bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sorafenib tosylate inhibits directly necrosome complex formation and protects in mouse models of inflammation and tissue injury
Authors: Martens Sofie , Jeong Manhyung , Tonnus Wulf , Feldmann Friederike , Hofmans Sam , Goossens Vera , Takahashi Nozomi , Bräsen Jan Hinrich , Lee Eun-Woo , Van der Veken Pieter , Joossens Jurgen , Augustyns Koen , Fulda Simone , Linkermann Andreas , Song Jaewhan , Vandenabeele Peter 
Published: June 2017

AbstractNecroptosis contributes to the pathophysiology of several inflammatory, infectious and degenerative disorders. TNF-induced necroptosis involves activation of the receptor-interacting protein kinases 1 and 3 (RIPK1/3) in a necrosome complex, eventually leading to the phosphorylation and relocation of mixed lineage kinase domain like protein (MLKL). Using a high-content screening of small compounds and FDA-approved drug libraries, we identified the anti-cancer drug Sorafenib tosylate as a potent inhibitor of TNF-dependent necroptosis. Interestingly, Sorafenib has a dual activity spectrum depending on its concentration. In murine and human cell lines it induces cell death, while at lower concentrations it inhibits necroptosis, without affecting NF-κB activation. Pull down experiments with biotinylated Sorafenib show that it binds independently RIPK1, RIPK3 and MLKL. Moreover, it inhibits RIPK1 and RIPK3 kinase activity. In vivo Sorafenib protects against TNF-induced systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and renal ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI). Altogether, we show that Sorafenib can, next to the reported Braf/Mek/Erk and VEGFR pathways, also target the necroptotic pathway and that it can protect in an acute inflammatory RIPK1/3-mediated pathology.
Jahn-Teller distortion driven magnetic polarons in magnetite
Authors: Huang H. Y. , Chen Z. Y. , Wang R. -P. , de Groot F. M. F. , Wu W. B. , Okamoto J. , Chainani A. , Singh A. , Li Z. -Y. , Zhou J. -S. , Jeng H. -T. , Guo G. Y. , Park Je-Geun , Tjeng L. H. , Chen C. T. , Huang D. J. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe first known magnetic mineral, magnetite, has unusual properties, which have fascinated mankind for centuries; it undergoes the Verwey transition around 120 K with an abrupt change in structure and electrical conductivity. The mechanism of the Verwey transition, however, remains contentious. Here we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering over a wide temperature range across the Verwey transition to identify and separate out the magnetic excitations derived from nominal Fe2+ and Fe3+ states. Comparison of the experimental results with crystal-field multiplet calculations shows that the spin–orbital dd excitons of the Fe2+ sites arise from a tetragonal Jahn-Teller active polaronic distortion of the Fe2+O6 octahedra. These low-energy excitations, which get weakened for temperatures above 350 K but persist at least up to 550 K, are distinct from optical excitations and are best explained as magnetic polarons.
Interfacial engineering of metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions for efficient and stable photoelectrochemical water oxidation
Authors: Digdaya Ibadillah A. , Adhyaksa Gede W. P. , Trześniewski Bartek J. , Garnett Erik C. , Smith Wilson A. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractSolar-assisted water splitting can potentially provide an efficient route for large-scale renewable energy conversion and storage. It is essential for such a system to provide a sufficiently high photocurrent and photovoltage to drive the water oxidation reaction. Here we demonstrate a photoanode that is capable of achieving a high photovoltage by engineering the interfacial energetics of metal–insulator–semiconductor junctions. We evaluate the importance of using two metals to decouple the functionalities for a Schottky contact and a highly efficient catalyst. We also illustrate the improvement of the photovoltage upon incidental oxidation of the metallic surface layer in KOH solution. Additionally, we analyse the role of the thin insulating layer to the pinning and depinning of Fermi level that is responsible to the resulting photovoltage. Finally, we report the advantage of using dual metal overlayers as a simple protection route for highly efficient metal–insulator–semiconductor photoanodes by showing over 200 h of operational stability.
Imaging the real space structure of the spin fluctuations in an iron-based superconductor
Authors: Chi Shun , Aluru Ramakrishna , Grothe Stephanie , Kreisel A. , Singh Udai Raj , Andersen Brian M. , Hardy W. N. , Liang Ruixing , Bonn D. A. , Burke S. A. , Wahl Peter 
Published: June 2017

AbstractSpin fluctuations are a leading candidate for the pairing mechanism in high temperature superconductors, supported by the common appearance of a distinct resonance in the spin susceptibility across the cuprates, iron-based superconductors and many heavy fermion materials. The information we have about the spin resonance comes almost exclusively from neutron scattering. Here we demonstrate that by using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy we can characterize the spin resonance in real space. We show that inelastic tunnelling leads to the characteristic dip-hump feature seen in tunnelling spectra in high temperature superconductors and that this feature arises from excitations of the spin fluctuations. Spatial mapping of this feature near defects allows us to probe non-local properties of the spin susceptibility and to image its real space structure.
Behavioral abnormalities with disruption of brain structure in mice overexpressing VGF
Authors: Mizoguchi Takahiro , Minakuchi Hiroko , Ishisaka Mitsue , Tsuruma Kazuhiro , Shimazawa Masamitsu , Hara Hideaki 
Published: June 2017

AbstractVGF nerve growth factor inducible (VGF) is a neuropeptide induced by nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This peptide is involved in synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and neurite growth in the brain. Patients with depression and bipolar disorder have lower-than-normal levels of VGF, whereas patients with schizophrenia and other cohorts of patients with depression have higher-than-normal levels. VGF knockout mice display behavioral abnormalities such as higher depressive behavior and memory dysfunction. However, it is unclear whether upregulation of VGF affects brain function. In the present study, we generated mice that overexpress VGF and investigated several behavioral phenotypes and the brain structure. These adult VGF-overexpressing mice showed (a) hyperactivity, working memory impairment, a higher depressive state, and lower sociality compared with wild-type mice; (b) lower brain weight without a change in body weight; (c) increased lateral ventricle volume compared with wild-type mice; and (d) striatal morphological defects. These results suggest that VGF may modulate a variety of behaviors and brain development. This transgenic mouse line may provide a useful model for research on mental illnesses.
Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
Authors: Zachariah Nikita , Das Aritra , Murthy Tejas G. , Borges Renee M. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAnimal constructions such as termite mounds have received scrutiny by architects, structural engineers, soil scientists and behavioural ecologists but their basic building blocks remain uncharacterized and the criteria used for material selection unexplored. By conducting controlled experiments on Odontotermes obesus termites, we characterize the building blocks of termite mounds and determine the key elements defining material choice and usage by these accomplished engineers. Using biocement and a self-organized process, termites fabricate, transport and assemble spherical unitary structures called boluses that have a bimodal size distribution, achieving an optimal packing solution for mound construction. Granular, hydrophilic, osmotically inactive, non-hygroscopic materials with surface roughness, rigidity and containing organic matter are the easiest to handle and are crucial determinants of mass transfer during mound construction. We suggest that these properties, along with optimal moisture availability, are important predictors of the global geographic distribution of termites.
Polarized Distribution of Active Myosin II Regulates Directional Migration of Cultured Olfactory Ensheathing Cells
Authors: Zheng Cheng-gen , Zhang Fan , Bao Xiao-mei , Wu Shi-yang , Wang Peng , Zhou Jia-nan , Gao Yuan , Teng Hong-lin , Wang Ying , Huang Zhi-hui 
Published: June 2017

AbstractMigration of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is critical for development of olfactory system and essential for neural regeneration after OEC transplantation into nerve injury site. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of directional migration of OECs remain unclear. In this study, we found that in migrating OECs, phosphorylated myosin light chain (p-MLC, active myosin II) displayed a polarized distribution, with the leading front exhibiting higher than soma and trailing process. Over-expression of GFP-MLC significantly reduced OEC migration. Moreover, decreasing this front-to-rear difference of myosin II activity by the frontal application of a ML-7 (myosin II inhibitors) gradient induced the collapse of leading front and reversed soma translocation of OECs, whereas, increasing this front-to-rear difference of myosin II activity by the rear application of a ML-7 or BDM gradient or the frontal application of a Caly (myosin II activator) gradient accelerated the soma translocation of OECs. Finally, myosin II as a downstream signaling of repulsive factor Slit-2 mediated the reversal of soma translocation induced by Slit-2. Taken together, these results suggest that the polarized distribution of active myosin II regulates the directional migration of OECs during spontaneous migration or upon to extracellular stimulation such as Slit-2.
Prediction of Chromatin Accessibility in Gene-Regulatory Regions from Transcriptomics Data
Authors: Jung Sascha , Angarica Vladimir Espinosa , Andrade-Navarro Miguel A. , Buckley Noel J. , del Sol Antonio 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe epigenetics landscape of cells plays a key role in the establishment of cell-type specific gene expression programs characteristic of different cellular phenotypes. Different experimental procedures have been developed to obtain insights into the accessible chromatin landscape including DNase-seq, FAIRE-seq and ATAC-seq. However, current downstream computational tools fail to reliably determine regulatory region accessibility from the analysis of these experimental data. In particular, currently available peak calling algorithms are very sensitive to their parameter settings and show highly heterogeneous results, which hampers a trustworthy identification of accessible chromatin regions. Here, we present a novel method that predicts accessible and, more importantly, inaccessible gene-regulatory chromatin regions solely relying on transcriptomics data, which complements and improves the results of currently available computational methods for chromatin accessibility assays. We trained a hierarchical classification tree model on publicly available transcriptomics and DNase-seq data and assessed the predictive power of the model in six gold standard datasets. Our method increases precision and recall compared to traditional peak calling algorithms, while its usage is not limited to the prediction of accessible and inaccessible gene-regulatory chromatin regions, but constitutes a helpful tool for optimizing the parameter settings of peak calling methods in a cell type specific manner.
Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes Associated with Pine Wood Nematode Resistance in Masson Pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.)
Authors: Liu Qinghua , Wei Yongcheng , Xu Liuyi , Hao Yanping , Chen Xuelian , Zhou Zhichun 
Published: June 2017

AbstractPine wilt disease caused by pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, PWN) is a severe forest disease of the genus Pinus. Masson pine as an important timber and oleoresin resource in South China, is the major species infected by pine wilt disease. However, the underlying mechanism of pine resistance is still unclear. Here, we performed a transcriptomics analysis to identify differentially expressed genes associated with resistance to PWN infection. By comparing the expression profiles of resistant and susceptible trees inoculated with PWN at 1, 15, or 30 days post-inoculation (dpi), 260, 371 and 152 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in resistant trees and 756, 2179 and 398 DEGs in susceptible trees were obtained. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis of DEGs revealed that the most significant biological processes were “syncytium formation” in the resistant phenotype and “response to stress” and “terpenoid biosynthesis” in the susceptible phenotype at 1 and 15 dpi, respectively. Furthermore, some key DEGs with potential regulatory roles to PWN infection, including expansins, pinene synthases and reactive oxidation species (ROS)-related genes were evaluated in detail. Finally, we propose that the biosynthesis of oleoresin and capability of ROS scavenging are pivotal to the high resistance of PWN.
Generation of novel patient-derived CIC-
DUX4 sarcoma xenografts and cell lines
Authors: Oyama Rieko , Takahashi Mami , Yoshida Akihiko , Sakumoto Marimu , Takai Yoko , Kito Fusako , Shiozawa Kumiko , Qiao Zhiwei , Arai Yasuhito , Shibata Tatsuhiro , Araki Yoshihiro , Endo Makoto , Kawai Akira , Kondo Tadashi 
Published: June 2017

AbstractCIC-DUX4 sarcoma (CDS) is a group of rare, mesenchymal, small round cell tumours that harbour the unique CIC-DUX4 translocation, which causes aberrant gene expression. CDS exhibits an aggressive course and poor clinical outcome, thus novel therapeutic approaches are needed for CDS treatment. Although patient-derived cancer models are an essential modality to develop novel therapies, none currently exist for CDS. Thus, the present study successfully established CDS patient-derived xenografts and subsequently generated two CDS cell lines from the grafted tumours. Notably, xenografts were histologically similar to the original patient tumour, and the expression of typical biomarkers was confirmed in the xenografts and cell lines. Moreover, the xenograft tumours and cell lines displayed high Src kinase activities, as assessed by peptide-based tyrosine kinase array. Upon screening 119 FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs, we found that only actinomycine D and doxorubicin were effectively suppress the proliferation among the drugs for standard therapy for Ewing sarcoma. However, we identified molecular targeting reagents, such as bortezomib and crizotinib that markedly suppressed the growth of CDS cells. Our models will be useful modalities to develop novel therapeutic strategies against CDS.
Planar binary-phase lens for super-oscillatory optical hollow needles
Authors: Chen Gang , Wu Zhixiang , Yu Anping , Zhang Kun , Wu Jing , Dai Luru , Wen Zhongquan , He Yinghu , Zhang Zhihai , Jiang Senlin , Wang Changtao , Luo Xiangang 
Published: June 2017

AbstractOptical hollow beams are suitable for materials processing, optical micromanipulation, microscopy, and optical lithography. However, conventional optical hollow beams are diffraction-limited. The generation of sub-wavelength optical hollow beams using a high numerical aperture objective lens and pupil filters has been theoretically proposed. Although sub-diffraction hollow spot has been reported, nondiffracting hollow beams of sub-diffraction transverse dimensions have not yet been experimentally demonstrated. Here, a planar lens based on binary-phase modulation is proposed to overcome these constraints. The lens has an ultra-long focal length of 300λ. An azimuthally polarized optical hollow needle is experimentally demonstrated with a super-oscillatory transverse size (less than 0.38λ/NA) of 0.34λ to 0.42λ, where λ is the working wavelength and NA is the lens numerical aperture, and a large depth of focus of 6.5λ. For a sub-diffraction transverse size of 0.34λ to 0.52λ, the nondiffracting propagation distance of the proposed optical hollow needle is greater than 10λ. Numerical simulation also reveals a good penetrability of the proposed optical hollow needle at an air-water interface, where the needle propagates through water with a doubled propagation distance and without loss of its super-oscillatory property. The proposed lens is suitable for nanofabrication, optical nanomanipulation, super-resolution imaging, and nanolithography applications.
Nopal (Opuntia ficus indica) protects from metabolic endotoxemia by modifying gut microbiota in obese rats fed high fat/sucrose diet
Authors: Sánchez-Tapia Mónica , Aguilar-López Miriam , Pérez-Cruz Claudia , Pichardo-Ontiveros Edgar , Wang Mei , Donovan Sharon M. , Tovar Armando R. , Torres Nimbe 
Published: June 2017

AbstractCurrent efforts are directed to reducing the gut dysbiosis and inflammation produced by obesity. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consuming nopal, a vegetable rich in dietary fibre, vitamin C, and polyphenols can reduce the metabolic consequences of obesity by modifying the gut microbiota and preventing metabolic endotoxemia in rats fed a high fat and sucrose diet. With this aim, rats were fed a high fat diet with 5% sucrose in the drinking water (HFS) for 7 months and then were fed for 1 month with HFS + 5% nopal (HFS + N). The composition of gut microbiota was assessed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Nopal modified gut microbiota and increased intestinal occludin-1 in the HFS + N group. This was associated with a decrease in metabolic endotoxemia, glucose insulinotropic peptide, glucose intolerance, lipogenesis, and metabolic inflexibility. These changes were accompanied by reduced hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress in adipose tissue and brain, and improved cognitive function, associated with an increase in B. fragilis. This study supports the use of nopal as a functional food and prebiotic for its ability to modify gut microbiota and to reduce metabolic endotoxemia and other obesity-related biochemical abnormalities.
Investigation of the degradation of pitch-based carbon fibers properties upon insufficient or excess thermal treatment
Authors: Lim Tae Hwan , Yeo Sang Young 
Published: June 2017

AbstractTo overcome the disadvantages of discontinuous conventional batch extruders, a continuous screw extruder is introduced to manufacture pitch-based carbon fibers. For a carbon fiber preparation process, an oxidation time of 8 h was determined to be optimal for obtaining desirable mechanical properties of the fibers acquiring employing the screw extruder. It is hypothesized that the differences in the properties of the carbon fibers fabricated utilizing the batch and screw extruders originate from the melt spinning time; therefore, a combined equation for the total amount of heat treatment from the pitch precursor through the oxidation process is established in this study. The crystallinity of the carbon fibers is confirmed to correspond to the differences in mechanical properties as the oxidation time increases. The poor mechanical properties of the carbon fibers that are insufficiently oxidized are a result of irregular oxidation from the sheath to the core of the fiber cross section. However, the over-oxidized carbon fibers also show poor mechanical properties than the optimal fibers. This result further affirms that excessive oxidation times cause unstable chemical bonding, which interrupts the formation of stable crystal structures after carbonization.
Cost‐based allocation model for hybrid power system considering solar, wind and thermal generations separately
Authors: Bhowmik Debashish , Sinha Ashoke Kumar 
Published: June 2017

Utilisation of renewable energy, especially solar and wind have placed a great impact on the power flow and line losses in the hybrid power system. This study presents a novel structure to the effective assessment of renewable energy on the hybrid power system from a distinct generator to all demands separately, via which the share of power coming from a particular generator and fed to the particular loads, and to rest of the line networks has been traced in a power system under normal as well as hybrid situation. The proposed method is humble, robust and effective in the resolution attained. To simplify the investigation, the solution to a sample case study is provided using the proposed approach. The modified technique has been experimented on an IEEE 14‐bus test system with thermal, solar‐thermal, wind‐thermal and solar‐wind‐thermal generations. A wind generator of 10.2235 MW with wind speed 5.1376 m/s and a solar power generation of 2.7567 MW with rated photovoltaic panel voltage of 24 V has been integrated into the system to comprehend the influence of the renewable generation of the power system. Correspondingly the outcomes of both the conditions under the projected algorithm of the test systems are compared.
Ancillary Studies in Evaluating Pediatric Brain Death
Authors: McDonald Mark , Henderson Natalie 
Published: June 2017

AbstractWhen confounding variables exist that inhibit the ability to diagnose brain death clinically in pediatric patients, ancillary tests may provide additional information for the practitioner in evaluating for the presence or absence of brain death. Multiple options exist but differ in availability, ease of administration, cost, safety profile, and reliability to accurately diagnose brain death. An important desirable quality of an ancillary test is eliminating false positives, which imply brain death when brain death is in fact not present. More commonly available ancillary studies include electroencephalograms, brain angiography through various modalities, brain stem auditory evoked potentials, and transcranial Doppler ultrasound. At this time, there is not an ancillary test with 100% reliability in diagnosing brain death that can replace the clinical brain death exam. Therefore, practitioners need to understand the strengths and limitations of the ancillary studies available at their hospital.