bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Two XMAP215/TOG microtubule polymerases, Alp14 and Dis1, play non-exchangeable, distinct roles in microtubule organisation in fission yeast
Authors: Yukawa Masashi , Kawakami Tomoki , Pinder Corinne , Toda Takashi 
Published: October 2019

AbstractProper bipolar spindle assembly underlies accurate chromosome segregation. A cohort of microtubule-associated proteins orchestrates spindle microtubule formation in a spatiotemporally coordinated manner. Among them, the conserved XMAP215/TOG family of microtubule polymerase plays a central role in spindle assembly. In fission yeast, two XMAP215/TOG members, Alp14 and Dis1, share essential roles in cell viability; however how these two proteins functionally collaborate remains undetermined. Here we show the functional interplay and specification of Alp14 and Dis1. Creation of new mutant alleles of alp14, which display temperature sensitivity in the absence of Dis1, enabled us to conduct detailed analyses of a double mutant. We have found that simultaneous inactivation of Alp14 and Dis1 results in early mitotic arrest with very short, fragile spindles. Intriguingly, these cells often undergo spindle collapse, leading to a lethal “cut” phenotype. By implementing an artificial targetting system, we have shown that Alp14 and Dis1 are not functionally exchangeable and as such are not merely redundant paralogues. Intriguingly, while Alp14 promotes microtubule nucleation, Dis1 does not. Our results uncover that the intrinsic specification, not the spatial regulation, between Alp14 and Dis1 underlies the collaborative actions of these two XMAP215/TOG members in mitotic progression, spindle integrity and genome stability.
Heart rate variability as an indicator of autonomic nervous system disturbance in tetanus
Authors: Duong Ha Thi Hai , Abebe Tadesse Girmaw , Nhat Phung Tran Huy , Van Hao Nguyen , Prince John , Duong Tran Duc , Trung Kien Trịnh , Van Tan Le , Pugh Chris , Loan Huynh Thi , Van Vinh Chau Nguyen , Minh Yen Lam , Zhu Tingting , Clifton David , Thwaites Louise 
Published: October 2019

AbstractAutonomic nervous system dysfunction (ANSD) is a significant cause of mortality in tetanus. Currently diagnosis relies on non-specific clinical signs. Heart rate variability (HRV) may indicate underlying autonomic nervous system activity and represents a potentially valuable non-invasive tool for ANSD diagnosis in tetanus. HRV was measured from 3 5-minute ECG recordings during a 24-hour period in a cohort patients with severe tetanus, all receiving mechanical ventilation. HRV measurements from all subjects - 5 with ANSD (Ablett Grade 4) and 4 patients without ANSD (Ablett Grade 3) - showed HRV was lower than reported ranges for healthy individuals. Comparing different severities of tetanus, raw data for both time and frequency measurements of HRV were reduced in those with ANSD compared to those without. Differences were statistically significant in all except root mean square standard deviation RMSSD (p=0.07) indicating HRV may be a valuable tool in ANSD diagnosis.
Skilled strategies of release parameters for accurate free-throw shooting in the presence of motor noise
Authors: Nakano Nobuyasu , Inaba Yuki , Fukashiro Senshi , Yoshioka Shinsuke 
Published: October 2019

AbstractHow humans execute accurate movement in the presence of motor noise is a key problem in the field of biomechanics and motor control that limits the performance improvement in daily or sporting activities. The aim of this study was to clarify the strategy of basketball players during free-throw shooting. Two possible hypotheses were examined: the players minimize the release speed to decrease signal-dependent noise or the players maximize the shot success probability by accounting for their variability. Eight collegiate players and one professional player participated in this study by attempting shots from the free-throw line using a motion capture system. The solution manifold consisting of ball parameters at release was calculated and the optimal strategy was simulated by considering ball parameter variability; this result was compared with the actual data. Our results showed that participants selected the solution of near-minimum release speed. The deviation of the measured release angle from the minimum-speed angle was close to zero (2.8 ± 3.1°). However, an increase in speed-dependent noise did not have a significant influence on the ball landing position through simulation. Additionally, the effect of release angle error on the ball landing position was minimum when using the minimum speed strategy. Therefore, the players minimize the release speed to minimize the effect of the release error on performance, instead of minimizing the speed-dependent noise itself. In other words, the strategy is “near-minimum-speed strategy” as well as “minimum-error-propagation strategy”. These findings will be important for understanding how sports experts deal with intrinsic noise to improve performance.
Genetic and physical interaction of Drosophila Ino80 with Polycomb Responsive Element
Authors: Ghasemi Mohsen , Maini Jayant , Jain Shruti , Dasari Vasanthi , Mishra Rakesh , Brahmachari Vani 
Published: October 2019

AbstractThe chromatin remodeling protein, dIno80 (DrosophilaIno80) regulates homeotic genes. We show that Ino80, along with Trx and ETP (Enhancer of Trithorax and Polycomb) proteins, interacts with two Polycomb/Trithorax Responsive Elements (PRE/TRE),iab-7andbxd PREin flies and the larval imaginal discs. In S2 cells, dIno80 localizes to the endogenousiab-7andbxd-PREs. The localization of Ino80 and Pleiohomeotic (Pho) at the PRE is sensitive to the cellular abundance of each other; when levels ofIno80are limiting, there is increased Pho enrichment, andPhoknock-down leads to increased enrichment of Ino80. We demonstrate that over-expression of dIno80 rescues the pupal lethality inpleiohomeotic(pho) deficient flies, which suggests that dIno80 has a role in cellular memory. The apparent competition between Pho and Ino80 for binding at the PRE indicates that Ino80 may act as a potential recruiter of the regulatory complex in addition to being a chromatin remodeler.Author SummaryThe null mutants of Pho and dIno80 show lethality at different stages of development in the fly, implying that they may function independent of each other. The observation that Pho-lethality can be rescued by overexpression of dIno80 with significant penetrance and that Ino80 has its own DNA binding domain, led us to predict that Ino80 may have Pho-independent functions, perhaps through non-canonical complexes. In the current study, we show that dIno80 interacts withbxdandiab-7PRE in cooperation with Polycomb and Trithorax proteins and regulate the homeotic genes. The effect of knock-down or mutation of dIno80 results in altered phenotype in adult flies and rescue of Lac-Z expression in imaginal discs, in parallel with similar effect of Pho mutation or knock-down. We provide evidence of direct interaction of dIno80 withiab7-andbxd-PRE using chromatin immunoprecipitation. The dIno80 localization in and around the PRE sequence was enhanced in the absence of Pho, indicating competition between Pho and dIno80 for binding at the PRE.
Methodological considerations on selection of stable reference genes for RT-qPCR in the neonatal rat brain in hypoxia and hypothermia
Authors: Bustelo M. , Bruno M.A. , Loidl C.F. , Steinbusch H.W.M. , Gavilanes A.W.D. , van den Hove D.L.A. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractReal-time reverse transcription PCR (qPCR) normalized to an internal reference gene (RG), is a frequently used method for quantifying gene expression changes in neuroscience. Although RG expression is assumed to be constantly independent of physiological or experimental conditions, several studies have shown that commonly used RGs are not expressed stably. The use of unstable RGs has a profound effect on the conclusions drawn from studies on gene expression, and almost universally results in spurious estimation of target gene expression. Approaches aimed at selecting and validating RGs often make use of different statistical methods, which may lead to conflicting results. The present study evaluates the expression of 5 candidate RGs (Actb,Pgk1,Sdha,Gapdh,Rnu6b) as a function of hypoxia exposure and hypothermic treatment in the neonatal rat cerebral cortex –in order to identify RGs that are stably expressed under these experimental conditions– and compares several statistical approaches that have been proposed to validate RGs. In doing so, we first analyzed the RG ranking stability proposed by several widely used statistical methods and related tools, i.e. the Coefficient of Variation (CV) analysis, GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and the ΔCt method. Subsequently, we compared RG expression patterns between the various experimental groups. We found that these statistical methods, next to producing different rankings per se, all ranked RGs displaying significant differences in expression levels between groups as the most stable RG. As a consequence, when assessing the impact of RG selection on target gene expression quantification, substantial differences in target gene expression profiles were observed. As such, by assessing mRNA expression profiles within the neonatal rat brain cortex in hypoxia and hypothermia as a showcase, this study underlines the importance of further validating RGs for each new experimental paradigm considering the limitations of each selection method.
Regional Disparities of Antenatal Care Utilization in Indonesia
Authors: Laksono Agung Dwi , Rukmini Rukmini , Wulandari Ratna Dwi 
Published: October 2019

AbstractIntroductionThe main strategy for decreasing maternal morbidity and mortality with antenatal care (ANC). ANC aims to monitor and maintain the health and safety of the mother and fetus, detect all complications of pregnancy and take the necessary actions, respond to complaints, prepare for birth, and promote healthy living behavior. The study aims to analyze inter-regional disparities in ≥4 ANC visits during pregnancy in Indonesia.MethodsData sources from 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS). With an analysis unit of women aged 15-49 years old, a sample of 15,351 women was obtained. Besides ANC as the dependent variable, other variables analyzed were place of residence, age, husband/partner, education, parity, wealth status, and health insurance. Analysis using Binary Logistic Regression for the final test to determine disparity.ResultsAll regions show a gap with the Papua region as a reference, except the Maluku region which was not significant shows differences in the use of ANC compared to the Papua. Women in the Nusa Tenggara have 4,365 chances of making ≥4 ANC visits compared to the Papua region. Women in Java-Bali have 3,607 times more chances to make ≥4 ANC visits than women in the Papua region. Women in Sumatra have 1,370 chances of making ≥4 ANC visits compared to women in the Papua region. Women in Kalimantan have 2.232 times made ≥4 ANC visits compared to women in the Papua region. Women in Sulawesi have 1,980 times more than AN4 ANC visits compared to women in the Papua region. In addition to the region category, other variables found to contribute to the predictor were age, husband/partner, education, parity, wealth and insurance.ConclusionThere were disparities between regions in the ANC utilization in Indonesia.
Education influences knowledge about environmental issues in Washington, DC, USA
Authors: Richardson Matthew L. , Milton Ashley D. , Harrison Elgloria 
Published: October 2019

ABSTRACTWe predicted that demographic differences in Washington, DC’s population would influence people’s knowledge and perceptions about the interconnectedness of natural resources, climate change, economics, and socio-cultural well-being, so we conducted surveys over three years to test that prediction. We collected demographic data from 455 participants and asked them 26 questions/statements related to natural resources, climate change, economics, and health. We selected education as the focal demographic category and participants were categorized based on their level of educational attainment: 1) completion of high school or less (hereafter “high school”); 2) some trade school or university education beyond high school up to and including completion of a trade school, two-, or four-year degree (hereafter “post-high school”); and 3) completion of a Master’s, professional, or doctoral degree (hereafter “advanced education”). Answers to 14 of the 26 survey questions were dissimilar across educational groups. People with advanced education reported the highest connection with the natural community and were more likely to report that their personal welfare depended on the natural community. Participants in the high school group were more likely to believe that humans do not have much influence on natural resources and placed more trust in technology and human achievements to control nature and ensure that earth will not become unlivable. Compared to those with education beyond high school, those with a high school education were more likely to express an interest in local environmental concerns over global, jobs over natural resources, and effects of degraded local natural resources on income, health, and the environment instead of on cultural/social practices, neighborhood aesthetics, and recreation. The results suggest ways in which educational information and engagement in environmental issues should be targeted for stakeholders of different educational background in order to increase knowledge and build effective partnerships that find solutions for environmental problems.
Adhesion-free cell migration by topography-based force transduction
Authors: Reversat Anne , Merrin Jack , Hauschild Robert , de Vries Ingrid , Piel Matthieu , Callan-Jones Andrew , Voituriez Raphael , Sixt Michael 
Published: October 2019

AbstractEukaryotic cells migrate by coupling the intracellular force of the actin cytoskeleton to the environment. While force-coupling is usually mediated by transmembrane adhesion receptors, especially these of the integrin family, amoeboid cells like leukocytes can migrate extremely fast despite very low adhesive forces1. We show that leukocytes cannot only migrate under low adhesion but indeed can transduce forces in the complete absence of transmembrane force coupling. When confined within three-dimensional environments, they use the topographic features of the substrate to propel themselves. Here, the retrograde flow of the actin cytoskeleton follows the texture of the substrate, creating shear forces sufficient to drive deformations towards the back of the cell. Notably, adhesion dependent and adhesion independent migration are not exclusive but rather variants of the same principle of coupling retrograde actin flow to the environment and thus can potentially operate simultaneously. As adhesion free migration is independent of the chemical composition of the environment it renders cells completely autonomous in their locomotive behavior.
Deep Generative Models for Detecting Differential Expression in Single Cells
Authors: Boyeau Pierre , Lopez Romain , Regier Jeffrey , Gayoso Adam , Jordan Michael I. , Yosef Nir 
Published: October 2019

AbstractDetecting differentially expressed genes is important for characterizing subpopulations of cells. However, in scRNA-seq data, nuisance variation due to technical factors like sequencing depth and RNA capture efficiency obscures the underlying biological signal. First, we show that deep generative models, which combined Bayesian statistics and deep neural networks, better estimate the log-fold-change in gene expression levels between subpopulations of cells. Second, we use Bayesian decision theory to detect differentially expressed genes while controlling the false discovery rate. Our experiments on simulated and real datasets show that our approach out-performs state-of-the-art DE frameworks. Finally, we introduce a technique for improving the posterior approximation, and show that it also improves differential expression performance.
Glaucoma following cataract surgery in the first 2 years of life: frequency, risk factors and outcomes from IoLunder2
Authors: Solebo Ameenat Lola , Rahi Jugnoo S 
Published: October 2019

BackgroundWe investigated glaucoma related adverse events, predictors and impact at 5 years following surgery in the IoLunder2 cohortMethodsPopulation based observational cohort study of children undergoing cataract surgery aged 2 years or under between January 2009 and December 2010. Glaucoma was defined using internationally accepted taxonomies based on the consequences of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Glaucoma related adverse events were any involving elevated IOP. Multivariable analysis was undertaken to investigate potential predictors of secondary glaucoma with adjustment for within-child correlation in bilateral cataract. Unilateral and bilateral cataract were analysed separately.ResultsComplete follow-up data were available for 235 of 254, 93% of the inception cohort. By 5 years after primary cataract surgery, 20% of children with bilateral cataract and 12% with unilateral had developed secondary glaucoma. Glaucoma related complications had been diagnosed in 24% and 36% of children, respectively. Independent predictors of glaucoma were younger age at surgery (adjusted OR for reduction of week in age: 1.1, 95%C I 1.1 to 1.2, p<0.001); the presence of significant ocular comorbidity (adj OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 9.6, p=0.01); and shorter axial length (adj OR for each mm 1.7, 95% CI 10.0 to 1, p=0.05) for bilateral cataract. Shorter axial length was the single independent factor in unilateral disease (adj OR 9.6, 95% CI 1.7 to 52, p=0.009)ConclusionsBoth younger age at surgery (the strongest marker of ocular ‘immaturity’) and smaller ocular size (a marker of both immaturity and developmental vulnerability) can be used to identify those at greatest risk of glaucoma due to early life cataract surgery.
Poor availability of essential medicines for women and children threatens progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 3 in Africa
Authors: Droti Benson , O’Neill Kathryn Patricia , Mathai Matthews , Yao Tsidi Dovlo Delanyo , Robertson Jane 
Published: October 2019

BackgroundMost maternal and child deaths are preventable or treatable with proven, cost-effective interventions for infectious diseases and maternal and neonatal complications. In 2015 sub-Saharan Africa accounted for up to 66% of global maternal deaths and half of the under-five deaths. Access to essential medicines and commodities and trained healthcare workers to provide life-saving maternal, newborn and post-natal care are central to further reductions in maternal and child mortality.MethodsAvailable data for 24 priority medicines for women and children were extracted from WHO service availability and readiness assessments conducted between 2012 and 2015 for eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The mean availability of medicines in facilities stating they provide services for women or children and differences by facility type, ownership and location are reported.ResultsThe mean availability of 12 priority essential medicines for women ranged from 22% to 40% (median 33%; IQR 12%) and 12 priority medicines for children ranged from 28% to 57% (median 50%; IQR 14%). Few facilities (<1%) had all nominated medicines available. There was higher availability of priority medicines for women in hospitals than in primary care facilities: range 32%–80% (median 61%) versus 20%–39% (median 23%) and for children’s medicines 31%–71% (median 58%) versus 27%–57% (median 48%). Availability was higher in public than private facilities: for women’s medicines, range 21%–41% (median 34%) versus 4%–36% (median 27%) and for children’s medicines 28%–58% (median 51%) versus 5%–58% (median 46%). Patterns were mixed for rural and urban location for the priority medicines for women, but similar for children’s medicines.ConclusionsThe survey results show unacceptably low availability of priority medicines for women and children in the eight countries. Governments should ensure the availability of medicines for mothers and children if they are to achieve the health sustainable development goals.
Contribution of primary care organisation and specialist care provider to variation in GP referrals for suspected cancer: ecological analysis of national data
Authors: Burton Christopher , O'Neill Luke , Oliver Phillip , Murchie Peter 
Published: October 2019

ObjectivesTo examine how much of the variation between general practices in referral rates and cancer detection rates is attributable to local health services rather than the practices or their populations.DesignEcological analysis of national data on fast-track referrals for suspected cancer from general practices. Data were analysed at the levels of general practice, primary care organisation (Clinical Commissioning Group) and secondary care provider (Acute Hospital Trust) level. Analysis of variation in detection rate was by multilevel linear and Poisson regression.Setting6379 group practices with data relating to more than 50 cancer cases diagnosed over the 5 years from 2013 to 2017.OutcomesProportion of observed variation attributable to primary and secondary care organisations in standardised fast-track referral rate and in cancer detection rate before and after adjustment for practice characteristics.ResultsPrimary care organisation accounted for 21% of the variation between general practices in the standardised fast-track referral rate and 42% of the unadjusted variation in cancer detection rate. After adjusting for standardised fast-track referral rate, primary care organisation accounted for 31% of the variation in cancer detection rate (compared with 18% accounted for by practice characteristics). In areas where a hospital trust was the main provider for multiple primary care organisations, hospital trusts accounted for the majority of the variation attributable to local health services (between 63% and 69%).ConclusionThis is the first large-scale finding that a substantial proportion of the variation between general practitioner practices in referrals is attributable to their local healthcare systems. Efforts to reduce variation need to focus not just on individual practices but on local diagnostic service provision and culture at the interface of primary and secondary care.