bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Co-operation, Competition and Crowding: A Discrete Framework Linking Allee Kinetics, Nonlinear Diffusion, Shocks and Sharp-Fronted Travelling Waves
Authors: Johnston Stuart T. , Baker Ruth E. , McElwain D. L. Sean , Simpson Matthew J. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractInvasion processes are ubiquitous throughout cell biology and ecology. During invasion, individuals can become isolated from the bulk population and behave differently. We present a discrete, exclusion-based description of the birth, death and movement of individuals. The model distinguishes between individuals that are part of, or are isolated from, the bulk population by imposing different rates of birth, death and movement. This enables the simulation of various co-operative or competitive mechanisms, where there is either a positive or negative benefit associated with being part of the bulk population, respectively. The mean-field approximation of the discrete process gives rise to 22 different classes of partial differential equation, which can include Allee kinetics and nonlinear diffusion. Here we examine the ability of each class of partial differential equation to support travelling wave solutions and interpret the long time behaviour in terms of the individual-level parameters. For the first time we show that the strong Allee effect and nonlinear diffusion can result in shock-fronted travelling waves. We also demonstrate how differences in group and individual motility rates can influence the persistence of a population and provide conditions for the successful invasion of a population.
Interleukin-1β pre-treated bone marrow stromal cells alleviate neuropathic pain through CCL7-mediated inhibition of microglial activation in the spinal cord
Authors: Li Jian , Deng Guoying , Wang Haowei , Yang Mei , Yang Rui , Li Xiangnan , Zhang Xiaoping , Yuan Hongbin 
Published: February 2017

AbstractAlthough neuropathic pain is one of the most intractable diseases, recent studies indicate that systemic or local injection of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) decreases pro-inflammatory cytokines release and alleviates neuropathic pain. However, it is still not clear whether pre-treated BMSCs have a strong anti-inflammatory and/or analgesia effect. Using the spinal nerve ligation model of neuropathic pain, IL-1β pre-treated BMSCs (IL-1β-BMSCs) were injected into rats followed by SNL in order to determine possible effects. Results indicated that IL-1β-BMSCs were more efficacious in both amelioration of neuropathic pain and inhibition of microglia activation. Specifically, microglia inhibition was found to be mediated by chemokine C-C motif ligand 7 (CCL7) but not CCL2. Results also showed that IL-1β-BMSCs had a stronger inhibitory effect on astrocyte activation as well as CCL7 release, which was found to be mediated by IL-10 not transforming growth factor-β1. In addition, we also found directional migration of IL-1β-BMSCs was mediated by inceased C-X-C motif chemokine ligand (CXCL) 13 expression following SNL. In conclusion, our results indicated IL-1β-BMSCs could inhibit microglia activation and neuropathic pain by decreasing CCL7 level in spinal cord.
One-Step Hydrothermal Fabrication of Three-dimensional MoS2 Nanoflower using Polypyrrole as Template for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Authors: Lu Xin , Lin Yingwu , Dong Haifeng , Dai Wenhao , Chen Xin , Qu Xuanhui , Zhang Xueji 
Published: February 2017

AbstractHerein, a facile and cost-effective strategy for hydrothermal synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) MoS2 with adequate active edge sites and advanced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance using polypyrrole (PPy) as template is reported. The MoS2 is first thermally nucleated using hexaammonium heptamolybdate tetrahydrate (NH4)6Mo7O24·4H2O and thiourea as precursor in the presence of PPy, and then they are further annealed to remove PPy at higher temperature to generate 3D MoS2-P. Morphology and composition characterizations reveal that the 3D MoS2-P exhibits a nanoflower morphology. It presents larger stretched “thin folding leaves” and higher mesoporous volume of 0.608 cm3 g−1 than the MoS2 without PPy as template. Importantly, the 3D MoS2-P shows enhanced HER catalytic activity (onset potential at −100 mV) than previously reports that MoS2-based HER catalysts. The large “thin folding leaves” possessing efficient edge active sites and defects are responsible to for the enhanced HER performance, while the high mesoporous volume facilitates the transfer of reaction substrate. Our study provides a facile and cost-effective method for synthesis of 3D MoS2 with advanced HER performances, which has great potential for larger-scale production and practical industrial applications.
Morphologies of tungsten nanotendrils grown under helium exposure
Authors: Wang Kun , Doerner R. P. , Baldwin M. J. , Meyer F. W. , Bannister M. E. , Darbal Amith , Stroud Robert , Parish Chad M. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractNanotendril “fuzz” will grow under He bombardment under tokamak-relevant conditions on tungsten plasma-facing materials in a magnetic fusion energy device. We have grown tungsten nanotendrils at low (50 eV) and high (12 keV) He bombardment energy, in the range 900–1000 °C, and characterized them using electron microscopy. Low energy tendrils are finer (~22 nm diameter) than high-energy tendrils (~176 nm diameter), and low-energy tendrils have a smoother surface than high-energy tendrils. Cavities were omnipresent and typically ~5–10 nm in size. Oxygen was present at tendril surfaces, but tendrils were all BCC tungsten metal. Electron diffraction measured tendril growth axes and grain boundary angle/axis pairs; no preferential growth axes or angle/axis pairs were observed, and low-energy fuzz grain boundaries tended to be high angle; high energy tendril grain boundaries were not observed. We speculate that the strong tendency to high-angle grain boundaries in the low-energy tendrils implies that as the tendrils twist or bend, strain must accumulate until nucleation of a grain boundary is favorable compared to further lattice rotation. The high-energy tendrils consisted of very large (>100 nm) grains compared to the tendril size, so the nature of the high energy irradiation must enable faster growth with less lattice rotation.
Crystal shape controlled H2 storage rate in nanoporous carbon composite with ultra-fine Pt nanoparticle
Authors: Chen Tsan-Yao , Zhang Yanhui , Hsu Liang-Ching , Hu Alice , Zhuang Yu , Fan Chia-Ming , Wang Cheng-Yu , Chung Tsui-Yun , Tsao Cheng-Si , Chuang Haw-Yeu 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThis study demonstrates that the hydrogen storage rate (HSR) of nanoporous carbon supported platinum nanocatalysts (NC) is determined by their heterojunction and geometric configurations. The present NC is synthesized in an average particle size of ~1.5 nm by incipient wetness impregnation of Pt4+ at carbon support followed by annealing in H2 ambient at 102–105 °C. Among the steps in hydrogen storage, decomposition of H2 molecule into 2 H atoms on Pt NC surface is the deciding factor in HSR that is controlled by the thickness of Pt NC. For the best condition, HSR of Pt NC in 1~2 atomic layers thick (4.7 μg/g min) is 2.6 times faster than that (1.3 μg/g min) of Pt NC with higher than 3 atomic layers thick.
Robust ferromagnetism carried by antiferromagnetic domain walls
Authors: Hirose Hishiro T. , Yamaura Jun-ichi , Hiroi Zenji 
Published: February 2017

AbstractFerroic materials, such as ferromagnetic or ferroelectric materials, have been utilized as recording media for memory devices. A recent trend for downsizing, however, requires an alternative, because ferroic orders tend to become unstable for miniaturization. The domain wall nanoelectronics is a new developing direction for next-generation devices, in which atomic domain walls, rather than conventional, large domains themselves, are the active elements. Here we show that atomically thin magnetic domain walls generated in the antiferromagnetic insulator Cd2Os2O7 carry unusual ferromagnetic moments perpendicular to the wall as well as electron conductivity: the ferromagnetic moments are easily polarized even by a tiny field of 1 mT at high temperature, while, once cooled down, they are surprisingly robust even in an inverse magnetic field of 7 T. Thus, the magnetic domain walls could serve as a new-type of microscopic, switchable and electrically readable magnetic medium which is potentially important for future applications in the domain wall nanoelectronics.
Humans expect generosity
Authors: Brañas-Garza Pablo , Rodríguez-Lara Ismael , Sánchez Angel 
Published: February 2017

AbstractMechanisms supporting human ultra-cooperativeness are very much subject to debate. One psychological feature likely to be relevant is the formation of expectations, particularly about receiving cooperative or generous behavior from others. Without such expectations, social life will be seriously impeded and, in turn, expectations leading to satisfactory interactions can become norms and institutionalize cooperation. In this paper, we assess people’s expectations of generosity in a series of controlled experiments using the dictator game. Despite differences in respective roles, involvement in the game, degree of social distance or variation of stakes, the results are conclusive: subjects seldom predict that dictators will behave selfishly (by choosing the Nash equilibrium action, namely giving nothing). The majority of subjects expect that dictators will choose the equal split. This implies that generous behavior is not only observed in the lab, but also expected by subjects. In addition, expectations are accurate, matching closely the donations observed and showing that as a society we have a good grasp of how we interact. Finally, correlation between expectations and actual behavior suggests that expectations can be an important ingredient of generous or cooperative behavior.
Dentin Sialoprotein is a Novel Substrate of Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Yuan Guohua , Chen Lei , Feng Junsheng , Yang Guobin , Ni Qingwen , Xu Xiaoping , Wan Chunyan , Lindsey Merry , Donly Kevin J. , MacDougall Mary , Chen Zhi , Chen Shuo 
Published: February 2017

AbstractDentin sialoprotein (DSP) is essential for dentinogenesis and processed into fragments in the odontoblast-like cells and the tooth compartments. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is expressed in teeth from early embryonic to adult stage. Although MMP9 has been reported to be involved in some physiological and pathological conditions through processing substrates, its role in tooth development and whether DSP is a substrate of MMP9 remain unknown. In this study, the function of MMP9 in the tooth development was examined by observation of Mmp9 knockout (Mmp9−/−) mouse phenotype, and whether DSP is a substrate of MMP9 was explored by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results showed that Mmp9−/− teeth displayed a phenotype similar to dentinogenesis imperfecta, including decreased dentin mineral density, abnormal dentin architecture, widened predentin and irregular predentin-dentin boundary. The distribution of MMP9 and DSP overlapped in the odontoblasts, the predentin, and the mineralized dentin, and MMP9 was able to specifically bind to DSP. MMP9 highly efficiently cleaved DSP into distinct fragments in vitro, and the deletion of Mmp9 caused improper processing of DSP in natural teeth. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that MMP9 is important for tooth development and DSP is a novel target of MMP9 during dentinogenesis.
pH-sensitive micelles for the intracellular co-delivery of curcumin and Pluronic L61 unimers for synergistic reversal effect of multidrug resistance
Authors: Hong Wei , Shi Hong , Qiao Mingxi , Zhang Zehui , Yang Wenting , Dong Lingying , Xie Fucheng , Zhao Chunpeng , Kang Li 
Published: February 2017

AbstractPluronic L61 unimers, which are biomacromolecular modulators, and curcumin, a small-molecule modulator, were co-formulated into pH-sensitive micelles to reveal the full synergistic potential of combination drug treatments to reverse multidrug resistance (MDR). Compared to monotherapy, combined therapy significantly improved the cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and apoptotic effects of doxorubicin (DOX) against MCF-7/ADR cells. In mechanistic studies, both L61 and curcumin enhanced the cytotoxic effect by acting on mitochondrial signalling pathways. The compounds selectively accumulated in the mitochondria and disabled the mitochondria by dissipating the mitochondrial membrane potential, decreasing the ATP levels, and releasing cytochromec, which initiated a cascade of caspase-9 and caspase-3 reactions. Furthermore, both curcumin and L61 down-regulated the expression and function of P-gp in response to drug efflux from the MCF-7/ADR cells. In the MCF-7/ADR tumour-bearing mouse model, intravenous administration of the combined therapy directly targeted the tumour, as revealed by the accumulation of DiR in the tumour site, which led to a significant inhibition of tumour growth without measurable side effects. In conclusion, co-formulation consisting of L61 and curcumin in pH-sensitive micelles induced significant synergistic effects on the reversal of MDR. Therefore, the intracellular co-delivery of various MDR modulators has great potential to reverse MDR in tumours.
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) regulate IL-6 over-production during concomitant influenza virus and Staphylococcus aureus infection
Authors: Klemm Carolin , Bruchhagen Christin , van Krüchten Andre , Niemann Silke , Löffler Bettina , Peters Georg , Ludwig Stephan , Ehrhardt Christina 
Published: February 2017

AbstractBacterial super-infections are a major complication of influenza virus (IV) infections and often lead to severe pneumonia. One hallmark of IV-associatedStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection is rapid progression to a serious disease outcome. Changes in immune and inflammatory host responses increase morbidity and complicate efficient therapy. A key player during inflammation is the multifunctional cytokine IL-6. Although increased IL-6 levels have been observed after severe disease upon IV and/or bacterial super-infection, the underlying molecular mechanisms still remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we focused on cellular signalling pathways regulating IL-6 production upon IV/S. aureussuper-infection. Additionally, infection with viable bacteria was mimicked by lipoteichoic acid stimulation in this model. Analyses of cellular signalling mechanisms revealed synergistically increased activation of the MAPK p38 as well as enhanced phosphorylation of the MAPKs ERK1/2 and JNK in the presence of super-infecting bacteria. Interestingly, inhibition of MAPK activity indicated a strong dependence of IL-6 expression on p38 and ERK1/2, while the MAPK JNK seems not to be involved. Thus, our results provide new molecular insights into the regulation of IL-6, a marker of severe disease, which might contribute to the lethal synergism of IV andS. aureus.
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in wild-derived mice: generation of tamed wild-derived strains by mutation of the a (nonagouti) gene
Authors: Hirose Michiko , Hasegawa Ayumi , Mochida Keiji , Matoba Shogo , Hatanaka Yuki , Inoue Kimiko , Goto Tatsuhiko , Kaneda Hideki , Yamada Ikuko , Furuse Tamio , Abe Kuniya , Uenoyama Yoshihisa , Tsukamura Hiroko , Wakana Shigeharu , Honda Arata , Ogura Atsuo 
Published: February 2017

AbstractWild-derived mice have contributed to experimental mouse genetics by virtue of their genetic diversity, which may help increase the chance of identifying novel modifier genes responsible for specific phenotypes and diseases. However, gene targeting using wild-derived mice has been unsuccessful because of the unavailability of stable embryonic stem cells. Here, we report that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene targeting can be applied to the Japanese wild-derived MSM/Ms strain (Mus musculus molossinus). We targeted the nonagouti (a) gene encoding the agouti protein that is localized in hair and the brain. We obtained three homozygous knockout mice as founders, all showing black coat colour. While homozygous knockout offspring were physiologically indistinguishable from wild-type litter-mates, they showed specific domesticated behaviours: hypoactivity in the dark phase and a decline in the avoidance of a human hand. These phenotypes were consistent over subsequent generations. Our findings support the empirical hypothesis that nonagouti is a domestication-linked gene, the loss of which might repress aggressive behaviour.
The Gadolinium (Gd3+) and Tin (Sn4+) Co-doped BiFeO3 Nanoparticles as New Solar Light Active Photocatalyst
Authors: Irfan Syed , Rizwan Syed , Shen Yang , Li Liangliang , Asfandiyar  , Butt Sajid , Nan Ce-Wen 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe process of photocatalysis is appealing to huge interest motivated by the great promise of addressing current energy and environmental issues through converting solar light directly into chemical energy. However, an efficient solar energy harvesting for photocatalysis remains a critical challenge. Here, we reported a new full solar spectrum driven photocatalyst by co-doping of Gd3+ and Sn4+ into A and B-sites of BiFeO3 simultaneously. The co-doping of Gd3+ and Sn4+ played a key role in hampering the recombination of electron-hole pairs and shifted the band-gap of BiFeO3 from 2.10 eV to 2.03 eV. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurement confirmed that the co-doping of Gd3+ and Sn4+ into BiFeO3 increased the surface area and porosity, and thus the photocatalytic activity of the Bi0.90Gd0.10Fe0.95Sn0.05O3 system was significantly improved. Our work proposed a new photocatalyst that could degrade various organic dyes like Congo red, Methylene blue, and Methyl violet under irradiation with different light wavelengths and gave guidance for designing more efficient photocatalysts.
Arabidopsis thaliana dehydroascorbate reductase 2: Conformational flexibility during catalysis
Authors: Bodra Nandita , Young David , Astolfi Rosado Leonardo , Pallo Anna , Wahni Khadija , De Proft Frank , Huang Jingjing , Van Breusegem Frank , Messens Joris 
Published: February 2017

AbstractDehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) catalyzes the glutathione (GSH)-dependent reduction of dehydroascorbate and plays a direct role in regenerating ascorbic acid, an essential plant antioxidant vital for defense against oxidative stress. DHAR enzymes bear close structural homology to the glutathione transferase (GST) superfamily of enzymes and contain the same active site motif, but most GSTs do not exhibit DHAR activity. The presence of a cysteine at the active site is essential for the catalytic functioning of DHAR, as mutation of this cysteine abolishes the activity. Here we present the crystal structure of DHAR2 from Arabidopsis thaliana with GSH bound to the catalytic cysteine. This structure reveals localized conformational differences around the active site which distinguishes the GSH-bound DHAR2 structure from that of DHAR1. We also unraveled the enzymatic step in which DHAR releases oxidized glutathione (GSSG). To consolidate our structural and kinetic findings, we investigated potential conformational flexibility in DHAR2 by normal mode analysis and found that subdomain mobility could be linked to GSH binding or GSSG release.
Zinc finger protein ZPR9 functions as an activator of AMPK-related serine/threonine kinase MPK38/MELK involved in ASK1/TGF-β/p53 signaling pathways
Authors: Seong Hyun-A , Manoharan Ravi , Ha Hyunjung 
Published: February 2017

AbstractMurine protein serine-threonine kinase 38 (MPK38), an AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related kinase, has been implicated in the induction of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1)-, transforming growth factor-β (TGF‐β)-, and p53-mediated activity involved in metabolic homeostasis. Here, zinc finger protein ZPR9 was found to be an activator of MPK38. The association of MPK38 and ZPR9 was mediated by cysteine residues present in each of these two proteins, Cys269 and Cys286 of MPK38 and Cys305 and Cys308 of ZPR9. MPK38 phosphorylated ZPR9 at Thr252. Wild‐type ZPR9, but not the ZPR9 mutant T252A, enhanced ASK1, TGF‐β, and p53 function by stabilizing MPK38. The requirement of ZPR9 Thr252 phosphorylation was validated using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ZPR9 (T252A) knockin cell lines. The knockdown of endogenous ZPR9 showed an opposite trend, resulting in the inhibition of MPK38‐dependent ASK1, TGF‐β, and p53 function. This effect was also demonstrated in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells that were haploinsufficient (+/−) for ZPR9, NIH 3T3 cells with inducible knockdown of ZPR9, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ZPR9 knockout cells. Furthermore, high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice displayed reduced MPK38 kinase activity and ZPR9 expression compared to that in mice on control chow, suggesting that ZPR9 acts as a physiological activator of MPK38 that may participate in obesity.
Constitutive activation of CREB in mice enhances temporal association learning and increases hippocampal CA1 neuronal spine density and complexity
Authors: Serita Tatsurou , Fukushima Hotaka , Kida Satoshi 
Published: February 2017

AbstractTranscription factor CREB is believed to play essential roles in the formation of long-term memory (LTM), but not in learning and short-term memory (STM). Surprisingly, we previously showed that transgenic mice expressing a dominant active mutant of CREB (DIEDML) in the forebrain (DIEDML mice) demonstrated enhanced STM and LTM in hippocampal-dependent, rapid, one-trial learning tasks. Here we show that constitutive activation of CREB enhances hippocampal-dependent learning of temporal association in trace fear conditioning and delayed matching-to-place tasks. We then show that in DIEDML mice the apical tuft dendrites of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons, required for temporal association learning, display increased spine density, especially of thin spines and of Homer1-negative spines. In contrast, the basal and apical oblique dendrites of CA1 neurons, required for rapid one-trial learning, show increased density of thin, stubby, and mushroom spines and of Homer1-positive spines. Furthermore, DIEDML mice showed increased dendritic complexity in the proximal portion of apical CA1 dendrites to the soma. In contrast, forebrain overexpression of CaMKIV, leading to enhanced LTM but not STM, show normal learning and CA1 neuron morphology. These findings suggest that dendritic region-specific morphological changes in CA1 neurons by constitutive activation of CREB may contribute to improved learning and STM.
Induction of Invertebrate Larval Settlement; Different Bacteria, Different Mechanisms?
Authors: Freckelton Marnie L. , Nedved Brian T. , Hadfield Michael G. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractRecruitment via settlement of pelagic larvae is critical for the persistence of benthic marine populations. For many benthic invertebrates, larval settlement occurs in response to surface microbial films. Larvae of the serpulid polychaete Hydroides elegans can be induced to settle by single bacterial species. Until now, only Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea had been subjected to detailed genetic and mechanistic studies. To determine if the complex structures, termed tailocins, derived from phage-tail gene assemblies and hypothesized to be the settlement cue in P. luteoviolacea were present in all inductive bacteria, genomic comparisons with inductive strains of Cellulophaga lytica, Bacillus aquimaris and Staphylococcus warneri were undertaken. They revealed that the gene assemblies for tailocins are lacking in these other bacteria. Negatively stained TEM images confirmed the absence of tailocins and revealed instead large numbers of extracellular vesicles in settlement-inductive fractions from all three bacteria. TEM imaging confirmed for C. lytica that the vesicles are budded from cell surfaces in a manner consistent with the production of outer membrane vesicles. Finding multiple bacteria settlement cues highlights the importance of further studies into the role of bacterial extracellular vesicles in eliciting settlement and metamorphosis of benthic marine larvae.