bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MLL1 is essential for retinal neurogenesis and horizontal inner neuron integrity
Authors: Brightman Diana S. , Grant Rachel L. , Ruzycki Philip A. , Suzuki Ray , Hennig Anne K. , Chen Shiming 
Published: August 2018

AbstractDevelopment of retinal structure and function is controlled by cell type-specific transcription factors and widely expressed co-regulators. The latter includes the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) family of histone methyltransferases that catalyze histone H3 lysine 4 di- and tri-methylation associated with gene activation. One such member, MLL1, is widely expressed in the central nervous system including the retina. However, its role in retinal development is unknown. To address this question, we knocked out Mll1 in mouse retinal progenitors, and discovered that MLL1 plays multiple roles in retinal development by regulating progenitor cell proliferation, cell type composition and neuron-glia balance, maintenance of horizontal neurons, and formation of functional synapses between neuronal layers required for visual signal transmission and processing. Altogether, our results suggest that MLL1 is indispensable for retinal neurogenesis and function development, providing a new paradigm for cell type-specific roles of known histone modifying enzymes during CNS tissue development.
Low temperature a/b nanotwins in Ni50Mn25+xGa25−x Heusler alloys
Authors: Straka L. , Drahokoupil J. , Veřtát P. , Zelený M. , Kopeček J. , Sozinov A. , Heczko O. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractWe have found low temperature a/b nanotwins having (110) twinning plane in a five-layered modulated martensite phase of Ni50Mn25+xGa25−x (at. %) Heusler alloys and identified the particular region in phase diagram where the nanotwinning occurs. Evolution of the structure with decreasing temperature was studied by X-ray diffraction using single crystals exhibiting magnetic shape memory effect. The merging of (400) and (040) lines upon cooling for 2.6 < x < 3.5 indicated a/b nanotwinning originating from the refinement of initially coarse a/b twins. Refinement of the twins with decreasing temperature was observed directly using scanning electron microscopy. The prerequisite for nanotwinning is an extremely low twin boundary energy, which we estimated using first-principles calculations to be 0.16 meV/Å2. As the nanotwinning distorts the relation between the crystal lattice and the X-ray diffraction pattern, it should be taken into consideration in structural studies of Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys.
The impacts of delivery mode on infant’s oral microflora
Authors: Li Hongping , Wang Jun , Wu Lijuan , Luo Jun , Liang Xia , Xiao Bin , Zhu Yuanfang 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis study investigated the effects of different delivery modes on oral microflora in healthy newborns immediately post-partum, and provided evidence for microbial colonization disruption induced by medical procedures. Eighteen infants delivered by cesarean section and 74 by vaginal delivery were included in the study. High-throughput sequencing of 16S bacterial rRNA was performed on oral samples collected immediately after birth. All data were analyzed using bioinformatics approaches. Our results indicated that different oral bacteria were found between infants delivered by cesarean section compared to vaginal delivery group. Lactobacillus, Prevotella and Gardnerella were the most abundant genera in the vaginal group, while Petrimonas, Bacteroides, Desulfovibrio, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Tepidmicrobium, VadinCA02, and Bifidobacterium were dominant bacteria in the cesarean section (C-section) group. Furthermore, bacteria isolated from 27 vaginally-delivered infants were not clustered into the vaginal group. Most of them spent more than 24 hours in the delivery room and this led to repeated sterilization procedures. We hypothesized that repeated sterilization might have influenced oral microflora in those cases. To conclude, this study suggested that different modes of birth delivery affect oral microflora in healthy infants. In addition, attention shall be paid to the clinical practice of repeated sterilization of the vulva that possibly obstructs the colonization of vaginal bacterial.
Gauss’s law for networks directly reveals community boundaries
Authors: Sinha Ayan , Gleich David F. , Ramani Karthik 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe study of network topology provides insight into the function and behavior of physical, social, and biological systems. A natural step towards discovering the organizing principles of these complex topologies is to identify a reduced network representation using cohesive subgroups or communities. This procedure often uncovers the underlying mechanisms governing the functional assembly of complex networks. A community is usually defined as a subgraph or a set of nodes that has more edges than would be expected from a simple, null distribution of edges over the graph. This view drives objective such as modularity. Another perspective, corresponding to objectives like conductance or density, is that communities are groups of nodes that have extremal properties with respect to the number of internal edges and cut edges. Here we show that identifying community boundaries rather than communities results in a more accurate decomposition of the network into informative components. We derive a network analog of Gauss’s law that relates a measure of flux through a subgraph’s boundary to the connectivity among the subgraph’s nodes. Our Gauss’s law for networks naturally characterizes a community as a subgraph with high flux through its boundary. Aggregating flux over these boundaries gives rise to a Laplacian and forms the basis of our “Laplacian modularity” quality function for community detection that is applicable to general network types. This technique allows us to determine communities that are both overlapping and hierarchically organized.
A cis-eQTL of HLA-DPB1 Affects Susceptibility to Type 1 Autoimmune Hepatitis
Authors: Yamazaki Tomoo , Umemura Takeji , Joshita Satoru , Yoshizawa Kaname , Tanaka Eiji , Ota Masao 
Published: August 2018

AbstractAutoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory liver disease characterized by an autoimmune reaction to hepatocytes. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the 3′ untranslated region of HLA-DPB1, rs9277534, is associated with HLA-DPB1 expression. rs9277534 has been linked to hepatitis B virus recovery/persistence and the risk of graft-versus-host disease with HLA-DPB1 mismatching transplantation of hematopoietic cells, but its role along with that of HLA-DP expression in AIH have not been fully clarified. We genotyped rs9277534 in 146 Japanese patients with AIH and 326 healthy subjects. HLA-DPB1 expression was determined by quantitative PCR. HLA-DPB1 expression was significantly higher for rs9277534G than for rs9277534A (P < 0.05). rs9277534 genotype was in strong linkage disequilibrium with the HLA-DPB1 allele (pairwise D′ = 0.82–1.00). Although HLA-DP alleles were not significantly associated with AIH, the frequency of the rs9277534G allele was significantly higher in AIH patients compared with healthy subjects (P = 0.002, odds ratio [OR] = 1.56). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the HLA-DRB1*04:05 allele (P < 0.001, OR = 4.61) and rs9277534 (P = 0.004, OR = 1.67) were independently associated with AIH susceptibility. rs9277534G in the HLA-DP gene is an eQTL that affects gene expression and may contribute to AIH susceptibility.
Inhibiting the CD8+ T cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment after radiotherapy is an important mechanism of radioresistance
Authors: Chen Hai-yan , Xu Lei , Li Lin-feng , Liu Xiao-xing , Gao Jian-xin , Bai Yong-rui 
Published: August 2018

AbstractEndogenous immune response participates in tumor control, and radiotherapy has immune modulatory capacity, but the role of immune modulation in the tumor microenvironment invoked by radiotherapy in radiosensitivity is poorly defined. In the present study, a radio-resistant melanoma cell line was obtained after repeated irradiation to the parental tumor in C57BL/6 mice. Radiotherapy resulted in aggregation of CD8+ and CD3+ T cells, and decrease of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and dendritic cells in the parental tumor, but not in the resistant tumors. CD4+ T cells and B cells did not change significantly. The CD8+ T cell infiltration after radiotherapy is important for tumor response, because in the nude mice and CD8+ T cell-depleted C57BL/6 mice, the parental and resistant tumor has similar radiosensitivity. Patients with good radiation response had more CD8+ T cells aggregation after radiotherapy. Radiotherapy resulted in robust transcription of T cell chemoattractant in the parental cells, and the expression of CCL5 was much higher. These results reveal a novel mechanism of radioresistance, tumor cells inhibit the infiltration of CD8+ T cell after radiotherapy and become radioresistant. Increasing CD8+ T cell infiltration after RT may be an effective way to improve tumor radiosensitivity.
Quantum phases for moving charges and dipoles in an electromagnetic field and fundamental equations of quantum mechanics
Authors: Kholmetskii A. L. , Yarman T. , Missevitch O. V. , Arik M. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractWe analyze the quantum phase effects for point-like charges and electric (magnetic) dipoles under a natural assumption that the observed phase for a dipole represents the sum of corresponding phases for charges composing this dipole. This way we disclose two novel quantum phases for charged particles, which we named as complementary electric Aharonov-Bohm (A-B) phase and complementary magnetic A-B phase, respectively. We reveal that these phases are derived from the Schrödinger equation only in the case, where the operator of momentum is re-defined via the replacement of the canonical momentum of particle by the sum of its mechanical momentum and interactional field momentum for a system of charged particles. The related alteration should be introduced to Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations, too, and implications of this modification are discussed.
Diabetes induces fibrotic changes in the lung through the activation of TGF-β signaling pathways
Authors: Talakatta Girish , Sarikhani Mohsen , Muhamed Jaseer , Dhanya K. , Somashekar Bagganahalli S. , Mahesh Padukudru Anand , Sundaresan Nagalingam , Ravindra P. V. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractIn the long term, diabetes profoundly affects multiple organs, such as the kidney, heart, brain, liver, and eyes. The gradual loss of function in these vital organs contributes to mortality. Nonetheless, the effects of diabetes on the lung tissue are not well understood. Clinical and experimental data from our studies revealed that diabetes induces inflammatory and fibrotic changes in the lung. These changes were mediated by TGF-β-activated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling pathways. Our studies also found that glucose restriction promoted mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) and substantially reversed inflammatory and fibrotic changes, suggesting that diabetes-induced EMT was mediated in part by the effects of hyperglycemia. Additionally, the persistent exposure of diabetic cells to high glucose concentrations (25 mM) promoted the upregulation of caveolin-1, N-cadherin, SIRT3, SIRT7 and lactate levels, suggesting that long-term diabetes may promote cell proliferation. Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time that diabetes induces fibrotic changes in the lung via TGF-β1-activated EMT pathways and that elevated SMAD7 partially protects the lung during the initial stages of diabetes. These findings have implications for the management of patients with diabetes.
Functional Nano-Coating Materials by Michael Addition and Ring-opening Polymerization: Reactivity, Molecular Architecture and Refractive index
Authors: Jena Kishore K. , Alhassan Saeed M. , Tiwari Atul , Hihara L. H. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractUnderstanding the molecular interaction and morphology of organic-inorganic hybrid materials is an important and fundamental assignment to develop novel high-performance materials. In this work, we developed two types of hybrid coating materials by using different silane coupling agents via Michael addition reaction and ring-opening polymerization. The changes in molecular interaction and morphology of the hybrid coatings due to chemical composition and curing temperature were studied by electron microscopy, spectroscopy and solid state 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. Fundamental differences were observed in HYBRID I and HYBRID II coatings during the nucleation stage that was dependent on the curing temperature. Higher curing temperature of the hybrid coatings resulted in improved uniformity and greater crystallinity of dispersed phases, and better control of the morphology compared with coatings cured at lower temperatures. The higher curing temperature provided more consistent nucleation sites for the growth of larger nanostructures of desired characteristics (e.g., size and surface features). There is great flexibility in synthesizingg these hybrid materials where different structure and morphology can be achieved to produce materials whose applications can range from adhesives to protective coatings. Refractive index results revealed that HYBRID I (90 °C) coating showed higher refractive index than HYBRID II (90 °C) coating.
Validation of an algorithm to reveal the U wave in atrial fibrillation
Authors: Al-Karadi M. S. , Wilkinson A. J. , Caldwell J. , Langley P. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractMajor cardiac organisations recommend U wave abnormalities should be reported during ECG interpretation. However, U waves cannot be measured in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) due to the obscuring fibrillatory wave. The aim was to validate a U wave measurement algorithm for AF patients. Multi-beat averaging was applied to ECGs of 25 patients during paroxysms of AF and the presence of U waves compared to those from the same patients during sinus rhythm (SR). In a further database of 10 long-term AF recordings, the number of beats for effective U wave extraction by the algorithm was calculated. U waves were revealed in all AF recordings and there was no significant difference between the presence of U waves in AF and SR (p = 0.88). U wave amplitude was significantly increased in AF (mean (s.d.) amplitude 55 (39) AF vs 37 (28) μV SR, p = 0.005). The presence of U waves could easily be discerned when as few as 10 beats were used in the algorithm. The study demonstrates the validity of the algorithm to reveal U waves in AF recordings. The algorithm offers the potential to detect U wave abnormalities in patients with AF.
Assessment of in vivo versus in vitro biofilm formation of clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from endotracheal tubes
Authors: Fernández-Barat Laia , Ben-Aicha Soumaya , Motos Anna , Vila Jordi , Marco Francesc , Rigol Montserrat , Muñoz Laura , Li Bassi Gianluigi , Ferrer Miquel , Torres Antoni 
Published: August 2018

AbstractOur aim was to demonstrate that biofilm formation in a clinical strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be enhanced by environment exposure in an endotracheal tube (ETT) and to determine how it is affected by systemic treatment and atmospheric conditions. Second, we aimed to assess biofilm production dynamics after extubation. We prospectively analyzed 70 ETT samples obtained from pigs randomized to be untreated (controls, n = 20), or treated with vancomycin (n = 32) or linezolid (n = 18). A clinical MRSA strain (MRSA-in) was inoculated in pigs to create a pneumonia model, before treating with antibiotics. Tracheally intubated pigs with MRSA severe pneumonia, were mechanically ventilated for 69 ± 16 hours. All MRSA isolates retrieved from ETTs (ETT-MRSA) were tested for their in vitro biofilm production by microtiter plate assay. In vitro biofilm production of MRSA isolates was sequentially studied over the next 8 days post-extubation to assess biofilm capability dynamics over time. All experiments were performed under ambient air (O2) or ambient air supplemented with 5% CO2. We collected 52 ETT-MRSA isolates (placebo N = 19, linezolid N = 11, and vancomycin N = 22) that were clonally identical to the MRSA-in. Among the ETT-MRSA isolates, biofilm production more than doubled after extubation in 40% and 50% under 5% CO2 and O2, respectively. Systemic antibiotic treatment during intubation did not affect this outcome. Under both atmospheric conditions, biofilm production for MRSA-in was at least doubled for 9 ETT-MRSA isolates, and assessment of these showed that biofilm production decreased progressively over a 4-day period after extubation. In conclusion, a weak biofilm producer MRSA strain significantly enhances its biofilm production within an ETT, but it is influenced by the ETT environment rather than by the systemic treatment used during intubation or by the atmospheric conditions used for bacterial growth.
Extensive hybridization following a large escape of domesticated Atlantic salmon in the Northwest Atlantic
Authors: Wringe Brendan F. , Jeffery Nicholas W. , Stanley Ryan R. E. , Hamilton Lorraine C. , Anderson Eric C. , Fleming Ian A. , Grant Carole , Dempson J. Brian , Veinott Geoff , Duffy Steven J. , Bradbury Ian R. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractDomestication is rife with episodes of interbreeding between cultured and wild populations, potentially challenging adaptive variation in the wild. In Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar, the number of domesticated individuals far exceeds wild individuals, and escape events occur regularly, yet evidence of the magnitude and geographic scale of interbreeding resulting from individual escape events is lacking. We screened juvenile Atlantic salmon using 95 single nucleotide polymorphisms following a single, large aquaculture escape in the Northwest Atlantic and report the landscape-scale detection of hybrid and feral salmon (27.1%, 17/18 rivers). Hybrids were reproductively viable, and observed at higher frequency in smaller wild populations. Repeated annual sampling of this cohort revealed decreases in the presence of hybrid and feral offspring over time. These results link previous observations of escaped salmon in rivers with reports of population genetic change, and demonstrate the potential negative consequences of escapes from net-pen aquaculture on wild populations.
Comparative analysis of ESD versus EMR in a large European series of non-ampullary superficial duodenal tumors
Authors: Pérez-Cuadrado-Robles Enrique , Quénéhervé Lucille , Margos Walter , Shaza Leila , Ivekovic Hrvoje , Moreels Tom G. , Yeung Ralph , Piessevaux Hubert , Coron Emmanuel , Jouret-Mourin Anne , Deprez Pierre H. 
Published: August 2018

Abstract
Background and study aims The choice of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) or endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) in non-ampullary superficial duodenal tumors (NASDTs) is challenging and the benefits of ESD remain unclear. The aim was to comparatively analyze the feasibility, outcomes and safety of these techniques in these lesions.
Patients and methods This is an observational and retrospective study. All consecutive patients presenting with NASDTs who underwent EMR or ESD between 2005 and 2017 were included. The following main outcomes were comparatively evaluated: en-bloc and complete (R0) resection rates, and local recurrence. Secondary outcomes were perforation and delayed bleeding.
Results One hundred sixty-six tumors in 150 patients (age: 66 years, range: 31 – 83, 42.7 % males) were resected by ESD (n = 37) or EMR (n = 129) and included. The median procedure time (81 vs. 50 min, P = 0.007) and tumor size (25 vs. 20 mm, P = 0.01) were higher in the ESD group. The global malignancy rate was 50.3 %. There were no differences in en-bloc resection (29.7 % vs. 44.2 %, P = 0.115), complete resection (19.4 % vs. 35.5 %, P = 0.069), and local recurrence (14.7 % vs. 16.7 %, P = 0.788) rates. Tumor size was associated with recurrence (28 vs. 20 mm, P = 0.008), with a median follow-up of 6.5 months. Focal recurrence (n = 22, 13.3 %) was treated endoscopically in 86.4 %. En-bloc resection in the ESD group was comparable in large ( ≥ 20 mm) and small lesions (27.6 % vs. 37.5 %, P = 0.587), while this outcome decreased significantly in large lesions resected by EMR (17.4 % vs. 75 %, P < 0.001). Nine perforations were confirmed in 6 lesions (16.2 %) resected by ESD and 3 (2.3 %) by EMR (P = 0.001). Endoscopic therapy was successful in all but 1 patient (88.9 %) presenting with a delayed perforation.
Conclusions ESD may be an alternative to EMR and surgery in selected NASDTs, such as large duodenal tumors where EMR achieves low en-bloc resection rates and the local recurrence may be higher. However, this technique may have a higher risk of perforations.
The efficacy of the pocket-creation method for cases with severe fibrosis in colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection
Authors: Yoshida Naohisa , Naito Yuji , Yasuda Ritsu , Murakami Takaaki , Hirose Ryohei , Ogiso Kiyoshi , Inada Yutaka , Konishi Hideyuki , Rani Rafiz Abdul , Kishimoto Mitsuo , Konishi Eiichi , Nakanishi Masayoshi , Itoh Yoshito 
Published: August 2018

Abstract
Background and study aims Severe fibrosis poses a challenge in colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Recently, the pocket-creation method (PCM) has been developed for overcoming various difficulties of ESD. A specific tapered hood is used for adequate traction in the PCM, and endoscopic operability becomes stable in the pocket. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of the PCM in ESD for cases with severe fibrosis.
Patients and methods We retrospectively reviewed 1000 consecutive colorectal ESD cases (April 2006 to January 2017). Since 2016, the PCM was performed in 58 cases. The indications for ESD included (1) tumors ≥ 20 mm in size diagnosed as intramucosal cancer or high-grade dysplasia and part of T1a cancer using magnifying endoscopic examinations and (2) tumors that appeared impossible to resect with endoscopic mucosal resection because of suspected fibrosis. We identified 120 cases with severe fibrosis and compared them to cases without severe fibrosis. Additionally, the 120 severe fibrosis cases were divided into the PCM and non-PCM groups. En bloc resection, procedure time, discontinuation, and complications were analyzed between these 2 groups.
Results Among all 1000 ESDs, severe fibrosis and discontinuation rates were 12.0 % (120 cases) and 1.8 % (18 cases), respectively. Regarding the comparison between cases with severe fibrosis and with no severe fibrosis, there were significant differences about en bloc resection rate (78.3 % vs. 95.7 %, P < 0.001), discontinuance rate (12.5 % vs. 0.3 %, P < 0.001), and perforation rate (8.3 % vs. 2.6 %, P = 0.001). Among the 120 cases with severe fibrosis, 21 and 99 cases were in the PCM and non-PCM groups, respectively. The PCM group had a higher en bloc resection rate (95.2 vs. 74.7, P =  0.03), a shorter mean procedure time (min) (79.6 ± 26.5 vs. 118.8 ± 71.0, P = 0.001), and no cases of discontinuation. An analysis of the interobserver agreement for the diagnosis of severe fibrosis among the 3 endoscopists showed kappa values of > 0.6.
Conclusions In cases with severe fibrosis, the PCM with ESD improved en bloc resection rates and shortened the procedure time compared to the conventional non-PCM method. Additionally, the PCM reduced the discontinuation rate.