bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synthetic Glycans and Glycomimetics: A Promising Alternative to Natural Polysaccharides
Authors: Zhang Gao‐Lan , Ye Xin‐Shan 
Published: December 2017

AbstractA large quantity of polysaccharide‐derived conjugate vaccines have been developed to combat various pathogenic infections. Another prominent polysaccharide, heparin, is listed as an essential drug by the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat thrombus. One of their common problems is that they all derive from natural polysaccharides. Specifically, capsular polysaccharides are mainly obtained from bacterial fermentation and unfractionated heparin is extracted from animal tissues such as porcine mucosa. The quality of natural polysaccharides is inconsistent and traces of contamination would cause a disaster. By contrast, the use of chemical or chemoenzymatic methods could provide structurally homogeneous and quality‐controlled glycans. To date, large numbers of polysaccharide fragments and their analogues have been synthesized and evaluated. Some of them even showed comparable activities to their corresponding natural polysaccharides. Here, the latest advances in these synthetic glycan analogues ranging from carbohydrate‐based vaccines, heparin‐related therapeutics and glycomimetics of polysaccharides are summarized.
Tunable Performance of Manganese Oxide Nanostructures as MRI Contrast Agents
Authors: Bañobre‐López Manuel , García‐Hevia Lorena , Cerqueira M. Fatima , Rivadulla Francisco , Gallo Juan 
Published: December 2017

AbstractInvited for the cover of this issue is the group of Manuel Bañobre‐López and Juan Gallo at the INL‐International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Braga (Portugal). Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.201704861.
Global Structural Flexibility of Metalloproteins Regulates Reactivity of Transition Metal Ion in the Protein Core: An Experimental Study Using Thiol‐subtilisin as a Model Protein
Authors: Matsuo Takashi , Kono Takamasa , Shobu Isamu , Ishida Masaya , Gonda Katsuya , Hirota Shun 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe functions of metal‐containing proteins (metalloproteins) are determined by the reactivities of transition metal ions at their active sites. Because protein macromolecular structures have several molecular degrees of freedom, global structural flexibility may also regulate the properties of metalloproteins. However, the influence of this factor has not been fully delineated in mechanistic studies of metalloproteins. Accordingly, we have investigated the relationship between global protein flexibility and the characteristics of a transition metal ion in the protein core using thiol‐subtilisin (tSTL) with a Cys‐coordinated Cu2+ ion as a model system. Although tSTL has two Ca2+‐binding sites, the Ca2+‐binding status hardly affects its secondary structure. Nevertheless, guanidinium‐induced denaturation and amide H/D exchange indicated the increase in the structural flexibility of tSTL by the removal of bound Ca2+ ions. Electron paramagnetic resonance and absorption spectral changes have revealed that the protein flexibility determines the characteristics of a Cu2+ ion in tSTL. Therefore, global protein flexibility should be recognized as an important factor that regulates the properties of metalloproteins.
Laterally and Temporally Controlled Intracellular Staining by Light‐Triggered Release of Encapsulated Fluorescent Markers
Authors: Kantner Karsten , Rejman Joanna , Kraft Karl V. L. , Soliman Mahmoud G. , Zyuzin Mikhail V. , Escudero Alberto , del Pino Pablo , Parak Wolfgang J. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractFluorescent molecular markers were encapsulated. The capsules were additionally modified with plasmonic nanoparticles. The encapsulated markers were endocytosed by cells. Upon light stimulation the plasmonic nanoparticles generated heat, which opened the encapsulation and transiently perforated the endosomal/lysosomal membrane surrounding the capsule, thus allowing for release of the marker into the cytosol. Fluorescence labeling of different intracellular compartments was demonstrated in this way. Most important, the cells do not need to be fixed and perforated, as the molecular markers are introduced into cells by endocytosis and subsequent light‐induced release. Thus this technique allows for intracellular fluorescence labeling of living cells.
The effect of fasting status on lipids, lipoproteins, and inflammatory biomarkers assessed after hospitalization for an acute coronary syndrome: Insights from PROVE IT–TIMI 22
Authors: Steen Dylan L. , Umez‐Eronini Amarachi A. , Guo Jianping , Khan Naseer , Cannon Christopher P. 
Published: December 2017

BackgroundFor decades, fasting for 8 to 12 hours has been recommended for measurement of lipid profiles. The effect of fasting on low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) and triglycerides (TG) has been described in healthy cohorts and those with stable disease states. Recently, guidelines suggested that fasting may not be necessary due to its small effect on lipid measures. Little is known, however, regarding whether the impact of fasting is altered in the setting of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS).HypothesisWe hypothesized that the post‐ACS period would minimally effect the impact of fasting status on lipid measurements.MethodsWe evaluated the association of fasting on lipid and other biomarkers at the randomization visit, which occurred at a median of 7 days after the onset of an ACS, as well as during follow‐up, in a cohort of 4177 subjects from the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy–Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction 22 (PROVE IT–TIMI 22) trial.ResultsFasting samples were independently associated with a higher LDL‐C of 4.1 mg/dL and apolipoprotein‐B 100 of 2.6 mg/dL as well as a lower TG of 21.0 mg/dL and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein of 0.48 mg/dL. The relative difference was 3.8% for LDL‐C and −11.3% for TG. Fasting did not change total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A‐I, lipoprotein(a), or apolipoprotein C‐III.ConclusionsAlthough fasting does impact lipid measurements, the effect on LDL‐C is small (about 4 mg/dL), both early after ACS and during follow‐up. These data provide support for recent guidelines that no longer advocate for fasting lipid samples, including in the setting of ACS.
Improved Free‐Energy Landscape Quantification Illustrated with a Computationally Designed Protein–Ligand Interaction
Authors: Van Patten William J. , Walder Robert , Adhikari Ayush , Okoniewski Stephen R. , Ravichandran Rashmi , Tinberg Christine E. , Baker David , Perkins Thomas T. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe front cover artwork is provided by the groups of David Baker (Univ. of Washington and HHMI) and Thomas Perkins (JILA, NIST and Univ. of Colorado). The image shows an AFM cantilever pulling on a computationally designed protein bound to digoxigenin attached to the end of a short DNA molecule with a conceptual free‐energy landscape as background. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/cphc.201701147.
Connection between Lithium Coordination and Lithium Diffusion in [Pyr12O1][FTFSI] Ionic Liquid Electrolytes
Authors: Giffin Guinevere A. , Moretti Arianna , Jeong Sangsik , Pilar Kartik , Brinkkötter Marc , Greenbaum Steven G. , Schönhoff Monika , Passerini Stefano 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe use of highly concentrated ionic liquid‐based electrolytes results in improved rate capability and capacity retention at 20 °C compared to Li+‐dilute systems in Li‐metal and Li‐ion cells. This work explores the connection between the bulk electrolyte properties and the molecular organization to provide insight into the concentration dependence of the Li+ transport mechanisms. Below 30 mol %, the Li+‐containing species are primarily smaller complexes (one Li+ cation) and the Li+ ion transport is mostly derived from the vehicular transport. Above 30 mol %, where the viscosity is substantially higher and the conductivity lower, the Li+‐containing species are a mix of small and large complexes (one and more than one Li+ cation, respectively). The overall conduction mechanism likely changes to favor structural diffusion through the exchange of anions in the first Li+ solvation shell. The good rate performance is likely directly influenced by the presence of larger Li+ complexes, which promote Li+‐ion transport (as opposed to Li+‐complex transport) and increase the Li+ availability at the electrode.
An adaptive network traffic prediction approach for LDoS attacks detection
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyu , Wu Zhijun , Zhang Junwei , Chen Jiusheng 
Published: December 2017

SummaryLow‐rate denial of service (LDoS) attacks reduce throughput and degrade quality of service (QoS) of network services by sending out attack packets with relatively low average rate. LDoS attack flows are difficult to detect from normal traffic since it has the property of low average rate. The research on network traffic analysis and modeling shows that network traffic measurement data are irregular nonlinear time series. To characterize and analyze network traffic between attack and non‐attack situations, the adaptive normal and abnormal ν‐support vector regression (ν‐SVR) prediction models are constructed on the basis of the reconstructed phase space. In this paper, the dimension of reconstructed phase space for ν‐SVR is optimized by Bayesian information criteria method, and the parameter in the radial basis function is adaptively adjusted by minimizing the within‐class distance and maximizing the between‐class distance in the feature space. The nonthreshold decision function is obtained through calculating the prediction error of adaptive normal and abnormal ν‐SVR prediction models, which is adopted to detect LDoS attacks. Experiments in NS‐2 environment show that the adaptive ν‐SVR prediction model can effectively predict the network traffic measurement time series, and the probability distribution of time series generated by the adaptive ν‐SVR prediction model is quite similar to that of the network traffic measurement data. Experiments also clearly demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach in LDoS attacks detection.
Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub‐meter resolution imagery
Authors: Martinuzzi Sebastián , Ramos‐González Olga M. , Muñoz‐Erickson Tischa A. , Locke Dexter H. , Lugo Ariel E. , Radeloff Volker C. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractFine‐scale information about urban vegetation and social‐ecological relationships is crucial to inform both urban planning and ecological research, and high spatial resolution imagery is a valuable tool for assessing urban areas. However, urban ecology and remote sensing have largely focused on cities in temperate zones. Our goal was to characterize urban vegetation cover with sub‐meter (<1 m) resolution aerial imagery, and identify social‐ecological relationships of urban vegetation patterns in a tropical city, the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico. Our specific objectives were to (1) map vegetation cover using sub‐meter spatial resolution (0.3‐m) imagery, (2) quantify the amount of residential and non‐residential vegetation, and (3) investigate the relationship between patterns of urban vegetation vs. socioeconomic and environmental factors. We found that 61% of the San Juan Metropolitan Area was green and that our combination of high spatial resolution imagery and object‐based classification was highly successful for extracting vegetation cover in a moist tropical city (97% accuracy). In addition, simple spatial pattern analysis allowed us to separate residential from non‐residential vegetation with 76% accuracy, and patterns of residential and non‐residential vegetation varied greatly across the city. Both socioeconomic (e.g., population density, building age, detached homes) and environmental variables (e.g., topography) were important in explaining variations in vegetation cover in our spatial regression models. However, important socioeconomic drivers found in cities in temperate zones, such as income and home value, were not important in San Juan. Climatic and cultural differences between tropical and temperate cities may result in different social‐ecological relationships. Our study provides novel information for local land use planners, highlights the value of high spatial resolution remote sensing data to advance ecological research and urban planning in tropical cities, and emphasizes the need for more studies in tropical cities.
Mosquito vector‐associated microbiota: Metabarcoding bacteria and eukaryotic symbionts across habitat types in Thailand endemic for dengue and other arthropod‐borne diseases
Authors: Thongsripong Panpim , Chandler James Angus , Green Amy B. , Kittayapong Pattamaporn , Wilcox Bruce A. , Kapan Durrell D. , Bennett Shannon N. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractVector‐borne diseases are a major health burden, yet factors affecting their spread are only partially understood. For example, microbial symbionts can impact mosquito reproduction, survival, and vectorial capacity, and hence affect disease transmission. Nonetheless, current knowledge of mosquito‐associated microbial communities is limited. To characterize the bacterial and eukaryotic microbial communities of multiple vector species collected from different habitat types in disease endemic areas, we employed next‐generation 454 pyrosequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA amplicon libraries, also known as metabarcoding. We investigated pooled whole adult mosquitoes of three medically important vectors, Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus, collected from different habitats across central Thailand where we previously characterized mosquito diversity. Our results indicate that diversity within the mosquito microbiota is low, with the majority of microbes assigned to one or a few taxa. Two of the most common eukaryotic and bacterial genera recovered (Ascogregarina and Wolbachia, respectively) are known mosquito endosymbionts with potentially parasitic and long evolutionary relationships with their hosts. Patterns of microbial composition and diversity appeared to differ by both vector species and habitat for a given species, although high variability between samples suggests a strong stochastic element to microbiota assembly. In general, our findings suggest that multiple factors, such as habitat condition and mosquito species identity, may influence overall microbial community composition, and thus provide a basis for further investigations into the interactions between vectors, their microbial communities, and human‐impacted landscapes that may ultimately affect vector‐borne disease risk.
To feed or not to feed? Bioenergetic impacts of fear‐driven behaviors in lactating dolphins
Authors: Srinivasan Mridula , Swannack Todd M. , Grant William E. , Rajan Jolly , Würsig Bernd 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn mammals, lactation can be the most energetically expensive part of the reproductive cycle. Thus, when energy needs are compromised due to predation risk, environmental disturbance, or resource scarcity, future reproductive success can be impacted. In marine and terrestrial environments, foraging behavior is inextricably linked to predation risk. But quantification of foraging energetics for lactating animals under predation risk is less understood. In this study, we used a spatially explicit individual‐based model to study how changes in physiology (lactating or not) and the environment (predation risk) affect optimal behavior in dolphins. Specifically, we predicted that an adult dolphin without calf would incur lower relative energetic costs compared to a lactating dolphin with calf regardless of predation risk severity, antipredator behavior, or prey quality consumed. Under this state‐dependent analysis of risk approach, we found predation risk to be a stronger driver in affecting total energetic costs (foraging plus locomotor costs) than food quality for both dolphin types. Further, contrary to our hypothesis, after accounting for raised energy demands, a lactating dolphin with calf does not necessarily have higher relative‐to‐baseline costs than a dolphin without calf. Our results indicate that both a lactating (with calf) and non‐lactating dolphin incur lowered energetic costs under a risk‐averse behavioral scheme, but consequently suffer from lost foraging calories. A lactating dolphin with calf could be particularly worse off in lost foraging calories under elevated predation risk, heightened vigilance, and increased hiding time relative to an adult dolphin without calf. Further, hiding time in refuge could be more consequential than detection distance for both dolphin types in estimated costs and losses incurred. In conclusion, our study found that reproductive status is an important consideration in analyzing risk effects in mammals, especially in animals with lengthy lactation periods and those exposed to both biological and nonbiological stressors.
From population connectivity to the art of striping Russian dolls: the lessons from Pocillopora corals
Authors: Gélin Pauline , Fauvelot Cécile , Bigot Lionel , Baly Joseph , Magalon Hélène 
Published: December 2017

AbstractHere, we examined the genetic variability in the coral genus Pocillopora, in particular within the Primary Species Hypothesis PSH09, identified by Gélin, Postaire, Fauvelot and Magalon (2017) using species delimitation methods [also named Pocillopora eydouxi/meandrina complex sensu, Schmidt‐Roach, Miller, Lundgren, & Andreakis (2014)] and which was found to split into three secondary species hypotheses (SSH09a, SSH09b, and SSH09c) according to assignment tests using multi‐locus genotypes (13 microsatellites). From a large sampling (2,507 colonies) achieved in three marine provinces [Western Indian Ocean (WIO), Tropical Southwestern Pacific (TSP), and Southeast Polynesia (SEP)], genetic structuring analysis conducted with two clustering analyses (Structure and DAPC) using 13 microsatellites revealed that SSH09a was restricted to the WIO while SSH09b and SSH09c were almost exclusively in the TSP and SEP. More surprisingly, each SSH split into two to three genetically differentiated clusters, found in sympatry at the reef scale, leading to a pattern of nested hierarchical levels (PSH > SSH > cluster), each level hiding highly differentiated genetic groups. Thus, rather than structured populations within a single species, these three SSHs, and even the eight clusters, likely represent distinct genetic lineages engaged in a speciation process or real species. The issue is now to understand which hierarchical level (SSH, cluster, or even below) corresponds to the species one. Several hypotheses are discussed on the processes leading to this pattern of mixed clusters in sympatry, evoking formation of reproductive barriers, either by allopatric speciation or habitat selection.
Community composition in mangrove ponds with pulsed hypoxic and acidified conditions
Authors: Gedan Keryn B. , Altieri Andrew H. , Feller Ilka , Burrell Rebecca , Breitburg Denise 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe potential resilience of biological communities to accelerating rates of global change has received considerable attention. We suggest that some shallow aquatic ecosystems, where temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and pH can exhibit extreme variation on short timescales of hours or days, provide an opportunity to develop a mechanistic understanding of species persistence and community assembly under harsh environmental conditions. Extreme diel swings in DO and pH have been observed in eutrophic temperate ecosystems, and here, we describe a similar phenomenon consistently occurring across tropical sites that included relatively remote atolls on the Meso‐American barrier reefs in Belize and oligotrophic coastal lagoons in Panama. In particular, we documented large daily swings in temperature, DO, and pH within shallow ponds of Caribbean mangrove forests. Water in seven of 13 ponds went hypoxic (<2 mg/L DO) during the multiday sampling period, and pH dipped nightly to low levels, falling below 7.0 in some ponds. Minimum pH and minimum DO were correlated, and showed a similar relationship in Belize and Panama, suggesting a common mechanism produced diel cycles. Remarkably, most ponds exhibited high abundance of macroalgae, macroinvertebrates, and fish, despite potentially stressful abiotic conditions. Although fish diversity was negatively correlated with pH range, our overall results from the ponds suggest that many species are sufficiently resistant such that a functionally complex community can persist in the midst of pulsed stressful conditions. We propose that the mangrove ponds could serve as a model ecosystem for investigating resistance and resilience of coastal marine communities to global change factors such as climate change, hypoxia, and ocean acidification.
Bottom‐up processes mediated by social systems drive demographic traits of coral‐reef fishes
Authors: Taylor Brett M. , Brandl Simon J. , Kapur Maia , Robbins William D. , Johnson Garrett , Huveneers Charlie , Renaud Phil , Choat John Howard 
Published: December 2017

AbstractEctotherms exhibit considerable plasticity in their life‐history traits. This plasticity can reflect variability in environmental and social factors, but the causes of observed patterns are often obscured with increasing spatial scales. We surveyed dichromatic parrotfishes across the northern Great Barrier Reef to examine variation in body size distributions and concomitant size at sex change (L∆50) against hypotheses of directional influence from biotic and abiotic factors known to affect demography. By integrating top‐down, horizontal, and bottom‐up processes, we demonstrate a strong association between exposure regimes (which are known to influence nutritional ecology and mating systems) and both body size distribution and L∆50 (median length at female‐to‐male sex change), with an accompanying lack of strong empirical support for other biotic drivers previously hypothesized to affect body size distributions. Across sites, body size was predictably linked to variation in temperature and productivity, but the strongest predictor was whether subpopulations occurred at sheltered mid and inner shelf reefs or at wave‐exposed outer shelf reef systems. Upon accounting for the underlying influence of body size distribution, this habitat‐exposure gradient was highly associated with further L∆50 variation across species, demonstrating that differences in mating systems across exposure gradients affect the timing of sex change beyond variation concomitant with differing overall body sizes. We posit that exposure‐driven differences in habitat disturbance regimes have marked effects on the nutritional ecology of parrotfishes, leading to size‐related variation in mating systems, which underpin the observed patterns. Our results call for better integration of life‐history, social factors, and ecosystem processes to foster an improved understanding of complex ecosystems such as coral reefs.