bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
IVIG regulates the survival of human but not mouse neutrophils
Authors: Schneider Christoph , Wicki Simone , Graeter Stefanie , Timcheva Tankica M. , Keller Christian W. , Quast Isaak , Leontyev Danila , Djoumerska-Alexieva Iglika K. , Käsermann Fabian , Jakob Stephan M. , Dimitrova Petya A. , Branch Donald R. , Cummings Richard D. , Lünemann Jan D. , Kaufmann Thomas , Simon Hans-Uwe , von Gunten Stephan 
Published: April 2017

AbstractIntravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) are purified IgG preparations made from the pooled plasma from thousands of healthy donors and are being tested in preclinical mouse models. Inherent challenges, however, are the pluripotency of IVIG and its xenogeneicity in animals. IVIG can alter the viability of human neutrophils via agonistic antibodies to Fas and Siglec-9. In this study, we compared the effects of IVIG on human and mouse neutrophils using different death assays. Different commercial IVIG preparations similarly induced cytokine-dependent death in human neutrophils, whereas they had no effects on the survival of either peripheral blood or bone marrow neutrophils from C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice. F(ab’)2 but not Fc fragments of IVIG induced death of human neutrophils, whereas neither of these IVIG fragments, nor agonistic monoclonal antibodies to human Fas or Siglec-9 affected the viability of mouse neutrophils. Pooled mouse IgG, which exhibited a different immunoprofile compared to IVIG, also had no effect on mouse cells. Together, these observations demonstrate that effects of IVIG on neutrophil survival are not adequately reflected in current mouse models, despite the key role of these cells in human inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Two-port connecting-layer-based sandwiched grating by a polarization-independent design
Authors: Li Hongtao , Wang Bo 
Published: April 2017

AbstractIn this paper, a two-port connecting-layer-based sandwiched beam splitter grating with polarization-independent property is reported and designed. Such the grating can separate the transmission polarized light into two diffraction orders with equal energies, which can realize the nearly 50/50 output with good uniformity. For the given wavelength of 800 nm and period of 780 nm, a simplified modal method can design a optimal duty cycle and the estimation value of the grating depth can be calculated based on it. In order to obtain the precise grating parameters, a rigorous coupled-wave analysis can be employed to optimize grating parameters by seeking for the precise grating depth and the thickness of connecting layer. Based on the optimized design, a high-efficiency two-port output grating with the wideband performances can be gained. Even more important, diffraction efficiencies are calculated by using two analytical methods, which are proved to be coincided well with each other. Therefore, the grating is significant for practical optical photonic element in engineering.
Insights into the structures and electronic properties of Cun+1

μ
and CunS
μ
(n = 1–12; μ = 0, ±1) clusters
Authors: Li Cheng-Gang , Shen Zi-Gang , Hu Yan-Fei , Tang Ya-Nan , Chen Wei-Guang , Ren Bao-Zeng 
Published: April 2017

AbstarctThe stability and reactivity of clusters are closely related to their valence electronic configuration. Doping is a most efficient method to modify the electronic configuration and properties of a cluster. Considering that Cu and S posses one and six valence electrons, respectively, the S doped Cu clusters with even number of valence electrons are expected to be more stable than those with odd number of electrons. By using the swarm intelligence based CALYPSO method on crystal structural prediction, we have explored the structures of neutral and charged Cun+1 and CunS (n = 1–12) clusters. The electronic properties of the lowest energy structures have been investigated systemically by first-principles calculations with density functional theory. The results showed that the clusters with a valence count of 2, 8 and 12 appear to be magic numbers with enhanced stability. In addition, several geometry-related-properties have been discussed and compared with those results available in the literature.
Thermodynamic Scaling of the Dynamics of a Strongly Hydrogen-Bonded Glass-Former
Authors: Romanini Michela , Barrio María , Macovez Roberto , Ruiz-Martin María D. , Capaccioli Simone , Tamarit Josep Ll. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractWe probe the temperature- and pressure-dependent specific volume (v) and dipolar dynamics of the amorphous phase (in both the supercooled liquid and glass states) of the ternidazole drug (TDZ). Three molecular dynamic processes are identified by means of dielectric spectroscopy, namely the α relaxation, which vitrifies at the glass transition, a Johari-Goldstein βJG relaxation, and an intramolecular process associated with the relaxation motion of the propanol chain of the TDZ molecule. The lineshapes of dielectric spectra characterized by the same relaxation time (isochronal spectra) are virtually identical, within the studied temperature and pressure ranges, so that the time-temperature-pressure superposition principle holds for TDZ. The α and βJG relaxation times fulfil the density-dependent thermodynamic scaling: master curves result when they are plotted against the thermodynamic quantity Tv
γ
, with thermodynamic exponent γ approximately equal to 2. These results show that the dynamics of TDZ, a system characterized by strong hydrogen bonding, is characterized by an isomorphism similar to that of van-der-Waals systems. The low value of γ can be rationalized in terms of the relatively weak density-dependence of the dynamics of hydrogen-bonded systems.
Multivariate assessment and attribution of droughts in Central Asia
Authors: Li Zhi , Chen Yaning , Fang Gonghuan , Li Yupeng 
Published: April 2017

AbstractWhile the method for estimating the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) is now more closely aligned to key water balance components, a comprehensive assessment for measuring long-term droughts that recognizes meteorological, agro-ecological and hydrological perspectives and their attributions is still lacking. Based on physical approaches linked to potential evapotranspiration (PET), the PDSI in 1965–2014 showed a mixture of drying (42% of the land area) and wetting (58% of the land area) that combined to give a slightly wetting trend (0.0036 per year). Despite the smaller overall trend, there is a switch to a drying trend over the past decade (−0.023 per year). We designed numerical experiments and found that PDSI trend responding to the dramatic increase in air temperature and slight change in precipitation. The variabilities of meteorological and agro-ecological droughts were broadly comparable to various PDSI drought index. Interestingly, the hydrological drought was not completely comparable to the PDSI, which indicates that runoff in arid and semi-arid regions was not generated primarily from precipitation. Instead, fraction of glacierized areas in catchments caused large variations in the observed runoff changes.
Increased cis-to-trans urocanic acid ratio in the skin of chronic spontaneous urticaria patients
Authors: Pham Duy Le , Lim Kyung-Min , Joo Kyung-Mi , Park Hae-Sim , Leung Donald Y. M. , Ye Young-Min 
Published: April 2017

AbstractIncreased filaggrin expression was found to be correlated with severity scores in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU); however, the role of filaggrin breakdown products (FBPs) in CSU has not been studied. We collected stratum corneum (SC) specimens from the volar forearms of 10 CSU patients, 10 AD patients, and 10 healthy normal controls (NCs) and measured contents of FBPs (pyrrolidone carboxylic acid [PCA] and urocanic acid [UCA]) using UPLC-MS/MS, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and epidermal pH. Compared to NCs,cis-UCA level was increased in CSU lesions (P < 0.05) and decreased in AD lesions (P < 0.01). Thecis-to-trans-UCA ratio in SC specimens from CSU patients was significantly greater than those from AD and NC subjects. AD lesions had lower FBP and PCA contents compared to NC skin (bothP < 0.001), and higher TEWL and pH compared to CSU lesions. Moreover,cis-UCA, but nottrans-UCA, enhanced the IgE-mediated basophil activation, as well as IgE- and calcium-mediated degranulation of LAD-2 cells, in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that increasedcis-to-transUCA ratio in the epidermis is a distinct feature of CSU, which could enhance mast cell degranulation. Modulation ofcis-UCA may be a potential target for skin diseases associated with IgE-mediated mast cell degranulation.
The pathogenic exon 1 HTT protein is produced by incomplete splicing in Huntington’s disease patients
Authors: Neueder Andreas , Landles Christian , Ghosh Rhia , Howland David , Myers Richard H. , Faull Richard L. M. , Tabrizi Sarah J. , Bates Gillian P. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractWe have previously shown that exon 1 of the huntingtin gene does not always splice to exon 2 resulting in the production of a small polyadenylated mRNA (HTTexon1) that encodes the highly pathogenic exon 1 HTT protein. The level of this read-through product is proportional to CAG repeat length and is present in all knock-in mouse models of Huntington’s disease (HD) with CAG lengths of 50 and above and in the YAC128 and BACHD mouse models, both of which express a copy of the human HTT gene. We have now developed specific protocols for the quantitative analysis of the transcript levels of HTTexon1 in human tissue and applied these to a series of fibroblast lines and post-mortem brain samples from individuals with either adult-onset or juvenile-onset HD. We found that the HTTexon1 mRNA is present in fibroblasts from juvenile HD patients and can also be readily detected in the sensory motor cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of post-mortem brains from HD individuals, particularly in those with early onset disease. This finding will have important implications for strategies to lower mutant HTT levels in patients and the design of future therapeutics.
Gene co-expression network analysis identifies porcine genes associated with variation in metabolizing fenbendazole and flunixin meglumine in the liver
Authors: Howard Jeremy T. , Ashwell Melissa S. , Baynes Ronald E. , Brooks James D. , Yeatts James L. , Maltecca Christian 
Published: April 2017

AbstractIdentifying individual genetic variation in drug metabolism pathways is of importance not only in livestock, but also in humans in order to provide the ultimate goal of giving the right drug at the right dose at the right time. Our objective was to identify individual genes and gene networks involved in metabolizing fenbendazole (FBZ) and flunixin meglumine (FLU) in swine liver. The population consisted of female and castrated male pigs that were sired by boars represented by 4 breeds. Progeny were randomly placed into groups: no drug (UNT), FLU or FBZ administered. Liver transcriptome profiles from 60 animals with extreme (i.e. fast or slow drug metabolism) pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles were generated from RNA sequencing. Multiple cytochrome P450 (CYP1A1, CYP2A19 and CYP2C36) genes displayed different transcript levels across treated versus UNT. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified 5 and 3 modules of genes correlated with PK parameters and a portion of these were enriched for biological processes relevant to drug metabolism for FBZ and FLU, respectively. Genes within identified modules were shown to have a higher transcript level relationship (i.e. connectivity) in treated versus UNT animals. Investigation into the identified genes would allow for greater insight into FBZ and FLU metabolism.
Capacity of humic substances to complex with iron at different salinities in the Yangtze River estuary and East China Sea
Authors: Yang Rujun , Su Han , Qu Shenglu , Wang Xuchen 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThe iron binding capacities (IBC) of fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA) were determined in the salinity range from 5 to 40. The results indicated that IBC decreased while salinity increased. In addition, dissolved iron (dFe), FA and HA were also determined along the Yangtze River estuary’s increasing salinity gradient from 0.14 to 33. The loss rates of dFe, FA and HA in the Yangtze River estuary were up to 96%, 74%, and 67%, respectively. The decreases in dFe, FA and HA, as well as the change in IBC of humic substances (HS) along the salinity gradient in the Yangtze River estuary were all well described by a first-order exponential attenuation model: y(dFe/FA/HA, S) = a0 × exp(kS) + y0. These results indicate that flocculation of FA and HA along the salinity gradient resulted in removal of dFe. Furthermore, the exponential attenuation model described in this paper can be applied in the major estuaries of the world where most of the removal of dFe and HS occurs where freshwater and seawater mix.
Lipidomics and RNA-Seq Study of Lipid Regulation in Aphis gossypii parasitized by Lysiphlebia japonica
Authors: XueKe Gao , Shuai Zhang , JunYu Luo , LiMin Lü , LiJuan Zhang , JinJie Cui 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThe cotton–melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, is a major insect pest worldwide. Lysiphlebia japonica (Ashmead) is an obligate parasitic wasp of A. gossypii, and has the ability to regulate lipid metabolism of the cotton-melon aphid. Lipids are known to play critical roles in energy homeostasis, membrane structure, and signaling. However, the parasitoid genes that regulate fat metabolism and lipid composition in aphids are not known. 34 glycerolipids and 248 glycerophospholipids were identified in this study. We have shown that a 3-day parasitism of aphids can induce significant changes in the content and acyl chain composition of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and subspecies composition of glycerophospholipids content and acyl chains. It also upregulate the expression of several genes involved in triacylglycerol synthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Pathway analysis showed that a higher expression of genes involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and glycolysis pathways may contribute to TAGs synthesis in parasitized aphids. Interestingly, the higher expression of genes in the sphingomyelin pathway and reduced sphingomyelin content may be related to the reproductive ability of A. gossypii. We provide a comprehensive resource describing the molecular signature of parasitized A. gossypii particularly the changes associated with the lipid metabolism and discuss the biological and ecological significance of this change.
Novel anodic oxide film with self-sealing layer showing excellent corrosion resistance
Authors: Wu Yinghao , Zhao Wenjie , Wang Wurong , Wang Liping , Xue Qunji 
Published: April 2017

AbstractIn the present work, the novel anodic oxide film (AOF) with self-sealing layer was successfully fabricated on 2024Al alloys by using an improved anodic oxidation method. The presence of the self-sealing layer on the porous layer of AOF was verified by Field emission scanning electron micro scope. Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to evaluate the morphology and the corrosion products of the AOF after salt spray test. The microhardness test showed that the self-sealing AOFs still displayed high hardness even after salt spray test. Electrochemical test and salt spray test results illustrated the excellent corrosion performance of the novel structured self-sealing anodic oxide film (SAOF) compared with common porous AOFs. The narrow diameter makes it difficult for chlorine ions ingress into the pores of SAOFs. The self-sealing layer played an important role in protecting the SAOF from corrosion.
High-efficiency chirality-modulated spoof surface plasmon meta-coupler
Authors: Duan Jingwen , Guo Huijie , Dong Shaohua , Cai Tong , Luo Weijie , Liang Zhongzhu , He Qiong , Zhou Lei , Sun Shulin 
Published: April 2017

AbstractEfficiently exciting surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) is highly desired in many photonic applications, but most approaches (such as prism and grating couplers) cannot control flexibly their SPP excitation directions. While Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) metasurfaces were recently proposed to achieve direction-controllable SPP excitations, such scheme suffers from low-efficiency issue due to both direct reflections at the coupler surface and the mode mismatch between the coupler and the guiding-out plasmonic structure. In this article, we solve these issues via imposing two criterions to guide design both the metasurface and the plasmonic metal, based on which a direction-controllable SPP excitation with very high efficiency can be realized. As a proof of concept, we designed/fabricated a realistic device working in the microwave regime, and performed both near-field and far-field measurements to demonstrate that it can achieve an spoof SPP conversion efficiency ~78%, much higher than previous devices. Full-wave simulations are in good agreement with experiments, showing that the efficiency can be further pushed to 92% with optimized designs. Our findings can stimulate spoof SPP-related applications, particularly can help enhance the spin-dependent light-matter interactions in low frequency regime.
Multimodal chest surface motion data for respiratory and cardiovascular monitoring applications
Authors: Shafiq Ghufran , Veluvolu Kalyana Chakravarthy 
Published: April 2017

AbstractChest surface motion is of significant importance as it contains information of respiratory and cardiac systems together with the complex coupling between these two systems. Chest surface motion is not only critical in radiotherapy, but also useful in personalized systems for continuous cardiorespiratory monitoring. In this dataset, a multimodal setup is employed to simultaneously acquire cardiorespiratory signals. These signals include high-density trunk surface motion (from 16 distinct locations) with VICON motion capture system, nasal breathing from a thermal sensor, respiratory effort from a strain belt and electrocardiogram in lead-II configuration. This dataset contains 72 trials recorded from 11 participants with a cumulative duration of approximately 215 min under various conditions such as normal breathing, breath-hold, irregular breathing and post-exercise recovery. The presented dataset is not only useful for evaluating prediction algorithms for radiotherapy applications, but can also be employed for the development of techniques to evaluate the cardio-mechanics and hemodynamic parameters of chest surface motion.
Large-scale modeled contemporary and future water temperature estimates for 10774 Midwestern U.S. Lakes
Authors: Winslow Luke A. , Hansen Gretchen J.A. , Read Jordan S , Notaro Michael 
Published: April 2017

AbstractClimate change has already influenced lake temperatures globally, but understanding future change is challenging. The response of lakes to changing climate drivers is complex due to the nature of lake-atmosphere coupling, ice cover, and stratification. To better understand the diversity of lake responses to climate change and give managers insight on individual lakes, we modelled daily water temperature profiles for 10,774 lakes in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for contemporary (1979–2015) and future (2020–2040 and 2080–2100) time periods with climate models based on the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, the worst-case emission scenario. In addition to lake-specific daily simulated temperatures, we derived commonly used, ecologically relevant annual metrics of thermal conditions for each lake. We include all supporting lake-specific model parameters, meteorological drivers, and archived code for the model and derived metric calculations. This unique dataset offers landscape-level insight into the impact of climate change on lakes.
Wavelength-Dependent Plasmon-Mediated Coalescence of Two Gold Nanorods
Authors: Liaw Jiunn-Woei , Lin Wu-Chun , Kuo Mao-Kuen 
Published: April 2017

AbstractPlasmon-mediated coalescence of two nearby gold nanorods (NRs) suspended in water induced by the illumination of a linearly polarized (LP) light was studied theoretically. We analyzed the coupled optical forces and torques in terms of Maxwell’s stress tensor upon two identical NRs irradiated by a LP plane wave using the multiple multipole method to estimate the optomechanical outcome. Numerical results show that the light-matter interaction can perform attraction or repulsion, depending on their initial configurations. For the attraction, the end-to-end or side-by-side coalescence of the two gold NRs could be caused by the LP light, depending on the wavelength. For example, the side-by-side coalescence of two adjacent NRs of r = 15 nm and L = 120 nm is most likely induced by 800-nm LP laser beam, whereas the end-to-end coalescence by 1064-nm or 1700-nm LP laser. These distinct phenomena are attributed to the perpendicular or parallel alignment of NR to the polarization of LP light in different wavelength ranges. The magnitude of optical force, proportional to the light’s fluence, could be stronger than van der Waals force. The estimation based on quasi-static model without considering the fluid dynamics may provide an insight to optical manipulation on the self-assembly of gold colloid.
Next-generation DNA sequencing identifies novel gene variants and pathways involved in specific language impairment
Authors: Chen Xiaowei Sylvia , Reader Rose H. , Hoischen Alexander , Veltman Joris A. , Simpson Nuala H. , Francks Clyde , Newbury Dianne F. , Fisher Simon E. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractA significant proportion of children have unexplained problems acquiring proficient linguistic skills despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Developmental language disorders are highly heritable with substantial societal impact. Molecular studies have begun to identify candidate loci, but much of the underlying genetic architecture remains undetermined. We performed whole-exome sequencing of 43 unrelated probands affected by severe specific language impairment, followed by independent validations with Sanger sequencing, and analyses of segregation patterns in parents and siblings, to shed new light on aetiology. By first focusing on a pre-defined set of known candidates from the literature, we identified potentially pathogenic variants in genes already implicated in diverse language-related syndromes, including ERC1, GRIN2A, and SRPX2. Complementary analyses suggested novel putative candidates carrying validated variants which were predicted to have functional effects, such as OXR1, SCN9A and KMT2D. We also searched for potential “multiple-hit” cases; one proband carried a rare AUTS2 variant in combination with a rare inherited haplotype affecting STARD9, while another carried a novel nonsynonymous variant in SEMA6D together with a rare stop-gain in SYNPR. On broadening scope to all rare and novel variants throughout the exomes, we identified biological themes that were enriched for such variants, including microtubule transport and cytoskeletal regulation.