bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Homograft (Allograft) Tympanoplasty Update
Authors: Lesinski S. George 
Published: February 2017

If homograft tympanoplasty is to be of value, specific instances in which homograft tympanic membrane, malleus, and incus (TMMI) provide significant hearing and anatomical advantages over standard techniques should be identified. This author has performed 305 homograft tympanoplasties limited to the reconstruction of the severely damaged middle ear. Indications include: 1. previous failure with standard tympanoplasty techniques; 2. high risk of anatomic or hearing failure with standard techniques (total perforation with absent malleus, slag burns); 3. reconstruction of radical mastoidectomy; 4. congenital aural atresia.The first 125 consecutive homograft tympanoplasties were reported in 1982. One hundred eighty additional homograft tympanoplasties have been performed since then. In the past 3 years the anatomic success rate has risen to 97% (174/180) with refinement of surgical techniques.Eighty‐five percent of all patients have maintained an average air‐bone gap of 25 dB or better.Formalin preserved homograft tympanic membranes with attached malleus offer significant advantages over standard tympanoplasty techniques in these specific indications.
An Approach to the Nasal Septum in Children
Authors: Healy Gerald B. 
Published: February 2017

Surgery of the nasal septum has long been discouraged in the pediatric population. Concerns about growth and development of the nose have led surgeons to adopt an extremely cautious attitude toward the correction of nasal septal deformities in childhood.More recently, studies have shown that with proper preservation of septal cartilage, surgery can be safely undertaken in this area. Frequently, however, exposure to the nasal septum is limited in small children due to the size of the nasal vestibule.Sublabial septoplasty has been safely carried out now in ten patients ranging in age from 4 to 9 years. This approach allows for complete access to the nasal septum while avoiding any external cosmetic deformity. The nasal septum has been preserved in all cases through morsalization and repositioning. Growth and development of the nose has been followed for up to 60 months without evidence of deformity or alteration.Sublabial septoplasty would, therefore, appear to be a safe and cosmetically acceptable approach to the correction of severe nasal septal deformities of childhood.
Fluorescent Microscopy of Hematoporphyrin Derivative in the Nude Mouse Tumor Model
Authors: Hill James H. , Rok Bojan , Harris David M. , Cobleigh Melody A. 
Published: February 2017

Mechanisms for localization of hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) within malignant tissue and for tumor necrosis after photodynamic therapy have not yet been established with certainty. We describe a modified freeze‐drying technique to study these mechanisms.Normal tissues and squamous cell carcinoma xenografts were examined in nude mice after administration of HPD. Skin reveals marked fluorescence in connective tissue cells. No fluorescence is visible in surface epithelial cells or keratin. Liver shows diffuse fluorescence only in cells lining sinusoids. In tumor, malignant cells do not fluoresce and connective tissue cells fluoresce brilliantly.This technique provides a clear view of HPD fluorescence, frozen instantaneously in location and time. Fluorescence from connective tissue cells in skin and tumor suggests that localization and photodynamic action may be targeted in part at cells that critically support malignant epithelial cell growth as well as at malignant epithelial cells directly.
Auditory Brain Stem Responses in Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Harell Moshe , Englender Moshe , Kimhi Robert , Demer Myriam , Zohar Moshe 
Published: February 2017

Auditory brain stem responses (ABR) were recorded from 20 schizophrenic patients, of whom ten were medicated and ten were unmedicated. A matched control group consisted of ten normal subjects. A statistically significant difference in the latencies of N3 and N5 recordings was found among the three groups.The results suggest that unmedicated schizophrenics have a delayed latency for peaks N3 and N5, and that medication (with neuroleptic drugs) shortens these delayed latencies back to the normal range.
Electromagnetic Semi‐Implantable Hearing Device: Phase I. Clinical Trials
Authors: McGee T. Manford , Kartush Jack M. , Heide Jorgen C. , Bojrab Dennis I. , Clemis Jack D. , Kulick Kathy C. 
Published: February 2017

Conventional hearing aids have improved significantly in recent years; however, amplification of sound within the external auditory canal creates a number of intrinsic problems, including acoustic feedback and the need for a tight ear mold to increase usable gain. Nonacoustic alternatives which could obviate these encumbrances have not become practical due to inefficient coupling (piezoelectric techniques) or unfeasible power requirements (electromagnetic techniques). Recent technical advances, however, prompted a major clinical investigation of a new electromagnetic, semi‐implantable hearing device.This study presents the details of clinical phase I, in which an electromagnetic driver was coupled with a target magnet temporarily affixed onto the lateral surface of the malleus of six hearing aid users with sensorineural losses.The results indicate that the electromagnetic hearing device provides sufficient gain and output characteristics to benefit individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. Significant improvements compared to conventional hearing aids were noted in pure‐tone testing and, to a lesser degree, in speech discrimination. Subjective responses were quite favorable, indicating that the electromagnetic hearing device 1. produces no acoustic feedback; 2. works well in noisy environments; and 3. provides a more quiet, natural sound than patients' conventional hearing aids.These favorable results led to phase II of the project, in which patients with surgically amenable mixed hearing losses were implanted with the target magnet incorporated within a hydroxyapatite ossicular prosthesis. The results of this second‐stage investigation were also encouraging and will be reported separately.
Cisplatin‐Induced Ototoxicity: The Effect of Pigmentation and Inhibitory Agents
Authors: Schweitzer Vanessa Gayl 
Published: February 2017

Cis‐diamminedichloroplatinum II (cisplatin), a divalent platinum compound and potent cell‐cycle nonspecific chemotherapeutic agent, produces a dose‐limiting, permanent, high‐frequency sensorineural hearing loss and peripheral neuropathy, and a dose‐related cumulative renal insufficiency with tubular necrosis and interstitial nephritis. The potential for dose‐limiting and permanent cochlear (neuro) toxicity remains despite present methods of hypertonic saline, prehydration, and mannitol diuresis prior to drug administration. The exact mechanism(s) of ototoxicity and/or nephrotoxicity are still unknown. Continued aggressive high‐dose cisplatin chemotherapy necessitates the investigation of ways to decrease the dose‐limiting side effects that inhibit the administration of cisplatin at therapeutic and tumoricidal doses.This multifaceted project investigates two categories of potential inhibitors of cisplatin toxicity that, when coadministered with a known tumoricidal and ototoxic dose of cisplatin, will decrease or inhibit the ototoxicity: 1. phosphonic acid antibiotics (fosfomycin; 1,2 epoxypropylphosphonic acid); 2. nonglucocorticoid 21‐aminosteroids, which are free oxygen radical scavengers (LAZAROIDS: U74006F and U78517F).This project also investigates the role of pigmentation as a variable affecting the evaluation of platinum‐induced ototoxicity in the guinea pig animal model. Identification of an optimal animal model for future cisplatin toxicity research should be based on previously established species‐specific differences in total drug dose, systemic toxicity, and morphological and functional evidence of cochlear toxicity, as affected by differences in pigmentation and drug tolerance.Cytocochleography, brainstem auditory evoked response (BSER), scanning and transmission electron microscopy of organ of Corti and the stria vascularis, double‐blind light microscopy of renal small intestine, and peripheral nerve tissue, and gamma‐emission analysis of 195Mplatinum localization in inner ear neuroepithelium and the stria vascularis are used in the global evaluation of the ototoxic effects of cisplatin in both the adult albino and pigmented guinea pig.
Fabrication and Characterization of Conductive Conjugated Polymer‐Coated Antheraea mylitta Silk Fibroin Fibers for Biomedical Applications
Authors: GH Darshan , Kong Dexu , Gautrot Julien , Vootla Shyam Kumar 
Published: February 2017

Conductive polymers are interesting materials for a number of biological and medical applications requiring electrical stimulation of cells or tissues. Highly conductive polymers (polypyrrole and polyaniline)/Antheraea mylitta silk fibroin coated fibers are fabricated successfully by in situ polymerization without any modification of the native silk fibroin. Coated fibers characterized by scanning electron microscopy confirm the silk fiber surface is covered by conductive polymers. Thermogravimetric analysis reveals preserved thermal stability of silk fiber after coating process. X‐ray diffraction of degummed fiber diffraction peaks at around 2θ = 20.4 and 16.5 confirms the preservation of the β‐sheet structure typical of degummed silk II fibers. This phenomenon implies that both polypyrrole and polyaniline chains form interactions with peptide linkages in degummed fiber macromolecules, without significantly disrupting protein assembly. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of coated fibers indicates hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions exist between silk fibroin macromolecules and conductive polymers. Resulting fibers display good conductive properties compared to corresponding conjugated polymers. In vitro analysis (live/dead assay) of the behavior of human immortalized keratinocytes (HaCaTs) on coated fibers demonstrates improved cell‐adhesive properties and viability after polymers coating. Hence, polypyrrole‐ and polyaniline‐coated A. mylitta silk fibers are suitable for application in cell culture and for tissue engineering, where electrical conduction properties are required.
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Toward Hydrogen Sulfide Based Therapeutics: Critical Drug Delivery and Developability Issues
Authors: Zheng Yueqin , Yu Bingchen , De La Cruz Ladie Kimberly , Roy Choudhury Manjusha , Anifowose Abiodun , Wang Binghe 
Published: February 2017

AbstractHydrogen sulfide (H2S), together with nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO), belongs to the gasotransmitter family and plays important roles in mammals as a signaling molecule. Many studies have also shown the various therapeutic effects of H2S, which include protection against myocardial ischemia injury, cytoprotection against oxidative stress, mediation of neurotransmission, inhibition of insulin signaling, regulation of inflammation, inhibition of the hypoxia‐inducible pathway, and dilation of blood vessels. One major challenge in the development of H2S‐based therapeutics is its delivery. In this manuscript, we assess the various drug delivery strategies in the context of being used research tools and eventual developability as therapeutic agents.
Parkin‐mediated mitophagy is downregulated in browning of white adipose tissue
Authors: Taylor David , Gottlieb Roberta A. 
Published: February 2017

ObjectiveBrowning of white adipose tissue (WAT) promotes increased energy expenditure through the action of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and is an attractive target to promote weight loss in obesity. Lowering of mitochondrial membrane potential by UCP1 is uniquely beneficial in this context; in other tissues, reduced membrane potential promotes mitochondrial clearance via mitophagy. It is unknown how parkin‐mediated mitophagy is regulated in beige adipocytes.MethodsThe relationship between parkin expression and WAT browning was investigated in 3T3‐L1 adipocytes and parkin‐deficient male C57BL/6 mice in response to pharmacological browning stimuli.ResultsRosiglitazone treatment in 3T3‐L1 adipocytes promoted mitochondrial biogenesis, UCP1 expression, and mitochondrial uncoupling. Parkin expression was decreased and reduced mitochondrial‐associated parkin, and p62 indicated a reduction in mitophagy activity. Parkin overexpression prevented mitochondrial remodeling in response to rosiglitazone. In CL 316,243‐treated wild‐type mice, decreased parkin expression was observed in subcutaneous inguinal WAT, where UCP1 was strongly induced. CL 316,243 treatment weakly induced UCP1 expression in the gonadal depot, where parkin expression was unchanged. In contrast, parkin‐deficient mice exhibited robust UCP1 expression in gonadal WAT following CL 316,243 treatment.ConclusionsWAT browning was associated with a decrease in parkin‐mediated mitophagy, and parkin expression antagonized browning of WAT.
Probing cavity versus surface preference of fluorescent template molecules in molecularly imprinted polystyrene microspheres
Authors: Sonawane Swapnil L. , Asha S. K. 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACTFunctional polystyrene (PS) crosslinked microbeads were developed by dispersion polymerization as fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) having cavities with specific recognition sites. The functional azobenzene molecule modified with pyridine was self‐assembled with Pyrenebutyric acid (template molecules), and introduced during the second stage of dispersion polymerization of polystyrene. The template molecule was removed from MIP by Soxhlet using acetonitrile as solvent. Non imprinted polymer (NIP) having no template was also synthesized for comparative study. Fluorescence spectroscopy could be used as a tool to derive insight into the location of the template molecules on the MIP or NIP. The template molecules were adsorbed on the surface of the NIPs during binding studies, which was evidenced from the pyrene excimeric emission observed at 440 nm. The template binding efficiency of the NIPs were much lower compared to MIPs. Pyrene emission from MIP upon rebinding showed typical monomeric emission in the 375–395 nm range, confirming its location in isolated cavities. In rebinding studies of the template molecules, the MIPs selectively took up the template for which the cavity was designed, which demonstrated their selectivity towards template molecules. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 1558–1565
Organocatalyzed ring‐opening polymerization of cyclic butylene terephthalate oligomers
Authors: Pinaud Julien , Tang Rong , Gimello Olinda , Robin Jean‐Jacques 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACTIn this study, various organic compounds, with different activation modes, have been tested as catalysts for the ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic butylene terephthalate oligomers (CBT) in bulk at 210 °C, using tert‐butylbenzyl alcohol (tBnOH) as initiator. Among them, 1,3,5‐triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec‐5‐ene (TBD) appeared to be the most efficient, achieving high monomer conversions in short reaction times (within minutes). Analysis by size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC) of the poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) synthesized using this catalyst also showed that the polymerization follows the expected theoretical Mn trend for molecular weights up to 50 kg·mol−1. Chain‐end fidelity relatively to the alcohol initiator has been confirmed by MALDI‐TOF mass spectroscopy, which showed that all polymer chains possess the tert‐butylbenzyl moiety as chain‐end. Finally, to demonstrate the potential of this system for the synthesis of PBT‐based block copolymers, a monomethyl ether poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of 5000 g·mol−1 has been employed as initiator for the ROP of CBT. A PEO‐b‐PBT block copolymer of 15,000 g·mol−1 could thus been obtained, as confirmed by the shift of the SEC traces towards higher molecular weights and the same diffusion coefficient determined for 1H NMR signals of the PEO block and the PBT block. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 1611–1619
Biolayer interferometry of lipid nanodisc‐reconstituted yeast vacuolar H+‐ATPase
Authors: Sharma Stuti , Wilkens Stephan 
Published: February 2017

AbstractVacuolar H+‐ATPase (V‐ATPase) is a large, multisubunit membrane protein complex responsible for the acidification of subcellular compartments and the extracellular space. V‐ATPase activity is regulated by reversible disassembly, resulting in cytosolic V1‐ATPase and membrane‐integral V0 proton channel sectors. Reversible disassembly is accompanied by transient interaction with cellular factors and assembly chaperones. Quantifying protein‐protein interactions involving membrane proteins, however, is challenging. Here we present a novel method to determine kinetic constants of membrane protein–protein interactions using biolayer interferometry (BLI). Yeast vacuoles are solubilized, vacuolar proteins are reconstituted into lipid nanodiscs with native vacuolar lipids and biotinylated membrane scaffold protein (MSP) followed by affinity purification of nanodisc‐reconstituted V‐ATPase (V1V0ND). We show that V1V0ND can be immobilized on streptavidin‐coated BLI sensors to quantitate binding of a pathogen derived inhibitor and to measure the kinetics of nucleotide dependent enzyme dissociation.
De novo design of signal sequences to localize cargo to the 1,2‐propanediol utilization microcompartment
Authors: Jakobson Christopher M. , Slininger Lee Marilyn F. , Tullman‐Ercek Danielle 
Published: February 2017

AbstractOrganizing heterologous biosyntheses inside bacterial cells can alleviate common problems owing to toxicity, poor kinetic performance, and cofactor imbalances. A subcellular organelle known as a bacterial microcompartment, such as the 1,2‐propanediol utilization microcompartment of Salmonella, is a promising chassis for this strategy. Here we demonstrate de novo design of the N‐terminal signal sequences used to direct cargo to these microcompartment organelles. We expand the native repertoire of signal sequences using rational and library‐based approaches and show that a canonical leucine‐zipper motif can function as a signal sequence for microcompartment localization. Our strategy can be applied to generate new signal sequences localizing arbitrary cargo proteins to the 1,2‐propanediol utilization microcompartments.
Self‐assembling study of sarcolipin and its mutants in multiple molecular dynamic simulations
Authors: Cao Yipeng , Wu Xue , Yang Rui , Wang Xinyu , Sun Haiying , Lee Imshik 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACTThe Sarcolipin (SLN) is a single trans‐membrane protein that can self‐assembly to dimer and oligomer for playing importantphysiological function. In this work, we addressed the dimerization of wild type SLN (wSLN) and its mutants (mSLNs) – I17A and I20A, using both coarse‐grained (CG) and atomistic (AT) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our results demonstrated that wSLN homodimer assembled as a left‐handed helical complex, while mSLNs heterodimers assembled as right‐handed complexes. Analysis of residue‐residue contacts map indicated that isoleucine (Ile)‐leucione (Leu) zipper domain played an important role in dimerization. The potential of mean force (PMF) demonstrated that wSLN homodimer was more stable than mSLNs heterodimers. Meanwhile, the mSLNs heterodimers preferred right‐handed rather than left‐handed helix. AT‐MD simulations for wSLN and mSLNs were also in line with CG‐MD simulations. These results provided the insights for understanding the mechanisms of SLNs self‐assembling. Proteins 2017; 85:1065–1077. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Princeton_TIGRESS 2.0: High refinement consistency and net gains through support vector machines and molecular dynamics in double‐blind predictions during the CASP11 experiment
Authors: Khoury George A. , Smadbeck James , Kieslich Chris A. , Koskosidis Alexandra J. , Guzman Yannis A. , Tamamis Phanourios , Floudas Christodoulos A. 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACTProtein structure refinement is the challenging problem of operating on any protein structure prediction to improve its accuracy with respect to the native structure in a blind fashion. Although many approaches have been developed and tested during the last four CASP experiments, a majority of the methods continue to degrade models rather than improve them. Princeton_TIGRESS (Khoury et al., Proteins 2014;82:794–814) was developed previously and utilizes separate sampling and selection stages involving Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations and classification using an SVM predictor. The initial implementation was shown to consistently refine protein structures 76% of the time in our own internal benchmarking on CASP 7‐10 targets. In this work, we improved the sampling and selection stages and tested the method in blind predictions during CASP11. We added a decomposition of physics‐based and hybrid energy functions, as well as a coordinate‐free representation of the protein structure through distance‐binning
distances to capture fine‐grained movements. We performed parameter estimation to optimize the adjustable SVM parameters to maximize precision while balancing sensitivity and specificity across all cross‐validated data sets, finding enrichment in our ability to select models from the populations of similar decoys generated for targets in CASPs 7‐10. The MD stage was enhanced such that larger structures could be further refined. Among refinement methods that are currently implemented as web‐servers, Princeton_TIGRESS 2.0 demonstrated the most consistent and most substantial net refinement in blind predictions during CASP11. The enhanced refinement protocol Princeton_TIGRESS 2.0 is freely available as a web server at http://atlas.engr.tamu.edu/refinement/. Proteins 2017; 85:1078–1098. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Theoretical Study on the Catalysis Effect of Platinum Cluster during Carbon Monoxide Polymer Growth
Authors: Yang Yongpeng , Cheng Ping , Huang Shiping 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe polymerization of carbon monoxide on Pt55 cluster has been studied using density functional theory. Firstly, some randomly generated oxocarbons, ranging from C2 species to C9 species, are obtained on the Pt cluster at high CO coverage. The high stability of those adsorbed oxocarbons is demonstrated by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, and the high CO coverage can hinder the decomposition of oxocarbons especially for C2O2. By comparing the favorite structures of C4O4, C5O5 and C6O6 before and after adsorbed on the Pt cluster, it is found that all the oxocarbons preferred to be linear rather than cyclic or lactone‐like when adsorbed on the Pt cluster because of the stronger interaction between linear oxocarbons and Pt surface. Several different mechanisms of oxocarbon growth are also investigated, and we find that small oxocarbons prefer to couple with co‐adsorbed CO to form larger oxocarbons with overcoming an energy barrier of ∼ 1 eV. The high stability and low energy barrier of oxocarbon growth indicate the utilization of Pt cluster can significantly overcome the drawbacks of CO polymerization in diamond anvil cell: extreme condition and very low yield.
Acid‐Functionalized Mesoporous SBA‐15 as an Efficient Heterogeneous Organocatalyst for the Green Synthesis of β‐Amino Alcohol Derivatives
Authors: Ghosh Swarbhanu , Bhanja Piyali , Molla Rostam Ali , Khatun Resmin , Islam Sk. Manirul 
Published: February 2017

AbstractSBA‐15 has been post‐synthesized for modification to sketch highly arranged AFS‐1, ‐COOH functionalized mesoporous hybrid organosilica. This hybrid organosilica has been utilized as a good mesoporous organocatalyst to synthesize 2‐amino alcohols under the application of mild conditions without co‐catalyst of any other metal. The material has reactivity for nucleophilic reaction of nucleopholic aromatic amines with epoxide under the application of solvent free condition and for the synthesis of 2‐amino alcohols from different kind of epoxides at normal temperature. To produce 2‐amino alcohols it has shown outstanding elevated catalytic efficiency in neat condition.