bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Differences in the accumulation of phosphorus between vegetative cells and heterocysts in the cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena
Authors: Braun Philipp D. , Schulz-Vogt Heide N. , Vogts Angela , Nausch Monika 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena is a species that frequently forms blooms in the Baltic Sea. Accumulation of the vital nutrient phosphorus (P) apparently plays an important role in the ability of this and other cyanobacteria to grow even when dissolved inorganic phosphorus is depleted. However, until now, this has not been studied in N. spumigena at the cellular level. Therefore, in this study, phosphorus incorporation and distribution in cyanobacterial filaments over time was examined by scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX) and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). Immediately after phosphate addition to a phosphorus-depleted population, the phosphate concentration decreased in the water while intracellular polyphosphate accumulated. Microscopically, phosphorus in form of polyphosphate granules was stored preferentially in vegetative cells, whereas heterocysts remained low in intracellular phosphorus. This information is an essential step towards understanding the phosphorus dynamics of this species and demonstrates that the division of tasks between vegetative cells and heterocysts is not restricted to nitrogen fixation.
Pupillary Abnormalities with Varying Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors: Jain Mukesh , Devan Sandeep , Jaisankar Durgasri , Swaminathan Gayathri , Pardhan Shahina , Raman Rajiv 
Published: March 2018

AbstractOur aim is to study the dynamics of pupillary abnormalities in varying severity of diabetic retinopathy. A non-interventional case-control study with 405 eyes of 244 subjects with diabetes, and 41 eyes of 26 subjects with no history of diabetes was done. Diabetes group was classified according to retinopathy severity: no retinopathy, mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), moderate NPDR, severe NPDR and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). After dark adaptation, pupil size and flashlight response were captured with an infrared camera. Baseline Pupil Diameter (BPD), Amplitude of Pupillary Constriction (APC), Velocity of Pupillary Constriction (VPC) and Velocity of Pupillary Dilatation (VPD). Compared to controls, mean BPD decreased with increasing severity of diabetic retinopathy. Mean APC in control group was 1.73 ± 0.37 mm and reduced in mild NPDR (1.57 ± 0.39, p = 1.000), moderate NPDR (1.51 ± 0.44, p = 0.152) and found to be significant reduced in severe NPDR (1.43 ± 0.48, p = 0.001) and PDR (1.29 ± 0.43, p = 0.008). Compared to controls, mean VPC decreased progressively with increasing severity of retinopathy, with a maximal difference in the PDR group. Mean VPD as compared to the control group was significantly reduced in the no DR (p = 0.03), mild NPDR (p = 0.038), moderate NPDR (p = 0.05), PDR group (p = 0.02). We found pupillary dynamics are abnormal in early stages of diabetic retinopathy and progress with increasing retinopathy severity.
Oxygen Extraction Ratio (OER) as a Measurement of Hemodialysis (HD) Induced Tissue Hypoxia: A Pilot Study
Authors: Rotondi Silverio , Tartaglione Lida , Muci Maria Luisa , Farcomeni Alessio , Pasquali Marzia , Mazzaferro Sandro 
Published: March 2018

AbstractHD tissue hypoxia associates with organ dysfunctions. OER, the ratio between SaO2 and central-venous-oxygen-saturation, could estimate oxygen requirements during sessions, but no data are available. We evaluated OER behavior in 20 HD patients with permanent central venous catheter (CVC) as vascular access. Pre-HD OER (33.6 ± 1.4%; M ± SE) was higher than normal (range 20–30%). HD sessions increased OER to 39.2 ± 1.5% (M ± SE; p < 0.05) by 30′ and to 47.4 ± 1.5% (M ± SE; p < 0.001) by end of treatment (delta 40%). During HD sessions of the long and short interdialytic intervals, OER values overlapped, suggesting no influence of patient’s hydration status shifts. OER increased (p < 0.05) after 30′ of isolated HD (zero ultrafiltration), but not during isolated ultrafiltration (zero dialysate flow), suggesting a role for blood-membrane-dialysate interaction, independent of volume reduction. In ten patients, individual variability of pre-HD OER was low and repeatable (maximum calculated difference over time 6.6%), and negatively correlated with HD-induced OER increments (r = 0.860; p < 0.005), suggesting a decline in the adaptive response along with resting OER increments. In 30 prevalent patients, adjusted multivariate analysis showed that pre-HD OER (HR = 0.88, CI 0.79–0.99, p = 0.028) and percent HD-induced OER (HR = 1.04, CI 1.01–1.08, p = 0.015) were both associated with mortality, with threshold values respectively <32% and >40%. In HD patients with CVC as vascular access, OER is a cheap, easily measurable and repeatable parameter useful to assess intradialytic hypoxia, and a potential biomarker of HD related stress and morbidity, helpful to recognize patients at increased risk of mortality.
Integrative analysis of Multiple Sclerosis using a systems biology approach
Authors: Cervantes-Gracia Karla , Husi Holger 
Published: March 2018

AbstractMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammatory-demyelinating events in the central nervous system. Despite more than 40 years of MS research its aetiology remains unknown. This study aims to identify the most frequently reported and consistently regulated molecules in MS in order to generate molecular interaction networks and thereby leading to the identification of deregulated processes and pathways which could give an insight of the underlying molecular mechanisms of MS. Driven by an integrative systems biology approach, gene-expression profiling datasets were combined and stratified into “Non-treated” and “Treated” groups and additionally compared to other disease patterns. Molecular identifiers from dataset comparisons were matched to our Multiple Sclerosis database (MuScle; www.padb.org/muscle). From 5079 statistically significant molecules, correlation analysis within groups identified a panel of 16 high-confidence genes unique to the naïve MS phenotype, whereas the “Treated” group reflected a common pattern associated with autoimmune disease. Pathway and gene-ontology clustering identified the Interferon gamma signalling pathway as the most relevant amongst all significant molecules, and viral infections as the most likely cause of all down-stream events observed. This hypothesis-free approach revealed the most significant molecular events amongst different MS phenotypes which can be used for further detailed studies.
A Rapid CRISPR/Cas-based Mutagenesis Assay in Zebrafish for Identification of Genes Involved in Thyroid Morphogenesis and Function
Authors: Trubiroha A. , Gillotay P. , Giusti N. , Gacquer D. , Libert F. , Lefort A. , Haerlingen B. , De Deken X. , Opitz R. , Costagliola S. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe foregut endoderm gives rise to several organs including liver, pancreas, lung and thyroid with important roles in human physiology. Understanding which genes and signalling pathways regulate their development is crucial for understanding developmental disorders as well as diseases in adulthood. We exploited unique advantages of the zebrafish model to develop a rapid and scalable CRISPR/Cas-based mutagenesis strategy aiming at the identification of genes involved in morphogenesis and function of the thyroid. Core elements of the mutagenesis assay comprise bi-allelic gene invalidation in somatic mutants, a non-invasive monitoring of thyroid development in live transgenic fish, complementary analyses of thyroid function in fixed specimens and quantitative analyses of mutagenesis efficiency by Illumina sequencing of individual fish. We successfully validated our mutagenesis-phenotyping strategy in experiments targeting genes with known functions in early thyroid morphogenesis (pax2a, nkx2.4b) and thyroid functional differentiation (duox, duoxa, tshr). We also demonstrate that duox and duoxa crispants phenocopy thyroid phenotypes previously observed in human patients with bi-allelic DUOX2 and DUOXA2 mutations. The proposed combination of efficient mutagenesis protocols, rapid non-invasive phenotyping and sensitive genotyping holds great potential to systematically characterize the function of larger candidate gene panels during thyroid development and is applicable to other organs and tissues.
Soil pH and plant diversity shape soil bacterial community structure in the active layer across the latitudinal gradients in continuous permafrost region of Northeastern China
Authors: Ren Baihui , Hu Yuanman , Chen Baodong , Zhang Ying , Thiele Jan , Shi Rongjiu , Liu Miao , Bu Rencang 
Published: March 2018

AbstractIn the permafrost region of northeastern China, vegetation and soil environment have showed response to permafrost degradation triggered by global warming, but the corresponding variation of the soil microbial communities remains poorly investigated. Here, a field investigation in the continuous permafrost region was conducted to collect 63 soil samples from 21 sites along a latitudinal gradient to assess the distribution pattern of microbial communities and their correlation with environmental factors. High-throughput Illumina sequencing revealed that bacterial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. Both microbial richness and phylogenetic diversity decreased initially and then increased as the latitude increased. UniFrac analysis of microbial communities detected significant differences among latitudes. Variation partitioning analysis and structural equation models revealed that environmental variables, including geographic factors, plant-community factors and soil physicochemical factors, all played non-negligible roles in affecting the microbial community structures directly or indirectly. Redundancy analysis and boosted regression tree analysis further highlighted the influences of soil pH and plant richness on microbial community compositions and diversity patterns. Taken together, these results suggest that the distribution pattern of soil microbial communities shows distinct changes along the latitudinal gradients in northeastern China and is predominantly mediated by soil pH and plant diversity.
Design of Boron Doped C2N-C3N Coplanar Conjugated Heterostructure for Efficient HER Electrocatalysis
Authors: Xu Weiwei , Chen Chongyang , Tang Chao , Li Youyong , Xu Lai 
Published: March 2018

AbstractHydrogen evolution reaction (HER) via the electrocatalytic reduction of water on metal-free catalysts may become a promising method for a sustainable energy supply in the future. However, compared with noble metals or transition metals, the carbon-based metal-free electrocatalysts show poor activity. Here, a novel coplanar metal-free catalyst (C2N-C3N) was designed for the first time to achieve better efficiency for electron transfer and water reduction. Through the DFT calculations, we discovered that the unique coplanar C2N-C3N structure can promote the directional transfer of electrons from C3N to C2N under the drive of built-in electric potential in the π-conjugated plane. To achieve higher performance in HER, the single atom doping by the substitution of boron is carried out. Remarkably, after the boron is doped, the barrier in the Tafel step decreases from 2.35 eV to 0.86 eV. Our results indicate that the novel B-doped coplanar C2N-C3N structure is a promising metal-free catalyst for HER.
In vivo study of non-invasive effects of non-thermal plasma in pressure ulcer treatment
Authors: Chatraie Maedeh , Torkaman Giti , Khani Mohammadreza , Salehi Hossein , Shokri Babak 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAccording to high incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers worldwide, the purpose of this study is using of non-thermal atmospheric plasma as a novel therapy for pressure ulcers. Cold plasma was produced by applying a high-voltage (5 kV) and high-frequency (25 kHz), to helium gas. Under general anesthesia and sterile conditions, two circular magnets were used to create pressure ulcers on the dorsal skin of adult rats. The wounds were divided randomly into control and plasma-treated groups. Animals in the plasma-treated group received plasma radiation for 5 days, each day 3 times and every time 60 s. Mechanical assays were performed to determine plasma effects on the mechanical strength of the repaired tissue. The results showed that mechanical strength of repaired wound in the plasma-treated group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, evidence from histological studies indicates a significantly accelerated wound re-epithelialization in comparison with the control group; angiogenesis and fibrosis (collagen synthesis) were also significantly increased and the inflammation phase of wound healing was shorter in the plasma-treated group. The plasma treatment also resulted in significant wound contraction and acceleration of wound healing. The findings of present study indicate the effects of cold plasma on pressure ulcer treatment.
Association between optical coherence tomography based retinal microvasculature characteristics and myocardial infarction in young men
Authors: Kromer Robert , Tigges Eike , Rashed Nargis , Pein Inga , Klemm Maren , Blankenberg Stefan 
Published: March 2018

AbstractIncident myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of adult mortality in the United States. However, because MI has a relatively low incidence in the young population, little information exists on the disease in younger adults. Because the retina has the unique quality that its vasculature is readily and noninvasively visible, the retina is frequently studied to evaluate correlations between vessels and cardiovascular diseases. In the current study, we evaluated the retinal microvasculature of patients who had experienced an MI before 50 years of age (n = 53 subjects) and age- and sex-matched patients who had not experienced an MI (n = 53 patients). We used circular optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans to image peripapillary venules and arterioles. The diameter of each vessel was measured and the respective arterial-venous ratio (AVR) was calculated. We did not detect any significant differences between MI and control subjects in retinal vessel calibre or AVR.
Internal biliary drainage superior to external biliary drainage in improving gut mucosa barrier because of goblet cells and mucin-2 up-regulation
Authors: Tang Xuechan , Ma Weiping , Zhan Weirong , Wang Xin , Dong Huan , Zhao Hongjing , Yang Lin , Ji Cuiying , Han Qing , Ji Chenguang , Liu Hongqun , Wang Na 
Published: March 2018

Backgroud: Obstructive jaundice increases intestinal permeability, but the pathological mechanisms remain obscure, which results in debates about the necessity of performing preoperative biliary drainage in patients with obstructive jaundice. Mucin-2 (MUC2) and goblet cells regulated by bile acids play an important role in maintaining the function of intestinal mucosal barrier. The present study was to investigate the role of goblet cells and MUC2 in obstructive jaundice and evaluate the effect of biliary drainage on intestinal permeability.
Study design: We enrolled patients with malignant biliary obstruction and controls. We also did animal studies with four groups of rats: sham operation, obstructive jaundice, internal biliary drainage, and external biliary drainage. Histopathological analysis, biochemical measurement, and electron microscopy examination were done on pertinent samples.
Results: Compared with the control group, the small intestinal mucosa was significantly damaged; goblet cells and MUC2 were significantly decreased and serum endotoxin level was significantly increased in patients and rats with obstructive jaundice. Biliary drainage, especially internal biliary drainage, significantly increased goblet cells and MUC2 and attenuated the damage of small intestinal mucosa.
Conclusions: In obstructive jaundice condition, goblet cells and MUC2 were reduced which were involved in the damage of intestinal mucosa barrier; biliary drainage increased goblet cells and MUC2, repaired mucosa layer and restored the intestinal mucosa barrier function.
Star-forming galaxies at low-redshift in the SHARDS survey
Authors: Lumbreras-Calle A. , Muñoz-Tuñón C. , Méndez-Abreu J. , Mas-Hesse J. M. , Pérez-González P. G. , Alcalde Pampliega B. , Arrabal Haro P. , Cava A. , Domínguez Sánchez H. , Eliche-Moral M. C. , Alonso-Herrero A. , Borlaff A. , Gallego J. , Hernán-Caballero A. , Koekemoer A. M. , Rodríguez-Muñoz L. 
Published: March 2018

Context. The physical processes driving the evolution of star formation (SF) in galaxies over cosmic time still present many open questions. Recent galaxy surveys allow now to study these processes in great detail at intermediate redshift (0 ≤ z ≤ 0.5).
Aims. We build a complete sample of star-forming galaxies and analyze their properties, reaching systems with low stellar masses and low star formation rates (SFRs) at intermediate-to-low redshift.
Methods. We use data from the SHARDS multiband survey in the GOODS-North field. Its depth (up to magnitude ⟨m3σ⟩~ 26.5) and its spectro-photometric resolution (R ~ 50) provides us with an ideal dataset to search for emission line galaxies (ELGs). We develop a new algorithm to identify low-redshift (z < 0.36) ELGs by detecting the [OIII]5007 and Hα emission lines simultaneously. We fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the selected sample, using a model with two single stellar populations.
Results. We find 160 star-forming galaxies for which we derive equivalent widths (EWs) and absolute fluxes of both emission lines. We detect EWs as low as 12 Å, with median values for the sample of ~35 Å in [OIII]5007 and ~56 Å in Hα, respectively. Results from the SED fitting show a young stellar population with low median metallicity (36% of the solar value) and extinction (AV ~ 0.37), with median galaxy stellar mass ~108.5 M⊙. Gas-phase metallicities measured from available spectra are also low. ELGs in our sample present bluer colours in the UVJ plane than the median colour-selected star-forming galaxy in SHARDS. We suggest a new V-J colour criterion to separate ELGs from non-ELGs in blue galaxy samples. In addition, several galaxies present high densities of O-type stars, possibly producing galactic superwinds, which makes them interesting targets for follow-up spectroscopy.
Conclusions. We have demonstrated the efficiency of SHARDS in detecting low-mass ELGs (~2 magnitudes deeper than previous spectroscopic surveys in the same field). The selected sample accounts for 20% of the global galaxy population at this redshift and luminosity, and is characterized by young SF bursts with sub-solar metallicities and low extinction. However, robust fits to the full SEDs can only be obtained including an old stellar population, suggesting the young component is built up by a recent burst of SF in an otherwise old galaxy.
Endoskopische Interventionen beim Lungenemphysem
Authors: Gompelmann Daniela 
Published: March 2018

ZusammenfassungDie endoskopische Lungenvolumenreduktion (ELVR) ist bei ausgewählten Patienten mit einem schwergradigen Lungenemphysem, die trotz Ausschöpfen der
leitliniengerechten konservativen Behandlung Symptome sowie eine erhebliche lungenfunktionelle Einschränkung aufweisen, eine additive Therapieoption. Die
Ventiltherapie, als einzige vollständig reversible Methode, führt bei Patienten mit fehlender interlobärer Kollateralventilation durch eine Atelektasenbildung
des emphysematös destruierten Lungenlappens zur Volumenreduktion. Bei den alternativen, nicht-blockierenden Techniken (Coil-Therapie, bronchoskopische
Thermoablation, polymerische Lungenvolumenreduktion), die hingegen unabhängig von der Kollateralventilation sind, wird eine Volumenreduktion durch Kompression
des Lungenparenchyms bzw. durch einen inflammatorischen Reiz induziert. Die derzeit verfügbare Datenlage ist für die endoskopische Ventiltherapie bereits
umfassend, während hingegen für die nicht-blockierenden Techniken weitere randomisierte Studien notwendig sind, um diese Verfahren mit hinreichender Evidenz zu
etablieren.
Development and validation of an automated algorithm to evaluate the abundance of bubbles in small bowel capsule endoscopy
Authors: Pietri Olivia , Rezgui Gada , Histace Aymeric , Camus Marine , Nion-Larmurier Isabelle , Li Cynthia , Becq Aymeric , Abou Ali Einas , Romain Olivier , Chaput Ulriikka , Marteau Philippe , Florent Christian , Dray Xavier 
Published: March 2018

Abstract
Background and study aims Bubbles can impair visualization of the small bowel (SB) mucosa during capsule endoscopy (CE). We aimed to develop and validate a computed algorithm that would allow evaluation of the abundance of bubbles in SB-CE still frames.
Patients and methods Two sets of 200 SB-CE normal still frames were created. Two experienced SB-CE readers analyzed both sets of images twice, in a random order. Each still frame was categorized as presenting with < 10 % or ≥ 10 % of bubbles. Reproducibility (κ), sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), receiver operating characteristic curve, and calculation time were measured for different algorithms (Grey-level of co-occurrence matrix [GLCM], fractal dimension, Hough transform, and speeded-up robust features [SURF]) using the experts’ analysis as reference. Algorithms with highest reproducibility, Se and Sp were then selected for a validation step on the second set of frames. Criteria for validation were κ = 1, Se ≥ 90 %, Sp ≥ 85 %, and a calculation time < 1 second.
Results Both SURF and GLCM algorithms had high operating points (Se and Sp over 90 %) and a perfect reproducibility (κ = 1). The validation step showed the GLCM detector strategy had the best diagnostic performances, with a Se of 95.79 %, a Sp of 95.19 %, and a calculation time of 0.037 seconds per frame.
Conclusion A computed algorithm based on a GLCM detector strategy had high diagnostic performance allowing assessment of the abundance of bubbles in SB-CE still frames. This algorithm could be of interest for clinical use (quality reporting) and for research purposes (objective comparison tool of different preparations).