bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment of Rats with Apocynin Has Considerable Inhibitory Effects on Arylamine N-Acetyltransferase Activity in the Liver
Authors: Francis Sheena , Laurieri Nicola , Nwokocha Chukwuemeka , Delgoda Rupika 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe effect of apocynin on the activity of arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NATs) in excised liver samples was examined using eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats. Three groups of six animals each were fed a normal diet alone or a treatment of 50 or 100 mg/kg/day of apocynin via gavages for eight (8) weeks. Chronic in vivo administration of apocynin led to significant (p < 0.001) reduction of in vitro liver NAT activity up to 93% as compared with untreated rats (18.80 ± 2.10 μmols p-anisidine/min/μg liver protein). In vitro exposure of untreated liver homogenates to apocynin led to a dose-dependent inhibition of NAT activity with IC50 = 0.69 ± 0.02 mM. In silico modelling of apocynin tautomers and radical species into human NAT crystal structures supported the hypothesis that thiol functionalities in NAT enzymes may be crucial in apocynin binding. The involvement of human NAT enzymes in different pathological conditions, such as cancer, has encouraged the research for selective NAT inhibitors in both humans and animal models with possible chemopreventive properties.
Global methylation, oxidative stress and relative telomere length in biliary atresia patients
Authors: Udomsinprasert Wanvisa , Kitkumthorn Nakarin , Mutirangura Apiwat , Chongsrisawat Voranush , Poovorawan Yong , Honsawek Sittisak 
Published: May 2016

AbstractAlu and LINE-1 elements are retrotransposons with a ubiquitous presence in the human genome that can cause genomic instability, specifically relating to telomere length. Genotoxic agents may induce methylation of retrotransposons, in addition to oxidative DNA damage in the form of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Methylation of retrotransposons induced by these agents may contribute to biliary atresia (BA) etiology. Here, we investigated correlations between global methylation, 8-OHdG and relative telomere length, as well as reporting on Alu and LINE-1 hypomethylation in BA patients. Alu and LINE-1 hypomethylation were found to be associated with elevated risk of BA (OR = 4.07; 95% CI: 2.27–7.32; P < 0.0001 and OR = 3.51; 95% CI: 1.87–6.59; P < 0.0001, respectively). Furthermore, LINE-1 methylation was associated with liver stiffness in BA patients (β coefficient = −0.17; 95% CI: −0.24 to −0.10; P < 0.0001). Stratified analysis revealed negative correlations between Alu and LINE-1 methylation and 8-OHdG in BA patients (P < 0.0001). In contrast, positive relationships were identified between Alu and LINE-1 methylation and relative telomere length in BA patients (P < 0.0001). These findings suggest that retrotransposon hypomethylation is associated with plasma 8-OHdG and telomere length in BA patients.
The Statistical Value of Raw Fluorescence Signal in Luminex xMAP Based Multiplex Immunoassays
Authors: Breen Edmond J. , Tan Woei , Khan Alamgir 
Published: May 2016

AbstractTissue samples (plasma, saliva, serum or urine) from 169 patients classified as either normal or having one of seven possible diseases are analysed across three 96-well plates for the presences of 37 analytes using cytokine inflammation multiplexed immunoassay panels. Censoring for concentration data caused problems for analysis of the low abundant analytes. Using fluorescence analysis over concentration based analysis allowed analysis of these low abundant analytes. Mixed-effects analysis on the resulting fluorescence and concentration responses reveals a combination of censoring and mapping the fluorescence responses to concentration values, through a 5PL curve, changed observed analyte concentrations. Simulation verifies this, by showing a dependence on the mean florescence response and its distribution on the observed analyte concentration levels. Differences from normality, in the fluorescence responses, can lead to differences in concentration estimates and unreliable probabilities for treatment effects. It is seen that when fluorescence responses are normally distributed, probabilities of treatment effects for fluorescence based t-tests has greater statistical power than the same probabilities from concentration based t-tests. We add evidence that the fluorescence response, unlike concentration values, doesn’t require censoring and we show with respect to differential analysis on the fluorescence responses that background correction is not required.
Vascular growth responses to chronic arterial occlusion are unaffected by myeloid specific focal adhesion kinase (FAK) deletion
Authors: Heuslein Joshua L. , Murrell Kelsey P. , Leiphart Ryan J. , Llewellyn Ryan A. , Meisner Joshua K. , Price Richard J. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractArteriogenesis, or the lumenal expansion of pre-existing arterioles in the presence of an upstream occlusion, is a fundamental vascular growth response. Though alterations in shear stress stimulate arteriogenesis, the migration of monocytes into the perivascular space surrounding collateral arteries and their differentiation into macrophages is critical for this vascular growth response to occur. Focal adhesion kinase’s (FAK) role in regulating cell migration has recently been expanded to primary macrophages. We therefore investigated the effect of the myeloid-specific conditional deletion of FAK on vascular remodeling in the mouse femoral arterial ligation (FAL) model. Using laser Doppler perfusion imaging, whole mount imaging of vascular casted gracilis muscles, and immunostaining for CD31 in gastrocnemius muscles cross-sections, we found that there were no statistical differences in perfusion recovery, arteriogenesis, or angiogenesis 28 days after FAL. We therefore sought to determine FAK expression in different myeloid cell populations. We found that FAK is expressed at equally low levels in Ly6Chi and Ly6Clo blood monocytes, however expression is increased over 2-fold in bone marrow derived macrophages. Ultimately, these results suggest that FAK is not required for monocyte migration to the perivascular space and that vascular remodeling following arterial occlusion occurs independently of myeloid specific FAK.
Aggregation of germlings is a major contributing factor towards mycelial heterogeneity of Streptomyces
Authors: Zacchetti Boris , Willemse Joost , Recter Brand , van Dissel Dino , van Wezel Gilles P. , Wösten H. A. B. , Claessen Dennis 
Published: May 2016

AbstractStreptomycetes are filamentous bacteria that produce numerous valuable compounds, including the majority of clinically used antibiotics. At an industrial scale, most of these compounds are produced in bioreactors. Growth of streptomycetes under these conditions is characterized by the formation of complex mycelial particles, whose sizes follow a bimodal distribution. Given the correlation between specific productivity and morphology, this size heterogeneity poses a potential drawback in industry. Recent work indicates that mycelial morphology is controlled by a number of genes that encode proteins required for the synthesis of cell surface-associated glycans. Using a quantifiable system based on fluorescent markers, we here show that these glycans mediate aggregation between germlings and young mycelia, yielding mycelial particles that originate from many different individuals. We also demonstrate that at later time points aggregation between distinct particles is no longer detectable. Notably, the absence of the corresponding glycan synthases yields mycelia that are homogeneous in size, identifying mycelial aggregation as a driving factor towards size heterogeneity. Given that aggregation is widespread within streptomycetes and can also occur between different Streptomyces strains, our work paves the way to improve Streptomyces as a cell factory for the production of known metabolites, but possibly also to discover new ones.
LPS/TLR4 Signaling Enhances TGF-β Response Through Downregulating BAMBI During Prostatic Hyperplasia
Authors: He Yao , Ou Zhenyu , Chen Xiang , Zu Xiongbing , Liu Longfei , Li Yuan , Cao Zhenzhen , Chen Minfeng , Chen Zhi , Chen Hequn , Qi Lin , Wang Long 
Published: May 2016

AbstractCompelling evidence suggests that benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) development involves accumulation of mesenchymal-like cells derived from the prostatic epithelium by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β induces EMT phenotypes with low E-cadherin and high vimentin expression in prostatic epithelial cells. Here we report that LPS/TLR4 signalling induces down-regulation of the bone morphogenic protein and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (BAMBI), which enhances TGF-β signalling in the EMT process during prostatic hyperplasia. Additionally, we found that the mean TLR4 staining score was significantly higher in BPH tissues with inflammation compared with BPH tissues without inflammation (5.13 ± 1.21 and 2.96 ± 0.73, respectively;P < 0.001). Moreover, patients with inflammatory infiltrate were more likely to have a higher age (P = 0.020), BMI (P = 0.026), prostate volume (P = 0.024), total IPSS score (P = 0.009) and IPSS-S (P < 0.001). Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that TLR4 mRNA expression level was significantly positively associated with age, BMI, serum PSA levels, urgency and nocturia subscores of IPSS in the inflammatory group. These findings provide new insights into the TLR4-amplified EMT process and the association between TLR4 levels and storage LUTS, suggesting chronic inflammation as vital to the pathogenesis of BPH.
Preparation of Carbon Nanotube/TiO2 Mesoporous Hybrid Photoanode with Iron Pyrite (FeS2) Thin Films Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
Authors: Kilic Bayram , Turkdogan Sunay , Astam Aykut , Ozer Oguz Can , Asgin Mansur , Cebeci Hulya , Urk Deniz , Mucur Selin Pravadili 
Published: May 2016

AbstractMulti-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/TiO2 mesoporous networks can be employed as a new alternative photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). By using the MWCNT/TiO2 mesoporous as photoanodes in DSSC, we demonstrate that the MWCNT/TiO2 mesoporous photoanode is promising alternative to standard FTO/TiO2 mesoporous based DSSC due to larger specific surface area and high electrochemical activity. We also show that iron pyrite (FeS2) thin films can be used as an efficient counter electrode (CE), an alternative to the conventional high cost Pt based CE. We are able to synthesis FeS2 nanostructures utilizing a very cheap and easy hydrothermal growth route. MWCNT/TiO2 mesoporous based DSSCs with FeS2 CE achieved a high solar conversion efficiency of 7.27% under 100 mW cm−2 (AM 1.5G 1-Sun) simulated solar irradiance which is considerably (slightly) higher than that of A-CNT/TiO2 mesoporous based DSSCs with Pt CE. Outstanding performance of the FeS2 CE makes it a very promising choice among the various CE materials used in the conventional DSSC and it is expected to be used more often to achieve higher photon-to-electron conversion efficiencies.
Cytokine production capacity in depression and anxiety
Authors: Vogelzangs N , de Jonge P , Smit J H , Bahn S , Penninx B W 
Published: May 2016

AbstractRecent studies have suggested that immune function may be dysregulated in persons with depressive and anxiety disorders. Few studies examined the expression of cytokines in response to ex vivo stimulation of blood by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to study the innate production capacity of cytokines in depression and anxiety. To investigate this, baseline data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) were used, including persons (18–65 years; 66% women) with current (that is, past month; N=591) or remitted (N=354) DSM-IV depressive or anxiety disorders and healthy controls (N=297). Depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured by means of the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Using Multi-Analyte Profiling technology, plasma levels of 13 cytokines were assayed after whole blood stimulation by addition of LPS. Basal plasma levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were also available. A basal and a LPS summary index were created. Results show that LPS-stimulated inflammation was associated with increased odds of current depressive/anxiety disorders (odds ratio (OR)=1.28, P=0.009), as was the case for basal inflammation (OR=1.28, P=0.001). These associations were no longer significant after adjustment for lifestyle and health (OR=1.13, P=0.21; OR=1.07, P=0.45, respectively). After adjustment for lifestyle and health, interleukin-8 was associated with both remitted (OR=1.25, P=0.02) and current (OR=1.28, P=0.005) disorders. In addition, LPS-stimulated inflammation was associated with more severe depressive (β=0.129, P<0.001) and anxiety (β=0.165, P<0.001) symptoms, as was basal inflammation. Unlike basal inflammation, LPS-stimulated inflammation was still associated with (anxiety) symptom severity after adjustment for lifestyle and health (IDS: interleukin (IL)-8, MCP-1, MMP2; BAI: LPS index, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-18, MCP-1, MMP2, TNF-β). To conclude, lifestyle and health factors may partly explain higher levels of basal, as well as LPS-stimulated inflammation in persons with depressive and anxiety disorders. However, production capacity of several cytokines was positively associated with severity of depressive and in particular anxiety symptoms, even while taking lifestyle and health factors into account. Elevated IL-8 production capacity in both previously and currently depressed and anxious persons might indicate a genetic vulnerability for these disorders.
Speech Perception in Classroom Acoustics by Children With Cochlear Implants and With Typical Hearing
Authors: Iglehart Frank 
Published: May 2016

Purpose
This study measured speech perception ability in children with cochlear implants and children with typical hearing when listening across ranges of reverberation times (RTs) and speech-to-noise ratios.

Method
Participants listened in classroom RTs of 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 s combined with a 21-dB range of speech-to-noise ratios. Subsets also listened in a low-reverberant audiological sound booth. Performance measures using the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech-in-Noise Test (Etymotic Research, Inc., 2005) were 50% correct word recognition across these acoustic conditions, with supplementary analyses of percent correct.

Results
Reduction in RT from 0.9 to 0.6 s benefited both groups of children. A further reduction in RT to 0.3 s provided additional benefit to the children with cochlear implants, with no further benefit or harm to those with typical hearing. Scores in the sound booth were significantly higher for the participants with implants than in the classroom.

Conclusions

These results support the acoustic standards of 0.6 s RT for children with typical hearing and 0.3 s RT for children with auditory issues in learning spaces (≤283 m
3
) as specified in standards S12.60-2010/Part 1 of the American National Standards Institute /Acoustical Society of America (2010). In addition, speech perception testing in a low-reverberant booth overestimated classroom listening ability in children with cochlear implants.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6170183
Dislocated interests and climate change
Authors: Davis Steven J , Diffenbaugh Noah 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe predicted effects of climate change on surface temperatures are now emergent and quantifiable. The recent letter by Hansen and Sato (2016Environ. Res. Lett.11034009) adds to a growing number of studies showing that warming over the past four decades has shifted the distribution of temperatures higher almost everywhere, with the largest relative effects on summer temperatures in developing regions such as Africa, South America, southeast Asia, and the Middle East (e.g., Diffenbaugh and Scherer 2011Clim. Change107615–24; Anderson 2011Clim. Change108581; Mahlsteinet al2012Geophys. Res. Lett.39L21711). Hansen and Sato emphasize that although these regions are warming disproportionately, their role in causing climate change—measured by cumulative historical CO2emissions produced—is small compared to the US and Europe, where the relative change in temperatures has been less. This spatial and temporal mismatch of climate change impacts and the burning of fossil fuels is a critical dislocation of interests that, as the authors note, has ‘substantial implications for global energy and climate policies.’ Here, we place Hansen and Sato’s ‘national responsibilities’ into a broader conceptual framework of problematically dislocated interests, and briefly discuss the related challenges for global climate mitigation efforts.
Andre Dubus
Authors: Carr Edenfield Olivia 
Published: May 2016

Contemporary writer Andre Dubus (b. 1936–d. 1999) published two novels, six collections of short stories / novellas, and two collections of essays during his lifetime. He was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where perhaps the fondness he felt for his two older sisters coupled with the close relationship he maintained with his mother, Katherine (Burke) Dubus, contributed to his ability to write so well from a female perspective. He graduated from the Christian Brothers High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, then earned his BA in English and journalism from McNeese State College, where he wrote a weekly column for the campus newspaper, in which he gave his opinions on a wide variety of current events. In 1958, after he graduated, he married Patricia (Pat) Lowe and, hoping to please his detached father, accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the US Marines. When Andre Sr. died in 1963, his son resigned to pursue his master of fine arts (MFA) degree at the University of Iowa, where he became friends with Richard Yates, Kurt Vonnegut, and others who would influence him both professionally and personally. In 1966, he moved with his wife and four children to teach at Bradford College in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he remained on the faculty until his retirement in 1984. Though Dubus would be the first at Iowa to receive a contract for a novel while still in graduate school, it would be his short stories that would secure his critical reputation. Dubus’s successful career was complicated by three divorces, the last of which brought an end to his eight-year marriage to writer Peggy Rambach, with whom he had two daughters. The couple separated a year and a half after tragedy occurred along I-93 just after midnight on 23 July 1986, in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Dubus had stopped to aid two stranded motorists and was struck by a car. The accident left him crippled and in constant pain. As he adjusted to the frustrating disability that robbed him of his physical energy and temporarily stole his ability to write fiction, he found peace in the rituals of family and faith and rediscovered his voice in essay writing. On 24 February 1999, Andre Dubus died of heart failure at his home in Haverhill. Though he lived and worked for the majority of his life around the mill towns of Massachusetts, his upbringing in the bayous of Louisiana and his deep Catholic faith had the greatest influence on his writing. With the exception of the limited edition of Land Where My Fathers Died (1985) and the novels The Lieutenant (1967) and Voices from the Moon (1984), which are available as e-books, all of Dubus’s collections remain in print. His story “Killings” (1979) is popular in anthologies. He has had two screenplays adapted from his work, In the Bedroom (2001) and We Don’t Live Here Anymore (2004).
When Antimicrobial Stewardship Isn′t Watching: The Educational Impact of Critical Care Prospective Audit and Feedback
Authors: Fleming Dimitra , Ali Karim F. , Matelski John , D'Sa Ryan , Powis Jeff 
Published: May 2016

Abstract
Prospective audit and feedback (PAF) is an effective strategy to optimize antimicrobial use in the critical care setting, yet whether skills gained during PAF influence future antimicrobial prescribing is uncertain. This multisite study demonstrates that knowledge learned during PAF is translated and incorporated into the practice of critical care physicians even when not supported by an antimicrobial stewardship program.
Information use shapes range expansion dynamics into environmental gradients
Authors: Fronhofer Emanuel A. , Nitsche Nicolai , Altermatt Florian 
Published: May 2016

AbstractGlobally, geographic distributions of species are dynamic and strongly influenced by dispersal. Vice versa, range dynamics feed back and may select for increased dispersal. This interplay almost universally happens across environmental gradients which can directly impact the fitness of organisms, but also provide individuals with information on the environmental changes. However, the organisms’; ability to subsequently adjust dispersal decisions plastically has been largely ignored and the (macro)ecological consequences remain unclear. Using modeling and controlled experiments in replicated microcosm landscapes, we show that information on environmental gradients severely impacted range dynamics and inverted the spatial distribution of population densities in comparison to controls where this information was not provided. Additionally, information use prevented evolutionary changes in dispersal and an acceleration of range expansions. We demonstrate the strong impact of informed dispersal and subsequent behavioral changes on range dynamics in environmental gradients and spatial dynamics in general.
fMRI evidence of equivalent neural suppression by repetition and prior knowledge
Authors: Poppenk J. , Moscovitch M. , McIntosh A.R. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractStimulus repetition speeds behavioral responding (behavioral priming) and is accompanied by suppressed neural responses (repetition suppression; RS) that have been observed up to three days after initial exposure. While some proposals have suggested the two phenomena are linked, behavioral priming has been observed many years after initial exposure, whereas RS is widely considered a transitory phenomenon. This raises the question: what is the true upper limit of RS persistence? To answer this question, we scanned healthy, English-native adults with fMRI as they viewed novel (Asian) proverbs, recently repeated (Asian) proverbs, and previously known (English) proverbs that were matched on various dimensions. We then estimated RS by comparing repeated or previously known proverbs against novel ones. Multivariate analyses linked previously known and repeated proverbs with statistically indistinguishable RS in a broad visual-linguistic network. In eachsuppressedregion, prior knowledge and repetition also induced a common shift in functional connectivity, further underscoring the similarity of the RS phenomenon induced by these conditions. By contrast,activatedregions readily distinguished prior knowledge and repetition conditions in a manner consistent with engagement of semantic and episodic memory systems, respectively. Our results illustrate that regardless of whether RS is understood in terms of its magnitude, spatial extent or functional connectivity profile, typical RS effects can be elicited even under conditions where recently triggered biological processes or episodic memory are unlikely to play a prominent role. These results provide important new evidence that RS (of the kind observed after an interval of at least several minutes) reflects the facilitation of perceptual and comprehension processes by any type of information retrieved from long-term memory.