bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
ZnO-nanorods/graphene heterostructure: a direct electron transfer glucose biosensor
Authors: Zhao Yu , Li Wenbo , Pan Lijia , Zhai Dongyuan , Wang Yu , Li Lanlan , Cheng Wen , Yin Wei , Wang Xinran , Xu Jian-Bin , Shi Yi 
Published: August 2016

AbstractZnO-nanorods/graphene heterostructure was synthesized by hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on chemically reduced graphene (CRG) film. The hybrid structure was demonstrated as a biosensor, where direct electron transfer between glucose oxidase (GOD) and electrode was observed. The charge transfer was attributed to the ZnO nanorod wiring between the redox center of GOD and electrode and the ZnO/graphene heterostructure facilitated the transport of electrons on the hybride electrode. The glucose sensor based on the GOD-ZnO/CRG/Pt electrode had a high sensitivity of 17.64 μA mM−1, which is higher than most of the previously reported values for direct electron transfer based glucose biosensors. Moreover, this biosensor is linearly proportional to the concentration of glucose in the range of 0.2–1.6 mM. The study revealed that the band structure of electrode could affect the detection of direct electron transfer of GOD, which would be helpful for the design of the biosensor electrodes in the future.
In silico modelling of a cancer stem cell-targeting agent and its effects on tumour control during radiotherapy
Authors: Marcu Loredana G. , Marcu David 
Published: August 2016

AbstractHead and neck cancers (HNC), like most solid tumours, contain a subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSC) that are commonly responsible for treatment failure. Conventional therapies are unsuccessful in controlling CSCs, thus novel, targeting therapies are needed. A promising agent is ATRA (All-trans-retinoic acid) that was shown to induce CSC differentiation, cell cycle redistribution and CSCs radiosensitisation. To add to the limited data, this work simulated the effects of ATRA on a virtual HNC and evaluated tumour response to radiotherapy. A Monte Carlo technique was employed to grow a HNC consisting of all lineages of cancer cells. The biologically realistic input parameters led to a pre-treatment CSC population of 5.9%. The Linear Quadratic model was employed to simulate radiotherapy. ATRA-induced differentiation, cell arrest and apoptosis were modelled, based on literature data. While the effect of differentiation was marginal, the strongest influence on CSC subpopulation was displayed by ATRA’s cell arrest effect via an exponential behaviour of the dose-response curve. The apoptotic effect induced by ATRA shows linear correlation between the percentage of apoptotic cells and dose required to eradicate CSCs. In conclusion, ATRA is a potent CSC-targeting agent with viable impact on tumour control when combined with radiotherapy.
Prions efficiently cross the intestinal barrier after oral administration: Study of the bioavailability, and cellular and tissue distribution in vivo
Authors: Urayama Akihiko , Concha-Marambio Luis , Khan Uffaf , Bravo-Alegria Javiera , Kharat Vineetkumar , Soto Claudio 
Published: August 2016

AbstractNatural forms of prion diseases frequently originate by oral (p.o.) infection. However, quantitative information on the gastro-intestinal (GI) absorption of prions (i.e. the bioavailability and subsequent biodistribution) is mostly unknown. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the fate of prions after oral administration, using highly purified radiolabeled PrPSc. The results showed a bi-phasic reduction of PrPSc with time in the GI, except for the ileum and colon which showed sustained increases peaking at 3–6 hr, respectively. Plasma and whole blood 125I-PrPSc reached maximal levels by 30 min and 3 hr, respectively, and blood levels were constantly higher than plasma. Upon crossing the GI-tract 125I-PrPSc became associated to blood cells, suggesting that binding to cells decreased the biological clearance of the agent. Size-exclusion chromatography revealed that oligomeric 125I-PrPSc were transported from the intestinal tract, and protein misfolding cyclic amplification showed that PrPSc in organs and blood retained the typical prion self-replicating ability. Pharmacokinetic analysis found the oral bioavailability of 125I-PrPSc to be 33.6%. Interestingly, 125I-PrPSc reached the brain in a quantity equivalent to the minimum amount needed to initiate prion disease. Our findings provide a comprehensive and quantitative study of the fate of prions upon oral infection.
Aromatase inhibition rapidly affects in a reversible manner distinct features of birdsong
Authors: Alward Beau A. , de Bournonville Catherine , Chan Trevor T. , Balthazart Jacques , Cornil Charlotte A. , Ball Gregory F. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractRecent evidence has implicated steroid hormones, specifically estrogens, in the rapid modulation of cognitive processes. Songbirds have been a useful model system in the study of complex cognitive processes including birdsong, a naturally learned vocal behavior regulated by a discrete steroid-sensitive telencephalic circuitry. Singing behavior is known to be regulated by long-term actions of estrogens but rapid steroid modulation of this behavior has never been examined. We investigated if acute actions of estrogens regulate birdsong in canaries (Serinus canaria). In the morning, male canaries sing within minutes after light onset. Birds were injected with fadrozole, a potent aromatase inhibitor, or vehicle within 2–5 minutes after lights on to implement a within-subjects experimental design. This single injection of fadrozole reduced the motivation to sing as well as song acoustic stereotypy, a measure of consistency over song renditions, on the same day. By the next day, however, all song measures that were affected had returned to baseline. This study indicates that estrogens also act in a rapid fashion to regulate two distinct features of song, a learned vocal behavior.
The use of Haemostatic Agents does not impact the rate of hemorrhagic complications in patients undergoing partial nephrectomy for renal masses
Authors: Abu-Ghanem Yasmin , Dotan Zohar , Kaver Issac , Zilberman Dorit E. , Ramon Jacob 
Published: August 2016

AbstractHemostatic agents(HAs) have gained increasing popularity as interventions to improve perioperative haemostasis and diminish the need for allogeneic red cell transfusion(PBT) despite a paucity of data supporting the practice. The aim of the current study is to examine the efficacy of HAs in reducing the rate of hemorrhagic complications during partial nephrectomy(PN). Data on 657 patients, who underwent elective PN between 2004–2013, were analyzed. The impact of HAs and SURGICEL was evaluated by comparing four sequential groups of patients: Group1 = Sutures alone, Group2 = sutures and HA, Group3 = sutures and SURGICEL, Group4 = both HA and SURGICEL. Complications included post-operative urinary leak(UL), PBT rate, delayed bleeding and post-operative renal failure. Results showed that the use of HAs did not engender a statistically significant difference in overall complications rate. Specifically, the addition of HAs did not reduce the rate of PBT, delayed bleeding or UL. Further analysis revealed that patients who received SURGICEL had significantly higher PBT rate and higher prevalence of UL cases. Addition of HAs to SURGICEL had no effect on the rate of these complications. In the current study, the use of HAs during open and laparoscopic PN did not reduce the rate of negative outcomes. Adequate suture renorrhaphy may be sufficient to prevent hemorrhagic complications.
Universal optical conductivity of a disordered Weyl semimetal
Authors: Roy Bitan , Juričić Vladimir , Das Sarma Sankar 
Published: August 2016

AbstractTopological Weyl semimetals, besides manifesting chiral anomaly, can also accommodate a disorder-driven unconventional quantum phase transition into a metallic phase. A fundamentally and practically important question in this regard concerns an experimentally measurable quantity that can clearly distinguish these two phases. We show that the optical conductivity while serving this purpose can also play the role of a bonafide order parameter across such disorder-driven semimetal-metal quantum phase transition by virtue of displaying distinct scaling behavior in the semimetallic and metallic phases, as well as inside the quantum critical fan supporting a non-Fermi liquid. We demonstrate that the correction to the dielectric constant and optical conductivity in a dirty Weyl semimetal due to weak disorder is independent of the actual nature of point-like impurity scatterers. Therefore, optical conductivity can be used as an experimentally measurable quantity to study the critical properties and to pin the universality class of the disorder-driven quantum phase transition in Weyl semimetals.
Rising Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperatures Amplify Extreme Summer Precipitation in Central Europe
Authors: Volosciuk Claudia , Maraun Douglas , Semenov Vladimir A. , Tilinina Natalia , Gulev Sergey K. , Latif Mojib 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe beginning of the 21st century was marked by a number of severe summer floods in Central Europe associated with extreme precipitation (e.g., Elbe 2002, Oder 2010 and Danube 2013). Extratropical storms, known as Vb-cyclones, cause summer extreme precipitation events over Central Europe and can thus lead to such floodings. Vb-cyclones develop over the Mediterranean Sea, which itself strongly warmed during recent decades. Here we investigate the influence of increased Mediterranean Sea surface temperature (SST) on extreme precipitation events in Central Europe. To this end, we carry out atmosphere model simulations forced by average Mediterranean SSTs during 1970–1999 and 2000–2012. Extreme precipitation events occurring on average every 20 summers in the warmer-SST-simulation (2000–2012) amplify along the Vb-cyclone track compared to those in the colder-SST-simulation (1970–1999), on average by 17% in Central Europe. The largest increase is located southeast of maximum precipitation for both simulated heavy events and historical Vb-events. The responsible physical mechanism is increased evaporation from and enhanced atmospheric moisture content over the Mediterranean Sea. The excess in precipitable water is transported from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Europe causing stronger precipitation extremes over that region. Our findings suggest that Mediterranean Sea surface warming amplifies Central European precipitation extremes.
Open System Tribology and Influence of Weather Condition
Authors: Lyu Yezhe , Bergseth Ellen , Olofsson Ulf 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe tribology of an open system at temperatures ranging between 3 °C and −35 °C, with and without snow, was investigated using a pin-on-disc tribometer mounted in a temperature-controlled environmental chamber. The relationship between the microstructure and ductility of the materials and the tribology at the contacting surfaces was investigated. The study shows that during continuous sliding, pressure causes snow particles to melt into a liquid-like layer, encouraging the generation of oxide flakes on the contact path. The friction coefficient and wear rate are dramatically reduced through an oxidative friction and wear mechanism. In the absence of snow, the tribological process is controlled by the low temperature brittleness of steel in the temperature range from 3 °C to −15 °C. At these temperatures, cracks are prone to form and extend on the worn surfaces, resulting in the spalling of bulk scraps, which are crushed into debris that increases the friction coefficient and wear rate due to strong abrasion. When the temperature falls to −25 °C, an ice layer condenses on the metal surfaces and relaxes the tribological process in the same way as the added snow particles, which significantly decreases the friction and wear.
Eye blinking in an avian species is associated with gaze shifts
Authors: Yorzinski Jessica L. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractEven when animals are actively monitoring their environment, they lose access to visual information whenever they blink. They can strategically time their blinks to minimize information loss and improve visual functioning but we have little understanding of how this process operates in birds. This study therefore examined blinking in freely-moving peacocks (Pavo cristatus) to determine the relationship between their blinks, gaze shifts and context. Peacocks wearing a telemetric eye-tracker were exposed to a taxidermy predator (Vulpes vulpes) and their blinks and gaze shifts were recorded. Peacocks blinked during the majority of their gaze shifts, especially when gaze shifts were large, thereby timing their blinks to coincide with periods when visual information is already suppressed. They inhibited their blinks the most when they exhibited high rates of gaze shifts and were thus highly alert. Alternative hypotheses explaining the link between blinks and gaze shifts are discussed.
Synergistic effects of dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen on methane uptake in forest soils without and with freezing treatment
Authors: Wu Haohao , Xu Xingkai , Duan Cuntao , Li Tuansheng , Cheng Weiguo 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThere is limited knowledge about how the interaction of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic nitrogen (N) released into the soil just after freezing can affect methane (CH4) uptake in forest soils. Here, we present how freezing treatment and glucose, as a DOC source, can affect the roles of NH4+-N and NO3−-N in inhibiting soil CH4 uptake, by using soil-core incubation experiments. A long-term freezing at low temperature reduced cumulative CH4 uptake in the soils sampled from two temperate forest stands without carbon (C) and N addition. The inhibition effects of N addition as NH4Cl and KNO3 on the soil CH4 uptake were much larger than C addition. Freezing treatment eliminated the inhibition effect of NH4Cl and KNO3 addition on CH4 uptake, and this response was affected by glucose addition and forest types. The addition of glucose eliminated the inhibition effect of NO3−-N on CH4 uptake in the forest soils without and with freezing treatment, while the addition of NH4+-N and glucose inhibited synergistically the soil CH4 uptake. The results highlight the importance of synergistic effects of DOC and N inputs on the soil CH4 uptake under forest stands during soil wetting and thawing periods.
Preliminary evidence for association of genetic variants in pri-miR-34b/c and abnormal miR-34c expression with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Garcia-Martínez I , Sánchez-Mora C , Pagerols M , Richarte V , Corrales M , Fadeuilhe C , Cormand B , Casas M , Ramos-Quiroga J A , Ribasés M 
Published: August 2016

AbstractAttention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairment to sustain attention and inability to control impulses and activity level. The etiology of ADHD is complex, with an estimated heritability of 70–80%. Under the hypothesis that alterations in the processing or target binding of microRNAs (miRNAs) may result in functional alterations predisposing to ADHD, we explored whether common polymorphisms potentially affecting miRNA-mediated regulation are involved in this psychiatric disorder. We performed a comprehensive association study focused on 134 miRNAs in 754 ADHD subjects and 766 controls and found association between the miR-34b/c locus and ADHD. Subsequently, we provided preliminary evidence for overexpression of the miR-34c-3p mature form in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of ADHD subjects. Next, we tested the effect on gene expression of single-nucleotide polymorphisms within the ADHD-associated region and found that rs4938923 in the promoter of the pri-miR-34b/c tags cis expression quantitative trait loci for both miR-34b and miR-34c and has an impact on the expression levels of 681 transcripts in trans, including genes previously associated with ADHD. This gene set was enriched for miR-34b/c binding sites, functional categories related to the central nervous system, such as axon guidance or neuron differentiation, and serotonin biosynthesis and signaling canonical pathways. Our results provide preliminary evidence for the contribution to ADHD of a functional variant in the pri-miR-34b/c promoter, possibly through dysregulation of the expression of mature forms of miR-34b and miR-34c and some target genes. These data highlight the importance of abnormal miRNA function as a potential epigenetic mechanism contributing to ADHD.
Dyslexia Limits the Ability to Categorize Talker Dialect
Authors: Long Gayle Beam , Fox Robert Allen , Jacewicz Ewa 
Published: August 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether the underlying phonological impairment in dyslexia is associated with a deficit in categorizing regional dialects.MethodTwenty adults with dyslexia, 20 school-age children with dyslexia, and 40 corresponding control listeners with average reading ability listened to sentences produced by multiple talkers (both sexes) representing two dialects: Midland dialect in Ohio (same as listeners' dialect) and Southern dialect in Western North Carolina. Participants' responses were analyzed using signal detection theory.ResultsListeners with dyslexia were less sensitive to talker dialect than listeners with average reading ability. Children were less sensitive to dialect than adults. Under stimulus uncertainty, listeners with average reading ability were biased toward Ohio dialect, whereas listeners with dyslexia were unbiased in their responses. Talker sex interacted with sensitivity and bias differently for listeners with dyslexia than for listeners with average reading ability. The correlations between dialect sensitivity and phonological memory scores were strongest for adults with dyslexia.ConclusionsThe results imply that the phonological deficit in dyslexia arises from impaired access to intact phonological representations rather than from poorly specified representations. It can be presumed that the impeded access to implicit long-term memory representations for indexical (dialect) information is due to less efficient operations in working memory, including deficiencies in utilizing talker normalization processes.
Assessing intratumor heterogeneity and tracking longitudinal and spatial clonal evolutionary history by next-generation sequencing
Authors: Jiang Yuchao , Qiu Yu , Minn Andy J. , Zhang Nancy R. 
Published: August 2016

Significance
Cancer is a disease driven by rounds of genetic and epigenetic mutations that follow Darwinian evolution. The tumor for a given patient is often a mixture of multiple genotypically and phenotypically distinct cell populations. This contributes to failures of targeted therapies and to drug resistance, and thus it is important to study intratumor heterogeneity. Here, we propose Canopy, a statistical framework to reconstruct tumor phylogeny by next-generation sequencing data from temporally and/or spatially separated tumor resections from the same patient. We show that such analyses lead to the identification of potentially useful prognostic/diagnostic biomarkers and successfully recover the tumor’s evolutionary history, validated by single-cell sequencing. Canopy provides a rigorous foundation for statistical analysis of repeated sequencing data from evolving populations.
The TimeGeo modeling framework for urban mobility without travel surveys
Authors: Jiang Shan , Yang Yingxiang , Gupta Siddharth , Veneziano Daniele , Athavale Shounak , González Marta C. 
Published: August 2016

Significance
Individual mobility models are important in a wide range of application areas. Current mainstream urban mobility models require sociodemographic information from costly manual surveys, which are in small sample sizes and updated in low frequency. In this study, we propose an individual mobility modeling framework, TimeGeo, that extracts required features from ubiquitous, passive, and sparse digital traces in the information and communication technology era. The model is able to generate individual trajectories in high spatial–temporal resolutions, with interpretable mechanisms and parameters capturing heterogeneous individual travel choices. The modeling framework can flexibly adapt to input data with different resolutions, and be further extended for various modeling purposes.
Synthetic beta-solenoid proteins with the fragment-free computational design of a beta-hairpin extension
Authors: MacDonald James T. , Kabasakal Burak V. , Godding David , Kraatz Sebastian , Henderson Louie , Barber James , Freemont Paul S. , Murray James W. 
Published: August 2016

Significance
The development of algorithms to design new proteins with backbone plasticity is a key challenge in computational protein design. In this paper, we describe a class of extensible synthetic repeat protein scaffolds with computationally designed variable loops projecting from the central core. We have developed methods to sample backbone conformations computationally using a coarse-grained potential energy function without using backbone fragments from known protein structures. This procedure was combined with existing methods for sequence design to successfully design a loop at atomic level precision. Given the inherent modular and composable nature of repeat proteins, this approach allows the iterative atomic-resolution design of complex structures with potential applications in novel nanomaterials and molecular recognition.
Healthy human gut phageome
Authors: Manrique Pilar , Bolduc Benjamin , Walk Seth T. , van der Oost John , de Vos Willem M. , Young Mark J. 
Published: August 2016

Significance
Humans need a stable, balanced gut microbiome (GM) to be healthy. The GM is influenced by bacteriophages that infect bacterial hosts. In this work, bacteriophages associated with the GM of healthy individuals were analyzed, and a healthy gut phageome (HGP) was discovered. The HGP is composed of core and common bacteriophages common to healthy adult individuals and is likely globally distributed. We posit that the HGP plays a critical role in maintaining the proper function of a healthy GM. As expected, we found that the HGP is significantly decreased in individuals with gastrointestinal disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease). Together, these results reveal a large community of human gut bacteriophages that likely contribute to maintaining human health.
Land-use change reduces habitat suitability for supporting managed honey bee colonies in the Northern Great Plains
Authors: Otto Clint R. V. , Roth Cali L. , Carlson Benjamin L. , Smart Matthew D. 
Published: August 2016

Significance
Insect pollinators are critically important for maintaining global food production and ecosystem function. Our research investigated how land-use changes occurring in the US Northern Great Plains (NGP) is affecting habitat for managed honey bee colonies in a region supporting >40% of the US commercial colony stock. Our study reveals that land-cover features used by beekeepers when selecting apiary locations are decreasing in the NGP and that corn and soybeans, crops actively avoided by beekeepers, are becoming more common in areas with higher apiary density. These findings suggest that the NGP is rapidly changing to a landscape that is less conducive to commercial beekeeping. Our models identified areas within the NGP that can be targeted for pollinator habitat improvements.