bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic dissection for head blast resistance in wheat using two mapping populations
Authors: He Xinyao , Kabir Muhammad Rezaul , Roy Krishna K. , Marza Felix , Chawade Aakash , Duveiller Etienne , Pierre Carolina Saint , Singh Pawan K. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractWheat head blast is a dangerous fungal disease in South America and has recently spread to Bangladesh and Zambia, threatening wheat production in those regions. Host resistance as an economical and environment-friendly management strategy has been heavily relied on, and understanding the resistance loci in the wheat genome is very helpful to resistance breeding. In the current study, two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, Alondra/Milan (with 296 RILs) and Caninde#2/Milan-S (with 254 RILs and Milan-S being a susceptible variant of Milan), were used for mapping QTL associated with head blast resistance in field experiments. Phenotyping was conducted in Quirusillas and Okinawa, Bolivia, and in Jashore, Bangladesh, during the 2017–18 and 2018–19 cropping cycles. The DArTseq® technology was employed to genotype the lines, along with four STS markers in the 2NS region. A QTL with consistent major effects was mapped on the 2NS/2AS translocation region in both populations, explaining phenotypic variation from 16.7 to 79.4% across experiments. Additional QTL were detected on chromosomes 2DL, 7AL, and 7DS in the Alondra/Milan population, and 2BS, 4AL, 5AS, 5DL, 7AS, and 7AL in the Caninde#2/Milan-S population, all showing phenotypic effects <10%. The results corroborated the important role of the 2NS/2AS translocation on WB resistance and identified a few novel QTL for possible deployment in wheat breeding. The low phenotypic effects of the non-2NS QTL warrantee further investigation for novel QTL with higher and more stable effects against WB, to alleviate the heavy reliance on 2NS-based resistance.
Learning efficient navigation in vortical flow fields
Authors: Gunnarson Peter , Mandralis Ioannis , Novati Guido , Koumoutsakos Petros , Dabiri John O. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractEfficient point-to-point navigation in the presence of a background flow field is important for robotic applications such as ocean surveying. In such applications, robots may only have knowledge of their immediate surroundings or be faced with time-varying currents, which limits the use of optimal control techniques. Here, we apply a recently introduced Reinforcement Learning algorithm to discover time-efficient navigation policies to steer a fixed-speed swimmer through unsteady two-dimensional flow fields. The algorithm entails inputting environmental cues into a deep neural network that determines the swimmer’s actions, and deploying Remember and Forget Experience Replay. We find that the resulting swimmers successfully exploit the background flow to reach the target, but that this success depends on the sensed environmental cue. Surprisingly, a velocity sensing approach significantly outperformed a bio-mimetic vorticity sensing approach, and achieved a near 100% success rate in reaching the target locations while approaching the time-efficiency of optimal navigation trajectories.
A predominant enhancer co-amplified with the SOX2 oncogene is necessary and sufficient for its expression in squamous cancer
Authors: Liu Yanli , Wu Zhong , Zhou Jin , Ramadurai Dinesh K. A. , Mortenson Katelyn L. , Aguilera-Jimenez Estrella , Yan Yifei , Yang Xiaojun , Taylor Alison M. , Varley Katherine E. , Gertz Jason , Choi Peter S. , Cherniack Andrew D. , Chen Xingdong , Bass Adam J. , Bailey Swneke D. , Zhang Xiaoyang 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAmplification and overexpression of the SOX2 oncogene represent a hallmark of squamous cancers originating from diverse tissue types. Here, we find that squamous cancers selectively amplify a 3’ noncoding region together with SOX2, which harbors squamous cancer-specific chromatin accessible regions. We identify a single enhancer e1 that predominantly drives SOX2 expression. Repression of e1 in SOX2-high cells causes collapse of the surrounding enhancers, remarkable reduction in SOX2 expression, and a global transcriptional change reminiscent of SOX2 knockout. The e1 enhancer is driven by a combination of transcription factors including SOX2 itself and the AP-1 complex, which facilitates recruitment of the co-activator BRD4. CRISPR-mediated activation of e1 in SOX2-low cells is sufficient to rebuild the e1-SOX2 loop and activate SOX2 expression. Our study shows that squamous cancers selectively amplify a predominant enhancer to drive SOX2 overexpression, uncovering functional links among enhancer activation, chromatin looping, and lineage-specific copy number amplifications of oncogenes.
Synthesis and structure elucidation of the human tRNA nucleoside mannosyl-queuosine
Authors: Hillmeier Markus , Wagner Mirko , Ensfelder Timm , Korytiakova Eva , Thumbs Peter , Müller Markus , Carell Thomas 
Published: December 2021

AbstractQueuosine (Q) is a structurally complex, non‐canonical RNA nucleoside. It is present in many eukaryotic and bacterial species, where it is part of the anticodon loop of certain tRNAs. In higher vertebrates, including humans, two further modified queuosine-derivatives exist ‐ galactosyl‐ (galQ) and mannosyl-queuosine (manQ). The function of these low abundant hypermodified RNA nucleosides remains unknown. While the structure of galQ was elucidated and confirmed by total synthesis, the reported structure of manQ still awaits confirmation. By combining total synthesis and LC-MS-co-injection experiments, together with a metabolic feeding study of labelled hexoses, we show here that the natural compound manQ isolated from mouse liver deviates from the literature-reported structure. Our data show that manQ features an α‐allyl connectivity of its sugar moiety. The yet unidentified glycosylases that attach galactose and mannose to the Q‐base therefore have a maximally different constitutional connectivity preference. Knowing the correct structure of manQ will now pave the way towards further elucidation of its biological function.
Diblock dialternating terpolymers by one-step/one-pot highly selective organocatalytic multimonomer polymerization
Authors: Xu Jiaxi , Wang Xin , Hadjichristidis Nikos 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe synthesis of well-defined block copolymers from a mixture of monomers without additional actions (“one-pot/one-step”) is an ideal and industrially valuable method. In addition, the presence of controlled alternating sequences in one or both blocks increases the structural diversity of polymeric materials, but, at the same time, the synthetic difficulty. Here we show that the “one-pot/one-step” ring-opening terpolymerization of a mixture of three monomers (N-sulfonyl aziridines; cyclic anhydrides and epoxides), with tert-butylimino-tris(dimethylamino)phosphorene (t-BuP1) as a catalyst, results in perfect diblock dialternating terpolymers having a sharp junction between the two blocks, with highly-controllable molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions (Ð < 1.08). The organocatalyst switches between two distinct polymerization cycles without any external stimulus, showing high monomer selectivity and kinetic control. The proposed mechanism is based on NMR, in-situ FTIR, SEC, MALDI-ToF, reactivity ratios, and kinetics studies.
Helicase Q promotes homology-driven DNA double-strand break repair and prevents tandem duplications
Authors: Kamp J. A. , Lemmens B. B. L. G. , Romeijn R. J. , Changoer S. C. , van Schendel R. , Tijsterman M. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractDNA double-strand breaks are a major threat to cellular survival and genetic integrity. In addition to high fidelity repair, three intrinsically mutagenic DNA break repair routes have been described, i.e. single-strand annealing (SSA), polymerase theta-mediated end-joining (TMEJ) and residual ill-defined microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) activity. Here, we identify C. elegans Helicase Q (HELQ-1) as being essential for MMEJ as well as for SSA. We also find HELQ-1 to be crucial for the synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA) mode of homologous recombination (HR). Loss of HELQ-1 leads to increased genome instability: patchwork insertions arise at deletion junctions due to abortive rounds of polymerase theta activity, and tandem duplications spontaneously accumulate in genomes of helq-1 mutant animals as a result of TMEJ of abrogated HR intermediates. Our work thus implicates HELQ activity for all DSB repair modes guided by complementary base pairs and provides mechanistic insight into mutational signatures common in HR-defective cancers.
Acetoacetate protects macrophages from lactic acidosis-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by metabolic reprograming
Authors: Adam Clément , Paolini Léa , Gueguen Naïg , Mabilleau Guillaume , Preisser Laurence , Blanchard Simon , Pignon Pascale , Manero Florence , Le Mao Morgane , Morel Alain , Reynier Pascal , Beauvillain Céline , Delneste Yves , Procaccio Vincent , Jeannin Pascale 
Published: December 2021

AbstractLactic acidosis, the extracellular accumulation of lactate and protons, is a consequence of increased glycolysis triggered by insufficient oxygen supply to tissues. Macrophages are able to differentiate from monocytes under such acidotic conditions, and remain active in order to resolve the underlying injury. Here we show that, in lactic acidosis, human monocytes differentiating into macrophages are characterized by depolarized mitochondria, transient reduction of mitochondrial mass due to mitophagy, and a significant decrease in nutrient absorption. These metabolic changes, resembling pseudostarvation, result from the low extracellular pH rather than from the lactosis component, and render these cells dependent on autophagy for survival. Meanwhile, acetoacetate, a natural metabolite produced by the liver, is utilized by monocytes/macrophages as an alternative fuel to mitigate lactic acidosis-induced pseudostarvation, as evidenced by retained mitochondrial integrity and function, retained nutrient uptake, and survival without the need of autophagy. Our results thus show that acetoacetate may increase tissue tolerance to sustained lactic acidosis.
Collapse of the mammoth-steppe in central Yukon as revealed by ancient environmental DNA
Authors: Murchie Tyler J. , Monteath Alistair J. , Mahony Matthew E. , Long George S. , Cocker Scott , Sadoway Tara , Karpinski Emil , Zazula Grant , MacPhee Ross D. E. , Froese Duane , Poinar Hendrik N. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe temporal and spatial coarseness of megafaunal fossil records complicates attempts to to disentangle the relative impacts of climate change, ecosystem restructuring, and human activities associated with the Late Quaternary extinctions. Advances in the extraction and identification of ancient DNA that was shed into the environment and preserved for millennia in sediment now provides a way to augment discontinuous palaeontological assemblages. Here, we present a 30,000-year sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) record derived from loessal permafrost silts in the Klondike region of Yukon, Canada. We observe a substantial turnover in ecosystem composition between 13,500 and 10,000 calendar years ago with the rise of woody shrubs and the disappearance of the mammoth-steppe (steppe-tundra) ecosystem. We also identify a lingering signal of Equus sp. (North American horse) and Mammuthus primigenius (woolly mammoth) at multiple sites persisting thousands of years after their supposed extinction from the fossil record.
Ir-catalyzed enantioselective B−H alkenylation for asymmetric synthesis of chiral-at-cage o‑carboranes
Authors: Cheng Ruofei , Zhang Jie , Zhang Huifang , Qiu Zaozao , Xie Zuowei 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe asymmetric synthesis of chiral-at-cage o-carboranes, whose chirality is associated with the substitution patterns on the polyhedron, is of great interest as the icosahedral carboranes have wide applications in medicinal and materials chemistry. Herein we report an intermolecular Ir-catalyzed enantioselective B−H alkenylation for efficient and facile synthesis of chiral-at-cage o-carboranes with new skeletons under mild reaction conditions. Generally very good to excellent yields with up to 99% ee can be achieved in this Ir-catalyzed B−H alkenylation. The enantiocontrol model is proposed based on Density Functional Theory calculations in which the use of chiral phosphoramidite ligand is essential for such asymmetric o-carborane B−H alkenylation.
Asthma reduces glioma formation by T cell decorin-mediated inhibition of microglia
Authors: Chatterjee Jit , Sanapala Shilpa , Cobb Olivia , Bewley Alice , Goldstein Andrea K. , Cordell Elizabeth , Ge Xia , Garbow Joel R. , Holtzman Michael J. , Gutmann David H. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractTo elucidate the mechanisms underlying the reduced incidence of brain tumors in children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and asthma, we leverage Nf1 optic pathway glioma (Nf1OPG) mice, human and mouse RNAseq data, and two different experimental asthma models. Following ovalbumin or house dust mite asthma induction at 4–6 weeks of age (WOA), Nf1OPG mouse optic nerve volumes and proliferation are decreased at 12 and 24 WOA, indicating no tumor development. This inhibition is accompanied by reduced expression of the microglia-produced optic glioma mitogen, Ccl5. Human and murine T cell transcriptome analyses reveal that inhibition of microglia Ccl5 production results from increased T cell expression of decorin, which blocks Ccl4-mediated microglia Ccl5 expression through reduced microglia NFκB signaling. Decorin or NFκB inhibitor treatment of Nf1OPG mice at 4–6 WOA inhibits tumor formation at 12 WOA, thus establishing a potential mechanistic etiology for the attenuated glioma incidence observed in children with asthma.
NV– diamond laser
Authors: Savvin Alexander , Dormidonov Alexander , Smetanina Evgeniya , Mitrokhin Vladimir , Lipatov Evgeniy , Genin Dmitriy , Potanin Sergey , Yelisseyev Alexander , Vins Viktor 
Published: December 2021

AbstractFor the first time, lasing at NV−centers in an optically pumped diamond sample is achieved. A nanosecond train of 150-ps 532-nm laser pulses was used to pump the sample. The lasing pulses have central wavelength at 720 nm with a spectrum width of 20 nm, 1-ns duration and total energy around 10 nJ. In a pump-probe scheme, we investigate lasing conditions and gain saturation due to NV−ionization and NV0concentration growth under high-power laser pulse pumping of diamond crystal.
Structural basis for transthyretin amyloid formation in vitreous body of the eye
Authors: Iakovleva Irina , Hall Michael , Oelker Melanie , Sandblad Linda , Anan Intissar , Sauer-Eriksson A. Elisabeth 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAmyloid transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of ATTR fibrils in multiple organs. However, the structure of ATTR fibrils from the eye is poorly understood. Here, we used cryo-EM to structurally characterize vitreous body ATTR fibrils. These structures were distinct from previously characterized heart fibrils, even though both have the same mutation and type A pathology. Differences were observed at several structural levels: in both the number and arrangement of protofilaments, and the conformation of the protein fibril in each layer of protofilaments. Thus, our results show that ATTR protein structure and its assembly into protofilaments in the type A fibrils can vary between patients carrying the same mutation. By analyzing and matching the interfaces between the amino acids in the ATTR fibril with those in the natively folded TTR, we are able to propose a mechanism for the structural conversion of TTR into a fibrillar form.
Wetting ridge assisted programmed magnetic actuation of droplets on ferrofluid-infused surface
Authors: Zhang Jianqiang , Wang Xuejiao , Wang Zhaoyue , Pan Shangfa , Yi Bo , Ai Liqing , Gao Jun , Mugele Frieder , Yao Xi 
Published: December 2021

AbstractFlexible actuation of droplets is crucial for biomedical and industrial applications. Hence, various approaches using optical, electrical, and magnetic forces have been exploited to actuate droplets. For broad applicability, an ideal approach should be programmable and be able to actuate droplets of arbitrary size and composition. Here we present an “additive-free” magnetic actuation method to programmably manipulate droplets of water, organic, and biological fluids of arbitrary composition, as well as solid samples, on a ferrofluid-infused porous surface. We specifically exploit the spontaneously formed ferrofluid wetting ridges to actuate droplets using spatially varying magnetic fields. We demonstrate programmed processing and analysis of biological samples in individual drops as well as the collective actuation of large ensembles of micrometer-sized droplets. Such model respiratory droplets can be accumulated for improved quantitative and sensitive bioanalysis - an otherwise prohibitively difficult task that may be useful in tracking coronavirus.
Deep-ultraviolet electroluminescence and photocurrent generation in graphene/hBN/graphene heterostructures
Authors: Song Su-Beom , Yoon Sangho , Kim So Young , Yang Sera , Seo Seung-Young , Cha Soonyoung , Jeong Hyeon-Woo , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Lee Gil-Ho , Kim Jun Sung , Jo Moon-Ho , Kim Jonghwan 
Published: December 2021

AbstractHexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a van der Waals semiconductor with a wide bandgap of ~ 5.96 eV. Despite the indirect bandgap characteristics of hBN, charge carriers excited by high energy electrons or photons efficiently emit luminescence at deep-ultraviolet (DUV) frequencies via strong electron-phonon interaction, suggesting potential DUV light emitting device applications. However, electroluminescence from hBN has not been demonstrated at DUV frequencies so far. In this study, we report DUV electroluminescence and photocurrent generation in graphene/hBN/graphene heterostructures at room temperature. Tunneling carrier injection from graphene electrodes into the band edges of hBN enables prominent electroluminescence at DUV frequencies. On the other hand, under DUV laser illumination and external bias voltage, graphene electrodes efficiently collect photo-excited carriers in hBN, which generates high photocurrent. Laser excitation micro-spectroscopy shows that the radiative recombination and photocarrier excitation processes in the heterostructures mainly originate from the pristine structure and the stacking faults in hBN. Our work provides a pathway toward efficient DUV light emitting and detection devices based on hBN.
On the possibility that PbZrO3 not be antiferroelectric
Authors: Aramberri Hugo , Cazorla Claudio , Stengel Massimiliano , Íñiguez Jorge 
Published: December 2021

AbstractLead zirconate (PbZrO3) is considered the prototypical antiferroelectric material with an antipolar ground state. Yet, several experimental and theoretical works hint at a partially polar behaviour in this compound, indicating that the polarization may not be completely compensated. In this work, we propose a simple ferrielectric structure for lead zirconate. First-principles calculations reveal this state to be more stable than the commonly accepted antiferroelectric phase at low temperatures, possibly up to room temperature, suggesting that PbZrO3 may not be antiferroelectric at ambient conditions. We discuss the implications of our discovery, how it can be reconciled with experimental observations and how the ferrielectric phase could be obtained in practice.
Human skin triglycerides prevent bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) arrestment
Authors: Gaire Sudip , DeVries Zachary C. , Mick Russell , Santangelo Richard G. , Bottillo Grazia , Camera Emanuela , Schal Coby 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have proliferated globally and have become one of the most challenging pests to control indoors. They are nocturnal and use multiple sensory cues to detect and orient towards their human hosts. After feeding, usually on a sleeping human, they return to a shelter on or around the sleeping surface, but not directly on the host. We hypothesized that although human skin odors attract hungry bed bugs, human skin compounds may also prevent arrestment on hosts. We used arrestment assays to test human skin swabs, extracts from human skin swabs, and pure compounds identified from human skin swabs. When given a choice, bed bugs preferred to arrest on substrates not previously conditioned by humans. These responses were consistent among laboratory-reared and apartment-collected bed bugs. The compounds responsible for this behavior were found to be extractable in hexane, and bed bugs responded to such extracts in a dose-dependent manner. Bioassay-guided fractionation paired with thin-layer chromatography, GC–MS, and LC–MS analyses suggested that triglycerides (TAGs), common compounds found on human skin, were preventing arrestment on shelters. Bed bugs universally avoided sheltering in TAG-treated shelters, which was independent of the number of carbons or the number of double bonds in the TAG. These results provide strong evidence that the complex of human skin compounds serve as multifunctional semiochemicals for bed bugs, with some odorants attracting host-seeking stages, and others (TAGs and possibly other compounds) preventing bed bug arrestment. Host chemistry, environmental conditions and the physiological state of bed bugs likely influence the dual nature behavioral responses of bed bugs to human skin compounds.
Platelet-lymphocyte ratio as a new predictor of in-hospital mortality in cardiac intensive care unit patients
Authors: Zhai Guangyao , Wang Jianlong , Liu Yuyang , Zhou Yujie 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIt has been discovered that both inflammation and platelet aggregation could cause crucial effect on the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases. As a combination of platelet and lymphocyte, platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was proved to be correlated with the severity as well as prognosis of cardiovascular diseases. Exploring the relationship between PLR and in-hospital mortality in cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) patients was the purpose of this study. PLR was calculated by dividing platelet count by lymphocyte count. All patients were grouped by PLR quartiles and the primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The independent effect of PLR was determined by binary logistic regression analysis. The curve in line with overall trend was drawn by local weighted regression (Lowess). Subgroup analysis was used to determine the relationship between PLR and in-hospital mortality in different subgroups. We included 5577 CICU patients. As PLR quartiles increased, in-hospital mortality increased significantly (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: 13.9 vs. 8.3, P < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding variables, PLR was proved to be independently associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: OR 95% CI 1.55, 1.08–2.21, P = 0.016, P for trend < 0.001). The Lowess curves showed a positive relationship between PLR and in-hospital mortality. The subgroup analysis revealed that patients with low Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation IV (APACHE IV) or with less comorbidities had higher risk of mortality for PLR. Further, PLR quartiles had positive relation with length of CICU stay (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: 2.7, 1.6–5.2 vs. 2.1, 1.3–3.9, P < 0.001), and the length of hospital stay (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: 7.9, 4.6–13.1 vs. 5.8, 3.3–9.8, P < 0.001). PLR was independently associated with in-hospital mortality in CICU patients.