bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biochemical and structural investigation of taurine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase from Bifidobacterium kashiwanohense
Authors: Li Mengya , Wei Yifeng , Yin Jinyu , Lin Lianyun , Zhou Yan , Hua Gaoqun , Cao Peng , Ang Ee Lui , Zhao Huimin , Yuchi Zhiguang , Zhang Yan 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Taurine aminotransferases catalyze the first step in taurine catabolism in many taurine-degrading bacteria and play an important role in bacterial taurine metabolism in the mammalian gut. Here, we report the biochemical and structural characterization of a new taurine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase from the human gut bacterium Bifidobacterium kashiwanohense (BkToa). Biochemical assays revealed high specificity of BkToa for 2-oxoglutarate as the amine acceptor. The crystal structure of BkToa in complex with pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) and glutamate was determined at 2.7 Å resolution. The enzyme forms a homodimer, with each monomer exhibiting a typical type I PLP-enzyme fold and conserved PLP-coordinating residues interacting with the PLP molecule. Two glutamate molecules are bound in sites near the predicted active site and they may occupy a path for substrate entry and product release. Molecular docking reveals a role for active site residues Trp21 and Arg156, conserved in Toa enzymes studied to date, in interacting with the sulfonate group of taurine. Bioinformatics analysis shows that the close homologs of BkToa are also present in other anaerobic gut bacteria.
Vascular biomedicine in an era of chronic disease and multimorbidity
Authors: Currie Gemma , Delles Christian 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
It is increasingly common that patients present with more than one disease and that diseases are chronic in nature. Cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, heart failure and stroke, renal diseases and cardiometabolic conditions such as diabetes are prime examples of chronic diseases which pose major challenges in contemporary healthcare provision. The complex features of multimorbidity call for precision medicine approaches that take comorbidity and chronicity into account. The research basis of chronic disease and multimorbidity, however, is currently in its infancy. This applies to all domains including basic, translational and clinical science. In this article we call for development of new models, smarter use of existing models and better characterisation of vascular and cardiovascular phenotypes in studies not directly related to cardiovascular diseases. This has the potential to further improve the quality of translational research, papers in journals such as Clinical Science and ultimately translate into better patient care.
Pspan: A New Tool for Assessing Pitch Temporal Processing and Patterning Capacity
Authors: Weaver Aurora J. , DiGiovanni Jeffrey J. , Ries Dennis T. 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether merging the clinical pitch pattern test procedure with psychoacoustic adaptive methods would create a new tool feasible to capture individual differences in pitch temporal processing and patterning capacity of children and adults.

Method

Sixty-six individuals, young children (ages 10–12 years,
n
= 22), older children (ages 13–15 years,
n
= 23), and adults (ages 18–33 years,
n
= 21), were recruited and assigned to subgroups based on reported duration (years) of instrumental music instruction. Additional background information was collected in order to assess if the pitch temporal processing and patterning span developed, the Pspan, was sensitive to individual differences across participants.

Results
The evaluation of the Pspan task as a scale indicated good parallel reliability across runs assessed by Cronbach's alpha, and scores were normally distributed. Between-subjects analysis of variance indicated main effects for both age groups and music groups recruited for the study. A multiple regression analysis with the Pspan scores as the dependent variable found that 3 measures of music instruction, age in years, and paternal education were predictive of enhanced temporal processing and patterning capacity for pitch input.

Conclusions
The outcomes suggest that the Pspan task is a time-efficient data collection tool that is sensitive to the duration of instrumental music instruction, maturation, and paternal education. In addition, results indicate that the task is sensitive to age-related auditory temporal processing and patterning performance changes during adolescence when children are 10–15 years old.
Two to Tango or the More the Merrier? A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Group Size in Aphasia Conversation Treatment on Standardized Tests
Authors: DeDe Gayle , Hoover Elizabeth , Maas Edwin 
Published: May 2019

Purpose
Group conversation treatment has the potential to improve communication and reduce social isolation for people with aphasia. This project examined how 2 conflicting hypotheses—treatment dosage and group dynamics—affect treatment outcomes.

Method
Forty-eight participants with chronic aphasia were randomly assigned to either a dyad, a large group, or a delayed control group. Conversation group treatment was provided for an hour, twice per week, for 10 weeks. Individual goals were developed by each participant and addressed in the context of thematically oriented conversation treatment. Standardized testing across language domains was completed pretreatment (Time 1), posttreatment (Time 2), at a 6-week maintenance point (Time 3), and at 11-month follow-up for the experimental groups.

Results
Treatment groups showed greater changes on standardized measures than the control group posttreatment. Dyads showed the most changes on measures of language impairment, whereas changes on the self-reported functional communication measure (Aphasia Communication Outcome Measure) and connected speech task only showed significant changes in the large group.

Conclusions
This randomized controlled trial on conversation treatment indicated that both treatment groups—but not the delayed control group—showed significant changes on standardized tests. Hence, conversation treatment is associated with changes in measures of language impairment and quality of life. Dyads showed the most changes on measures of language impairment, whereas changes on the functional communication measure (Aphasia Communication Outcome Measure) and discourse production only showed significant changes in the large group. Thus, group size may be associated with effects on different types of outcome measures.
Reducing the additional error caused by the time‐difference method in transit‐time UFMs
Authors: Yazdanshenasshad Behroz , Safizadeh Mir Saeed 
Published: May 2019

In transit‐time ultrasonic flow meters (UFMs), one of the most commonly used methods in the time domain is the cross‐correlation method which is a time‐consuming and high computational requirement approach. Hence, the time‐difference approaches are preferred to reduce the computational requirement and increase the response time. However, the time‐difference methods in comparison to conventional ones have been suffering from an additional bias error (ABE). In this study, using a numerical simulation method, the ABE is analysed and some effective factors such as pipe diameter, flow velocity and medium temperature are introduced. Then, an approach for removing or reducing the ABE is presented. Since the time‐difference method has been used for Mach numbers <0.1, it is shown that by using a second‐order approximation, this method can be used for Mach numbers of more than 0.1, and the ABE resulting from this method is reduced to nearly zero. An experiment has been carried out on a 6 in transit‐time UFM with an eight‐path x‐configuration to verify the validity of the second‐order approximation method. The test results confirm that the proposed method can be successfully used in UFMs with the flow velocity greater than Mach 0.1.
Die Bedeutung des Glykämischen Index und der Glykämischen Last von Kohlenhydraten bei Acne vulgaris
Authors: Abeck F. , Kirsten N. , Zyriax B.-C. 
Published: May 2019

Zusammenfassung
Ziel der Studie Die Darstellung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes zum Zusammenhang zwischen Acne vulgaris und dem Glykämischen Index sowie der Glykämischen Last zielt darauf ab, den Stellenwert der Reduktion hyperglykämischer Kohlenhydrate in der Ernährung zur Prävention und Behandlung der Acne vulgaris zu untersuchen.
Methodik Es erfolgte eine selektive Literaturrecherche zu Acne vulgaris im Zusammenhang mit dem Glykämischen Index und der Glykämischen Last in der Datenbank PubMed.
Ergebnisse Es fanden sich Hinweise auf eine Assoziation zwischen dem Auftreten von Acne vulgaris und einer Ernährung mit hyperglykämischen Kohlenhydraten. Allerdings sind die Auswirkungen einer Ernährungsumstellung auf den klinischen Schweregrad der Acne vulgaris jedoch noch unzureichend geklärt.
Schlussfolgerung Um eine Ernährung mit Reduktion hyperglykämischer Kohlenhydrate als Präventions- oder Behandlungsmöglichkeit bei Acne vulgaris zu etablieren, bedarf es weiterer Untersuchungen. Das mögliche Potenzial einer Ernährungsumstellung bei Acne vulgaris sollte allerdings bereits zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt in der Praxis Beachtung finden.
Surgical and Medical Costs for Fibromyalgia Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Moore Tara , Sodhi Nipun , Cohen-Levy Wayne B. , Ehiorobo Joseph , Kalsi Angad , Anis Hiba K. , Dushaj Kristina , Pappas Vivian , Vakharia Rushabh M. , Hepinstall Matthew S. , Roche Martin W. , Mont Michael A. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe potential added costs of managing fibromyalgia patients after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have not been assessed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to perform a cost analysis of fibromyalgia versus nonfibromyalgia patients who underwent TKA. Specifically, we evaluated the following episodes of care: (1) readmission rates, (2) total costs, (3) total reimbursements, and (4) net losses for surgical and medical complications. Patients who underwent TKAs between 2005 and 2014 from the Medicare Standard Analytical Files of the PearlDiver supercomputer were propensity score matched by patients with and without fibromyalgia in a 1:1 ratio based on age, sex, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index, yielding a total of 305,510 patients distributed equally between the cohorts for analysis. Odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and p-values were calculated. Mean costs, total costs, and total reimbursements were assessed as along with total net losses, which were defined as total costs minus total reimbursements. Fibromyalgia patients had similar 90-day readmission rates compared with nonfibromyalgia patients (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00–1.06; p = 0.06) but incurred lower readmission costs (US$2,318,384,295 vs. US$2,534,482,404; p < 0.001). Although fibromyalgia patients had higher total reimbursements for medical complications ($27,758,057 vs. US$18,780,610; p < 0.001), the increased management costs (US$106,049,870 vs. US$66,080,469; p < 0.001) led to greater net losses (US$78,291,813 vs. US$47,299,859; p < 0.001). Similarly, although fibromyalgia patients had higher total reimbursements for surgical complications (US$94,192,334 vs. US$73,969,026; p < 0.001), the increased surgical costs (US$382,122,613 vs. US$306,359,910; p < 0.001) led to greater net losses (US$287,930,279 vs. US$232,390,884; p < 0.001). This study highlights some of the potential financial discrepancies of managing patients with fibromyalgia. Our findings suggest medical and surgical complication costs to be greater than reimbursement, resulting in overall net financial losses. These findings need to be considered in the light of health care reform and cost structuring.
Reflecting on childhood and child agency in history
Authors: Haring Ute , Sorin Reesa , Caltabiano Nerina J. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn today’s fast changing and unpredictable world we tend to rely upon children’s agency to ensure their survival following traumatic events. Because of this, parents and teachers need to be conversant with ways of encouraging children’s agency to support their health and efficacy throughout the lifespan. This paper takes the form of a literature review covering historical and recent developments in the field of childhood, child abuse and child agency. It offers the findings of a qualitative document study that aimed to explore how childhood and child agency have been conceptualized historically in the Western world. It begins with a summary of theories and typologies of childhood throughout history, exploring the unique social and historical concepts in which theories of childhood and child agency developed. Furthermore, a paradigm shift in Western society towards women achieving agency is revealed. With this came greater attention to the child, especially the abused child. Focusing on abuse to which children have been exposed, this study looks at child agency and how it can be actualized for children’s wellbeing. Research findings make a strong case for the arts to provide valuable tools of resilience for the developing child. Arts-based activities have been increasingly appreciated as providing a voice for traumatized or abused children. Therefore, the findings of this study into agency and child abuse were distilled into a poem to demonstrate the potential impact on a child and to help adults better understand the historically perceived voiceless victim. The poem, as seen from the perspective of the child, offers a distinctive contribution to the literature on child abuse. Key findings of this study are discussed, including the importance of increasing understanding of children’s agency. It is argued that a shift in childrearing, incorporated child protection laws and agentic experiences build children’s confidence to challenge the traditional adult-child power relationship. The results of this research help to contribute to teacher knowledge about the intricate background to child abuse and child agency.
Disorder raises the critical temperature of a cuprate superconductor
Authors: Leroux Maxime , Mishra Vivek , Ruff Jacob P. C. , Claus Helmut , Smylie Matthew P. , Opagiste Christine , Rodière Pierre , Kayani Asghar , Gu G. D. , Tranquada John M. , Kwok Wai-Kwong , Islam Zahirul , Welp Ulrich 
Published: May 2019

Significance
The origin of high-temperature superconductivity remains unknown. Over the past two decades, spatial oscillations of the electronic density known as charge-density waves (CDWs) have been found to coexist with high-temperature superconductivity in most prominent cuprate superconductors. The debate on whether CDWs help or hinder high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates is still ongoing. In principle, disorder at the atomic scale should strongly suppress both high-temperature superconductivity and CDWs. In this work, however, we find that disorder created by irradiation increases the superconducting critical temperature by 50% while suppressing the CDW order, showing that CDWs strongly hinder bulk superconductivity. We provide indications that this increase occurs because the CDWs could be part of a pair-density wave frustrating the superconducting coupling between atomic planes.
Hydrogel-based transparent soils for root phenotyping in vivo
Authors: Ma Lin , Shi Yichao , Siemianowski Oskar , Yuan Bin , Egner Timothy K. , Mirnezami Seyed Vahid , Lind Kara R. , Ganapathysubramanian Baskar , Venditti Vincenzo , Cademartiri Ludovico 
Published: May 2019

Significance
Imaging of plant roots is severely limited by the opacity of soil media. Hydroponic (or gel) conditions provide transparency but nonphysiological root phenotypes. Here, we develop a “transparent soil” with high transparency, good mechanical stability, tunable pore sizes, low cost, and easy scalability. This porous media can support root growth in the presence of air, water, and nutrients, and allows for the imaging of unconstrained root systems in vivo by both photography and microscopy. Our study provides evidence that the roots of soybean developed in this medium are significantly more similar to those developed in real soil than those developed in hydroponic conditions and do not show signs of hypoxia.
Electrochemical nanoimprinting of silicon
Authors: Sharstniou Aliaksandr , Niauzorau Stanislau , Ferreira Placid M. , Azeredo Bruno P. 
Published: May 2019

Significance
The indirect nature of existing parallel micromachining strategies that combine sacrificial templates with top-down processes to etch 3D micro- and nanostructures inherently produces poor out-of-plane patterning fidelity. Here, the patterning fidelity of our process is measured for microscale curvilinear 3D objects to be less than 20 nm in rms averaged over features as wide as 10 µm. These results are attributed to increased pathways for diffusion, which increase the kinetics of the anodic reaction. Using this approach, arrays of nanotextured silicon lenses are deterministically imprinted to illustrate Mac-Imprint’s ability to directly pattern hierarchical micro- and nanostructures and enable fabrication of biomimetic optical designs on silicon.
Temporal virus serological profiling of kidney graft recipients using VirScan
Authors: Isnard Pierre , Kula Tomasz , Avettand Fenoel Véronique , Anglicheau Dany , Terzi Fabiola , Legendre Christophe , Elledge Stephen J. , Canaud Guillaume 
Published: May 2019

Significance
Viral infections after organ transplantation remain a significant cause of morbidity, reducing both allograft and patient survival. At this time, pretransplant screening of potential donors and recipients is based on serological status and is limited to certain viruses. Recently, a multiplex unbiased array, called VirScan, was developed. This tool allows the detection of antibodies against viruses, using a synthetic human virome. Here, we tested the value of VirScan in the follow-up of a cohort of kidney transplant recipients. We found that VirScan is easy to use, cost-effective, safe, and reproducible, and gives an unbiased approach to monitor patients after transplantation, but in addition, the anti-viral antibody responses were largely conserved in patients, regardless of immunosuppressive treatment.
Solving the structure of Lgl2, a difficult blind test of unsupervised structure determination
Authors: Ufimtsev Ivan S. , Almagor Lior , Weis William I. , Levitt Michael 
Published: May 2019

Significance
Determination of macromolecular crystal structures by molecular replacement (MR) uses a related structure to generate approximate phases for the unknown crystal. MR fails if the search model is too dissimilar to the unknown structure. In an accompanying paper, we described a method that generates many ensembles of possible solutions and refines them against the diffraction data without human intervention, and demonstrated its ability to solve test cases of known structure. Here, we apply this method to crystals of the epithelial cell polarity protein lethal giant larvae, which had resisted structure solution using conventional MR or experimental phasing. The results show that our method of unsupervised protein structure solution can be applied to a very large and difficult phasing problem.
Bladder drug mirabegron exacerbates atherosclerosis through activation of brown fat-mediated lipolysis
Authors: Sui Wenhai , Li Hongshi , Yang Yunlong , Jing Xu , Xue Fei , Cheng Jing , Dong Mei , Zhang Meng , Pan Huazheng , Chen Yuguo , Zhang Yunjian , Zhou Qingjun , Shi Weiyun , Wang Xinsheng , Zhang Han , Zhang Cheng , Zhang Yun , Cao Yihai 
Published: May 2019

Significance
Mirabegron as a β3-adrenoceptor agonist is a routinely prescribed drug for treating overactive bladder syndrome. However, the effect of this drug on off-targeted tissues and organs is largely unknown. In this study, we provide mechanistic insights on mirabegron-triggered atherosclerosis in causing potential cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by activation of brown fat. Given that mirabegron can induce brown fat activation in adult human subjects, these findings are clinically relevant. Moreover, genetic mutations of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) frequently occur in human populations (1 in 300 humans carries LDLR mutations). If this population of patients receive mirabegron therapy, it would be of a high risk. This important issue has not been explored in clinical studies, and warrants further investigation.
On the cause of sleep: Protein fragments, the concept of sentinels, and links to epilepsy
Authors: Varshavsky Alexander 
Published: May 2019

Significance
The molecular-level cause of sleep is unknown. According to the fragment generation (FG) hypothesis discussed in the present paper, protease-generated protein fragments can be beneficial but toxic as well, and some fragments are eliminated slowly during wakefulness. We propose specific and experimentally verifiable ideas that allow a rigorous testing of the FG hypothesis. In particular, it is suggested that a major function of sleep involves a partial and reversible expansion of postsynaptic densities (PSDs) in excitatory synapses of the brain, thereby allowing an accelerated destruction of PSD-localized protein fragments by the ubiquitin/proteasome system. This and related suggestions, described in the paper, are compatible with current evidence about sleep and lead to testable predictions.
Effect of Dilute-acid Hydrolysis Conditions on Sugar and Productions from Paragrass
Authors: Thongtus Vipa , Nuchdang Sasikarn , Chirathivat Papin , Moore Elvin J. , Phalakornkule Chantaraporn 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
In this study, the productions of sugars as well as inhibitory compounds, e.g hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural, from paragrass (Brachiaria mutica) were investigated using dilute acid hydrolysis. Sulphuric acid concentration of 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 and 2.0 wt% and reaction temperature of 120, 130, 140 and 150 °C for either 30 or 60 min were investigated. Xylose was found to be the major product at a maximum yield of 99±3 mg/g grass using 1.2 wt% H2SO4 and reaction temperature of 140 °C for 30 min. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that for the reaction temperature between 120-140 °C, sulphuric acid concentration was the most important factor affecting the yields of hemicellulose sugars from paragrass. However, the temperature ≥ 150 °C caused the marked drop in all sugar compounds. At the optimal condition, the concentration of HMF was 0.16 g/l and furfural 0.09 g/l. The formation of HMF and furfural was almost linearly increased with increasing hydrolysis temperature between 120 and 150 °C. Furthermore, longer reaction times led to higher levels of HMF and furfural. The dilute acid hydrolysis in series with enzyme saccharification of paragrass yielded 122 mg total reducing sugar (TRS) per g grass in the enzyme hydrolysate.