bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvement in bladder dysfunction after bladder transplantation of amniotic fluid stem cells in diabetic rats
Authors: Liang Ching-Chung , Shaw Sheng-Wen Steven , Huang Yung-Hsin , Lin Yi-Hao , Lee Tsong-Hai 
Published: January 2018

AbstractTo examine the effects of human amniotic fluid stem cells (hAFSCs) transplantation on bladder function and molecular changes in diabetic rats, 60 female Sprague-Dawley rats were used for study. Three groups were assigned including sham control rats, streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg/kg)-induced diabetic rats and STZ-induced diabetic rats plus bladder hAFSCs transplantation. Compared to controls, diabetic rats had decreased body weight but increased bladder weight. Cystometries showed non-voiding contraction, residual volume, voided volume and intercontraction interval increased significantly in diabetic rats at week 4 and 12 after DM induction, but improved after hAFSCs transplantation. The immunoreactivities and mRNAs of nerve growth factor (NGF) decreased significantly in diabetic bladder at week 4 and 12 after DM induction, but recovered after hAFSCs transplantation. The immunoreactivities and mRNAs of M2 and M3 muscarinic receptor increased significantly in diabetic bladder at week 4 after DM induction but recovered after hAFSCs transplantation. The immunoreactivity of 8-hydroxy-20-deoxyguanosine increased significantly in diabetic bladder at week 4 and 12 after DM induction but reduced after hAFSCs transplantation. The present study showed bladder dysfunction in STZ-induced diabetic rats could be improved by hAFSCs transplantation into bladder, which may be related to the recovery of bladder NGF and muscarinic receptors.
Erythropoietin Signaling Increases Choroidal Macrophages and Cytokine Expression, and Exacerbates Choroidal Neovascularization
Authors: Bretz Colin A. , Divoky Vladimir , Prchal Josef , Kunz Eric , Simmons Aaron B. , Wang Haibo , Hartnett Mary Elizabeth 
Published: January 2018

AbstractErythropoietin (EPO) is recognized for neuroprotective and angiogenic effects and has been associated with aging and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We hypothesized that systemic EPO facilitates the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Wild type mice expressed murine EPOR (mWtEPOR) in RPE/choroids at baseline and had significantly increased serum EPO after laser treatment. To test the role of EPO signaling, we used human EPOR knock-in mice with the mWtEPOR gene replaced by either the human EPOR gene (hWtEPOR) or a mutated human EPOR gene (hMtEPOR) in a laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (LCNV) model. Loss-of-function hWtEPOR mice have reduced downstream activation, whereas gain-of-function hMtEPOR mice have increased EPOR signaling. Compared to littermate controls (mWtEPOR), hMtEPOR with increased EPOR signaling developed larger CNV lesions. At baseline, hMtEPOR mice had increased numbers of macrophages, greater expression of macrophage markers F4/80 and CD206, and following laser injury, had greater expression of cytokines CCL2, CXCL10, CCL22, IL-6, and IL-10 than mWtEPOR controls. These data support a hypothesis that injury from age- and AMD-related changes in the RPE/choroid leads to choroidal neovascularization through EPOR-mediated cytokine production.
Pharmaceutical compounding of aflibercept in prefilled syringes does not affect structural integrity, stability or VEGF and Fc binding properties
Authors: Sivertsen Magne Sand , Jørstad Øystein Kalsnes , Grevys Algirdas , Foss Stian , Moe Morten Carstens , Andersen Jan Terje 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMacular edema due to neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetes or retinal vein occlusion can cause central vision loss. Intravitreal treatment with antibody-based biopharmaceutical compounds designed to neutralize vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has proven to be an efficient strategy to ameliorate macular edema and restore visual acuity. At the same time, the use of anti-VEGF drugs places an economic burden on the health care system; the drugs are expensive, and repeated injections are usually required to maintain the therapeutic effect. Thus, there is an unmet need for more cost-effective procedures. We here describe how the most recently approved anti-VEGF drug, aflibercept, can be compounded into prefilled sterile syringes and stored for up to 4 weeks without compromising its quality, stability or functional properties, including VEGF and neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) binding. The novel compounding method for repackaging of aflibercept in sterile plastic syringes can greatly reduce both cost and time spent per patient in the injection room.
Effects of blood glucose level on 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake for PET/CT in normal organs: an analysis on 5623 patients
Authors: Sprinz Clarice , Zanon Matheus , Altmayer Stephan , Watte Guilherme , Irion Klaus , Marchiori Edson , Hochhegger Bruno 
Published: January 2018

AbstractOur purpose was to evaluate the effect of glycemia on 18F-FDG uptake in normal organs of interest. The influences of other confounding factors, such as body mass index (BMI), diabetes, age, and sex, on the relationships between glycemia and organ-specific standardized uptake values (SUVs) were also investigated. We retrospectively identified 5623 consecutive patients who had undergone clinical PET/CT for oncological indications. Patients were stratified into groups based on glucose levels, measured immediately before 18F-FDG injection. Differences in mean SUVmax values among glycemic ranges were clinically significant only when >10% variation was observed. The brain was the only organ that presented a significant inverse relationship between SUVmax and glycemia (p < 0.001), even after controlling for diabetic status. No such difference was observed for the liver or lung. After adjustment for sex, age, and BMI, the association of glycemia with SUVmax was significant for the brain and liver, but not for the lung. In conclusion, the brain was the only organ analyzed showing a clinically significant relationship to glycemia after adjustment for potentially confounding variables. The lung was least affected by the variables in our model, and may serve as an alternative background tissue to the liver.
Multi-slice ptychographic tomography
Authors: Li Peng , Maiden Andrew 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPtychography is a form of Coherent Diffractive Imaging, where diffraction patterns are processed by iterative algorithms to recover an image of a specimen. Although mostly applied in two dimensions, ptychography can be extended to produce three dimensional images in two ways: via multi-slice ptychography or ptychographic tomography. Ptychographic tomography relies on 2D ptychography to supply projections to conventional tomographic algorithms, whilst multi-slice ptychography uses the redundancy in ptychographic data to split the reconstruction into a series of axial slices. Whilst multi-slice ptychography can handle multiple-scattering thick specimens and has a much smaller data requirement than ptychographic tomography, its depth resolution is relatively poor. Here we propose an imaging modality that combines the benefits of the two approaches, enabling isotropic 3D resolution imaging of thick specimens with a small number of angular measurements. Optical experiments validate our proposed method.
Determination of Ochratoxin A contamination in grapes, processed grape products and animal-derived products using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy system
Authors: Wei Dongmei , Wu Xiaohu , Xu Jun , Dong Fengshou , Liu Xingang , Zheng Yongquan , Ji Mingshan 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWe developed a sensitive and rapid analytical method to determine the level of Ochratoxin A contamination in grapes, processed grape products and in foods of animal origin (a total of 11 different food matrices). A pretreatment that followed a “quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe” protocol was optimized to extract Ochratoxin A from the matrices, and the extracted Ochratoxin A was then detected with the use of a highly sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system. Good linearities of Ochratoxin A were obtained in the range of 0.1–500 µg L−1 (correlation coefficient (R2) > 0.9994 in each case). Mean recovery from the 11 matrices ranged from 70.3 to 114.7%, with a relative standard deviation ≤19.2%. The method is easy to use and yields reliable results for routine determination of Ochratoxin A in food products of grape and animal origin. In store-purchased foods and foods obtained from the field and wholesale suppliers, the Ochratoxin A concentration ranged from undetectable to 10.14 µg kg−1, with the more contaminated samples being mainly those of processed grape products. Our results indicate that the necessity for regulation of and supervision during the processing of grape products.
Dietary glucoraphanin prevents the onset of psychosis in the adult offspring after maternal immune activation
Authors: Matsuura Akiko , Ishima Tamaki , Fujita Yuko , Iwayama Yoshimi , Hasegawa Shunsuke , Kawahara-Miki Ryouka , Maekawa Motoko , Toyoshima Manabu , Ushida Yusuke , Suganuma Hiroyuki , Kida Satoshi , Yoshikawa Takeo , Iyo Masaomi , Hashimoto Kenji 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMaternal immune activation (MIA) contributes to behavioral abnormalities relevant to schizophrenia in adult offspring, although the molecular mechanisms underlying MIA-induced behavioral changes remain unclear. Here we demonstrated that dietary intake of glucoraphanin (GF), the precursor of a natural antioxidant sulforaphane, during juvenile and adolescent stages prevented cognitive deficits and loss of parvalbumin (PV) immunoreactivity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of adult offspring after MIA. Gene set enrichment analysis by RNA sequencing showed that MIA caused abnormal expression of centrosome-related genes in the PFC and hippocampus of adult offspring, and that dietary intake of GF improved these abnormal gene expressions. Particularly, MIA increased the expression of suppressor of fermentation-induced loss of stress resistance protein 1 (Sfi1) mRNA in the PFC and hippocampus of adult offspring, and dietary intake of GF prevented the expression of Sfi1 mRNA in these regions. Interestingly, we found altered expression of SFI1 in the postmortem brains and SFI1 mRNA in hair follicle cells from patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. Overall, these data suggest that centrosome-related genes may play a role in the onset of psychosis in offspring after MIA. Therefore, dietary intake of GF-rich vegetables in high-risk psychosis subjects may prevent the transition to psychosis in young adulthood.
Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is identified as a potential biomarker of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle
Authors: Lee Woojung , Lee Hyo Jung , Jang Han Byul , Kim Hyo-Jin , Ban Hyo-Jeong , Kim Kwang Youl , Nam Moon Suk , Choi Joo Sun , Lee Kyung-Tae , Cho Seong Beom , Park Sang Ick , Lee Hye-Ja 
Published: January 2018

AbstractTo unravel metabolic determinats of insulin resistance, we performed a targeted metabolomics analysis in Korean Children-Adolescent Cohort Study (KoCAS, n = 430). Sixty-seven metabolites were associated with insulin resistance in adolescents and the association also found in an adult population (KoGES, n = 2,485). Functional interactions of metabolites with gene/proteins using biological pathway with insulin resistance were not identified biological significance and regulatory effects of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). However, ADMA showed a higher association with adolescent obesity (P < 0.001) and adult diabetes (P = 0.007) and decreased after obesity intervention program. Functional studies in cellular and mouse models demonstrated that an accumulation of ADMA is associated with the regulation of obesity-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. ADMA treatment inhibited dimethylarginine-dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) activity and mRNA expression in insulin resistance muscle cell. Moreover, the treatment led to decrease of phosphorylation of insulin receptor (IR), AKT, and GLUT4 but increase of protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). Accordingly, increased ADMA significantly inhibited glucose uptake in myotube cell. We suggest that accumulation of ADMA is associated with modulation of insulin signaling and insulin resistance. ADMA might expand the possibilities of new therapeutic target for functional and clinical implications in the control of energy and metabolic homeostasis in humans.
Dynamic single-cell NAD(P)H measurement reveals oscillatory metabolism throughout the E. coli cell division cycle
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Milias-Argeitis Andreas , Heinemann Matthias 
Published: January 2018

AbstractRecent work has shown that metabolism between individual bacterial cells in an otherwise isogenetic population can be different. To investigate such heterogeneity, experimental methods to zoom into the metabolism of individual cells are required. To this end, the autofluoresence of the redox cofactors NADH and NADPH offers great potential for single-cell dynamic NAD(P)H measurements. However, NAD(P)H excitation requires UV light, which can cause cell damage. In this work, we developed a method for time-lapse NAD(P)H imaging in single E. coli cells. Our method combines a setup with reduced background emission, UV-enhanced microscopy equipment and optimized exposure settings, overall generating acceptable NAD(P)H signals from single cells, with minimal negative effect on cell growth. Through different experiments, in which we perturb E. coli’s redox metabolism, we demonstrated that the acquired fluorescence signal indeed corresponds to NAD(P)H. Using this new method, for the first time, we report that intracellular NAD(P)H levels oscillate along the bacterial cell division cycle. The developed method for dynamic measurement of NAD(P)H in single bacterial cells will be an important tool to zoom into metabolism of individual cells.
Cinacalcet use and the risk of cardiovascular events, fractures and mortality in chronic kidney disease patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Evans Marie , Methven Shona , Gasparini Alessandro , Barany Peter , Birnie Kate , MacNeill Stephanie , May Margaret T. , Caskey Fergus J. , Carrero Juan-Jesus 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWith the aim to expand the randomized controlled trial evidence of cinacalcet treatment to the unselected, general chronic kidney disease (CKD) population we analysed a large inception cohort of CKD patients in the region of Stockholm, Sweden 2006–2012 (both non-dialysis, dialysis and transplanted) with evidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). We used marginal structural models to account for both confounding by indication and time-dependent confounding. Over 37 months, 435/3,526 (12%) initiated cinacalcet de novo. Before cinacalcet initiation, parathyroid hormone (PTH) had increased progressively to a median of 636ng/L. After cinacalcet initiation, PTH declined, as did serum calcium and phosphate. In total, 42% of patients experienced a fatal/non-fatal cardiovascular event, 32% died and 9% had a new fracture. The unadjusted cardiovascular odds ratio (OR) associated with cinacalcet treatment was 1.01 (95% confidence interval: 0.83, 1.22). In the fully weighted model, the cardiovascular odds was lower in cinacalcet treated patients (OR 0.67: 0.48, 0.93). The adjusted ORs for all-cause mortality and for fractures were 0.79 (0.56, 1.11) and 1.08 (0.59, 1.98) respectively. Our study suggests cinacalcet treatment improves biochemical abnormalities in the wider CKD population, and adds real-world support that treating SHPT with cinacalcet may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular outcomes.
A joint matrix minimization approach for seismic wavefield recovery
Authors: Wang Liping , Wang Yanfei 
Published: January 2018

AbstractReconstruction of the seismic wavefield from sub-sampled data is important and necessary in seismic image processing; this is partly due to limitations of the observations which usually yield incomplete data. To make the best of the observed seismic signals, we propose a joint matrix minimization model to recover the seismic wavefield. Employing matrix instead of vector as weight variable can express all the sub-sampled traces simultaneously. This scheme utilizes the collective representation rather than an individual one to recover a given set of sub-samples. The matrix model takes the interrelation of the multiple observations into account to facilitate recovery, for example, the similarity of the same seismic trace and distinctions of different ones. Hence anl2,p(0 < p ≤ 1)-regularized joint matrix minimization is formulated which has some computational challenges especially whenpis in (0, 1). For solving the involved matrix optimization problem, a unified algorithm is developed and the convergence analysis is accordingly demonstrated for a range of parameters. Numerical experiments on synthetic and field data examples exhibit the efficient performance of the joint technique. Both reconstruction accuracy and computational cost indicate that the new strategy achieves good performance in seismic wavefield recovery and has potential for practical applications.
ATP-dependent conformational change in ABC-ATPase RecF serves as a switch in DNA repair
Authors: Tang Qun , Liu Yan-Ping , Shan Hai-Huan , Tian Li-Fei , Zhang Jie-Zhong , Yan Xiao-Xue 
Published: January 2018

AbstractRecF is a principal member of the RecF pathway. It interacts with RecO and RecR to initiate homologous recombination by loading RecA recombinases on single-stranded DNA and displacing single-stranded DNA-binding proteins. As an ATP-binding cassette ATPase, RecF exhibits ATP-dependent dimerization and structural homology with Rad50 and SMC proteins. However, the mechanism and action pattern of RecF ATP-dependent dimerization remains unclear. Here, We determined three crystal structures of TTERecF, TTERecF-ATP and TTERecF-ATPɤS from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis that reveal a novel ATP-driven RecF dimerization. RecF contains a positively charged tunnel on its dimer interface that is essential to ATP binding. Our structural and biochemical data indicate that the Walker A motif serves as a switch and plays a key role in ATP binding and RecF dimerization. Furthermore, Biolayer interferometry assay results showed that the TTERecF interacted with ATP and formed a dimer, displaying a higher affinity for DNA than that of the TTERecF monomer. Overall, our results provide a solid structural basis for understanding the process of RecF binding with ATP and the functional mechanism of ATP-dependent RecF dimerization.
MiR-26a-5p regulates cardiac fibroblasts collagen expression by targeting ULK1
Authors: Zheng Liling , Lin Sihuang , Lv Chengyu 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMiRNA is a class of small non-coding RNA which has an important effect on posttranscriptional gene regulation. It can regulate the expression of the target gene at the mRNA level and further influence the protein level of the target gene. We found that ULK1 may be the target gene of miR-26a-5p, and ULK1 (unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1) is a key component in autophagy pathway. In this study, we overexpressed miR-26a-5p by transfecting miR-26a-5p mimic into cells and simultaneously inhibited miR-26a-5p by transfecting miR-26a-5p inhibitor into cells. We demonstrated that overexpression of miR-26a-5p can reduce the expression of ULK1 and collagen I, and decrease the activation of LC3-I to LC3-II. In contrast, inhibition of miR-26a-5p can increase the expression of ULK1 and collagen I, and increase the activation of LC3-I to LC3-II. The Dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-26a-5p directly acted on the 3′UTR of ULK1 and thus affected the expression of ULK1. As such, our study demonstrated that miR-26a-5p might regulate the autophagy in cardiac fibroblasts by targeting ULK1, which may have an effect on cardiac fibrosis. To our knowledge, this is the first study that shows miR-26a-5p regulates the autophagic pathway in cardiac fibroblasts.
Observation of Time Reversed Light Propagation by an Exchange of Eigenstates
Authors: Wimmer Martin , Peschel Ulf 
Published: January 2018

AbstractAs time flow dictates all evolution, its effective reversal is a topic of active research in a broad range of disciplines, including acoustics, hydrodynamics and optics. This multifarious set of environments is reflected by a great diversity of approaches to observe various echoes of wave functions. Here, we experimentally demonstrate time reversal of a pulse sequence propagating through a photonic mesh lattice realized by two coupled loops of telecommunication fibres. Our system features a symmetric band structure, which allows for almost perfect reversal of its evolution by exchanging the population between two opposing bands. The protocol applied is based on a non-adiabatic and instantaneous exchange of eigenstates resulting in highly efficient time reversal of a pulse chain.
Growth and structural characterisation of Sr-doped Bi2Se3 thin films
Authors: Wang Meng , Zhang Dejiong , Jiang Wenxiang , Li Zhuojun , Han Chaoqun , Jia Jinfeng , Li Jixue , Qiao Shan , Qian Dong , Tian He , Gao Bo 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWe grew Sr-doped Bi2Se3 thin films using molecular beam epitaxy, and their high quality was verified using transmission electron microscopy. The thin films exhibited weak antilocalisation behaviours in magneto-resistance measurements, a typical transport signature of topological insulators, but were not superconducting. In addition, the carrier densities of the non-superconducting thin-film samples were similar to those of their superconducting bulk counterparts. Atom-by-atom energy-dispersive X-ray mapping also revealed similar Sr doping structures in the bulk and thin-film samples. Because no qualitative distinction between non-superconducting thin-film and superconducting bulk samples had been found, we turned to a quantitative statistical analysis, which uncovered a key structural difference between the bulk and thin-film samples. The separation between Bi layers in the same quintuple layer was compressed whereas that between the closest Bi layers in two neighbouring quintuple layers was expanded in the thin-film samples compared with the separations in pristine bulk Bi2Se3. In marked contrast, the corresponding changes in the bulk doped samples showed opposite trends. These differences may provide insight into the absence of superconductivity in doped topological insulator thin films.
Oral delivery of siRNA lipid nanoparticles: Fate in the GI tract
Authors: Ball Rebecca L. , Bajaj Palak , Whitehead Kathryn A. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractOral delivery, a patient-friendly means of drug delivery, is preferred for local administration of intestinal therapeutics. Lipidoid nanoparticles, which have been previously shown to deliver siRNA to intestinal epithelial cells, have potential to treat intestinal disease. It is unknown, however, whether the oral delivery of these particles is possible. To better understand the fate of lipid nanoparticles in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, we studied delivery under deconstructed stomach and intestinal conditions in vitro. Lipid nanoparticles remained potent and stable following exposure to solutions with pH values as low as 1.2. Efficacy decreased following exposure to “fed”, but not “fasting” concentrations of pepsin and bile salts. The presence of mucin on Caco-2 cells also reduced potency, although this effect was mitigated slightly by increasing the percentage of PEG in the lipid nanoparticle. Mouse biodistribution studies indicated that siRNA-loaded nanoparticles were retained in the GI tract for at least 8 hours. Although gene silencing was not initially observed following oral LNP delivery, confocal microscopy confirmed that nanoparticles entered the epithelial cells of the mouse small intestine and colon. Together, these data suggest that orally-delivered LNPs should be protected in the stomach and upper intestine to promote siRNA delivery to intestinal epithelial cells.