bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Triple one‐way and two‐way shape memory poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate)/poly(ε‐caprolactone) immiscible blends
Authors: Hao Chaobo , Wang Kaibin , Wang Zhuo , Duan Ruixia , Liu Hao , Huang Miaoming , Liu Wentao , He Suqin , Zhu Chengshen 
Published: July 2021

AbstractTriple one‐way and two‐way shape memory polymers (1W‐SMPs and 2W‐SMPs) are highly desirable for many practical applications due to the multiple shape transformation. In this work, the blend with co‐continuous structure is fabricated based on poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate) (EVA) and poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), which shows excellent triple one‐way and two‐way shape memory properties. It is found that the blends have two independent crystallization peaks and two independent melting peaks. With the increase of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) content, the crystallization temperature, melting temperature, and crystallinity of both EVA and PCL in the blends gradually decreases. The blends show great dual and triple one‐way shape memory property, and the phenomena of elongation induced by oriented crystallization and contraction induced by melting are clearly seen. Moreover, the blends exhibit remarkable and recyclable triple two‐way shape memory performance, with an average shape recovery magnitude of 97.3% and an average actuation magnitude of 50.6%. In terms of the excellent triple one‐way and two‐way shape memory performance, the EVA/PCL blends may have potential applications in the fields of soft robotics, actuators, and cranes. The new preparation method of triple 2W‐SMPs can be used to fabricate other triple 2W‐SMPs with commercial polymers.
In‐situ observations of the sensory hairs of Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)
Authors: Reichmuth Colleen , Casey Caroline , Friedlaender Ari 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe sense of touch in the largest marine mammals is poorly understood. While mysticetes possess specialized sensory hairs that are present through adulthood, descriptions of these structures are based almost entirely on examination of tissues in post‐mortem individuals. Sensory hairs have rarely been observed and described in living whales. We photographed Antarctic minke whales Balaenoptera bonaerensis in the Western Antarctic Peninsula and used high‐resolution images to describe the number, distribution, orientation, and relative size of sensory hairs in freely swimming individuals. Sensory hairs were well developed. They were distributed on the tip of the lower jaw, the margins of the upper and lower jaw, and near the blowhole. Far fewer hairs were observed than reported for other mysticete species, including the related species Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Placement and apparent stiffness of sensory hairs within living tissue combined with observations and images of moving whales suggest these structures aid in detecting air and ice interfaces, and possibly, the boundaries of submerged prey fields.
A genome‐wide identification and analysis of the homeobox genes in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)
Authors: Fu Sheng‐Jie , Zhang Jin‐Li , Xu Hai‐Jun 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe homeobox family is a large and diverse superclass of genes, many of which act as transcription factors that play important roles in tissue differentiation and embryogenesis in animals. The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, is the most destructive pest of rice in Asia, and high fecundity contributes significantly to its ecological success in natural and agricultural habits. Here, we identified 94 homeobox genes in BPH, which could be divided into 75 gene families and 9 classes. This number is comparable to the number of homeobox genes found in the honeybee Apis mellifera, but is slightly less than in Drosophila or the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. A spatio‐temporal analysis indicated that most BPH homeobox genes were expressed in a development and tissue‐specific manner, of which 21 genes were highly expressed in ovaries. RNA interference (RNAi)‐mediated functional assay showed that 22 homeobox genes were important for nymph development and the nymph to adult transition, whereas 67 genes were dispensable during this process. Fecundity assay showed that knockdown of 13 ovary‐biased genes (zfh1, schlank, abd‐A, Lim3_2, Lmxb, Prop, ap_1, Not, lab, Hmx, vis, Pknox, and C15) led to the reproductive defect. This is the first comprehensive investigation into homeobox genes in a hemipteran insect and thus helps us to understand the functional significance of homeobox genes in insect reproduction.
Silencing of an ABC transporter, but not a cadherin, decreases the susceptibility of Colorado potato beetle larvae to Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. tenebrionis Cry3Aa toxin
Authors: Güney Gözde , Cedden Doğa , Hänniger Sabine , Heckel David G. , Coutu Cathy , Hegedus Dwayne D. , Mutlu Damla Amutkan , Suludere Zekiye , Sezen Kazım , Güney Ebru , Toprak Umut 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a major pest of potato plants worldwide and is notorious for its ability to develop resistance to insecticides. Cry3 toxins synthesized by Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. tenebrionis have been used successfully to manage this pest. Resistance to Cry toxins is a concerning problem for many insect pests; therefore, it is important to determine the mechanisms by which insects acquire resistance to these toxins. Cadherin‐like and ABC transporter proteins have been implicated in the mode of action of Cry toxins as mutations in these genes render lepidopterans resistant to them; however, clear consensus does not exist on whether these proteins also play a role in Cry3 toxin activity and/or development of resistance in coleopterans. In the current study, we identified the L. decemlineata orthologues of the cadherin (LdCAD) and the ABCB transporter (LdABCB1) that have been implicated in the mode of action of Cry toxins in other coleopterans. Suppression of LdABCB1 via RNA interference reduced toxin‐related larval mortality, whereas partial silencing of LdCAD did not. Our results suggest that the ABCB is involved in the mode of action of Cry3Aa toxins; however, no evidence was found to support the role of cadherin as a receptor of Cry3Aa in L. decemlineata.
Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Cyclotides from Clitoria ternatea: Xxx‐Pro Bond Fragmentation as Convenient Diagnostic of Pro Residue Positioning
Authors: Kalmankar Neha V. , Balaram Padmanabhan , Venkatesan Radhika 
Published: July 2021

AbstractCyclotides, a class of macrocyclic plant peptides, characterized by a cyclic backbone and three inter‐locking disulfide bonds, may be divided into two major structural subfamilies, Möbius and Bracelet, based on the presence or absence of a specific proline residue. The present study describes the suite of cyclotides obtained from Clitoria ternatea, characterized by LC−MS and MS/MS techniques. Notable variations in product ion distributions were observed in cyclotides belonging to different structural subfamilies based on the number and positions of proline residues. For instance, Cter M which is an abundant Möbius cyclotide in this plant containing three proline residues, displayed distinct b‐ and y‐ ion characteristics in the MS/MS spectra compared to Cliotide T1, another commonly identified cyclotide but belonging to the Bracelet subfamily having two proline residues. The distinct fragmentation pattern of prototypical cyclotides of each structural subfamily, determined by Xxx‐Pro bond fragmentation, was used to rapidly identify and sequence a novel cyclotide ctr pep 30 from this plant.
Substituent Effects on the Vibrational Properties of the CN Stretch Mode of Aromatic Nitriles: IR Probes Useful for Time‐resolved IR Spectroscopy
Authors: Choi Suin , Park Junyoung , Kwak Kyungwon , Cho Minhaeng 
Published: July 2021

AbstractDeveloping ideal IR probes is essential to understand the structure and dynamics of biomolecules with time‐resolved IR spectroscopies and imaging techniques. Especially, nitrile (CN) group has recently been proposed to serve as IR probes of the local environment of proteins. Herein, we investigated the effect of a substituent on the vibrational properties of the benzonitrile. The electron‐donating and withdrawing character of p‐substituent on benzonitrile are expected to modulate the vibrational frequency, molar extinction coefficient, and vibrational lifetime of CN probe. FT‐IR revealed the positive correlation between electron‐donating character and the molar extinction coefficient of CN stretch mode. Infrared pump‐probe (IR‐PP) measurements showed that the vibrational lifetime of CN stretch mode exhibits a relatively weak correlation with the electron‐donating strength. Among the investigated samples, 4‐dimethylamino benzonitrile with the strongest electron‐donating strength shows enhanced absorption and extended vibrational lifetime. Utilizing substituent effects will be a practical strategy to improve the performance of the IR probe.
Regulation of Strong Metal‐Support Interaction by Alkaline Earth Metal Salts
Authors: Qiu Guanghao , Pei Qijun , Yu Yang , Jing Zijun , Wang Jintao , He Teng , Chen Ping 
Published: July 2021

AbstractClassical strong metal‐support interaction (SMSI) is of significant importance to heterogeneous catalysis, where electronic promotion and encapsulation of noble metal by reducible support are two main intrinsic properties of SMSI. However, the excessive encapsulation will inevitably hamper the contact between active sites and reactant, leading to reduced activity in catalysis. Herein, alkaline earth metal salts are employed to depress the encapsulation of Ru nanoparticles in Ru/TiO2 catalyst in the present study. Thermodynamic calculation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and chemisorption results show that the alkaline earth metal salts could successfully prevent the migration of TiO2‐x overlayer to Ru nanoparticles in Ru/TiO2 catalyst via in situ formation of titanates, resulting in high exposure of active metal. Meanwhile, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and hydrogen temperature‐programmed reduction (H2‐TPR) results reveal that an even stronger electron donation from the reduced support to Ru nanoparticles is achieved. As a result, the alkaline earth metal salts‐doped Ru/TiO2 catalysts exhibit superior activity in catalytic hydrogenation of aromatics, which is in contrast to the pristine Ru/TiO2 catalyst that shows negligible activity under the same conditions due to the excess encapsulation of Ru nanoparticles in Ru/TiO2 catalyst.
Sex differences in sensory processing in children with autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Osório Joana Maria Almeida , Rodríguez‐Herreros Borja , Richetin Sonia , Junod Vincent , Romascano David , Pittet Valérie , Chabane Nadia , Jequier Gygax Marine , Maillard Anne Manuela 
Published: July 2021

AbstractDespite the high prevalence of sensory processing difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little research has focused on the sex differences in sensory processing. Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge on the female‐specific symptoms of ASD, contributing to later referral, diagnosis and intervention. In this study, we examined the sex differences in sensory processing symptoms in large cohorts of ASD children (N = 168; 26 females, 142 males) and typically developing (TD) children (N = 439; 209 females, 230 males). For this, we translated the sensory processing measure (SPM) and SPM – Preschool (SPM‐P) Home Forms to French. The SPM/SPM‐P are parent/caregiver questionnaires that assess typical behavioral responses to sensory stimuli. Overall, our results showed that the magnitude of the differences in sensory processing between males and females is larger in ASD children relative to TD children, with females showing more severe symptoms in Hearing, as well as Balance and Motion subscales. Additionally, linear discriminant analysis showed that the SPM/SPM‐P are good at discriminating TD children from ASD, children with higher accuracy rates for females than for males. These findings are discussed in light of the heterogeneity of sensory processing difficulties present in ASD. Overall, our results suggest that there seem to be female‐specific profiles in sensory processing difficulties in ASD. Implications of findings concerning sex differences in sensory processing and their potential for improving identification and diagnosis of ASD females are discussed.Lay SummaryThe present study examined sex differences in behavioral responses to sensory stimuli in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and typically developing (TD) children. While there is a small trend for TD males to show more sensory processing atypicalities, female ASD children show significantly more atypical responses compared to their male counterparts. This has important implications for characterizing female autism profiles, and ultimately improving the chance for earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Structural changes, increased hypoxia, and oxidative DNA damage in placenta due to maternal smokeless tobacco use
Authors: Kumar Shashi Nandar , Bastia Banajit , Borgohain Deepa , Agrawal Usha , Raisuddin Sheikh , Jain Arun Kumar 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundSmokeless tobacco (SLT) consumption during pregnancy is a well‐recognized health risk that causes placental damage including hypoxia and oxidative damage. Although consumption of SLT by women varies from region to region, majority of tea leave pluckers consume SLT for relieving stress and pain. Still, the effects of SLT consumption have not been evaluated in tea garden workers (TGW). While previous studies have attempted to report effects of cigarette smoke using in vitro model, hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐1α expression in human placentae from pregnant women exposed to SLT has not been previously studied. This study was aimed to explore the effects of SLT consumption on placental structure, expression of HIF‐1α and oxidative DNA damage in sample population of TGW.MethodsA total of 51 placentae were collected from SLT users and nonusers (n = 30 and 21, respectively) with full‐term normal delivery, who were involved in the plucking of tea leaves during pregnancy in tea plantation. Low birth weight (LBW, i.e., weight <2,500 g) and normal birth weight (NBW) groups among both SLT user and nonuser were compared for the stated parameters. Placental tissues were processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study and immunohistochemical analysis for the expression of HIF‐1α and 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG).ResultsAltered ultrastructural characteristics were observed in the tertiary villi of LBW group among SLT users which included endothelial cells protrusion into capillary lumen, degenerated nuclei, significant thickening of trophoblast basement membrane and vasculo‐syncytial membrane, abnormalities of the microvilli, swollen or damaged mitochondria, and dilatation in endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. Furthermore, significant reduction in the perimeter, area, and number of the stromal capillary of the tertiary villi of placenta were found in LBW group as compared with NBW group from the SLT users. Enhanced expression for HIF‐1α and oxidative DNA damage (8‐OHdG) biomarker was observed in SLT users as compared with nonusers.ConclusionsMaternal SLT exposure during pregnancy may be associated with villus hypoxia and consequently oxidative DNA damage. It is presumed that deleterious effect of SLT exposure on placenta could result in impairment of placental barrier, and restrict nutrient and oxygen supply from mother to fetus, and thus could be a cause of fetal growth restriction.
UCHL1 regulates inflammation via MAPK and NF‐κB pathways in LPS‐activated macrophages
Authors: Zhang Zhenhui , Liu Ningning , Chen Xiaohua , Zhang Fangcheng , Kong Tianyu , Tang Xiaoyan , Yang Qilin , Chen Weiyan , Xiong Xuming , Chen Xiaohui 
Published: July 2021

AbstractInflammation is a common pathophysiological process as well as a clinical threat that occurs in various diseases worldwide. It is well‐documented that nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathways are involved in inflammatory reactions to microbial infections in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐activated macrophages. The deubiquitinase ubiquitin carboxyl‐terminal hydrolase‐L1 (UCHL1) has been reported as an oncoprotein to promote the growth and progression of cancer cells. However, the regulatory mechanism of UCHL1 in inflammation is currently unclear. Here, we aimed to assess the effects of UCHL1 on LPS‐associated inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction, and western blot analysis. This study identified that inhibition or knockdown of UCHL1 decreased the amounts of the key pro‐inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin‐6 and tumor necrosis factor‐α in macrophages. Additionally, inhibition of UCHL1 suppressed LPS‐induced extracellular signal‑regulated protein kinase 1/2 phosphorylation and NF‐κB translocation by regulating the inhibitor of NF‐κB. Mechanically, UCHL1 interacts with IκBα protein in THP‐1. Meanwhile, inhibition of UCHL1 blocked the LPS‐induced degradation of IκBα through the ubiquitin‐proteasome system. Moreover, in vivo assay showed that suppression of UCHL1 notably reduced the LPS‐induced animal death and release of pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Overall, the current findings uncover that UCHL1 functions as a crucial regulator for inflammatory response via reversing the degradation of IκBα, representing a potential target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Mo–Catalyzed One‐Pot Synthesis of N‐Polyheterocycles from Nitroarenes and Glycols with Recycling of the Waste Reduction Byproduct. Substituent‐Tuned Photophysical Properties
Authors: Hernández‐Ruiz Raquel , Rubio‐Presa Rubén , Suárez‐Pantiga Samuel , Pedrosa María R. , Fernández‐Rodríguez Manuel A. , Tapia M. José , Sanz Roberto 
Published: July 2021

AbstractA catalytic domino reduction–imine formation–intramolecular cyclization–oxidation for the general synthesis of a wide variety of biologically relevant N‐polyheterocycles, such as quinoxaline‐ and quinoline‐fused derivatives, and phenanthridines, is reported. A simple, easily available, and environmentally friendly dioxomolybdenum(VI) complex has proven to be a highly efficient and versatile catalyst for transforming a broad range of starting nitroarenes involving several redox processes. Not only is this a sustainable, step‐economical as well as air‐ and moisture‐tolerant method, but also it is worth highlighting that the waste byproduct generated in the first step of the sequence is recycled and incorporated in the final target molecule, improving the overall synthetic efficiency. Moreover, selected indoloquinoxalines have been photophysically characterized in cyclohexane and toluene with exceptional fluorescence quantum yields above 0.7 for the alkyl derivatives.
Quick Annotator: an open‐source digital pathology based rapid image annotation tool
Authors: Miao Runtian , Toth Robert , Zhou Yu , Madabhushi Anant , Janowczyk Andrew 
Published: July 2021

AbstractImage‐based biomarker discovery typically requires accurate segmentation of histologic structures (e.g. cell nuclei, tubules, and epithelial regions) in digital pathology whole slide images (WSIs). Unfortunately, annotating each structure of interest is laborious and often intractable even in moderately sized cohorts. Here, we present an open‐source tool, Quick Annotator (QA), designed to improve annotation efficiency of histologic structures by orders of magnitude. While the user annotates regions of interest (ROIs) via an intuitive web interface, a deep learning (DL) model is concurrently optimized using these annotations and applied to the ROI. The user iteratively reviews DL results to either (1) accept accurately annotated regions or (2) correct erroneously segmented structures to improve subsequent model suggestions, before transitioning to other ROIs. We demonstrate the effectiveness of QA over comparable manual efforts via three use cases. These include annotating (1) 337,386 nuclei in 5 pancreatic WSIs, (2) 5,692 tubules in 10 colorectal WSIs, and (3) 14,187 regions of epithelium in 10 breast WSIs. Efficiency gains in terms of annotations per second of 102×, 9×, and 39× were, respectively, witnessed while retaining f‐scores >0.95, suggesting that QA may be a valuable tool for efficiently fully annotating WSIs employed in downstream biomarker studies.
Synthesis and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Bis‐morpholine Triazine Quaternary Ammonium Salts
Authors: Morandini Andrea , Leonetti Benedetta , Riello Pietro , Sole Roberto , Gatto Vanessa , Caligiuri Isabella , Rizzolio Flavio , Beghetto Valentina 
Published: July 2021

AbstractEfficient, environmentally and economically sustainable, and nontoxic antibacterial products are of global relevance in the fight against microorganism contamination. In this work, an easy and straightforward method for the synthesis of bis‐morpholino triazine quaternary ammonium salts (bis‐mTQAS) is reported, starting from 2,4,6‐trichloro‐1,3,5‐triazine or 2,4‐dichloro‐6‐methoxy‐1,3,5‐triazine and various N‐alkylmorpholines. Bis‐mTQAS were tested as antimicrobials against Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacterial strains. The best‐performing bis‐mTQAS were found to achieve total disinfection against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 at 50 and 400 μg/mL, respectively. Distinctively, bis‐mTQAS with the highest antimicrobial efficiency had lowest cytotoxicity.
Efficient heterogeneous parallel programming for compressed sensing based direction of arrival estimation
Authors: Fisne Alparslan , Kilic Berkan , Güngör Alper , Ozsoy Adnan 
Published: July 2021

SummaryIn the direction of arrival (DoA) estimation, typically sensor arrays are used where the number of required sensors can be large depending on the application. With the help of compressed sensing (CS), hardware complexity of the sensor array system can be reduced since reliable estimations are possible by using the compressed measurements where the compression is done by measurement matrices. After the compression, DoAs are reconstructed by using sparsity promoting algorithms such as alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). For the given procedure, both the measurement matrix design and the reconstruction algorithm may include computationally intensive operations, which are addressed in this study. The presented simulation results imply the feasibility of the system in real‐time processing with energy efficient implementations. We propose employing parallel programming to satisfy the real‐time processing requirements. While the measurement matrix design has been accelerated 16 with CPU based parallel version with respect to the fastest serial implementation, ADMM based DoA estimation has been improved 1.1 with GPU based parallel version compared to the fastest CPU parallel implementation. In addition, we achieved, to the best of our knowledge, the first energy‐efficient real‐time DoA estimation on embedded Jetson GPGPUs in 15 W power consumption without affecting the DoA accuracy performance.