bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rapid whole-genome sequencing decreases infant morbidity and cost of hospitalization
Authors: Farnaes Lauge , Hildreth Amber , Sweeney Nathaly M. , Clark Michelle M. , Chowdhury Shimul , Nahas Shareef , Cakici Julie A. , Benson Wendy , Kaplan Robert H. , Kronick Richard , Bainbridge Matthew N. , Friedman Jennifer , Gold Jeffrey J. , Ding Yan , Veeraraghavan Narayanan , Dimmock David , Kingsmore Stephen F. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractGenetic disorders are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in infants. Rapid whole-genome sequencing (rWGS) can diagnose genetic disorders in time to change acute medical or surgical management (clinical utility) and improve outcomes in acutely ill infants. We report a retrospective cohort study of acutely ill inpatient infants in a regional children’s hospital from July 2016–March 2017. Forty-two families received rWGS for etiologic diagnosis of genetic disorders. Probands also received standard genetic testing as clinically indicated. Primary end-points were rate of diagnosis, clinical utility, and healthcare utilization. The latter was modelled in six infants by comparing actual utilization with matched historical controls and/or counterfactual utilization had rWGS been performed at different time points. The diagnostic sensitivity of rWGS was 43% (eighteen of 42 infants) and 10% (four of 42 infants) for standard genetic tests (P = .0005). The rate of clinical utility of rWGS (31%, thirteen of 42 infants) was significantly greater than for standard genetic tests (2%, one of 42; P = .0015). Eleven (26%) infants with diagnostic rWGS avoided morbidity, one had a 43% reduction in likelihood of mortality, and one started palliative care. In six of the eleven infants, the changes in management reduced inpatient cost by $800,000–$2,000,000. These findings replicate a prior study of the clinical utility of rWGS in acutely ill inpatient infants, and demonstrate improved outcomes and net healthcare savings. rWGS merits consideration as a first tier test in this setting.
Gene transfers can date the tree of life
Authors: Davín Adrián A. , Tannier Eric , Williams Tom A. , Boussau Bastien , Daubin Vincent , Szöllősi Gergely J. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractBiodiversity has always been predominantly microbial, and the scarcity of fossils from bacteria, archaea and microbial eukaryotes has prevented a comprehensive dating of the tree of life. Here, we show that patterns of lateral gene transfer deduced from an analysis of modern genomes encode a novel and abundant source of information about the temporal coexistence of lineages throughout the history of life. We use state-of-the-art species tree-aware phylogenetic methods to reconstruct the history of thousands of gene families and demonstrate that dates implied by gene transfers are consistent with estimates from relaxed molecular clocks in Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. We present the order of speciations according to lateral gene transfer data calibrated to geological time for three datasets comprising 40 genomes for Cyanobacteria, 60 genomes for Archaea and 60 genomes for Fungi. An inspection of discrepancies between transfers and clocks and a comparison with mammalian fossils show that gene transfer in microbes is potentially as informative for dating the tree of life as the geological record in macroorganisms.
N2-rich fluid in the vein-type Yangjingou scheelite deposit, Yanbian, NE China
Authors: Wang Yicun , Wang Keyong , Konare Yassa 
Published: March 2018

AbstractNearly pure N2 fluid inclusions (Th (L) = −151~−168 °C; Th (V) = ~150.3 °C) were identified in W-mineralized quartz veins from the Yangjingou scheelite deposit, in the eastern Yanbian area, NE China. Other fluid inclusion populations include N2-CO2, NaCl-H2O ± N2 and CO2 ± N2-NaCl-H2O, but no hydrocarbons were detected. The host rocks are part of the Wudaogou Group metamorphic series, which mainly consist of Ca-rich mica schist. Subhedral sulfide minerals occur in early disseminated W-mineralized quartz veins, or have partially replaced early scheelite. ThN2 and ThN2-H2O indicate N2 fluid-trapping from 315 °C to 410 °C and from 80 MPa to 350 MPa. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopic data (δD = −74.9‰~−77‰, δ18O = 9.6‰~12‰, V-SMOW) suggest that the mineralizing fluids were composed of mixed magmatic and metamorphic water, N2-rich inclusions (δ15N = −0.5‰ to 1.4‰) indicate fluid-rock interaction with metamorphic rocks. The N2-rich fluid was closely associated with scheelite precipitation. During thermal decomposition under high oxygen fugacity conditions, which occurred synchronously with metamorphism and magmatic activity, large amounts of N2 were liberated from NH4+-micas, which then accumulated in the parent fluid of the quartz scheelite veins.
Solvent Composition Drives the Rebinding Kinetics of Nitric Oxide to Microperoxidase
Authors: Mondal Padmabati , Meuwly Markus 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe rebinding kinetics of NO after photodissociation from microperoxidase (Mp-9) is studied in different solvent environments. In mixed glycerol/water (G/W) mixtures the dissociating ligand rebinds with a yield close to 1 due to the cavities formed by the solvent whereas in pure water the ligand can diffuse into the solvent after photodissociation. In the G/W mixture, only geminate rebinding on the sub-picosecond and 5 ps time scales was found and the rebinding fraction is unity which compares well with available experiments. Contrary to that, simulations in pure water find two time scales – ~10 ps and ~200 ps - indicating that both, geminate rebinding and rebinding after diffusion of NO in the surrounding water contribute. The rebinding fraction is around 0.63 within 1 ns which is in stark contrast with experiment. Including ions (Na and Cl) at 0.15 M concentration in water leads to rebinding kinetics tending to that in the glycerol/water mixture and yields agreement with experiments. The effect of temperature is also probed and found to be non-negligible. The present simulations suggest that NO rebinding in Mp is primarily driven by thermal fluctuations which is consistent with recent resonance Raman spectroscopy experiments and simulations on MbNO.
Altered Insulin/Insulin-Like Growth Factor Signaling in a Comorbid Rat model of Ischemia and β-Amyloid Toxicity
Authors: Amtul Zareen , Hill David J. , Arany Edith J. , Cechetto David F. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractIschemic stroke and diabetes are vascular risk factors for the development of impaired memory such as dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical studies have demonstrated that minor striatal ischemic lesions in combination with β-amyloid (Aβ) load are critical in generating cognitive deficits. These cognitive deficits are likely to be associated with impaired insulin signaling. In this study, we examined the histological presence of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) and insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1) in anatomically distinct brain circuits compared with morphological brain damage in a co-morbid rat model of striatal ischemia (ET1) and Aβ toxicity. The results demonstrated a rapid increase in the presence of IGF-1 and IRS-1 immunoreactive cells in Aβ + ET1 rats, mainly in the ipsilateral striatum and distant regions with synaptic links to the striatal lesion. These regions included subcortical white matter, motor cortex, thalamus, dentate gyrus, septohippocampal nucleus, periventricular region and horizontal diagonal band of Broca in the basal forebrain. The alteration in IGF-1 and IRS-1 presence induced by ET1 or Aβ rats alone was not severe enough to affect the entire brain circuit. Understanding the causal or etiologic interaction between insulin and IGF signaling and co-morbidity after ischemia and Aβ toxicity will help design more effective therapeutics.
Identification of p38 MAPK as a novel therapeutic target for Friedreich’s ataxia
Authors: Cotticelli M. Grazia , Xia Shujuan , Kaur Avinash , Lin Daniel , Wang Yongping , Ruff Eric , Tobias John W. , Wilson Robert B. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractFriedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive neuro- and cardio-degenerative disorder caused by decreased expression of frataxin, a protein that localizes to mitochondria and is critical for iron-sulfur-cluster (ISC) assembly. There are no proven effective treatments for FRDA. We previously screened a random shRNA library and identified a synthetic shRNA (gFA11) that reverses the growth defect of FRDA cells in culture. We now report that gFA11 decreases cytokine secretion in primary FRDA fibroblasts and reverts other changes associated with cell senescence. The gene-expression profile induced by gFA11 is remarkably similar to the gene-expression profile induced by the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. We found that p38 phosphorylation, indicating activation of the p38 pathway, is higher in FRDA cells than in normal control cells, and that siRNA knockdown of frataxin in normal fibroblasts also increases p38 phosphorylation. Treatment of FRDA cells with p38 inhibitors recapitulates the reversal of the slow-growth phenotype induced by clone gFA11. These data highlight the involvement of the p38 MAPK pathway in the pathogenesis of FRDA and the potential use of p38 inhibitors as a treatment for FRDA.
Fast first-photon ghost imaging
Authors: Liu Xialin , Shi Jianhong , Wu Xiaoyan , Zeng Guihua 
Published: March 2018

AbstractConventional imaging at low light levels requires hundreds of detected photons per pixel to suppress the Poisson noise for accurate reflectivity inference. We propose a high-efficiency photon-limited imaging technique, called fast first-photon ghost imaging, which recovers the image by conditional averaging of the reference patterns selected by the first-photon detection signal. Our technique merges the physics of low-flux measurements with the framework of computational ghost imaging. Experimental results demonstrate that it can reconstruct an image from less than 0.1 detected photon per pixel, which is three orders of magnitude less than conventional imaging techniques. A signal-to-noise ratio model of the system is established for noise analysis. With less data manipulation and shorter time requirements, our technique has potential applications in many fields, ranging from biological microscopy to remote sensing.
Prevalence and serogroup changes of Neisseria meningitidis in South Korea, 2010–2016
Authors: Lee Hyukmin , Seo Younghee , Kim Kyung-Hyo , Lee Kyungwon , Choe Kang-Won 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDetermination of the major serogroups is an important step for establishing a vaccine programme and management strategy targetingNeisseria meningitidis. From April 2010 to November 2016, a total of 25 N. meningitidisisolates were collected in South Korea, in collaboration with the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Among isolates, 19 isolates were recovered from blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 46 patients who suffered from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), and six isolates were found in sputum or the throat. The most common serogroup was serogroup B (overall, 36%, n = 9/25; IMD, 37%, n = 7/19), which was isolated in every year of the research period except for 2011. There were five serogroup W isolates recovered from patients in military service. W was no longer isolated after initiation of a vaccine programme for military trainees, but serogroup B caused meningitis in an army recruit training centre in 2015. In MLST analysis, 14 sequence types were found, and all isolates belonging to W showed the same molecular epidemiologic characteristics (W:P1.5-1, 2-2:F3-9:ST-8912). All isolates showed susceptibility to ceftriaxone, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, minocycline, and rifampin; however, the susceptibility rates to penicillin and ampicillin for isolates with W and C capsules were 22% and 30%, respectively.
Non-linear phonon Peltier effect in dissipative quantum dot systems
Authors: De Bitan , Muralidharan Bhaskaran 
Published: March 2018

AbstractSolid state thermoelectric cooling is based on the electronic Peltier effect, which cools via an electronic heat current in the absence of an applied temperature gradient. In this work, we demonstrate that equivalently, a phonon Peltier effect may arise in the non-linear thermoelectric transport regime of a dissipative quantum dot thermoelectric setup described via Anderson-Holstein model. This effect leads to an electron induced phonon heat current in the absence of a thermal gradient. Utilizing the modification of quasi-equilibrium phonon distribution via charge induced phonon accumulation, we show that in a special case the polarity of the phonon heat current can be reversed so that setup can dump heat into the hotter reservoirs. In further exploring possibilities that can arise from this effect, we propose a novel charge-induced phonon switching mechanism that may be incited via electrostatic gating.
The molecular mechanism for activating IgA production by Pediococcus acidilactici K15 and the clinical impact in a randomized trial
Authors: Kawashima Tadaomi , Ikari Naho , Kouchi Tomoko , Kowatari Yasuyuki , Kubota Yoshiro , Shimojo Naoki , Tsuji Noriko M. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractIgA secretion at mucosal sites is important for host defence against pathogens as well as maintaining the symbiosis with microorganisms present in the small intestine that affect IgA production. In the present study, we tested the ability of 5 strains of lactic acid bacteria stimulating IgA production, being Pediococcus acidilactici K15 selected as the most effective on inducing this protective immunoglobulin. We found that this response was mainly induced via IL-10, as efficiently as IL-6, secreted by K15-stimulated dendritic cells. Furthermore, bacterial RNA was largely responsible for the induction of these cytokines; double-stranded RNA was a major causative molecule for IL-6 production whereas single-stranded RNA was critical factor for IL-10 production. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, ingestion of K15 significantly increased the secretory IgA (sIgA) concentration in saliva compared with the basal level observed before this intervention. These results indicate that functional lactic acid bacteria induce IL-6 and IL-10 production by dendritic cells, which contribute to upregulating the sIgA concentration at mucosal sites in humans.
Optical Detection of Degraded Therapeutic Proteins
Authors: Herrington William F. , Singh Gajendra P. , Wu Di , Barone Paul W. , Hancock William , Ram Rajeev J. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe quality of therapeutic proteins such as hormones, subunit and conjugate vaccines, and antibodies is critical to the safety and efficacy of modern medicine. Identifying malformed proteins at the point-of-care can prevent adverse immune reactions in patients; this is of special concern when there is an insecure supply chain resulting in the delivery of degraded, or even counterfeit, drug product. Identification of degraded protein, for example human growth hormone, is demonstrated by applying automated anomaly detection algorithms. Detection of the degraded protein differs from previous applications of machine-learning and classification to spectral analysis: only example spectra of genuine, high-quality drug products are used to construct the classifier. The algorithm is tested on Raman spectra acquired on protein dilutions typical of formulated drug product and at sample volumes of 25 µL, below the typical overfill (waste) volumes present in vials of injectable drug product. The algorithm is demonstrated to correctly classify anomalous recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) with 92% sensitivity and 98% specificity even when the algorithm has only previously encountered high-quality drug product.
Mechanically Reconfigurable Single-Arm Spiral Antenna Array for Generation of Broadband Circularly Polarized Orbital Angular Momentum Vortex Waves
Authors: Li Long , Zhou Xiaoxiao 
Published: March 2018

AbstractIn this paper, a mechanically reconfigurable circular array with single-arm spiral antennas (SASAs) is designed, fabricated, and experimentally demonstrated to generate broadband circularly polarized orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortex waves in radio frequency domain. With the symmetrical and broadband properties of single-arm spiral antennas, the vortex waves with different OAM modes can be mechanically reconfigurable generated in a wide band from 3.4 GHz to 4.7 GHz. The prototype of the circular array is proposed, conducted, and fabricated to validate the theoretical analysis. The simulated and experimental results verify that different OAM modes can be effectively generated by rotating the spiral arms of single-arm spiral antennas with corresponding degrees, which greatly simplify the feeding network. The proposed method paves a reconfigurable way to generate multiple OAM vortex waves with spin angular momentum (SAM) in radio and microwave satellite communication applications.
Canagliflozin inhibits interleukin-1β-stimulated cytokine and chemokine secretion in vascular endothelial cells by AMP-activated protein kinase-dependent and -independent mechanisms
Authors: Mancini Sarah J. , Boyd Daria , Katwan Omar J. , Strembitska Anastasiya , Almabrouk Tarek A. , Kennedy Simon , Palmer Timothy M. , Salt Ian P. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractRecent clinical trials of the hypoglycaemic sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, which inhibit renal glucose reabsorption, have reported beneficial cardiovascular outcomes. Whether SGLT2 inhibitors directly affect cardiovascular tissues, however, remains unclear. We have previously reported that the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in immortalised cell lines and murine hepatocytes. As AMPK has anti-inflammatory actions in vascular cells, we examined whether SGLT2 inhibitors attenuated inflammatory signalling in cultured human endothelial cells. Incubation with clinically-relevant concentrations of canagliflozin, but not empagliflozin or dapagliflozin activated AMPK and inhibited IL-1β-stimulated adhesion of pro-monocytic U937 cells and secretion of IL-6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Inhibition of MCP-1 secretion was attenuated by expression of dominant-negative AMPK and was mimicked by the direct AMPK activator, A769662. Stimulation of cells with either canagliflozin or A769662 had no effect on IL-1β-stimulated cell surface levels of adhesion molecules or nuclear factor-κB signalling. Despite these identical effects of canagliflozin and A769662, IL-1β-stimulated IL-6/MCP-1 mRNA was inhibited by canagliflozin, but not A769662, whereas IL-1β-stimulated c-jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation was inhibited by A769662, but not canagliflozin. These data indicate that clinically-relevant canagliflozin concentrations directly inhibit endothelial pro-inflammatory chemokine/cytokine secretion by AMPK-dependent and -independent mechanisms without affecting early IL-1β signalling.
Diverse Assemblage of Ediacaran fossils from Central Iran
Authors: Vaziri Seyed Hamid , Majidifard Mahmoud Reza , Laflamme Marc 
Published: March 2018

AbstractReinvestigation of the Kushk and Chahmir areas (Bafq and Behabad regions) of central Iran has yielded a diverse assemblage of Ediacaran fossils, including several new species, just prior to the Cambrian explosion of complex animals. The Kushk series consists mainly of shallow marine carbonate deposits followed by deep-water calcareous marine shales. Ediacaran fossils occur commonly in the shale deposits and include biostratigraphically-important taxa Cloudina and Corumbella, which confirms a latest Ediacaran age for these deposits, the youngest examples of Kimberellomorphs (stem-group molluscs) that helps bridge the gap between their first occurrence in the middle-Ediacaran and the crown diversification in the Cambrian, and likely sponges, which are rare prior to the Cambrian.
The membrane-distal regions of integrin α cytoplasmic domains contribute differently to integrin inside-out activation
Authors: Thinn Aye Myat Myat , Wang Zhengli , Zhu Jieqing 
Published: March 2018

AbstractFunctioning as signal receivers and transmitters, the integrin α/β cytoplasmic tails (CT) are pivotal in integrin activation and signaling. 18 α integrin subunits share a conserved membrane-proximal region but have a highly diverse membrane-distal (MD) region at their CTs. Recent studies demonstrated that the presence of α CTMD region is essential for talin-induced integrin inside-out activation. However, it remains unknown whether the non-conserved α CTMD regions differently regulate the inside-out activation of integrin. Using αIIbβ3, αLβ2, and α5β1as model integrins and by replacing their α CTMD regions with those of α subunits that pair with β3, β2, and β1subunits, we analyzed the function of CTMD regions of 17 α subunits in talin-mediated integrin activation. We found that the α CTMD regions play two roles on integrin, which are activation-supportive and activation-regulatory. The regulatory but not the supportive function depends on the sequence identity of α CTMD region. A membrane-proximal tyrosine residue present in the CTMD regions of a subset of α integrins was identified to negatively regulate integrin inside-out activation. Our study provides a useful resource for investigating the function of α integrin CTMD regions.
Information about peer choices shapes human risky decision-making
Authors: Tomova Livia , Pessoa Luiz 
Published: March 2018

AbstractHumans frequently make choices that involve risk for health and well-being. At the same time, information about others’ choices is omnipresent due to new forms of social media and information technology. However, while past research has shown that peers can exert a strong influence on such risky choices, understanding howinformation about risky decisions of othersaffects one’s own risky decisions is still lacking. We therefore developed a behavioral task to measure how information about peer choices affects risky decision-making and call it the social Balloon Analogue Risk Task (sBART). We tested this novel paradigm in a sample of 52 college young adults. Here we show that risky decisions were influenced in the direction of the perceived choices of others – riskier choices of others led to riskier behavior whereas safer choices of others led to less risky behavior. These findings indicate thatinformationabout peer choices is sufficient to shape one’s own risky behavior.
Matrix Metalloproteinase Mediated Type I Collagen Degradation is an Independent Predictor of Increased Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Bertelsen Ditte Marie , Neergaard Jesper Skov , Bager Cecilie Liv , Nielsen Signe Holm , Secher Niels Henry , Svendsen Jesper Hastrup , Bihlet Asger Reinstrup , Andersen Jeppe Ragnar , Karsdal Morten Asser , Christiansen Claus , Nielsen Henning Bay 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAcute myocardial infarction (AMI) is often underdiagnosed in women. It is therefore of interest to identify biomarkers that indicate increased risk of AMI and thereby help clinicians to have additional focus on the difficult AMI diagnosis. Type I Collagen, a component of the cardiac extracellular matrix, is cleaved by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) generating the neo-epitope C1M. We investigated the association between serum-C1M and AMI and evaluated whether C1M is a prognostic marker for outcome following AMI. This study is based on The Prospective Epidemiological Risk Factor (PERF) Study including postmenopausal women. 316 out of 5,450 women developed AMI within the follow-up period (14 years, median). A multivariate Cox analysis assessed association between serum-C1M and AMI, and re-infaction or death subsequent to AMI. The risk of AMI increased by 18% (p = 0.03) when serum-C1M was doubled and women in the highest quartile had a 33% increased risk compared to those in the low quartiles (p = 0.025). Serum-C1M was, however not related to reinfarction or death subsequent to AMI. In this study C1M was be an independent risk factor for AMI. Measuring MMP degraded type I collagen could be useful for prediction of increased risk of AMI if replicated in other cohorts.