bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High glucose promotes annulus fibrosus cell apoptosis through activating the JNK and p38 MAPK pathways
Authors: Shan Lizhen , Yang Di , Zhu Danjie , Feng Fabo , Li Xiaolin 
Published: June 2019

AbstractDiabetes mellitus (DM) is an important risk factor of intervertebral disc degeneration. A high glucose niche-mediated disc cell apoptosis is an implicate causative factor for the spine degenerative diseases related with DM. However, the effects of a high glucose niche on disc annulus fibrosus (AF) cell apoptosis and the potential signaling transduction pathway is unclear. The present study is to investigate the effects of high glucose on disc AF cell apoptosis and the role of two potential signaling pathways in this process. Rat AF cells were cultured in baseline medium or medium with different concentrations (0.1 and 0.2 M) of glucose for 3 days. Flow cytometry was used to assess the degree of apoptosis. Activity of caspase 3/9 was evaluated by chemical kit. Expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic molecules was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. In addition, activity of the C-Jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNK) pathway and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was evaluated by Western blot. Compared with the control group, high glucose culture increased cell apoptosis ratio and caspase-3/9 activity, up-regulated expression of bax, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP, and down-regulated expression of bcl-2 in a glucose concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, high glucose culture increased expression of the p-JNK and p-p38 MAPK in a concentration-dependent manner. Further results showed that inhibition of the JNK or p38 MAPK pathway attenuated the effects of high glucose on AF cell apoptosis. Together, high glucose promoted disc AF cell apoptosis through regulating the JNK pathway and p38 MAPK pathway in a glucose concentration-dependent manner.
Experimental and theoretical lifetimes and transition probabilities for spectral lines in Nb II
Authors: Nilsson H. , Engström L. , Lundberg H. , Hartman H. , Palmeri P. , Quinet P. 
Published: June 2019

Aims. We have measured and calculated lifetimes of high lying levels in Nb II, and derived absolute transition probabilities by combining the lifetimes with experimental branching fractions.Methods. The lifetimes were measured using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence in a two-photon and two-step excitation scheme. The branching fractions were measured in intensity calibrated spectra from a hollow cathode discharge, recorded with a Fourier transform spectrometer. The calculations were performed with the relativistic Hartree–Fock method including core polarization.Results. We report experimental lifetimes of 13 levels in the 4d3(4F)5d and 4d3(4F)6s subconfigurations, at an energy around 70 000 cm−1. By combining the lifetimes with experimental branching fractions absolute transition probabilities of 59 lines are derived. The experimental results are compared with calculated values.
How to resolve a phonon-associated property into contributions of basic phonon modes
Authors: Cheng Long , Zhang Chenmu , Liu Yuanyue 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Many properties of materials are associated with phonons. To better understand the phonon-property relation, it is a common practice to decompose the phonon-associated property into the contributions of basic phonon/vibration modes (e.g. longitudinal/transverse acoustic/optical mode), and identify the mode(s) that dominate(s) the property. The existing methods rely on labelling the phonon into one of the basic modes (BMs), however, the vibration characteristics of many phonons are different from the definitions of BMs, indicating these methods may give wrong decomposition results. Here we present a new method based on treating the phonon as a mixture of the BMs. By aligning the wave vectors and then projecting the phonon eigenvector onto the eigenvectors of the BMs, we can obtain the weights of the BMs on the given phonon, which can be used to quantify the contribution of each BM to the property. As an example, we apply this method to unravel the phonon modes that dominate the scattering of the electrons at the conduction band edge in two-dimensional antimony, an emerging semiconductor that has attracted great interest for electronics, but its mobility-limiting factors remain unclear. We find that the electron scattering is dominated by the out-of-plane acoustic phonon mode followed by the longitudinal acoustic mode, which are different from the results of other methods. Our method is generally applicable to different kinds of phonon-related properties and to all crystal materials.
Depressive Symptoms Assessed Near the End of Pregnancy Predict Differential Response to Postpartum Smoking Relapse Prevention Intervention
Authors: Levine Michele D , Emery Rebecca L , Kolko Conlon Rachel P , Marcus Marsha D , Germeroth Lisa J , Salk Rachel H , Cheng Yu 
Published: June 2019

Abstract

Background
Depressive symptoms are prevalent during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affect risk for smoking relapse. Whether and how depression affects response to postpartum interventions designed to sustain smoking abstinence is unknown.

Purpose
We examined end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms as a moderator of response to two postpartum-adapted smoking relapse prevention interventions.

Methods
Women (N = 300) who quit smoking during pregnancy were randomized to receive either a postpartum intervention focused on psychosocial factors linked to postpartum smoking (Strategies to Avoid Returning to Smoking [STARTS]) or an attention-controlled comparison intervention (SUPPORT). Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at the end of pregnancy. Smoking status was biochemically assessed at the end of pregnancy and at 12, 24, and 52 weeks postpartum.

Results
End-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms moderated response to postpartum smoking relapse prevention interventions (χ2 = 10.18, p = .001). After controlling for variables previously linked to postpartum smoking relapse, women with clinically significant end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms (20%) were more likely to sustain abstinence through 52 weeks postpartum if they received STARTS. In contrast, women with few end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms were more likely to sustain abstinence through 52 weeks postpartum if they received SUPPORT. Changes in the psychosocial factors addressed in the STARTS intervention did not mediate this moderation effect.

Conclusion
Assessment of end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms may help determine success following postpartum smoking relapse prevention interventions. Women with elevated end-of-pregnancy depressive symptoms benefited from postpartum relapse prevention intervention tailored to their psychosocial needs, while those with few symptoms were more successful in postpartum intervention that used standard behavioral components.

Clinical Trial Registration
NCT00757068.
The Right to Food in the United States: The Role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Authors: Gundersen Craig 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThe “right to food” has been formally implemented in some countries and, in other contexts, it is used as an exhortation for governments or other entities to take actions to reduce food insecurity. Central to any comprehensive set of policies to reduce food insecurity are food assistance programs directed towards vulnerable households. One example of such a food assistance program is in the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program). I begin by discussing one measure of a right to food, namely, to be free from food insecurity and then turn to a consideration the role of SNAP in meeting this goal. To do so, I cover five components that would seem to be essential to any definition of a right to food and how SNAP does and does not meet these components.
Trends in Blood Pressure and High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin-T With Cardiovascular Disease: The Cardiovascular Health Study
Authors: Tehrani David M , Fan Wenjun , Nambi Vijay , Gardin Julius , Hirsch Calvin H , Amsterdam Ezra , deFilippi Christopher R , Polonsky Tamar , Wong Nathan D 
Published: June 2019

Abstract

Background
High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is individually associated with incident hypertension (HTN) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. We hypothesize that the increases in hs-cTnT with increases in blood pressure will be related to higher incidence of CVD.

METHODS
The Cardiovascular Health Study is a longitudinal cohort of older adults. Those with hs-cTnT data and CVD risk factors at baseline and follow-up (2–3 years later) were stratified based on systolic blood pressure (SBP; optimal: &lt;120 mm Hg, intermediate: 120–139 mm Hg, elevated: ≥140 mm Hg) and hs-cTnT (undetectable: &lt;5 ng/l, detectable: 5–13 ng/l, elevated: ≥14 ng/l) categories. SBP and hs-cTnT were classified as increased or decreased if they changed categories between exams, and stable if they did not. Cox regression evaluated incident CVD events over an average 9-year follow-up.

RESULTS
Among 2,219 adults, 510 (23.0 %) had decreased hs-cTnT, 1,279 (57.6 %) had stable hs-cTnT, and 430 (19.4 %) had increased hs-cTnT. Those with increased hs-cTnT had a higher CVD risk with stable SBP (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.28 [1.04–1.57], P = 0.02) or decreased SBP (HR: 1.57 [1.08–2.28], P = 0.02) compared to those within the same SBP group but a stable hs-cTnT. In those with lower SBP at follow-up, there was an inverse relation between diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and risk of CVD events in those with increased hs-cTnT (HR: 0.44 per 10 mm Hg increase, P &lt; 0.01).

CONCLUSION
An increase in hs-cTnT over time is associated with a higher risk of CVD even when the blood pressure is stable or decreases over time.
Pygenprop: a Python library for programmatic exploration and comparison of organism genome properties
Authors: Bergstrand Lee H , Neufeld Josh D , Doxey Andrew C 
Published: June 2019

Abstract

Summary
A critical step in comparative genomics is the identification of differences in the presence/absence of encoded biochemical pathways among organisms. Our library, Pygenprop, facilitates these comparisons using data from the Genome Properties database. Pygenprop is written in Python and, unlike existing libraries, it is compatible with a variety of tools in the Python data science ecosystem, such as Jupyter Notebooks for interactive analyses and scikit-learn for machine learning. Pygenprop assigns YES, NO, or PARTIAL support for each property based on InterProScan annotations of open reading frames from an organism’s genome. The library contains classes for representing the Genome Properties database as a whole and methods for detecting differences in property assignments between organisms. As the Genome Properties database grows, we anticipate widespread adoption of Pygenprop for routine genome analyses and integration within third-party bioinformatics software.

Availability and implementation
Pygenprop is written in Python and is compatible with versions 3.6 or higher. Source code is available under Apache Licence Version 2 at https://github.com/Micromeda/pygenprop. The package can be installed from both PyPi (https://pypi.org/project/pygenprop) and Anaconda (https://anaconda.org/lbergstrand/pygenprop). Documentation is available on Read the Docs (http://pygenprop.rtfd.io/).
Water turbidity affects melanin-based coloration in the gudgeon: a reciprocal transplant experiment
Authors: Côte Jessica , Pilisi Camille , Morisseau Océane , Veyssière Charlotte , Perrault Annie , Jean Séverine , Blanchet Simon , Jacquin Lisa 
Published: June 2019

AbstractHuman activities cause rapid eutrophication and increased water turbidity in aquatic ecosystems, but their effects on fish communication and colour signals remain of debate. In particular, melanin-based coloration in fish has been understudied, because it was believed to be less costly to display than carotenoid-based colours. Here, we measured the phenotypic divergence of melanin-based coloration in 17 populations of gudgeon (Gobio occitaniae) along a turbidity gradient. We also tested the short-term plasticity of coloration using a reciprocal transplant experiment. We found strong variability in melanin-based coloration along the turbidity gradient: interpopulation divergence in coloration was higher than predicted by genetic drift, and fish were paler with increasing levels of turbidity. Finally, a reciprocal transplant experiment revealed that fish transplanted into more turbid habitats expressed a paler melanin-based coloration, suggesting that melanin-based coloration was highly plastic in the short term. Overall, our results suggest that eutrophication in human-altered rivers can rapidly alter melanin-based coloration, with potential consequences for fish visual communication and sexual selection.
Accounting for unobserved covariates with varying degrees of estimability in high-dimensional biological data
Authors: McKennan Chris , Nicolae Dan 
Published: June 2019

Summary
An important phenomenon in high-throughput biological data is the presence of unobserved covariates that can have a significant impact on the measured response. When these covariates are also correlated with the covariate of interest, ignoring or improperly estimating them can lead to inaccurate estimates of and spurious inference on the corresponding coefficients of interest in a multivariate linear model. We first prove that existing methods to account for these unobserved covariates often inflate Type I error for the null hypothesis that a given coefficient of interest is zero. We then provide alternative estimators for the coefficients of interest that correct the inflation, and prove that our estimators are asymptotically equivalent to the ordinary least squares estimators obtained when every covariate is observed. Lastly, we use previously published DNA methylation data to show that our method can more accurately estimate the direct effect of asthma on DNA methylation levels compared to existing methods, the latter of which likely fail to recover and account for latent cell type heterogeneity.
Vocal individuality and rhythm in male and female duet contributions of a nonhuman primate
Authors: Clink Dena J , Tasirin Johny S , Klinck Holger 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Duetting, or the stereotypical, repeated and often coordinated vocalizations between 2 individuals arose independently multiple times in the Order Primates. Across primate species, there exists substantial variation in terms of timing, degree of overlap, and sex-specificity of duet contributions. There is increasing evidence that primates can modify the timing of their duet contributions relative to their partner, and this vocal flexibility may have been an important precursor to the evolution of human language. Here, we present the results of a fine-scale analysis of Gursky’s spectral tarsier Tarsius spectrumgurskyae duet phrases recorded in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Specifically, we aimed to investigate individual-level variation in the female and male contributions to the duet, quantify individual- and pair-level differences in duet timing, and measure temporal precision of duetting individuals relative to their partner. We were able to classify female duet phrases to the correct individual with an 80% accuracy using support vector machines, whereas our classification accuracy for males was lower at 64%. Females were more variable than males in terms of timing between notes. All tarsier phrases exhibited some degree of overlap between callers, and tarsiers exhibited high temporal precision in their note output relative to their partners. We provide evidence that duetting tarsier individuals can modify their note output relative to their duetting partner, and these results support the idea that flexibility in vocal exchanges—a precursor to human language—evolved early in the primate lineage and long before the emergence of modern humans.
Compatible Taper and Stem Volume Equations for Five Pine Species in Mixed-Species Forests in Mexico
Authors: Quiñonez-Barraza Gerónimo , Zhao Dehai , De los Santos-Posadas Héctor Manuel 
Published: June 2019

AbstractTen systems of compatible taper and outside-bark volume equations derived from upper-height-based volume ratio equations were compared with a used segmented-stem system of compatible taper and volume equations. All the systems were simultaneously fitted to cumulative volume data and taper data for Arizona pine, Aztec pine, Durango pine, Mexican white pine, and Smooth-leaved pine species in naturally regenerated mixed-species forests in Mexico. The systems derived from volume ratio equations performed better than the segmented-stem system for most species. The resultant top systems might be easier to implement than the segmented-stem system for predicting upper-stem height, upper-stem diameter, merchantable volume, and total stem volume for considered species.
Sternotomy wound healing disorders due to neoplasia: a diagnostic challenge
Authors: Colombier Sébastien , Delay Dominique , Niclauss Lars 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Localized neoplastic infiltration of the post-sternotomy scar is a rare late healing disorder. We present 2 patients admitted with the suspicion of chronic osteomyelitis, 1 and 5 years after cardiac surgery. Microbiological analyses were negative. Histopathology revealed sternal metastatic lesions of a hepatocellular carcinoma in 1 patient and of an oesophagogastric carcinoma in the other. In cases of an existing primary tumour, which was unknown in both patients, the sternal healing process may promote secondary seeding of tumour cells, due to the inflammatory and hyper-metabolic trauma. Special attention should be therefore payed to atypical post-sternotomy lesions, which require histopathological analysis and imaging assessment.
Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and timing of puberty in sons and daughters: a population-based cohort study
Authors: Brix Nis , Ernst Andreas , Lauridsen Lea L B , Arah Onyebuchi A , Nohr Ellen A , Olsen Jørn , Henriksen Tine Brink , Ramlau-Hansen Cecilia Høst 
Published: June 2019

AbstractBackgroundIn many countries, an increased prevalence of obesity in pregnancy has coincided with a declining pubertal age. We aimed to explore the potential effect of maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity on timing of puberty in sons and daughters.MethodsBetween 2012 and 2018, 15 819 of 22 439 invited children from the Danish National Birth Cohort, born 2000–03, provided half-yearly information from the age of 11 years on the pubertal milestones: Tanner stages, voice break, first ejaculation, menarche, acne and axillary hair. We estimated adjusted mean monthly differences (with 95% confidence intervals) in age at attaining the pubertal milestones for children exposed to maternal pre-pregnancy obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥30.0 kg/m2] or overweight (BMI 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m2) with normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2) as reference. In mediation analysis, we explored whether childhood BMI at age 7 years mediated the associations.ResultsMaternal pre-pregnancy obesity was associated with earlier age at attaining most pubertal milestones in sons, and pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity were associated with earlier age at attaining all pubertal milestones in daughters. When combining all pubertal milestones, pre-pregnancy obesity [sons: −1.5 (−2.5, −0.4) months; daughters: −3.2 (−4.2, −2.1) months] and overweight [daughters only: −2.6 (−3.3, −1.8) months] were associated with earlier timing of puberty. The associations in sons were completely mediated by higher childhood BMI and partly so in daughters.ConclusionsMaternal pre-pregnancy obesity appears to lower timing of puberty through childhood obesity in sons and mainly through other mechanisms in daughters.
How Mediated Opinion Polls Influence Political Parties: Revisiting the Arena Framework
Authors: Oleskog Tryggvason Per 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
One key question in research on the mediatization of politics concerns how political actors are influenced by the news media. Using a unique dataset of more than 2,400 Swedish politicians, this study bridges two literatures—the arena framework of strategic party behavior, and research on elite perceptions of media power—by investigating how politicians assess the influence of mediás publication of opinion polls. The results show that published opinion polls are seen as highly influential, but that perceptions of influence vary between the internal, electoral, media, and parliamentary arenas on which political parties act. Furthermore, on the electoral and media arena, the perceived influence of published opinion polls is found to be a function of how the politician’s party has performed on the polls. More specifically, politicians who believe their party to have either increased or decreased their poll support since the previous election deem polls as more influential compared to politicians who perceive that their party has not moved in the polls.
Asynchronous repetitive control of switched systems via periodic event-based dynamic output feedback
Authors: Ma Guoqi , Liu Xinghua , Pagilla Prabhakar R , Sam Ge Shuzhi 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
This paper develops an asynchronous mode-dependent repetitive control strategy with periodic event-based dynamic output feedback for periodic trajectory tracking of continuous-time switched systems subject to time-varying switching delays between system modes and controllers and limited communication capacity in the feedback channel. By employing the input delay approach, the overall system is modelled as an augmented closed-loop switched system with both constant and time-varying state delays. A co-design framework is proposed for simultaneously designing the controller, event-triggering mechanism and mode switching signal. Under the co-design framework, using piecewise Lyapunov functional, free-weighting matrices and average dwell time technique, sufficient conditions are derived for ensuring the augmented closed-loop system to be exponentially stable with a prescribed $H_{\infty }$ attenuation level $\gamma $ for an exogenous disturbance input. The performance of the proposed controller design scheme is verified via numerical simulation results on a switched RLC series circuit system.
Genomic Epidemiology as a Public Health Tool to Combat Mosquito-Borne Virus Outbreaks
Authors: Pollett S , Fauver J R , Maljkovic Berry Irina , Melendrez M , Morrison A , Gillis L D , Johansson M A , Jarman R G , Grubaugh N D 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Next-generation sequencing technologies, exponential increases in the availability of virus genomic data, and ongoing advances in phylogenomic methods have made genomic epidemiology an increasingly powerful tool for public health response to a range of mosquito-borne virus outbreaks. In this review, we offer a brief primer on the scope and methods of phylogenomic analyses that can answer key epidemiological questions during mosquito-borne virus public health emergencies. We then focus on case examples of outbreaks, including those caused by dengue, Zika, yellow fever, West Nile, and chikungunya viruses, to demonstrate the utility of genomic epidemiology to support the prevention and control of mosquito-borne virus threats. We extend these case studies with operational perspectives on how to best incorporate genomic epidemiology into structured surveillance and response programs for mosquito-borne virus control. Many tools for genomic epidemiology already exist, but so do technical and nontechnical challenges to advancing their use. Frameworks to support the rapid sharing of multidimensional data and increased cross-sector partnerships, networks, and collaborations can support advancement on all scales, from research and development to implementation by public health agencies.