bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Knockout of zebrafish desmin genes does not cause skeletal muscle degeneration but alters calcium flux
Authors: Kayman Kürekçi Gülsüm , Kural Mangit Ecem , Koyunlar Cansu , Unsal Seyda , Saglam Berk , Ergin Bora , Gizer Merve , Uyanik Ismail , Boustanabadimaralan Düz Niloufar , Korkusuz Petek , Talim Beril , Purali Nuhan , Hughes Simon M. , Dincer Pervin R. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractDesmin is a muscle-specific intermediate filament protein that has fundamental role in muscle structure and force transmission. Whereas human desmin protein is encoded by a single gene, two desmin paralogs (desma and desmb) exist in zebrafish. Desma and desmb show differential spatiotemporal expression during zebrafish embryonic and larval development, being similarly expressed in skeletal muscle until hatching, after which expression of desmb shifts to gut smooth muscle. We generated knockout (KO) mutant lines carrying loss-of-function mutations for each gene by using CRISPR/Cas9. Mutants are viable and fertile, and lack obvious skeletal muscle, heart or intestinal defects. In contrast to morphants, knockout of each gene did not cause any overt muscular phenotype, but did alter calcium flux in myofibres. These results point to a possible compensation mechanism in these mutant lines generated by targeting nonsense mutations to the first coding exon.
Muscle activation time and free-throw effectiveness in basketball
Authors: Pakosz Paweł , Domaszewski Przemysław , Konieczny Mariusz , Bączkowicz Dawid 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThis study attempts to analyze the relationship between free-throw efficiency and the time of arm muscle activation in players from 3 basketball teams with different levels of experience was investigated. During the experiment each player made 20 free throws during which the activation time of his right and left biceps and triceps brachii muscles were measured with the use of surface electromyography and high-speed cameras. Significant differences in muscle activation time (t) during a free throw were found between the groups of basketball players (p = 0.038) (novices: t = 0.664 ± 0.225 s, intermediate-level players: t = 1.15 ± 0.146 s, experts: t = 1.01 ± 0.388 s). In the right triceps brachii muscle in expert basketball players the coefficient of variation (CV) amounted to 44.60% at 81% efficiency, and in novices to 27.12% at 53% efficiency. The time of arm muscle activation during a free throw and its fluctuations vary along with the training experience of basketball players. In all studied groups of players, the variability of muscle activation time in accurate free throws is greater than in inaccurate free throws. Free-throw speed is irrelevant for free-throw efficiency.
Macular neovascularization in eyes with pachydrusen
Authors: Teo Kelvin Yi Chong , Cheong Kai Xiong , Ong Ricardo , Hamzah Haslina , Yanagi Yasuo , Wong Tien Yin , Chakravarthy Usha , Cheung Chui Ming Gemmy 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe natural history and clinical significance of pachydrusen is unclear. This study aims to compare the longitudinal changes of eyes with pachydrusen and soft drusen and progression to exudative macular neovascularisation (MNV). Patients with a diagnosis of MNV in one eye only and the fellow eye was selected as the study eye. Study eyes were required to have pachydrusen or soft drusen on fundus photographs and follow up of at least 2 years or until exudative MNV occurred. Systematic grading was performed at baseline and change in drusen area and onset of exudative MNV recorded over the period of follow up. A total of 75 eyes from 75 patients (29 with pachydrusen and 46 with soft drusen) were included. There was no difference in the rate of progression to exudative MNV in the soft and pachydrusen groups (13.3% versus 24.1%, p = 0.38). Pachydrusen, as compared to soft drusen, was associated with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy subtype (85.7% versus 16.7%, p < 0.01) and the location of exudation was co-localised with soft drusen but not with pachydrusen. There was a higher rate of increase in soft drusen area compared to pachydrusen area (27.7 ± 31.9%/year versus 8.7 ± 12.4%/year respectively, p < 0.01). We found no difference in the proportion of eyes that developed exudative MNV in this study however characterisation of drusen evolution patterns revealed a strong association with exudative MNV subtype.
A new open-access platform for measuring and sharing mTBI data
Authors: Domel August G. , Raymond Samuel J. , Giordano Chiara , Liu Yuzhe , Yousefsani Seyed Abdolmajid , Fanton Michael , Cecchi Nicholas J. , Vovk Olga , Pirozzi Ileana , Kight Ali , Avery Brett , Boumis Athanasia , Fetters Tyler , Jandu Simran , Mehring William M. , Monga Sam , Mouchawar Nicole , Rangel India , Rice Eli , Roy Pritha , Sami Sohrab , Singh Heer , Wu Lyndia , Kuo Calvin , Zeineh Michael , Grant Gerald , Camarillo David B. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractDespite numerous research efforts, the precise mechanisms of concussion have yet to be fully uncovered. Clinical studies on high-risk populations, such as contact sports athletes, have become more common and give insight on the link between impact severity and brain injury risk through the use of wearable sensors and neurological testing. However, as the number of institutions operating these studies grows, there is a growing need for a platform to share these data to facilitate our understanding of concussion mechanisms and aid in the development of suitable diagnostic tools. To that end, this paper puts forth two contributions: (1) a centralized, open-access platform for storing and sharing head impact data, in collaboration with the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research informatics system (FITBIR), and (2) a deep learning impact detection algorithm (MiGNet) to differentiate between true head impacts and false positives for the previously biomechanically validated instrumented mouthguard sensor (MiG2.0), all of which easily interfaces with FITBIR. We report 96% accuracy using MiGNet, based on a neural network model, improving on previous work based on Support Vector Machines achieving 91% accuracy, on an out of sample dataset of high school and collegiate football head impacts. The integrated MiG2.0 and FITBIR system serve as a collaborative research tool to be disseminated across multiple institutions towards creating a standardized dataset for furthering the knowledge of concussion biomechanics.
Preparation of FeS2/TiO2 nanocomposite films and study on the performance of photoelectrochemistry cathodic protection
Authors: Wang Ning , Wang Jing , Liu Mengnan , Ge Chengyue , Hou Baorong , Liu Nazhen , Ning Yanli , Hu Yiteng 
Published: April 2021

AbstractFeS2/TiO2 nanotube array composite films with clean, high efficiency, low cost and low consumption were prepared by electrochemical anodization and hydrothermal methods. The modification of FeS2 nanoparticles on the surface of TiO2 nanotube array film not only broadens the light absorption range of TiO2, but also improves the utilization ratio of visible light and the separation rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which greatly improves the photoelectrochemical cathodic protection performance of TiO2 for 304 stainless steel (304SS). Under visible light irradiation, the open circuit potential of 304SS coupled with the FeS2/TiO2 nanocomposite films decreased from − 170 to − 700 mV, and the electrode potential can still maintained at − 400 mV after the light was turned off. Compared with pure TiO2 nanotube array film, FeS2/TiO2 nanocomposite film has better photoelectrochemical cathodic protection effect on 304SS in 3.5 wt% NaCl corrosion medium.
Development of LiMgBO3:Tb3+ as a new generation material for thermoluminescence based personnel neutron dosimetry
Authors: Sen Meghnath , Shukla Rakesh , Pathak Nimai , Bhattacharyya Kaustava , Sathian V. , Chaudhury Probal , Kulkarni Mukund S. , Tyagi Avesh K. 
Published: April 2021

LiMgBO3:Tb3+ TL phosphor was systematically developed having better personnel neutron dosimetry properties as compared with the standard LiF:Mg,Ti dosimeter. Neutron irradiated PL and EPR studies delineated the underlying defect induced TL mechanism.
Using a Question Bank Intervention to Improve Socially Initiated Questions in Adolescents and Adults With Autism
Authors: Koegel Lynn Kern , Koplen Zak , Koegel Brittany , Koegel Robert L. 
Published: April 2021

PurposeIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty asking questions during social conversation, which can negatively impact their interactions with peers. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a question bank intervention would be effective in improving question asking during social conversation.MethodIn the context of a multiple-baseline experimental design, we implemented an intervention using prepractice with question banks designed to increase the number and diversity of questions asked by adolescents and adults with ASD during social conversations with their peers.ResultsFollowing intervention, all participants improved their use of questions in natural settings with their neurotypical peers. Generalization to novel questions occurred, and gains were maintained at follow-up. Finally, supplemental measures of social validity showed that similarly aged neurotypical peers who were naïve to the experimental hypothesis rated two of the three participants with higher social desirability following intervention.ConclusionIndividuals with ASD can improve their appropriate question asking during social conversation using a brief question bank intervention with generalization to their peers in natural settings.
Development and preliminary test of a space-resolved vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy in EAST
Authors: He L. , Zhang H. M. , Lyu B. , Shen Y. C. , Li C. Y. , Yang W. C. , Fu J. , Du X. W. , Wang F. D. , Wang Q. P. , Yin X. H. , Wan S. K. , Bin B. , Li Y. C. , Dai S. Y. , Liu B. 
Published: April 2021

The impurity radiation from the divertor region of the EAST tokamak is dominantly in the wavelength range of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) due to the elevated edge electron temperature. A space-resolved VUV spectroscopy is developed to measure impurity radiation in the divertor region. An eagle-type VUV spectrometer with a focal length of 1 m is adopted in this system, equipped with a spherical grating and a charged-coupled device (CCD) detector. The performance of the VUV spectrometer is preliminarily tested on a synchrotron radiation facility. The wavelength calibration is conducted near 65 nm. It is found that the wavelength range observed by the CCD detector is about 11.07 nm around the central wavelength of about 65 nm. With a linear dispersion of 0.0053 nm/pixel, it is possible to measure the ion temperature lower than 20 eV at the edge region by analyzing the Doppler broadening of a carbon line. These test results show that the performance of the VUV spectrometer is capable of measuring divertor radiation and analyzing the ion temperature of edge impurity ions.
Novel compact hard x-ray spectrometer with MCps counting rate capabilities for runaway electron measurements on DIII-D
Authors: Dal Molin A. , Fumagalli L. , Nocente M. , Rigamonti D. , Tardocchi M. , Giacomelli L. , Panontin E. , Lvovskiy A. , Paz-Soldan C. , Edietis N. W. , Gorini G. 
Published: April 2021

A novel compact spectrometer optimized for the measurement of hard x rays generated by runaway electrons is presented. The detector is designed to be installed in the fan-shaped collimator of the gamma-ray imager diagnostic at the DIII-D tokamak. The spectrometer is based on a 1 × 1 cm2 cerium doped yttrium aluminum perovskite scintillator crystal coupled with a silicon photomultiplier. The detector dynamic energy range is in excess of 10 MeV, with an energy resolution of ∼10% at 661.7 keV. The fast detector signal (≈70 ns full width at half maximum) allows for operation at counting rates in excess of 1 MCps. The gain stability of the system can be monitored in real time using a light-emitting diode embedded in the instrument. The detector is expected to be deployed in the forthcoming DIII-D runaway electron experimental campaign.
Aquatic biodiversity enhances multiple nutritional benefits to humans
Authors: Bernhardt Joey R. , O’Connor Mary I. 
Published: April 2021

Significance
Food security is not simply about maintaining yields, but it is also about the need for a stable supply of nutritionally diverse foods. Obtaining nutritious food is a major challenge facing humanity, and diverse aquatic ecosystems can help meet this goal. To test how aquatic biodiversity affects human health, we assembled a dataset of nutrients, contaminants, and ecological traits of 801 aquatic species. We used ecological models to quantify the role of species richness and ecological functional diversity and found that these biodiversity dimensions enhanced seafood micronutrient and fatty acid provisioning by the same mechanisms that link biodiversity to productivity in grasslands, forests, and other systems. Our results underscore the need to minimize aquatic biodiversity loss to sustain and improve human well-being.
Impact of prenatal maternal cytokine exposure on sex differences in brain circuitry regulating stress in offspring 45 years later
Authors: Goldstein Jill M. , Cohen Justine E. , Mareckova Klara , Holsen Laura , Whitfield-Gabrieli Susan , Gilman Stephen E. , Buka Stephen L. , Hornig Mady 
Published: April 2021

SignificanceClinical research and animal models have demonstrated a significant connection between maternal stress during pregnancy and sensitivity to stress in offspring, leading to increased susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders later in life. In a unique prenatal cohort that was followed for over four decades, we tested associations between pro- and anti-inflammatory markers in maternal prenatal sera and sex differences in neural responses to negative stress in the offspring in early midlife using functional MRI. Men and women exposed in utero to abnormal levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and to an imbalance of pro- to anti-inflammatory influences showed dysregulation of stress response circuitry 45 y later, with sex-dependent effects.
Confidence intervals for policy evaluation in adaptive experiments
Authors: Hadad Vitor , Hirshberg David A. , Zhan Ruohan , Wager Stefan , Athey Susan 
Published: April 2021

Significance
Randomized controlled trials are central to the scientific process, but they can be costly. For example, a clinical trial may assign patients to treatments that are detrimental to them. Adaptive experimental designs, such as multiarmed bandit algorithms, reduce costs by increasing the probability of assigning promising treatments over the course of the experiment. However, because observations collected by these methods are dependent and their distribution is nonstationary, statistical inference can be challenging. We propose a treatment-effect estimator that has an asymptotically unbiased and normal test statistic under straightforward, relatively weak conditions on the adaptive design. This estimator generalizes for a variety of parameters of interest.
Modular complement assemblies for mitigating inflammatory conditions
Authors: Hainline Kelly M. , Shores Lucas S. , Votaw Nicole L. , Bernstein Zachary J. , Kelly Sean H. , Fries Chelsea N. , Madhira Marisha S. , Gilroy Caslin A. , Chilkoti Ashutosh , Collier Joel H. 
Published: April 2021

SignificanceCurrent treatments for chronic inflammatory conditions rely on biologic drugs, commonly monoclonal antibodies that interfere with inflammatory signaling pathways. These drugs have made enormous contributions to the treatment of inflammatory diseases but still possess considerable drawbacks, including high cost that limits access in low-resource settings, the requirement for regularly repeated injections, and uneven efficacy. As an alternative to such biologics, active immunotherapies, in which an individual is induced to generate their own therapeutic antibodies, offer considerable potential advantages. Here, we report chemically defined nanomaterials inducing therapeutic responses in two models of inflammation in mice. The materials were produced by coassembling defined T cell epitopes, B cell epitopes, and an engineered fragment of complement protein C3dg into defined nanomaterials.
Combat stress in a small-scale society suggests divergent evolutionary roots for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms
Authors: Zefferman Matthew R. , Mathew Sarah 
Published: April 2021

Significance
Did PTSD and combat stress evolve as a universal human response to danger? Or are they culturally specific? We addressed this question by interviewing 218 warriors from the Turkana, a non-Western small-scale society, who engage in high-risk lethal cattle raids. We found that symptoms that may have evolved to protect against danger, like flashbacks and startle response, were high in the Turkana and best predicted by combat exposure. However, symptoms that are similar to depression were lower in the Turkana compared to American service members and were better predicted by moral violations. These findings suggest different evolutionary roots for different symptoms which may lead to better diagnosis and treatment.
Accurate modeling of DNA conformational flexibility by a multivariate Ising model
Authors: Liebl Korbinian , Zacharias Martin 
Published: April 2021

Significance
The deformability of DNA is strongly sequence-dependent. Accurate prediction of the deformability could be a major step for understanding indirect readout in numerous processes involving protein–DNA binding. At the base-pair level, DNA deformability is typically described by nearest-neighbor-coupled harmonic oscillators. However, DNA can also adopt different transiently stable substates that also depend on neighbors. We have developed a model that combines a harmonic coupled oscillator description with an Ising model to include also all possible substates of a DNA duplex. It gives not only an improved prediction of the equilibrium distribution of DNA helical variables, but also predicts indirect readout contributions to protein–DNA binding in better agreement with experiment than a unimodal harmonic model.
MrgprC11
+
sensory neurons mediate glabrous skin itch
Authors: Steele Haley R. , Xing Yanyan , Zhu Yuyan , Hilley Henry B. , Lawson Katy , Nho Yeseul , Niehoff Taylor , Han Liang 
Published: April 2021

Significance
Chronic itch, associated with dermatologic or systemic diseases, is challenging to treat and significantly affects quality of life. In the past several decades, significant progress has been made to help us understand the mechanisms of itch. Due to the ease of application and analysis, all animal itch behavioral assays utilize pruritogens administered to the hairy skin. However, itch occurs to both hairy and hairless glabrous skin. Many medical conditions such as plantar and palmar psoriasis, dyshidrosis, and cholestasis mainly evoke itch in glabrous skin. We here present evidence demonstrating that distinct neuronal populations are responsible for mediating hairy and glabrous skin itch. This study advanced our understanding of itch and will have significant impact on the clinical treatment of itch.
Mechanosensitive remodeling of the bacterial flagellar motor is independent of direction of rotation
Authors: Wadhwa Navish , Tu Yuhai , Berg Howard C. 
Published: April 2021

Significance
Macromolecular machines carry out most of the biological functions in living organisms. Despite their significance, we do not yet understand the rules that govern the self-assembly of large multiprotein complexes. The bacterial flagellar motor tunes the assembly of its torque-generating stator complex with changes in external load. Here, we report that clockwise and counterclockwise rotating motors have identical remodeling responses to changes in the external load, suggesting a purely mechanical mechanism for this regulation. Autonomous control of self-assembly may be a general strategy for tuning the functional output of protein complexes. The flagellar motor is a prime example of a macromolecular machine in which the functional regulation of assembly can be rigorously studied.
Capture and metabolomic analysis of the human endometrial epithelial organoid secretome
Authors: Simintiras Constantine A. , Dhakal Pramod , Ranjit Chaman , Fitzgerald Harriet C. , Balboula Ahmed Z. , Spencer Thomas E. 
Published: April 2021

SignificanceThe ability to robustly isolate intraorganoid fluid in a high-throughput capacity, using human endometrial epithelia as a model, circumvents several constraints typically associated with obtaining biological fluids, both in vivo and in vitro. This approach also allows for direct tandem genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and functional metabolomics. In addition to enhancing our understanding of uterine fluid composition regulation, this innovation is directly and readily transferrable to wider fields of cell and organoid biology, with implications for personalized, or precision, medicine approach development.
Tourism's beneficial nature: increasing tourism's capacity to enhance conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand's protected areas.
Authors: Abbott Mick , Boyle Cameron , Lee Woody 
Published: April 2021

Abstract

This chapter aims to problematize the notion that tourism and conservation are opposed to one another, by interrogating the expression of this in New Zealand's legislation which clearly states that tourism is allowed in the country's protected areas so long as it is 'not inconsistent' with the conservation of such sites. The central question guiding this chapter is how might novel nature-based experiences in New Zealand's protected areas enable a form of tourism which is not only consistent with, but also strengthens, conservation at these sites? In response to this question, three landscape design projects located at different national parks in Te Wai Pounamu, New Zealand's South Island, are examined. These individual case studies have intentionally sought, through the use of design-directed research, to explore ways in which protected areas as key sites in the nature-tourism interface could be reimagined.
Claviceps gigantea (horse's tooth).
Authors:   USA, USDA-ARS
Published: April 2021

Abstract

This pathogen only occurs in certain high humid valleys of Mexico and is apparently not adapted to surrounding drier areas where maize [Zea mays] is certainly grown. Its host range and environmental tolerances have not been determined, so that the risk that would result from an introduction to distant regions cannot be known. Human mistakes, such as the transport of contaminated maize seed, would be the most likely means by which it could bypass ecological and geographic barriers to reach other humid parts of the world, where it might be a problem on maize. In Mexico, it can reduce yield of a maize ear by 50% (Fucikovsky and Moreno, 1971), so preventing its spread is a serious consideration.
Dreyfusia nordmannianae (silver fir adelges).
Authors:   Australia, CRCNPB Australia
Published: April 2021

Abstract

Several conifer aphids of the family Adelgidae were probably introduced on nursery stock from Asia to Europe in the nineteenth century on imported fir (Abies spp.) and most of them were unknown before reaching Europe (Kenis et al., 2007). D. nordmannianae was introduced in Europe in the 1840s on imported Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana) and moved onto a new host, the European silver fir, Abies alba, where it has since caused important damage on young silver fir trees and Nordmann fir plantations (Bejer, 1981; Nierhaus-Wunderwald and Forster, 1999; Kenis et al., 2007).