bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On‐Command Regulation of Kinase Activity using Photonic Stimuli
Authors: Fleming Cassandra L. , Grøtli Morten , Andréasson Joakim 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe underlying role that many kinases play in complex cellular pathways as well as disease remains unclear. To better understand the role that kinases play in both health and disease states, the use of light as an external stimulus to modulate kinase activity with high spatiotemporal resolution has gained increasing interest over the years. Herein we highlight the progress made towards the development of light‐responsive kinase enzymes and small molecule inhibitors. In these examples, photolabile caging groups and photoswitchable entities have been utilised to modulate either kinase activation or inhibition in a light‐controlled manner.
Characterization of Xenopus laevis guanine deaminase reveals new insights for its expression and function in the embryonic kidney
Authors: Slater Paula G. , Cammarata Garrett M. , Monahan Connor , Bowers Jackson T. , Yan Oliver , Lee Sangmook , Lowery Laura Anne 
Published: January 2019

BackgroundThe mammalian guanine deaminase (GDA), called cypin, is important for proper neural development, by regulating dendritic arborization through modulation of microtubule (MT) dynamics. Additionally, cypin can promote MT assembly in vitro. However, it has never been tested whether cypin (or other GDA orthologs) binds to MTs or modulates MT dynamics. Here, we address these questions and characterize Xenopus laevis GDA (Gda) for the first time during embryonic development.ResultsWe find that exogenously expressed human cypin and Gda both display a cytosolic distribution in primary embryonic cells. Furthermore, while expression of human cypin can promote MT polymerization, Xenopus Gda has no effect. Additionally, we find that the tubulin‐binding collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP) homology domain is only partially conserved between cypin and Gda. This likely explains the divergence in function, as we discovered that the cypin region containing the CRMP homology and PDZ‐binding domain is necessary for regulating MT dynamics. Finally, we observed that gda is strongly expressed in the kidneys during late embryonic development, although it does not appear to be critical for kidney development.ConclusionsTogether, these results suggest that GDA has diverged in function between mammals and amphibians, and that mammalian GDA plays an indirect role in regulating MT dynamics. Developmental Dynamics 248:296–305, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
(Meta)population dynamics determine effective spatial distributions of mosquito‐borne disease control
Authors: Schwab Samantha R. , Stone Chris M. , Fonseca Dina M. , Fefferman Nina H. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractRecent epidemics of mosquito‐borne dengue and Zika viruses demonstrate the urgent need for effective measures to control these diseases. The best method currently available to prevent or reduce the size of outbreaks is to reduce the abundance of their mosquito vectors, but there is little consensus on which mechanisms of control are most effective, or when and where they should be implemented. Although the optimal methods are likely context dependent, broadly applicable strategies for mosquito control, such as how to distribute limited resources across a landscape in times of high epidemic risk, can mitigate (re)emerging outbreaks. We used mathematical simulations to examine how the spatial distribution of larval mosquito control affects the size of disease outbreaks, and how mosquito metapopulation dynamics and demography might impact the efficacy of different spatial distributions of control. We found that the birth rate and mechanism of density‐dependent regulation of mosquito populations affected the average outbreak size across all control distributions. These factors also determined whether control distributions favoring the interior or the edges of the landscape most effectively reduced human infections. Thus, understanding local mosquito population regulation and dispersion can lead to more effective control strategies.
A multilocus phylogeny of the fish genus Poeciliopsis: Solving taxonomic uncertainties and preliminary evidence of reticulation
Authors: Mateos Mariana , Domínguez‐Domínguez Omar , Varela‐Romero Alejandro 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe fish genus Poeciliopsis constitutes a valuable research system for evolutionary ecology, whose phylogenetic relationships have not been fully elucidated. We conducted a multilocus phylogenetic study of the genus based on seven nuclear and two mitochondrial loci with a thorough set of analytical approaches, that is, concatenated (also known as super‐matrix), species trees, and phylogenetic networks. Although several relationships remain unresolved, the overall results uncovered phylogenetic affinities among several members of this genus. A population previously considered of undetermined taxonomic status could be unequivocally assigned to P. scarlli; revealing a relatively recent dispersal event across the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) or Pacific Ocean, which constitute a strong barrier to north–south dispersal of many terrestrial and freshwater taxa. The closest relatives of P. balsas, a species distributed south of the TMVB, are distributed in the north; representing an additional north–south split in the genus. An undescribed species of Poeciliopsis, with a highly restricted distribution (i.e., a short stretch of the Rio Concepcion; just south of the US‐Mexico border), falls within the Leptorhaphis species complex. Our results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that this species originated by “breakdown” of an asexual hybrid lineage. On the other hand, network analyses suggest one or more possible cases of reticulation within the genus that require further evaluation with genome‐wide marker representation and additional analytical tools. The most strongly supported case of reticulation occurred within the subgenus Aulophallus (restricted to Central America), and implies a hybrid origin for P. retropinna (i.e., between P. paucimaculata and P. elongata). We consider that P. balsas and P. new species are of conservation concern.
Life in a northern town: rural villages in the boreal forest are islands of habitat for an endangered bat
Authors: Thomas Julie P. , Jung Thomas S. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractUrban development is detrimental to many wildlife species; however, endangered little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) may be attracted to human settlements, making them a synurbic species. Buildings likely provide high‐quality roosting habitat, which may be a limiting factor in the boreal forest where trees are typically small and potentially unsuitable for hosting large maternity colonies. In the boreal forest, there are relatively few urban developments in a matrix of wilderness and apparently suboptimal natural roosting habitat; thus, we hypothesized that isolated rural villages were islands of summer habitat for little brown bats that may be important for their conservation and recovery. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship between little brown bat activity, foraging rates, and proximity to rural villages. We expected bat activity and foraging rates to increase with proximity to villages, as bats should optimally forage near their roosts to minimize flight costs. We used ultrasonic detectors to passively monitor bat activity near three rural villages in Yukon, Canada, and characterized bat habitat with forest measurements and remotely sensed data. Bat activity increased with proximity to village centers, but foraging activity did not, suggesting that human settlements in the boreal forest were important as roosting rather than foraging habitat. Bat activity was higher near water bodies and areas with relatively high densities of linear features (e.g., roads and transmission lines), perhaps because prey were most abundant near water features and along forest edges. The island phenomenon we observed (i.e., higher bat activity near villages) has also been documented in larger human settlements at lower latitudes, where urban areas provided better roosting habitat than surrounding agricultural matrices. Given that little brown bats were concentrated near rural villages, small human settlements should be a focus of conservation efforts in the boreal forest—particularly the identification and protection of buildings used as maternity colonies. Our study advances knowledge of little brown bat habitat requirements in the boreal forest and identifies habitats that may be important for their recovery.
Soluble neprilysin does not correlate with prognosis in pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Yoshihisa Akiomi , Yokokawa Tetsuro , Misaka Tomofumi , Oikawa Masayoshi , Kobayashi Atsushi , Yamaki Takayoshi , Sugimoto Koichi , Kunii Hiroyuki , Nakazato Kazuhiko , Takeishi Yasuchika 
Published: January 2019

AbstractAimsIt has been reported that circulating soluble neprilysin (sNEP), which catalyses the degradation of several vasodilator peptides such as natriuretic peptides, predicts prognosis in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction. Hypoxia‐induced decrease in NEP expression in lungs has been reported. However, the associations between sNEP and haemodynamic parameters, as well as the prognostic impact of sNEP in pulmonary hypertension (PH), remain unclear. We aimed to clarify the relationships between sNEP and natriuretic peptide, haemodynamics (e.g. parameters of echocardiography and right heart catheter) or prognosis in PH patients.Methods and resultsFirst, we examined the associations between sNEP levels and natriuretic peptide, echocardiography, or right heart catheter in PH patients (mean pulmonary artery pressure ≥ 25 mmHg and pulmonary artery wedge pressure ≤ 15 mm Hg on the basis of right heart catheterization, n = 79). Next, we followed up the patients for all‐cause mortality. Laboratory data revealed no significant correlations between sNEP and B‐type natriuretic peptide (R = 0.022, P = 0.872), N‐terminal proBNP (R = −0.018, P = 0.872), and high‐sensitivity troponin I (R = 0.206, P = 0.107). Regarding the parameters of echocardiography and right heart catheter, there were no significant correlations between sNEP and left ventricular ejection fraction (R = −0.036, P = 0.764), right ventricular fractional area change (R = −0.259, P = 0.064), tricuspid valve pressure gradient (R = −0.037, P = 0.767), and any of the right heart catheter parameters. In the Kaplan–Meier analysis (mean follow‐up, 1284 days, log‐rank P = 0.531), all‐cause mortality rates were comparable between the higher NEP group (sNEP ≥ median levels of 1.45 ng/mL, n = 39) and the lower NEP group (sNEP < 1.45 ng/mL, n = 40). In the Cox proportional hazard analysis, sNEP was not a predictor of all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio 0.902, 95% CI 0.674–1.207, P = 0.487) in PH patients.ConclusionsCirculating sNEP does not correlate with natriuretic peptide, haemodynamic parameters, or prognosis in patients with PH.
Boric Acid–Catalyzed Hard Carbon Microfiber Derived from Cotton as a High‐Performance Anode for Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Tan Muchu , Zhang Weihua , Fan Changling , Li Lingfang , Chen Han , Li Rong , Luo Ting , Han Shaochang 
Published: January 2019

The catalysis role of boric acid at 800 °C is investigated in the synthesis of hard carbon from cotton. X‐ray diffraction analysis shows that d002 decreases and the size of the carbon crystal increases, which can only be realized at a higher temperature. Boron atoms are mainly combined on the surface layer of the particle. The specific capacity of the sample with B:C = 2.5 at 30, 1500 mA g−1 increases from 381.0 and 149.7 mAh g−1 (B:C = 0) to 526.8 and 196.6 mAh g−1, respectively. It is attributed not only to the plateau around 0.1 V, which results from the intercalation mechanism between graphite layers, but also to the storage mechanism of micropores. The capacity retention in the 200th cycle at 300 mA g−1 is improved from 88.5% to 94.1%. Therefore, the carbonization process of cotton is accelerated, and the catalysis function of boric acid proves to be workable. These improvements are partially resulting from the enlargement and regular stacking of carbon layers, which can accommodate more lithium ions. As boron atoms can occupy the defect vacancy points and order, large carbon layers are formed because of the electron deficiency property and fast transfer speed of boron atoms.
Joint relay selection and max‐min energy‐efficient power allocation in downlink multicell NOMA networks: A matching‐theoretic approach
Authors: Baidas Mohammed W. , Bahbahani Zainab , El‐Sharkawi Nancy , Shehada Halah , Alsusa Emad 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIn this paper, the problem of joint relay selection and max‐min energy‐efficient power allocation (J‐RS‐MMEE‐PA) in downlink multicell nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) networks is studied. In particular, the goal is to perform relay selection for each cellular user within each cell, so as to achieve max‐min energy efficiency while satisfying quality‐of‐service (QoS) constraints. However, the formulated J‐RS‐MMEE‐PA problem happens to be nonconvex (ie, computationally intensive). In turn, a solution procedure for max‐min energy‐efficient power allocation is devised to determine the energy efficiency of each user per potential relay while meeting the target minimum rate per user. After that, the relay selection problem is modeled as a student‐project allocation with preferences over projects matching problem. A polynomial‐time complexity stable matching (SM) algorithm is proposed, which takes into account the maximum number of users that can select a relay as well as the number of users that can be associated with a base station. However, the proposed SM algorithm can only guarantee an SM size that is at least half the size of the maximum “optimal” cardinality SM. Thus, the improved SM (I‐SM) algorithm with polynomial‐time complexity is devised, so as to guarantee an SM size that is at least two‐thirds of that of the optimal matching. Lastly, simulation results are presented to compare the proposed matching algorithms to the J‐RS‐MMEE‐PA scheme, where it has been shown that the I‐SM algorithm is superior to its SM counterpart and yields comparable energy efficiency per cellular user to the J‐RS‐MMEE‐PA scheme while satisfying QoS constraints.
An evolutionary compass for detecting signals of polygenic selection and mutational bias
Authors: Uricchio Lawrence H. , Kitano Hugo C. , Gusev Alexander , Zaitlen Noah A. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractSelection and mutation shape the genetic variation underlying human traits, but the specific evolutionary mechanisms driving complex trait variation are largely unknown. We developed a statistical method that uses polarized genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from a single population to detect signals of mutational bias and selection. We found evidence for nonneutral signals on variation underlying several traits (body mass index [BMI], schizophrenia, Crohn's disease, educational attainment, and height). We then used simulations that incorporate simultaneous negative and positive selection to show that these signals are consistent with mutational bias and shifts in the fitness-phenotype relationship, but not stabilizing selection or mutational bias alone. We additionally replicate two of our top three signals (BMI and educational attainment) in an external cohort, and show that population stratification may have confounded GWAS summary statistics for height in the GIANT cohort. Our results provide a flexible and powerful framework for evolutionary analysis of complex phenotypes in humans and other species, and offer insights into the evolutionary mechanisms driving variation in human polygenic traits.
Fruit and vegetable consumption, leisure‐time physical activity, and sedentary behavior among children and adolescent students in Uganda
Authors: Ndagire Catherine T. , Muyonga John H. , Nakimbugwe Dorothy 
Published: January 2019

AbstractIntroductionFruit and vegetable (FV) intake and participation in leisure‐time physical activity (PA) and in sedentary behavior in accordance with the recommendations are met in a minority of populations including children and adolescents.ObjectiveTo describe the frequency of FV intake, leisure‐time PA, and sedentary behavior, assess compliance with international recommendations, and how selected factors are associated with these recommendations.MethodsThe FV consumption and PA questionnaire items previously assessed for reliability in a Ugandan setting were used to gather information about FV consumption, PA, and sedentary behavior among 621 children and adolescents attending schools in Kampala Uganda. The results of FV consumption and PA were categorized as adequate or inadequate while sedentary behavior was categorized as adequate or excess. The relationship between FV consumption, PA, and sedentary behavior with selected independent variables was verified by chi‐square test statistic.ResultsHalf of the participants (50%) reported inadequate fruit consumption, and 76% of them reported inadequate vegetable consumption. More children (68%) than young adolescents (52%) and older adolescents (44%) met their daily recommendation for fruit consumption. A similar trend was observed for vegetable consumption. Adequacy of FV intake was significantly associated with participant's age, level of education, school ownership, and type of school. Less of 8‐ to 17‐year‐olds (14%) than 18 years and above olds (41%) met their weekly recommendation for leisure‐time PA. Majority of participants (54%) participated in acceptable levels of sedentary behaviors. Leisure‐time PA was significantly associated with age category and school ownership while sedentary behavior was significantly associated with participant's age and education level.ConclusionsThe intake of FV and participation in leisure‐time PA was not adequate in the study population. A significant proportion of participants engaged in excess sedentary behavior. Developing and implementing strategies to increase FV intake and PA among children and adolescents in schools should be a national priority.
Changes in lipids distribution and fatty acid composition during soy sauce production
Authors: Zou Mouyong , Zhu Xingui , Li Xuewei , Zeng Xiaobo 
Published: January 2019

AbstractDistribution of lipids morphology and evolution of lipids during soy sauce production were studied. It was found that oil bodies fused and migrated to the outside of soybean cells after steamed, and further fused to cystidiums. And the model of soybean lipids distribution in soy sauce production was presented. Acid value increased to 34.4 mg KOH/g after koji fermentation, and it gradually decreased in the following fermentation. Linoleic acid (C18:2) decreased from 59.35% to 47.75% after 30 days of moromi fermentation. The contents of fatty acids from neutral lipids and free fatty acids increased to 20.98 and 13.47 mg/g, respectively, after moromi fermentation. Fatty acid of phospholipids increased to 8.34 mg/g during koji fermentation and reduced in the prior phase of moromi fermentation. The lipids model and analysis provide new insights into improving aroma of soy sauce and extraction lipids from soy sauce residue.
Optimization on production of konjac oligo‐glucomannan and their effect on the gut microbiota
Authors: Ariestanti Catarina Aprilia , Seechamnanturakit Vatcharee , Harmayani Eni , Wichienchot Santad 
Published: January 2019

AbstractKonjac glucomannan (KGM) is a polysaccharide extracted from Amorphophallus konjac, and its degradation product is konjac oligo‐glucomannan (KOG). The aim of this study was to produce KOG from KGM and to evaluate its effect on the gut microbiota in fecal batch culture. KOG was produced by enzymatic hydrolysis using β‐mannanase. The optimum conditions were as follows: reaction temperature of 48°C, reaction time of 4 hr, pH of 5.5 and E/S of 0.05% followed by purification step using 3,000 NMWC ultrafiltration (UF) membrane pore size. The effect of KOG on changes in human fecal bacterial populations and short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production was evaluated. The results showed that low‐molecular weight KOG (LKOG) from purification step with concentration of 9.54 mg/ml, and a prebiotic index (PI) of 0.76 was successfully produced. LKOG can enhance the production of butyric acid in the colon with the highest concentration (8.24 mM) found at 72 hr fermentation.
Perceptions regarding vasopressin use and practices in septic shock, and cost containment strategies
Authors: Hammond Drayton A. , Rech Megan A. , Daley Mitchell J. , Devlin John W. , Hodge Emily K. , Kooda Kirstin J. , Lat Ishaq , Personett Heather A. , Roberts Russel , Sacha Gretchen , Stollings Joanna L. , Swanson Joseph M. , Bauer Seth R. 
Published: January 2019

BackgroundClinician preferences and practices regarding appropriate vasopressin use in light of its increased acquisition cost secondary to rebranding has not been evaluated or described since the most recent iteration of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guideline was published.ObjectiveTo assess vasopressin cost containment initiatives and pharmacists' opinions regarding appropriate vasopressin use.MethodsA scenario‐based survey was distributed to critical care and emergency medicine pharmacists. Responses were characterized using frequency and descriptive statistics. Categorical variables between those who implemented changes (Vasopressin Cost Consideration) and those who did not (Usual Care) were compared using chi‐square or Fisher's exact tests. McNemar's test was used to compare responses in clinical scenarios between Vasopressin Cost Consideration and Usual Care groups.ResultsAmong 1757 pharmacists surveyed, 200 (11.3%) responded. When respondents considered vasopressin cost and evidence (vs evidence alone), fewer respondents would use vasopressin adjunctively with norepinephrine (21% vs 26.6%, P = 0.031), to raise mean arterial pressure compared with epinephrine (65.2% vs 72.3%, P = 0.012), or to reduce norepinephrine infusion rates (71.4% vs 81.4%, P < 0.001), but would use with steroids (62.4% vs 28.3%, P < 0.001). Most (72%) respondents had implemented vasopressin cost containment and/or education initiatives. The Vasopressin Cost Consideration group respondents were more likely to initiate vasopressin at 0.03 units/minute without titrating (47.9% vs 33.9%, P = 0.045).ConclusionSince vasopressin was generically rebranded, most institutions have implemented at least one initiative to reduce vasopressin use and/or educate clinicians about its appropriate use. When vasopressin acquisition costs were considered, pharmacists recommended its use less frequently, particularly in clinical scenarios where its use is controversial.