bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal study of wild koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) reveals chlamydial disease progression in two thirds of infected animals
Authors: Robbins Amy , Hanger Jonathan , Jelocnik Martina , Quigley Bonnie L. , Timms Peter 
Published: September 2019

AbstractChlamydial disease threatens many of Australia’s koala populations, and yet our understanding of chlamydial epidemiology and disease dynamics in koalas is limited by a lack of comprehensive, longitudinal population studies. To address this, we utilised longitudinal samples from a large-scale population study of wild koalas in south-east Queensland, to follow chlamydial infections over time and to investigate some of the drivers of disease progression. Our findings show, firstly, that almost two thirds of chlamydial infections progressed to disease, challenging the notion that chlamydial infections in koalas commonly remain chronic and asymptomatic. Secondly, disease progression at the urogenital tract site was associated with infection load, and urogenital tract shedding was significantly higher when koalas acquired a new infection. Thirdly, chronic chlamydial exposure was not necessary for pathogenic sequelae to develop, such as infertility and mortality. Fourthly, ompA-characterised strain sub-types may reflect tissue tropisms and pathogenicity, and the chlamydial status of some chronically infected koalas may be explained by reinfections with novel genotypes. Finally, successful antimicrobial treatment provided only short-term protection against reinfection and disease progression in susceptible koalas. These findings highlight the importance of identifying and preventing chlamydial infections in koalas, informing new population management strategies and research priorities.
Tai Chi Chuan exercise related change in brain function as assessed by functional near–infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Xie Hui , Zhang Ming , Huo Congcong , Xu Gongcheng , Li Zengyong , Fan Yubo 
Published: September 2019

AbstractEarly studies have shown that Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) contributes to the rehabilitation of cognitive disorders and increases blood oxygen concentration levels in the parietal and occipital brain areas; however, the mechanism of TCC training on brain function remains poorly understood. This study hypothesize that TCC has altered brain function and aims to explore the effects of TCC on functional connection and effective connection of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), motor cortex (MC), and occipital cortex (OC). The participants were 23 experienced Chen–style TCC practitioners (TCC group), and 32 demographically matched TCC–naive healthy controls (control group). Functional and effective connections were calculated using wavelet–based coherence analysis and dynamic Bayesian inference method, respectively. Results showed that beyond the intensity of activity in a particular cortical region induced by TCC, significant differences in brain activity and dynamic configuration of connectivity were observed between the TCC and control groups during resting and movement states. These findings suggested that TCC training improved the connection of PFC, MC and OC in myogenic activity, sympathetic nervous system, and endothelial cell metabolic activities; enhanced brain functional connections and relayed the ability of TCC to improve cognition and the anti–memory decline potential.
The higher prevalence of extended spectrum beta-lactamases among Escherichia coli ST131 in Southeast Asia is driven by expansion of a single, locally prevalent subclone
Authors: Chen Swaine L. , Ding Ying , Apisarnthanarak Anucha , Kalimuddin Shirin , Archuleta Sophia , Omar Sharifah Faridah Syed , De Partha Pratim , Koh Tse Hsien , Chew Kean Lee , Atiya Nadia , Suwantarat Nuntra , Velayuthan Rukumani Devi , Wong Joshua Guo Xian , Lye David C. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThe ST131 multilocus sequence type (MLST) ofEscherichia coliis a globally successful pathogen whose dissemination is increasing rates of antibiotic resistance. Numerous global surveys have demonstrated the pervasiveness of this clone; in some regions ST131 accounts for up to 30% of allE.coliisolates. However, many regions are underrepresented in these published surveys, including Africa, South America, and Asia. We collected consecutive bloodstreamE.coliisolates from three countries in Southeast Asia; ST131 was the most common MLST type. As in other studies, the C2/H30Rx clade accounted for the majority of ST131 strains. Clinical risk factors were similar to other reported studies. However, we found that nearly all of the C2 strains in this study were closely related, forming what we denote the SEA-C2 clone. The SEA-C2 clone is enriched for strains from Asia, particularly Southeast Asia and Singapore. The SEA-C2 clone accounts for all of the excess resistance and virulence of ST131 relative to non-ST131E.coli. The SEA-C2 strains appear to be locally circulating and dominant in Southeast Asia, despite the intuition that high international connectivity and travel would enable frequent opportunities for other strains to establish themselves.
Fabrication of Ag@Co-Al Layered Double Hydroxides Reinforced poly(o-phenylenediamine) Nanohybrid for Efficient Electrochemical Detection of 4-Nitrophenol, 2,4-Dinitrophenol and Uric acid at Nano Molar Level
Authors: Dhanasekaran T. , Manigandan R. , Padmanaban A. , Suresh R. , Giribabu K. , Narayanan V. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractIn this paper, Co-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs), Co-Al LDHs/poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) and Ag nanoparticles decorated Co-Al LDHs/PoPD (Ag@Co-Al LDH/PoPD) samples were prepared. The as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, Raman, XPS, FT-IR, DRS-UV-Vis, PL and TGA techniques. The salient features of morphology and size of the samples were determined using FESEM, and HR-TEM. Then, the samples were coated on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and employed for sensing of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP)) and uric acid (UA). It was found that Ag@Co-Al LDH/PoPD/GCE showed superior electrochemical sensing behaviour than other modified electrodes. It exhibits the detection limit (DL) of 63 nM, 50 nM and 0.28 µM for 4-NP, 2,4-DNP and UA respectively.
Temporal analysis of vaginal proteome reveals developmental changes in lower reproductive tract of gilts across the first two weeks postnatal
Authors: Harlow KaLynn , Suarez-Trujillo Aridany , Hedrick Victoria , Sobreira Tiago , Aryal Uma K. , Stewart Kara , Casey Theresa 
Published: September 2019

AbstractIn swine the upper reproductive tract undergoes early postnatal development, however little is known about the lower reproductive tract. Our objective was to measure cytology and proteome of vaginal swab samples taken on postnatal day (PND) 2 and 16 in gilts to determine if temporal changes occurred in cell and protein profiles during the first two weeks after birth. The posterior vagina was swabbed using a cytology brush on PND 0, 2 and 16 and slides were prepared. The proportion of anuclear and superficial cells increased and parabasal decreased (P < 0.05) from PND 0 to 16. Proteins isolated from vaginal swabs taken on PND 2 and 16 from six gilts across three litters were measured using LC-MS/MS. Over 1500 proteins were identified, with 881 differentially expressed (P-adj < 0.05) between PND 2 and 16. One-third of proteins upregulated between days were categorized as secreted, including lipocalins. Categories enriched by downregulated proteins included cell-cell adherens junction, translation and ER to Golgi vesicle-mediated transport, and reflected increased cornification of stratified epithelium and thus mirrored changes in cytology. Changes in cytology and proteome over the first two weeks after birth support that the porcine vagina continues to develop postnatal.
Impact of continuous Panax notoginseng plantation on soil microbial and biochemical properties
Authors: Zhang Yu , Zheng Yujie , Xia Pengguo , Xun Lulu , Liang Zongsuo 
Published: September 2019

AbstractPanax notoginsengis a highly regarded medicinal plant that has been cultivated for more than 400 years in Southwest China. The obstacles associated with the continuous cropping ofP. notoginsengare the greatest issues for the development this plant. In the present study, the micro-ecologies of soils differing in the duration ofP. notoginsengplanting were compared, the results of which could provide important information to aid in solving the problems associated with the continuous cropping ofP. notoginseng. Soils in whichP. notoginsenghad grown for 1, 3 or 5 years, as well as unplanted or fallow soil, which had aP. notoginsengplanting interval of 1, 3, 6 or 9 years, were collected in Yunnan Province, China. The numbers and physiological groups of microorganisms, soil enzyme activities and nutrients present in the soil were analyzed to identify the effects of continuous cropping and determine the influence of crop rotation on the soil. AfterP. notoginsengwas planted, the ecological structure of the soil and the balance of soil nutrients changed. These changes in the soil ecosystem prevented the soil from adapting to the continuous cropping ofP. notoginseng, which eventually limited the growth ofP. notoginsengand increased the incidence of diseases. After rotation ofP. notoginseng, some soil indicators were restored, and some indicators with irregular changes may have been caused by crop rotation and field fertilization management practices. Thus, the selection of suitable crop rotations will facilitate the use of continuous cropping forP. notoginseng.
Relationships between the lithology of purple rocks and the pedogenesis of purple soils in the Sichuan Basin, China
Authors: Zhong Shouqin , Han Zhen , Du Jing , Ci En , Ni Jiupai , Xie Deti , Wei Chaofu 
Published: September 2019

AbstractClassified as Regosols in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Taxonomy, purple soils formed from purple rocks and are mainly distributed in the Sichuan Basin of southwestern China. A number of studies have focused on the soil water, nutrients, texture and erosion of purple soils. This study was conducted to understand the lithological features of the related purple rocks and their effects on the pedogenesis of purple soils in the Sichuan Basin. The results showed the following: due to variability in the paleoenvironment, purple rocks mainly consist of sandstone and mudstone with various stratal thicknesses and various particle sizes. The lithology of the purple rocks leads the purple soils have an obvious inheritance from their parent rocks. An apparent purple color and numerous rock fragments derived from the purple parent rock are observed throughout the profile, with no clear soil stratification. The particle size contents of the purple soils are closely related to those of their parent rocks. The clay-sized fractions in the purple soils are generally dominated by illite, vermiculite, chlorite, and montmorillonite with little quartz and with or without kaolinite, which is generally the same as that in the parent purple rocks. In addition, the purple soils are characterized by obvious inherited mineralogy, chemical composition, pH value, OM content and nutrient content. Therefore, the diagenetic environment determined the lithology of the purple rock, and the lithology of the purple rock determined the pedogenic characteristics of the purple soil to some extent. Purple soils are characterized by rapid physical weathering and pedogenetic processes and slow chemical pedogenetic processes.
Observational data reveal evidence and parameters of contagious yawning in the behavioral repertoire of captive-reared chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Authors: Campbell Matthew W. , Cox Cathleen R. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThere is robust experimental evidence for contagious yawning, yet observational studies of naturalistic behavior have been fewer. Without data from real-world behavior, researchers have questioned the existence of contagious yawning and made assumptions about some parameters (e.g., the duration of the effect). We observed contagious yawning in chimpanzees to confirm/disconfirm its existence in the behavioral repertoire of this species, and if present, provide some of the missing descriptives. We recorded yawns on an all-occurrence basis from 18 captive-reared chimpanzees at the Los Angeles Zoo. We recorded identity, time, and individuals who could have been affected. We calculated a threshold for contagion by taking the mean and adding 1.96 standard deviations, constructing a response curve. Across multiple measures we see a consistent pattern in which there is a strong effect of contagion for 1.5 minutes, a less strong but still significant effect lasting up to 3.5 minutes in some measures, and no evidence of contagion beyond 3.5 minutes. From the time stamp on each yawn we were able to rule out temporal synchrony as an alternative hypothesis. Thus, contagious yawning appears to be a natural phenomenon in chimpanzees lending support to the myriad experimental and observational studies to date.
Enhanced response inhibition and reduced midfrontal theta activity in experienced Vipassana meditators
Authors: Andreu Catherine I. , Palacios Ismael , Moënne-Loccoz Cristóbal , López Vladimir , Franken Ingmar H. A. , Cosmelli Diego , Slagter Heleen A. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractResponse inhibition - the ability to suppress inappropriate thoughts and actions - is a fundamental aspect of cognitive control. Recent research suggests that mental training by meditation may improve cognitive control. Yet, it is still unclear if and how, at the neural level, long-term meditation practice may affect (emotional) response inhibition. The present study aimed to address this outstanding question, and used an emotional Go/Nogo task and electroencephalography (EEG) to examine possible differences in behavioral and electrophysiological indices of response inhibition between Vipassana meditators and an experience-matched active control group (athletes). Behaviorally, meditators made significantly less errors than controls on the emotional Go/Nogo task, independent of the emotional context, while being equally fast. This improvement in response inhibition at the behavioral level was accompanied by a decrease in midfrontal theta activity in Nogo vs. Go trials in the meditators compared to controls. Yet, no changes in ERP indices of response inhibition, as indexed by the amplitude of the N2 and P3 components, were observed. Finally, the meditators subjectively evaluated the emotional pictures lower in valence and arousal. Collectively, these results suggest that meditation may improve response inhibition and control over emotional reactivity.
Using neural distance to predict reaction time for categorizing the animacy, shape, and abstract properties of objects
Authors: Ritchie J. Brendan , de Beeck Hans Op 
Published: September 2019

AbstractA large number of neuroimaging studies have shown that information about object category can be decoded from regions of the ventral visual pathway. One question is how this information might be functionally exploited in the brain. In an attempt to help answer this question, some studies have adopted a neural distance-to-bound approach, and shown that distance to a classifier decision boundary through neural activation space can be used to predict reaction times (RT) on animacy categorization tasks. However, these experiments have not controlled for possible visual confounds, such as shape, in their stimulus design. In the present study we sought to determine whether, when animacy and shape properties are orthogonal, neural distance in low- and high-level visual cortex would predict categorization RTs, and whether a combination of animacy and shape distance might predict RTs when categories crisscrossed the two stimulus dimensions, and so were not linearly separable. In line with previous results, we found that RTs correlated with neural distance, but only for animate stimuli, with similar, though weaker, asymmetric effects for the shape and crisscrossing tasks. Taken together, these results suggest there is potential to expand the neural distance-to-bound approach to other divisions beyond animacy and object category.
Preoperative Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio are Associated with the Prognosis of Group 3 and Group 4 Medulloblastoma
Authors: Li Ke , Duan Wen-chao , Zhao Hai-biao , Wang Li , Wang Wei-wei , Zhan Yun-bo , Sun Tao , Zhang Feng-jiang , Yu Bin , Bai Ya-hui , Wang Yan-min , Ji Yu-chen , Zhou Jin-qiao , Liu Xian-zhi , Zhang Zhi-feng , Zhang Zhen-yu 
Published: September 2019

AbstractInflammation and immunoreaction markers were correlated with the survival of patients in many tumors. However, there were no reports investigating the relationships between preoperative hematological markers and the prognosis of medulloblastoma (MB) patients based on the molecular subgroups (WNT, SHH, Group 3, and Group 4). A total 144 MB patients were enrolled in the study. The differences of preoperative hematological markers among molecular subgroups of MB were compared by One-way ANOVA method. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the curves of progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The comparison of survival rates in different groups were conducted by the Log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate independent prognostic factors. Increased preoperative NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, PFS, P = 0.004, OS, P < 0.001) and PLR (platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, PFS, P = 0.028, OS, P = 0.003) predicted poor prognosis in patients with MB, while preoperative MLR (monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio), MPV (mean platelet volume), PDW (platelet distribution width), and AGR (albumin-to-globulin ratio) were revealed no predictive value on the prognosis of patients with MB. Furthermore, high preoperative NLR and PLR predicted unfavorable prognosis in childhood MB patients. However, preoperative NLR and PLR were not associated with the prognosis in adult MB patients. Multivariate analysis demonstrated preoperative NLR (PFS, P = 0.029, OS, P = 0.005) and PLR (PFS, P = 0.023, OS, P = 0.005) were the independent prognostic factors in MB patients. Emphatically, the levels of preoperative NLR and PLR in Group 3 MB were significantly higher than those in WNT MB. High preoperative NLR was associated with unfavorable OS in Group 3 (P = 0.032) and Group 4 (P = 0.027) tumors. Similarly, increased preoperative PLR predicted poor PFS (P = 0.012) and OS (P = 0.009) in Group 4 tumors. Preoperative NLR and PLR were the potential prognostic markers for MB patients. Preoperative NLR and PLR were significantly associated with the survival of Group 3 and Group 4 tumors.
The Plasma Interleukin (IL)-35 Level and Frequency of Circulating IL-35+ Regulatory B Cells are Decreased in a Cohort of Chinese Patients with New-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Ye Zhuang , Jiang Yanfang , Sun Dejun , Zhong Wei , Zhao Ling , Jiang Zhenyu 
Published: September 2019

AbstractSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease that is associated with the destruction of immune tolerance and activation of B cells. Interleukin (IL)-35 and IL-35-producing (IL-35+) regulatory B cells (Bregs) have been demonstrated to possess immunosuppressive functions, but their roles in the initiation and early development of SLE have not been explored. Here, we measured and compared the frequencies of blood regulatory B cell subsets and the concentrations of plasma IL-35, IL-10, IL-17A, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interferon (IFN)-γ in 47 Chinese patients with newly diagnosed SLE and 20 matched healthy controls (HCs). The SLE patients had decreased percentages of IL-35+ B cells and IL-10+ B cells among the total blood B cells as well as decreased concentrations of plasma IL-35. In addition, higher levels of plasma IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17 along with higher frequencies of circulating plasma and memory B cells were observed in the SLE patients. The percentage of IL-35+ Bregs and the serum IL-35 level were inversely correlated with the SLE disease activity index and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) levels. Our results indicate that IL-35+ Bregs and IL-35 may play protective roles in SLE initiation and progression.
Compact silicon 10-mode multi/demultiplexer for hybrid mode- and polarisation-division multiplexing system
Authors: Jiang Weifeng , Miao Jinye , Li Tao 
Published: September 2019

AbstractTo further increase the capacity of the optical transmission system, the hybrid mode- and polarisation-division multiplexing (MDM-PDM) technology has been proved to be an efficient approach by multiplexing dual polarisations for each orthogonal eigen mode. A hybrid (de)multiplexer [(De)MUX] is one of the most important fabrics for the hybrid MDM-PDM networks. A compact silicon 10-mode hybrid (De)MUX is proposed based on three cascaded asymmetric directional couplers (ADCs) based sections, three adiabatic tapers, and a polarisation beam splitter (PBS). The phase-matching conditions can be achieved by varying the widths of the bus waveguides for the TM modes and then by varying the widths of the access waveguides for the TE modes. The simulated results show that a compact total coupling length for TM1 ~ TM3 and TE1 ~ TE5 modes can be achieved to be 55.4 μm. In addition, the total loss of the proposed hybrid (De)MUX can be reduced benefitting from the fewer tapers compared with the conventional cascaded ADCs. The PBS is also optimised with a compact length of 7.0 μm and high extinction ratios of 32.9 dB and 15.4 dB for the TM0 and TE0 modes, respectively.
The redox metabolic pathways function to limit Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection and multiplication while preserving fitness in tick vector cells
Authors: Alberdi Pilar , Cabezas-Cruz Alejandro , Prados Pedro Espinosa , Rayo Margarita Villar , Artigas-Jerónimo Sara , de la Fuente José 
Published: September 2019

AbstractAerobic organisms evolved conserved mechanisms controlling the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to maintain redox homeostasis signaling and modulate signal transduction, gene expression and cellular functional responses under physiological conditions. The production of ROS by mitochondria is essential in the oxidative stress associated with different pathologies and in response to pathogen infection.Anaplasma phagocytophilumis an intracellular pathogen transmitted byIxodes scapularisticks and causing human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Bacteria multiply in vertebrate neutrophils and infect first tick midgut cells and subsequently hemocytes and salivary glands from where transmission occurs. Previous results demonstrated thatA.phagocytophilumdoes not induce the production of ROS as part of its survival strategy in human neutrophils. However, little is known about the role of ROS during pathogen infection in ticks. In this study, the role of tick oxidative stress duringA.phagocytophiluminfection was characterized through the function of different pathways involved in ROS production. The results showed that tick cells increase mitochondrial ROS production to limitA.phagocytophiluminfection, while pathogen inhibits alternative ROS production pathways and apoptosis to preserve cell fitness and facilitate infection. The inhibition of NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS production by pathogen infection appears to occur in both neutrophils and tick cells, thus supporting thatA.phagocytophilumuses common mechanisms for infection of ticks and vertebrate hosts. However, differences in ROS response toA.phagocytophiluminfection between human and tick cells may reflect host-specific cell tropism that evolved during pathogen life cycle.