bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Novel Miscanthus genotypes selected for different drought tolerance phenotypes show enhanced tolerance across combinations of salinity and drought treatments
Authors: Stavridou Evangelia , Webster Richard J , Robson Paul R H 
Published: January 2019

Abstract

Background and Aims
Water deficit and salinity stresses are often experienced by plants concurrently; however, knowledge is limited about the effects of combined salinity and water deficit stress in plants, and especially in C4 bioenergy crops. Here we aim to understand how diverse drought tolerance traits may deliver tolerance to combinations of drought and salinity in C4 crops, and identify key traits that influence the productivity and biomass composition of novel Miscanthus genotypes under such conditions.

Methods
Novel genotypes used included M. sinensis and M. floridulus species, pre-screened for different drought responses, plus the commercial accession Miscanthus × giganteus (M×g.). Plants were grown under control treatments, single stress or combinations of water deficit and moderate salinity stress. Morphophysiological responses, including growth, yield, gas exchange and leaf water relations and contents of proline, soluble sugars, ash and lignin were tested for significant genotypic and treatment effects.

Key Results
The results indicated that plants subjected to combined stresses showed more severe responses compared with single stresses. All novel drought-tolerant genotypes and M×g. were tolerant to moderate salinity stress. Biomass production in M. sinensis genotypes was more resilient to co-occurring stresses than that in M×g. and M. floridulus, which, despite the yield penalty produced more biomass overall. A stay-green M. sinensis genotype adopted a conservative growth strategy with few significant treatment effects. Proline biosynthesis was species-specific and was triggered by salinity and co-occurring stress treatments, mainly in M. floridulus. The ash content was compartmentalized differently in leaves and stems in the novel genotypes, indicating different mechanisms of ion accumulation.

Conclusions
This study highlights the potential to select novel drought-tolerant Miscanthus genotypes that are resilient to combinations of stress and is expected to contribute to a deeper fundamental knowledge of different mechanistic responses identified for further exploitation in developing resilient Miscanthus crops.
Comparison of early patency rate and long-term outcomes of various techniques for reconstruction of segmental arteries during thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair†
Authors: Henmi Soichiro , Ikeno Yuki , Yokawa Koki , Gotake Yasuko , Nakai Hidekazu , Yamanaka Katsuhiro , Inoue Takeshi , Tanaka Hiroshi , Okita Yutaka 
Published: January 2019

AbstractOBJECTIVESThis study aimed to analyse the early patency rate and long-term outcomes of reattached segmental intercostal arteries using graft interposition, single-cuff anastomosis or island reconstruction.METHODSWe selected 172 consecutive patients who underwent open surgery for the thoracoabdominal aorta with reattachment of segmental arteries between October 1999 and March 2018. The early patency of segmental arteries was analysed using enhanced computed tomography. Segmental arteries were reconstructed using graft interposition (n = 111), single-cuff anastomosis (n = 38) or island reconstruction (n = 23).RESULTSThe hospital mortality was 6.4%. Twenty patients developed spinal cord ischaemic injury (permanent, n = 12 or transient, n = 8). Spinal cord injury was found in 16, 3 and 1 patients in the graft interposition, single-cuff anastomosis and island reconstruction groups, respectively. Overall, 475 segmental arteries were reattached (mean number per patient 2.8 ± 1.3). The overall early patency rate was 63.4%. The patency rates in island reconstruction (91.2%) and single-cuff anastomosis (77.1%) were significantly better than that in graft interposition (54.0%; P < 0.01). However, 6 patients with island reconstruction of segmental arteries had an aneurysm formation at the intercostal artery reconstruction site, of whom 4 patients underwent reoperation during follow-up. None of the patients with graft interposition or single-cuff reattachment had a patch aneurysm in segmental arteries.CONCLUSIONSIsland reconstruction and single-cuff anastomosis might offer better patency rates and prevent spinal cord ischaemic injury than graft interposition. Because some patients with island reconstruction required reoperation for patch aneurysms in segmental arteries, single-cuff anastomosis is preferable in terms of early- and long-term outcomes.
High incidence of MDR and XDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates obtained from patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia in Greece, Italy and Spain as part of the MagicBullet clinical trial
Authors: Pérez Astrid , Gato Eva , Pérez-Llarena José , Fernández-Cuenca Felipe , Gude María José , Oviaño Marina , Pachón María Eugenia , Garnacho José , González Verónica , Pascual Álvaro , Cisneros José Miguel , Bou Germán 
Published: January 2019

AbstractObjectivesTo characterize the antimicrobial susceptibility, molecular epidemiology and carbapenem resistance mechanisms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates recovered from respiratory tract samples from patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia enrolled in the MagicBullet clinical trial.MethodsIsolates were collected from 53 patients from 12 hospitals in Spain, Italy and Greece. Susceptibility was determined using broth microdilution and Etest. MALDI-TOF MS was used to detect carbapenemase activity and carbapenemases were identified by PCR and sequencing. Molecular epidemiology was investigated using PFGE and MLST.ResultsOf the 53 isolates, 2 (3.8%) were considered pandrug resistant (PDR), 19 (35.8%) were XDR and 16 (30.2%) were MDR. Most (88.9%) of the isolates from Greece were MDR, XDR or PDR, whereas fewer of the isolates from Spain (33.3%) and Italy (43.5%) showed antibiotic resistance. Three Greek isolates were resistant to colistin. Overall, the rates of resistance of P. aeruginosa isolates to imipenem, ciprofloxacin, ceftolozane/tazobactam and ceftazidime/avibactam were 64.1%, 54.7%, 22.6% and 24.5%, respectively. All isolates resistant to ceftolozane/tazobactam and ceftazidime/avibactam (Greece, n = 10; and Italy, n = 2) carried blaVIM-2. Spanish isolates were susceptible to the new drug combinations. Forty-eight restriction patterns and 27 STs were documented. Sixty percent of isolates belonged to six STs, including the high-risk clones ST-111, ST-175 and ST-235.ConclusionsMDR/XDR isolates were highly prevalent, particularly in Greece. The most effective antibiotic against P. aeruginosa was colistin, followed by ceftolozane/tazobactam and ceftazidime/avibactam. blaVIM-2 is associated with resistance to ceftolozane/tazobactam and ceftazidime/avibactam, and related to highly resistant phenotypes. ST-111 was the most frequent and disseminated clone and the clonal diversity was lower in XDR and PDR strains.
A systematic literature review of machine learning in online personal health data
Authors: Yin Zhijun , Sulieman Lina M , Malin Bradley A 
Published: January 2019

Abstract

Objective
User-generated content (UGC) in online environments provides opportunities to learn an individual’s health status outside of clinical settings. However, the nature of UGC brings challenges in both data collecting and processing. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the effectiveness of applying machine learning (ML) methodologies to UGC for personal health investigations.

Materials and Methods
We searched PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE Library, ACM library, AAAI library, and the ACL anthology. We focused on research articles that were published in English and in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings between 2010 and 2018. Publications that applied ML to UGC with a focus on personal health were identified for further systematic review.

Results
We identified 103 eligible studies which we summarized with respect to 5 research categories, 3 data collection strategies, 3 gold standard dataset creation methods, and 4 types of features applied in ML models. Popular off-the-shelf ML models were logistic regression (n = 22), support vector machines (n = 18), naive Bayes (n = 17), ensemble learning (n = 12), and deep learning (n = 11). The most investigated problems were mental health (n = 39) and cancer (n = 15). Common health-related aspects extracted from UGC were treatment experience, sentiments and emotions, coping strategies, and social support.

Conclusions
The systematic review indicated that ML can be effectively applied to UGC in facilitating the description and inference of personal health. Future research needs to focus on mitigating bias introduced when building study cohorts, creating features from free text, improving clinical creditability of UGC, and model interpretability.
Serum S100A8/A9 as a Potentially Sensitive Biomarker for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Okada Kohki , Okabe Makoto , Kimura Yuto , Itoh Hiroshi , Ikemoto Masaki 
Published: January 2019

Abstract

Background
The clinical significance of human S100A8/A9 (h-S100A8/A9) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is poorly understood.

Objective
To clarify whether serum S100A8/A9 is a sensitive biomarker for IBD.

Methods
Serum specimens from outpatients with IBD (n = 101) and healthy volunteers (HVs) (n = 101) were used in this study. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for h-S100A8/A9 and inflammatory cytokines were performed using these specimens. Further, correlation analysis was performed to investigate the significance of h-S100A8/A9 fluctuation in patients with IBD.

Results
The average of serum h-S100A8/A9 concentration in outpatients with IBD was significantly higher than that in HVs. The concentration of h-S100A8/A9 in patients with IBD was barely correlated with that of CRP and inflammatory cytokines. Despite that finding, the serum level of h-S100A8/A9 in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) was correlated with the severity of IBD, compared with other inflammatory proteins.

Conclusion
Serum h-S100A8/A9 is superior to CRP as a sensitive biomarker for IBD.
In memoriam Helene Weyl: A sketch, not so much of Hella as of our life together, written at the end of June 1948
Authors: Weyl Hermann 
Published: January 2019

Abstract
This text was composed as a eulogy for Helene Weyl (née Josef) by her husband, the prominent mathematician Hermann Weyl. It is, in his words, a ‘sketch, not so much of Hella as of our life together, written at the end of June 1948’, and covers her early life and their years together as young academics in Göttingen and Zürich, as well as their experiences under the National Socialist dictatorship, leading to their emigration in 1933. It concludes with an account of their last years together in Princeton, where Hermann was a member of the Institute of Advanced Study.
CO Multi-line Imaging of Nearby Galaxies (COMING). VII. Fourier decomposition of molecular gas velocity fields and bar pattern speed
Authors: Salak Dragan , Noma Yuto , Sorai Kazuo , Miyamoto Yusuke , Kuno Nario , Pettitt Alex R , Kaneko Hiroyuki , Tanaka Takahiro , Yasuda Atsushi , Kita Shoichiro , Yajima Yoshiyuki , Shibata Shugo , Nakai Naomasa , Seta Masumichi , Muraoka Kazuyuki , Kuroda Mayu , Nakanishi Hiroyuki , Takeuchi Tsutomu T , Yoda Moe , Morokuma-Matsui Kana , Watanabe Yoshimasa , Matsumoto Naoko , Oi Nagisa , Pan Hsi-An , Kajikawa Ayumi , Yashima Yu , Komatsuzaki Ryusei 
Published: January 2019

Abstract
The 12CO (J = 1→0) velocity fields of a sample of 20 nearby spiral galaxies, selected from the CO Multi-line Imaging of Nearby Galaxies (COMING) legacy project of Nobeyama Radio Observatory, have been analyzed by Fourier decomposition to determine their basic kinematic properties, such as circular and noncircular velocities. On average, the investigated barred (SAB and SB) galaxies exhibit a ratio of noncircular to circular velocities of molecular gas larger by a factor of 1.5–2 than non-barred (SA) spiral galaxies at radii within the bar semimajor axis ab at 1 kpc resolution, with a maximum at a radius of R/ab ≈ 0.3. Residual velocity field images, created by subtracting model velocity fields from the data, reveal that this trend is caused by kpc-scale streaming motions of molecular gas in the bar region. Applying a new method based on radial velocity reversal, we estimated the corotation radius RCR and bar pattern speed Ωb in seven SAB and SB systems. The ratio of the corotation to bar radius is found to be in a range of $\mathcal {R}\equiv R_\mathrm{CR}/a_\mathrm{b} \approx 0.8$–1.6, suggesting that intermediate (SBb–SBc), luminous barred spiral galaxies host fast and slow rotator bars. Tentative negative correlations are found for Ωb vs. ab and Ωb vs. total stellar mass M*, indicating that bars in massive disks are larger and rotate slower, possibly a consequence of angular momentum transfer. The kinematic properties of SAB and SB galaxies, derived from Fourier decomposition, are compared with recent numerical simulations that incorporate various rotation curve models and galaxy interactions.
Family functioning among adolescents with narcolepsy
Authors: Parmar Arpita , Yeh Eluen Ann , Korczak Daphne J , Weiss Shelly K , Lu Zihang , Zweerink Allison , Toulany Alene , Murray Brian J , Narang Indra 
Published: January 2019

Abstract

Background
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder with no cure with onset typically during adolescence. Caring for an adolescent with a lifelong medical condition can negatively impact family structure, cohesion, relationships, and overall functioning. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate family functioning in a cohort of adolescents with narcolepsy using the PedsQL Family Impact Module. The secondary objective was to compare family functioning in adolescents with narcolepsy to adolescents with chronic pain based on published data.

Methods
This was a cross-sectional study of adolescents (aged 10 to 18 years) with narcolepsy. The narcolepsy group was recruited from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Family functioning was assessed by the PedsQL family impact module total scores, which was completed by the patient’s caregiver. The PedsQL family impact module yields a total scale which encompasses parent health-related quality of life, daily activities, family relationships, communication, and worry subscales. Lower scores suggest poorer family functioning. Secondary data analyses were used to compare participants’ family functioning to a cohort of adolescents with chronic pain.

Results
Thirty adolescents with narcolepsy participated (mean age=13.8 ± 2.2 years, 76.7% male). Family functioning was impaired in this cohort of adolescents with narcolepsy and similar to adolescents with chronic pain (64.0 ± 19.8 versus 64.7 ± 19.5; P=0.849).

Conclusion
Family functioning is impaired in adolescents with narcolepsy. Clinical teams should assess family functioning at routine clinic visits by asking about concerns and challenges related to caring for an adolescent with narcolepsy and providing resources and support as needed.
T cells in primary Sjögren’s syndrome: targets for early intervention
Authors: Verstappen Gwenny M , Kroese Frans G. M , Bootsma Hendrika 
Published: January 2019

Abstract
A histologic hallmark of primary SS (pSS) is lymphocytic infiltration of the salivary and lacrimal glands, in particular by CD4+ T and B cells. In the early stages of the disease, infiltrates are dominated by CD4+ T cells, while B cell accumulation occurs at later stages. Activated T cells contribute to pathogenesis by producing pro-inflammatory cytokines and by inducing B cell activation, which results in the establishment of a positive feedback loop. In the inflamed glandular tissues, many different CD4+ effector subsets are present, including IFN-γ-producing Th1 cells, IL-17-producing Th17 cells and IL-21-producing T follicular helper cells. In blood from pSS patients, frequently observed abnormalities of the T cell compartment are CD4+ T cell lymphopenia and enrichment of circulating follicular helper T (Tfh) cells. Tfh cells are critical mediators of T cell–dependent B cell hyperactivity and these cells can be targeted by immunotherapy. Inhibition of T cell activation, preferably early in the disease process, can mitigate B cell activity and may be a promising treatment approach in this disease.
Social Support in America: Stratification and Trends in Access over Two Decades
Authors: Verdery Ashton , Campbell Colin 
Published: January 2019

AbstractSocial networks of family and friends are key resources that individuals turn to in times of need. When family and friends can provide assistance, they constitute a form of social capital that individuals may draw on for social support. Although a large body of research has examined the use of social support in its own right and as a predictor or moderator of other outcomes, few studies have explored differentials in access to social support for the general population or how these access levels have changed over time. There are many open questions. Is access to social support broadly distributed in the population or does it differ by demographic subgroups? Have levels of access remained constant? We compare levels of access to social support through both family and friends across population subgroups and describe the changing contours of access to it in the general population. Using repeated cross-sectional measurements that we compile from nearly two decades of surveys conducted as part of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we expand on a literature that has, to date, focused almost exclusively on the use of social support as a predictor of other outcomes using non-representative data. This article presents, to our knowledge, the first nationally representative study of stratification and trends in access to social support for individuals in the United States.
Genome-wide Prediction of Potential Polycomb Response Elements and their Functions
Authors: Khabiri Morteza , Freddolino Peter L. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe Polycomb-group proteins (PcG) and Trithorax-group proteins (TrxG) are two major epigenetic regulators important for proper differentiation during development (1, 2). InDrosophila melanogaster(D. melanogaster), Polycomb response elements (PREs) are short segments of DNA with a high density of binding sites for transcription factors (TFs) that recruit PcG and TrxG proteins to chromatin. Each PRE has a different number of binding sites for PcG and TrxG, and these binding sites have different topological organizations. It is thus difficult to find general rules to discover the locations of PREs over the entire genome. We have developed a framework to predict the locations and roles of potential PRE regions over the entireD. melanogastergenome using machine learning algorithms. Using a combination of motif-based and simple sequence-based features, we were able to train a random forest (RF) model with very high performance in predicting active PRE regions. This model could distinguish potential PRE regions from non-PRE regions (precision and recall ~0.92 upon cross-validation). In the process, the model suggests that previously unrecognized TFs might contribute to PcG/TrxG recruitment at the PRE locations, as the presence of binding sites for those factors is strongly informative of active PREs. A secondary regression model provides information on features that further differentiate PREs into functional subclasses. Our findings provide both new predictions of 7887 potential PREs in theD. melanogastergenome, and new mechanistic insight into the set of DNA-associated proteins that may contribute to PcG recruitment and/or activity.
RBM10 variants and RBM5 involve in alternative splicing of RBM10v1 pre-mRNA: RBM10v1 includes its own exon 4, but RBM10v2 and RBM5 skip it
Authors: Nishio Koji 
Published: January 2019

AbstractRNA binding motif (RBM) proteins, RBM10v1, RBM10v2 and RBM5 have quite similar molecular structures with a high degree of the conserved domains. Alternative splicing of RBM10 pre-mRNA produces the two mRNA variants, RBM10v1 (exon 4-included) and RBM10v2 (exon 4-skipped). RBM10v1 has a 77 amino acids-domain coded by its exon 4, but RBM10v2 lacks it. I explored the alternative splicing of the RBM10 pre-mRNA by the above three RBMs in COS-7, lung adenocarcinoma A549 and differentiated mouse cardiomyocytes H9c2 cells. Firstly, COS-7 and A549 cells express both RBM10v1 and RBM10v2 mRNA variants in contrast to H9c2 cells which express RBM10v2 variant alone. Transfection experiments of RBM10v1, RBM10v2 or RBM5 were performed to examine the alternative splicing of RBM10v1 pre-mRNA in COS-7, A549 and H9c2 cells. The result showed that RBM10v1 includes, by itself, its own exon 4 of the pre-mRNA in contrast to RBM10v2 and RBM5 which exclude the exon 4. The inclusion of the exon 4 seems to be repressed in differentiated H9c2 cells.
Most of transcriptional alterations in glioma result from DNA-methylation independent mechanisms
Authors: Court Franck , Boiteux Elisa Le , Fogli Anne , Müller-Barthélémy Mélanie , Vaurs-Barrière Catherine , Chautard Emmanuel , Pereira Bruno , Biau Julian , Kemeny Jean-Louis , Khalil Toufic , Karayan-Tapon Lucie , Verrelle Pierre , Arnaud Philippe 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBackgroundAberrant DNA methylation is a cancer cell feature that is commonly associated with transcriptional alterations. However, the primary role of this defect in the genome-wide cancer-associated gene deregulation is not clear. Here, we evaluated the relative contribution of DNA methylation-dependent and -independent mechanisms to transcriptional alterations at CpG-island/promoter-associated genes in samples of adult glioma, a widespread type of brain tumor.ResultsExtensive molecular analyses of glioma samples with wild type IDH (IDHwt) and mutated IDH (IDHmut) found DNA hypermethylation only in a minority of genes showing loss or gain of expression. Specifically, in IDHwt samples, more than 75% of aberrantly repressed genes did not display DNA methylation defects at their CpG-island promoter. Conversely, altered H3K27me3 was the predominant molecular defect at deregulated genes. Moreover, the presence of a bivalent chromatin signature at CpG-island promoters in stem cells might not only predispose to hypermethylation, as widely documented, but more generally to all types of transcriptional alterations in transformed cells. In addition, the gene expression strength in healthy brain cells influences the choice between DNA methylation- and H3K27me3-associated silencing in glioma. Our findings support a model whereby the altered control of H3K27me3 dynamics, more specifically defects in the interplay between polycomb protein complexes and the brain-specific transcriptional machinery, is the main cause of transcriptional alteration in glioma cells.ConclusionsOur study provides a comprehensive and updated description of the epigenetic deregulations in glioma that could be useful for the design of drugs to target cancer-related epigenetic defects.