bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mechanical stretch-induced osteogenic differentiation of human jaw bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hJBMMSCs) via inhibition of the NF-κB pathway
Authors: Chen Xiaoyan , Liu Yuan , Ding Wanghui , Shi Jiejun , Li Shenglai , Liu Yali , Wu Mengjie , Wang Huiming 
Published: February 2018

AbstractSevere malocclusion can contribute to several serious dental and physical conditions, such as digestive difficulties, periodontal disease, and severe tooth decay. Orthodontic treatment is mainly used to treat malocclusion. Forces in orthodontic tooth results in bone resorption on the pressure side and bone deposition on the tension side. Osteoblasts have been considered as the key component in bone regeneration on the tension side. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we focus on how mechanical stretch regulates the osteogenesis during orthodontic treatment. Human jaw bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hJBMMSCs) were isolated from healthy adult donors and cultured in regular medium (control) or osteogenic medium (OS). Under OS culture, hJBMMSCs presented osteogenic differentiation potentials, as evidenced by increased mineralization, enhanced calcium deposition, and upregulated expression of osteogenesis markers (ALP, osterix, and Runx). What’s more, the OS-induced osteogenesis of hJBMMSCs is associated with the dephosphorylation of IKK, activation of IKBα, and phosphorylation/nucleic accumulation of P65, which all indicated the inhibition of NF-κB activity. OverexpressingP65in hJBMMSCs, which could constantly activate NF-κB, prevented the osteogenic differentiation in the OS. After that, we applied the Flexcell tension system, which could cause mechanical stretch on cultured hJBMMSCs to mimic the tension forces during tooth movement. Mechanical stretch resulted in 3.5−fold increase of ALP activity and 2.4–fold increase of calcium deposition after 7 days and 21 days treatment, respectively. The expression levels of ALP, Run×2, and Osterix were also significantly upregulated. In the meantime, applying mechanical stretch on OS-cultured hJBMMSCs also dramatically promoted the OS-induced osteogenesis. Both OS and mechanical stretch downregulated NF-κB activity. By overexpressingP65in hJBMMSCs, neither OS nor mechanical stretch could induce their osteogenesis. These results indicated that, like OS induction, mechanical stretch-facilitated osteogenesis of hJBMMSCs by inhibiting NF-κB in the noninflammatory environments.
Chemisorption of polysulfides through redox reactions with organic molecules for lithium–sulfur batteries
Authors: Li Ge , Wang Xiaolei , Seo Min Ho , Li Matthew , Ma Lu , Yuan Yifei , Wu Tianpin , Yu Aiping , Wang Shun , Lu Jun , Chen Zhongwei 
Published: February 2018

AbstractLithium–sulfur battery possesses high energy density but suffers from severe capacity fading due to the dissolution of lithium polysulfides. Novel design and mechanisms to encapsulate lithium polysulfides are greatly desired by high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries towards practical applications. Herein, we report a strategy of utilizing anthraquinone, a natural abundant organic molecule, to suppress dissolution and diffusion of polysulfides species through redox reactions during cycling. The keto groups of anthraquinone play a critical role in forming strong Lewis acid-based chemical bonding. This mechanism leads to a long cycling stability of sulfur-based electrodes. With a high sulfur content of ~73%, a low capacity decay of 0.019% per cycle for 300 cycles and retention of 81.7% over 500 cycles at 0.5 C rate can be achieved. This finding and understanding paves an alternative avenue for the future design of sulfur–based cathodes toward the practical application of lithium–sulfur batteries.
Bone marrow lympho-myeloid malfunction in obesity requires precursor cell-autonomous TLR4
Authors: Liu Ailing , Chen Minhui , Kumar Rashmi , Stefanovic-Racic Maja , O’Doherty Robert M. , Ding Ying , Jahnen-Dechent Willi , Borghesi Lisa 
Published: February 2018

AbstractObesity, a prevalent condition in adults and children, impairs bone marrow (BM) function. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we show that obese mice exhibit poor emergency immune responses in a toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-dependent manner. Canonical myeloid genes (Csf1r, Spi1, Runx1) are enhanced, and lymphoid genes (Flt3, Tcf3, Ebf1) are reduced. Using adoptive transfer and mixed BM chimera approaches we demonstrate that myeloid>lymphoid bias arises after 6 weeks of high-fat diet and depends on precursor cell-autonomous TLR4. Further, lean mice exposed to the TLR4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at doses similar to that detectable in obese serum recapitulates BM lympho-myeloid alterations. Together, these results establish a mechanistic contribution of BM cell-intrinsic TLR4 to obesity-driven BM malfunction and demonstrate the importance of LPS. Our findings raises important questions about the impact of maternal obesity and endotoxemia to fetal hematopoiesis, as fetal immune precursors are also sensitive to TLR4 signals.
Host defense against oral microbiota by bone-damaging T cells
Authors: Tsukasaki Masayuki , Komatsu Noriko , Nagashima Kazuki , Nitta Takeshi , Pluemsakunthai Warunee , Shukunami Chisa , Iwakura Yoichiro , Nakashima Tomoki , Okamoto Kazuo , Takayanagi Hiroshi 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe immune system evolved to efficiently eradicate invading bacteria and terminate inflammation through balancing inflammatory and regulatory T-cell responses. In autoimmune arthritis, pathogenic TH17 cells induce bone destruction and autoimmune inflammation. However, whether a beneficial function of T-cell-induced bone damage exists is unclear. Here, we show that bone-damaging T cells have a critical function in the eradication of bacteria in a mouse model of periodontitis, which is the most common infectious disease. Bacterial invasion leads to the generation of specialized TH17 cells that protect against bacteria by evoking mucosal immune responses as well as inducing bone damage, the latter of which also inhibits infection by removing the tooth. Thus, bone-damaging T cells, which may have developed to stop local infection by inducing tooth loss, function as a double-edged sword by protecting against pathogens while also inducing skeletal tissue degradation.
The association of aspirin use with severity of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Goto Tadahiro , Faridi Mohammad Kamal , Camargo Carlos A. , Hasegawa Kohei 
Published: February 2018

AbstractLittle is known about the effect of long-term aspirin use on acute severity of COPD. We hypothesized that, in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD), long-term aspirin use is associated with lower risks of disease severity (in-hospital death, mechanical ventilation use, and hospital length-of-stay). We conducted a retrospective cohort study using large population-based data from 2012 through 2013. Among 206,686 patients (aged ≥40 years) hospitalized for AECOPD, aspirin users had lower in-hospital mortality (1.0 vs. 1.4%; OR 0.60 [95% CI 0.50–0.72]; P < 0.001) and lower risk of invasive mechanical ventilation use (1.7 vs. 2.6%; OR 0.64 [95% CI 0.55–0.73]; P < 0.001) compared to non-users, while there was no significant difference in risks of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation use. Length-of-stay was shorter in aspirin users compared to non-users (P < 0.001). In sum, in patients with AECOPD, aspirin use was associated with lower rates of in-hospital mortality and invasive mechanical ventilation use, and shorter length-of-stay.
Quantum annealing versus classical machine learning applied to a simplified computational biology problem
Authors: Li Richard Y. , Di Felice Rosa , Rohs Remo , Lidar Daniel A. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractTranscription factors regulate gene expression, but how these proteins recognize and specifically bind to their DNA targets is still debated. Machine learning models are effective means to reveal interaction mechanisms. Here we studied the ability of a quantum machine learning approach to classify and rank binding affinities. Using simplified data sets of a small number of DNA sequences derived from actual binding affinity experiments, we trained a commercially available quantum annealer to classify and rank transcription factor binding. The results were compared to state-of-the-art classical approaches for the same simplified data sets, including simulated annealing, simulated quantum annealing, multiple linear regression, LASSO, and extreme gradient boosting. Despite technological limitations, we find a slight advantage in classification performance and nearly equal ranking performance using the quantum annealer for these fairly small training data sets. Thus, we propose that quantum annealing might be an effective method to implement machine learning for certain computational biology problems.
Reversing Coffee-Ring Effect by Laser-Induced Differential Evaporation
Authors: Yen Tony M. , Fu Xin , Wei Tao , Nayak Roshan U. , Shi Yuesong , Lo Yu-Hwa 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe coffee-ring effect, ubiquitously present in the drying process of aqueous droplets, impedes the performance of a myriad of applications involving precipitation of particle suspensions in evaporating liquids on solid surfaces, such as liquid biopsy combinational analysis, microarray fabrication, and ink-jet printing, to name a few. We invented the methodology of laser-induced differential evaporation to remove the coffee-ring effect. Without any additives to the liquid or any morphology modifications of the solid surface the liquid rests on, we have eliminated the coffee-ring effect by engineering the liquid evaporation profile with a CO2 laser irradiating the apex of the droplets. The method of laser-induced differential evaporation transitions particle deposition patterns from coffee-ring patterns to central-peak patterns, bringing all particles (e.g. fluorescent double strand DNAs) in the droplet to a designated area of 100 μm diameter without leaving any stains outside. The technique also moves the drying process from the constant contact radius (CCR) mode to the constant contact angle (CCA) mode. Physical mechanisms of this method were experimentally studied by internal flow tracking and surface evaporation flux mapping, and theoretically investigated by development of an analytical model.
β-catenin-independent regulation of Wnt target genes by RoR2 and ATF2/ATF4 in colon cancer cells
Authors: Voloshanenko Oksana , Schwartz Uwe , Kranz Dominique , Rauscher Benedikt , Linnebacher Michael , Augustin Iris , Boutros Michael 
Published: February 2018

AbstractWnt signaling is an evolutionarily conserved signaling route required for development and homeostasis. While canonical, β-catenin-dependent Wnt signaling is well studied and has been linked to many forms of cancer, much less is known about the role of non-canonical, β-catenin-independent Wnt signaling. Here, we aimed at identifying a β-catenin-independent Wnt target gene signature in order to understand the functional significance of non-canonical signaling in colon cancer cells. Gene expression profiling was performed after silencing of key components of Wnt signaling pathway and an iterative signature algorithm was applied to predict pathway-dependent gene signatures. Independent experiments confirmed several target genes, including PLOD2, HADH, LCOR and REEP1 as non-canonical target genes in various colon cancer cells. Moreover, non-canonical Wnt target genes are regulated via RoR2, Dvl2, ATF2 and ATF4. Furthermore, we show that the ligands Wnt5a/b are upstream regulators of the non-canonical signature and moreover regulate proliferation of cancer cells in a β-catenin-independent manner. Our experiments indicate that colon cancer cells are dependent on both β-catenin-dependent and –independent Wnt signaling routes for growth and proliferation.
Minimum energy control for complex networks
Authors: Lindmark Gustav , Altafini Claudio 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to shed light on the problem of controlling a complex network with minimal control energy. We show first that the control energy depends on the time constant of the modes of the network, and that the closer the eigenvalues are to the imaginary axis of the complex plane, the less energy is required for complete controllability. In the limit case of networks having all purely imaginary eigenvalues (e.g. networks of coupled harmonic oscillators), several constructive algorithms for minimum control energy driver node selection are developed. A general heuristic principle valid for any directed network is also proposed: the overall cost of controlling a network is reduced when the controls are concentrated on the nodes with highest ratio of weighted outdegree vs indegree.
High-definition and low-noise muography of the Sakurajima volcano with gaseous tracking detectors
Authors: Oláh László , Tanaka Hiroyuki K. M. , Ohminato Takao , Varga Dezső 
Published: February 2018

AbstractMuography is a novel method to highly resolve the internal structure of active volcanoes by taking advantage of the cosmic muon’s strong penetration power. In this paper, we present the first high-definition image in the vicinity of craters of an erupting volcano called Sakurajima, Kyushu, Japan. The muography observation system based on the technique of multi-wire proportional chamber (mMOS) has been operated reliably during the data taking period of 157 days. The mMOS measured precisely the flux of muons up to the thickness of 5,000 meter-water-equivalent. It was shown that high-definition density maps around the Craters A, B and Showa could be determined with a precision of less than 7.5 × 7.5 m2 which earlier had not yet been achieved. The observed density distribution suggests that the fall back deposits filled the magma pathway and increased their density underneath Craters A and B.
Widespread use of incorrect PCR ramp rate negatively impacts multidrug-resistant tuberculosis diagnosis (MTBDRplus)
Authors: Derendinger B. , de Vos M. , Nathavitharana R. R. , Dolby T. , Simpson J. A. , van Helden P. D. , Warren R. M. , Theron G. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe scale-up of rapid drug resistance testing for TB is a global priority. MTBDRplus is a WHO-endorsed multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB PCR assay with suboptimal sensitivities and high indeterminate rates on smear-negative specimens. We hypothesised that widespread use of incorrect thermocycler ramp rate (speed of temperature change between cycles) impacts performance. A global sample of 72 laboratories was surveyed. We tested 107 sputa from Xpert MTB/RIF-positive patients and, separately, dilution series of bacilli, both at the manufacturer-recommended ramp rate (2.2 °C/s) and the most frequently reported incorrect ramp rate (4.0 °C/s). Mycobacterium tuberculosis-complex DNA (TUB-band)-detection, indeterminate results, accuracy, and inter-reader variability (dilution series only) were compared. 32 respondents did a median (IQR) of 41 (20–150) assays monthly. 78% used an incorrect ramp rate. On smear-negative sputa, 2.2 °C/s vs. 4.0 °C/s improved TUB-band positivity (42/55 vs. 32/55; p = 0.042) and indeterminate rates (1/42 vs. 5/32; p = 0.039). The actionable results (not TUB-negative or indeterminate; 41/55 vs. 28/55) hence improved by 21% (95% CI: 9–35%). Widespread use of incorrect ramp rate contributes to suboptimal MTBDRplus performance on smear-negative specimens and hence limits clinical utility. The number of diagnoses (and thus the number of smear-negative patients in whom DST is possible) will improve substantially after ramp rate correction.
Constructions of Unextendible Maximally Entangled Bases in $${{\mathbb{C}}}^{d}\otimes {{\mathbb{C}}}^{d^{\prime} }$$
Authors: Zhang Gui-Jun , Tao Yuan-Hong , Han Yi-Fan , Yong Xin-Lei , Fei Shao-Ming 
Published: February 2018

AbstractWe study unextendible maximally entangled bases (UMEBs) in $${{\mathbb{C}}}^{d}\otimes {{\mathbb{C}}}^{d^{\prime} }$$

ℂ

d

⊗

ℂ

d
′

(d < d′). An operational method to construct UMEBs containing d(d′ − 1) maximally entangled vectors is established, and two UMEBs in $${{\mathbb{C}}}^{5}\otimes {{\mathbb{C}}}^{6}$$

ℂ

5

⊗

ℂ

6

and $${{\mathbb{C}}}^{5}\otimes {{\mathbb{C}}}^{12}$$

ℂ

5

⊗

ℂ

12

are given as examples. Furthermore, a systematic way of constructing UMEBs containing d(d′ − r) maximally entangled vectors in $${{\mathbb{C}}}^{d}\otimes {{\mathbb{C}}}^{d^{\prime} }$$

ℂ

d

⊗

ℂ

d
′

is presented for r = 1, 2, …, d − 1. Correspondingly, two UMEBs in $${{\mathbb{C}}}^{3}\otimes {{\mathbb{C}}}^{10}$$

ℂ

3

⊗

ℂ

10

are obtained.
Increased deficit of visual attention span with development in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia
Authors: Zhao Jing , Liu Menglian , Liu Hanlong , Huang Chen 
Published: February 2018

AbstractIt has been suggested that orthographic transparency and age changes may affect the relationship between visual attention span (VAS) deficit and reading difficulty. The present study explored the developmental trend of VAS in children with developmental dyslexia (DD) in Chinese, a logographic language with a deep orthography. Fifty-seven Chinese children with DD and fifty-four age-matched normal readers participated. The visual 1-back task was adopted to examine VAS. Phonological and morphological awareness tests, and reading tests in single-character and sentence levels were used for reading skill measurements. Results showed that only high graders with dyslexia exhibited lower accuracy than the controls in the VAS task, revealing an increased VAS deficit with development in the dyslexics. Moreover, the developmental trajectory analyses demonstrated that the dyslexics seemed to exhibit an atypical but not delayed pattern in their VAS development as compared to the controls. A correlation analysis indicated that VAS was only associated with morphological awareness for dyslexic readers in high grades. Further regression analysis showed that VAS skills and morphological awareness made separate and significant contributions to single-character reading for high grader with dyslexia. These findings suggested a developmental increasing trend in the relationship between VAS skills and reading (dis)ability in Chinese.
Resveratrol attenuates mechanical compression-induced nucleus pulposus cell apoptosis through regulating the ERK1/2 signaling pathway in a disc organ culture
Authors: Zhang Zhiwen , Wen Feng , He Chengjian , Yu Jun 
Published: February 2018

Background: Nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis is a typical feature within the degenerative disc. High magnitude compression significantly promotes NP cell apoptosis. Several studies have indicated that resveratrol has protective effects on disc cell’s normal biology.Objective: The present study aims to investigate whether resveratrol can attenuate mechanical overloading-induced NP cell apoptosis in a disc organ culture.Methods: Isolated porcine discs were cultured in culture chambers of a mechanically active perfusion bioreactor and subjected to a relatively high magnitude compression (1.3 MPa at a frequency of 1.0 Hz for 2 h once per day) for 7 days. Different concentrations (50 and 100 μM) of resveratrol were added into the culture medium to observe the protective effects of resveratrol against NP cell apoptosis under mechanical compression. The noncompressed discs were used as controls.Results: Similar with the previous studies, this high magnitude compression significantly promoted NP cell apoptosis, reflected by the increased number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining-positive NP cells and enzyme (caspase-9 and caspase-3) activity, the up-regulated expression of proapoptotic molecules (Bax and caspase-3/cleaved caspase-3), and down-regulated expression of antiapoptotic molecule (Bcl-2). However, resveratrol partly attenuated NP cell apoptosis under this high magnitude compression in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, though the ERK1/2 pathway was significantly activated in the mechanical compression group, resveratrol partly attenuated activation of the ERK1/2 pathway under mechanical compression in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusion: Resveratrol attenuates mechanical overloading-induced NP cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibiting activation of the ERK1/2 pathway may be one potential mechanism behind this regulatory process.
Single Event Effect cross section calibration and application to quasi-monoenergetic and spallation facilities
Authors: Alía Rubén García , Bonaldo Stefano , Brugger Markus , Danzeca Salvatore , Ferrari Alfredo , Frost Christopher , Infantino Angelo , Iwamoto Yosuke , Mekki Julien , Theis Cris , Thornton Adam 
Published: February 2018

We describe an approach to calibrate Single Event Effect (SEE)-based detectors in monoenergetic fields and apply the resulting semi-empiric responses to more general mixed-field cases in which a broad variety of particle species and energy spectra are present. The calibration of the response functions is based both on experimental proton (30–200 MeV) and neutron (5–300 MeV) data and considerations derived from Monte Carlo simulations using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The application environments include the quasi-monoenergetic neutrons at RCNP, the atmospheric-like VESUVIO spallation spectrum and the CHARM high-energy accelerator test facility. The agreement between the mixed-field response and that predicted through the mono-energetic calibration is within ±30% for the broad variety of cases considered and thus regarded as highly successful for mixed-field monitoring applications.
Smith–Lemli–Opitz Mutations in Unexplained Stillbirths
Authors: Reddy Uma , Saade George , Goldenberg Robert , Dudley Donald , Parker Corette , Thorsten Vanessa , Pinar Halit , Bukowski Radek , Hogue Carol , Silver Robert , Gibbins Karen 
Published: February 2018

Objective Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive syndrome caused by a defect in cholesterol biosynthesis with mutations in 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7). A total of 3% of Caucasians carry DHCR7 mutations, theoretically resulting in a homozygote frequency of 1/4000. However, SLOS occurs in only 1/20,000 to 60,000 live births. Our objective was to assess DHCR7 mutations in unexplained stillbirths.
Study Design Prospective, multicenter, population-based case–control study of all stillbirths and a representative sample of live births enrolled in five geographic areas. Cases with stillbirth due to obstetric complications, infection, or aneuploidy, and those with poor quality deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were excluded. DNA was extracted from placental tissue stored at –80°C, and exons 3 to 9 of the DCHR7 gene were amplified, purified, and subjected to bidirectional sequencing to identify mutations.
Results One-hundred forty four stillbirths were unexplained and had adequate DNA for analysis. Nine stillbirths of 139 (6.5%) had a single mutation in one allele in coding exons 3 to 9 of DHCR7 (Table 1). One case (0.7%) was a compound heterozygote for mutations in exons 3 to 9 of DHCR7; this fetus had no clinical or histologic features of SLOS.
Conclusion We detected SLOS mutations in only 0.7% of stillbirths. This does not support a strong association between unrecognized DHCR7 mutations and stillbirth.