bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of Changes in Inflammation on Estimated Ten‐Year Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Yu Zhi , Yang Nicole , Everett Brendan M. , Frits Michelle , Iannaccone Christine , Coblyn Jonathan , Weinblatt Michael , Shadick Nancy , Solomon Daniel H. , Liao Katherine P. 
Published: April 2018

ObjectiveCurrent validated cardiovascular (CV) risk estimates were developed in populations with relatively stable levels of inflammation, whereas patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) routinely experience significant changes in inflammation. This study was undertaken to test whether changes in inflammation affect estimated CV risk as measured using validated population‐based risk calculators.MethodsParticipants in a prospective RA cohort who experienced a decrease or an increase of ≥10 mg/liter in the C‐reactive protein (CRP) level at 2 consecutive time points 1 year apart (CRP decrease group and CRP increase group, respectively) were included in this study. We estimated 10‐year CV risk using the following calculators: Framingham Risk Score, 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score, Reynolds Risk Score (RRS), and QRISK2. Of these calculators, only the RRS includes a variable addressing the CRP level. Paired t‐tests were performed to compare risk scores at baseline and 1‐year follow‐up. We calculated the correlations between the changes in risk scores and changes in pro–B‐type natriuretic peptide (pro BNP), a surrogate marker of CV risk.ResultsOne hundred eighty RA patients were included in the study (mean age 57.8 years, 84% female, 80% seropositive). Of the calculators studied, only the RRS was sensitive to changes in inflammation; an increase in inflammation was associated with increased estimated CV risk (P < 0.0001), and only the RRS was correlated with changes in proBNP (r = 0.17, P = 0.03).ConclusionOur data showed no significant change in CV risk estimated using validated general population CV risk calculators except for the RRS. These findings suggest that CV risk may be modulated by changes in inflammation in RA, which is not typically considered when using existing CV risk calculators.
2D Titanium Carbide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Heterostructures for Supercapacitor Applications
Authors: Navarro‐Suárez Adriana M. , Maleski Kathleen , Makaryan Taron , Yan Jun , Anasori Babak , Gogotsi Yury 
Published: April 2018

AbstractSolution‐processable two‐dimensional (2D) materials offer the possibility of manufacturing heterostructures with various properties, creating a way to tune materials towards a specific application. Two different 2D materials, titanium carbide MXene (Ti3C2Tx) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), have shown promising results for supercapacitor applications due to their flake‐like morphology, high conductivity; and ability to intercalate molecules or ions for charge storage. Here, we demonstrate the self‐assembly of a heterostructure between negatively charged Ti3C2Tx and positively charged modified rGO after shear mixing. Changes in zeta (ζ) potential, X‐ray diffraction (XRD) patterns; and Raman spectra confirm the assembly of this heterostructure. The produced rGO : Ti3C2Tx heterostructures were used as electrodes for supercapacitors. The addition of rGO to Ti3C2Tx allowed some widening of the voltage window. Moreover, due to the synergistic effect of these materials, an increase of the capacitance value was observed. An electrode film composed of rGO (1 wt.%) and Ti3C2Tx (99 wt.%) achieved capacitance values up to 254 F ⋅ g−1 at 2 mV ⋅ s−1 and 193 F ⋅ g−1 at 100 mV ⋅ s−1.
Specific Spatial Localization of Actin and DNA in a Water/Water Microdroplet: Self‐Emergence of a Cell‐Like Structure
Authors: Nakatani Naoki , Sakuta Hiroki , Hayashi Masahito , Tanaka Shunsuke , Takiguchi Kingo , Tsumoto Kanta , Yoshikawa Kenichi 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe effect of binary hydrophilic polymers on a pair of representative bio‐macromolecules in a living cell has been examined. The results showed that these bio‐macromolecules exhibited specific localization in cell‐sized droplets that were spontaneously formed through water/water microphase segregation under crowding conditions with coexisting polymers. In these experiments, a simple binary polymer system with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dextran (DEX) was used. Under the conditions of microphase segregation, DNA was entrapped within cell‐sized droplets rich in DEX. Similarly, F‐actin, linearly polymerized actin, was entrapped specifically within microdroplets rich in DEX, whereas G‐actin, a monomeric actin, was distributed evenly inside and outside these droplets. This study has been extended to a system with both F‐actin and DNA, and it was found that DNA molecules were localized separately from aligned F‐actin proteins to create microdomains inside microdroplets, reflecting the self‐emergence of a cellular morphology similar to a stage of cell division.
Kinetic resolution of N‐acetyl‐DL‐alanine methyl ester using immobilized Escherichia coli cells bearing recombinant esterase from Bacillus cereus
Authors: Zheng Jianyong , Lan Xing , Huang Lijuan , Zhang Yinjun , Wang Zhao 
Published: April 2018

AbstractD‐alanine is widely used in medicine, food, additives, cosmetics, and other consumer items. Esterase derived from Bacillus cereus WZZ001 exhibits high hydrolytic activity and stereoselectivity. In this study, we expressed the esterase gene in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). We analyzed the biocatalytic resolution of N‐acetyl‐DL‐alanine methyl ester by immobilized whole E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells, which were prepared through embedding and cross‐linking.We analyzed biocatalytic resolution under the optimal conditions of pH of 7.0, temperature of 40°C and substrate concentration of at 700 mM with an enantiomeric excess of 99.99% and e.e.p of 99.50%. The immobilized recombinant B. cereus esterase E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells exhibited excellent reusability and retained 86.04% of their initial activity after 15 cycles of repeated reactions. The immobilized cells are efficient and stable biocatalysts for the preparation of N‐acetyl‐D‐alanine methyl esters.
Heightened BRAF and BRAF pseudogene expression levels in 2 Japanese patients with Erdheim‐Chester disease
Authors: Murakami Yukako , Wataya‐Kaneda Mari , Kitayama Kazuko , Arase Noriko , Murota Hiroyuki , Hirayasu Kouyuki , Arase Hisashi , Katayama Ichiro 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBackgroundErdheim‐Chester disease (ECD) is a rare form of non‐Langerhans cell histiocytosis with multi‐organ involvement. Many cases have mutations in the BRAF and other genes involved in the MAPK activation pathway. Pseudogenes, which regulate their parental genes post‐transcriptionally, are overexpressed in various tumors, but we found no previous reports of high pseudogene expression in ECD.MethodsWe evaluated the xanthoma tissues of two patients with ECD. BRAF from the genomic DNA of the tissue was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified fragment was directly sequenced to search the BRAFV600E mutation. Real‐time PCR was performed to amplify cDNA via primer sets specific for either BRAF or BRAF pseudogenes.ResultsThe first case, with advanced stable ECD, expressed high levels of BRAF pseudogenes and BRAF, and a low frequency of the BRAFV600E mutation. The second case, with early active ECD, showed high expression levels of both BRAF pseudogenes and BRAF gene but no BRAFV600E mutation.DiscussionIn the early‐stage of ECD, high levels of BRAF pseudogene expression may boost BRAF expression, promoting the proliferation of xanthomas. The BRAF‐V600E mutation may be associated with advanced stable stage.ConclusionThis is the first report of ECD without a BRAFV600E mutation and with elevated BRAF gene and BRAF pseudogene expression. The etiologic ramifications of BRAF or BRAF pseudogenes in patents with ECD will be the focus of future study.
An adolescent case of xeroderma pigmentosum variant confirmed by the onset of sun exposure‐related skin cancer during Crohn's disease treatment
Authors: Terada Aoi , Aoshima Masahiro , Tanizaki Hideaki , Nakazawa Yuka , Ogi Tomoo , Tokura Yoshiki , Moriwaki Shinichi 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe patient was a 16‐year‐old boy who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at 13 years of age, who was treated with mesalazine, azathioprine, and infliximab. Concurrently, the patient developed small freckle‐like pigmented spots on sun‐exposed areas, which gradually increased in number. At 14 and 16 years of age, a blue‐gray macule and a nodule appeared on his face, respectively. A histopathological examination revealed that the macule had only postinflammatory pigmentation, while the nodule was basal cell carcinoma. The sensitivity to UV‐killing by colony formation of the patient's cells was normal but was enhanced by caffeine treatment. In addition, a pathologic mutation in the POLH gene was identified and a diagnosis of xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XP‐V) was established. XP‐V is a cutaneous type of XP that is commonly diagnosed from middle age after the induction of skin cancer on sun‐exposed areas. Our patient had a genetically sensitive background (XP‐V), and we considered that immunosuppressive agents for Crohn's disease may have enhanced the photocarcinogenesis at a young age. This finding implies that we should be careful about a skin cancer production and that protection from UV may be essential when pediatric patients with a genetic background of UV sensitivity take immunosuppressive agents.
A multi‐GPU protein database search model with hybrid alignment manner on distributed GPU clusters
Authors: Zhou Wei , Cai Zhanxiu , Lian Bo , Wang Jincai , Ma Jianping , Sun Bin , Yu Qian 
Published: April 2018

SummaryIn computational biology, technologies of protein database search become more and more indispensable for researchers. As the database size rapidly grows, the search complexity is improving, leading to an excessively long runtime. In this paper, we provide a novel parallel protein database search model based on distributed GPU clusters. The proposed model targets clusters composed of personal computers equipped with graphic processing unit (GPU) cards and can employ computing power of GPUs and CPUs in the cluster nodes. The workload distribution strategy is designed to take the performance of each node into account, which enables the model to work well with inhomogeneous cluster nodes with different hardware configurations. A hybrid alignment approach, an extension to our previous work, is used in our model to make global and local alignments done concurrently. The parallel program is realized with compute unified device architecture (CUDA) parallel framework and Microsoft message passing interface (MS‐MPI). In the experiment, the model is tested on a small cluster composed of three personal computers. The results show that the proposed model can achieve a speedup up to 159.89 times over the serial counterpart when searching the Swiss‐Prot database.
Mitral valve interventions in heart failure
Authors: Lavall Daniel , Hagendorff Andreas , Schirmer Stephan H. , Böhm Michael , Borger Michael A. , Laufs Ulrich 
Published: April 2018

AbstractSecondary mitral regurgitation (MR) results from left ventricular dilatation and dysfunction. Quantification of secondary MR is challenging because of the underlying myocardial disease. Clinical and echocardiographic evaluation requires a multi‐parametric approach. Severe secondary MR occurs in up to one‐fourth of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, which is associated with a mortality rate of 40% to 50% in 3 years. Percutaneous edge‐to‐edge mitral valve repair (MitraClip) has emerged as an alternative to surgical valve repair to improve symptoms, functional capacity, heart failure hospitalizations, and cardiac haemodynamics. Further new transcatheter strategies addressing MR are evolving. The Carillion, Cardioband, and Mitralign devices were designed to reduce the annulus dilatation, which is a frequent and important determinant of secondary MR. Several transcatheter mitral valve replacement systems (Tendyne, CardiAQ‐Edwards, Neovasc, Tiara, Intrepid, Caisson, HighLife, MValve System, and NCSI NaviGate Mitral) are emerging because valve replacement might be more durable compared with valve repair. In small studies, these interventional therapies demonstrated feasibility and efficiency to reduce MR and to improve heart failure symptoms. However, neither transcatheter nor surgical mitral valve repair or replacement has been proven to impact on the prognosis of heart failure patients with severe MR, which remains high with a mortality rate of 14–20% at 1 year. To date, the primary indication for treatment of secondary severe MR is the amelioration of symptoms, reinforcing the value of a Heart Team discussion. Randomized studies to investigate the treatment effect and long‐term outcome for any transcatheter or surgical mitral valve intervention compared with optimized medical treatment are urgently needed and underway.
Determination of antidepressants in human urine extracted by magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) composites and separation by capillary electrophoresis
Authors: Murtada Khaled , de Andrés Fernando , Ríos Angel , Zougagh Mohammed 
Published: April 2018

AbstractPoly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene)‐coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube composite synthesized by in‐situ high temperature combination and precipitation polymerization of styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene has been employed as a magnetic sorbent for the solid phase extraction of antidepressants in human urine samples. Fluoxetine, venlafaxine, citalopram and sertraline were, afterwards, separated and determined by capillary electrophoresis with diode array detection. The presence of magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes in native poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) not only simplified sample treatment but also enhanced the adsorption efficiencies, obtaining extraction recoveries higher than 89.5% for all analytes. Moreover, this composite can be re‐used at least ten times without loss of efficiency and limits of detection ranging from 0.014 to 0.041 μg/mL were calculated. Additionally, precision values ranging from 0.08 to 7.50% and from 0.21 to 3.05% were obtained for the responses and for the migration times of the analytes, respectively.
Recent trends in sorption‐based sample preparation and liquid chromatography techniques for food analysis
Authors: V. Soares Maciel Edvaldo , de Toffoli Ana Lúcia , Lanças Fernando Mauro 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe accelerated rising of the world's population increased the consumption of food, thus demanding more rigors in the control of residue and contaminants in food–based products marketed for human consumption. In view of the complexity of most food matrices, including fruits, vegetables, different types of meat, beverages, among others, a sample preparation step is important to provide more reliable results when combined with HPLC separations. An adequate sample preparation step before the chromatographic analysis is mandatory in obtaining higher precision and accuracy in order to improve the extraction of the target analytes, one of the priorities in analytical chemistry. The recent discovery of new materials such as ionic liquids, graphene‐derived materials, molecularly imprinted polymers, restricted access media, magnetic nanoparticles, and carbonaceous nanomaterials, provided high sensitivity and selectivity results in an extensive variety of applications. These materials, as well as their several possible combinations, have been demonstrated to be highly appropriate for the extraction of different analytes in complex samples such as food products. The main characteristics and application of these new materials in food analysis will be presented and discussed in this paper. Another topic discussed in this review covers the main advantages and limitations of sample preparation microtechniques, as well as their off‐line and on‐line combination with HPLC for food analysis.
Concurrent determination and separation of inorganic cations and anions in microchip electrophoresis with precisely controlled high‐voltage
Authors: Huang Zhe , Yang Mingpeng , You Hui , Xie Yang 
Published: April 2018

AbstractAn improved method for the concurrent determination and separation of cations and anions by microchip electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (ME‐C4D) is described. Two kinds of microchip structures were designed. The first microchip has a long bent separation channel. And for the defects of the first microchip, the second microchip with a Y‐type separation channel has been proposed. The background electrolyte (BGE) composed of 20 mm His/MES and 0.01 mm CTAB was optimized for inhibiting the electroosmotic flow (EOF). Due to the low electroosmotic flow, the cations and anions migrate in opposite directions and can be separated from each other. With the precisely controlled high‐voltage, cations and anions can be migrated in microchannels according to our requirements and sequentially detected by a C4D detector built in‐house. Samples containing K+, Na+, Li+, Cl−, F− and PO43− were analyzed simultaneously in a single run (within 140 s) by both methods. The reproducibility obtained by both methods remained below 5% for migration time and within 3.5–9.1% for peak areas. The proposed concurrent determination methods are inexpensive, simple, fast, ease of operation, high degree of integration.
Direct Measurement of the Electrocaloric Temperature Change in Multilayer Ceramic Components using Resistance‐Welded Thermocouple Wires
Authors: Greiner Anna , Molin Christian , Neubert Holger , Gebhardt Sylvia E. , Neumeister Peter 
Published: April 2018

AbstractA method for direct measurement of the adiabatic temperature change inside the active region of multilayer ceramic (MLC) components without detailed knowledge on geometry and properties of inactive regions in the MLC is reported. Thin thermocouple wires serve as the temperature sensor with sufficiently small response time with regard to the relaxation time into the inactive regions. They are mounted on top of the MLC by resistance welding. The accuracy of the method is estimated using finite element analyses of the measuring setup. Experiments are used to validate the numerical analyses as well as the proposed measuring method. In its current implementation the method reaches an accuracy of almost 90 %, which can be improved to approximately 97 %. Therefore, neither fitting nor correction is required.
BaZrxTi1−xO3 Epitaxial Thin Films for Electrocaloric Investigations
Authors: Engelhardt Stefan , Molin Christian , Gebhardt Sylvia , Fähler Sebastian , Nielsch Kornelius , Hühne Ruben 
Published: April 2018

AbstractEpitaxial BaZrxTi1−xO3 (BZT) thin films with a Zr content between x=0 and x=0.3 are grown by pulsed laser deposition on (001)‐oriented SrTiO3 single crystals utilizing a conducting SrRuO3 buffer layer and Pt top electrodes. An undisturbed epitaxial growth with a smooth and homogeneous surface structure is obtained for all Zr containing films, whereas some preferentially growing grains and twins are observed for pure BaTiO3 films. Temperature‐dependent measurements of the relative permittivity suggest a diffuse phase transition. The temperature of the maximum permittivity as well as the electrical polarizability at room temperature decrease with increasing Zr content. The observed frequency dependence suggests relaxor ferroelectric properties for all Zr‐containing films. The indirectly determined electrocaloric responses are considerably lower compared to thick films, which is primarily attributed to the diffuse character of the phase transition. A maximum adiabatic temperature change of about 0.3 K for an electric field change of 170 kV cm−1 is found for BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3.
Building service life economic loss assessment under sequential seismic events
Authors: Shokrabadi Mehrdad , Burton Henry V. 
Published: April 2018

SummaryAftershocks have been shown to exacerbate earthquake‐induced financial losses by causing further damage to structural and nonstructural components in buildings that have already been affected by a mainshock event and increasing the duration of disrupted functionality. Whereas seismic loss assessment under isolated events has been addressed thoroughly in previous studies, comparatively less has been accomplished in the area of loss assessment under sequences of mainshock‐aftershock ground motions. The main objective of the current study is to formulate a comprehensive framework for quantifying financial losses under sequential seismic events. The proposed framework is capable of accounting for the uncertainties in the state of structure due to accumulation of earthquake‐induced damage, the time‐dependent nature of seismic hazard in the post‐mainshock environment, and the uncertainties in the occurrence of mainshock and aftershock events. Application of the proposed framework to a 4‐story reinforced concrete moment frame shows that consideration of aftershocks could increase lifecycle earthquake‐induced losses by up to 30% compared with mainshock‐only assessments.
Core networks and their reconfiguration patterns across cognitive loads
Authors: Zuo Nianming , Yang Zhengyi , Liu Yong , Li Jin , Jiang Tianzi 
Published: April 2018

AbstractDifferent cognitively demanding tasks recruit globally distributed but functionally specific networks. However, the configuration of core networks and their reconfiguration patterns across cognitive loads remain unclear, as does whether these patterns are indicators for the performance of cognitive tasks. In this study, we analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging data of a large cohort of 448 subjects, acquired with the brain at resting state and executing N‐back working memory (WM) tasks. We discriminated core networks by functional interaction strength and connection flexibility. Results demonstrated that the frontoparietal network (FPN) and default mode network (DMN) were core networks, but each exhibited different patterns across cognitive loads. The FPN and DMN both showed strengthened internal connections at the low demand state (0‐back) compared with the resting state (control level); whereas, from the low (0‐back) to high demand state (2‐back), some connections to the FPN weakened and were rewired to the DMN (whose connections all remained strong). Of note, more intensive reconfiguration of both the whole brain and core networks (but no other networks) across load levels indicated relatively poor cognitive performance. Collectively these findings indicate that the FPN and DMN have distinct roles and reconfiguration patterns across cognitively demanding loads. This study advances our understanding of the core networks and their reconfiguration patterns across cognitive loads and provides a new feature to evaluate and predict cognitive capability (e.g., WM performance) based on brain networks.