bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Two new species of Annulotrema (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) from Hydrocynus vittatus (Characiformes: Alestidae) in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe
Authors: Kičinjaová M.L. , Barson M. , Gelnar M. , Řehulková E. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractTwo new and one known species of Annulotrema Paperna & Thurston, 1969 are reported from the gills of the tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus Castelnau, 1861, collected in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. The new species, Annulotrema pseudonili n. sp. and A. bracteatum n. sp., are described and distinguished mainly on the basis of features of the male copulatory organ (MCO). Annulotrema pseudonili n. sp. most closely resembles A. nili Paperna, 1973, but differs from it by possessing a more delicate MCO with a thin-walled base without a fibrous distal part. Annulotrema bracteatum n. sp. is most similar to Annulotrema ruahae Paperna, 1973, from which it differs by having an MCO composed of a longer copulatory tube and a leaf-shaped accessory piece enveloping the distal part of the tube. The presence of Annulotrema pikoides Guégan, Lambert & Birgi, 1988 on H. vittatus in Zimbabwe represents a new locality record for this parasite.
Bacterial strain changes during chronic otitis media surgery
Authors: Kim G J , Yoo S , Han S , Bu J , Hong Y , Kim D-K 
Published: July 2017

AbstractObjective:Cultures obtained from pre-operative middle-ear swabs from patients with chronic otitis media have traditionally been used to guide antibiotic selection. This study investigated changes in the bacterial strains of the middle ear during chronic otitis media surgery.Methods:Pre-operative bacterial cultures of otorrhoea, and peri-operative cultures of the granulation tissue in either the middle ear or mastoid cavity, were obtained. Post-operative cultures were selectively obtained when otorrhoea developed after surgery.Results:Bacterial growth was observed in 45.5 per cent of pre-operative cultures, 13.5 per cent of peri-operative cultures and 4.5 per cent of post-operative cultures. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was identified as the most common bacteria in all pre-operative (32.4 per cent), peri-operative (52.4 per cent) and post-operative (71.4 per cent) tests, and the percentage of Methicillin-resistant S aureus increased from the pre- to the post-operative period.Conclusion:The bacterial culture results for post-operative otorrhoea showed low agreement with those for pre-operative or peri-operative culture, and strain re-identification was required.
Do past stressful life events and personal control beliefs predict subjective wellbeing in old age? Evidence from a Spanish nationwide representative sample
Authors: RUBIO LAURA , DUMITRACHE CRISTINA G. , CORDÓN-POZO EULOGIO 
Published: July 2017

ABSTRACTIt has been widely corroborated that recent stressful life events could impact wellbeing; nevertheless, it is not clear whether stressful situations experienced in the past and the individual resources used to deal with them influence older adults’ wellbeing. This study aims to analyse the influence of stressful past events and personal control beliefs, or the extent to which people believe they can control or influence their environment in order to achieve desired outcomes, on negative affect and domain-specific life satisfaction in a cross-sectional sample of 1,177 Spanish people age 50 years and older. For this purpose, the measurement of ten stressful past events, perceived control beliefs, negative affect and life satisfaction were obtained. Preliminary analyses showed that domain-specific life satisfaction grouped into two factors: internal and external life satisfaction. The results of the partial least squares structural equation model indicated that stressful events and control beliefs have an impact on both negative affect and life satisfaction in old age. Stressful past events had a negative effect on life satisfaction, while control beliefs were positively associated with negative affect. The model was able to predict the variance of internal life satisfaction at 37.5 per cent.
The revolution in local government: mayors in Portugal before and after 1974
Authors: ALMEIDA MARIA ANTÓNIA PIRES DE 
Published: July 2017

AbstractIn 1974, Portugal's Carnation Revolution, initiated by the military, received huge popular support. Army officers, mostly of the rank of captain, started the Revolution, but then the politicians took over. While it was largely a ‘top down’ revolution, at the local government level ordinary people assumed control. In this article we consider those who made up the local elites before the Revolution, during the transition period that followed, and thereafter. We compare the local elites in Portugal during Salazar's dictatorship with those under the Democratic regime, using a database of 6,000 entries containing details of 3,102 mayors and deputy mayors and 402 civil governors who held office between 1936 and 2013. Our main conclusions are that during the transition period the elite who had ruled under Salazar were almost completely replaced. A new group, from different professions and social backgrounds, took up the reins of local government. The Revolution produced a population willing to participate in the new order and take on roles within local government, but they did not always retain their seats after the first democratic elections.
Gender and Relationship Status Interaction and Likelihood of Return to Work Post-Retirement
Authors: Settels Jason , McMullin Julie 
Published: July 2017

RÉSUMÉLe vieillissement de la population est un phénomène dont l’importance croît à travers les pays industrialisés. Les inquiétudes liées à la pénurie de main-d’œuvre ont encouragé le développement de politiques pour le prolongement de la vie active. En rapport avec ces développements, le contexte contemporain est marqué par une grande variabilité dans la participation de la main-d’œuvre plus âgée. Cette étude, basée sur les données de l’Enquête sociale générale de l’an 2007, était centrée sur des facteurs associés au travail rémunéré après la retraite, et en particulier sur l’interaction entre le sexe et le statut relationnel chez des Canadiens de 50 à 74 ans qui avaient pris leur retraites autrefois. Nous avons observé que, pour les hommes, le fait d’être dans une relation était associé à une plus forte probabilité de travail rémunéré après le départ à la retraite, comparativement aux femmes, chez qui l’inverse a été observé. Nos résultats suggèrent que l’influence du sexe sur l’association entre le statut relationnel et le travail après la retraite est en partie due à l’influence du sexe sur l’association entre le statut relationnel et la motivation des individus à apprendre, à s’engager dans leur communauté, à orienter leur carrière, et à leur sentiment d’indépendance. Une influence du sexe sur le statut relationnel peut donc être mise en lumière par une analyse du travail rémunéré suivant la prise de la retraite.
Effects of cover crop presence, cover crop species selection and fungicide seed treatment on corn seedling growth
Authors: Schenck Lara A. , Bakker Matthew G. , Moorman Thomas B. , Kaspar Thomas C. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractCover crops can offer erosion protection as well as soil and environmental quality benefits. Cereal rye (Secale cerealeL.) is the most commonly used winter cover crop in corn–soybean rotations in the upper Midwest of the USA because of its superior winter hardiness and growth at cool temperatures. Cereal rye cover crops, however, can occasionally have negative impacts on the yield of a following corn crop, which discourages broader adoption and introduces substantial risk for corn farmers employing cover crops. We hypothesized that because cereal rye shares some pathogens with corn, it may be causing increased disease in corn seedlings planted soon after cereal rye termination. To test this, we performed a series of experiments in a controlled environment chamber to assess the response of corn seedlings with and without a commercial fungicide seed treatment to the presence of cereal rye or other species of cover crops that were terminated with herbicide prior to corn planting. Our results indicate that under cool and wet conditions, cereal rye reduces corn seedling growth performance and increases incidence of corn seedling root disease. Fungicide seed treatment had limited efficacy in preventing these effects, perhaps because environmental conditions were set to be very conducive for disease development. However, hairy vetch (Vicia villosaRoth) and winter canola (Brassica napusL.) cover crops had fewer negative impacts on corn seedlings compared with cereal rye. Thus, to expand the practice of cover cropping before corn, it should become a research priority to develop alternative management practices to reduce the risk of corn seedling root infection following cereal rye cover crops. Over the longer term, testing, selection and breeding efforts should identify potential cover crop species or genotypes that are able to match the winter hardiness, growth at cool temperatures and the conservation and environmental quality benefits of cereal rye, while avoiding the potential for negative impacts on corn seedlings when environmental conditions are suitable for disease development.
TAK1 inhibition attenuates both inflammation and fibrosis in experimental pneumoconiosis
Authors: Li Jie , Liang Chao , Zhang Zong-Kang , Pan Xiaohua , Peng Songlin , Lee Wing-Sze , Lu Aiping , Lin Zhixiu , Zhang Ge , Leung Wing-Nang , Zhang Bao-Ting 
Published: July 2017

AbstractPneumoconiosis, caused by inhalation of mineral dusts, is a major occupational disease worldwide. Currently, there are no effective drugs owing to a lack of potential therapeutic targets during either the inflammation or fibrosis molecular events in pneumoconiosis. Here, we performed microarrays to identify aberrantly expressed genes in the above molecular events in vitro and found a hub gene transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), which was highly expressed and activated in pneumoconiosis patients as well as silica-exposed rats with experimental pneumoconiosis. Genetic modulation of TAK1 by CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9, RNA interference and overexpression indicated the important role of TAK1 in both inflammation and fibrosis in experimental pneumoconiosis. To achieve pharmacological TAK1 inhibition, we virtually screened out a natural product resveratrol, which targeted TAK1 at both N161 and A107 residues, and significantly inhibited TAK1 activation to attenuate inflammation and fibrosis in vitro. Consistently, in vivo prevention and intervention studies showed that resveratrol could inhibit pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in silica-exposed rats.
A volumetric three-dimensional digital light photoactivatable dye display
Authors: Patel Shreya K. , Cao Jian , Lippert Alexander R. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractVolumetric three-dimensional displays offer spatially accurate representations of images with a 360° view, but have been difficult to implement due to complex fabrication requirements. Herein, a chemically enabled volumetric 3D digital light photoactivatable dye display (3D Light PAD) is reported. The operating principle relies on photoactivatable dyes that become reversibly fluorescent upon illumination with ultraviolet light. Proper tuning of kinetics and emission wavelengths enables the generation of a spatial pattern of fluorescent emission at the intersection of two structured light beams. A first-generation 3D Light PAD was fabricated using the photoactivatable dye N-phenyl spirolactam rhodamine B, a commercial picoprojector, an ultraviolet projector and a custom quartz imaging chamber. The system displays a minimum voxel size of 0.68 mm3, 200 μm resolution and good stability over repeated ‘on-off’ cycles. A range of high-resolution 3D images and animations can be projected, setting the foundation for widely accessible volumetric 3D displays.
Somatic chromosomal engineering identifies BCAN-NTRK1 as a potent glioma driver and therapeutic target
Authors: Cook Peter J. , Thomas Rozario , Kannan Ram , de Leon Esther Sanchez , Drilon Alexander , Rosenblum Marc K. , Scaltriti Maurizio , Benezra Robert , Ventura Andrea 
Published: July 2017

AbstractThe widespread application of high-throughput sequencing methods is resulting in the identification of a rapidly growing number of novel gene fusions caused by tumour-specific chromosomal rearrangements, whose oncogenic potential remains unknown. Here we describe a strategy that builds upon recent advances in genome editing and combines ex vivo and in vivo chromosomal engineering to rapidly and effectively interrogate the oncogenic potential of genomic rearrangements identified in human brain cancers. We show that one such rearrangement, an microdeletion resulting in a fusion between Brevican (BCAN) and Neurotrophic Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 1 (NTRK1), is a potent oncogenic driver of high-grade gliomas and confers sensitivity to the experimental TRK inhibitor entrectinib. This work demonstrates that BCAN-NTRK1 is a bona fide human glioma driver and describes a general strategy to define the oncogenic potential of novel glioma-associated genomic rearrangements and to generate accurate preclinical models of this lethal human cancer.
Needle-free delivery of measles virus vaccine to the lower respiratory tract of non-human primates elicits optimal immunity and protection
Authors: de Swart Rik L. , de Vries Rory D. , Rennick Linda J. , van Amerongen Geert , McQuaid Stephen , Verburgh R. Joyce , Yüksel Selma , de Jong Alwin , Lemon Ken , Nguyen D. Tien , Ludlow Martin , Osterhaus Albert D. M. E. , Duprex W. Paul 
Published: July 2017

AbstractNeedle-free measles virus vaccination by aerosol inhalation has many potential benefits. The current standard route of vaccination is subcutaneous injection, whereas measles virus is an airborne pathogen. However, the target cells that support replication of live-attenuated measles virus vaccines in the respiratory tract are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to assess the in vivo tropism of live-attenuated measles virus and determine whether respiratory measles virus vaccination should target the upper or lower respiratory tract. Four groups of twelve cynomolgus macaques were immunized with 104 TCID50 of recombinant measles virus vaccine strain Edmonston-Zagreb expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein. The vaccine virus was grown in MRC-5 cells and formulated with identical stabilizers and excipients as used in the commercial MVEZ vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. Animals were immunized by hypodermic injection, intra-tracheal inoculation, intra-nasal instillation, or aerosol inhalation. In each group six animals were euthanized at early time points post-vaccination, whereas the other six were followed for 14 months to assess immunogenicity and protection from challenge infection with wild-type measles virus. At early time-points, enhanced green fluorescent protein-positive measles virus-infected cells were detected locally in the muscle, nasal tissues, lungs, and draining lymph nodes. Systemic vaccine virus replication and viremia were virtually absent. Infected macrophages, dendritic cells and tissue-resident lymphocytes predominated. Exclusive delivery of vaccine virus to the lower respiratory tract resulted in highest immunogenicity and protection. This study sheds light on the tropism of a live-attenuated measles virus vaccine and identifies the alveolar spaces as the optimal site for respiratory delivery of measles virus vaccine.
Genetic Polymorphisms and Platinum-based Chemotherapy Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Genetic Epidemiology Study Based Meta-analysis
Authors: Tan Li-Ming , Qiu Cheng-Feng , Zhu Tao , Jin Yuan-Xiang , Li Xi , Yin Ji-Ye , Zhang Wei , Zhou Hong-Hao , Liu Zhao-Qian 
Published: July 2017

AbstractData regarding genetic polymorphisms and platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) treatment outcomes in patients with NSCLC are published at a growing pace, but the results are inconsistent. This meta-analysis integrated eligible candidate genes to better evaluate the pharmacogenetics of PBC in NSCLC patients. Relevant studies were retrieved from PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and WANFANG databases. A total of 111 articles comprising 18,196 subjects were included for this study. The associations of genetic polymorphisms with treatment outcomes of PBC including overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were determined by analyzing the relative risk (RR), hazard ration (HR), corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Eleven polymorphisms in 9 genes, including ERCC1 rs11615 (OS), rs3212986 (ORR), XPA rs1800975 (ORR), XPD rs1052555 (OS, PFS), rs13181 (OS, PFS), XPG rs2296147 (OS), XRCC1 rs1799782 (ORR), XRCC3 rs861539 (ORR), GSTP1 rs1695 (ORR), MTHFR rs1801133 (ORR) and MDR1 rs1045642 (ORR), were found significantly associated with PBC treatment outcomes. These variants were mainly involved in DNA repair (EXCC1, XPA, XPD, XPG, XRCC1 and XRCC3), drug influx and efflux (MDR1), metabolism and detoxification (GSTP1) and DNA synthesis (MTHFR), and might be considered as potential prognostic biomarkers for assessing objective response and progression risk in NSCLC patients receiving platinum-based regimens.
Discovery of Novel Human Gene Regulatory Modules from Gene Co-expression and Promoter Motif Analysis
Authors: Ma Shisong , Snyder Michael , Dinesh-Kumar Savithramma P. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractDeciphering gene regulatory networks requires identification of gene expression modules. We describe a novel bottom-up approach to identify gene modules regulated by cis-regulatory motifs from a human gene co-expression network. Target genes of a cis-regulatory motif were identified from the network via the motif’s enrichment or biased distribution towards transcription start sites in the promoters of co-expressed genes. A gene sub-network containing the target genes was extracted and used to derive gene modules. The analysis revealed known and novel gene modules regulated by the NF-Y motif. The binding of NF-Y proteins to these modules’ gene promoters were verified using ENCODE ChIP-Seq data. The analyses also identified 8,048 Sp1 motif target genes, interestingly many of which were not detected by ENCODE ChIP-Seq. These target genes assemble into house-keeping, tissues-specific developmental, and immune response modules. Integration of Sp1 modules with genomic and epigenomic data indicates epigenetic control of Sp1 targets’ expression in a cell/tissue specific manner. Finally, known and novel target genes and modules regulated by the YY1, RFX1, IRF1, and 34 other motifs were also identified. The study described here provides a valuable resource to understand transcriptional regulation of various human developmental, disease, or immunity pathways.
Overstepping the upper refractive index limit to form ultra-narrow photonic nanojets
Authors: Gu Guoqiang , Song Jun , Liang Hongda , Zhao Mengjie , Chen Yue , Qu Junle 
Published: July 2017

AbstractIn general, photonic nanojets (PNJs) occur only when the refractive index (Ri) difference between the microparticle and background media is less than 2. The minimum full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the PNJ is ~130 nm (approximately one-third of the illumination wavelength λ = 400 nm) formed within the evanescent field region. This paper proposes and studies a method to overstep the Ri upper bound and generate ultra-narrow PNJs. Finite element method based numerical investigations and ray-optics theoretical analyses have realized ultra-narrow PNJs with FWHM as small as 114.7 nm (0.287 λ) obtained from an edge-cut, length-reduced and parabolic-profiled microparticle with Ri = 2.5 beyond evanescent decay length. Using simple strain or compression operations, sub-diffraction-limited PNJs can be flexibly tuned on the order of several wavelengths. Such ultra-narrow PNJs offer great prospects for optical nonlinearity enhancements of greater enhancing effect, optical nanoscopy of higher spatial resolution, optical microprobes of smaller measurement accuracy, nano/micro-sized sample detections of higher sensing sensitivity, nanoscale objects of more accurate control, advanced manufactures of smaller processing size, optical-disk storage of larger data capacity and all-optical switching of lower energy consumption.
The essential genomic landscape of the commensal Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003
Authors: Ruiz Lorena , Bottacini Francesca , Boinett Christine J. , Cain Amy K. , O’Connell-Motherway Mary , Lawley Trevor D. , van Sinderen Douwe 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBifidobacteria are common gut commensals with purported health-promoting effects. This has encouraged scientific research into bifidobacteria, though recalcitrance to genetic manipulation and scarcity of molecular tools has hampered our knowledge on the precise molecular determinants of their health-promoting attributes and gut adaptation. To overcome this problem and facilitate functional genomic analyses in bifidobacteria, we created a large Tn5 transposon mutant library of the commensal Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 that was further characterized by means of a Transposon Directed Insertion Sequencing (TraDIS) approach. Statistical analysis of transposon insertion distribution revealed a set of 453 genes that are essential for or markedly contribute to growth of this strain under laboratory conditions. These essential genes encode functions involved in the so-called bifid-shunt, most enzymes related to nucleotide biosynthesis and a range of housekeeping functions. Comparison to the Bifidobacterium and B. breve core genomes highlights a high degree of conservation of essential genes at the species and genus level, while comparison to essential gene datasets from other gut bacteria identified essential genes that appear specific to bifidobacteria. This work establishes a useful molecular tool for scientific discovery of bifidobacteria and identifies targets for further studies aimed at characterizing essential functions not previously examined in bifidobacteria.
Targeting Cellular Calcium Homeostasis to Prevent Cytokine-Mediated Beta Cell Death
Authors: Clark Amy L. , Kanekura Kohsuke , Lavagnino Zeno , Spears Larry D. , Abreu Damien , Mahadevan Jana , Yagi Takuya , Semenkovich Clay F. , Piston David W. , Urano Fumihiko 
Published: July 2017

AbstractPro-inflammatory cytokines are important mediators of islet inflammation, leading to beta cell death in type 1 diabetes. Although alterations in both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and cytosolic free calcium levels are known to play a role in cytokine-mediated beta cell death, there are currently no treatments targeting cellular calcium homeostasis to combat type 1 diabetes. Here we show that modulation of cellular calcium homeostasis can mitigate cytokine- and ER stress-mediated beta cell death. The calcium modulating compounds, dantrolene and sitagliptin, both prevent cytokine and ER stress-induced activation of the pro-apoptotic calcium-dependent enzyme, calpain, and partly suppress beta cell death in INS1E cells and human primary islets. These agents are also able to restore cytokine-mediated suppression of functional ER calcium release. In addition, sitagliptin preserves function of the ER calcium pump, sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA), and decreases levels of the pro-apoptotic protein thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP). Supporting the role of TXNIP in cytokine-mediated cell death, knock down of TXNIP in INS1-E cells prevents cytokine-mediated beta cell death. Our findings demonstrate that modulation of dynamic cellular calcium homeostasis and TXNIP suppression present viable pharmacologic targets to prevent cytokine-mediated beta cell loss in diabetes.