bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Maternal anxiety, depression and asthma and adverse pregnancy outcomes – a population based study
Authors: Rejnö Gustaf , Lundholm Cecilia , Öberg Sara , Lichtenstein Paul , Larsson Henrik , D’Onofrio Brian , Larsson Kjell , Saltvedt Sissel , Brew Bronwyn K. , Almqvist Catarina 
Published: September 2019

AbstractTo evaluate associations between maternal anxiety or depression and adverse pregnancy outcomes, taking possible familial confounding and interaction with asthma into account, we conducted a cohort study of all singleton births in Sweden 2001–2013. We retrieved information about pregnancy, diagnoses of anxiety/depression, asthma, and prescribed medication from the Swedish Medical Birth, National Patient, and Prescribed Drug Registers. We estimated associations with regression models, performed cousin and sibling comparisons, and calculated interactions. In 950 301 identified pregnancies; 5.9% had anxiety/depression and 4.0% had asthma. Anxiety/depression was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes (e.g. preeclampsia, adjusted Odds Ratio 1.17 (95% Confidence Interval 1.12, 1.22), instrumental delivery (1.14 (1.10, 1.18)), elective (1.62 (1.57, 1.68)) and emergency (1.32 (1.28, 1.35)) caesarean section (CS)). Their children had lower birth weight (−54 g (−59, −49)) and shorter gestational age (−0.29 weeks (−0.31, −0.28)). Associations were not confounded by familial factors and asthma did not modify the effect of anxiety/depression for outcomes other than elective CS, p < 0.001. In women with anxiety/depression diagnosis, untreated women had higher odds of elective CS compared to women on medication (1.30 (1.17, 1.43)). In conclusion, anxiety/depression should be considered when evaluating pregnant women’s risk of complications such as preeclampsia and non-vaginal deliveries.
The association of integration patterns of human papilloma virus and single nucleotide polymorphisms on immune- or DNA repair-related genes in cervical cancer patients
Authors: Joo Jungnam , Omae Yosuke , Hitomi Yuki , Park Boram , Shin Hye-Jin , Yoon Kyong-Ah , Sawai Hiromi , Tsuiji Makoto , Hayashi Tomonori , Kong Sun-Young , Tokunaga Katsushi , Kim Joo-Young 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThe present study investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in immune- or DNA repair-related genes and the integration pattern of human papillomavirus (HPV), a promising prognostic marker in cervical cancer. The HPV integration patterns of cervical cancer patients were determined by polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization, and categorized as episomal (group A), single-copy or multi-copy tandem repetition integrated (group B), and undetectable HPV types (group C). After sample and SNP quality control, 166,505 SNPs in 161 samples (38, 111, and 12 patients in groups A, B, and C, respectively) were examined. None of the SNPs reached genome-wide significance, and several candidate SNPs for future study were selected, including rs10999435 on chromosome 10q22, rs1322054 on chromosome 9q32-33, and rs10902171 on chromosome 11p15. Luciferase assay identified rs1322054 as the primary functional variant to regulate gene expression in immune cell. Further studies are needed to determine the genetic background of different integration patterns of HPV in cervical cancer patients.
One-year clinical evaluation of rotationally asymmetric multifocal intraocular lens with +1.5 diopters near addition
Authors: Oshika Tetsuro , Arai Hiroyuki , Fujita Yoshifumi , Inamura Mikio , Inoue Yasushi , Noda Toru , Miyata Kazunori 
Published: September 2019

AbstractWe conducted a one-year prospective, multicenter study to assess clinical outcomes after implantation of segmented, rotationally asymmetric multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) with +1.5 diopters (D) near addition. In this phase III clinical trial, 120 eyes of 65 patients undergoing phacoemulsification and implantation of Lentis Comfort LS-313 MF15 (Oculentis GmbH) were included. The ophthalmological examinations were performed before and 1 day, 1 week, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after surgery. Uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected (CDVA) distance visual acuity, uncorrected (UIVA) and distance-corrected (DCIVA) intermediate visual acuity at 70 cm, and uncorrected (UNVA) and distance-corrected (DCNVA) near visual acuity at 30 cm were measured. A defocus curve was obtained and patients were asked about the severity of photic phenomena. Postoperative distance and intermediate visual acuity was excellent, with UDVA, CDVA, UIVA, and DCIVA of approximately 20/20, 20/16, 20/25, 20/25 were attained, respectively. The level of near visual acuity was lower; UNVA and DCNVA remained at around 20/60 and 20/70, respectively. The defocus curve indicated that postoperative uncorrected visual acuity of 20/25 and 20/40 was obtained at as close as 67 cm and 50 cm, respectively. Contrast sensitivity was within the normal range, with a minimal level of subjective symptoms and high patient satisfaction. The rotationally asymmetric multifocal IOLs with +1.5 D near addition provided excellent distance and intermediate vision, but near vision was not enough for reading small prints. Contrast sensitivity was high, with very low incidences of photic phenomena and a high level of patient satisfaction.
A strategy of designing high-entropy alloys with high-temperature shape memory effect
Authors: Lee Je In , Tsuchiya Koichi , Tasaki Wataru , Oh Hyun Seok , Sawaguchi Takahiro , Murakami Hideyuki , Hiroto Takanobu , Matsushita Yoshitaka , Park Eun Soo 
Published: September 2019

AbstractShape memory effect, the ability to recover a pre-deformed shape on heating, results from a reversible martensitic transformation between austenite and martensite phases. Here, we demonstrate a strategy of designing high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with high-temperature shape memory effect in the CrMnFeCoNi alloy system. First, we calculate the difference in Gibbs free energy between face-centered-cubic (FCC) and hexagonal-close-packed (HCP) phases, and find a substantial increase in thermodynamic equilibrium temperature between the FCC and HCP phases through composition tuning, leading to thermally- and stress-induced martensitic transformations. As a consequence, the shape recovery temperature in non-equiatomic CrMnFeCoNi alloys can be increased to 698 K, which is much higher than that of conventional shape memory alloys (SMAs) and comparable to that of B2-based multi-component SMAs containing noble metals (Pd, Pt,etc.) or refractory metals (Zr, Hf,etc.). This result opens a vast field of applications of HEAs as a novel class of cost-effective high-temperature SMAs.
Interplay of Plasmodium falciparum and thrombin in brain endothelial barrier disruption
Authors: Avril Marion , Benjamin Max , Dols Mary-Margaret , Smith Joseph D. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractRecent concepts suggest that bothPlasmodium falciparumfactors and coagulation contribute to endothelial activation and dysfunction in pediatric cerebral malaria (CM) pathology. However, there is still limited understanding of how these complex inflammatory stimuli are integrated by brain endothelial cells. In this study, we examined how mature-stageP.falciparuminfected erythrocytes (IE) interact with tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and thrombin in the activation and permeability of primary human brain microvascular endothelial cell (HBMEC) monolayers. Whereas trophozoite-stageP.falciparum-IE have limited effect on the viability of HBMEC or the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines or chemokines, except at super physiological parasite-host cell ratios, schizont-stageP.falciparum-IE induced low levels of cell death. Additionally, schizont-stage parasites were more barrier disruptive than trophozoite-stageP.falciparum-IE and prolonged thrombin-induced barrier disruption in both resting and TNFα-activated HBMEC monolayers. These results provide evidence that parasite products and thrombin may interact to increase brain endothelial permeability.
Characterization of the self-assembly of New Jersey polyomavirus VP1 into virus-like particles and the virus seroprevalence in Japan
Authors: Zhou Xianfeng , Bai Huimin , Kataoka Michiyo , Ito Masahiko , Muramatsu Masamichi , Suzuki Tetsuro , Li Tian-Cheng 
Published: September 2019

AbstractNew Jersey polyomavirus (NJPyV) was discovered in 2014 in a pancreatic transplant recipient’s vascular endothelial cells. Here, in the recombinant baculovirus system, VP1 protein of NJPyV expressed in insect cells was processed. The protein self-assembled into virus-like particles (NJPyV-LPs) in a cell-type-dependent manner, and the particles were then released into the culture media. Spherical ~50-nm-dia. NJPyV-LPs of uniform size with morphology resembling that of the native particles of polyomaviruses were purified from the fraction at 1.33 g/cm3 in supernatants of VP1-expressing Sf9 cells. We investigated the antigenic properties of purified NJPyV-LPs and performed a VLP-based enzyme immunoassay to determine the age-specific prevalence of NJPyV infection in a general Japanese population aged 1–70 years. The overall seropositivity rate of anti-NJPyV antibodies was only 1.8%. This might be explained by the low circulation of NJPyV in Japan. This is the first report of a large-scale serological survey of NJPyV in Asia (n = 1,050).
CAND1 regulates lunapark for the proper tubular network of the endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Kajiho Hiroaki , Yamamoto Yasunori , Sakisaka Toshiaki 
Published: September 2019

AbstractEndoplasmic reticulum (ER) tubules connect each other by three-way junctions, resulting in a tubular ER network. Oligomerization of three-way junction protein lunapark (Lnp) is important for its localization and the three-way junction stability. On the other hand, Lnp has an N-terminal ubiquitin ligase activity domain, which is also important for the three-way junction localization. To understand the mode of action of Lnp, we isolated Cullin-associated and neddylation-dissociated 1 (CAND1), a regulator of Skp1-Cul1-F-box (SCF) ubiquitin ligase, as a Lnp-binding protein by affinity chromatography. CAND1 and Lnp form a higher-molecular-weight complex in vitro, while they do not co-localize at the three-way junctions. CAND1 reduces the auto-ubiquitination activity of Lnp. CAND1 knockdown enhances proteasomal degradation of Lnp and reduces the tubular ER network in mammalian cells. These results suggest that CAND1 has the potency to promote the formation of the higher-molecular-weight complex with Lnp and reduce the auto-ubiquitination activity of Lnp, thereby regulating the three-way junction stability of the tubular ER network.
Metabolism and biochemical properties of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) analogs, nicotinamide guanine dinucleotide (NGD) and nicotinamide hypoxanthine dinucleotide (NHD)
Authors: Yaku Keisuke , Okabe Keisuke , Gulshan Maryam , Takatsu Kiyoshi , Okamoto Hiroshi , Nakagawa Takashi 
Published: September 2019

AbstractNicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is an important coenzyme that regulates various metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, β-oxidation, and oxidative phosphorylation. Additionally, NAD serves as a substrate for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), sirtuin, and NAD glycohydrolase, and it regulates DNA repair, gene expression, energy metabolism, and stress responses. Many studies have demonstrated that NAD metabolism is deeply involved in aging and aging-related diseases. Previously, we demonstrated that nicotinamide guanine dinucleotide (NGD) and nicotinamide hypoxanthine dinucleotide (NHD), which are analogs of NAD, are significantly increased in Nmnat3-overexpressing mice. However, there is insufficient knowledge about NGD and NHD in vivo. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the metabolism and biochemical properties of these NAD analogs. We demonstrated that endogenous NGD and NHD were found in various murine tissues, and their synthesis and degradation partially rely on Nmnat3 and CD38. We have also shown that NGD and NHD serve as coenzymes for alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in vitro, although their affinity is much lower than that of NAD. On the other hand, NGD and NHD cannot be used as substrates for SIRT1, SIRT3, and PARP1. These results reveal the basic metabolism of NGD and NHD and also highlight their biological function as coenzymes.
The potential of corn-soybean intercropping to improve the soil health status and biomass production in cool climate boreal ecosystems
Authors: Zaeem Muhammad , Nadeem Muhammad , Pham Thu Huong , Ashiq Waqar , Ali Waqas , Gilani Syed Shah Mohioudin , Elavarthi Sathya , Kavanagh Vanessa , Cheema Mumtaz , Galagedara Lakshman , Thomas Raymond 
Published: September 2019

AbstractIntercropping (IC) is a promising approach used to improve soil health and sustainable crop production. However, it is unknown whether IC improve the soil health status and biomass productivity of crops cultivated in podzols under cool climate in boreal ecosystems. Two silage corn and three forage soybean genotypes were cultivated either as inter or monocrop (MC) treatments in a randomized complete block design. IC resulted in 28% increase in total forage production (FP). A reduction in rhizosphere soil pH (RS-pH) was observed in the IC treatments. Conversely, the rhizosphere soil acid phosphatase (RS-APase) activity was significantly higher (26–46%) in the IC treatments and occurred concomitant with a significant increase in available phosphorus (RS-Pavailable) (26–74%) in the rhizosphere. Furthermore, IC enhanced the active microbial composition and strong positive correlations were observed between RS-Pavailable, RS-APase, microbial biomass and FP; while RS-pH was negatively correlated with FP, RS-APase and RS-Pavailable. These findings suggested silage corn intercropped with forage soybean could be a viable approach to enhance FP through improved active microbial community structure, RS-APase activity and RS-Pavailable when cultivated on podzols in cool climate boreal ecosystem.
Breastfeeding and maternal cardiovascular risk factors: 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort
Authors: Lima Natália P. , Bassani Diego G. , Magalhães Elma Izze S. , Barros Fernando C. , Horta Bernardo L. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThis study evaluated the association of breastfeeding duration with maternal metabolic cardiovascular risk factors among women who have been prospectively followed since birth in a southern Brazilian city. In the unadjusted analysis, total cholesterol was higher among women who never breastfed in relation to those who breastfed ≥12 months. Among women with one livebirth, a shorter duration of breastfeeding was associated with lower HDL, while those with two or more livebirths and that breastfed for shorter time presented lower pulse wave velocity, glycaemia and non-HDL measures. After controlling for confounding variables, the magnitude of these associations decreased, and the confidence intervals included the reference. Concerning the duration of breastfeeding of the last child, the analysis was stratified by time since last birth. After controlling for confounders, systolic blood pressure was lower among women who breastfed 3 to <6 months and had a child within the last five years in relation to those who breastfed ≥6, but no clear trend was observed (p = 0.17). In conclusion, our findings suggest that there is no association between lactation and maternal cardiometabolic risk factors.
Increased regulatory B cells are involved in immune evasion in patients with gastric cancer
Authors: Murakami Yuki , Saito Hiroaki , Shimizu Shota , Kono Yusuke , Shishido Yuji , Miyatani Kozo , Matsunaga Tomoyuki , Fukumoto Yoji , Ashida Keigo , Sakabe Tomohiko , Nakayama Yuji , Fujiwara Yoshiyuki 
Published: September 2019

AbstractAccumulating evidence has indicated that immune regulatory cells are involved in the establishment of tumoral immune evasion. However, the role of regulatory B cells (Bregs) in this remains unclear. Here, we identified a role for Bregs in immune evasion in gastric cancer (GC) patients. The frequency of peripheral Bregs was significantly higher in GC patients than in healthy controls (P = 0.0023). Moreover, the frequency of CD19+CD24hiCD27+ B cells in GC tissue was significantly higher than in peripheral blood and healthy gastric tissue. Carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester labeling revealed that CD19+CD24hiCD27+ B cells could suppress the proliferation of autologous CD4+ T cells. Moreover, CD19+CD24hiCD27+ B cells inhibited the production of interferon-gamma by CD4+ T cells. Double staining immunohistochemistry of interleukin-10 and CD19 revealed 5-year overall survival rates of 65.4% and 13.3% in BregLow and BregHigh groups, respectively (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis indicated that the frequency of Bregs was an independent prognostic indicator in GC patients. Taken together, our results show the existence of Bregs in GC tissue, and indicate that they are significantly correlated with the prognosis of GC patients.
A Plasmonic Approach to Study Protein Interaction Kinetics through the Dimerization of Functionalized Ag Nanoparticles
Authors: Mercadal Pablo A. , Motrich Ruben D. , Coronado Eduardo A. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractUnderstanding the kinetics of protein interactions plays a key role in biology with significant implications for the design of analytical methods for disease monitoring and diagnosis in medical care, research and industrial applications. Herein, we introduce a novel plasmonic approach to study the binding kinetics of protein-ligand interactions following the formation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) dimers by UV-Vis spectroscopy that can be used as probes for antigen detection and quantification. To illustrate and test the method, the kinetics of the prototype biotin-streptavidin (Biot-STV) pair interaction was studied. Controlled aggregates (dimers) of STV functionalized Ag NPs were produced by adding stoichiometric quantities of gliadin-specific biotinylated antibodies (IgG-Biot). The dimerization kinetics was studied in a systematic way as a function of Ag NPs size and at different concentrations of IgG-Biot. The kinetics data have shown to be consistent with a complex reaction mechanism in which only the Ag NPs attached to the IgG-Biot located in a specific STV site are able to form dimers. These results help in elucidating a complex reaction mechanism involved in the dimerization kinetics of functionalized Ag NPs, which can serve as probes in surface plasmon resonance-based bioassays for the detection and quantification of different biomarkers or analytes of interest.
Metabolomics Deciphered Metabolic Reprogramming Required for Biofilm Formation
Authors: Lu Haitao , Que Yumei , Wu Xia , Guan Tianbing , Guo Hao 
Published: September 2019

AbstractBiofilm formation plays a key role in many bacteria causing infections, which mostly accounts for high-frequency infectious recurrence and antibiotics resistance. In this study, we sought to compare modified metabolism of biofilm and planktonic populations with UTI89, a predominant agent of urinary tract infection, by combining mass spectrometry based untargeted and targeted metabolomics methods, as well as cytological visualization, which enable us to identify the driven metabolites and associated metabolic pathways underlying biofilm formation. Surprisingly, our finding revealed distinct differences in both phenotypic morphology and metabolism between two patterns. Furthermore, we identified and characterized 38 differential metabolites and associated three metabolic pathways involving glycerolipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism that were altered mostly during biofilm formation. This discovery in metabolic phenotyping permitted biofilm formation shall provide us a novel insight into the dissociation of biofilm, which enable to develop novel biofilm based treatments against pathogen causing infections, with lower antibiotic resistance.
Identification of transcriptome-wide, nut weight-associated SNPs in Castanea crenata
Authors: Kang Min-Jeong , Shin Ah-Young , Shin Younhee , Lee Sang-A , Lee Hyo-Ryeon , Kim Tae-Dong , Choi Mina , Koo Namjin , Kim Yong-Min , Kyeong Dongsoo , Subramaniyam Sathiyamoorthy , Park Eung-Jun 
Published: September 2019

AbstractNut weight is one of the most important traits that can affect a chestnut grower’s returns. Due to the long juvenile phase of chestnut trees, the selection of desired characteristics at early developmental stages represents a major challenge for chestnut breeding. In this study, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in transcriptomic regions, which were significantly associated with nut weight in chestnuts (Castanea crenata), using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data were generated from large and small nut-bearing trees, using an Illumina HiSeq. 2000 system, and 3,271,142 SNPs were identified. A total of 21 putative SNPs were significantly associated with chestnut weight (false discovery rate [FDR] < 10−5), based on further analyses. We also applied five machine learning (ML) algorithms, support vector machine (SVM), C5.0,k-nearest neighbour (k-NN), partial least squares (PLS), and random forest (RF), using the 21 SNPs to predict the nut weights of a second population. The average accuracy of the ML algorithms for the prediction of chestnut weights was greater than 68%. Taken together, we suggest that these SNPs have the potential to be used during marker-assisted selection to facilitate the breeding of large chestnut-bearing varieties.
Substitution of cysteines in the yeast viral killer toxin K1 precursor reveals novel insights in heterodimer formation and immunity
Authors: Gier Stefanie , Lermen Matthias , Schmitt Manfred J. , Breinig Frank 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThe killer toxin K1 is a virally encoded fungal A/B toxin acting by disrupting plasma membrane integrity. The connection of α and β constitutes a critical feature for toxin biology and for decades the formation of three disulphide bonds linking the major toxin subunits was accepted as status quo. Due to the absence of experimental evidence, the involvement of each cysteine in heterodimer formation, K1 lethality and immunity was systematically analysed. Substitution of any cysteine in α led to a complete loss of toxin dimer secretion and toxicity, whereas K1 toxin derivatives carrying mutations of C248, C312 or the double mutation C248-312 were active against spheroplasted cells. Importantly, substitution of the C95 and C107 in the toxin precursor completely abolished the mediation of functional immunity. In contrast, K1 toxicity, i.e. its ionophoric effect, does not depend on the cysteine residues at all. In contrast to the literature, our data imply the formation of a single disulphide bond involving C92 in α and C239 in β. This finding not only refines the current model stated for decades but also provides new opportunities to elucidate the mechanisms underlying K1 toxicity and immunity at the molecular level.