bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Metabolic dysregulation accelerates injury‐induced joint degeneration, driven by local inflammation; an in vivo rat study
Authors: de Visser Huub M. , Mastbergen Simon C. , Kozijn Anne E. , Coeleveld Katja , Pouran Behdad , van Rijen Mattie H. , Lafeber Floris P. J. G. , Weinans Harrie 
Published: August 2017

ABSTRACTEvidence is growing for the existence of an obesity‐related phenotype of osteoarthritis in which low‐grade inflammation and a disturbed metabolic profile play a role. The contribution of an obesity‐induced metabolic dysbalance to the progression of the features of osteoarthritis upon mechanically induced cartilage damage was studied in a rat in vivo model. Forty Wistar rats were randomly allocated 1:1 to a standard diet or a high‐fat diet. After 12 weeks, in 14 out of 20 rats in each group, cartilage was mechanically damaged in the right knee joint. The remaining six animals in each group served as controls. After a subsequent 12 weeks, serum was collected for metabolic state, subchondral bone changes assessed by μCT imaging, osteoarthritis severity determined by histology, and macrophage presence assessed by CD68 staining. The high‐fat diet increased statistically all relevant metabolic parameters, resulting in a dysmetabolic state and subsequent synovial inflammation, whereas cartilage degeneration was hardly influenced. The high‐fat condition in combination with mechanical cartilage damage resulted in a clear statistically significant progression of the osteoarthritic features, with increased synovitis and multiple large osteophytes. Both the synovium and osteophytes contained numerous CD68 positive cells. It is concluded that a metabolic dysbalance due to a high‐fat diet increases joint inflammation without cartilage degeneration. The dysmetabolic state clearly accelerates progression of osteoarthritis upon surgically induced cartilage damage supported by inflammatory responses as demonstrated by histology and increased CD68 expressing cells localized on the synovial membrane and osteophytes. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:881–890, 2018.
Use of Ionic liquids as additives in ion exchange chromatography for the analysis of cations
Authors: Di Huawei , Zhu Xiashi 
Published: August 2017

AbstractThe behavior of acids (citric acid, nitric acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid) as a mobile phase and imidazolium ionic liquids (the bromides, tetrafluoroborates and hexafluorophosphates of 1‐ethyl, 1‐butyl, and 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium) as additives in ion exchange chromatography for cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) separation were studied. The results showed that nitric acid and 1‐hexyl‐3‐methyl‐imidazolium hexafluorophosphate offered the most interesting features in the separation of cations, such as lower retention time and better resolution. The selected optimal conditions were achieved by adding 0.10 mM 1‐hexyl‐3‐methyl‐imidazolium hexafluorophosphate in 4.0 mM HNO3 mobile phase for the separation of four cations with the flow rate of 0.9 mL/min at room temperature (25°C). The linear regression equations of Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ were S = 4.4763c + 0.0209, S = 3.8903c – 0.0087, S = 6.3974c – 0.0173, and S = 7.601c – 0.0339 and the limits of detection of Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ were 0.296, 4.98, 0.0970, and 1.22 μg/L, respectively. In this work, four cations in samples were successfully detected.
Stimuli‐Responsive Dipeptide–Protein Hydrogels through Schiff Base Coassembly
Authors: Yuan Tingting , Fei Jinbo , Xu Youqian , Yang Xiaoke , Li Junbai 
Published: August 2017

AbstractDifferent from the conventional irreversible covalent conjugations, a simple and efficient dynamic Schiff base covalent assembly is developed to construct the stable and smart dipeptide–protein hydrogels under mild conditions. Diphenylalanine–hemoglobin hydrogel is chosen to investigate the gelation formation process and mechanism. It is found that such assembled dipeptide–protein hydrogels are sensitive to pH variation, and simultaneously the proteins can be released without changing the native secondary structures from the gels. Furthermore, these adaptive hydrogels can encapsulate a series of small molecules, multicomponent proteins, and functional nanoparticles. These versatile hydrogels may find a great potential in bioapplications.
Improved Glass Transition Temperature towards Thermal Stability via Thiols Solvent Additive versus DIO in Polymer Solar Cells
Authors: Yin Jingping , Zhou Weihua , Zhang Lin , Xie Yuanpeng , Yu Zoukangning , Shao Jun , Ma Wei , Zeng Jianrong , Chen Yiwang 
Published: August 2017

AbstractThe halogen‐free solvent additive, 1,4‐butanedithiol (BT) has been incorporated into PTB7‐Th:PC71BM, leading to higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) value as well as substantially enhanced thermal stability, as compared with the traditional 1,8‐diiodooctane (DIO) additive. More importantly, the improved thermal stability after processing with BT contributes to a higher glass transition temperature (Tg) of PTB7‐Th, as determined by dynamic mechanical analysis. After thermal annealing at 130 °C in nitrogen atmosphere for 30 min, the PCE of the specimen processed with BT reduces from 9.3% to 7.1%, approaching to 80% of its original value. In contrast, the PCE of specimens processed with DIO seriously depresses from 8.3% to 3.8%. These findings demonstrate that smart utilization of low‐boiling‐point solvent additive is an effective and practical strategy to overcome thermal instability of organic solar cells via enhancing the Tg of donor polymer.
Comparison of different compressed sensing algorithms for low SNR 19F MRI applications—Imaging of transplanted pancreatic islets and cells labeled with perfluorocarbons
Authors: Liang Sayuan , Dresselaers Tom , Louchami Karim , Zhu Ce , Liu Yipeng , Himmelreich Uwe 
Published: August 2017

Transplantation of pancreatic islets is a possible treatment option for patients suffering from Type I diabetes. In vivo imaging of transplanted islets is important for assessment of the transplantation site and islet distribution. Thanks to its high specificity, the absence of intrinsic background signal in tissue and its potential for quantification, 19F MRI is a promising technique for monitoring the fate of transplanted islets in vivo. In order to overcome the inherent low sensitivity of 19F MRI, leading to long acquisition times with low signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), compressed sensing (CS) techniques are a valuable option. We have validated and compared different CS algorithms for acceleration of 19F MRI acquisition in a low SNR regime using pancreatic islets labeled with perfluorocarbons both in vitro and in vivo.Using offline simulation on both in vitro and in vivo low SNR fully sampled 19F MRI datasets of labeled islets, we have shown that CS is effective in reducing the image acquisition time by a factor of three to four without seriously affecting SNR, regardless of the particular algorithms used in this study, with the exception of CoSaMP. Using CS, signals can be detected that might have been missed by conventional 19F MRI. Among different algorithms (SPARSEMRI, OMMP, IRWL1, Two‐level and CoSAMP), the two‐level l1 method has shown the best performance if computational time is taken into account.We have demonstrated in this study that different existing CS algorithms can be used effectively for low SNR 19F MRI. An up to fourfold gain in SNR/scan time could be used either to reduce the scan time, which is beneficial for clinical and translational applications, or to increase the number of averages, to potentially detect otherwise undetected signal when compared with conventional 19F MRI acquisitions. Potential applications in the field of cell therapy have been demonstrated.
Precision and accuracy of diffusion kurtosis estimation and the influence of b‐value selection
Authors: Chuhutin Andrey , Hansen Brian , Jespersen Sune Nørhøj 
Published: August 2017

Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an extension of diffusion tensor imaging that accounts for leading non‐Gaussian diffusion effects. In DKI studies, a wide range of different gradient strengths (b‐values) is used, which is known to affect the estimated diffusivity and kurtosis parameters. Hence there is a need to assess the accuracy and precision of the estimated parameters as a function of b‐value. This work examines the error in the estimation of mean of the kurtosis tensor (MKT) with respect to the ground truth, using simulations based on a biophysical model for both gray (GM) and white (WM) matter. Model parameters are derived from densely sampled experimental data acquired in ex vivo rat brain and in vivo human brain. Additionally, the variability of MKT is studied using the experimental data. Prevalent fitting protocols are implemented and investigated. The results show strong dependence on the maximum b‐value of both net relative error and standard deviation of error for all of the employed fitting protocols. The choice of b‐values with minimum MKT estimation error and standard deviation of error was found to depend on the protocol type and the tissue. Protocols that utilize two terms of the cumulant expansion (DKI) were found to achieve minimum error in GM at b‐values less than 1 ms/μm2, whereas maximal b‐values of about 2.5 ms/μm2 were found to be optimal in WM. Protocols including additional higher order terms of the cumulant expansion were found to provide higher accuracy for the more commonly used b‐value regime in GM, but were associated with higher error in WM. Averaged over multiple voxels, a net average error of around 15% for both WM and GM was observed for the optimal b‐value choice. These results suggest caution when using DKI generated metrics for microstructural modeling and when comparing results obtained using different fitting techniques and b‐values.
PROP Nontaster Women Lose More Weight Following a Low‐Carbohydrate Versus a Low‐Fat Diet in a Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Burgess Brenda , Raynor Hollie A. , Tepper Beverly J. 
Published: August 2017

ObjectiveTaste blindness to 6‐n‐propylthiouracil (PROP) associates with increased fat preference and intake. No studies have matched a diet to a woman's PROP phenotype to improve weight loss. This study investigated (1) whether PROP nontaster (NT) women would lose more weight following a low‐carbohydrate (LC) diet than a low‐fat (LF) diet, and (2) whether PROP supertaster (ST) women would lose more weight following a LF diet than a LC diet.MethodsOne hundred seven women (BMI = 34.8 ± 0.5 kg/m2), classified as PROP NTs (n = 47) and STs (n = 60), were randomized to a LC or LF diet within a 6‐month lifestyle intervention. Assessments included 4‐day dietary recalls and biobehavioral and psychosocial questionnaires.ResultsAt 6 months, NTs lost more weight following the LC than the LF diet (−8.5 ± 0.5 kg vs. −6.6 ± 0.5 kg, P = 0.008); there was no difference between STs following either diet (−8.8 ± 0.4 vs. −8.9 ± 0.5, P = 0.35). Dietary self‐reports were unrelated to weight loss, and prescription of a LC diet associated with greater self‐efficacy.ConclusionsNT women lost more weight following the LC diet compared to the LF diet. Screening for PROP phenotype may help personalize diet therapy for NT women to optimize their short‐term weight loss.
Incorporating Refractory Period in Mechanical Stimulation Mitigates Obesity‐Induced Adipose Tissue Dysfunction in Adult Mice
Authors: Patel Vihitaben S. , Chan M. Ete , Pagnotti Gabriel M. , Frechette Danielle M. , Rubin Janet , Rubin Clinton T. 
Published: August 2017

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine whether inclusion of a refractory period between bouts of low‐magnitude mechanical stimulation (LMMS) can curb obesity‐induced adipose tissue dysfunction and sequelae in adult mice.MethodsA diet‐induced obesity model that included a diet with 45% of kilocalories from fat was employed with intention to treat. C57BL/6J mice were weight matched into four groups: low‐fat diet (LFD, n = 8), high‐fat diet (HFD, n = 8), HFD with one bout of 30‐minute LMMS (HFDv, n = 9), and HFD with two bouts of 15‐minute LMMS with a 5‐hour separation (refractory period, RHFDv, n = 9). Two weeks of diet was followed by 6 weeks of diet plus LMMS.ResultsHFD and HFDv mice continued gaining body weight and visceral adiposity throughout the experiment, which was mitigated in RHFDv mice. Compared with LFD mice, HFD and HFDv mice had increased rates of adipocyte hypertrophy, increased immune cell infiltration (B cells, T cells, and macrophages) into adipose tissue, increased adipose tissue inflammation (tumor necrosis factor alpha gene expression), and a decreased proportion of mesenchymal stem cells in adipose tissue, all of which were rescued in RHFDv mice. Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance were elevated in HFD and HFDv mice, but not in RHFDv mice, as compared with LFD mice.ConclusionsIncorporating a 5‐hour refractory period between bouts of LMMS attenuates obesity‐induced adipose tissue dysfunction and improves glucose metabolism.
Controlling confounding by frailty when estimating influenza vaccine effectiveness using predictors of dependency in activities of daily living
Authors: Zhang Henry T. , McGrath Leah J. , Wyss Richard , Ellis Alan R. , Stürmer Til 
Published: August 2017

AbstractPurposeTo improve control of confounding by frailty when estimating the effect of influenza vaccination on all‐cause mortality by controlling for a published set of claims‐based predictors of dependency in activities of daily living (ADL).MethodsUsing Medicare claims data, a cohort of beneficiaries >65 years of age was followed from September 1, 2007, to April 12, 2008, with covariates assessed in the 6 months before follow‐up. We estimated Cox proportional hazards models of all‐cause mortality, with influenza vaccination as a time‐varying exposure. We controlled for common demographics, comorbidities, and health care utilization variables and then added 20 ADL dependency predictors. To gauge residual confounding, we estimated pre‐influenza season hazard ratios (HRs) between September 1, 2007 and January 5, 2008, which should be 1.0 in the absence of bias.ResultsA cohort of 2 235 140 beneficiaries was created, with a median follow‐up of 224 days. Overall, 52% were vaccinated and 4% died during follow‐up. During the pre‐influenza season period, controlling for demographics, comorbidities, and health care use resulted in a HR of 0.66 (0.64, 0.67). Adding the ADL dependency predictors moved the HR to 0.68 (0.67, 0.70). Controlling for demographics and ADL dependency predictors alone resulted in a HR of 0.68 (0.66, 0.70).ConclusionsResults were consistent with those in the literature, with significant uncontrolled confounding after adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, and health care use. Adding ADL dependency predictors moved HRs slightly closer to the null. Of the comorbidities, health care use variables, and ADL dependency predictors, the last set reduced confounding most. However, substantial uncontrolled confounding remained.
Highly thermal conductive benzoxazine‐epoxy interpenetrating polymer networks containing liquid crystalline structures
Authors: Liu Ying , Chen Jiming , Zhang Yaoheng , Gao Sheng , Lu Zaijun , Xue Qingbin 
Published: August 2017

ABSTRACTA diamine‐based benzoxazine monomer (Bz) and a liquid crystalline epoxy monomer (LCE) are synthesized, respectively. Subsequently, a benzoxazine‐epoxy interpenetrating polymer network (PBEI) containing liquid crystalline structures is obtained by sequential curing of the LCE and the Bz in the presence of imidazole. The results show that the preferential curing of LCE plays a key role in the formation mechanism of liquid crystalline phase. Due to the introduction of liquid crystalline structures, the thermal conductivity of PBEI increases with increasing content of LCE. When the content of LCE is 80 wt %, the thermal conductivity reaches 0.32 W m−1 K−1. Additionally, the heat‐resistance of PBEI is superior to liquid crystalline epoxy resin. Among them, PBEI55 containing equal weight of Bz and LCE has better comprehensive performance. Its thermal conductivity, glass transition temperature, and the 5 % weight loss temperature are 0.28 W m−1 K−1, 160 °C, and 339 °C, respectively. By introducing boron nitride (BN) fillers into PBEI55, a composite of PBEI/BN with the highest thermal conductivity of 3.00 W m−1 K−1 is obtained. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017, 55, 1813–1821
Hot Spot Formation in Mock Materials in Impact Sensitivity Testing by Drop Hammer
Authors: Reynolds John G. , Hsu Peter C. , Hust Gary A. , Strout Stephen A. , Springer H. Keo 
Published: August 2017

AbstractPowder and granulated sugars were exposed to the drop hammer impact test configured with 120‐ and 180‐grit Si/C sandpapers. The sugars were selected as mock materials for HMX (Octahydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocine). The drop heights ranged from 24.2 to 40.7 cm. Samples were examined by visible microscopy before and after testing and the appearance of yellow and brown discolorations in the spent samples were assigned as hot spots. These discolorations were divided into two types; those collocated with grit particles and those that were not. Hot spots are found in the spent samples in almost every test condition. Powder sugar appears to be more active in producing hot spots than the granulated sugar based on comparisons at identical conditions. Drop height, within this specific range, has little effect on the formation of hot spots, except for 40.7 cm high‐end limit, which causes a dramatic increase in spot formation. The predominant hot spot type formed is collocated with grit particles, suggesting association of hot spot formation due to grit, something that has been discussed in previous treaties. Foreign objects were also observed, some imbedded and some not imbedded. Discoloration was not observed around these sites, suggesting these types of foreign materials are not responsible for hot spot formation, at least under these conditions. Grit associated with a visible tail was observed in some instances, suggesting that grit can be quite mobile through the sample when the pressure is applied by the drop weight (through the striker).
Murraya paniculata(L.) (Orange Jasmine): Potential Nutraceuticals with Ameliorative Effect in Alloxan‐Induced Diabetic Rats
Authors: Menezes Cicero Diego Almino , de Oliveira Garcia Francisca Adilfa , de Barros Viana Glauce Socorro , Pinheiro Patricia Gonçalves , Felipe Cícero Francisco Bezerra , de Albuquerque Thaís Rodrigues , Moreira Alisson Cordeiro , Santos Enaide Soares , Cavalcante Maynara Rodrigues , Garcia Tatiana Rodrigues , Silva Thiago Fonseca , Coutinho Henrique Douglas Melo , de Menezes Irwin Rose Alencar 
Published: August 2017

Orange jasmine,Murraya paniculata(Rutaceae), is a plant from India widely used in folk medicine as antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant. Although oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin are the mainstays of treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM), there is a significant demand for new natural products to reduce the development of diabetic complications. Alloxan‐induced diabetic rats were treated for 60 days with a hydroalcoholic extract ofM. paniculata(MPE), at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg. MPE decreased glycemia and also cholesterol and triglyceride levels, starting 1 week after treatments, as compared with the same group before treatments. Glucose values were reduced toward normality after 1 week of treatment. MPE hypoglycemic effects were potentiated by glibenclamide and metformin. MPE also decreased fructosamine and glycated hemoglobin values. MPE reduced diabetes‐induced morphological alterations of the kidney, pancreas, and liver. MPE acts similarly to glibenclamide and metformin, and its glucose‐lowering action is partly a consequence of ATP‐sensitive K+channel inhibition. MPE may be a potential therapeutic alternative for the treatment of diabetes and its complications. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Direct screening of enzyme activity using infrared matrix‐assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization
Authors: Nazari Milad , Ekelöf Måns , Khodjaniyazova Sitora , Elsen Nathaniel L. , Williams Jon D. , Muddiman David C. 
Published: August 2017

RationaleHigh‐throughput screening (HTS) is a critical step in the drug discovery process. However, most mass spectrometry (MS)‐based HTS methods require sample cleanup steps prior to analysis. In this work we present the utility of infrared matrix‐assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization (IR‐MALDESI) for monitoring an enzymatic reaction directly from a biological buffer system with no sample cleanup and at high throughput.MethodsIR‐MALDESI was used to directly analyze reaction mixtures from a well plate at different time points after reaction initiation. The percent conversion of precursors to products was used to screen the enzyme activity. The reaction was performed with two different concentrations of precursors and enzyme in order to assess the dynamic range of the assay. Eventually, a pseudo‐HTS study was designed to investigate the utility of IR‐MALDESI screening enzyme activity in a high‐throughput manner.ResultsIR‐MALDESI was able to readily monitor the activity of IDH1 over time at two different concentrations of precursors and enzyme. The calculated Z‐factors of 0.65 and 0.41 confirmed the suitability of the developed method for screening enzyme activity in HTS manner. Finally, in a single‐blind pseudo‐HTS analysis IR‐MALDESI was able to correctly predict the identity of all samples, where 8/10 samples were identified with high confidence and the other two samples with lower confidence.ConclusionsThe enzymatic activity of IDH1 was screened by directly analyzing the reaction content from the buffer in well plates with no sample cleanup steps. This proof‐of‐concept study demonstrates the robustness of IR‐MALDESI for direct analysis of enzymatic reactions from biological buffers with no sample cleanup and its immense potential for HTS applications.
Boundary control for a vibrating string with asymmetrically constrained outputs
Authors: Meng Tingting , He Wei , Liu Jin‐Kun 
Published: August 2017

SummaryIn this paper, vibration control and output constraint are addressed for a flexible string system. A boundary controller is designed to suppress vibrations and asymmetrically constrain endpoint displacement by adopting tangent functions into a barrier Lyapunov function. With the proposed boundary control law, the closed‐loop system is stabilized asymptotically and even uniform boundedness is achieved. Simulation results aim to prove the effectiveness of the designed boundary control scheme.
Agricultural service unit motion planning under harvesting scheduling and terrain constraints
Authors: Auat Cheein Fernando , Torres‐Torriti Miguel , Hopfenblatt Nicolás Busch , Prado Álvaro Javier , Calabi Daniel 
Published: August 2017

AbstractMost of the existing harvesting strategies rely on traditional path planners that only minimize the length of the path or energy consumption, ignoring the state of the crops and production process. Furthermore, the existing approaches use simplified kinematic models that neglect the robots' dynamics and their interaction with the terrain. To address these limitations, we propose and test in the field a harvesting and motion‐planning strategy that explicitly considers the expected plant yield and the terrain's traversability. The latter has direct impact in the energy management of the agricultural service unit. A map with the predicted yield of each plant is employed to determine a priority queue of harvesting points. The priority queue, together with the harvesting rate and the robot's payload capacity, are used to generate a harvesting schedule for the different locations in the grove. The joint harvesting and motion‐planning strategy applied is evaluated using field data from a Chilean avocado grove during the harvesting season. The results show that the proposed strategy provides a useful approach to automate the harvest points scheduling and motion planning while saving machinery resources.