bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inevitable isolation and the change of stress markers in hemodialysis patients during the 2015 MERS-CoV outbreak in Korea
Authors: Kim Yang Gyun , Moon Haena , Kim Se-Yun , Lee Yu-Ho , Jeong Da-Wun , Kim Kipyo , Moon Ju Young , Lee Young-Ki , Cho Ajin , Lee Hong-Seock , Park Hayne Cho , Lee Sang-Ho 
Published: April 2019

AbstractDuring the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus(MERS-CoV) in 2015, one hemodialysis patient was infected with MERS-CoV, and the remaining hemodialysis(HD) patients (n = 83) and medical staff (n = 12) had to undergo dialysis treatment in an isolated environment. This study was performed to investigate the effects of stress caused by dialysis treatment under isolation. Plasma samples from the HD patients and medical staff were collected at the time of isolation(M0), the following month(M1), and three months after isolation(M3). Parameters for stress included circulating cell-free genomic DNA(ccf-gDNA), circulating cell-free mitochondria DNA(ccf-mtDNA), and pentraxin-3(PTX-3). Decreased values of Hct, kt/v and ca x p were recovered after the end of two weeks of isolation. The levels of ccf-gDNA and ccf-mtDNA were the highest at M0 and decreased gradually in both HD patients and the medical staff. The normalization of ccf-gDNA and ccf-mtDNA was significantly delayed in HD patients compared with the response in the medical staff. PTX-3 increased only in HD patients and was highest at M0, and it then gradually decreased. Medical isolation and subnormal quality of care during the MERS outbreak caused extreme stress in HD patients. Plasma cell-free DNA and PTX-3 seems to be good indicators of stress and quality of care in HD patients.
Global Density Profile For Particle Non-Conserving One Dimensional Transport From Renormalization Group Flows
Authors: Mukherji Sutapa , Bhattacharjee Somendra M. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThe totally asymmetric simple exclusion process along with particle adsorption and evaporation kinetics is a model of boundary-induced nonequilibrium phase transition. In the continuum limit, the average particle density across the system is described by a singular differential equation involving multiple scales which lead to the formation of boundary layers (BL) or shocks. A renormalization group analysis is developed here by using the location and the width of the BL as the renormalization parameters. It not only allows us to cure the large distance divergences in the perturbative solution for the BL but also generates, from the BL solution, an analytical form for the global density profile. The predicted scaling form is checked against numerical solutions for finite systems.
Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Decorated with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (Au-MWCNTs) via Cysteaminium Chloride Functionalization
Authors: Duc Chinh Vu , Speranza Giorgio , Migliaresi Claudio , Van Chuc Nguyen , Minh Tan Vu , Phuong Nguyen-Tri 
Published: April 2019

AbstractGold nanoparticles (AuNPs) decorated CNTs are promising materials for photocatalytics and biosensors. However, the synthesis of AuNPs chemically linked to the walls of MWCNTs is challenging and toxic products such as thionylchloride (SOCl2) or [1-ethyl-3(dimethyl-amino) propyl] carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDAC) need to be used. This work reports a new approach to prepare gold nanoparticles decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by using cysteaminium chloride via the formation of a Zwitterionic acide-base bond. The grafting process consists of 3 mains steps: oxidation, thiolation and decoration of AuNPs on the surface of MWCNTs. The completion of each step has been verified out by both spectroscopic (Raman, UV-Vis, FT-IR) and Scanning Electron Miscroscopy (SEM). The chemical bonding states of synthesized products have been proven by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
Traumatic injury pattern is of equal relevance as injury severity for experimental (poly)trauma modeling
Authors: Yang Bing , Bundkirchen Katrin , Krettek Christian , Relja Borna , Neunaber Claudia 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThis study aims to elaborate the relevance of trauma severity and traumatic injury pattern in different multiple and/or polytrauma models by comparing five singular trauma to two different polytrauma (PT) models with high and one multiple trauma (MT) model with low injury-severity score (ISS). The aim is to provide a baseline for reducing animal harm according to 3Rs by providing less injury as possible in polytrauma modeling. Mice were randomly assigned to 10 groups: controls (Ctrl; n = 15), Sham (n = 15); monotrauma groups: hemorrhagic shock (HS; n = 15), thoracic trauma (TxT; n = 18), osteotomy with external fixation (Fx; n = 16), bilateral soft tissue trauma (bSTT; n = 16) or laparotomy (Lap; n = 16); two PT groups: PT I (TxT + HS + Fx; ISS = 18; n = 18), PT II (TxT + HS + Fx + Lap; ISS = 22; n = 18), and a MT group (TxT + HS + bSTT + Lap, ISS = 13; n = 18). Activity and mortality were assessed. Blood gas analyses and organ damage markers were determined after 6 h. Significant mortality occurred in TxT, PT and MT (11.7%). Activity decreased significantly in TxT, HS, both polytrauma and MT vs. Ctrl/Sham. PT-groups and MT had significantly decreased activity vs. bsTT, Lap or Fx. MT had significantly lower pCO2vs. Ctrl/Sham, Lap or bsTT. Transaminases increased significantly in PT-groups and MT vs. Ctrl, Sham or monotrauma. Traumatic injury pattern is of comparable relevance as injury severity for experimental multiple or (poly)trauma modeling.
Fluidity and phase transitions of water in hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanotubes
Authors: Shaat Mohamed , Zheng Yongmei 
Published: April 2019

AbstractWe put water flow under scrutiny to report radial distributions of water viscosity within hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanotubes as functions of the water-nanotube interactions ($${{\epsilon }}_{sf}$$ϵsf), surface wettability (θ), and nanotube size (R) using a proposed hybrid continuum-molecular mechanics. Based on the computed viscosity data,$${{\rm{\epsilon }}}_{{\rm{sf}}}/{\rm{\theta }}-{\rm{R}}$$ϵsf/θ−Rphase diagram of the phase transitions of confined water in nanotubes is developed. It is revealed that water exhibits different multiphase structures, and the formation of one of these structures depends on$${{\rm{\epsilon }}}_{{\rm{sf}}},\,{\rm{\theta }},$$ϵsf,θ,R parameters. A drag of water flow at the first water layer is revealed, which is conjugate to sharp increase in the viscosity and formation of an ice phase under severe confinement (R ≤ 3.5 nm) and strong water-nanotube interaction conditions. A vapor/vapor-liquid phase is observed at hydrophobic and hydrophilic interfaces. A state of confinement is revealed at which water exhibits different multiphase structures under the same flow rate. The derived viscosity functions are used to accurately determine factors of flow enhancement/inhibition of confined water.
Longitudinal monitoring of cancer cell subpopulations in monolayers, 3D spheroids, and xenografts using the photoconvertible dye DiR
Authors: Osseiran Sam , Austin Lauren A. , Cannon Taylor M. , Yan Chuan , Langenau David M. , Evans Conor L. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractA central challenge in cancer biology is the identification, longitudinal tracking, and -omics analysis of specific cells in vivo. To this aim, photoconvertible fluorescent dyes are reporters that are characterized by a set of excitation and emission spectra that can be predictably altered, resulting in a distinct optical signature following irradiation with a specific light source. One such dye, DiR, is an infrared fluorescent membrane probe that can irreversibly undergo such a switch. Here, we demonstrate a method using DiR for the spatiotemporal labeling of specific cells in the context of cancer cell monolayer cultures, 3D tumor spheroids, and in vivo melanoma xenograft models to monitor the proliferation of cellular subpopulations of interest over time. Importantly, the photoconversion process is performed in situ, supporting the pursuit of novel avenues of research in molecular pathology.
Evaluation of [68Ga]DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 as a PET Probe for Imaging Human Transplanted Islets in the Liver
Authors: Li Junfeng , Rawson Jeffrey , Chea Junie , Tang Wei , Miao Lynn , Sui Feng , Li Lin , Poku Erasmus , Shively John E. , Kandeel Fouad 
Published: April 2019

Abstract[68Ga]DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist, was evaluated as a potential PET tracer for the quantitation of human islets transplanted to the liver. The short-lived PET radionuclide 68Ga, available on a regular basis from a 68Ge/68Ga generator, is an attractive choice. Human C-peptide was measured to evaluate human islet function post-transplantation and prior to microPET imaging. [68Ga]DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 was radiosynthesized and evaluated for PET imaging of transplanted human islets in the liver of healthy NOD/SCID mice. The biodistribution of the tracer was evaluated to determine the uptake into various organs, and qPCR of liver samples was conducted to confirm engrafted islet numbers after PET imaging. Measurement of human C-peptide indicated that higher engrafted islet mass resulted in higher human C-peptide levels in post-transplantation. The microPET imaging yielded high resolution images of liver-engrafted islets and also showed significant retention in mouse livers at 8 weeks post-transplantation. Biodistribution studies in mice revealed that liver uptake of [68Ga]DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 was approximately 6-fold higher in mice that received 1000 islet equivalent (IEQ) than in non-transplanted mice. qPCR analysis of insulin expression suggested that islet engraftment numbers were close to 1000 IEQ transplanted. In conclusion, human islets transplanted into the livers of mice exhibited significant uptake of [68Ga]DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 compared to the livers of untreated mice; and imaging of the mice using PET showed the human islets clearly with high contrast against liver tissue, enabling accurate quantitation of islet mass. Further validation of [68Ga]DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 as an islet imaging probe for future clinical application is ongoing.
Overexpression of TaJAZ1 increases powdery mildew resistance through promoting reactive oxygen species accumulation in bread wheat
Authors: Jing Yexing , Liu Jie , Liu Pan , Ming Dongfeng , Sun Jiaqiang 
Published: April 2019

AbstractPowdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, is a major limitation for wheat yield. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying wheat resistance against powdery mildew remain largely unclear. In this study, we report the role of JASMONATE-ZIM domain protein TaJAZ1 in regulating bread wheat resistance against powdery mildew. We generated transgenic bread wheat lines over-expressing the truncated TaJAZ1 without the Jas motif, which showed increased TaPR1/2 gene expression and reactive oxygen species accumulation, leading to enhanced resistance against powdery mildew. Simultaneously, we identified a Jasmonic acid (JA)-induced bHLH transcription factor TaMYC4 in bread wheat. We demonstrated that TaJAZ1 directly interacts with TaMYC4 to repress its transcriptional activity. Meanwhile, we show that the ZIM domain of TaJAZ1 interacts with the C terminus of TaNINJA, whereas the N-terminal EAR motif of TaNINJA interacts with the transcriptional co-repressor TaTPL. Collectively, our work pinpoints TaJAZ1 as a favorable gene to enhance bread wheat resistance toward powdery mildew, and provides a molecular framework for JA signaling in bread wheat.
Safety and Efficacy of Intraventricular Delivery of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Hemorrhagic Stroke Model
Authors: Huang Peng , Freeman William D. , Edenfield Brandy H. , Brott Thomas G. , Meschia James F. , Zubair Abba C. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractExternal ventricular drain (EVD) is used clinically to relieve intracranial pressure and occasionally to deliver medications following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has been shown to be neuroprotective and can induce neuroregeneration in stroke models. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of delivering MSCs intraventricularly in a rat hemorrhagic stroke model. Using autologous blood, hemorrhagic stroke was induced at specific coordinates in the right basal ganglia. After 30 minutes, rats were treated with either bone marrow-derived MSCs or a phosphate-buffered saline placebo via direct intraventricular infusion. Three dosages (2 × 105/kg, 5 × 105/kg, and 1 × 106/kg) of MSCs were administered. Forelimb use asymmetry test was employed to evaluate functional improvement after cell therapy. At the end of the experiment, peripheral blood samples and organs were harvested; biochemistry, cytokine, and growth factor analysis and histology evaluations were performed to explore cell toxicity and cell fate, and the effects of MSC therapy on injury volume, anti-inflammation, and neurogenesis. Intraventricular administration of MSCs in ICH rat model showed improved behavior and alleviated brain damage. Additionally, treated ICH rats showed significantly reduced expression of IL-1α, IL-6, and IFN-γ. No obvious cell toxicity was noticed through blood chemistry and histology evaluation. None of the infused MSCs were detected at the end of the experiment. EVD is safe and effective to use as a method of delivering MSCs to treat ICH. Intraventricularly delivered MSCs have anti-inflammatory properties and a capacity to induce neurogenesis and improve function following ICH injury.
MicroRNA let-7g acts as tumor suppressor and predictive biomarker for chemoresistance in human epithelial ovarian cancer
Authors: Biamonte Flavia , Santamaria Gianluca , Sacco Alessandro , Perrone Francesca Marta , Di Cello Annalisa , Battaglia Anna Martina , Salatino Alessandro , Di Vito Anna , Aversa Ilenia , Venturella Roberta , Zullo Fulvio , Costanzo Francesco 
Published: April 2019

AbstractRemarkable deregulation of microRNAs has been demonstrated in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). In particular, some of the let-7 miRNA family members have been proposed as tumor suppressors. Here, we explored the functional roles of let-7g in EOC. The ectopic overexpression of let-7g in OVCAR3 and HEY-A8 EOC cells induced i) a down-regulation of c-Myc and cyclin-D2 thus promoting cell cycle arrest, ii) a reduction of Vimentin, Snail and Slug thus counteracting the progression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition, iii) a chemosensitization to cis-platinum treatment. Next, analysis of human EOC tissues revealed that let-7g expression was significantly reduced in tumor tissue specimens of patients with EOC compared to their non-tumor counterparts (p = 0.0002). Notably, low let-7g tissue levels were significantly associated with acquired chemoresistance of patients with late-stage of EOC (n = 17, p = 0.03194). This finding was further validated in the serum samples collected from the same cohort of patients (n = 17, p = 0.003). To conclude, we demonstrate that let-7g acts as tumor suppressor and might be used to disable EOC tumor progression and chemoresistance to cis-platinum-based chemotherapy. Furthermore, we propose that decreased expression of let-7g could serve as a tissue and serum biomarker able to predict the chemo-resistant features of EOC patients.
Comparative metagenomics study reveals pollution induced changes of microbial genes in mangrove sediments
Authors: Li Yingdong , Zheng Liping , Zhang Yue , Liu Hongbin , Jing Hongmei 
Published: April 2019

AbstractMangrove forests are widespread along the subtropical and tropical coasts. They provide a habitat for a wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, and act as a buffer zone between the ocean and land. Along with other coastal environments, mangrove ecosystems are under increasing pressure from human activities, such as excessive input of nutrients and toxic pollutants. Despite efforts to understand the diversity of microbes in mangrove sediments, their metabolic capability in pristine and contaminated mangrove sediments remains largely unknown. By using metagenomic approach, we investigated the metabolic capacity of microorganisms in contaminated (CMS) and pristine (PMS) mangrove sediments at subtropical and tropical coastal sites. When comparing the CMS with PMS, we found that the former had a reduced diazotroph abundance and nitrogen fixing capability, but an enhanced metabolism that is related to the generation of microbial greenhouse gases via increased methanogenesis and sulfate reduction. In addition, a high concentration of heavy metals (mainly Zn, Cd, and Pb) and abundance of metal/antibiotic resistance encoding genes were found in CMS. Together, these data provide evidence that contamination in mangrove sediment can markedly change microbial community and metabolism; however, no significant differences in gene distribution were found between the subtropical and tropical mangrove sediments. In summary, contamination in mangrove sediments might weaken the microbial metabolisms that enable the mangrove ecosystems to act as a buffer zone for terrestrial nutrients deposition, and induce bioremediation processes accompanied with an increase in greenhouse gas emission.
Role of vimentin in modulating immune cell apoptosis and inflammatory responses in sepsis
Authors: Su Longxiang , Pan Pan , Yan Peng , Long Yun , Zhou Xiang , Wang Xiaoting , Zhou Ruo , Wen Bo , Xie Lixin , Liu Dawei 
Published: April 2019

AbstractNew diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for sepsis have substantial significance for critical care medicine. In this study, 192 differentially expressed proteins were selected through iTRAQ. Based on cluster analysis of protein expression dynamics and protein-protein interactions, hemopexin, vimentin, and heat shock protein 90 were selected for further investigation. It was demonstrated that serum vimentin (VIM) levels were significantly increased in patients with sepsis and septic shock compared to controls and that VIM expression was significantly increased in lymphocytes isolated from septic shock and sepsis patients compared to controls. Moreover, a nonsurvivor group had higher serum VIM levels and VIM expression in lymphocytes. Caspase-3 was significantly upregulated in Jurkat T cells lacking VIM and when exposed to LPS compared to control cells. In contrast, caspase-3 was reduced nearly 40% in cells over-expressing VIM. IL-2, IL-10 and IFN-α levels were significantly decreased in cells lacking VIM compared to control cells, whereas they were not significantly altered in cells over-expressing VIM. These findings suggest that VIM modulates lymphocyte apoptosis and inflammatory responses and that VIM could be a new target for the diagnosis and prognostic prediction of patients with sepsis or septic shock.
Self-cleaning of a hydrophobic surface by a rolling water droplet
Authors: Hassan Ghassan , Yilbas Bekir Sami , Al-Sharafi Abdullah , Al-Qahtani Hussain 
Published: April 2019

AbstractA water droplet behavior on a hydrophobic surface is examined relevant to the dust particles removal from the surface. Surface crystallization of polycarbonate is realized in acetone bath and the resulting surface is coated by the functionalized nano-size silica particles towards reducing contact angle hysteresis. This arrangement provides droplet rolling/sliding on the hydrophobic surface. Droplet translational velocity is formulated and predictions are compared with those resulted from the high speed recorded data. Influence of surface inclination angle on droplet dynamics is investigated and the dust removal mechanism on the inclined surface is analyzed. It is found that predictions of droplet translational velocity agree well with those obtained from the experiment. Droplet rolling dominates over sliding on the inclined surface and droplet sliding velocity remains almost 10% of the droplet translational velocity. The main mechanism for the dust particles removal is associated with the droplet fluid cloaking of the dust particles during its transition on the hydrophobic surface. Droplet acceleration, due to increased surface inclination angle, has effect on the rate of dust particles removal from the surface, which is more apparent for large droplet volumes. Increasing droplet acceleration improves the coverage area of the clean surface.
Unconditionally stable meshless method for solving 3D transient electromagnetic problems based on LOD scheme
Authors: Khakzar Nafise , Heidari Abbas Ali , Movahhedi Masoud 
Published: April 2019

One of the main problems of the conventional meshless methods in the time domain is their conditional stability. Up to now, some algorithms have been introduced to remove the stability condition, like alternating‐direction‐implicit (ADI) and locally one‐dimensional (LOD) schemes. ADI meshless method has been investigated completely, but there is no report to exploit the full efficiency of the LOD meshless method. So, in this study, LOD scheme is employed to a meshless method for solving three‐dimensional transient electromagnetic problems. The initial form of the proposed meshless method solves time‐domain Maxwell's equations in three sub‐steps, so it is called LOD3. LOD3 meshless method has first‐order temporal accuracy. Moreover, LOD5 meshless method is introduced to upgrade temporal accuracy. Also, the results show that LOD5 meshless method is more accurate than ADI and LOD3 meshless methods. The accuracy of the proposed method is due to two main factors; Crank–Nicolson scheme and solving the equation in five sub‐steps instead of one sub‐step. Stability and accuracy of the proposed method are assessed through numerical experiment. Also, the unconditional stability of the proposed method is proved, analytically.
Preparation of graphite‐based lead carbon cathode and its performance of batteries
Authors: Shen Hao , Jin Ye , Zhao Zhiyuan , Sun Yuzhen , Huang Bing , Wang Jian 
Published: April 2019

A novel type of active Pb was electro‐deposited on a porous graphite/Pb conductive substrate to form Pb‐graphite‐Pb (PGP) composite material, which was used as a positive electrode to study its electrochemical performance. The scanning electron microscopy images of the electrochemically treated graphite/Pb conductive substrate show that the substrate possesses a three‐dimensional porous structure. The active lead is uniformly deposited on the surface of the graphite/Pb substrate, which ensures the stability of the electrode structure and avoids collapse. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) results show that PGP composite has high conductivity and contains multiple redox peaks in different potential intervals. By analysing the CV diagram, the charge–discharge voltage is set at 2.2 V, which shows that the initial specific capacity of the battery can reach 218.2 mAh/g. After 200 cycles, the capacity still reaches 191.4 mAh/g, and the capacity retention rate is 87.7%. These values indicate that the battery composed of the novel graphite/Pb composite has a high initial specific capacity and good stability.