bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Learning new movements after paralysis: Results from a home-based study
Authors: Pierella Camilla , Abdollahi Farnaz , Thorp Elias , Farshchiansadegh Ali , Pedersen Jessica , Seáñez-González Ismael , Mussa-Ivaldi Ferdinando A. , Casadio Maura 
Published: June 2017

AbstractBody-machine interfaces (BMIs) decode upper-body motion for operating devices, such as computers and wheelchairs. We developed a low-cost portable BMI for survivors of cervical spinal cord injury and investigated it as a means to support personalized assistance and therapy within the home environment. Depending on the specific impairment of each participant, we modified the interface gains to restore a higher level of upper body mobility. The use of the BMI over one month led to increased range of motion and force at the shoulders in chronic survivors. Concurrently, subjects learned to reorganize their body motions as they practiced the control of a computer cursor to perform different tasks and games. The BMI allowed subjects to generate any movement of the cursor with different motions of their body. Through practice subjects demonstrated a tendency to increase the similarity between the body motions used to control the cursor in distinct tasks. Nevertheless, by the end of learning, some significant and persistent differences appeared to persist. This suggests the ability of the central nervous system to concurrently learn operating the BMI while exploiting the possibility to adapt the available mobility to the specific spatio-temporal requirements of each task.
Direct protein quantification in complex sample solutions by surface-engineered nanorod probes
Authors: Schrittwieser Stefan , Pelaz Beatriz , Parak Wolfgang J. , Lentijo-Mozo Sergio , Soulantica Katerina , Dieckhoff Jan , Ludwig Frank , Schotter Joerg 
Published: June 2017

AbstractDetecting biomarkers from complex sample solutions is the key objective of molecular diagnostics. Being able to do so in a simple approach that does not require laborious sample preparation, sophisticated equipment and trained staff is vital for point-of-care applications. Here, we report on the specific detection of the breast cancer biomarker sHER2 directly from serum and saliva samples by a nanorod-based homogeneous biosensing approach, which is easy to operate as it only requires mixing of the samples with the nanorod probes. By careful nanorod surface engineering and homogeneous assay design, we demonstrate that the formation of a protein corona around the nanoparticles does not limit the applicability of our detection method, but on the contrary enables us to conduct in-situ reference measurements, thus further strengthening the point-of-care applicability of our method. Making use of sandwich assays on top of the nanorods, we obtain a limit of detection of 110 pM and 470 pM in 10-fold diluted spiked saliva and serum samples, respectively. In conclusion, our results open up numerous applications in direct protein biomarker quantification, specifically in point-of-care settings where resources are limited and ease-of-use is of essence.
A New Landscape of Multiple Dispersion Kinks in a High-T
c Cuprate Superconductor
Authors: Anzai H. , Arita M. , Namatame H. , Taniguchi M. , Ishikado M. , Fujita K. , Ishida S. , Uchida S. , Ino A. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractConventional superconductivity is caused by electron-phonon coupling. The discovery of high-temperature superconductors raised the question of whether such strong electron-phonon coupling is realized in cuprates. Strong coupling with some collective excitation mode has been indicated by a dispersion “kink”. However, there is intensive debate regarding whether the relevant coupling mode is a magnetic resonance mode or an oxygen buckling phonon mode. This ambiguity is a consequence of the energy of the main prominent kink. Here, we show a new landscape of dispersion kinks. We report that heavily overdoping a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ superconductor results in a decline of the conventional main kink and a rise of another sharp kink, along with substantial energy shifts of both. Notably, the latter kink can be ascribed only to an oxygen-breathing phonon. Hence, the multiple phonon branches provide a consistent account of our data set on the multiple kinks. Our results suggest that strong electron-phonon coupling and its dramatic change should be incorporated into or reconciled with scenarios for the evolution of high-Tc superconductivity.
A proposal of a perfect graphene absorber with enhanced design and fabrication tolerance
Authors: Lee Sangjun , Tran Thang Q. , Heo Hyungjun , Kim Myunghwan , Kim Sangin 
Published: June 2017

AbstractWe propose a novel device structure for the perfect absorption of a one-sided lightwavve illumination, which consists of a high-contrast grating (HCG) and an evanescently coupled slab with an absorbing medium (graphene). The operation principle and design process of the proposed structure are analyzed using the coupled mode theory (CMT), which is confirmed by the rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA). According to the CMT analysis, in the design of the proposed perfect absorber, the HCG, functioning as a broadband reflector, and the lossy slab structure can be optimized separately. In addition, we have more design parameters than conditions to satisfy; that is, we have more than enough degrees of freedom in the device design. This significantly relieves the complexity of the perfect absorber design. Moreover, in the proposed perfect absorber, most of the incident wave is confined in the slab region with strong field enhancement, so that the absorption performance is very tolerant to the variation of the design parameters near the optimal values for the perfect absorption. It has been demonstrated numerically that absorption spectrum tuning over a wider wavelength range of ~300 nm is possible, keeping significantly high maximum absorption (>95%). It is also shown that the proposed perfect absorber outperforms the previously proposed scheme in all aspects.
Identification of Histamine H3 Receptor Ligands Using a New Crystal Structure Fragment-based Method
Authors: Frandsen Ida Osborn , Boesgaard Michael W. , Fidom Kimberley , Hauser Alexander S. , Isberg Vignir , Bräuner-Osborne Hans , Wellendorph Petrine , Gloriam David E. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractVirtual screening offers an efficient alternative to high-throughput screening in the identification of pharmacological tools and lead compounds. Virtual screening is typically based on the matching of target structures or ligand pharmacophores to commercial or in-house compound catalogues. This study provides the first proof-of-concept for our recently reported method where pharmacophores are instead constructed based on the inference of residue-ligand fragments from crystal structures. We demonstrate its unique utility for G protein-coupled receptors, which represent the largest families of human membrane proteins and drug targets. We identified five neutral antagonists and one inverse agonist for the histamine H3 receptor with potencies of 0.7–8.5 μM in a recombinant receptor cell-based inositol phosphate accumulation assay and validated their activity using a radioligand competition binding assay. H3 receptor antagonism is of large therapeutic value and our ligands could serve as starting points for further lead optimisation. The six ligands exhibit four chemical scaffolds, whereof three have high novelty in comparison to the known H3 receptor ligands in the ChEMBL database. The complete pharmacophore fragment library is freely available through the GPCR database, GPCRdb, allowing the successful application herein to be repeated for most of the 285 class A GPCR targets. The method could also easily be adapted to other protein families.
Mie scatter spectra-based device for instant, contact-free, and specific diagnosis of bacterial skin infection
Authors: Sweeney Robin E. , Budiman Elizabeth , Yoon Jeong-Yeol 
Published: June 2017

AbstractRapid and specific diagnostic techniques are needed to expedite specific treatment of bacterial skin infections with narrow-spectrum antibiotics, rather than broad-spectrum. Through this work a device was developed to determine the presence of and species responsible for a bacterial skin infection using differences in Mie scatter spectra created by different bacterial species. A 650 nm LED at five different incident angles is used to illuminate the tissue, with Mie scatter being detected by PIN photodiodes at eight different detection angles. Mie scatter patterns are collected at all photodiode angles for each of the incident light angles, resulting in a Mie scatter spectra. Detectable differences in Mie scatter spectra were found using the device developed between commensal bacteria (no infection) and bacteria inoculated (infection) on the surface of both porcine and human cadaveric epidermis. Detectable differences were found between species of infection, specifically Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with differences summarized through principle component analysis. Mie scatter spectra can be detected within a few seconds without skin contact. This device is the first to rapidly and specifically diagnose bacterial skin infections in a contact-less manner, allowing for initial treatment with narrow spectrum antibiotics, and helping to reduce the likelihood of resistance.
Genomic and phenotypic analysis of Vavilov’s historic landraces reveals the impact of environment and genomic islands of agronomic traits
Authors: Plekhanova Elena , Vishnyakova Margarita A. , Bulyntsev Sergey , Chang Peter L. , Carrasquilla-Garcia Noelia , Negash Kassaye , Wettberg Eric von , Noujdina Nina , Cook Douglas R. , Samsonova Maria G. , Nuzhdin Sergey V. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), in St. Petersburg, Russia, houses a unique genebank, with historical collections of landraces. When they were collected, the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of most crops closely reflected their historical patterns of cultivation established over the preceding millennia. We employed a combination of genomics, computational biology and phenotyping to characterize VIR’s 147 chickpea accessions from Turkey and Ethiopia, representing chickpea’s center of origin and a major location of secondary diversity. Genotyping by sequencing identified 14,059 segregating polymorphisms and genome-wide association studies revealed 28 GWAS hits in potential candidate genes likely to affect traits of agricultural importance. The proportion of polymorphisms shared among accessions is a strong predictor of phenotypic resemblance, and of environmental similarity between historical sampling sites. We found that 20 out of 28 polymorphisms, associated with multiple traits, including days to maturity, plant phenology, and yield-related traits such as pod number, localized to chromosome 4. We hypothesize that selection and introgression via inadvertent hybridization between more and less advanced morphotypes might have resulted in agricultural improvement genes being aggregated to genomic ‘agro islands’, and in genotype-to-phenotype relationships resembling widespread pleiotropy.
Divergent secular trends in blood pressure and body mass index in children and adolescents in Hong Kong
Authors: Kwok Man Ki , Leung Gabriel M. , Chung Thomas W. H. , Lee Karen K. Y. , Schooling C. Mary 
Published: June 2017

AbstractSecular trends in blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) during childhood and adolescence are sentinels for the future population cardiovascular disease burden. We examined trends in BP z-score (ages 9–18 years from 1999 to 2014) and BMI z-score (ages 6–18 years from 1996 to 2014) in Hong Kong, China. Overall, BP z-score fell, systolic BP from 0.08 to −0.01 in girls and from 0.31 to 0.25 in boys. However, the trends were not consistent, for both sexes, systolic BP z-score was stable from 1999, decreased slightly from 2002 to 2005 and increased slightly to 2014, diastolic BP z-score decreased slightly from 1999 to 2004 and then remained stable to 2014. In contrast, BMI z-score rose from −0.15 to −0.01 in girls and from 0.14 to 0.34 in boys, mainly during 1997 to 2010. The upper tail of the systolic (except boys) and diastolic BP distribution shifted downwards, whereas the entire BMI distribution shifted upward. BP declined slightly whereas BMI rose in Hong Kong children and adolescents during the last 20 years, with systolic BP and BMI in boys above the reference. This warrants dual action in tackling rising BMI and identifying favorable determinants of BP, particularly targeting boys.
Controllable Microfluidic Production of Drug-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles Using Partially Water-Miscible Mixed Solvent Microdroplets as a Precursor
Authors: Xu Jiang , Zhang Shusheng , Machado Anais , Lecommandoux Sébastien , Sandre Olivier , Gu Frank , Colin Annie 
Published: June 2017

AbstractWe present a versatile continuous microfluidic flow-focusing method for the production of Doxorubicin (DOX) or Tamoxifen (TAM)-loaded poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs). We use a partially water-miscible solvent mixture (dimethyl sulfoxide DMSO+ dichloromethane DCM) as precursor drug/polymer solution for NPs nucleation. We extrude this partially water-miscible solution into an aqueous medium and synthesized uniform PLGA NPs with higher drug loading ability and longer sustained-release ability than conventional microfluidic or batch preparation methods. The size of NPs could be precisely tuned by changing the flow rate ratios, polymer concentration, and volume ratio of DCM to DMSO (VDCM/VDMSO) in the precursor emulsion. We investigated the mechanism of the formation of NPs and the effect of VDCM/VDMSO on drug release kinetics. Our work suggests that this original, rapid, facile, efficient and low-cost method is a promising technology for high throughput NP fabrication. For the two tested drugs, one hydrophilic (Doxorubicin) the other one hydrophobic (Tamoxifen), encapsulation efficiency (EE) as high as 88% and mass loading content (LC) higher than 25% were achieved. This new process could be extended as an efficient and large scale NP production method to benefit to fields like controlled drug release and nanomedicine.
Association between Homocysteine Levels and All-cause Mortality: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies
Authors: Fan Rui , Zhang Aiping , Zhong Fade 
Published: June 2017

AbstractPlasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels may be associated with all-cause mortality risk. However, the results of this association are conflicting and the dose-response relationship between them has not been clearly defined. In this meta-analysis, we conducted a systematic literature search of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library for the relevant articles dated up to February 2017. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the estimates, and the dose-response relationship was estimated using a restricted cubic spline model. Eleven prospective studies (4,110 deaths among 27,737 individuals) were included. The summary RR of all-cause mortality for the highest Hcy category vs. the lowest Hcy category was 1.80 (95% CI: 1.51, 2.14) with the random effects model. In dose-response meta-analysis, Hcy levels were significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk in a linear fashion (pnonlinearity = 0.255), and the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 33.6% for each 5 µmol/L increase in Hcy levels (RR = 1.336, 95% CI: 1.254–1.422,p < 0.001). Findings from this dose-response meta-analysis suggest that Hcy levels are linearly and positively associated with risk of all-cause mortality.
Direct and convenient measurement of plasmid stability in lab and clinical isolates of E. coli
Authors: Chen Siyi , Larsson Mårten , Robinson Robert C. , Chen Swaine L. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractPlasmids are important mobile elements in bacteria, contributing to evolution, virulence, and antibiotic resistance. Natural plasmids are generally large and maintained at low copy number and thus prone to be lost. Therefore, dedicated plasmid maintenance systems have evolved, leading to plasmid loss rates as low as 1 per 107 divisions. These low rates complicate studies of plasmid loss, as traditional techniques for measuring plasmid loss are laborious and not quantitative. To overcome these limitations, we leveraged a stringent negative selection system to develop a method for performing direct, quantitative measurements of plasmid loss in E. coli. We applied our method to gain mechanistic insights into a heterologously reconstituted segregation system in lab strains and clinical isolates of E. coli. We also performed direct stability studies of a currently circulating resistance plasmid in a clinical isolate, strain EC958, which is a member of the rapidly expanding global ST131 E. coli clone. Our results establish the foundational assays required to screen for small molecules targeting plasmid stability, which could complement current strategies for reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance, complementing other strategies for treating antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Broadband integrated optic polarization splitters by incorporating polarization mode extracting waveguide
Authors: Huang Guanghao , Park Tae-Hyun , Oh Min-Cheol 
Published: June 2017

AbstractA compact integrated optic polarization splitter is highly anticipated for polarization multiplexed optical communications, dual polarization optical sensors, single photon quantum signal processing, etc. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a polarization mode extracting device using a highly birefringent crosslinked liquid crystal polymer, reactive mesogen. The device includes the birefringent material inserted into a Y-branch optical waveguide to extract the TE polarized mode. A polarization splitting ratio of 27 dB was obtained, and a crosstalk of less than −25 dB was maintained for a wavelength range of 1500~1600 nm. The device exhibited good thermal stability at 100 °C for 12 hours. The broadband operating characteristic is a unique advantage of the proposed mode extracting polarization splitter.
Outcomes of Posterior-Stabilized Compared with Cruciate-Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Longo Umile Giuseppe , Mannering Nicholas , D'Andrea Valerio , Locher Joel , Salvatore Giuseppe , Denaro Vincenzo , Ciuffreda Mauro 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe aim of this systematic review is to compare clinical outcome scores, rate of complications, and range of motion (ROM) of posterior-stabilized (PS) and cruciate-retaining (CR) total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) both pre- and postoperatively to establish which of the two kinds of implants have the best efficiency. A comprehensive search was performed of studies comparing CR and PS TKAs on PubMed, OVID/Medline, Cochrane, CINAHL, Google scholar, and Embase databases. Finally, 37 studies were selected with a total of 5,407 knees in 4,445 patients. For the PS knees, the Knee Society Functional Score (KSFS) improved from 44.6 to 77.6 (p = 0.04), extension decreased from 6.6 to 1.8 degrees (p-value), and flexion increased from 115.2 to 119.4 degrees (p < 0.00001), compared with the CR knees. No significant difference in the Knee Society objective score (KSOS) (p = 0.82) or complication rates (p = 0.29) was found. The overall complication rate was 3.9%, 213 in 5,407 knees. Surgeons must be careful in interpreting these results, as an improved ROM for the PS group may not correlate to better patient outcomes. This meta-analysis has demonstrated that PS TKA has a statistically significant greater postoperative improvement of KSFS (p = 0.04), flexion (p < 0.00001), and extension (p = 0.02), compared with the CR group. These findings seem to lead the surgeons to prefer the PS design for TKAs especially to achieve a higher postoperative ROM in patients with high functional demands. On the contrary, the CR and PS TKAs have similar results in terms of complications and most of clinical outcomes analyzed in the included studies. Therefore, the long-term follow-up of high-quality randomized controlled trials is needed to clarify which of the two types of prosthesis provide the better clinical outcome and the lower rate of complications for osteoarthritis patients in particular cohorts. This is a systematic review (level II).
Phonemdiskrimination und Lese-Rechtschreibleistung unter logopädischer Therapie
Authors: Brunner Monika , Kizilkaya Ece , Plinkert Peter 
Published: June 2017

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund Die Effekte von logopädischen Therapien zu auditiven Verarbeitungsstörungen (AVS) und Lese-Rechtschreibstörung (LRS) sind umstritten. Es wurde untersucht, wie sich die Phonemdiskrimination und die Lese-Rechtschreibleistung unter Sprachtherapie und Training der auditiven Diskrimination mit Graphembezug verbesserte.
Methodik Von 124 Kindern (MW 8,6 Jahre) wurden Testwerte zur Phonemdiskrimination (HLAD), Rechtschreibung (DRT/HSP) und zum Lesen (ELFE) über ein lineares Regressionsmodell berechnet. Als Einflussfaktoren wurden vorangegangene Sprachentwicklungsstörungen, auditives Kurzzeitgedächtnis (ZFG), IQ, Konzentrationsauffälligkeit, familiäre Prädisposition und das Geschlecht aufgenommen.
Ergebnisse Die Kinder, die zu Beginn in den standardisierten Tests unter Prozentrang ≤ 25 lagen, verbesserten ihre Leistungen signifikant. Dennoch blieb der mittlere Prozentrang nach mindestens 40 Therapieeinheiten weiterhin im pädagogisch auffälligen Bereich (PR ≤ 25). Das Geschlecht und ZFG hatten einen signifikanten Einfluss.
Diskussion Die Ergebnisse zeigen einerseits, dass eine signifikante Verbesserung nach mindestens 40 Therapieeinheiten nachweisbar ist, machen aber auch die Grenzen der Veränderbarkeit deutlich: Über das untere Leistungsviertel kommen die Kinder nicht hinaus. Dies hat entscheidende Folgen für die Beratung der Eltern, Kinder und Therapeuten.
Cocoa and chocolate, their clinical benefits: insights in study design.
Authors: Mellor D. D. , Georgousopoulou E. N. , Naumovski N. 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated the potential protective effect of cocoa and chocolate consumption with respect to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk markers. Findings from experimental studies are in concordance with observational data, which include reduction in clinical disease (especially stroke) being associated with chocolate consumption. However, the effect size of any benefit, and the exact mechanism of action due to variability in reporting of dose and type potential bioactive compounds remains unclear. Thus, the present review aimed to analyse the published work where cocoa and chocolate have been assessed for their potential to protect against CVD and highlight the role of study design and type of product used in the variances of outcomes and how that might be used in formulating health advice.