bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of a novel method for the purification of C-phycocyanin pigment from a local cyanobacterial strain Limnothrix sp. NS01 and evaluation of its anticancer properties
Authors: Safaei Mahdieh , Maleki Hadi , Soleimanpour Hamidreza , Norouzy Amir , Zahiri Hossein Shahbani , Vali Hojatollah , Noghabi Kambiz Akbari 
Published: July 2019

AbstractC-phycocyanin (C-PC) pigment, as a natural blue dye, has particular applications in various fields. It is a water-soluble protein which has anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we introduce an efficient procedure for the purification of C-PC pigment, followed by conducting a comprehensive investigation of its cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells and the underlying mechanisms. A novel four-step purification procedure including the adsorption of impurities with chitosan, activated charcoal, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and ion exchange chromatography was employed, achieving a high purity form of C-PC with purity index (PI) of 5.26. SDS-PAGE analysis showed the purified C-PC with two discrete bands, subunit α (17 kD) and β (20 kD), as confirmed its identity by Native-PAGE. A highly purified C-PC was employed to evaluate its anticancer activity and underlying molecular mechanisms of action. The inhibitory effects of highly purified C-PC on the proliferation of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) have detected by MTT assay. The IC50 values for 24, 48, and 72 hours of exposure to C-PC were determined to be 5.92, 5.66, and 4.52 μg/μl, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis of cells treated with C-PC, by Annexin V/PI double staining, demonstrated to induce MCF-7 cells apoptosis. Also, the results obtained from propidium iodide (PI) staining showed that MCF-7 cells treated with 5.92 μg/μl C-PC for 24 h would arrest at the G2 phase and 5.66 and 4.52 μg/μl C-PC for 48 and 72 h could induce cell cycle arrest at both G2 and S phases. The oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction were evaluated to determine the possible pathways involved in C-PC-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Our findings clearly indicated that the treatment of MCF-7 cells with C-PC (IC50 for 24 h) increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Consequently, an increase in the lipid peroxidation (LPO) level and a reduction in the ATP level, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), glutathione (GSH) and its oxidized form (GSSG), occurred over time. The reduced expression levels of anti-apoptotic proteins, Bcl2 and Stat3, plus cell cycle regulator protein, Cyclin D1, using Real-Time PCR confirm that the C-PC-induced death of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells occurred through the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Collectively, the analyses presented here suggest that C-PC has the potential so that to develop it as a chemotherapeutic anticancer drug.
Amphibian and Reptilian Chorotypes in the Arid Land of Central Asia and Their Determinants
Authors: Zhou Lu , Liang Tao , Shi Lei 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThe analysis of the biogeographic distribution of species is the basis for establishing a strategy for land management and responding to climatic change, but research on the distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the arid land in the middle of Asia is extremely limited. After classifying the chorotypes of amphibians and reptiles in the arid land of Central Asia using a clustering analysis, we delineated their distribution characteristics and discovered the ecological determinants for the chorotypes in terms of feature selection and the Akaike information criterion (AIC). We identified 6 chorotypes at the higher level and 16 sub-chorotypes at the lower level. Compared to small-scale or subjective research, which produces unstable results, research characterized by both large scale and clustering methods yields more consistent and stable results. Our results show that the Mean Altitude (MA), Mean Annual Temperature (MAT), and Mean Temperature in the Wettest Quarter (MTWE) are the critical variables determining the higher-level chorotypes. Furthermore, geographical factors appear to have a stronger influence on chorotypes than climatic factors. Several climatic variables and MA were identified as the best fit in the AIC model at the lower level, while the sub-chorotypes are determined more by multiple climatic factors with complex relationships. The research on amphibian and reptilian distribution patterns will shed light on the overall distribution of other species in the same understudied area. Widespread species in the study area are not clearly distinguished due to the cluster analysis computing process. This problem however, appears in studies of the distribution of other organisms thus warrants further research. Our methodology based on the selection of multiple models is effective to explore how the environment determines the distributions of different animal groups.
The impact of primary location and age at orchiopexy on testicular atrophy for congenital undescended testis
Authors: Tseng Chi-Shin , Huang Kuo-How , Kuo Ming-Chieh , Hong Chung-Hung , Chen Chung-Hsin , Lu Yu-Chuan , Huang Chao-Yuan , Pu Yeong-Shiau , Chang Hong-Chiang , Chiang I-Ni 
Published: July 2019

AbstractIn this study, we investigated post-orchiopexy testicular growth of undescended testes (UDTs) at different primary locations and determined the risk factors for testicular atrophy (TA). We conducted a retrospective chart review of boys who had undergone orchiopexy for UDTs during January 2001–December 2013. Patient profile, age at operation, primary UDT location, and testicular volume were noted. TA was defined as ≥50% loss of volume after orchiopexy. The primary endpoints were testicular growth and TA after orchiopexy. The secondary endpoint was risk factors for TA. In total, 182 boys had undergone regular ultrasonography; the median follow-up period was 34 months. Among 230 UDTs, 18 (7.8%) atrophic testicles were identified within a median interval of 13 months after orchiopexy. TA rates were 3.3% (1/30), 6.9% (12/173), and 18.5% (5/27) in primary suprascrotal, canalicular, and above-inguinal UDTs, respectively. The survival probability of UDT was 91%, 92% and 100% when orchiopexy was performed in age ≤1 year, 1 < age ≤2 years, and 100% in age >2 years, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that inguinal and above-inguinal UDTs (hazard ratio [HR] 11.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55–89.33, p = 0.017) and genetic or endocrine disorders (HR 3.19, 95% CI 1.19–8.56, p = 0.021) were the risk factors for TA, but not age at operation, premature birth, and laterality. Thus, TA incidence was higher when patients had high primary testicular locations. Early orchiopexy before two years of age may be associated with higher TA risk, while most testicles have promising growth after orchiopexy.
Intensity Modulated Radiation Fields Induce Protective Effects and Reduce Importance of Dose-Rate Effects
Authors: Matsuya Yusuke , McMahon Stephen J. , Ghita Mihaela , Yoshii Yuji , Sato Tatsuhiko , Date Hiroyuki , Prise Kevin M. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractIn advanced radiotherapy, intensity modulated radiation fields and complex dose-delivery are utilized to prescribe higher doses to tumours. Here, we investigated the impact of modulated radiation fields on radio-sensitivity and cell recovery during dose delivery. We generated experimental survival data after single-dose, split-dose and fractionated irradiation in normal human skin fibroblast cells (AGO1522) and human prostate cancer cells (DU145). The dose was delivered to either 50% of the area of a T25 flask containing the cells (half-field) or 100% of the flask (uniform-field). We also modelled the impact of dose-rate effects and intercellular signalling on cell-killing. Applying the model to the survival data, it is found that (i) in-field cell survival under half-field exposure is higher than uniform-field exposure for the same delivered dose; (ii) the importance of sub-lethal damage repair (SLDR) in AGO1522 cells is reduced under half-field exposure; (iii) the yield of initial DNA lesions measured with half-field exposure is smaller than that with uniform-field exposure. These results suggest that increased cell survival under half-field exposure is predominantly attributed not to rescue effects (increased SLDR) but protective effects (reduced induction of initial DNA lesions). In support of these protective effects, the reduced DNA damage leads to modulation of cell-cycle dynamics, i.e., less G1 arrest 6 h after irradiation. These findings provide a new understanding of the impact of dose-rate effects and protective effects measured after modulated field irradiation.
Development of Staphylococcus aureus tolerance to antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation and antimicrobial blue light upon sub-lethal treatment
Authors: Rapacka-Zdonczyk Aleksandra , Wozniak Agata , Pieranski Michal , Woziwodzka Anna , Bielawski Krzysztof P. , Grinholc Mariusz 
Published: July 2019

AbstractAntimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (aPDI) and antimicrobial blue light (aBL) are considered low-risk treatments for the development of bacterial resistance and/or tolerance due to their multitargeted modes of action. In this study, we assessed the development of Staphylococcus aureus tolerance to these phototreatments. Reference S. aureus USA300 JE2 was subjected to 15 cycles of both sub-lethal aPDI (employing an exogenously administered photosensitizer (PS), i.e., rose Bengal (RB)) and sub-lethal aBL (employing endogenously produced photosensitizing compounds, i.e., porphyrins). We demonstrate substantial aPDI/aBL tolerance development and tolerance stability after 5 cycles of subculturing without aPDI/aBL exposure (the development of aPDI/aBL tolerance was also confirmed with the employment of clinical MRSA and MSSA strain as well as other representatives of Gram-positive microbes, i.e. Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus agalactiae). In addition, a rifampicin-resistant (RIFR) mutant selection assay showed an increased mutation rate in S. aureus upon sub-lethal phototreatments, indicating that the increased aPDI/aBL tolerance may result from accumulated mutations. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis following sub-lethal phototreatments demonstrated increased expression of umuC, which encodes stress-responsive error-prone DNA polymerase V, an enzyme that increases the rate of mutation. Employment of recA and umuC transposon S. aureus mutants confirmed SOS-induction dependence of the tolerance development. Interestingly, aPDI/aBL-tolerant S. aureus exhibited increased susceptibility to gentamicin (GEN) and doxycycline (DOX), supporting the hypothesis of genetic alterations induced by sub-lethal phototreatments. The obtained results indicate that S. aureus may develop stable tolerance to studied phototreatments upon sub-lethal aPDI/aBL exposure; thus, the risk of tolerance development should be considered significant when designing aPDI/aBL protocols for infection treatments in vitro and in clinical settings.
Inferring fine-scale spatial structure of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in the Carpathians prior to infrastructure development
Authors: Fedorca Ancuta , Russo Isa-Rita M. , Ionescu Ovidiu , Ionescu Georgeta , Popa Marius , Fedorca Mihai , Curtu Alexandru Lucian , Sofletea Neculae , Tabor Gary M. , Bruford Michael W. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractLandscape genetics is increasingly being used in landscape planning for biodiversity conservation by assessing habitat connectivity and identifying landscape barriers, using intraspecific genetic data and quantification of landscape heterogeneity to statistically test the link between genetic variation and landscape variability. In this study we used genetic data to understand how landscape features and environmental factors influence demographic connectedness in Europe’s largest brown bear population and to assist in mitigating planned infrastructure development in Romania. Model-based clustering inferred one large and continuous bear population across the Carpathians suggesting that suitable bear habitat has not become sufficiently fragmented to restrict movement of individuals. However, at a finer scale, large rivers, often located alongside large roads with heavy traffic, were found to restrict gene flow significantly, while eastern facing slopes promoted genetic exchange. Since the proposed highway infrastructure development threatens to fragment regions of the Carpathians where brown bears occur, we develop a decision support tool based on models that assess the landscape configuration needed for brown bear conservation using wildlife corridor parameters. Critical brown bear corridors were identified through spatial mapping and connectivity models, which may be negatively influenced by infrastructure development and which therefore require mitigation. We recommend that current and proposed infrastructure developments incorporate these findings into their design and where possible avoid construction measures that may further fragment Romania’s brown bear population or include mitigation measures where alternative routes are not feasible.
Multi-copper ferroxidase deficiency leads to iron accumulation and oxidative damage in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes
Authors: Chen Zheng , Jiang Ruiwei , Chen Mengxia , Zheng Jiashuo , Chen Min , Braidy Nady , Liu Shunli , Liu Guohao , Maimaitiming Zaitunamu , Shen Tianqi , Dunaief Joshua L. , Vulpe Christopher D. , Anderson Gregory J. , Chen Huijun 
Published: July 2019

AbstractAccumulation of iron has been associated with the pathobiology of various disorders of the central nervous system. Our previous work has shown that hephaestin (Heph) and ceruloplasmin (Cp) double knockout (KO) mice induced iron accumulation in multiple brain regions and that this was paralleled by increased oxidative damage and deficits in cognition and memory. In this study, we enriched astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from the cerebral cortex of neonatal wild-type (WT), Heph KO and Cp KO mice. We demonstrated that Heph is highly expressed in oligodendrocytes, while Cp is mainly expressed in astrocytes. Iron efflux was impaired in Cp KO astrocytes and Heph KO oligodendrocytes and was associated with increased oxidative stress. The expression of Heph, Cp, and other iron-related genes was examined in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes both with and without iron treatment. Interestingly, we found that the expression of the mRNA encoding ferroportin 1, a transmembrane protein that cooperates with CP and HEPH to export iron from cells, was positively correlated with Cp expression in astrocytes, and with Heph expression in oligodendrocytes. Our findings collectively demonstrate that HEPH and CP are important for the prevention of glial iron accumulation and thus may be protective against oxidative damage.
Using the standard deviational ellipse to document changes to the spatial dispersion of seasonal tornado activity in the United States
Authors: Moore Todd W. , McGuire Michael P. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractRecent studies have documented possible ongoing changes to the climatology of tornadoes in the United States. Observed changes include increasing tornado counts in the Southeast and Midwest Regions, decreasing tornado counts in the Great Plains, and increased clustering of tornadoes on fewer days of the year. This study illustrates that the spatial dispersion of tornadoes in the United States is also changing. The dispersion of tornadoes decreased between 1954 and 2017, most notably in spring, summer, and fall. Furthermore, tornadoes tended to be less spatially dispersed in seasons with more tornadoes and with multiple days on which 20 or more tornadoes occur. This suggests that the increased occurrence of tornado outbreaks is contributing to the decrease in dispersion.
Resurrection of efficient Precambrian endoglucanases for lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis
Authors: Barruetabeña Nerea , Alonso-Lerma Borja , Galera-Prat Albert , Joudeh Nadeem , Barandiaran Leire , Aldazabal Leire , Arbulu Maria , Alcalde Miguel , De Sancho David , Gavira Jose A. , Carrion-Vazquez Mariano , Perez-Jimenez Raul 
Published: July 2019

AbstractCellulases catalyze the hydrolysis of cellulose. Improving their catalytic efficiency is a long-standing goal in biotechnology given the interest in lignocellulosic biomass decomposition. Although methods based on sequence alteration exist, improving cellulases is still a challenge. Here we show that Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction can “resurrect” efficient cellulases. This technique reconstructs enzymes from extinct organisms that lived in the harsh environments of ancient Earth. We obtain ancestral bacterial endoglucanases from the late Archean eon that efficiently work in a broad range of temperatures (30–90 °C), pH values (4–10). The oldest enzyme (~2800 million years) processes different lignocellulosic substrates, showing processive activity and doubling the activity of modern enzymes in some conditions. We solve its crystal structure to 1.45 Å which, together with molecular dynamics simulations, uncovers key features underlying its activity. This ancestral endoglucanase shows good synergy in combination with other lignocellulosic enzymes as well as when integrated into a bacterial cellulosome.
Auditory and Cognitive Behavioral Performance Deficits and Symptom Reporting in Postconcussion Syndrome Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Vander Werff Kathy R. , Rieger Brian 
Published: July 2019

Purpose
This study examined auditory deficits and symptom reporting in individuals with long-term postconcussion symptoms following a single mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) compared to age- and gender-matched controls without a history of mTBI.

Method
Case history interviews, symptom questionnaires, and a battery of central auditory and neuropsychological tests were administered to 2 groups. The mTBI group was a civilian population recruited from a local concussion management program who were seeking rehabilitation for postconcussion-related problems in a postacute period between 3 and 18 months following injury. Symptom validity testing was included to assess the rate of possible insufficient test effort and its influence on scores for all outcome measures. Analyses of group differences in test scores were performed both with and without the participants who showed insufficient test effort. Rates of symptom reporting, correlations among symptoms and behavioral test outcomes, and the relationships between auditory and cognitive test performance were analyzed.

Results
The mTBI group reported a high rate of auditory symptoms and general postconcussion symptoms. Performance on neuropsychological tests of cognitive function showed some differences in raw scores between groups, but when effort was considered, there were no significant differences in the rate of abnormal performance between groups. In contrast, there were significant differences in both raw scores and the rate of abnormal performance between groups for some auditory tests when only considering participants with sufficient effort. Auditory symptoms were strongly correlated with other general postconcussion symptoms.

Conclusions
Significant auditory symptoms and evidence of long-term central auditory dysfunction were found in a subset of individuals who had chronic postconcussion symptoms after a single mTBI unrelated to blast trauma. The rate of abnormal performance on auditory behavioral tests exceeded the rate of abnormal performance on tests of cognitive function.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8329955
Effect Sizes in Single-Case Aphasia Studies: A Comparative, Autocorrelation-Oriented Analysis
Authors: Archer Brent , Azios Jamie H. , Müller Nicole , Macatangay Lauren 
Published: July 2019

Purpose

In single-case treatment studies, researchers may compare client performance during a baseline, nontreatment phase(s) to client performance during intervention phases. Autocorrelation in the data series gathered during such studies increases the likelihood that analysts will detect or fail to detect meaningful differences between baseline and treatment phase data. We examined the impact that autocorrelation has on 4 effect size calculation methods when these methods are applied to data generated by people with aphasia during anomia treatment studies. The effect sizes we selected were Busk and Serlin's
d,
Young's
C
, nonoverlap of all pairs, and Tau-
U
. We hypothesized that
d
and
C
would be influenced by autocorrelation, whereas nonoverlap of all pairs and Tau-
U
would not.

Method
We extracted 173 highly autocorrelated data series from published investigations of treatments for anomia. These data series were then “cleansed” of autocorrelation through the use of an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) process. The 4 effect size calculation methods were used to derive an effect size for each published and each corresponding ARIMA-tized data series. The published and ARIMA-tized effect sizes associated with each calculation method were then compared.

Results
For all of the 4 effect sizes, statistically significant differences existed between the published effect sizes and the ARIMA-tized effect sizes.

Conclusions
All 4 of the methods were influenced by autocorrelation. Further research that develops effect size calculation methods that are not influenced by autocorrelation will help to improve the quality of single-case studies.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8298530
Reddening map and recent star formation in the Magellanic Clouds based on OGLE IV Cepheids
Authors: Joshi Y. C. , Panchal A. 
Published: July 2019

Context. The reddening maps of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are constructed using the Cepheid period–luminosity (P–L) relations.
Aims. We examine reddening distribution across the LMC and SMC through large data sets on classical Cepheids provided by the OGLE Phase IV survey. We also investigate the age and spatio-temporal distributions of Cepheids to understand the recent star formation history in the LMC and SMC.
Methods. The V and I band photometric data of 2476 fundamental mode (FU) and 1775 first overtone mode (FO) Cepheids in the LMC, and 2753 FU and 1793 FO Cepheids in the SMC were analysed for their P–L relations. We converted the period of FO Cepheids to the corresponding period of FU Cepheids before combining the two modes of Cepheids. Both galaxies were divided into small segments and combined FU and FO P–L diagrams were drawn in two bands for each segment. The reddening analysis was performed on 133 segments covering a total area of about 154.6 deg2 in the LMC and 136 segments covering a total area of about 31.3 deg2 in the SMC. By comparison with well-calibrated P–L relations of these two galaxies, we determined reddening E(V − I) in each segment and equivalent reddening E(B − V) assuming the normal extinction law. The period–age relations were used to derive the age of the Cepheids.
Results. Reddening maps were constructed using reddening values in different segments across the LMC and SMC. We find clumpy structures in the reddening distributions of the LMC and SMC. From the reddening map of the LMC, highest reddening of E(V − I) = 0.466 mag is traced in the region centred at α ∼ 85.°13, δ ∼ −69.°34 which is in close vicinity of the star forming HII region 30 Doradus. In the SMC, maximum reddening of E(V − I) = 0.189 mag is detected in the region centred at α ∼ 12.°10, δ ∼ −73.°07. The mean reddening values in the LMC and SMC are estimated as E(V − I)LMC = 0.113 ± 0.060 mag, E(B − V)LMC = 0.091 ± 0.050 mag, E(V − I)SMC = 0.049 ± 0.070 mag, and E(B − V)SMC = 0.038 ± 0.053 mag.
Conclusions. The LMC reddening map displays heterogeneous distribution having small reddening in the central region and higher reddening towards the eastern side of the LMC bar. The SMC has relatively small reddening in its peripheral regions but larger reddening towards the south-west region. In these galaxies, we see evidence of a common enhanced Cepheid population at around 200 Myr ago which appears to have occurred due to a close encounter between the two clouds.