bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Proton beam quality enhancement by spectral phase control of a PW-class laser system
Authors: Ziegler T. , Albach D. , Bernert C. , Bock S. , Brack F.-E. , Cowan T. E. , Dover N. P. , Garten M. , Gaus L. , Gebhardt R. , Goethel I. , Helbig U. , Irman A. , Kiriyama H. , Kluge T. , Kon A. , Kraft S. , Kroll F. , Loeser M. , Metzkes-Ng J. , Nishiuchi M. , Obst-Huebl L. , Püschel T. , Rehwald M. , Schlenvoigt H.-P. , Schramm U. , Zeil K. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractWe report on experimental investigations of proton acceleration from solid foils irradiated with PW-class laser-pulses, where highest proton cut-off energies were achieved for temporal pulse parameters that varied significantly from those of an ideally Fourier transform limited (FTL) pulse. Controlled spectral phase modulation of the driver laser by means of an acousto-optic programmable dispersive filter enabled us to manipulate the temporal shape of the last picoseconds around the main pulse and to study the effect on proton acceleration from thin foil targets. The results show that applying positive third order dispersion values to short pulses is favourable for proton acceleration and can lead to maximum energies of 70 MeV in target normal direction at 18 J laser energy for thin plastic foils, significantly enhancing the maximum energy compared to ideally compressed FTL pulses. The paper further proves the robustness and applicability of this enhancement effect for the use of different target materials and thicknesses as well as laser energy and temporal intensity contrast settings. We demonstrate that application relevant proton beam quality was reliably achieved over many months of operation with appropriate control of spectral phase and temporal contrast conditions using a state-of-the-art high-repetition rate PW laser system.
Skeletal muscle fibers play a functional role in host defense during sepsis in mice
Authors: Laitano Orlando , Robinson Gerard P. , Murray Kevin O. , Garcia Christian K. , Mattingly Alex J. , Morse Deborah , King Michelle A. , Iwaniec John D. , Alzahrani Jamal M. , Clanton Thomas L. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractSkeletal muscles secrete a wide variety of immunologically active cytokines, but the functional significance of this response to in vivo innate immunity is not understood. We addressed this by knocking out the toll receptor adapter protein, Myd88, only in skeletal muscle fibers (skmMyd88KO), and followed male and female mice at 6 and 12 h after peritoneal injection of cecal slurry (CS), a model of polymicrobial sepsis. Because of a previously identified increase in mortality to CS injection, males received ~ 30% lower dose. At 12 h, skmMyd88KO caused significant reductions in a wide variety of pro- and anti-inflammatory plasma cytokines, e.g. TNFα, IL-1β and IL-10, compared to strain-matched controls in both males and females. Similar reductions were observed at 6 h in females. SkmMyd88KO led to ~ 40–50% elevations in peritoneal neutrophils at 6 and 12 h post CS in females. At 12 h post CS, skmMyd88KO increased peritoneal monocytes/macrophages and decreased %eosinophils and %basophils in females. SkmMyd88KO also led to significantly higher rates of mortality in female mice but not in males. In conclusion, the results suggest that skeletal muscle Myd88-dependent signal transduction can play functionally important role in normal whole body, innate immune inflammatory responses to peritoneal sepsis.
Programmable nonreciprocal meta-prism
Authors: Taravati Sajjad , Eleftheriades George V. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractOptical prisms are made of glass and map temporal frequencies into spatial frequencies by decomposing incident white light into its constituent colors and refract them into different directions. Conventional prisms suffer from their volumetric bulky and heavy structure and their material parameters are dictated by the Lorentz reciprocity theorem. Considering various applications of prisms in wave engineering and their growing applications in the invisible spectrum and antenna applications, there is a demand for compact apparatuses that are capable of providing prism functionality in a reconfigurable manner, with a nonreciprocal/reciprocal response. Here, we propose a nonreciprocal metasurface-based prism constituted of an array of phase- and amplitude-gradient frequency-dependent spatially variant radiating super-cells. In conventional optical prisms, nonreciprocal devices and metamaterials, the spatial decomposition and nonreciprocity functions are fixed and noneditable. Here, we present a programmable metasurface integrated with amplifiers to realize controllable nonreciprocal spatial decomposition, where each frequency component of the incident polychromatic wave can be transmitted under an arbitrary and programmable angle of transmission with a desired transmission gain. Such a polychromatic metasurface prism is constituted of frequency-dependent spatially variant transistor-based phase shifters and amplifiers for the spatial decomposition of the wave components. Interesting features include three-dimensional prism functionality with programmable angles of refraction, power amplification, and directive and diverse radiation beams. Furthermore, the metasurface prism can be digitally controlled via a field- programmable gate array (FPGA), making the metasurface a suitable solution for radars, holography applications, and wireless telecommunication systems.
Molecular diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in Sikkim, India and prediction of dominant spoligotypes using artificial intelligence
Authors: Devi Kangjam Rekha , Pradhan Jagat , Bhutia Rinchenla , Dadul Peggy , Sarkar Atanu , Gohain Nitumoni , Narain Kanwar 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn India, tuberculosis is an enormous public health problem. This study provides the first description of molecular diversity of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) from Sikkim, India. A total of 399 Acid Fast Bacilli sputum positive samples were cultured on Lőwenstein–Jensen media and genetic characterisation was done by spoligotyping and 24-loci MIRU-VNTR typing. Spoligotyping revealed the occurrence of 58 different spoligotypes. Beijing spoligotype was the most dominant type constituting 62.41% of the total isolates and was associated with Multiple Drug Resistance. Minimum Spanning tree analysis of 249 Beijing strains based on 24-loci MIRU-VNTR analysis identified 12 clonal complexes (Single Locus Variants). The principal component analysis was used to visualise possible grouping of MTBC isolates from Sikkim belonging to major spoligotypes using 24-MIRU VNTR profiles. Artificial intelligence-based machine learning (ML) methods such as Random Forests (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were used to predict dominant spoligotypes of MTBC using MIRU-VNTR data. K-fold cross-validation and validation using unseen testing data set revealed high accuracy of ANN, RF, and SVM for predicting Beijing, CAS1_Delhi, and T1 Spoligotypes (93–99%). However, prediction using the external new validation data set revealed that the RF model was more accurate than SVM and ANN.
Providing live black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) improves welfare while maintaining performance of piglets post-weaning
Authors: Ipema Allyson F. , Bokkers Eddie A. M. , Gerrits Walter J. J. , Kemp Bas , Bolhuis J. Elizabeth 
Published: April 2021

AbstractDuring weaning, piglets experience concurrent social, physical, and nutritional stressors. Consequently, piglets often have poor feed intake and display increased oral manipulative behaviours post-weaning, indicative of compromised welfare. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) possess many attractive properties for pigs and could therefore function as effective edible enrichment, potentially alleviating weaning stress by facilitating exploration and promoting feed intake. In this study, pairs of piglets received a small amount of either live BSFL or wood shavings (8 pens/treatment) scattered throughout the pen twice a day for 11 days after weaning. Home-pen behaviour was scored by instantaneous scan sampling on day 2, 5 and 8, and behavioural responses to a novel environment and novel object were scored on day 10/11. Performance-related parameters were observed regularly. Larvae provisioning increased floor-directed exploration and decreased object-directed exploration, pig-directed oral manipulation, fighting and eating of pellets, and reduced neophobia towards a novel object. Pellet intake was significantly decreased by BSFL provisioning during day 4–11 post-weaning, although feed and net energy intake including BSFL never differed between treatments. BSFL provisioning did not influence piglet growth, feed efficiency, energy efficiency, and faecal consistency. To conclude, live BSFL provisioning positively affected post-weaning piglet behaviour while maintaining performance.
Urinary exosomal microRNA profiling in intermediate-risk prostate cancer
Authors: Kim Mee Young , Shin Hyunwoo , Moon Hyong Woo , Park Yong Hyun , Park Jaesung , Lee Ji Youl 
Published: April 2021

AbstractMicroRNAs (miRNAs) of urine exosomes have emerged as biomarkers for urological cancers, owing to their high stability. MiRNAs have been linked to factors associated with aggressive prostate cancer such as biochemical recurrence (BCR) and metastasis. In this study, we aimed to identify urinary exosomal miRNAs as prognostic markers associated with BCR in intermediate-risk prostate cancer. We profiled the expression levels of miRNAs via next generation sequencing in urinary exosomes from 21 non-BCR patients and 6 BCR patients of intermediate-risk prostate cancer. A total of 21 urinary exosomal miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed (> twofold) in BCR patients compared to non-BCR patients. For external validation, we validated these results using quantitative reverse transcription PCR in an independent cohort of 28 non-BCR patients and 26 BCR patients. A validation analysis revealed that three miRNAs (miR-26a-5p, miR-532-5p, and miR-99b-3p) were upregulated in exosomes from BCR patients. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that miR-532-5p was an important predictive factor for BCR of intermediate-risk prostate cancer. In conclusion, miR-532-5p in urine exosomes might be a potential biomarker for predicting BCR, which is a poor prognosis in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Further research is needed on the biological functions and mechanisms of this miRNA.
Assessing fatty acid-induced lipotoxicity and its therapeutic potential in glioblastoma using stimulated Raman microscopy
Authors: Yuan Yuhao , Shah Niraj , Almohaisin Mohammad I. , Saha Soumit , Lu Fake 
Published: April 2021

AbstractGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor. The effectiveness of traditional therapies for GBM is limited and therefore new therapies are highly desired. Previous studies show that lipid metabolism reprogramming may be a potential therapeutic target in GBM. This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic potential of free fatty acid-induced lipotoxicity for the suppression of glioma growth. U87 glioma cells are treated with three fatty acids (FAs): palmitic acid (PA), oleic acid (OA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Uptake of the FAs and formation of lipid droplets (LDs) are imaged and quantified using a lab-built stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscope. Our results show that a supply of 200 µM PA, OA, and EPA leads to efficient LDs accumulation in glioma cells. We find that inhibition of triglycerides (TAGs) synthesis depletes LDs and enhances lipotoxicity, which is evidenced by the reduced cell proliferation rates. In particular, our results suggest that EPA treatment combined with depletion of LDs significantly reduces the survival rate of glioma cells by more than 50%, indicating the therapeutic potential of this approach. Future work will focus on understanding the metabolic mechanism of EPA-induced lipotoxicity to further enhance its anticancer effects.
Comparing sterile male releases and other methods for integrated control of the tiger mosquito in temperate and tropical climates
Authors: Douchet Léa , Haramboure Marion , Baldet Thierry , L’Ambert Gregory , Damiens David , Gouagna Louis Clément , Bouyer Jeremy , Labbé Pierrick , Tran Annelise 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe expansion of mosquito species worldwide is creating a powerful network for the spread of arboviruses. In addition to the destruction of breeding sites (prevention) and mass trapping, methods based on the sterile insect technique (SIT), the autodissemination of pyriproxyfen (ADT), and a fusion of elements from both of these known as boosted SIT (BSIT), are being developed to meet the urgent need for effective vector control. However, the comparative potential of these methods has yet to be explored in different environments. This is needed to propose and integrate informed guidelines into sustainable mosquito management plans. We extended a weather-dependent model of Aedes albopictus population dynamics to assess the effectiveness of these different vector control methods, alone or in combination, in a tropical (Reunion island, southwest Indian Ocean) and a temperate (Montpellier area, southern France) climate. Our results confirm the potential efficiency of SIT in temperate climates when performed early in the year (mid-March for northern hemisphere). In such a climate, the timing of the vector control action was the key factor in its success. In tropical climates, the potential of the combination of methods becomes more relevant. BSIT and the combination of ADT with SIT were twice as effective compared to the use of SIT alone.
Mitochondrial LonP1 protease is implicated in the degradation of unstable Parkinson's disease-associated DJ-1/PARK 7 missense mutants
Authors: Sánchez-Lanzas Raúl , Castaño José G. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractDJ-1/PARK7 mutations are linked with familial forms of early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD). We have studied the degradation of untagged DJ-1 wild type (WT) and missense mutants in mouse embryonic fibroblasts obtained from DJ-1-null mice, an approach closer to the situation in patients carrying homozygous mutations. The results showed that the mutants L10P, M26I, A107P, P158Δ, L166P, E163K, and L172Q are unstable proteins, while A39S, E64D, R98Q, A104T, D149A, A171S, K175E, and A179T are as stable as DJ-1 WT. Inhibition of proteasomal and autophagic-lysosomal pathways had little effect on their degradation. Immunofluorescence and biochemical fractionation studies indicated that M26I, A107P, P158Δ, L166P, E163K, and L172Q mutants associate with mitochondria. Silencing of mitochondrial matrix protease LonP1 produced a strong reduction of the degradation of the mitochondrial-associated DJ-1 mutants A107P, P158Δ, L166P, E163K, and L172Q but not of mutant L10P. These results demonstrated a mitochondrial pathway of degradation of those DJ-1 missense mutants implicated in PD pathogenesis.
Biosyntheses characterization of alkaloids and flavonoids in Sophora flavescens by combining metabolome and transcriptome
Authors: Wei Guangfei , Chen Yongzhong , Guo Xiaotong , Wei Jianhe , Dong Linlin , Chen Shilin 
Published: April 2021

AbstractSophora flavescens are widely used for their pharmacological effects. As its main pharmacological components, alkaloids and flavonoids are distributed in the root tissues wherein molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, metabolite profiles are analyzed using metabolomes to obtain biomarkers detected in different root tissues. These biomarkers include alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, and flavonoids. The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis results indicate the differences in principal component contents. Oxymatrine, sophoridine, and matrine contents are the highest in the phloem, whereas trifolirhizin, maackiain, and kushenol I contents are the highest in the xylem. The transcript expression profiles also show tissue specificity in the roots. A total of 52 and 39 transcripts involved in alkaloid and flavonoid syntheses are found, respectively. Among them, the expression levels of LYSA1, LYSA2, AO2, AO6, PMT1, PMT17, PMT34, and PMT35 transcripts are highly and positively correlated with alkaloids contents. The expression levels of 4CL1, 4CL3, 4CL12, CHI5, CHI7, and CHI9 transcripts are markedly and positively correlated with flavonoids contents. Moreover, the quantitative profiles of alkaloids and flavonoids are provided, and the pivotal genes regulating their distribution in S. flavescens are determined. These results contribute to the existing data for the genetic improvement and target breeding of S. flavescens.
Genomic profiling reveals heterogeneous populations of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
Authors: Nagasawa Satoi , Kuze Yuta , Maeda Ichiro , Kojima Yasuyuki , Motoyoshi Ai , Onishi Tatsuya , Iwatani Tsuguo , Yokoe Takamichi , Koike Junki , Chosokabe Motohiro , Kubota Manabu , Seino Hibiki , Suzuki Ayako , Seki Masahide , Tsuchihara Katsuya , Inoue Eisuke , Tsugawa Koichiro , Ohta Tomohiko , Suzuki Yutaka 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn a substantial number of patients, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast will never progress to invasive ductal carcinoma, and these patients are often overtreated under the current clinical criteria. Although various candidate markers are available, relevant markers for delineating risk categories have not yet been established. In this study, we analyzed the clinical characteristics of 431 patients with DCIS and performed whole-exome sequencing analysis in a 21-patient discovery cohort and targeted deep sequencing analysis in a 72-patient validation cohort. We determined that age <45 years, HER2 amplification, and GATA3 mutation are possible indicators of relapse. PIK3CA mutation negativity and PgR negativity were also suggested to be risk factors. Spatial transcriptome analysis further revealed that GATA3 dysfunction upregulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis, followed by PgR downregulation. These results reveal the existence of heterogeneous cell populations in DCIS and provide predictive markers for classifying DCIS and optimizing treatment.
Grb2 binding induces phosphorylation-independent activation of Shp2
Authors: Lin Chi-Chuan , Wieteska Lukasz , Suen Kin Man , Kalverda Arnout P. , Ahmed Zamal , Ladbury John E. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe regulation of phosphatase activity is fundamental to the control of intracellular signalling and in particular the tyrosine kinase-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Shp2 is a ubiquitously expressed protein tyrosine phosphatase and its kinase-induced hyperactivity is associated with many cancer types. In non-stimulated cells we find that binding of the adaptor protein Grb2, in its monomeric state, initiates Shp2 activity independent of phosphatase phosphorylation. Grb2 forms a bidentate interaction with both the N-terminal SH2 and the catalytic domains of Shp2, releasing the phosphatase from its auto-inhibited conformation. Grb2 typically exists as a dimer in the cytoplasm. However, its monomeric state prevails under basal conditions when it is expressed at low concentration, or when it is constitutively phosphorylated on a specific tyrosine residue (Y160). Thus, Grb2 can activate Shp2 and downstream signal transduction, in the absence of extracellular growth factor stimulation or kinase-activating mutations, in response to defined cellular conditions. Therefore, direct binding of Grb2 activates Shp2 phosphatase in the absence of receptor tyrosine kinase up-regulation.
Effect of d-allulose feeding on the hepatic metabolomics profile in male Wistar rats
Authors: Kanasaki Akane , Niibo Misato , Iida Tetsuo 
Published: April 2021

d-Allulose altered hepatic metabolites, especially those related to the lipid metabolism processes, such as the fatty acid β-oxidation, cholesterol, bile acid, and glucuronic acid/xylulose pathways.
A new energy‐aware method for load balance managing in the fog‐based vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) using a hybrid optimization algorithm
Authors: Qun Ren , Arefzadeh Seyedeh Maryam 
Published: April 2021

AbstractFog‐based VANETs (Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks) is a new model with vehicular cloud and fog computing benefits. Fog‐based VANETs consist of a series of mobile nodes that are fully dynamic without any central management. These networks have some limitations due to the use of the mobile power source. There are many challenges in extending mobile‐based networks' life span. Many methods have been suggested to minimize the nodes' energy consumption and extend the network life. Also, some works have been developed for load‐balanced routing. Still, energy‐efficient routing and load balancing in VANETs are challenges. The purpose of this study is to present a suitable method based on energy awareness for load balancing in fog‐based VANETs using a hybrid optimization algorithm (employing ant colony optimization and artificial bee colony (ACO‐ABC)). The simulation results in the Network Simulator 2 (NS2) environment showed that as the number of nodes increased, the consumed amount of energy in the VANET is increased. Also, with the increasing number of tasks, load balancing by the proposed method has been improved. Finally, the simulation experiments showed that the proposed hybrid algorithm (ACO‐ABC) outperforms all other algorithms.
Virtual tracking control of underwater vehicles based on error injection and adaptive gain
Authors: Liu Xing , Zhang Mingjun , Yao Feng , Yin Baoji 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAn improved virtual tracking control scheme is proposed based on error injection and adaptive gain for underwater vehicles in the presence of a large initial tracking error and external disturbances. To relieve the effect caused by a large initial tracking error, the developed control scheme is achieved based on two closed‐loop systems. Specifically, a virtual closed‐loop system is constructed based on an approximate dynamic model of an underwater vehicle, while an actual closed‐loop system is built with a real underwater vehicle. Firstly, in order to improve the tracking precision of the virtual tracking control scheme, an auxiliary variable produced by a first‐order filter is injected into a virtual tracking error in the virtual closed‐loop system. And then, the virtual trajectory provided by the virtual closed‐loop system is followed by the actual closed‐loop system. In the actual closed‐loop system, a modified sliding mode surface is designed to achieve the finite‐time stability, while the control gains can be on‐line adjusted based on the tracking performance. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed control scheme are demonstrated by case studies on an underwater vehicle subject to different external disturbances.
Improving crowd counting with scale‐aware convolutional neural network
Authors: Ji Qingge , Chen Hang , Bao Di 
Published: April 2021

AbstractLarge‐scale variations may cause a serious problem in crowd counting. In recent years, most methods for this problem use convolutional neural networks with a fixed scale for encoding and decoding image features. The scale of the convolutional layer is usually manually adjusted and may have to deal with image features on unfitted scales. In this paper, a method called scale‐aware convolutional neural network(SCNet) is proposed, which adds a scale selection mechanism to the dilated convolutional operation. Shared weight multi‐branch is used to deal with features on different scales, and an attention mechanism is introduced to determine the weights of the branches that fit the scale. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed SCNet outperforms most existing methods.