bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
From waste to surface modification of aluminum bronze using selective surface diffusion process
Authors: Singla Isha , Kumar Himanish , Pahlevani Farshid , Handoko Wilson , Cholake Sagar T. , Hossain Rumana , Sahajwalla Veena 
Published: February 2019

AbstractWhen corrosion is the dominant failure factor in industrial application and at the same time high mechanical properties are required, aluminum bronze is one of the best candidates. Hence, there is a continuous quest for increasing the lifetime of aluminum bronze alloys through enhancing the abrasion and corrosion resistance. Existing methods are based on modifying the bulk properties of alloy or surface modification which required sophisticated equipment and process control. This approach has limited application for advanced components because of high price and difficulty to apply. In this research, we developed an innovative approach to enhance the corrosion and abrasion resistance of aluminum bronze through selective surface diffusion process. In this process, we have used waste materials as input and the modified surface has formed in a single and green process. New surface structure consists of finely dispersed kappa phase (χ ) in uniform alpha (α) solid solution matrix. Results have demonstrated that this uniform diffused modified surface layer has improved hardness of the base material and both corrosion and abrasion resistance has increased. This novel surface modification technique has opened a pathway for using waste materials as input for surface modification of aluminum bronze to meet the needs of industrial applications in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way.
New Thiol-Sensitive Dye Application for Measuring Oxidative Stress in Cell Cultures
Authors: Puente-Muñoz Virginia , Paredes José M. , Resa Sandra , Vílchez José Damaso , Zitnan Michal , Miguel Delia , Girón María Dolores , Cuerva Juan M. , Salto Rafael , Crovetto Luis 
Published: February 2019

AbstractA xanthene derivative, Granada Green dinitrobenzene sulfonate (GGDNBS), has been synthesized to assay cellular oxidative stress based on changes in the concentration of biothiols. The dye is able to react with biological thiols by a thiolysis reaction that promotes a change in fluorescence intensity. To demonstrate the usefulness of GGDNBS for in vivo oxidative stress measurements, 661 W photoreceptor-derived cells were exposed to light to induce ROS generation, and changes in GGDNBS fluorescence were measured. In these cells, GGDNBS fluorescence was correlated with the biothiol levels measured by an enzymatic method. Therefore, GGDNBS allows us to monitor changes in the levels of biothiols associated with ROS generation via single-cell bioimaging.
Population connectivity of pelagic megafauna in the Cuba-Mexico-United States triangle
Authors: Rooker Jay R. , Dance Michael A. , Wells R. J. David , Ajemian Matthew J. , Block Barbara A. , Castleton Michael R. , Drymon J. Marcus , Falterman Brett J. , Franks James S. , Hammerschlag Neil , Hendon Jill M. , Hoffmayer Eric R. , Kraus Richard T. , McKinney Jennifer A. , Secor David H. , Stunz Gregory W. , Walter John F. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractThe timing and extent of international crossings by billfishes, tunas, and sharks in the Cuba-Mexico-United States (U.S.) triangle was investigated using electronic tagging data from eight species that resulted in >22,000 tracking days. Transnational movements of these highly mobile marine predators were pronounced with varying levels of bi- or tri-national population connectivity displayed by each species. Billfishes and tunas moved throughout the Gulf of Mexico and all species investigated (blue marlin, white marlin, Atlantic bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna) frequently crossed international boundaries and entered the territorial waters of Cuba and/or Mexico. Certain sharks (tiger shark, scalloped hammerhead) displayed prolonged periods of residency in U.S. waters with more limited displacements, while whale sharks and to a lesser degree shortfin mako moved through multiple jurisdictions. The spatial extent of associated movements was generally associated with their differential use of coastal and open ocean pelagic ecosystems. Species with the majority of daily positions in oceanic waters off the continental shelf showed the greatest tendency for transnational movements and typically traveled farther from initial tagging locations. Several species converged on a common seasonal movement pattern between territorial waters of the U.S. (summer) and Mexico (winter).
High frequency of CHD7 mutations in congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
Authors: Gonçalves Catarina Inês , Patriarca Filipa Marina , Aragüés José Maria , Carvalho Davide , Fonseca Fernando , Martins Sofia , Marques Olinda , Pereira Bernardo Dias , Martinez-de-Oliveira José , Lemos Manuel Carlos 
Published: February 2019

AbstractCongenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is characterized by lack of normal pubertal development due to deficient gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion or action, and is caused by genetic defects in several genes. Mutations in the CHD7 gene cause CHARGE syndrome (Coloboma of the eye, Heart defects, Atresia of the choanae, Retardation of growth and development, Genital hypoplasia and Ear abnormalities), but have also been found in patients with isolated CHH. The aim of this study was to identify CHD7 mutations in patients with CHH. Fifty Portuguese patients with CHH were screened for mutations in the CHD7 gene by DNA sequencing. Eight (16%) patients had CHD7 rare sequence variants that consisted of six missense (p.Gly388Glu, p.His903Pro, p.Thr1082Ile, p.Val1452Leu, p.Asp1854Gly, and p.Arg2065His) and two synonymous (p.Ser559Ser, and p.Ala2785Ala) mutations. Five of these mutations have never been reported before. Three CHD7 mutations occurred in patients that had mutations in additional CHH-genes. This study uncovered novel genetic variants that expand the known spectrum of mutations associated with CHH. The frequency of CHD7 mutations in this cohort was higher than that of other major CHH-genes and confirms the importance of including CHD7 in the genetic testing of CHH, even in the absence of additional CHARGE features.
Role of selenium addition to CdZnTe matrix for room-temperature radiation detector applications
Authors: Roy U. N. , Camarda G. S. , Cui Y. , Gul R. , Hossain A. , Yang G. , Zazvorka J. , Dedic V. , Franc J. , James R. B. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractBecause of its ideal band gap, high density and high electron mobility-lifetime product, cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe or CZT) is currently the best room-temperature compound-semiconductor X- and gamma-ray detector material. However, because of its innate poor thermo-physical properties and above unity segregation coefficient for Zn, the wide spread deployment of this material in large-volume CZT detectors is still limited by the high production cost. The underlying reason for the low yield of high-quality material is that CZT suffers from three major detrimental defects: compositional inhomogeneity, high concentrations of dislocation walls/sub-grain boundary networks and high concentrations of Te inclusions/precipitates. To mitigate all these disadvantages, we report for the first time the effects of the addition of selenium to the CZT matrix. The addition of Se was found to be very effective in arresting the formation of sub-grain boundaries and its networks, significantly reducing Zn segregation, improving compositional homogeneity and resulting in much lower concentrations of Te inclusions/precipitates. Growth of the new quaternary crystal Cd1−xZnxTe1−ySey (CZTS) by the Traveling Heater Method (THM) is reported in this paper. We have demonstrated the production of much higher yield according to its compositional homogeneity, with substantially lower sub-grain boundaries and their network, and a lower concentration of Te inclusions/precipitates.
Shared cis-regulatory architecture identified across defense response genes is associated with broad-spectrum quantitative resistance in rice
Authors: Tonnessen Bradley W. , Bossa-Castro Ana M. , Mauleon Ramil , Alexandrov Nickolai , Leach Jan E. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractPlant disease resistance that is durable and effective against diverse pathogens (broad-spectrum) is essential to stabilize crop production. Such resistance is frequently controlled by Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), and often involves differential regulation of Defense Response (DR) genes. In this study, we sought to understand how expression of DR genes is orchestrated, with the long-term goal of enabling genome-wide breeding for more effective and durable resistance. We identified short sequence motifs in rice promoters that are shared across Broad-Spectrum DR (BS-DR) genes co-expressed after challenge with three major rice pathogens (Magnaporthe oryzae,Rhizoctonia solani, andXanthomonas oryzaepv.oryzae) and several chemical elicitors. Specific groupings of these BS-DR-associated motifs, calledcis-Regulatory Modules (CRMs), are enriched in DR gene promoters, and the CRMs includecis-elements known to be involved in disease resistance. Polymorphisms in CRMs occur in promoters of genes in resistant relative to susceptible BS-DR haplotypes providing evidence that these CRMs have a predictive role in the contribution of other BS-DR genes to resistance. Therefore, we predict that a CRM signature within BS-DR gene promoters can be used as a marker for future breeding practices to enrich for the most responsive and effective BS-DR genes across the genome.
Beta diversity patterns reveal positive effects of farmland abandonment on moth communities
Authors: Dantas de Miranda Murilo , Pereira Henrique M. , Corley Martin F. V. , Merckx Thomas 
Published: February 2019

AbstractFarmland abandonment and the accompanying natural succession are largely perceived as unwanted amongst many European conservationists due to alleged negative effects on biodiversity levels. Here, we test this assumption by analysing alpha, beta and gamma diversity patterns of macro-moth communities in habitats on an ecological succession gradient, from extensively managed meadows to scrub-encroached and wooded sites. Macro-moths were light-trapped at 84 fixed circular sampling sites arranged in a semi-nested design within the National Park of Peneda-Gerês, NW-Portugal. In total, we sampled 22825 individuals belonging to 378 species. Alpha, beta and gamma diversity patterns suggest that farmland abandonment is likely to positively affect both overall macro-moth diversity and forest macro-moth diversity, and to negatively affect species diversity of non-forest macro-moth species. Our results also show that spatial habitat heterogeneity is important to maintain gamma diversity of macro-moths, especially for rare non-forest species and habitat specialists.
Weight change is significantly associated with risk of thyroid cancer: A nationwide population-based cohort study
Authors: Kwon Hyemi , Han Kyung-Do , Park Cheol-Young 
Published: February 2019

AbstractObesity is a risk factor for many cancers including breast, esophageal, colon, and thyroid cancer. We aimed to evaluate the association of thyroid cancer with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and weight change. This nationwide population-based cohort study included 11,323,006 adults who joined the national health screening program. Weight change was defined as the difference between the weight of the subjects measured during the study period and the weight at the time of four years ago. For evaluating the association between the weight change and the risk of thyroid cancer, subjects without weight change for four years were defined as the reference group. Mean age was 50.1 ± 13.7 years and 44% were female. In total, 50,464 subjects (0.4%) had newly-diagnosed thyroid cancer. After multivariable analyses, the incidence of thyroid cancer increased significantly in subjects with larger WC as well as higher BMI (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). In subjects who were lean and became obese, the incidence of thyroid cancers increased significantly (hazard ratio [HR] 1.15 [1.11–1.19]). In subjects who were obese and became lean, the incidence of thyroid cancers decreased significantly (HR 0.89 [0.86–0.93]). These results demonstrated that higher BMI and larger WC were significantly associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Weight gain in lean subjects was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer, and weight reduction in subjects with obesity was associated with a decreased risk of thyroid cancer.
Intraperitoneal delivery of a novel drug‐like compound improves disease severity in severe and intermediate mouse models of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Authors: Osman E. Y. , Rietz A. , Kline R. A. , Cherry J. J. , Hodgetts K. J. , Lorson C. L. , Androphy E. J. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractSpinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness and is the leading genetic cause of infant mortality worldwide. SMA is caused by the loss of survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1). In humans, a nearly identical copy gene is present, called SMN2. Although SMN2 maintains the same coding sequence, this gene cannot compensate for the loss of SMN1 because of a single silent nucleotide difference in SMN2 exon 7. SMN2 primarily produces an alternatively spliced isoform lacking exon 7, which is critical for protein function. SMN2 is an important disease modifier that makes for an excellent target for therapeutic intervention because all SMA patients retain SMN2. Therefore, compounds and small molecules that can increase SMN2 exon 7 inclusion, transcription and SMN protein stability have great potential for SMA therapeutics. Previously, we performed a high throughput screen and established a class of compounds that increase SMN protein in various cellular contexts. In this study, a novel compound was identified that increased SMN protein levels in vivo and ameliorated the disease phenotype in severe and intermediate mouse models of SMA.
Differentially expressed gene networks, biomarkers, long noncoding RNAs, and shared responses with cocaine identified in the midbrains of human opioid abusers
Authors: Saad Manal H. , Rumschlag Matthew , Guerra Michael H. , Savonen Candace L. , Jaster Alaina M. , Olson Philip D. , Alazizi Adnan , Luca Francesca , Pique-Regi Roger , Schmidt Carl J. , Bannon Michael J. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractOpioid abuse is now the most common cause of accidental death in the US. Although opioids and most other drugs of abuse acutely increase signaling mediated by midbrain dopamine (DA)-synthesizing neurons, little is known about long-lasting changes in DA cells that may contribute to continued opioid abuse, craving, and relapse. A better understanding of the molecular and cellular bases of opioid abuse could lead to advancements in therapeutics. This study comprises, to our knowledge, the first unbiased examination of genome-wide changes in midbrain gene expression associated with human opioid abuse. Our analyses identified differentially expressed genes and distinct gene networks associated with opioid abuse, specific genes with predictive capability for subject assignment to the opioid abuse cohort, and genes most similarly affected in chronic opioid and cocaine abusers. We also identified differentially expressed long noncoding RNAs capable of regulating known drug-responsive protein-coding genes. Opioid-regulated genes identified in this study warrant further investigation as potential biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets for human substance abuse.
Depth-dependent hysteresis in adhesive elastic contacts at large surface roughness
Authors: Deng Weilin , Kesari Haneesh 
Published: February 2019

AbstractContact force–indentation depth measurements in contact experiments involving compliant materials, such as polymers and gels, show a hysteresis loop whose size depends on the maximum indentation depth. This depth-dependent hysteresis (DDH) is not explained by classical contact mechanics theories and was believed to be due to effects such as material viscoelasticity, plasticity, surface polymer interdigitation, and moisture. It has been observed that the DDH energy loss initially increases and then decreases with roughness. A mechanics model based on the occurrence of adhesion and roughness related small-scale instabilities was presented by one of the authors for explaining DDH. However, that model only applies in the regime of infinitesimally small surface roughness, and consequently it does not capture the decrease in energy loss with surface roughness at the large roughness regime. We present a new mechanics model that applies in the regime of large surface roughness based on the Maugis–Dugdale theory of adhesive elastic contacts and Nayak’s theory of rough surfaces. The model captures the trend of decreasing energy loss with increasing roughness. It also captures the experimentally observed dependencies of energy loss on the maximum indentation depth, and material and surface properties.
Association between decreased serum TBIL concentration and immediate memory impairment in schizophrenia patients
Authors: Yin Xiao Li , Jia Qiu Fang , Zhang Guang Ya , Zhang Jian Ping , Shirao Tomoaki , Jiang Cai Xia , Yin Xu Yuan , Liu Yan Song , Chen Peng , Gu Xiao Chu , Qian Zheng Kang , Yin Guang Zhong , Sen Xia Hai , Hui Li 
Published: February 2019

AbstractCognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia (SCH). In addition to the toxic effect of Bilirubin (BIL), it has antioxidant properties that were associated with the psychopathology and cognitive impairment of psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation of serum total BIL (TBIL) concentration with cognitive impairment in SCH patients. We recruited 34 SCH patients and 119 healthy controls (HCs) in this case-control design. Cognition was assessed using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Serum TBIL concentration was measured using the immunoturbidimetric method. Serum TBIL concentration was significantly decreased in SCH patients compared to HCs after adjusting for age, gender, and education. Serum TBIL concentration in SCH patients was also positively correlated with the RBANS immediate memory score. Further stepwise multiple regression analysis confirmed the positive association between serum TBIL concentration and immediate memory score in SCH patients. Our findings supported that the decline in serum TBIL concentration was associated with the immediate memory impairment and psychopathology of SCH.
Mechanism of hysteresis for composite multi-halide and its superior performance for low grade energy recovery
Authors: An Guoliang , Wang Liwei , Gao Jiao , Wang Ruzhu 
Published: February 2019

AbstractSorption hysteresis commonly exists for different sorbents and has a great impact on the performance, and recently it was found that the multi-halide sorbents could reduce the hysteresis phenomena. Here we report the mechanism of the sorption hysteresis for multi-halide under equilibrium/non-equilibrium conditions and its superior performance for low grade energy recovery. We find that the inner reaction among different halides does not happen and contribute to sorption hysteresis in sorption/desorption phases under equilibrium conditions. While under non-equilibrium conditions, multi-halide sorbents reduce the hysteresis significantly (the average hysteresis temperature difference decreases from 23.4 °C to 7.8 °C at 4.41 bar). The phenomena is studied, and results show that the continuous reaction within different halides under heterothermic condition leads to an operable multi-stage reaction property, which corresponds to better flexibility and faster response to heat source. The utilization of solar energy as heat source for a cloudy day is analyzed, and multi-halide sorbent has much larger average refrigeration power (improved by 43%) and could work efficiently most of the time. Such characteristics are also prospective for other thermochemical reaction technologies, such as de-NOx and energy storage because of lower energy input and higher energy output features.
Closed Loop Recycling of Electric Vehicle Batteries to Enable Ultra-high Quality Cathode Powder
Authors: Chen Mengyuan , Zheng Zhangfeng , Wang Qiang , Zhang Yubin , Ma Xiaotu , Shen Chao , Xu Dapeng , Liu Jin , Liu Yangtao , Gionet Paul , O’Connor Ian , Pinnell Leslie , Wang Jun , Gratz Eric , Arsenault Renata , Wang Yan 
Published: February 2019

AbstractThe lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling market is becoming increasingly important because of the widespread use of LIBs in every aspect of our lives. Mobile devices and electric cars represent the largest application areas for LIBs. Vigorous innovation in these sectors is spurring continuous deployment of LIB powered devices, and consequently more and more LIBs will become waste as they approach end of life. Considering the significant economic and environmental impacts, recycling is not only necessary, but also urgent. The WPI group has successfully developed a closed-loop recycling process, and has previously demonstrated it on a relatively small scale 1 kg spent batteries per experiment. Here, we show that the closed-loop recycling process can be successfully scaled up to 30 kg of spent LIBs from electric vehicle recycling streams, and the recovered cathode powder shows similar (or better) performance to equivalent commercial powder when evaluated in both coin cells and single layer pouch cells. All of these results demonstrate the closed-loop recycling process has great adaptability and can be further developed into industrial scale.
Therapeutic potential of hepatocyte-like-cells converted from stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth in fulminant Wilson’s disease
Authors: Fujiyoshi Junko , Yamaza Haruyoshi , Sonoda Soichiro , Yuniartha Ratih , Ihara Kenji , Nonaka Kazuaki , Taguchi Tomoaki , Ohga Shouichi , Yamaza Takayoshi 
Published: February 2019

AbstractWilson’s disease (WD) is an inherited metabolic disease arising from ATPase copper transporting beta gene (ATP7B) mutation. Orthotoropic liver transplantation is the only radical treatment of fulminant WD, although appropriate donors are lacking at the onset of emergency. Given the hepatogenic capacity and tissue-integration/reconstruction ability in the liver of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED), SHED have been proposed as a source for curing liver diseases. We hypothesized the therapeutic potential of SHED and SHED-converted hepatocyte-like- cells (SHED-Heps) for fulminant WD. SHED and SHED-Heps were transplanted into WD model Atp7b-mutated Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats received copper overloading to induce a lethal fulminant liver failure. Due to the superior copper tolerance via ATP7B, SHED-Hep transplantation gave more prolonged life-span of fulminant LEC rats than SHED transplantation. The integrated ATP7B-expressing SHED-Heps showed more therapeutic effects on to restoring the hepatic dysfunction and tissue damages in the recipient liver than the integrated naïve SHED without ATP7B expression. Moreover, SHED-Heps could reduce copper-induced oxidative stress via ATP7B- independent stanniocalcin 1 secretion in the fulminant LEC rats, suggesting a possible role for paracrine effect of the integrated SHED-Heps. Taken together, SHED-Heps offer a potential of functional restoring, bridging, and preventive approaches for treating fulminant WD.