bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
T helper cells subtypes and their cytokine gene expression affected by carvacrol in sensitized mice administered during sensitization period
Authors: Kianmehr Majid , Rezaee Abdolrahim , Mahmoudi Mahmoud , Ghorani Vahideh , Boskabady Mohammad Hossein 
Published: November 2018

AbstractTh1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells and their cytokine gene expressions in splenocytes of control mice, ovalbumin sensitized (S), and S treated with dexamethasone and carvacrol during a sensitization period were examined. Th2 and Th17 population as well as the gene expression of IL‐4, IL‐17, and TGF‐β were increased, but Th1, Th1/Th2 ratio, the gene expression of IFN‐γ and FOXP3 as well as the IFN‐γ/IL‐4 ratio were decreased in S compared with control group (
P < 0.001 for all cases). Carvacrol treatment caused significant reduction of Th2 and Th17 population as well as gene expression of IL‐4, IL‐17, and TGF‐β but increase in Treg cells, Th1/Th2 ratio, gene expressions of FOXP3, IFN‐γ, and IFN‐γ/IL‐4 ratio (
P < 0.05 to
P < 0.001). The population of Th1, Th2, Th17 cells as well as the gene expression of IL‐4, IL‐17, and TGF‐β were significantly decreased, but only Treg was increased in the dexamethasone treatment group (
P < 0.05 to
P < 0.001). Carvacrol treatment during the sensitization period showed a more specific effect on Th1/Th2 imbalance in sensitized mice than dexamethasone, which may indicate the therapeutic potentials of carvacrol in disorders associated with Th1/Th2 imbalance such as asthma.
Repression of let‐7b‐5p prevents the development of multifidus muscle dysfunction by promoting vitamin D accumulation via upregulation of electron transfer flavoprotein alpha subunit in a rat model of multifidus muscle injury
Authors: Yu Hai‐Ming , Yao Xue‐Dong , Zhang Rong‐Mou , Zhuang Hua‐Feng , Wang Pei‐Wen , Li Yi‐Zhong 
Published: November 2018

AbstractMultifidus muscle dysfunction is associated with the multifidus muscle injury (MMI), which ultimately result in the low‐back pain. Increasing evidence shows that microRNAs (miRs) may be involved in multifidus muscle dysfunction. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that downregulation of let‐7b‐5p may inhibit the multifidus muscle dysfunction development and progression. The target prediction program and luciferase activity determination confirmed electron transfer flavoprotein alpha subunit (ETFA) as a direct target gene of let‐7b‐5p. To study the mechanisms and functions of let‐7b‐5p in relation to ETFA in MMI progression, we prepared rats with experimental MMI, and a lentivirus‐based packaging system was designed to upregulate expressions of let‐7b‐5p, and downregulate the expression of ETFA. ETFA was identified as a target gene of let‐7b‐5p. Older age, a longer duration of pain, and higher visual analog scale and Oswestry disability index scores for the patients with chronic low‐back pain were linked to a more severe degree of degenerative muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration. Increased expression of let‐7b‐5p and decreased expression of ETFA and vitamin D receptor (VDR) were positively correlated with multifidus muscle dysfunction. Downregulated let‐7b‐5p could inhibit infiltration of collagen fibers, reverse the ultrastructural changes of multifidus muscle, and induce the VDR expression, thereby repair the MMI. The results provided a potential basis for let‐7b‐5p that could support targeted intervention in multifidus muscle dysfunction. Collectively, this study confirmed that downregulation of let‐7b‐5p has a potential inhibitory effect on the development of the function of the musculus myocytes by upregulating ETFA.
Therapeutic potential of human mesenchymal stem cells derived beta cell precursors on a nanofibrous scaffold: An approach to treat diabetes mellitus
Authors: Hoveizi Elham , Tavakol Shima 
Published: November 2018

AbstractDiabetes mellitus is an autoimmune and chronic disorder that is rapidly expanding worldwide due to increasing obesity. In the current study, we were able to design a reliable 3‐dimensional differentiation process of human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells into pancreatic beta cell precursors (PBCPs) and detected that transplanted PBCPs could improve hyperglycemia in a diabetes‐induced model in mice. Polylactic acid/chitosan nanofibrous scaffold was prepared using an electrospinning method. Quantitative real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry analysis were carried out to assess pancreatic marker expression in the differentiated cells. PBCPs were transplanted under the kidney capsule of diabetic mice that induced streptozotocin injection 14 days before the transplantation. Moreover, an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (ipGTT) was carried out 2 and 4 weeks after the transplantation to measure the reaction to a sudden increase of the blood glucose level in the transplanted animals. The results indicated that the expression of SRY (sex determining region Y)‐box (Sox17), forkhead box A2 (FoxA2), pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1), neurogenin 3 (Ngn3), hepatic nuclear factor 4, alpha (Hnf4α), and NK2 homeobox 2 (Nkx2.2) were increased significantly in the differentiated cells compared with that of the control group. In the current study, the diabetic disease was confirmed by measuring blood glucose and proved by conducting some other behavioral tests. After the PBCPs transplantation in a diabetic model, the ipGTT and hyperglycemia investigation during the determinant times confirmed the disease's significant improvement in the experimental models. In this study, some preclinical data suggested that the transplantation of PBCPs associated with appropriate nanofiber scaffold can be utilized for the treatment of diabetes models. In addition, studies are required to elucidate the molecular mechanism of PBCPs acting in diabetes models before being used for patients with diabetes.
From gene list to gene network: Recognizing functional connections that regulate behavioral traits
Authors: Faragalla Kyrillos M. , Chernyshova Anna M. , Gallo Anthony J. , Thompson Graham J. 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe study of social breeding systems is often gene focused, and the field of insect sociobiology has been successful at assimilating tools and techniques from molecular biology. One common output from sociogenomic studies is a gene list. Gene lists are readily generated from microarray, RNA sequencing, or other molecular screens that typically aim to prioritize genes based on the differences in their expression. Gene lists, however, are often unsatisfying because the information they provide is simply tabular and does not explain how genes interact with each other, or how genetic interactions change in real time under social or environmental circumstances. Here, we promote a view that is relatively common to molecular systems biology, where gene lists are converted into gene networks that better describe the functional connections that regulate behavioral traits. We present a narrative related to honeybee worker sterility to show how network analysis can be used to reprioritize candidate genes based on connectivity rather than their freestanding expression values. Networks can also reveal multigene modules, motifs, clusters or other system‐wide properties that might not be apparent from an ab initio list. We argue that because network analyses are not restricted to “genes” as nodes, their implementation can potentially connect multiple levels of biological organization into a single, progressively complex study system.
T lymphocyte subsets in cancer immunity: Friends or foes
Authors: Chraa Dounia , Naim Asmaa , Olive Daniel , Badou Abdallah 
Published: November 2018

AbstractAlthough immune-based therapy is proving to be a success in several cancer types, only a set of patients appear to respond to immune checkpoint blockade including PD-1 and CTLA-4. A better understanding of the crucial components of cancer immunity is therefore necessary. T lymphocytes, a key element, are found within the tumor microenvironment and seem to be critical in determining the efficacy of immune surveillance. In this review, we will depict the pro- and antitumor roles of major T cell subsets in distinct cancer tissues. The central role of the mainly antitumor subsets, cytotoxic T cells and Th1 cells, will be delineated. Subsequently, we will indicate how other subsets including Th2, Th17, and T regulatory cells exhibit ambivalent roles. We will also describe the emerging and favorable role of Th9 cells in cancer immunity. In parallel, we will go through main mechanisms by which these cells operate, and will pinpoint pathways, which could be used as potential therapeutic targets in order to positively impact the immune response and ameliorate patients’ clinical outcome.Review on the distinct T cell subsets in cancer immunity and potential T cell-related molecules, which could be targeted in order to improve patients' clinical outcome.
The role of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in gynaecological radiation therapy: A dosimetric comparison of intensity modulated radiation therapy versus VMAT
Authors: Knapp Penelope , Eva Belinda , Reseigh Gemma , Gibbs Adrian , Sim Lucy , Daly Tiffany , Cox Judith , Bernard Anne 
Published: November 2018

AbstractIntroductionFor gynaecological cancers, volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) offers comparable plan quality with shorter treatment delivery times when compared to intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).MethodsThe clinical IMRT plans of twenty gynaecological cancer patients were compared with a retrospectively generated VMAT plan. Planning target volume (PTV) metrics compared were D95 > 99%, homogeneity index, and conformity index. Organs at risk (OAR) doses compared were bladder V45 < 35%, bowel V40 < 30%, femoral head and neck (FHN) V30 < 50%, V44 < 35% and V44 < 5%. Plan quality was also assessed by comparing the monitor units (MU), treatment time and the patient‐specific quality assurance results.ResultsVMAT and IMRT resulted in comparable PTV coverage with D95 values of 98.92% ± 0.69% and 98.91% ± 1.43% respectively, and homogeneity index values of 0.08 ± 0.02 (VMAT) and 0.08 ± 0.03 (IMRT). The conformity index for VMAT was 0.93 ± 0.04 and IMRT 0.85 ± 0.06 (P < 0.001). For the bowel tolerance (40 Gy < 30%) VMAT resulted in 22.39% ± 12.5% compared to 28.8% ± 16.78% for IMRT, with bladder and FHN VMAT doses also lower. VMAT MU were 694.35 ± 126.56 compared to 606.8 ± 96.16 for IMRT (P < 0.01). Treatment times of 6.6 ± 0.82 min and 2.47 ± 0.35 min were achieved for IMRT and VMAT respectively.ConclusionVMAT showed improvements in sparing OAR compared to IMRT. Target volume coverage with VMAT was equivalent or better than that of IMRT. These results in conjunction with the confirmed shorter treatment delivery time, have led to the development and implementation of a clinical protocol.
Impact of climate change on solar irradiation and variability over the Iberian Peninsula using regional climate models
Authors: Gil Victoria , Gaertner Miguel Angel , Gutierrez Claudia , Losada Teresa 
Published: November 2018

As solar energy will be an increasingly important renewable energy source in future years, the study of how climate change affects both its temporal and spatial variability is very relevant. In this paper, we study future changes of the solar radiation resource in the Iberian Peninsula (IP) through a set of simulations from ESCENA project (generation of regionalized scenarios of climate change in Spain with high‐resolution models) until mid‐century. The evaluation of the simulations against observations indicates contrasting biases for the different regional climate models (RCMs) in terms of solar irradiation amount and its inter‐annual variability. We propose a diagnostic for the quality of solar energy resource, in which the gridpoints are classified in four categories depending on the combination of solar irradiation amount and variability. The observed large percentage of points in the optimal category (high irradiation/low variability) in the IP is well‐captured by the RCMs in general terms.The analysis of scenarios indicates a future increase in solar irradiation, although not all scenarios agree in the geographical distribution of this increase. The quality of solar energy resource is projected to increase, mostly due to a decrease in variability. This is an important result, as a more stable inter‐annual resource should decrease the need for backup sources and also reduce inter‐annual electricity price variations. Finally, results from a first approximation to the issue of the ability of solar energy to cover power demand peaks in summer show important differences between regions of the IP. However, the spatially averaged correlation of solar irradiation and summer surface temperatures for the whole IP is rather high, which is a positive result as the strong interconnections of the power grid within the IP could allow a distribution of solar power surpluses in certain regions for such high‐temperature episodes.
Assessment of quality consistency in traditional Chinese medicine using multi‐wavelength fusion profiling by integrated quantitative fingerprint method: Niuhuang Jiedu pill as an example
Authors: Zhang Jing , Sun Guoxiang 
Published: November 2018

AbstractUnder the wave of the revival of traditional Chinese medicine, there is a quite imperative duty to study an integrated and comprehensive method of fingerprint data processing and analysis on the quality consistency of traditional Chinese medicine. So, we proposed six parameters from two aspects (qualitative and quantitative), three levels (biased to strong peaks, biased to weak peaks, no obvious bias), to comprehensively evaluate the similarity of the two fingerprints. On this basis, another five parameters were proposed to evaluate the integrated effects (consistency, volatility, and similarity). This method was applied to 22 batches of Niuhuang Jiedu pill samples. Next, a practical and convenient multi‐wavelength fusion method was designed to provide more information, and the generated fusion profilings were used for subsequent evaluation. The characteristics of the parameters were confirmed by correlation analysis. The results of both hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis for raw data and standardized data were consistent with integrated quantitative fingerprint method results. At the same time, this method gave a reasonable explanation for abnormal and dissimilar samples. This work illustrated that the proposed method was particularly suitable for similarity analysis of fingerprints and capable of ensuring the quality consistency in traditional Chinese medicine.
Langmuir Monolayers as Tools to Study Biodegradable Polymer Implant Materials
Authors: Machatschek Rainhard , Schulz Burkhard , Lendlein Andreas 
Published: November 2018

AbstractLangmuir monolayers provide a fast and elegant route to analyze the degradation behavior of biodegradable polymer materials. In contrast to bulk materials, diffusive transport of reactants and reaction products in the (partially degraded) material can be neglected at the air–water interface, allowing for the study of molecular degradation kinetics in experiments taking less than a day and in some cases just a few minutes, in contrast to experiments with bulk materials that can take years. Several aspects of the biodegradation behavior of polymer materials, such as the interaction with biomolecules and degradation products, are directly observable. Expanding the technique with surface‐sensitive instrumental techniques enables evaluating the evolution of the morphology, chemical composition, and the mechanical properties of the degrading material in situ. The potential of the Langmuir monolayer degradation technique as a predictive tool for implant degradation when combined with computational methods is outlined, and related open questions and strategies to overcome these challenges are pointed out.
High‐isolation conjoined loop multi‐input multi‐output antennas for the fifth‐generation tablet device
Authors: Wong Kin‐Lu , Lin Bo‐Wei , Lin Song‐En 
Published: November 2018

AbstractTwo coupled‐fed loop antennas with a conjoined capacitor‐embedded section to achieve compact size and high isolation for the fifth‐generation (5G) multi‐input multi‐output (MIMO) operation in the tablet device are presented. The two conjoined loop MIMO antennas cover the 5G band of 3300‐4200 MHz, which is considered to be the largest contiguous frequency range potentially available for 5G mobile broadband services below 6000 MHz. The conjoined capacitor‐embedded section not only functions as a part of the resonant path of the two loop antennas but also behaves like a band‐pass resonant structure in the operating band. The latter makes the capacitor‐embedded section to have much lower impedance in the operating band, as compared to that of a simple strip section. This makes it capable of effectively attracting the surface currents on the ground plane excited by one loop antenna to be away from the feed port of the other loop antenna. The two loop antennas can hence exhibit high isolation, even though the two antennas are conjoined to have a simple integrated planar structure of compact size. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) of the two conjoined loop antennas is also very small, less than 0.1 in the operating band.
An enhanced circular polarization near‐field focused antenna array by director patches
Authors: Huang HuiFen , Wang Bin 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThis paper presents an enhanced circular polarization (CP) near‐field focused (NFF) antenna array. There exist three advantages for the CP NFF antenna. First, this study provides an effective way to realize the CP and NFF simultaneously and do not need to design a specific patch shape for CP, which provides more freedom to change the patch shape for improving other performances. The effective way is arranging the element excitation according to maximum power transmission efficiency theory under the condition of a CP testing antenna. Second, the array element consists of a driven and director patches, and the director patches tilt the element beam from broadside direction to focal point, and then obviously enhance the electric field focusing gain. Third, the proposed array antenna achieves much less size of focal point by using much less element number than published papers. The curves for the impedance and axial ratio (AR) as function of frequency, focus width and depth are analyzed. The simulated and measured results basically agree.
A 5‐11 GHz CMOS power amplifier using Guanella‐type transmission line transformer and adaptive bias circuit
Authors: Lin Hou‐An , Wang Yuan‐Chang , Chiou Hwann‐Kaeo 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThis paper presents a 5‐11 GHz fully integrated power amplifier (PA) in tsmc 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The PA utilized broadband and low‐loss Guanella differential transmission‐line transformers (DTLTs) as the input‐ and output‐matching networks to achieve broadband performance. The adaptive bias circuit was adopted to improve the linearity and power added efficiency (PAE) at power back‐off region. The power gain and stability were enhanced by capacitive unilaterialized technique. The PA achieves an output 1‐dB compression point (OP1dB) of 21.75 dBm with 1‐dB bandwidth from 5.5 to 10.5 GHz. The PAEs at peak and P1dB are 21.3% and 23.9%, respectively. The chip dimensions, including all pads, are 1.79 × 1.04 mm2.
A compact reconfigurable ultra‐wideband G‐shaped printed antenna with band‐notched characteristic
Authors: Toktas Abdurrahim , Yerlikaya Mehmet 
Published: November 2018

AbstractA compact UWB G‐shaped printed monopole antenna with reconfigurable band‐notched characteristic is presented. The antenna design having a low profile of 8 × 27.5 mm2 consists of a G‐shaped radiating element size of 8 × 8 mm2 fed by a microstrip transmission line with a matching line and a defected ground structure. In order to achieve reconfigurable characteristic, a pin diode is inserted between the poles of G‐shaped radiator. When the pin diode is at ON‐state, G‐shaped patch behaves like a ring radiator and the antenna thus operates at whole UWB frequency. On the other hand; when the pin diode is at OFF‐state, the antenna has a band‐notched characteristic corresponds to C‐band and WIMAX band spectrum. The antenna design is parametrically investigated and the proposed design is verified by a prototype. From the measured results, the antenna has switchable characteristic between whole UWB spectrum of 2.8‐12.6 GHz at ON‐state and stopped band of 3.5‐4.95 GHz at OFF‐state. Therefore, the proposed antenna excels in terms of geometry's simplicity, compactness, near omnidirectional pattern, high efficiency as well as band‐notched configurability.
Design of a MMIC low‐noise amplifier in industrial gallium arsenide technology for E‐band 5G transceivers
Authors: Ciccognani Walter , Colangeli Sergio , Longhi Patrick Ettore , Limiti Ernesto 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe technology, design procedure and measurements of an E‐band (71‐86 GHz) high performance gallium arsenide (GaAs) low‐noise amplifier (LNA) are presented. The latter provides a gain in excess of 20 dB, an average in‐band noise figure (NF) of 2.3 dB, absorbing 60 mW DC bias power. A European space‐qualified technology (OMMIC's GaAs 70 nm process) has been selected to demonstrate the feasibility of employing the proposed LNA for production‐ready wireless backhaul point‐to‐point communication systems. A possible installation scenario has been depicted, in order to verify the maximum distance at which TX and RX antennas can be placed and employing the proposed LNA as first amplifying stage of the receiver chain.
A dual‐band circularly polarized planar monopole antenna for Wireless Local Area Network/Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access applications
Authors: Yang Dong , Zhai Huiqing , Xue Kun , Xi Lei , Wu Xinhua , Li Yinhu 
Published: November 2018

AbstractIn this letter, a new dual‐band circularly polarized (CP) planar monopole antenna is proposed. Simply by embedding an asymmetrical T‐shaped strip into the arc‐shaped feedline, dual‐band operation and CP radiation can be obtained. Furthermore, adding an inverted‐L‐shaped strip to the previous designing, the axial ratio bandwidths (ARBWs) can be greatly improved. After fabricating and then testing, the measured results indicate that the impedance bandwidths (IBWs) below 10‐dB can reach 240 MHz (2.39‐2.63 GHz) and 2.73 GHz (3.85‐6.58 GHz), and the 3‐dB ARBW can cover 260 MHz (2.26‐2.52 GHz) and 2.48 GHz (3.9‐6.38 GHz). The designed antenna can be applied to the WLAN (2.4/5.2/5.8‐GHz) and WiMax (5.5 GHz) multi‐function and multi‐mode communication systems felicitously.