bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Potential implications of practice effects in Alzheimer's disease prevention trials
Authors: Jacobs Diane M. , Ard M. Colin , Salmon David P. , Galasko Douglas R. , Bondi Mark W. , Edland Steven D. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIntroductionPractice effects (PEs) present a potential confound in clinical trials with cognitive outcomes. A single‐blind placebo run‐in design, with repeated cognitive outcome assessments before randomization to treatment, can minimize effects of practice on trial outcome.MethodsWe investigated the potential implications of PEs in Alzheimer's disease prevention trials using placebo arm data from the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study donepezil/vitamin E trial in mild cognitive impairment. Frequent ADAS‐Cog measurements early in the trial allowed us to compare two competing trial designs: a 19‐month trial with randomization after initial assessment, versus a 15‐month trial with a 4‐month single‐blind placebo run‐in and randomization after the second administration of the ADAS‐Cog. Standard power calculations assuming a mixed‐model repeated‐measure analysis plan were used to calculate sample size requirements for a hypothetical future trial designed to detect a 50% slowing of cognitive decline.ResultsOn average, ADAS‐Cog 13 scores improved at first follow‐up, consistent with a PE and progressively worsened thereafter. The observed change for a 19‐month trial (1.18 points) was substantively smaller than that for a 15‐month trial with 4‐month run‐in (1.79 points). To detect a 50% slowing in progression under the standard design (i.e., a 0.59 point slowing), a future trial would require 3.4 times more subjects than would be required to detect the comparable percent slowing (i.e., 0.90 points) with the run‐in design.DiscussionAssuming the improvement at first follow‐up observed in this trial represents PEs, the rate of change from the second assessment forward is a more accurate representation of symptom progression in this population and is the appropriate reference point for describing treatment effects characterized as percent slowing of symptom progression; failure to accommodate this leads to an oversized clinical trial. We conclude that PEs are an important potential consideration when planning future trials.
Library - Lab - Research
Authors: Lurk Tabea 
Published: September 2017

The Mediathek of the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz Basel (FHNW) is a remarkable place. It's shaped, on the one hand, by the demands it must meet in functioning as the central information hub of the Faculty of Art and Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst - HGK). On the other hand its exposed location on the Campus der Künste (art campus) and its specific spatial plan determine the everyday work. Positioned between research and education, the Mediathek HGK functions as an intermediary, with the character of a laboratory: it provides access to important knowledge bases and makes content available in a way which enables experimental, creative and yet also systematic forms of research. Knowledge, in the sense of classified information, becomes a resource and raw material for the arts and design. New, digital contents must be made as available and accessible as archived (post-research) or historical material. A creative work cycle is enabled, which continually questions, implements, refines and forgets materials and resources.1Both the dynamic agility of the university itself and the focus on always questioning the adequacy, timeliness, relevance, potential, etc. of the theme of information service, results in continuous developments at the Mediathek (bibliotheca semper reformanda est).
Evaluation of dietary intake assessed by the Dutch self-administered web-based dietary 24-h recall tool (Compl-eat™) against interviewer-administered telephone-based 24-h recalls
Authors: Meijboom Saskia , van Houts-Streppel Martinette T. , Perenboom Corine , Siebelink Els , van de Wiel Anne M. , Geelen Anouk , Feskens Edith J. M. , de Vries Jeanne H. M. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractSelf-administered web-based 24-h dietary recalls (24 hR) may save a lot of time and money as compared with interviewer-administered telephone-based 24 hR interviews and may therefore be useful in large-scale studies. Within the Nutrition Questionnaires plus (NQplus) study, the web-based 24 hR tool Compl-eat™ was developed to assess Dutch participants’ dietary intake. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of this tool against the interviewer-administered telephone-based 24 hR method. A subgroup of participants of the NQplus study (20–70 years, n 514) completed three self-administered web-based 24 hR and three telephone 24 hR interviews administered by a dietitian over a 1-year period. Compl-eat™ as well as the dietitians guided the participants to report all foods consumed the previous day. Compl-eat™ on average underestimated the intake of energy by 8 %, of macronutrients by 10 % and of micronutrients by 13 % as compared with telephone recalls. The agreement between both methods, estimated using Lin's concordance coefficients (LCC), ranged from 0·15 for vitamin B1 to 0·70 for alcohol intake (mean LCC 0·38). The lower estimations by Compl-eat™ can be explained by a lower number of total reported foods and lower estimated intakes of the food groups, fats, oils and savoury sauces, sugar and confectionery, dairy and cheese. The performance of the tool may be improved by, for example, adding an option to automatically select frequently used foods and including more recall cues. We conclude that Compl-eat™ may be a useful tool in large-scale Dutch studies after suggested improvements have been implemented and evaluated.
Rhizocarpon smaragdulum, a new monosporic yellow-thalline species and some additional species of the genusRhizocarponfrom the Altai Mountains (Siberia)
Authors: DAVYDOV Evgeny A. , YAKOVCHENKO Lidia S. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractRhizocarpon smaragdulumDavydov & Yakovchenko sp. nov. is described and a phylogenetic analysis (ITS, mtSSU) is presented, confirming its distinctiveness and indicating a sister relationship withR. suomienseandR. subgeminatum. The species is unique among yellowRhizocarponspecies in having a single hyaline ascospore per ascus. The phylogenetic tree suggests that the number of ascospores per ascus has been reduced inRhizocarponmore than once during the course of its evolution. Two new distributional records are also reported:Rhizocarpon atroflavescensis new for Siberia andR. norvegicumis new for the Altai Mountains.Rhizocarpon norvegicumin this region grows on rocks and is also lichenicolous onAcarospora bullata.
Habitat use, activity patterns and human interactions with jaguarsPanthera oncain southern Belize
Authors: Dobbins Michael T. , Steinberg Michael K. , Broadbent Eben N. , Ryan Sadie J. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractParts of southern Belize are designated as a corridor for the jaguarPanthera oncabut the Maya region remains understudied. We therefore studied jaguar habitat use, activity patterns, and interactions with people in Blue Creek, a Maya village in a human-dominated tropical landscape in southern Belize. We used camera traps to detect jaguar presence, and interviews to assess local people's attitudes to and perceptions of jaguars. We recorded 28 independent photographic events during 1,200 camera-trap nights (i.e. a relative abundance index of 2.3 jaguars per 100 trap days). Seven individual jaguars were identified. Jaguars preferred lowland broad-leaf tropical forest and were detected more often during daylight, in contrast to findings from previous studies. Attitudes towards jaguars were largely positive: 88% of respondents (n = 48) did not fear jaguars living around the village, and 81% understood the positive effect that jaguars have on the ecosystem. Although 92% of respondents reported seeing a jaguar within the previous 2 years, attacks on livestock in the village were rare, with only two occurrences in the previous 3 years. Ecotourism has grown rapidly in Belize in recent years, and Blue Creek is home to several natural tourist attractions and an eco-lodge that brings tourists, school groups, and researchers to the village. Ecotourism has provided an economic incentive for village investment in conservation, and 94% of respondents stated that preservation of wildlife, including jaguars, was beneficial to their well-being.
The Lake Home: International Law and the Global Land Grab
Authors: ZEFFERT Henrietta 
Published: September 2017

AbstractHome is not a familiar concept in international law. This paper looks at land grabbing and international law from the perspective of home. Through a case-study of a land grab in the context of a World Bank development project at Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, it argues that international law is involved in profound transformations of home. By making visible how experiences of loss, suffering, and struggle, as well as radical engagement, emerge from international law’s “homemaking” work, it also argues that the concept of home opens up a terrain of experience that cannot be captured or expressed in international law. The perspective from home in the land-grabbing debate is particularly important where not only is land at risk of capture for economic gain, but so too are the personal lifeworlds that homes represent.
ZNF516 suppresses EGFR by targeting the CtBP/LSD1/CoREST complex to chromatin
Authors: Li Lifang , Liu Xinhua , He Lin , Yang Jianguo , Pei Fei , Li Wanjin , Liu Shumeng , Chen Zhe , Xie Guojia , Xu Bosen , Ting Xia , Zhang Zihan , Jin Tong , Liu Xujun , Zhang Wenting , Yuan Shuai , Yang Ziran , Wu Chongyang , Zhang Yu , Yang Xiaohan , Yi Xia , Liang Jing , Shang Yongfeng , Sun Luyang 
Published: September 2017

AbstractEGFR is required for animal development, and dysregulation of EGFR is critically implicated in malignant transformation. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of EGFR expression remains poorly explored. Here we report that the zinc-finger protein ZNF516 is a transcription repressor. ZNF516 is physically associated with the CtBP/LSD1/CoREST complex and transcriptionally represses a cohort of genes including EGFR that are critically involved in cell proliferation and motility. We demonstrate that the ZNF516–CtBP/LSD1/CoREST complex inhibits the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro and suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis in vivo. Significantly, low expression of ZNF516 is positively associated with advanced pathological staging and poor survival of breast carcinomas. Our data indicate that ZNF516 is a transcription repressor and a potential suppressor of EGFR, adding to the understanding of EGFR-related breast carcinogenesis and supporting the pursuit of ZNF516 as a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.
Targeted gadofullerene for sensitive magnetic resonance imaging and risk-stratification of breast cancer
Authors: Han Zheng , Wu Xiaohui , Roelle Sarah , Chen Chuheng , Schiemann William P. , Lu Zheng-Rong 
Published: September 2017

AbstractMolecular imaging of cancer biomarkers is critical for non-invasive accurate cancer detection and risk-stratification in precision healthcare. A peptide-targeted tri-gadolinium nitride metallofullerene, ZD2-Gd3N@C80, is synthesised for sensitive molecular magnetic resonance imaging of extradomain-B fibronectin in aggressive tumours. ZD2-Gd3N@C80 has superior r1 and r2 relaxivities of 223.8 and 344.7 mM−1 s−1 (1.5 T), respectively. It generates prominent contrast enhancement in aggressive MDA-MB-231 triple negative breast cancer in mice at a low dose (1.7 µmol kg−1, 1 T), but not in oestrogen receptor-positive MCF-7 tumours. Strong tumour contrast enhancement is consistently observed in other triple negative breast cancer models, but not in low-risk slow-growing tumours. The dose of the contrast agent for effective molecular MRI is only slightly higher than that of ZD2-Cy5.5 (0.5 µmol kg−1) in fluorescence imaging. These results demonstrate that high-sensitivity molecular magnetic resonance imaging with ZD2-Gd3N@C80 may provide accurate detection and risk-stratification of high-risk tumours for precision healthcare of breast cancer.
Mps1 kinase-dependent Sgo2 centromere localisation mediates cohesin protection in mouse oocyte meiosis I
Authors: El Yakoubi Warif , Buffin Eulalie , Cladière Damien , Gryaznova Yulia , Berenguer Inés , Touati Sandra A. , Gómez Rocío , Suja José A. , van Deursen Jan M. , Wassmann Katja 
Published: September 2017

AbstractA key feature of meiosis is the step-wise removal of cohesin, the protein complex holding sister chromatids together, first from arms in meiosis I and then from the centromere region in meiosis II. Centromeric cohesin is protected by Sgo2 from Separase-mediated cleavage, in order to maintain sister chromatids together until their separation in meiosis II. Failures in step-wise cohesin removal result in aneuploid gametes, preventing the generation of healthy embryos. Here, we report that kinase activities of Bub1 and Mps1 are required for Sgo2 localisation to the centromere region. Mps1 inhibitor-treated oocytes are defective in centromeric cohesin protection, whereas oocytes devoid of Bub1 kinase activity, which cannot phosphorylate H2A at T121, are not perturbed in cohesin protection as long as Mps1 is functional. Mps1 and Bub1 kinase activities localise Sgo2 in meiosis I preferentially to the centromere and pericentromere respectively, indicating that Sgo2 at the centromere is required for protection.
Stable MOB1 interaction with Hippo/MST is not essential for development and tissue growth control
Authors: Kulaberoglu Yavuz , Lin Kui , Holder Maxine , Gai Zhongchao , Gomez Marta , Assefa Shifa Belul , Mavis Merdiye , Hoa Lily , Sharif Ahmad A. D. , Lujan Celia , Smith Ewan St. John , Bjedov Ivana , Tapon Nicolas , Wu Geng , Hergovich Alexander 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe Hippo tumor suppressor pathway is essential for development and tissue growth control, encompassing a core cassette consisting of the Hippo (MST1/2), Warts (LATS1/2), and Tricornered (NDR1/2) kinases together with MOB1 as an important signaling adaptor. However, it remains unclear which regulatory interactions between MOB1 and the different Hippo core kinases coordinate development, tissue growth, and tumor suppression. Here, we report the crystal structure of the MOB1/NDR2 complex and define key MOB1 residues mediating MOB1’s differential binding to Hippo core kinases, thereby establishing MOB1 variants with selective loss-of-interaction. By studying these variants in human cancer cells and Drosophila, we uncovered that MOB1/Warts binding is essential for tumor suppression, tissue growth control, and development, while stable MOB1/Hippo binding is dispensable and MOB1/Trc binding alone is insufficient. Collectively, we decrypt molecularly, cell biologically, and genetically the importance of the diverse interactions of Hippo core kinases with the pivotal MOB1 signal transducer.
Direct observation of mode-specific phonon-band gap coupling in methylammonium lead halide perovskites
Authors: Kim Heejae , Hunger Johannes , Cánovas Enrique , Karakus Melike , Mics Zoltán , Grechko Maksim , Turchinovich Dmitry , Parekh Sapun H. , Bonn Mischa 
Published: September 2017

AbstractMethylammonium lead iodide perovskite is an outstanding semiconductor for photovoltaics. One of its intriguing peculiarities is that the band gap of this perovskite increases with increasing lattice temperature. Despite the presence of various thermally accessible phonon modes in this soft material, the understanding of how precisely these phonons affect macroscopic material properties and lead to the peculiar temperature dependence of the band gap has remained elusive. Here, we report a strong coupling of a single phonon mode at the frequency of ~ 1 THz to the optical band gap by monitoring the transient band edge absorption after ultrafast resonant THz phonon excitation. Excitation of the 1 THz phonon causes a blue shift of the band gap over the temperature range of 185 ~ 300 K. Our results uncover the mode-specific coupling between one phonon and the optical properties, which contributes to the temperature dependence of the gap in the tetragonal phase.
Characterization of intrinsic hole transport in single-crystal spiro-OMeTAD
Authors: Li Yuan , Li Haoyuan , Zhong Cheng , Sini Gjergji , Brédas Jean-Luc 
Published: September 2017

AbstractSpiro-OMeTAD remains a prominent hole-transport material in perovskite and solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. However, an understanding of its intrinsic hole-transport properties is still limited. Here, hole transport in spiro-OMeTAD is systematically characterized on the basis of the recently reported X-ray single-crystal data. An approach combining density functional theory calculations, tight-binding modeling, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations are exploited to describe the key parameters governing hole transport and to investigate the transport mechanism and hole mobilities in the spiro-OMeTAD single crystal. The results provide insight into: (i) why an anisotropic hole-transport mechanism, with an upper range of intrinsic hole mobilities on the order of ~10−3 cm2/Vs, can be expected in the single crystal; and (ii) how detrimental factors, related to the presence of the spiro motif and of the 4,4′-dimethoxydiphenylamine substituents, limit the intrinsic hole mobilities of the system.
Gender Differences in the Acute Kidney Injury to Chronic Kidney Disease Transition
Authors: Lima-Posada Ixchel , Portas-Cortés Cinthya , Pérez-Villalva Rosalba , Fontana Francesco , Rodríguez-Romo Roxana , Prieto Rodrigo , Sánchez-Navarro Andrea , Rodríguez-González Guadalupe L. , Gamba Gerardo , Zambrano Elena , Bobadilla Norma A. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThis study evaluated if there is a sexual dimorphism in the acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD) transition and the time-course of the potential mechanisms involved in the dimorphic response. Female and male rats were divided into sham-operated or underwent 45-min renal ischemia (F + IR, and M + IR). All groups were studied at 24-h and 1, 2, 3, or 4-months post-ischemia. Additionally, oophorectomized rats were divided into sham or IR groups. After 24-h, AKI extent was simllar in females and males, but female rats exhibited less oxidative stress and increased renal GSH content. After 4-months and despite similar AKI, the M + IR group developed CKD characterized by proteinuria, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, glomerular hypertrophy, increased oxidative stress and a reduction in HIF1α and VEGF from the 1st-month and persisting throughout the time-course studied. Interestingly, the F + IR group did not develop CKD due to lesser oxidative stress and increased eNOS, TGFβ and HIF1α mRNA levels from the 1st-month after IR. Whereas, oophorectomized rats did develop CKD. We found a sexual dimorphic response in the AKI to CKD transition. Early antioxidant defense and higher TGFβ, HIF1α and eNOS were among the renoprotective mechanisms that the F + IR group demonstrated.
Efficient feeder cells preparation system for large-scale preparation and application of induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Li Pengdong , Wang Shichao , Zhan Lixiang , He Xia , Chi Guangfan , Lv Shuang , Xu Ziran , Xia Yuhan , Teng Shuzhi , Li Lisha , Li Yulin 
Published: September 2017

AbstractDespite recent progress in the preparation of feeder cells for human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), there remain issues which limit the acquisition of feeder cells in large scale. Approaches for obtaining feeder cells quickly on a large scale are in immediate need. To reach this goal, we established suspension-adhesion method (SAM) and three-dimensional (3D) suspension method (3DSM). In SAM, mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) growth were fully inhibited by 10 μg/ml mitomycin-C (MMC) in 0.5 hours, and the feeder cells generated display higher adherent and recovery rates as well as longer survival time compared to conventional method (CM). 3DSM, an optimized method of SAM in which MEFs were cultured and MMC treated in suspension, was developed to lower the costs and workload using CELLSPIN System. The yield of feeder cells is several times the yield of SAM while the adherent and recovery rates and the capacity of supporting hiPSCs growth were not sacrificed. Hence, 3DSM is an economical and easy way to generate large-scale feeder cells for hiPSCs cultures.
Ventricular myocardium development and the role of connexins in the human fetal heart
Authors: Pervolaraki Eleftheria , Dachtler James , Anderson Richard A. , Holden Arun V. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe developmental timeline of the human heart remains elusive. The heart takes on its characteristic four chambered appearance by ~56 days gestational age (DGA). However, owing to the complexities (both technical and logistical) of exploring development in utero, we understand little of how the ventricular walls develop. To address this, we employed diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging to explore the architecture and tissue organization of the developing heart aged 95–143 DGA. We show that fractional anisotropy increases (from ~0.1 to ~0.5), diffusion coefficients decrease (from ~1 × 10−3mm2/sec to ~0.4 × 10−3mm2/sec), and fiber paths, extracted by tractography, increase linearly with gestation, indicative of the increasing organization of the ventricular myocytes. By 143 DGA, the developing heart has the classical helical organization observed in mature mammalian tissue. This was accompanied by an increase in connexin 43 and connexin 40 expression levels, suggesting their role in the development of the ventricular conduction system and that electrical propagation across the heart is facilitated in later gestation. Our findings highlight a key developmental window for the structural organization of the fetal heart.
Enhanced droplet collision rates and impact velocities in turbulent flows: The effect of poly-dispersity and transient phases
Authors: James Martin , Ray Samriddhi Sankar 
Published: September 2017

AbstractWe compare the collision rates and the typical collisional velocities amongst droplets of different sizes in a poly-disperse suspension advected by two- and three-dimensional turbulent flows. We show that the collision rate is enhanced in the transient phase for droplets for which the size-ratios between the colliding pairs is large as well as obtain precise theoretical estimates of the dependence of the impact velocity of particles-pairs on their relative sizes. These analytical results are validated against data from our direct numerical simulations. Our results suggest that an explanation of the rapid growth of droplets, e.g., in warm clouds, may well lie in the dynamics of particles in transient phases where increased collision rates between large and small particles could result in runaway process. Our results are also important to model coalescence or fragmentation (depending on the impact velocities) and will be crucial, for example, in obtaining precise coalescence kernels in such systems.