bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spatiotemporal Variations of Focal Mechanism and In Situ Vp/Vs Ratio During the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption
Authors: Lin Guoqing , Shearer Peter M. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractWe examine the spatiotemporal variations in seismic parameters corresponding to the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. We find that the summit area had mainly strike‐slip focal solutions prior to the eruption, whereas normal‐faulting was the predominant feature during the eruption, partially due to the collapse events. In contrast, the majority of the earthquakes in the central south flank had normal‐faulting solutions before December 2017, in agreement with the normal‐faulting of the Hilina Fault System, while there are more reverse solutions during the eruption. We also observe temporal variations in the estimated in situ ratios corresponding to the eruption, with increases in the summit and decreases in the East Rift Zone. The sustained low ratios below 4 km depth under the summit caldera may suggest persistent ascent of volatiles from the mantle. The low values in the East Rift Zone are probably associated with increased degassing.
Mineral Dust Coupled With Climate‐Carbon Cycle on Orbital Timescales Over the Past 4 Ma
Authors: Cao Mengmeng , Wang Zhixiang , Sui Yu , Li Yanzhen , Zhang Ze , Xiao Anguo , Zhang Rui , Kemp David B. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe behaviors between δ13Cbenthic and δ18Obenthic are anti‐phased after 6 Ma, and many mechanisms have been proposed to explain their behaviors. However, this question remains debated. Here, we reconstruct the interaction between mineral dust, global carbon cycle changes, and climate‐cryosphere system since 4 Ma. Our results suggest that Asian and/or global dust fluxes may have transported the signal of periodic Arctic ice sheet variability to the deep‐sea δ13Cbenthic record by mediating the strength of oceanic biological pumping. This can explain why δ13Cbenthic data show very similar orbital‐scale variability to δ18Obenthic changes controlled by Arctic ice sheet variability. A sharp increase in global dust fluxes after 1.6 Ma resulted in a significant weakening of the 405 kyr long eccentricity variance in δ13Cbenthic data. We propose that mineral dust may have been one of the most important factors controlling the anti‐phase relationship between δ13Cbenthic and δ18Obenthic over the past 6 million years.
Verrucomicrobiota are specialist consumers of sulfated methyl pentoses during diatom blooms
Authors: Orellana Luis H , Francis T Ben , Ferraro Marcela , Hehemann Jan-Hendrik , Fuchs Bernhard M , Amann Rudolf I 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Marine algae annually sequester petagrams of carbon dioxide into polysaccharides, which are a central metabolic fuel for marine carbon cycling. Diatom microalgae produce sulfated polysaccharides containing methyl pentoses that are challenging to degrade for bacteria compared to other monomers, implicating these sugars as a potential carbon sink. Free-living bacteria occurring in phytoplankton blooms that specialise on consuming microalgal sugars, containing fucose and rhamnose remain unknown. Here, genomic and proteomic data indicate that small, coccoid, free-living Verrucomicrobiota specialise in fucose and rhamnose consumption during spring algal blooms in the North Sea. Verrucomicrobiota cell abundance was coupled with the algae bloom onset and accounted for up to 8% of the bacterioplankton. Glycoside hydrolases, sulfatases, and bacterial microcompartments, critical proteins for the consumption of fucosylated and sulfated polysaccharides, were actively expressed during consecutive spring bloom events. These specialised pathways were assigned to novel and discrete candidate species of the Akkermansiaceae and Puniceicoccaceae families, which we here describe as Candidatus Mariakkermansia forsetii and Candidatus Fucivorax forsetii. Moreover, our results suggest specialised metabolic pathways could determine the fate of complex polysaccharides consumed during algae blooms. Thus the sequestration of phytoplankton organic matter via methyl pentose sugars likely depend on the activity of specialised Verrucomicrobiota populations.
Absence of covert face valuation in Autism
Authors: Vinckier Fabien , Pessiglione Mathias , Forgeot d’Arc Baudouin 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAutism is a neurodevelopmental condition defined on clinical criteria related to diminished social reciprocity and stereotyped behavior. An influential view explains autism as a social motivation disorder characterized by less attention paid to the social environment and less pleasure experienced with social rewards. However, experimental attempts to validate this theory, by testing the impact of social reward on behavioral choice and brain activity, has yielded mixed results, possibly due to variations in how explicit instructions were about task goals. Here, we specified the putative motivation deficit as an absence of spontaneous valuation in the social domain, unexplained by inattention and correctible by explicit instruction. Since such deficit cannot be assessed with behavioral measures, we used functional neuroimaging (fMRI) to readout covert subjective values, assigned to social and nonsocial stimuli (faces and objects), either explicitly asked to participants (during a likeability judgment task) or not (during age or size estimation tasks). Value-related neural activity observed for objects, or for faces under explicit instructions, was very similar in autistic and control participants, with an activation peak in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), known as a key node of the brain valuation system. The only difference observed in autistic participants was an absence of the spontaneous valuation normally triggered by faces, even when they were attended for age estimation. Our findings, therefore, suggest that in autism, social stimuli might fail to trigger the automatic activation of the brain valuation system.
Functional comparison of MERS-coronavirus lineages reveals increased replicative fitness of the recombinant lineage 5
Authors: Schroeder Simon , Mache Christin , Kleine-Weber Hannah , Corman Victor M. , Muth Doreen , Richter Anja , Fatykhova Diana , Memish Ziad A. , Stanifer Megan L. , Boulant Steeve , Gultom Mitra , Dijkman Ronald , Eggeling Stephan , Hocke Andreas , Hippenstiel Stefan , Thiel Volker , Pöhlmann Stefan , Wolff Thorsten , Müller Marcel A. , Drosten Christian 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMiddle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is enzootic in dromedary camels across the Middle East and Africa. Virus-induced pneumonia in humans results from animal contact, with a potential for limited onward transmission. Phenotypic changes have been suspected after a novel recombinant clade (lineage 5) caused large nosocomial outbreaks in Saudi Arabia and South Korea in 2016. However, there has been no functional assessment. Here we perform a comprehensive in vitro and ex vivo comparison of viruses from parental and recombinant virus lineages (lineage 3, n = 7; lineage 4, n = 8; lineage 5, n = 9 viruses) from Saudi Arabia, isolated immediately before and after the shift toward lineage 5. Replication of lineage 5 viruses is significantly increased. Transcriptional profiling finds reduced induction of immune genes IFNB1, CCL5, and IFNL1 in lung cells infected with lineage 5 strains. Phenotypic differences may be determined by IFN antagonism based on experiments using IFN receptor knock out and signaling inhibition. Additionally, lineage 5 is more resilient against IFN pre-treatment of Calu-3 cells (ca. 10-fold difference in replication). This phenotypic change associated with lineage 5 has remained undiscovered by viral sequence surveillance, but may be a relevant indicator of pandemic potential.
Different historical generation intervals in human populations inferred from Neanderthal fragment lengths and mutation signatures
Authors: Coll Macià Moisès , Skov Laurits , Peter Benjamin Marco , Schierup Mikkel Heide 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAfter the main Out-of-Africa event, humans interbred with Neanderthals leaving 1–2% of Neanderthal DNA scattered in small fragments in all non-African genomes today. Here we investigate what can be learned about human demographic processes from the size distribution of these fragments. We observe differences in fragment length across Eurasia with 12% longer fragments in East Asians than West Eurasians. Comparisons between extant populations with ancient samples show that these differences are caused by different rates of decay in length by recombination since the Neanderthal admixture. In concordance, we observe a strong correlation between the average fragment length and the mutation accumulation, similar to what is expected by changing the ages at reproduction as estimated from trio studies. Altogether, our results suggest differences in the generation interval across Eurasia, by up 10–20%, over the past 40,000 years. We use sex-specific mutation signatures to infer whether these changes were driven by shifts in either male or female age at reproduction, or both. We also find that previously reported variation in the mutational spectrum may be largely explained by changes to the generation interval. We conclude that Neanderthal fragment lengths provide unique insight into differences among human populations over recent history.
Ferroelectric phase-transition frustration near a tricritical composition point
Authors: Wei Xian-Kui , Prokhorenko Sergei , Wang Bi-Xia , Liu Zenghui , Xie Yu-Juan , Nahas Yousra , Jia Chun-Lin , Dunin-Borkowski Rafal E. , Mayer Joachim , Bellaiche Laurent , Ye Zuo-Guang 
Published: September 2021

AbstractPhase transition describes a mutational behavior of matter states at a critical transition temperature or external field. Despite the phase-transition orders are well sorted by classic thermodynamic theory, ambiguous situations interposed between the first- and second-order transitions were exposed one after another. Here, we report discovery of phase-transition frustration near a tricritical composition point in ferroelectric Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3. Our multi-scale transmission electron microscopy characterization reveals a number of geometrically frustrated microstructure features such as self-assembled hierarchical domain structure, degeneracy of mesoscale domain tetragonality and decoupled polarization-strain relationship. Associated with deviation from the classic mean-field theory, dielectric critical exponent anomalies and temperature dependent birefringence data unveil that the frustrated transition order stems from intricate competition of short-range polar orders and their decoupling to long-range lattice deformation. With supports from effective Hamiltonian Monte Carlo simulations, our findings point out a potentially universal mechanism to comprehend the abnormal critical phenomena occurring in phase-transition materials.
Bio-inspired poly-DL-serine materials resist the foreign-body response
Authors: Zhang Donghui , Chen Qi , Bi Yufang , Zhang Haodong , Chen Minzhang , Wan Jianglin , Shi Chao , Zhang Wenjing , Zhang Junyu , Qiao Zhongqian , Li Jin , Chen Shengfu , Liu Runhui 
Published: September 2021

AbstractImplantation-caused foreign-body response (FBR) is a commonly encountered issue and can result in failure of implants. The high L-serine content in low immunogenic silk sericin, and the high D-serine content as a neurotransmitter together inspire us to prepare poly-DL-serine (PSer) materials in mitigating the FBR. Here we report highly water soluble, biocompatible and easily accessible PSer hydrogels that cause negligible inflammatory response after subcutaneous implantation in mice for 1 week and 2 weeks. No obvious collagen capsulation is found surrounding the PSer hydrogels after 4 weeks, 3 months and 7 months post implantation. Histological analysis on inflammatory cytokines and RNA-seq assay both indicate that PSer hydrogels show low FBR, comparable to the Mock group. The anti-FBR performance of PSer hydrogels at all time points surpass the poly(ethyleneglycol) hydrogels that is widely utilized as bio-inert materials, implying the potent and wide application of PSer materials in implantable biomaterials and biomedical devices.
Genuine quantum networks with superposed tasks and addressing
Authors: Miguel-Ramiro J. , Pirker A. , Dür W. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractWe show how to make quantum networks, both standard and entanglement-based, genuine quantum by providing them with the possibility of handling superposed tasks and superposed addressing. This extension of their functionality relies on a quantum control register, which specifies not only the task of the network, but also the corresponding weights in a coherently superposed fashion. Although adding coherent control to classical tasks, such as sending or measuring—or not doing so—is in general impossible, we introduce protocols that are able to mimick this behavior under certain conditions. We achieve this by always performing the classical task, either on the desired state or a properly chosen dummy state. We provide several examples, and show that externally controlling quantum superposition of tasks offers additional possibilities and advantages over usually considered single functionality. For instance, superpositions of different target state configurations shared among different nodes of the network can be prepared, or quantum information can be sent among a superposition of different paths or to different destinations.
Implementation of a 46-node quantum metropolitan area network
Authors: Chen Teng-Yun , Jiang Xiao , Tang Shi-Biao , Zhou Lei , Yuan Xiao , Zhou Hongyi , Wang Jian , Liu Yang , Chen Luo-Kan , Liu Wei-Yue , Zhang Hong-Fei , Cui Ke , Liang Hao , Li Xiao-Gang , Mao Yingqiu , Wang Liu-Jun , Feng Si-Bo , Chen Qing , Zhang Qiang , Li Li , Liu Nai-Le , Peng Cheng-Zhi , Ma Xiongfeng , Zhao Yong , Pan Jian-Wei 
Published: September 2021

AbstractQuantum key distribution (QKD) enables secure key exchanges between two remote users. The ultimate goal of secure communication is to establish a global quantum network. The existing field tests suggest that quantum networks are feasible. To achieve a practical quantum network, we need to overcome several challenges including realizing versatile topologies for large scales, simple network maintenance, extendable configuration and robustness to node failures. To this end, we present a field operation of a quantum metropolitan-area network with 46 nodes and show that all these challenges can be overcome with cutting-edge quantum technologies. In particular, we realize different topological structures and continuously run the network for 31 months, by employing standard equipment for network maintenance with an extendable configuration. We realize QKD pairing and key management with a sophisticated key control centre. In this implementation, the final keys have been used for secure communication such as real-time voice telephone, text messaging and file transmission with one-time pad encryption, which can support 11 pairs of users to make audio calls simultaneously. Combined with intercity quantum backbone and ground–satellite links, our metropolitan implementation paves the way toward a global quantum network.
Nitroalkene fatty acids modulate bile acid metabolism and lung function in obese asthma
Authors: Manni Michelle L. , Heinrich Victoria A. , Buchan Gregory J. , O’Brien James P. , Uvalle Crystal , Cechova Veronika , Koudelka Adolf , Ukani Dharti , Rawas-Qalaji Mohamad , Oury Tim D. , Hart Renee , Ellgass Madeline , Mullett Steven J. , Fajt Merritt L. , Wenzel Sally E. , Holguin Fernando , Freeman Bruce A. , Wendell Stacy G. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBile acid profiles are altered in obese individuals with asthma. Thus, we sought to better understand how obesity-related systemic changes contribute to lung pathophysiology. We also test the therapeutic potential of nitro-oleic acid (NO2-OA), a regulator of metabolic and inflammatory signaling pathways, to mitigate allergen and obesity-induced lung function decline in a murine model of asthma. Bile acids were measured in the plasma of healthy subjects and individuals with asthma and serum and lung tissue of mice with and without allergic airway disease (AAD). Lung function, indices of inflammation and hepatic bile acid enzyme expression were measured in obese mice with house dust mite-induced AAD treated with vehicle or NO2-OA. Serum levels of glycocholic acid and glycoursodeoxycholic acid clinically correlate with body mass index and airway hyperreactivity whereas murine levels of β-muricholic acid and tauro-β-muricholic acid were significantly increased and positively correlated with impaired lung function in obese mice with AAD. NO2-OA reduced murine bile acid levels by modulating hepatic expression of bile acid synthesis enzymes, with a concomitant reduction in small airway resistance and tissue elastance. Bile acids correlate to body mass index and lung function decline and the signaling actions of nitroalkenes can limit AAD by modulating bile acid metabolism, revealing a potential pharmacologic approach to improving the current standard of care.
Dissection of the genetic basis of genotype-by-environment interactions for grain yield and main agronomic traits in Iranian bread wheat landraces and cultivars
Authors: Alipour Hadi , Abdi Hossein , Rahimi Yousef , Bihamta Mohammad Reza 
Published: September 2021

AbstractUnderstanding the genetic basis of performance stability is essential to maintain productivity, especially under severe conditions. In the present study, 268 Iranian bread wheat landraces and cultivars were evaluated in four well-watered and two rain-fed conditions for different traits. According to breeding programs, cultivars were in a group with a high mean and stability in terms of GY, GN, and SW traits, while in terms of PH, they had a low mean and high stability. The stability of cultivars and landraces was related to dynamic and static stability, respectively. The highest number of marker pairs and lowest LD decay distance in both cultivars and landraces was observed on the B genome. Population structure differentiated indigenous cultivars and landraces, and the GWAS results for each were almost different despite the commonalities. Chromosomes 1B, 3B, 7B, 2A, and 4A had markers with pleiotropic effects on the stability of different traits. Due to two rain-fed environments, the Gene Ontology (GO) confirmed the accuracy of the results. The identified markers in this study can be helpful in breeding high-performance and stable genotypes and future breeding programs such as fine mapping and cloning.
The relationship between health IT characteristics and organizational variables among German healthcare workers
Authors: Gaube Susanne , Cecil Julia , Wagner Simon , Schicho Andreas 
Published: September 2021

AbstractHealth information technologies (HITs) are widely employed in healthcare and are supposed to improve quality of care and patient safety. However, so far, their implementation has shown mixed results, which might be explainable by understudied psychological factors of human–HIT interaction. Therefore, the present study investigates the association between the perception of HIT characteristics and psychological and organizational variables among 445 healthcare workers via a cross-sectional online survey in Germany. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that good HIT usability was associated with lower levels of techno-overload and lower IT-related strain. In turn, experiencing techno-overload and IT-related strain was associated with lower job satisfaction. An effective error management culture at the workplace was linked to higher job satisfaction and a slightly lower frequency of self-reported medical errors. About 69% of surveyed healthcare workers reported making errors less frequently than their colleagues, suggesting a bias in either the perception or reporting of errors. In conclusion, the study’s findings indicate that ensuring high perceived usability when implementing HITs is crucial to avoiding frustration among healthcare workers and keeping them satisfied. Additionally healthcare facilities should invest in error management programs since error management culture is linked to other important organizational variables.
Implementation of an efficient SARS-CoV-2 specimen pooling strategy for high throughput diagnostic testing
Authors: Singh Lavanya , Anyaneji Ugochukwu J. , Ndifon Wilfred , Turok Neil , Mattison Stacey A. , Lessells Richard , Sinayskiy Ilya , San Emmanuel J. , Tegally Houriiyah , Barnett Shaun , Lorimer Trevor , Petruccione Francesco , de Oliveira Tulio 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe rapid identification and isolation of infected individuals remains a key strategy for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Frequent testing of populations to detect infection early in asymptomatic or presymptomatic individuals can be a powerful tool for intercepting transmission, especially when the viral prevalence is low. However, RT-PCR testing—the gold standard of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis—is expensive, making regular testing of every individual unfeasible. Sample pooling is one approach to lowering costs. By combining samples and testing them in groups the number of tests required is reduced, substantially lowering costs. Here we report on the implementation of pooling strategies using 3-d and 4-d hypercubes to test a professional sports team in South Africa. We have shown that infected samples can be reliably detected in groups of 27 and 81, with minimal loss of assay sensitivity for samples with individual Ct values of up to 32. We report on the automation of sample pooling, using a liquid-handling robot and an automated web interface to identify positive samples. We conclude that hypercube pooling allows for the reliable RT-PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection, at significantly lower costs than lateral flow antigen (LFA) tests.
RNA-seq profiling reveals PBMC RNA as a potential biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Han Zhiyi , Feng Wenxing , Hu Rui , Ge Qinyu , Ma Wenfeng , Zhang Wei , Xu Shaomin , Zhan Bolin , Zhang Lai , Sun Xinfeng , Zhou Xiaozhou 
Published: September 2021

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors and has extremely high morbidity and mortality. Although many existing studies have focused on the identification of biomarkers, little information has been uncovered regarding the PBMC RNA profile of HCC. We attempted to create a profile throughout using expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) RNA using RNA-seq technology and compared the transcriptome between HCC patients and healthy controls. Seventeen patients and 17 matched healthy controls were included in this study, and PBMC RNA was sequenced from all samples. Sequencing data were analyzed using bioinformatics tools, and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used for selected validation of DEGs. A total of 1,578 dysregulated genes were found in the PBMC samples, including 1,334 upregulated genes and 244 downregulated genes. GO enrichment and KEGG studies revealed that HCC is closely linked to differentially expressed genes (DEGs) implicated in the immune response. Expression of 6 selected genes (SELENBP1, SLC4A1, SLC26A8, HSPA8P4, CALM1, and RPL7p24) was confirmed by qRT-PCR, and higher sensitivity and specificity were obtained by ROC analysis of the 6 genes. CALM1 was found to gradually decrease as tumors enlarged. Nearly the opposite expression modes were obtained when compared to tumor sequencing data. Immune cell populations exhibited significant differences between HCC and controls. These findings suggest a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of HCC. This study provides new perspectives for liver cancer development and possible future successful clinical diagnosis.