bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bacterial communities associated with honeybee food stores are correlated with land use
Authors: Donkersley Philip , Rhodes Glenn , Pickup Roger W. , Jones Kevin C. , Wilson Kenneth 
Published: April 2018

AbstractMicrobial communities, associated with almost all metazoans, can be inherited from the environment. Although the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) gut microbiome is well documented, studies of the gut focus on just a small component of the bee microbiome. Other key areas such as the comb, propolis, honey, and stored pollen (bee bread) are poorly understood. Furthermore, little is known about the relationship between the pollinator microbiome and its environment. Here we present a study of the bee bread microbiome and its relationship with land use. We estimated bacterial community composition using both Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Illumina was used to gain a deeper understanding of precise species diversity across samples. DGGE was used on a larger number of samples where the costs of MiSeq had become prohibitive and therefore allowed us to study a greater number of bee breads across broader geographical axes. The former demonstrates bee bread comprises, on average, 13 distinct bacterial phyla; Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Alpha‐proteobacteria, Beta‐proteobacteria, and Gamma‐proteobacteria were the five most abundant. The most common genera were Pseudomonas, Arsenophonus, Lactobacillus, Erwinia, and Acinetobacter. DGGE data show bacterial community composition and diversity varied spatially and temporally both within and between hives. Land use data were obtained from the 2007 Countryside Survey. Certain habitats, such as improved grasslands, are associated with low diversity bee breads, meaning that these environments may be poor sources of bee‐associated bacteria. Decreased bee bread bacterial diversity may result in reduced function within hives. Although the dispersal of microbes is ubiquitous, this study has demonstrated landscape‐level effects on microbial community composition.
Short‐term response of a declining woodland bird assemblage to the removal of a despotic competitor
Authors: Davitt Galen , Maute Kimberly , Major Richard E. , McDonald Paul G. , Maron Martine 
Published: April 2018

AbstractInterspecific aggression by the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly despotic species, is homogenizing woodland avifaunas across eastern Australia. Although a native species, the noisy miner's aggressive exclusion of small birds is a Key Threatening Process under national law. Large‐scale removal of noisy miners has been proposed as a management response to this threat following increases in miner presence due to anthropogenic land use practices. We tested this proposal by experimentally removing noisy miners from eucalypt woodland remnants (16–49 ha), assigned randomly as control (n = 12) or treatment (miner removal) sites (n = 12). Standardized bird surveys were conducted before and after removal, and generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the effect of miner removal on bird assemblage metrics. Despite removing 3552 noisy miners in three sessions of systematic shooting, densities of noisy miners remained similarly high in treatment and control sites, even just 14 days after their removal. However, there was evidence of an increase in richness and abundance of small birds in treatment sites compared to controls—an effect we only expected to see if noisy miner densities were drastically reduced. We suggest that miner removal may have reduced the ability of the recolonizing miners to aggressively exclude small birds, even without substantially reducing miner densities, due to the breakdown of social structures that are central to the species' despotic behaviour. However, this effect on small birds is unlikely to persist in the long term. Synthesis and applications: Despite evidence from other studies that direct removal of noisy miners can result in rapid and sustained conservation benefit for bird communities at small scales, our findings cast doubt on the potential to scale‐up this management approach. The circumstances under which direct control of noisy miners can be achieved remain unresolved.
Stability of two layers dielectric‐electrolyte microflow subjected to an alternating external electric field
Authors: Demekhin Evgeny A. , Ganchenko Georgy S. , Gorbacheva Ekaterina V. , Amiroudine Sakir 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe stability of the electroosmotic flow of the two‐phase system electrolyte‐dielectric with a free interface in the microchannel under an external electric field is examined theoretically. The mathematical model includes the Nernst–Plank equations for the ion concentrations. The linear stability of the 1D nonstationary solution with respect to the small, periodic perturbations along the channel, is studied. Two types of instability have been highlighted. The first is known as the long‐wave instability and is connected with the distortion of the free charge on the interface. In the long‐wave area, the results are in good agreement with the ones obtained theoretically and experimentally in the literature. The second type of instability is a short‐wave and mostly connected with the disturbance of the electrolyte conductivity. The short‐wave type of instability has not been found previously in the literature and constitutes the basis and the strength of the present work. It is revealed that with the increase of the external electric field frequency, the 1D flow is stabilized. The dependence of the flow on the other parameters of the system is qualitatively the same as for the constant electric field.
Overview of recent advances in phosphorus recovery for fertilizer production
Authors: Günther Susanne , Grunert Michael , Müller Susann 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis Mini Review gives an overview of and respective references for the current situation regarding global phosphorus reserves and the legal situation for P recovery using Germany as the model. Apart from the well‐known pilot up to industrial/full scale recovery techniques, emerging chemical and bio‐based P recovery techniques are named without claiming to be all‐encompassing. Special attention is paid to the biological systems for P recovery that reveal ways for use of renewable resources as raw materials. A few chemically based recovery techniques like AirPrex®, (Ostara)PEARL™, AshDec®, and RecoPhos® have already been used to recover P at a rate and quality which allows for its sale as a fertilizer. Many chemically based processes are at the stage of investigation on a pilot or laboratory scale, e.g. P‐RoC, LeachPhos, and Mephrec®. All of the biologically based technologies like P‐Bac are still at an early stage of research and show promising results. Of all recovered materials struvite, calcium phosphate and biological bound phosphorous seem to have the best plant availability. Although there is no ultimate “one fits all” technology, potential P‐recovery plant operators can choose from a wide range of techniques which will best fit local raw material availability, economic and ecological situation.
Bioaugmentation of anaerobic digesters treating lignocellulosic feedstock by enriched microbial consortia
Authors: Ozbayram Emine Gozde , Kleinsteuber Sabine , Nikolausz Marcell , Ince Bahar , Ince Orhan 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThree different bioaugmentation cultures enriched from natural and engineered cellulolytic environments (cow and goat rumen, a biogas reactor digesting sorghum biomass) were compared for their enhancement potential on the anaerobic digestion of wheat straw. Methane yields were determined in batch tests using the Automatic Methane Potential Test System operated for 30 days under mesophilic conditions. All cultures had positive effects on substrate degradation, and higher methane yields were observed in the bioaugmented reactors compared to control reactors set up with standard inoculum. However, the level of enhancement differed according to the type of the enrichment culture. Methane yield in batch reactors augmented with 2% cow rumen derived enrichment culture was increased by only 6%. In contrast, reactors amended with 2% goat rumen derived enrichment culture or with the bioaugmentation culture obtained from the biogas reactor digesting sorghum biomass produced 27 and 20% more methane, respectively. The highest methane yield was recorded in reactors amended with 6% goat rumen derived enrichment culture, which represented an increase by 36%. The microbial communities were quite similar at the end of the batch tests independently of the bioaugmentation sources, indicating that the introduced microbial communities of the enrichment cultures did not dominate the reactors.
Preliminary report: Late seizure recurrence years after epilepsy surgery may be associated with alterations in brain tissue transcriptome
Authors: Jehi Lara , Yehia Lamis , Peterson Charissa , Niazi Farshad , Busch Robyn , Prayson Richard , Ying Zhong , Bingaman William , Najm Imad , Eng Charis 
Published: April 2018

SummaryWe recently proposed that the maturation of a new epileptic focus (epileptogenesis) may explain late seizure recurrences, starting months to years after resective epilepsy surgery. We explore here the hypothesis that inherent transcriptomic changes may distinguish such “late relapsers.” An in‐depth clinical review of 2 patients with recurrent seizures starting years after surgery is contrasted to 4 controls who remained seizure‐free postoperatively. This clinical analysis is combined with RNA sequencing from the resected brain tissue, followed by unsupervised hierarchical clustering, independent pathway analysis, and multidimensional scaling analysis. Late‐recurrence patients clustered apart from seizure‐free patients, with late recurrence patients clustering together in the central space, whereas the seizure‐free patients clustered together in the periphery. We utilized RNA‐seq to identify differentially expressed genes between late‐recurrence and seizure‐free samples. We found 29 annotated genes with statistically significant differential expression (q < 0.05). The top canonical pathways identified as distinctly separating the late‐recurrence patients from the seizure‐free patients included the intrinsic prothrombin activation pathway (p = 1.55E‐06), the complement system (p = 4.57E‐05), and the atherosclerosis signaling pathway (p = 4.57E‐05). Our observations suggest that late recurrences after epilepsy surgery may be influenced partly by differences in gene expression in neuroinflammatory and brain healing/remodeling pathways. Such a hypothesis needs to be validated in the future.
Investigation of antioxidant activities of Pleurotus ostreatus stored at different temperatures
Authors: Bakir Temelkan , Karadeniz Mertcan , Unal Sabri 
Published: April 2018

AbstractIn this study, the antioxidant capacity of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) stored in five different temperature environments was investigated by DPPH (1,1 diphenyl‐2‐picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging method. The antioxidant capacity results of oyster mushroom extracts were examined by spectroscopic measurements and expressed as percent of inhibition. The IC50 values of mushroom samples were calculated with DPPH method using calibration equations, and change in antioxidant properties was also tried to decipher by SEM images. The IC50 values of Pleurotus ostreatus for four different concentrations were also found in h+20°C > inh+4°C> inh−10°C> inh−20°C> inh−40°C, respectively. As a conclusion, the temperature factor of oyster mushroom in the range of −40°C to +20°C storage conditions is directly proportional to the change of antioxidant properties. The results have shown the importance of logistics and storage conditions in preserving the antioxidant properties of oyster mushroom and similar food samples.
Stability of Golden redfish (Sebastes marinus) during frozen storage as affected by raw material freshness and season of capture
Authors: Dang Huong Thi Thu , Gudjonsdóttir María , Karlsdóttir Magnea G. , Van Nguyen Minh , Tómasson Tumi , Arason Sigurjon 
Published: April 2018

AbstractPhysicochemical changes of Icelandic golden redfish (Sebastes marinus) as affected by seasonal variation (June and November) and raw material freshness (processed 4 and 9 days postcatch) during frozen storage (at −25°C for 20 months) were studied to find optimal conditions for production of high‐quality frozen products. Thawing loss, cooking yield, and color of the fillets as well as chemical composition, water holding capacity, pH, total volatile basic nitrogen, lipid oxidation, and hydrolysis of the light and dark muscle were analyzed every 4 months of frozen storage. Lipid hydrolysis was the main degradation process in the light muscle, while the dark muscle was more affected by lipid oxidation. Fish caught in November showed greater instability in the analyzed parameters during storage than fish caught in June, which could be linked to differences in individual poly unsaturated fatty acids between the two seasons. The quality attributes of fish processed on day 9 were similar to fish processed 4 days postcatch, except slightly higher thawing loss and yellowness, were observed in fish processed 9 days postcatch. Stability of golden redfish through frozen storage was higher in the fish caught in June than in November.
The role of psychic distance in entry mode decisions: Magnifying the threat of opportunism or increasing the need for local knowledge?
Authors: Dow Douglas , Baack Daniel , Parente Ronaldo 
Published: April 2018

Research Summary: With respect to entry mode decisions, psychic distance may play two contradictory roles. On one hand, the transaction cost perspective is concerned with opportunism. Psychic distance magnifies the threat of opportunism, which encourages higher levels of control by foreign firms. Conversely, the new internalization perspective emphasizes the role of complementary assets controlled by local entities. Distance increases the need to access local knowledge, which encourages firms to seek joint ventures. By adopting an experimental approach and measuring managers' a priori perceptions of distance, this article contributes to the literature by providing a more sophisticated approach for discriminating between these effects. The results indicate that distance magnifies the need for firms to access complementary assets; however, distance does not appear to magnify the threat of opportunism.
Managerial Summary: This article explores the role that psychic distance (i.e., differences across countries in culture, language, religion, etc.) plays in how firms enter foreign markets. Specifically, do they prefer wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS) or do they prefer to form joint ventures (JV) with local players? One perspective argues that firms are concerned about potential partners in a foreign market taking advantage of them; thus, they will prefer the greater control a WOS offers. Conversely, firms may simply recognize that these differences put them at a disadvantage and prefer a JV as a way to gain local knowledge. Our experiments indicate that the latter explanation dominates. When entering very different countries, managers seem to prefer JVs in order to access key local knowledge.
Embryo–fetal toxicity assessment of vonoprazan in rats and rabbits
Authors: Li Tianyi , Qiao Hongqun , Yue Peng , Cai Ming , He Xuejun 
Published: April 2018

AbstractVonoprazan is a new potassium‐competitive acid blocker to treat acid‐related diseases. However, its safety during pregnancy is unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential reproductive toxicity on the embryo–fetal development of vonoprazan. Vonoprazan acetate was administered by intravenous injection to pregnant rats (0, 2, 6 and 20 mg kg–1 day–1) and rabbits (0, 1.2, 3.6 and 12 mg kg–1 day–1) during the organogenetic period (gestation day 6–15 [rats] and 6–18 [rabbits]). Maternal reproductive endpoints were evaluated, together with effects on fetal growth and morphological development. In rats, no treatment‐related effects were found in the highest dose group (20 mg kg–1) and the maternal plasma exposure was ≥50‐fold the expected clinical human exposure. However, in rabbits, dose‐related clinical signs (soft or liquid feces) occurred in the 12 mg kg–1 group, which was regarded as a maternal toxicity. Besides, decreased maternal weight gain also was considered as a minimal maternal toxicity. At 12 mg kg–1, delayed fetal ossification was found as evidence of embryo–fetal growth retardation, which was related to decreased fetal and placental weights. There was no maternal and developmental toxicity in the 1.2 and 3.6 mg kg–1 groups. Thus, the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect levels of vonoprazan acetate in rabbits are considered 3.6 mg kg–1 day–1, which produced plasma exposure that was about 18‐fold human clinical exposure.
Encapsulated oligodendrocyte precursor cell fate is dependent on PDGF‐AA release kinetics in a 3D microparticle‐hydrogel drug delivery system
Authors: Pinezich Meghan R. , Russell Lauren N. , Murphy Nicholas P. , Lampe Kyle J. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBiomaterial drug delivery systems (DDS) can be used to regulate growth factor release and combat the limited intrinsic regeneration capabilities of central nervous system (CNS) tissue following injury and disease. Of particular interest are systems that aid in oligodendrocyte regeneration, as oligodendrocytes generate myelin which surrounds neuronal axons and helps transmit signals throughout the CNS. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are found in small numbers in the adult CNS, but are unable to effectively differentiate following CNS injury. Delivery of signaling molecules can initiate a favorable OPC response, such as proliferation or differentiation. Here, we investigate the delivery of one such molecule, platelet derived growth factor‐AA (PDGF‐AA), from poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic) acid microparticles to OPCs in a 3D polyethylene glycol‐based hydrogel. The goal of this DDS was to better understand the relationship between PDGF‐AA release kinetics and OPC fate. The system approximates native brain tissue stiffness, while incorporating PDGF‐AA under seven different delivery scenarios. Within this DDS, supply of PDGF‐AA followed by PDGF‐AA withdrawal caused OPCs to upregulate gene expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) by factors of 1.6–9.2, whereas continuous supply of PDGF‐AA caused OPCs to remain proliferative. At the protein expression level, we observed an upregulation in O1, a marker for mature oligodendrocytes. Together, these results show that burst release followed by withdrawal of PDGF‐AA from a hydrogel DDS stimulates survival, proliferation, and differentiation of OPCsin vitro. Our results could inform the development of improved neural regeneration strategies that incorporate delivery of PDGF‐AA to the injured CNS. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A:2402–2411, 2018.
Highly efficient extracellular expression of naturally cytoplasmic Leuconostoc mesenteroides sucrose phosphorylase
Authors: Su Lingqia , Wang Tian , Yu Lingang , Wu Jing 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBACKGROUNDWe previously showed that extracellular production of naturally cytoplasmic proteins could be realized through co‐expression with phospholipase C (PLC), which enhances cell membrane permeability through limited hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids. Leuconostoc mesenteroides sucrose phosphorylase (SPLc), a naturally cytoplasmic enzyme, exhibits excellent properties for synthesis of α‐arbutin, but no systemic investigation of its preparation has thus far been reported.RESULTSThree PLCs were selected and expressed, without signal peptide, in Escherichia coli. More than 90% of the PLCs from Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus were present in the culture medium. When SPLc was co‐expressed with these PLCs, and the location of the PLC and SPLc genes in the co‐expression vector was optimized, the highest production was obtained when SPLc gene was inserted upstream of the B. cereus PLC gene, as in BL21(DE3)/pETDuet‐sp‐bcplc. SPLc production was then scaled up to a 3 L fermenter and fermentation conditions were optimized. When the initial medium contained 0.6 mmol L−1 ZnCl2 and protein expression was induced at a dry cell weight of 15 g L−1 by the addition of lactose at 0.2 g L−1 h−1 at 30 °C, the extracellular SPLc activity reached its highest level of 1445.1 U mL−1 This constituted 81.6% of total activity; the remainder of the enzyme (18.4%) remained inside the cells.CONCLUSIONThis is the first report describing extracellular expression of sucrose phosphorylase, and the highest yield ever reported was obtained. This provides the basis for industrial‐scale production and application of sucrose phosphorylase. It also provides a potential method for improving the production of other proteins and fine chemicals. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
Design, Synthesis and In Vitro Antitubercular Evaluation of Isatin‐ciprofloxacin Hybrids with Hydrogen Bonding Capacity
Authors: Fan Yi‐Lei , Liu Min , Zhang Feng‐zhi , Zhang Shu 
Published: April 2018

A series of novel isatin‐ciprofloxacin hybrids inhaling oxime, semicarbazone, and thiosemicarbazone groups with hydrogen bonding capacity were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro antitubercular activities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) H37Rv and multidrug‐resistant‐TB (MDR‐TB). All hybrids endowed with potential activities against the tested MTB H37Rv and MDR‐TB strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in a range of 0.20 to 128 μg/mL. In particular, the most active hybrid 5e (MIC: 0.20 and 0.5 μg/mL) was four and two times more active than the parent ciprofloxacin (MIC: 0.78 μg/mL) and rifampicin (MIC: 0.39 μg/mL) against MTB H37Rv, and 4–>256 times more potent than the three references ciprofloxacin (MIC: 2.0 μg/mL), rifampicin (MIC: 32 μg/mL), and isoniazid (>128 μg/mL) against MDR‐TB. Thus, this kind of hybrids holds great promise as future anti‐TB agents against both drug‐sensitive and drug‐resistant MTB strains infection.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Screening of 4″‐methyl‐2,2″‐diaryl‐4,2′:4′,5″‐terthiazole Derivatives
Authors: Nalawade Jitendra , Mhaske Pravin C. , Shinde Abhijit , Patil Sachin V. , Choudhari Prafulla B. , Bobade Vivek D. 
Published: April 2018

A series of novel 4″‐methyl‐2,2″‐diaryl‐4,2′:4′,5″‐terthiazole (8a‐p) derivatives has been synthesized and screened for antibacterial activity against four pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas flurescence, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. Among them, compounds 8a and 8j exhibited excellent antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration range of 1.0 to 5.3 μg/mL and compounds 8m and 8p exhibited moderate to good antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration range of 16.9 to 29.7 μg/mL against all tested strains. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro antifungal activity against Cocinida candida. Most of the compounds reported moderate antifungal activity. This study provides valuable directions to our ongoing endeavor of rationally designing more potent antimicrobial agent.