bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the interaction between Oidium heveae and Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Mei Shuangshuang , Hou Shuguo , Cui Haitao , Feng Feng , Rong Wei 
Published: January 2016

SummaryOidium heveae, an obligate biotrophic pathogen of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), causes significant yield losses of rubber worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interplay between O. heveae and rubber trees remain largely unknown. In this study, we isolated an O. heveae strain, named HN1106, from cultivated H. brasiliensis in Hainan, China. We found that O. heveae HN1106 triggers the hypersensitive response in a manner that depends on the effector‐triggered immunity proteins EDS1 (Enhanced Disease Susceptibility 1) and PAD4 (Phytoalexin Deficient 4) and on salicylic acid (SA) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. However, SA‐independent resistance also appears to limit O. heveae infection of Arabidopsis, because the pathogen does not produce conidiospores on npr1 (nonexpressor of pr1), sid2 (SA induction deficient 2) and NahG plants, which show disruptions in SA signalling. Furthermore, we found that the callose synthase PMR4 (Powdery Mildew Resistant 4) prevents O. heveae HN1106 penetration into leaves in the early stages of infection. To elucidate the potential mechanism of resistance of Arabidopsis to O. heveae HN1106, we inoculated 47 different Arabidopsis accessions with the pathogen, and analysed the plant disease symptoms and O. heveae HN1106 hyphal growth and conidiospore formation on the leaves. We found that the accession Lag2‐2 showed significant susceptibility to O. heveae HN1106. Overall, this study provides a basis for future research aimed at combatting powdery mildew caused by O. heveae in rubber trees.
XacFhaB adhesin, an important Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri virulence factor, is recognized as a pathogen‐associated molecular pattern
Authors: Garavaglia Betiana S. , Zimaro Tamara , Abriata Luciano A. , Ottado Jorgelina , Gottig Natalia 
Published: January 2016

SummaryAdhesion to host tissue is one of the key steps of the bacterial pathogenic process. Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri possesses a non‐fimbrial adhesin protein, XacFhaB, required for bacterial attachment, which we have previously demonstrated to be an important virulence factor for the development of citrus canker. XacFhaB is a 4753‐residue‐long protein with a predicted β‐helical fold structure, involved in bacterial aggregation, biofilm formation and adhesion to the host. In this work, to further characterize this protein and considering its large size, XacFhaB was dissected into three regions based on bioinformatic and structural analyses for functional studies. First, the capacity of these protein regions to aggregate bacterial cells was analysed. Two of these regions were able to form bacterial aggregates, with the most amino‐terminal region being dispensable for this activity. Moreover, XacFhaB shows features resembling pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which are recognized by plants. As PAMPs activate plant basal immune responses, the role of the three XacFhaB regions as elicitors of these responses was investigated. All adhesin regions were able to induce basal immune responses in host and non‐host plants, with a stronger activation by the carboxyl‐terminal region. Furthermore, pre‐infiltration of citrus leaves with XacFhaB regions impaired X. citri ssp. citri growth, confirming the induction of defence responses and restraint of citrus canker. This work reveals that adhesins from plant pathogens trigger plant defence responses, opening up new pathways for the development of protective strategies for disease control.
Impact of pre‐eclampsia in extremely premature infants: Population‐based study
Authors: Tokumasu Hironobu , Tokumasu Satoko , Kawakami Koji 
Published: January 2016

AbstractBackgroundThe relationship between chorioamnionitis (CAM) and neonatal mortality has been extensively investigated, but that of maternal pre‐eclampsia and neonatal mortality is unclear. We investigated neonatal mortality and morbidity of maternal pre‐eclampsia and clinical CAM in extremely premature infants using data from a population‐based cohort study.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data obtained from the Neonatal Research Network in Japan, a population‐based cohort study (n = 18 900) conducted to clarify the clinical characteristics and morbidity of very low‐birthweight infants. Patients were divided into four diagnosis‐based groups for comparative analysis: sole pre‐eclampsia; sole clinical CAM; concurrent pre‐eclampsia and clinical CAM; and non‐diagnosis (of pre‐eclampsia and clinical CAM).ResultsMortality was higher in the pre‐eclampsia groups compared with the groups without (18.3%, 84/459 vs 14.0%, 567/4059; OR, 1.38; 95%CI: 1.07–1.78). In contrast, mortality was not affected by presence of clinical CAM (with, 13.7% 182/1328 vs without, 15.0% 469/3190; OR, 0.92; 95%CI: 0.77–1.11). With regard to small for gestational age, the mortality rate increased by two–three‐fold as gestational week decreased. The complication survival rate in the whole group was 35% (1135/3218).ConclusionsMaternal pre‐eclampsia is associated with poor prognosis in extremely premature infants. We also need to deliberate on the trade‐off between the advantages of early rescue from pre‐eclampsia and risk of prematurity.
Set Estimation from Reflected Brownian Motion
Authors: Cholaquidis Alejandro , Fraiman Ricardo , Lugosi Gábor , Pateiro-López Beatriz 
Published: January 2016

Summary
We study the problem of estimating a compact set S⊂Rd from a trajectory of a reflected Brownian motion in S with reflections on the boundary of S. We establish consistency and rates of convergence for various estimators of S and its boundary. This problem has relevant applications in ecology in estimating the home range of an animal on the basis of tracking data. There are a variety of studies on the habitat of animals that employ the notion of home range. The paper offers theoretical foundations for a new methodology that, under fairly unrestrictive shape assumptions, allows us to find flexible regions close to reality. The theoretical findings are illustrated on simulated and real data examples.
Out of Africa: biogeographic history of the open‐habitat chats (Aves, Muscicapidae: Saxicolinae) across arid areas of the old world
Authors: Alaei Kakhki Niloofar , Aliabadian Mansour , Schweizer Manuel 
Published: January 2016

Arid and semi‐arid areas constitute a prominent feature of the earth today, especially in Asia and Africa. Their formation started in the middle Miocene with increased stepwise aridification since the Pliocene. This aridification had strong ecological and evolutionary consequences and not only led to fragmentation of moist‐adapted biota, but also fostered the evolution of arid‐adapted taxa from mesic ancestors and triggered speciation within arid areas. The open‐habitat chats, a clade within Saxicolinae (Aves, Muscicapidae), constitute one of the most significant arid‐adapted passerine groups of Africa and Eurasia. Here, we present a temporal and spatial framework for the diversification of open‐habitat chats, using probabilistic approaches for the reconstruction of their biogeographic history based on a time‐calibrated multilocus molecular phylogenetic hypothesis. The diversification of open‐habitat chats was initiated in the late Miocene at around 7.4 Ma, most likely in sub‐Saharan Africa. Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa acted as centres of diversification and biogeographic expansion. From the latter area, the Arabo‐Sindic region and subsequently further parts of Eurasia and North Africa were colonized. The colonization history out of sub‐Saharan Africa contrasts with that of several other songbird clades, where a biogeographic expansion from Eurasia or northern Africa to southern Africa was prevalent. Habitat fragmentation through forest expansions during intermittent wetter periods in Africa influenced diversification in several clades. However, phases of increased aridity, with hyperarid regions acting as drivers of vicariance, seem to have also been important in radiations of the Arabo‐Sindic region and the Horn of Africa during the Pleistocene. Different processes such as colonization of new areas followed by vicariance or speciation across ecotones might have played a role throughout the radiation of open‐habitat chats.
Molecular phylogeography of white‐lipped tree viper (Trimeresurus; Viperidae)
Authors: Zhu Fei , Liu Qin , Che Jing , Zhang Liang , Chen Xin , Yan Fang , Murphy Robert , Guo Cong , Guo Peng 
Published: January 2016

The white‐lipped tree viper (Trimeresurus albolabris) is one of the most common venomous snakes with medicine importance in South East Asia. To explore the genetic diversity, population structure and evolutionary history of Trimeresurus albolabris, we collected 98 samples from 27 localities covering its entire distribution. Two mitochondrial gene fragments (cyt‐b and ND‐4) and two nuclear genes (RAG‐1 and NT‐3) were sequenced and analysed. Bayesian inference and maximum‐likelihood methods were employed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among populations based on the two mitochondrial fragments, and the median‐joining networks were depicted using nuclear genes. Divergence date and ancestral area were estimated, and the population demographic history was inferred. Both phylogenetic analyses consistently uncovered that Trimeresurus albolabris was monophyletics, with five geographically structured lineages. Divergence date and ancestral area estimation indicated that T. albolabris originated in northern Thailand and eastern Myanmar at c. 7.15 Ma. Population dynamics analyses showed the southern China lineage has experienced population expansion and contraction, but the others have not. Both the interglacial expansion and the highly heterogeneous habitats resulting from the uplift of the Plateau played a joint role in shaping the present distribution and population structure. The evolutionary history of T. albolabris can be explained by a pattern of two direction dispersal: first from North to South, and then from West to East.
Empirical Verification of the Polish Formula of Text Difficulty
Authors: Charzyńska Edyta , Dębowski Łukasz Jerzy 
Published: January 2016

Empirical Verification of the Polish Formula of Text DifficultyThe aim of the study was to verify the accuracy of the formula for assessing the difficulty of texts written in Polish (Pisarek 1969). The study involved 1,309 persons aged between 15 and 84. 15 texts were used, each approximately 300 words long, representing different subjects and varied difficulty level. Text comprehension was checked with multiple choice tests, the cloze procedure and open-ended questions. Significant correlations between the difficulty of a text and its comprehension were found (rmc(15) = -0.529, p = 0.043; ropen = -0.519, p = 0.047; rcloze = -0.656, p = 0.008). The results confirmed relative accuracy and usefulness of Pisarek's readability formula. The discussion includes proposed ways of improving the current form of the formula.
Extraction and Presentation of Bilingual Correspondences from Slovak-Bulgarian Parallel Corpus
Authors: Garabík Radovan , Dimitrova Ludmila 
Published: January 2016

Extraction and Presentation of Bilingual Correspondences from Slovak-Bulgarian Parallel CorpusIn this paper the results of the automatic extraction and presentation of bilingual correspondences from Slovak-Bulgarian Parallel corpus are described. The equivalent phrases are extracted from sentence and word level automatically aligned corpus, filtered, indexed and presented in a dictionary-like interface. The bilingual dictionary database contains 80 thousand phrase pairs consisting of approximately 350 thousand words (per each language). Counting unique word forms, the size is 31 thousand in the Slovak part of the dictionary, 26 thousand in the Bulgarian part.
d-Vision: Seeking Excellence Through A Hands On Engineering Multi Discipline Global Internship Program
Authors: Suss Gavin 
Published: January 2016

The question is, "What can vision do?" (Fritz, 1989) rather than "What is vision?" Keter's Chairman, Mr. Sami Sagol's vision is to establish an internship program that will strengthen the competitive edge of the Israeli industry, within the international arena. The program will set new standards of excellence for product development, engineering, technology and design. Mr. Sagol's vision of excellence, in the internship program, has commenced in a process of changing Keter from a conservative industry to a learning organization, which promotes innovation, excellence, and knowledge. His vision has changed Keter.
Efficient CRISPR/Cas9‐Based Genome Engineering in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Authors: Kime Cody , Mandegar Mohammad A. , Srivastava Deepak , Yamanaka Shinya , Conklin Bruce R. , Rand Tim A. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractHuman pluripotent stem cells (hPS cells) are rapidly emerging as a powerful tool for biomedical discovery. The advent of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS cells) with human embryonic stem (hES)–cell‐like properties has led to hPS cells with disease‐specific genetic backgrounds for in vitro disease modeling and drug discovery as well as mechanistic and developmental studies. To fully realize this potential, it will be necessary to modify the genome of hPS cells with precision and flexibility. Pioneering experiments utilizing site‐specific double‐strand break (DSB)–mediated genome engineering tools, including zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator–like effector nucleases (TALENs), have paved the way to genome engineering in previously recalcitrant systems such as hPS cells. However, these methods are technically cumbersome and require significant expertise, which has limited adoption. A major recent advance involving the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) endonuclease has dramatically simplified the effort required for genome engineering and will likely be adopted widely as the most rapid and flexible system for genome editing in hPS cells. In this unit, we describe commonly practiced methods for CRISPR endonuclease genomic editing of hPS cells into cell lines containing genomes altered by insertion/deletion (indel) mutagenesis or insertion of recombinant genomic DNA. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Serum‐derived exosomes from mice with highly metastatic breast cancer transfer increased metastatic capacity to a poorly metastatic tumor
Authors: Gorczynski Reginald M. , Erin Nuray , Zhu Fang 
Published: January 2016

AbstractAltered interaction between CD200 and CD200R represents an example of “checkpoint blockade” disrupting an effective, tumor‐directed, host response in murine breast cancer cells. In CD200R1KO mice, long‐term cure of EMT6 breast cancer, including metastatic spread to lung and liver, was achieved in BALB/c mice. The reverse was observed with 4THM tumors, an aggressive, inflammatory breast cancer, with increased tumor metastasis in CD200R1KO. We explored possible explanations for this difference. We measured the frequency of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood of tumor bearers, as well as lung/liver and draining lymph nodes. In some cases mice received infusions of exosomes from nontumor controls, or tumor bearers, with/without additional infusions of anticytokine antibodies. The measured frequency of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood was equivalent in the two models in WT and CD200R1KO mice. Increased metastasis in EMT6 tumor bearers was seen in vivo following adoptive transfer of serum, or serum‐derived exosomes, from 4THM tumor bearers, an effect which was attenuated by anti‐IL‐6, and anti‐IL‐17, but not anti‐TNFα, antibody. Anti‐IL‐6 also attenuated enhanced migration of EMT6 cells in vitro induced by 4THM serum or exosomes, or recombinant IL‐6. Exosome cytokine proteomic profiles responses in 4THM and EMT6 tumor‐bearing mice were regulated by CD200:CD200R interactions, with attenuation of both IL‐6 and IL‐17 in 4THM CD200tg mice, and enhanced levels in 4THM CD200R1KO mice. We suggest these cytokines act on the microenvironment at sites within the host, and/or directly on tumor cells themselves, to increase metastatic potential.
Learning Together: A Collaborative Autoethnographic Exploration of STEAM (STEM + the Arts) Education
Authors: Sochacka Nicola W. , Guyotte Kelly. W. , Walther Joachim 
Published: January 2016

AbstractBackgroundThere is a growing interest in STEAM (STEM + the Arts) education as a means to enhance the creativity of STEM students and broaden interest in STEM fields. Many art educators, however, object to the instrumental justification for study in the arts as a way to improve student performance in other areas.PurposeDrawing on the first two authors' engagement in an interdisciplinary design studio, this study develops an expanded view of how STEAM might enrich engineering education in ways that more closely align with the pedagogical commitments of the arts.Design/MethodThis article is written as a collaborative autoethnography between the first two authors, educators in environmental engineering and art education, respectively. The study is grounded in the educational philosophy of arts advocate Maxine Greene, who views learning as an active, collaborative search for meaning, “wide‐awakeness,” and social change.ResultsOur dialogue reveals the potential for STEAM to provide students and educators with opportunities to explore personally relevant connections between materials, design, society, and the natural environment and to critically engage with implicit and explicit facets of disciplinary identity.ConclusionsThis view of STEAM simultaneously complements and challenges current conceptions of this emerging educational movement that, almost without exception, are underpinned by calls for competitive economic growth and technological development. We hope future research will build on our perspectives to continue a conversation about STEAM that considers the diverse contributions of, and mutual benefits to, all parties involved.
The Royal Sign and Visual Literacy in Eighteenth-Century London
Authors: Koscak Stephanie 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThis article argues that the commercialization of monarchical culture is more complex than existing scholarship suggests. It explores the aesthetic dimensions of regal culture produced outside of the traditionally defined sphere of art and politics by focusing on the variety of royal images and symbols depicted on hanging signs in eighteenth-century London. Despite the overwhelming presence of kings and queens on signboards, few study these as a form of regal visual culture or seriously question the ways in which these everyday objects affected representations of royalty beyond asserting an unproblematic process of declension. Indeed, even in the Restoration and early eighteenth century, monarchical signs were the subject of criticism and debate. This article explains why this became the case, arguing that signs were criticized not because they were trivial commercial objects that cheapened royal charisma, but because they were overloaded with political meaning. They emblematized the failures of representation in the age of print and party politics by depicting the monarchy—the traditional center of representative stability—in ways that troubled interpretation and defied attempts to control the royal image. Nevertheless, regal images and objects circulating in urban spaces comprised a meaningful political-visual language that challenges largely accepted arguments about the aesthetic inadequacy and cultural unimportance of early eighteenth-century monarchy. Signs were part of an urban, graphic public sphere, used as objects of political debate, historical commemoration, and civic instruction.
Compulsive and Addictive Sexual Disorders and the Family
Authors: Schneider Jennifer P. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractIn the treatment of sexual addiction and compulsivity, the family unit is often neglected. Yet this disorder has a major impact not only on the identified patient, but also on the spouse or partner (the coaddict) and on the family as a whole. Moreover, the family unit is the context in which the sexual addict continues to live, and the mental health of the partner has a significant impact on the sexual addicts recovery. Increasing evidence points to a family history of addiction or dysfunction as a primary contributor to both sexual addiction and coaddiction in adulthood. When compulsive sexual behaviors are present within a family, treatment of both members of the couple improves the couple's relationship as well as the mental health of each partner. In addition, treatment of children in such a family can help break the cycle of sexual addiction and prevent its perpetuation into the next generation.
Sonia Esperança and Robin Reichlin Receive 2015 Edward A. Flinn III Award
Authors:   AGU
Published: January 2016

Sonia Esperança and Robin Reichlin received the 2015 Edward A. Flinn III Award at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held on 16 December 2015 in San Francisco, Calif. The award honors "an individual or small group who personifies the Union's motto 'unselfish cooperation in research' through their facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities."
A mix of S and ΔS variants of STAT3 enable survival of activated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells in culture
Authors: Zheng M , Turton K B , Zhu F , Li Y , Grindle K M , Annis D S , Lu L , Drennan A C , Tweardy D J , Bharadwaj U , Mosher D F , Rui L 
Published: January 2016

AbstractActivated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC DLBCL) is characterized by increased expression and activator of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). ABC DLBCL cells require STAT3 for growth in culture. In ABC DLBCL cells, eosinophils and perhaps all cells, four variant STAT3 mRNAs (Sα, ΔSα, Sβ and ΔSβ) are present as a result of two alternative splicing events, one that results in the inclusion of a 55-residue C-terminal transactivation domain (α) or a truncated C-terminal domain with 7 unique residues (β) and a second that includes (S) or excludes (ΔS) the codon for Ser-701 in the linker between the SH2 and C-terminal domains. A substantial literature indicates that both α and β variants are required for optimal STAT3 function, but nothing is known about functions of ΔS variants. We used a knockdown/re-expression strategy to explore whether survival of ABC DLBCL cells requires that the four variants be in an appropriate ratio. No single variant rescued survival as well as STAT3Sα-C, Sα with activating mutations (A661C and N663C) in the SH2 domain. Better rescue was achieved when all four variants were re-expressed or Sα and ΔSα or Sβ and ΔSβ were re-expressed in pairs. Rescue correlated with expression of STAT3-sensitive genes NFKBIA and NFKBIZ. We consider a variety of explanations why a mix of S and ΔS variants of STAT3 should enable survival of ABC DLBCL cells.