bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of different cocoon stifling methods on the properties of silk fibroin biomaterials
Authors: Aznar-Cervantes Salvador D. , Pagan Ana , Monteagudo Santesteban Beatriz , Cenis José L. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractStifling treatments are applied to silk cocoons in order to kill the pupae, preventing the emergence of moths and allowing to preserve the silk during long periods of time. All of them involve the application of aggressive steps, such as sun exposure, hot steam from boiling water or hot air, during hours or even days. None of the scientific articles related to silk fibroin biomaterials has previously taken into account this fact in its section of materials and methods. In this work, the consequences of the stifling treatments most commonly used by the silk producing countries and companies are explored in depth, using fibroin films as biomaterial model. The protein degradation (visualised by SDS-PAGE) was dramatically increased in all the fibroin dissolutions produced from stifled cocoons; heavy and light chains of fibroin were specially degraded, reducing their presence along the lanes of the gel compared to the negative control (untreated fresh cocoons). Structural changes are also described for annealed silk fibroin films. The β-sheet content, analysed by means of infrared spectroscopy, was significantly higher when stifling was performed at higher temperature (70 °C and 85 °C). It is also exposed the impact of the stifling on the mechanical properties of the materials. Tensile strength and strain at break values were detected as significantly lower when this procedure was carried out by means of dry heat (85 °C) and sun exposure. On the other hand, and contrary to expectations, the proliferation of fibroblasts growing on the materials was improved by all the different stifling methods, compared to negative control, being this improvement, especially accentuated, on the films produced with fibroin purified from cocoons treated with dry heat.
CRISPR-Cas9 Editing in Maize: Systematic Evaluation of Off-target Activity and Its Relevance in Crop Improvement
Authors: Young Joshua , Zastrow-Hayes Gina , Deschamps Stéphane , Svitashev Sergei , Zaremba Mindaugas , Acharya Ananta , Paulraj Sushmitha , Peterson-Burch Brooke , Schwartz Chris , Djukanovic Vesna , Lenderts Brian , Feigenbutz Lanie , Wang Lijuan , Alarcon Clara , Siksnys Virginijus , May Gregory , Chilcoat N. Doane , Kumar Sandeep 
Published: April 2019

AbstractCRISPR-Cas9 enabled genome engineering has great potential for improving agriculture productivity, but the possibility of unintended off-target edits has evoked some concerns. Here we employ a three-step strategy to investigate Cas9 nuclease specificity in a complex plant genome. Our approach pairs computational prediction with genome-wide biochemical off-target detection followed by validation in maize plants. Our results reveal high frequency (up to 90%) on-target editing with no evidence of off-target cleavage activity when guide RNAs were bioinformatically predicted to be specific. Predictable off-target edits were observed but only with a promiscuous guide RNA intentionally designed to validate our approach. Off-target editing can be minimized by designing guide RNAs that are different from other genomic locations by at least three mismatches in combination with at least one mismatch occurring in the PAM proximal region. With well-designed guides, genetic variation from Cas9 off-target cleavage in plants is negligible, and much less than inherent variation.
Comparative analysis of serologic cross-reactivity using convalescent sera from filovirus-experimentally infected fruit bats
Authors: Schuh Amy J. , Amman Brian R. , Sealy Tara S. , Flietstra Timothy D. , Guito Jonathan C. , Nichol Stuart T. , Towner Jonathan S. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractWith the exception of Reston and Bombali viruses, the marburgviruses and ebolaviruses (family Filoviridae) cause outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fever in sub-Saharan Africa. The Egyptian rousette bat (ERB) is a natural reservoir host for the marburgviruses and evidence suggests that bats are also natural reservoirs for the ebolaviruses. Although the search for the natural reservoirs of the ebolaviruses has largely involved serosurveillance of the bat population, there are no validated serological assays to screen bat sera for ebolavirus-specific IgG antibodies. Here, we generate filovirus-specific antisera by prime-boost immunization of groups of captive ERBs with all seven known culturable filoviruses. After validating a system of filovirus-specific indirect ELISAs utilizing infectious-based virus antigens for detection of virus-specific IgG antibodies from bat sera, we assess the level of serological cross-reactivity between the virus-specific antisera and heterologous filovirus antigens. This data is then used to generate a filovirus antibody fingerprint that can predict which of the filovirus species in the system is most antigenically similar to the species responsible for past infection. Our filovirus IgG indirect ELISA system will be a critical tool for identifying bat species with high ebolavirus seroprevalence rates to target for longitudinal studies aimed at establishing natural reservoir host-ebolavirus relationships.
An HRM Assay to Differentiate Sheeppox Virus Vaccine Strains from Sheeppox Virus Field Isolates and other Capripoxvirus Species
Authors: Chibssa Tesfaye Rufael , Settypalli Tirumala Bharani K. , Berguido Francisco J. , Grabherr Reingard , Loitsch Angelika , Tuppurainen Eeva , Nwankpa Nick , Tounkara Karim , Madani Hafsa , Omani Amel , Diop Mariane , Cattoli Giovanni , Diallo Adama , Lamien Charles Euloge 
Published: April 2019

AbstractSheep poxvirus (SPPV), goat poxvirus (GTPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) affect small ruminants and cattle causing sheeppox (SPP), goatpox (GTP) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) respectively. In endemic areas, vaccination with live attenuated vaccines derived from SPPV, GTPV or LSDV provides protection from SPP and GTP. As live poxviruses may cause adverse reactions in vaccinated animals, it is imperative to develop new diagnostic tools for the differentiation of SPPV field strains from attenuated vaccine strains. Within the capripoxvirus (CaPV) homolog of the variola virus B22R gene, we identified a unique region in SPPV vaccines with two deletions of 21 and 27 nucleotides and developed a High-Resolution Melting (HRM)-based assay. The HRM assay produces four distinct melting peaks, enabling the differentiation between SPPV vaccines, SPPV field isolates, GTPV and LSDV. This HRM assay is sensitive, specific, and provides a cost-effective means for the detection and classification of CaPVs and the differentiation of SPPV vaccines from SPPV field isolates.
Chemogenetic stimulation of the infralimbic cortex reverses alcohol-induced fear memory overgeneralization
Authors: Scarlata M. J. , Lee S. H. , Lee D. , Kandigian S. E. , Hiller A. J. , Dishart J. G. , Mintz G. E. , Wang Z. , Coste G. I. , Mousley A. L. , Soler I. , Lawson K. , Ng A. J. , Bezek J. L. , Bergstrom H. C. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are often comorbid. Drinking tends to increase following trauma, which may exacerbate PTSD-related symptoms. Despite a clear relationship between excessive alcohol use and PTSD, how alcohol impacts the expression of traumatic fear remains unclear. This study aims to determine the neurobehavioral impact of chronic alcohol (ethanol; EtOH) on the expression of established fear memories in C57BL/6 N mice. We show that chronic EtOH selectively augments cued fear memory generalization and impairs fear extinction retrieval, leaving the expression of the original cued response intact. Immunohistochemistry for Arc/arg3.1 (Arc) revealed EtOH-induced decreases in Arc expression in the infralimbic cortex (IL) and basolateral amygdala complex (BLA) that were associated with cued fear memory overgeneralization. Chemogenetic stimulation of IL pyramidal neurons reversed EtOH-driven fear memory overgeneralization, identifying a role for the IL in cued fear memory precision. Considering the modulatory influence of the IL over conditioned fear expression, these data suggest a model whereby chronic EtOH-driven neuroadaptations in the IL promote fear memory overgeneralization. These findings provide new mechanistic insight into how excessive alcohol use, following exposure to a traumatic event, can exacerbate symptoms of traumatic fear.
Susceptibility to infection with Borrelia afzelii and TLR2 polymorphism in a wild reservoir host
Authors: Gomez-Chamorro Andrea , Battilotti Florian , Cayol Claire , Mappes Tapio , Koskela Esa , Boulanger Nathalie , Genné Dolores , Sarr Anouk , Voordouw Maarten Jeroen 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThe study of polymorphic immune genes in host populations is critical for understanding genetic variation in susceptibility to pathogens. Controlled infection experiments are necessary to separate variation in the probability of exposure from genetic variation in susceptibility to infection, but such experiments are rare for wild vertebrate reservoir hosts and their zoonotic pathogens. The bank vole (Myodes glareolus) is an important reservoir host ofBorrelia afzelii, a tick-borne spirochete that causes Lyme disease. Bank vole populations are polymorphic for Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), an innate immune receptor that recognizes bacterial lipoproteins. To test whether the TLR2 polymorphism influences variation in the susceptibility to infection withB.afzelii, we challenged pathogen-free, lab-born individuals of known TLR2 genotype withB.afzelii-infected ticks. We measured the spirochete load in tissues of the bank voles. The susceptibility to infection withB.afzeliifollowing an infected tick bite was very high (95%) and did not differ between TLR2 genotypes. The TLR2 polymorphism also had no effect on the spirochete abundance in the tissues of the bank voles. Under the laboratory conditions of our study, we did not find that the TLR2 polymorphism in bank voles influenced variation in the susceptibility toB.afzeliiinfection.
Genetic analysis reveals unprecedented diversity of a globally-important plant pathogenic genus
Authors: Garfinkel Andrea R. , Coats Katie P. , Sherry Don L. , Chastagner Gary A. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractGenus Botrytis contains approximately 35 species, many of which are economically-important and globally-distributed plant pathogens which collectively infect over 1,400 plant species. Recent efforts to genetically characterize genus Botrytis have revealed new species on diverse host crops around the world. In this study, surveys and subsequent genetic analysis of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosate dehydrogenase (G3PDH), heat-shock protein 60 (HSP60), DNA-dependent RNA polymerase subunit II (RPB2), and necrosis and ethylene-inducing proteins 1 and 2 (NEP1 and NEP2) genes indicated that Botrytis isolates collected from peony fields in the United States contained more species diversity than ever before reported on a single host, including up to 10 potentially novel species. Together, up to 16 different phylogenetic species were found in association with peonies in the Pacific Northwest, which is over a third of the total number of species that are currently named. Furthermore, species were found on peonies in Alaska that have been described on other host plants in different parts of the world, indicating a wider geographic and host distribution than previously thought. Lastly, some isolates found on peony share sequence similarity with unnamed species found living as endophytes in weedy hosts, suggesting that the isolates found on peony have flexible lifestyles as recently discovered in the genus. Selected pathogenicity, growth, and morphological characteristics of the putatively new Botrytis species were also assessed to provide a basis for future formal description of the isolates as new species.
Factors associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation, based on big data analysis
Authors: Lee Jongmin , Jung Hyun Myung , Kim Sook Kyung , Yoo Kwang Ha , Jung Ki-Suck , Lee Sang Haak , Rhee Chin Kook 
Published: April 2019

AbstractPreventing exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is crucial, but requires identification of the exacerbating factors. To date, no integrated analysis of patient-derived and external factors has been reported. To identify factors associated with COPD exacerbation, we collected data, including smoking status, lung function, and COPD assessment test scores, from 594 COPD patients in the Korean COPD subgroup study (KOCOSS), and merged these data with patients’ Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service data for 2007–2012. We also collected primary weather variables, including levels of particulate matter <10 microns in diameter, daily minimum ambient temperature, as well as respiratory virus activities, and the logs of web queries on COPD-related issues. We then assessed the associations between these patient-derived and external factors and COPD exacerbations. Univariate analysis showed that patient factors, air pollution, various types of viruses, temperature, and the number of COPD-related web queries were associated with COPD exacerbation. Multivariate analysis revealed that the number of exacerbations in the preceding year, female sex, COPD grade, and influenza virus detection rate, and lowest temperature showed significant association with exacerbation. Our findings may help COPD patients predict when exacerbations are likely, and provide intervention as early as possible.
A comparative study of energy and carbon efficiency for emerging countries using panel stochastic frontier analysis
Authors: Jin Taeyoung , Kim Jinsoo 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThe demand for energy has been increasing significantly worldwide. Consequently, carbon emissions have accelerated, since energy usage involves carbon dioxide. Given that the available energy has quantitative restriction feature, efficient usage of energy becomes crucial. Energy efficiency is expected to improve over time with technological advancements. However, the adoption of low-carbon energy technology caused by the growing concern about carbon emissions may actually offset energy efficiency, owing to the higher cost compared with traditional energy methods. We conducted a stochastic frontier analysis to examine energy efficiency in the views of both economic and ecological aspect view during 1995–2016 for 21 emerging countries selected from Morgan Stanley Capital International, using energy consumption, economic complexity index and the other factors of production based on the Cobb-Douglas production function. Mexico was identified as one of the most energy-efficient countries; however, Mexico could not be classified as real energy efficient, as it demonstrated the highest carbon inefficiency level. We also categorized countries demonstrating increased economic energy efficiency and decreased carbon inefficiency as frontier country, and identified six such countries.
Propagation and Selectivity of Axonal Loss in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy
Authors: Coussa Razek Georges , Merat Pooya , Levin Leonard A. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractLeber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a syndrome of subacute loss of central vision associated with mutations in mitochondrial DNA coding for components of complex I. LHON preferentially involves small axons in the temporal optic nerve, but the reason is unclear. We performed a Monte Carlo simulation of the spread of injury in LHON axons to better understand the predilection for small axons. Optic nerve slices were modeled as grids containing axons with sizes from reported regional distributions. The propagation of injury from a localized concentration of superoxide was simulated as the spread via passive diffusion from one axon to adjacent axons, with basal production and scavenging rate proportional to axonal area and volume, respectively. Axonal degeneration occurred when intra-axonal concentrations reached a toxic threshold. Simulations demonstrated that almost all small and medium axons degenerated by the time steady-state was reached, but about 50% of large axons were preserved. The location of initial injury affected time to steady state, with nasal injuries reaching steady state faster than temporal injuries. The pattern of axonal degeneration in the simulations mirrored both visual fields and optic nerve histology from patients with LHON. These results provide insight into the nature of axonal loss in LHON.
Development of a novel cultivation technique for uncultured soil bacteria
Authors: Chaudhary Dhiraj Kumar , Khulan Altankhuu , Kim Jaisoo 
Published: April 2019

AbstractIn this study, a new diffusion bioreactor was developed to cultivate hidden bacterial communities in their natural environment. The newly developed method was investigated to cultivate microbial communities from the forest soil, and the results were evaluated against traditional culture methods and compared to the results of a pyrosequencing-based molecular survey. The molecular analysis revealed that a diverse bacterial population was present in the soil sample. However, both the newly developed method and the traditional method recovered more than 400 isolates, which belonged to only four phyla: Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Although these isolates were distributed over only four major phyla, the use of the newly developed technique resulted in the successful cultivation of 35 previously uncultured strains, whereas no such strains were successfully cultivated by the traditional method. Furthermore, the study also found that the recovery of uncultured bacteria and novel isolates was related to sampling season, incubation period, and cultivation media. The use of soil collected in summer, a prolonged incubation period, and low-substrate modified media increased the recovery of uncultured and novel isolates. Overall, the results indicate that the newly designed diffusion bioreactor can mimic the natural environment, which permits the cultivation of previously uncultured bacteria.
Reduced caveolae density in arteries of SHR contributes to endothelial dysfunction and ROS production
Authors: Potje Simone R. , Grando Marcella D. , Chignalia Andreia Z. , Antoniali Cristina , Bendhack Lusiane M. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractCaveolae are plasma membrane invaginations enriched with high cholesterol and sphingolipid content; they also contain caveolin proteins in their structure. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), an enzyme that synthesizes nitric oxide (NO) by converting L-arginine to L-citrulline, is highly concentrated in plasma membrane caveolae. Hypertension is associated with decreased NO production and impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that follow hypertension is important. For this study, we hypothesized that spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) vessels should have a smaller number of caveolae, and that the caveolae structure should be disrupted in these vessels. This should impair the eNOS function and diminish NO bioavailability. Therefore, we aimed to investigate caveolae integrity and density in SHR aortas and mesenteric arteries and the role played by caveolae in endothelium-dependent relaxation. We have been able to show the presence of caveolae-like structures in SHR aortas and mesenteric arteries. Increased phenylephrine-induced contractile response after treatment with dextrin was related to lower NO release. In addition, impaired acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation could be related to decreased caveolae density in SHR vessels. The most important finding of this study was that cholesterol depletion with dextrin induced eNOS phosphorylation at Serine1177 (Ser1177) and boosted reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in normotensive rat and SHR vessels, which suggested eNOS uncoupling. Dextrin plus L-NAME or BH4 decreased ROS production in aorta and mesenteric arteries supernatant’s of both SHR and normotensive groups. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with dextrin confirmed eNOS uncoupling, as verified by the reduced eNOS dimer/monomer ratio. BH4, L-arginine, or BH4 plus L-arginine inhibited eNOS monomerization. All these results showed that caveolae structure and integrity are essential for endothelium-dependent relaxation. Additionally, a smaller number of caveolae is associated with hypertension. Finally, caveolae disruption promotes eNOS uncoupling in normotensive and hypertensive rat vessels and in HUVECs.
The utility of STOP-BANG questionnaire in the sleep-lab setting
Authors: Kuczyński Wojciech , Mokros Łukasz , Stolarz Aleksandra , Białasiewicz Piotr 
Published: April 2019

AbstractPolysomnography (PSG) is considered the gold standard in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAS) diagnostics, but its availability is still limited. Thus, it seems useful to assess patients pre-diagnostic risk for OSAS to prioritize the use of this examination. The purpose of this study was to assess positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values of the STOP BANG questionnaire (SBQ) in patients with presumptive diagnosis of OSAS. From a database of 1,171 (880 men) patients of a university based sleep center, 1,123 (847 men) met eligibility criteria and their SBQ scores were subject to the Bayesian analysis. The analysis of PPV and NPV was conducted at all values of SBQ for all subjects, but also separately for males and females, and for total sleep time (TS) and for sleep in the lateral position (LP). The probability of OSAS (AHI ≥ 5) and at least moderate OSAS (AHI ≥ 15) for TS was 0.766 and 0.516, while for LP the values were 0.432 and 0.289, respectively. Overall, due to low specificity, SBQ had low PPV for TS and LP. Negative test result (SBQ < 3) revealed NPV of 0.620 at AHI < 5 and 0.859 at AHI < 15 for TS, while in LP NPV values were 0.935 at AHI < 5 and 1.0 at AHI < 15, (n = 31), while SBQ < 4 generated NPV of 0.943 in LP (n = 105). SBQ did not change probabilities of OSAS to confirm or rebut diagnosis for TS. However, it is highly probable that SQB can rule out OSAS diagnosis at AHI ≥ 15 for LP.
The Late Effects of Radiation Therapy on Skeletal Muscle Morphology and Progenitor Cell Content are Influenced by Diet-Induced Obesity and Exercise Training in Male Mice
Authors: D’Souza Donna , Roubos Sophia , Larkin Jillian , Lloyd Jessica , Emmons Russell , Chen Hong , De Lisio Michael 
Published: April 2019

AbstractRadiation exposure during muscle development induces long-term decrements to skeletal muscle health, which contribute to reduced quality of life in childhood cancer survivors. Whether the effects of radiation on skeletal muscle are influenced by relevant physiological factors, such as obesity and exercise training remains unknown. Using skeletal muscle from our previously published work examining the effects of obesity and exercise training on radiation-exposed bone marrow, we evaluated the influence of these physiological host factors on irradiated skeletal muscle morphology and cellular dynamics. Mice were divided into control and high fat diet groups with or without exercise training. All mice were then exposed to radiation and continued in their intervention group for an additional 4 weeks. Diet-induced obesity resulted in increased muscle fibrosis, while obesity and exercise training both increased muscle adiposity. Exercise training enhanced myofibre cross-sectional area and the number of satellite cells committed to the myogenic lineage. High fat groups demonstrated an increase in p-NFĸB expression, a trend for a decline in IL-6, and increase in TGFB1. These findings suggest exercise training improves muscle morphology and satellite cell dynamics compared to diet-induced obesity in irradiated muscle, and have implications for exercise interventions in cancer survivors.