bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Colour plasticity in the shells and pearls of animal graft model Pinctada margaritifera assessed by HSV colour quantification
Authors: Stenger Pierre-Louis , Vidal-Dupiol Jérémie , Reisser Céline , Planes Serge , Ky Chin-Long 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe bivalvePinctada margaritiferahas the capacity to produce the most varied and colourful pearls in the world. Colour expression in the inner shell is under combined genetic and environmental control and is correlated with the colour of pearls produced when the same individual is used as a graft donor. One major limitation when studying colour phenotypes is grader subjectivity, which leads to inconsistent colour qualification and quantification. Through the use of HSV (Hue Saturation Value) colour space, we created an R package named ‘ImaginR’ to characterise inner shell colour variations inP.margaritifera. Using a machine-learning protocol with a training dataset,ImaginRwas able to reassign individual oysters and pearls to predefined human-based phenotype categories. We then tested the package on samples obtained in an experiment testing the effects of donor conditioning depth on the colour of the donor inner shell and colour of the pearls harvested from recipients following grafting and 20 months of culturein situ. These analyses successfully detected donor shell colour modifications due to depth-related plasticity and the maintenance of these modifications through to the harvested pearls. Besides its potential interest for standardization in the pearl industry, this new method is relevant to other research projects using biological models.
Synthesis of α-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6 layered heterojunctions by in situ growth strategy with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity
Authors: Xie Taiping , Liu Yue , Wang Haiqiang , Wu Zhongbiao 
Published: May 2019

AbstractLayered heterojunction structure with larger interface region for electron migration has attracted much attention in recent years. In this work, layered α-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6 heterojunctions with strong interlayer interaction were successfully synthesized through a facile in situ growth method. The strong interaction between α-Fe2O3 and Bi2WO6 had resulted in excellent photoelectrochemical performance. It was found that such structure promoted the interfacial photogenerated charges separation according to EIS and Tafel analysis, except for the expansion of visible-light absorption range. PL and TRPL characterizations further demonstrated that the recombination ratio of photoexcited electron-hole pairs was greatly reduced. The toluene photocatalytic degradation tests had showed that α-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6 composites exhibited much well activity under visible-light irradiation. Especially, 4%-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6 sample displayed the highest photocatalytic activity, which was around 3 and 4 times higher than that of pure Bi2WO6 and α-Fe2O3. Based on ESR results and free radical trapping experiments, hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and holes (h+) were regarded as the main active species. The establishment of Fe2O3/Bi2WO6 with layered heterojunctions could provide new insights into the construction of novel photocatalysts.
Spectral Spatial Variation
Authors: Hohmann Martin , Albrecht Heinz , Mudter Jonas , Nagulin Konstantin Yu , Klämpfl Florian , Schmidt Michael 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAutomatic carcinoma detection from hyper/multi spectral images is of essential importance due to the fact that these images cannot be presented directly to the clinician. However, standard approaches for carcinoma detection use hundreds or even thousands of features. This would cost a high amount of RAM (random access memory) for a pixel wise analysis and would slow down the classification or make it even impossible on standard PCs. To overcome this, strong features are required. We propose that the spectral-spatial-variation (SSV) is one of these strong features. SSV is the residuum of the three dimensional hyper spectral data cube minus its approximation with a fitting in a small volume of the 3D image. By using it, the classification results of carcinoma detection in the stomach with multi spectral imaging will be increase significantly compared to not using the SSV. In some cases, the AUC can be even as high as by the usage of 72 spatial features.
The effects of functional diversity on biomass production, variability, and resilience of ecosystem functions in a tritrophic system
Authors: Ceulemans Ruben , Gaedke Ursula , Klauschies Toni , Guill Christian 
Published: May 2019

AbstractDiverse communities can adjust their trait composition to altered environmental conditions, which may strongly influence their dynamics. Previous studies of trait-based models mainly considered only one or two trophic levels, whereas most natural system are at least tritrophic. Therefore, we investigated how the addition of trait variation to each trophic level influences population and community dynamics in a tritrophic model. Examining the phase relationships between species of adjacent trophic levels informs about the strength of top-down or bottom-up control in non-steady-state situations. Phase relationships within a trophic level highlight compensatory dynamical patterns between functionally different species, which are responsible for dampening the community temporal variability. Furthermore, even without trait variation, our tritrophic model always exhibits regions with two alternative states with either weak or strong nutrient exploitation, and correspondingly low or high biomass production at the top level. However, adding trait variation increased the basin of attraction of the high-production state, and decreased the likelihood of a critical transition from the high- to the low-production state with no apparent early warning signals. Hence, our study shows that trait variation enhances resource use efficiency, production, stability, and resilience of entire food webs.
The role of fungi in heterogeneous sediment microbial networks
Authors: Marie Booth Jenny , Fusi Marco , Marasco Ramona , Michoud Grégoire , Fodelianakis Stilianos , Merlino Giuseppe , Daffonchio Daniele 
Published: May 2019

AbstractWhile prokaryote community diversity and function have been extensively studied in soils and sediments, the functional role of fungi, despite their huge diversity, is widely unexplored. Several studies have, nonetheless, revealed the importance of fungi in provisioning services to prokaryote communities. Here, we hypothesise that the fungal community plays a key role in coordinating entire microbial communities by controlling the structure of functional networks in sediment. We selected a sediment environment with high niche diversity due to prevalent macrofaunal bioturbation, namely intertidal mangrove sediment, and explored the assembly of bacteria, archaea and fungi in different sediment niches, which we characterised by biogeochemical analysis, around the burrow of a herbivorous crab. We detected a high level of heterogeneity in sediment biogeochemical conditions, and diverse niches harboured distinct communities of bacteria, fungi and archaea. Saprotrophic fungi were a pivotal component of microbial networks throughout and we invariably found fungi to act as keystone species in all the examined niches and possibly acting synergistically with other environmental variables to determine the overall microbial community structure. In consideration of the importance of microbial-based nutrient cycling on overall sediment ecosystem functioning, we underline that the fungal microbiome and its role in the functional interactome cannot be overlooked.
System xc− in microglia is a novel therapeutic target for post-septic neurological and psychiatric illness
Authors: Kitagawa Yoshinori , Nakaso Kazuhiro , Horikoshi Yosuke , Morimoto Masaki , Omotani Takuma , Otsuki Akihiro , Inagaki Yoshimi , Sato Hideyo , Matsura Tatsuya 
Published: May 2019

AbstractPost-septic neurological and psychiatric illness (PSNPI) including dementia and depression may be observed after sepsis. However, the etiology of PSNPI and therapeutic treatment of PSNPI are unclear. We show that glutamate produced from microglia through the activity of system xc− plays a role in PSNPI. We established a mouse model of PSNPI by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment that shows a disturbance of short/working memory and depression-like hypoactivity. Glutamate receptor antagonists (MK801 and DNQX) reduced these phenotypes, and isolated microglia from LPS-treated mice released abundant glutamate. We identified system xc− as a source of the extracellular glutamate. xCT, a component of system xc−, was induced and expressed in microglia after LPS treatment. In xCT knockout mice, PSNPI were decreased compared to those in wildtype mice. Moreover, TNF-α and IL-1β expression in wildtype mice was increased after LPS treatment, but inhibited in xCT knockout mice. Thus, system xc− in microglia may be a therapeutic target for PSNPI. The administration of sulfasalazine, an inhibitor of xCT, in symptomatic and post-symptomatic mice improved PSNPI. Our results suggest that glutamate released from microglia through system xc− plays a critical role in the manifestations of PSNPI and that system xc− may be a therapeutic target for PSNPI.
GFP fluorescence peak fraction analysis based nanothermometer for the assessment of exothermal mitochondria activity in live cells
Authors: Savchuk Oleksandr A. , Silvestre Oscar F. , Adão Ricardo M. R. , Nieder Jana B. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractNanothermometry methods with intracellular sensitivities have the potential to make important contributions to fundamental cell biology and medical fields, as temperature is a relevant physical parameter for molecular reactions to occur inside the cells and changes of local temperature are well identified therapeutic strategies. Here we show how the GFP can be used to assess temperature-based on a novel fluorescence peak fraction method. Further, we use standard GFP transfection reagents to assess temperature intracellularly in HeLa cells expressing GFP in the mitochondria. High thermal resolution and sensitivity of around 0.26% °C−1and 2.5% °C−1, were achieved for wt-GFP in solution and emGFP-Mito within the cell, respectively. We demonstrate that the GFP-based nanothermometer is suited to directly follow the temperature changes induced by a chemical uncoupler reagent that acts on the mitochondria. The spatial resolution allows distinguishing local heating variations within the different cellular compartments. Our discovery may lead to establishing intracellular nanothermometry as a standard method applicable to the wide range of live cells able to express GFP.
Powerful and Efficient Strategies for Genetic Association Testing of Symptom and Questionnaire Data in Psychiatric Genetic Studies
Authors: Holleman Aaron M. , Broadaway K. Alaine , Duncan Richard , Todor Andrei , Almli Lynn M. , Bradley Bekh , Ressler Kerry J. , Ghosh Debashis , Mulle Jennifer G. , Epstein Michael P. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractGenetic studies of psychiatric disorders often deal with phenotypes that are not directly measurable. Instead, researchers rely on multivariate symptom data from questionnaires and surveys like the PTSD Symptom Scale (PSS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to indirectly assess a latent phenotype of interest. Researchers subsequently collapse such multivariate questionnaire data into a univariate outcome to represent a surrogate for the latent phenotype. However, when a causal variant is only associated with a subset of collapsed symptoms, the effect will be challenging to detect using the univariate outcome. We describe a more powerful strategy for genetic association testing in this situation that jointly analyzes the original multivariate symptom data collectively using a statistical framework that compares similarity in multivariate symptom-scale data from questionnaires to similarity in common genetic variants across a gene. We use simulated data to demonstrate this strategy provides substantially increased power over standard approaches that collapse questionnaire data into a single surrogate outcome. We also illustrate our approach using GWAS data from the Grady Trauma Project and identify genes associated with BDI not identified using standard univariate techniques. The approach is computationally efficient, scales to genome-wide studies, and is applicable to correlated symptom data of arbitrary dimension.
IQGAP1 promotes pancreatic cancer progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through Wnt/β-catenin signaling
Authors: Hu Wei , Wang Zhongxia , Zhang Shan , Lu Xian , Wu Junyi , Yu Kuanyong , Ji Anlai , Lu Wei , Wang Zhong , Wu Junhua , Jiang Chunping 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIQ motif-containing GTPase-activating protein 1 (IQGAP1) is a scaffold protein that participates in several cellular functions, including cytoskeletal regulation, cell adhesion, gene transcription and cell polarization. IQGAP1 has been implicated in the tumorigenesis and progression of several human cancers. However, the role of IQGAP1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still unknown. We found that IQGAP1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for PDAC. IQGAP1 upregulation significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereas IQGAP1 downregulation impaired its oncogenic functions. Overexpression of IQGAP1 increased the protein level of Dishevelled2 (DVL2) and enhanced canonical Wnt signaling as evidenced by increased DVL2 level, β-catenin transcriptional activity, β-catenin nuclear translocation and expression of the direct target genes of β-catenin (cyclin D1 and c-myc). In contrast, knockdown of IQGAP1 decreased the level of DVL2 and attenuated Wnt/β-catenin signaling.In vivoresults revealed that IQGAP1 promoted tumor growth and metastasis. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that IQGAP1 interacted with both DVL2 and β-catenin. Moreover, knockdown of DVL2 reversed IQGAP1-induced EMT. Our findings thus confirmed that IQGAP1 could be used as a potential target for PDAC treatment.
Teacher-learner interaction quantifies scaffolding behaviour in imitation learning
Authors: Okazaki Shuntaro , Muraoka Yoshihiro , Osu Rieko 
Published: May 2019

AbstractTeachers often believe that they take into account learners’ ongoing learning progress in their teaching. Can behavioural data support this belief? To address this question, we investigated the interactive behavioural coordination between teachers and learners during imitation learning to solve a puzzle. The teacher manually demonstrated the puzzle solution to a learner who immediately imitated and learned it. Manual movements of teachers and learners were analysed using a bivariate autoregressive model. To identify bidirectional information exchange and information shared between the two agents, we calculated causality and noise covariance from the model. Information transfer observed from teacher to learner in the lateral component of their motion indicated imitation of the spatial information of the puzzle solution. Information transfer from learner to teacher in the vertical component of their motion indicated the monitoring process through which teachers adjust their timing of demonstration to the learner’s progress. The shared information in the lateral component increased as learning progressed, indicating the knowledge was shared between the two agents. Our findings demonstrated that the teacher interactively engaged in and contingently supported (i.e. scaffolded) imitation. We thus provide a behavioural signature of the teacher’s intention to promote learning indispensable for understanding the nature of teaching.
Cyclic magma recharge pulses detected by high-precision strainmeter data: the case of 2017 inter-eruptive activity at Etna volcano
Authors: Currenti Gilda , Bonaccorso Alessandro 
Published: May 2019

AbstractUnprecedented ultra-small strain changes (~10−8–10−9), preceding and accompanying the 2017 explosive-effusive activity, were revealed by a high precision borehole strainmeter at Etna. No pre- or co-eruptive deformation was detected by the GPS measurements, which often fail to detect ground deformation engendered by short-term small volcanic events due to their limited accuracy (millimetres to few centimetres). Through the analysis and detection of ultra-small strain changes (few tens of nanostrain), revealed by filtering the raw data, a significant time correspondence with the eruptive activity is observed. For the first time, cyclic fast exponential strain changes, preceding the onset of eruptive events, with a timescale of about 2–7 days, were detected. These variations are attributable to the expansion of the shallow magma reservoir, which is replenished with new magma from depth during the inter-eruptive periods. Interpreting the strain changes in terms of pressurization/depressurization of the chamber due to the cyclic influx and withdrawal of magma, allows placing some constraints on the magma recharge volume rate. A Finite Element model has been developed to simulate the temporal evolution of the strain changes generated by the re-pressurization of a spheroidal magma source using a dynamical approach. An average total mass budget of about 1–2 × 109 kg, which is in the range of the erupted mass, is estimated to be accumulated within a shallow vertically elongated magma chamber during the inter-eruptive periods. Such evidence demonstrates that the near-real time analysis of strainmeter records is remarkable for its ability to record small transients and highlight recharging phases preceding eruptive activity, which would go undetected with other current methodologies. Under these conditions, the ability to simulate inter-eruptive periods offers an opportunity to estimate the magma recharge rate with important implications for volcano hazard assessment.
Measuring ion-pairing and hydration in variable charge supramolecular cages with microwave microfluidics
Authors: Stelson Angela C. , Hong Cynthia M. , Groenenboom Mitchell C. , Little Charles A. E. , Booth James C. , Orloff Nathan D. , Bergman Robert G. , Raymond Kenneth N. , Schwarz Kathleen A. , Toste F. Dean , Long Christian J. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractMetal-organic supramolecular cages can act as charged molecular containers that mediate reactions, mimic enzymatic catalysis, and selectively sequester chemicals. The hydration of these cages plays a crucial role in their interactions with other species. Here we use microwave microfluidics to measure the hydration and ion pairing of two metal-organic cage assemblies that are isostructural but have different overall anionic charge. We supplement our measurements with density functional theory calculations to compare binding site energies on model metal-organic cage vertices. We find that the cage with dianionic vertices is more strongly hydrated and forms a distinct ion pair species from the cage with trianionic vertices. We evaluate multi-ion species and distinct ion pair solvations as possible sources for differences in ion dynamics and hydration. Broadly, this work highlights the utility of microwave microfluidics to elucidate the consequences of charge states on metal-organic complexes in solution.
Down-regulated HSDL2 expression suppresses cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis in papillary thyroid carcinoma
Authors: Zeng Jing , Ma Xiao , Wang Jinjing , Liu Ran , Shao Yun , Hou Yanwei , Li Zhiyuan , Fang Yi 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase like 2 (HSDL2) can regulate lipid metabolism and take part in cell proliferation. The purpose of the present study was to explore functional role of HSDL2 gene in PTC. The expression of HSDL2 protein in PTC tissues was estimated using immunohistochemistry analysis (IHC). HSDL2 mRNA level was detected through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Effects of HSDL2 gene on cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed using the shRNA method for both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Potential target genes of HSDL2 were determined via bioinformatics analyses and Western blotting. HSDL2 was up-regulated in PTC tissues and cell lines compared with the controls (all P&lt;0.05). Inhibiting HSDL expression could suppress PTC cell proliferation and cycle, and promote apoptosis in vitro. In vivo, the knockdown of HSDL2 gene could significantly suppress tumor growth (all P&lt;0.05). Furthermore, AKT3, NFATc2 and PPP3CA genes might be potential targets of HSDL2 in PTC. HSDL2 expression was increased in PTC tissues and cells, which could promote tumor progression in vitro and in vivo.
Passive diamagnetic contactless suspension rotor with electrostatic glass motor
Authors: Xu Yuanping , Zhou Jin , Bleuler Hannes , Kan Ryosuke 
Published: May 2019

In this work, we introduce a newly developed passive and frictionless diamagnetic contactless suspension rotor with electrostatic glass motor. A 20 mm diameter disc‐shaped rotor comprised of pyrolytic graphite with glass is fabricated. The rotor is diamagnetically and passively levitated by an array of Nd–Fe–B magnets at room temperature without any energy supply. To realise the rotating function, a 700 V high voltage electrostatic glass motor is designed and arranged in the levitation air gap between the rotor and the magnets. To install the stator in this narrow air gap, we fabricated the stator using a flexible printed circuit with 100 μm thickness. The newly developed system is more compact, stable and of high performance. The maximum speed has been improved doubly to 300 rpm in atmosphere. We intend to draw attention to this uncommon levitation and to show that it could be used for micro‐mechatronic system.
Measurements and tests of hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory
Authors: Cazon Lorenzo ,   on hehalf of the Pierre Auger Collaboration
Published: May 2019

Extensive air showers are complex objects, resulting of billions of particle reactions initiated by single cosmic ray at ultra-high-energy. Their characteristics are sensitive both to the mass of the primary cosmic ray and to the details of hadronic interactions. Many of the interactions that determine the shower features occur in kinematic regions and at energies beyond those tested by human-made accelerators.
We will report on the measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 39 TeV and 56 TeV. We will also show comparisons of post-LHC hadronic interaction models with shower data by studying the moments of the distribution of the depth of the electromagnetic maximum, the number and production depth of muons in air showers, and finally a parameter based on the rise-time of the surface detector signal, sensitive to the electromagnetic and muonic component of the shower. While there is good agreement found for observables based on the electromagnetic shower component, discrepancies are observed for muon-sensitive quantities.
Average shape of longitudinal shower profiles measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory
Authors: Andringa Sofia ,   on behalf of the Pierre Auger Collaboration
Published: May 2019

The average profiles of cosmic ray shower development as a function of atmospheric depth are measured for the first time with the Fluorescence Detectors at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The profile shapes are well reproduced by the Gaisser-Hillas parametrization at the 1% level in a 500 g/cm2 interval around the shower maximum, for cosmic rays with log(E/eV) > 17.8. The results are quantified with two shape parameters, measured as a function of energy.
The average profiles carry information on the primary cosmic ray and its high energy hadronic interactions. The shape parameters predicted by the commonly used models are compatible with the measured ones within experimental uncertainties. Those uncertainties are dominated by systematics which, at present, prevent a detailed composition analysis.