bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hearing and seeing meaning in noise: Alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations predict gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension
Authors: Drijvers Linda , Özyürek Asli , Jensen Ole 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDuring face‐to‐face communication, listeners integrate speech with gestures. The semantic information conveyed by iconic gestures (e.g., a drinking gesture) can aid speech comprehension in adverse listening conditions. In this magnetoencephalography (MEG) study, we investigated the spatiotemporal neural oscillatory activity associated with gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension. Participants watched videos of an actress uttering clear or degraded speech, accompanied by a gesture or not and completed a cued‐recall task after watching every video. When gestures semantically disambiguated degraded speech comprehension, an alpha and beta power suppression and a gamma power increase revealed engagement and active processing in the hand‐area of the motor cortex, the extended language network (LIFG/pSTS/STG/MTG), medial temporal lobe, and occipital regions. These observed low‐ and high‐frequency oscillatory modulations in these areas support general unification, integration and lexical access processes during online language comprehension, and simulation of and increased visual attention to manual gestures over time. All individual oscillatory power modulations associated with gestural enhancement of degraded speech comprehension predicted a listener's correct disambiguation of the degraded verb after watching the videos. Our results thus go beyond the previously proposed role of oscillatory dynamics in unimodal degraded speech comprehension and provide first evidence for the role of low‐ and high‐frequency oscillations in predicting the integration of auditory and visual information at a semantic level.
Chemical and thyroid hormone profile of the bone marrow interstitial fluid in hematologic disorders and patients without primary hematologic disorders
Authors: Krashin Eilon , Ellis Martin , Cohen Keren , Viner Maya , Neumark Eran , Rashid Gloria , Ashur‐Fabian Osnat 
Published: January 2018

AbstractBone marrow interstitial fluid (BMIF) has not been well characterized. BMIF was isolated from 60 patients including plasma cell dyscrasias (PCD, n = 33), other primary hematologic disorders (OHD, n = 15), and patients with secondary or nonhemtologic disorders (NHD, n = 12) and analyzed for an array of chemical constituents. These included total cholesterol, glucose, phosphate, creatinine, urea, total protein, albumin, globulins, total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, sodium, osmolarity, free triiodothyronine (free T3), total triiodothyronine (total T3), and free tetraiodothyronine (free T4). Levels of BMIF components were compared between patient groups and to plasma levels. Compared with plasma, total cholesterol, total protein, total bilirubin, sodium, and calculated osmolarity were lower in BMIF in all groups (P < 0.05). Calculated globulins and aspartate aminotransferase were lower in BMIF of PCD patients and patients with NHD. Albumin was lower in BMIF of patients with PCD and patients with OHD. Lastly, free T4 was significantly higher in BMIF of patients with PCD and patients with OHD. Similar results were demonstrated in a separate analysis performed in patients with multiple myeloma. To conclude, the chemical and thyroid hormone composition of BMIF differs significantly from plasma in several key constituents.
Testing for nonlinear unit roots in the presence of a structural break with an application to the qualified PPP during the 1997 Asian financial crisis
Authors: Habimana Olivier , Månsson Kristofer , Sjölander Pär 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis paper applies Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the size and power properties in the presence of a structural break, for the standard Augmented Dickey‐Fuller (ADF) test versus nonlinear exponential smooth transition autoregressive unit root tests. The break causes the tests to be undersized, and the statistical power considerably decreases. Moreover, the effect is intensified in small samples and very much increased for more persistent nonlinear series. As a remedy, we modify the standard ADF and exponential smooth transition autoregressive unit root tests in order to adjust for a structural break. This improves both the power and the size considerably, even though the empirical size still is lower than the nominal one. More persistent series are more affected by structural breaks, and the new tests are most powerful under the existence of a rather persistent nonlinear data generating process (which is an empirically relevant and common type of data generating process). The proposed tests are applied to investigate mean reversion in the real effective exchange rates of 5 East and Southeast Asian countries, taking into account the structural change in exchange rate regime brought about by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The empirical findings corroborate our simulation results; the modified more powerful tests are able to reject the unit root in all 5 countries, whereas the tests that do not consider the structural break could only reject in one of these cases.
Electron microscopy of Drosophila garland cell nephrocytes: Optimal preparation, immunostaining and STEM tomography
Authors: Hochapfel Florian , Denk Lucia , Maaßen Christine , Zaytseva Yulia , Rachel Reinhard , Witzgall Ralph , Krahn Michael P. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDue to its structural and molecular similarities to mammalian podocytes, the Drosophila nephrocyte emerged as a model system to study podocyte development and associated diseases. Similar to podocytes, nephrocytes establish a slit diaphragm between foot process‐like structures in order to filter the hemolymph. One major obstacle in nephrocyte research is the distinct visualization of this subcellular structure to assess its integrity. Therefore, we developed a specialized dissection and fixation protocol, including high pressure freezing and freeze substitution techniques, to improve the preservation of the intricate ultrastructural details necessary for electron microscopic assessment. By means of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography, a three‐dimensional dataset was generated to further understand the complex architecture of the nephrocyte channel system. Moreover, a staining protocol for immunolabeling of ultrathin sections of Epon‐embedded nephrocytes is discussed, which allows the reliable detection of GFP‐tagged fusion proteins combined with superior sample preservation. Due to the growing number of available GFP‐trap fly lines, this approach is widely applicable for high resolution localization studies in wild type and mutant nephrocytes.
Spontaneous up‐regulation of SIRT1 during osteogenesis contributes to stem cells’ resistance to oxidative stress
Authors: Li Mao , Yan Jinku , Chen Xi , Tam Whitney , Zhou Long , Liu Tao , Pan Guoqing , Lin Jun , Yang Huilin , Pei Ming , He Fan 
Published: January 2018

AbstractOsteogenic differentiation of bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM‐MSCs) is a central event in bone formation. However, oxidative stress has a deleterious impact on BM‐MSC osteogenesis. In this study, we hypothesized that oxidative stress influenced BM‐MSC osteogenesis differently in the early or late stages, in which silent information regulator type 1 (SIRT1) played a critical role. A continuous exposure to sublethal concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ranging from 25 to 100 µM for 21 days, resulted in the complete inhibition of BM‐MSC osteogenesis. We found that a 7‐day treatment with H2O2 inhibited the lineage commitment of BM‐MSCs toward osteoblasts, as evidenced by a significant reduction of alkaline phosphatase activity (a typical marker for early osteogenesis). However, moderate oxidative stress did not affect late‐differentiated BM‐MSCs, as there were comparable levels of matrix mineralization (a typical marker for late osteogenesis). In addition, we observed a spontaneous up‐regulation of SIRT1 and intracellular antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase 2, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase 1, which accounted for the enhanced resistance to oxidative stress upon osteogenic differentiation. Activation of SIRT1 by resveratrol rescued the effect of H2O2 on early‐differentiated BM‐MSCs and inhibition of SIRT1 by nicotinamide intensified the effect of H2O2 on late‐differentiated BM‐MSCs, indicating that the SIRT1‐mediated pathway was actively involved in MSC osteogenesis and antioxidant mechanisms. Our findings uncovered the relationship between SIRT1 and resistance to H2O2‐induced oxidative stress during BM‐MSC osteogenesis, which could provide a new strategy for protecting MSCs from extracellular oxidative stress.
A novel cell line generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology as universal quality control material for KRAS G12V mutation testing
Authors: Jia Shiyu , Zhang Rui , Lin Guigao , Peng Rongxue , Gao Peng , Han Yanxi , Fu Yu , Ding Jiansheng , Wu Qisheng , Zhang Kuo , Xie Jiehong , Li Jinming 
Published: January 2018

BackgroundKRAS mutations are the key indicator for EGFR monoclonal antibody‐targeted therapy and acquired drug resistance, and their accurate detection is critical to the clinical decision‐making of colorectal cancer. However, no proper quality control material is available for the current detection methods, particularly next‐generation sequencing (NGS). The ideal quality control material for NGS needs to provide both the tumor mutation gene and the matched background genomic DNA, which is uncataloged in public databases, to accurately distinguish germline polymorphisms and somatic mutations.MethodsWe developed a novel KRAS G12V mutant cell line using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9) technique to make up for the deficiencies in existing quality control material and further validated the feasibility of the cell line as quality control material by amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS), Sanger sequencing, digital PCR (dPCR), and NGS.ResultsWe verified that the edited cell line specifically had the G12V mutation, and the validation results presented a high consistency among the four methods of detection. The three cell lines screened contained the G12V mutation and the mutation allele fractions of G12V‐1, G12V‐2, and G12V‐3 were 52.01%, 82.06%, and 17.29%, respectively.ConclusionThe novel KRAS G12V cell line generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system is suitable as a quality control material for all current detection methods and provides a new direction in the development of quality control material.
Ubiquinol treatment for TBI in male rats: Effects on mitochondrial integrity, injury severity, and neurometabolism
Authors: Pierce Janet D. , Gupte Raeesa , Thimmesch Amanda , Shen Qiuhua , Hiebert John B. , Brooks William M. , Clancy Richard L. , Diaz Francisco J. , Harris Janna L. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractFollowing traumatic brain injury (TBI), there is significant secondary damage to cerebral tissue from increased free radicals and impaired mitochondrial function. This imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the effectiveness of cellular antioxidant defenses is termed oxidative stress. Often there are insufficient antioxidants to scavenge ROS, leading to alterations in cerebral structure and function. Attenuating oxidative stress following a TBI by administering an antioxidant may decrease secondary brain injury, and currently many drugs and supplements are being investigated. We explored an over‐the‐counter supplement called ubiquinol (reduced form of coenzyme Q10), a potent antioxidant naturally produced in brain mitochondria. We administered intra‐arterial ubiquinol to rats to determine if it would reduce mitochondrial damage, apoptosis, and severity of a contusive TBI. Adult male F344 rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) Saline‐TBI, (2) ubiquinol 30 minutes before TBI (UB‐PreTBI), or (3) ubiquinol 30 minutes after TBI (UB‐PostTBI). We found when ubiquinol was administered before or after TBI, rats had an acute reduction in brain mitochondrial damage, apoptosis, and two serum biomarkers of TBI severity, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C‐terminal hydrolase‐L1 (UCH‐L1). However, in vivo neurometabolic assessment with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy did not show attenuated injury‐induced changes. These findings are the first to show that ubiquinol preserves mitochondria and reduces cellular injury severity after TBI, and support further study of ubiquinol as a promising adjunct therapy for TBI.
Raman spectrum of ethane in methane environment
Authors: Petrov Dmitry V. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractChanges are investigated in the positions, half‐widths, and intensities of the Q‐branches of the main ethane Raman bands (ν3, 2ν6, 2ν2, 2ν8, and ν1) in the methane/ethane mixture depending on methane concentration at the fixed pressure of 25 bar. It was found that with increasing methane fraction, the above‐mentioned ethane Raman bands, with the exception of ν3, are shifted to the high wavenumbers, and the bands of 2ν8/ν1 Fermi doublet demonstrate a violation of the linear dependence of the intensity on the concentration. The data obtained will be useful for diagnostics of natural gas composition using Raman spectroscopy.
Emergency Department Patient Perceptions of Transvaginal Ultrasound for Complications of First‐Trimester Pregnancy
Authors: Panebianco Nova , Shofer Frances , O'Conor Katie , Wihbey Tristan , Mulugeta Lakeisha , Baston Cameron M , Suzuki Evan , Alghamdi Adel , Dean Anthony 
Published: January 2018

ObjectivesEmergency department (ED) transvaginal ultrasound (US) is underused in clinical practice. This study assessed pregnant women's perceptions of ED transvaginal US in terms of pain, embarrassment, anxiety, and willingness to receive the procedure. Secondary variables include physicians' perceptions of patients' experiences.MethodsWomen undergoing US examinations for complications of first‐trimester pregnancy were prospectively surveyed before any US and after ED and/or radiology transvaginal US. Patients' and physicians' assessments of pain, embarrassment, and anxiety were measured with visual analog scales (0–100).ResultsA total of 398 women were enrolled. In the pre‐US survey, the median anxiety score was 14 (interquartile range, 3–51), and 96% of patients were willing to have an ED transvaginal US if necessary. Of those who had ED transvaginal US, 96% would agree to have another examination. Patients reported minimal pain/embarrassment, and there was no difference if performed in the ED versus radiology (median pain, 11.5 versus 13; P = .433; median embarrassment, 7 versus 4; P = .345). Of the 48 who had both ED and radiology transvaginal US, 85% thought the ED transvaginal US was worthwhile. Physicians accurately assessed patient's embarrassment and pain (mean differences, 3.5 and –1.9, respectively; P > .25 for both); however, they overestimated them relative to the pelvic examination (mean difference for embarrassment, 12.8; P < .0001; pain, 8.0; P = .01).ConclusionsPregnant ED patients report low levels of anxiety, pain, and embarrassment, and after ED transvaginal US, 96% would agree to have the examination again. There is no difference in pain/embarrassment between ED and radiology transvaginal US. Emergency department physicians accurately assessed patients' pain and embarrassment with ED transvaginal US but overestimated them compared to the pelvic examination.
Unique Transitions in Morphology and Characteristics of Porous Poly(Lactic Acid) Enantiomers
Authors: Kanno Tomonari , Uyama Hiroshi 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis study examines unique changes in the morphology and physical properties of monolithic poly(lactic acid) (PLA) enantiomers. It is revealed for the first time that PLA monoliths containing stereocomplex (sc) crystals are successfully produced using enantiomeric poly(L‐lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(D‐lactic acid) (PDLA) using a simple phase separation process with ternary solvent (1,4‐dioxane/2‐butanone/water). The basic structure of the monoliths is changed drastically from needle‐like to spherical morphology until reaching a PLLA/PDLA ratio to equivalence. The PLA monolith prepared from a stoichiometric amount of PLLA/PDLA has high sc crystallinity without any homochiral crystals, and it shows higher melting temperature (226 °C), surface area (131 m2 g−1), and water contact angle (144.5°) compared with those of neat PLLA (180 °C, 86 m2 g−1, and 137.5°, respectively). Moreover, this sc‐PLA monolith exhibits excellent resistance to several good solvents of PLLA, whereas the pristine PLLA monolith is dissolved instantly in these solvents.
Smectic‐B Liquid Single Crystal Elastomers as Efficient Optical Mechanotransducers
Authors: Escalera‐López Daniel , Garcia‐Amorós Jaume , Velasco Dolores 
Published: January 2018

AbstractCarbazole‐based liquid single‐crystal elastomers (LSCEs) are valuable materials to convert mechanical forces into optical signals, i.e., optical mechanotransduction. The identification and rationalization of the different structural factors governing the mechanotransduction process are essential to guide the future design of these smart sensing materials. Herein, how the type of mesophase displayed by the elastomer impacts its transducing capabilities is explored. Remarkably, smectic‐B LSCEs are significantly more efficient mechanotransducers than their nematic analogs, independent of the length of the flexible spacer that connects the fluorogenic monomers to the main polymeric backbone. In this instance, the fluorogenic moieties are located within the smectic lamellae formed by the mesogenic units, thereby forcing a stronger interaction between both the platforms and resulting in a much more effective fluorescence quenching upon deformation.
Weighted boundedness of the 2‐fold product of Hardy–Littlewood maximal operators
Authors: Carro María J. , Roure Eduard 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWe study new weighted estimates for the 2‐fold product of Hardy–Littlewood maximal operators defined by . This operator appears very naturally in the theory of bilinear operators such as the bilinear Calderón–Zygmund operators, the bilinear Hardy–Littlewood maximal operator introduced by Calderón or in the study of pseudodifferential operators. To this end, we need to study Hölder's inequality for Lorentz spaces with change of measures
urn:x-wiley:0025584X:media:mana201700271:mana201700271-math-0002Unfortunately, we shall prove that this inequality does not hold, in general, and we shall have to consider a weaker version of it.
Microstructures and mechanical properties of as‐cast titanium–zirconium–molybdenum ternary alloys
Authors: Yang C.D. , Wang S.P. , Shi J.J. , Wang C.H. , Ren Z.M. , Cao G.H. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIn this study titanium–zirconium–molybdenum alloys (Ti50Zr50)100‐xMox (xMo; x = 0 at.%, 1 at.%, 3 at.%, 5 at.% or 7 at.%) were investigated, focusing on the effect of molybdenum addition on their microstructures and mechanical properties. Transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that the binary Ti50Zr50 alloy was composed entirely of an acicular hexagonal structure of the α’ phase. When the molybdenum content was 1 at.%, the alloy was composed of β and ω phases. However, when 3 at.% or more molybdenum was added, only the equiaxed, retained β phase was observed. Tensile tests at room temperature indicated that the mechanical properties of the 1Mo alloy were inferior owing to the embrittlement effects of the ω phase and the difficulty of dislocation motion through the ω phase. Our research suggested that the 5Mo alloy had excellent ductility (16.5 %) as well as adequate strength (780 MPa). The improved mechanical properties were attributed to the enhanced stability of the β phase and the disappearance of the ω phase.
Planktonic microbial profiling in water samples from a Brazilian Amazonian reservoir
Authors: Cabral Bianca C. A. , Hoffmann Luísa , Budowle Bruce , Ürményi Turán P. , Moura‐Neto Rodrigo S. , Azevedo Sandra M. F. O. , Silva Rosane 
Published: January 2018

AbstractOur comprehension of the dynamics and diversity of freshwater planktonic bacterial communities is far from complete concerning the Brazilian Amazonian region. Therefore, reference studies are urgently needed. We mapped bacterial communities present in the planktonic communities of a freshwater artificial reservoir located in the western Amazonian basin. Two samples were obtained from rainy and dry seasons, the periods during which water quality and plankton diversity undergo the most significant changes. Hypervariable 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing were performed to describe the first reference of a microbial community in an Amazonian lentic system. Microbial composition consisted mainly of Betaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria in the dry period. The bacteria distribution in the rainy period was notably absent of Cyanobacteria. Microcystis was observed in the dry period in which the gene cluster for cyanotoxins was found. Iron acquisition gene group was higher in the sample from the rainy season. This work mapped the first inventory of the planktonic microbial community of a large water reservoir in the Amazon, providing a reference for future functional studies and determining other communities and how they interact.
Sulforaphane Improves Abnormal Lipid Metabolism via Both ERS‐Dependent XBP1/ACC &SCD1 and ERS‐Independent SREBP/FAS Pathways
Authors: Tian Sicong , Li Baolong , Lei Peng , Yang Xiuli , Zhang Xiaohong , Bao Yongping , Shan Yujuan 
Published: January 2018

ScopeTo investigate the effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on the abnormal lipid metabolism and underlying mechanisms.Methods and resultsModels with abnormal lipid metabolism are established both in rats and human hepatocytes. Hepatic steatosis is detected by hematoxylin and eosin and oil red O staining. The structure of endoplasmic reticulum is visualized by transmission electron microscopy. The expressions of X‐box binding protein 1 (XBP1), protein kinase‐like ER kinase (PERK), sterol regulatory element binding protein‐1c (SREBP1c), and lipogenic enzymes are determined by real‐time PCR and western blot analysis. SFN lowers the content of triglyceride and cholesterol. SFN alleviates the swelling of ER and decreases the perimeter of ER. SFN significantly decreases the expressions of acetyl CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1), stearoyl‐CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), and fatty acid synthase. SFN inhibits SREBP1c by blocking the PERK. Meanwhile, SFN suppresses ACC1 and SCD1 via blocking the formation of splicing‐type XBP1. The key roles of XBP1 and SREBP1c in SFN‐reduced lipid droplets are confirmed by a timed sequence of measurement according to time points.ConclusionSFN improves abnormal lipid metabolism via both ER‐stress‐dependent and ‐independent pathways.