA involves in epileptogenesis is still poorly understood. In the present study, we found the autophosphorylation level at serine 114 site (serine 112 site in mice) of PKA-RIIβ subunit was robustly decreased in the epileptic foci obtained from both surgical specimens of TLE patients and seizure model mice. The p-RIIβ level was negatively correlated with the activities of PKA. Notably, by using a P-site mutant that cannot be autophosphorylated and thus results in the released catalytic subunit to exert persistent phosphorylation, an increase in PKA activities through transduction with AAV-RIIβ-S112A in hippocampal DG granule cells decreased mIPSC frequency but not mEPSC, enhanced neuronal intrinsic excitability and seizure susceptibility. In contrast, a reduction of PKA activities by RIIβ knockout led to an increased mIPSC frequency, a reduction in neuronal excitability, and mice less prone to experimental seizure onset. Collectively, our data demonstrated that the autophosphorylation of RIIβ subunit plays a critical role in controlling neuronal and network excitabilities by regulating the activities of PKA, providing a potential therapeutic target for TLE.
A multi-ethnic genome-wide association study implicates collagen matrix integrity and cell differentiation pathways in keratoconus
Authors: Hardcastle Alison J. , Liskova Petra , Bykhovskaya Yelena , McComish Bennet J. , Davidson Alice E. , Inglehearn Chris F. , Li Xiaohui , Choquet Hélène , Habeeb Mahmoud , Lucas Sionne E. M. , Sahebjada Srujana , Pontikos Nikolas , Lopez Karla E. Rojas , Khawaja Anthony P. , Ali Manir , Dudakova Lubica , Skalicka Pavlina , Van Dooren Bart T. H. , Geerards Annette J. M. , Haudum Christoph W. , Faro Valeria Lo , Tenen Abi , Simcoe Mark J. , Patasova Karina , Yarrand Darioush , Yin Jie , Siddiqui Salina , Rice Aine , Farraj Layal Abi , Chen Yii-Der Ida , Rahi Jugnoo S. , Krauss Ronald M. , Theusch Elisabeth , Charlesworth Jac C. , Szczotka-Flynn Loretta , Toomes Carmel , Meester-Smoor Magda A. , Richardson Andrea J. , Mitchell Paul A. , Taylor Kent D. , Melles Ronald B. , Aldave Anthony J. , Mills Richard A. , Cao Ke , Chan Elsie , Daniell Mark D. , Wang Jie Jin , Rotter Jerome I. , Hewitt Alex W. , MacGregor Stuart , Klaver Caroline C. W. , Ramdas Wishal D. , Craig Jamie E. , Iyengar Sudha K. , O’Brart David , Jorgenson Eric , Baird Paul N. , Rabinowitz Yaron S. , Burdon Kathryn P. , Hammond Chris J. , Tuft Stephen J. , Hysi Pirro G. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractKeratoconus is characterised by reduced rigidity of the cornea with distortion and focal thinning that causes blurred vision, however, the pathogenetic mechanisms are unknown. It can lead to severe visual morbidity in children and young adults and is a common indication for corneal transplantation worldwide. Here we report the first large scale genome-wide association study of keratoconus including 4,669 cases and 116,547 controls. We have identified significant association with 36 genomic loci that, for the first time, implicate both dysregulation of corneal collagen matrix integrity and cell differentiation pathways as primary disease-causing mechanisms. The results also suggest pleiotropy, with some disease mechanisms shared with other corneal diseases, such as Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy. The common variants associated with keratoconus explain 12.5% of the genetic variance, which shows potential for the future development of a diagnostic test to detect susceptibility to disease.
Progression of the late-stage divisome is unaffected by the depletion of the cytoplasmic FtsZ pool
Authors: Silber Nadine , Mayer Christian , Matos de Opitz Cruz L. , Sass Peter 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCell division is a central and essential process in most bacteria, and also due to its complexity and highly coordinated nature, it has emerged as a promising new antibiotic target pathway in recent years. We have previously shown that ADEP antibiotics preferably induce the degradation of the major cell division protein FtsZ, thereby primarily leading to a depletion of the cytoplasmic FtsZ pool that is needed for treadmilling FtsZ rings. To further investigate the physiological consequences of ADEP treatment, we here studied the effect of ADEP on the different stages of the FtsZ ring in rod-shaped bacteria. Our data reveal the disintegration of early FtsZ rings during ADEP treatment in Bacillus subtilis, indicating an essential role of the cytoplasmic FtsZ pool and thus FtsZ ring dynamics during initiation and maturation of the divisome. However, progressed FtsZ rings finalized cytokinesis once the septal peptidoglycan synthase PBP2b, a late-stage cell division protein, colocalized at the division site, thus implying that the concentration of the cytoplasmic FtsZ pool and FtsZ ring dynamics are less critical during the late stages of divisome assembly and progression.
How the water-soluble hemicarcerand incarcerates guests at room temperature decoded with modular simulations
Authors: McFerrin Katherine G. , Pang Yuan-Ping 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMolecular dynamics simulations of hemicarcerands and related variants allow the study of constrictive binding and offer insight into the rules of molecular complexation, but are limited because three-dimensional models of hemicarcerands are tedious to build and their atomic charges are complicated to derive. There have been no molecular dynamics simulations of the reported water-soluble hemicarcerand (Octacid4) that explain how Octacid4 encapsulates guests at 298 K and keeps them encapsulated at 298 K in NMR experiments. Herein we report a modular approach to hemicarcerand simulations that simplifies the model building and charge derivation in a manner reminiscent of the approach to protein simulations with truncated amino acids as building blocks. We also report that in aqueous molecular dynamics simulations at 298 K apo Octacid4 adopts two clusters of conformations one of which has an equatorial portal open but the guest-bound Octacid4 adopts one cluster of conformations with all portals closed. These results explain how Octacid4 incarcerates guests at room temperature and suggest that the guest-induced host conformational change that impedes decomplexation is a previously unrecognized conformational characteristic that promotes strong molecular complexation.
Experimental demonstration of energy-transfer ratchet intermediate-band solar cell
Authors: Sogabe Tomah , Hung Chao-Yu , Tamaki Ryo , Tomić Stanko , Yamaguchi Koichi , Ekins-Daukes Ned , Okada Yoshitaka 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA detailed balance calculation reveals an extremely high efficiency of 63.2% for intermediate-band solar cells (IBSCs) under maximum sunlight concentration. However, an actual IBSC device with an efficiency larger than the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit has so far not been reported. The main difficulties lie in realizing an efficient sequential two-photon absorption (STPA) which requires a sufficiently long lifetime intermediate state or intermediate band. In this article, we propose the concept of a ratchet type IBSC, utilizing a long lifetime of rare-earth ion luminescence centers in Erbium-doped GaAs. The temperature dependent differential external quantum efficiency reveals a significant STPA contribution originating from the Er3+ luminescence center. All the results were modeled and interpreted by integrating the ratchet effect with up-conversion along with a density functional theory (DFT) simulation. Our work demonstrates that the long lifetime energy-transfer mechanism in Er3+ centers contributes directly to the formation of a ratchet type IB.
Signalling pathways contributing to learning and memory deficits in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome
Authors: Freeburn Aimée , Munn Robert Gordon Keith 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDown syndrome (DS) is a genetic trisomic disorder that produces life-long changes in physiology and cognition. Many of the changes in learning and memory seen in DS are reminiscent of disorders involving the hippocampal/entorhinal circuit. Mouse models of DS typically involve trisomy of murine chromosome 16 is homologous for many of the genes triplicated in human trisomy 21, and provide us with good models of changes in, and potential pharmacotherapy for, human DS. Recent careful dissection of the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS has revealed differences in key signalling pathways from the basal forebrain to the hippocampus and associated rhinal cortices, as well as changes in the microstructure of the hippocampus itself. In vivo behavioural and electrophysiological studies have shown that Ts65Dn animals have difficulties in spatial memory that mirror hippocampal deficits, and have changes in hippocampal electrophysiological phenomenology that may explain these differences, and align with expectations generated from in vitro exploration of this model. Finally, given the existing data, we will examine the possibility for pharmacotherapy for DS, and outline the work that remains to be done to fully understand this system.
Short-Term Effect of Intensive Speech Therapy on Dysarthria in Patients With Sporadic Spinocerebellar Degeneration
Authors: Sonoda Yuma , Yoshida Nao , Kawami Kazunori , Kitamura Akihiro , Ogawa Nobuhiro , Yamakawa Isamu , Kim Hyoh , Sanada Mitsuru , Imai Shinji , Urushitani Makoto 
Published: March 2021

Purpose
The aim of this study was to investigate a structured approach for effective speech therapy (ST) for dysarthria and speech-related quality of life in patients with sporadic spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD), including cerebellar-type multiple-system atrophy and cerebellar cortical atrophy.

Method

Twenty-two patients with SCD (cerebellar-type multiple system atrophy, 15 patients; cerebellar cortical atrophy, seven patients) who underwent intensive ST were examined. Dysarthria was evaluated using the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia Speech Dysfunction, Assessment of Motor Speech for Dysarthria Articulation, oral diadochokinesis (OD), and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). Respiratory muscle strength (inspiratory and expiratory pressure) and respiratory–phonatory coordination (maximum phonation time) were measured. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Montréal Cognitive Assessment and the word fluency test. Mood was evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The relationships between dysarthria scales (particularly, VHI-10) and clinical data were analyzed using stepwise regression. The differences in outcomes after intensive ST were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The alpha level (
p
) for statistical significance was set at .0125 by Bonferroni correction.

Results

For both pre- and post-ST, the patient's OD (
p
= .002) and maximum phonation time (
p
= .002) significantly improved, except for Speech Dysfunction scores of the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (
p
= .705) and the VHI-10 (
p
= .018). The Assessment of Motor Speech for Dysarthria Articulation, OD, and inspiratory pressure were identified as independent variables of VHI-10 (adjusted
R
2
= .820) for speech-related quality of life; no correlations among the Montréal Cognitive Assessment, word fluency test, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores were observed.

Conclusion
OD and VHI-10 showed improvements due to changes in speech function and respiratory–phonatory coordination, justifying intensive ST treatment for dysarthria in patients with SCD.
Modelling collective action to change social norms around domestic violence: social dilemmas and the role of altruism
Authors: Gram Lu , Granados Rolando , Krockow Eva M. , Daruwalla Nayreen , Osrin David 
Published: March 2021

AbstractInterventions promoting collective action have been used to prevent domestic violence in a range of settings, but their mechanisms of operation remain unclear. We formalise and combine feminist theoretical approaches to domestic violence into a game-theoretic model of women’s collective action to change gendered social norms and outcomes. We show that social norms create a social dilemma in which it is individually rational for women to abstain from action to prevent domestic violence among neighbours, but all women suffer negative consequences if none take action. Promoting altruism among women can overcome the social dilemma. Discouraging women from tolerating domestic violence, imposing additional external punishment on men for perpetrating violence, or lowering costs to women of taking action against violence may not work or even backfire. We invite researchers on community mobilisation to use our framework to frame their understandings of collective action to prevent domestic violence.
Autism spectrum disorder and language choice in Ghana
Authors: Orfson-Offei Elizabeth 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
One of the most crucial decisions to make for parents of children with Autism in Ghana (just like for others in
most bilingual and multilingual environments) is what language(s) to use with their children. This study was conducted to first
investigate the state of Autism in Ghana and then to unravel the language choices that parents make for their children and the
factors that influence the choices they make. Through interviews, the use of observation and questionnaires, members of Autism
Action Ghana, a support group for parents with children on the spectrum, were studied as a Community of Practice, as well as using
Bourdieu’s concept of Cultural Capital. Data analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively revealed that Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD) is still a generally unknown and misconceived condition that receives no major government attention, so that parents are
left with finding very expensive and limited support for their children on their own. 77% of the 35 respondents use only English
with their children because of the advice they receive from therapists, in addition to the fact that all therapies available are
in English, the fear of further delaying speech in their non-verbal children should they use more than one language, and the
belief that English has more currency and will take their children further in life as compared to their indigenous languages,
among others. One of the implications of the choice of English is that the children will eventually become functionally
monolingual in a multilingual country and thus will be left with no choice when it comes to language.
Analysing the functions of online destination forums through a corpus-assisted discourse-analytic approach
Authors: Lam Phoenix W. Y. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractPrevious research on online travel communication has paid little attention to destination forums, where thousands of travellers worldwide post and view topics related to a place. The present study examines the functions of a destination forum on TripAdvisor. Through the first large-scale corpus-assisted discourse analysis of thousands of topic-initiating posts, this study identifies the functions of the forum, analyses how these functions are realised through prominent linguistic and discursive features, and investigates how these functions are performed by members at different levels of contribution and knowledge. The findings show that destination forums are functionally distinct from closely-related online travel texts and from forums in other professional contexts. This demonstrates the need to carry out detailed analyses of actual online travel communication across the spectrum to fully grasp the richness and subtlety of a set of interrelated forms of tourism discourse both as a whole, and as part of the whole.
Competitive and Co-Operative Analysis of Genetic-Programming
Authors: Hamid Danish , Majeed Hammad , Rahim Zulhasni Abdul , Iqbal Muhammad Saqib 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Co-operative and competitive building blocks drive the evolution of GP. There exists useful schema which remains promising and persistent in terms of their occurrence over the generations. These schemas are majorly present at levels other than root level, and gradually this genetic material is pushed towards the root level by co-operation, where they compete with each other, few among those increase their occurrence at the root level and rest vanished. These schemas if extended to the deeper depths, still be useful and helps in achieving the goal of the problem. Lastly, some of these schemas are same even in different runs for the same problem. The experiment results show that the evolution is driven by co-operative rooted building blocks as well, along with the competitive building blocks. It shows the count of building blocks in different positions never reaches zero, which indicates the presence of the genetic material required for the construction of the building block at a particular position in the form of co-operation and competition with other schemas, which, at a later stage, may move to the correct position (root level). In our work, these behaviours are also demonstrated by injecting genetic material manually in the population and investigated their prominence throughout the evolution. This work contributes to many dimensions like; by combining these competitive building blocks appear at root level uncovers the problem solution over time. For that reason, by identifying, preserving and exchanging these building blocks explicitly, the system enactment can be improved severely. Additionally, the solutions of the developed versions of the same problem can also be handled through this.
A Predictive Analytics Model for Students Grade Prediction by Supervised Machine Learning
Authors: Abdul Bujang Siti Dianah , Selamat Ali , Krejcar Ondrej 
Published: March 2021

AbstractResearch on predictive analytics has increasingly evolved due to its impact on providing valuable and intuitive feedback that could potentially assist educators in improving student success in higher education. By leveraging predictive analytics, educators could design an effective mechanism to improve the academic results to prevent students’ dropout and assure student retention. Hence, this paper aims to presents a predictive analytics model using supervised machine learning methods that predicts the student’s final grade (FG) based on their historical academic performance of studies. The work utilized dataset gathered from 489 students of Information and Communication Technology Department at north-western Malaysia Polytechnic over the four past academic years, from 2016 to 2019. We carried out the experiments using Decision Tree (J48), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Logistic Regression (LR) to study the comparison performance for both classification and regression techniques in predicting students FG. The findings from the results present that J48 was the best predictive analytics model with the highest prediction accuracy rate of 99.6% that could contribute to the early detection of students’ dropout so that educators can remain the outstanding achievement in higher education.
Optimizing data security by using Integration between double stegging by pixel value difference and advanced encryption standard
Authors: Elden M S , Shehata K , Badwy H , Medny A 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Advancement of internet technology has led to massive text and multimedia data delivery over the internet, Steganography and cryptography are two prominent methods for secure communication through public network such as the Internet. Steganography predates cryptography somewhat Because of its stealthy features. In this paper, a new method has been proposed which combines cryptography and steganography to make communication even more secure. In this method first the secret data is embedded inside digital image ( cov 1 ) using adaptive pixel value difference (PVD) technique, thereafter advanced encryption standard ( AES) algorithm is applied to encrypt the previous digital image. Then encrypted digital image (cov1) will embed inside another digital image (cov2) using the same previous embedding technique. An additional layer of security has been introduced by applying double steganography to ensure the security of sensitive data, also this proposed method aims to keep the value of (PSNR) and (MSE) within accepted range and enhance the amount of secret data to be embedding. Peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and mean square error (MSE) are used as a benchmark to measure the performance of the proposed method.
Optimal rotor blade control using Grey Wolf Optimizer for small signal stability of SCIG Wind Turbine
Authors: Sule A H , Mokhtar A S , Bin Jamian J J , Arfeen Z A 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The pitch control of Wind Turbine needs to be tuned for optimal pitch control performance. In this paper, the Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) is proposed to tune the PI controller in the pitch control of the Squirrel Cage Induction Generator (SCIG) Wind Turbine. The goal is to show that the slow convergence of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and the trapping into a local optimum of Genetic Algorithm (GA) tuning methods can be overcome by applying the GWO tuning method. The GWO, PSO and GA were applied online to tune the PI controller in pitch control. The tuning results were executed in the PI controller of pitch control of simulated SCIG Wind Turbine connected to a double circuit distribution line. Equally, the Ziegler Nichols (ZN) tuned PI controller was executed in the rotor blade control of the same Wind Turbine. From the simulation results, the GWO tuned PI controller executed in the pitch control of the Wind Turbine provided the least overshoot and the settling time in the aerodynamic power and torque compared to the PSO, GA and ZN tuned PI controllers. The significance of the proposed GWO tuning method for PI controller in the rotor blade control of the SCIG Wind Turbine, it can reduce the stress on the pitch actuator of the Wind Turbine. This is because it reduced overshoot and settling time in the trajectories of blade pitch demand of the Wind Turbine compared to PSO, GA and ZN tuning methods.