bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
No association between polymorphisms in the promoter region of dopamine receptor D2 gene and schizophrenia in the northern Chinese Han population: A case–control study
Authors: Zhang Xi‐cen , Ding Mei , Adnan Atif , Liu Yi , Liu Yong‐ping , Xing Jia‐xin , Xuan Jin‐feng , Xia Xi , Yao Jun , Wang Bao‐jie 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBackgroundEpidemiological studies found that genetic factors are among the causes of schizophrenia, exclusively the genes involved in the dopamine system. Prior to this, the role of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) gene promoter polymorphisms and schizophrenia has been studied extensively, but there are still some uncertainties about these associations. The present study is focusing on the association between the DRD2 gene promoter region polymorphisms and schizophrenia in the northern Chinese Han population.MethodsWe sequenced 2,111‐bp fragment of DRD2 gene promoter region in 306 schizophrenic patients and 324 healthy controls to find association between DRD2 and schizophrenia. SPSS version 18 0.0 was used to calculate odds ratios (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CIs).The Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium test and the confirmation of haplotypes were calculated using Haploview version 4.1. The association of schizophrenic risk of DRD2 genotypes, alleles, and haplotypes between case and control groups was calculated using the chi‐squared test. PS program was used to calculate the Power analysis.ResultsThe genotype frequencies of rs7116768 (p = 0.025) and rs1799732 (p = 0.042) were associated meagerly. After Bonferroni correction, there was no association found between DRD2 gene promoter region with schizophrenia risk in the northern Chinese Han population.ConclusionsIn this study, we did not find any significant difference between schizophrenia and the polymorphisms of DRD2 gene promoter region. A more forceful conclusion remains to be verified by further confirmatory experiments.
Electroconvulsive treatment prevents chronic restraint stress‐induced atrophy of the hippocampal formation—A stereological study
Authors: Alemu Johanne L. , Elberling Frederik , Azam Bushra , Pakkenberg Bente , Olesen Mikkel V. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIntroductionElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most efficient treatments of major depressive disorder (MDD), although the underlying neurobiology remains poorly understood. There is evidence that ECT and MDD exert opposing effects on the hippocampal formation with respect to volume and number of neurons. However, there has been a paucity of quantitative data in experimental models of ECT and MDD.MethodsUsing design‐based stereology, we have measured the effects of a stress‐induced depression model (chronic restraint stress, CRS) and ECS on the morphology of the hippocampus by estimating the volume and total number of neurons in the hilus, CA1, and CA2/3, as well as in the entire hippocampus.ResultsWe find that CRS induces a significant decrease in volume exclusively of the hilus and that ECS (CRS + ECS) blocks this reduction. Furthermore, ECS alone does not change the volume or total number of neurons in the entire hippocampus or any hippocampal subdivision in our rat model.
MicroRNA‐372 enhances radiosensitivity while inhibiting cell invasion and metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma through activating the PBK‐dependent p53 signaling pathway
Authors: Wang Zhe , Mao Ji‐Wei , Liu Guang‐Yan , Wang Fu‐Guang , Ju Zai‐Shuang , Zhou Dong , Wang Ruo‐Yu 
Published: January 2019

AbstractNasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer found in the nasopharynx, which plagues countless NPC patients. MicroRNA‐372 (miR‐372) has been reported to be involved in various tumors. Here, we explored the important role of miR‐372 in radiosensitivity, invasion, and metastasis of NPC. Microarray analysis was conducted to search the NPC‐related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and predict the miRs regulating PBK, which suggested that miR‐372 could influence the development of NPC via PBK and the p53 signaling pathway. Importantly, miR‐372 was observed to target PBK, thus down‐regulating its expression. Then, NPC 5‐8F and C666‐1 cells were selected, and treated with ionization radiation and alteration of miR‐372 and PBK expression to explore the functional role of miR‐372 in NPC. The expression of miR‐372, PBK, Bcl‐2, p53, and Bax as well as the extent of Akt phosphorylation were measured. In addition, cell colony formation, cell cycle, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were detected. At last, tumor growth and the effect of miR‐372 on radiosensitivity of NPC were evaluated. Besides, over‐expressed miR‐372 down‐regulated Bcl‐2 and PBK expression and the extent of Akt phosphorylation while up‐regulated the expression of p53 and Bax. Additionally, miR‐372 over‐expression and radiotherapy inhibited cell clone formation, proliferation, tumor growth, migration, invasion, and cell cycle entry, but promoted cell apoptosis. However, the restoration of PBK in NPC cells expressing miR‐372 reversed the anti‐tumor effect of miR‐372 and activation of the p53 signaling pathway. In conclusion, the study shows that up‐regulated miR‐372 promotes radiosensitivity by activating the p53 signaling pathway via inhibition of PBK.
The use of a combined sliding skin graft and a free labial mucocutaneous graft for reconstruction of the equine upper eyelid after full‐thickness excision of a melanoma
Authors: Steinmetz Andrea , Gittel Claudia , Böttcher Denny , Lapko Liv , Offhaus Julia 
Published: January 2019

Key Clinical MessageA melanoma of the upper eyelid was resected in a gray warmblood gelding. A full functional eyelid could be obtained by completion a sliding skin graft with a free labial mucocutaneous graft transplantation to restore the mucocutaneous junction and to decrease the risk of postoperative trichiasis.
Population Balance Model Simulation of the Particle Effect on Flow Hydrodynamics in Slurry Beds
Authors: Su Wu , Shi Xiaogang , Wu Yingya , Gao Jinsen , Lan Xingying 
Published: January 2019

AbstractComputational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation can provide in‐depth knowledge on hydrodynamics in slurry‐bed reactors. The accuracy of CFD simulation is highly depending on the description of the interactions between gas phase and slurry phase with the drag model. Conventional drag models were usually developed for gas‐liquid systems without considering the presence of particles in slurry‐bed reactors. A modified drag model is proposed by taking into account the effect of particles. Simulation results proved the accuracy of the model in predicting hydrodynamics in the slurry bed. A higher particle concentration can increase the gas velocity and decrease the gas holdup due to the lower drag force between gas phase and slurry phase. The bubble size is predicted to be larger at higher particle concentrations due to the increased liquid eddy length scale. Considering the particle effect is critical for accurately simulating slurry‐bed reactors.
Site‐selective Synthesis of β‐[70]PCBM‐like Fullerenes: Efficient Application in Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Vidal Sara , Izquierdo Marta , Filippone Salvatore , Fernández Israel , Akin Seckin , Seo Ji‐Youn , Zakeeruddin Shaik M. , Grätzel Michael , Martín Nazario 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWe report on the site‐selective synthesis of PCBM‐like [70]fullerene site‐isomers, where the elusive β‐site‐isomers are, for the first time, the major product in a (cyclo)addition chemical reaction involving [70]fullerene. The reaction involves an straightforward cyclopropanation of [70]fullerene from sulfonium salts, affording a mixture of α and β site‐isomers in good yields. Amazingly, the preference for the α‐ or β‐site‐isomer can be efficiently controlled by means of the solvent polarity! DFT theoretical calculations (DMF and toluene) nicely predict that, although the formation of the α‐adduct is, as expected, thermodynamically favored, the selectivity of the process is determined by the energy difference of the respective transition states. Furthermore, the employ of α or/and β site‐isomers, as pure materials or as a mixture of them, used as templating agent, has been evaluated in perovskite solar cells. The positive influence of the [70]fullerenes by passivating the voids/pin‐holes and/or deep slits, is reflected in highly efficient and stable bulk heterojunction perovskite solar cells, whose performance (around 20 %) is slightly but consistently depending on the isomeric fullerene composition. These experimental findings pave the way to investigate a new reactivity on C70 and to explore the properties of the less‐known β‐derivatives.
Comparing the Self‐Assembly of Sexiphenyl‐Dicarbonitrile on Graphite and Graphene on Cu(111)
Authors: Schmidt Nico , Li Jun , Gottardi Stefano , Moreno‐Lopez Juan Carlos , Enache Mihaela , Monjas Leticia , van der Vlag Ramon , Havenith Remco W. A. , Hirsch Anna K. H. , Stöhr Meike 
Published: January 2019

AbstractA comparative study on the self‐assembly of sexiphenyl‐dicarbonitrile on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and single‐layer graphene on Cu(111) is presented. Despite an overall low molecule–substrate interaction, the close‐packed structures exhibit a peculiar shift repeating every four to five molecules. This shift has hitherto not been reported for similar systems and is hence a unique feature induced by the graphitic substrates.
The palaeoenvironmental context of the Trezona anomaly in South Australia: Do carbon isotope values record a global or regional signal?
Authors: Klaebe Robert , Kennedy Martin 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe composite δ13C record of Neoproterozoic carbonates is characterized by large magnitude (<18‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite) swings that have been interpreted to record (a) changes in dissolved inorganic carbon in sea water driven by a carbon cycle with different boundary conditions, (b) pervasive diagenetic alteration or (c) local controls similar to those active in Cenozoic platformal successions. A sedimentological study of the Trezona Formation in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia was conducted to determine the palaeoenvironmental context of the Trezona anomaly, one of the most widely recognized examples of a Neoproterozoic mega‐excursion that occurs beneath glaciogenic sediments of the Marinoan ice age (ca 635 Ma). Stratigraphic mapping identified an unconformity at its base separating it from the shelf deposits of the underlying Enorama Shale. The lower Trezona Formation is dominantly calcareous mudstone with mudcracks, channels, and mud chip and algal flake breccias interpreted to record exposure and desiccation on mudflats, shallow pools and lagoons. A marked increase in microbial carbonate and oolites in the upper Trezona Formation records a relative decline of mud input that terminates with karst. The Trezona Formation is thus interpreted to have been deposited in shallow, localized, salt withdrawal basins on the exposed shelf creating a mosaic of poorly connected lagoons and (alkaline) lakes that were intermittently restricted or isolated from the sea. Variations in δ13C and δ18O correspond with facies changes and reflect locally evolving depositional conditions influenced by sills and channels that shifted the sea water to freshwater balance. This restricted setting and range of δ13C values is more similar to Cenozoic platformal deposits (ca 12‰) than the muted (ca 3‰) global sea water variation recorded in pelagic sediments. The anomalous δ13C values in the Trezona Formation may instead provide constraints on the changing terrestrial biosphere directly preceding the evolution and rapid expansion of metazoan life.
The association between fasting plasma glucose and all‐cause and cause‐specific mortality by gender: The rural Chinese cohort study
Authors: Liu Leilei , Chen Xu , Liu Yu , Sun Xizhuo , Yin Zhaoxia , Li Honghui , Zhang Ming , Wang Bingyuan , Ren Yongcheng , Zhao Yang , Liu Dechen , Zhou Junmei , Liu Xuejiao , Zhang Dongdong , Cheng Cheng , Liu Feiyan , Zhou Qionggui , Xu Qihuan , Xiong Yihan , Liu Jiali , You Ziyang , Hong Shihao , Wang Chongjian , Hu Dongsheng 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBackgroundTo evaluate the association between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and mortality by gender.MethodsA total of 17 248 eligible participants from a rural Chinese prospective cohort population were included. The same questionnaire interview and anthropometric and laboratory measurements were performed at both baseline (2007‐2008) and follow‐up (2013‐2014). Participants were classified according to baseline FPG and diabetic status by sex. Restricted cubic splines and Cox proportional‐hazards regression models, estimating hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), were used to assess the FPG‐mortality relation.ResultsDuring the 6‐year follow‐up, 618 men and 489 women died. The FPG‐mortality relation was J shaped for both sexes. For men, risk of all‐cause and noncardiovascular disease (CVD)/noncancer mortality was greater with low fasting glucose (LFG) than with normal fasting glucose (adjusted HR [aHR] 1.60; 95% CI, 1.05‐2.43; and aHR 2.16; 95% CI, 1.15‐4.05). Men with diabetes mellitus (DM) showed increased risk of all‐cause (aHR 2.04; 95% CI, 1.60‐2.60), CVD (aHR 1.98; 95% CI, 1.36‐2.89), and non‐CVD/noncancer mortality (aHR 2.62; 95% CI, 1.76‐3.91). Men with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) had borderline risk of CVD mortality (aHR 1.34; 95% CI, 1.00‐1.79). Women with LFG had increased risk of non‐CVD/noncancer mortality (aHR 2.27; 95% CI, 1.04‐4.95), and women with DM had increased risk of all‐cause (aHR 1.73; 95% CI, 1.35‐2.23), CVD (aHR 1.76; 95% CI, 1.24‐2.50), and non‐CVD/noncancer mortality (aHR 1.97; 95% CI, 1.27‐3.08).ConclusionsLFG is positively associated with all‐cause mortality risk in rural Chinese men but not in women.
A review of capacitive MEMS hydrogen sensor using Pd‐based metallic glass with fast response and low power consumption
Authors: Yamazaki Hiroaki , Hayashi Yumi , Masunishi Kei , Ono Daiki , Ikehashi Tamio 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThis paper reports on a capacitive MEMS hydrogen sensor using Pd‐based metallic glass (MG) for future hydrogen society. First, we investigate PdCuSi as a Pd‐based MG and show that this material is promising for capacitive MEMS hydrogen sensor. Second, we employ the Pd‐based MG in a hydrogen sensor that has an inverted T‐shaped electrode. The sensor is fabricated by a surface micromachining process. We show that the fabricated hydrogen sensor exhibits hysteresis‐free and fast response properties at room temperature.
Altered amygdalar volume and functional connectivity in primary dysmenorrhoea during the menstrual cycle
Authors: Yang Ling , Dun Wanghuan , Li Kang , Yang Jing , Wang Ke , Liu Hongjuan , Liu Jixin , Zhang Ming 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBackgroundPrimary dysmenorrhoea (PDM), characterized as menstrual pain without pelvic pathology, is associated with pain‐related negative mood and hormone fluctuations. Previous studies strongly supported the link between pain and negative mood in affected individuals; however, it remains largely unknown in patients with PDM.MethodsWe focused on the effects how spontaneous pain, negative mood and hormone levels played on the central nervous system in 34 PDM women and 33 matched healthy controls across their cycles (periovulatory phase and menstruation phase) by using T1‐weighted and functional imaging. Voxel‐based morphometry and functional connectivity (FC) analyses were performed to evaluate brain structural and functional changes. Hormone concentrations (oestradiol, progesterone and cortisol) were also obtained.ResultsAbnormal state‐related GM volume in the amygdala was found between periovulatory and menstruation phases in PDM. Furthermore, larger amygdalar volume was observed in patients’ menstruation phase, which was significantly correlated with higher levels of cortisol. In addition, we found increased amygdala‐seeded FC in vlPFC, which may be associated with pain intensity and negative mood in PDM women during the pain state.ConclusionsTaken together, we found women with PDM had structural and functional abnormalities in the amygdala, which associated with stress hormone levels, pain intensity and negative mood, may reflect disturbed emotional and pain modulation in women with PDM.SignificanceOur findings provide further evidence of amygdala‐related abnormalities, which may be associated with pain‐related affective distress and hormonal fluctuations in women with PDM, and complement the brain mechanism investigations for the pathophysiology of PDM.
Dominance and competence face to face: Dissociations obtained with a reverse correlation approach
Authors: Oliveira Manuel , Garcia‐Marques Teresa , Dotsch Ron , Garcia‐Marques Leonel 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe article explores whether the traits representing the dimensions underlying the structure of facial and non‐facial impressions are similarly mapped in the face space. Two studies examine whether the trustworthiness‐by‐dominance and the warmth‐by‐competence two‐dimensional models overlap in face perception. In Study 1 (N = 200), we used a reverse‐correlation task to obtain classification images (CIs) reflecting how each dimension is mapped onto a face. Results show that the similarity between CIs was higher between warmth and trustworthiness than between competence and dominance. In Study 2 (N = 31) the evaluations of each CI on each social dimension show a higher dissociation between dominance and competence than between trustworthiness and warmth. These results, obtained at both perceptual and judgment levels, suggest that there is only a partial correspondence between the two models that seems to be driven by the relationship that the competence and dominance dimensions establish with valence.
Rapid and inexpensive method for the simple fabrication of PDMS‐based electrochemical sensors for detection in microfluidic devices
Authors: da Silva Eiva Natiele Tiago , Ferreira Valdir Souza , Lucca Bruno Gabriel 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe fabrication of PDMS microfluidic structures through soft lithography is widely reported. While this well‐established method gives high precision microstructures and has been successfully used for many researchers, it often requires sophisticated instrumentation and expensive materials such as clean room facilities and photoresists. Thus, we present here a simple protocol that allows the rapid molding of simple linear microchannels in PDMS substrates aiming microfluidics‐based applications. It might serve as an alternative to researchers that do not have access to sophisticated facilities such as clean rooms. The method developed here consists on the use of pencil graphite leads as template for the molding of PDMS channels. It yields structures that can be used for several applications, such as housing support for electrochemical sensors or channels for flow devices. Here, the microdevices produced through this protocol were employed for the accommodation of carbon black paste, which was utilized for the first time as amperometric sensor in microchip electrophoresis. This platform was successfully used for the separation and detection of model analytes. Ascorbic acid and iodide were separated within 45 s with peak resolution of 1.2 and sensitivities of 198 and 492 pA/μM, respectively. The background noise was ca. 84 pA. The analytical usefulness of the system developed was successfully tested through the quantification of iodide in commercial pharmaceutical formulations. It demonstrates good efficiency of the microfabrication protocol developed and enables its use for the easy and rapid prototyping of PDMS structures over a low fabrication cost.
Holocene Dune Activity in the Thar Desert, India
Authors: Srivastava Aayush , Thomas David S.G. , Durcan Julie A. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe Thar Desert dune system in north‐west India and eastern Pakistan provides a rich archive of past environmental, geomorphological and climatic change. Much of the knowledge about the timing of dune accumulation in the Thar stems from scattered and sporadic records, based on older luminescence dating protocols. If the Thar dune record is to be incorporated within a growing multiproxy framework of past climate and environmental dynamics, it is necessary to generate a systematic record of the timing of dunefield accumulation. From this, relationships to climate and other drivers of dune activity may then be better established. To this end, an intensive programme of field sampling and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was carried out from a dunefield in the east‐central Thar Desert. This study presents the first detailed Holocene dune accumulation history from the region, and sheds light on the development of the multi‐generational parabolic dune systems. In contrast to previously published work, we identify the importance of the Holocene and the last millennium as periods with a number of preserved accumulation phases. OSL ages suggest that accumulation was persistent during the early and mid‐Holocene (within 11.7‐5.5 ka), late Holocene (2‐1 ka), as well as two major phases in the last millennium (600 – 200 a and within the last 70 a). Potential drivers of dune mobility in the last century include a strong anthropogenic dimension. Rapid net accumulation is recorded in the last 70 years, with rates varying between 2 and 5 m/year, in an environment where agricultural pressures have increased dramatically with the advent of irrigation schemes expanding into dunefield areas. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bayesian structure selection for vector autoregression model
Authors: Chu Chi‐Hsiang , Lo Huang Mong‐Na , Huang Shih‐Feng , Chen Ray‐Bing 
Published: January 2019

AbstractA vector autoregression (VAR) model is powerful for analyzing economic data as it can be used to simultaneously handle multiple time series from different sources. However, in the VAR model, we need to address the problem of substantial coefficient dimensionality, which would cause some computational problems for coefficient inference. To reduce the dimensionality, one could take model structures into account based on prior knowledge. In this paper, group structures of the coefficient matrices are considered. Because of the different types of VAR structures, corresponding Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms are proposed to generate posterior samples for performing inference of the structure selection. Simulation studies and a real example are used to demonstrate the performances of the proposed Bayesian approaches.