bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of repetition on the behavioral and neuronal responses to ambiguous Necker cube images
Authors: Maksimenko Vladimir , Kuc Alexander , Frolov Nikita , Kurkin Semen , Hramov Alexander 
Published: February 2021

AbstractA repeated presentation of an item facilitates its subsequent detection or identification, a phenomenon of priming. Priming may involve different types of memory and attention and affects neural activity in various brain regions. Here we instructed participants to report on the orientation of repeatedly presented Necker cubes with high (HA) and low (LA) ambiguity. Manipulating the contrast of internal edges, we varied the ambiguity and orientation of the cube. We tested how both the repeated orientation (referred to as a stimulus factor) and the repeated ambiguity (referred to as a top-down factor) modulated neuronal and behavioral response. On the behavioral level, we observed higher speed and correctness of the response to the HA stimulus following the HA stimulus and a faster response to the right-oriented LA stimulus following the right-oriented stimulus. On the neuronal level, the prestimulus theta-band power grew for the repeated HA stimulus, indicating activation of the neural networks related to attention and uncertainty processing. The repeated HA stimulus enhanced hippocampal activation after stimulus onset. The right-oriented LA stimulus following the right-oriented stimulus enhanced activity in the precuneus and the left frontal gyri before the behavioral response. During the repeated HA stimulus processing, enhanced hippocampal activation may evidence retrieving information to disambiguate the stimulus and define its orientation. Increased activation of the precuneus and the left prefrontal cortex before responding to the right-oriented LA stimulus following the right-oriented stimulus may indicate a match between their orientations. Finally, we observed increased hippocampal activation after responding to the stimuli, reflecting the encoding stimulus features in memory. In line with the large body of works relating the hippocampal activity with episodic memory, we suppose that this type of memory may subserve the priming effect during the repeated presentation of ambiguous images.
Assessing robustness of carotid artery CT angiography radiomics in the identification of culprit lesions in cerebrovascular events
Authors: Le Elizabeth P. V. , Rundo Leonardo , Tarkin Jason M. , Evans Nicholas R. , Chowdhury Mohammed M. , Coughlin Patrick A. , Pavey Holly , Wall Chris , Zaccagna Fulvio , Gallagher Ferdia A. , Huang Yuan , Sriranjan Rouchelle , Le Anthony , Weir-McCall Jonathan R. , Roberts Michael , Gilbert Fiona J. , Warburton Elizabeth A. , Schönlieb Carola-Bibiane , Sala Evis , Rudd James H. F. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractRadiomics, quantitative feature extraction from radiological images, can improve disease diagnosis and prognostication. However, radiomic features are susceptible to image acquisition and segmentation variability. Ideally, only features robust to these variations would be incorporated into predictive models, for good generalisability. We extracted 93 radiomic features from carotid artery computed tomography angiograms of 41 patients with cerebrovascular events. We tested feature robustness to region-of-interest perturbations, image pre-processing settings and quantisation methods using both single- and multi-slice approaches. We assessed the ability of the most robust features to identify culprit and non-culprit arteries using several machine learning algorithms and report the average area under the curve (AUC) from five-fold cross validation. Multi-slice features were superior to single for producing robust radiomic features (67 vs. 61). The optimal image quantisation method used bin widths of 25 or 30. Incorporating our top 10 non-redundant robust radiomics features into ElasticNet achieved an AUC of 0.73 and accuracy of 69% (compared to carotid calcification alone [AUC: 0.44, accuracy: 46%]). Our results provide key information for introducing carotid CT radiomics into clinical practice. If validated prospectively, our robust carotid radiomic set could improve stroke prediction and target therapies to those at highest risk.
Micro-continuum approach for mineral precipitation
Authors: Yang Fengchang , Stack Andrew G. , Starchenko Vitalii 
Published: February 2021

AbstractRates and extents of mineral precipitation in porous media are difficult to predict, in part because laboratory experiments are problematic. It is similarly challenging to implement numerical methods that model this process due to the need to dynamically evolve the interface of solid material. We developed a multiphase solver that implements a micro-continuum simulation approach based on the Darcy–Brinkman–Stokes equation to study mineral precipitation. We used the volume-of-fluid technique in sharp interface implementation to capture the propagation of the solid mineral surface. Additionally, we utilize an adaptive mesh refinement method to improve the resolution of near interface simulation domain dynamically. The developed solver was validated against both analytical solution and Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian approach to ensure its accuracy on simulating the propagation of the solid interface. The precipitation of barite (BaSO4) was chosen as a model system to test the solver using variety of simulation parameters: different geometrical constraints, flow conditions, reaction rate and ion diffusion. The growth of a single barite crystal was simulated to demonstrate the solver’s capability to capture the crystal face specific directional growth.
Categorizing SHR and WKY rats by chi2 algorithm and decision tree
Authors: Tsai Ping-Rui , Chen Kun-Huang , Hong Tzay-Ming , Wang Fu-Nien , Huang Teng-Yi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractClassifying mental disorder is a big issue in psychology in recent years. This article focuses on offering a relation between decision tree and encoding of fMRI that can simplify the analysis of different mental disorders and has a high ROC over 0.9. Here we encode fMRI information to the power-law distribution with integer elements by the graph theory in which the network is characterized by degrees that measure the number of effective links exceeding the threshold of Pearson correlation among voxels. When the degrees are ranked from low to high, the network equation can be fit by the power-law distribution. Here we use the mentally disordered SHR and WKY rats as samples and employ decision tree from chi2 algorithm to classify different states of mental disorder. This method not only provides the decision tree and encoding, but also enables the construction of a transformation matrix that is capable of connecting different metal disorders. Although the latter attempt is still in its fancy, it may have a contribution to unraveling the mystery of psychological processes.
Possible interference of Bacillus thuringiensis in the survival and behavior of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera)
Authors: Libardoni Gabriela , Neves Pedro Manuel Oliveira Janeiro , Abati Raiza , Sampaio Amanda Roberta , Costa-Maia Fabiana Martins , de Souza Vismara Edgar , Lozano Everton Ricardi , Potrich Michele 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBacillus thuringiensis (Bt), an entomopathogenic bacterium, has been used as bioinsecticides for insect pest control worldwide. Consequently, the objective of this work was to evaluate the possible effects of commercial formulations of Bt products, Dipel and Xentari, on the survival and behavior of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera). Bioassays were performed on foragers and newly emerged (24-h-old) bees that received the products mixed in the food. Their survival and behavior were evaluated through the vertical displacement tests and the walk test, analyzed using software Bee-Move. Then, histological analysis of the mesenterium was performed. As control treatment was used sterile water. The honey bees’ survival was evaluated for between 1 and 144 h. No interference of B. thuringiensis, Dipel and Xentari, in the survival of Africanized honey bees were found. Only Xentari interfered with vertical displacement behavior of newly emerged (24-h-old) bees. Both the products tested were selective and safe for A. mellifera.
Eliciting the silent lucensomycin biosynthetic pathway in Streptomyces cyanogenus S136 via manipulation of the global regulatory gene adpA
Authors: Yushchuk Oleksandr , Ostash Iryna , Mösker Eva , Vlasiuk Iryna , Deneka Maksym , Rückert Christian , Busche Tobias , Fedorenko Victor , Kalinowski Jörn , Süssmuth Roderich D. , Ostash Bohdan 
Published: February 2021

AbstractActinobacteria are among the most prolific sources of medically and agriculturally important compounds, derived from their biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for specialized (secondary) pathways of metabolism. Genomics witnesses that the majority of actinobacterial BGCs are silent, most likely due to their low or zero transcription. Much effort is put into the search for approaches towards activation of silent BGCs, as this is believed to revitalize the discovery of novel natural products. We hypothesized that the global transcriptional factor AdpA, due to its highly degenerate operator sequence, could be used to upregulate the expression of silent BGCs. Using Streptomyces cyanogenus S136 as a test case, we showed that plasmids expressing either full-length adpA or its DNA-binding domain led to significant changes in the metabolome. These were evident as changes in the accumulation of colored compounds, bioactivity, as well as the emergence of a new pattern of secondary metabolites as revealed by HPLC-ESI-mass spectrometry. We further focused on the most abundant secondary metabolite and identified it as the polyene antibiotic lucensomycin. Finally, we uncovered the entire gene cluster for lucensomycin biosynthesis (lcm), that remained elusive for five decades until now, and outlined an evidence-based scenario for its adpA-mediated activation.
Statistical characteristics of the spatial distribution of wind and snowfall in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region
Authors: Yu Xuetao , Zhang Yajing , Liu Qingkuan , Jia Yaya , Gao Ling , Bu Jianqing 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn the current design specification of building structure, the basic wind pressure and basic snow pressure are two independent values, and it is impossible to acquire both of these values when snow and wind occur at the same time. Taking parameters such as snowfall intensity, snowfall amount, wind speed, and wind direction as indicators, the value of the combined distribution of wind and snowfall in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China was extracted. A joint distribution map of the daily average snowfall among the top-ten largest consecutive snowfall events and the daily average wind scale from the first day of snowfall to the fifth day after the snowfall were obtained. The study found that after a heavy snowfall in the Zhangjiakou area, the accumulated wind power was large and, although the wind speed was favorable for the occurrence of snowdrifts, the snowfall was light. After a heavy snowfall in the Shijiazhuang area, the accumulated wind power was small, and the probability of snowdrift formation was low. In the eastern regions of Cangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, and Qinhuangdao, the accumulated wind force was relatively large after a heavy snowfall, and the probability of windblown snow was relatively high.
Development of a reverse transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification assay for the detection of Mouse reovirus type 3 in laboratory mice
Authors: Lu Taofeng , Tao Lingyun , Yu Haibo , Zhang Hui , Wu Yanjun , Wu Shuguang , Zhou Jie 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMouse reovirus type 3 (Reo-3) infection is a viral disease that is harmful for laboratory mice. No rapid and accurate detection methods are currently available for this infection. In this study, we describe a rapid, simple, closed-tube, one step, reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for Reo-3 and compare our assay with indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Three sets of RT-LAMP primers were designed by sequence analysis of a specific conserved sequence of the Reo-3 S1 gene. Using RS2 primer set, the RT-LAMP assay required 60 min at 65 °C to amplify the S1 gene in one step by using Reo-3 RNA template and had no cross-reactivity with the other related pathogens, such as Sendai virus (SV), pneumonia virus of mice (PVM), mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), Ectromelia virus (Ect), minute virus of mice (MVM), P. pneumotropica, B. bronchiseptica, K. pneumonia and P. aeruginosa. in our LAMP reaction system. The limit of detection (LOD) of our RT-LAMP assay is 4 fg/μL. The established RT-LAMP assay enabled visual detection when fluorescence detection reagents were added, and was demonstrated to be effective and efficient. We tested 30 clinical blood samples and five artificial positive samples from SPF mice, the concordance between the two methods for blood samples was 100% compared with indirect ELISA and RT-PCR. Considering its performance, specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability, the developed RT-LAMP could be a valuable tool to supply a more effective Reo-3 detection method in laboratory animal quality monitoring.
Functionally selective activation of the dopamine receptor D2 is mirrored by the protein expression profiles
Authors: Wenk Deborah , Ignatchenko Vladimir , Macklin Andrew , Hübner Harald , Gmeiner Peter , Weikert Dorothée , Pischetsrieder Monika , Kislinger Thomas 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe development of functionally selective or biased ligands is a promising approach towards drugs with less side effects. Biased ligands for G protein-coupled receptors can selectively induce G protein activation or β-arrestin recruitment. The consequences of this selective action on cellular functions, however, are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the impact of five biased and balanced dopamine D2 receptor agonists and antagonists on the global protein expression in HEK293T cells by untargeted nanoscale liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The proteome analysis detected 5290 protein groups. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis based on the expression levels of 1462 differential proteins led to a separation of antagonists and balanced agonist from the control treatment, while the biased ligands demonstrated larger similarities to the control. Functional analysis of affected proteins revealed that the antagonists haloperidol and sulpiride regulated exocytosis and peroxisome function. The balanced agonist quinpirole, but not the functionally selective agonists induced a downregulation of proteins involved in synaptic signaling. The β-arrestin-preferring agonist BM138, however, regulated several proteins related to neuron function and the dopamine receptor-mediated signaling pathway itself. The G protein-selective partial agonist MS308 influenced rather broad functional terms such as DNA processing and mitochondrial translation.
High resolution cryo EM analysis of HPV16 identifies minor structural protein L2 and describes capsid flexibility
Authors: Goetschius Daniel J. , Hartmann Samantha R. , Subramanian Suriyasri , Bator Carol M. , Christensen Neil D. , Hafenstein Susan L. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is a significant health burden and leading cause of virus-induced cancers. HPV is epitheliotropic and its replication is tightly associated with terminal keratinocyte differentiation making production and purification of high titer virus preparations for research problematic, therefore alternative HPV production methods have been developed for virological and structural studies. In this study we use HPV16 quasivirus, composed of HPV16 L1/L2 capsid proteins with a packaged cottontail rabbit papillomavirus genome. We have achieved the first high resolution, 3.1 Å, structure of HPV16 by using a local subvolume refinement approach. The high resolution enabled us to build L1 unambiguously and identify L2 protein strands. The L2 density is incorporated adjacent to conserved L1 residues on the interior of the capsid. Further interpretation with our own software for Icosahedral Subvolume Extraction and Correlated Classification revealed flexibility, on the whole-particle level through diameter analysis and local movement with inter-capsomer analysis. Inter-capsomer expansion or contraction, governed by the connecting arms, showed no bias in the magnitude or direction of capsomer movement. We propose that papillomavirus capsids are dynamic and capsomers move as rigid bodies connected by flexible linkers. The resulting virus structure will provide a framework for continuing biochemical, genetic and biophysical research for papillomaviruses. Furthermore, our approach has allowed insight into the resolution barrier that has previously been a limitation in papillomavirus structural studies.
European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension versus the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines on the cut-off values for early hypertension: a microvascular perspective
Authors: Shokr H. , Gherghel D. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate retinal and peripheral microvascular function in asymptomatic individuals that fall into different BP groups when using either the ESC/ESH or the ACC/AHA guidelines. Retinal and peripheral microvascular function was assessed in 358 participants by means of dynamic retinal vessel analysis and digital thermal monitoring, respectively. Blood pressure and lipid panel were also evaluated. Retinal vascular function measured in all groups belonging to the ACC/ASH classifications were within the normal values for age-matched normal population. Individuals classed as grade 1 hypertension according to the ESC/ESH guidelines, however, exhibited a significantly decreased artery baseline (p = 0.0004) and MC (p = 0.040), higher slopeAD (p = 0.0018) and decreased vein MC (p = 0.0446) compared to age matched normal individuals. In addition, they also had significant lower artery baseline, artery BDF, MD and MC than individuals classed as stage 1 hypertension based on the ACC/ASH guidelines (p = 0.00022, p = 0.0179, p = 0.0409 and p = 0.0329 respectively). Peripheral vascular reactivity (aTR) was lower in ESC /ESH grade I compared to those graded ACC/ASH stage I hypertension (p = 0.0122). The conclusion of this study is that microvascular dysfunctions is present at multiple levels only in individuals with ESC/ESH grade 1 hypertension. This observation could be important when deciding personalised care in individuals with early hypertensive changes.
Pooled testing with replication as a mass testing strategy for the COVID-19 pandemics
Authors: Žilinskas Julius , Lančinskas Algirdas , Guarracino Mario R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractDuring the COVID-19 pandemic it is essential to test as many people as possible, in order to detect early outbreaks of the infection. Present testing solutions are based on the extraction of RNA from patients using oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs, and then testing with real-time PCR for the presence of specific RNA filaments identifying the virus. This approach is limited by the availability of reactants, trained technicians and laboratories. One of the ways to speed up the testing procedures is a group testing, where the swabs of multiple patients are grouped together and tested. In this paper we propose to use the group testing technique in conjunction with an advanced replication scheme in which each patient is allocated in two or more groups to reduce the total numbers of tests and to allow testing of even larger numbers of people. Under mild assumptions, a 13 × average reduction of tests can be achieved compared to individual testing without delay in time.
Comparisons of fall armyworm haplotypes between the Galápagos Islands and mainland Ecuador indicate limited migration to and between islands
Authors: Nagoshi Rodney N. , Vizuete Joanna Lizeth Allauca , Murúa M. Gabriela , Garcés-Carrera Sandra 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe migration of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is of topical interest because of its recent introduction and rapid dissemination throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. This study compares fall armyworm from island and mainland locations in Ecuador to estimate migration behavior. The Galápagos Islands is a province of Ecuador whose mainland coast lies approximately 1000 km to the west and is the closest major land mass. Air transport modeling indicates that natural migration from the mainland to the Galápagos is unlikely, suggesting that most, if not all, the introgressions of mainland fall armyworm into the Galápagos are occurring through trade-assisted transport in contaminated cargo, which is offloaded at the Galápagos port of entry in San Cristóbal island. Haplotype studies are consistent with this limited migration and further show divergence in the fall armyworm from San Cristóbal with those from the neighboring island of Santa Cruz despite their close proximity (less than 100 km distance) and favorable winds for inter-island flights. These observations indicate that water poses a significant barrier for moth migration in this region, with human-assisted transport probably playing a more important role than natural migration.
Resistance development characteristics of reared German cockroach (Blattodea: Blattellidae) to chlorpyrifos
Authors: Hou Weiyuan , Xin Juanjuan , Lu Hui 
Published: February 2021

AbstractUnderstanding the process of resistance development of German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), in detail is necessary to potentially delay the development of insecticides resistance by rotation or discontinuation of insecticides at the right time. In this study, we investigated the resistance development of the reared German cockroach to chlorpyrifos (CPF) for 23 generations from susceptible cockroaches. CPF 50% lethal dose (LD50) and resistance ratio of each generation cockroaches were determined. The CPF LD50 to each generation cockroaches was used as the insecticide selection pressure of this generation by topical application. The resistance development curve was depicted according to the CPF LD50 to all 23 generations of cockroaches. As a result, a highly resistant German cockroach cohort to CPF, which the resistance ratio was 21.63, was obtained after 23 generations’ selection. During the selection, the cockroaches developed low resistance from F1 to F5, moderate resistance from F6 to F12, and high resistance from F13 to F23. There was a rapid resistance increase every 5–7 generations. The resistance growing showed relatively slow from F1 to F11. The fastest growing phase of the resistance was from F12 to F20, in which accounted for more than 80% of the total resistance increase in 23 generations. The development of resistance to CPF tended to slow down from F21 to F23. These findings may provide a basis for the rational use of insecticides, delaying the development of resistance by rotation or discontinuation.
Purcell-enhanced photoluminescence of few-layer MoS2 transferred on gold nanostructure arrays with plasmonic resonance at the conduction band edge
Authors: Kim Hyunwoo , Moon Seunghyun , Kim Jongwoo , Nam Sang Hwan , Kim Dong Hwan , Lee Jeong Seop , Kim Kyoung-Ho , Kang Evan S. H. , Ahn Kwang Jun , Kim Taewan , Shin ChaeHo , Suh Yung Doug 
Published: February 2021

Plasmonic nanostructures of Au nanotriangles and nanodisks are coupled with few-layer MoS2 inducing photoluminescence (PL) enhancement. The underlying mechanisms were investigated with the experimentally quantified enhancement factors.