bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Symptom- and personality disorder changes in intensive short-term dynamic residential treatment for treatment-resistant anxiety and depressive disorders
Authors: Solbakken Ole André , Abbass Allan 
Published: February 2016

ObjectiveThe study investigated the effectiveness of an 8-week intensive residential treatment programme based on principles from intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy for patients with known treatment-resistant anxiety- and/or depressive disorders (mainly with comorbid personality disorders).MethodsPatients (N=95) with prior repeated treatment failure were included. Changes in self-reported target complaints, symptom severity, and overall interpersonal problems have been presented for these patients in two previous articles. We now expand upon the existing knowledge by presenting novel data from a number of important observer-based and self-reported outcome domains (diagnostic changes on Axis I and II, changes in overall personality dysfunction, disorder complexity, medication use, health care utilisation, and occupational activity).ResultsThere were pervasive and significant improvements on all measures during treatment, which were maintained or further improved during follow-up. Fourteen months after the end of treatment, 46.26% of patients had recovered in terms of Axis I pathology, 63.79% had recovered in terms of Axis II pathology, 71.18% had returned to work, and there was a 28.62% reduction in regular use of psychotropic medications. Health care utilisation was reduced by 65.55%, and there were large improvements in disorder complexity and levels of personality dysfunction.ConclusionThe treatment programme was highly effective for patients with common and complex treatment-resistant mental disorders. Results are encouraging for the relatively large number of patients who tend not to benefit from standard formats of treatment for debilitating psychological problems.
High serum carotenoids are associated with lower risk for developing elevated serum alanine aminotransferase among Japanese subjects: the Mikkabi cohort study
Authors: Sugiura Minoru , Nakamura Mieko , Ogawa Kazunori , Ikoma Yoshinori , Yano Masamichi 
Published: February 2016

AbstractMany recent studies have shown that antioxidant vitamins and/or carotenoids may reduce liver disease, but this association has not been well established with thorough longitudinal cohort studies. The objective of this study was to longitudinally investigate whether serum carotenoids at baseline are associated with the risk of developing elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) among Japanese subjects. We conducted a follow-up study of 1073 males and females aged between 30 and 79 years at baseline from the Mikkabi prospective cohort study. Those who participated in the baseline study and completed follow-up surveys were examined longitudinally. Exclusions included excessive alcohol consumption (≥60 g alcohol/d), hepatitis B and C and having a history of medication use for liver disease. A cohort of 213 males and 574 females free of elevated serum ALT (>30 IU/ml) at baseline was studied. Over a mean follow-up period of 7·4 (sd 3·1) years, thirty-one males and forty-nine females developed new elevated serum ALT. After adjustments for confounders, the hazard ratios for elevated serum ALT in the highest tertiles of basal serum β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and total provitamin A carotenoids against the lowest tertiles were 0·43 (95 % CI 0·22, 0·81), 0·51 (CI 0·27, 0·94) and 0·52 (CI 0·28, 0·97), respectively. For α-carotene and lycopene, borderline reduced risks were also observed; however, these were not significant. Our results further support the hypothesis that antioxidant carotenoids, especially provitamin A carotenoids, might help prevent earlier pathogenesis of non-alcoholic liver disease in Japanese subjects.
Pilot surveillance for childhood encephalitis in Australia using the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network
Authors: BRITTON P. N. , DALE R. C. , ELLIOTT E. , FESTA M. , MACARTNEY K. , BOOY R. , JONES C. A. 
Published: February 2016

SUMMARYWe aimed to assess the performance of active surveillance for hospitalized childhood encephalitis in New South Wales (NSW) using the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network to inform methodology for the nationwide Australian childhood encephalitis (ACE) study. We piloted active surveillance for suspected encephalitis from May to December 2013 at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW. Cases were ascertained using four screening methods: weekday nurse screening of admission records (PAEDS), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microscopy records, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports, and pharmacy dispensing records. Comprehensive clinical data were prospectively collected on consented participants and subsequently reviewed by an expert panel. Cases were categorized as confirmed encephalitis or ‘not encephalitis’; encephalitis cases were sub-categorized as infectious, immune-mediated or unknown. We performed an ICD-10 diagnostic code audit of hospitalizations for the pilot period. We compared case ascertainment in the four screening methods and with the ICD code audit. Forty-eight cases of suspected encephalitis were identified by one or more methods. PAEDS was the most efficient mechanism (yield 34%), followed by MRI, CSF, and pharmacy audits (yield 14%, 12%, and 7% respectively). Twenty-five cases met the criteria for confirmed encephalitis. PAEDS was the most sensitive of the mechanisms for confirmed encephalitis (92%) with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 72%. The ICD audit was moderately sensitive (64%) but poorly specific (Sp 9%, PPV 14%). Of the 25 confirmed encephalitis cases, 19 (76%) were sub-categorized as infectious, three (12%) were immune-mediated, and three (12%) were ‘unknown’. We identified encephalitis cases associated with two infectious disease outbreaks (enterovirus 71, parechovirus 3). PAEDS is an efficient, sensitive and accurate surveillance mechanism for detecting cases of childhood encephalitis including those associated with emerging infectious diseases. Active surveillance significantly increases the ascertainment of encephalitis cases compared with passive approaches.
Functional Analysis of the Chloroplast Division Complex UsingSchizosaccharomyces pombeas a Heterologous Expression System
Authors: TerBush Allan D. , Porzondek Chris A. , Osteryoung Katherine W. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractChloroplast division is driven by a macromolecular complex that assembles at the midplastid. The FtsZ ring (Z ring) is the central structure in this complex, and is composed of the functionally distinct cytoskeletal proteins FtsZ1 and FtsZ2. Recent studies in the heterologousSchizosaccharomyces pombesystem showed that Arabidopsis FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 filaments have distinct assembly and turnover characteristics. To further analyze these FtsZs, we employed this system to compare the assembly and dynamic properties of FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 lacking their N- and/or C-termini with those of their full-length counterparts. Our data provide evidence that the N-terminus of FtsZ2 is critical for its structural dominance over FtsZ1, and that the N- and C-termini promote polymer bundling and turnover of both FtsZs and contribute to their distinct behaviors. We also assessed how ARC6 affects FtsZ2 filament dynamics, and found that it interacts with and stabilizes FtsZ2 filaments inS. pombeindependent of its presumed Z-ring tethering functionin planta. Finally, we generated FtsZ1-FtsZ2 coexpression constructs to facilitate reconstitution of more complex interaction networks. Our experiments yield new insight into factors influencing FtsZ behavior and highlight the utility ofS. pombefor analyzing chloroplast FtsZs and their assembly regulators.
THE MEAN CURVATURE EQUATION ON SEMIDIRECT PRODUCTS : HEIGHT ESTIMATES AND SCHERK-LIKE GRAPHS
Authors: RAMOS ÁLVARO KRÜGER 
Published: February 2016

In the ambient space of a semidirect product $\mathbb{R}^{2}\rtimes _{A}\mathbb{R}$, we consider a connected domain ${\rm\Omega}\subseteq \mathbb{R}^{2}\rtimes _{A}\{0\}$. Given a function $u:{\rm\Omega}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, its ${\it\pi}$-graph is $\text{graph}(u)=\{(x,y,u(x,y))\mid (x,y,0)\in {\rm\Omega}\}$. In this paper we study the partial differential equation that $u$ must satisfy so that $\text{graph}(u)$ has prescribed mean curvature $H$. Using techniques from quasilinear elliptic equations we prove that if a ${\it\pi}$-graph has a nonnegative mean curvature function, then it satisfies some uniform height estimates that depend on ${\rm\Omega}$ and on the supremum the function attains on the boundary of ${\rm\Omega}$. When $\text{trace}(A)>0$, we prove that the oscillation of a minimal graph, assuming the same constant value $n$ along the boundary, tends to zero when $n\rightarrow +\infty$ and goes to $+\infty$ if $n\rightarrow -\infty$. Furthermore, we use these estimates, allied with techniques from Killing graphs, to prove the existence of minimal ${\it\pi}$-graphs assuming the value zero along a piecewise smooth curve ${\it\gamma}$ with endpoints $p_{1},\,p_{2}$ and having as boundary ${\it\gamma}\cup (\{p_{1}\}\times [0,\,+\infty ))\cup (\{p_{2}\}\times [0,\,+\infty ))$.
NC10 bacteria in marine oxygen minimum zones
Authors: Padilla Cory C , Bristow Laura A , Sarode Neha , Garcia-Robledo Emilio , Gómez Ramírez Eddy , Benson Catherine R , Bourbonnais Annie , Altabet Mark A , Girguis Peter R , Thamdrup Bo , Stewart Frank J 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Bacteria of the NC10 phylum link anaerobic methane oxidation to nitrite denitrification through a unique O2-producing intra-aerobic methanotrophy pathway. A niche for NC10 in the pelagic ocean has not been confirmed. We show that NC10 bacteria are present and transcriptionally active in oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) off northern Mexico and Costa Rica. NC10 16S rRNA genes were detected at all sites, peaking in abundance in the anoxic zone with elevated nitrite and methane concentrations. Phylogenetic analysis of particulate methane monooxygenase genes further confirmed the presence of NC10. rRNA and mRNA transcripts assignable to NC10 peaked within the OMZ and included genes of the putative nitrite-dependent intra-aerobic pathway, with high representation of transcripts containing the unique motif structure of the nitric oxide (NO) reductase of NC10 bacteria, hypothesized to participate in O2-producing NO dismutation. These findings confirm pelagic OMZs as a niche for NC10, suggesting a role for this group in OMZ nitrogen, methane and oxygen cycling.
Near-field photocurrent nanoscopy on bare and encapsulated graphene
Authors: Woessner Achim , Alonso-González Pablo , Lundeberg Mark B. , Gao Yuanda , Barrios-Vargas Jose E. , Navickaite Gabriele , Ma Qiong , Janner Davide , Watanabe Kenji , Cummings Aron W. , Taniguchi Takashi , Pruneri Valerio , Roche Stephan , Jarillo-Herrero Pablo , Hone James , Hillenbrand Rainer , Koppens Frank H. L. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractOptoelectronic devices utilizing graphene have demonstrated unique capabilities and performances beyond state-of-the-art technologies. However, requirements in terms of device quality and uniformity are demanding. A major roadblock towards high-performance devices are nanoscale variations of the graphene device properties, impacting their macroscopic behaviour. Here we present and apply non-invasive optoelectronic nanoscopy to measure the optical and electronic properties of graphene devices locally. This is achieved by combining scanning near-field infrared nanoscopy with electrical read-out, allowing infrared photocurrent mapping at length scales of tens of nanometres. Using this technique, we study the impact of edges and grain boundaries on the spatial carrier density profiles and local thermoelectric properties. Moreover, we show that the technique can readily be applied to encapsulated graphene devices. We observe charge build-up near the edges and demonstrate a solution to this issue.
Impact of ribonucleotide incorporation by DNA polymerases β and λ on oxidative base excision repair
Authors: Crespan Emmanuele , Furrer Antonia , Rösinger Marcel , Bertoletti Federica , Mentegari Elisa , Chiapparini Giulia , Imhof Ralph , Ziegler Nathalie , Sturla Shana J. , Hübscher Ulrich , van Loon Barbara , Maga Giovanni 
Published: February 2016

AbstractOxidative stress is a very frequent source of DNA damage. Many cellular DNA polymerases (Pols) can incorporate ribonucleotides (rNMPs) during DNA synthesis. However, whether oxidative stress-triggered DNA repair synthesis contributes to genomic rNMPs incorporation is so far not fully understood. Human specialized Pols β and λ are the important enzymes involved in the oxidative stress tolerance, acting both in base excision repair and in translesion synthesis past the very frequent oxidative lesion 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxo-G). We found that Pol β, to a greater extent than Pol λ can incorporate rNMPs opposite normal bases or 8-oxo-G, and with a different fidelity. Further, the incorporation of rNMPs opposite 8-oxo-G delays repair by DNA glycosylases. Studies in Pol β- and λ-deficient cell extracts suggest that Pol β levels can greatly affect rNMP incorporation opposite oxidative DNA lesions.
Neurogenesis-mediated forgetting minimizes proactive interference
Authors: Epp Jonathan R. , Silva Mera Rudy , Köhler Stefan , Josselyn Sheena A. , Frankland Paul W. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractEstablished memories may interfere with the encoding of new memories, particularly when existing and new memories overlap in content. By manipulating levels of hippocampal neurogenesis, here we show that neurogenesis regulates this form of proactive interference. Increasing hippocampal neurogenesis weakens existing memories and, in doing so, facilitates the encoding of new, conflicting (but not non-conflicting) information in mice. Conversely, decreasing neurogenesis stabilizes existing memories, and impedes the encoding of new, conflicting information. These results suggest that reduced proactive interference is an adaptive benefit of neurogenesis-induced forgetting.
Quantifying Lgr5-positive stem cell behaviour in the pyloric epithelium
Authors: Leushacke Marc , Barker Nick , Pin Carmen 
Published: February 2016

AbstractUsing in-vivo lineage tracing data we quantified clonal expansion as well as proliferation and differentiation of the Lgr5-positive stem cell population in pyloric gastric glands. Fitting clone expansion models, we estimated that there are five effective Lgr5-positive cells able to give rise to monoclonal glands by replacing each other following a pattern of neutral drift dynamics. This analysis is instrumental to assess stem cell performance; however, stem cell proliferation is not quantified by clone expansion analysis. We identified a suitable mathematical model to quantify proliferation and differentiation of the Lgr5-positive population. As expected for populations in steady-state, the proliferation rate of the Lgr5-positive population was equal to its rate of differentiation. This rate was significantly faster than the rate at which effective cells are replaced, estimated by modelling clone expansion/contraction. This suggests that the majority of Lgr5-positive cell divisions serve to renew epithelial cells and only few result in the effective replacement of a neighbour to effect expansion to the entire gland. The application of the model under altered situations with uncoupled differentiation and proliferation was demonstrated. This methodology represents a valuable tool for quantifying stem cell performance in homeostasis and importantly for deciphering altered stem cell behaviour in disease.
Human colorectal mucosal microbiota correlates with its host niche physiology revealed by endomicroscopy
Authors: Wang Ai-Hua , Li Ming , Li Chang-Qing , Kou Guan-Jun , Zuo Xiu-Li , Li Yan-Qing 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe human gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of health, but how the microbiota interacts with the host at the colorectal mucosa is poorly understood. We proposed that confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) might help to untangle this relationship by providing in vivo physiological information of the mucosa. We used CLE to evaluate the in vivo physiology of human colorectal mucosa, and the mucosal microbiota was quantified using 16 s rDNA pyrosequencing. The human mucosal microbiota agglomerated to three major clusters dominated by Prevotella, Bacteroides and Lactococcus. The mucosal microbiota clusters did not significantly correlate with the disease status or biopsy sites but closely correlated with the mucosal niche physiology, which was non-invasively revealed by CLE. Inflammation tilted two subnetworks within the mucosal microbiota. Infiltration of inflammatory cells significantly correlated with multiple components in the predicted metagenome, such as the VirD2 component of the type IV secretory pathway. Our data suggest that a close correlation exists between the mucosal microbiota and the colorectal mucosal physiology, and CLE is a clinically available tool that can be used to facilitate the study of the in vivo correlation between colorectal mucosal physiology and the mucosal microbiota.
Unravelling Site-Specific Photo-Reactions of Ethanol on Rutile TiO2(110)
Authors: Hansen Jonas Ø. , Bebensee Regine , Martinez Umberto , Porsgaard Soeren , Lira Estephania , Wei Yinying , Lammich Lutz , Li Zheshen , Idriss Hicham , Besenbacher Flemming , Hammer Bjørk , Wendt Stefan 
Published: February 2016

AbstractFinding the active sites of catalysts and photo-catalysts is crucial for an improved fundamental understanding and the development of efficient catalytic systems. Here we have studied the photo-activated dehydrogenation of ethanol on reduced and oxidized rutile TiO2(110) in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Utilizing scanning tunnelling microscopy, various spectroscopic techniques and theoretical calculations we found that the photo-reaction proceeds most efficiently when the reactants are adsorbed on regular Ti surface sites, whereas species that are strongly adsorbed at surface defects such as O vacancies and step edges show little reaction under reducing conditions. We propose that regular Ti surface sites are the most active sites in photo-reactions on TiO2.
Complex patterns arise through spontaneous symmetry breaking in dense homogeneous networks of neural oscillators
Authors: Singh Rajeev , Menon Shakti N. , Sinha Sitabhra 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThere has been much interest in understanding collective dynamics in networks of brain regions due to their role in behavior and cognitive function. Here we show that a simple, homogeneous system of densely connected oscillators, representing the aggregate activity of local brain regions, can exhibit a rich variety of dynamical patterns emerging via spontaneous breaking of permutation or translational symmetries. Upon removing just a few connections, we observe a striking departure from the mean-field limit in terms of the collective dynamics, which implies that the sparsity of these networks may have very important consequences. Our results suggest that the origins of some of the complicated activity patterns seen in the brain may be understood even with simple connection topologies.
PS341 inhibits hepatocellular and colorectal cancer cells through the FOXO3/CTNNB1 signaling pathway
Authors: Yang Zhao , Liu Shengwu , Zhu Mingao , Zhang Hong , Wang Ji , Xu Qian , Lin Kaisu , Zhou Xiumin , Tao Min , Li Chong , Zhu Hong 
Published: February 2016

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) are among the most common cancers across the world. Particularly, a large number of patients with CRC also have liver metastasis. Currently, there are just a few targeted drugs against these two kinds of tumors which can only benefit a very small population of patients. Therefore, the need of more effective therapeutic drugs or strategies for these two types of cancers is urgent. PS341 (Bortezomib) is the first proteasome inhibitor drug which has been approved in clinical treatment for multiple myeloma. Here we demonstrated that PS341 negatively regulated HCC and CRC both in vitro and in vivo, including the inhibition of cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the expression of stemness-related genes, cell migration and invasiveness. Mechanically, PS341 upregulated the expression of FOXO3, which inhibited the transcriptional activation of CTNNB1. The downregualtion of CTNNB1 led to apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and the inhibition of migration, invasion, self-renewal and tumor formation of these two cancer types. In sum, our findings shed light on the PS341 mediated targeted therapy against both HCC and CRC in the future.
Biliverdin targets enolase and eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) to reduce the growth of intraerythrocytic development of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Alves Eduardo , Maluf Fernando V. , Bueno Vânia B. , Guido Rafael V. C. , Oliva Glaucius , Singh Maneesh , Scarpelli Pedro , Costa Fahyme , Sartorello Robson , Catalani Luiz H. , Brady Declan , Tewari Rita , Garcia Celia R. S. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractIn mammals, haem degradation to biliverdin (BV) through the action of haem oxygenase (HO) is a critical step in haem metabolism. The malaria parasite converts haem into the chemically inert haemozoin to avoid toxicity. We discovered that the knock-out of HO in P. berghei is lethal; therefore, we investigated the function of biliverdin (BV) and haem in the parasite. Addition of external BV and haem to P. falciparum-infected red blood cell (RBC) cultures delays the progression of parasite development. The search for a BV molecular target within the parasites identified P. falciparum enolase (Pf enolase) as the strongest candidate. Isothermal titration calorimetry using recombinant full-length Plasmodium enolase suggested one binding site for BV. Kinetic assays revealed that BV is a non-competitive inhibitor. We employed molecular modelling studies to predict the new binding site as well as the binding mode of BV to P. falciparum enolase. Furthermore, addition of BV and haem targets the phosphorylation of Plasmodium falciparum eIF2α factor, an eukaryotic initiation factor phosphorylated by eIF2α kinases under stress conditions. We propose that BV targets enolase to reduce parasite glycolysis rates and changes the eIF2α phosphorylation pattern as a molecular mechanism for its action.
In-situ and real-time growth observation of high-quality protein crystals under quasi-microgravity on earth
Authors: Nakamura Akira , Ohtsuka Jun , Kashiwagi Tatsuki , Numoto Nobutaka , Hirota Noriyuki , Ode Takahiro , Okada Hidehiko , Nagata Koji , Kiyohara Motosuke , Suzuki Ei-ichiro , Kita Akiko , Wada Hitoshi , Tanokura Masaru 
Published: February 2016

AbstractPrecise protein structure determination provides significant information on life science research, although high-quality crystals are not easily obtained. We developed a system for producing high-quality protein crystals with high throughput. Using this system, gravity-controlled crystallization are made possible by a magnetic microgravity environment. In addition, in-situ and real-time observation and time-lapse imaging of crystal growth are feasible for over 200 solution samples independently. In this paper, we also report results of crystallization experiments for two protein samples. Crystals grown in the system exhibited magnetic orientation and showed higher and more homogeneous quality compared with the control crystals. The structural analysis reveals that making use of the magnetic microgravity during the crystallization process helps us to build a well-refined protein structure model, which has no significant structural differences with a control structure. Therefore, the system contributes to improvement in efficiency of structural analysis for “difficult” proteins, such as membrane proteins and supermolecular complexes.