bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Prebiotic Fiber Xylooligosaccharide in Adenine‐Induced Nephropathy in Mice
Authors: Yang Jieping , Li Qing , Henning Susanne M. , Zhong Jin , Hsu Mark , Lee Rupo , Long Jianfeng , Chan Brenda , Nagami Glenn T. , Heber David , Li Zhaoping 
Published: April 2018

ScopeThis study evaluates the effect of the prebiotic fiber xylooligosaccharide (XOS) on kidney function and gut microbiome in mice with adenine‐induced chronic kidney disease (CKD).Method and resultsMice are fed the control diet containing adenine for 3 weeks to induce CKD and are switched to XOS supplemented (2 or 7%) or control diets for another 3 weeks. Mice with CKD exhibit increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and kidney histopathology. XOS significantly reverses kidney injuries in CKD mice. Analysis of cecum microbiota reveales that adenine‐induced CKD does not change alpha diversity, and XOS induces a decrease of alpha diversity in control mice and mice with CKD. Beta diversity analysis shows significant clustering according to experimental groups. Six out of the nine bacterial genera enriched in CKD are significantly reduced with XOS intervention. Furthermore, XOS increases cecal short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in both control and CKD mice. Cecal SCFAs and blood propionate are negatively correlated with BUN. XOS also decreases blood p‐cresol sulfate in CKD mice, likely resulting from altered microbial tyrosine metabolism.ConclusionThese results show that XOS intervention improves kidney function in mice with CKD, and is associated with profound changes in microbial composition and metabolism.
Diffusion tensor imaging using multiple coils for mouse brain connectomics
Authors: Nouls John C. , Badea Alexandra , Anderson Robert B.J. , Cofer Gary P. , Allan Johnson G. 
Published: April 2018

The correlation between brain connectivity and psychiatric or neurological diseases has intensified efforts to develop brain connectivity mapping techniques on mouse models of human disease. The neural architecture of mouse brain specimens can be shown non‐destructively and three‐dimensionally by diffusion tensor imaging, which enables tractography, the establishment of a connectivity matrix and connectomics. However, experiments on cohorts of animals can be prohibitively long. To improve throughput in a 7‐T preclinical scanner, we present a novel two‐coil system in which each coil is shielded, placed off‐isocenter along the axis of the magnet and connected to a receiver circuit of the scanner. Preservation of the quality factor of each coil is essential to signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) performance and throughput, because mouse brain specimen imaging at 7 T takes place in the coil‐dominated noise regime. In that regime, we show a shielding configuration causing no SNR degradation in the two‐coil system. To acquire data from several coils simultaneously, the coils are placed in the magnet bore, around the isocenter, in which gradient field distortions can bias diffusion tensor imaging metrics, affect tractography and contaminate measurements of the connectivity matrix. We quantified the experimental alterations in fractional anisotropy and eigenvector direction occurring in each coil. We showed that, when the coils were placed 12 mm away from the isocenter, measurements of the brain connectivity matrix appeared to be minimally altered by gradient field distortions. Simultaneous measurements on two mouse brain specimens demonstrated a full doubling of the diffusion tensor imaging throughput in practice. Each coil produced images devoid of shading or artifact. To further improve the throughput of mouse brain connectomics, we suggested a future expansion of the system to four coils. To better understand acceptable trade‐offs between imaging throughput and connectivity matrix integrity, studies may seek to clarify how measurement variability, post‐processing techniques and biological variability impact mouse brain connectomics.
Effects of a supportive care bundle on sleep variables of preterm infants during hospitalization
Authors: Lan Hsiang‐Yun , Yang Luke , Hsieh Kao‐Hsian , Yin Ti , Chang Yue‐Cune , Liaw Jen‐Jiuan 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACTSleep is important for preterm infants' brain development, but they are frequently exposed to painful procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that disturb their sleep cycle and affect their growth. The purpose of this study was to examine the prolonged effects of a supportive care bundle (modulation of the infants' states, non‐nutritive sucking, facilitated tucking, and oral sucrose feeding) on preterm infants' sleep variables (sleep efficiency, total sleep time, sleep latency, and frequency of wake bouts) during hospitalization. The team recruited 65 preterm infants (gestational age at birth 28‐36 weeks, average birth weight 1,652 g) from a Level III NICU at a medical center in Taiwan. Infants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions to be administered while receiving intrusive procedures: (1) control condition (usual care, including routine procedures, positioning, and gentle touch); or (2) intervention condition in which the supportive care bundle was added to usual care. Sleep variables were measured using actigraphy for a baseline of three continuous days on the 6th to 8th days after birth and again for 3 continuous days when infants weighed ≧1,950 g. Two forms of generalized estimating equation analyses with control of significant covariates were used for data analysis. The supportive care bundle not only significantly increased sleep efficiency and total sleep time but also significantly decreased duration of sleep latency and frequency of wake bouts. These results provide evidence to support the incorporation of the supportive care bundle into NICU clinical practice during intrusive procedures.
Identifying and siding the stylohyoid bone for North American artiodactyls
Authors: Lubinski P.M. , Hale T.A. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe stylohyoid is the largest bone in the hyoid complex surrounding the throat in artiodactyls. There is little published information to allow its identification to species or anatomical side. Our study examined comparative stylohyoid bones to provide criteria for taxonomic identification, using 494 animals representing 13 artiodactyl species, including all species native to the continental United States. The goal was to find criteria showing at least 95% success in separating between species or species groups. Osteometric and discrete feature criteria were found to provide strong distinctions between some species through an iterative set of comparisons arranged in a dichotomous key. For example, a small artiodactyl bone could be identified as pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) with 100% success (n = 260) if it exhibited both an S‐shaped dorsal aspect and a ratio of angle width to anterior end width > 1.6. Consistent criteria could not be found for some other species, notably between small bovids and between the 2 species of deer (Odocoileus sp.). Our study also extracted stylohyoids in place to provide criteria for siding, using 28 carcasses representing 7 species, and found they can be readily sided based on a marked concavity on the lateral side.
Surface molecularly imprinted polymers based ZnO quantum dots as fluorescence sensors for detection of diethylhexyl phthalate with high sensitivity and selectivity
Authors: Wang Yangyang , Zhou Zhiping , Xu Wanzhen , Luan Yu , Lu Yi , Yang Yanfei , Liu Tianshu , Li SongJun , Yang Wenming 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis work describes the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers using ZnO quantum dots, which were used for the selective detection of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Methacrylic acid, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 2,2′‐azobis(2‐methylpropionitrile) and ZnO were used as functional monomer, crosslinker, initiator and optical material, respectively. Molecularly imprinted polymers were successfully synthesized, and the linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and amount was from 0.5 to 40 µmol L−1for DEHP. The coefficient of correlation was 0.9923 and the imprinting factor was 11.16. The results were above 97.50% and relative standard deviation below 3.86% for the detection of DEPH in actual water samples. This study could provide a novel method using molecularly imprinted polymers for highly selective and sensitive detection of DEHP. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
Perceptions of Zimbabwean trainee/educational psychologists regarding the training on their support roles and responsibilities in inclusive education
Authors: Nkoma Elliott 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe study used focus group interviews at three administrative offices (provinces) that house trainee/educational psychologists in order to explore their experiences on how they learn about their support roles and responsibilities regarding the implementation of inclusive education. 13 trainee/educational psychologists from these provinces volunteered to participate in the study. The study used a qualitative design based on a phenomenological perspective and inductive thematic content was used to analyse data. The results indicate that trainee/educational psychologists had known their support roles through master's degree programmes, a single 2016 workshop, personally guided reading and collaborative work with workmates. Their views indicated inadequate training and supervision, and negative feelings towards internship after master's programme, payment of supervisors, continuing professional development points, lack of degree programmes in Master of Science in educational psychology, and location of conferences. The results provide important information about educational psychology in Zimbabwe with important implications for training and policy making.
Leadership styles predict career readiness in early college high‐school students
Authors: Villarreal Sofia , Montoya Jared A. , Duncan Phyllis , Gergen Esther 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis study examined leadership style as a predictor of career readiness among a sample of (N = 281) students from two early college high schools from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Participants included 165 females and 116 males ranging from 14 to 19 years of age and 96.8% identified as Hispanic. Participants provided demographic information and reported their own leadership style using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5x) as well as their career readiness using the Employability Skills Inventory (ESI). Additionally, pre‐existing district Texas Success Initiative (TSI) data was used to identify college readiness in Reading, Writing, and Math. The results indicated that college readiness, dual enrollment, year in school and gender predicted some of the dimensions of career readiness, but leadership style emerged as a significant predictor of all eight dimensions of career readiness.
Tchebichef image moment approach to the prediction of protein secondary structures based on circular dichroism
Authors: Li Sha Sha , Li Bao Qiong , Liu Jin Jin , Lu Shao Hua , Zhai Hong Lin 
Published: April 2018

AbstractCircular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely used technique for the evaluation of protein secondary structures that has a significant impact for the understanding of molecular biology. However, the quantitative analysis of protein secondary structures based on CD spectra is still a hard work due to the serious overlap of the spectra corresponding to different structural motifs. Here, Tchebichef image moment (TM) approach is introduced for the first time, which can effectively extract the chemical features in CD spectra for the quantitative analysis of protein secondary structures. The proposed approach was applied to analyze reference set and the obtained results were evaluated by the strict statistical parameters such as correlation coefficient, cross‐validation correlation coefficient and root mean squared error. Compared with several specialized prediction methods, TM approach provided satisfactory results, especially for turns and unordered structures. Our study indicates that TM approach can be regarded as a feasible tool for the analysis of the secondary structures of proteins based on CD spectra. An available TMs package is provided and can be used directly for secondary structures prediction.
Clustering of multi‐domain protein sequences
Authors: Mehrotra Prachi , Ami Vimla Kany G. , Srinivasan Narayanaswamy 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe overall function of a multi‐domain protein is determined by the functional and structural interplay of its constituent domains. Traditional sequence alignment‐based methods commonly utilize domain‐level information and provide classification only at the level of domains. Such methods are not capable of taking into account the contributions of other domains in the proteins, and domain‐linker regions and classify multi‐domain proteins. An alignment‐free protein sequence comparison tool, CLAP (CLAssification of Proteins) was previously developed in our laboratory to especially handle multi‐domain protein sequences without a requirement of defining domain boundaries and sequential order of domains. Through this method we aim to achieve a biologically meaningful classification scheme for multi‐domain protein sequences. In this article, CLAP‐based classification has been explored on 5 datasets of multi‐domain proteins and we present detailed analysis for proteins containing (1) Tyrosine phosphatase and (2) SH3 domain. At the domain‐level CLAP‐based classification scheme resulted in a clustering similar to that obtained from an alignment‐based method. CLAP‐based clusters obtained for full‐length datasets were shown to comprise of proteins with similar functions and domain architectures. Our study demonstrates that multi‐domain proteins could be classified effectively by considering full‐length sequences without a requirement of identification of domains in the sequence.
Aurantio‐obtusin, an anthraquinone from cassiae semen, ameliorates lung inflammatory responses
Authors: Kwon Ki Sun , Lee Ju Hee , So Kyung Su , Park Byung Kyu , Lim Hyun , Choi Jae Sue , Kim Hyun Pyo 
Published: April 2018

The purpose of the present study is to find the natural compound(s) having a therapeutic potential to treat lung inflammatory disorders. In our screening procedure, the methanol extract of the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia (cassiae semen) inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthase‐catalyzed nitric oxide production in alveolar macrophages (MH‐S). From the extract, 8 major anthraquinone derivatives were successfully isolated. They are chrysophanol, physcion, 2‐hydroxy‐emodin 1‐methyl ether, obtusifolin, obtusin, aurantio‐obtusin, chryso‐obtusin, and gluco‐obtusifolin, among which aurantio‐obtusin (IC50 = 71.7 μM) showed significant inhibitory action on nitric oxide production from lipopolysaccharide‐treated MH‐S cells, mainly by downregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. This down‐regulatory action of aurantio‐obtusin was mediated at least in part via interrupting c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase/IκB kinase/nuclear transcription factor‐κB pathways. Aurantio‐obtusin also inhibited IL‐6 production in IL‐1β‐treated lung epithelial cells, A549. Importantly, this compound (10 and 100 mg/kg) by oral administration attenuated lung inflammatory responses in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide‐induced acute lung injury. Therefore, it is for the first time found that aurantio‐obtusin may have a therapeutic potential for treating lung inflammatory diseases.
Single Si atom supported on defective boron nitride nanosheet as a promising metal‐free catalyst for N2O reduction by CO or SO2 molecule: A computational study
Authors: Esrafili Mehdi D. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe low‐temperature reduction of N2O plays a significant role for solving the growing environmental and health issues caused by emission of this greenhouse gas. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible reaction pathways for the reduction of N2O by CO or SO2 molecule over Si‐doped boron nitride nanosheet (Si‐BNNS). According to our results, a B or N‐vacancy defect in BN sheet could be able to greatly stabilize the single Si adatom. The relatively large diffusion barrier for the Si atom over the defective BN sheet also indicates Si‐BNNS is stable enough to be utilized in catalytic reduction of N2O. The large charge‐transfer from the surface to N2O leads to the spontaneous dissociation of this molecule into N2 molecule and an activated oxygen atom (Oads). The Oads moiety is then eliminated by CO or SO2 molecule. The calculated activation energies and reaction energies reveal that the Si atom located on top of the B‐vacancy site has a large catalytic activity toward the reduction of N2O by CO or SO2.
Pseudocapacitive Sodium Storage by Ferroelectric Sn2P2S6 with Layered Nanostructure
Authors: Huang Sheng , Meng Chao , Xiao Min , Ren Shan , Wang Shuanjin , Han Dongmei , Li Yuning , Meng Yuezhong 
Published: April 2018

AbstractSodium ion batteries (SIB) are considered promising alternative candidates for lithium ion batteries (LIB) because of the wide availability and low cost of sodium, therefore the development of alternative sodium storage materials with comparable performance to LIB is urgently desired. The sodium ions with larger sizes resist intercalation or alloying because of slow reaction kinetics. Most pseudocapacitive sodium storage materials are based on subtle nanomaterial engineering, which is difficult for large‐scale production. Here, ferroelectric Sn2P2S6 with layered nanostructure is developed as sodium ion storage material. The ferroelectricity‐enhanced pseudocapacitance of sodium ion in the interlayer spacing makes the electrochemical reaction easier and faster, endowing the Sn2P2S6 electrode with excellent rate capability and cycle stability. Furthermore, the facile solid state reaction synthesis and common electrode fabrication make the Sn2P2S6 that becomes a promising anode material of SIB.
Megaprosthesis limb salvage surgery: Outcome and challenges in treating advanced bone tumour cases in vast archipelago in Indonesia. A case series
Authors: Kamal Achmad Fauzi , Pitarini Astuti , Prabowo Yogi 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACT

Introduction:
Limb salvage is considered as a more popular option in Indonesia, as amputation is considered offensive and taboo for many Indonesian cultures and societies. We evaluated the outcome of a series of LSSs with megaprosthesis and their challenges during treatments in Indonesia as the biggest archipelago nation in the world.

Methods:
Thirty-two patients originated from different islands in Indonesia with advanced lower extremity bone tumours were prospectively reviewed. Data was obtained from surgeries, which was conducted between 2011 and 2015 by two orthopaedic oncologist at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Functional outcome using musculoskeletal tumour society (MSTS) score and oncological outcome were evaluated manually during every outpatient visit at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months.

Results:
Eight patients originate from Sumatra, one from Moluccas island, and twenty-three based in the Java island. We documented fourteen osteosarcomas, two cases of metastatic bone disease, fifteen giant cell tumours, and one chondromyxoid fibroma. Compared to preoperative score (mean 5.3, MSTS Score range 0–10), postoperative result (mean 25.2, MSTS Score range 53.3–90) at two year revealed 4.75 fold of improvement. Nearly half of the patient (40.6%) showed excellent score (MSTS Score range 76.6–96.6) after one year. We reported several complications including: infection, knee dislocation, mechanism extensor disturbance, amputation, and nerve injury. Lower MSTS score was correlated with higher serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) (p = 0,031) and increase intraoperative blood loss (p = 0,033). Complication was found to be associated with tumours that underwent extensive soft tissue reconstruction procedure (p = 0,021).

Conclusion:
Functional outcome up to 24 months recorded satisfying result. Several complications occurred during our study also passed struggles for our patients during follow up care due to geographical challenges. Nevertheless, for carefully selected patients in Indonesia, LSS with megaprosthesis is an option that technically visible and culturally acceptable.

Highlights:
Stationary crossflow vortices near the leading edge of three-dimensional boundary layers: the role of non-parallelism and excitation by surface roughness
Authors: Butler Adam , Wu Xuesong 
Published: April 2018

Non-parallelism, i.e. the effect of the slow variation of the boundary-layer flow in the chordwise and spanwise directions, in general produces a higher-order correction to the growth rate of instability modes. Here we investigate stationary crossflow vortices, which arise due to the instability of the three-dimensional boundary layer over a swept wing, focusing on a region near the leading edge where non-parallelism plays a leading-order role in their development. In this regime, the vortices align themselves with the local wall shear at leading order, and so have a marginally separated triple-deck structure, consisting of the inviscid main boundary layer, an upper deck and a viscous sublayer. We find that the streamwise (and spanwise) variations of both the base flow and the modal shape must be accounted for. An explicit expression for the growth rate is derived that shows a neutral point occurs in this regime, downstream of which non-parallelism has a stabilising effect. Stationary crossflow vortices thus have a viscous and non-parallel genesis near the leading edge. If an ‘effective pressure minimum’ occurs within this region then the growth rate becomes unbounded, and so the previous analysis is regularised within a localised region around it. A new instability is identified. The mode maintains its three-tiered structure, but the pressure perturbation now plays a passive role. Downstream, the instability evolves into a Cowley, Hocking & Tutty (Phys. Fluids, vol. 28, 1985, pp. 441–443) instability associated with a critical layer located in the lower deck. Finally, we consider the receptivity of the flow in the non-parallel regime: generation of stationary crossflow modes by arrays of chordwise-localised, spanwise-periodic surface roughness elements. The flow responds differently to different Fourier spectral content of the roughness, giving the lower deck a two-part structure. We find that roughness elements with sharper edges generate stronger modes. For roughness elements of fairly moderate height, the resulting nonlinear forcing leads to the so-called super-linearity of receptivity, namely, the amplitude of the generated crossflow mode deviates from the linear dependence on the roughness height even though the perturbation in the boundary layer remains linear.
What Is First Philosophy? An Appreciation of Catherine Zuckert, Postmodern Platos
Authors: O'Connor David K. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractCatherine Zuckert’s Postmodern Platos is built around Leo Strauss’s complex response to Martin Heidegger’s vision of the prephilosophic starting points of philosophy, his phenomenology of human existence. Zuckert accepts too much of this spare phenomenology, and so gives too bleak an account of what philosophy can be. A richer account is available in Plato’s Phaedrus, and is even intimated at crucial points of Strauss’s own writings. The cheerful “first philosophy” built on this erotic phenomenology is truer than Heideggerian bleakness to where philosophy begins in practice, as much for Zuckert as for Strauss and Heidegger: in the experience of the eros of the conversation between teacher and student.