bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells enhance engraftment, vasculogenic and pro-angiogenic activities of endothelial colony forming cells in immunocompetent hosts
Authors: Shafiee Abbas , Patel Jatin , Lee James S. , Hutmacher Dietmar W. , Fisk Nicholas M. , Khosrotehrani Kiarash 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe clinical use of endothelial colony forming cells (ECFC) is hampered by their restricted engraftment. We aimed to assess engraftment, vasculogenic and pro-angiogenic activities of ECFC in immunocompetent (C57BL/6: WT) or immunodeficient (rag1−/−C57BL/6: Rag1) mice. In addition, the impact of host immune system was investigated where ECFC were co-implanted with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) from adult bone marrow (AdBM-MSC), fetal bone marrow (fBM-MSC), fetal placental (fPL-MSC), or maternal placental (MPL-MSC). Transplantation of ECFCs in Matrigel plugs resulted in less cell engraftment in WT mice compared to Rag1 mice. Co-implantation with different MSCs resulted in a significant increase in cell engraftment up to 9 fold in WT mice reaching levels of engraftment observed when using ECFCs alone in Rag1 mice but well below levels of engraftment with MSC-ECFC combination in Rag1 recipients. Furthermore, MSCs did not reduce murine splenic T cell proliferation in response to ECFCsin vitro. ECFCs enhanced the murine neo-vascularization through paracrine effect, but with no difference between Rag1 and WT mice. In conclusions, the host adaptive immune system affects the engraftment of ECFCs. MSC co-implantation improves ECFC engraftment and function even in immunocompetent hosts mostly through non-immune mechanisms.
Substrate recognition by two different P450s: Evidence for conserved roles in a common fold
Authors: Tietz Drew R. , Colthart Allison M. , Sondej Pochapsky Susan , Pochapsky Thomas C. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractCytochrome P450 monooxygenases CYP101A1 and MycG catalyze regio- and stereospecific oxidations of their respective substrates, d-camphor and mycinamicin IV. Despite the low sequence homology between the two enzymes (29% identity) and differences in size and hydrophobicity of their substrates, the conformational changes that occur upon substrate binding in both enzymes as determined by solution NMR methods show some striking similarities. Many of the same secondary structural features in both enzymes are perturbed, suggesting the existence of a common mechanism for substrate binding and recognition in the P450 superfamily.
Liquid-infused nitric oxide-releasing (LINORel) silicone for decreased fouling, thrombosis, and infection of medical devices
Authors: Goudie Marcus J. , Pant Jitendra , Handa Hitesh 
Published: October 2017

AbstractRecent reports on liquid-infused materials have shown promise in creating ultra-low fouling surfaces, but are limited in their ability to prevent bacterial proliferation and prevent platelet activation in blood-contacting applications. In this work, a liquid-infused nitric oxide-releasing (LINORel) material is created by incorporating the nitric oxide (NO) donorS-nitroso-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and silicone oil in commercial medical grade silicone rubber tubing through a solvent swelling process. This combination provides several key advantages over previous NO-releasing materials, including decreased leaching of NO donor, controlled release of NO, and maintenance of ultra-low fouling property of liquid-infused materials. The LINORel tubing reduces protein adhesion as observed using fluorescence imaging, and platelet adhesion (81.7 ± 2.5%)in vitroover a 2 h period. The LINORel combination greatly reduces bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation of two most common pathogens responsible for hospital acquired infections: gram-positiveStaphylococcus aureusand gram-negativePseudomonas aeruginosa(99.3 ± 1.9% and 88.5 ± 3.3% respectively) over a 7-day period in a CDC bioreactor environment. Overall, the LINORel approach provides a synergistic combination of active and passive non-fouling approaches to increase biocompatibility and reduce infection associated with medical devices.
Porous nitrogen-enriched carbonaceous material from marine waste: chitosan-derived carbon nitride catalyst for aerial oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid
Authors: Verma Sanny , Nadagouda Mallikarjuna N. , Varma Rajender S. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractChitosan-derived, porous nitrogen-enriched carbonaceous carbon nitride catalyst (PCNx) has been synthesized from marine waste and its use demonstrated in a metal-free heterogeneous selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) using aerial oxygen under mild reaction conditions.
Person identification from aerial footage by a remote-controlled drone
Authors: Bindemann Markus , Fysh Matthew C. , Sage Sophie S. K. , Douglas Kristina , Tummon Hannah M. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractRemote-controlled aerial drones (or unmanned aerial vehicles; UAVs) are employed for surveillance by the military and police, which suggests that drone-captured footage might provide sufficient information for person identification. This study demonstrates that person identification from drone-captured images is poor when targets are unfamiliar (Experiment 1), when targets are familiar and the number of possible identities is restricted by context (Experiment 2), and when moving footage is employed (Experiment 3). Person information such as sex, race and age is also difficult to access from drone-captured footage (Experiment 4). These findings suggest that such footage provides a particularly poor medium for person identification. This is likely to reflect the sub-optimal quality of such footage, which is subject to factors such as the height and velocity at which drones fly, viewing distance, unfavourable vantage points, and ambient conditions.
Deadly acute Decompression Sickness in Risso’s dolphins
Authors: Fernández A. , Sierra E. , Díaz-Delgado J. , Sacchini S. , Sánchez-Paz Y. , Suárez-Santana C. , Arregui M. , Arbelo M. , Bernaldo de Quirós Y. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractDiving air-breathing vertebrates have long been considered protected against decompression sickness (DCS) through anatomical, physiological, and behavioural adaptations. However, an acute systemic gas and fat embolic syndrome similar to DCS in human divers was described in beaked whales that stranded in temporal and spatial association with military exercises involving high-powered sonar. More recently, DCS has been diagnosed in bycaught sea turtles. Both cases were linked to human activities. Two Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) out of 493 necropsied cetaceans stranded in the Canary Islands in a 16-year period (2000–2015), had a severe acute decompression sickness supported by pathological findings and gas analysis. Deadly systemic, inflammatory, infectious, or neoplastic diseases, ship collision, military sonar, fisheries interaction or other type of lethal inducing associated trauma were ruled out. Struggling with a squid during hunting is discussed as the most likely cause of DCS.
Effects of inoculants Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus parafarraginis on the fermentation characteristics and microbial communities of corn stover silage
Authors: Xu Zhenshang , He Huiying , Zhang Susu , Kong Jian 
Published: October 2017

AbstractTo improve silage quality of crop forages, bacterial inoculants are often employed. In this study, Lactobacillus brevis SDMCC050297 and Lactobacillus parafarraginis SDMCC050300 were used as inoculants to corn stover in lab silos for ensiling. At the initial stage of ensiling, the pH value of the inoculated silages reduced more drastically, and the inoculated silages had higher lactic acid and acetic acid contents. After 20 days of ensiling, a reduction in lactic acid content coupled with an increase in acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol contents was observed in inoculated silages. Furthermore, both the amount of lactic acid bacteria and the abundance of order Lactobacillales in inoculated silages were higher than those of controls in the whole process. Meanwhile, Lb. brevis predominated before day 20 and then the dominance was shifted to Lb. parafarraginis until the late stage of ensiling. In contrast, the epiphytic Lactococcus lactic and Lb. plantarum played major roles at the beginning of naturally fermented silages and then Lb. plantarum and Lb. brevis were the most abundant at the later stage. In conclusion, these two selected strains had capability of improving the silage quality and providing the reproducible ensiling process, thus having the potential as silage inoculants.
Phosphatidylserine-Induced Conformational Modulation of Immune Cell Exhaustion-Associated Receptor TIM3
Authors: Weber Jeffrey K. , Zhou Ruhong 
Published: October 2017

AbstractIn the face of chronic cancers and protracted viral infections, human immune cells are known to adopt an exhausted state in which their effector functions are lost. In recent years, a number of inhibitory receptors have been connected to the immune cell exhaustion phenotype; furthermore, ligands capable of activating these receptors have been discovered. The molecular mechanisms by which these ligands affect the exhausted states of immune cells, however, are largely unknown. Here, we present the results of molecular dynamics simulations of one potential exhaustion-associated system: the complex of human inhibitory receptor TIM3 (hTIM3) and its ligand phosphatidylserine (PSF). We find that PSF fundamentally alters the electrostatic environment within hTIM3’s Ca2+ binding site, facilitating the formation of a salt bridge and freeing a tyrosine-containing strand. This liberated tyrosine then collapses into a nearby hydrophobic pocket, anchoring a modified conformational ensemble typified by a β-strand rearrangement. The “electrostatic switching/hydrophobic anchoring” mechanism of conformational modulation reported here suggests a new type of process by which TIM3 activation might be achieved. This work also highlights strategies by which PSF-mediated conformational change could be controlled, either through administration of small molecules, execution of mutations, or modification of receptor phosphorylation states.
All Dielectric Transmissive Structural Multicolor Pixel Incorporating a Resonant Grating in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon
Authors: Koirala Ishwor , Shrestha Vivek Raj , Park Chul-Soon , Gao Song , Lee Sang-Shin , Choi Duk-Yong 
Published: October 2017

AbstractAll dielectric transmissive type polarization-tuned structural multicolor pixels (MCPs) are proposed and demonstrated based on a one-dimensional hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) grating integrated with a silicon nitride waveguide. Both bandpass and bandstop transmission filtering characteristics in the visible regime, centered at the same wavelength, have been achieved by tailoring the structural parameters including the duty ratio of the grating and the thickness of the dielectric waveguide. For the three manufactured MCPs, the transmission peak exceeds 70% for the transverse electric (TE) polarization and 90% for the transverse magnetic (TM) polarization as observed at the resonance and off-resonance wavelength, respectively. The polarization-switched transmissions are attributed to the guided mode resonance initiated by the interaction of the a-Si:H grating and the dielectric waveguide. A broad color palette covering the entire visible band was successfully realized from a suite of MCPs with varying grating pitches. The proposed structural color pixels are expected to facilitate the construction of dynamic displays, image sensors, optical data storage, security tags, and so forth.
Milling overrides cultivar, leavening agent and baking mode on chemical and rheological traits and sensory perception of durum wheat breads
Authors: Ficco Donatella Bianca Maria , Saia Sergio , Beleggia Romina , Fragasso Mariagiovanna , Giovanniello Valentina , De Vita Pasquale 
Published: October 2017

AbstractSmell and aroma are important determinants of consumer acceptance, so gaining deeper insight into bread smell and aroma perception is a research goal. Sixteen combinations of four variables were investigated, to evaluate the contributions of bread chemical and rheological properties and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) towards sensory acceptability of breads: genotypes (landrace vs. modern); types of flour (wholemeal vs. semolina); leavening agents (brewing yeast vs. sourdough starter); and baking modes (gas-fired vs. wood-fired). Milling had the greatest impact over the other treatments for the rheological and chemical properties, including for VOCs, with great impact on the sensory traits of the flours and breads. The processing phases had great impact on smell and aroma, as defined through formation of alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, and other compounds (e.g., ethylbenzene, 2-pentylfuran, methoxyphenyl oxime). Leavening agent had great impact on sensory perception, although breads from the sourdough starter were perceived as with lower taste and colour than the brewing yeast. Baking mode had no relevant role on sensory perception. These data strongly undermine the belief of a ‘better product’ that is frequently attributed to old genotypes versus modern cultivars, and indicate that the milling and the bread-making processes determine the quality of the end product.
Radiation-induced resistance oscillations in 2D electron systems with strong Rashba coupling
Authors: Iñarrea Jesús 
Published: October 2017

AbstractWe present a theoretical study on the effect of radiation on the mangetoresistance of two-dimensional electron systems with strong Rashba spint-orbit coupling. We want to study the interplay between two well-known effects in these electron systems: the radiation-induced resistance oscillations and the typical beating pattern of systems with intense Rashba interaction. We analytically derive an exact solution for the electron wave function corresponding to a total Hamiltonian with Rashba and radiation terms. We consider a perturbation treatment for elastic scattering due to charged impurities to finally obtain the magnetoresistance of the system. Without radiation we recover a beating pattern in the amplitude of the Shubnikov de Hass oscillations: a set of nodes and antinodes in the magnetoresistance. In the presence of radiation this beating pattern is strongly modified following the profile of radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations. We study their dependence on intensity and frequency of radiation, including the teraherzt regime. The obtained results could be of interest for magnetotransport of nonideal Dirac fermions in 3D topological insulators subjected to radiation.
Antimicrobial peptide-loaded gold nanoparticle-DNA aptamer conjugates as highly effective antibacterial therapeutics against Vibrio vulnificus
Authors: Lee Boeun , Park Jonggwan , Ryu Minkyung , Kim Soochan , Joo Minju , Yeom Ji-Hyun , Kim Suk , Park Yoonkyung , Lee Kangseok , Bae Jeehyeon 
Published: October 2017

AbstractVibrio vulnificus causes fatal infections in humans, and antibiotics are commonly used in treatment regimens against V. vulnificus infection. However, the therapeutic effects of antibiotics are limited by multidrug resistance. In this study, we demonstrated that an antimicrobial peptide (AMP), HPA3PHis, loaded onto a gold nanoparticle-DNA aptamer (AuNP-Apt) conjugate (AuNP-Apt-HPA3PHis) is an effective therapeutic tool against V. vulnificus infection in vivo in mice. HPA3PHis induced bacterial cell death through the disruption of membrane integrity of V. vulnificus. The introduction of AuNP-Apt-HPA3PHis into V. vulnificus-infected HeLa cells dramatically reduced intracellular V. vulnificus by 90%, leading to an increase in the viability of the infected cells. Moreover, when V. vulnificus-infected mice were intravenously injected with AuNP-Apt-HPA3PHis, a complete inhibition of V. vulnificus colonization was observed in the mouse organs, leading to a 100% survival rate among the treated mice, whereas all the control mice died within 40 hours of being infected. Therefore, this study demonstrated the potential of an AMP delivered by AuNP-Apt as an effective and rapid treatment option against infection caused by a major pathogen in humans and aquatic animals.
Changes in land use alter soil quality and aggregate stability in the highlands of northern Ethiopia
Authors: Delelegn Yoseph T. , Purahong Witoon , Blazevic Amila , Yitaferu Birru , Wubet Tesfaye , Göransson Hans , Godbold Douglas L. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractLand use change alters biodiversity and soil quality and thus affects ecosystem functions. This study investigated the effects of changes in land use on major soil quality indicators. Soil samples were taken from a depth of 0–10 cm (top soil) under four major land uses (cropland, grassland, area exclosure, eucalyptus plantation) with similar land use change histories for analysis, and soil from a nearby natural forest was used as a reference. Land use change from natural forest to cropland and grassland significantly decreased major soil quality indicators such as soil organic C (SOC), total soil N (TSN), molybdate-reactive bicarbonate-extractable P, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spore density, but compared to the cropland, change to area exclosure and eucalyptus plantation significantly improved SOC, TSN and soil aggregate stability (SAS). In addition, we assessed the correlation among indicators and found that SOC, TSN and SAS significantly correlate with many other soil quality indicators. The study highlights that the conversion of natural forest to cropland results in decline of soil quality and aggregate stability. However, compared to cropland, application of area exclosure and afforestation on degraded lands restores soil quality and aggregate stability.
Association between corneal endothelial cell densities and elevated cytokine levels in the aqueous humor
Authors: Yagi-Yaguchi Yukari , Yamaguchi Takefumi , Higa Kazunari , Suzuki Terumasa , Aketa Naohiko , Dogru Murat , Satake Yoshiyuki , Shimazaki Jun 
Published: October 2017

AbstractAnnual reduction rate of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) varies among etiologies, however, the cause of chronic endothelial cell loss is still unknown. We recently reported the elevation of inflammatory cytokines in the aqueous humor (AqH) in eyes with bullous keratopathy and low ECD. To evaluate the association between ECD and aqueous cytokine levels, we collected a total of 157 AqH samples prospectively. The AqH levels of cytokines were measured and multivariate analyses were conducted to find the correlation between ECD, aqueous cytokine levels and clinical factors, such as number of previous intraocular surgeries and protein concentration in AqH. As a result, ECD was negatively correlated with specific cytokine levels, including IL-1α, IL-4, IL-13, MIP-1β, TNF-α and E-selectin (all P < 0.05). The aqueous cytokine levels showed different correlations with these clinical factors; the number of previous intraocular surgeries was associated with all cytokines except MIP-1α. The AqH protein concentration and the status of intraocular lens showed similar patterns of elevation of IL-1α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17A, MIP-1β, MCP-1, E-selectin, P-selectin and sICAM-1. In conclusion, elevation of AqH cytokine levels was associated with reduced ECDs. AqH cytokine levels showed significant correlations with clinical factors associated with low ECDs.
DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation analyses of the active LINE-1 subfamilies in mice
Authors: Murata Yui , Bundo Miki , Ueda Junko , Kubota-Sakashita Mie , Kasai Kiyoto , Kato Tadafumi , Iwamoto Kazuya 
Published: October 2017

AbstractRetrotransposon long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) occupies a large proportion of the mammalian genome, comprising approximately 100,000 genomic copies in mice. Epigenetic status of the 5′ untranslated region (5′-UTR) of LINE-1 is critical for its promoter activity. DNA methylation levels in the 5′-UTR of human active LINE-1 subfamily can be measured by well-established methods, such as a pyrosequencing-based assay. However, because of the considerable sequence and structural diversity in LINE-1 among species, methods for such assays should be adapted for the species of interest. Here we developed pyrosequencing-based assays to examine methylcytosine (mC) and hydroxymethylcytosine (hmC) levels of the three active LINE-1 subfamilies in mice (TfI, A, and GfII). Using these assays, we quantified mC and hmC levels in four brain regions and four nonbrain tissues including tail, heart, testis, and ovary. We observed tissue- and subfamily-specific mC and hmC differences. We also found that mC levels were strongly correlated among different brain regions, but mC levels of the testis showed a poor correlation with those of other tissues. Interestingly, mC levels in the A and GfII subfamilies were highly correlated, possibly reflecting their close evolutionary relationship. Our assays will be useful for exploring the epigenetic regulation of the active LINE-1 subfamilies in mice.
Risk of bias reporting in the recent animal focal cerebral ischaemia literature
Authors: Bahor Zsanett , Liao Jing , Macleod Malcolm R. , Bannach-Brown Alexandra , McCann Sarah K. , Wever Kimberley E. , Thomas James , Ottavi Thomas , Howells David W. , Rice Andrew , Ananiadou Sophia , Sena Emily 
Published: October 2017

Background: Findings from in vivo research may be less reliable where studies do not report measures to reduce risks of bias. The experimental stroke community has been at the forefront of implementing changes to improve reporting, but it is not known whether these efforts are associated with continuous improvements. Our aims here were firstly to validate an automated tool to assess risks of bias in published works, and secondly to assess the reporting of measures taken to reduce the risk of bias within recent literature for two experimental models of stroke.
Methods: We developed and used text analytic approaches to automatically ascertain reporting of measures to reduce risk of bias from full-text articles describing animal experiments inducing middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) or modelling lacunar stroke.
Results: Compared with previous assessments, there were improvements in the reporting of measures taken to reduce risks of bias in the MCAO literature but not in the lacunar stroke literature. Accuracy of automated annotation of risk of bias in the MCAO literature was 86% (randomization), 94% (blinding) and 100% (sample size calculation); and in the lacunar stroke literature accuracy was 67% (randomization), 91% (blinding) and 96% (sample size calculation).
Discussion: There remains substantial opportunity for improvement in the reporting of animal research modelling stroke, particularly in the lacunar stroke literature. Further, automated tools perform sufficiently well to identify whether studies report blinded assessment of outcome, but improvements are required in the tools to ascertain whether randomization and a sample size calculation were reported.