bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seismic detection of strong ground motions by MW5.6 North Korean nuclear explosion
Authors: Hong Tae-Kyung , Lee Junhyung , Park Seongjun , Yoon Hyun Ho , Kim Woohan , Shin Jin Soo 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe North Korean nuclear explosion test site in Punggye-ri is located in a seismically quiescent region on a stable Precambrian basement. The 3 September 2017 MW5.6 North Korean underground nuclear explosion (UNE) test produced unprecedented strong ground motions. The peak ground accelerations might reach tens to hundreds m/s2 on the surface of the UNE test site, decaying exponentially with distance. Ten shallow events with magnitudes greater than or equal to ML2.5 and source depths less than 3 km followed the 2017 UNE for 5 months in an area with a radius of 15 km from the UNE where strong ground shaking was experienced. The largest event with MW3.7 occurred 20 days after the 2017 UNE test at shallow depths less than 3 km. Its moment tensor solution indicates a combined source behavior with comparable strengths of double-couple and compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) components, suggesting an unusual event different from typical natural earthquakes in the Korean Peninsula. The clustered shallow seismic events appeared to have occurred in damaged media that were effectively perturbed by the strong ground motions of the UNE.
Reproductive success delays moult phenology in a polar mammal
Authors: Beltran Roxanne S. , Kirkham Amy L. , Breed Greg A. , Testa J. Ward , Burns Jennifer M. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractAnimals can respond to dynamic environments through phenological plasticity of life history events; however, changes in one part of the annual cycle can diminish the success of subsequent life history events. Our aims were to determine the associations between reproduction and moult phenology across years and to quantify phenological plasticity across varying environmental conditions. We conducted demographic surveys of 4,252 flipper-tagged Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica during four austral summers. At each sighting, seals were assigned a moult code based on the visible presence of new fur and the start date of each animal’s moult was back-calculated. Reproductive success and parturition dates were obtained for the breeding season prior to and following the moult. We found that successful reproduction delayed moult by 16 days relative to non-parturient females. Phenology of the intervening moult was indicative of previous reproductive dynamics but not predictive of subsequent reproductive outcomes. Across years, moult phenology varied by about two weeks and covaried strongly with sea ice break-out timing for all reproductive categories. Our findings suggest these polar mammals have some flexibility within the annual cycle that allows adjustment of moult phenology to fluctuating environmental conditions without compromising future reproductive success.
Mutual interaction of red blood cells influenced by nanoparticles
Authors: Avsievich Tatiana , Popov Alexey , Bykov Alexander , Meglinski Igor 
Published: March 2019

AbstractDespite extensive studies on different types of nanoparticles as potential drug carriers, the application of red blood cells (RBCs) as natural transport agents for systemic drug delivery is considered a new paradigm in modern medicine and possesses great potential. There is a lack of studies on the influence of drug carriers of different compositions on RBCs, especially regarding their potential impact on human health. Here, we apply conventional microscopy to observe the formation of RBC aggregates and optical tweezers to quantitatively assess the mutual interaction of RBCs incubated with inorganic and polymeric nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy is utilized for direct observation of nanoparticle localization on RBC membranes. The experiments are performed in a platelet-free blood plasma mimicking the RBC natural environment. We show that nanodiamonds influence mutual RBC interactions more antagonistically than other nanoparticles, resulting in higher aggregation forces and the formation of larger cell aggregates. In contrast, polymeric particles do not cause anomalous RBC aggregation. The results emphasize the application of optical tweezers for the direct quantitative assessment of the mutual interaction of RBCs influenced by nanomaterials.
Quality and bias of protein disorder predictors
Authors: Nielsen Jakob T. , Mulder Frans A. A. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractDisorder in proteins is vital for biological function, yet it is challenging to characterize. Therefore, methods for predicting protein disorder from sequence are fundamental. Currently, predictors are trained and evaluated using data from X-ray structures or from various biochemical or spectroscopic data. However, the prediction accuracy of disordered predictors is not calibrated, nor is it established whether predictors are intrinsically biased towards one of the extremes of the order-disorder axis. We therefore generated and validated a comprehensive experimental benchmarking set of site-specific and continuous disorder, using deposited NMR chemical shift data. This novel experimental data collection is fully appropriate and represents the full spectrum of disorder. We subsequently analyzed the performance of 26 widely-used disorder prediction methods and found that these vary noticeably. At the same time, a distinct bias for over-predicting order was identified for some algorithms. Our analysis has important implications for the validity and the interpretation of protein disorder, as utilized, for example, in assessing the content of disorder in proteomes.
Introgression of a synthetic sex ratio distortion system from Anopheles gambiae into Anopheles arabiensis
Authors: Bernardini Federica , Kriezis Antonios , Galizi Roberto , Nolan Tony , Crisanti Andrea 
Published: March 2019

AbstractI-PpoI is a homing endonuclease that has a high cleavage activity and specificity for a conserved sequence within the ribosomal rDNA repeats, located in a single cluster on the Anopheles gambiae X chromosome. This property has been exploited to develop a synthetic sex ratio distortion system in this mosquito species. When I-PpoI is expressed from a transgene during spermatogenesis in mosquitoes, the paternal X chromosome is shredded and only Y chromosome-bearing sperm are viable, resulting in a male-biased sex ratio of >95% in the progeny. These distorter male mosquitoes can efficiently suppress caged wild-type populations, providing a powerful tool for vector control strategies. Given that malaria mosquito vectors belong to a species complex comprising at least two major vectors, we investigated whether the sex distorter I-PpoI, originally integrated in the A. gambiae genome, could be transferred via introgression to the sibling vector species Anopheles arabiensis. In compliance with Haldane’s rule, F1 hybrid male sterility is known to occur in all intercrosses among members of the Anopheles gambiae complex. A scheme based on genetic crosses and transgene selection was used to bypass F1 hybrid male sterility and introgress the sex distorter I-PpoI into the A. arabiensis genetic background. Our data suggest that this sex distortion technique can be successfully applied to target A. arabiensis mosquitoes.
PMCA-replicated PrPD in urine of vCJD patients maintains infectivity and strain characteristics of brain PrPD: Transmission study
Authors: Cali Ignazio , Lavrich Jody , Moda Fabio , Kofskey Diane , Nemani Satish Kumar , Appleby Brian , Tagliavini Fabrizio , Soto Claudio , Gambetti Pierluigi , Notari Silvio 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe presence of abnormal, disease-related prion protein (PrPD) has recently been demonstrated by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) in urine of patients affected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a prion disease typically acquired from consumption of prion contaminated bovine meat. The complexity and multistage process of urine excretion along with the obligatory use of PMCA raise the issue of whether strain characteristics of the PrPD present in vCJD brains, such as infectivity and phenotype determination, are maintained in urine excreted PrPD and following amplification by PMCA. We inoculated transgenic mice expressing normal human PrP with amplified urine and brain homogenate achieving the same 100% attack rate, similar incubation periods (in both cases extremely long) and histopathological features as for type and severity of the lesions. Furthermore, PrPD characteristics analyzed by immunoblot and conformational stability immunoassay were indistinguishable. Inoculation of raw vCJD urine caused no disease, confirming the extremely low concentration of PrPD in vCJD urine. These findings show that strain characteristics of vCJD brain PrPD, including infectivity, are preserved in PrPD present in urine and are faithfully amplified by means of PMCA; moreover, they suggest that the PrPD urine test might allow for the diagnosis and identification of disease subtype also in sporadic CJD.
Cellular level chemical changes in Scots pine heartwood during incipient brown rot decay
Authors: Belt Tiina , Altgen Michael , Mäkelä Mikko , Hänninen Tuomas , Rautkari Lauri 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe heartwoods of many wood species have natural resistance to wood decay due to the accumulation of antifungal heartwood extractives. The natural durability of heartwoods has been extensively investigated, yet very little information is available on the initiation of heartwood decay. This experiment examined the onset of Rhodonia placenta brown rot decay in Scots pine heartwood in order to identify the key changes leading to heartwood decay. An imaging approach based on Raman imaging and multivariate image analysis revealed that the degradation of heartwood began in the innermost cell wall layers and then spread into the remaining cell walls and the middle lamella. Pinosylvins were extensively degraded in the cell walls, middle lamella and extractive deposits, while unidentified material most likely consisting of hemicelluloses and/or lipophilic extractives was removed from the inner cell wall layers. Changes similar to inner cell wall degradation were seen in the remaining cell walls in more advanced decay. The results indicate that the key change in incipient heartwood decay is the degradation of antifungal heartwood extractives. The inner cell wall degradation seen in this experiment may serve a nutritive purpose or facilitate the penetration of degradative agents into the cell walls and middle lamella.
MiR-208a-3p functions as an oncogene in colorectal cancer by targeting PDCD4
Authors: Wu Henglan , Xu Lele , Chen Yaou , Xu Chunfang 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Accumulating evidences have shown microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the progression of human cancers including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the biological function and molecular mechanism of miRNAs in CRC still remains to be further investigated. Using microarray, we found and confirmed that miR-208a-3p was up-regulated in CRC tissues. Its high expression was statistically associated with distant metastasis and TNM stage. Functional assays revealed inhibition of miR-208a-3p suppressed proliferation, invasion and migration, and induced cell apoptosis of CRC cells. Moreover, we identified programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4), a well-known tumor suppressor, is a direct target of miR-208a-3p. We also found that overexpression of PDCD4 suppressed cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Importantly, silencing of PDCD4 efficiently abrogated the promoting effects on CRC cells proliferation, invasion, and migration caused by inhibition of miR-208a-3p. Our findings confirmed the oncogenic role of miR-208a-3p via targeting PDCD4 in CRC, identifying miR-208a-3p as a potential diagnosis and therapeutic biomarker for CRC.
UBE2C functions as a potential oncogene by enhancing cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma cells
Authors: Xiong Yu , Lu Jing , Fang Qinliang , Lu Yuyan , Xie Chengrong , Wu Huita , Yin Zhenyu 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Recently, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C (UBE2C) has been reported to be overexpressed in human cancers and act as a potential oncogene. However, little is known about the functional roles of UBE2C in HCC progression. In the present study, analysis of UBE2C mRNA expression in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset reveals that significantly higher UBE2C mRNA levels was found in HCC tissues and associated with higher HCC grade. Elevated UBE2C mRNA levels in HCC indicated worsened survival probabilities. Through performing loss-of-function assays, we demonstrated that knockdown of UBE2C expression obviously suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. Moreover, HCC cells with UBE2C knockdown showed higher sensitivity for the treatment of chemotherapeutic drug, including adriamycin (ADR) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Silencing of UBE2C also increased the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib, an approved treatment for patients with advanced-stage HCC. Our findings strongly suggest that UBE2C emerges as a marker for prognosis in HCC, and blocking UBE2C may be a novel strategy for HCC therapies.
Relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 3′UTR of amyloid precursor protein and risk of Alzheimer’s disease and its mechanism
Authors: Zhou Qiong , Luo Lian , Wang Xiaohang , Li Xiang 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Background and objective: Deregulation of the expression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) can lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent studies have shown that many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of APP are associated with the development of AD. Since microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the regulation of APP expression, we believe that the APP 3′UTR polymorphism may affect the regulation of APP expression in miRNAs. Results: The levels of miR-101-3p, miR-153-3p, miR-144-3p, miR-381-3p, and miR-383-5p in plasma of patients with AD were significantly lower than those in the control group. The APP-534G/A site A allele was a protective factor for AD risk (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.700, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.573–0.840, P&lt;0.001). The APP-369C/G site variation was not associated with AD risk. The APP-118C/A site A allele was a protective factor for AD (adjusted OR = 0.762, 95% CI: 0.639–0.897, P=0.001). The APP-534G/A site mutation affects the regulation of APP protein expression by miR-101-3p, miR-144-3p, miR-153-3p, and miR-381-3p, and the mutation of the APP-118C/A site affects miR-101-3p, miR-144-3p, miR-153-3p, and miR-383-5p regulation of APP expression. Conclusion: APP 3′UTR polymorphisms can affect the regulation of APP expression by miRNAs and thus affect the occurrence of AD.
Ageing in Pgc-1β−/− mice modelling mitochondrial dysfunction induces differential expression of a range of genes regulating ventricular electrophysiology
Authors: Edling Charlotte E. , Fazmin Ibrahim T. , Chadda Karan R. , Ahmad Shiraz , Valli Haseeb , Grace Andrew A. , Huang Christopher L.-H. , Jeevaratnam Kamalan 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Mice deficient in mitochondrial promoter peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ co-activator-1β (Pgc-1β−/−) is a valuable model for metabolic diseases and has been found to present with several pathologies including ventricular arrhythmia. In the present study, our aim was to shed light on the molecular mechanisms behind the observed arrhythmic substrate by studying how the expression of selected genes critical for cardiac function differs in wild-type (WT) compared with Pgc-1β knockout mice and young compared with aged mice. We found that a clear majority of genes are down-regulated in the Pgc-1β−/− ventricular tissue compared with the WT. Although most individual genes are not significantly differentially expressed, a pattern is apparent when the genes are grouped according to their functional properties. Genes encoding proteins relating to ATPase activity, potassium ion channels relating to repolarisation and resting membrane potential, and genes encoding proteins in the cAMP pathway are found to be significantly down-regulated in the Pgc-1β deficient mice. On the contrary, the pacemaker channel genes Hcn3 and Hcn4 are up-regulated in subsets of the Pgc-1β deficient tissue. Furthermore, we found that with age, especially in the Pgc-1β−/− genotype, most genes are up-regulated including genes relating to the resting membrane potential, calcium homeostasis, the cAMP pathway, and most of the tested adrenoceptors. In conclusion, we here demonstrate how a complex pattern of many modest changes at gene level may explain major functional differences of the action potential related to ageing and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Kinetic and structural analysis of human ALDH9A1
Authors: Končitíková Radka , Vigouroux Armelle , Kopečná Martina , Šebela Marek , Moréra Solange , Kopečný David 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) constitute a superfamily of NAD(P)+-dependent enzymes, which detoxify aldehydes produced in various metabolic pathways to the corresponding carboxylic acids. Among the 19 human ALDHs, the cytosolic ALDH9A1 has so far never been fully enzymatically characterized and its structure is still unknown. Here, we report complete molecular and kinetic properties of human ALDH9A1 as well as three crystal forms at 2.3, 2.9, and 2.5 Å resolution. We show that ALDH9A1 exhibits wide substrate specificity to aminoaldehydes, aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes with a clear preference for γ-trimethylaminobutyraldehyde (TMABAL). The structure of ALDH9A1 reveals that the enzyme assembles as a tetramer. Each ALDH monomer displays a typical ALDHs fold composed of an oligomerization domain, a coenzyme domain, a catalytic domain, and an inter-domain linker highly conserved in amino-acid sequence and folding. Nonetheless, structural comparison reveals a position and a fold of the inter-domain linker of ALDH9A1 never observed in any other ALDH so far. This unique difference is not compatible with the presence of a bound substrate and a large conformational rearrangement of the linker up to 30 Å has to occur to allow the access of the substrate channel. Moreover, the αβE region consisting of an α-helix and a β-strand of the coenzyme domain at the dimer interface are disordered, likely due to the loss of interactions with the inter-domain linker, which leads to incomplete β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) binding pocket.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Metabolic Liver Diseases and Hepatic Fibrosis
Authors: Maiers Jessica , Malhi Harmeet 
Published: March 2019

AbstractEndoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a major contributor to liver disease and hepatic fibrosis, but the role it plays varies depending on the cause and progression of the disease. Furthermore, ER stress plays a distinct role in hepatocytes versus hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which adds to the complexity of understanding ER stress and its downstream signaling through the unfolded protein response (UPR) in liver disease. Here, the authors focus on the current literature of ER stress in nonalcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver diseases, how ER stress impacts hepatocyte injury, and the role of ER stress in HSC activation and hepatic fibrosis. This review provides insight into the complex signaling and regulation of the UPR, parallels and distinctions between different liver diseases, and how ER stress may be targeted as an antisteatotic or antifibrotic therapy to limit the progression of liver disease.
Sexual Function and Quality of Life in a Cohort of Brazilian Users of Two Kind of Intrauterine Contraceptives
Authors: Ferreira Jéssica Mayra , Carreiro Andréa Vieira , Fernandes Arlete , Bahamondes Luis 
Published: March 2019

Objective To compare sexual function and quality of life (QOL) among intrauterine contraceptive (copper-intrauterine device [Cu-IUD] or the 52-mg 20 µg/day levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system [LNG-IUS]) users.
Methods This was part of a cross-sectional study. Women aged between 18 and 49 years old, in a heterosexual relationship, reporting sexual intercourse in the previous 4 weeks, using Cu-IUD (Group 1) or LNG-IUS (Group 2) responded to a questionnaire with sociodemographic information, to the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), to the World Health Organization QOL Questionnaire Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF), and to a questionnaire about the contraceptive method used. The Student t-test, the Pearson χ2 test or the Fisher exact test, and the Mann-Whitney test were used for the analysis. For the adjusted comparison, we have used the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). A multiple regression analyzing factors related to FSFI ≤ 26.55 was done. Significance was established at p < 0.05.
Results A total of 347 women in Group 1 (mean age of 32.3 ± 7.5 years old) and of 298 in Group 2 (mean age of 32.7 ± 6.4 years old) completed the questionnaires. Most women had ≥ 8 years of schooling, were in a monogamous relationship, and had had ≤ 2 pregnancies. A total of 122 Cu-IUD and of 87 LNG-IUS users scored ≤ 26.55 on the FSFI. Significant lower scores in physical, environmental, and overall QOL domains in the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire were found in Group 1. More women using the Cu-IUD were not satisfied with the method.
Conclusion We did not find significant differences in sexual function; there was a lower score in some domains of QOL among women who used the Cu-IUD. It was not possible to ensure that those differences were related to the contraceptive method.
Impact of Design on Force between Flexor Tendons and Distal Radius Volar Plates
Authors: Hinchcliff Katharine M. , Volk Ido , Ivanova Xenia , Taylor Sandra , Szabo Robert M. 
Published: March 2019

Background Flexor tendon injury is a rare but serious complication of distal radius volar plating.
Purpose This study aims to determine whether the design of distal radius volar plates impacts the amount of force exerted on the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) and flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendons when the plates are placed proximal and distal to the watershed line.
Methods Three commercially available plates were applied to 10 fresh, matched-pair upper extremity specimens. Cyclical loading was applied to the tendons, and the force generated between tendon and plate was measured. Linear mixed effect models were used to evaluate differences in maximum and mean forces by plate position, plate design, and the interaction between position and design.
Results Forces on the tendons differed significantly by position but not plate design. For the FPL tendon, the average maximum force with a plate in Soong's grade 2 was 4.50 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.8–7.3) times higher than when the plate was in a Soong's grade 0 placement, and 4.63 (95% CI: 2.82–7.61) times higher for the FDP tendon. While not statistically significant, lower observed force values with thinner plates when plates were placed distal to the watershed line suggest that that plate thickness could also be a critical plate characteristic for distally placed plates.
Conclusion Despite differences in plate design, the main determinant of plate prominence and therefore flexor tendon injury potential is placement in relation to the watershed line.
Clinical Relevance This study may help to guide surgeon implant selection and volar plate design.