bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Goth migration induced changes in the matrilineal genetic structure of the central-east European population
Authors: Stolarek I. , Handschuh L. , Juras A. , Nowaczewska W. , Kóčka-Krenz H. , Michalowski A. , Piontek J. , Kozlowski P. , Figlerowicz M. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractFor years, the issues related to the origin of the Goths and their early migrations in the Iron Age have been a matter of hot debate among archaeologists. Unfortunately, the lack of new independent data has precluded the evaluation of the existing hypothesis. To overcome this problem, we initiated systematic studies of the populations inhabiting the contemporary territory of Poland during the Iron Age. Here, we present an analysis of mitochondrial DNA isolated from 27 individuals (collectively called the Mas-VBIA group) excavated from an Iron Age cemetery (dated to the 2nd-4th century A.D.) attributed to Goths and located near Masłomęcz, eastern Poland. We found that Mas-VBIA has similar genetic diversity to present-day Asian populations and higher diversity than that of contemporary Europeans. Our studies revealed close genetic links between the Mas-VBIA and two other Iron Age populations from the Jutland peninsula and from Kowalewko, located in western Poland. We disclosed the genetic connection between the Mas-VBIA and ancient Pontic-Caspian steppe groups. Similar connections were absent in the chronologically earlier Kowalewko and Jutland peninsula populations. The collected results seem to be consistent with the historical narrative that assumed that the Goths originated in southern Scandinavia; then, at least part of the Goth population moved south through the territory of contemporary Poland towards the Black Sea region, where they mixed with local populations and formed the Chernyakhov culture. Finally, a fraction of the Chernyakhov population returned to the southeast region of present-day Poland and established the archaeological formation called the “Masłomęcz group”.
Oxygen dissociation from ferrous oxygenated human hemoglobin:haptoglobin complexes confirms that in the R-state α and β chains are functionally heterogeneous
Authors: Ascenzi Paolo , Polticelli Fabio , Coletta Massimiliano 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe adverse effects of extra-erythrocytic hemoglobin (Hb) are counterbalanced by several plasma proteins devoted to facilitate the clearance of free heme and Hb. In particular, haptoglobin (Hp) traps the αβ dimers of Hb, which are delivered to the reticulo-endothelial system by CD163 receptor-mediated endocytosis. Since Hp:Hb complexes show heme-based reactivity, kinetics of O2 dissociation from the ferrous oxygenated human Hp1-1:Hb and Hp2-2:Hb complexes (Hp1-1:Hb(II)-O2 and Hp2-2:Hb(II)-O2, respectively) have been determined. O2 dissociation from Hp1-1:Hb(II)-O2 and Hp2-2:Hb(III)-O2 follows a biphasic process. The relative amplitude of the fast and slow phases ranges between 0.47 and 0.53 of the total amplitude, with values of koff1 (ranging between 25.6 ± 1.4 s−1 and 29.1 ± 1.3 s−1) being about twice faster than those of koff2 (ranging between 13.8 ± 1.6 s−1 and 16.1 ± 1.2 s−1). Values of koff1 and koff2 are essentially the same independently on whether O2 dissociation has been followed after addition of a dithionite solution or after O2 displacement by a CO solution in the presence of dithionite. They correspond to those reported for the dissociation of the first O2 molecule from tetrameric Hb(II)-O2, indicating that in the R-state α and β chains are functionally heterogeneous and the tetramer and the dimer behave identically. Accordingly, the structural conformation of the α and β chains of the Hb dimer bound to Hp corresponds to that of the subunits of the Hb tetramer in the R-state.
Vision-related quality of life and symptom perception change over time in newly-diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma patients
Authors: Riva Ivano , Legramandi Lorenzo , Rulli Eliana , Konstas Anastasios G. , Katsanos Andreas , Oddone Francesco , Weinreb Robert N. , Quaranta Luciano ,   The Italian Study Group on QoL in Glaucoma, Varano L. , Carchedi T. , Talarico S. , Frezzotti P. , Parravano F. , Motolese I. , Bagaglia S. A. , Rossi G. C. M. , Lateri S. , Bossolesi L. , Carmassi L. , Rolle T. , Piccini R. , Ratiglia R. , Rossi A. , Gandolfi S. , Tagliavini V. , Ungaro N. , Fossarello M. , Cuccu A. , Zucca I. , Uva M. , Bonacci E. , Cardarella G. , Tognetto D. , Vattovani O. , Vallon P. , Iannacone F. , Fontana L. , Marchi S. , Manni G. L. , Jannetta D. , Roberti G. , Rossetti L. , Maggiolo E. , Oneta O. , Sborgia C. , Cantatore F. , Mastropasqua L. , Agnifili L. , Campos E. , Gizzi C. , Giannaccare G. , Pucci V. , Cassamali M. , Costagliola C. , Traverso C. , Scotto R. , Musolino M. , Landi L. , Bagnis A. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractTo evaluate the change over time of vision-related quality of life (QoL) and glaucoma symptoms in a population of newly-diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients. Multicenter, prospective study. Consecutive newly-diagnosed POAG patients were enrolled and followed-up for one year. Follow-up visits were scheduled at 6 and 12 months from baseline. At each visit, vision-related QoL and glaucoma-related symptoms were assessed by the means of the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) and the Glaucoma Symptom Scale (GSS), respectively. Trends over time for NEI-VFQ-25 and GSS scores were evaluated with longitudinal linear mixed models. One-hundred seventy-eight patients were included in the analysis. At baseline, early to moderate glaucoma stages were associated with higher scores for most GSS and NEI-VFQ-25 items, while lower best-corrected visual acuity was associated with lower scores for 4 of the 12 NEI-VFQ-25 items. During the follow-up, all the GSS scores, the NEI-VFQ-25 total score, and 7 of the 12 NEI-VFQ-25 scores significantly improved (p < 0.05). In multivariate model, higher increases of most GSS and NEI-VFQ-25 scores were modeled in patients with low scores at baseline. Vision-related QoL and glaucoma-related symptom perception significantly improved during the one-year follow-up in this population of newly diagnosed POAG patients.
Quadrature Frequency-Group Radar and its center estimation algorithms for small Vibrational Displacement
Authors: Kim Dong Kyoo , Kim Youjin 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe quadrature continuous-wave (QCW) radar has been extensively studied for small vibrational displacement detection such as non-contact sensing of human vital signals. One of the challenges of the QCW radar is the IQ-imbalance and DC-offset estimation by using curve fitting algorithms. Many algorithms have been proposed and have shown that the fitting error increases when the displacement length is small, in which case sufficient data is not provided to the algorithms. This paper presents a quadrature frequency-group (QFG) radar which utilizes a group of frequencies to enhance the fitting performance even with the small displacement. The grouped-frequencies in the QFG radar gives more data than the single-tone of the QCW radar under the same displacement condition. This paper presents the framework and properties of the QFG radar. Some fitting algorithms for the QFG radar are presented and the most adequate algorithm is suggested by simulation and experiments. Simulation and experimental results shows that the QFG radar outperforms the QCW radar. Specifically, it is shown that the fitting accuracy of the QFG radar is up to 100 times better than the QCW radar in the experiment.
Transcription Factor HOXA9 is Linked to the Calcification and Invasion of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Authors: Jin Yilan , Kim Hyeung Kyoo , Lee Jeonghun , Soh Euy Young , Kim Jang-Hee , Song Insun , Chung Yoon-Sok , Choi Yong Jun 
Published: May 2019

AbstractCalcification is important for the diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), a master transcription factor associated with osteogenic differentiation, is reportedly related to PTC calcification and invasiveness. However, its regulatory role in this process is somewhat uncharacterized. Here, we attempted to identify genes that regulate RUNX2 and clarify its function in PTC carcinogenesis and calcification. The expression of RUNX2-upstream genes was evaluated by real-time PCR in Nthy-Ori 3-1 normal thyroid cells and TPC1 and BHP10-3 PTC cell lines. Luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed with candidate genes after cloning the RUNX2 promoter. We found that RUNX2 promoter activity was enhanced by homeobox family A9 (HOXA9). Over-expression of HOXA9 was found to enhance alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralization, and in vitro tumour cell migration and invasion, whereas downregulation had the opposite effects. These results indicate that HOXA9, a positive regulator of RUNX2, can enhance calcification, migration, and invasion in PTC. Our data improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of microcalcification in PTC as well as tumorigenesis.
Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)
Authors: Rocke Tonie E. , Kingstad-Bakke Brock , Wüthrich Marcel , Stading Ben , Abbott Rachel C. , Isidoro-Ayza Marcos , Dobson Hannah E. , dos Santos Dias Lucas , Galles Kevin , Lankton Julia S. , Falendysz Elizabeth A. , Lorch Jeffrey M. , Fites J. Scott , Lopera-Madrid Jaime , White J. Paul , Klein Bruce , Osorio Jorge E. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractWhite-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus. In a pilot study, we immunized bats with one of four vaccine treatments or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control and challenged them with Pd upon transfer into hibernation chambers. Bats in one vaccine-treated group, that received raccoon poxviruses (RCN) expressing Pd calnexin (CAL) and serine protease (SP), developed WNS at a lower rate (1/10) than other treatments combined (14/23), although samples sizes were small. The results of a second similar trial provided additional support for this observation. Bats vaccinated orally or by injection with RCN-CAL and RCN-SP survived Pd challenge at a significantly higher rate (P = 0.01) than controls. Using RT-PCR and flow cytometry, combined with fluorescent in situ hybridization, we determined that expression of IFN-γ transcripts and the number of CD4 + T-helper cells transcribing this gene were elevated (P < 0.10) in stimulated lymphocytes from surviving vaccinees (n = 15) compared to controls (n = 3). We conclude that vaccination with virally-vectored Pd antigens induced antifungal immunity that could potentially protect bats against WNS.
8.2 ka event North Sea hydrography determined by bivalve shell stable isotope geochemistry
Authors: Estrella-Martínez Juan , Ascough Philippa L. , Schöne Bernd R. , Scourse James D. , Butler Paul G. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe abrupt 8.2 ka cold event has been widely described from Greenland and North Atlantic records. However, its expression in shelf seas is poorly documented, and the temporal resolution of most marine records is inadequate to precisely determine the chronology of major events. A robust hydrographical reconstruction can provide an insight on climatic reaction times to perturbations to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Here we present an annually-resolved temperature and water column stratification reconstruction based on stable isotope geochemistry of Arctica islandica shells from the Fladen Ground (northern North Sea) temporally coherent with Greenland ice core records. Our age model is based on a growth increment chronology obtained from four radiometrically-dated shells covering the 8290–8100 cal BP interval. Our results indicate that a sudden sea level rise (SSLR) event-driven column stratification occurred between ages 8320–8220 cal BP. Thirty years later, cold conditions inhibited water column stratification but an eventual incursion of sub-Arctic waters into the North Sea re-established density-driven stratification. The water temperatures reached their minimum of ~3.7 °C 55 years after the SSLR. Intermittently-mixed conditions were later established when the sub-Arctic waters receded.
HDAC Regulates Transcription at the Outset of Axolotl Tail Regeneration
Authors: Voss S. Randal , Ponomareva Larissa V. , Dwaraka Varun B. , Pardue Kaitlin E. , Baddar Nour W. Al Haj , Rodgers A. Katherine , Woodcock M. Ryan , Qiu Qingchao , Crowner Anne , Blichmann Dana , Khatri Shivam , Thorson Jon S. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractTissue regeneration is associated with complex changes in gene expression and post-translational modifications of proteins, including transcription factors and histones that comprise chromatin. We tested 172 compounds designed to target epigenetic mechanisms in an axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) embryo tail regeneration assay. A relatively large number of compounds (N = 55) inhibited tail regeneration, including 18 histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi). In particular, romidepsin, an FDA-approved anticancer drug, potently inhibited tail regeneration when embryos were treated continuously for 7 days. Additional experiments revealed that romidepsin acted within a very narrow, post-injury window. Romidepsin treatment for only 1-minute post amputation inhibited regeneration through the first 7 days, however after this time, regeneration commenced with variable outgrowth of tailfin tissue and abnormal patterning. Microarray analysis showed that romidepsin altered early, transcriptional responses at 3 and 6-hour post-amputation, especially targeting genes that are implicated in tumor cell death, as well as genes that function in the regulation of transcription, cell differentiation, cell proliferation, pattern specification, and tissue morphogenesis. Our results show that HDAC activity is required at the time of tail amputation to regulate the initial transcriptional response to injury and regeneration.
Effects of Burdock tea on recurrence of colonic diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding: An open-labelled randomized clinical trial
Authors: Mizuki Akira , Tatemichi Masayuki , Nakazawa Atsushi , Tsukada Nobuhiro , Nagata Hiroshi , Kinoshita Yoshikazu 
Published: May 2019

AbstractColonic diverticular bleeding (CDB) and acute colonic diverticulitis (ACD) show high recurrence rates. The establishment of optimal strategies that prevent the recurrence of CDB and ACD is a major concern among gastroenterologists. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of burdock tea for preventing CDB and ACD recurrences. Newly diagnosed patients with CDB (n = 91) or ACD (n = 70) were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group received 1.5 g of burdock tea three times a day, whereas the control group did not receive any treatment. The median (interquartile range) of observation for recurrence of CDB or ACD was 22.0 (14.1) months and 30.3 (18.6), respectively. The burdock tea treatment showed significant preventive effects on recurrence of ACD. A lower ACD recurrence rate (5/47 [10.6%] vs. 14/44 [31.8%]) and longer recurrence-free duration was observed in the burdock tea group (59.3 months [95% CI: 54.0–64.7] vs. 45.1 months [95% CI: 37.1–53.0] by the Kaplan-Meier analysis; p = 0.012 by log rank test) than in the control group, although there was no significant preventive effects on the CDB recurrence. This randomized clinical trial demonstrated that daily intake of burdock tea could be an effective strategy for prevention of ACD recurrence, but not for CDB recurrence.
Dopamine blockade impairs the exploration-exploitation trade-off in rats
Authors: Cinotti François , Fresno Virginie , Aklil Nassim , Coutureau Etienne , Girard Benoît , Marchand Alain R. , Khamassi Mehdi 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn a volatile environment where rewards are uncertain, successful performance requires a delicate balance between exploitation of the best option and exploration of alternative choices. It has theoretically been proposed that dopamine contributes to the control of this exploration-exploitation trade-off, specifically that the higher the level of tonic dopamine, the more exploitation is favored. We demonstrate here that there is a formal relationship between the rescaling of dopamine positive reward prediction errors and the exploration-exploitation trade-off in simple non-stationary multi-armed bandit tasks. We further show in rats performing such a task that systemically antagonizing dopamine receptors greatly increases the number of random choices without affecting learning capacities. Simulations and comparison of a set of different computational models (an extended Q-learning model, a directed exploration model, and a meta-learning model) fitted on each individual confirm that, independently of the model, decreasing dopaminergic activity does not affect learning rate but is equivalent to an increase in random exploration rate. This study shows that dopamine could adapt the exploration-exploitation trade-off in decision-making when facing changing environmental contingencies.
Structure and stability of the coral microbiome in space and time
Authors: Dunphy Courtney M. , Gouhier Tarik C. , Chu Nathaniel D. , Vollmer Steven V. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAlthough it is well established that the microbial communities inhabiting corals perform key functions that promote the health and persistence of their hosts, little is known about their spatial structure and temporal stability. We examined the natural variability of microbial communities associated with six Caribbean coral species from three genera at four reef sites over one year. We identified differences in microbial community composition between coral genera and species that persisted across space and time, suggesting that local host identity likely plays a dominant role in structuring the microbiome. However, we found that microbial community dissimilarity increased with geographical distance, which indicates that regional processes such as dispersal limitation and spatiotemporal environmental heterogeneity also influence microbial community composition. In addition, network analysis revealed that the strength of host identity varied across coral host genera, with species from the genus Acropora having the most influence over their microbial community. Overall, our results demonstrate that despite high levels of microbial diversity, coral species are characterized by signature microbiomes that are stable in both space and time.
Quantum dissipation in a scalar field theory with gapped momentum states
Authors: Trachenko K. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractUnderstanding quantum dissipation is important from both theoretical perspective and applications. Here, we show how to describe dissipation in a scalar field theory. We treat dissipation non-perturbatively, represent it by a bilinear term in the Lagrangian and quantize the theory. We find that dissipation promotes a gap in momentum space and reduces the particle energy. As a result, particle mass becomes dressed by dissipation due to self-interaction. The underlying mechanism is similar to that governing the propagation of transverse collective modes in liquids. We discuss the interplay between the dissipative and mass terms, the associated different regimes of field dynamics and the emergence of ultraviolet and infrared cutoffs due to dissipation.
Supervised Domain Adaptation for Automatic Sub-cortical Brain Structure Segmentation with Minimal User Interaction
Authors: Kushibar Kaisar , Valverde Sergi , González-Villà Sandra , Bernal Jose , Cabezas Mariano , Oliver Arnau , Lladó Xavier 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn recent years, some convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been proposed to segment sub-cortical brain structures from magnetic resonance images (MRIs). Although these methods provide accurate segmentation, there is a reproducibility issue regarding segmenting MRI volumes from different image domains – e.g., differences in protocol, scanner, and intensity profile. Thus, the network must be retrained from scratch to perform similarly in different imaging domains, limiting the applicability of such methods in clinical settings. In this paper, we employ the transfer learning strategy to solve the domain shift problem. We reduced the number of training images by leveraging the knowledge obtained by a pretrained network, and improved the training speed by reducing the number of trainable parameters of the CNN. We tested our method on two publicly available datasets – MICCAI 2012 and IBSR – and compared them with a commonly used approach: FIRST. Our method showed similar results to those obtained by a fully trained CNN, and our method used a remarkably smaller number of images from the target domain. Moreover, training the network with only one image from MICCAI 2012 and three images from IBSR datasets was sufficient to significantly outperform FIRST with (p < 0.001) and (p < 0.05), respectively.
Design, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cast Medium Entropy Aluminium Alloys
Authors: Sanchez Jon Mikel , Vicario Iban , Albizuri Joseba , Guraya Teresa , Acuña Eva Maria 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn this work, the design, microstructures and mechanical properties of five novel non-equiatomic lightweight medium entropy alloys were studied. The manufactured alloys were based on the Al65Cu5Mg5Si15Zn5X5 and Al70Cu5Mg5Si10Zn5X5 systems. The formation and presence of phases and microstructures were studied by introducing Fe, Ni, Cr, Mn and Zr. The feasibility of CALPHAD method for the design of new alloys was studied, demonstrating to be a good approach in the design of medium entropy alloys, due to accurate prediction of the phases, which were validated via X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy. In addition, the alloys were manufactured using an industrial-scale die-casting process to make the alloys viable as engineering materials. In terms of mechanical properties, the alloys exhibited moderate plastic deformation and very high compressive strength up to 644 MPa. Finally, the reported microhardness value was in the range of 200 HV0.1 to 264 HV0.1, which was two to three times higher than those of commercial Al alloys.
Postglacial relative sea level change and glacier activity in the early and late Holocene: Wahlenbergfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard
Authors: Schomacker Anders , Farnsworth Wesley R. , Ingólfsson Ólafur , Allaart Lis , Håkansson Lena , Retelle Michael , Siggaard-Andersen Marie-Louise , Korsgaard Niels Jákup , Rouillard Alexandra , Kjellman Sofia E. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractSediment cores from Kløverbladvatna, a threshold lake in Wahlenbergfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard were used to reconstruct Holocene glacier fluctuations. Meltwater from Etonbreen spills over a threshold to the lake, only when the glacier is significantly larger than at present. Lithological logging, loss-on-ignition, ITRAX scanning and radiocarbon dating of the cores show that Kløverbladvatna became isolated from Wahlenbergfjorden c. 5.4 cal. kyr BP due to glacioisostatic rebound. During the Late Holocene, laminated clayey gyttja from lacustrine organic production and surface runoff from the catchment accumulated in the lake. The lacustrine sedimentary record suggests that meltwater only spilled over the threshold at the peak of the surge of Etonbreen in AD 1938. Hence, we suggest that this was the largest extent of Etonbreen in the (mid-late) Holocene. In Palanderbukta, a tributary fjord to Wahlenbergfjorden, raised beaches were surveyed and organic material collected to determine the age of the beaches and reconstruct postglacial relative sea level change. The age of the postglacial raised beaches ranges from 10.7 cal. kyr BP at 50 m a.s.l. to 3.13 cal. kyr BP at 2 m a.s.l. The reconstructed postglacial relative sea level curve adds valuable spatial and chronological data to the relative sea level record of Nordaustlandet.