bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intrinsic coating morphology modulates acute drug transfer in drug-coated balloon therapy
Authors: Chang Gary H. , Azar Dara A. , Lyle Chimera , Chitalia Vipul C. , Shazly Tarek , Kolachalama Vijaya B. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe hallmark of drug-coated balloon (DCB) therapy for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease is that it allows for reopening of the narrowed lumen and local drug delivery without the need for a permanent indwelling metal implant such as a stent. Current DCB designs rely on transferring drugs such as paclitaxel to the arterial vessel using a variety of biocompatible excipients coated on the balloons. Inherent procedural challenges, along with limited understanding of the interactions between the coating and the artery, interactions between the coating and the balloon as well as site-specific differences, have led to DCB designs with poor drug delivery efficiency. Our study is focused on two clinically significant DCB excipients, urea and shellac, and uses uniaxial mechanical testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and biophysical modeling based on classic Hertz theory to elucidate how coating microstructure governs the transmission of forces at the coating-artery interface. SEM revealed shellac-based coatings to contain spherical-shaped microstructural elements whereas urea-based coatings contained conical-shaped microstructural elements. Our model based on Hertz theory showed that the interactions between these intrinsic coating elements with the arterial wall were fundamentally different, even when the same external force was applied by the balloon on the arterial wall. Using two orthogonal cell-based assays, our study also found differential viability when endothelial cells were exposed to titrated concentrations of urea and shellac, further highlighting the need to maximize coating transfer efficiency in the context of DCB therapies. Our results underscore the significance of the excipient in DCB design and suggest that coating microstructure modulates acute drug transfer during device deployment.
Shade tolerance in Swarnaprabha rice is associated with higher rate of panicle emergence and positively regulated by genes of ethylene and cytokinin pathway
Authors: Panigrahy Madhusmita , Ranga Aman , Das Jyotirmayee , Panigrahi Kishore C. S. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThis study identifies characteristics of seedling, mature plant phenotypes, changes at genetic and genomic level associated with Swarnaprabha (SP) rice grown under prolonged shade and compared with Nagina 22 (N22). Coleoptile length under low red/far-red was intermediate between that in dark and red light in a 7-days growth frame. Whereas, highest rootlet number was discriminating in seedlings grown for 28 days in hydroponics. In shade, SP and N22 both showed several tolerant mature plant phenotypes, except the panicle length, yield per plant and % grain filling, which were higher in SP. Percentage decrease in yield / plant in shade showed significant positive correlation with increase in NDVI, decrease in panicle length and % grain filling (p ≤ 0.01). Rate of panicle emergence in shade was higher in SP than N22. Expression patterns of PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR LIKE-13 and PHYTOCHROME B were contrasting in SP and N22 seedlings under continuous red or red/far-red. Microarray analysis revealed the up-regulation of most of the ethylene and cytokinin pathway genes in shade grown panicles of SP. Significant up-regulation of ETHYLENE RESPONSE ELEMENT BINDING PROTEIN-2, MOTHER OF FLOWERING TIME 1, and SHORT PANICLE1 genes in shade grown panicles of SP could explain its sustainable higher yield in shade.
Conformational Change of Amyloid-β 40 in Association with Binding to GM1-Glycan Cluster
Authors: Tachi Yuhei , Okamoto Yuko , Okumura Hisashi 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAggregates of amyloid-β(Aβ) peptide are well known to be the causative substance of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent studies showed that monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) clusters induce the pathological aggregation of Aβpeptide responsible for the onset and development of AD. However, the effect of GM1-glycan cluster on Aβconformations has yet to be clarified. Interactions between Aβpeptide and GM1-glycan cluster is important for the earliest stage of the toxic aggregation on GM1 cluster. Here, we performed all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of Aβ40 on a recently developed artificial GM1-glycan cluster. The artificial GM1-glycan cluster facilitates the characterization of interactions between Aβ40 and multiple GM1-glycans. We succeeded in observing the binding of Aβ40 to the GM1-glycan cluster in all of our MD simulations. Results obtained from these MD simulations indicate the importance of HHQ (13-15) segment of Aβ40 for the GM1-glycan cluster recognition. This result is consistent with previous experimental studies regarding the glycan recognition of Aβpeptide. The recognition mechanism of HHQ (13-15) segment is mainly explained by non-specific stacking interactions between side-chains of histidine and rings of sugar residues, in which the HHQ regime forms coil and bend structures. Moreover, we found that Aβ40 exhibits helix structures at C-terminal side on the GM1-glycan cluster. The helix formation is the initial stage of the pathological aggregation at ceramide moieties of GM1 cluster. The binding of Lys28 to Neu triggers the helix formation at C-terminus side because the formation of a salt bridge between Lys28 and Neu leads to change of intrachain interactions of Aβ40. Our findings suggest that the pathological helix formation of Aβ40 is initiated at GM1-glycan moieties rather than lipid ceramide moieties.
In silico structural elucidation of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase towards the identification of potential Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus inhibitors
Authors: Mirza Muhammad Usman , Vanmeert Michiel , Froeyen Matheus , Ali Amjad , Rafique Shazia , Idrees Muhammad 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV) is a segmented negative single-stranded RNA virus (−ssRNA) which causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans with a mortality rate of ~50%. To date, no vaccine has been approved. Treatment is limited to supportive care with few investigational drugs in practice. Previous studies have identified viral RNA dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRp) as a potential drug target due to its significant role in viral replication and transcription. Since no crystal structure is available yet, we report the structural elucidation of CCHFV-RdRp by in-depth homology modeling. Even with low sequence identity, the generated model suggests a similar overall structure as previously reported RdRps. More specifically, the model suggests the presence of structural/functional conserved RdRp motifs for polymerase function, the configuration of uniform spatial arrangement of core RdRp sub-domains, and predicted positively charged entry/exit tunnels, as seen in sNSV polymerases. Extensive pharmacophore modeling based on per-residue energy contribution with investigational drugs allowed the concise mapping of pharmacophoric features and identified potential hits. The combination of pharmacophoric features with interaction energy analysis revealed functionally important residues in the conserved motifs together with in silico predicted common inhibitory binding modes with highly potent reference compounds.
Resonant Tunneling Induced Enhancement of Electron Field Emission by Ultra-Thin Coatings
Authors: Henkel Christian , Zierold Robert , Kommini Adithya , Haugg Stefanie , Thomason Chris , Aksamija Zlatan , Blick Robert H. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe emission of electrons from the surface of a material into vacuum depends strongly on the material’s work function, temperature, and the intensity of electric field. The combined effects of these give rise to a multitude of related phenomena, including Fowler-Nordheim tunneling and Schottky emission, which, in turn, enable several families of devices, ranging from vacuum tubes, to Schottky diodes, and thermionic energy converters. More recently, nanomembrane-based detectors have found applications in high-resolution mass spectrometry measurements in proteomics. Progress in all the aforementioned applications critically depends on discovering materials with effective low surface work functions. We show that a few atomic layer deposition (ALD) cycles of zinc oxide onto suspended diamond nanomembranes, strongly reduces the threshold voltage for the onset of electron field emission which is captured by resonant tunneling from the ZnO layer. Solving the Schroedinger equation, we obtain an electrical field- and thickness-dependent population of the lowest few subbands in the thin ZnO layer, which results in a minimum in the threshold voltage at a thickness of 1.08 nm being in agreement with the experimentally determined value. We conclude that resonant tunneling enables cost-effective ALD coatings that lower the effective work function and enhance field emission from the device.
Thymosin β-4 is a novel regulator for primary cilium formation by nephronophthisis 3 in HeLa human cervical cancer cells
Authors: Lee Jae-Wook , Kim Hong Sug , Moon Eun-Yi 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThymosinβ-4(Tβ4) is an actin-sequestering protein involved in tumor malignancy. Primary cilia, microtubule-based organelles, are present in most eukaryotic cells, which might be related to tumor cell transformation. Here, we investigated whether ciliogenesis is affected by Tβ4 in HeLa human cervical cancer cells. The inhibition of Tβ4 attenuated primary cilia formation. The frequency of cilia was increased by Tβ4 overexpression. When yeast two-hybrid assay was performed by using Tβ4 as a bait, we rescued nephronophthisis 3(NPHP3), one of the components of primary cilia. Interaction of Tβ4 with NPHP3 in mammalian cells was confirmed by GST-pulldown assay. Their intracellular co-localization was observed by immunofluorescence staining at peripheral surface of cells. In addition, the number of ciliated cells was reduced by the inhibition of NPHP3. Moreover, NPHP3 expression was decreased by the inhibition of Tβ4 but it was increased by Tβ4 overexpression. Taken together, the results demonstrate that primary cilia formation could be regulated by Tβ4 through its interaction with NPHP3 and/or the control of NPHP3 expression. It suggests that Tβ4 is a novel regulator for primary cilia formation by NPHP3. It also suggests that tumorigenesis could be associated with inappropriate regulation of Tβ4 and/or NPHP3 expression to maintain primary cilia formation normally.
Bio-Fenton reaction involved in the cleavage of the ethoxylate chain of nonionic surfactants by dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas nitroreducens TX1
Authors: Hung Kuo-Chan , Nguyen Ngoc Tuan , Sun Yu-Ling , Huang Shir-Ly 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBacteria in the environment play a major role in the degradation of widely used man-made recalcitrant organic compounds. Pseudomonas nitroreducens TX1 is of special interest because of its high efficiency to remove nonionic ethoxylated surfactants. In this study, a novel approach was demonstrated by a bacterial enzyme involved in the formation of radicals to attack ethoxylated surfactants. The dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase was purified from the crude extract of strain TX1 by using octylphenol polyethoxylate (OPEOn) as substrate. The extent of removal of OPEOs during the degradation process was conducted by purified recombinant enzyme from E. coli BL21 (DE3) in the presence of the excess of metal mixtures (Mn2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, and Cu2+). The metabolites and the degradation rates were analyzed and determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The enzyme was demonstrated to form Fenton reagent in the presence of an excess of metals. Under this in vitro condition, it was shown to be able to shorten the ethoxylate chains of OPEOn. After 2 hours of reaction, the products obtained from the degradation experiment revealed a prominent ion peak at m/z = 493.3, namely the ethoxylate chain unit is 6 (OPEO6) compared to OPEO9 (m/z = 625.3), the main undegraded surfactant in the no enzyme control. It revealed that the concentration of OPEO15 and OPEO9 decreased by 90% and 40% after 4 hours, respectively. The disappearance rates for the OPEOn homologs correlated to the length of the exothylate chains, suggesting it is not a specific enzymatic reaction which cleaves one unit by unit from the end of the ethoxylate chain. The results indicate the diverse and novel strategy by bacteria to catabolize organic compounds by using existing housekeeping enzyme(s).
The relationship between Plasma Markers and Essential Hypertension in Middle-aged and Elderly Chinese Population: A Community Based Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Hidru Tesfaldet Habtemariam , Yang Xiaolei , Xia Yunlong , Ma Li , Li Hui-Hua 
Published: May 2019

AbstractPlasma markers have been continuously advocated as pointers to estimate the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in the general population. We examined the relationship between plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine (Hcy), high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT), N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and serum uric acid (SUA) levels and hypertension in middle and old aged population. A total of 2624 Chinese (62.02 ± 5.73 years old) were recruited into a population-based, cross-sectional study. Plasma hs-CRP, Hcy, HbA1c, and SUA levels were significantly higher in the hypertension group compared with control in the entire population and men (P = 0.05 for all). We observed a positive association between the highest quartiles of Hcy, NT-proBNP, HBA1c concentrations, and the prevalence of hypertension, OR (95% CI) = 1.48 (1.16–1.90), 1.62 (1.27–2.07) and 1.94 (1.49–2.52), respectively. The multivariable-adjusted OR of hypertension for the fourth versus the first quartile of homocysteine were 2.00 and 1.39 in men and women, respectively. In conclusion, our study found an independent and robust association between elevated Hcy, NT-ProBNP, and HBA1c levels and prevalence of hypertension in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. A follow-up study is necessary to endorse the observed association.
Associations of the adrenomedullin gene polymorphism with prehypertension and hypertension in Lithuanian children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Simonyte Sandrita , Kuciene Renata , Dulskiene Virginija , Lesauskaite Vaiva 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the association ofADMgenetic variant and HBP among Lithuanian adolescents aged 12–15 years. This is a cross-sectional study of a randomly selected sample of 675 12–15-years-old schoolchildren who were surveyed during November 2010 to April 2012 in the baseline survey. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) ofADMgene (rs7129220) was evaluated using real-time PCR. Logistic regression analyses were used to test the associations ofADM(rs7129220) polymorphism with HBP under four inheritance models based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and to calculate the odds ratios. In the multivariate analysis, boys carryingADMAG genotype (vs. carriers ofADMGG genotype),ADMAG + AA genotype (vs. carriers ofADMGG genotype) andADMAG genotype (vs. carriers ofADMGG + AA genotype) had higher odds of having hypertension in codominant, dominant, and overdominant inheritance models. Girls withADMAG + AA had increased odds of prehypertension compared to girls with theADMGG genotype carriers in dominant inheritance model. Significant associations were observed in additive models separately for boys (hypertension) and girls (prehypertension). Our results indicate thatADMgene polymorphism was significantly associated with higher odds of HBP in Lithuanian adolescents aged 12–15 years.
Beta-band activity in medial prefrontal cortex predicts source memory encoding and retrieval accuracy
Authors: Subramaniam Karuna , Hinkley Leighton B. N. , Mizuiri Danielle , Kothare Hardik , Cai Chang , Garrett Coleman , Findlay Anne , Houde John F. , Nagarajan Srikantan S. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractReality monitoring is defined as the ability to distinguish internally self-generated information from externally-derived information. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain region subserving reality monitoring and has been shown to be activated specifically during the retrieval of self-generated information. However, it is unclear if mPFC is activated during the encoding of self-generated information into memory. If so, it is important to understand whether successful retrieval of self-generated information critically depends on enhanced neural activity within mPFC during initial encoding of this self-generated information. We used magnetoencephalographic imaging (MEGI) to determine the timing and location of cortical activity during a reality-monitoring task involving self generated contextual source memory encoding and retrieval. We found both during encoding and retrieval of self-generated information, when compared to externally-derived information, mPFC showed significant task induced oscillatory power modulation in the beta-band. During initial encoding of self-generated information, greater mPFC beta-band power reductions occurred within a time window of −700 ms to −500 ms prior to vocalization. This increased activity in mPFC was not observed during encoding of externally-derived information. Additionally, increased mPFC activity during encoding of self-generated information predicted subsequent retrieval accuracy of this self-generated information. Beta-band activity in mPFC was also observed during the initial retrieval of self-generated information within a time window of 300 to 500 ms following stimulus onset and correlated with accurate retrieval performance of self-generated information. Together, these results further highlight the importance of mPFC in mediating the initial generation and awareness of participants’ internal thoughts.
Ampicillin Silver Nanoformulations against Multidrug resistant bacteria
Authors: Khatoon Nafeesa , Alam Hammad , Khan Afreen , Raza Khalid , Sardar Meryam 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe present study reported a single step synthesis of silver nanoparticles using ampicillin (Amp-AgNps), a second-generation β lactam antibiotic to get nanoformulation having dual properties that of antibiotic and silver. The Amp-AgNps was characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy, TEM, XRD, FTIR and TGA. FTIR and TGA results suggested that amine group of Ampicllin reduce the metalic silver into nano form. These results were further validated by computational molecular dynamics simulation. The antibacterial potential of Amp-AgNps was investigated against sensitive and drug resistant bacteria. MIC of Amp-AgNps against 6 different bacterial strains were in the range of 3–28 µg/ml which is much lower than the MIC of ampicillin (12–720 µg/ml) and chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles (280–640 µg/ml). The repeated exposure to drugs may lead to development of resistance mechanism in bacteria against that drug, so the efficacy of Amp-AgNps after repeated exposure to bacterial strains were also studied. The results indicate that bacterial strains do not show any resistance to these Amp-AgNps even after exposure up to 15 successive cycles. The biocompatibility of these Amp-AgNps was checked against cell lines by using Keratinocytes cell lines (HaCaT).
Comparing ant behaviour indices for fine-scale analyses
Authors: Krapf Patrick , Hochenegger Nadine , Arthofer Wolfgang , Schlick-Steiner Birgit C. , Steiner Florian M. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAnimal behaviour often is characterised by standardised assays. In social insects such as ants, behaviour assays are for example used to characterise aggressive and peaceful behaviour. Such assays differ in the number of individuals, the duration and place of assays, and the scoring scales. Also the behaviour indices used to summarise the results differ. Here, we compared five behaviour indices (Aggression Index, Mean Maximum Aggression Index; and the newly introduced Mean Maximum Peace Index, Mean Behaviour Index aggressive, and Mean Behaviour Index peaceful) using a scoring scale that comprises peaceful and aggressive behaviour. The indices were applied on eight simulations and three observed data sets. The five indices were correlated but frequently differed in their means. Multiple indices were needed to capture the complete behaviour range. Furthermore, subtle differences in workers’ behaviour, that is, differences that go beyond the presence/absence of aggression, were only identified when considering multiple indices. We infer that the indices applied are differently suited for different analyses. Fine-scale analyses of behavioural variation profit from using more than one index. The particular choice of index or indices likely influences the interpretation of behaviour and should be carefully done in the light of study species and research question.
Quantification of Thermal Oxidation in Metallic Glass Powder using Ultra-small Angle X-ray Scattering
Authors: Paul Tanaji , Zhang Linqi , Biswas Sourabh , Loganathan Archana , Frith Matthew G. , Ilavsky Jan , Kuzmenko Ivan , Puckette Jim , Kalkan A. Kaan , Agarwal Arvind , Harimkar Sandip P. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn this paper, the composition, structure, morphology and kinetics of evolution during isothermal oxidation of Fe48Cr15Mo14Y2C15B6 metallic glass powder in the supercooled region are investigated by an integrated ex-situ and in-situ characterization and modelling approach. Raman and X-ray diffraction spectra established that oxidation yielded a hierarchical structure across decreasing length scales. At larger scale, Fe2O3 grows as a uniform shell over the powder core. This shell, at smaller scale, consists of multiple grains. Ultra-small angle X-ray scattering intensity acquired during isothermal oxidation of the powder over a wide Q-range delineated direct quantification of oxidation behavior. The hierarchical structure was employed to construct a scattering model that was fitted to the measured intensity distributions to estimate the thickness of the oxide shell. The relative gain in mass during oxidation, computed theoretically from this model, relatively underestimated that measured in practice by a thermogravimetric analyzer due to the distribution in sizes of the particles. Overall, this paper presents the first direct quantification of oxidation in metallic glass powder by ultra-small angle X-ray scattering. It establishes novel experimental environments that can potentially unfold new paradigms of research into a wide spectrum of interfacial reactions in powder materials at elevated temperatures.