bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
VEGF-B promotes recovery of corneal innervations and trophic functions in diabetic mice
Authors: Di Guohu , Zhao Xiaowen , Qi Xia , Zhang Songmei , Feng Lu , Shi Weiyun , Zhou Qingjun 
Published: January 2017

AbstractVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-B possesses the capacity of promoting injured peripheral nerve regeneration and restore their sensory and trophic functions. However, the contribution and mechanism of VEGF-B in diabetic peripheral neuropathy remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the expression and role of VEGF-B in diabetic corneal neuropathy by using type 1 diabetic mice and cultured trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons. Hyperglycemia attenuated the endogenous expression of VEGF-B in regenerated diabetic corneal epithelium, but not that of VEGF receptors in diabetic TG neurons and axons. Exogenous VEGF-B promoted diabetic corneal nerve fiber regeneration through the reactivation of PI-3K/Akt-GSK3β-mTOR signaling and the attenuation of neuronal mitochondria dysfunction via the VEGF receptor-1 and neuropilin-1. Moreover, VEGF-B improved corneal sensation and epithelial regeneration in both normal and diabetic mice, accompanied with the elevated corneal content of pigment epithelial-derived factor (PEDF). PEDF blockade partially abolished trophic function of VEGF-B in diabetic corneal re-innervation. In conclusion, hyperglycemia suppressed endogenous VEGF-B expression in regenerated corneal epithelium of diabetic mice, while exogenous VEGF-B promoted recovery of corneal innervations and trophic functions through reactivating PI-3K/Akt-GSK-3β-mTOR signaling, attenuating neuronal oxidative stress and elevating PEDF expression.
Mitotic catastrophe is a putative mechanism underlying the weak correlation between sensitivity to carbon ions and cisplatin
Authors: Kobayashi Daijiro , Oike Takahiro , Shibata Atsushi , Niimi Atsuko , Kubota Yoshiki , Sakai Makoto , Amornwhichet Napapat , Yoshimoto Yuya , Hagiwara Yoshihiko , Kimura Yuka , Hirota Yuka , Sato Hiro , Isono Mayu , Yoshida Yukari , Kohno Takashi , Ohno Tatsuya , Nakano Takashi 
Published: January 2017

AbstractIn cancer therapy today, carbon ion radiotherapy is used mainly as monotherapy, whereas cisplatin is used concomitantly with X-ray radiotherapy. The effectiveness of concomitant carbon ions and cisplatin is unclear. To obtain the information on the mechanisms potentially shared between carbon ions or X-rays and cisplatin, we assessed the correlation of sensitivity to the single treatments. In 20 human cancer cell lines, sensitivity to X-rays strongly correlated with sensitivity to cisplatin, indicating the presence of potentially shared target mechanisms. Interestingly, the correlation of sensitivity to carbon ions and cisplatin was much weaker than that of sensitivity to X-rays and cisplatin, indicating the presence of potentially different target mechanisms between carbon ions and cisplatin. Assessment of clonogenic cell death by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride staining showed that mitotic catastrophe was more efficiently induced by carbon ions than by the same physical dose of X-rays, while apoptosis and senescence were not. These data indicate that the correlation of sensitivity to carbon ions and cisplatin is weaker than that of sensitivity to X-rays and cisplatin, which are helpful as biological basis to understand the potentially shared mechanism among these treatments. Further investigation is mandatory to elucidate the clinical efficacy of carbon ions and cisplatin combination.
Brain Structural Differences between Normal and Obese Adults and their Links with Lack of Perseverance, Negative Urgency, and Sensation Seeking
Authors: Wang Haifeng , Wen Baohong , Cheng Jingliang , Li Hongpeng 
Published: January 2017

AbstractIn order to examine the difference in brain structure between obese and normal weight individuals, and to explore the relationship between the neuroanatomical changes and impulsivity traits, this study used a voxel-based morphometry method to examine gray matter (GM) volume alterations related to impulsive personality traits in obese individuals relative to normal weight. Eighty adults that completed the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale were analyzed. Possible GM volume alterations were first analyzed at the whole brain level, and then the relationship between regional GM volume differences and UPPS-P scores were examined in selected regions of interest. Reduced GM volumes were found in the frontal and limbic regions in the obese group compared to normal weight individuals. In the normal weight group, lack of perseverance was negatively correlated with GM volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, and negative urgency was negatively correlated with GM volume in the insula. In the obese group, sensation seeking was negatively correlated with GM volume in the left amygdala and right pallidum. These findings might improve our understanding of the relationship between lack of perseverance, negative urgency, and sensation seeking and body weight fluctuations.
The same oculomotor vermal Purkinje cells encode the different kinematics of saccades and of smooth pursuit eye movements
Authors: Sun Zongpeng , Smilgin Aleksandra , Junker Marc , Dicke Peter W. , Thier Peter 
Published: January 2017

AbstractSaccades and smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are two types of goal-directed eye movements whose kinematics differ profoundly, a fact that may have contributed to the notion that the underlying cerebellar substrates are separated. However, it is suggested that some Purkinje cells (PCs) in the oculomotor vermis (OMV) of monkey cerebellum may be involved in both saccades and SPEM, a puzzling finding in view of the different kinematic demands of the two types of eye movements. Such ‘dual’ OMV PCs might be oddities with little if any functional relevance. On the other hand, they might be representatives of a generic mechanism serving as common ground for saccades and SPEM. In our present study, we found that both saccade- and SPEM-related responses of individual PCs could be predicted well by linear combinations of eye acceleration, velocity and position. The relative weights of the contributions that these three kinematic parameters made depended on the type of eye movement. Whereas in the case of saccades eye position was the most important independent variable, it was velocity in the case of SPEM. This dissociation is in accordance with standard models of saccades and SPEM control which emphasize eye position and velocity respectively as the relevant controlled state variables.
Identification of misexpressed genetic elements in hybrids between Drosophila-related species
Authors: Lopez-Maestre Hélène , Carnelossi Elias A. G. , Lacroix Vincent , Burlet Nelly , Mugat Bruno , Chambeyron Séverine , Carareto Claudia M. A. , Vieira Cristina 
Published: January 2017

AbstractCrosses between close species can lead to genomic disorders, often considered to be the cause of hybrid incompatibility, one of the initial steps in the speciation process. How these incompatibilities are established and what are their causes remain unclear. To understand the initiation of hybrid incompatibility, we performed reciprocal crosses between two species of Drosophila (D. mojavensisandD. arizonae) that diverged less than 1 Mya. We performed a genome-wide transcriptomic analysis on ovaries from parental lines and on hybrids from reciprocal crosses. Using an innovative procedure of co-assembling transcriptomes, we show that parental lines differ in the expression of their genes and transposable elements. Reciprocal hybrids presented specific gene categories and few transposable element families misexpressed relative to the parental lines. Because TEs are mainly silenced by piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), we hypothesize that in hybrids the deregulation of specific TE families is due to the absence of such small RNAs. Small RNA sequencing confirmed our hypothesis and we therefore propose that TEs can indeed be major players of genome differentiation and be implicated in the first steps of genomic incompatibilities through small RNA regulation.
Geological support for the Umbrella Effect as a link between geomagnetic field and climate
Authors: Kitaba Ikuko , Hyodo Masayuki , Nakagawa Takeshi , Katoh Shigehiro , Dettman David L. , Sato Hiroshi 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe weakening of the geomagnetic field causes an increase in galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux. Some researchers argue that enhanced GCR flux might lead to a climatic cooling by increasing low cloud formation, which enhances albedo (umbrella effect). Recent studies have reported geological evidence for a link between weakened geomagnetic field and climatic cooling. However, more work is needed on the mechanism of this link, including whether the umbrella effect is playing a central role. In this research, we present new geological evidence that GCR flux change had a greater impact on continental climate than on oceanic climate. According to pollen data from Osaka Bay, Japan, the decrease in temperature of the Siberian air mass was greater than that of the Pacific air mass during geomagnetic reversals in marine isotope stages (MIS) 19 and 31. Consequently, the summer land-ocean temperature gradient was smaller, and the summer monsoon was weaker. Greater terrestrial cooling indicates that a reduction of insolation is playing a key role in the link between the weakening of the geomagnetic field and climatic cooling. The most likely candidate for the mechanism seems to be the increased albedo of the umbrella effect.
Temporal dynamics of cerebellar and motor cortex physiological processes during motor skill learning
Authors: Spampinato D. , Celnik P. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractLearning motor tasks involves distinct physiological processes in the cerebellum (CB) and primary motor cortex (M1). Previous studies have shown that motor learning results in at least two important neurophysiological changes: modulation of cerebellar output mediated in-part by long-term depression of parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse and induction of long-term plasticity (LTP) in M1, leading to transient occlusion of additional LTP-like plasticity. However, little is known about the temporal dynamics of these two physiological mechanisms during motor skill learning. Here we use non-invasive brain stimulation to explore CB and M1 mechanisms during early and late motor skill learning in humans. We predicted that early skill acquisition would be proportional to cerebellar excitability (CBI) changes, whereas later stages of learning will result in M1 LTP-like plasticity modifications. We found that early, and not late into skill training, CBI changed. Whereas, occlusion of LTP-like plasticity over M1 occurred only during late, but not early training. These findings indicate a distinct temporal dissociation in the physiological role of the CB and M1 when learning a novel skill. Understanding the role and temporal dynamics of different brain regions during motor learning is critical to device optimal interventions to augment learning.
Urinary profiles of luteinizing hormone, estrogen and progestagen during the estrous and gestational periods in giant pandas (Ailuropda melanoleuca)
Authors: Cai Kailai , Yie Shangmian , Zhang Zhihe , Wang Juan , Cai Zhigang , Luo Li , Liu Yuliang , Wang Hairui , Huang He , Wang Chengdong , Huang Xiangming , Lan Jingchao , Hou Rong 
Published: January 2017

AbstractLuteinizing hormone (LH) is one of the main pituitary hormones that regulate ovulation, however its role has not been studied in giant panda. In this study, we developed an ELISA method for the detection of panda urinary LH. We analyzed urinary hormones of 24 female pandas during 36 breeding periods, we found females could easily be impregnated if the first mating occurred within 10 hours after LH peak. We also found the patterns of the ratios of urinary LH and progestagen in pandas that bred and successfully gave birth were significantly different from those that bred but failed to give birth. These data was the first to provide the urinary LH profiles during the estrous and gestational periods in pandas, and demonstrated that the appearance of the urinary LH peak indicated the timing of ovulation. The LH detection together with estrogen analysis makes the window for successful mating narrower than previously reported. Moreover, detection of urinary LH and progestagen can be used to discriminate between pregnancies and pseudopregnancies/miscarriages in the species. Thus, our findings suggest that LH not only plays a critical role in regulating ovulation but also plays an important role in maintaining pregnancy in the giant panda.
The role of magnetic fields in the structure and interaction of supershells
Authors: Ntormousi Evangelia , Dawson Joanne R. , Hennebelle Patrick , Fierlinger Katharina 
Published: January 2017

Context. Large-scale shocks formed by clustered feedback of young OB stars are considered an important source of mechanical energy for the interstellar medium (ISM) and a trigger of molecular cloud formation. Their interaction sites are locations where kinetic energy and magnetic fields are redistributed between ISM phases.
Aims. In this work we address two questions, both involving the role of galactic magnetic fields in the dynamics of supershells and their interactions. On the one hand, we study the effect of the magnetic field on the expansion and fragmentation of supershells and, on the other hand, we look for the signatures of supershell collisions on dense structures and on the kinetic and magnetic energy distribution of the ISM.
Methods. We performed a series of high-resolution, three-dimensional simulations of colliding supershells. The shocks are created by time-dependent feedback and evolve in a diffuse turbulent environment that is either unmagnetized or has different initial magnetic field configurations.
Results. In the hydrodynamical situation, the expansion law of the superbubbles is consistent with the radius-time relation R ∝ t3/5 that is theoretically predicted for wind-blown bubbles. The supershells fragment over their entire surface into small dense clumps that carry more than half of the total kinetic energy in the volume. However, this is not the case when a magnetic field is introduced, either in the direction of the collision or perpendicular to the collision. In both situations, the shell surfaces are more stable to dynamical instabilities. When the magnetic field opposes the collision, the expansion law of the supershells also becomes significantly flatter than in the hydrodynamical case. Although a two-phase medium arises in all cases, in the magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations the cold phase is limited to lower densities and the cold clumps are located further away from the shocks with respect to the hydrodynamical simulations.
Conclusions. For the parameters we explored, self-gravity has no effect on either the superbubble expansion or the shock fragmentation. In contrast, a magnetic field, whether mostly parallel or mostly perpendicular to the collision axis, causes a deceleration of the shocks, deforms them significantly, and largely suppresses the formation of the dense gas on their surface. The result is a multi-phase medium in which the cold clumps are not spatially correlated with the supershells.
The Lowland Kenyah posterior implosives
Authors: Blust Robert 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
The Kenyah languages of central Borneo form a distinct unit within the North Sarawak group of Austronesian languages. In northern Sarawak there is a well-defined contrast between types that have been called ‘Highland Kenyah’ and ‘Lowland Kenyah’. A key difference between these sets of closely-related languages is the reflexes of Proto-North Sarawak/Proto-Kenyah *b, *d, *j, *g and *bh, *dh, *jh, *gh, which are distinguished (usually as b, d, j, g vs. p, t, c, k) in Highland Kenyah, but show a complex set of innovations in some varieties of Lowland Kenyah. The most striking of these changes in the dialect spoken by the Lebu’ Vu’ Kenyah at Long Sela’an and Long Ikang, and the Long Tikan Kenyah at Long San, is the shift of voiced aspirates to phonetic implosives that were generalized to the reflexes of *b, *d, *j, *g as final syllable onsets, leading to merger of the two series. Because it was conditioned, this merger produced complementation between [b]/[ɓ], [ɟ]/[ʄ], and [g]/[ɠ] (*d lenited before implosion was generalized, preventing merger). Most remarkably, the reduction of Proto-Kenyah nasal-obstruent clusters in these dialects has begun to produce new instances of [ɟ] and [g], but not [b] and [d], creating contrastive implosives only at palatal and velar positions, a reversal of the distributional preference commonly associated with implosive stops in cross-linguistic perspective.
Beauty, the social network
Authors: Lopes Dominic McIver 
Published: January 2017

AbstractAesthetic values give agents reasons to perform not only acts of contemplation, but also acts like editing, collecting, and conserving. Moreover, aesthetic agents rarely operate solo: they conduct their business as integral members of networks of other aesthetic agents. The consensus theory of aesthetic value, namely that an item’s aesthetic value is its power to evoke a finally valuable experience in a suitable spectator, can explain neither the range of acts performed by aesthetic agents nor the social contexts in which they operate. This paper proposes a new theory of aesthetic value specifically to explain facts about the sociality of aesthetic agents.
What’s wrong with human extinction?
Authors: Finneron-Burns Elizabeth 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThis paper explores what could be wrong with the fact of human extinction. I first present four reasons why we might consider human extinction to be wrong: (1) it would prevent millions of people from being born; (2) it would mean the loss of rational life and civilization; (3) it would cause existing people to suffer pain or death; (4) it would involve various psychological traumas. I argue that looking at the question from a contractualist perspective, only reasons (3) and (4) are admissible. I then consider what implications this limitation on reasons has for the wrongfulness of various forms of human extinction.
How should utilitarians think about the future?
Authors: Mulgan Tim 
Published: January 2017

AbstractUtilitarians must think collectively about the future because many contemporary moral issues require collective responses to avoid possible future harms. But current rule utilitarianism does not accommodate the distant future. Drawing on my recent booksFuture PeopleandEthics for a Broken World, I defend a new utilitarianism whose central ethical question is: What moral code should we teach the next generation? This new theory honours utilitarianism’s past and provides the flexibility to adapt to the full range of credible futures – from futures broken by climate change to the digital, virtual and predictable futures produced by various possible technologies.
Welcome to Phytobiomes
Authors: Young Carolyn A. , Kinkel Linda 
Published: January 2017

In 2014, members of The American Phytopathological Society (APS) began to consider strategically the ways in which the accelerating flow of diverse types of complex data are fundamentally changing the ways in which we study, think about, and manage plant systems. Advancing technical capacities to generate plant, microbial and other organismal ‘omics’, environmental, and data produced at very fine spatial scales, coupled with expanding capabilities to integrate data across diverse scales of space and time, are providing novel insights into the networks of interaction that mediate plant productivity. In response to these enormous advances in technical capacities, APS created a Phytobiomes Initiative to chart a path forward. In 2015, APS brought together a diverse community of scientists in Washington DC for a strategically timed meeting to spearhead a new paradigm for crop improvement focusing on phytobiome-based approaches. The success of the human microbiome project paved the way, challenging us to push the boundaries to expand our knowledge of sustainable agriculture to meet the demands of feeding the growing global population. This meeting was instrumental in clarifying the vision of phytobiomes research, encapsulating systems-level understanding of diverse interacting components spanning multiple disciplines, species, and environments. To fully appreciate the breadth of scope of the Phytobiomes Initiative, we encourage you to review the Phytobiomes Roadmap ( http://www.phytobiomes.org/roadmap ), released in March 2016. The Phytobiomes journal was launched as an integral but independent part of the Phytobiomes Initiative. The Phytobiomes journal provides an international platform for fundamental, translational, and integrated research that accomplishes the overarching objective of offering a new vision for agriculture in which sustainable crop productivity is achieved through a systems-level understanding of the diverse interacting components of the phytobiome. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY Attribution 4.0 International license .
Tunable Genotyping-By-Sequencing (tGBS®) Enables Reliable Genotyping of Heterozygous Loci
Authors: Ott Alina , Liu Sanzhen , Schnable James C. , Yeh Cheng-Ting “Eddy” , Wang Cassy , Schnable Patrick S. 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACTMost Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) strategies suffer from high rates of missing data and high error rates, particularly at heterozygous sites. Tunable genotyping-by-sequencing (tGBS®), a novel genome reduction method, consists of the ligation of single-strand oligos to restriction enzyme fragments. DNA barcodes are added during PCR amplification; additional (selective) nucleotides included at the 3’-end of the PCR primers result in more genome reduction as compared to conventional GBS methods. By adjusting the number of selective bases different numbers of genomic sites can be targeted for sequencing. Because this genome reduction strategy concentrates sequencing reads on fewer sites, SNP calls are based on more reads than conventional GBS, resulting in higher SNP calling accuracy (>97-99%) even for heterozygous sites and less missing data per marker. tGBS genotyping is expected to be particularly useful for genomic selection, which requires the ability to genotype populations of individuals that are heterozygous at many loci.
A Change-point Analysis Method for Single-trial Study of Simultaneous EEG-fMRI of Auditory/Visual Oddball Task
Authors: Dizaji Aslan S , Soltanian-Zadeh Hamid 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACTSimultaneous EEG-fMRI has been vastly used to investigate functional networks of brain combining high spatial resolution (millimeter) of fMRI with high temporal resolution (millisecond) of EEG. However, to extract the most relevant information from the acquired data, it is necessary to develop analysis methods with less ad hoc assumptions. To this end, brain rhythms are often used which are the specific frequency-bands of EEG signal and assumed to represent diverse sub-second cognitive processes at different parts of the cortex. Furthermore, single-trial analysis of EEG is believed to show more realistic picture of ongoing and event-related activities of brain. Here, we present a nonparametric multiple change-point detection and estimation method for the single-trial analysis of simultaneous EEG-fMRI experiment recorded during auditory and visual oddball tasks. In a simple attention task like oddball, the frontal cortex of brain is responsible to distinguish and respond appropriately to target versus standard events. By using EEG signal at the frontal cortex, we show that the α-band activity changes according to “inhibition timing” hypothesis and the β-band activity is in line with “maintaining the status quo” hypothesis. Furthermore, using these activities to build regressors in the GLM analysis of fMRI, we localize active brain regions with high spatial and temporal resolutions and elaborate further on the coordination of attentional networks across brain.