bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mutational profile of Brazilian lung adenocarcinoma unveils association of EGFR mutations with high Asian ancestry and independent prognostic role of KRAS mutations
Authors: Leal Letícia Ferro , de Paula Flávia Escremim , De Marchi Pedro , de Souza Viana Luciano , Pinto Gustavo Dix Junqueira , Carlos Carolina Dias , Berardinelli Gustavo Noriz , Miziara José Elias , da Silva Carlos Maciel , Silva Eduardo Caetano Albino , Pereira Rui , de Oliveira Marco Antonio , Scapulatempo-Neto Cristovam , Reis Rui Manuel 
Published: March 2019

AbstractLung cancer is the deadliest cancer worldwide. The mutational frequency of EGFR and KRAS genes in lung adenocarcinoma varies worldwide per ethnicity and smoking. The impact of EGFR and KRAS mutations in Brazilian lung cancer remains poorly explored. Thus, we investigated the frequency of EGFR and KRAS mutations in a large Brazilian series of lung adenocarcinoma together with patients’ genetic ancestry, clinicopathological and sociodemographic characteristics. The mutational frequency of EGFR was 22.7% and KRAS was 20.4%. The average ancestry proportions were 73.1% for EUR, 13.1% for AFR, 6.5% for AME and 7.3% for ASN. EGFR mutations were independently associated with never-smokers, high-Asian ancestry, and better performance status. KRAS mutations were independently associated with tobacco exposure and non-Asian ancestry. EGFR-exon 20 mutations were associated with worse outcome. The Cox regression model indicated a worse outcome for patients whose were older at diagnosis (>61 y), solid histological subtype, loss of weight (>10%), worse performance status (≥2), and presence of KRAS mutations and EGFR mutational status in TKi non-treated patients. In conclusion, we assessed the clinicopathological and ethnic impact of EGFR and KRAS mutations in the largest series reported of Brazilian lung adenocarcinomas. These findings can support future clinical strategies for Brazilian lung cancer patients.
Chitosan complements entrapment of silicon inside nitrogen doped carbon to improve and stabilize the capacity of Li-ion batteries
Authors: Prasanna K. , Subburaj T. , Jo Yong Nam , Santhoshkumar P. , Karthikeyan S. K. S. Saravana , Vediappan Kumaran , Gnanamuthu R. M. , Lee Chang Woo 
Published: March 2019

AbstractA facile strategy to entrap milled silicon (m-Si) particles using nitrogen-doped-carbon (N-C@m-Si) to overcome the dramatic volume changes in Si during intercalation of lithium ions and to improve its electronic conductivity is reported here. The only natural nitrogen containing biomaterial alkaline polysaccharide, i.e., chitosan, is used as the carbon source. Simple hydrothermal technique followed by a subsequent carbonization process is used to synthesize N-C and N-C@m-Si particles. N-C@m-Si exhibited significantly improved electrochemical performance as compared to bare m-Si, which is confirmed by the obtained discharge capacity of 942.4 mAh g−1 and columbic efficiency of 97% after 50 cycles at 0.1C rate. With regard to the N-C electrodes, the obtained discharge capacity of 485.34 mAh g−1 and columbic efficiency of 99.78%, after 50 cycles at 0.1C rate is superior to the commercial graphite electrodes. The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that formed over m-Si and N-C@m-Si electrodes is characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Compared to the SEI layer that formed over m-Si electrode after 10 charge-discharge cycles, the N-C@m-Si electrode had a stable lithium fluoride and carbonate species. Brief reaction mechanisms, representing the formation of different species in the SEI layer, is derived to explain its behavior during the electrochemical processes.
Targeted delivery of TLR3 agonist to tumor cells with single chain antibody fragment-conjugated nanoparticles induces type I-interferon response and apoptosis
Authors: Schau Isabell , Michen Susanne , Hagstotz Alexander , Janke Andreas , Schackert Gabriele , Appelhans Dietmar , Temme Achim 
Published: March 2019

AbstractApplication of Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists is a promising approach to treat cancer. In particular, nucleic acid-based TLR agonists such as short ssRNA and dsRNA molecules, which activate endosomal TLRs, can be delivered to tumors by use of nanoparticle delivery systems. However, such delivery systems bear unspecific side effects and poor pharmacokinetics. To overcome these limitations we developed a system for targeted delivery of a 50 bp dsRNA TLR3 agonist (Riboxxol) to treat PSCA-positive tumor cells, which consists of neutravidin conjugated to mono-biotinylated dsRNA and to humanized mono-biotinylated anti-PSCA single chain antibody derivative scFv(h-AM1)-BAP. The assembly of the components resulted in the formation of nanoparticle-like immunoconjugates designated Rapid Inducer of Cellular Inflammation and Apoptosis (RICIA). Anti-PSCA-RICIA exclusively delivered Riboxxol to PSCA-positive tumor cells as well as subcutaneous tumors. Uptake of anti-PSCA-RICIA induced a type I-interferon response and apoptosis in HEK-BluehTLR3/PSCA reporter cells and PSCA-positive HT1376 bladder cancer cells in vitro. No such effects were observed when using RICIA coupled to an unspecific control antibody or when using Riboxxol alone. Treatment of HT1376 xenografts in immune-deficient hosts with targeted delivery of TLR3 agonist did not induce adverse effects and only modestly inhibited tumor growth when compared to controls. These results suggest promising activation of innate immune response and apoptosis upon selective delivery of TLR3 agonists in tumor cells. Yet, further studies using syngeneic and orthotopic tumor models are needed to fully exploit the potential of RICIA immunoconjugates.
Inflammatory cytokines and change of Th1/Th2 balance as prognostic indicators for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization
Authors: Lee Hae Lim , Jang Jeong Won , Lee Sung Won , Yoo Sun Hong , Kwon Jung Hyun , Nam Soon Woo , Bae Si Hyun , Choi Jong Young , Han Nam Ik , Yoon Seung Kew 
Published: March 2019

AbstractTumor-associated immune response plays a critical role in cancer pathogenesis. This study evaluated clinical implications of T cell cytokines and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in HCC patients treated with TACE. Whole blood was obtained for analysis of T cell cytokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-22, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) and Tregs from 142 HCC patients. Patients with CTP class A had a significantly lower proportion of detectable IL-4 or IL-6, but a higher proportion of detectable IL-22 than patients with CTP class B/C. IL-6 level was well correlated with tumor stage and undetectable IL-17A was associated with extrahepatic metastasis. The overall survival rate was significantly higher in patients who had undetectable IL-6 or detectable IL-22 than patients who did not. IL-6 among cytokines remained independently predictive factor for survival. Increased IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio and no increase in IL-6 level following TACE were associated with prolonged survival, and baseline Tregs could affect Th1/Th2 balance. T cell cytokines are associated with a variety of clinical aspects of HCC, and IL-6 is the most significant predictor of survival. A shift toward increased Th1 response and no increase in IL-6 level exert favorable immunologic effects on HCC prognosis.
Lifeact-TagGFP2 alters F-actin organization, cellular morphology and biophysical behaviour
Authors: Flores Luis R. , Keeling Michael C. , Zhang Xiaoli , Sliogeryte Kristina , Gavara Núria 
Published: March 2019

AbstractLive-imaging techniques are at the forefront of biology research to explore behaviour and function from sub-cellular to whole organism scales. These methods rely on intracellular fluorescent probes to label specific proteins, which are commonly assumed to only introduce artefacts at concentrations far-exceeding routine use. Lifeact, a small peptide with affinity for actin microfilaments has become a gold standard in live cell imaging of the cytoskeleton. Nevertheless, recent reports have raised concerns on Lifeact-associated artefacts at the molecular and whole organism level. We show here that Lifeact induces dose-response artefacts at the cellular level, impacting stress fibre dynamics and actin cytoskeleton architecture. These effects extend to the microtubule and intermediate filament networks as well as the nucleus, and ultimately lead to altered subcellular localization of YAP, reduced cell migration and abnormal mechanical properties. Our results suggest that reduced binding of cofilin to actin filaments may be the underlying cause of the observed Lifeact-induced cellular artefacts.
Light-emitting diodes with surface gallium nitride p–n homojunction structure formed by selective area regrowth
Authors: Lee Ming-Lun , Wang Shih-Sian , Yeh Yu-Hsiang , Liao Po-Hsun , Sheu Jinn-Kong 
Published: March 2019

AbstractIn this study, the blue light-emitting diode (LED) structures based on gallium nitride (GaN) were presented. Each structure possessed a surface GaN p–n junction, which was formed through selective area regrowth on an InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structure and served as the carrier injector. The LEDs that showed efficient hole injection and current spreading were configured to form a p-type GaN layer between the MQW and regrown n-type GaN top layer. These LEDs exhibited higher luminous efficiency and lower operation voltage than the LEDs with regrown p-type GaN top layers. The LEDs with n-type GaN top layers emitted single-peak spectra at approximately 450 nm under a forward bias. The UV peak at 365 nm (i.e., the GaN band-edge emission) was absent because the regrown surface GaN p–n junctions behaved as carrier injectors rather than photon injectors. In other words, the single-peak blue emission was not generated by the optical pumping of UV light emitted from the surface p–n GaN homojunction.
Martensitic transformation of Ti50(Ni50−xCux) and Ni50(Ti50−xZrx) shape-memory alloys
Authors: Yang Xiaolan , Ma Lei , Shang Jiaxiang 
Published: March 2019

AbstractMartensitic transformation and phase stability of Ti50(Ni50−xCux) and Ni50(Ti50−xZrx) shape memory alloys are investigated based on density functional theory (DFT). According to the results of formation energy we calculated, upon substitution of Ni by Cu at levels of about 10.4 at.%, Ti50(Ni50−xCux) alloys lose the monoclinic martensite in favor of the orthorhombic martensite structure. The martensite monoclinic B19´ structure of Ni50(Ti50−xZrx) becomes more stable with increasing of the Zr content. The energy difference between austenite and martensite decreases when Cu < 10.4 at.%, and then increases slightly, which suggesting that Cu addition reduces the composition sensitivity of martensitic transformation temperature comparing with binary NiTi alloys. The energy difference decreases slightly firstly when Zr < 10.4 at.% and then increases sharply, which indicates that Zr addition increases martensitic transformation temperature dramatically. Furthermore, a geometric model is used to evaluate the thermal hysteresis. More interestingly, it is found that the lowest thermal hysteresis is achieved at 10.4 at.% for Cu-doped NiTi; whereas the thermal hysteresis increases with increasing of Zr. The electronic structures of austenite phase are also discussed in detail.
Intracellular delivery of mRNA to human primary T cells with microfluidic vortex shedding
Authors: Jarrell Justin A. , Twite Amy A. , Lau Katherine H. W. J. , Kashani Moein N. , Lievano Adrian A. , Acevedo Julyana , Priest Craig , Nieva Jorge , Gottlieb David , Pawell Ryan S. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractIntracellular delivery of functional macromolecules, such as DNA and RNA, across the cell membrane and into the cytosol, is a critical process in both biology and medicine. Herein, we develop and use microfluidic chips containing post arrays to induce microfluidic vortex shedding, or μVS, for cell membrane poration that permits delivery of mRNA into primary human T lymphocytes. We demonstrate transfection with μVS by delivery of a 996-nucleotide mRNA construct encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and assessed transfection efficiencies by quantifying levels of EGFP protein expression. We achieved high transfection efficiency (63.6 ± 3.44% EGFP + viable cells) with high cell viability (77.3 ± 0.58%) and recovery (88.7 ± 3.21%) in CD3 + T cells 19 hrs after μVS processing. Importantly, we show that processing cells via μVS does not negatively affect cell growth rates or alter cell states. We also demonstrate processing speeds of greater than 2.0 × 106 cells s−1 at volumes ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 milliliters. Altogether, these results highlight the use of μVS as a rapid and gentle delivery method with promising potential to engineer primary human cells for research and clinical applications.
Thermodynamic cycles in Josephson junctions
Authors: Vischi Francesco , Carrega Matteo , Virtanen Pauli , Strambini Elia , Braggio Alessandro , Giazotto Francesco 
Published: March 2019

AbstractA superconductor/normal metal/superconductor Josephson junction is a coherent electron system where the thermodynamic entropy depends on temperature and difference of phase across the weak-link. Here, exploiting the phase-temperature thermodynamic diagram of a thermally isolated system, we argue that a cooling effect can be achieved when the phase drop across the junction is brought from 0 to π in a iso-entropic process. We show that iso-entropic cooling can be enhanced with proper choice of geometrical and electrical parameters of the junction, i.e. by increasing the ratio between supercurrent and total junction volume. We present extensive numerical calculations using quasi-classical Green function methods for a short junction and we compare them with analytical results. Interestingly, we demonstrate that phase-coherent thermodynamic cycles can be implemented by combining iso-entropic and iso-phasic processes acting on the weak-link, thereby engineering the coherent version of thermal machines such as engines and cooling systems. We therefore evaluate their performances and the minimum temperature achievable in a cooling cycle.
Myocardial lipofuscin accumulation in ageing and sudden cardiac death
Authors: Kakimoto Yu , Okada Chisa , Kawabe Noboru , Sasaki Ayumi , Tsukamoto Hideo , Nagao Ryoko , Osawa Motoki 
Published: March 2019

AbstractLipofuscin is an intracellular aggregate of highly oxidized proteins that cannot be digested in the ubiquitin-proteasome system and accumulate mainly in lysosomes, especially in aged cells and pathological conditions. However, no systematic study has evaluated the cardiac accumulation of lipofuscin during human ageing and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Age estimation in unidentified bodies and postmortem SCD diagnosis are important themes in forensics. Thus, we aimed to elucidate their correlations with myocardial lipofuscin accumulation. We collected 76 cardiac samples from autopsy patients aged 20–97 years. After histopathological examination, myocardial lipofuscin was measured using its autofluorescence. Lipofuscin accumulated mainly in the perinuclear zone, and its accumulation rate positively correlated with chronological ageing (r = 0.82). Meanwhile, no significant change in lipofuscin level was observed with different causes of death, including SCD. There was also no significant change in lipofuscin level in relation to body mass index, serum brain natriuretic peptide level, or heart weight. Moreover, we performed LC3 and p62 immunoblotting to evaluate autophagic activity, and no change was observed in ageing. Therefore, lipofuscin accumulation more directly reflects chronological ageing rather than human cardiac pathology. Our study reveals the stability and utility of cardiac lipofuscin measurement for age estimation during autopsy.
Color tunable pressure sensors based on polymer nanostructured membranes for optofluidic applications
Authors: Escudero P. , Yeste J. , Pascual-Izarra C. , Villa R. , Alvarez M. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractWe demonstrate an integrated optical pressure sensing platform for multiplexed optofluidics applications. The sensing platform consists in an array of elastomeric on-side nanostructured membranes -effectively 2D photonic crystal- which present colour shifts in response to mechanical stress that alter their nanostructure characteristical dimensions, pitch or orientation. The photonic membranes are prepared by a simple and cost-effective method based on the infiltration of a 2D colloidal photonic crystal (CPC) with PDMS and their integration with a microfluidic system. We explore the changes in the white light diffraction produced by the nanostructured membranes when varying the pneumatic pressure in the microfluidics channels as a way to achieve a power-free array of pressure sensors that change their reflective colour depending on the bending produced on each sensor. The structural characterization of these membranes was performed by SEM, while the optical properties and the pressure-colour relation were evaluated via UV-Vis reflection spectrometry. Maximum sensitivities of 0.17 kPa−1 is obtained when measuring at Littrow configuration (θin = −θout), and close to the border of the membranes. The reflected colour change with pressure is as well monitorized by using a smartphone camera.
A computer vision system for deep learning-based detection of patient mobilization activities in the ICU
Authors: Yeung Serena , Rinaldo Francesca , Jopling Jeffrey , Liu Bingbin , Mehra Rishab , Downing N. Lance , Guo Michelle , Bianconi Gabriel M. , Alahi Alexandre , Lee Julia , Campbell Brandi , Deru Kayla , Beninati William , Fei-Fei Li , Milstein Arnold 
Published: March 2019

AbstractEarly and frequent patient mobilization substantially mitigates risk for post-intensive care syndrome and long-term functional impairment. We developed and tested computer vision algorithms to detect patient mobilization activities occurring in an adult ICU. Mobility activities were defined as moving the patient into and out of bed, and moving the patient into and out of a chair. A data set of privacy-safe-depth-video images was collected in the Intermountain LDS Hospital ICU, comprising 563 instances of mobility activities and 98,801 total frames of video data from seven wall-mounted depth sensors. In all, 67% of the mobility activity instances were used to train algorithms to detect mobility activity occurrence and duration, and the number of healthcare personnel involved in each activity. The remaining 33% of the mobility instances were used for algorithm evaluation. The algorithm for detecting mobility activities attained a mean specificity of 89.2% and sensitivity of 87.2% over the four activities; the algorithm for quantifying the number of personnel involved attained a mean accuracy of 68.8%.
Chemical potential formalism for polymer entropic forces
Authors: Xie Hong-Qing , Chang Cheng-Hung 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe entropic force is one of the most elusive interactions in macromolecules. It is clearly defined theoretically, but practically difficult to evaluate, thus restricting our knowledge of it often to a qualitative level. Here, we propose a formula for entropic force, f = f$${\hskip0.3pt}^{\rm -{\hskip-4.3pt}o}$$

-
o

+ T ln(α), for confined polymers and demonstrate its mathematical equivalence to the widely used chemical potential formula for solutions, μ = μ$$^{\rm -{\hskip-4.3pt}o} +R\tilde T\,{\mathrm{ln}}(a)$$

-
o

+
R

T

̃

ln

(

a

)

. A systematic analysis based on this formalism clarifies the force magnitudes obtained in several recent experiments on polymers and granular chains and elucidates the common force scales for polymers studied in nanoscience and biological systems. This work provides a practical tool for instantaneously evaluating the entropic forces in polymer science and indicates the possibility of using a reference-based strategy to tackle general entropic problems beyond chemical solutions.
Spin-orbit coupling induced valley Hall effects in transition-metal dichalcogenides
Authors: Zhou Benjamin T. , Taguchi Katsuhisa , Kawaguchi Yuki , Tanaka Yukio , Law K. T. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractIn transition-metal dichalcogenides, electrons in the K-valleys can experience both Ising and Rashba spin-orbit couplings. In this work, we show that the coexistence of Ising and Rashba spin-orbit couplings leads to a special type of valley Hall effect, which we call spin-orbit coupling induced valley Hall effect. Importantly, near the conduction band edge, the valley-dependent Berry curvatures generated by spin-orbit couplings are highly tunable by external gates and dominate over the intrinsic Berry curvatures originating from orbital degrees of freedom under accessible experimental conditions. We show that the spin-orbit coupling induced valley Hall effect is manifested in the gate dependence of the valley Hall conductivity, which can be detected by Kerr effect experiments.
The impact of species, respiration type, growth phase and genetic inventory on absolute metal content of intact bacterial cells
Authors: Budhraja Rohit , Ding Chang , Walter Philipp , Wagner Stephan , Reemtsma Thorsten , Gary Sawers R , Adrian Lorenz 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Metal ions are abundant in microbial proteins and have structural, catalytic or electron-transferring roles. Metalloproteins are especially prevalent in respiratory chains where they couple electron flow with proton translocation across the membrane. Here, we explore the hypothesis that anaerobic respiratory chains can be investigated by quantitative whole-cell metallomics of the key metals Fe, Co, Ni and Mo. Sensitive and strictly quantitative data were obtained by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry when using a triple quadrupole instrument (ICP-QqQ-MS). Our experiments provide data on the absolute cellular metal content of E. coli, an enrichment culture of “Ca. Kuenenia stuttgartiensis”, Dehalococcoides mccartyi, Desulfovibrio vulgaris, Geobacter sulfurreducens and Geobacter metallireducens. A major obstacle in whole-cell metallomics is the interference caused by metal precipitates, observed for G. metallireducens and D. vulgaris. In the other investigated organisms, whole-cell metallomics gave biologically meaningful information, e.g. high Fe and Co content in “Ca. K. stuttgartiensis” and higher Mo content in E. coli when grown under nitrate-reducing conditions. The content of all four metals was almost constant in E. coli from the late exponential phase allowing precise measurements independent of the exact duration of cultivation. Deletion or overexpression of genes involved in metal homeostasis (Ni transport or Mo-cofactor metabolism) was mirrored by dramatic changes in whole-cell metal content. Deletion of genes encoding abundant metalloproteins or heterologous overexpression of metalloproteins was also reflected in the whole-cell metal content. Our study provides a reference point for absolute microbial metallomics and paves the way for the development of fast and easy mutation screens.