bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Integrated analysis of microRNA and mRNA expression profiles in rats with selenium deficiency and identification of associated miRNA-mRNA network
Authors: Feng Yanjing , Xing Yunjie , Liu Zhongwei , Yang Guang , Niu Xiaolin , Gao Dengfeng 
Published: April 2018

AbstractSelenium deficiency is closely related with various type of cardiovascular disease. However, the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in Selenium deficiency related cardiac change remains to be understand. In the present study, a reliable Selenium deficiency rat model was established and confirmed by pathological and biochemical examination. The mRNA and miRNA expression profiles were conducted by microarray technology. Gene Ontology (GO) Analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathway Analysis was performed to investigate the function of targeted genes, and the relationship between miRNA and mRNA was studied by network analysis. A total of 4931 mRNAs and 119 miRNAs was differentially expressed between any two groups (control group, low-selenium group and selenium supplementation group). GO and KEGG pathway analysis of selected miRNAs target genes found that selenium deficiency was related to several different biological processes. Furthermore, a miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was conducted to illustrate the interaction of miRNAs and these targeted genes. In conclusion, our present study provides a new insight that potential molecular mechanism of Selenium deficiency was a multiply miRNAs and mRNA caused biological change.
3D bio-printed scaffold-free nerve constructs with human gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote rat facial nerve regeneration
Authors: Zhang Qunzhou , Nguyen Phuong D. , Shi Shihong , Burrell Justin C. , Cullen D. Kacy , Le Anh D. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractDespite the promising neuro-regenerative capacities of stem cells, there is currently no licensed stem cell-based product in the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve injuries. Here, we explored the potential use of human gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) as the only cellular component in 3D bio-printed scaffold-free neural constructs that were transplantable to bridge facial nerve defects in rats. We showed that GMSCs have the propensity to aggregate into compact 3D-spheroids that could produce their own matrix. When cultured under either 2D- or 3D-collagen scaffolds, GMSC spheroids were found to be more capable of differentiating into both neuronal and Schwann-like cells than their adherent counterparts. Using a scaffold-free 3D bio-printer system, nerve constructs were printed from GMSC spheroids in the absence of exogenous scaffolds and allowed to mature in a bioreactor. In vivo transplantation of the GMSC-laden nerve constructs promoted regeneration and functional recovery when used to bridge segmental defects in rat facial nerves. Our findings suggest that GMSCs represent an easily accessible source of MSCs for 3D bio-printing of scaffold-free nervous tissue constructs with promising potential application for repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve defects.
Controllable interlayer space effects of layered potassium triniobate nanoflakes on enhanced pH dependent adsorption-photocatalysis behaviors
Authors: Deng Qinglin , Li Mengjiao , Wang Junyong , Jiang Kai , Hu Zhigao , Chu Junhao 
Published: April 2018

AbstractDespite the extensive study of two-dimensional layered KNb3O8 (KN), there still remains some vital problems need to be clarified for future applications in environmental purification. Here we demonstrated the successful preparation of interlayer-controlled KN nanoflakes using alkaline hydrothermal conditions by adjusting the amount of thiourea in the reaction. This process resulted in KN nanoflakes with a larger specific surface area than previously reported. Moreover, the initial pH of dye solution and discrepant preferential orientation of interlayer peak have been proved to significantly influence the adsorption and photocatalysis performances of KN. In addition, relevant photocatalysis mechanisms have been expounded, by combined the first-principles calculation. The present work could be helpful in revealing the intrinsic adsorption-photocatalysis features of KN and other similar niobates.
Ultra-slow mechanical stimulation of olfactory epithelium modulates consciousness by slowing cerebral rhythms in humans
Authors: Piarulli A. , Zaccaro A. , Laurino M. , Menicucci D. , De Vito A. , Bruschini L. , Berrettini S. , Bergamasco M. , Laureys S. , Gemignani A. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe coupling between respiration and neural activity within olfactory areas and hippocampus has recently been unambiguously demonstrated, its neurophysiological basis sustained by the well-assessed mechanical sensitivity of the olfactory epithelium. We herein hypothesize that this coupling reverberates to the whole brain, possibly modulating the subject’s behavior and state of consciousness. The olfactory epithelium of 12 healthy subjects was stimulated with periodical odorless air-delivery (frequency 0.05 Hz, 8 s on, 12 off). Cortical electrical activity (High Density-EEG) and perceived state of consciousness have been studied. The stimulation induced i) an enhancement of delta-theta EEG activity over the whole cortex mainly involving the Limbic System and Default Mode Network structures, ii) a reversal of the overall information flow directionality from wake-like postero-anterior to NREM sleep-like antero-posterior, iii) the perception of having experienced an Altered State of Consciousness. These findings could shed further light via a neurophenomenological approach on the links between respiration, cerebral activity and subjective experience, suggesting a plausible neurophysiological basis for interpreting altered states of consciousness induced by respiration-based meditative practices.
The Correlation Between the Immune and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Signatures Suggests Potential Therapeutic Targets and Prognosis Prediction Approaches in Kidney Cancer
Authors: Liang Jiayu , Liu Zhihong , Zou Zijun , Tang Yongquan , Zhou Chuan , Yang Jian , Wei Xin , Lu Yiping 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBoth epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and immune regulation are important biological process in malignant tumours. The current research aims to comprehensively explore the potential association between the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signature and immune checkpoint signature and its role in predicting the prognosis of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients. EMT-related genes were collected from an experiment-based study and then were investigated using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas. A total of 357 genes were included, and 23 of them that were upregulated and correlated with prognosis were analysed further as core EMT genes in ccRCC. Interestingly, the emerging immune checkpoints CD276, OX40 and TGFB1 were found to be significantly co-expressed with core EMT genes, and TGFB1, CXCR4, IL10, and IL6 were the most important molecules potentially interacting with EMT molecules in our model, as determined from mRNA co-expression and protein-protein interaction network analysis. Additionally, an integrated scoring model based on FOXM1, TIMP1 and IL6 was successfully established to distinguish ccRCC patients with different clinical risks. Our results identified core genes in the EMT-immunophenotyping correlation and evaluated their risk assessment capabilities, providing more potential therapeutic targets and prediction approaches regarding the translational research of treatment and prognosis in ccRCC.
Design of Metamaterial Absorber using Eight-Resistive-Arm Cell for Simultaneous Broadband and Wide-Incidence-Angle Absorption
Authors: Nguyen Toan Trung , Lim Sungjoon 
Published: April 2018

AbstractIn this paper, a broadband metamaterial (MM) absorber is presented for X-band applications. A novel eight-resistive-arm (ERA) cell is proposed as an MM unit cell to achieve both broadband absorption and wide incidence angles. The proposed ERA cell is designed using equivalent circuit model and full-wave analysis in order to achieve an absorption ratio higher than 90% in the range of 8.2–13.4 GHz. The experimental results indicate that the absorptivity was greater than 90% in the range of 8–13 GHz for all polarization angles under normal incidence. Under oblique incidence, the measured absorptivity was greater than 90% in the range of 8.2–12.2 GHz up to 60° and in the range of 9.2–12 GHz up to 65° in the transverse electric (TE) mode. In the transverse magnetic (TM) mode, the measured absorptivity was higher than 90% in the range of 9.5–12.4 GHz when the incidence angle was varied from 0° to 60° and remaining a 90% absorption bandwidth in the range of 10–12 GHz up to 65°. Compared to other broadband MM absorbers, the proposed MM absorber exhibited the widest incidence angles in both TE and TM modes.
C IV broad absorption line disappearance in a large SDSS QSO sample
Authors: De Cicco D. , Brandt W. N. , Grier C. J. , Paolillo M. , Filiz Ak N. , Schneider D. P. , Trump J. R. 
Published: April 2018

Context. Broad absorption lines (BALs) in the spectra of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) originate from outflowing winds along our line of sight; winds are thought to originate from the inner regions of the QSO accretion disk, close to the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). These winds likely play a role in galaxy evolution and are responsible for aiding the accretion mechanism onto the SMBH. Several works have shown that BAL equivalent widths can change on typical timescales from months to years; such variability is generally attributed to changes in the covering factor (due to rotation and/or changes in the wind structure) and/or in the ionization level of the gas.
Aims. We investigate BAL variability, focusing on BAL disappearance.
Methods. We analyze multi-epoch spectra of more than 1500 QSOs – the largest sample ever used for such a study – observed by different programs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-I/II/III (SDSS-I/II/III), and search for disappearing C IV BALs. The spectra cover a rest-frame time baseline ranging from 0.28 to 4.9 yr; the source redshifts range from 1.68 to 4.27.
Results. We detect 73 disappearing BALs in the spectra of 67 unique sources. This corresponds to 3.9% of BALs disappearing within 4.9 yr (rest frame), and 5.1% of our BAL QSOs exhibit at least one disappearing BAL within 4.9 yr (rest frame). We estimate the average lifetime of a BAL along our line of sight (≈80–100 yr), which appears consistent with the accretion disk orbital time at distances where winds are thought to originate. We inspect various properties of the disappearing BAL sample and compare them to the corresponding properties of our main sample. We also investigate the existence of a correlation in the variability of multiple troughs in the same spectrum, and find it persistent at large velocity offsets between BAL pairs, suggesting that a mechanism extending on a global scale is necessary to explain the phenomenon. We select a more reliable sample of disappearing BALs on the basis of some criteria adopted in a previous publication, where a subset of our current sample was analyzed, and compare the findings from the two works, obtaining generally consistent results.
Existiert ein epidemischer Vitamin D-Mangel bei weiblichen Inhaftierten und in der deutschen Wohnbevölkerung? Ergebnisse einer Studie unter Inhaftierten und einer systematischen Literaturrecherche
Authors: Pürner Friedrich , Böhmer Merle M. , Wildner Manfred 
Published: April 2018

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund Die Auswirkungen einer langjährigen Haftstrafe auf den Vitamin D (VitD)-Haushalt von Strafgefangenen in Deutschland wurden bislang nicht systematisch untersucht. Besondere Lebensumstände in der Justizvollzugsanstalt (JVA) – wenig Sonnenlicht bei geringer Aufenthaltszeit im Freien – könnten bei Inhaftierten zu VitD-Mangel führen. Ziel der Studie war es, den VitD-Status bei der deutschen Wohnbevölkerung und Inhaftierten zu betrachten, um das Ausmaß eines VitD-Mangels in beiden Gruppen zu quantifizieren.
Methoden Im Zeitraum Mai 2012–Juni 2013 wurde der VitD-Spiegel (Nachweis 25(OH) D) in Blutseren von Insassinnen einer deutschen JVA getestet. Verwendete Definitionen waren: leichter VitD-Mangel: 10-<20 µg/l; schwerer Mangel:<10 µg/l. Um die JVA-Ergebnisse mit entsprechenden Werten in der Wohnbevölkerung in Deutschland vergleichen zu können, wurde eine systematische Literaturrecherche in der elektronischen Datenbank PubMed durchgeführt.
Ergebnisse Es wurden Blutseren von 84 Inhaftierten (Altersmedian: 43 Jahre; Spanne: 19–75) untersucht. Bei 30 Frauen (36%) lag ein schwerer VitD-Mangel vor, bei 47 (56%) ein leichter. Zehn Studien zum VitD-Status konnten identifiziert werden, in denen übereinstimmend ein beträchtlicher VitD-Mangel in der Wohnbevölkerung berichtet wurde.
Schlussfolgerung In Deutschland scheinen sowohl weibliche Inhaftierte als auch die Wohnbevölkerung nicht ausreichend mit VitD versorgt. Im Gegensatz zu Inhaftierten kann die nicht-institutionalisierte Bevölkerung wesentlich freier entscheiden, ob, wann und wie lange sie sich der Sonne aussetzen möchte. Auch kann sie durch VitD-reiche Nahrung einem Mangel entgegensteuern. Dies ist Inhaftierten versagt. Um den langfristigen Auswirkungen eines VitD-Mangels bei Strafgefangenen vorzubeugen, erscheint das Angebot einer Substitution mit VitD-Präparaten für die Dauer der Inhaftierung sinnvoll.
Minimally Invasive Interventional Management of Gastric Outlet Obstructions
Authors: Zhou Wei-Zhong , Yang Zheng-Qiang 
Published: April 2018

AbstractGastric outlet obstruction (GOO) is a clinical consequence of any disease that produces intrinsic or extrinsic obstruction of the pyloric channel or duodenum. The most common symptoms of GOO include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and weight loss. Traditionally, surgery is regarded as the standard treatment modality. However, with the development of mini-invasive technologies, fluoroscopic or endoscopic stenting and balloon dilatation have become the mainstream of the therapies. The initial recommended treatment for malignant GOO is self-expanding metal stent placement. The stent can be classified into covered and uncovered stent according to whether it is coated with a membrane. Covered stent seems to have longer stent patency, while uncovered stent has the advantage of a lower migration rate. Regarding the etiology of benign GOO, peptic ulcer disease and corrosive injury are the two main reasons. Balloon dilatation is a simple and convenient way to treat the benign GOO. Stent placement has recently been reported for the treatment of benign GOO; however, it needs further more studies to verify its effect. This article presents a concise review of current fluoroscopic or endoscopic stenting practice for malignant GOO and balloon dilatation or stenting for benign GOO.
Hip Capsular Management
Authors: Kunze Kyle , Leong Natalie , Nho Shane , Neal William 
Published: April 2018

AbstractDue to both the currently available technology and anatomic constraints of the hip joint, capsulotomy is necessary to perform hip arthroscopy. Proper management of the hip capsule is a crucial component of hip arthroscopy that has evolved with increased awareness that capsular closure during hip arthroscopy reestablishes the normal anatomy of the iliofemoral ligament and thus restores the biomechanical characteristics of the hip joint. This article reviews the biomechanical rationale for hip access and closure, as well as recent clinical studies on patient-reported outcomes with regard to capsular closure. Additionally, capsulotomy techniques including capsulectomy as well as interportal and T-capsulotomy techniques are reviewed, and the authors' preferred technique for capsular management is described. While capsular closure is technically challenging and increases operative time, meticulous closure improves outcomes by reducing postoperative micro- and gross instability.
Älter werden – gesund und motiviert bleiben
Authors: Röhr Anneli 
Published: April 2018

ZusammenfassungDamit auch ältere Mitarbeiter in der Pflege möglichst lange in ihrem Beruf verbleiben können, ist es wichtig, sie darin zu stärken, mit Belastungen umzugehen.
Eine Möglichkeit bietet das Konzept der Resilienz – der Stärkung der Widerstandsfähigkeit des Einzelnen.
Construction of Rhodococcus expression vectors and expression of the aminoalcohol dehydrogenase gene in Rhodococcus erythropolis
Authors: Yamamura Ei-Tora 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACT
NADP+-dependent aminoalcohol dehydrogenase (AADH) of Rhodococcus erythropolis MAK154 produces double chiral aminoalcohols, which are used as pharmaceuticals. However, the genetic manipulation of Rhodococcus strains to increase their production of such industrially important enzymes is not well studied. Therefore, I aimed to construct Rhodococcus expression vectors, derived from the Rhodococcus–Escherichia coli shuttle vector pRET1102, to express aadh. The plasmid pRET1102 could be transformed into many actinomycete strains, including R. erythropolis. The transformation efﬁciency for a species closely related to R. erythropolis was higher than that for other actinomycete strains. Promoters of various strengths, hsp, 1200rep, and TRR, were obtained from Gram-positive bacteria. The activity of TRR was stronger than that of hsp and 1200rep. The aadh-expressing plasmid pRET1172 with TRR could be transformed into many actinomycete strains to increase their AADH production. The Rhodococcus expression vector, pRET11100, constructed by removing aadh from the pRET1172 plasmid may be useful for bioconversion.
Commentary on “Longest increasing subsequences: from patience sorting to the Baik–Deift–Johansson theorem” by David Aldous and Persi Diaconis
Authors: Corwin Ivan 
Published: April 2018

Immediately following the commentary below, this previously published article is reprinted in its entirety: David Aldous and Persi Diaconis, “Longest increasing subsequences: from patience sorting to the Baik–Deift–Johansson theorem”,Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. (N.S.)36(1999), no. 4, 413–432.
Microbiota–Host Crosstalk: A Bridge Between Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Diet, and Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Amar Jacques 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and is also a major cause of disability worldwide. Indeed, even in well-treated patients for hypertension or dyslipidemia, there is still a high cardiovascular risk called residual risk. It is of utmost importance to identify the pathway leading from risk factors to cardiovascular disease to further improve stroke and myocardial infarction prevention. In this review, we presented some of experimental and epidemiological evidences suggesting that microbiota–host crosstalk is involved in this pathway and bridges the gap between cardiovascular risk factors, diet, and cardiovascular residual risk. We considered the 3 participants in this dialogue: the gut microbiota, the intestinal barrier, and bacterial translocation. We analyzed their relations with cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular diseases. Also, we presented some of therapeutic strategies aiming to control microbiota to further prevent cardiovascular disease and the take home messages that can be drawn for clinical practice.
EMUDRA: Ensemble of Multiple Drug Repositioning Approaches to improve prediction accuracy
Authors: Zhou Xianxiao , Wang Minghui , Katsyv Igor , Irie Hanna , Zhang Bin 
Published: April 2018

AbstractMotivationAvailability of large-scale genomic, epigenetic and proteomic data in complex diseases makes it possible to objectively and comprehensively identify the therapeutic targets that can lead to new therapies. The Connectivity Map has been widely used to explore novel indications of existing drugs. However, the prediction accuracy of the existing methods, such as Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic remains low. Here we present a novel high-performance drug repositioning approach that improves over the state-of-the-art methods.ResultsWe first designed an expression weighted cosine (EWCos) method to minimize the influence of the uninformative expression changes and then developed an ensemble approach termed ensemble of multiple drug repositioning approaches (EMUDRA) to integrate EWCos and three existing state-of-the-art methods. EMUDRA significantly outperformed individual drug repositioning methods when applied to simulated and independent evaluation datasets. We predicted using EMUDRA and experimentally validated an antibiotic rifabutin as an inhibitor of cell growth in triple negative breast cancer. EMUDRA can identify drugs that more effectively target disease gene signatures and will thus be a useful tool for identifying novel therapies for complex diseases and predicting new indications for existing drugs.Availability and implementationThe EMUDRA R package is available at doi: 10.7303/syn11510888.Supplementary informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Intermediate Susceptibility Dose-Dependent Breakpoints For High-Dose Rifampin, Isoniazid, and Pyrazinamide Treatment in Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Programs
Authors: Zuur Marlanka A , Pasipanodya Jotam G , van Soolingen Dick , van der Werf Tjip S , Gumbo Tawanda , Alffenaar Jan-Willem C 
Published: April 2018

Abstract

Background
Bacterial susceptibility is categorized as susceptible, intermediate-susceptible dose-dependent (ISDD), and resistant. The strategy is to use higher doses of first-line agents in the ISDD category, thereby preserving the use of these drugs. This system has not been applied to antituberculosis drugs. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target exposures, in tandem with Monte Carlo experiments, recently identified susceptibility breakpoints of 0.0312 mg/L for isoniazid, 0.0625 mg/L for rifampin, and 50 mg/L for pyrazinamide. These have been confirmed in clinical studies.

Methods
Target attainment studies were carried out using Monte Carlo experiments to investigate whether rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide dose increases would achieve the PK/PD target in &gt;90% of 10000 patients with tuberculosis caused by bacteria, revealing minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between the proposed and the traditional breakpoints.

Results
We found that an isoniazid dose of 900 mg/day identified a new ISDD MIC range of 0.0312–0.25 mg/L and resistance at MIC ≥0.5 mg/L. Rifampin 1800 mg/day would result in an ISDD of 0.0625–0.25 mg/L and resistance at MIC ≥0.5 mg/L. At a dose of pyrazinamide 4 g/day, the ISDD MIC range was 37.5–50 mg/L and resistance at MIC ≥100 mg/L. Based on MIC distributions, 93% (isoniazid), 78% (rifampin), and 27% (pyrazinamide) of isolates would be within the ISDD range.

Conclusions
Drug susceptibility testing at 2 concentrations delineating the ISDD range, and subsequently using higher doses, could prevent switching to a more toxic second-line treatment. Confirmatory clinical studies would provide evidence to change treatment guidelines.