bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Graves’ orbitopathy occurs sex-independently in an autoimmune hyperthyroid mouse model
Authors: Schlüter Anke , Flögel Ulrich , Diaz-Cano Salvador , Görtz Gina-Eva , Stähr Kerstin , Oeverhaus Michael , Plöhn Svenja , Mattheis Stefan , Moeller Lars C. , Lang Stephan , Bechrakis Nikolaos E. , Banga J. Paul , Eckstein Anja , Berchner-Pfannschmidt Utta 
Published: August 2018

AbstractGraves’ orbitopathy (GO) is the most common extra thyroidal complication of Graves’ disease (GD) and occurs predominantly in women but more severe in men. The reason for this effect of gender on GO is unknown. Herein we studied the manifestation of GO in both sexes of an induced mouse model in absence of additional risk factors present in patients like advanced age, genetic variabilities or smoking. Male and female mice were immunized with human TSHR A-subunit encoding plasmid. Both sexes comparably developed autoimmune hyperthyroidism characterized by TSHR stimulating autoantibodies, elevated T4 values, hyperplastic thyroids and hearts. Autoimmune mice developed inflammatory eye symptoms and proptosis, although males earlier than females. Serial in vivo1H/19F-magnetic resonance imaging revealed elevated inflammatory infiltration, increased fat volume and glycosaminoglycan deposition in orbits of both sexes but most significantly in female mice. Histologically, infiltration of T-cells, extension of brown fat and overall collagen deposition were characteristics of GO in male mice. In contrast, female mice developed predominately macrophage infiltration in muscle and connective tissue, and muscle hypertrophy. Apart from sex-dependent variabilities in pathogenesis, disease classification revealed minor sex-differences in incidence and total outcome. In conclusion, sex does not predispose for autoimmune hyperthyroidism and associated GO.
Effects of land use/cover on surface water pollution based on remote sensing and 3D-EEM fluorescence data in the Jinghe Oasis
Authors: Wang Xiaoping , Zhang Fei 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe key problem in the reasonable management of water is identifying the effective radius of surface water pollution. Remote sensing and three-dimensional fluorescence technologies were used to evaluate the effects of land use/cover on surface water pollution. The PARAFAC model and self-organizing map (SOM) neural network model were selected for this study. The results showed that four fluorescence components, microbial humic-like (C1), terrestrial humic-like organic (C2, C4), and protein-like organic (C3) substances, were successfully extracted by the PARAFAC factor analysis. Thirty water sampling points were selected to build 5 buffer zones. We found that the most significant relationships between land use and fluorescence components were within a 200 m buffer, and the maximum contributions to pollution were mainly from urban and salinized land sources. The clustering of land-use types and three-dimensional fluorescence peaks by the SOM neural network method demonstrated that the three-dimensional fluorescence peaks and land-use types could be grouped into 4 clusters. Principal factor analysis was selected to extract the two main fluorescence peaks from the four clustered fluorescence peaks; this study found that the relationships between salinized land, cropland and the fluorescence peaks of C1, W2, and W7 were significant by the stepwise multiple regression method.
Effects of sustained daily latanoprost application on anterior chamber anatomy and physiology in mice
Authors: Dutca Laura M. , Rudd Danielle , Robles Victor , Galor Anat , Garvin Mona K. , Anderson Michael G. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractLatanoprost is a common glaucoma medication. Here, we study longitudinal effects of sustained latanoprost treatment on intraocular pressure (IOP) in C57BL/6J mice, as well as two potential side-effects, changes in iris pigmentation and central corneal thickness (CCT). Male C57BL/6J mice were treated daily for 16 weeks with latanoprost. Control mice were treated on the same schedule with the preservative used with latanoprost, benzalkonium chloride (BAK), or handled, without ocular treatments. IOP and CCT were studied at pre-treatment, 2 “early” time points, and 2 “late” time points; slit-lamp analysis performed at a late time point; and expression of corneal and iridial candidate genes analyzed at the end of the experiment. Latanoprost lowered IOP short, but not long-term. Sustained application of BAK consistently resulted in significant corneal thinning, whereas sustained treatment with latanoprost resulted in smaller and less consistent changes. Neither treatment affected iris pigmentation, corneal matrix metalloprotease expression or iridial pigment-related genes expression. In summary, latanoprost initially lowered IOP in C57BL/6J mice, but became less effective with sustained treatment, likely due to physiological adaptation. These results identify a new resource for studying changes in responsiveness associated with long-term treatment with latanoprost and highlight detrimental effects of commonly used preservative BAK.
ADAMTS1 protease is required for a balanced immune cell repertoire and tumour inflammatory response
Authors: Rodríguez-Baena Francisco Javier , Redondo-García Silvia , Peris-Torres Carlos , Martino-Echarri Estefanía , Fernández-Rodríguez Rubén , Plaza-Calonge María del Carmen , Anderson Per , Rodríguez-Manzaneque Juan Carlos 
Published: August 2018

AbstractRecent advances have emphasized the relevance of studying the extracellular microenvironment given its main contribution to tissue homeostasis and disease. Within this complex scenario, we have studied the extracellular protease ADAMTS1 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motif 1), implicated in vascularization and development, with reported anti- and pro-tumorigenic activities. In this work we performed a detailed study of the vasculature and substrates in adult organs of wild type and Adamts1-deficient mice. In addition to the expected alterations of organs like kidney, heart and aorta, we found that the lack of ADAMTS1 differently affects lymphocyte and myeloid populations in the spleen and bone marrow. The study of the substrate versican also revealed its alteration in the absence of the protease. With such premises, we challenged our mice with subcutaneous B16F1 syngeneic tumours and closely evaluated the immune repertoire in the tumours but also in the distant spleen and bone marrow. Our results confirmed a pro-inflammatory landscape in the absence of ADAMTS1, correlating with tumour blockade, supporting its novel role as a modulator of the immune cell response.
Prevalence and influencing factors of overweight and obesity in a Chinese rural population: the Henan Rural Cohort Study
Authors: Liu Xiaotian , Wu Weidong , Mao Zhenxing , Huo Wenqian , Tu Runqi , Qian Xinling , Zhang Xia , Tian Zhongyan , Zhang Haiqing , Jiang Jingjing , Li Yuqian , Wang Chongjian 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe study aimed to estimate prevalence and influencing factors of overweight, general obesity, and abdominal obesity in rural areas of China. A total of 39034 participants aged 18 to 79 years were enrolled from the Henan Rural Cohort Study for the cross-sectional study. The age-standardized prevalence of overweight, general obesity, and abdominal obesity were 34.97%, 16.82%, and 43.71% in the general Chinese rural adults, respectively. Gender differences were: 36.04%, 18.98%, 35.37% for men, and 34.55%, 15.42%, 49.13% for women, respectively. The subgroup analysis showed the rates of overweight, general obesity, and abdominal obesity existed considerable disparities, but were universally high in all subgroups. Further, the study found that there were statistically significant U-shaped associations between the prevalence of overweight, general obesity, and abdominal obesity and age groups. In addition, the prevalence of participants with both abnormal BMI and WC were even at approximate forty percent. Aging, married/cohabiting, higher per capita monthly income, and unhealthy lifestyle were independent influencing factors of overweight, general obesity and abdominal obesity. In conclusion, overweight and obesity were severe in rural China. There is an increased need for closely monitoring high risk factors and promoting healthy lifestyle to curb the obesity epidemic among rural population.
Vasopressin and oxytocin in sensory neurones: expression, exocytotic release and regulation by lactation
Authors: Dayanithi Govindan , Forostyak Oksana , Forostyak Serhiy , Kayano Tomohiko , Ueta Yoichi , Verkhratsky Alexei 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe neurohormones arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) synthesised in supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of neurohypophysis regulate lactation, systemic water homeostasis and nociception. Using transgenic rats expressing AVP and OT tagged with fluorescent proteins we demonstrate that both neurohormones are expressed in sensory neurones both in vitro, in primary cultures, and in situ, in the intact ganglia; this expression was further confirmed with immunocytochemistry. Both neurohormones were expressed in nociceptive neurones immunopositive to transient receptor potential vannilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel antibodies. The AVP and OT-expressing DRG neurones responded to AVP, OT, 50 mM K+ and capsaicin with [Ca2+]i transients; responses to AVP and OT were specifically blocked by the antagonists of V1 AVP and OT receptors. Probing the extracellular incubation saline with ELISA revealed AVP and OT secretion from isolated DRGs; this secretion was inhibited by tetanus toxin (TeNT) indicating the role for vesicular release. Expression of OT, but not AVP in DRG neurones significantly increased during lactation. Together, the results indicate novel physiological roles (possibly related to nociception and mood regulation) of AVP and OT in the sensory neurones.
A microscopic Kapitza pendulum
Authors: Richards Christopher J. , Smart Thomas J. , Jones Philip H. , Cubero David 
Published: August 2018

AbstractPyotr Kapitza studied in 1951 the unusual equilibrium features of a rigid pendulum when its point of suspension is under a high-frequency vertical vibration. A sufficiently fast vibration makes the top position stable, putting the pendulum in an inverted orientation that seemingly defies gravity. Kapitza’s analytical method, based on an asymptotic separation of fast and slow variables yielding a renormalized potential, has found application in many diverse areas. Here we study Kapitza’s pendulum going beyond its typical idealizations, by explicitly considering its finite stiffness and the dissipative interaction with the surrounding medium, and using similar theoretical methods as Kapitza. The pendulum is realized at the micrometre scale using a colloidal particle suspended in water and trapped by optical tweezers. Though the strong dissipation present at this scale prevents the inverted pendulum regime, new ones appear in which the equilibrium positions are displaced to the side, and with transitions between them determined either by the driving frequency or the friction coefficient. These new regimes could be exploited in applications aimed at particle separation at small scales.
CEA: Combination-based gene set functional enrichment analysis
Authors: Sun Duanchen , Liu Yinliang , Zhang Xiang-Sun , Wu Ling-Yun 
Published: August 2018

AbstractFunctional enrichment analysis is a fundamental and challenging task in bioinformatics. Most of the current enrichment analysis approaches individually evaluate functional terms and often output a list of enriched terms with high similarity and redundancy, which makes it difficult for downstream studies to extract the underlying biological interpretation. In this paper, we proposed a novel framework to assess the performance of combination-based enrichment analysis. Using this framework, we formulated the enrichment analysis as a multi-objective combinatorial optimization problem and developed the CEA (Combination-based Enrichment Analysis) method. CEA provides the whole landscape of term combinations; therefore, it is a good benchmark for evaluating the current state-of-the-art combination-based functional enrichment methods in a comprehensive manner. We tested the effectiveness of CEA on four published microarray datasets. Enriched functional terms identified by CEA not only involve crucial biological processes of related diseases, but also have much less redundancy and can serve as a preferable representation for the enriched terms found by traditional single-term-based methods. CEA has been implemented in the R package CopTea and is available at http://github.com/wulingyun/CopTea/.
Multiple polymerase gene mutations for human adaptation occurring in Asian H5N1 influenza virus clinical isolates
Authors: Arai Yasuha , Kawashita Norihito , Hotta Kozue , Hoang Phuong Vu Mai , Nguyen Hang Le Khanh , Nguyen Thach Co , Vuong Cuong Duc , Le Thanh Thi , Le Mai Thi Quynh , Soda Kosuke , Ibrahim Madiha S. , Daidoji Tomo , Takagi Tatsuya , Shioda Tatsuo , Nakaya Takaaki , Ito Toshihiro , Hasebe Futoshi , Watanabe Yohei 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe role of the influenza virus polymerase complex in host range restriction has been well-studied and several host range determinants, such as the polymerase PB2-E627K and PB2-D701N mutations, have been identified. However, there may be additional, currently unknown, human adaptation polymerase mutations. Here, we used a database search of influenza virus H5N1 clade 1.1, clade 2.3.2.1 and clade 2.3.4 strains isolated from 2008–2012 in Southern China, Vietnam and Cambodia to identify polymerase adaptation mutations that had been selected in infected patients. Several of these mutations acted either alone or together to increase viral polymerase activity in human airway cells to levels similar to the PB2-D701N and PB2-E627K single mutations and to increase progeny virus yields in infected mouse lungs to levels similar to the PB2-D701N single mutation. In particular, specific mutations acted synergistically with the PB2-D701N mutation and showed synergistic effects on viral replication both in human airway cells and mice compared with the corresponding single mutations. Thus, H5N1 viruses in infected patients were able to acquire multiple polymerase mutations that acted cooperatively for human adaptation. Our findings give new insight into the human adaptation of AI viruses and help in avian influenza virus risk assessment.
The effect of male age on patterns of sexual segregation in Siberian ibex
Authors: Wang Muyang , Alves Joana , da Silva António Alves , Yang Weikang , Ruckstuhl Kathreen E. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractSexual segregation is very common in sexually size dimorphic ungulates and may be the result of different habitat preferences and/or differential social behaviours of males and females. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain this phenomenon. In the present research, we examined sexual segregation in a quite poorly understood species, the Siberian ibex. The species presents a marked sexual size dimorphism, with adult males weighing double as much as females. We use the Sexual Segregation and Aggregation Statistics (SSAS) to analyze the sex-age patterns of sexual segregation in this species, to understand the relevance of social factors. Our results show that adult Siberian ibex males were socially segregated from females all year round, except during the rutting season. Furthermore, the degree of segregation between females and males was influenced by the age of males. Moreover, the patterns of social segregation within males also increased with male age, reaching maximum values for males of 9 years-old and older, which means male age plays an important role in the sexual segregation of this species. This study clearly shows that social factors play a key role in the sexual segregation of Siberian ibex.
Optimal multisensory integration leads to optimal time estimation
Authors: Murai Yuki , Yotsumoto Yuko 
Published: August 2018

AbstractOur brain compensates sensory uncertainty by combining multisensory information derived from an event, and by integrating the current sensory signal with the prior knowledge about the statistical structure of previous events. There is growing evidence that both strategies are statistically optimal; however, how these two stages of information integration interact and shape an optimal percept remains an open question. In the present study, we investigated the perception of time as an amodal perceptual attribute. The central tendency, a phenomenon of biasing the current percept toward previous stimuli, is used to quantify and model how the prior information affects the current timing behavior. We measured the timing sensitivity and the central tendency for unisensory and multisensory stimuli with sensory uncertainty systematically manipulated by adding noise. Psychophysical results demonstrate that the central tendency increases as the uncertainty increases, and that the multisensory timing improves both the timing sensitivity and the central tendency bias compared to the unisensory timing. Computational models indicate that the optimal multisensory integration precedes the optimal integration of prior information causing the central tendency. Our findings suggest that our brain incorporates the multisensory information and prior knowledge in a statistically optimal manner to realize precise and accurate timing behavior.
Tissue degeneration in ALS affected spinal cord evaluated by Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Picardi Gennaro , Spalloni Alida , Generosi Amanda , Paci Barbara , Mercuri Nicola Biagio , Luce Marco , Longone Patrizia , Cricenti Antonio 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe Raman spectral features from spinal cord tissue sections of transgenic, ALS model mice and non-transgenic mice were compared using 457 nm excitation line, profiting from the favourable signal intensity obtained in the molecular fingerprint region at this wavelength. Transverse sections from four SOD1G93A mice at 75 days and from two at 90 days after birth were analysed and compared with sections of similarly aged control mice. The spectra acquired within the grey matter of tissue sections from the diseased mice is markedly different from the grey matter signature of healthy mice. In particular, we observe an intensity increase in the spectral windows 450–650 cm−1 and 1050–1200 cm−1, accompanied by an intensity decrease in the lipid contributions at ~1660 cm−1, ~1440 cm−1 and ~1300 cm−1. Axons demyelination, loss of lipid structural order and the proliferation and aggregation of branched proteoglycans are related to the observed spectral modifications. Furthermore, the grey and white matter components of the spinal cord sections could also be spectrally distinguished, based on the relative intensity of characteristic lipid and protein bands. Raman spectra acquired from the white matter regions of the SOD1G93A mice closely resembles those from control mice.
Intrinsic structural and electronic properties of the Buffer Layer on Silicon Carbide unraveled by Density Functional Theory
Authors: Cavallucci Tommaso , Tozzini Valentina 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe buffer carbon layer obtained in the first instance by evaporation of Si from the Si-rich surfaces of silicon carbide (SiC) is often studied only as the intermediate to the synthesis of SiC supported graphene. In this work, we explore its intrinsic potentialities, addressing its structural and electronic properties by means of Density Functional Theory. While the system of corrugation crests organized in a honeycomb super-lattice of nano-metric side returned by calculations is compatible with atomic microscopy observations, our work reveals some possible alternative symmetries, which might coexist in the same sample. The electronic structure analysis reveals the presence of an electronic gap of ~0.7 eV. In-gap states are present, localized over the crests, while near-gap states reveal very different structure and space localization, being either bonding states or outward pointing p orbitals and unsaturated Si dangling bonds. On one hand, the presence of these interface states was correlated with the n-doping of the monolayer graphene subsequently grown on the buffer. On the other hand, the correlation between their chemical character and their space localization is likely to produce a differential reactivity towards specific functional groups with a spatial regular modulation at the nano-scale, opening perspectives for a finely controlled chemical functionalization.
Spontaneous colloidal metal network formation driven by molten salt electrolysis
Authors: Natsui Shungo , Sudo Takuya , Kaneko Takumi , Tonya Kazui , Nakajima Daiki , Kikuchi Tatsuya , Suzuki Ryosuke O. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe molten salt-based direct reduction process for reactive solid metal outperforms traditional pyrometallurgical methods in energy efficiency. However, the simplity and rapidity of this process require a deeper understanding of the interfacial morphology in the vicinity of liquid metal deposited at the cathode. For the first time, here we report the time change of electrode surface on the sub-millisecond/micrometre scale in molten LiCl-CaCl2 at 823 K. When the potential was applied, liquid Li-Ca alloy droplets grew on the electrode, and the black colloidal metal moved on the electrode surface to form a network structure. The unit cell size of the network and the number density of droplets were found to depend on the applied potential. These results will provide important information about the microscale mixing action near the electrode, and accelerate the development of metallothermic reduction of oxides.
Unique Symmetry-Breaking Phenomenon during the Self-assembly of Macroions Elucidated by Simulation
Authors: Liu Zhuonan , Liu Tianbo , Tsige Mesfin 
Published: August 2018

AbstractVarious soluble hydrophilic macroions can self-assemble into hollow, spherical, monolayered supramolecular “blackberry”-type structures, despite their like-charged nature. However, how the 3-D symmetrical macroions prefer to form 2-D monolayers in bulk solution, especially for the highly symmetrical “Keplerate” polyoxometalates and functionalized C60 macroions has been a mystery. Through molecular dynamics simulations, using a model specifically designed for macroions in solution, the mechanism of this intriguing symmetry-breaking process is found to be related to the apparently asymmetric charge distribution on the surface of macroions in the equatorial belt area (the area which can be effectively involved in the counterion-mediated attraction). As a result, the electric field lines around macroions during the self-assembly process clearly show that the symmetry-breaking happens at the dimer level effectively defining the plane of the self-assembly. These findings are expected to contribute to our fundamental knowledge of complex solution systems that are found in many fields from materials science to biological phenomena.