bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Defining behavioral components of social functioning in adults with autism spectrum disorder as targets for treatment
Authors: Pallathra Ashley A. , Calkins Monica E. , Parish‐Morris Julia , Maddox Brenna B. , Perez Leat S. , Miller Judith , Gur Ruben C. , Mandell David S. , Schultz Robert T. , Brodkin Edward S. 
Published: January 2018

There is increasing recognition that adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) would benefit from treatment to improve social functioning, a key factor in adults' overall quality of life. However, the various behavioral components of social functioning (i.e., categories of behaviors underlying social functioning), including social motivation, social anxiety, social cognition, and social skills, have not all been assessed together in any sample of adults with ASD, making it difficult to know the relative levels of impairment in these various categories, the relationships among these categories, or promising targets for treatments. We hypothesized there would be significant correlations among measures within the same category, but fewer correlations of measures between categories, indicating the heterogeneity of impairments in adults with ASD. Twenty‐nine adults with ASD without co‐occurring intellectual disability completed multiple assessments measuring social motivation, social anxiety, social cognition, and social skills, as well as measures of overall ASD symptom levels and community functioning. Results revealed significant positive correlations among measures within most categories; positive correlations between measures of social motivation and all other categories, except for social cognition; as well as positive cross‐domain correlations between measures of anxiety and ASD phenotype; measures of social skills and community functioning; and measures of social skills and ASD phenotype. Further studies are warranted to determine causal relationships among these behavioral categories, across developmental stages. However, the lack of correlations between many categories suggests the potential importance of multidimensional treatments that target the particular components of social functioning most in need of improvement in individuals.Autism Res2018, 11: 488–502. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay SummaryThe goal of this study was to measure behaviors that contribute to social functioning difficulties in adults with ASD, with the ultimate goal of guiding treatment development. We found that motivation to interact with others was significantly related to social anxiety and social skill. Our results suggest that motivation may be important to target in treatment, and that treatments should be tailored to the areas most in need of improvement in each individual.
Amniotic fluid stem cell exosomes: Therapeutic perspective
Authors: Beretti Francesca , Zavatti Manuela , Casciaro Francesca , Comitini Giuseppina , Franchi Fabrizia , Barbieri Veronica , La Sala Giovanni B. , Maraldi Tullia 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIt is widely accepted that the therapeutic potential of stem cells can be largely mediated by paracrine factors, also included into exosomes. Thus, stem cell‐derived exosomes represent a major therapeutic option in regenerative medicine avoiding, if compared to stem cells graft, abnormal differentiation and tumor formation. Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) induce damaged tissue repair, and can also exert immunomodulatory effects on the differentiation, activation and function of different lymphocytes. Therefore, MSC exosomes can be considered as a potential treatment for inflammatory diseases and also an ideal candidate for allogeneic therapy due to their low immunogenicity. Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) are broadly multipotent, can be expanded in culture, and can be easily cryopreserved in cellular banks. In this study, morphology, phenotype, and protein content of exosomes released into amniotic fluid in vivo and from AFSC during in vitro culture (conditioned medium) were examined. We found that AFSC‐derived exosomes present different molecules than amniotic fluid ones, some of them involved in immunomodulation, such transforming growth factor beta and hepatic growth factors. The immunomodulatory effect of AFSC's exosomes on peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with phytohemagglutinin was compared to that of the supernatant produced by such conditioned media deprived of exosomes. We present evidence that the principal effect of AFSC conditioned media (without exosomes) is the induction of apoptosis in lymphocytes, whereas exposure to AFSC‐derived exosomes decreases the lymphocyte's proliferation, supporting the hypothesis that the entire secretome of stem cells differently affects immune‐response. © 2017 BioFactors, 44(2):158–167, 2018
Modalities for image- and molecular-guided cancer surgery
Authors: Stammes M A , Bugby S L , Porta T , Pierzchalski K , Devling T , Otto C , Dijkstra J , Vahrmeijer A L , de Geus-Oei L-F , Mieog J S D 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

Background
Surgery is the cornerstone of treatment for many solid tumours. A wide variety of imaging modalities are available before surgery for staging, although surgeons still rely primarily on visual and haptic cues in the operating environment. Image and molecular guidance might improve the adequacy of resection through enhanced tumour definition and detection of aberrant deposits. Intraoperative modalities available for image- and molecular-guided cancer surgery are reviewed here.

Methods
Intraoperative cancer detection techniques were identified through a systematic literature search, with selection of peer-reviewed publications from January 2012 to January 2017. Modalities were reviewed, described and compared according to 25 predefined characteristics. To summarize the data in a comparable way, a three-point rating scale was applied to quantitative characteristics.

Results
The search identified ten image- and molecular-guided surgery techniques, which can be divided into four groups: conventional, optical, nuclear and endogenous reflectance modalities. Conventional techniques are the most well known imaging modalities, but unfortunately have the drawback of a defined resolution and long acquisition time. Optical imaging is a real-time modality; however, the penetration depth is limited. Nuclear modalities have excellent penetration depth, but their intraoperative use is limited by the use of radioactivity. Endogenous reflectance modalities provide high resolution, although with a narrow field of view.

Conclusion
Each modality has its strengths and weaknesses; no single technique will be suitable for all surgical procedures. Strict selection of modalities per cancer type and surgical requirements is required as well as combining techniques to find the optimal balance.
Nuclear division cycle 80 promotes malignant progression and predicts clinical outcome in colorectal cancer
Authors: Yan Xuebing , Huang Linsheng , Liu Liguo , Qin Huanlong , Song Zhenshun 
Published: January 2018

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is a common human malignancy worldwide and increasing studies have attributed its malignant progression to abnormal molecular changes in cancer cells. Nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80) is a newly discovered oncoprotein that regulates cell proliferation and cycle in numerous malignancies. However, its clinical significance and biological role in CRC remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we firstly analyze its expression in a retrospective cohort enrolling 224 CRC patients and find its overexpression is significantly correlated with advanced tumor stage and poor prognosis in CRC patients. In addition, our result reveals it is an independent adverse prognostic factor affecting CRC‐specific and disease‐free survival. The subgroup analysis indicates NDC80 expression can stratify the clinical outcome in stage II and III patients, but fails in stage I and IV patients. In cellular assays, we find knockdown of NDC80 dramatically inhibits the proliferative ability, apoptosis resistance, cell cycle progression, and clone formation of CRC cells in vitro. Using xenograft model, we further prove knockdown of NDC80 also inhibits the tumorigenic ability of CRC cells in vivo. Finally, the microarray analysis is utilized to preliminarily clarify the oncogenic molecular mechanisms regulated by NDC80 and the results suggest it may promote CRC progression partly by downregulating tumor suppressors such as dual specificity phosphatase 5 and Forkhead box O1. Taken together, our study provides novel evidences to support that NDC80 is not only a promising clinical biomarker but also a potential therapeutical target for CRC precise medicine.
Prenatal diagnosis of diaphanospondylodysostosis (DSD): a case report
Authors: Hofstaetter Cornelia , Courage Carolina , Bartholdi Deborah , Biskup Saskia , Raio Luigi 
Published: January 2018

Key Clinical MessageWe present a case of diaphanospondylodysostosis (DSD) which showed increased nuchal translucency at 1st trimester and missing ossification of the lower spine, short ribs with posterior gaps, and absent nasal bone in midtrimester. Autopsy revealed additionally bilateral nephroblastomatosis. Molecular genetic analysis showed a new mutation in the BMPER gene.
Performance evaluation of fixed‐bed, millistructured, and metallic foam reactor channels for CO2 methanation
Authors: Bengaouer Alain , Ducamp Julien , Champon Isabelle , Try Rasmey 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPower‐to‐gas technologies, combining hydrogen produced by water electrolysis with carbon dioxide to produce substitute natural gas (SNG), can support the increased penetration of renewable electricity sources. However, the technical and economic feasibility of these technologies requires the conversion efficiency of the whole process, including the methanation step. This paper provides an experimental performance comparison of three catalytic methanation reactor concepts, a fixed‐bed reactor, a millistructured reactor, and a metallic foam reactor with the same nickel‐alumina catalyst. The response of each reactor was analyzed in light of five performance criteria, representing the methane yield, the reactor compactness, and the maximum temperature elevation. The millistructured reactor channel showed a higher methane space‐time yield and volumetric productivity than the other reactors, but a significant catalyst temperature elevation. The metallic foam reactor showed a much lower space‐time yield and volumetric productivity, but very good thermal management.
Electrosynthesis of ferrate in a batch reactor at neutral conditions for drinking water applications
Authors: Cataldo‐Hernández Macarena A. , Govindarajan Rubenthran , Bonakdarpour Arman , Mohseni Madjid , Wilkinson David P. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWe report on the electrochemical generation of ferrate species in a batch reactor at neutral conditions (pH ∼7) using boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrodes and Fe (III) salts for applications in drinking water treatment. The impact of several relevant variables, including current density (5–55 mA cm−2), pH (5–8), and type and concentration of the dissolved iron salts on the production of ferrates were examined. In addition, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) studies were conducted using buffered electrolytes with and without the presence of iron (III) to decouple the parasitic oxygen evolution reaction. The LSV measurements in the presence of iron (III) and with a neutral electrolyte exhibit oxidation peaks centered ∼2.0 V (versus SHE), indicating the production of ferrates at this pH. The rate of ferrate generation is not strongly affected by the pH condition (≤ 20 %); however, current density and the source of iron were found to have a higher impact on the production rate of ferrates. The efficacy of the process was higher using FeCl3 instead of other sources of iron such as Fe2O3 and FeO(OH). The batch reactor results were successfully interpreted by a simple model that considered the kinetics of the ferrate generation and degradation reactions.
Study on pyrolysis of oil sludge with microalgae residue additive
Authors: Gong Zhiqiang , Wang Zhentong , Wang Zhenbo , Du Aixun , Fang Peiwen , Sun Zhiqian , Li Xiaoyu 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe pyrolysis of oil sludge (OS) with microalgae residue (MR) additive was conducted with a TGA and a tube furnace. The pyrolysis process of OS with the MR additive can be divided into three stages: 1) water evaporation, 2) the release of light groups of hydrocarbon compounds, the cracking of heavy groups, and carbon decomposition, and 3) minerals decomposition. With the MR addition ratio increasing, the yield of oil and gas increased, and oil to gas ratio increased during OS pyrolysis. The MR addition improved the quality of pyrolysis oil and gas from OS pyrolysis. The proportion of light oil increased from 38 % with a 5 % MR addition ratio to 45 % with a 30 % addition ratio. Major components of pyrolysis gas included H2, CO, CO2, and CxHy. With the increase of the MR blending ratio, CO and CO2 contents increased, while H2 and CxHy contents decreased. Adding MR favoured the transformation of heavy hydrocarbons (C6+), resulting in a high content of light hydrocarbons. This work can help promote massive synergistic treatment of OS and microalgae biomass.
Synthetic phonics and decodable instructional reading texts: How far do these support poor readers?
Authors: Price‐Mohr Ruth Maria , Price Colin Bernard 
Published: January 2018

This paper presents data from a quasi‐experimental trial with paired randomisation that emerged during the development of a reading scheme for children in England. This trial was conducted with a group of 12 children, aged 5–6, and considered to be falling behind their peers in reading ability and a matched control group. There were two intervention conditions (A: using mixed teaching methods and a high percentage of non‐phonically decodable vocabulary; P: using mixed teaching methods and low percentage of non‐decodable vocabulary); allocation to these was randomised. Children were assessed at pre‐ and post‐test on standardised measures of receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, word reading, and comprehension. Two class teachers in the same school each selected 6 children, who they considered to be poor readers, to participate (n = 12). A control group (using synthetic phonics only and phonically decodable vocabulary) was selected from the same 2 classes based on pre‐test scores for word reading (n = 16). Results from the study show positive benefits for poor readers from using both additional teaching methods (such as analytic phonics, sight word vocabulary, and oral vocabulary extension) in addition to synthetic phonics, and also non‐decodable vocabulary in instructional reading text.
Disentangling population strategies of two cladocerans adapted to different ultraviolet regimes
Authors: Fernández Carla E. , Campero Melina , Uvo Cintia , Hansson Lars‐Anders 
Published: January 2018

AbstractZooplankton have evolved several mechanisms to deal with environmental threats, such as ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and in order to identify strategies inherent to organisms exposed to different UVR environments, we here examine life‐history traits of two lineages of Daphnia pulex. The lineages differed in the UVR dose they had received at their place of origin from extremely high UVR stress at high‐altitude Bolivian lakes to low UVR stress near the sea level in temperate Sweden. Nine life‐history variables of each lineage were analyzed in laboratory experiments in the presence and the absence of sub‐lethal doses of UVR (UV‐A band), and we identified trade‐offs among variables through structural equation modeling (SEM). The UVR treatment was detrimental to almost all life‐history variables of both lineages; however, the Daphnia historically exposed to higher doses of UVR (HighUV) showed a higher overall fecundity than those historically exposed to lower doses of UVR (LowUV). The total offspring and ephippia production, as well as the number of clutches and number of offspring at first reproduction, was directly affected by UVR in both lineages. Main differences between lineages involved indirect effects that affected offspring production as the age at first reproduction. We here show that organisms within the same species have developed different strategies as responses to UVR, although no increased physiological tolerance or plasticity was shown by the HighUV lineage. In addition to known tolerance strategies to UVR, including avoidance, prevention, or repairing of damages, we here propose a population strategy that includes early reproduction and high fertility, which we show compensated for the fitness loss imposed by UVR stress.
Aberrant clones: Birth order generates life history diversity in Greater Duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza
Authors: Mejbel Hebah S. , Simons Andrew M. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractEnvironmental unpredictability is known to result in the evolution of bet‐hedging traits. Variable dormancy enhances survival through harsh conditions, and is widely cited as a diversification bet‐hedging trait. The floating aquatic plant, Spirodela polyrhiza (Greater Duckweed), provides an opportunity to study diversification because although partially reliable seasonal cues exist, its growing season is subject to an unpredictable and literally “hard” termination when the surface water freezes, and overwinter survival depends on a switch from production of normal daughter fronds to production of dense, sinking “turions” prior to freeze‐over. The problem for S. polyrhiza is that diversified dormancy behavior must be generated among clonally produced, genetically identical offspring. Variation in phenology has been observed in the field, but its sources are unknown. Here, we investigate sources of phenological variation in turion production, and test the hypothesis that diversification in turion phenology is generated within genetic lineages through effects of parental birth order. As expected, phenotypic plasticity to temperature is expressed along a thermal gradient; more interestingly, parental birth order was found to have a significant and strong effect on turion phenology: Turions are produced earlier by late birth‐order parents. These results hold regardless of whether turion phenology is measured as first turion birth order, time to first turion, or turion frequency. This study addresses a question of current interest on potential mechanisms generating diversification, and suggests that consistent phenotypic differences across birth orders generate life history variation.
How to tackle chemical communication? Relative proportions versus semiquantitative determination of compounds in lizard chemical secretions
Authors: García‐Roa Roberto , Sáiz Jorge , Gómara Belén , López Pilar , Martín José 
Published: January 2018

AbstractKnowledge about chemical communication in some vertebrates is still relatively limited. Squamates are a glaring example of this, even when recent evidences indicate that scents are involved in social and sexual interactions. In lizards, where our understanding of chemical communication has considerably progressed in the last few years, many questions about chemical interactions remain unanswered. A potential reason for this is the inherent complexity and technical limitations that some methodologies embody when analyzing the compounds used to convey information. We provide here a straightforward procedure to analyze lizard chemical secretions based on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry that uses an internal standard for the semiquantification of compounds. We compare the results of this method with those obtained by the traditional procedure of calculating relative proportions of compounds. For such purpose, we designed two experiments to investigate if these procedures allowed revealing changes in chemical secretions 1) when lizards received previously a vitamin dietary supplementation or 2) when the chemical secretions were exposed to high temperatures. Our results show that the procedure based on relative proportions is useful to describe the overall chemical profile, or changes in it, at population or species levels. On the other hand, the use of the procedure based on semiquantitative determination can be applied when the target of study is the variation in one or more particular compounds of the sample, as it has proved more accurate detecting quantitative variations in the secretions. This method would reveal new aspects produced by, for example, the effects of different physiological and climatic factors that the traditional method does not show.
Spherical Li4Ti5O12/S Composite Material as Positive Active Material for High Electrochemical Performance Lithium‐Ion Battery
Authors: Lang Xiaoshi , Liu Ying , Cai Kedi , Li Lan , Zhang Qingguo , Wu Hao 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIn this paper, a type of spherical Li4Ti5O12/S composite material is prepared by melt method and its physical property and electrochemical performance as positive active material for lithium‐ion battery are analyzed. Through SEM observation the pores of spherical Li4Ti5O12 particles containing 50 % S can be completely filled up and the particles connect to each other. The cyclic voltammetry and charge and discharge test results show that with the increase of the sulfur compound quantity in Li4Ti5O12, the electrochemical reaction of sulfur in the electrode become more and more evident. By comparison it can be found that the specific capacity of the spherical Li4Ti5O12 compounded with 50 % S at 100 mA.g−1 current density can achieve 510.406 mAh.g−1 and after 300 cycles the specific capacity at 500 mA.g−1 current density is still over 300 mAh.g−1.
Subsurface erosion, scarp retreat, and sedimentation at Mountain Lake, Virginia, USA: groundwater geomorphology in a flow‐through lake with subsurface drainage
Authors: Cawley Jon C. , Irwin Rossman P. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe complete natural drainage in 2008, 2011, and 2012 of Mountain Lake in Giles County, Virginia, allowed detailed observations of the only natural lake basin in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Here we use these observations to support geomorphic analysis and develop a model of basin evolution, which may advance the understanding of rare flow‐through lakes with subsurface drainage elsewhere. Key features included (a) an angle‐of‐repose slope with a smoothly concave planform across the entire 260 m width of the north end of the basin, (b) an arc of steep‐sided depressions along the deep northern margin of the basin floor, and (c) an abrupt transition between colluvial and finer‐grained sedimentary deposits on the floor. Our geomorphic analysis suggests that subsurface erosion has enabled long‐term northward scarp retreat in the basin by removing water and sediment. Mountain Lake formed on the northern limb of a breached anticline along the Eastern Continental Divide, where strong‐over‐weak stratigraphy and a small watershed have enabled the basin to evolve generally as follows. (1) Pond Drain, a first‐order tributary of the New River, incised north‐dipping sandstones and underlying shales on the northern limb of the anticline. The valley floor subsequently accumulated meters to tens of meters of mostly late Pleistocene colluvial fill. (2) Subsurface drainage developed likely along the contact between the sandstones and shales, facilitated by pre‐existing fractures. (3) Ongoing subsurface erosion has progressively undermined the sandstone, causing scarp retreat along the northern margin of the basin while a surface stream intermittently incised the shallow southern end. Sedimentary deposits indicate that only the deeper northern portion of the basin is usually flooded under Holocene conditions. Our basin evolution model suggests slow development of the basin over hundreds of thousands of years rather than sudden damming by a catastrophic landslide. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.