bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hepatic cell mobilization for protection against ischemic myocardial injury
Authors: Liu Shu Q. , Troy John B. , Luan Chi-Hao , Guillory Roger J. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe heart is capable of activating protective mechanisms in response to ischemic injury to support myocardial survival and performance. These mechanisms have been recognized primarily in the ischemic heart, involving paracrine signaling processes. Here, we report a distant cardioprotective mechanism involving hepatic cell mobilization to the ischemic myocardium in response to experimental myocardial ischemia–reperfusion (MI-R) injury. A parabiotic mouse model was generated by surgical skin-union of two mice and used to induce bilateral MI-R injury with unilateral hepatectomy, establishing concurrent gain- and loss-of-hepatic cell mobilization conditions. Hepatic cells, identified based on the cell-specific expression of enhanced YFP, were found in the ischemic myocardium of parabiotic mice with intact liver (0.2 ± 0.1%, 1.1 ± 0.3%, 2.7 ± 0.6, and 0.7 ± 0.4% at 1, 3, 5, and 10 days, respectively, in reference to the total cell nuclei), but not significantly in the ischemic myocardium of parabiotic mice with hepatectomy (0 ± 0%, 0.1 ± 0.1%, 0.3 ± 0.2%, and 0.08 ± 0.08% at the same time points). The mobilized hepatic cells were able to express and release trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), a protein mitigating MI-R injury as demonstrated in TFF3−/− mice (myocardium infarcts 17.6 ± 2.3%, 20.7 ± 2.6%, and 15.3 ± 3.8% at 1, 5, and 10 days, respectively) in reference to wildtype mice (11.7 ± 1.9%, 13.8 ± 2.3%, and 11.0 ± 1.8% at the same time points). These observations suggest that MI-R injury can induce hepatic cell mobilization to support myocardial survival by releasing TFF3.
Ecological plasticity to ions concentration determines genetic response and dominance of Anopheles coluzzii larvae in urban coastal habitats of Central Africa
Authors: Longo-Pendy Neil M. , Tene-Fossog Billy , Tawedi Robert E. , Akone-Ella Ousman , Toty Celine , Rahola Nil , Braun Jean-Jacques , Berthet Nicolas , Kengne Pierre , Costantini Carlo , Ayala Diego 
Published: August 2021

AbstractIn Central Africa, the malaria vectorAnopheles coluzziiis predominant in urban and coastal habitats. However, little is known about the environmental factors that may be involved in this process. Here, we performed an analysis of 28 physicochemical characteristics of 59 breeding sites across 5 urban and rural sites in coastal areas of Central Africa. We then modelled the relative frequency ofAn. coluzziilarvae to these physicochemical parameters in order to investigate environmental patterns. Then, we assessed the expression variation of 10 candidate genes inAn. coluzzii, previously incriminated with insecticide resistance and osmoregulation in urban settings. Our results confirmed the ecological plasticity ofAn. coluzziilarvae to breed in a large range of aquatic conditions and its predominance in breeding sites rich in ions. Gene expression patterns were comparable between urban and rural habitats, suggesting a broad response to ions concentrations of whatever origin. Altogether,An. coluzziiexhibits a plastic response to occupy both coastal and urban habitats. This entails important consequences for malaria control in the context of the rapid urban expansion in Africa in the coming years.
Lung nodule detection in chest X-rays using synthetic ground-truth data comparing CNN-based diagnosis to human performance
Authors: Schultheiss Manuel , Schmette Philipp , Bodden Jannis , Aichele Juliane , Müller-Leisse Christina , Gassert Felix G. , Gassert Florian T. , Gawlitza Joshua F. , Hofmann Felix C. , Sasse Daniel , von Schacky Claudio E. , Ziegelmayer Sebastian , De Marco Fabio , Renger Bernhard , Makowski Marcus R. , Pfeiffer Franz , Pfeiffer Daniela 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWe present a method to generate synthetic thorax radiographs with realistic nodules from CT scans, and a perfect ground truth knowledge. We evaluated the detection performance of nine radiologists and two convolutional neural networks in a reader study. Nodules were artificially inserted into the lung of a CT volume and synthetic radiographs were obtained by forward-projecting the volume. Hence, our framework allowed for a detailed evaluation of CAD systems’ and radiologists’ performance due to the availability of accurate ground-truth labels for nodules from synthetic data. Radiographs for network training (U-Net and RetinaNet) were generated from 855 CT scans of a public dataset. For the reader study, 201 radiographs were generated from 21 nodule-free CT scans with altering nodule positions, sizes and nodule counts of inserted nodules. Average true positive detections by nine radiologists were 248.8 nodules, 51.7 false positive predicted nodules and 121.2 false negative predicted nodules. The best performing CAD system achieved 268 true positives, 66 false positives and 102 false negatives. Corresponding weighted alternative free response operating characteristic figure-of-merits (wAFROC FOM) for the radiologists range from 0.54 to 0.87 compared to a value of 0.81 (CI 0.75–0.87) for the best performing CNN. The CNN did not perform significantly better against the combined average of the 9 readers (p = 0.49). Paramediastinal nodules accounted for most false positive and false negative detections by readers, which can be explained by the presence of more tissue in this area.
High-throughput spatial sensitive quantitative phase microscopy using low spatial and high temporal coherent illumination
Authors: Ahmad Azeem , Dubey Vishesh , Jayakumar Nikhil , Habib Anowarul , Butola Ankit , Nystad Mona , Acharya Ganesh , Basnet Purusotam , Mehta Dalip Singh , Ahluwalia Balpreet Singh 
Published: August 2021

AbstractHigh space-bandwidth product with high spatial phase sensitivity is indispensable for a single-shot quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) system. It opens avenue for widespread applications of QPM in the field of biomedical imaging. Temporally low coherence light sources are implemented to achieve high spatial phase sensitivity in QPM at the cost of either reduced temporal resolution or smaller field of view (FOV). In addition, such light sources have low photon degeneracy. On the contrary, high temporal coherence light sources like lasers are capable of exploiting the full FOV of the QPM systems at the expense of less spatial phase sensitivity. In the present work, we demonstrated that use of narrowband partially spatially coherent light source also called pseudo-thermal light source (PTLS) in QPM overcomes the limitations of conventional light sources. The performance of PTLS is compared with conventional light sources in terms of space bandwidth product, phase sensitivity and optical imaging quality. The capabilities of PTLS are demonstrated on both amplitude (USAF resolution chart) and phase (thin optical waveguide, height ~ 8 nm) objects. The spatial phase sensitivity of QPM using PTLS is measured to be equivalent to that for white light source and supports the FOV (18 times more) equivalent to that of laser light source. The high-speed capabilities of PTLS based QPM is demonstrated by imaging live sperm cells that is limited by the camera speed and large FOV is demonstrated by imaging histopathology human placenta tissue samples. Minimal invasive, high-throughput, spatially sensitive and single-shot QPM based on PTLS will enable wider penetration of QPM in life sciences and clinical applications.
Delineating virulence of Vibrio campbellii: a predominant luminescent bacterial pathogen in Indian shrimp hatcheries
Authors: Kumar Sujeet , Kumar Chandra Bhushan , Rajendran Vidya , Abishaw Nishawlini , Anand P. S. Shyne , Kannapan S. , Nagaleekar Viswas K. , Vijayan K. K. , Alavandi S. V. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractLuminescent vibriosis is a major bacterial disease in shrimp hatcheries and causes up to 100% mortality in larval stages of penaeid shrimps. We investigated the virulence factors and genetic identity of 29 luminescentVibrioisolates from Indian shrimp hatcheries and farms, which were earlier presumed asVibrio harveyi. Haemolysin gene-based species-specific multiplex PCR and phylogenetic analysis ofrpoDandtoxRidentified all the isolates asV. campbellii. The gene-specific PCR revealed the presence of virulence markers involved in quorum sensing (luxM,luxS, cqsA), motility (flaA,lafA), toxin (hly, chiA, serine protease, metalloprotease), and virulence regulators (toxR, luxR) in all the isolates. The deduced amino acid sequence analysis of virulence regulator ToxR suggested four variants, namely A123Q150 (AQ; 18.9%), P123Q150 (PQ; 54.1%), A123P150 (AP; 21.6%), and P123P150 (PP; 5.4% isolates) based on amino acid at 123rd (proline or alanine) and 150th (glutamine or proline) positions. A significantly higher level of the quorum-sensing signal, autoinducer-2 (AI-2, p = 2.2e−12), and significantly reduced protease activity (p = 1.6e−07) were recorded in AP variant, whereas an inverse trend was noticed in the Q150 variants AQ and PQ. The pathogenicity study inPenaeus(Litopenaeus)vannameijuveniles revealed that all the isolates of AQ were highly pathogenic with Cox proportional hazard ratio 15.1 to 32.4 compared to P150 variants; PP (5.4 to 6.3) or AP (7.3 to 14). The correlation matrix suggested that protease, a metalloprotease, was positively correlated with pathogenicity (p > 0.05) and negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with AI-2 and AI-1. The syntenic organization oftoxS-toxR-htpGoperon inV. campbelliiwas found to be similar to pathogenicV. choleraesuggesting a similar regulatory role. The present study emphasizes thatV. campbelliiis a predominant pathogen in Indian shrimp hatcheries, and ToxR plays a significant role as a virulence regulator in the quorum sensing—protease pathway. Further, the study suggests that the presence of glutamine at 150th position (Q150) in ToxR is crucial for the pathogenicity ofV. campbellii.
Co-culture model of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia recapitulates a transcription signature of chemotherapy-refractory minimal residual disease
Authors: Rellick Stephanie L. , Hu Gangqing , Piktel Debra , Martin Karen H. , Geldenhuys Werner J. , Nair Rajesh R. , Gibson Laura F. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractB-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by accumulation of immature hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow, a well-established sanctuary site for leukemic cell survival during treatment. While standard of care treatment results in remission in most patients, a small population of patients will relapse, due to the presence of minimal residual disease (MRD) consisting of dormant, chemotherapy-resistant tumor cells. To interrogate this clinically relevant population of treatment refractory cells, we developed an in vitro cell model in which human ALL cells are grown in co-culture with human derived bone marrow stromal cells or osteoblasts. Within this co-culture, tumor cells are found in suspension, lightly attached to the top of the adherent cells, or buried under the adherent cells in a population that is phase dim (PD) by light microscopy. PD cells are dormant and chemotherapy-resistant, consistent with the population of cells that underlies MRD. In the current study, we characterized the transcriptional signature of PD cells by RNA-Seq, and these data were compared to a published expression data set derived from human MRD B-cell ALL patients. Our comparative analyses revealed that the PD cell population is markedly similar to the MRD expression patterns from the primary cells isolated from patients. We further identified genes and key signaling pathways that are common between the PD tumor cells from co-culture and patient derived MRD cells as potential therapeutic targets for future studies.
Evaluating the energetics of entrainment in a human–machine coupled oscillator system
Authors: Schroeder Ryan T. , Croft James L. , Bertram John E. A. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractDuring locomotion, humans sometimes entrain (i.e. synchronize) their steps to external oscillations: e.g. swaying bridges, tandem walking, bouncy harnesses, vibrating treadmills, exoskeletons. Previous studies have discussed the role of nonlinear oscillators (e.g. central pattern generators) in facilitating entrainment. However, the energetics of such interactions are unknown. Given substantial evidence that humans prioritize economy during locomotion, we tested whether reduced metabolic expenditure is associated with human entrainment to vertical force oscillations, where frequency and amplitude were prescribed via a custom mechatronics system during walking. Although metabolic cost was not significantly reduced during entrainment, individuals expended less energy when the oscillation forces did net positive work on the body and roughly selected phase relationships that maximize positive work. It is possible that individuals use mechanical cues to infer energy cost and inform effective gait strategies. If so, an accurate prediction may rely on the relative stability of interactions with the environment. Our results suggest that entrainment occurs over a wide range of oscillation parameters, though not as a direct priority for minimizing metabolic cost. Instead, entrainment may act to stabilize interactions with the environment, thus increasing predictability for the effective implementation of internal models that guide energy minimization.
Higher senescence associated secretory phenotype and lower defense mediator in urinary extracellular vesicles of elders with and without Parkinson disease
Authors: Yeh Shu-hui , Lin Chia-Hsueh , Yang Yun-Jung , Lin Li-Wei , Tseng Chih-Wen , Yang Kuender D. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractYouth fountain and aging culprits are usually sought and identified in blood but not urine. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) possess parental cell properties, circulate in blood, CSF and urine, and provide paracrine and remote cell–cell communication messengers. This study investigated whether senescence‐associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and immune defense factors in EVs of urine could serve as biomarkers in elderly individuals with and without a comorbidity. Urine samples from young adults and elderly individuals with and without Parkinson disease (PD) were collected and stored at − 80 °C until studies. Urine EVs were separated from a drop-through solution and confirmed by verifying CD9, CD63, CD81 and syntenin expression. The EVs and drop-through solution were subjected to measurement of SASP cytokines and defense factors by Milliplex array assays. Many SASP cytokines and defense factors could be detected in urinary EVs but not urinary solutions. Elderly individuals (age > 60) had significantly higher levels of the SASP-associated factors IL-8, IP-10, GRO, and MCP-1 in EVs (p < 0.05). In contrast, some defense factors, IL-4, MDC and IFNα2 in EVs had significantly lower levels in elderly adults than in young adults (age < 30). Patients with and without PD exhibited a similar SASP profile in EVs but significantly lower levels of IL-10 in the EVs from patients with PD. This study used a simple device to separate urinary EVs from solution for comparisons of SASP and defense mediators between young adults and elders with and without PD. Results from this study indicate that aging signature is present in EVs circulating to urine and the signatures include higher inflammatory mediators and lower defense factors in urinary EVs but not solutions, suggesting a simple method to separate urinary EVs from solutions for searching aging mechanistic biomarkers may make prediction of aging and monitoring of anti-senolytic interventions possible.
Deep graph neural network-based prediction of acute suicidal ideation in young adults
Authors: Choi Kyu Sung , Kim Sunghwan , Kim Byung-Hoon , Jeon Hong Jin , Kim Jong-Hoon , Jang Joon Hwan , Jeong Bumseok 
Published: August 2021

AbstractPrecise remote evaluation of both suicide risk and psychiatric disorders is critical for suicide prevention as well as for psychiatric well-being. Using questionnaires is an alternative to labor-intensive diagnostic interviews in a large general population, but previous models for predicting suicide attempts suffered from low sensitivity. We developed and validated a deep graph neural network model that increased the prediction sensitivity of suicide risk in young adults (n = 17,482 for training; n = 14,238 for testing) using multi-dimensional questionnaires and suicidal ideation within 2 weeks as the prediction target. The best model achieved a sensitivity of 76.3%, specificity of 83.4%, and an area under curve of 0.878 (95% confidence interval, 0.855–0.899). We demonstrated that multi-dimensional deep features covering depression, anxiety, resilience, self-esteem, and clinico-demographic information contribute to the prediction of suicidal ideation. Our model might be useful for the remote evaluation of suicide risk in the general population of young adults for specific situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new argument against cooling by convective air eddies formed above sunlit zebra stripes
Authors: Pereszlényi Ádám , Száz Dénes , Jánosi Imre M. , Horváth Gábor 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThere is a long-lasting debate about the possible functions of zebra stripes. According to one hypothesis, periodical convective air eddies form over sunlit zebra stripes which cool the body. However, the formation of such eddies has not been experimentally studied. Using schlieren imaging in the laboratory, we found: downwelling air streams do not form above the white stripes of light-heated smooth or hairy striped surfaces. The influence of stripes on the air stream formation (facilitating upwelling streams and hindering horizontal stream drift) is negligible higher than 1–2 cm above the surface. In calm weather, upwelling air streams might form above sunlit zebra stripes, however they are blown off by the weakest wind, or even by the slowest movement of the zebra. These results forcefully contradict the thermoregulation hypothesis involving air eddies.
Application of alpha1-antitrypsin in a rat model of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Authors: Edinger Fabian , Schmitt Christoph , Koch Christian , McIntosh J. Michael , Janciauskiene Sabina , Markmann Melanie , Sander Michael , Padberg Winfried , Grau Veronika 
Published: August 2021

AbstractExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-saving intervention for patients suffering from respiratory or cardiac failure. The ECMO-associated morbidity and mortality depends to a large extent on the underlying disease and is often related to systemic inflammation, consecutive immune paralysis and sepsis. Here we tested the hypothesis that human α1-antitrypsin (SERPINA1) due to its anti-protease and anti-inflammatory functions may attenuate ECMO-induced inflammation. We specifically aimed to test whether intravenous treatment with α1-antitrypsin reduces the release of cytokines in response to 2 h of experimental ECMO. Adult rats were intravenously infused with α1-antitrypsin immediately before starting veno-arterial ECMO. We measured selected pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and found, that systemic levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 increase during experimental ECMO. As tachycardia and hypertension developed in response to α1-antitrypsin, a single additional bolus of fentanyl and midazolam was given. Treatment with α1-antitrypsin and higher sedative doses reduced all cytokine levels investigated. We suggest that α1-antitrypsin might have the potential to protect against both ECMO-induced systemic inflammation and immune paralysis. More studies are needed to corroborate our findings, to clarify the mechanisms by which α1-antitrypsin inhibits cytokine release in vivo and to explore the potential application of α1-antitrypsin in clinical ECMO.
Effects of high-frequency nanosecond pulses on prostate cancer cells
Authors: Kiełbik Aleksander , Szlasa Wojciech , Novickij Vitalij , Szewczyk Anna , Maciejewska Magdalena , Saczko Jolanta , Kulbacka Julita 
Published: August 2021

AbstractElectroporation with pulsed electric fields show a potential to be applied as an experimental focal therapy of tumors. Sub-microsecond regime of electric pulses displays unique electrophysical features operative in cells and membranes. Recently, MHz compression of nanosecond pulses electric fields (nsPEFs) bursts proved to enhance the effectiveness of the therapy. High morbidity of prostate cancer (PCa) and risk of overtreatment associated with this malignancy call for new minimal-invasive treatment alternative. Herein we present the in vitro study for developing applications based on this new technology. In this study, we used flow cytometric analysis, cell viability assay, caspase activity analysis, wound healing assay, confocal microscopy study, and immunofluorescence to investigate the biological effect of high-frequency nsPEFs on PCa cells. Our results show that high-frequency nsPEFs induces the permeabilization and cell death of PCa cells. The cytotoxicity is significantly enhanced in MHz compression of pulses and with the presence of extracellular Ca2+. High-frequency nsPEFs trigger changes in PCa cells’ cytoskeleton and their mobility. The presented data show a therapeutic potential of high-frequency nsPEFs in a PCa setting. The sub-microsecond regime of pulses can potentially be applied in nanosecond electroporation protocols for PCa treatment.
Transcriptomic profile of cationic channels in human pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Perez-Vizcaino Francisco , Cogolludo Angel , Mondejar-Parreño Gema 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe dysregulation of K+ channels is a hallmark of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Herein, the channelome was analyzed in lungs of patients with PAH in a public transcriptomic database. Sixty six (46%) mRNA encoding cationic channels were dysregulated in PAH with most of them downregulated (83%). The principal component analysis indicated that dysregulated cationic channel expression is a signature of the disease. Changes were very similar in idiopathic, connective tissue disease and congenital heart disease associated PAH. This analysis 1) is in agreement with the widely recognized pathophysiological role of TASK1 and KV1.5, 2) supports previous preliminary reports pointing to the dysregulation of several K+ channels including the downregulation of KV1.1, KV1.4, KV1.6, KV7.1, KV7.4, KV9.3 and TWIK2 and the upregulation of KCa1.1 and 3) points to other cationic channels dysregulated such as Kv7.3, TALK2, CaV1 and TRPV4 which might play a pathophysiological role in PAH. The significance of other changes found in Na+ and TRP channels remains to be investigated.