bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MECOM permits pancreatic acinar cell dedifferentiation avoiding cell death under stress conditions
Authors: Backx Elyne , Wauters Elke , Baldan Jonathan , Van Bulck Mathias , Michiels Ellis , Heremans Yves , De Paep Diedert Luc , Kurokawa Mineo , Goyama Susumu , Bouwens Luc , Jacquemin Patrick , Houbracken Isabelle , Rooman Ilse 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMaintenance of the pancreatic acinar cell phenotype suppresses tumor formation. Hence, repetitive acute or chronic pancreatitis, stress conditions in which the acinar cells dedifferentiate, predispose for cancer formation in the pancreas. Dedifferentiated acinar cells acquire a large panel of duct cell-specific markers. However, it remains unclear to what extent dedifferentiated acini differ from native duct cells and which genes are uniquely regulating acinar cell dedifferentiation. Moreover, most studies have been performed on mice since the availability of human cells is scarce. Here, we applied a non-genetic lineage tracing method of human pancreatic exocrine acinar and duct cells that allowed cell-type-specific gene expression profiling by RNA sequencing. Subsequent to this discovery analysis, one transcription factor that was unique for dedifferentiated acinar cells was functionally characterized. RNA sequencing analysis showed that human dedifferentiated acinar cells expressed genes in “Pathways of cancer” with a prominence of MECOM (EVI-1), a transcription factor that was not expressed by duct cells. During mouse embryonic development, pre-acinar cells also transiently expressed MECOM and in the adult mouse pancreas, MECOM was re-expressed when mice were subjected to acute and chronic pancreatitis, conditions in which acinar cells dedifferentiate. In human cells and in mice, MECOM expression correlated with and was directly regulated by SOX9. Mouse acinar cells that, by genetic manipulation, lose the ability to upregulate MECOM showed impaired cell adhesion, more prominent acinar cell death, and suppressed acinar cell dedifferentiation by limited ERK signaling. In conclusion, we transcriptionally profiled the two major human pancreatic exocrine cell types, acinar and duct cells, during experimental stress conditions. We provide insights that in dedifferentiated acinar cells, cancer pathways are upregulated in which MECOM is a critical regulator that suppresses acinar cell death by permitting cellular dedifferentiation.
HIF1α/HIF2α–Sox2/Klf4 promotes the malignant progression of glioblastoma via the EGFR–PI3K/AKT signalling pathway with positive feedback under hypoxia
Authors: Wang Pan , Zhao Lu , Gong Sheng , Xiong Shuanglong , Wang Junwei , Zou Dewei , Pan Jinyu , Deng Yangmin , Yan Qian , Wu Nan , Liao Bin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractPrevious studies have suggested that hypoxic responses are regulated by hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), which in turn promote the malignant progression of glioblastoma (GBM) by inhibiting apoptosis and increasing proliferation; these events lead to a poor prognosis of GBM patients. However, there are still no HIF-targeted therapies for the treatment of GBM. We have conducted series of experiments and discovered that GBM cells exhibit features indicative of malignant progression and are present in a hypoxic environment. Knocking out HIF1α or HIF2α alone resulted in no significant change in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in response to acute hypoxia, but cells showed inhibition of stemness expression and chemosensitization to temozolomide (TMZ) treatment. However, simultaneously knocking out HIF1α and HIF2α inhibited cell cycle arrest and promoted proliferation with decreased stemness, making GBM cells more sensitive to chemotherapy, which could improve patient prognosis. Thus, HIF1α and HIF2α regulate each other with negative feedback. In addition, HIF1α and HIF2α are upstream regulators of epidermal growth factor (EGF), which controls the malignant development of GBM through the EGFR–PI3K/AKT–mTOR–HIF1α signalling pathway. In brief, the HIF1α/HIF2α–EGF/EGFR–PI3K/AKT–mTOR–HIF1α signalling axis contributes to the growth of GBM through a positive feedback mechanism. Finally, HIF1α and HIF2α regulate Sox2 and Klf4, contributing to stemness expression and inducing cell cycle arrest, thus increasing malignancy in GBM. In summary, HIF1α and HIF2α regulate glioblastoma malignant progression through the EGFR–PI3K/AKT pathway via a positive feedback mechanism under the effects of Sox2 and Klf4, which provides a new tumour development model and strategy for glioblastoma treatment.
First observation of seasonal variations in the meat and co-products of the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in the Barents Sea
Authors: Solstad Runar Gjerp , Descomps Alexandre , Siikavuopio Sten Ivar , Karstad Rasmus , Vang Birthe , Dragøy Whitaker Ragnhild 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio), SC, is a newly established species in the Barents Sea. The snow crab fishery has established itself as a new and profitable industry in Norway in the last decade. The fishery started as a year-round fishery, without any information of possible seasonal variations in the quality of the product. In 2017 a total allowable catch was established by the Norwegian government, and the fisheries were subsequently closed during the summer months. In order to optimize fishing times, and to evaluate this growing industry in the Barents Sea, seasonal variations of the meat content of the clusters, as well as variations in content and quality of co-products were investigated, aiming to identify the seasons where the exploitation of different products from SC can be most profitable. The results show seasonal variations in meat content and in composition of co-products. The highest co-product quantities and meat content are from February to April, followed by a period from June to September with decreasing meat and co-products. Our recommendation is to capture the SC in the winter–spring period in the Barents Sea, supporting the current situation and creating most value for the fisheries.
Potential novel biomarkers for chronic lung allograft dysfunction and azithromycin responsive allograft dysfunction
Authors: Veraar Cecilia , Kliman Jonathan , Benazzo Alberto , Oberndorfer Felicitas , Laggner Maria , Hacker Philipp , Raunegger Thomas , Janik Stefan , Jaksch Peter , Klepetko Walter , Ankersmit Hendrik J. , Moser Bernhard 
Published: March 2021

AbstractChronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction (CLAD), manifesting as Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS) or Restrictive Allograft Syndrome (RAS), is the main reason for adverse long-term outcome after Lung Transplantation (LTX). Until now, no specific biomarkers exist to differentiate between CLAD phenotypes. Therefore, we sought to find suitable cytokines to distinguish between BOS, RAS and Azithromycin Responsive Allograft Dysfunction (ARAD); and reveal potential similarities or differences to end-stage fibrotic diseases. We observed significantly increased Lipocalin-2 serum concentrations in RAS compared to BOS patients. In addition, in RAS patients immunohistochemistry revealed Lipocalin-2 expression in bronchial epithelium and alveolar walls. Patients with ARAD showed significantly lower Activin-A serum concentrations compared to Stable-LTX and BOS patients. Further, increased serum concentrations of Lipocalin-2 and Activin-A were predictors of worse freedom-from-CLAD in Stable-LTX patients. These biomarkers serve as promising serum biomarkers for CLAD prediction and seem suitable for implementation in clinical practice.
Fasciola hepatica hijacks host macrophage miRNA machinery to modulate early innate immune responses
Authors: Tran Nham , Ricafrente Alison , To Joyce , Lund Maria , Marques Tania M. , Gama-Carvalho Margarida , Cwiklinski Krystyna , Dalton John P. , Donnelly Sheila 
Published: March 2021

AbstractFasciola hepatica, a global worm parasite of humans and their livestock, regulates host innate immune responses within hours of infection. Host macrophages, essential to the first-line defence mechanisms, are quickly restricted in their ability to initiate a classic protective pro-inflammatory immune response. We found that macrophages from infected animals are enriched with parasite-derived micro(mi)RNAs. The most abundant of these miRNAs, fhe-miR-125b, is released by the parasite via exosomes and is homologous to a mammalian miRNA, hsa-miR-125b, that is known to regulate the activation of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages. We show that the parasite fhe-miR-125b loads onto the mammalian Argonaut protein (Ago-2) within macrophages during infection and, therefore, propose that it mimics host miR-125b to negatively regulate the production of inflammatory cytokines. The hijacking of the miRNA machinery controlling innate cell function could be a fundamental mechanism by which worm parasites disarm the early immune responses of their host to ensure successful infection.
Differentiation of Mitragyna speciosa, a narcotic plant, from allied Mitragyna species using DNA barcoding-high-resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis
Authors: Tungphatthong Chayapol , Urumarudappa Santhosh Kumar J. , Awachai Supita , Sooksawate Thongchai , Sukrong Suchada 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMitragyna speciosa (Korth.) Havil. [MS], or “kratom” in Thai, is the only narcotic species among the four species of Mitragyna in Thailand, which also include Mitragyna diversifolia (Wall. ex G. Don) Havil. [MD], Mitragyna hirsuta Havil. [MH], and Mitragyna rotundifolia (Roxb.) O. Kuntze [MR]. M. speciosa is a tropical tree belonging to the Rubiaceae family and has been prohibited by law in Thailand. However, it has been extensively covered in national and international news, as its abuse has become more popular. M. speciosa is a narcotic plant and has been used as an opium substitute and traditionally used for the treatment of chronic pain and various illnesses. Due to morphological disparities in the genus, the identification of plants in various forms, including fresh leaves, dried leaf powder, and finished products, is difficult. In this study, DNA barcoding combined with high-resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis was performed to differentiate M. speciosa from allied Mitragyna and to assess the capability of Bar-HRM assays to identify M. speciosa in suspected kratom or M. speciosa-containing samples. Bar-HRM analysis of PCR amplicons was based on the ITS2, rbcL, trnH-psbA, and matK DNA barcode regions. The melting profiles of ITS2 amplicons were clearly distinct, which enabled the authentication and differentiation of Mitragyna species from allied species. This study reveals that DNA barcoding coupled with HRM is an efficient tool with which to identify M. speciosa and M. speciosa-containing samples and ensure the safety and quality of traditional Thai herbal medicines.
A novel model to eliminate the doubly near‐far problem in wireless powered communication network
Authors: Singh Jitendra , Chaturvedi Akanksha , Sharma Sandeep , Singh Abhilash 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn this paper, the newly emerging wireless powered communication network is studied. In doing so, the performance of the global controller (GC) is evaluated, which coordinates the wireless energy transmissions between two sensor nodes. Both the sensors have the same harvested energy for uplink (UL) transmission of information through time‐division‐multiple‐access. Afterwards, the information transmission time is optimised to maximise the common throughput of both the sensors with a total time constraint based on the user's UL channels along with the same harvested energy value. Further, due to the “doubly near‐far” phenomenon, a remote sensor from the GC, which has poor channel conditions than a nearer user, has to transmit more time in the UL for maximum common throughput. To overcome this problem, the energy exchange (EEx) model is proposed where both sensors first harvest the same amount of wireless energy and then exchange energy to nullify the different channel conditions between sensors and GC to send their independent information in the UL. Simulation results demonstrate the EEx Model's effectiveness over without energy exchange (WEEx) model in eliminating the doubly near‐far problem in wireless powered communication network but at the cost of maximum sum‐throughput. The maximum sum‐throughput of the proposed EEx model is lower than the WEEx model. However, the average BER in the proposed EEx model is lower than the WEEx model, which increases the reliability of the model.
Switched capacitor low‐pass filter with amorphous indium‐gallium‐zinc‐oxide thin‐film transistors on flexible substrate
Authors: Wadhwa Nishtha , Bahubalindruni Pydi Ganga , Pedda Sujit , Gupta Mayank , Mahato Pradeep Kumar , Gupta Deepak , Deb Sujay , Tripathi Ashutosh Kumar 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis paper presents a novel switched capacitor biquad with a high gain differential amplifier for the first time using amorphous indium‐gallium‐zinc‐oxide thin‐film transistors on flexible (polyimide) substrate. The proposed low‐pass filter was successfully characterised under normal ambient conditions. The circuit has shown a 3‐dB cutoff frequency of 155 Hz and power consumption of 336 μW from measurements with a power supply voltage of 10 V. This circuit would find potential applications in wearable continuous health monitoring systems.
Recognizing apple leaf diseases using a novel parallel real‐time processing framework based on MASK RCNN and transfer learning: An application for smart agriculture
Authors: Rehman Zia ur , Khan Muhammad Attique , Ahmed Fawad , Damaševičius Robertas , Naqvi Syed Rameez , Nisar Wasif , Javed Kashif 
Published: March 2021

AbstractEffective recognition of fruit leaf diseases has a substantial impact on agro‐based economies. Several fruit diseases exist that badly impact the yield and quality of fruits. A naked‐eye inspection of an infected region is a difficult and tedious process; therefore, it is required to have an automated system for accurate recognition of the disease. It is widely understood that low contrast images affect identification and classification accuracy. Here a parallel framework for real‐time apple leaf disease identification and classification is proposed. Initially, a hybrid contrast stretching method to increase the visual impact of an image is proposed and then the MASK RCNN is configured to detect the infected regions. In parallel, the enhanced images are utilized for training a pre‐trained CNN model for features extraction. The Kapur's entropy along MSVM (EaMSVM) approach‐based selection method is developed to select strong features for the final classification. The Plant Village dataset is employed for the experimental process and achieve the best accuracy of 96.6% on the ensemble subspace discriminant analysis (ESDA) classifier. A comparison with the previous techniques illustrates the superiority of the proposed framework.
Large‐scale implementation of floating car data monitoring road friction
Authors: Sollén S. , Casselgren J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn Sweden today, friction measurements are performed manually, often using methods generating spot‐wise measurements. Because the low numbers of measurements provided by these methods are insufficient to follow up on the friction requirements set by the Swedish Transport Administration, the Administration has initiated the Digital Winter project. In Digital Winter, floating car data (FCD) are utilised for road friction estimation. The focus in this investigation is on coverage, and on whether the FCD detects harsh weather conditions with decreasing road friction. Two different methods—one continuous and one slip‐based—are implemented in this investigation. Furthermore, different approaches on how to build the vehicle fleet to collect the FCD have been applied using different combinations of commercial and private vehicles. The results showed that both methods detect low‐friction events, and for roads with high annual average daily traffic (AADT), the data collection using slip‐based methods and larger fleets gives more data points than for smaller fleets using continuous methods, and the reverse is true for lower AADT. The results showed differences between the two fleets in terms of coverage for the weekly and daily distributions, but overall, the method of using FCD for road friction estimation seems promising for the follow‐up of winter road maintenance.
High energy efficiency nanodielectrics with relaxor ferroelectric polymer and antiferroelectric (Pb0.97La0.02) (Zr0.63Sn0.3Ti0.07)O3 ceramics
Authors: Wang Jian , Xie Yunchuan , Chen Chao , Peng Biyun , Zhang Ben , Zhang Zhicheng 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDielectric materials with high‐energy‐density and low‐energy‐loss have received lot of attention in terms of renewable energy storage and application. PVDF‐based polymer/ceramics composite dielectrics are considered as one of the most promising materials due to their high dielectric constant. However, the high remnant polarisation (Pr) of ferroelectric polymer matrix and ceramics fillers generates a lot of energy loss and residual heat during charge‐discharge cycles, which limits their practical applications. Compared with ferroelectrics, relaxor ferroelectric and antiferroelectric dielectrics may have high energy efficiency due to their lower Pr. Here, the relaxor ferroelectric matrix and antiferroelectric filler coated by the polydopamine layer were prepared by chemical grafting and solid‐state method, respectively. Afterwards, the P(VDF‐TrFE‐CTFE)‐g‐PMMA/PLZST nanocomposite was prepared via solution casting. Experimental results show that the energy loss of the optimised nanocomposites was significantly reduced, leading to an enhanced charge‐discharge efficiency (η) of 78% at 450 MV/m, which is 267% of the pure P(VDF‐TrFE‐CTFE) matrix and superior to those of most polymer/ferroelectric filler nanocomposites. It is encouraging that the breakdown strength and energy storage density of the P(VDF‐TrFE‐CTFE)‐g‐PMMA/PLZST nanocomposites with 6 wt% filler fractions reach the values of 458 MV/m and 10.3 J/cm3. This study establishes a simple and effective strategy for preparing capacitors with high energy efficiency.
Dynamic sliding mode control of single‐stage boost inverter with parametric uncertainties and delay
Authors: Mohammadhassani Farideh , Narm Hossein Gholizade 
Published: March 2021

AbstractHere, a novel control strategy based on sliding mode control for the single‐stage boost inverter is presented. The goal is to achieve a system with robustness against inherent delays and variations in parameters, fast response, and high‐quality AC voltage. Therefore, according to the idea of current‐mode control, a new type of dynamic sliding mode control (DSMC) is proposed to improve the response performance on various input and parameter operation conditions. In comparison with the conventional controllers, the proposed DSMC utilized only a single loop while presenting attractive features such as robustness against parametric uncertainties and input delay by definition new sliding surfaces. Furthermore, the proposed system has a fast and chattering‐free response, provides an appropriate steady‐state error, good total harmonic distortion (THD), while its implementation is very simple. In a fair comparison with conventional sliding mode control, simulations and laboratory experiments verified satisfactory performance and effectiveness of the DSMC method.
Experimental studies on the influence of benzyl benzoate on viscosity of vegetable oil based insulating liquids for power transformer
Authors: Moosasait Bakrutheen , Maria Siluvairaj Willjuice Iruthayarajan , Eswaran Ramachandran 
Published: March 2021

AbstractFor insulating liquids in power transformers, the development of low viscous vegetable oil based liquids has been proposed in this work. The viscosity reduction of vegetable oil based liquids has been achieved by processing of the natural esters with different levels of concentration of aromatic solvent of benzyl benzoate. Two categories of vegetable oil based liquids, namely edible such as sunflower oil, palm oil and sesame oil, and non edible such as honge oil, neem oil and punna oil are considered for this investigation. The analysis is also extended to investigate the influence of benzyl benzoate on other critical properties of vegetable oil based liquids such as breakdown voltage, flash point, moisture content, acidity, and density. From the experimental results, it is revealed that inclusion of benzyl benzoate has shown considerable reduction in viscosity of vegetable oil based liquids. Also based on properties of processed natural esters, results have given away the positive encouragement towards the development of low viscous insulating liquids with combined benzyl benzoate and natural esters for application in high voltage power transformers.
Analysis of the Impact of China’s Energy Consumption Structure on Energy Security
Authors: Ning Wang , Zhao Li , Bei Zhang 
Published: March 2021

Energy, as the guarantee of China’s economic development, plays an important role in it. Nowadays, however, oil production almost reaches its upper limit and is going downhill. The yearly rising output of natural gas fails to meet the increasingly huge energy demand. Although coal reserves are large, it still gets into a bottleneck period due to environmental and technological reasons. Therefore, the adjustment and optimization of energy consumption structure is the primary problem for China’s energy security, and it has become, and will still remain as the core of China’s energy strategy in the future. So, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to delve into the inter relationship between energy consumption structure and energy security, and then to optimize energy consumption structure under the new situation.
After an in-depth analysis on how to adjust the energy consumption structure to ensure energy security, the author finds several problems, for instance, an unreasonable energy consumption structure, a serious environmental pollution, a low energy utilization rate, and a recessive role of energy price market. To solve the practical problems, this paper puts forward three measures namely deepening the supply side reform, accelerating the energy technology innovation, and changing the concept in energy use. The improvement in energy consumption structure is not only of general significance to improve the energy security theory, but also of great significance for China to achieve the goal of greenhouse gas emission reduction and ensure energy security.
Research on the synthesis of chitosan@MIL-100(Fe)
Authors: Zurong Song , Ali Tao , Xuehua Feng 
Published: March 2021

Objective: Studying new carrier materials to solve the problems of bioavailability and side effects of drugs in the body and choose the suitable carrier to coat the drug. This carrier not only improves the release and absorption of drug molecules in the body, but also significantly improves the bioavailability and reduces the toxic side effects of high concentrated drugs. Therefore, this paper focuses on the research of the synthesis of a new carrier material.
Methods:Using ferric nitrate as iron source, first add ferric nitrate, 1,3,5-benzene tricarbonic acid, chitosan solution and deionized water pro rata, then synthesize the product using mechanical stirring, and purify and dry the product.
Results:The maximum yield of chitosan is obtained when the concentration of chitosan is 1% using mechanical stirring method, and the yield is 0.6330 g.
Conclusion:The results show that the thinner the concentration of chitosan solution is, the better synthesizes the chitosan@MIL-100(Fe) and the higher the yield is. And it reaches the best result when the concentration is 1%.